Rhythm Knight Review

I’ve always been a huge fan of the non-instrument based rhythm games. From Japanese import games like Ouenden on the Nintendo DS or Patapon on the Sony PSP to weird niche titles like Gitaroo Man, these titles have set the stage for an ever growing crop of interesting titles coming out on the iPhone like Rhythm Spirit. I’m lucky in that while I have no real life rhythm – as evidenced by my dancing “skill” – yet I seem to excel at rhythm video games.

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Rhythm Knight Review

I’ve always been a huge fan of the non-instrument based rhythm games. From Japanese import games like Ouenden on the Nintendo DS or Patapon on the Sony PSP to weird niche titles like Gitaroo Man, these titles have set the stage for an ever growing crop of interesting titles coming out on the iPhone like Rhythm Spirit. I’m lucky in that while I have no real life rhythm – as evidenced by my dancing “skill” – yet I seem to excel at rhythm video games.

Rhythm Knight is certainly similar in terms of scope to the games mentioned above. In the game you’ll tap onscreen pods in time with the music to trigger attacks on your opponents. Missing too many pods means you’ll get hit and lose some health. As you progress through the game the patterns get more and more difficult, and it’s really as simple as that.

The game includes 7 levels that you can play in 3 different difficulties. If that makes the game seem short, you probably won’t be excited to hear that 2 of those levels are just boss fights. The game is pretty short and can be finished in about 45 minutes. Nothing unlocks or changes on the harder difficulties (except the amount of things onscreen to tap obviously) so there’s little reason to play though the game more than once.

One of the things really going for Rhythm Knight is its reliance on classical music. It fit the knight in shining armor vibe, and they’re songs that most of us know pretty well anyways. This is much better than generic music since that music just always sounds so… generic. There’s just nothing memorable about it, but some cool classical music does help to set the game apart.

Sadly Rhythm Knight suffers from the two problems that rhythm games simply cannot afford to have; timing and accuracy. The split second you have to tap the screen to the music needs to be right in time to the beat, and here it’s just slightly off. I eventually adjusted to it and just tapped out of time, but this is something that really needs to be spot on. The other problem is that some taps of the screen simply didn’t register at all. It wouldn’t tell me I was early or late, just that I missed it totally.

These two issues are enough when it comes to the rhythm genre that it’s impossible to recommend Rhythm Knight, especially when there are superior games like Rhythm Spirit out there. The shortness of the game would normally also be a concern, but those control issues just kill any chance it has to impress me so the length of the game never really factored in. Just pass this one by.

The good

    The bad

      40 out of 100