Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fortress Evaluate – Evaluate

Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fortress was one of many video games I used to be most intrigued by out of the September 2023 Nintendo Direct. This seemed like a enjoyable, chaotic rhythm recreation expertise, however most intriguing of all was this was a Konami-published recreation. Whereas Konami has change into a controversial writer in AAA video games, when it comes to rhythm video games Konami has a deep catalog of classics. Would Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fortress be a part of that pedigree?

Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fortress takes place on the titular citadel; you (and as much as three different gamers) are challengers, seeking to unseat King Ferdinand and change into king of the citadel. To do that, you could play plenty of rhythm-based challenges, although plenty of these have you ever juggling a number of completely different different duties directly–assume one thing just like the chaos of Overcooked. You may want to maneuver obstacles, acquire gadgets, or cope with enemies whereas additionally attempting to maintain enjoying the comparatively easy three-button rhythm recreation. Whereas issues could be performed solo (which I did in penning this evaluate), it looks like it might be a recreation higher served for folks to play collectively, as these duties can typically really feel overwhelming alone.

Rhythm game-wise, issues are fairly primary. Every degree has you choose up a controller in-game to play the rhythm sections, after which hit three keys to play. It feels first rate, however in tougher moments I felt like issues weren’t as correct as they may very well be, but in addition the maps ramp up considerably over the course of the sport. I don’t assume it’s compelling sufficient to play simply as a rhythm recreation, however you’ll be able to problem every of the songs on their very own in a separate part, so there’s loads for individuals who need simply the rhythm recreation by itself. My greatest concern was the controls, which might’t be remapped. Two of the buttons are the L and R shoulder buttons, which really feel manner too small and awkward for among the extra intense rhythm gaming. The ZL and ZR buttons find yourself getting used for different functions, however I want they’d been used for the rhythm recreation as an alternative; that might most likely really feel way more snug.

One of many issues I cherished most about Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fortress is the aesthetic. There’s a surreal vibe to the complete citadel, the place there are walkways of pianos, escherian staircases, large eyeballs, and a whole part manufactured from meat. This can be a recreation that revels in weirdness and oddities, which is without doubt one of the most enjoyable issues to proceed to find. I laughed at among the merchandise descriptions and a few of King Ferdinand’s snarky dialogue, and a significant side of my enjoyment was eager to see what ingenious visuals would are available in subsequent. The presentation right here is admittedly pleasant.

Nonetheless, the place this recreation falters most is in its music selection. Many of the songs you play all through are pretty generic songs bought from varied music libraries. That’s to not say the songs are unhealthy–I discovered myself getting them caught in my head at occasions. For one tune, I actively seemed as much as see if there was an artist, which is how I discovered that it was from a Japanese music library that may very well be used for business functions. The songs are stable, however they repeat far an excessive amount of for a comparatively brief recreation. I want they’d both licensed some higher music for this, or, ideally, use a few of Konami’s broad again catalog of rhythm-game soundtracks. There are just a few songs that you could find which can be Konami songs, however these are simply playable as a aspect exercise. One outstanding instance is the tune Smooooch, which has proven up in a number of rhythm video games and was within the trailer (which is without doubt one of the issues that drove my curiosity on this recreation). I feel that is the place my disappointment primarily lies within the music selection. Reasonably than being concerning the songs within the recreation, it’s the songs that aren’t within the recreation however may very well be.

Finally Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fortress is a flawed however fascinating recreation that’s wildly artistic but doesn’t at all times dwell as much as its ambitions or different Konami rhythm video games. Nonetheless, this was a enjoyable expertise that I’m glad I used to be capable of strive. I’m hoping this recreation is barely the primary of extra rhythm recreation experiments by Konami (or different builders!) as a result of I’d like to see this Fortress extra polished or with a greater tracklist.