[Review] Rhythm Fighter - Nintendo Switch

Developed By: Echo Games
Published By: Coconut Island Games
Categories: Beatemup, Roguelike, Rhythm
Release Date: 01.14.21

It’s a peaceful, funky time with the animals. Until mutated vegetables threaten to ruin that.

Rhythm Fighter is not a fighter, but instead a roguelike. But it’s also a beatemup. Not to mention it’s all rhythm based. Seems like a bit overwhelming to think about, but it all blends together perfectly. Much like 2020’s Mad Rat Dead, you’re not so much playing music, but keeping the beat and doing better at that very beneficial to you. Hit on the beat and attacks and moves perform better. If the music sucks though, then this all doesn’t matter and it’s all a failure. I could not stop rocking and bobbing my head to the music when playing, if that says anything. Rhythm Fighter definitely has a good feel with it’s soundtrack.

In regards to it’s roguelike blood, you’ve heard it before. Random placement of rooms, random types of rooms, random powerups. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. The key part of Rhythm Fighter to make it, it’s own is the silly set of powerups and weapons. Get ’em with the beer bottle, a buster cannon that’s totally not Mega Man’s, a lollipop that heals you if you hit an enemy perfectly. Drop a cupcake bomb, or collect energy to toss it right back. There’s a lot of weapons, to the point where I seldom saw the same ones in each run I did. Even better for variety, you have a decent roster of playable characters, all with their own unique design, and all their own animal, each with a unique feel and ability. You are going to have to unlock them however. You’ll go into regular rooms with veggies, miniboss rooms, shop rooms, blood donor rooms that you can buy things with HP, straight up treasure rooms, and even rooms that are super dangerous, but you have a nice healing item at the end for you. You might notice a timer, if you’re fast and beat the boss of the stage before it goes down, you can access a bonus treasure room that is definitely worth the effort.

I mentioned unlocking characters earlier, which you’ll do with the game’s vast achievement system. Infact, you’ll unlock everything, including permanent perks and out of run shops and challenges like this. I appreciate this route as to not overwhelm players upfront. I’ve always loved making achievements in games actually unlock or go towards unlocking things. One game that did that back when the concept was new was Dead Rising, which I might add, also let you kill with some mundane things as weapons. Plenty of achievements just give you heart beat points, which is more or less your out of run currency. Use it for the skill try for permanent perks, in the shop, or even to revive yourself if you fall, in the change you have that perk.

I mentioned earlier that the game’s tunes were fitting of the genre, but I also love the look of the game. Celshaded graphics are always a treat when cartoony 3D is in a game. I love the designs of the characters and enemies too. The child in me loves the fact a boss is named CHONKI and is just a fat cat. Unfortunately, the game does have the occasional framerate hitches, but they’re never strong enough to make the game unplayable, despite being a rhythm game.

If you like roguelikes that aren’t incredibly heavy on RPG stuff or painfully hard, play Rhythm Fighter. If you’re not keen on roguelikes, you might still enjoy the rhythm part of the game and the great music. Maybe you just want to play it because the chef character is adorable.