Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fort Assessment – Assessment

Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fort was one of many video games I used to be most intrigued by out of the September 2023 Nintendo Direct. This appeared like a enjoyable, chaotic rhythm sport expertise, however most intriguing of all was this was a Konami-published sport. 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 Fort be a part of that pedigree?

Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fort takes place on the titular citadel; you (and as much as three different gamers) are challengers, trying to unseat King Ferdinand and change into king of the citadel. To do that, it is advisable to play quite a lot of rhythm-based challenges, although quite a lot of these have you ever juggling a number of completely different different duties directly–assume one thing just like the chaos of Overcooked. You would possibly want to maneuver obstacles, gather objects, or cope with enemies whereas additionally making an attempt to maintain enjoying the comparatively easy three-button rhythm sport. Whereas issues might be performed solo (which I did in scripting this overview), it appears like it might be a sport higher served for individuals to play collectively, as these duties can usually really feel overwhelming alone.

Rhythm game-wise, issues are fairly primary. Every stage 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 could possibly 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 sport, however you possibly can problem every of the songs on their very own in a separate part, so there may be a lot for individuals who need simply the rhythm sport by itself. My largest problem was the controls, which may’t be remapped. Two of the buttons are the L and R shoulder buttons, which really feel means 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 sport as a substitute; that might most likely really feel far more snug.

One of many issues I beloved most about Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fort is the aesthetic. There’s a surreal vibe to the whole citadel, the place there are walkways of pianos, escherian staircases, large eyeballs, and a whole part fabricated from meat. It is a sport that revels in weirdness and oddities, which is among 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 serious side of my enjoyment was eager to see what ingenious visuals would are available subsequent. The presentation right here is absolutely pleasant.

Nevertheless, the place this sport falters most is in its music selection. A lot 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 appeared as much as see if there was an artist, which is how I discovered that it was from a Japanese music library that could possibly be used for business functions. The songs are strong, however they repeat far an excessive amount of for a comparatively brief sport. 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 a couple of songs that you’ll find which are Konami songs, however these are simply playable as a aspect exercise. One distinguished instance is the tune Smooooch, which has proven up in a number of rhythm video games and was within the trailer (which is among the issues that drove my curiosity on this sport). I believe that is the place my disappointment primarily lies within the music selection. Reasonably than being in regards to the songs within the sport, it’s the songs that aren’t within the sport however could possibly be.

Finally Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fort is a flawed however fascinating sport that’s wildly artistic but doesn’t all the time 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 sport is simply the primary of extra rhythm sport experiments by Konami (or different builders!) as a result of I’d like to see this Fort extra polished or with a greater tracklist.