

It’s nominally in the “rhythm game” genre, but it’s nothing like your Rock Bands or Guitar Heroes – instead, it’s almost comically simple, as you simply tap out call-and-response rhythms in a variety of incredibly absurd minigames. If you’ve never played this series before (as I hadn’t, before a few weeks ago), it’s basically Drum Master for WarioWare fans (no wonder, as it’s developed by Yoshio Sakamoto and the WarioWare) team. Rhythm Heaven Fever is the third game in the Rhythm Heaven/Tengoku series, after the GBA’s Japan-only Rhythm Tengoku and the DS’s Rhythm Heaven. “This might be the most important video game ever made,” Mason proclaimed at one point, and after this Saturday, I’m inclined to agree with him. My intention was never to completely dominate the night with Rhythm Heaven Fever, but four hours and many, many pain-inducing belly laughs later, we had nearly unlocked everything in the game. I figured they’d get a kick out of one of the wacky minigames found inside, “Board Meeting,” which has you stopping spinning chairs with pigs on them in a board room. With the Wii on and Rhythm Heaven Fever in the disc drive, I wanted to show my friends maybe five minutes of this game.
