Rhythm Thief & The Emperor’s Treasure

Genre: Music-Rhythm / Graphic Adventure

Players: 1

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Review:

Rhythm Thief is a family-friendly Music Rhythm game with Graphic Adventure elements released on Nintendo 3DS in 2012. In this game, players take the role of a young, stylish master thief pulling off capers in his search for the answer to what happened to his missing father.

From top to bottom, Rhythm Thief exudes charm and style, with great anime-style cutscenes and 3D visuals that have that same stylized look that brings to mind Lupin the Third, if Lupin’s adventures were consistently in time with a jazzy soundtrack. The characters here are well-voiced, the writing is endearingly charming, and while nothing here surpasses the complexity of Saturday morning fare, it’s still delightful for what it is.

The gameplay is an interesting mix of elements which, on their own, wouldn’t be especially compelling, but work together to form something greater than the sum of their parts. The game works within the framing device of a Graphic Adventure, with players scouting multiple locations on a map and interacting with people and other elements of the locales to solve puzzles and progress further in the story. However, none of these puzzles is especially difficult, and in fact the game pushes players to tediously tap on the backgrounds looking for hidden medals needed to unlock purchasable items in in-game shops.

At frequent points in the story, you’ll find this Graphic Adventure gameplay interrupted with a Music-Rhythm game. These Music-Rhythm sections are always exceedingly simple, usually involving simply repeating touchscreen gestures or button prompts in time with the music. However, what really makes this something special is the way this game doesn’t settle into any one pattern, but has players guessing every time just which Music-Rhythm gameplay they’ll be playing. Despite the simplicity throughout the gameplay, this variety keeps things interesting, and combines with the story and presentation’s stylish charm to entice players to want to keep playing.

There is one other issue of note that I need to address here. As I write this review in 2022, this game currently sells used at prices upwards of $120. Meanwhile, the game’s price on the Nintendo 3DS eShop is a mere $20. Suffice it to say, if you’re considering giving this game a try, you should get in on the action now before the Nintendo 3DS eShop closes in March, because once it does, snagging this game will become immensely more costly. If nothing else, Nintendo 3DS owners are highly encouraged to download the game’s demo and give it a try.

While Rhythm Thief may not be the best Music-Rhythm game I’ve ever played, it is a good one, and one whose delightfully endearing presentation and variety help to make up for the lack of depth. If you’re a Nintendo 3DS owner who enjoys Music-Rhythm games, you should absolutely pick up this game on the Nintendo 3DS eShop while you still can. For $20 this is a fun addition to your Music-Rhythm collection. And once the eShop closes, your best opportunity to get this game will have been stolen away from you.

tl;dr – Rhythm Thief is a family-friendly Music-Rhythm game with Graphic Adventure elements that features a charming, jazzy presentation, and minigames that may not be especially deep, but make up for it with a healthy amount of variety. At $20 on the Nintendo 3DS eShop, this is an excellent choice for Nintendo 3DS owners who enjoy Music-Rhythm games… and you’ll be kicking yourself if you don’t get the game before the Nintendo 3DS eShop closes and the only way to get the game is to pay $120+ on eBay

Grade: B

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