Time for a trip to the Electric Town of Akihabara! To continue the recent trend of Rhythm titles, today I take a look at another musical title. In Akihabara: Feel The Rhythm Remixed, the player journies through Akihabara on a music and rhythm-based trip. Will this musical journey be amazing, or will it fall flat compared to other titles in this genre? Let’s take this music trip with our review.
Akihabara: Feel The Rhythm Remixed
Developer: JMJ Interactive
Publisher: JMJ Interactive
Platform: Steam and Nintendo Switch (Reviewed on Switch)
Genre: Music, Rhythm, Puzzle, and Arcade
Release date: 11/29/2018
Intro/Story:
From the game’s official webpage:
Akihabara- Feel the Rhythm Remixed is a unique combination of intense rhythm and fast-paced puzzles set in the Electric Town of Tokyo!
Take a trip through engaging music and intense puzzle action, set in Tokyos Electric Town! Stack blocks to build combos, tap in rhythm with the music to break them. Play trough the campaigns, go for the high score! Can you master the rhythm in Akihabara?
This game is rather unique in the storytelling, as each level is a self-contained campaign. The player is given a small story in terms of text as they start a level, they are immediately thrown into the gameplay. The focus itself isn’t on the story, but rather the gameplay itself.
Gameplay:
In Akihabara, the gameplay itself follows some similar music games. The one that comes to mind is the Lumines titles. Each level has a song playing for a set amount of time. During this period, you have to make sure to meet each checkpoint to continue onto the next “chapter” of a campaign.
There is a decent tutorial that explains the finer points of the mechanics. One thing I found different compared to Lumines is how to confirm the pieces you are matching. It would consist of matching four or more items, then holding a button to confirm those are the pieces that will be taken out. Next time the music/rhythm line comes, it will delete those pieces. This can get rather difficult as advancing through the levels occurs.
In terms of difficulty, Akihabara set a good progression with it. It starts up slow and builds up into a faster beat. Never was there a moment where it started difficult from the get-go. In addition, there are some challenge modes that will allow that difficulty to start. It allows the player to have that freedom of choice in this matter.
Visual and Audio:
Visually, Akihabara has an interesting color scheme. The environment in each campaign changes with each “chapter” advancement. However, sometimes the colors can blend in which can cause some difficulties. It is not a game-breaking issue, but the Player needs to be extra attentive to it. Outside of that, the visuals all contrast off each other as well. It is a unique mixture which does work a majority of the time.
Audio-wise, the game has a variety of music tracks that represent the town of Akihabara. It is a type of house/electric type music. The developers took the time to match it perfectly with the game. This accounts for rhythm, beat, and the flow itself with the gameplay. It is always a wonderful accomplishment when developers do this. Hats off to them on that account.
Fun Factor and Replay Value:
To keep this simple, if you are a fan of house music or electric music, Akihabara is made for you. It is the perfect blend of music to keep it fun and engaging. The game also has high replayability with the modes and different music campaigns to complete.
Wrap-up/Conclusion:
Akihabara: Feel The Rhythm Remixed may be seen as a budget title to some players. Regardless, if this is true or not, this game accomplishes what it sets out to do. It brings the vibe and music to life within the game to the players. I did have reservations playing the title, but I am glad that I did. It is one of those titles that once it has its hooks in you, It will keep that grip on you for some time.
Until next time, Mgs2master2 out!