Previews

Hands on with Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

Name that tune

Hands on with Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

When a business earns its first dollar, it's customary to save it in a frame and hang it on the wall. For NIS America, the approach is the same for its darling first game. Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure comes to DS as an homage to the company's start and a testament to its emergence as a recognizable force in hardcore role-playing.

Originally released on PSone, Rhapsody is being retooled for its handheld debut with a new battle system, updated visuals, and a extra content. While we weren't privy to exactly what bonuses are being added to the game, we did get a good look at the new graphics and tested out the battle mechanics.

Rhapsody follows a young girl named Cornet as she endeavors to return the petrified Prince Ferdinand to his normal fleshy state. Cornet's ability to speak with puppets and play a magical horn that grants wishes puts her in a unique position to reverse the botched spell that landed Ferdinand is his predicament; of course, it's quite an adventure before she's able to save the Prince.

A unique musical style distinguishes Rhapsody from other role-playing games, despite largely following the same formula. The story is forwarded through conversations with characters and lengthy cutscenes, although these are entirely sung.

Not only is it immensely creative, but it's totally entertaining. Much care has been taken to inject humor into the script, which has naturally been tuned up for this re-release. Add to this quirky sense a beautiful cel-shaded graphical style and this is shaping up to be one of the cutest role-playing games to hit DS yet.

Battles play a critical role in shaping the experience, particularly in this remake, which strips the game of its tactical elements for a more straightforward turn-based combat system. Instead of battling on a grid as used in most tactical role-playing games, battles play out in 2D on the top screen. In this way, the game moves closer in style to the battles of early Final Fantasy games and away from complex tactical role-playing games like Disgaea.

Options within battles are fairly limited, ranging from basic attacks, the ability to use curative items, and even accessing special skills learned as characters increase in level. Cornet differs, however, in that she doesn't gain new skills; instead rewards trumpeted out of her horn grant her powerful abilities.

As you'd expect, the game takes advantage of the stylus for moving characters in the field and selecting options in battle. The top screen serves as a helpful display for party information during exploration, while it switches to showcase the action during battle. Naturally, options pop up on the touch screen that can be easily tapped whenever it's your turn in battle.

It's a rather simple game, which should work well given the portable format. Nevertheless, that simplicity could leave Rhapsody a hollow role-playing experience. Options for character development are weak at best, the battle system is somewhat shallow, and the adventure is fairly short.

Fortunately, the game has a shot at making up for those shortcomings with sheer style and accessibility. We'll know whether Rhapsody strikes the right chord when it ships in the US this September.

Tracy Erickson
Tracy Erickson
Manning our editorial outpost in America, Tracy comes with years of expertise at mashing a keyboard. When he's not out painting the town red, he jets across the home of the brave, covering press events under the Pocket Gamer banner.