Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fortress was one of many video games I used to be most intrigued by out of the September 2023 Nintendo Direct. This regarded like a enjoyable, chaotic rhythm recreation expertise, however most intriguing of all was this was a Konami-published recreation. Whereas Konami has turn out to be 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 Fortress be part of that pedigree?
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Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fortress takes place on the titular fort; you (and as much as three different gamers) are challengers, trying to unseat King Ferdinand and turn out to be king of the fort. To do that, you have to play numerous rhythm-based challenges, although numerous these have you ever juggling a number of completely different different duties directly–suppose one thing just like the chaos of Overcooked. You may want to maneuver obstacles, accumulate objects, or cope with enemies whereas additionally making an attempt to maintain taking part in the comparatively easy three-button rhythm recreation. Whereas issues will be performed solo (which I did in penning this overview), it looks like it might be a recreation 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 decide up a controller in-game to play the rhythm sections, after which hit three keys to play. It feels respectable, however in harder moments I felt like issues weren’t as correct as they could possibly be, but additionally the maps ramp up considerably over the course of the sport. I don’t suppose it’s compelling sufficient to play simply as a rhythm recreation, however you possibly can problem every of the songs on their very own in a separate part, so there may be loads for individuals who need simply the rhythm recreation by itself. My largest concern was the controls, which might’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 recreation as an alternative; that will in all probability really feel rather more snug.
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One of many issues I liked most about Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fortress is the aesthetic. There’s a surreal vibe to your entire fort, the place there are walkways of pianos, escherian staircases, big eyeballs, and a complete part fabricated from meat. It is a recreation that revels in weirdness and oddities, which is without doubt one of 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 desirous to see what creative visuals would are available in subsequent. The presentation right here is basically pleasant.
Nonetheless, the place this recreation falters most is in its music alternative. A lot of the songs you play all through are pretty generic songs bought from numerous music libraries. That’s to not say the songs are dangerous–I discovered myself getting them caught in my head at occasions. For one music, I actively regarded 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 industrial functions. The songs are strong, however they repeat far an excessive amount of for a comparatively brief recreation. I want they’d both licensed some higher music for this, or, ideally, use a few of Konami’s vast again catalog of rhythm-game soundtracks. There are a couple of songs that you will discover which might be Konami songs, however these are simply playable as a facet exercise. One outstanding instance is the music Smooooch, which has proven up in a number of rhythm video games and was within the trailer (which is without doubt one of the issues that drove my curiosity on this recreation). I believe that is the place my disappointment primarily lies within the music alternative. Reasonably than being concerning the songs within the recreation, it’s the songs that aren’t within the recreation however could possibly be.
Finally Tremendous Loopy Rhythm Fortress is a flawed however fascinating recreation that’s wildly artistic but doesn’t at all times 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 in a position to attempt. I’m hoping this recreation is simply the primary of extra rhythm recreation experiments by Konami (or different builders!) as a result of I’d like to see this Fortress extra polished or with a greater tracklist.