Rhythm Heaven

Rhythm Heaven (リズム 天てん 国ごくゴールド), known as Rhythm Paradise in Europe and Rhythm Sesang (리듬 세상) in Korea, is the second game in the Rhythm Heaven Series, released for the Nintendo DS on July 31, 2008 in Japan, April 5, 2009 in North America, May 1, 2009 in Europe and September 24, 2009 in South Korea.

It was developed by Nintendo SPD1 and most of the music was composed by Japanese producer/singer Tsunku. It was the first game in the Rhythm Heaven Series to be released outside of Japan.

Gameplay
The game is meant to be played by holding the Nintendo DS sideways. Left-handers have an option to change the position of the visual gameplay to allow easier playing. The game primarily uses the touch screen.

Development
Rhythm Heaven's development "wasn't easy" for the staff. Osawa didn't like the idea of using buttons, so he considered a control mechanic that involved the Touch Screen. The ability to touch the edge of the Touch Screen was considered, but was determined to be too difficult.

The Flick action took the staff a "little getting used to" as they had to make it feel "fair" to the player until they realised that if flicking was combined with the music it would give the players a "good sense of timing". The Flick action took them about "two to three months" to research and "six months" to eventually adapt the control into Rhythm Heaven. Tsunku really liked the idea of the Flick action regardless of the long time to adapt. At that time, he thought of the idea for Frog Hop, which became one of the very first games to be made for Rhythm Heaven.

Controls
The controls for Rhythm Heaven, just like every other game in the series, are very basic. There are four main mechanics used, both for all of the mini games available to play and just getting around the game itself. These controls are tapping, holding, sliding and flicking, in addition to the L/R buttons that are used in exclusively Rockers 2. The start button is used to pause during a mini game.

Official Websites

 * リズム天国ゴールド (Rhythm Tengoku Gold)
 * Rhythm Heaven [Archive]
 * Rhythm Paradise | Nintendo DS | Games | Nintendo
 * 리듬 세상 (Rhythm Sesang) [Archive]

Rhythm Heaven Demo Version
Rhythm Heaven Demo Version (リズム 天てん 国ごく ゴールド体験版), also known as Rhythm Paradise Demo Version in Europe, is a stripped down version of the game for demo purposes. One version of the demo was playable at kiosks, while the other version could be downloaded through the Nintendo Channel's DS Download Service and through the DS Download Station.

In the kiosk version, the game starts with a seizure warning screen, followed by the game's title screen (with "Demo Version" added to the logo), and starting the game goes directly to Practice Flicking (which can be skipped), after which the player goes to the Game Select, with only the first Rhythm Game available. Curiously, clearing Built to Scale unlocks both Glee Club and Fillbots at once, after which both must be cleared to unlock Fan Club. The Game Select also has a padlock for Remix 1, which is inaccessible.
 * Game DS 1-1.png Built to Scale
 * Game DS 1-2.png Glee Club
 * Game DS 1-3.png Fillbots
 * Game DS 1-4.png Fan Club (Practice only)

After completing all the Rhythm Games, The Bandleader shows up to say that this is all the demo includes, and the game returns to the title screen.

When starting up the DS Download version, the game asks the player if they are "Left or Right?"-handed. After the choice is made, the player meets The Bandleader who first thanks the player for downloading the demo, after which they are taken to Practice Flicking (which can be skipped), and then they are taken directly to the first Rhythm Game. After each game, The Bandleader shows up to comment on the rating. If the player got OK or higher, they move on to the next game, without the Game Select. After completing all the Rhythm Games, The Bandleader shows up to say that this is all the demo includes, and it returns to the "Left or Right?" question.
 * Game DS 1-1.png Built to Scale
 * Game DS 1-2.png Glee Club
 * Game DS 1-3.png Fillbots (Practice only)

Although the player can obtain Medals in both versions, the Medal Corner is never unlocked.

In both versions, all epilogues are replaced with one thanking the player for playing the game (all of which play the "OK" jingle). It depicts the Girl next to the game's boxart. The text differs between the 🇺🇸 and versions.

Reception
Rhythm Heaven received fairly positive reviews. Official Nintendo Magazine gave this game 82% for it's "hilarious games" and "superb soundtrack" but it was marred of it's length. Jeremy Parish of 1UP.com gave this game a B+ as a "must-play experience" but felt forced to make use of the touch screen. Craig Harris of IGN gave the game an "Amazing" rating of 9.0 for being "off-the-wall" and "incredibly fun and addictive" but criticized the "awful lyrics" in songs. This game is known to be favorable on Metacritic, with an average score of 84.

Trivia

 * There are certain Rhythm Games which do not end a Perfect run if the player goes only slightly off. They include Shoot-'Em-Up, Frog Hop, Lockstep, as well as their arrange versions and in Remixes. These misses still impact the player's score outside of the Perfect Campaign, however.
 * For promotional purposes, pop singer Beyoncé appeared in the 🇺🇸 commercials.
 * The English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian singers are uncredited in the Staff Credits for their languages. They are instead credited in Rhythm Tengoku Gold Kokunai-ban Kaigai-ban Zen Vocal-shu.
 * Before accessing the save files, a circle with a picture must be flicked out of the top of the screen. The picture can be: two flowers, Barista, three Notes, Dog Ninja! or the Student from DJ School.
 * The game's North American release was on the same day as its region's release of the Nintendo DSi.