Gatekeeper Trio

The Gatekeeper Trio (門番トリオ) are a group of brothers-gatekeepers that Tibby and the player encounter in Rhythm Heaven Megamix. They consist of Paprika (レドロン), Saltwater (ブルック) and Saffron (イエモン). They each wield a fire lit staff and are all dressed in colored cloaks and wear color matching aviation caps and goggles.

Story
The Gatekeeper Trio appears in The first, second, third and fourth gates. They challenge the player by having them play a game with special rules, with the Saffron Trial being Easy but expensive, the Saltwater Trial being Normal and costing a medium amount, and the Paprika Trial being Hard but cheap. The player is required to beat one of the trials in order to progress. If they clear all three trials, the trio are impressed, and unlock the Endless Game version of their challenge in the Museum. If the player spends 30 Coins without clearing any of the trials, the Gatekeeper Trio allow them to continue anyway. When the player and Tibby meet the trio at each gate, they introduce themselves with an ominous tone while talking in unison. When each brother handles the speech at each gate, they exibit their individual personalities, which leads to small conflicts between them. Despite the ominous appearance, they are friendly towards the player, particularly when met solo in the Café or Challenge Land. The trio shows concern for the player's health if they decline the challenge by complaining about a tummyache, and asks them to take care of themself before attempting the challenge.

Saffron is very greedy, and tries to get as many Coins out of the player as possible, which leads to his brothers calling him out on his behaviour. His trials are the easiest, but also the most expensive. He dislikes Saltwater in particular, and envies him when the latter does the omnious speech at The Second Gate.

After the player clears The First Gate, Saffron opens the Shop at the Café, though the Barista thinks there is something odd about it. Upon first meeting the player, Saffron appears to recognize them from before, but dismisses it, and proceeds to explain how to purchase things from the Shop. He may value Flow Balls more than Coins, as he is willing to give the player 30 Coins for each Flow Ball they have after the player has purchased everything that costs Flow Balls.

Saffron is the only one of the trio to appear in Rhythm Tengoku The Best Plus Comic. He first appears in 10ヤギとマスター (The Goat and Barista), where he offers to sell The Goat to the Barista, saying her milk is delicious, and he'll sell her for real cheap. In 12おかねもちになったら (When you get Rich), Saffron is sitting at his Shop, wondering why no one has come to shop. The Barista asks him what's wrong, to which he responds by saying he'd like to get money. After being asked what he would do if he got rich, he starts thinking about things like buying Paprika new goggles, traveling, how he doesn't like Saltwater and other things, but refuses to actually say anything. In 22ヤギとイエモン (Goat and Saffron), Saffron is struggling to take The Goat on a walk, as the Barista is too small. As he's struggling, the goat ends up running away. The Barista watches the chase from afar and comments on their rhythm. In 33レスラーとファン (Wrestler and Fans) he takes part in the Wrestler Fan Satsuei-kai (レスラーファン撮影会), having his photo taken with Wrestler.

Saltwater is the fairest of the trio, offering a normal difficulty in his trials, with a medium cost. He notices if the player is having too much trouble clearing the challenges, appreciates the effort they put in, and allows them to pass anyway to keep it fair, much to Saffron's chagrin.

After clearing Shoot-'em-up, he gets hired at the Café as the museum curator. The Barista sees him as real serious. When first talked to, Saltwater seems to recognize the player, but dismisses it, and explains what the museum is about. When talking to him, the player can view their Badges, Mascots and Memories.

Paprika appears to be the leader of the trio. His trials are the most difficult, but he keeps the challenge fair, saying that they are not monsters, and that it is are supposed to be fun. Whenever the player accepts a challenge, he responds by encouraging them to try, but is surprised or disappointed  if they decline, and encourages them to reconsider.

After clearing The First Gate, he opens up Challenge Land, where the player is able to ride the Challenge Train in a series games with modified rules. Each course is found in different worlds named after each of the Gatekeeper Trio, indicating the difficulty. Upon entering Challenge Land, Paprika greets the player, seems to recognize them but dismisses it, and explains the rules. Upon clearing Paprika World, he is impressed with the player's skill despite the high difficulty of the challenges, and believes they could be friends. He invites the player to play in Challenge Land again if they would like.

Trivia

 * In Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+, the Gatekeeper Trio often end their sentences with モン (Mon), in reference to 門 (Mon). In Rhythm Sesang: The Best+, they end their sentences with 문 (Mun). This speech quirk is not present in other versions.