Tap Troupe

"With taps on their shoes and boxes on their heads, this quartet dreams of stardom. We understand the taps, but the head boxes...?"

- Tap Troupe Description (Rhythm Heaven Fever)

Tap Troupe (タップスター Tap Star) is the 31st minigame in Rhythm Heaven Fever. It's about a Tall Tapper (you), performing with the Tap Troupe, a tap dancing group. Getting a perfect on this game earns the gift "At the Auditions" to read.

Gameplay
In this game, the player controls the fourth Tall Tapper in line (far right), with their face being visible near the bottom-left of the screen. When the game starts, the members of the troupe will start stepping at a steady beat. The player needs to step along with them. At certain parts of the game, a voice will say "Rea-dy!", and the tappers get on their toes and continue tapping. When this happens, the speed of tapping increases to once ever 3/4th (dotted eighth note worth) of a note, in comparison to once every note. The length of this sequence varies. After a while, a voice will say "Tap, tap, tap!", requiring the player to tap on those beats, then go back to the original beat.

In the 3/4th note rhythm, the beat is steady. When the voice says "Tap, tap, tap," the gap between the second last to the last tap can either be 1/2 (eigth note), 3/4 (dotted eigth note), or 1 beat (quarter note) long, depending on the gap to the next measure.

[3] "Tap-tap-tap": The gap lasts 3/4th of a note (REGULAR).

[6] "Ba-bam-ba-tap-tap·tap": The gap lasts a 1/2 note (SHORTER).

[8+3] "Ba-bam-ba-bam-ba-bam-ba-bam-tap-tap-tap": The gap lasts 3/4th of a note (REGULAR).

[5+3] "Ba-bam-ba-bam-ba-tap-tap—tap": The gap lasts 1 note (LONGER). Occurs once in Tap Troupe.

[19+3] "Ba (x19)-tap-tap·tap": The gap lasts a 1/2 note (SHORTER). Occurs once in Remix 7.

Timing Display

 * Perfect!/Ace!: The Tall Tappers continue their routine. After the female voice's complex tap cues, the Tall Tappers will gleefully yell out "Okay!". Additionally, halfway through the game the Tall Tapper on the left of the group will bring out a confetti popper which launches confetti. During the last few moments of the rhythm game, the Tall Tappers will wave their arms up with their hands in an OK sign.
 * Early!/Late!: A small 'tick' sound is heard when tapping off beat. The other Tall Tappers will glare at the player's Tall Tapper, annoyed. During practice, the Tall Tappers will glance over at the player.
 * Miss...: The other Tall Tappers will blow a raspberry and make a embarrased face at the player's Tall Tapper. During practice, the Tall Tappers will glance over at the player.

Two-Player Mode
A version of the game can be unlocked in the two player mode. It is the seventh game in it, and requires the completion on the original game and the previous two-player game, Launch Party.

The game has the first player on the far right, wearing blue shoes, and the second player on the left, wearing orange shoes. Both players have to tap along with the other two tappers. There is no main differences from the main game's pattern, other that spotlights at certain times to obscure view.

Trivia

 * The Tall Tappers' box-headed, human-like appearance makes them look similar to the Paddlers from Rhythm Tengoku 's Space Dance and Rhythm Heaven’s Rhythm Rally.
 * In the reading material you receive by perfecting this game, the troupe's leader is implied to be Space Gramps, further making the connection between them.
 * The game's basic play style, with four characters stepping to a beat, makes it similar to Rhythm Tengoku’s Marching Orders.
 * There are unused sprites of Tap Troupe found in the game’s files, but it looks like it’s in the DS’ graphical format. Some fans theorized that Tap Troupe was originally supposed to appear in Rhythm Heaven.
 * In addition, there’s also an unused sprite of a Tall Tapper with his hands on his hips. Oddly enough, he doesn’t have gloves on.
 * The "Rea-dy!" audio cue also appears in Tangotronic 3000 in Rhythm Heaven Megamix when the Tangotronic is about to spin his partner.