Karate Man
Karate Man (Karate House) is a recurring mini game in the Rhythm Heaven Series, first appearing in the japan-only GBA game, Rhythm Tengoku. Each game features playable character Karate Joe in his training by punching pots and other objects like light bulbs, as well as kicking and bombs and other things in a form of rhythm.
Rhythm Heaven
He appears once again in the sequel game, but not inmediately. Karate Man is part of the 6th game set and Karate Man 2 was just like it, part of the 9th set. The goal keeps being the same: to hit stuff. However, and as a mayor, kept change, the "Nori" bar is gone. Also, an official song is used for both minigames, with slight alterations in-between. Also, this is the first time barrels are introduced.
Controls:
The game is played with the use of the Touch Screen.
- Tap: Punch.
- Hold and flick: Kick bombs.
Tips:
- There's a signal to when the player must kick bombs: before a barrel is tossed, a lighting bulb will be launched.
- The background again is different for both versions, being blue for the first and red for the second.
- As it happened in the previous game, there will be times when the player will have to hit more that one object at a time. In these cases, the "Hit 3!" or "Hit 4!" messages will appear on-screen. Also, a surprise !! signal may appear from time to time, meaning that the next object will fly in a different tempo.
- The song is called "Struck by the rain" (Rainy～雨に打たれて～ in the japanese version).
Rhythm Heaven Fever
Once again, Joe makes his appearance in the Wii version of the series. It appears first in the 7th set as the 34th minigame, and then again, in the 10th set as the 49th minigame. A two-players version of this game is also available in the 2-Players Corner. And as in the older versions, the goal is still the same: punch stuff. Due to the commands, this time Joe can't kick, but now he can do a combo and also an uppercut.
Controls:
The A and B buttons of the Wii Remote are used.
- A Button: Punch.
- A + B Buttons (hold): Start combo.
- A+B Buttons (release): Uppercut.
Tips:
- As it happened in the previous game, a lighting bulb will be tossed before to warn the player that a combo comes right after the bulb. Following the rhythm, the player must hold the A and B buttons to do the combo, and release both buttons to hit the barrel at the end with an uppercut.
- Whenever Joe breaks succesfully a barrel, he will blush. If he blushes and also smiles, it means that the barrel was broken down with the perfect rhythm.
- As it happened in the previous two games, more that one object will be tossed at a time sometimes. The "Hit 3!" or "Hit 4!" will appear on screen when it happens. Same formula applies with the !! signal.
- The song for this game is called "Lonely Storm" and is sung by Tsunku♂.
- To keep the tradition, the background also changes between versions, being blue for the first, orange for the second, and red for the 2P version.
Trivia
- Karate Man is one of the two rhythm games that has been kept as a main game throughout the entire series.
- In Fever's Remix 7, there is a moment where Joe is seen watching TV. What's on by that time is a video of the original Karate Man from Rhythm Tengoku.