Rhythm Tengoku/Development

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This page details the overall development history of the game in question. For content related to specific Rhythm Games, please see their "Development" subpages.

We'll need more research.
And maybe a dance party.

The Cutting Room Floor has an article on Rhythm Tengoku and its arcade version.

Console	GBA	Arcade
Title	Rhythm Tengoku	Rhythm Tengoku
Region/Languages	Japan (Japanese)	Japan (Japanese)
Release Date	August 3, 2006	September 20, 2007

Development History

In 2002, the director and chief programmer Kazuyoshi Osawa was working on a prototype for a drumming game for the Game Boy Advance, where the player would press buttons to play the drums. This prototype would later be developed into the Drum Lesson in the final game^[1].

In 2004, Tsunku♂ brought in a proposal and conception for what would eventually become Rhythm Tengoku. He was influenced by his dissatisfaction with "sound games" which involved pressing buttons at specific times but not actual rhythm^[2]. He initially envisioned it as potentially being early childhood software to hone in the rhythmic sense of Japanese people, or rhythm training software for karaoke lovers^[3]. It was decided to have the team behind the WarioWare Series develop the game^[4]. Tsunku♂ was deeply involved with the development of the game, as the developers thought that simply using his name alone would be meaningless. Despite worries that he wouldn't have the time to contribute due to being a very busy man, Tsunku♂ planned ahead and gave a variety of opinions on the music production and content of the game. The developers did not want to put him in the forefront, worrying that it would imply that his involvement with the game was merely that of supervisor. To avoid this, he appears in the game as Samurai Drummer. The charicature's eyebrows are shaped like Tsunku♂'s own because of this^[5]. He still let the development team make any final decisions, and was responsible for writing a large amount of music used in the game^[6].

To help train their rhythm, Tsunku♂ had asked the developers to take dance lessons^[7]. They started with stretching exercises, followed by various dance lessons that lasted about two hours^[8]^[9]. The music used during these lessons was repurposed for Remix 1, Remix 2, Remix 4 and Remix 7 in the final game^[10].

While the developers were creating various games, they weren't initially sure how to put them together. Tsunku♂ had originally proposed the name Rhythm IQ (リズムのIQ^?, Rizumu no IQ), but the team didn't have a concrete idea of what to do. As the Nintendo DS released towards the end of 2004, the team worked on the game with the idea of a version for it as well. At the time they could not create a pleasing rhythm game that took advantage of the Touch Screen, so they focused on the Game Boy Advance version instead^[11].

In 2005, the game Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! was released, and the developers tried basing the game selection on it, such as separating Rhythm Games by genre, and setting up a progression test. They decided this wouldn't be very fun, and after much discussion concluded they should use a similar style to the microgames in WarioWare^[12]. Until the middle of development, the game was still titled R♂IQ (Rhythm IQ) (Ｒ♂ＩＱ（リズムアイキュー）^?, R♂IQ (Rizumu Aikyū), but as this name was considered too confusing, the staff gathered for a meeting to decide on the title. During the meeting, one staff member suggested Rhythm Tengoku (リズム天国^?, Rhythm Heaven), which everyone agreed upon. It was learned later that the staff member fumbled their words and didn't actually intend on suggesting the name "Rhythm Tengoku". They don't remember what their suggestion was going to be^[13]. The original title was later referenced in Ringside, where the TV station broadcasting the interview is known as "RIQ-TV" in most versions, or "KRIQ" in the English versions.

Over 20 different games were removed from the final game, most of which are only known by their titles, though some have leftover sound effects. There is one game that exists unused in a fully playable form in the final game, though it goes unnamed there^[14]. Before release, the game was playtested, and the developers found that people of all ages responded similarly to each Rhythm Game, though they were surprised to see that Kokuhaku Machine was the most popular game among young girls^[15].

Towards the end of development at the beginning of 2006, the Nintendo DS became a huge hit, so the staff revisited the idea of a DS version of the game. However it would've taken a long time to port the work they had already made for the GBA version, and as the game contained previously unreleased songs, they decided not to delay the game and so it was released only on the Game Boy Advance on August 3, 2006^[16], and was received well by players despite the trepidation of the developers^[17].

At some point, a revision of the game was released, in which minor graphical errors in Iai Giri and Toss Boys in Remix 5 were fixed (although the latter remaining unused).

Presumably in 2007, Sega approached Nintendo with an offer for an arcade version of the game, as it was popular among their development staff. The staff at Nintendo, who initially thought it was a joke, were impressed, as they never thought Rhythm Tengoku was able to gain a following^[18]. The original staff naturally oversaw the development of the new modes featured in this version^[19], with Sega specifically having proposed the idea of the EXTRA stage^[20]. This port was released on September 20, 2007.

On September 8, 2008, Tsunku♂ posted on his blog about the release of Rhythm Tengoku Zen Kyoku-shu, a soundtrack release for both Rhythm Tengoku and its sequel Rhythm Tengoku Gold, released later on October 15, 2008^[21].

References

↑ "つんく♂さんから企画書の持ち込みがあり、実際に『リズム天国』の構想がスタートしたのは2004年からなんですけど、じつは、その２年前の2002年にディレクター＆チーフプログラマーである大澤がたまたま試作で、ボタンを押してドラムを叩くというドラムソフトを制作していたんです。これは、『リズム天国』に収録されている『ドラムレッスン』の原型となっています。当時、「こういうリズミカルなゲームをいつか出したいね」と話していたんですけど、そういう意味では、『リズム天国』のはじまりは、４年もまえになるんですよね。" (Tsunku♂ brought in a proposal and the actual conception of "Rhythm Tengoku" started in 2004, but two years before that, in 2002, the director and chief programmer Osawa happened to be working on a prototype of drum software, which involved pressing a button to beat a drum. This was the prototype for the "Drum Lesson" included in "Rhythm Tengoku". At the time, we were talking about how we wanted to release a rhythmical game like this one day, and in that sense, "Rhythm Tengoku" began four years ago. ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ "そうなんですよ。音、関係ないんですよね。そんなふうに、当時は感じてまして、でも、まぁ、そんなことをね、いちいち、ぼくらが言ってもしゃあないというか、こういうもんなんやなということでそのときは終わってたんです。で、数年前になりますけど、任天堂さんから『ドンキーコンガ』というゲームが出て、ぼくの楽曲をたくさん使っていただいたこともあってサンプルを送っていただいたんですね。それで、家でそれをやってみたときに、「あれ？　ここはこうじゃないんじゃないかな」と。で、その夜に、最初の企画書みたいなものをバーッと書きはじめたんです。これはなんか伝えなあかん、という気がして。ゲームをつくってる人たちになにか伝えないと、ぼくにとっても、世間にとっても、「音ゲー」というものが曲がっていくような気がしたんです。で、書き上げたんですけど、それをどうするかというのははっきりとは決めてなかったんです。うちの社員たちに話したんですけど、「いや、ゲームつくるなんて無理ですよ」「何曲つくらなきゃいけないと思ってるんですか」みたいな反応ばっかりで、軽く説教されて（笑）。当時、いくつか、つき合いのあるソフトメーカーさんはあったんです。社員は、とりあえず、そこへ相談してみる、ということを考えていたみたいなんですけど、ぼくとしては、もう、「ダメもとでいいから、任天堂に送ってくれ」と。それは、なんていうかな、ソフトをつくる会社じゃなくて、「遊びそのもの」をつくる会社じゃないとダメだと思ったんです。それで企画書を任天堂さんに送って、それがそもそものきっかけですね。" (That's right. Sound has nothing to do with it. At the time, I felt that way, but I thought that there was nothing we could say about it, or that it was just the way things were. Then, a few years ago, Nintendo released a game called "Donkey Konga", and they used a lot of my music in it, so they sent me samples. When I tried it at home, I thought, "What? This isn't right". That night, I started writing my first proposal in a flash. I felt like I had to convey something to the people making the game. I felt that if I didn't communicate something to the people who were making the game, "sound games" would become a distorted concept, both for me and for the world at large. So I wrote it up, but I hadn't decided exactly what to do with it. I told my employees about it, but all they said was, "No, it's impossible to make a game," or "How many songs do you think you have to make?" At the time, there were several software makers with whom we had a relationship. The employees seemed to think that we should consult with them for the time being, but I said to them, "Just send it to Nintendo, even if it's a dead end." I thought it would have to be a company that creates "fun itself," not a company that creates software. So we sent the proposal to Nintendo, and that was the beginning.) ~ Tsunku♂, 社長が訊く『リズム天国ゴールド』 (Iwata Asks "Rhythm Tengoku Gold")
↑ " リズム天国はもともと日本人のリズム感覚を鍛える幼児教育ソフトやカラオケ好きの方々のリズムトレーニングソフトみたいなものが作れないかな？と思い任天堂さんに企画書を持ち込んだのがきっかけで始まりました。" (Rhythm Tengoku originally started when I thought, "Can we make something like early childhood education software that can hone the rhythmic sense of Japanese people, or rhythm training software for karaoke lovers?" and brought a proposal to Nintendo.) ~ 6月11日発売！「リズム天国ザ・ベスト＋」YEAH!! | つんく♂オフィシャルブログ「つんブロ♂芸能コース」Powered by Ameba (Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+ will be released on June 11th! YEAH!! | Tsunku♂ Official Blog "Tsunblo♂ Entertainment Course" Powered by Ameba)
↑ "ちなみに、私たちは、今回のお話をいただいて、『メイドインワリオ』シリーズをつくっていたチームの人たちに担当してもらうことに決めたのですが" (Incidentally, when we were approached about this project, we decided to have the people from the team that created the "Made in Wario" series take charge of it.) ~ Satoru Iwata, 社長が訊く『リズム天国ゴールド』 (Iwata Asks "Rhythm Tengoku Gold")
↑ "つんく♂さんには、『リズム天国』のプロデューサーとして、本作に深く関わっていただいていますが、任天堂にとっても、つんく♂さんにとっても、ただ、お名前だけ拝借させていただくのでは意味がないだろうと考えていました。もちろん、つんく♂さんのお名前を使用させていただくのは、プラスになるのですが、場合によっては誤解を生んでしまう可能性もあります。かたちだけの監修ということではなく、ゲームの内容に、しっかりと関わっていただきたいと私たちは思っていました。でも、お忙しい方ですから、どうだろうかと心配していたのですが、つんく♂さんは、はじめからそのつもりでいてくださったようで音楽制作はもちろん、内容についてもさまざまな意見を出してくださいました。つんく♂さんは、頭が良くて、気さくで、なんといっても非常に真面目な方なんですよね。モノ作りに対しても、すごくストイックにいろいろとよく考えて行動される方なんです。せっかくしっかりと関わってくださったのですから、たんなる監修ソフトと誤解されないように、あえて、つんく♂さんのお名前を前面に出さなかったんです。「つんく♂さんが『リズム天国の』開発に関わっている」ということを、一番いいカタチで、みなさんに知っていただくため、ゲーム内につんく♂さんを登場させるにしても、どのように登場させるかということに気を配りました。そこでゲーム内では、つんく♂さんだとは言っていませんが、仮の姿である、「ドラム侍」として登場していただくことになったんです。実際、つんく♂さんに「ドラム侍として登場していただいてもいいですか？」とうかがったところ快く、「いいですよ！」とおっしゃってくださいました。よーく、ドラム侍を見ていただければわかるのですが、眉毛のカタチをつんく♂さんに似せてあるんですよ。" (Tsunku♂-san is deeply involved in this work as the producer of "Rhythm Tengoku" but we thought it would be meaningless for both Nintendo and Tsunku♂-san if we just borrowed his name. Of course, using Tsunku♂-san's name is a plus, but in some cases, it may cause misunderstandings. We wanted him to be involved in the content of the game, rather than just supervising the shape of the game. But he is a busy man, so I was worried about how it would go, but Tsunku♂-san seemed to have had that in mind from the start and gave us a variety of opinions on the content as well as the music production. Tsunku♂-san is a smart, friendly and, above all, very serious person. He's very stoic and thinks things through when it comes to making things. Since he was so involved in the project, we dared not to put his name in the foreground, so that it wouldn't be misunderstood as just a software supervisor. In order to let everyone know in the best possible way that Tsunku♂ was involved in the development of "Rhythm Tengoku", we paid attention to how we wanted him to appear in the game. So in the game, we didn't say it was Tsunku♂, but we decided to have him appear as "Drum Samurai", which is a temporary form of Tsunku♂. In fact, when I asked Tsunku♂-san, "Is it okay if you appear as Drum Samurai?", he kindly said, "Yes!" If you look carefully at Drum Samurai, you'll notice that the shape of his eyebrows resembles that of Mr. Tsunku♂.) ~ Yoshio Sakamoto, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ "『リズム天国』の開発に携わった、つんく♂さんは、「なんといってもゲームとして売り出すわけだから」ということで、ゲームの内容を決めて行くところの最終判断は、基本的にすべて我々に一任してくれたんです。さらには、「協力できることは何でも言ってください」とおっしゃってくださいました。そこで、つんく♂さんとの打ち合わせのときに、思い切って、ゲーム中の全部の曲を作ってもらうくらいの勢いでお願いしたんです。すると、「わかりました！」と快諾してくださったんです。『リズム天国』に収録されている歌モノだけを制作なされていると思っている人も多いみたいですが、じつはゲーム中に使用されている曲の30曲以上を、つんく♂さんに作っていただいているんですよ。" (Tsunku♂, who was involved in the development of "Rhythm Tengoku", basically left all the final decisions on the content of the game to us, because "after all, we were selling it as a game". He also said, "Please tell us anything we can do to help". So, at the meeting with Tsunku♂, I boldly asked him to write all the songs in the game. He readily agreed. Many people seem to think that Tsunku♂ only created the songs included in "Rhythm Tengoku", but in fact, he wrote more than 30 of the songs used in the game.) ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ Iwata: "I seem to remember that everyone on the development staff took dance lessons in order to obtain a shared awareness of rhythm."
Takeuchi: "That's right. While we were consulting with Tsunku-san, who supervised the game, about rhythm, he said the fastest way he could make us understand was to have us try dancing, so we all went to Tokyo." ~ Iwata Asks - Rhythm Heaven - Page 1
↑ "じつは、つんく♂さんから「一度ダンスを経験してみてはいかがですか？」とお誘いを受けまして、『リズム天国』の開発スタッフ全員でダンスレッスンを受けることになったんです。ダンスレッスンは、最初、ストレッチ運動から始まったのですが、開発という仕事柄のため、けっこう運動不足な面もありまして、ストレッチが終わった時点で開発スタッフ全員が息を切らしている状態でした（笑）。その後、さまざまなダンスレッスンを受けたのですが、印象としてはストレッチが一番きつかったです（笑）。" (As a matter of fact, Tsunku♂ asked us, "Why don't you try dancing for once?" All the development staff of "Rhythm Tengoku" decided to take dance lessons together. The dance lessons started with stretching exercises, but we were all out of breath by the time the stretching was over, as we were all quite short of exercise due to our work as developers (laughs). After that, we took various dance lessons, My impression was that the stretching was the hardest part (laughs).) ~ Masami Yone, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ "ちなみに、ダンスレッスンは時間にして２時間ほど行ったのですが、難しいものではなく、音楽に合わせて手を叩いたり、足踏みをしたり、といったちょっとがんばれば誰にでもできるような、リズムに合わせた体の動かしかたを教わったんです。最初はみんなバラバラな動きでしたけど、音楽に合わせて開発スタッフ全員の動きが揃ったときは、感動モノでしたね。" (By the way, the dance lesson lasted about two hours, but it wasn't difficult. I learned how to move my body. At first, everyone was doing different movements, but when all the development staff got together in time with the music, it was a moving experience.) ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ 開発スタッフのリズム特訓ムービー (Development Staff Special Rhythm Training Movie) [flash elements defunct]
Rhythm Tengoku Team At Dance Lessons (1/2), Rhythm Tengoku Team At Dance Lessons (2/2) [reuploads]
↑ "ゲームボーイアドバンス用として制作をスタートした『リズム天国』ですが、ちょうどニンテンドーDSが発売されるという時期でしたので、ニンテンドーDS版も視野に入れて制作を進めることにしたんです。当然、ニンテンドーDSでやるからには、タッチパネルを使ったリズムゲームを模索しなければいけない。しかし、そのときはタッチパネルを活かした気持ちのいいリズムゲームが生まれませんでしたので深追いせずに、ゲームボーイアドバンス版だけに注力することになったんです。" ("Rhythm Tengoku" began production for the Game Boy Advance, but it was just at the time when the Nintendo DS was about to be released, so we decided to proceed with production with an eye toward a Nintendo DS version as well. Naturally, since we were going to work on the Nintendo DS, we had to find a rhythm game that used the Touch Screen. However, at that time, we could not create a pleasing rhythm game that took advantage of the Touch Screen, so we decided not to pursue it too deeply and focus only on the Game Boy Advance version.) ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ "『リズム天国』の開発が行われていた最中に、『東北大学未来科学技術共同研究センター　川島隆太教授監修　脳を鍛える大人のDSトレーニング』が発売されたのですが、おかげさまで非常に多くのユーザーに受け入れられました。で、その頃の『リズム天国』といえば、いろんなリズムゲームが徐々に出来始めているときで、それらをどういう風にまとめるか？という事を気にしていたときでもありました。実は、その１年くらい前の段階で、「リズムのIQ」というつんく♂さんからアウトプットされたキーワードでまとめていこう、というイメージがあったのですが、具体的には、まとまっていませんでした。そんなときに『脳トレ』がヒットしたことは、ちょっと、気になりました。「脳」の次は「リズム」みたいな雰囲気をどこからともなく感じながら自分達なりのまとめ方を模索しました。基礎編、応用編、トレーニングみたいなジャンルにリズムゲームを分けて、進級テストみたいなものを設ける方向は、どうか？・・・とかでも、実際それらを作ろうとしたら、例えば、トレーニングであれば、単調で退屈なことを長時間行うのが効果的っぽいが、それではあまり楽しくなさそう・・・だとか、リズムゲームの楽しいテイストをそのまま生かして、いわゆる『メイドインワリオ』っぽく、まとめていくで、いいじゃないか？・・・とかいろいろ話し合った結果、“やっぱり楽しいものにしたい”ということで、今の形に落ち着きましたが、これはこれで、よかったなと思っています。" (While "Rhythm Tengoku" was being developed, "Brain Training: Adult DS Training supervised by Professor Ryuta Kawashima of Tohoku University's New Industry Creation Hatchery Center" was released, which was well received by many users. At that time, "Rhythm Tengoku" was in the midst of the development of various rhythm games, and we were concerned about how to put them all together. Actually, about a year before that, I had an image of putting them together with the keyword "Rhythm IQ", which was output by Tsunku♂, but I did not have a concrete idea of what I wanted to do. At that time, the fact that "Brain Training" became a hit was a bit, well, curious. We felt that "brain" was next to "rhythm," and we sought our own way to put it together. How about dividing the rhythm games into basic, application, and training genres, and setting up something like a progression test? But if we actually tried to make them, for example, in the case of training, it would be effective to do monotonous and boring things for a long time, but that would not be very fun...or we could just keep the fun flavor of the rhythm games and put them together in a so-called "Made in Wario" style. We discussed this and came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to keep the fun flavor of the rhythm game. After much discussion, we decided that we wanted to make it fun, so we settled on the current form, which I am glad we did.) ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ "じつは開発途中までは、『Ｒ♂ＩＱ（リズムアイキュー）』という名前で呼んでいました。しかし、そのタイトルだと、ちょっとわかりにくいだろうということで、スタッフが集まり、タイトルを決める打ち合わせをすることになったんです。打ち合わせの最中、スタッフのひとりが、「『リズム天国』というタイトルは？」と言ったところ、「それ、ええやん、ええやん！」とみんなが賛同し、タイトルが決定したのですが‥‥。じつは、あとから聞いてみると、そのスタッフは『リズム天国』と言うつもりはなかったそうなんですよ。なにか、違うタイトルを言おうとして、こう、口が滑ったというか、舌がもつれたというか、「ほぼ日」的に言うと、「言いまつがって」、「‥‥『リズム天国』」とむにゃむにゃっと、言ってしまったそうなんです。そうしたら、それで決まってしまった（笑）。で、ほんとうはなんと言おうとしたのかは、憶えていないそうなので、いまだに謎なんです（笑）。" (Actually, we called it "R♂IQ (Rhythm IQ)" until we were in the middle of development. However, we thought that title would be a little confusing, so the staff gathered for a meeting to decide on a title. During the meeting, one of the staff members said, "How about 'Rhythm Tengoku'?" Everyone agreed, and the title was decided. But later, I learned that the staff had no intention of calling it "Rhythm Tengoku". They were going to say something different, but they slipped up, or got their tongues tangled, or in the "I'm about to say" way of speaking, they said "...'Rhythm Tengoku'" in a very muddled way. And that's how it was decided (laughs). But they don't remember what they were really going to say, so it is still a mystery to this day (laughs). ~ Yoshio Sakamoto, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ "ボタンを押すとキャラクターが棒を振って、さらにボタンを離すとその振った棒を戻す。その棒の動きで、ものを「しばく」というリズムゲームがあったんです。しかし、リズムに合わせてボタンを離すという行為が意外とシビアでわかりにくかったんですよね。「これは遊んでいても気持ちよくないだろう」ということで、製品版には入れずにボツにしたんです。ネタとしてはおもしろかったんですけど（笑）。ちなみにボツになったリズムゲームは全部で20個以上もあるのですが、そのなかには、このようなタイトルの作品がありました。" (When the button is pressed, the character swings a stick, and when the button is released, the swinging stick is returned. There was a rhythm game in which you "strike" things with the movement of the stick. However, the act of releasing the button in time with the rhythm was unexpectedly severe and difficult to understand. We decided not to include it in the production version because we thought it wouldn't be pleasant to play. It was interesting as a story (laughs). Incidentally, there are more than 20 rejected rhythm games in total, among which there was one with a title like this.) ~ Kazuyoshi Osawa, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ "『リズム天国』の発売まえに、サンプルソフトをユーザーの方に遊んでいただいたんです。その結果、だいたいどの年齢層の方も同じようなリズムゲームに反応を示したんですけど、なぜか『告白マシーン』だけは、女子小中学生の反応がダントツに良かったんです。『告白マシーン』を面白いと感じてくれました。意外にもこういうのが好きなんだと驚きました。" (Before the release of "Rhythm Tengoku," we had users play a sample of the software. The results showed that people of all ages showed similar reactions to rhythm games, but for some reason, "Kokuhaku Machine" was the most popular among elementary and junior high school girls. They found "Kokuhaku Machine" interesting. I was surprised that they liked this kind of game.) ~ Kazuyoshi Osawa, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ "そういうわけでニンテンドーＤＳ版での発売はなくなったかに思えたんですが、『リズム天国』の開発が終盤となったころ、つまり今年のはじめのころに、ニンテンドーＤＳがご存じのように社会現象になるほど大ヒットしまして、「いま一番勢いのあるゲーム機で発売するべきでは？」という話が持ち上がり、再度検討することになったんです。とはいえ、ゲームボーイアドバンス版でほぼ完成しているものを移植するにしても時間が掛かりますし、一方で、ゲームの中には、時東ぁみさんや、久礼聡史さんが歌う、未発表曲が含まれていて、あまり発売がのびるのもどうか？・・・ということで、最終的にゲームボーイアドバンスでの発売となりました。え？　あらためてニンテンドーＤＳで『リズム天国』の続編を？まあ、そういう声が高まれば‥‥いやいや、軽はずみなことは言えませんね。" (However, toward the end of the development of "Rhythm Tengoku", or at the beginning of this year, the Nintendo DS, as you know, became such a huge hit that it became a social phenomenon, and we thought, "Why not release the game on the console that is currently the most popular?" We decided to reexamine the idea. However, it would take a long time to port the Game Boy Advance version, which was almost completed, and on the other hand, the game included previously unreleased songs sung by Ami Tokito-san and Soshi Kurei-san, so we wondered if we should delay the release too much. So, the game was finally released on the Game Boy Advance. Huh? A sequel to "Rhythm Tengoku" for the Nintendo DS? Well, if people start talking about it...well, I can't say anything rash.) ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)
↑ Iwata: "To tell the truth, even though it didn't attract much attention before its release, it was received very well by many people. Osawa-san, as this series' chief mastermind, what did you think at the time of release?"
Osawa: "I wondered if everyone would enjoy it. I was extremely unsure about it. Since nothing like a music score appears on the screen, it was a new type of rhythm game, and I thought only certain people would be able to get it. Of course, we did everything we could while making the game to prevent that from happening, but I wouldn't know until release… I was incredibly nervous…" ~ Iwata Asks - Rhythm Heaven - Page 1
↑ Iwata: "After Rhythm Tengoku became a hit, Sega approached us with a surprise offer, and an arcade version was released. Osawa-san, what did you think when the idea first came up?"
Osawa: "…I thought it must be a joke."
Iwata: (laughs)
Osawa: "But when I met with Sega and talked to them, they appeared to really like the game."
Iwata: "Apparently it was popular among their development staff."
Osawa: "Yes. I was happy that they liked it so much, but…an arcade game? It wasn't something I could make the call on." ~ Iwata Asks - Rhythm Heaven - Page 2
↑ Iwata: "Yone-san, did you work on the arcade game?"
Yone: "Yes. The sound data was to be the same, but since the mechanics of arcade games are different, I had to make some adjustments in order to recreate the same sounds. Also, the arcade game had some modes that didn't exist in the Game Boy Advance version, so I supervised the sound for those as well." ~ Iwata Asks - Rhythm Heaven - Page 2
↑ "今回セガさんの提案で実現したアーケード版ならではの要素、『エクストラステージ』は、オリジナルのゲームボーイアドバンス版を開発した自分達ですら思わず真剣に遊んでしまうほどの仕上りですし、『二人同時プレイ』の時の新鮮な感覚や、一人プレイでも周りの人に見られながら遊ぶ緊張感は、アドバンス版には無かったものです。" (The "Extra Stage", an element unique to the arcade version that was made possible by Sega's proposal, is so well done that even we, the developers of the original Game Boy Advance version, couldn't help but play it seriously. The fresh sensation of playing with two players at the same time, and the tension of playing alone while being watched by others, are things that were not present in the Advance version.) ~ リズム天国　公式ウェブサイト (Rhythm Tengoku Official Website)
↑ リリース情報 | つんく♂オフィシャルブログ「つんブロ♂芸能コース」Powered by Ameba (Release Information | Tsunku♂ Official Blog "Tsunblo♂ Entertainment Course" Powered by Ameba)

Rhythm Tengoku (GBA/Arcade)
Rhythm Games	Omake Corner	• • • • •
	STAGE 1	• • • • •
	STAGE 2	• • • • •
	STAGE 3	• • • • •
	STAGE 4	• • • • •
	STAGE 5	• • • • •
	Revival	• • • • •
	Technician	• • • • •
	Last Technician	• • • • •
Arcade Only (1P)	Extra	• • • • •
Arcade Only (2P)	STAGE 1	• • •
	STAGE 2	• • •
	STAGE 3	• • •
	STAGE 4	• • •
	STAGE 5	• • •
	Extra	• • •
Rhythm Omocha		• • •
Endless Games		• • •
Miscellaneous		Title • • Rhythm Shiryō-Shitsu • Studio • Perfect Campaign • Characters • The Rhythm League Development History • Sequence Test • Dance Lesson 1 • Tanuki & Monkey

[1] "つんく♂さんから企画書の持ち込みがあり、実際に『リズム天国』の構想がスタートしたのは2004年からなんですけど、じつは、その２年前の2002年にディレクター＆チーフプログラマーである大澤がたまたま試作で、ボタンを押してドラムを叩くというドラムソフトを制作していたんです。これは、『リズム天国』に収録されている『ドラムレッスン』の原型となっています。当時、「こういうリズミカルなゲームをいつか出したいね」と話していたんですけど、そういう意味では、『リズム天国』のはじまりは、４年もまえになるんですよね。" (Tsunku♂ brought in a proposal and the actual conception of "Rhythm Tengoku" started in 2004, but two years before that, in 2002, the director and chief programmer Osawa happened to be working on a prototype of drum software, which involved pressing a button to beat a drum. This was the prototype for the "Drum Lesson" included in "Rhythm Tengoku". At the time, we were talking about how we wanted to release a rhythmical game like this one day, and in that sense, "Rhythm Tengoku" began four years ago. ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[2] "そうなんですよ。音、関係ないんですよね。そんなふうに、当時は感じてまして、でも、まぁ、そんなことをね、いちいち、ぼくらが言ってもしゃあないというか、こういうもんなんやなということでそのときは終わってたんです。で、数年前になりますけど、任天堂さんから『ドンキーコンガ』というゲームが出て、ぼくの楽曲をたくさん使っていただいたこともあってサンプルを送っていただいたんですね。それで、家でそれをやってみたときに、「あれ？　ここはこうじゃないんじゃないかな」と。で、その夜に、最初の企画書みたいなものをバーッと書きはじめたんです。これはなんか伝えなあかん、という気がして。ゲームをつくってる人たちになにか伝えないと、ぼくにとっても、世間にとっても、「音ゲー」というものが曲がっていくような気がしたんです。で、書き上げたんですけど、それをどうするかというのははっきりとは決めてなかったんです。うちの社員たちに話したんですけど、「いや、ゲームつくるなんて無理ですよ」「何曲つくらなきゃいけないと思ってるんですか」みたいな反応ばっかりで、軽く説教されて（笑）。当時、いくつか、つき合いのあるソフトメーカーさんはあったんです。社員は、とりあえず、そこへ相談してみる、ということを考えていたみたいなんですけど、ぼくとしては、もう、「ダメもとでいいから、任天堂に送ってくれ」と。それは、なんていうかな、ソフトをつくる会社じゃなくて、「遊びそのもの」をつくる会社じゃないとダメだと思ったんです。それで企画書を任天堂さんに送って、それがそもそものきっかけですね。" (That's right. Sound has nothing to do with it. At the time, I felt that way, but I thought that there was nothing we could say about it, or that it was just the way things were. Then, a few years ago, Nintendo released a game called "Donkey Konga", and they used a lot of my music in it, so they sent me samples. When I tried it at home, I thought, "What? This isn't right". That night, I started writing my first proposal in a flash. I felt like I had to convey something to the people making the game. I felt that if I didn't communicate something to the people who were making the game, "sound games" would become a distorted concept, both for me and for the world at large. So I wrote it up, but I hadn't decided exactly what to do with it. I told my employees about it, but all they said was, "No, it's impossible to make a game," or "How many songs do you think you have to make?" At the time, there were several software makers with whom we had a relationship. The employees seemed to think that we should consult with them for the time being, but I said to them, "Just send it to Nintendo, even if it's a dead end." I thought it would have to be a company that creates "fun itself," not a company that creates software. So we sent the proposal to Nintendo, and that was the beginning.) ~ Tsunku♂, 社長が訊く『リズム天国ゴールド』 (Iwata Asks "Rhythm Tengoku Gold")

[3] " リズム天国はもともと日本人のリズム感覚を鍛える幼児教育ソフトやカラオケ好きの方々のリズムトレーニングソフトみたいなものが作れないかな？と思い任天堂さんに企画書を持ち込んだのがきっかけで始まりました。" (Rhythm Tengoku originally started when I thought, "Can we make something like early childhood education software that can hone the rhythmic sense of Japanese people, or rhythm training software for karaoke lovers?" and brought a proposal to Nintendo.) ~ 6月11日発売！「リズム天国ザ・ベスト＋」YEAH!! | つんく♂オフィシャルブログ「つんブロ♂芸能コース」Powered by Ameba (Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+ will be released on June 11th! YEAH!! | Tsunku♂ Official Blog "Tsunblo♂ Entertainment Course" Powered by Ameba)

[4] "ちなみに、私たちは、今回のお話をいただいて、『メイドインワリオ』シリーズをつくっていたチームの人たちに担当してもらうことに決めたのですが" (Incidentally, when we were approached about this project, we decided to have the people from the team that created the "Made in Wario" series take charge of it.) ~ Satoru Iwata, 社長が訊く『リズム天国ゴールド』 (Iwata Asks "Rhythm Tengoku Gold")

[5] "つんく♂さんには、『リズム天国』のプロデューサーとして、本作に深く関わっていただいていますが、任天堂にとっても、つんく♂さんにとっても、ただ、お名前だけ拝借させていただくのでは意味がないだろうと考えていました。もちろん、つんく♂さんのお名前を使用させていただくのは、プラスになるのですが、場合によっては誤解を生んでしまう可能性もあります。かたちだけの監修ということではなく、ゲームの内容に、しっかりと関わっていただきたいと私たちは思っていました。でも、お忙しい方ですから、どうだろうかと心配していたのですが、つんく♂さんは、はじめからそのつもりでいてくださったようで音楽制作はもちろん、内容についてもさまざまな意見を出してくださいました。つんく♂さんは、頭が良くて、気さくで、なんといっても非常に真面目な方なんですよね。モノ作りに対しても、すごくストイックにいろいろとよく考えて行動される方なんです。せっかくしっかりと関わってくださったのですから、たんなる監修ソフトと誤解されないように、あえて、つんく♂さんのお名前を前面に出さなかったんです。「つんく♂さんが『リズム天国の』開発に関わっている」ということを、一番いいカタチで、みなさんに知っていただくため、ゲーム内につんく♂さんを登場させるにしても、どのように登場させるかということに気を配りました。そこでゲーム内では、つんく♂さんだとは言っていませんが、仮の姿である、「ドラム侍」として登場していただくことになったんです。実際、つんく♂さんに「ドラム侍として登場していただいてもいいですか？」とうかがったところ快く、「いいですよ！」とおっしゃってくださいました。よーく、ドラム侍を見ていただければわかるのですが、眉毛のカタチをつんく♂さんに似せてあるんですよ。" (Tsunku♂-san is deeply involved in this work as the producer of "Rhythm Tengoku" but we thought it would be meaningless for both Nintendo and Tsunku♂-san if we just borrowed his name. Of course, using Tsunku♂-san's name is a plus, but in some cases, it may cause misunderstandings. We wanted him to be involved in the content of the game, rather than just supervising the shape of the game. But he is a busy man, so I was worried about how it would go, but Tsunku♂-san seemed to have had that in mind from the start and gave us a variety of opinions on the content as well as the music production. Tsunku♂-san is a smart, friendly and, above all, very serious person. He's very stoic and thinks things through when it comes to making things. Since he was so involved in the project, we dared not to put his name in the foreground, so that it wouldn't be misunderstood as just a software supervisor. In order to let everyone know in the best possible way that Tsunku♂ was involved in the development of "Rhythm Tengoku", we paid attention to how we wanted him to appear in the game. So in the game, we didn't say it was Tsunku♂, but we decided to have him appear as "Drum Samurai", which is a temporary form of Tsunku♂. In fact, when I asked Tsunku♂-san, "Is it okay if you appear as Drum Samurai?", he kindly said, "Yes!" If you look carefully at Drum Samurai, you'll notice that the shape of his eyebrows resembles that of Mr. Tsunku♂.) ~ Yoshio Sakamoto, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[6] "『リズム天国』の開発に携わった、つんく♂さんは、「なんといってもゲームとして売り出すわけだから」ということで、ゲームの内容を決めて行くところの最終判断は、基本的にすべて我々に一任してくれたんです。さらには、「協力できることは何でも言ってください」とおっしゃってくださいました。そこで、つんく♂さんとの打ち合わせのときに、思い切って、ゲーム中の全部の曲を作ってもらうくらいの勢いでお願いしたんです。すると、「わかりました！」と快諾してくださったんです。『リズム天国』に収録されている歌モノだけを制作なされていると思っている人も多いみたいですが、じつはゲーム中に使用されている曲の30曲以上を、つんく♂さんに作っていただいているんですよ。" (Tsunku♂, who was involved in the development of "Rhythm Tengoku", basically left all the final decisions on the content of the game to us, because "after all, we were selling it as a game". He also said, "Please tell us anything we can do to help". So, at the meeting with Tsunku♂, I boldly asked him to write all the songs in the game. He readily agreed. Many people seem to think that Tsunku♂ only created the songs included in "Rhythm Tengoku", but in fact, he wrote more than 30 of the songs used in the game.) ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[7] Iwata: "I seem to remember that everyone on the development staff took dance lessons in order to obtain a shared awareness of rhythm."
Takeuchi: "That's right. While we were consulting with Tsunku-san, who supervised the game, about rhythm, he said the fastest way he could make us understand was to have us try dancing, so we all went to Tokyo." ~ Iwata Asks - Rhythm Heaven - Page 1

[8] "じつは、つんく♂さんから「一度ダンスを経験してみてはいかがですか？」とお誘いを受けまして、『リズム天国』の開発スタッフ全員でダンスレッスンを受けることになったんです。ダンスレッスンは、最初、ストレッチ運動から始まったのですが、開発という仕事柄のため、けっこう運動不足な面もありまして、ストレッチが終わった時点で開発スタッフ全員が息を切らしている状態でした（笑）。その後、さまざまなダンスレッスンを受けたのですが、印象としてはストレッチが一番きつかったです（笑）。" (As a matter of fact, Tsunku♂ asked us, "Why don't you try dancing for once?" All the development staff of "Rhythm Tengoku" decided to take dance lessons together. The dance lessons started with stretching exercises, but we were all out of breath by the time the stretching was over, as we were all quite short of exercise due to our work as developers (laughs). After that, we took various dance lessons, My impression was that the stretching was the hardest part (laughs).) ~ Masami Yone, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[9] "ちなみに、ダンスレッスンは時間にして２時間ほど行ったのですが、難しいものではなく、音楽に合わせて手を叩いたり、足踏みをしたり、といったちょっとがんばれば誰にでもできるような、リズムに合わせた体の動かしかたを教わったんです。最初はみんなバラバラな動きでしたけど、音楽に合わせて開発スタッフ全員の動きが揃ったときは、感動モノでしたね。" (By the way, the dance lesson lasted about two hours, but it wasn't difficult. I learned how to move my body. At first, everyone was doing different movements, but when all the development staff got together in time with the music, it was a moving experience.) ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[10] 開発スタッフのリズム特訓ムービー (Development Staff Special Rhythm Training Movie) [flash elements defunct]
Rhythm Tengoku Team At Dance Lessons (1/2), Rhythm Tengoku Team At Dance Lessons (2/2) [reuploads]

[11] "ゲームボーイアドバンス用として制作をスタートした『リズム天国』ですが、ちょうどニンテンドーDSが発売されるという時期でしたので、ニンテンドーDS版も視野に入れて制作を進めることにしたんです。当然、ニンテンドーDSでやるからには、タッチパネルを使ったリズムゲームを模索しなければいけない。しかし、そのときはタッチパネルを活かした気持ちのいいリズムゲームが生まれませんでしたので深追いせずに、ゲームボーイアドバンス版だけに注力することになったんです。" ("Rhythm Tengoku" began production for the Game Boy Advance, but it was just at the time when the Nintendo DS was about to be released, so we decided to proceed with production with an eye toward a Nintendo DS version as well. Naturally, since we were going to work on the Nintendo DS, we had to find a rhythm game that used the Touch Screen. However, at that time, we could not create a pleasing rhythm game that took advantage of the Touch Screen, so we decided not to pursue it too deeply and focus only on the Game Boy Advance version.) ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[12] "『リズム天国』の開発が行われていた最中に、『東北大学未来科学技術共同研究センター　川島隆太教授監修　脳を鍛える大人のDSトレーニング』が発売されたのですが、おかげさまで非常に多くのユーザーに受け入れられました。で、その頃の『リズム天国』といえば、いろんなリズムゲームが徐々に出来始めているときで、それらをどういう風にまとめるか？という事を気にしていたときでもありました。実は、その１年くらい前の段階で、「リズムのIQ」というつんく♂さんからアウトプットされたキーワードでまとめていこう、というイメージがあったのですが、具体的には、まとまっていませんでした。そんなときに『脳トレ』がヒットしたことは、ちょっと、気になりました。「脳」の次は「リズム」みたいな雰囲気をどこからともなく感じながら自分達なりのまとめ方を模索しました。基礎編、応用編、トレーニングみたいなジャンルにリズムゲームを分けて、進級テストみたいなものを設ける方向は、どうか？・・・とかでも、実際それらを作ろうとしたら、例えば、トレーニングであれば、単調で退屈なことを長時間行うのが効果的っぽいが、それではあまり楽しくなさそう・・・だとか、リズムゲームの楽しいテイストをそのまま生かして、いわゆる『メイドインワリオ』っぽく、まとめていくで、いいじゃないか？・・・とかいろいろ話し合った結果、“やっぱり楽しいものにしたい”ということで、今の形に落ち着きましたが、これはこれで、よかったなと思っています。" (While "Rhythm Tengoku" was being developed, "Brain Training: Adult DS Training supervised by Professor Ryuta Kawashima of Tohoku University's New Industry Creation Hatchery Center" was released, which was well received by many users. At that time, "Rhythm Tengoku" was in the midst of the development of various rhythm games, and we were concerned about how to put them all together. Actually, about a year before that, I had an image of putting them together with the keyword "Rhythm IQ", which was output by Tsunku♂, but I did not have a concrete idea of what I wanted to do. At that time, the fact that "Brain Training" became a hit was a bit, well, curious. We felt that "brain" was next to "rhythm," and we sought our own way to put it together. How about dividing the rhythm games into basic, application, and training genres, and setting up something like a progression test? But if we actually tried to make them, for example, in the case of training, it would be effective to do monotonous and boring things for a long time, but that would not be very fun...or we could just keep the fun flavor of the rhythm games and put them together in a so-called "Made in Wario" style. We discussed this and came to the conclusion that it would be a good idea to keep the fun flavor of the rhythm game. After much discussion, we decided that we wanted to make it fun, so we settled on the current form, which I am glad we did.) ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[13] "じつは開発途中までは、『Ｒ♂ＩＱ（リズムアイキュー）』という名前で呼んでいました。しかし、そのタイトルだと、ちょっとわかりにくいだろうということで、スタッフが集まり、タイトルを決める打ち合わせをすることになったんです。打ち合わせの最中、スタッフのひとりが、「『リズム天国』というタイトルは？」と言ったところ、「それ、ええやん、ええやん！」とみんなが賛同し、タイトルが決定したのですが‥‥。じつは、あとから聞いてみると、そのスタッフは『リズム天国』と言うつもりはなかったそうなんですよ。なにか、違うタイトルを言おうとして、こう、口が滑ったというか、舌がもつれたというか、「ほぼ日」的に言うと、「言いまつがって」、「‥‥『リズム天国』」とむにゃむにゃっと、言ってしまったそうなんです。そうしたら、それで決まってしまった（笑）。で、ほんとうはなんと言おうとしたのかは、憶えていないそうなので、いまだに謎なんです（笑）。" (Actually, we called it "R♂IQ (Rhythm IQ)" until we were in the middle of development. However, we thought that title would be a little confusing, so the staff gathered for a meeting to decide on a title. During the meeting, one of the staff members said, "How about 'Rhythm Tengoku'?" Everyone agreed, and the title was decided. But later, I learned that the staff had no intention of calling it "Rhythm Tengoku". They were going to say something different, but they slipped up, or got their tongues tangled, or in the "I'm about to say" way of speaking, they said "...'Rhythm Tengoku'" in a very muddled way. And that's how it was decided (laughs). But they don't remember what they were really going to say, so it is still a mystery to this day (laughs). ~ Yoshio Sakamoto, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[14] "ボタンを押すとキャラクターが棒を振って、さらにボタンを離すとその振った棒を戻す。その棒の動きで、ものを「しばく」というリズムゲームがあったんです。しかし、リズムに合わせてボタンを離すという行為が意外とシビアでわかりにくかったんですよね。「これは遊んでいても気持ちよくないだろう」ということで、製品版には入れずにボツにしたんです。ネタとしてはおもしろかったんですけど（笑）。ちなみにボツになったリズムゲームは全部で20個以上もあるのですが、そのなかには、このようなタイトルの作品がありました。" (When the button is pressed, the character swings a stick, and when the button is released, the swinging stick is returned. There was a rhythm game in which you "strike" things with the movement of the stick. However, the act of releasing the button in time with the rhythm was unexpectedly severe and difficult to understand. We decided not to include it in the production version because we thought it wouldn't be pleasant to play. It was interesting as a story (laughs). Incidentally, there are more than 20 rejected rhythm games in total, among which there was one with a title like this.) ~ Kazuyoshi Osawa, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[15] "『リズム天国』の発売まえに、サンプルソフトをユーザーの方に遊んでいただいたんです。その結果、だいたいどの年齢層の方も同じようなリズムゲームに反応を示したんですけど、なぜか『告白マシーン』だけは、女子小中学生の反応がダントツに良かったんです。『告白マシーン』を面白いと感じてくれました。意外にもこういうのが好きなんだと驚きました。" (Before the release of "Rhythm Tengoku," we had users play a sample of the software. The results showed that people of all ages showed similar reactions to rhythm games, but for some reason, "Kokuhaku Machine" was the most popular among elementary and junior high school girls. They found "Kokuhaku Machine" interesting. I was surprised that they liked this kind of game.) ~ Kazuyoshi Osawa, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[16] "そういうわけでニンテンドーＤＳ版での発売はなくなったかに思えたんですが、『リズム天国』の開発が終盤となったころ、つまり今年のはじめのころに、ニンテンドーＤＳがご存じのように社会現象になるほど大ヒットしまして、「いま一番勢いのあるゲーム機で発売するべきでは？」という話が持ち上がり、再度検討することになったんです。とはいえ、ゲームボーイアドバンス版でほぼ完成しているものを移植するにしても時間が掛かりますし、一方で、ゲームの中には、時東ぁみさんや、久礼聡史さんが歌う、未発表曲が含まれていて、あまり発売がのびるのもどうか？・・・ということで、最終的にゲームボーイアドバンスでの発売となりました。え？　あらためてニンテンドーＤＳで『リズム天国』の続編を？まあ、そういう声が高まれば‥‥いやいや、軽はずみなことは言えませんね。" (However, toward the end of the development of "Rhythm Tengoku", or at the beginning of this year, the Nintendo DS, as you know, became such a huge hit that it became a social phenomenon, and we thought, "Why not release the game on the console that is currently the most popular?" We decided to reexamine the idea. However, it would take a long time to port the Game Boy Advance version, which was almost completed, and on the other hand, the game included previously unreleased songs sung by Ami Tokito-san and Soshi Kurei-san, so we wondered if we should delay the release too much. So, the game was finally released on the Game Boy Advance. Huh? A sequel to "Rhythm Tengoku" for the Nintendo DS? Well, if people start talking about it...well, I can't say anything rash.) ~ Katsuya Yamano, ほぼ日刊イトイ新聞 - 樹の上の秘密基地。 (Hobo Nikkan Itoi Shinbun - A secret base on a tree.)

[17] Iwata: "To tell the truth, even though it didn't attract much attention before its release, it was received very well by many people. Osawa-san, as this series' chief mastermind, what did you think at the time of release?"
Osawa: "I wondered if everyone would enjoy it. I was extremely unsure about it. Since nothing like a music score appears on the screen, it was a new type of rhythm game, and I thought only certain people would be able to get it. Of course, we did everything we could while making the game to prevent that from happening, but I wouldn't know until release… I was incredibly nervous…" ~ Iwata Asks - Rhythm Heaven - Page 1

[18] Iwata: "After Rhythm Tengoku became a hit, Sega approached us with a surprise offer, and an arcade version was released. Osawa-san, what did you think when the idea first came up?"
Osawa: "…I thought it must be a joke."
Iwata: (laughs)
Osawa: "But when I met with Sega and talked to them, they appeared to really like the game."
Iwata: "Apparently it was popular among their development staff."
Osawa: "Yes. I was happy that they liked it so much, but…an arcade game? It wasn't something I could make the call on." ~ Iwata Asks - Rhythm Heaven - Page 2

[19] Iwata: "Yone-san, did you work on the arcade game?"
Yone: "Yes. The sound data was to be the same, but since the mechanics of arcade games are different, I had to make some adjustments in order to recreate the same sounds. Also, the arcade game had some modes that didn't exist in the Game Boy Advance version, so I supervised the sound for those as well." ~ Iwata Asks - Rhythm Heaven - Page 2

[20] "今回セガさんの提案で実現したアーケード版ならではの要素、『エクストラステージ』は、オリジナルのゲームボーイアドバンス版を開発した自分達ですら思わず真剣に遊んでしまうほどの仕上りですし、『二人同時プレイ』の時の新鮮な感覚や、一人プレイでも周りの人に見られながら遊ぶ緊張感は、アドバンス版には無かったものです。" (The "Extra Stage", an element unique to the arcade version that was made possible by Sega's proposal, is so well done that even we, the developers of the original Game Boy Advance version, couldn't help but play it seriously. The fresh sensation of playing with two players at the same time, and the tension of playing alone while being watched by others, are things that were not present in the Advance version.) ~ リズム天国　公式ウェブサイト (Rhythm Tengoku Official Website)

[21] リリース情報 | つんく♂オフィシャルブログ「つんブロ♂芸能コース」Powered by Ameba (Release Information | Tsunku♂ Official Blog "Tsunblo♂ Entertainment Course" Powered by Ameba)

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Rhythm Tengoku/Development

Development History

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