Muscle Doll
Muscle Doll (マッスル人形?, Muscle Ningyō), also known as Figure Fighter in Beat the Beat: Rhythm Paradise, is the latest in toy-boxer technology appearing in Figure Fighter in Rhythm Heaven Fever and Rhythm Heaven Megamix.
Story
The Muscle Doll is a battery-powered[1] toy-boxer, which is normally not so muscle-y. Pressing the button connected to it pumps it with air and inflates its muscles for a brief second, and so the user is tasked with timing pressing the button as the doll punches a punching bag. It also comes with a championship-belt accessory[2]. Despite being a toy, it can talk, and is seemingly sentient. It is also referred to as male[3].
The Muscle Doll comes in a few varieties. The Figure Fighter Muscle Doll comes in a regular box[4], is grey with red boxing gloves and shoes, and is cheaper. The limited-edition Figure Fighter 2 Muscle Doll comes Mint-in-Box[5], is metallic red[6] with dark blue boxing gloves and shoes, and is more expensive. They are popular with children, but parents seem reserved on purchasing them, as they expect them to quickly break one way or another[7]. A knock-off version called a Mussel Doll also exists. When the user pumps air into it, it clings to a rock[8].
In Figure Fighter, the player sees a grey Muscle Doll punching a bag in a small boxing ring as an announcer tells it what kind of punches to do. This doll reappears in Figure Fighter 2, where it fights in a boxing ring surrounded by fans, defending its champion title. In Figure Fighter 3, a red version appears, defending its title once again. Despite being a different version of the toy, it is implied this doll is the same as the one seen in the previous games.
Remix 3 features a pink Muscle Doll in what looks like a kitchen. Machine Remix has a grey Muscle Doll with red boxing gloves and shoes wearing a worker's hat and covered in paint. This one is seen in what looks like an auto shop or factory.
At some point, a new fighting game involving the Muscle Dolls is introduced, called "Figure Fighter VS". Two players control a Muscle Doll with a balloon over their heads on opposite sides, and they make them punch a button with good timing. With each punch, the opponent's balloon gets inflated (the better the timing, the bigger it gets) until it blows up, and the standing player is declared the winner. Barista sets it up in the Café at StreetPass Terrace during the story of Rhythm Heaven Megamix, with the player being able to play against other characters from the story, or with random people through StreetPass.
Appearances
Gallery
Artwork for Figure Fighter from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Artwork for Figure Fighter 2 from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Artwork for Figure Fighter 3 from Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Tibby in a Muscle Doll costume
Trivia
- The championship-belt accessory looks identical to the belt Wrestler receives in the Superb epilogue to Ringside.
- Tram appears in the epilogue to Figure Fighter 3, implying he is the owner of that particular Muscle Doll.
- In Rhythm Heaven Fever Cast, the doll's eyes flash red as it bobs to the music. While there is an unused sprite of these red eyes, this detail is never seen during the actual game.
- The information given in the Rhythm Items is generally consistent across languages, but some alter certain details. For example, the Mussel Doll has its head inflate rather than the muscles when air is pumped into it in the Japanese and Korean versions, rather than "clinging to a rock" like the English version[9][10]. In the French version, the child simply doesn't understand how to play with it[11], the German version omits what function the doll actually has[12], it poses rather than fights in the Italian version[13], and in the Spanish version, it rummages through the user's stuff[14].
In Other Languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese |
マッスル人形 | Muscle Doll |
 EnglishNOA |
Muscle Doll | |
 EnglishNOE |
Figure Fighter Muscle Doll[15] |
|
 French |
La figurine | The figure |
 Spanish |
El musculitos | The muscular |
 German |
Muskelmann | Muscleman |
 Italian |
Il pupazzo gonfiato | The inflatable doll |
 Korean |
근육 인형 | Muscle Doll |
References
- ↑ "Do we have any more batteries?" ~ Try Again epilogue to Figure Fighter, Rhythm Heaven Fever
- ↑ "Check out the new championship-belt accessory!" ~ Superb epilogue to Figure Fighter 2, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
- ↑ "There he goes! Great jabs!" ~ The Announcer's comments in Figure Fighter 3, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
- ↑ "I finally got my Muscle Doll! When I took it out of the box and started playing, Mom took the empty box and said we might "have a use for it sometime." Suspicious." ~ Empty Box, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
- ↑ "My brother just collects the Muscle Dolls--he doesn't play with them. He's got a limited-edition red one still in the box. What's the point of a full box?" ~ Mint-in-Box Figure, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
- ↑ "Mon frère ne joue pas avec ses figurines gonflette. Il se contente de les collectionner. Il en a une super rare, rouge métallisé, qu'il garde dans sa boîte. Il pourrait me la donner, quand même..." (My brother doesn't play with his inflatable figures. He just collects them. He has a super rare, metallic red one that he keeps in his box. He could give it to me, anyway...) ~ Figurine collector, Rhythm Paradise Megamix (French)
- ↑ Parental Controls, Rhythm Heaven Fever
- ↑ "I asked my grandma to buy me a Muscle Doll, but she got me a Mussel Doll instead. When you pump the air, it clings to a rock. I couldn't hurt her feelings, so I pretended to love it. *sigh*" ~ Knock-Off Muscle Doll, Rhythm Heaven Megamix
- ↑ "「マッスル人形」を、おばあちゃんにおねだりしたのに、買ってきてくれたのは「ハッスル人形」。空気を入れると、キンニクじゃなくて、ナゼかアタマが大きくなるんだ。でも、おばあちゃんには悪いから、よろこんだフリをしたよ。" (I asked my grandma for a "Muscle Doll", but she bought me a "Hustle Doll" instead. When I put air into it, the head grew bigger rather than the muscles for some reason. But I pretended to be happy because I didn't want to hurt her feelings.) ~ ハッスル人形 (Hustle doll), Rhythm Tengoku: The Best+
- ↑ "할머니에게 「근육 인형」을 사 달랬더니, 사다 주신 것은 「근육질 인형」. 공기를 주입하면 어째서인지 근육이 아니라 머리가 커진다. 하지만 할머니에게는 죄송해서 선물을 받고 기분이 좋은 척을 했다." (When I asked my grandmother to buy a "Muscle Doll", she gave me a "Muscular Doll". Injecting air makes the head, not the muscles, grow for some reason. But I felt sorry for her and pretended to like it when accepting her gift.) ~ 근육질 인형 (Muscular doll), Rhythm Sesang: The Best+
- ↑ "J'ai demandé une figurine gonflette à ma grand-mère pour mon anniversaire. Elle m'a offert une sorte de figurine... gonflable. Mais je ne sais pas à quoi ça sert..." (I asked my grandmother for a blow-up figure for my birthday. She gave me a kind of... inflatable figure. But I don't know what it's for...) ~ Figurine, Rhythm Paradise Megamix (French)
- ↑ "Ich hab Oma gebeten, mir so einen Muskelmann zu kaufen. Und sie bringt mir einen Muschelmann! Ich wollte sie nicht enttäuschen, also hab ich so getan, als würde ich mich freuen... *seufz*" (I asked grandma to buy me a muscleman like this. And she brings me a mushellman! I didn't want to disappoint her, so I pretended to be happy... *sigh*) ~ Muskelmann-Imitat (Muscleman-Imitation), Rhythm Paradise Megamix (German)
- ↑ "Avevo chiesto alla nonna di comprarmi un pupazzo gonfiato, invece mi ha preso un pupazzo pompato. Invece di combattere, si mette solo in posa... ma così non me ne faccio nulla!" (I asked my grandmother to buy me an inflatable doll, but instead she got me a pumpable doll. Instead of fighting, it just poses... but I don't do anything with it!) ~ Pupazzo pompato (Pumpable doll), Rhythm Paradise Megamix (Italian)
- ↑ "Le pedí a la abuela un "muñeco musculoso", pero la pobre entendió un "muñeco muy curioso". Ahora, cada vez que llego a casa, ¡me lo encuentro rebuscando entre mis cosas!" (I asked Grandma for a "muscular doll", but the poor thing understood a "very curious doll". Now, every time I come home, I find it rummaging through my stuff!) ~ Muñeco musculoso de pega (Fake muscular doll), Rhythm Paradise Megamix (Spanish)
- ↑ "Hiya. I'm what you call a Muscle Doll." ~ Dialogue in Figure Fighter, Rhythm Paradise Megamix (English)