The wait for Rhythm Heaven Wii's North American release just got a whole lot tougher

Although Japanese gamers have had access to Minna no Rhythm Tengoku since late July, the rest of the world's gamers are still waiting to experience this latest entry in the Nintendo- and TNX-developed series.

Anyway, considering it's been four months since Minna no Rhythm Tengoku (aka Everybody's Rhythm Heaven) hit store shelves in Japan, why am I only getting around to complaining about the wait now? Well, I just came across the following, rather hilarious video of one of this Wii title's mini-games:



Obviously someone with way too much time on his or her hands (and thank goodness for that!) decided to have a bit of fun and replace the mini-game's masked wrestler with a muscle-bound stripper. As much as I appreciate that, what I appreciate even more is that the video above made me aware of the real version of this mini-game (yes, I've somehow kept myself from watching every video ever posted to YouTube about this title since its Japanese release), which seems to be just as hilarious as the altered one.



As much as I'm willing and planning to wait for the release of the North American version of this game--which will be called Rhythm Heaven Fever, by the way--I'm also seriously considering picking up the Japanese version sooner rather than later, as I have a feeling some of the vocal tracks (like the one in the video above) are going to be mangled, if not altogether ruined, while being translated into English.

See also: Previous Rhythm Heaven Wii posts

Screw waiting, (I think) I'm going to buy Minna no Rhythm Tengoku, too

I was planning to wait and buy Rhythm Heaven Wii when it arrives on North American shores sometime later this year, but after reading these impressions and seeing these videos of the just-released Japanese iteration of the game I'm seriously considering changing those plans and buying the Japanese version now and the North American one this fall.



Another reason I'm considering altering those plans: You just know the folks at Nintendo of America will screw up the vocal tracks when they go to localize them--just as they did when they localized the tunes that appeared in the North American version of the DS-based Rhythm Heaven title. (Don't believe me? Watch this video and then this video. Yikes!)

(Photo above courtesy of true-gaming.net)

Two reasons tomorrow will be the best day of 2011

Good news for those of you who lack patience: Both of the above-mentioned reasons are covered by and in the following video:



Yep, tomorrow will be the best day of 2011 because that's when Minna no Rhythm Tengoku (aka Rhythm Heaven Wii) will hit the streets in Japan.

Real talk: Based on what I've seen of it thus far, I fully expect Rhythm Heaven Wii--which has yet to receive a European or North American release date (harrumph!)--to compete with the GBA original for the title of "Best Rhythm Tengoku Game."

Admittedly, it'll only be competing against two other games--the first of which was released for the GBA in 2006 and the second of which was released for the DS in 2008/2009--but both of those titles are among the best rhythm games ever released, so the winner of said contest shouldn't be considered chopped liver.

(Via tinycartridge.com)

Five more commercials for Rhythm Heaven Wii

My first thought upon watching the five commercials--for Minna no Rhythm Tengoku (aka Everyone's Rhythm Heaven, aka Rhythm Heaven Wii)--included in the video below: Man, that monkey game looks fun!

My second thought: The lady playing the monkey game looks like a Japanese version of my aunt Joanne!



My third and final thought: This game is going to sell a ton of copies (in its homeland, at least) thanks in large part to these commercials, isn't it?

Minna no Rhythm Tengoku hits the streets in Japan on July 21, by the way, while it'll hit the streets elsewhere in the world ... sometime later this year? Early next? Sigh.

(Via gonintendo.com)

July 21 can't come quickly enough

What will happen on July 21, you ask? Why, Minna no Rhythm Tengoku (aka Everybody's Rhythm Heaven, aka Rhythm Heaven Wii) will hit store shelves across Japan on that date, that's what.

In order to increase awareness about the soon-to-be-released title, the folks at Nintendo of Japan cobbled together the following commercial, which shows off a number of Minna no Rhythm Tengoku's wacky mini-games.



I'm especially looking forward to playing the ones that involve dancing crawfish (or are they shrimp?), mustachioed pigs spinning in chairs and shirtless wrestlers with odd-looking six-packs. Oh, and of course I'm looking forward to playing that Kid Icarus-esque mini-game shown at the 1:25 mark, too.

Two more Minna no Rhythm Tengoku commercials--the first of which is centered around the wrestler mini-game mentioned above while the second focuses on a mini-game that involves rolling seals--can be watched on the game's official Japanese site.

(Via gonintendo.com and tinycartridge.com)

More like Rainbow Tengoku, amirite?

Before you ask, yes, this is the third post in a row that includes the word rainbow in the header. Also, no, that isn't an indication that this is "Rainbow Week" on The Gay Gamer.

With that out of the way, let's move on to the subject of this particular rainbow-focused post: The art that will grace the cover of Minna no Rhythm Tengoku (aka Rhythm Heaven Wii) when it's released in Japan on July 21.

I found out about said cover art yesterday morning after the folks at importer NCSX announced that they were accepting pre-orders for the TNX-developed title.

I'd take them up on their offer in a heartbeat if: 1) They weren't charging just over $80 (not including shipping) for the game and 2) If it hadn't been announced--during the recent E3 event--for North American release.

Will the art that appears on the cover of the US version of Minna no Rhythm Tengoku be as colorful as its Japanese counterpart? I sure hope so. That said, I wouldn't mind at all if Nintendo of America's designers got rid of those odd-looking alien people parading across the bottom of the box before the game hits the streets in the states.

See also: Other Rhythm Heaven Wii posts

Rhythm Heaven Wii's Japanese logo

I was hoping to share the box art for this game--which will be called Minna no Rhythm Tengoku, or Everyone's Rhythm Heaven, in Japan--but it's not out yet. So, I'll just share its logo.



Here's the supposed logo for the North American version of the game, by the way. I say supposed because I really can't see the folks at Nintendo using the same name and logo for two releases (the DS and Wii iterations of Rhythm Heaven, respectively).



Anyway, while you (and I, of course) wait for Nintendo to release the box art for Minna no Rhythm Tengoku, which will be released on July 21, and the official name and logo of the game's North American counterpart, why not check out the Japanese title's official page (here) to hear a funky little tune that, if you're anything like me, will bring back blissful memories of previous Rhythm Heaven/Tengoku playthroughs.

(Via andriasang.com)

The DS and Wii ain't dead yet!

The folks at Nintendo all but ignored the DS and Wii during their E3 presser yesterday morning. In fact, they mentioned just one DS game--the DSiWare version of The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures--and one Wii game--The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword--during the 90-minute event.

Thankfully, the systems aren't quite as dead as they currently appear.

The company's press site, for instance, suggests that Nintendo will be bringing at least four more DS games to the States in the next year: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, Kirby Mass Attack (aka Atsumete! Kirby), Professor Layton and the Last Specter and Super Fossil Fighters.

Also, along with previously-announced Wii games like Mystery Case Files: The Malgrave Incident and Wii Play: Motion, Nintendo will be bringing something called Fortune Street, Kirby Wii, Mario Party 9 and Rhythm Heaven to North America at some point in 2011 or 2012 (the last two games in the afore-mentioned list are labeled "TBA").

Because I'm especially excited about Kirby Wii and Rhythm Heaven, I'm going to share their must-see trailers below.

Here's the trailer for the former:



And here's the tailer for the latter:



Sadly, Nintendo's press site says absolutely nothing about The Last Story or Xenoblade at the moment. Does that mean the company has decided against bringing these RPGs to North America? I hope not.

On the bright side, both games are supposedly going to be released in Europe later this year, so I guess I can import either or both of them from sendit.com if need be.

Rejoice! Rhythm Heaven Wii will use buttons, not waggle :)

Tucked away within the text version of Nintendo's recent "Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ended March 2011" presentation is the following comment--from President/CEO Satoru Iwata--regarding the company's forthcoming Rhythm Heaven/Paradise/Tengoku sequel for Wii:

"The new Rhythm Paradise game we showed you in our Financial Results Briefing in January will be available this summer. I tried out a near-final version of the game, and felt that this Rhythm Paradise, playable with a TV monitor, never loses the uniqueness of the original Rhythm Paradise. In contrast to Wii Remote Plus Variety [aka Wii Play: Motion] I introduced before, this game is intentionally designed to be played only with buttons."



When Rhythm Heaven Wii was announced last year, I was sure the folks at Nintendo were going to force us to play it using motion controls--much like they forced us to use the touchscreen while playing the DS iteration. As such, it's a relief to hear that this second sequel will instead take the series back to the button-pressing roots of the GameBoy Advance original.

(For more on Rhythm Tengoku, read this post or even this one.)