HarmoKnight, the former Japanese 3DS exclusive that is about to wash ashore here in North America, is sickeningly cute and deceptively addictive. What starts off looking like a one-note adventure progresses into a challenging rhythm-based romp with a variety of musical genres paving the way.
Set within an anime-inspired musical world known appropriately as Melodia, HarmoKnight tasks young overly confident apprentice Tempo to fend off an invasion of Noizoid creatures and their leader, Gargan, using a musical note staff weapon that can best be described as resembling a golf three wood club with a highly polished finish. Tempo uses the note staff to swing and hit enemies to match the rhythm of the music as the world of Melodia automatically scrolls along behind him.
Possessing a sense of rhythm and beat isn’t necessary to play HarmoKnight but it definitely does offer a distinct advantage, especially during boss fights. The bosses attack with a series of timed-moves that require you to either hit back, jump, move out of the way, or navigate turns in a path. A bell signals when the sequence of button and D-pad moves should begin, and it’s possible to complete the sequence with one’s eyes closed by listening carefully to the example attack and then mimicking its timing and sequence when the bell rings again.
I found that having a little bit of a fingernail goes a long way in ensuring victory during the boss fights, believe it or not. Some of the sequences require a series of hits in rapid-fire succession. The game is unforgiving in the sense that being off even a fraction of a second will result in taking a hit. A tiny bit of nail to press against the hit button makes it much easier to fire off a series of hits in speedy succession without missing a beat.
Progression past map blockades in HarmoKnight requires scoring “Good” or “Great” in a level based upon how many musical notes are collected. These notes are not only collected for hitting enemies, but also hitting optional drum and cymbal “plants” that litter each level. Achieving a perfect score on a level is no easy feat as the positioning of these “planets” is, at times, almost counterintuitive to when enemies attack. The tough placement is by design, but sometimes it feels impossible to hit certain drums or cymbals when an enemy jumps at your as you’re preparing to make the strike. It’s also unnecessarily hard to hit some of the cymbals or drums requiring you to jump when the camera is literally rotating in a circular direction right as the jump has to be made.
Part of the addictiveness of HarmoKnight comes from the numerous gameplay tweaks that are steadily dispersed as new missions are uncovered, eliminating a tendency to become stale that plagues the side-scrolling genre. What starts as a simple 2D side-scroller evolves to implement a three quarters perspective view, a 360-degree rotating camera, a birds-eye view, environmental effects such as snow, and two additional playable characters that pop up at pre-determined times with their own unique forms of attack. Hulking Tyko is especially amusing as he takes out large enemies with his drum while a monkey on his back tackles smaller ones using a viewfinder and cymbals from above. There’s always a desire to play “just one more level” and discover what other unexpected surprises Melodia has to offer.
The music also plays a big role in HarmoKnight’s appeal. I’m fond of the Calypso levels myself, but there’s a little something for everyone with funk, pop, and even a recognizable Nintendo tune or two mixed in, amongst others.
HarmoKnight developer Game Freak is no stranger to making games for Nintendo platforms. However, over the years their name has become synonymous with Pokemon given an indulgence in developing numerous titles starring the famous critters.
Game Freak takes a rare step out of their comfort zone to deliver a musical journey in HarmoKnight that is, in a word, “fun.” It’s “fun” to whip through a level or three when pressed for time, “fun” to replay the roughly 50 levels and try to collect a few more notes than the previous passes, and “fun” to seek out and discover hidden eggs with birds in them to unlock bonus levels.
While HarmoKnight is instantly accessible and relatively easy to pick-up-and-play, it will take a great deal of patience and practice to master and achieve a “Great” rating on each level. Kids that haven’t grown into fast button pushing with their stubby little fingers will struggle to score higher than a “So So” on the boss fights and most levels past world two. That’s O.K. because parents will be eager and willing to pitch in a helping hand and rack up the notes count while trying to resist letting the catchy melodic tunes getting stuck in their heads.
– Dan Bradley
HarmoKnight is E (Everyone) and available exclusively to purchase via the Nintendo eShop for 3DS beginning March 26, 2013. Our 3DS review copy was provided by Nintendo for review.
