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Rhythm Thief & The Paris Caper breaks into the App Store
Sega's iOS adaptation of Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure is out now, and it's priced at $10. Before you rush off thinking you've landed a steal (ho ho ho), you should note this isn't a straight-up port of the 3DS game by any means. This morning we briefly checked out Rhythm Thief and the Paris Caper - as it's dubbed - thanks to a code provided by Sega, and we've confirmed you need a network connection to play the game at all. This is stated clearly on the game's App Store page, and when we tried to play it on our iPhone 5 in Airplane Mode, we couldn't get past the title screen. As far as we've established, the game needs a connection to save progress. This is maybe related to a new "accomplices" feature. As you progress along you collect characters as accomplices, although it's easier to think of them as stat boosts you equip. You can also borrow accomplices from other players, including friends that you've registered. As for the gameplay, there's a ton of new stuff including new mini-games, new rhythm missions, and a choice of wardrobe to clad Phantom R in, etc. However, the 3DS game's main story is apparently stripped down to the rhythm game missions in this iOS version, with much smaller bits of exposition in between them - that may be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective, really.
Sega porting free-to-play Rhythm Thief to iOS this winter
Sega's Japanese website has added Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure to its list of upcoming iOS releases, which comes to us as quite a surprise considering the company never announced it or anything. Perhaps the announcement was ... stolen!?At any rate, the port will be out sometime this winter and be free-to-play, though a machine translation of the game's website indicates that unknown aspects of the game will be associated with fees. There will also be some kind of new mode and/or system to accommodate for the start/stop nature of smartphone gaming, as well as unknown "social" features.No word yet on plans for a western localization, but we've reached out to Sega for more information.
Rhythm Thief review: Stolen heart
Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure is something I wouldn't expect to find in 2012: It's a narrative-based rhythm game, with all original music and high production values. I didn't think anyone would make something like that these days.In fact, with its colorful, bright rendition of Paris, its stylish character designs, and its simple gameplay, Rhythm Thief gives me a distinct "Sega" vibe. But not 2012 Sega – good Sega, when insane, cartoony experiments were the order of the day. Rhythm Thief is proof that, somewhere deep within Sega, an ember of the company's Dreamcast-era style remains.Sure, there are some nagging issues keeping it from perfection, but even a little bit of unevenness in keeping with the Sega experience.%Gallery-160622%
Rhythm Thief is so smooth you probably didn't know it was out now
Rhythm Thief: The Emperor's Treasure, Sega's stylized, beat-based sleuthing title for 3DS, is available now, and the above trailer proves it. Press play and watch along to the jazzy soundtrack, and then maybe give it a try. If we can find the rhythm in this one, surely you can too.
Sega: Rhythm Thief 'still happening'
We still have no official word on the aftermath of Sega's restructuring -- how many employees were laid off, or which games have been canceled. However, we obtained confirmation from a Sega rep on the PAX East show floor of one upcoming packaged game that has not been canceled: Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure. The representative told us explicitly that the 3DS rhythm action game is "still happening." Good news, because we've enjoyed our brief time with it so far. It seemed like a relative lock, given that it's done, and out in Europe, but given Sega's recent issues no packaged game seemed safe. We're glad to have confirmation of that one.We were also assured that Aliens: Colonial Marines was still going to make it to retail, but the recent media blitz, explicit mention as a profitable franchise in Sega's restructuring plan, and giant, separate booth were already clues to that.
Rhythm Thief and the art of appropriation
With the recent talk of game cloning, it's easy to forget that taking an idea from another game and running with it can be not only inoffensive, but beneficial.When done the wrong way, cloning lets one company divert revenue and attention away from the original, nearly identical source. But when done well -- when it's "inspiration" and not outright copying -- everyone's happy. People who liked the original game get to play something that takes what worked about that game, and builds on it in interesting ways. The developer of the new game gets a proven framework upon which to apply its own ideas, and a built-in fanbase to sell to. And the originator gains the prestige of having its game become a genre-defining work.That's the case with Sega's Rhythm Thief: The Emperor's Treasure for 3DS. Sega's musical adventure wears its influences on its sleeve, and is better for it.
3DS demos available in Japan today, including RE: Revelations, MGS 3D
The Nintendo Direct conference was ... light on news. However, Nintendo did announce that the first downloadable demos for retail 3DS games are hitting the Japanese eShop today! The selection includes Theatrhythm: Final Fantasy, Resident Evil: Revelations, Rhythm Thief, and Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D. All of those games are expected to launch in the US around the same time as their Japanese releases, save Theatrhythm, which hasn't been announced stateside. We're just going to be optimistic and believe demos are on the way soon. Of course, we were optimistic about the amount of news we thought would come out of this thing, as well, and that didn't get us very far.
Rhythm Thief lifts from all the right places
The first thing I played at TGS was also one of the games I was most curious about: Sega's 3DS rhythm game Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure. I'm a fan of music games, especially those that use musical gameplay to tell an original story, like Parappa the Rapper or Gitaroo-Man. Rhythm Thief stands as a sort of fusion of this kind of "narrative music game" and Rhythm Heaven, combining the persistent storytelling of the former with the wacky variety of the latter, with some of the style of Elite Beat Agents. Which is a circuitous way of saying "this is really the kind of game I like." I'm not convinced it'll be a true classic like those others, but it has the right inspirations, at least.%Gallery-132026%
'Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure' brings musical adventure to 3DS
Last week, Sega revealed its new 3DS game, a rhythm-action game about a famous thief. And today, the publisher revealed plans to distribute Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure in North America and Europe in early 2012. Rhythm Thief puts the player through "an assortment of different rhythm challenges to master" using the stylus and gyroscope, including a dancing game. Somehow, all the rhythmic challenging ties into a story about a thief in Paris looking for the "Wristlet of Tiamat" and solving the mystery of his missing father. Seems like he'd be better off conducting his mission with fewer dance breaks, but what do we know?%Gallery-132026%
