Title: Groove Heaven
Developer: Fun Unit
Publisher: Teyon
Release Date: May 23, 2014
Price: $3.99
If games with cute art styles catch your eye pretty quickly, you might want to give Groove Heaven a look. Teyon’s platformer with rhythm game elements tells the story of Rhymi, a little devil sent from Hell by a Devil Lord (read: a big devil) to deliver a rose up to a goddess in Heaven because he’s taken a fancy to said goddess.
What’s different from normal platformer gameplay is that you have to keep your movements rhythmic or you’ll be stunned for a short while that gives enemies a chance to attack you. Aside from keeping the rhythmic beat with the background music, you can collect musical notes to get an extra life for every five notes collected and roses as a kind of proof that you’ve hundred-percented the game when you’ve caught ’em all.
You use the L/R, A/Y buttons or the two buttons (‘Turn’ and ‘Move’)displayed on the touchscreen to move and turn. As long as you keep the rhythm, the gameplay is simple and easy. Groove Heaven isn’t a difficult game. This might make it more enjoyable for the youngsters, coupled with the game’s cute art style, but gamers looking for a challenge might be somewhat disappointed at the easy gameplay, especially since rhythm games are usually very challenging. The game’s thirty levels also don’t take very long to complete; you can go through it all in a single afternoon. The collectible roses may increase the play time for people looking to conquer the game, but it still doesn’t take very long.
Aside from the story mode, there’s a Timed mode in which you play through an endless level and collect musical notes until the clock runs out. It works well when you want to experience the gameplay without any interruptions once you’re done with the story mode.
The music and sound effects were fine but not particularly memorable. The 3D effect, however, was very good: there was a nice sense of depth with the 3D slider on. The graphics were good, thanks in no small part to the adorable art style.
Young ‘uns will very likely enjoy Groove Heaven a lot, and those looking for easy gameplay will also not regret paying the game’s relatively low price. If you’re looking for a challenge, it might not be for you, but if you want a simple, fun game to spend an afternoon on, Groove Heaven will do well.
Overall Score: 7/10
