Rhapsody

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
System: Nintendo DS (with an earlier PS1 release)
Release: 2008
Company: NIS America
Rating: E

It occurs to me that even though this is a writing blog, long posts might be slightly intimidating. Even as a writer and an avid reader, I too skip internet articles that are more then 2 pages long. So I'm going to try something a little different: I'm going to split my reviews up into sections. That way I can give a fuller analysis and you guys won't have to scroll down and drop your jaws at the length of my rambling. I would love feedback from you guys!






Kudos to NIS America for making a rare type of a game: a musical. How many games do you know that burst into song? Grant you, Rhapsody is a cheesy, light game, which makes the idea of a musical more appealing. But, hey, you know what? Let's make every game a musical. I'd love to watch Roman from GTA4 break into song about how great Liberty City is.


Plot 3/5
It was a little hard to give this game a rating, due to the fact that even though this plot isn't exceptionally deep and the characters aren't highly complex, it IS meant to be a light-hearted game. I would like to judge the game fairly based on what it is: a musical with puppets. You can't really judge that harshly, can you?

The premise of the game is that you are Cornet, your usual tomboy protagonist who talks to puppets. After being saved by the prince (the only prince in this game, despite the huge world. And no, the frog kingdom DOESN'T count.) Cornet enters a contest to become the prince's bride. And she wins. Ooo. Shocker there.

And as the two love birds are getting to know each other (and by "know each other" I mean have short, awkward conversations that lead absolutely no where), a mysterious sorceress bursts in, falls in love with the prince, and accidently turns him to stone.

So the rest of the game, you are trying to collect 5 elemental stones that will save the prince. Maybe. Kinda.

The purpose of the 5 stones eludes me. At first, they are mentioned as if they are needed to turn the prince back to human form. All right, I can go with that; magic to undo magic. That would explain why the antagonist wants them as badly as I do.

But in the end, they are used to open a portal to the antagonist's castle. My antagonist doesn't need a portal, so why does she need the stones.

And during this, there is another antagonist working in the background, that makes no real dent on the story other then the fact that he brings out the final boss.

Really? Aren't we tired of this whole boss-who's-not-REALLY-the-last-boss bit in RPG video games? (I'm talking to YOU, Final Fantasy.)

Overall, the story is entertaining, but I suppose I have to give the characters credit for that, not the actual plot. The plot has moments that make absolutely no sense,

Strengths:
--> Solid, basic plot. Nothing terribly complex, but it's consistent and has plenty of classic RPG elements.
--> Comedy. The game makes fun of itself at times, making it hard to hold a grudge against it for being so cheesy.
--> Musical numbers. Even though 1/3 of the songs is the same song rewritten, the idea of musical numbers within a video game is quite original.

Weaknesses:
--> Character development. I was entertained with Kokuru until I found out it was, in fact, Cornet's mother's spirit in a puppet. It completely confused me on why Cornet's mother's personality shifted so drastically while inside of a doll.
--> Antagonist Confustion. If Golonzo's creation is the final boss, why doesn't he appear more throughout the game? He hits on me and then runs away. (Just like in real life.)
--> Romance. The romance between the prince and Cornet. It's a little cliche and happens too fast. The prince saves Cornet, turns to stone, then declares his love for her for eternity. I think Cornet put it best when she said, "But we've barely talked for five minutes!"



Part 2: Characters
Coming Soon

Image (C) NIS America

Cliches: When To Use Them

So, I believe I've mentioned that I hate cliches. I don't believe I've mentioned what I think a cliche really is.


Here is the standard public definition to a cliche: "Plot element that has been drastically overused."


Here's my definition of a cliche: "A well known plot element that has been used often and BADLY."


Let's take a brief look at some over-used plot elements:
--> Town is burnt to the ground (Legend of Dragoon)
--> Villain is the hero's father/uncle/brother/sister
--> Female protagonist finds out she either is or isn't a princess (Just about any Final Fantasy)
--> The main villain isn't really the head villain, but a pawn of the head villain (Again, any Final Fantasy)
--> The guy you OBVIOUSLY killed, is, in fact, alive
--> The main character is an orphan (practically every game/movie/book ever)
--> Your best friend betrays you (Bully)
--> You get shot at by 50 different guys, never eat a bullet, and end up taking out all 50 of them with a stick, a pack of bubble gum, and a photograph.


Let me point out that I'm not against any of these plot elements. I'm only against them if they're used badly. What do I mean by that? If you use any of these plot elements as filler, plot devices, or without any real reason, that's when it becomes a horrible cliche.

It's not whether or not your element has been used or not. It's how it's brought to life. It's how it fits into the story. It's how it's narrated. It's angles you put on it.

So let's take a look at when it's ok to use these plot elements.

When Cliches Are OK to Use
#1- When they're used sparingly
One or two of these elements is fine by itself. 5 or 6 of these elements say to me that you really didn't try to come up with a story at all. All of these elements say to me that you're either a n00b that wanted to make a game and feel special about yourself, or a big company that just needed extra funds to pay for extra pizza parties.

#2- When they're critical for the story to make sense
I would rather have a good, solid plot that has a few typical elements, then a weak one that I can blow a ton of holes in. If you avoid a cliche just to avoid a cliche, and do something that's totally out of character, I believe that stands out more then a overly-used plot element. It's more important that the plot is smooth.

If the villain is a pyro, it would make sense to have him burn down a city. If my best friend is mentally unstable, it makes sense that he would betray me. If you're going to use a well-known plot element, set it up well.


#3- When it's for a younger audience
Kids haven't been around long enough to criticize a cliche. If they do understand something that's been done before, they don't really care. Games meant for younger audiences aren't expected to have highly complex plots. Now, don't get me wrong. Just because younger audiences don't have complex storylines doesn't mean that they shouldn't have original ones. My point is, I'm not going to care as much about cliches if I'm playing a game by Nintendo that's rated "E" as opposed to a Sony game that's rated "M."


#4- When it's not really a "surprise"
Most of the cliches I mentioned above try to be "GASP" moments. This effect probably only works on half of the audience. If you want to do a plot element such as the guy you shot being alive or your best friend betrays you, a good way to do it is to let the audience know while your characters are in the dark.

A good example of this is Kingdom Hearts. We all could see that Riku was going to betray Sora, but we were interested in how he was going to betray him. The betrayal was obvious, but his plans weren't. It was definitely a good angle to take.



Other Notes

--> If your plot has many elements that have been used before, that doesn't make it a bad story. The only real downside to having a ton of cliches in a story is that you'll get tougher criticizm. Probably from me.

--> If you're going to use a cliche element, make sure that it completely makes sense. Foreshadow it. Work on character development to set it up. Work on backstories.

--> I have read totally original stories that-- I thought-- were complete crap. People try harder to be original then to make a good story. Don't do that.

--> If Legend of Zelda uses the same exact story for every single game, and each game does well. Meditate on that for a bit.

Creepy image of Link (C) Nintendo

Poll: Annoying Game Beginnings

What Game Beginning Are You Most Sick Of?

#1: The hero's town burns down, killing his/her parents. The hero swears for revenge.

This is a popular one. In almost every RPG, something catches fire. It's usually a town and then lots of people die. So whether or not our hero knows who did it, s/he seeks revenge.

If you really want to kill off a character close to the hero, I'm pretty sure you can be a little more creative with it. Poison. Arrows. War. Toxic gas. Shove them off a cliff. A fire is just a way to escape the process of coming up with something original.


#2: Someone wakes the hero up, tells them he or she is lazy and to get to the daily chores...And something goes wrong.

There are a couple reasons why this sucks.
#1-- If we wanted to do chores, we would stick to reality, not a game.
#2-- It's usually an in-game tutorial that most people don't want to play

If you want to throw in an in-game tutorial, at least give the player an opportunity to blow the guy off. If you want chores to be done, make it one chore that has some critical meaning. Have the player go into a tiny opening in a cave because s/he is the only one that can fit. Don't have us go feed the sheep or ask around town for someone we don't care anything about.


#3: Someone needs the hero's help for something and you have to run around for an hour trying to figure out who the heck the person is and where s/he is at.

This one doesn't bother me too much until I realize I have no idea who I'm looking for or where and it takes me an hour to accidently find them. If the town is small, no real problem. If the place requires a map or a "You Are Here" marker, forget it.


#4:You're fighting someone and you don't know who they are and why they are trying to kill you.

This one is a little more exciting, in my opinion, but I would still like to know why I have to beat up all these people. If you're showing off your totally awesome battle system, then whatever. But if you just have no idea how to start a game and your battle system is incredibly weak, don't do it. Just make sure it actually GOES with the story... Don't have me get my butt kicked and then "Oh, you're pardoned. It's cool." What?


Note: I'm not against any of these openings if they're done right. It's all about angles.


What do you guys think?