Yesterday, Matt told us about the Rhythm Heaven events going on this weekend all around the country. I headed to the one at the Burlington Mall, not expecting it to be anything worth reporting on. I didn't even bring my camera -- that's how sure I was that it would be a wash-out. I was totally wrong. Good thing I brought my DSi. Bad thing that the DSi camera takes pretty fugly pictures.

Can you tolerate seeing some pixel-y photos of a guy wearing a neck tie with the "SCRATCH-O" DJ on it? How about if I throw in some girls wearing mini-skirts and a robot-safe?

C'mon, stop being a turd! Just hit the jump already and look at the pictures.

If you've already mastered Rhythm Heaven on the Nintendo DS, Nintendo wants to put your real skills to this test this week in New York City. 

This Thursday, April 9, Nintendo will be hosting a Rhythm Heaven event at the Scratch DJ Academy school where real, live DJs will related actual scratch-work to Nintendo's music title. Two world-famous DJ instructors with the best names ever, DJ Daddy Dog Djay Jung, will be there to hold your hand while you scratch and mix actual vinyl. There's also going to be a live Rhythm Heaven/DJ battle and a bunch of prizes that you can re-gift to your friends this holiday. 

If you're in the NY area and decide to attend, bring a camera and let us know how it went. Also, wear your nicest addidas track jacket and gold chains. Because what DJs wear, right? 

I understand the practice of using celebs to advertise gaming -- after all, it worked well for Nintendo when they featured Yuri Ebihara in a DS commercial. Still, there's something ultimately laughable to me about the fact that Beyonce is working on an ad for Rhythm Heaven for the DS. It's official -- all indie cred surrounding Rhythm Tengoku as a series is utterly destroyed.

Beyonce chats in an interview with EW.com about what games she likes (Guitar Hero and Tetris gets mentions). My favorite part is where she mentions she has played her own songs in karaoke games and gotten a poor score. Ah-hah! Proof that Singstar is totally full of sh*t after all!

[Via Entertainment Weekly -- Thanks, Brian]

At GDC 2007, I met Niero for the first time, and it was literally less than a few hours before he was waving his DS Lite and showing me a strange little game I had never seen before. "Rhythm Tengoku", he said. "I don't ever leave the house without this game." Curious, I imported a copy for myself and quickly found myself sucked into the vortex of addiction. Today, it's one of my favorite games of all time, and it's all thanks to Niero.

I knew I wanted to give him something to celebrate his birthday and the 3 year Dtoid anniversary proper -- something that would appeal to him and his unique sense of humor. Enter Epic Sugarworks, some very talented Miami-based friends of ours who make out-of-this-world edible creations specifically for anime and videogame fans. They've created some incredible stuff -- and I knew they could rock it. I sent them the video from the game, and as you can see, the results were hilariously awesome (and Niero was floored!).

Happy birthday, Destructoid -- wish you could all be here to have a piece of cake with us!

You may recollect I was a bit of a sad panda over the supposed November release date for Rhythm Heaven DS, the English-language version of Rhythm Tengoku Gold (better known as the best rhythm game on the DS EVER). Thanks to a little bit of matlocking from Siliconera, it's looking like that date was ever so wrong: Nintendo says "the first half of 2009".

Amazon, Gamefly and Best Buy now list the game for release in the first week of April, which beats the everliving hell out of November. This is good news for gamers who weren't quite wooed enough by our import review to pick up the game, but were still interested in the English version.If you need something to tide you over in the meantime, I suggest you pick up the retrospective soundtrack, which is the best thing to happen to my iPod in months.

Let it be known that, in addition to amassing more video games than I will ever play through again in my lifetime, I also have more comic books than I could ever read.  This is simply one of the trappings and joys of being a nerd.  That said, not all nerds are smart or have a firm grasp on physics -- especially physics which pertain to how many video games and comic books can sit on top of a wimpy and poorly installed wire mesh closet shelf.  The baboon that set this up skimped on sufficient bracket supports and didn't inverse the hook grips on the back, so while sorting my Jim Lee's from my McFarlane's the entire shit came crashing down, clothes and all.  Luckily, I came out unscathed -- ducking a box and involuntarily catching two. Epic fail.

I ended up running out last night and buying a new closet system. So where is this story going, and what the hell does this have to do with the greatest music game on the GBA? Not much, honestly. Unless your brain is wired like mine. 

If you read the import review that Dale North and I wrote about Rhythm Tengoku Gold, you may have imported it already if it's your cup of tea, or you may have decided to wait for the English version, which we knew was coming as of E3 2008. Despite the fact I have played the everliving hell out of Gold, I was still planning to pick up a copy of the game when it was released in America, if only to see how the translation was different.

It looks like the wait may be a bit longer than we originally anticipated: according to Amazon, the game is slated for a November 30th, 2009 release date. Ouch. I guess we should be thrilled that a game like Rhythm Tengoku is getting a translation at all, but it disappoints me to hear it will be so long before American audiences can enjoy it. It'll retail for $39.99, which may seem a bit high for a DS game, but I assure you that you will get more than your money's worth out of it.

[Via GoNintendo]

You should be playing Rhythm Tengoku Gold (and yes, I know it's not out here in its North American incarnation, what I mean is you should have imported it and played the f*ck out of it already), and if you are, you know that the music is not only wonderful but also highly, highly addictive.

What great news, then, is word of Rhythm Tengoku Zenkyokushu,the newly announced soundtrack not only for Rhythm Tengoku Gold, but also containing the soundtrack to the original GBA game, which is unbearably hard to find on its own. In addition, the booklet will contain an interview with Tsunku, the game's music producer, talking about the creation of the cult hit.

The CD will be released in Japan on October 15th and will retail for 5,250 Yen, which is about $49 US. Even though I already own the original Rhythm Tengoku soundtrack, I'm totally going to import this as soon as it goes on sale. 120 tracks of pure deliciousness for fifty bucks is a steal as far as I'm concerned.

[Via Wired -- Thanks, Guagloves]

First day sales numbers are in from Japan, and things are looking good for fans of both the Phantasy Star and Rhythm Tengoku fanchises. Here are the hard numbers:

• Phantasy Star Portable (PSP, SEGA) - 217,000 (90% of initial shipment)


• Rhythm Tengoku Gold (NDS, Nintendo) - 150,000 (50% of shipment)


• Soulcalibur IV (PS3, Bandai Namco) - 56,000


• Soulcalibur IV (360, Bandai Namco) - 35,000 (80% of shipment)


• Fatal Frame IV (Wii, Nintendo/Tecmo) - 21,000 (60% of shipment)


• Doki Doki Majo Shinpan 2 (NDS, SNK) - 10,000

Of course, it's not a surprise that Rhythm Tengoku Gold is selling well in Japan, as it's about as stylistically Japanese as a game can get, but being a tremendous fan of the series I'm thrilled to see it doing so well. Phantasy Star Portable also did wonderfully, which was a surprise considering sales of other recent titles from the series have not been high.

The real test for Rhythm Tengoku Gold is to see how it fares here in the states (it will be known as Rhythm Heaven here). I implore you, if you like rhythm games, buy and support this one. You will discover a new level of DS addiction that you have never known. Soulcaliber IV is doing well too, but I assume most of you already own a copy, so I'm not going to plug that one -- you already know why it's selling well!

[Via Cubed3 -- Thanks, Adam]

The robot overlord is actually responsible for introducing me to Rhythm Tengoku, sure to go down in history as one of the kookiest rhythm games ever made (and if you aren't familiar, I suggest you make it a mission to do so). It was whipped out in a hotel room at GDC, while myself and several other Dtoid members watched it played with perplexed expressions. What ... exactly ... was this game about, anyway?

I still don't know, but I know some games don't ever have to be comprehendable to rock, and Rhythm Tengoku is one of them. Imagine my excitement then, when a friend pointed me to the NeoGAF forums and I read a Japanese release list which contained a new title for the DS called Rhythm Tengoku Gold.  

Sounds more like an enhanced version of the original, but you know, I'll take enhancements. When it comes to this game, I'll take anything. Rhythm Tengoku gummy bears could be sold to me (likely at a ridiculous price, too). I'll bring you more news on this title as soon as I can dig it up from the various filthy pits that comprise the internet.

[Thanks, Ferseni! You made my day!]