Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure

 3DS
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Jul 10, 2012
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 45 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 45
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 45
  3. Negative: 0 out of 45
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  1. Destructoid
    Aug 15, 2012
    70
    By the end of the game, I truly felt attached to the characters and was excited to see what would happen next.
  2. Gamer.no
    May 15, 2012
    70
    Mixes Dance Dance Revolution, a ressurected Napoleon Bonaparte and parisian tourist information in a way that sounds absurd, but actually works very well. The game is visually beautiful, and the varied rhythm-based minigames utilizes everything the 3DS has to offer. However, you will have a hard time beating this game if you can't keep a beat.
  3. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    May 9, 2012
    70
    Catchy mix of music and rhythm game with adventures elements with a specific main hero brings lots of entertainment with very few frustrating moments. [May 2012]
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  5. Level7.nu
    May 8, 2012
    70
    A point and klick adventure, spiced with rythm mini games. It's not perfect, but it is one of the best of its kind on the 3DS.
  6. Gamereactor Denmark
    May 8, 2012
    70
    Rhythm kings who know their timings should give this a try, but everyone else should step cautiously.
  7. Gamer.nl
    Apr 28, 2012
    70
    Rhythm Thief is a nice rhythm game. Especially the anime-ish style and variation in rhythm driven mini games worked out well. The lame puzzles and slow pace of the adventures themselves however, make Rhythm Thief miss the allure of other games like Elite Beat agents, Professor Layton or Rhythm Heaven.
  8. XGN
    Apr 17, 2012
    70
    Rhythm Thief is, in spite of its flaws, one of the best titles this spring for the Nintendo 3DS. SEGA brings us a musical adventure with splendid characters, a nicely written script, a traditional soundtrack and a nice mixture of Elite Beat Agent, Professor Layton and Samba the Amigo.
  9. Eurogamer Italy
    Apr 10, 2012
    70
    Rhythm Thief is a very good game with over fifty unique music minigame and a good simple story to tell. Sometimes it can be a little slow paced, with long exploration phases instead of just having the player in front of waves of new challenges, but it is still a funny and fresh experience.
  10. VideoGamer
    Apr 4, 2012
    70
    A spellbinding journey with catchy tunes, beautiful visuals and enough rhythm set-pieces to strike a chord while we twiddle our thumbs and wait for the next Layton and Phoenix Wright games. It hits a few bum notes along the way, but this performance is worth a round of applause.
  11. NintendoWorldReport
    Jul 23, 2012
    65
    While I had a good experience with Rhythm Thief, it is not a fantastic game. With the lavish presentation, the intriguing story, and the assortment of collectibles, it is so disheartening to see gameplay that ranges from "kind of okay" to "pretty broken." And though I recommend that everyone experiences Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure, the whole package is disappointing and not worth rushing out to get.
  12. Hyper Magazine
    Jun 13, 2012
    60
    Fun rhythm mini-games, but it can't match up against the various games it emulates. [July 2012, p.70]
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  13. Gamereactor Sweden
    Apr 27, 2012
    60
    Having to struggle through the campaign in order to have fun with a game is not my cup of tea. In fact, I wish I could have just bought the game second-hand and started chasing points right away.
  14. Digital Spy
    Apr 13, 2012
    60
    Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure features some excellent rhythm action gameplay, a well-executed narrative and an interesting array of colourful characters. While there are some pacing issues, particularly during exploration, and the odd mini-game that isn't quite up to scratch, this is largely a very successful marriage of music and adventure. If they ever made Professor Layton: The Musical, Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure is what you'd be left with, a charming game perfectly suited to the portable.
  15. games(TM)
    Apr 4, 2012
    60
    Perhaps if there was something more interactive about the exploratory portion of Rhythm Thief, the low frequency of rhythm-action action wouldn't be so galling, but plodding through the streets of Paris, no matter how amusing the dialogue of its citizens, feels like a cheap way of stretching out the game length. Which was actually an unnecessary trick if you ask us.
  16. Gameplanet
    May 21, 2012
    55
    So yes, there's a good game in Rhythm Thief. It's a game that's not shy about its commitment to accurately evoking the skill and dexterity required of a master thief and master dancer, and as a result it's a fun and formidable challenge, regardless of whether Raphael is stomping the yard or stomping some goons. However, that game's built into a story so anodyne, so unimaginative, so resolute in its seriousness, that it's almost not worth the pain.

Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best 3DS Game of 2012
20
#20 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2012
25
#25 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2012

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 52 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 52
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 52
  3. Negative: 4 out of 52
  1. DarkToonLink
    Nov 4, 2012
    10
    A wonderful game. The music is catchy and fantastic, and the rhythm games are brilliant. A unique and interesting story blend the whole thingA wonderful game. The music is catchy and fantastic, and the rhythm games are brilliant. A unique and interesting story blend the whole thing together with beautifully animated 3D cutscenes. You really should go and buy this now. Congratulations SEGA.… Full Review »
  2. UltimateVictory
    Jul 18, 2012
    9
    So, after playing Rhythm Thief and doing everything there is to do in the game, I must say, I'm impressed! The game does to the rhythm genreSo, after playing Rhythm Thief and doing everything there is to do in the game, I must say, I'm impressed! The game does to the rhythm genre what Layton does to the puzzle genre: Add a plot to a genre which is normally just minigames. And it does it in an anime style, too, which I love, being a huge anime fan. The plot is basically this: You play as a guy named Raphael who lives a secret life as the famous Phantom R, a thief who steals artwork, artifacts, and a bunch of rare stuff like that from museums around Paris only to return them later.Phantom R's father left him when he was a child and left him with a coin with an unusual mark on it. He looks in the newspaper and sees that the Louvre has a bracelet which has the same mark. Thinking it has something to do with his father, he and his dog, Fondue, set out to steal it and the plot fleshes out from there. I'll go ahead and say that the entire game isn't getting the bracelet. You get it in the first chapter, actually. So it's not one of those kinds of games where the entire game is doing one set goal. Like any good game, the plot has plenty of twists and turns to keep you going, with most of the important parts told in anime cutscenes. It's all incredibly entertaining and the plot is one of the best aspects of the game. As for the main attraction, the gameplay, then it's all excellent. Unlike most rhythm games, there are variations in the gameplay. In the first level, you have to slide the stylus in different directions in time with the beat. In the next, you have to hide behind statues to prevent being caught by guards. In the next, you have to fight the henchmen of the main villain, Napoleon. Yes, Bonaparte. He's the game's main villain. But back to the gameplay, each of the 50 levels in the game are all varied and original. Even though some minigames share gameplay types, then the missions that do are far apart enough to make you not notice. It's all brilliant and the way it's set up makes it create a story that doesn't cut corners. You know how Dragonball Z games skip story to get to the fights? Well, in this game, the story IS the rhythm games. So the plot isn't butchered because of the lack of minigames. None of the segments in the game feel shoved in the plot for the sake of it. As for the games themselves, they all are incredibly fun and the controls are responsive enough to make it be your fault if you mess up and not the game's. The only levels that I have a problem with are the ones that use the 3DS gyroscope. To be specific, the fighting levels. Though, there are only 2 of those in the game. 2 more missions that I hate are the 2 poodle levels. You have to control Fondue and a Poodle both at the same time and unless you have two pairs of eyes, you're going to lose. A lot. The other 46 missions are great, though. Another thing: much like Layton, you move around in a point and click kind of world. You can search for coins in the game, which are much more plentiful than Hint Coins in Layton because there are some on every screen, and purchase things from Auban's shop, like cutscenes you've viewed and help for minigames for those levels where you're just stumped. I like the coin system and I think it works. Also, did I ever mention that Paris is bigger than all of the worlds in Layton combined? It's huge. REALLY huge. In fact, it's somewhat of an issue. Some of the names for the parts of Paris are french, making them hard to tell apart. The game helps with this by making the path to the story colored red on the map. Follow the red, follow the story. Of course, it's great with how its set up and I just love it. Also, as for characters, they're all awesome. Every. Single. One of them. Seriously. A few of our characters other than Raphael and Fondue are Marie, a girl who plays violin and has the same mark on her violin as on the coin and the bracelet, Inspector Vergier, who is a cop who is trying to catch Phantom R and loves Paris and wants to protect it with all his heart, Charlie, Vergier's kid, who wants to help Vergier catch Phantom R, and Napoleon, the main villain, who has control over the world's suckiest army and has supposedly been revived from the dead. All of the characters are lovable and, out of all of them, my favorite is Vergier. His love for Paris really shows in the later half on the game and you have no choice but to respect a guy who goes through a bunch of stuff to protect Paris. The music is also, great. So great, that I'm listening to it as I write this review. Considering that if I talked anymore about how great this game is then I would run out of characters, then I should rap this up. Rhythm Thief is a great game that anyone should check out. Even if you don't like rhythm games. In fact, this is the first rhythm game I've ever played and I love it! Go Moonwalk over to the nearest game store and pick this up. You're sure to love it. I give Rhythm Thief and the Emperor's Treasure a 9/10… Full Review »
  3. TheBlueBadger
    Jul 18, 2012
    9
    Welp after buying and completing Rhythm Thief, I have a lot to say about the game.

    The graphics are fantastic. The cutscenes are definately    Welp after buying and completing Rhythm Thief, I have a lot to say about the game.

    The graphics are fantastic. The cutscenes are definately up to the standard of Professor Layton and look great in 3D. Phantom R's dance moves ingame are matched only by Inspector Cabanella of Ghost Trick. the animation's that good :V All the locations and such have plenty of detail and there's always lots to look at; just check out the intermissions during "Show time" in the demo to see what I'm on about.

    The story is definately intreuging enough to keep you playing.
    it's definately not up to the standard of the game it's clearly inspired from; professor layton, but it has its fair share of moments. There are several mysteries that you want to find out the answer to, involving the wherabouts of Raphael's father, Napoleon's return and Marie's mother. I just feel the story and characters...weren't really fleshed out enough. There are only ten chapters and I don't feel like they spend long enough developing characters and adressing their issues and feelings. I feel like Marie's the biggest victim of this, as it seems to very briefly skip through her issues. Some characters, however, do generally become really interesting as you learn more about them. Inspector Vergier is, in my opinion, the best developed character in the game, Good characters and story, just need a bit more fleshing out.

    The voice acting is good overall. I don't care what anyone says; Napoleon's voice is awesome. Raphael's got a good voice, as do most of the main characters. Jean-François's smug british accent is the best voice in the game though. Some voices can be pretty corny but none of the voices are outright bad. They're all tolerable.

    The music is definately the game's strongest point, and good thing too because it's a rhythm game. All of the tracks are very memerable and they've all been stuck in my head at some point~ I found the music rather remeniscent of Sonic games, especially Colours, so Sonic fans will more than likely love it. and there's such a huge variety too. I'd post a bit but it's best to hear it in game because it fits with the games, which I'll get into now

    The rhythm games are incredibly fun, and rather different frome eachother, ranging from elite beat agents style dancing to jumping over cops and sliding through gaps sonic style, to dodging an opponant's attacks and landing punches by tilting the 3DS similar to punchout. And the best part is keeping the rhythm during all these varied events. The only one that wasn't so good was this hang gliding one which took me a while to figure out, but luckily it only appeared once. Most minigames repeat twice throughout the game, but it never feels repetitive as they always differ. For example, one game has you fighting off Napoleon's soldiers in order that they appear. This minigame appears later, only you have to press a different button depending on the soldier's colour. Heck, there are even minigames based on Samba De Amigo and Space Channel 5 in there!

    The world map is very inspired by Layton, borrowing everything from touching people to talk, to tapping suspicious objects to get coins. But surprizingly, it does it better. There's an overhead map which makes navigating different places much easier, and you don't have to tap a foot to walk, the arrows are already there for you. No harm in ripping something off if you do it better now is there~ What this map is used for, however, is a bit pointless. The overworld puzzles are all extremely easy, and if anything, a bit of a waste of time since they're all so obvious and drawn out. I would have liked it if they used the sound recorder gimmick more creatively.

    Bottom line, it's clear from the ending that they want to make sequals. So please; buy this game. support another sega franchise that could grow to be the next samba de amego, phoenix wright, or professor layton.    … Full Review »
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