Yes, that’s the title of the game. Already you can sense the vibe this game is trying to run with: it’s weird! It’s charming! It’s quirky! And it’s fun! It doesn’t want to take itself too seriously, ‘cos it’s chill like that! But what is it? I think it’s best described as “mostly-multiplayer Guitar Hero but with minigames, puzzles, and gimmicks.” I don’t like the word ‘gimmicks’ there, but I think it’s appropriate.
Basically, Super Crazy Rhythm Castle is a rhythm game (like Guitar Hero) with a campaign, and each stage of this campaign requires the player or players to do extra things besides the actual rhythm stuff. For example, you might be playing a song, tapping the right buttons on the right prompts, and then suddenly the room starts spinning so you get thrown off your rhythm. Or you’ll be playing a song, but every now and then you have to switch the song you’re playing to fulfil certain objectives. I’m describing these extra features rather blandly here — they’re all presented in more fun ways like a battle against an eggplant DJ, or a gang war between garlic-sauced meat-people and habanero-sauced meat-people. Wacky stuff; very japesome. Certainly amusing.
The rhythm stuff is quite good; I really like the actual rhythm-game parts of this rhythm game. The songs vary widely in genre, and are surprisingly technical given the charming, wacky setting. Many rhythm games do make players quickly readapt and listen to different parts (or lines) of the music being played, switching up the button prompts accordingly. You’ll be paying particular attention to the drumline, then switch and refocus on the rhythm guitar, and then to the vocals. And because the genres of songs vary in genre — from idol J-pop to nü-metal to lounge jazz — the kind of prompts you’re dealing with also vary greatly, and those variations are interesting. Only, as mentioned, the rhythm stuff is often interrupted by minigames, puzzles, and gimmicks.
This returns me to an argument I’ve posed before in other posts: what keeps a game compelling? Or, what keeps a player playing a game? ‘Fun’ is the obvious answer (though not always necessarily the answer), but that answer takes many forms and involves many factors. Personally, I’d keep playing because I do like the rhythm sections. Therefore, the gimmicks don’t always hit well for me. However, the game does include a side hub-area where you can just play the music without distractions… but you unlock songs there via the story campaign, where all the gimmicks are. So it’s all a bit messy for me, but is that just it — am I the problem here? That’s what I wanted to find out.
The game certainly styles itself as going for that classic chaotic-good brand of fun; the eggplant DJ (among other things) certainly makes that clear. The Steam page and general marketing stuff that I’ve seen about Super Crazy Rhythm Castle seem to point towards this as well, and when video games go for this kind of charm-based style, it’s usually to be more accessible to a wider audience. Sometimes this is also so that the game appeals to a younger market demographic, but not necessarily. I’m not really sure who this game is for, then, because if it was for rhythm-game fans, the gimmicks get in the way. If not them — if indeed the game is aimed at a wider demographic — then the rhythm stuff is, I would say, maybe too tricky. Hell, I’ve had some classical music training, and I really struggle (in a good way, I think, but I could see why someone could get frustrated about it). Then again, I suppose it’s been a while since I’ve played a fugue. Then again again, I played some of this game with a friend who’s a solid guitar/bass player, and he had trouble too.
So I don’t really have an answer as to who this game is aimed at, and that’s a shame, because I don’t think the game is bad, or poorly-made, or made without passion. In fact, it’s hard to make a charm-focused game like this that works without some passion (and I do think that this game’s charm works). But I do think that this uncertainty of identity could have affected the game’s success. I’ve had this game on my Steam wishlist for a while, waiting for a good sale, and I’ve noticed that it’s been on sale weirdly often. Frequent Steam discounts are usually a sign that the game in question — or sometimes the franchise to which that game belongs — isn’t doing well. And certainly the fact that Super Crazy Rhythm Castle is 95% off on Steam right now (as of writing), quite unusual in terms of Steam sales, isn’t a ringing endorsement in terms of the game’s overall sales figures.
Not that sales figures are everything, of course. Sadly, games like Super Crazy Rhythm Castle aren’t exactly set up for financial success from the get-go, because they’re not exactly triple-A release material or indie-darling material. There’s always a chance, though — and I daresay a hope — that games such as this become cult classics, if they happen to appeal to a certain niche. As established, I don’t know that Super Crazy Rhythm Castle appeals to any niche, but I’d encourage people to play it anyway, just to give it a try. And it’s currently $1, so why not? Just saying.
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