In it's original translated-from-Japanese state, 'Rhythm Phantom Thief R: Inheritance of the Emperor Napoleon' was definitely a contender for the Most Unusual Title award when we first heard about it some months ago. Now it's been officially announced that the finger tapping, rhythm action game's going to be making its way to Europe - thankfully, with a new, slightly more manageable name in tow - 'Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure' (good luck fitting the previous title on the now-slimmer 3DS boxes...).
While it does look a fair bit like Professor Layton in style, and the main man seems to share a penchant for hats, that's about where the similarities end - while Layton is a law-abiding puzzle obsessive, Raphael spends his time pilfering various works of art through the medium of dance (don't worry, it gets stranger).
He's quite the dashing figure, young Raphael
The game centres around Raphael, a Parisian lad who leads a double life - by day, him and his dog Fondue are just regular Frenchies, but by night, he transforms into a thief who breaks his way into France's famous museums to steal priceless works of art.
One day, he meets up with a violinist called Marie, whose mysterious past seems intertwined with his own, as the same symbol appears on both her violin and his missing father's coin - and so begins their rhythmical adventure...
Bar its picture stealing exploits, however, it sounds like the game won't be entirely unlike Professor Layton, as you're also able to explore the streets of Paris, interact with characters and solve puzzles along the way - and there's a whole load of side quests available too. Spend time locating five hidden notes in the scenes to assemble them into a 'Phantom Note' - collect them all and you'll unlock a load of bonus bits. There's also various sound bites hidden around the place that Raphael can record, which can in turn be used to solve some of the puzzles later in the game.
Be our guest, be our guest.
More like Rhythm Paradise but with less airborne tennis, robot assembly and golf with baboons, you play a variety of rhythm-orientated mini-games - sometimes you'll be dancing by swiping up, down, left and right on the touch screen, other times you'll be tapping the correct pose to hide behind statues in a museum. Other times still you'll be 'fighting' bosses by pressing the correct button at the right time to knock your assailants out - and much more, as there's over fifty different challenges to complete. You'll be sliding the stylus, tapping the touch screen, bashing buttons and gyrating your 3DS in time to the music - but watch you don't miss too many moves, as once the groove meter empties, it'll be game over. If you manage to do exceptionally well, you'll be rewarded with medals galore that you can trade for items to make later challenges that little bit easier, or more music and challenges to play.
When you finish the single player game, you'll be pleased to know that Sega haven't forgotten multiplayer either, letting you challenge your friends over Local Wireless - even letting you use Download Play, if your friends don't have a copy of the game themselves. StreetPass is also included, and walking past another Rhythm Thief player will send you a new character that'll hang around on your map - although they won't stay for long if you can't win their loyalty by beating their high score! The more of these 'fans' you accumulate, the more secret characters you'll find unlocked in your game.
Rhythm Thief & The Emperor's Treasure is out next month, on the 5th of April for the 3DS - but if you can't wait till then, or just generally wonder whether it's the sort of game for you, you can download a demo version from the Nintendo eShop to try it out.
