Well the Kind of Pop actually did have a couple of video games hit the scene in the 90′s.  The first was Moonwalker.  Where you play as Michael fighting baddies and saving children with Dance.  You also get to fling MJ’s signature white Fedora around to protect Bubbles the Chimp… How cool is that!  As a matter of fact I think we can credit MJ with making the Fedora popular again.  I had one what about you?

The second game of mention is Space Channel 5.  MJ wasn’t the star of this title but does make a cameo appearance in the game and helps the main character Ulala defeat the evil Mr. Blank and reveal his sinister plans.  There was even a Space Channel 5 part 2 which I’m not sure if Michael contributed on, but the first game was good enough for a part 2.

As of late I only know of a couple of games that feature tributes to MJ.  Leisure Suit Larry which hardly deserves a mention to begin with, and Plants Vs Zombies.  At the end of the game is a really cute music video that well has Zombies in it and after all you can’t have a music video that features Zombies and not give props to Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video.  Check out the video below:

Michael Jackson gave a lot to this world and though there was scandles and strange behavior I prefer to focus on the good stuff for now.  I think we owe his memory that much.

The controls for Rhythm Heaven couldn’t be easier to learn; you play the entire game by tapping, holding and flicking the touch screen according to a specified rhythm while holding your DS like a book (Ninja Gaiden Style), buttons are virtually useless here and there is the always welcome left-handed option for those of you worried about it. The structure of gameplay is actually well planned and executed; you have to play sets of 4 songs, each with their own rules, tricks and a very useful tutorial that you can skip but you really have to play in order to have a better chance to complete the songs.

Once you complete these games you are given a grade according to your skills and if you do well then you will access a remix song, which is a song combining all of the previous challenges forcing you to keep them fresh on your mind or suffering the consequences. After successfully completing the remix you can play the next set.

After 30 relatively easy games you earn your right to watch the credits but that is not all you will find here; the credits unlock 20 more songs consisting on harder and more challenging versions of some of the original games and remixes, these songs are the hardest you will find here as you pretty much have to re-learn some of the games to get used to the new beats. Don’t worry if you fail a song and start thinking about throwing your DS like I did because after 3 failed attempts you are given the option of skipping it. This is a very cool option because there are no such things as easy difficulty or cheat codes on this game here and it’s a good way to motivate the player to keep playing, keep in mind however you cannot do this on the levels unlocked after the credits, you have to complete them in order to advance to the very end.

Talking about the music itself, there is a wide variety of songs and rhythms here; everything from a crowd of clapping monkeys (Blade Loves Monkey’s) to a DJ apprentice is here on Rhythm Heaven. You are not only invited but practically forced to trust the sound and your rhythm sense more than your eyes.

The main difference between Rhythm Heaven and other musical games is that it is actually easier to play some songs with your eyes closed, and it definitely improves your rhythm. I let a couple friend try it out and found their basic guitar hero skills (those consisting on rhythm, not finger ability) improved considerably. I’m not saying you will become a rock god just by playing Rhythm Heaven, but I believe it can be useful for those learning music, especially kids because of its friendly approach.

Graphics are pretty neat. It is a very well made mix of 2D and 3D graphics with a fair user interface. Some games can be very confusing because of the animations but you eventually learn that they are not important for gameplay. Graphic styles are purely Japanese but the adaptation for the western market has been properly done.

Replay value is actually quite challenging and big for a DS game; you are challenged to complete a random game with a perfect score, giving you 3 chances to do this and rewarding you with some extra mini games and guitar lessons. These challenges are randomly generated and it will take you quite some time to complete every one of them, if you ail one you will have to wait for it to repeat and it may take weeks or even months. If you want to take a break and relax you can access the café, sit back and play your favorite unlocked songs on your DS.