More than simply offering special character art, these each come with different abilities and unique animations. Sleepwalker Girl Rin, Idol Buro, etc.) that can be randomly unlocked through gameplay. Though you’ll start out as Bassist Rin, each character has a variety of themed skins (e.g. The anime aesthetic is everywhere, from the animated character selection screen to the beautiful artwork for each song even the enemies and bosses have a distinct visual flair to them. Muse Dash enthusiastically puts the “anime” in “anime rhythm game.” Upon booting it up, players are immediately greeted by colorful (and slightly suggestive) art of the game’s three young protagonists Rin, Buro, and Marija.
It’s a thoughtful touch that ensures that players who aren’t particularly great at rhythm games can still play through every track and have a goal to work towards. Better yet, there are dedicated leaderboards for each difficulty of every song. Easy can land anywhere from 1-4, Hard 3-7, and Master 6-9, depending on the track. Speaking of difficulty, songs are rated on a scale from 1-9.
#MUSE DASH CHARACTERS UNLOCK FULL#
Not missing any hits and avoiding taking damage will result in a Full Combo (one of the most rewarding feelings I’ve felt from a game in some time, particularly on Hard and Master difficulties). It feels like variation for the sake of it rather than because it adds anything meaningful to the game, and the abrupt transition from button-mashing to keeping track of a rhythm led to multiple botched runs.Īt the end of every track you’re assigned a grade based on your number of Perfects, Greats, Passes, and Misses. The issue is that these occur mid-song, meaning that as soon as they’re done players are thrown right back into the chaos of the stage. In these beat-em-up bits, a mini-boss will fly at you and prompt you to button-mash as much as possible to get a higher combo. The only real variation comes from the occasional boss attack (where the antagonist shooting at you suddenly flies towards you directly), and bizarre beat-em-up sections. Enemies on the ground correspond to lower notes/melodies, while those soaring through the air correspond to higher ones.
Though enemies change depending on the setting of the stage (which is loosely determined by the vibe of the song), they all serve the same purpose from a gameplay standpoint.
Do well enough and you’ll automatically get placed on the game’s global leaderboards, which you can scroll through when selecting any given song. Enemies and obstacles move towards the player to the beat of the music, and you’ll have to time your button presses precisely to get the highest possible score. Players are assigned two buttons: one to jump/attack in the air, and one to attack on the ground. Muse Dash’s mechanics aren’t the most intricate, but they don’t necessarily have to be. Muse Dash artfully manages this through tried-and-true rhythm-based gameplay and some of the most aesthetically appealing visual design I’ve seen in the genre. Be it a hectic fusion with Bullet Hell or a violent, mind-numbing wasteland of noise, the challenge ultimately lies in providing a reason to play the game instead of simply listening to the OST. The best rhythm games aren’t just about the quality of the music but the experience that’s crafted around it.