#Rhythm thief series

The first, Phantom Notes, requires you to piece together scraps of a musical score by finding notes hidden within an area. There are also two major side quests in the game. Talking to non-player characters occasionally gives you the opportunity to take on bonus challenges, and tapping around can produce medals, which are used to purchase in-game cutscenes you've already viewed or the aforementioned power-ups. There's a lot to do around Paris beyond dancing.

On the top screen is a map, and on the bottom is a 2D screen showing the current area you're in. The majority of the game takes place on the streets of Paris, and navigating is almost identical to the way you explore in the Professor Layton games.

Rhythm Thief doesn't just funnel from one minigame to the next, though. Outside of the game, you can replay any of the minigames to improve your score, which is broken down into perfect, great, good, and harsh (missed) notes. However, the games are so much fun, and the controls so responsive and accurate, that even when you do have to repeat one or two, it's never frustrating. It's entirely possible to hit every note perfectly, miss too many at the end, and then fail. However, the speed at which this happens is so great that a few correct notes or a few incorrect notes can send you from E to A or vice versa. Your performance meter increases or decreases based on hitting the beats correctly. The main flaw with the minigames is the way the scoring works. If you're finding things too easy, there's also an optional feature that requires you to perfect the minigame before you can proceed. None of the games are challenging enough to become frustrating, although you can purchase power-ups before each minigame that either speed your performance meter's increase or slow its decrease. Action plays out on the top screen, and you have audio cues, the characters' own actions, and an optional button guide to aid your timing. The music is wonderful it's a mixture of original pieces and new arrangements of classical tunes. Most of the minigame types are repeated, but the rhythms and forms they take are different to the point that the reuse of gametypes is never unwelcome.

#Rhythm thief series

Then there's the wonderful series of violin minigames-laid out like Guitar Hero-that see you swiping the stylus back and forth in time with Marie's bowing. There are minigames that use the 3DS's gyro controls (and the game has the sense to disable the 3D effects during these), a few games, which would be a shame to detail in advance, are even based on existing Sega IPs. There are platforming segments, as if Cameo met Canabalt, where you tap the face buttons to spring from highlighted spots. There's plenty of variety, from rhythmically sneaking behind statues and tapping the corresponding colored button to the beat, to cooking broccoli and steak in time to music. It's all very silly and over the top, and this gels perfectly with the style of the numerous minigames on offer. Aided by his dog Fondue and mysterious violinist Marie, Phantom R sets about uncovering a citywide conspiracy and foiling the plan of the recently resurrected Napoleon Bonaparte. It soon becomes clear that there's a little more to Phantom R's behavior than just plain villainy, however. After all, you can't have a dance-off without an audience. With cops hot on his trail, he breaks into art galleries and museums, stealing their priceless treasures and generally making a fool of Paris' most highly strung detective. Phantom R, real name Raphael, is Paris' most wanted thief. It's hard not to fall in love with a game that begins with you strutting your stuff atop the Arc de Triomphe. Single-screen instructions appear before this (and every) minigame, removing any barrier to getting started. After a brief introduction, you're instantly tapping, swiping, and circling the touch screen in time to a troupe of dancers on the upper screen. The game opens in true flamboyant Broadway style as hero Phantom R greets you with a dance-off.