HarmoKnight

What Is It?

HarmoKnight is a colorful and cute rhythm game by developer Game Freak, who is best known for the endless Pokemon series. In HarmoKnight, you assume the role of a boy named Tempo who is on the road with his rabbit pet called Tappy. Together they go on a quest on the musical planet of Melodia, in which some evil guy disrupted peace.

Tempo is equipped with a magical staff (that looks like a music note) to defend himself. He is tasked with collecting musical notes, which ultimately results in fighting enemies and jumping across obstacles to the melody of the music. Along his way, Tempo meets friends that will accompany him, such as Lyra (a girl with a crossbow) and Tyko (a warrior with a sidekick monkey called Cymbi). Sometimes the game lets you play as these characters for a little part (just a very little part) of a level as well. Each stage ends with a boss, which usually takes a lot of practice to beat.

Is It Fun?

HarmoKnight is just as infuriating as it is cute. It's cute because the (beautiful) world is so utterly harmless. Everyone is happy, looks nice and the music and graphics give you a good mood. It's infuriating because the controls are too precise. You have to hit the buttons exactly at the right moment -- if you are a little off, you will fall in a pit (and die) or be hit (and once all your hearts are gone, you die). It even feels like the correct timing of your button pressing is not always properly recognized -- that's how harsh the controls are.

Since levels have no checkpoints, you have to start from the beginning. Luckily, levels are not very long, but that is beside the point. Most infuriating of all are the boss battles, which insist on hitting the buttons without being a millisecond off. Also, in these stages, the final button press that defeats the boss has to be a successful hit; if not, you can start the stage all over again.

Despite the controls that sometimes made me hate the game, HarmoKnight is surprisingly fun. It's one of those I'll-give-it-one-more-try games that you'll be playing each time longer than planned. But the child friendly look of the game is deceiving, since it's a pretty hardcore gaming experience.

Is It Worth the Money?

With a price of $14.99 (1500 points), HarmoKnight is one of the more expensive titles in the 3DS eShop. To be fair, the game has much higher production values than a lot of other (cheaper) eShop games. Simply put, it offers more content. Nonetheless, I feel the price is a little too high -- $9.99 (1000 points) would have been a better price considering the kind of game, the length and gaming experience. All in all, I can recommend HarmoKnight -- especially if it will go on sale. But just remember that it is game that will test your patience.