Rhythm Tengoku Gold, you've stolen my heart

Find me a kooky, colorful, rhythm game stuffed with chutzpah, sprinkled with obscure, Japanese-culture infused illustrations, and you've managed to steal my heart. Done. My heart. Yours. That's it.

As obscure as that request may sound, all the above are embodied by a little known Japanese rhythm game for the GBA called Rhythm Tengoku, and its recently released sequel for the DS, Rhythm Tengoku Gold. Developed by the same team that worked on the WarioWare franchise, both games pit the player against a series of short, musical mini-games portrayed in quirky musical scenarios. Whether you're pulling up turnips, fueling robots, or performing a guitar solo in a band of ghosts, be prepared to test your rhythmic tenacity through a range of extraordinary musical circumstances.

Since I couldn't wait for the translation fairies to bring me an English version of the game anytime soon, I snagged myself a Japanese copy of Rhythm Tengoku Gold and haven't stopped playing it since. Just picture me wearing my bear hat, shaking my bum, and maniacally grinning at the screen while occasionally shouting expletives upon missing a beat, and you may just get an inkling of the pure joy and elation this game brings to me.

If you can, buy yourself a copy ASAP, but if you can't, just memorize all the remix videos on YouTube and you should be ready for the R-H-Y-T-H-M!