The Rhythm of Fighters

The Rhythm of Fighters
Logo of the game featuring Kyo Kusanagi
Developer(s) SNK Playmore
Publisher(s) SNK Playmore
Platform(s) Android, iOS
Release June 24, 2014
Genre(s) Rhythm game
Mode(s) Single-player

The Rhythm of Fighters was a free to play music-based game produced and developed by SNK Playmore for iOS and Android. It was released on June 24, 2014 and removed on July 15, 2015.[1] In the game the player controls a fighter who can attack his rival by tapping the screen. Depending on the character used, a different theme would be used. Additionally, the player can earn experience by defeating enemies similar to role-playing games.

SNK conceptualized this game while coming across with the idea of mixing different styles of genres with the music being focus. The game received average scores by video games journalists. While the music and fighting system has been praised, the use of downloadable content was criticized for making the complete package too expensive during the time The Rhythm of Fighters was a paid game. Nevertheless, SNK found that the title had been downloaded multiple times worldwidely, with the DLC content being well received.

Gameplay

Kyo Kusanagi attacking Terry Bogard after the player uses the tap required.

The game combines elements from both rhythm games, fighting games and role-playing games. The player is given a character from the SNK franchises such as The King of Fighters, Fatal Fury among others. The fighters can attack enemies with beat tapping. Performing different tappings, the characters can either perform normal attacks, combos, special moves and the their strongest techniques. Both fighters are given health bars during combat. The winning character can level up and expand their strength. The game has a total of 14 tracks that can be unlocked in every battle. Certain themes appear as downloadable content.[2] Players are given different themes depending on the characters they use: while using Geese Howard the theme is "Soy Sauce to Geese", Kyo Kusanagi is presented with "Tears".[3]

The initial cast is composed of Kyo, Athena Asamiya and Ryo Sakazaki. More characters like Iori Yagami, Terry Bogard, among others can be unlocked through downloadable content.[4]

Development

The SNK Playmore development team had a concept of creating a new video game genre by combining fighting game elements and music genre themes together. While their games were famous for the story and gameplay, SNK noticed the fans also enjoyed the background themes the composers provided for their titles. Originally a paid game, SNK turned The Rhythm of Fighters into a free-to-play game to keep consistency with Metal Slug Defense, another free game as well as to avoid facing issues with the fanbase. Multiple easter eggs were left in the game to please returning fans such as how the music changes depending on the characters.[3]

On February 14, 2014, SNK trademarked the title "The Rhythm of Fighters".[5] The game was first announced by SNK Playmore in June 2014.[6] The first form of downloadble content became available in July under the form of four new tracks based on Fatal Fury.[7] It was followed by eight more tracks in the same month: four tracks from The King of Fighters '97 and four tracks from Metal Slug Defense.[8] Next month, SNK added new tracks from The King of Fighters '99 and Samurai Shodown II.[9] In September from the same year the game became free-to-play.[10] It was removed on July 15, 2015.[1]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic69/100[11]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid7/10[4]
Touch Arcade3.5/5[12]
Pocket Gamer UK7/10[13]

Shortly after its release, SNK noticed that multiple players from around the world release much to their surprise. The DLC for Fatal Fury Special and Metal Slug Defense theme songs received multiple sales by players.[3] Google Play Store pegged it at more than 1 million downloads as of July 2015.[14]

Critical reception has been generally fair based on the average score in Metacritic.[11] Destructoid gave the game a 7 out of 10, praising its low initial price, the use of music, but criticized the trapping.[4] The same score was given by Pocket Gamer UK stating it was not only for SNK fans but also regular players in general. The reviewer expressed surprised with the gameplay system, multiple modes to entertain the players but felt that it was not unique.[13] Touch Arcade called it "It’s not the most high-effort product, and the initial buy-in only gets you about half the content, but I still had a really good time with The Rhythm of Fighters" giving it a 3.5 out of 5. Touch Arcade felt there were some lag issues during his playthrough on his iPhone 5S which might make other ports superior in comparison.[12] Critics in general found the price for the entire game too expensive based on the use of DLC.[12][4][13] 148apps was harsher in the terms of music employed during most of the game, finding it unfitting. Nevertheless, the reviewer praised the fighting system based on how the player's actions create a fight similar to games developed from the franchise.[15] In contrast to most negative comments, Hyper felt that the DLC felt reasonably priced.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "The Rhythm of Fighters Will No Longer Be Available From July 15th". Siliconera. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  2. ↑ "The Rhythm of Fighters Hits The Beat With SNK Nostalgia". Siliconera. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "How The Rhythm of Fighters Came To Be And Why It Changed To Free-To-Play". Siliconera. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Review: The Rhythm of Fighters". Destructoid. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  5. ↑ "商願2014-13027". Japan tradmark Bureau. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  6. ↑ "The Rhythm of Fighters Mixes The King of Fighters With Music". Siliconera. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  7. ↑ "SNK's Rhythm of Fighters Adds Fatal Fury Music To Its Tracklist". Siliconera. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  8. ↑ "SNK's The Rhythm of Fighters Adds King of Fighters '97 Music DLC". Siliconera. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  9. ↑ "News". SNK. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  10. ↑ "SNK Playmore's The Rhythm of Fighters Goes Free-to-Play on Android". Shoryuken. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  11. 1 2 "The Rhythm of Fighters Review". Metacritic. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 "'The Rhythm of Fighters' Review – Fatal Footwork With Some Cool Cool Tunes". Touch Arcade. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 "The Rhythm of Fighters". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  14. ↑ "SNK Playmore to remove 'The Rhythm of Fighters' game from Play Store". Adroid Community. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  15. ↑ "The Rhythm of Fighters Review". 1478apps. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  16. ↑ "The Rhythm of Fighters Review" (31). Next Publishing Pty Ltd. 2014: 81. ISSN 1320-7458.
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