HarmoKnight 3DS Review

HarmoKnight ($14.99) is a good rhythm game with an unremarkable soundtrack. As far as downloadable 3DS titles go, this charming effort from Pokemon-developer Game Freak hits the right notes, so to speak, in terms of smartly implemented choreography. Even the art style is respectable, complete with adorable characters and Super Mario World level select screens.

It's just a shame that unlike previous music games, the score doesn't resonate. Clashing symbols and banging tambourines in-game should have complimented a variety of foot-tapping tracks, but the plethora of tunes (while entertaining in the moment) didn't stick in our heads; to Game Freak's credit, the music improves the further you progress.

Thankfully, the lack of catchy tracks doesn't necessarily ruin HarmoKnight, and as far as downloadable 3DS games go, we think Nintendo fans will find plenty to like. The game is an endless runner of sorts where players don't have full control of the characters as they run through different side-scrolling levels, but instead press buttons to jump over spikes, attack enemies and strike instruments to the beat, all in the hope of gathering as many musical notes as possible.

Over time, users add new faces to the party, and Game Freak does a fine job utilizing their unique abilities, transitioning between an arrow-firing heroine to a duo that attack enemies high and low. This extends to special missions that put gamers inside a rollercoaster of sorts, or atop a winged creature during a multi-layered boss fight against a mechanical bee.

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