Mesmerizing music and a minimalist art style | Full Review - Rizline

Atlas Veldine

2

Then there's your "Gameplay analysis" section that labels the 3 different note types as confusing. what I find confusing, though, is someone who doesn't seem to have much experience with rhythm games reviewing a rhythm game and acting as if they do. Once again, this kind of gameplay is, in fact, pretty much standard fare. It's far better described as if you took Phigros, removed slide notes (the red notes you must slide through when they reach the judgement line), removed the need to tap the notes at any particular spot - leaving only the requirement that *a tap, anywhere,* occurs on time, and requires only 2 fingers to play. Most rhythm games have at least 3 note types: tap, tap-and-hold, and hold. They often refer to these notes differently, but the gist of it is: • Tap notes are those which must be tapped on-time when the note reaches the judgement line. • Tap-and-hold notes are similar to the tap notes, except are elongated and must be held at least until the elongated note ends (some games require tap-hold-and-release in which you must also release the note on time, but this is far less common these days). • Hold notes in which you simply must be holding when the note reaches the judgement line (this is often called by various different names, such as hold or slide, there's not really a standard name for it. In Phigros, these are the yellow notes, the same in Rotaeno, and I believe they are also yellow in Orzmic.) Often you'll also see a fourth note type: • Slide/Swipe notes are those in which you must slide your finger through them when they reach the judgement line (in Phigros this is the red note, you can hold at any point before they reach the judgement line as long as you have some movement when they do reach the line, in Rotaeno these function the same way.) Some games go further and require tap-and-swipe in which you must first tap when it reaches the judgement line and then slide, for example Cytus, and sometimes (like in Cytus or Lanota) this note is directional, requiring the slide to be in a specific direction (in Cytus this is always left-or-right, in Lanota this is either towards inner- or outer-circle). At a bare minimum, practically every music game involves tap and tap-and-hold notes. Most incorporate hold notes as well. Many include some version of swipe, and very few include other kinds of notes, typically as a result of unique control schemes (for example, Rotaeno has directional "spin" notes, in which you must spin your device quickly in one direction or the other - though, admittedly, it could be argued this is actually another variant of a directional swipe note since it functions identically, just appears differently - it requires the device to be rotated at decent speed clockwise or counter-clockwise when the spin note reaches the judgement line, however you can start your spin prior - it isn't required that you time the beginning of the spin when it reaches the judgement line, only that you are spinning at that time). Point being - if you were confused by what is an extremely standard control scheme in a two-key rhythm game which doesn't even require you to hit the notes at any particular coordinate and only requires that you hit anywhere on the screen at the correct time, it's pretty clear that you aren't really a rhythm game player, or at least, you aren't very familiar with such games. Why, then, should anyone be reading your opinions on such a game? How can I take your review seriously when you are confused by a feature that practically every rhythm game out there has? You say that Rizline appeals even to hardcore rhythm game enthusiasts. Let me tell you, I almost exclusively play rhythm games. Occassionally I'll enjoy an open world and/or action RPG, but when it comes down to it, I spend hours every day playing these games. I enjoyed Rizline, but after creating a Google account in Hong Kong to play it before it had released globally and unlocking every song in the span of a day, I've not once desired to pick it back up. Why? Because, while the soundtrack is great, and the visuals are pleasant, the 2K (two-key) and no-need-to-hit-the-notes-positions gameplay makes for an incredibly boring game. I play Kalpa, a 5K rhythm game, on S.Hard/Chaos/Cosmo which has 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-combined-key notes (ie, must hit 2, 3, 4, or 5 keys simultaneously) and in general is often exceedingly difficult, with complex, fast-paced charts. That game certainly appeals to "hardcore" rhythm game players. Even Phigros on 15 and 16 appeal to "hardcore"players. Rizline... does not. It's a casual rhythm game for newbies to the genre and those who just want to tap out a quick beat on their phones while on the bus or during a work break. The only appeal it has for "hardcore" rhythm gamers is that it's accessible to play on a phone with ease. It's not a bad game, mind, but it certainly isn't appealing to the BMS/osu! crowd, now, is it?

2023-04-12

lyndonguitar Author

1

Thanks for your insights, I read them all and I appreciate it. True, I am not an "expert" by all means, only having played casual amounts of mainstream level games like OSU, O2Jam, DDR, Guitar Hero, Beat Saber, etc, over the years. Never really diving down really hard to enter hardcore or even just fan territory. But I never positioned myself as one, and my reviews are just that: A normie player's own personal opinion about video games tailored to the general audience, much like him. You clearly are not the target audience for this article, as you have so obviously demonstrated --- you can analyze this game on your own --- far better than I can, due to your vast experiences and intense worship to the genre, and by all means! I appreciate the insight and I highly recommend posting your own Reviews here in Taptap as well, since everyone is free here to make their own review, Expert or not. As for the tap and hold mechanic confusion, I stand by my opinion that it's confusing at first. I actually showed this game to friends, some of them being avid rhythm players and they were confused by the white circles as well, admittedly, their experience is much more in the PC/Arcade department, and not the usual mobile offering. Although I did say the mechanic becomes clear pretty quickly, and that its just an initial reaction. As for the "general direction" mechanic. I casually tested this while playing the game. Tapping on just one side to see if that would do it, but I did get problems when there are 3-5 or more lines in parallel dropping notes on the screen, so I resorted to the general direction which seemed to work for me. but I haven't done any rigorous testing so yeah, with you saying that, you are probably correct. With regards to bluetooth. It is totally playable with bluetooth, more so for casual players. Bluetooth will have inherent delays and the game customization can help with that and get you a playable experience than nothing. There's nothing wrong covering that in the review. If that inclusion screams "casual" to you, I have no qualms about it.

2023-04-13

Author liked

Atlas Veldine

1

Also, you're wrong, you don't need to "tap the general direction." You can, quite literally, tap anywhere on the screen. It doesn't care at all about where you tap.

2023-04-12

Atlas Veldine

1

"Anime-inspired music"...? Hardly. Sure, there are a couple anime-esque songs, but the vast majority are your standard rhythm game electronic fare. In fact, even the "anime- esque" tracks are pretty standard for rhythm games. I know this seems like a silly thing to gripe about, but when you say it has "anime-inspired music," you're incorrectly placing the game alongside the likes of the large number of uninspired copy-pasted idol rhythym games featuring *nothing but* anime titles. Surely there are better, more accurate ways you could describe the games soundtrack?

2023-04-12