This review was originally published on the Console Purist Facebook group on March 28th, 2020.
Welcome back to the PlayStation Basement, a weekly review of games for the original PlayStation that are somewhat obscure, unusual, or unknown. Games are rated Good, Bad, or Neutral to emphasize the review itself. Now, let’s go!
Despite spring having sprung, the threat of the coronavirus has put a damper on many plans. Based on the results of my recent poll, we’ll be taking a look at some relevant, viral video game in that regard shortly. I feel very sick today. Make sure to stay safe out there. On a totally different note, today, I have a game that was released twenty years ago on Monday. This game is Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure.
Rhapsody was originally released in Japan by Nippon Ichi Software, also the developer, in December of 1998 as Puppet Princess: Marl Oukoku no Ningyou Hime (Puppet Princess: The Puppet Princess of Marl’s Kingdom, I believe). The game reached North American shores over a year later on March 30th, 2000 courtesy of Atlus. Rhapsody later came out on the Nintendo DS in 2008. Like the previously reviewed Cooking Fighter Hao, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure was an early title for Nippon Ichi who had usually made mahjong and jigsaw puzzle games for the first four years. Rhapsody is a light and humorous tactical RPG starring a young musician named Cornet on her quest to gain the love of Prince Ferdinand.
The cover art for Rhapsody changes a lot depending on which version you have. The first Japanese version is a sandy, brown leather with a medieval border and the silhouette of a castle on it. The second Japanese version shows Cornet and her friends in a bright, storybook design near the Natalie River. The North American cover art shows the Goddess on a blue background with a music note logo. Of these, I like the Japanese covers better, as they resemble more relevant images for the game. The first Japanese version makes the game look like a book, and the second shows an image that could perhaps be in that book. The North American art seems somewhat generic, on the other hand.
In-game, Rhapsody uses colorful 2D graphics to create a fairy tale world. Sprites are large and move about on what appear to be hand-painted screens. Since the sprites are often so big, many dungeon areas, for example, are quite limited in size. Many can be crossed in a few seconds. Thankfully, the developers utilized sprite scaling to ensure that some areas, such as towns, were larger, and this scaling was used for some cool effects in certain areas too. There are even some nice lighting effects that seem a bit ahead of the curve for what I expect from a PS1 game. One negative about all of this is that the game has a somewhat limited color palette. It is consistent and therefore seems intentional to provide a mood, but the colors are heavy on light browns. There are also some maps duplicated across areas. It makes some of Rhapsodyseem same-y. Of course, as this is “a musical adventure”, the graphics are not the main feature here in Marl’s Kingdom.
Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure plays out like a Disney film with a similar soundtrack of narration. Cornet, her friends, and enemies sing songs to describe situations at crucial points in the plot. These songs sound great with good vocalists and nice instrumentals. Of the other musick in the game, tunes head in directions you would expect from other JPGs similar to Dragon Quest or Monster Rancher. A soundtrack was included with the game to hear the great musick whenever you want. The sound effects are fun too. Thankfully, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure lives up to its name.
As for the gameplay, this is a very odd tactical RPG. Rhapsody has your standard grid with attack ranges and character movements for each combat. Oddly, unlike most titles in this genre such as Vanguard Bandits, Arc the Lad, Eternal Eyes, or Saiyuki: Journey West, Rhapsody generates random encounters like the more common Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy titles. This means that you may be moving about in a cave before the game switches to the battle view on a new screen with a few enemies. These battles are very short and easy, two other things that don’t remind me of other tactical RPGs either.
When not in battle, Rhapsody has a whimsical and comedic story about Cornet and her puppet friend Kururu. Cornet desires to win the heart of Prince Ferdinand, and she sets out to enter a contest to do so. After a few complications in this endeavor, the quest opens up into a larger adventure. There is some genuinely funny dialogue here, and many scenarios seem very organic in their setup. Cornet, as a musician, can even play her horn in town to gather some small change to fund her quest. The horn can also be used in battle to power up her various puppet friends who, along with friendly monsters she encounters, join her along the way to find her true love.
The story of Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure would continue in several sequels of the Marl Kingdom series of which Nippon Ichi’s flagship Disgaea series would spin off from. This is actually my first of any of these related titles, but I’m starting to see why they are so well-loved by fans. I really liked the ridiculous dialogue and heartfelt emotions throughout Rhapsody. It was also fun to collect monsters and illustrations during the adventure. While Rhapsody is a little short for an RPG at under twenty hours and similarly very easy, I think it is a worthwhile game for the fun story and adorable world of Marl’s Kingdom.
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