So I Tried... Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I have never tried before. Will I find something new to love? Will I find something new to despise? I'll take a full half hour, no matter how bad it gets or how badly I do, to see if this is the game for me. This time I decided to try out Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, a classic tactical RPG from Nippon Ichi Software (or NIS) that was re-released onto the Nintendo Switch (and Windows, though I didn’t play that version) last year.

What I thought it was

I hadn’t heard much about Rhapsody beyond the basic premise of being a cutesy RPG, but after hearing about (and becoming interested in) the upcoming Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles, which collects the second and third games in the series, I picked up the first Rhapsody, wanting to learn more about its world. Then, when I found myself sick in bed and unable to keep my focus on anything work-related for a while, a cutesy and supposedly easy RPG sounded exactly like something I could distract myself with for an hour or two.

What it actually is

I hadn’t really expected much to come out of that experience, but Rhapsody was actually a lot of fun, easily lifting my spirits and transporting me into a rather unique fantasy world full of puppets that only the cheerful, horn-playing protagonist Cornet can talk to. The combat is relatively simple so far, but there are a few interesting elements at play, including a bar shaped like a music measure that slowly increases with every use of Cornet’s horn and allows her to use a plethora of useful abilities, once enough of the bar has been filled. Plus, while I was anticipating some music stylisation from the title, I — somehow —hadn’t fully realised that the game subtitled A Musical Adventure would have the characters burst out into full songs with lyrics and everything! I was quite sad to see that none of these songs have made their way onto Spotify, but I sincerely enjoyed what I’ve gotten to hear so far.

Will I keep playing

Absolutely, I’ll keep going! The story has plenty of heart to it so far and many silly moments that I can’t wait to explore. I’m honestly rather sad that I’d never picked this one up on the original PlayStation, but I’m glad to get the chance to enjoy Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure with all of its sharper graphics so it can be experienced in its full glory.