Rhythm games have gone through many phases. They begun to gain prominence during the PlayStation era with mostly Japanese developers taking advantage of the CD audio features and relatively cheap development costs to experiment. They had a resurgence during the last generation of consoles when western developers combined recognisable music with relatable plastic instruments, but in the last few years the genre has laid somewhat dormant. While the larger more mainstream market has largely moved on from rhythm games, the genre is far from deceased.
Starting as a mini-game within Kirby Triple Deluxe late last year, Dedede’s Drum Dash was an interesting but ultimately forgettable little rhythm game you could play if you’d had your fill of Kirby platforming, but still wanted to play something along with mad Kirby beats. Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe is a standalone budget title on the 3DS eShop and expands on the mini-game found in Triple Deluxe with new levels and obstacles, but you’d have to be truly starved for Kirby-themed rhythm action to find much to enjoy here.
The music you play along to in Drum Dash Deluxe is easily the highlight of the game for me. With tunes grabbed and adapted from Triple Deluxe, Air Ride and others, if you’ve enjoyed Kirby music in previous games you’ll likely find a few tracks in here to your liking. It’s typical high-energy boppy music Kirby games are known for, and translates well to a rhythm game. Drum Dash Deluxe is nice looking visually too. While it won’t knock your socks off, it’s full of bold colours and bold characters.
I wouldn’t describe Drum Dash Deluxe as a rhythm action game in the strictest sense. The closest genre mashup description I can come up with is rhythm platformer. Your character doesn’t move at a set pace, nor does the level move around the character automatically. Unlike most rhythm games, your progress to the end is not tied to the duration or position within a musical track. You move Dedede left or right at your will. The rhythm element comes into play with how Dedede bounces on drums as he moves around. Tapping A at the peak of a jump in time with the music will net you combo multipliers which are crucial to completing levels with good scores. The height of Dedede’s jumps is also dependant on rhythmic timing of button presses. If you press A in time with Dedede landing on a drum he will perform a High Jump which boosts him to about halfway up the screen. Landing a High Jump and timing the next jump perfectly will result in a Super Jump which launches him right to the top of the screen. Planning these different types of jumps is important. You will need to avoid obstacles which reduce your score and health, as well as attempt to collect the coins scattered around the levels which also contribute to your score.
While these mechanics sound interesting, the levels built around them are a clumsy mess. I’ll admit I took a moment to become familiar with how non-traditional Drum Dash is as a rhythm game, but even once I had a good handle on the mechanics and levels I never found completing the levels to be satisfying. Early levels are slow going, to give you a chance to learn the game and as such feel shallow and uninteresting once you have a handle on how to play. There are a couple of later levels which are somewhat enjoyable, but for the most part when this game starts upping the speed and obstacles it becomes an exercise in repetitive memorisation. Completing levels, for me at least, was less about quick reactions and rhythm as it was about learning the order of obstacles and coins, and performing them as accurately as possible. Finishing a level evoked a sigh of relief that I would never have to play that level again, rather than a sense of accomplishment or pride.
This is my biggest disappointment with Drum Dash. I personally play rhythm games for the joy of listening to great music, as well as the feeling of accomplishment when your rhythmic abilities and dexterity finally are up to the task of finishing a song that has eluded you for days. While the music in Drum Dash Deluxe is stellar, the gameplay, for me at least, wasn’t compelling enough for me to recommend it.
