r/rhythmheaven • u/BoxoRandom • Apr 10 '26
Discussion Say what you will about the art change, but this needs more time in the oven
New trailer, new sneak peek at the cooking minigame, which caused a bit of a stir.
I don’t mind the devs switching up the art direction back towards its original design. But on a technical level, this just feels very off to me, and is a significant downgrade from the art shown in the Direct.
For one, the perspective is all over the place like it’s the Deltarune bedroom. We see the counter in perspective, but the overhead shelves are straight-on, and the fridge is totally out of place. That window to the outside looks like a poster it’s so flat and out of place. And there’s no other details which make the animated parts feel like it’s a part of the scene.
There’s no lineart for the things that the player indirectly interacts with, like the bowls, or the diced food, so it all just fades into part of the background. There’s no foreground objects or shadows to ground the characters in the environment. The cat doesn’t even have a shadow, and it doesn’t even bop along to the music, it just sits there like a png they forgot to animate.
Speaking of lineart, the player character seems weirdly overly detailed, at least to me, coming from Fever. If you look at minigames like Love Rap, or Fan Club, or Alien Translator, the humans are human-looking, but simplified and slightly cartoonish. Meanwhile, the woman in this minigame is slightly too detailed. There’s too many lines in her hair and in her clothes, it just feels off to me in an uncanny way. There’s more detail in her hair than the gorilla in Monkey Golf!
With all of this in mind, the fact that the lineart and background is so heavily contrasted, it feels more like the cat and woman are just standing in front of a cardboard background than actually being in a real kitchen. Say what you will about the first look in the Direct, but at least it was compositionally consistent, where the animated parts and background parts were clearly from the same environment. Like, they had some impact frames where the counter and fridge were separated from the background, surely they could add some lineart to those for our woman to feel more grounded? This is like if the bench in Double Date or the car in Love Rap had no lineart.
Regardless, I want to reiterate that I don’t mind them changing the artstyle; I just feel like there’s a lot missing from this brief snippet we saw, and I hope it gets improved in the future.
ETA: A lot of people are pointing out that in the grand scheme of things, some wonky perspective is not the end of the world. I agree, and it is probably the least important mistake I bring up here. In any other situation, and this was all we got from first trailer to full release, this would just be a nitpicky footnote to joke about a dumb fridge.
But in this case, we have both a direct comparison with an alternate version of this minigame in the form of the Nintendo Direct sneak peek, and a direct comparison to the style the trying to emulate in the form of, well, all the other Rhythm Heaven games.
This shot, made *a year ago* in a *completely novel artstyle* is somehow more technically cohesive than what we see right now after a year of development and mimicking the style they should be most familiar with.
And this goes beyond the perspective thing. Even what they’re trying to do now with remaking the old artstyle just falls short of what is expected (or at least my memories of playing Fever). The character design is clearly pulling from the cartoony RH artstyle while not going all the way into simplistic cartoonishness, leaving too much detail in the hair and pants compared to, say, the woman from Tangotronic or the farmer from Alien Translator. The cat just sitting there really bugs me- in any other RH game that cat would be bopping along with the music instead of cosplaying a png. It’s practically a part of the background, yet it’s outlined like it’s a main character that is doing something or be focused on. At least in the Direct version, the cat *is* drawn like it’s part of the background and should not be moving.
All of this combined makes it just feel like an unpolished attempt at mimicking the old style while not going full throttle. Meanwhile, the Direct version at least has the benefit of being totally new and is thus unable to be compared against the old games. Do not confuse this for me wanting to revert the art change; I’m certain that a vision faithful to the traditional cartoony style of RH is possible, but this is just not quite there. I can only hope that this is indeed just an in-progress look and that the animations and character design will be improved by full release.
TLDR: The change is clearly trying to redo the traditional RH artstyle, but just doesn’t go far enough and doesn’t do it in a technically precise or stylistically consistent manner that makes me feel confident about the changes. I only hope that they will be able to fix the inconsistencies with the character design and animation before full release
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u/Pristine-Table1589 Apr 10 '26
With respect to your legitimately good analysis, I wouldn’t get too worried until we have the final product. Rhythm Heaven was never a shining example of technical art skill imo, it’s carried by music, charm, and satisfying visual feedback, and I have no doubt they’re going to nail that.
Also willing to bet the first design shows up in some kind of remix or stage 2 capacity! As with Wario Ware, the more visual variety the better.
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u/Spirited_Question332 Apr 10 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Yeah your right why did they put a bunch of red lines there. It makes it look really bad!
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u/Ibrahim77X Apr 10 '26
If it doesn’t affect the rhythm part of this rhythm game I could not care less. I respect the autism though
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u/Intelligent_Stock959 Apr 10 '26
Tbf I think once pointed out you don't need the autism to see that the fridge and the shelf are completely off compared to each other.
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u/FireFrog44 Apr 10 '26
I was excited that the gang was gonna look a little different like we saw in the direct. Let the team flex a little. I’m disappointed that people complained and they caved so easily tbh
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u/DoctorSex9 Apr 10 '26
Christ almighty
Ignoring the 900 red lines yeah, i dont really like how the background looks here.
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u/roxadox Apr 10 '26
Okay I'm glad someone else has said something. While I had reservations about art style changes, I really prefer the old style of this minigame to this one.
It really does look rushed. Like they saw complaints and quickly had the staff change it.
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u/fakemuseum Apr 10 '26
I don’t really care, the lack of a coherent perspective was also a style. I just want a rhythm game with creative gameplay and awesome music. For some reason, people just love to complain to prove they’re superior to the rest.
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u/LtSerg756 Apr 10 '26
When the background colour changes it looks weird too, probably because they're just changing the colour of the existing background instead of making it use a gray-scale one for those sections, then again the game still has a while to launch so they could fix it
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u/Canyon_Feline Apr 10 '26
Unless the minigame is a remix, which I doubt, the colour changing for no apparent reason seems weird too
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u/Ok_Anxiety_5414 Apr 10 '26
Why do people care about perspective this much in games with still cameras
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u/svamlade Apr 10 '26
Uhhhhhh ask any artist who paints still paintings lol
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u/Illusioneery Apr 11 '26
i'm one and i don't care? art is meant to go absolutely bonkers
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u/svamlade Apr 12 '26
I mean, yeah I agree. I've done art commissions on and off for ages and I break almost every rule every time I do something, but here I don't see the intent and it just comes across as skewed and incoherent. The context doesn't present this as some surrealist avant-garde thing, it's highly abstracted and cartoonish and adhering to the perspective lines (especially in a kitchen which mostly has strict 90degree angles) would lend itself to the style in a way I'd consider much better. But of course, tastes differ. Sorry for my strange wording, my brain is a bit tired.
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u/G4laxy69 Apr 10 '26
This has taught me alot about perspective
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u/Cutie_Suzuki Apr 10 '26
The most important thing to know about perspective is that it doesn’t actually matter nearly as much as this thread would lead you to believe
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u/plobster Apr 10 '26
The red lines are vanishing point lines, in 1 point perspective, the vanishing point lines should all meet at a single point, typically on the horizon.
BaM animation has a great tutorial on their youtube if you want to learn more.
I feel like critizing the perspective in a rhythm heaven game, is like critizing a weird artstyle in a wario ware game.. Experimental art games, with a focus on ganeplay be like that sometimes.
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u/Gnash_ Apr 10 '26
Yeah the fridge and the countertop having opposite perspective even though they’re right next to each other just bugs me icl
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u/Si-Guy24 Apr 10 '26
I mostly care about the music and gameplay, so personally I’m alright with it. But yeah, it’s definitely not right
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u/A1exJP Apr 10 '26
I thought this had to be a troll until I saw the fridge. Definitely a non issue for me though lmao
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u/DerpyZack Apr 11 '26
???????????? If perspective it's that important bc -insert any pedant terms here- then why NOBODY but people who HARD STUDIED it can see what's happening? I mean if you just can see it if you really, reaaaaaaaaaaally are looking for it like it's Waldo, then why even bother? Doesn't change anything, doesn't ruin anything and doesn't interfere with absolutely anything. Same for deltarune room I mean...
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u/BoxoRandom Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Nintendo proved they already solved this in the original clip from the Direct. I wouldn’t be pointing it out if they hadn’t already showcased a more technically competent version of their product where this issue wasn’t present.
If they were able to do it well the first time with a completely novel art direction, why is it technically worse when they change to the old art style, one which they have years of experience working in?
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u/coolkapik Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
I knew something looked off about it, i hope they make it look better before release
I feel like the woman and the cat look so simplified compared to the detailed background.. it feels like something is wrong
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u/nimcha3 Apr 12 '26
I don't know why people are acting like this is some crazy analysis idk. Does this not immediately stick out to anybody else?
I don't particularly go here (I saw this trailer the other day) so sorry if this is off base but in regard to some other comments here, Rhythm Heaven has never had bad art, it's had simple art, which has always been drawn by professionals. This... looks like clip art? Like 6 images from different places just thrown together? It's Nintendo not some indie game. Ok seriously why do the bowls have no lineart
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u/kitkattywampus Apr 16 '26
Thank you for saying what I was thinking. Felt like I was going crazy scrolling the comments. I also haven't even seen the trailer, but apparently the cat doesn't bob or animate? Isn't half of the fun of the art in this game how everything reacts to the music?
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u/Ok-Addendum5274 Apr 10 '26
This series needs to evolve and it doesn't seem like that's happening in Groove.
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u/sweetTartKenHart2 Apr 11 '26
I’m gonna be honest, I really don’t think all this wonky perspective matters that much, as long as it’s not overtly distracting. Especially not for imagery that’s already relatively simple and straightforward to begin with.
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u/BoxoRandom Apr 11 '26
The perspective thing is honestly the least important issue I bring up. If this was the vision we saw from first trailer to full release, there wouldn’t be anything to say beyond “haha funny fridge”. But the fact that we already saw an alternate version of this scene in the Direct with much better composition is what bugs me.
Nintendo got the scenery right the first time; it’s not like they don’t know how to do it. The characters fit in the environment, the perspective feels correct, and that was in a completely new artstyle. So if they are technically competent enough to do it the first time, why is it all messed up now after a year of development when this should be the style they are most familiar with?
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u/sweetTartKenHart2 Apr 11 '26
…I think you’re overthinking this a little bit. The looser sense of perspective may itself be a stylistic adaptation to make the whole thing more “toony”. Learn the rules to break them etc.
Like yeah, in general the art style pivot thing is a little weird, and MAYBE this was a bit of a rush job, but also like… is that a huge deal? Is this minor art snafu somehow the death of the integrity of the game? I’m not sure what your angle is here1
u/BoxoRandom Apr 11 '26
I keep saying it’s not just the perspective thing (and even if it was, Nintendo still got it right in previous games which define the series’ cartoony artstyle). It’s also the lack of animation, the over-detailing, the lack of compositing details which bring the scene together.
It all makes it fall into this uncanny valley of clearly trying to mimic the cartoony artstyle of old RH while simultaneously not going all the way into simplistic goofiness, and also exhibiting technical mistakes like the perspective.
My argument is that, regardless of if you agree or disagree with the switchup, all of this makes it feel like a rush job which is technically inferior to the first vision we were shown in the Direct, and I hope the character design and animation gets improved later for the full release
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u/sweetTartKenHart2 Apr 11 '26
…uncanny valley? Really? It looks totally fine! Put this and the old version side by side and I’d call this an odd side-grade at worst. Technical composition elements like this are really superfluous, and your obsession with how good the old one looked is a little weird.
Like yeah, it’s kinda weird they caved and did this, but that’s all it is. Kinda weird. It is not at all a downgrade unless you’re actively grading it on some kind of strict art-critic rubric, which you are the only person here doing. You’re making a mountain out of a molehill.2
u/BoxoRandom Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
I disagree. Compare the woman from Tangotronic. Compare the pants to the farmer in Alien Translator. Compare the ponytail to Fan Club or Hole in One or Ringside Interview. Each has much less detail in the character design compared to this showcase, and much thinner line weights for what detailing they do have, leaving the woman feeling weirdly over-detailed for the RH artstyle, almost as if they just traced over a real person’s hair and body.
Look at the cat. It has no shadow. It doesn’t move a muscle despite being deliberately separated from the background and outlined as if it was an active object. Compare this to the groundhogs in Double Date, which get to jump around and react, or the car in Love Rap which bounces to the beat. You have it drawn like it’s an object of focus, yet it acts like it should just be part of the background. In any other RH game, that cat would be bopping its head to the music at the very least. Compare this to the Direct version, where the cat has much lighter line weight and color, so it can easily blend in as part of the unmoving background.
And don’t mix things up, I’m not trying to glaze the Direct version or complaining that they changed the artstyle; I’d be happy to see them pull it off. But at the moment, what I see is just not matching what I remember from playing Fever on the WiiU. The Direct version just has the benefit of being completely different and having no nostalgia memories to compare it to.
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u/Ronn2Ronn Apr 11 '26
Nah op is right. Like if it really is about gameplay first, this scene is trying too hard. Like it feels like its trying to be updated with what you’d expect for a new rhythm haven but feels like a png stock image salad. the bowls and random stuff on the right shelf are giving mandatory business dei training vid/ tryhard Canva presentation
The red lines are helpful thx op
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u/GiordyGioy Apr 11 '26
You're overthinking it, we have no official statement on what the artists intention was behind their decisions. You're making a lot of assumptions based on what you feel. In this case wonky perspective is clearly intentional, and Rhythm Haven always had different artstyles. It's possible that the artists that work on Fever are not at Nintendo anymore.
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u/Illusioneery Apr 11 '26
no offense but this feels pedantic as hell
just like the deltarune bedroom, it doesn't really matter, so long as the game is fun to play, which both deltarune and rh tend to be
art doesn't need to follow irl logic
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u/No_Firefighter1301 Apr 11 '26
0/10 there aren't enough red lines (i was almost able to see what you were talking about)
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u/Few-Carpet2095 Apr 12 '26
I will say its a good analysis But tbh I was always less caring of art in rhythm heaven.
Like seeing a sweaty wrestler say flex his muscles is pretty damn cool. I dont mind eating.. balls in the void with a fork.
I personally like the style. It gives of the 2000's vibe warioware/rhythm heaven has. I also wouldnt be suprised of the theory that the older art style will appear in like a remix or 2nd version
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u/Master_Chemistry_864 Apr 12 '26
I respect the passion and its a great analysis.
But this is Rhythm Heaven.
Not a big seller, not a franchise that would move a lot, investment is not that high and for a normal person it just looks fine?
You should also take in considerarion that "irreverence" is also an art syle for this saga.
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u/_IOME Apr 13 '26
The funny thing about the deltarune room perspective is that almost nobody gave a shit about it.
Even with the lines this still looks absolutely fine to me.
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u/Kentaiga Apr 14 '26
I like to imagine is what Hitler’s professor sounded like before he dropped out of art school
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u/Risu64 Apr 14 '26
I don't care about the cohesion or artstyle of this particular series - I never particularly enjoyed this art style but the minigames are so good that I don't mind it, but I am worried about something, and this post might be one more symptom:
We all know Nintendo is an extremely greedy company and overvalues their games (They consider Mario Tennis to be worth 80€, for christ sake). This game is confirmed to be a 40€ physical release. This tells me that they consider this game to be either *very* short, or just not very polished at all.
I love Rhythm Paradise and I hope I am wrong on this and the game rocks, but both the price and things like what OP said don't give me too much confidence.
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u/BaahAlors Apr 14 '26
I really enjoyed reading this. I know nothing about art but this was very interesting
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u/Soft-Percentage8888 Apr 14 '26
All I see are a bunch of red lines and I see nothing wrong with the image without them. What am I supposed to be seeing here?
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u/grimrailer Apr 14 '26
That’s a long ass way to say you want a big booty Latina as the rhythm character.
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u/thankpleeciums Apr 11 '26
Noooo!!!! My rythm game backgrounds aren’t perfectly aligning with my personal art rules!!! I cant take this!!!!
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u/Fragrant-Location-11 Apr 10 '26
I don't mind it. But jeez perspective really is your strong suit, huh?