Lode Rhythm

Lode Rhythm is a rhythm/platformer-puzzle game created by Swimminton Games, as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. It is a crossover between the Lode Runner & Rhythm Heaven series.

Even though the game had mixed to negative reception, a sequel is in the works. It is called Lode Rhythm 2: Edol Rhythm, and continues 2 months after the events of Idol Revolution. However, it was canceled.

## Gameplay

The game is a lot like the original Lode Runner, with some Rhythm Heaven elements mixed in. You play as the titular Lode Runner, who can dig holes, trap enemies, & collect Flow Balls (this game's equivalent to gold). To complete a level, you must collect all of the Flow Balls in here. Some enemies can be seen carrying Flow Balls, and you must trap them in pits to collect them. The musical twist is that the enemy A.I is not only based upon position of Lode Runner, but the beat of the background music. The tempo makes them either faster or slower. However, the are radios in some levels, which you can use to override the music & change how the A.I acts.

## Story

### Opening

One beautiful day, Lode Runner was digging a hole in the wall (for basically no reason), he finds himself in a room full of music sheets, and one piano. There's a note engraved on the instrument, which says: "*To enter the musical code & enter the other world, collect all of the music sheets & play them in the correct order.*" After that puzzle, he starts playing an familiar tune (the second part of Final Remix's song from Rhythm Heaven Megamix, excluding the last LumBEARjack segment), and the world around him starts to change. Then the piano closes on his head, getting him knocked out.

### Welcome to Rhythm Heaven

When he wakes up, Lode finds himself being cared of by DS!Pop Singer (who's renamed to Erina in this game). She explains that he had been transported to the world of Rhythm Heaven, and he needs to collect all of the Flow Balls in order to get back home. Also, he's now a stick figure. Lode is clearly shocked, & tells Erina that, if she joins him on his quest to get back home, he will buy all of her albums. When she hears "albums", Erina immediately joins him, & Lode's journey begins!

### Café

Their first stop is the Café, where the Barista is serving coffee to Arisa. Her fans surround her, and she drinks up the drink. Erina explains that the reason she's surrounded by monkeys is because she's a idol singer. She goes up to Barista & tells him that she wants a "Stirred-thrice eternal espresso latte with cream & no sugar and also cake please". Instead of giving her that, the dog opens up the door to the basement, which is full of Flow Balls & enemies. After getting all of the flow balls in the area, Lode Runner & Erina find a blue stick figure crying. That guy is Hammerman, who had been trapped under a huge rock. After a small fetch quest, Lode gives the hammer back to him. They go the next room, which reveals that Arisa is dodging a bunch of rocks falling down from the ceiling. One of the "rocks" is actually a Flow Ball, which she is keeping because "it might cost a ton of dollars". This is the first boss fight in the game, where you have to hit the ground with Hammerman's hammer while Arisa is trapped & under one of the ceilings. After defeating her, she gives up her Flow Ball, & the Café is complete!

### Lush Woods

Erina leads Lode Runner to Lush Woods, where the Rhythm Tower's guardians need help cleaning up their places. Along the way, you meet Ava, a scientist who also likes to join your adventure. You'll need her for the boss fights. You need to do Lush Tower first, just like in Megamix. Every tower has a reference to the games in it. There are 5 floors per Tower, each with 1 Flow Ball. At the top of the Tower, you fight their guardian. The following Towers are:

* Lush Tower, with Trey as the boss. His attacks are Dog Ninja & Hole in One.
* Honeybee Tower, with Boondog as the boss. His attacks are Karate Man & Air Rally.
* Machine Tower, with Dieter as the boss. His attacks are Figure Fighter & Fruit Basket.
* Citrus Tower, with Shef as the boss. His attacks are Shoot-'em-up & The Clappy Trio.
* Donut Tower, with Donna as the boss. Her attacks are Exhibition Match & Tongue Lashing.
* Barbershop Tower, with Hairold as the boss. His attacks are Sneaky Spirits & LumBEARjack.
* Songbird Tower, with Eglantine as the boss. Her attacks are Blue Birds & Super Samurai Slice.

### Heaven World

After climbing up the Rainbow Bridge, Lode Runner & Erina make their way to the Palace, when they are suddenly interrupted by three bears with afros. They are Bertram, Betty, & Phillip. Now, you must fight them to precede!

* Bertram's main attacks are Ninja Bodyguard & Launch Party. He can also throw books & read from his favorites to paralyze the player.
* Betty's main attacks are See-Saw & Blue Bear. She can also blow kisses & blast lasers out of her tummy.
* Phillip's main attacks are Space Dance & Kitties!. He can also throw baseballs & swing his baseball bat.

### Mamarin Palace

Lode & Erina walk down the long hallways (shown by the long loading times), and seea a golden castle of Flow. That's Tibby's Mom, with Tibby & Colin next to her doors. Frisky Tom, the janitor of the whole place, wants to join you, because he's afraid where the toilets leads to. Tibby's Mom is the boss of this place, & you need to enter her towers to defeat her. They have their own attacks, which are:

* Left-Hand Tower: The Snappy Trio & Figure Fighter 2
* Right-Hand Tower: Hole in One 2 & Super Samurai Slice 2
* Tibby's Mom: Cosmic Dance & Karate Man Senior

After defeating Tibby's Mom, Tibby & Colin themselves accepts defeat, then tells the duo to check for Flow Balls in Rhythm Heaven.

### Gate to Rhythm Heaven

After another long climb up, Lode & Erina are greeted by 3 colorful figures. They are the Gatekeeper Trio, who attack with Endless Games.

* Saffron: His attacks are Coin Toss & Quiz Show.
* Saltwater: His attacks are Charging Chicken & Built to Scale.
* Paprika: His attacks are Sick Beats & Samurai Slice.
* Their attacks together are Clap Trap & Toss Boys.

### Rhythm Heaven

The literal paradise itself, Lode Runner & Erina enter the gates of Rhythm Heaven. It turns out that a huge party is going on, with everyone celebrating! Cam, Marshal, & Miss Ribbon, who are the guardians of Rhythm Heaven, are celebrating. And yes, you get to fight them.

* Cam: His attacks are Cheer Readers, Board Meeting, & Basketball.
* Miss Ribbon: Her attacks are Double Date, Tap Troupe, & Frog.
* Marshal: His attacks are Tambourine, Flock Step, & Chameleon.
* Their attacks together are Night Walk & Rhythm Test.

### Gate of ???

The last gate so far. This time, the guardians are 2 characters from Rhythm Tengoku & 2 from Rhythm Heaven.

* Samurai Drummer: Samurai Slice & Drummer Duel
* Note: Big Rock Finish & Glee Club
* Bandleader: Frog Hop & Tangotronic 3000
* Tap Trial Girl: Tap Trial & Showtime

Lode & Erina ascend even higher, and end up at...

### Aspen's Place

Surprised? You shouldn't be. This is where the last Flow Balls are collected, because Aspen had been hoarding them. For some reason, Amy & Puffy serve as the guardians of the Place. They're more like joke characters, though.

* Amy: Uses objects from Super Mario Bros.
* Puffy: Uses objects from the Yoshi series.

Lode & Erina enter a huge battlefield, with Aspen in the middle of it. Yep- he's the final boss of this crappy game!

* Aspen: Lockstep & Fan Club

Yay! You got all the Flow Balls, & Lode Runner can get home! Erina can't even finish her heartwarming speech, because Lode just jumped in the portal & called it a day. \*Credits roll as the credits music from Rhythm Tengoku plays\*

## Lode Rhythm: Idol Revolution

Idol Revolution is the post-game of Lode Rhythm. After Lode Runner gets back to his world, he gets a note from Rupert, who crashes into his house. He has all of Erina's albums, and says that he needs to pay for them all. Lode mentions that he doesn't *have* money anymore, due to some freaks (the enemies from the original Lode Runner) stealing from him. Rupert tells him that he could pay up by helping her in her concerts instead. Lode agrees, & re-enters the world of... you know now. You have to fight all of the bosses from earlier, except they're MUCH harder. Yes, even Amy & Puffy.

## Characters

### Minor Characters

 Rupert
 Play-Yan
 Karate Joe
 The Wandering Samurai
 Stepswitcher Twins
 DJs
 Monkeys
 Blastronaut?

## Reception

Tsunku looked at this game, said "Rhythm Heaven was a mistake", then kicked Dorkfishie in the shin. Aspen Pellot himself questioned the appearance of Amy & Puffy, recommending to replace them with Ren & Stimpy instead. Swimminton Games had ignored his comment completely, pretending he ascended to a higher form of human instead. Dorkfishie, the founder of Swimminton Games, called this "another crappy 'joke' article", then went on to work on Rhythm Heaven MegaRemix. Epsilon Zeph called it an "amazing video", then Dorkfishie reminded him/her that there is no video.

## Trivia

* This the first time that the relationship between Lode Runner & Rhythm Heaven is truly shown, with Lode actually interacting with various characters from the later.
	+ However, this game is not canon to the "Aspenverse", making the above trivia moot.
* The names of Amy & Puffy are a reference to the Japanese band Puffy Amiyumi.