The Whimsical World of Rhapsody

Sometimes all you need to be sold on something is to see an out of context clip. Something so strange, unique, or intriguing that you need to learn everything about it as soon as possible. This was my experience with Nippon Ichi Software’s Rhapsody series.

One day while scrolling Twitter, I saw a post from a YouTuber that I enjoy watching. The Tweet in question featured a scene from the first Rhapsody game that had the protagonist singing a song. It was interesting to me because I’ve never seen another game try something like this. This scene triggered something in my brain, as if I was shown something that I didn’t even know that I needed.

So, then I went ahead and bought the first game on the Nintendo Switch (part of the Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3 compilation which came bundled with another game called La Pucelle: Ragnarok). I played the first game, and I knew that I was playing something special.

So, how did this weird, not well received PS1 game hook me, and why should you care about it now? Well, the short answer is that the games have this sense of whimsy that I feel is missing from a lot of modern games. It’s a series that knows how to have fun, while still providing a good story to go along with it.

These games all feature music as their focal point, and all of them include a handful of musical numbers that are used to glimpse the characters’ internal thoughts, or to introduce a character to the audience, much like what would be done in a stage production. As someone who was involved with his high school’s performing arts department, and has always been fascinated by musicals, this is a concept that was of great interest.

Off the top of my head, there’s only a few games I can think of that tried to do something like this. “Herald of Darkness” from Alan Wake 2. “Real Emotion” and “1000 Words” from Final Fantasy 10-2. “Great Mighty Poo” from Conker’s Bad Fur Day. But those are just moments, whereas the Rhapsody series makes it the main draw to these games.

(Quick aside, after listening to “Herald of Darkness” a few times while writing this article, it’s kind of making me want to play Alan Wake 2. It’s unreasonably catchy. Huge props for everyone involved in the production of that musical number.)

To get the full picture of why you should play these games, let’s take a look at what the first game has to offer.

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

Released in America on July 30, 2000 for the original PlayStation, created by Nippon Ichi Studio and published by Atlus, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure follows the story of a young village girl named Cornet and her little fairy friend named Kururu. After a chance encounter with Ferdinand, the prince of the Marl Kingdom, Cornet ends up getting involved in a competition to become the prince’s wife. After some shenanigans, and a nice musical number, Cornet ends up winning.

However, the victory is short lived as the party is interrupted by the evil witch Marjoly and her three helpers, Gao, Crowdia, and Myao. Marjoly casts a spell on Prince Ferdinand that turns him into a statue and kidnaps him. This sets Cornet on her journey to collect the five macguffins that she needs, and save Prince Ferdinand.

A simple setup for the story, but it’s enough to get the ball rolling and get Cornet to start her adventure. And given that this game was likely targeted at a younger audience, I think it does the job. There’s also a lot of development for both Cornet and another side character named Etoile (a recurring character and childhood friend of Cornet).

Rhapsody is split into two different flavors of gameplay: overworld exploration, and grid-based RPG combat. The overworld has Cornet exploring towns and cities, gathering information on where you’re meant to go next.

Combat takes place on small grid-based arenas where Cornet and her team will fight small mobs, typically consisting of three to five enemies. Now, I’m sure that some readers are shuddering at the idea of grid-based combat, but don’t worry, this is far from something like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics.

Enemies don’t have a lot of health, meaning that most fights won’t last longer than a couple of turns. Not to mention the fact that your magic-based party members will learn AoE nukes pretty early on. Even the boss fights aren’t that threatening.

You get new party members by having Cornet use her magic trumpet on puppets that you can find in various places around the world. Occasionally you’ll also have a monster want to join your party after a battle. Any time that you get a new party member, they’ll join in at level 1, but can easily be raised up after a few battles, especially if you fight in any of the endgame dungeons. Of course, there’s also nothing wrong with staying with the same group for the whole game.

This brings me to another thing that I liked about this game: the difficulty. Or, rather the lack thereof. This game features an easy, normal, and hard mode. I did my playthrough on normal mode, and didn’t struggle at all. Heck, I don’t think I even used an item until the final dungeon.

Now, don’t take this as me bragging about how great of a gamer I am because I didn’t struggle in a game designed for children. I’m aware that this game was meant for a younger audience. I honestly love the fact that this is on the easier side. It’s nice to turn my brain off, and just watch the antics of Cornet and Kururu. It’s a very comfy game, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. My playthrough only took about ten hours to finish.

Of course, given that this is a PS1 game, there’s some weird and archaic design choices. There’s no map to look at when you’re exploring dungeons, so you either need to have a good sense of direction, some scrap paper to draw out the maps, or open up a GameFAQs map from twenty years ago to guide you.

Sometimes progression can be a little bit obtuse as well. It’s nothing that can’t be sussed out by talking to NPCs, but there were a few parts where it felt like the game wasn’t giving me all of the information, leading to me pressing A on everything until I stumbled into progression.

One constant thought that I had while playing this game is that it felt like I was playing a renaissance era Disney movie. And in doing some research for this article, I actually found that there was some merit to that thought. After deciding that music would be the focal point, the game’s producer, Sohei Niikawa, recruited Tenpei Sato (who came from a musical theatre background) to do the music. [1] [2]

At the end of the game, you confront Marjoly and her entourage, save Prince Ferdinand, and get your fairy tale ending. The first Rhapsody game was cute. It shows its age at times, but I overall enjoyed it. If any of what I’ve talked about here sounds interesting to you, please give this game a look. The first game is available on Switch and Steam. This game is really something special, and I think it’s worth your time.

Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess

So, given that the first Rhapsody game was released in North America at the end of the PS1’s life, it should come as no surprise that the second and third games never got released outside of Japan. With the PS2 coming out 3 months after Rhapsody 1 came out in North America (October 26, 2000), and the presumably low sales (I couldn’t find an actual number for this, but I also gave up very quickly), there was no chance of the sequels being released outside of Japan.

Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess was released on the PS1 in Japan on November 25, 1999, and wouldn’t see an official English translation until 2023 when NIS released it as a double pack for Switch, Steam, and PS5 along with the third Rhapsody game.

Given that this is the first time Rhapsody 2 has gotten an English release, it also means that it’s the first time that it’s been dubbed. The game isn’t fully voiced, but it does feature an all-star line-up of voice actors including Cassandra Lee Morris, Alejandro Saab, Amber Lee Connors as Marjoly, and Kira Buckland providing the voice for an older Cornet.

Rhapsody 2 takes place 12 years after the first game, and follows the adventures of Cornet and Ferdinand’s daughter, Kurusale (shortened to Kururu). The game starts off with Kururu going on small adventures with her friend Createur Rosenqueen, the daughter of Etoile from the first game (referred to as Crea by the cast).

The actual inciting incident of the plot doesn’t happen until you’re a good five to six hours into the game. Marjoly and her goons are back, and this time they have a new artifact called the Shadow of Beauty. After another group of witches shows up to try and take it, Marjoly ends up destroying it, breaking it into three shards that you and your team have to collect.

I didn’t talk about Marjoly or her minions back in the first game because there wasn’t that much to talk about. They’re all incompetent and barely pose a threat. Even Marjoly herself is a joke. When Cornet didn’t see her as a threat in the final confrontation, I didn’t see her as a threat either. The only one that stuck out to me was Crowdia, but that was mostly because of her design. She has these badass crow wings and she fights using iaido quickdraws. It was unexpected for this kind of a game.

This game tries to rectify that by adding in Akurjo; essentially a more competent foil to Marjoly. Akurjo and her squad all appear to be much smarter than the jokers in Marjoly’s group, who all somehow manage to act dumber than they were in the first game.

Anyway, the reason that you’re getting these shards is in service of a new character named Cello. This mysterious swordsman shows up a few times early on in the game, then eventually becomes a full party member. He wants to get the Shadow of Beauty to help his mother. He also has some sort of a connection to Kururu, Cornet, and their ancestor Cherie.

The combat has also been switched up from how it was in the first game. Rather than the SRPG, grid-based battles of Rhapsody 1, Rhapsody 2 uses turn-based combat. They also give you human party members, rather than the puppets that Cornet fought alongside. I like this because it always bothered me how characters in the first game like Etoile would show up, but would never join Cornet’s journey.

Puppets haven’t been removed though. They’ve been changed into equipment for your party members. The puppets give your characters access to magic such as elemental attacks, heals, and status moves. There’s also a compatibility system where certain characters won’t be able to equip certain puppets. Kururu doesn’t like frogs so she isn’t able to equip any frog puppets for example.

I like the change to turn-based combat as it feels like there isn’t just a one size fits all approach to combat like in the first game. You can’t just blow up every mob with an AoE nuke. There were several times early on where I felt like I was in actual danger of being overwhelmed by the enemies.

Overall, I think that this game is still good, but I wasn’t having as much fun with it as I did with the first game. The game as a whole just feels like everything takes longer to get going. In the first game, there was a quick setup for the plot, then you were off on your adventure. But in the second game, it feels like it just takes its time. The fact that I got six hours in before it felt like the plot was starting is an absolute joke.

I think that my biggest complaint about the game is that Cornet is barely in the game at all. I would’ve loved to have gotten to see her and Kururu have some interactions. But no. Cornet and Ferdinand are gone at the start of the game, and there’s no interaction between them and Kururu, outside of a couple of letters that they left.

Which by the way, why is Cornet’s letter voiced, while Ferdinand’s just isn’t? Like, Alejandro Saab was right there! You couldn’t have just been like “Hey man, do you mind reading this paragraph for us real quick?” Although, Etoile has a letter for Crea near the end of the game that also isn’t voiced, so I guess Cornet is the exception and not the norm.

It really feels like a missed opportunity not giving Kururu a chance to talk to Cornet about her feelings for Cello. Crea fills that role fine enough, but it would’ve been nice to see a mother and daughter talk about this. Cornet could’ve shared stories from the first game and taught Kururu about what she learned, especially if you consider that Cornet lost her mother when she was young. You’d think that she would want to be there for her daughter. I guess that what I’m trying to say is that I think it’s a bit dirty that Etoile got more of a spotlight than the protag from the first game.

I still like this game, but it doesn’t hit the same highs that the first game did. However, that seems to be how most games where you play as the protagonist’s child seem to play out. A lot of the game feels like you’re just retreading Cornet’s footsteps. But even if this one didn’t hit the same as the first, it still has the same charm and whimsy from the first game. Like I said earlier, this and the third game are available in a double pack for Switch, Steam, and PS5.

Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom

Originally released exclusively in Japan for the PS2 on December 21, 2000, Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom is the final game in the Rhapsody series, and the last game that we’ll be looking at today. If you’re keeping track at home; yes, this game came out in Japan half a year after the first game came to America.

This game follows a different structure from the previous two entries. Rather than following one overarching story, the game instead focuses on six individual stories; each one following a different character’s point of view. You do have to play the stories in order to unlock the next one, so it’s not like a game like Live-A-Live where you can do them in any order you want.

“A Daughter’s Quest” follows Cornet very early on in her journey in the first game. It features Cornet, Kururu, and Etoile all lost in a forest escorting a mushroom back to her village. It’s a simple story, and I don’t have much to say about it. But I will say that it was nice to be back with the cast from the first game. Cornet became somewhat of a comfort character for me over the course of playing these games. Her, Kururu, and Etoile all work very well together, and provide great banter that I really missed while playing the second game.

“Pumpkin Pants and the Trial of Love” serves as an epilogue to Kururu and Cello’s story, taking place four years after the second game’s events. Kururu has decided to tell her father that she wants to marry Cello, however he is not very receptive to this. In order to have her father accept what she wants, Kururu has to win the Miss Marl Kingdom competition.

Before continuing to talk about the stories, I have to interrupt myself here to mention that this game is brutal. Like, to an unfair degree. There was more than one instance of me having to halt all progression and grind up my characters; something that I never needed to do in either of the previous games. And the final battle in Kururu’s story honestly just felt downright unfair.

I also had a couple of instances of weird glitches happening in the overworld that stopped my progression. Again, something that never happened in the other two games. Okay, rant over.

“The Day the Nyankos Disappeared” sees you taking control of Marjoly and her group during an unspecified time before the events of the first game. Meaning that for the first time ever we get to play as Crowdia! I liked this one more for the gameplay, rather than the actual content. Marjoly and her gang all start at super high levels, and you can pretty much nuke everything. It’s just nice to not have to build up a squad like in the previous stories. And again, playable Crowdia. We stan Crowdia in this household!

“Romeow and Mewliet” takes place before the events of the second game, and stars two lover Nyanko, Pokonyan and his girlfriend Pekonyan. These two Nyankos are separated into the two villains’ groups. Pokonyan works for Marjoly, while Pekonyan serves Akurjo. I feel like this is the weakest of the stories, as it doesn’t feel like anything of substance happens. Pekonyan talks about killing Akurjo so that she can be with Pokonyan, but nothing comes of it. I also just couldn’t find myself to care for these cats. I don’t hate mascot characters, but the Nyankos just aren’t interesting.

“The Angel’s Tale” is the longest story in this game, and is the closest this game gets to telling a full story. This episode focuses on the entire life of Cherie (Cornet’s mother, and Kururu’s grandmother). I genuinely enjoyed this one. We get to see what Cherie was like when she was Kururu’s age, as well as her relationship with Cello. We also learn that she had a brother named Kieldia, who ended up falling in love with Marjoly and abandoning his duties as prince, leaving Cherie to be responsible for her people.

Seeing a younger Marjoly also helps put her actions from the first game into perspective. The reason why she kidnapped Ferdinand was because she was looking for someone to replace Kieldia. I also have to say that Amber Lee Connors does an incredible job with this younger, love-stricken Marjoly. Her over-acting made me laugh a lot, and I think that she really understood what the character was about. It’s just a shame that Marjoly herself is treated like a punchline by the games, because she is a genuinely good character when the story lets her be. The problem is that 90% of the time she, or any of her entourage are on screen, they get dunked on and called stupid by everyone around them.

Anyway, eventually Cherie and Cello get separated from each other. Cherie ends up in Orange Village, living with Mustaki (the same man who raised Cornet). While living in the village, she begins to grow attached to a boy named Marius. Time passes, and the two eventually get married. It’s at this point that I couldn’t help but feel invested. It was really bringing me back to why I loved the first game so much. This simple, down to earth story that anyone could relate to.

I also have to tip my hat to Xanthe Hyunh, the voice actress for Cherie, and the narrator for the game. Like the rest of the cast, she’s giving it her all, and it really helped sell all of the pain and heartbreak that Cherie has gone through. I know that this has been a long plot review, but that’s what happens when the game gives me substance to look at. And I felt like I needed to do a full dive into this story, because a one paragraph summary would’ve been selling it very short.

Overall, this was easily the most enjoyable story. It’s just a shame that to get to play it, you have to sit through one alright story with Cornet, one absolutely brutal endgame boss rush with Kururu, and two arbitrary stories about Nyankos. The question is, how do we close this game out?

“It’s Marl! Gather ‘Round, Everyone!” is our final stop on our grand tour of Marl Kingdom. This is a bonus story where Cherie gathers everyone to fight against a fearsome monster known as the Terrible Overlord. And when I say everyone, I mean EVERYONE. Cornet, Kururu, Cello, Ferdinand, even Marjoly and Akurjo and their lackeys.

Anyway, this final chapter is really just one giant dungeon crawl that ends with a fight against the Terrible Overlord. There isn’t really anything to build on the overall plot. It does expound on some things from Cherie’s story, but that’s about it. No conversations between our three generations of protagonists. And to top it off, it all just kind of ends. No fanfare or anything. It just stops. Kind of like this analysis of this game.

Closing Thoughts

So that’s it then. That’s been my look at the entire Rhapsody series. Originally I started writing this because I found the first game to be a fantastic hidden gem in the PS1’s library. I think that’s why it’s unfortunate that its sequels didn’t give me the same fun that the first game had. If you happened to notice a shift in my writing tone, that’s because this was written over the course of a month of play.

The first Rhapsody game to me feels like the definition of adventure. It’s a simple story, but it works for what it wants to be. I feel the same way about Rhapsody 1 as I do about Final Fantasy 5. The story is simple, and a bit silly at times, but that’s what a fantasy story, and storytelling in general should be. It should know when to take itself seriously, and when it can let up and have fun. And Rhapsody 1 strikes that balance perfectly.

Rhapsody 2 was fine, but the whole playthrough just felt like a rehash of the first game without the charm, or the interesting characters. I still think that not including Cornet in the story was a big missed opportunity. It would’ve been so interesting to see what she’s like 12 years removed from her adventure, and how this little village girl has adapted to life as a queen. I also just don’t think that Kururu is interesting as a protagonist, but that mostly comes down to her being a 12 year old. 12 year olds aren’t interesting.

Finally, Rhapsody 3. Look, these multiple short story games can work. Live-A-Live is a prime example of how to do that. My problem with these stories is that aside from Cherie’s story, they all feel like nothing. Just a bunch of half-baked ideas filled with boss fights that will test your patience, rather than your skill. Never once did I have to stop and grind while playing the first two games. But here, it’s practically a necessity. And that final dungeon crawl chapter is a joke. This isn’t the kind of game that lends itself to doing something like that. And having to grind up all of your characters to fight a superboss isn’t enjoyable. It’s padding.

I don’t want it to come across as me sounding like I wasted my life playing these games. If you know me, you know that I drop things that I don’t enjoy. If I didn’t enjoy the 2nd and 3rd games, I wouldn’t have played them. While I don’t think that they’re as good as the first game, there is still a lot of good in those games.

If nothing else, I at least want to bring some attention to these games. There is a lot of information on the first game from developer interviews both before and after the game came out. However for the other two games, there’s basically nothing. The Wikipedia pages are empty beyond the basic information. Even the Marl Kingdom fan Wiki has a ton of blank spaces on the character pages. Walkthroughs don’t exist outside of a couple of let’s plays and longplays. Rhapsody 2 and 3 don’t have pages on Speedrun.com. If you’re wondering why I didn’t talk about the development side of Rhapsody 2 and 3, it’s because there’s virtually no information documented on it.

Heck, I never even brought this up because I didn’t know where it could’ve fit, but there was a remake of Rhapsody 1 on the DS back in 2008, but supposedly that version was heavily borked. There was a ton of content cut from the PS1 version (like the English vocals to the musical numbers) and there were a ton of glitches, which included crashing, freezing, and content failing to unlock for some players. [3]

And to top it off, there were also two bonus stories that were included in the Japanese version, but NIS America decided not to localize for the international release. These two stories were “A Daughter’s Quest” and “An Angel’s Tale” from Rhapsody 3. Which we’ve obviously now gotten in English, but it had to have felt like a slap in the face back then. [4] There’s a GameFaqs thread from 15 years ago that lists out all of the changes from the PS1 version of Rhapsody to the DS version. [5]

I guess that to close this out, play the first game. It’s truly a magical experience that no other game can replicate. If anything that I’ve described for Rhapsody 2 and 3 sounds interesting to you, then you won’t be any better or worse off for checking them out.