It's tough to know how to approach Rytmik: it has no game elements whatsoever, only existing to allow you to create beautiful (and sometimes not-so beautiful) music. Although its complexity is initially off-putting, spend some time with it and you'll realise it's a very competent and enjoyable music studio.
One of the most striking aspects of Rytmik is the sheer amount of samples and styles crammed into the download. Running the gamut of styles from pop to drum and bass and trance to breakbeat, there's enough to appeal to almost any taste and allows plenty of variety in your creations. If you're starved of inspiration, there are sample songs for each genre pre-loaded for you to tweak or simply pass off as your own.
Beginning a song from scratch is straightforward: listen to the available samples and drag them to a timeline. You can have four samples playing at one time, and each sample has four channels, so you have a good number of layers to play with. Even slapping down samples almost hap-hazardly can result in some interesting ideas that compel you to edit them into something wonderful.
In fact, it's the editing tools that really are the star of the show. Rather than settling for preset samples in each style, you're completely free to edit every clip or even create your own using a straightforward editor. You can alter the pitch, voice and speed of your sample, and even add effects such as delay and panning. It's surprising how much power you have to create the sounds you want, from complete melodic control to getting just the right amount of delay on your snare.
All this means you can practically record any song you can think of, with the exception of vocals, and with 255 available save slots you'll have plenty of room for experimentation. There's regrettably no export or share function, but there's always the ability to plug your DSi into your computer and record that way. Already it's easy to envisage talented creators running amok with this package.
Dedication and a good ear will undoubtedly create some fantastic music, and even those who've never considered themselves musical will come up with something surprisingly melodic. It's a lot of fun and you need absolutely no formal musical knowledge to get on: the developers have done a superb job of making music creation accessible.
Conclusion
Rytmik is the Flipnote Studio of the musical world: accessible, versatile and a lot of fun, though sadly it lacks any built-in sharing feature. Such an addition would have turned this into an absolute must-have, but as it stands, there's still more than enough power in this pocket package to make it a worthy purchase for musicians and even those just curious about creating some big tunes.
Comments 60
"but there's always the ability to plug your DSi into your computer and record that way"
Wha? How?
Also this looks great, might have to get it~
Use a 3.5mm jack from your DSi's headphone port to your PC's microphone or line-in socket. Couldn't be easier
This is the best thing I could ever have. Really wish I had a DSi right now.
@Pros: Oh right, like that. Hadn't thought of that xD
Wow what a great game too bad my little brother sold his DSi for a stupid phone.
YES!! Come to America now!!
So after two false starts from Cinemax they finally get it right
w00t! A 9/10! I NEED this!
Looks cool.
As a well documented music enthusiast (track #500 just released, wohoo!) I have to say I was very curious about this one. It reminds me a lot of "Music" for the PSX and the eJay line of products. It is certainly far more friendly then the "KORG DS-10" and I can assure that making music is as much (if not more) more fun then any traditional game. The fact that this is not a game does not bother me at all, in fact, it's a shame that inferior offers are out on the shelves and this doesn't get a boxed version with even more samples and loops to mess around with. I hope that the people who get this find their first steeping stone into music creation. As a person who has been surround by music and always questioning how to make it I can assure, it's the greatest hobby in the world! (yes, even video games take a 2nd place to this, please don't kill me for it!)
Looks good, but the no-export really kills it... I'd rather use a free tool like http://nitrotracker.tobw.net/ which is pretty powerful too and you can export your songs directly to the computer...
It's games like this that make me wish i had a DS
WoW this was Publisher by Cinemax begin Snakenoid 4/10 & Sokomania 3/10 guess they makin up for it. Cant wait for this to come out for me, now me and my babe can make music together since he have his studio and i wont be left out. Know it will look great on my DSI XL
I love this!
I need this now...
(or at least by Monday)
It's tough for me to imagine this being more versatile than the WarioWare DIY music creator, but we'll see.
i agree with kid A
Thank you Martin Linda!
In my opinion, there are only very few things that could have been better in this application: Clip editing during Song playback, note-length in the step sequencer, sustained instruments and portamento.
During the 1990s, when I was making Tracker music on the Amiga, I used to dream of something like this!
(Even got a Yamaha QY10 to make music on the go — and I hated the sounds!)
A well deserved 9/10!
Add vocoder support and I'd buy it
creat game, I want it to come to américa!!!
I want this. It looks even more useful than Korg DS-10.
@Kid_A: The only thing that makes it more versatile based on this review is the longer songs, sound editing, pre-made samples, and possibly more layers to the songs.
Do want!! No DSi though . Any chance of a retail release? Is this better than Korg DS-10?
I have wanted an app like this on a hand held for a long time and this ones really great. I agree with r0mer0's points about the improvements to be made but hopefully we'll see a Rytmik 2 with even more power. One thing that I like about this is that it's fairly easy for someone with no experience to make a song, other than grasping the basic concept of loops. I want to make a few songs and I'll record them and put them online and link it here. I'd love if anyone else does songs to hear those too.
@James: I am still a little confused about the speed of samples...one of my songs changes speed half way through. If you have time to offer some help, how do you change the speed of a clip? Also how do you do panning? Thanks in advance.
Thank you for all the feedback! We are working on video tutorials and some other videos and we will publish them on youtube soon, stay tuned!
@IanUniacke: speed of clip is set in clip edit screen by single and double arrows - you can see them in the right upper corner of the firts screenshot. For each clip you can set bpm from 60 to 180. Additionaly you can double or half the tempo with 2x or 1/2 buttons. And you can set lenght of the clip by dragging on the bottom of the clip edit screen. Than there's one important thing - tempo in the song is determined only by clips placed the first track of the song (there is written "tempo track" in it:). And overall speed of the song may be changed from 50% to 200% with arrows in the middle of the song edit screen. Hope this helps;)
Has it been confirmed that Rytmik is coming to NA? I really want this app!!!!!!!
Welcome to the site, Martin! Thanks for your help and please let the admins know when your video tutorials are available, we'll try to work up a story about them.
Yes, we are working on the NA release, though we can't tell you any specific release date yet.
@Prosody: thank you, and thank this site for the information support:) I think in a few days there will be some material ready.
As Martin wrote, Rytmik will be released in NA and in Japan too. Also we are preparing first contest for all musicians in Rytmik - 30.000 Nintendo Points in total prizes.
@cinemaxgames: ooh nice I shall have to brush up my skilz
Time to get me a DSiXL then!
1st Rytmik Contest
30.000 Nintendo Points in total prizes!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vog3lT3BPYc
Sound like this will come in Handy.
But how much will it Cost, when it comes to the USA
I was going to download this immediately after it hits NA until I saw the price. I only have 500 points left, and I'm sure I don't want to spend 800 points on this anyway. I would have gone for 200 or even 500, but I don't feel like I should get this. I am very musically inclined; I play trumpet in my school band and own almost every Wii Guitar Hero Game (missing Smash Hits), but I'm a little hesitant with this. Besides, according to how I usually treat DIY stuff, I usually play around with it for a while, then forget about it or watch other people use it (as in Flipnote Hatena).
If you do decide to buy this for $8.00 which I think is a very good deal, you ought to think about buying this (http://goo.gl/fIdT) it is a 3.5mm male to male auxiliary jack for 4.88, it is just like what @prosody was saying. It is like a headphone jack except that it is two ways so you can hook your music to your radio, or in this case DSi → microphone jack on your computer. (fun-tip if you plug in your earbuds into the microphone hook/jack you can record audio from your earbuds, if you think it is somehing else tap them and you can hear it) I would also reccomend download audacity (http://goo.gl/ARs0) but download the beta. It is so much better and no bugs. Audacity is a music program. Not like iTunes but more along the lines of Garage Band. If you hook your DSi → computer and hit record you can record the music that you make via Rytmik. If you are a fan of autotune or if you like the effect you can download G-Snap or gSnap (idk how to spell it) it is a free autotune plugin for audacity. Well with this and the right program/equipment the possibilities are endless. You could make background audio for your game (http://goo.gl/cHDD), you could make some music for your band, you could make your own song or make your own cover for the Rytmik contest (it gives out 30,000 DSi points http://goo.gl/eHWn) or whatever you want. I just know that I am going to download this for myself.
EDIT: I have edit the url's like 4 times now I hope they work
EDit: Nope 5 time's edit works
When will this come to NA?
I take part in the official 1st Rytmik Contest from the publisher with my Rytmik-Song "Colour Pulses" at Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgjAI1Pd3oE
Enjoy! It's a great piece of DSiWare. You can take part in the contest, too!!!
Hurry up and come out, please! Me need!
hey, does anyone know when this game comes out for US
Definitely getting it!
This looks quite enjoyable for a more "application" type game. Due to it's nature, maybe, just maybe, Nintendo might have a promo release for free like with Photo Dojo. And even if not, I'm definately going to get this.
I'd have to agree with you there, the lack of a sharing system seems rather odd. I would figure if this is the "Flipnote Studio of the musical world," they'd make sure it would have a sharing system. Why this peice of DSi Ware suffers from the lack thereof, I couldn't guess why.
anxiously waiting for this.
I'm curious though... Can it do 8-bit music? I'm looking for a reliable song maker for a game I'm working on.
hmmmmm... i would DEFFINATELY buy this if i didnt already have warioware DIY... but i might still consider it
@10 All games need music though, plus they have visuals plus you can control them. And @43 lol im in the exact same predicament (although im looking for midi) thats why i started looking at this.
Did Prosody change is name?
@Myndaember: He did indeed. Like Sean Aaron and Corbie before him, he's decided to stick with the name his parents gave him. :3
Is it the flipnote studios of music editing? If so, good. I'm looking forward to using my DSi Sound files in conjunction with the built in Mic tweaked to perfection with the sound editor to rock a massive monster mamma jam, back it up onto my SD card and upload it to the site.
...Am I right on the money or am I setting myself up for a letdown? I don't even care that much if it doesn't have online as long as the other features are present, then I'd agree it pretty much is the flipnote of music.
If they do make a Rytmik2, I hope they include Rock -> Metal instruments because it's my favorite genre and it's far too neglected when it comes to music composing tools.
I'm probly the only person on this site who isn't very interested in this game. Then again, I'm not very musically-inclined.
@Cats - You're going to be disappointed. There's no Mic support and no SD export/upload feature, as stated in the review.
And they've announced a second Rytmik with Rock instruments
Thanks for the info James. Maybe a future iteration of this thing will be exactly what I would envision. The UI in this looks pretty intuitive, and that's probably the biggest hurdle. Even though it's not really comparable to flipnote, it still looks decent, I'm going to get this anyway. Anyone that's used Flipnote in depth knows that it's insanely flexible. Even if this has a fraction of the freedom, it's probably quite good. I mean, I doubt you guys would give it a 9/10 if it wasn't. I just wouldn't use flipnote's name quite as flippantly. :S
For all it's worth, DIY should have a score of 10. I really want the indie developers to succeed, and I think this has potential as does Rhythm Core Alpha.
This plays like RCA looks, and RCA plays like this looks. If you like laying down a backbeat and then jamming out to it all freestyle like... get RCA. If you enjoy reading tech manuals and theories, get Rytmik. I'm somewhere in the middle, so I got both.
"It is certainly far more friendly then the "KORG DS-10"
Ummm, Shiryu, this app is completely different from the Korg DS-10. You can't compare the two.
There is a 2nd Rytmik Contest of Cinemaxgames (Song Contest)!!!
Deadline is Thursday September 30th 2010: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsUlyZ35OYo
My entry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yetFAE4_9Y
Buying with Shantae Today!
This looks so cool! Possibly one of the best and most sophisticated DSiWare releases yet!
I just downloaded it now... Creating music is cool!
RYTMIK is still great, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM5P8MnVhi8
Oooh! Now I can write music on my DSi for lyric ideas! ^^
what instruments can you get on this? can you get things like violins, pianos or trumpets?
@Raylax i ve done it. use an aux cable to plug into ur pc, and then use a sound card recording thing and use the exturnal mic, then record as u play.
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