Play Rhapsody - A Musical Adventure (EU)(M2)(XenoPhobia) Online

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure came out on the Nintendo DS in 2000, developed by Nippon Ichi Software. It was a time when handheld RPGs were starting to experiment more with style and presentation, and this one stood out immediately for its willingness to be completely, unapologetically itself. The game doesn't try to fit a mold; it feels like a personal project that somehow made it to store shelves.

You control a young girl named Cornet and her puppet companions, exploring towns and dungeons in a classic top-down style. Your main goal is to rescue the prince, which involves navigating through various story-driven quests. The signature mechanics are its turn-based combat, where characters and enemies perform actions to the rhythm of full vocal songs, and the ability to talk to monsters to recruit them to your party. The pacing is brisk, and the difficulty is generally forgiving, making it more about the journey than grueling challenges. Playing it feels like stepping into a cheerful, slightly absurd musical where every battle is a new performance.