still advised to stay home as much as possible, televisions and smart devices feel more than ever like flickering portals, promising the addled mind passage to anywhere but our own four walls. If past generations saw their wanderlust reflected in Alice peering down a rabbit hole or Luke Skywalker staring down a sunset, the COVID-era equivalent will almost certainly involve a hero gazing into a screen: With most of the U.S. When I came into the demo, I was expecting a sound akin to J-Pop because of the name, but the actual soundtrack sounds closer to something out of Europe, a bit of trance mixed with Carly Rae Jepsen.Sayonara Wild Hearts' protagonist assumes her heroic form as masked avenger The Fool. Olsén crafted an original pop album for Sayonara Wild Hearts and it’s truly the star. The Soundtrack Steals The ShowThe star of any rhythm game is its soundtrack, and Sayonara Wild Hearts has a certified banger from composer Daniel Olsén.

Fights are won by timing your button presses to the rhythm, though you’re mostly dodging fireballs until the end when you wallop your opponent in a Donkey Kong Country-style button-mash. These levels are sometimes broken up with boss fights against a rival magical girl biker gang. The more accurate you are, and the more points you successfully collect, the better your final score. Like Thumper, players will run through on-rail levels set to music and time lane switches to the beat. Less big-eyed anime heroes, and more hexagonal shapes and neon.

But, aesthetically, Sayonara Wild Hearts is its own thing. I’m comfortable with calling Sayonara Wild Hearts anime-inspired because of how familiar the premise is to classic magical girl anime. The young woman, who transforms into the masked biker “The Fool” thanks to a diamond butterfly (again, Sailor Moon fans, eat your heart out) sets out to save the universe and fight rival biker gangs: Little Death, Dancing Devils, Howling Moons, Stereo Lovers, and Hermit 64. Only, instead of demons, she fights magical biker gangs. Magical Girl Anime Meets Rhythm ActionBut where Thumper is “rhythm violence” Sayonara Wild Hearts is more “rhythm magic.” The main character, a normal, unnamed girl who is gifted with magical powers, is just like the Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura protagonists from the 'mahou shoujo' (magical girl) anime genre.

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