Rhythm Thief was pretty much a disappointment. As a fan of Phoenix Wright, Professor Layton, and Elite Beat Agents, it seemed like a perfect mix of the three. Unfortunately, it has none of the humor and wit of Phoenix Wright, none of the charm of Professor Layton, and the game mechanics themselves were not as fun as Elite Beat.

In particular, Where Elite Beat, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band make it feel like you are "playing" the music, Rhythm Heaven just layers calls and responses on top of the music. While technically it's timed to the rhythm of the music (mostly), the gameplay and the music don't feel very connected. The one exception is the violin minigame--which also happen to be the easiest.

One redeeming factor is the graphics and 3D cutscenes. While the story itself is full of "anime bullshit", from a technical and visual aesthetic level, it's very nice to look at.