Rhythm Heaven for Wii ditches waggle, sticks with buttons

When Nintendo announced that they would continue their cult favorite Rhythm Heaven series on Wii, fans were concerned that the game's ultra-precise rhythm-based gameplay would be sullied by imprecise motion controls, but it turns out all the worry was over nothing. Satoru Iwata announced that Rhythm Heaven on Wii would stick to button controls only, “I tried out a near-final version of the game, and felt that this (version), playable with a TV monitor, never loses the uniqueness of the original… (It) is intentionally designed to be played only with buttons.”

The Rhythm Heaven series began on the Game Boy Advance in 2007. Due to Nintendo of America's focus on the DS at the time, it never made its way to America officially, but became an import favorite. The series made its American debut with Rhythm Heaven for the DS in 2009 (called Rhythm Heaven Gold in Japan). Some fans of the original felt that the stylus input on the DS version was a poor replacement for the buttons of the GBA and arcade versions, so the upcoming Wii version might be a welcome return to form for those fans.

Rhythm Heaven is set for release in Japan this summer. No western release date has been given, but perhaps we'll hear something at E3.