Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of Rhythm Thief, which first came out in Japan on January 19, 2012.
Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure is an excellent rhythm game about a thief trying to learn the truth behind his father’s disappearance.
My best comparison for how it plays is that it’s like a Professor Layton game with rhythm games instead of puzzles, and it’s really a lot of fun. The story is also insane in all the best ways.
Back when I played it and wrote my review, my one criticism was that it ends on a big sequel hook but never got a sequel. Three years ago, I returned to the topic of Rhythm Thief to once again lament the lack of a sequel.
Now here we are in 2025, still with no Rhythm Thief sequel in sight.
With the 3DS eShop having been shut down, it is now pretty much impossible to get a copy of Rhythm Thief. Physical 3DS copies are rare and expensive, and the only port it ever got was an abridged iOS version that was shut down years ago. As much as I want a sequel, I can’t help but think a port or remaster of the original is an important step toward making that possible.
From Ghost Trick to Trace Memory to Xenoblade Chronicles X, we’ve had plenty of nearly-forgotten games be revived lately. In this era of unexpected remasters and revivals of old series, I really hope Rhythm Thief is the next to make a return.
And don’t worry, the daily blog dedicated to counting the days until we get a sequel is still active.
Rhythm Thief & the Emperor’s Treasure is one of my favorite underrated games, and I’d love to see it get a sequel someday. For now, I hope for a remaster so that more people get to play it. Do you think we’ll see a Rhythm Thief remaster anytime soon?
Damn it really has been a long time. I’m pretty sure my copy was just a digital one that’s still loaded on my system… it was a fun game, hopefully it comes back someday! For various reasons it feels harder to bring back music focused games due to music rights and such being more specific than others, sometimes. Though who knows if it’s even being actively considered.
Same, mine is a digital copy too.
Wasn’t Rhythm Thief’s music all made for the game, though? I wouldn’t expect it to run any issues like that.