Falling Flat – Encountering Rhapsody’s DS Glitches

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure for the Nintendo DS has caused some heartbreak among fans not only because promised bonus content was not included, but also because the game itself isn’t working properly for some players. As I began my run-through, I decided to play it safe. I researched problems others were having to see if I could avoid/prevent them. I figured being informed would save my game – in short, I was naive and a little bit stupid.

My main worry would be that I would run into the Chapter 2 glitch that happens at Cornet and Etoile’s “Let’s Go On – Contest” sing-off. Apparently, a lot of people had received double black screens at that moment. I saved before hand and entered Cornet in the Miss Marl Kingdom Contest.

Nothing happened.

Well, that isn’t completely accurate. Stuff happened, but it was stuff that was supposed to happen. There was no glitch.

I was pleased, figured it was just an isolated problem with a few carts and DS units, and kept playing.

That is, until “Evil Queen.” Marjoly and her minions have a musical number shortly after “Let’s Go On – Contest”. The game was preparing that segment and suddenly both my screens went black.

Perhaps Marjoly’s evilness had somehow infected the cart and affected the inner workings, because I was experiencing the very same glitch so many others had reported – only delayed.

I turned off my DS. Thankfully, I had saved shortly before the musical number. I reloaded the save. The second time through, the story progressed as normal without any black screens.

So if you’re playing, save often. Save before any major events and battles, and right after any major events and battles. Also, perhaps keep a second, back-up save file.

The second glitch ended up happening almost without me noticing. Right after I found Billy, the third and final egg brother, I decided to go on their side quest. All puppets (except Kururu) have a side-quest in the game. If you accomplish a certain task, their soul will be reincarnated. The egg brothers Kid, Tell and Billy wanted to be heroes.

So I went to Mothergreen, talked to the tailor and his assistant and learned about the chimera in the Ancient Woods. I headed over there, with the three eggs in my main party, and defeated the monster. Kid, Tell and Billy were happy. They reincarnated and left me their puppets.

Then, as I was leaving the area, a random battle started. I decided to use the new attack from the egg brothers, to see how it looked.

It wasn’t there.

I beat the battle like normal and checked my inventory. When a puppet reincarnates, it leaves a “tie” item behind, that gives Cornet a new skill/magic attack. I had the TieWithTheSisters, TieWithThePopular, TheDragonFamily Tie and TieWithTheHellfire, but no tie item referring to the egg brothers.

So I reloaded my save, made before I triggered their sidequest. I got the Holystone and finished Koro’s sidequest. I then returned to Mothergreen to trigger the quest again. Beat the Chimera, checked my inventory and still no egg brothers skill or tie.

I then went and got the final Earthstone. Since I was nearing the chapter’s end (and was concerned that the egg brothers’ quest may be time sensitive), I went and completed the task. They reincarnated, and the ingrates left me nothing. I removed Kid, Tell and Billy from my party, condemned them to the bottom of the extra character list, and moved on with the game.

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure DS is a fun game, but be prepared to save often and always check to see if your reincarnated puppets leave behind an item and skill for Cornet.

Images Courtesy of NIS America.