all of the great rhythm games are basically controller simulators and gitaroo man is no exception. it tells you to press buttons and you press the button they say when they say. however, a few key factors give gitaroo man the edge over the rest of the pack.

1. you gotta point the analog stick where they say. this is fun. and strangely still an elusive mechanic.
2. the way that the controller buttons show up on screen is tough, but fair. the order the buttons come in feels very appropriate for each stage, and they are thoughtfully arranged so that you are always making fluid motions with your hand
3. its pretty funny, not like super laugh out loud good times, but it's got the right level of levity for a rhythm game. you're just pressing buttons. they get it.
4. the music is good. even though it says that the soundtrack is by "COIL" it is not the same band as "Coil". it would be cool if Coil, or hell, any bands featuring members of throbbing gristle, did the soundtrack for a video game, but they did not make the soundtrack for this one. if anybody reading this is working on a new ouendan game please consider including a song by chris and cosey. but even though its by a different band named COIL, the music is still good.
5. the multiplayer is sick. one of my favorite multiplayer games ever. and with 4 players??? to quote irving berlin, "heaven. i'm in heaven." but you need to find a crt (because the game has too much input lag on an lcd), a ps2, a multitap, three controllers, and three other players who have played the game enough to be competitive with you. in 2019, this is , to put it lightly, an "ask."

all of this is to say that , this game from the "golden age of rhythm games that dont require additional hardware to play (encompassing the release of parappa the rapper up until more or less around when guitar hero came out)" is a sterling example of what the genre can be, and what video games can be.

It doesn't take much to turn "Impossible" into "I'm possible." (That's your dream, calling.) The heart has wings: I've taken the leap: it's your turn!

There's a moment in Gitaroo Man in level 6 where after all the chaos that was levels 4 and 5, our protagonist, U-1, who has been the hero, Gitaroo Man, gets his time to play not as Gitaroo Man, but as U-1. It's a first for the image of the love interest, Pico/Kirah, to talk to U-1 since he is seen as such a loser. Where every previous level had dozens of layers of instrumentation that each have their own spotlight, the acoustic guitar is the main and only focus. The Legendary Theme is played with an acoustic guitar. While levels 1-5 were challenging and had conflict, level 6 is far more serene and one of the easier levels in the game; a lovely serenade sung without words. It's this contrast between the other levels that makes Gitaroo Man a poignant game of the 2000's.

When the game starts its story, we get introduced to our conflict: Kazuya/Zowie. He's always talking down to U-1, calling him pathetic and he'll never git gud. This does not go well for U-1 since he doesn't have self-love and immediately gets shot down. Throughout the game, U-1 has been a reluctant protagonist. He doesn't want to be given the responsibility of being Gitaroo Man. His best friend, a dog named Puma, has been tasking him to follow his quest to be the ultimate Gitaroo Man.

That is until level 9, the penultimate level. U-1 is set to fight against Kirah for the last Gitaroo in this brief moment, but U-1 backs down. Not because he's a coward, but because he knows to make love, not war. Instead of running away or acting fearful, he plays The Legendary Theme again. With instruments accompanying him and all. Kirah joins him as they play. Like level 6, there's no damage given to anyone dyring this segment. And it's at the end of the level where he realizes that he is loved for existing, giving him the self love, courage, and confidence to stand up against Zowie. The Legendary Theme is not only a song about love between two people, it's a song about love in general. Not only is this one of my favorite songs in all of gaming, but it is one of my favorite gaming moments.

Gitaroo Man is a farily unique rhythm game in how it plays. You are not only pressing buttons or strumming along to a pretend guitar. You move the analog stick to follow a line and press buttons at the right time. It's not perfect in how it feels as there were times where I thought I was in line, but the game regesters it as missing the rest of the note. But the way that this mechanic is used gives the guitar its own voice. The charts will paint slur notes going up and down. The moments where you only press buttons have their highlights where so much is coming at once, but it still feels easy to handle; these parts of the charts make you feel uncomfortable as you have to press non-adjacent buttons like hitting cross and triangle in rapid succession, but pressing so many buttons so quickly is so satisfying, it's like you are playing the guitar. Some charts feel downright sadistic, giving you rapid small notes to hit that you will be likely to miss a couple. On my first playthrough, there were songs where I missed 100+ notes.

And all of this is topped off with an astonishing soundtrack, varying in so many genres complimenting the guitar while all being done by one band. Reggae + synthwave, acoustic, metal, eurobeat, drum & bass, funk, whatever genre Born to be Bone is because HOT DAMN! That track slaps so hard!

Top 3 Tracks of Gitaroo Man

1. Both The Legendary Theme versions

2. Born to be Bone

3. Bee'Jam Blues

Gitaroo Man is a triumph in rhythm games. It's got a lot of heart that could easily stike a chord with a banger soundtrack. Don't skip out on this if you want a challenging rhythm game and persevere because when U-1 wins, then you won.

9.5/10

Colorful, quirky, and highly energetic, Gitaroo Man is a unique game using rhythm mechanics for a series of battles and other scenes making up its short but memorable story.

That rhythm gameplay takes two forms. The main one has you moving the control stick around to align with a line that feeds toward the center of the screen, while tapping and holding a button along with the displayed rhythm. The other style of gameplay is the four face buttons (Square, Triangle, etc.) sliding in to the center from their respective directions. I found both of these to be a bit awkward to perform and hard to parse out visually, and by the end of the game I definitely had some noticeable discomfort in my wrist. It's still pretty fun though, challenging and often flowing really well once you get used to it.

The main reason I recommend the game is for everything around the gameplay. The most obvious for a rhythm game is the soundtrack, which has an eclectic mix of genres and a lot of fun original songs. It fits very well with the off-the-wall visuals and story, with some short cutscenes between levels and a lot going on in the background while you play. Visually its style has aged remarkably well—I played it upscaled to 1440p on an emulator, and you would honestly be forgiven for thinking it's a recent indie game or something. There is a ton of personality in the game on the whole, and there's even a decent emotional core to the story which culminates in its best scene right near the end of the game. I'm still humming that song, it's so good.

This is a pretty quick game to get through, and I definitely recommend giving it a shot if you're a fan of rhythm games and inclined toward enjoying wacky Japanese stuff. It has a creativity and pizazz to it that we could definitely use more of in gaming.

(Thanks for the recommendation, DucksOnQuack!)