GRcade

We're on stage!

In past months I've got into Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix on Switch. Now... I'm tone deaf, cannot sing, cannot play any kind of musical instrument, am an amazingly uncool dancer and am *terrible* at rhythm music games.

But I'm growing to like them!

39 Music! is the new thread where GRcadians who are music game fans can chat about the games and their adventures. We can cover all music games... my personal current taste is for Hatsune Miku songs and I'd like to try Groove Coaster, but there are no limits - if you love to get down to Just Dance or Rock Band, all the better!

Why 39 Music!? Because it's my fave song - so far - from Mega Mix! It hopefully makes for a quirky title!


So... are you into any music games? Maybe you're thinking of trying one out? Or perhaps you have some tips to share? Let's spin it up!

Great stuff Jawa.

I love rhythm music games. Always have, always will.

Rock Band 1 & 2 are the absolute pinnacle for me, largely because of the group nights I would regularly host and we would always have a fantastic laugh. Immediately prior to this I was playing Guitar Hero 2 on the PS2, and the hardware for that always felt significantly better and "in the pocket".

I was going to go back to GH Live on Wii U the other week, but I read that all the streamed stuff is no longer available as the servers closed several years ago. So the plastic guitar remains at the back of the cupboard under the stairs.

I keep meaning to give that one that has just launched on Game Pass ago, but I get the impression it's not going to be to my musical tastes (which is to say "good").

Oh, and I have spent a lot of time on Beat Saber on my Quest / Quest 2, which certainly adds an additional level of exertion.

A low point for me was Persona 4 Dancing All Night. I loved P4G, but this fan fiction story was just shite, as was the general lack of quality mapping.

Only this morning I was looking at that Switch game with the drum controller. It has a tenner off at the moment on Amazon, and I was seriously trying to convince myself that it was a bargain!

Can't say I've played Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix, but I'm currently enjoying Muse Dash on PC. It's £2.99 on Steam currently (also available on Switch and mobiles, apparently), and I'm enjoying it a lot. The music's primarily J-pop, and the aesthetic is the kind of cutesy, sickly-sweet fare you might expect, but it's simple to get to grips with and the songs are catchy. It's great to dip in and out of.

I've always been a fan of these kind of games since Frequency and Amplitude on the PS2. I became obsessed with the demo of DJMAX Respect on PS4 a while ago, and will pick that up the full game at some point (think that's on PC too) - I love the customisation options for each track in that one.

The thing I like about them is that typically my enjoyment of them increases as the difficulty increases. Find a good one and there's nothing like being in the zone and instinctively tapping out a song, almost on autopilot.

My favourite Hatsune Miku rhythm game:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Only this morning I was looking at that Switch game with the drum controller. It has a tenner off at the moment on Amazon, and I was seriously trying to convince myself that it was a bargain!

The drum is a) really fun, and b) very loud. I've hardly played it because I live in a terrace, my neighbours can definitely hear it

Had a flat mate around 2004 who had a PS2 with a full size Pop’n Music controller. He’d play this song over and over trying to 100% it and as a consequence it’s seared into my brain:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:...Rock Band 1 & 2 are the absolute pinnacle for me, largely because of the group nights I would regularly host and we would always have a fantastic laugh...

That sounds ace! I've never played Rock Band or Guitar Hero but they do look like being fun. They appear to have had massive music catalogues, too!

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:...Oh, and I have spent a lot of time on Beat Saber on my Quest / Quest 2, which certainly adds an additional level of exertion...

Playing such a game on Quest must genuinely be quite a workout. Get fit as you play!

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:...A low point for me was Persona 4 Dancing All Night. I loved P4G, but this fan fiction story was just shite, as was the general lack of quality mapping...

Dang, that's a shame as I had wondered about picking it up in a sale. I have no experience of Persona games, but the music ones looked neat.

OrangeRKN wrote:My favourite Hatsune Miku rhythm game:

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Only this morning I was looking at that Switch game with the drum controller. It has a tenner off at the moment on Amazon, and I was seriously trying to convince myself that it was a bargain!

The drum is a) really fun, and b) very loud. I've hardly played it because I live in a terrace, my neighbours can definitely hear it

I am in a similar position so that's really helpful information!

*Orders

In truth I will probably hold off on it. But it does look great!

Lotus wrote:...I'm currently enjoying Muse Dash on PC. It's £2.99 on Steam currently (also available on Switch and mobiles, apparently), and I'm enjoying it a lot. The music's primarily J-pop, and the aesthetic is the kind of cutesy, sickly-sweet fare you might expect, but it's simple to get to grips with and the songs are catchy. It's great to dip in and out of...

This sounds interesting, Lotus - I'll look it up on Switch later to check it out .

Lotus wrote:...I've always been a fan of these kind of games since Frequency and Amplitude on the PS2. I became obsessed with the demo of DJMAX Respect on PS4 a while ago, and will pick that up the full game at some point (think that's on PC too) - I love the customisation options for each track in that one...

I've heard of DJMAX but know much about it... was it the one with the record deck? Now that did look neat!

Lotus wrote:...The thing I like about them is that typically my enjoyment of them increases as the difficulty increases. Find a good one and there's nothing like being in the zone and instinctively tapping out a song, almost on autopilot.

Yeah, I'm only just starting out and Easy modes are about my limit right now, although I am pushing into Normal on a few Hatsune Miku tracks.

OrangeRKN wrote:My favourite Hatsune Miku rhythm game:

...

Ah! Vib Ribbon! I've not played it but it looked so quirky and cool, Orange! IIRC you could put your own music CDs into the PS1 to create new levels .

chanticleer wrote:Had a flat mate around 2004 who had a PS2 with a full size Pop’n Music controller. He’d play this song over and over trying to 100% it and as a consequence it’s seared into my brain:

Wow! I'd not heard of the game but it looks great and I like that track, chanticleer! That vid must be Hard level or something... it looks super-tough!

jawa_ wrote:Ah! Vib Ribbon! I've not played it but it looked so quirky and cool, Orange! IIRC you could put your own music CDs into the PS1 to create new levels .

Yes. It's a super cool feature I have never experienced because I have the game on Vita, where you can only play the default tracks. The default tracks are, at least, very much to my taste

I did have a PSP rhythm game that used your own music but I can't remember what it was called and can't find it online!

Can't really play anything in the genre anymore but I've previously played more western style rhythm action stuff like Amplitude, Frequency and the PSP Rock Band game and really enjoyed them, have played Gitaroo Man (PSP) but found it extremely difficult after the first couple of stages.

This level nearly killed me on easy mode, let alone on master.



I still occasionally play Audiosurf 2 but that only just qualifies as a proper rhythm game.

Ironhide wrote:...have played Gitaroo Man (PSP) but found it extremely difficult after the first couple of stages.

This level nearly killed me on easy mode, let alone on master.


....

That looks to be pretty crazy, Ironhide! I do wonder if most music games should have way easier modes for folk who are not ninjas with button reactions.

Ironhide wrote:...I still occasionally play Audiosurf 2 but that only just qualifies as a proper rhythm game.

I wasn't familiar with this but, having looked it up, it seems to be a fresh, cool music game.

Donkey Konga on GameCube was a great rhythm game, I still have the bongos and all 3 DK games (DK3 I think was Japan exclusive)



Rhythm Heaven games as well deserve a mention because they are also great and can be really random

ITSMILNER wrote:Donkey Konga on GameCube was a great rhythm game, I still have the bongos and all 3 DK games (DK3 I think was Japan exclusive)...

Ah, yes! The legendary bongos! They did look to be fun, Milner!

ITSMILNER wrote:...Rhythm Heaven games as well deserve a mention because they are also great and can be really random :lol:

I'd forgotten about this series. I'm sure I have Rhythm Paradise on the DS tucked away somewhere :-).

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The reception to this new 39 Music! thread has been terrific; it's so interesting to hear about the music games that you've all played and maybe this could encourage others to try 'em out, too. Bravo, folks!

OrangeRKN wrote:I did have a PSP rhythm game that used your own music but I can't remember what it was called and can't find it online!

I suddenly remembered this was on umd in a 3-pack that is sitting on my shelf - "PlayStation Network Collection Power Pack"



The game was called "beats", I only got it because I wanted to play Syphon Filter Combat Ops but both beats and flow were fun too!

OrangeRKN wrote:...The game was called "beats", I only got it because I wanted to play Syphon Filter Combat Ops but both beats and flow were fun too!

Nice one, Orange - we've uncovered a big range of music games already and it's gonna be interesting to see what else crops up.

Another one that I own but have still not put much time into is Crypt of the Necrodancer



Did many of you play this or the Zelda spin off Cadence of Hyrule

ITSMILNER wrote:Another one that I own but have still not put much time into is Crypt of the Necrodancer...

...Did many of you play this or the Zelda spin off Cadence of Hyrule...

I haven't tried either of 'em, Milner, but I think most folk are complimentary about the games. IIRC Matt (TWA) quite enjoyed Cadence.

jawa_ wrote:

Ironhide wrote:...have played Gitaroo Man (PSP) but found it extremely difficult after the first couple of stages.

This level nearly killed me on easy mode, let alone on master.


....

That looks to be pretty crazy, Ironhide! I do wonder if most music games should have way easier modes for folk who are not ninjas with button reactions.

It was more the analog nub use that made it difficult, my right hand still had decent mobility at the time so the rapid button presses weren't too bad on the easier difficulty settings.

Back in the PS1 days I was fairly decent at most games, I could even do most of the 10 hit combos in Tekken 3 (not King or Ninas multi part throws/grapples though, they were impossible).

jawa_ wrote:

Lotus wrote:...I've always been a fan of these kind of games since Frequency and Amplitude on the PS2. I became obsessed with the demo of DJMAX Respect on PS4 a while ago, and will pick that up the full game at some point (think that's on PC too) - I love the customisation options for each track in that one...

I've heard of DJMAX but know much about it... was it the one with the record deck? Now that did look neat!

You might be thinking of DJ Hero? I had that as well, but it wasn't anything special.

Now I've had more time to think about it, these are the rhythm action games I've owned:

Frequency
Amplitude
Gitaroo Man
Rez
Donkey Konga
Donkey Konga 2
Guitar Hero III
DJ Hero
DJ Hero 2
Space Channel 5: Part 2
Melody's Escape
Muse Dash
DJMAX Respect (just realised that I have bought this, just not got around to playing it yet)

I've played things like Parappa The Rapper, Taiko no Tatsujin, etc, and - thinking about it - perhaps a demo of a Hatsune Miku game, but haven't felt inclined to pick any of them up.

Gitaroo Man is probably my favourite from the list above, and I'd love a sequel to that, but I had a blast with Guitar Hero, and Frequency and Amplitude were great too. I played the remake of Amplitude and it just wasn't that good - the tracks were pretty poor.