Gitaroo Man

"Ahhh... Gitaroo-Man: The Legendary Game"

Very rarely does a game come along that not only transcends the basis of its genre, but also kicks it up a notch and veritably redefines it! So-called ''rhythm games'' have always been one of the many banes of my existence. Quite frankly, I've never been very good at any. Furthermore, none of them aroused my tastes in music. I couldn't stand Parappa the Rapper, Bust-a-Groove confounded me, Dance Dance Revolution gave me nightmares, and even Sega's Space Channel 5's wacky charm could not break through to me. By the time Koei released Gitaroo Man States-side I had no inclination to ever play a rhythm game again.

However, whether it was my own morbid curiosity, the incessant pleading of a friend to try it out, or a combination of the two, I did attempt Gitaroo Man. Safely to say, it was an incident that literally changed my life. (All right, so it wasn't as grand a change as say, getting married, or buying a house, but on a small scale.. okay, a miniscule scale, it did change the way I looked at rhythm games!) This game is good. The music is extremely good. And, if you give it a chance, you'll be rewarded with a fantastic experience.

The story of Gitaroo Man is fairly simplistic, though often confusing. It barely makes an ounce of sense, but once you're playing, none of that matters. The first thing one has to realize when playing is that Gitaroo man is one hundred percent, bona fide Japanese. This label carries with it some fairly outstanding distinctions. It is probably more bizarre than anything you have ever seen, unless you already pride yourself a connoisseur of Japanese Pop culture, in which case you know what to expect. We're talking about a guy dressed in a bee outfit, who plays the Saxophone like Dizzy Gillespie, in a forest swamp with backup singing frogs under a starry sky. And you have to battle him using only guitar solos. It doesn't get much stranger than that, unless you count some of the other levels in Gitaroo Man.

To the uninitiated, the question ''Why?'' must permeate all of rational comprehensible thought. Well, like Parappa, and Space Channel 5, this game tries to come of with semblances of a story. It's the story of a young teenage boy, inaptly named ''U-1.'' I can only assume this is because ''U2'' was already taken. U-1 is your average socially inept teenager, complete with dorky clothes, a rival bully, a love interest that seems nearly unattainable, and a pet dog that transforms into a robot. That's right, a robot dog that tosses U-1 his musical Gitaroo, which transforms him into the legendary Gitaroo Man. And if poor U-1 didn't have enough troubles on his hands, the world is under attack by space aliens bent on building an ultimate weapon.

Did I mention weapons come in the form of Music? Each level of the game features an enemy who tries in vain to defeat U-1 and steal his legendary Gitaroo. Each enemy also has their own distinctive Gitaroo instrument, and follows a particular style of music. That's right, as Gitaroo man, you battle your enemies with all sorts of music ranging from Japanese Synth Pop, to Hardcore Heavy Metal; Acoustic Love Ballads to Techno Reggae. There's a Jazz song level, and even one featuring a trio of Mariachi band Skeletons. In all, there are about 10 levels, with a steadily rising curve of difficulty.

The game play is as follows. There are roughly four parts to any given stage:

''Charging'' usually comes first. This mode allows Gitaroo Man to build up his energy/life bar by following a highlighted line. This line comes from varying directions on the screen and heads towards the middle, where there is a blue dot representing where you have to press the button. Any of the four face buttons on the controller will work for this part, as it is the left analog stick you need to worry about. To follow the line, you must match the direction of the analog stick to the direction of the line, and press a button for the duration of the highlighted section. It sounds harder than it looks, and it should only take a few initial tries before getting the hang of it.

''Attacking'' is broken up into two separate parts. Gitaroo Man and his enemies take turns playing their instruments and either dealing damage to the other combatant, or nimbly avoiding damage. Dealing damage is similar to charging. You simply follow a line, and based on how accurately you hit your mark and follow the highlighted section, the more damage is done. Dodging is completely different, however. This part will seem similar to veterans of the rhythm genre, as symbols will come from all four sides of the screen towards the center. Luckily, this is done in a very logical manner, and actually mimics the layout of the Playstation 2 controller. A Triangle symbol comes from the top of the screen, Circle comes from the right, Square from the left, and X from the bottom. You simply have to hit the corresponding button when the symbol passes over the center dot to successfully dodge an attack.

The ''Final'' part of the song is a Solo performed by Gitaroo Man, and is comprised once again of the familiar ''follow the line'' technique. This part is basically just the icing on the cake. It's the part where you get to rub it in the enemy's face, that you are a better musician than they are, but only if you play it well. ''Final'' is also where you must prove your skill and not miss your lines, for if you miss to often, you will drain the rest of your energy and lose.

Gitaroo Man is not a game for everyone, as it caters to some very peculiar tastes. Some people out there may be turned off by its simplistic graphics. Simple as they may be, however, they are all beautifully animated, and lively with so much stuff going on around you that it is nearly impossible to notice it all the first few times through the game. Unfortunately, however, you cannot truly appreciate the artwork while actively playing the game, because it takes so much concentration to focus on the actual game play. Luckily, though, there is a replay feature after you beat each level, where you can see exactly how you did. The amazing musical work is also something more noticeable while watching rather than playing, but even then, it is commendable. Each note actually fits the game play almost perfectly. Words cannot adequately capture this phenomenon; it must be heard to be believed. Even the backgrounds correspond to the music for the most part. It's not so much a game, than it is a musical epic.

The only potential problem with the game is that it may seem a little too short for some people; especially those who only play a game once, and forget about it, or trade it in once they have beaten it. However, the game does offer great replay value. When you do beat the game, there's significant reason to play again. After completing it, a Master Mode is unlocked which adds greatly to the difficulty of the game. To make the game more difficult, Master Mode splits most of the longer riffs into many smaller notes, actually changing the very sound of the song. If regular mode is a garage band like Green Day, Master Mode is Joe Satriani, or one of the other guitar greats. Players will also notice that not only are there more notes to hit, but the pace is also greatly quickened, and the amount of life taken away for misses, is increased. Some songs will also have several new variations of notes mixed throughout. Be prepared for a challenge. If that isn't enough to warrant playing through Gitaroo Man again, the game rates your skill; with A being the best, and D being the worst. Your score is recorded, and depending on how well you do, you can earn items, which are little more than trophies you can collect for doing well. Still, if you need another reason to play after mastering it all, the music alone is good enough reason to keep coming back for more.

Oh, not to be left out, there is even a multiplayer game. However, Koei doesn't stop with just a two-player competition. Right! You can play Gitaroo Man with up to three other people! Does it get any better than trouncing your friends with guitar solos?

I would recommend this game to several types of people:
A. Those who enjoy rhythm/dance games.
B. Those who like music, and in particular, the guitar.
C. Anyone who likes a throwback to classic games that don't require more than thirty hours to complete, strategy guides, or popcorn and soda to sit down and watch several hours worth of cut scenes.
D. Anyone with a love for all things Japanese; it doesn't get much more so than this!
E. Those who are simply looking for something different.

Unfortunately however, this game did not sell very well when it came out, and therefore may be difficult to get a hold of. If you do some searching, though, you should be able to find it. It is completely worth the price of admission, and if you still can't get enough of Gitaroo Man, an official soundtrack is also offered through many import stores. A game like this is a rare find on the Playstation 2, and I could not recommend it more.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/11/02, Updated 06/11/02