Gitaroo Man Lives!

"Mazinger, man dressed in a bee suit, a talking dog, and a great music game"

Plenty of titles come and go under the radar with little noticing, but those little that do notice end up playing great overlooked titles that only they spruce up a list of must-plays with. Gitaroo Man is one of these titles--one of the titles that have only a limited amount of copies that have the game maintain a high price throughout eternity.

Gitaroo Man is a rhythm game in which you play U-1, a kid mocked by his classmates and looked over by the crush of his dreams Pico. The game kicks off proper when U-1's pet dog Puma turns into a speaking mecha and teaches U-1 how to play the gitaroo. Later on Gitaroo Man is informed that he is the legendary hero of Planet Gitaroo.

The story is a wacky endeavor, and at the beginning of every level you'll watch a small video that depicts progress through the story. The whole game flows freely with these videos, telling the wacky lighthearted story through visuals and music--the story is lighthearted, but you'll find yourself enjoying it as any deep story out there, since it's both fun and funny.

The game-play is divided into TWO main sections, and those are the charging/attack phases and guarding phase. In the first phase, you either build up U-1s health meter--charging--or attack your current enemy--attack. To do this, you wait for an on-screen line. You follow this line with the analogue stick, and you rotate the analogue with the line's rotations. On the line are bars that come in different lengths, and at the tip of each is a circle. Your goal is to press the O button as soon as the circle reaches the center of the screen, and keep holding it throughout its length.

You are instantly told of your performance by a GREAT/GOOD/OK/MISS on-screen cue. These are what determine the grade you get at the end of each level, as well as determining the health you charge up and damage you inflict upon the enemy/yourself--if you miss.

The other section is the guarding phase, in which on-screen face buttons--X,O,/\,and[ ] rush towards the center of the screen from their respective sides. Your goal is to press the right face button the moment it hits the center. This is all fine and dandy, but when you are rushed with all four buttons in pairs+, you're bound to take damage before you can get your act together.

To get your act together, you have to FOCUS/PRACTICE, because when the two aforementioned sections start to gang up on you intermittently, you'll need to be ready. A rush of guard face buttons followed instantly by an attack phase pointed diagonally left and upwards will have you up in a bunch if you weren't prepared, so practice and determination are key.

Now that I think about it, this game is like these anime shows in which the hero ends up facing his own emotions to beat out the baddies--in this game you have to keep getting up until you finally win in a moment of pure determination. You will cry, but you will also cry tears of joy and happiness once you've cleared a nasty stage.

The levels are all sorts of wacky, and the level songs are pretty on the ears with enough variation--there are 11 in total with an extra 2 exclusive for the PSP in Duet mode. On one level, you will take on a man dressed in a Bee Suit playing the trumpet--one of my favorite songs in the game. In another level, you'll play a melancholic soft song to soother the heart of a girl--another great moment in which you feel part of a music movie playing the girl a song.

And it's these great moments in each and every level along with the whole wackiness/freshness of the characters/storyline that makes this game GREAT despite its short length. I finished the game in a couple hours, but that didn't stop me from LOVING this game--after all, it's rarely that you come across something this fresh and fun.

The only other gripe (besides length) that you can have with the game is its difficulty, but to me, the difficulty was a plus. If the game was easy, it wouldn't have given me the satisfaction it did when clearing a level, and perfecting the songs wouldn't have made a difference. The end of level grade that you net determines what unlockables you get--a collection of the game's characters, which isn't much. What keeps you going back to perfect the song comes out of the enjoyment and addiction the game offers the player, and that's rarely seen these days.

If you can find this and you're into rhythm games, do the genre a favor and get it; we need more Gitaroo Mans and less Wii Music please.

Pros

+Great characters/storyline
+Difficult/Challenging
+Lovely songs
+Addicting gameplay
+BEE KING

Cons

-The analogue can slip your finger at times
-Difficult
-The game can be done with fairly quickly

Story - 10
Visuals - 8
Audio - 10

Gameplay - 9
-FUN Factor - 9
-Controls - B - the analogue nub can get a bit slippery with all the palm sweat
-Difficulty - HARD

Lifespan - 5

Overall - 9

A great overlooked game worthy of its entry into any great game collection. Get it and rock your gitaroos.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/01/08

Game Release: Gitaroo Man Lives! (US, 11/14/06)