Gitaroo Man Retro Review – The Guitar Hero

Music games have always been a thing. While the genre has been largely spearheaded by heavy hitters which dominate a console generation or two, such as Dance Dance Revolution/Dancing Stage, Guitar Hero/Rock Band, Singstar or Just Dance, there is a smaller offshoot of this genre which I call the Japanese Rhythm game subgenre, and it’s here where we find rarer treats.

The PS1 had Vib-Ribbon, the PS3 and PS4 had the Hatsune Miku: Project Diva games, but the PS2 brought us a hyper-eccentric rhythm battler the likes of which we’d never seen before. This was the arrival of a game and a strange superhero we never knew we needed. This was Gitaroo Man.

Introduction

Gitaroo Man is a rhythm game developed by iNiS and published by Koei for the PlayStation 2. The game features visual production by Mitsuru Nakamura and an original soundtrack by Japanese band COIL. The game was released in Japan on June 21st, 2001, in North America on February 18th, 2002, and in Europe on June 21st, 2002. An enhanced port of the game for PSP, titled Gitaroo Man Lives!, was released in 2006.

Story

Gitaroo Man follows a young Japanese boy named Yuuichi, which is playfully anglicised as “U-1” in the story’s surreal narrative. U-1 is often picked on by his rival Kazuya and passed over by the girl of his dreams, Pico. As such, U-1 is a lonely boy who lacks confidence, and only usually keeps his beloved pet dog Puma for company. Unbeknownst to all but U-1, Puma is actually incredibly intelligent and can speak. With encouragement from Puma, U-1 attempts to learn to play the guitar in his spare time, hoping it will make him more appealing to Pico.

One day, U-1 is suddenly attacked by an axe-wielding infantile demon named Panpeus. Puma transforms into a battle armoured form and gives U-1 a weapon known as the Last Gitaroo which transforms U-1 into the legendary warrior Gitaroo Man, revealing that U-1’s guitar lessons were in preparation for this encounter since he can now use music as a form of combative power. After their confrontation, it is revealed that Panpeus is just the first of many agents of the alien Gravillian Empire sent by Prince Zowie to enslave the universe using the power of the Gitaroos.

Gameplay

Gitaroo Man is a rhythm game in which the player character, U-1, faces various opponents in musical battles. In each level, both the player and opponent have a life bar, with the player tasked with depleting the opponent’s life bar and reaching the end of the song without running out of life themselves. With some exceptions, each level consists of three main phases; Charge, Attack, and Guard, followed by the ‘Harmony’ and ‘End’ phases at the end of the level.

During the Charge and Attack phases, players follow a ‘trace line’ using the analog stick, upon which red ‘phase bars’ will appear. By pressing and holding down the button at the start of a phase, timing it to its appearance at the center of the screen, and releasing the button at the end, the player plays music. In the Charge phase, successful notes restore the player character’s health, whereas in the Attack phase, successful notes damage the opponents, whilst missed notes will damage U-1’s health.

During the Guard phase, players must hit corresponding buttons as they reach the center of the screen to avoid attacks from opponents, taking damage should they miss. Unlike the player’s life bar, which ends the game if depleted, the opponent’s life bar is also indicative of the progress of the player. Most levels are split up into different sections which can have variations on each playthrough, and the player must damage the opponent enough to move onto the next section. Otherwise, they will have to repeat the section until enough damage is dealt.

At the end of each level, players play through the Harmony phase, which is similar to the Attack phase, and keep on playing it until the End phase, at which point the player will no longer take damage. After each level, players are given a rank based on their performance, with higher ranks unlocking bonus rewards.

Graphics/Sound

There’s a hyper-eccentric retro Japanese look to the characters which feels pleasingly familiar, not unlike ’80s chibi art. Character models are 3D, however their facial features (eyes, mouth, etc) are stuck-on 2D objects which are animated independently, this results in some brilliantly over-the-top reactions and gestures, similar to the overly expressive variety still appearing in surrealist anime to this day.

There’s a beautifully diverse colour range on show, with each staged themed around the particular baddie you’ll be facing off against. Every character is dubbed perfectly in English with performances that are equally representative of the unapologetically crazy theme of the game. Volumes are expertly balanced so that exposition can be delivered even during musical battle encounters.

As for the songs themselves, Japanese punk band COIL have outdone themselves by delivering a soundtrack to suit every mood, with the song genre changing from stage to stage. Whether you want J-pop, Rock, Blues, Latin Acoustic or Heavy Metal, there’s something here for everyone. One niggle though is that the English dubbed version of Flyin’ To Your Heart which featured in the demo was removed from the game and replaced with the original Japanese language version.

Replayability

With only ten stages to play through, the game can be potentially a very short experience, however the overall general high difficulty will likely result in more than a few ‘game over’ screens while you learn the rhythm and master the specific inputs of each song. Practice certainly makes perfect here.

Surviving to the end of a song will get you a passing grade, but there are additional perks for high achievers. Higher grades will unlock more scrapbook ‘Collection’ entries in the main menu’s journal which, once accessed, will allow you to view profiles for the story’s heroes, villains and supporting cast.

If after mastering the main songs you’re feeling particularly confident, ‘Masters’ Play’ is an additional mode unlocked after clearing the game once. In this mode, gameplay is harder as more complex notes appear, the ‘trace line’ features more twists and turns, making it harder to follow, and U-1 takes more damage from missed notes.

Versus Mode is the game’s multiplayer mode for two players battling split-screen. Both players battle against each other, playing as the respective song’s featured characters. Not all songs are available in this mode, and some songs are altered to provide better balance for both players compared to the single player mode.

Conclusion

We’ve been rather spoiled with quirky Japanese music games in recent years. The PS3 Hatsune Miku: Project Diva games brought us 30-40 songs in each game, while the updated PS4 installments offered customisable track-lists, potentially with over 60 songs in total, rivaling the likes of eclectic Guitar Hero track-lists. By comparison, Gitaroo Man’s 10 available songs may appear rather pitiful in number, yet it’s what the game does with these songs that makes it a force to be reckoned with.

Every song in the game tells an epic, action-packed chapter of a superhero story, rising from zero to hero, growing in both confidence and power, while also tackling real-life issues such as coming-of-age dramas of first loves, social anxiety, and betrayal. The game’s unique style of muddling gameplay and narrative together so seamlessly is nothing short of amazing.

The game’s lack of an easy mode to help along newcomers to the music genre, along with the quirky, hyperactive visual style and the game’s potentially short length will likely turn off many who are on the fence about Gitaroo Man’s potential, yet those brave enough to put in the investment (particularly in terms of practice) will soon find a satisfying return on that investment in the form of a magnificent, unique experience.