Music and/or Rhythm Games Catch All

CptDomano wrote:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/nVhUXVl.png)

Seriously cannot wait for this.

+1 cat/dog airplane tennis match

New trailer for Thumper today, sticking to 2016 release window and adding a promise of Playstation VR support. Along with Rez and SuperHyperCube the PSVR is going to be one hell of an audiovisual experience.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
CptDomano wrote:

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/nVhUXVl.png)

Seriously cannot wait for this.

+1 cat/dog airplane tennis match

(Rhythm Heaven Megamix) Out now in the North America 3DS eShop

shoptroll wrote:

(Rhythm Heaven Megamix) Out now in the North America 3DS eShop

IMAGE(https://imgur.com/Vwt36Ur.jpg)

Downloading now!

IMAGE(http://i.giphy.com/LSNqpYqGRqwrS.gif)

ClockworkHouse wrote:

+1 cat/dog airplane tennis match

It's the third level, just FYI

So, I'm already through the second set of games, and I'm kind of surprised by how many of these are repeat games. I've already seen backgammon, Karate Fighter, glee club, and the inflatable boxing guy. Perhaps even more interesting to me is that I don't really care that they've repeated so many Rhythm Heaven minigames initially. They are still just as fun even if it's nothing more than changing the song that plays.

The one complaint that I have so far is that having the timing animation on the bottom screen is throwing me off. It's funny--I always used to get frustrated in previous RH games when I'd feel like I put in a good effort, but didn't get superb. Now, it's not so much that I'm getting a visual of how off my timing is, it's that I'm not getting superb enough at the end of a stage. 91?! I got everything close or on perfect, AND I got the skill star. 91 is all I get?! COME ON GAME

CptDomano wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

+1 cat/dog airplane tennis match

It's the third level, just FYI

So, I'm already through the second set of games, and I'm kind of surprised by how many of these are repeat games. I've already seen backgammon, Karate Fighter, glee club, and the inflatable boxing guy. Perhaps even more interesting to me is that I don't really care that they've repeated so many Rhythm Heaven minigames initially. They are still just as fun even if it's nothing more than changing the song that plays.

The whole conceit of this RH game is that it's bringing back a mix of the best games from previous RHs along with new games. That's why it was called Rhythm Heaven the Best in Japan. I'm not sure they've made this clear in the non-existent marketing they did for the game in NA

Anyway, yeah, each set of four contains one game from the GBA RH, one game from the DS RH, one game from the Wii RH, and one new game. Once you get through the initial six areas, more areas open up with new versions of those games and remixes. There's a good chance the GBA RH games are new to you because it was only released in Japan -- although if you're interested, it's completely possible to play with no Japanese language knowledge. I did.

The Martian translator is the standout so far for me. I love that if you mess up it turns the Martian's message into some stereotypical "evil alien" dialogue.

Demyx wrote:
CptDomano wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:

+1 cat/dog airplane tennis match

It's the third level, just FYI

So, I'm already through the second set of games, and I'm kind of surprised by how many of these are repeat games. I've already seen backgammon, Karate Fighter, glee club, and the inflatable boxing guy. Perhaps even more interesting to me is that I don't really care that they've repeated so many Rhythm Heaven minigames initially. They are still just as fun even if it's nothing more than changing the song that plays.

The whole conceit of this RH game is that it's bringing back a mix of the best games from previous RHs along with new games. That's why it was called Rhythm Heaven the Best in Japan. I'm not sure they've made this clear in the non-existent marketing they did for the game in NA

Anyway, yeah, each set of four contains one game from the GBA RH, one game from the DS RH, one game from the Wii RH, and one new game. Once you get through the initial six areas, more areas open up with new versions of those games and remixes. There's a good chance the GBA RH games are new to you because it was only released in Japan -- although if you're interested, it's completely possible to play with no Japanese language knowledge. I did.

They were pretty clear in the NA trailer that this was effectively a Greatest Hits compilation with some new material.

I would love to see them just put out the original GBA release on Wii U VC even if it's untranslated.

Just to have a more complete list, if you interesting in more driving/drifting though your music instead of collecting globs in audiosurf, You might want to try Riff Racer aka Ride Your Music now that it is out of early access. http://steamcommunity.com/app/351990/

I had a lot of fun with it when it was on early access, I still occupationally play it with new music I get, but it works best on fast moving songs. Anything that comes up with a difficulty rating of 1-3 stars I don't even bother try playing, 4 & 5 are the most fun.

Fricking Monkey Watch. I am so glad I played Rhythm Heaven Fever with my wife, because I have not once been able to pass Monkey Watch. I can pass everything else, medal most of them, and perfect a number of them, but I can't even get an OK on Monkey Watch.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Fricking Monkey Watch. I am so glad I played Rhythm Heaven Fever with my wife, because I have not once been able to pass Monkey Watch. I can pass everything else, medal most of them, and perfect a number of them, but I can't even get an OK on Monkey Watch.

Monkey Watch is disproportionately hard for its location in the game (I think in the second or third set?). My personal hell was trying to get a medal on Love Rap.

EDIT: While I'm posting videos, here's a mockup of the best song from the original GBA game that was left out of Megamix. Most NA players will never see this one, sadly. Guessing it's because they didn't want to localize it.

Love Rap is my wife's personal hell. She really struggles with that one. It's the only game where I can't find a rhythm to the responses. I can medal both of them, but it doesn't feel like I'm hitting a rhythm; it's just flat reaction time.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Love Rap is my wife's personal hell. She really struggles with that one. It's the only game where I can't find a rhythm to the responses. I can medal both of them, but it doesn't feel like I'm hitting a rhythm; it's just flat reaction time.

The same goes for me. Monkey Watch was challenging, but after a few attempts I was eventually able to learn it and earn the medal. Love Rap, OTOH, was felt like an incomprehensible mess in a compound time signature without much of a song to actually carry the gameplay. Fortunately, they seem to have a much better handle on the relative difficulty of the various games in Megamix. Everything up front is very easy and towards the end some legitimately tricky stuff starts showing up.

Fo' sho'!

I saw the really-for-real credits in Rhythm Heaven Megamix. It's fantastic and anyone with an interest in Rhythm Heaven should play it. There is probably no need for anyone but the most diehard fans to go back to the previous games now, since Megamix took so much of the cream of the crop (admittedly, missing some of my favorites, but you can't have everything).

Superb ratings / medals are more forgiving in Megamix than in previous games, but the new 1-100 scoring system and skill stars give more reasons to replay a game after it's been medaled. I'm hoping to dig into the new Challenge Train soon.

There are less new games in Megamix than in previous titles but they're pretty uniformly great. Sumo Bros, LumBearJack, Kitties!, First/Second Contact, Tongue Lashing are all super cute and funny. The Remixes are also good; Final Remix is a crazy series tribute and holds together better than Fever's Remix 10.

Anyway, I've got all the medals (in the main game, I don't know if the unlockables have medals) but I'm missing four skill stars: Sneaky Spirits 2, Barbershop Remix, Ninja Bodyguard and Working Dough 2. Working Dough 2 I'm not worried about because I've only given it a couple tries. Barbershop Remix is kind of weird because I have the Perfect but not the Skill Star -- I can't seem to get the perfect timing on that Rhythm Rally note. The other two I've tried a ton and I think they're lost causes.

If you're not convinced to get this game, here's some Sumo Bros:

Thumper is out!
So once Cuphead comes out, I guess I'll never really need another game for the year.

Thanks for the heads up! (I had totally forgotten that it was ever destined for PC)

Don't forget that Rez Infinite is also out tomorrow! (PS4 exclusive)

Thumper is cool, but I do find that I have a hard time hearing the rhythm of the cues if they overlap with a section that I'm already in the middle of. I end up often relying on visuals just as much if not more than on rhythm, I'm not quite sure how I feel about that (I haven't play much yet).

So, I had a thought while playing Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X this morning that I'd like to get a GWJ take on. I'm still making my way through unlocking all of the songs, and I realized that while I was playing I was barely registering the inputs on the screen. I was picking up which button input was coming up next, but I was playing mostly on instinct. And the weird thing is I was able to hit every input with either a Cool or Good rating. I couldn't tell you the ratio, but once I finished the song I saw "Perfect!" pop up on the screen. I had never even heard/played the song before, yet I was able to get a Perfect on the first try.

Granted this was on Normal difficulty so maybe this isn't as grand of a feat as I'm making it out to be. However, with the way Hatsune Miku games are structured there isn't a specific bar of notes that scrolls on the screen to allow for some anticipation. The inputs fly from all points on the screen, meaning you have to be paying attention to more than just one area. In addition, there is a ton of action going on in the background because it's a performance, so there is even more stimuli out there to give distraction. It's similar to Rhythm Heaven in that regard, except there aren't visual cues for the button presses.

So, I'm wondering if Hatsune Miku (and Rhythm Heaven, I suppose) games do a better job of teaching a player rhythm and relying on instinct? At the same time, did player success with Harmonix-style games increase because the player had a clearly defined area for their button inputs?

RolandofGilead wrote:

Thumper is out!
So once Cuphead comes out, I guess I'll never really need another game for the year.

Cuphead was delayed, bud. Sorry.

CptDomano wrote:

So, I'm wondering if Hatsune Miku (and Rhythm Heaven, I suppose) games do a better job of teaching a player rhythm and relying on instinct? At the same time, did player success with Harmonix-style games increase because the player had a clearly defined area for their button inputs?

There might be something to that. I went through a phase where I was playing a fair amount of jukebeat (aka jubeat) on iPad which also has a similar demand on the player to pay attention to a two dimensional array of possible inputs. With that sort of game there's no room to read ahead and you're forced to just play by reaction (or by memory if you practice a lot). The targets in jukebeat are even more vague in terms of communicating a specific timing than those in the Miku games, so your best hope of hitting them correctly is to just listen to the music and use that to guide you. Playing that way right at the edge of your ability to keep up is the most fun!

Cathadan wrote:

Thanks for the heads up! (I had totally forgotten that it was ever destined for PC)

Yeah, I didn't even know until youtube gave me a video for Jim Sterling's look at it.

garion333 wrote:
RolandofGilead wrote:

Thumper is out!
So once Cuphead comes out, I guess I'll never really need another game for the year.

Cuphead was delayed, bud. Sorry. :(

Yeah, I found out literally minutes after posting.
I would have been happy with original idea of boss-only levels. Still, you have no idea how many copies I'm going to gift to people (keep it a secret).

Is anyone following Final Fantasy Theatrhythm Carnival? It is an arcade only game in Japan. It looks pretty fun, although I cannot see how it could possibly ever be ported with how the controls seem to be set up

Video show casing the controls

Huh, that's very interesting. Is that two buttons in the center and two illuminated trackballs on the edges?

I think so, Cathadan. I'm not sure if those other groups on the screen or just decorative, or actually other players. I wonder if the game has fms or just the bms

ahah... I wondered if there was a thread for this, quick search and here it is

I've gone a bit rhythm game crazy this last week since trying out the demo for Rhythm Paradise Megamix (ordered).

Playing Rhythm Thief and about 75% through story mode in 3ds eshop game Radiohammer (decent for the price at under £4).

Also a bunch of demos played through in the last couple days - Amplitude on PS4, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X on Vita, Theatrhythm: FF Curtain Call and Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai on 3ds.

Not sure where this sudden burst of rhythm itch is coming from, the last music / rhythm game got really sucked into was Guitar hero III Legends of Rock on Wii. Thinking back though I have played and enjoyed many in years gone by... Elite Beat Agents, Parappa the Rapper, Gitaroo Man, Rez (one of my all time favourite games) and a shed load of multiplayer Bust a Groove back in student house share days, there are more I'm sure, not quite as memorable as those.

One things for sure, am a lil rusty when it comes to this type of game, but been fun digging back into it.

Man, Thumper is a hell of a drug. I'm pretty damn good at rhythm games, but this thing is not easy. It's really damn good though.

Chaz wrote:

Man, Thumper is a hell of a drug.

No sh*t Shirley.

As it happens, I just watched Enter The Void again last weekend, a movie that starts with a 5 minute long DMT trip.

Thumper is basically that with a better soundtrack.

I know that Hatsune Miku doesn't have a strong following around here, but Future Tone released this week on PSN. The game itself is labelled as free, but you only get two songs. There are two packs available to buy called "Colorful Tone" and "Future Sound" for $29.99 each or $52.99 for both.

The game is basically the arcade version of Hatsune Miku, composing over 200 songs, many of which were in previous iterations of the series and arcade cabinet. Future Sound uses songs from the Diva series and Colorful Tone is more Mirai and Arcade songs. So, it's a really nice collection if you have ever been interested in the series and have never played them before. If you have, there are some new mechanics introduced that make the songs a bit more challenging (using the left stick, combining button inputs, and a risk/reward system for holding notes).

My one complaint: it does not have DoReMiFa Rondo from the 3DS version. I MEAN COME ON LOOK AT HOW CUTE THIS VIDEO IS: