What a delight to discover this now !

This might've been one of the toughest rhythm games I ever played, mostly in terms of how it just slaps you in the face right at the start and doesn't let up.

My fingers hurt now that I've finished it, and that feeling of mashing your controller frenetically really fit it with the idea of «musical combat» in the game.

I felt like my life was on the line.

And then there's the visual style (which is lovely) and the music (which kicks ass) that totally make this great little game.

Although it's a bit short and simplistic story-wise, it has a distinct personality as a rhythm game which I can't say I've seen before. I love it for that.

Gitaroo Man seems like a simple rhythm game, but it has a surprising amount of story for the time and genre, rivalled by games like Parappa the Rapper, Space Channel 5, and iNiS's later works, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents. While Gitaroo Man lacks some of the polish of those games, it makes up for it with heart and soul. It delves into teen angst, overcoming the odds, and finding the courage to embrace your individuality, in the messy and chaotic ways that a shonen writer would. It helps that its eclectic soundtrack is full of bangers, and to this day, The Legendary Theme is one of my favorite themes ever used in a video game.

Koei did an okay job at localizing the game in English, but its quality is still questionable. Part of me wishes there were subtitles as the audio balancing is all over the place, and some dialogue is near impossible to make out during levels. The game can also be chaotic during the actual rhythm sections, with way too much going on in the background while you're trying to focus on hitting notes. If you plan on playing this, I would also add a photosensitivity warning as the game regularly employs flashing lights that can worsen depending on the in-game camera.

This game is super sick! I think what stands out the most to me here is the music. It covers so many different genres and nails it. From funk to dnb to rock and acoustic guitar, there's a lot of really great tracks. The difficulty pretty much consistently ramps up, and there's definitely a learning curve to it, but nothing feels out of reach in the base game. It just takes a bit of practice to make it through. And the music being so good is just an added bonus.

In terms of gameplay, there's kind of two different rhythm games melding together here. One is pretty standard where you're pressing specific buttons to the timing of the song and on screen (defense), but the other has you using the analog stick to line up with different notes and play them on time (attack and charge). I had a lot easier of a time picking up the defense side of things, and the attacking is where it gets a little more tricky on a technical level. It's a really cool way to add in all of the guitar effects, and although it took a while to figure out, I really enjoy the balance between the two.

I think the art direction is also super cool, and while it's definitely pretty dated in that early 2000s 3D modeling style, it's got a great use of color and really charming character design. I also love all of the visual effects going on in each song. It can definitely be a little distracting at times, but I love seeing like the little frogs sing along or seeing the people cheering.

This game has a lot of heart, and it's got a really nice challenge to it. It's been on my radar for a while, and I'm so glad I took the time to play it!

oh how cruel are the hands that life can deal us. how much fun i was having making my way through the first 6 stages of gitaroo man. enjoying its totally bizarre style, incredible music, and central gameplay mechanic unlike anything else i had ever played with. alas, it was not meant to be. as my PS2 copy tried to load up stage 7, right as the midly nonsensical story was beginning to find some feet to land on, right as i was already ready to put gitaroo man on my all time favourites list, and right after a slow jam stage where U-1 seemed to win over the heart of a very cute girl, tragedy struck. stage 7 would not load. the 'now loading' message was stuck playing ad infinitum. and despite numerous resets, and despite doing the old toothpaste trick, nothing i tried worked. i merely had to sit and accept the loss i had been dealt. a copy of this game is far from the cheapest thing in the world, and prices for them are increasing in my native UK. for the time being, i might just have to accept this as goodbye. thank you for the tragically brief yet incredibly memorable time you gave me, gitaroo man.