Intergalactic guitar hero
I can remember writing my initial thoughts on Gitaroo Man Lives! during a rainy spring afternoon earlier this year and nearly the year's end I find myself coming back to it with a replay of the PlayStation 2 version. It's not much different barring the missing additional content, better resolution and framerate and quality of life (and also Flyin' to your heart in English in the PSP version) but it still has the same beating heart as always. I thought initially that I felt I didn't have too much to say about Gitaroo Man during my initial thoughts but as time moved on, the words swelled and expanded into more intricate thoughts on why I love this game. It's truly something special.
The story of Gitaroo Man feels ridiculous and yet extremely personal at the same time considering I could see myself easily sympathizing with U-1 during his journey of fully establishing himself in this universe and proving to the world that he isn't this awkward loser but someone with a soul, winning them over like a hero would, like a true Gitaroo Man. You battle objects, animals, a man in a bee outfit up until the spitting image of your worst enemy in playing the gitaroo (guitar) and proving your worth each time. An endless battle accompanied by some of the most emotional quiet moments making Gitaroo's Man short runtime something easy to come back granted you have the skill to beat the stages as intended.
Rhythm disguised as a battle, Gitaroo Man relies on a phase system followed by tracing for attacking and button inputs for defense. Starting most of the battles with gathering your strength, followed by the main event in which you fight it out with the finale being essentially a victory lap you can still screw up. The main three things you have to do is tune your analog stick in the right direction and hold down circle (or any face button really) to attack and rely on quick button prompts for defense. What it becomes is this surprisingly hectic experience after a while as this game can be pretty difficult if you don't have good enough reflexes to be able to defend yourself and quickly get knocked out, it'll take a bit but you can always get up and try again. Something to note is that Gitaroo Man Lives! (The PSP version) is known to be an easier version of the game so if completing it is your true goal, there's that option for you.
I always felt like music is something that improves a game more than just merely enhancing it from a general perspective. I really enjoy great video game music in general and Gitaroo Man is the true exception that without the music the game has, it wouldn't nearly be as good as it is. COIL managed to do an excellent job creating the soundtrack with various types of genres here. Traditional rock to reggae to even a little bit of shoegaze, I can say essentially every song here is a banger and the crown jewel of it all is the Legendary Theme. The fact that this this theme not only lives up to its name but also plays during the right time in the story turned this game into one of my personal favorites, I haven't really ever had an experience like that in a long time. The art is also extremely unique and creates this saturday morning anime vibe from the early 2000s that seems accurate considering when this game actually came out too.
Gitaroo Man is something I wished I played as a kid. I understood what it was like to be bullied and called a loser as a kid. There really wasn't a lot of media that gave me an idea on how to overcome that stuff nor really anything I could do but I felt like if I played this game, my life wouldn't be different but it would've been a little more bearable. It would be something I'd able to come back to when I was feeling little of myself and realize again and again that I have some worth in the world. I think that's why Gitaroo Man really hits it home for me purely on a personal level. It also helps that the music is amazing and the gameplay although challenging feels satisfying to pull off against these evil agents that only want to put you down, just like the bullies in real life. It's not just a game, it's honey-love.
I can remember writing my initial thoughts on Gitaroo Man Lives! during a rainy spring afternoon earlier this year and nearly the year's end I find myself coming back to it with a replay of the PlayStation 2 version. It's not much different barring the missing additional content, better resolution and framerate and quality of life (and also Flyin' to your heart in English in the PSP version) but it still has the same beating heart as always. I thought initially that I felt I didn't have too much to say about Gitaroo Man during my initial thoughts but as time moved on, the words swelled and expanded into more intricate thoughts on why I love this game. It's truly something special.
The story of Gitaroo Man feels ridiculous and yet extremely personal at the same time considering I could see myself easily sympathizing with U-1 during his journey of fully establishing himself in this universe and proving to the world that he isn't this awkward loser but someone with a soul, winning them over like a hero would, like a true Gitaroo Man. You battle objects, animals, a man in a bee outfit up until the spitting image of your worst enemy in playing the gitaroo (guitar) and proving your worth each time. An endless battle accompanied by some of the most emotional quiet moments making Gitaroo's Man short runtime something easy to come back granted you have the skill to beat the stages as intended.
Rhythm disguised as a battle, Gitaroo Man relies on a phase system followed by tracing for attacking and button inputs for defense. Starting most of the battles with gathering your strength, followed by the main event in which you fight it out with the finale being essentially a victory lap you can still screw up. The main three things you have to do is tune your analog stick in the right direction and hold down circle (or any face button really) to attack and rely on quick button prompts for defense. What it becomes is this surprisingly hectic experience after a while as this game can be pretty difficult if you don't have good enough reflexes to be able to defend yourself and quickly get knocked out, it'll take a bit but you can always get up and try again. Something to note is that Gitaroo Man Lives! (The PSP version) is known to be an easier version of the game so if completing it is your true goal, there's that option for you.
I always felt like music is something that improves a game more than just merely enhancing it from a general perspective. I really enjoy great video game music in general and Gitaroo Man is the true exception that without the music the game has, it wouldn't nearly be as good as it is. COIL managed to do an excellent job creating the soundtrack with various types of genres here. Traditional rock to reggae to even a little bit of shoegaze, I can say essentially every song here is a banger and the crown jewel of it all is the Legendary Theme. The fact that this this theme not only lives up to its name but also plays during the right time in the story turned this game into one of my personal favorites, I haven't really ever had an experience like that in a long time. The art is also extremely unique and creates this saturday morning anime vibe from the early 2000s that seems accurate considering when this game actually came out too.
Gitaroo Man is something I wished I played as a kid. I understood what it was like to be bullied and called a loser as a kid. There really wasn't a lot of media that gave me an idea on how to overcome that stuff nor really anything I could do but I felt like if I played this game, my life wouldn't be different but it would've been a little more bearable. It would be something I'd able to come back to when I was feeling little of myself and realize again and again that I have some worth in the world. I think that's why Gitaroo Man really hits it home for me purely on a personal level. It also helps that the music is amazing and the gameplay although challenging feels satisfying to pull off against these evil agents that only want to put you down, just like the bullies in real life. It's not just a game, it's honey-love.