A very fun and quirky game with basic gameplay elements and elaborate music all wrapped up in hilarious presentation.
If you like rhythm games that are similar to Guitar Hero, Um Jammer Lammy, and perhaps even Parappa you need to find a way to play this game. Gitaroo-Man is a very fun game that makes the most out of simple controls (you just use a regular controller) and still manages to be as enjoyable and challenging as games with more sophisticated controls (like Guitar Hero's guitar controller).
The story and artistic style is top-notch and the music is great. So great in fact that I bought the soundtrack three times while I was in Japan (I gave two copies to my pals).
You play as U-1, an insecure loser of sorts, who goes on an heroic adventure that forges him into a man. Along the quest, you'll meet hilarious characters that have great voice acting and an affinity for guitar-style combat. The music in the game is top-notch and you take part in the playing of the music as you button and analog stick frenzy to the beat, thus adding sweet guitar riffs to the already awesome background music.
One of the most charming, unique and original rythmgames on the Ps2 for sure.
Note about my Final Verdicts. They are not meant to be reviews on how you play the game and what its all about. My verdicts always assumes that you know what the game is all about. I always recommend reading GameSpots reviews before reading my own verdicts. Im not here to tell you how to play a game. Im just telling you whats good and whats bad about a game you already know.
+ Unique, innovative and sometimes very challenging rythm gameplay. Easy to learn, hard to master. Smart control layout !
+ Beautiful, fantasticly designed and stylish scenarious filled with humour playing in the background when youre playing. Some scenes are nothing short of masterpieces and one special scene is one of the most beautiful gaming moments Ive played through all year.
+ Really good songs. A very important point for a rythmgame of course and GM delivers on every aspect. Theres crazy J-Pop, blues and rock n roll ballads. All of them sounds really nice and are fun to play. Combines with the scenarios really well. Youll be wanting to play some songs again and get better grades for sure !
+ Very accessible to everyone, not just rythmgame fanatics. Everyone can enjoy this game.
+ Contains alot of really cool and fun characters who´s got really distinct personalities even tho the game is so short. Good job !
+ Very high replayvalue. The songs are so good and the game is so short that it combines to a game you´ll be coming back to over and over for some short sessions with a song or two.
- SHORT! And i mean to write that in caps because this game can seriously be over in an hour or so if youre good at it. The game consists of 10 songs. Lets say that they are 3-5 minutes each. If you dont mess up and finish each song on the first try it´ll be over very fast. On one hand it has good replayvalue but its still a VERY short game.
- Controls can be a bit jumpy sometimes. The analogstick wich you use to steer in different directions can sometimes feel a bit wierd. Its going on rails as long as you keep it in the genereal direction that it should be heading but feels more responsive sometimes and less responsive on other occasions. It also tends to just jump away in the wrong direction sometimes.
- I get the feeling that the buttons that you need to press in rythm to the music sometimes are out of sync. Its very rare but I cant help but feeling that sometimes i miss where i shouldnt have missed.
- Wierd savesystem. You have to go into Options and select load, the select a "load bank" and THEN back out to the main menu and into the campaign to continue from where you left off. If you dont read manuals (wich you dont) it will take a while to figure out.
- The cutscenes overall look kinda ugly. They are nowhere as good or as goodlooking as the actual stages of the game and feel kinda stiff.
One of the most charming, unique and original rythmgames on the Ps2 for sure. If you´re still into playing rythmgames with the controller after the Guitar Hero revolution this is a title you will want to play !
If you pick this game up, you'll find out it was the best musical game you've ever played since Dance Dance Revolution.
12 year olds are whiney, little brats. That's true, but piss this guy off and he'll show you the passion of rock and the majesty of roll. Gitaroo Man is his name.
You play as a young boy named U-1, who is often picked on at school (like that's news), and your talking dog Puma shows you how to play a Gitaroo, a weapon that looks like a guitar, when all of a sudden, the devil arrives and challenges you to a rock-off. After you defeat it, you notice that the devil is a Gravillian agent. The Gravillians are a group of villians, each with their own Gitaroo that looks like a synthesizer, a trumpet, etc.
Your main mission is to gather all eight legendary Gitaroos and destroy the G0ravillian family and save Planet Gitaroo from damnation. Sounds easy, right? Wrong, again. Lets get to the technical stuff.
The gameplay is difficult, but mad fun. It's just as fun as going to Disneyland (No wait, it's not as fun. The reason is you have to wait 2 hours to go on a ride). You point the left analog stick in a certain direction and a blue fan appears in the middle of the screen. You must match the blue fan with the trace line that comes from all sides of the screen. The red attack points that appear on the trace line are called riffs. You press and hold the circle button until the riff ends, then you let go of the button. Then when you're at Guard mode, you press the corresponding button when the symbols reach the middle of the screen, which is similar to Dance Dance Revolution. Now you know how to play the game. It's not as simple as it looks, like taking over New York on "The Godfather".
You even have a back-up band in costumes to help you out. It consists of a person in a bunny suit playing an Accordion (You don't see that everyday), a person in a monkey suit playing the cymbals (Unless if you reach stage 9, she plays the drum), and a person in a panda suit playing a ukelele. It's pretty strange, but quite amusing. Something you really don't see everyday. Wow.
The graphics are amazing. The game never slows down, and it keeps on going, until the song ends. It's amazing. The CGIs look like what you see on the original PlayStation, but that's nothing. It's entertaining. It even includes japanese quotes. Interesting. The characters are designed by a japanese pop singer, and each one of the characters looks better than what you might see on Megaman and the TV show Super Robot Monkey Team (never seen it, but I plan not to).
The sound and music really get you. It's amazing. It may have a lack of songs, but you can still entertain yourself by playing the songs over and over again, and it never gets old. The voice acting is top-solid as well. It's even better than experiencing the voice acting in The Land Before Time (the sequels ruined the whole thing starting with II).
The game is short, and will take you about 8 hours, but if you want to unlock character data, it will take 18 hours, because an unlockable mode called "Master Play" will get you more character data. The game is mad fun. It's amazing and inspiring. We like it just as we like our Pink Floyd and AC/DC. It's rare and you might find a copy on eBay, but it would be worth it by playing with Elton John's secret son, Gitaroo Man.
The utterly rad precursor to Elite Beat Agents is a must play for rhythm game fans.
Gitaroo-Man is a rhythm games that really shines on the PS2. It was developed by the same man that brought us Elite Beat Agents and Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan. Gitaroo-Man is my personal favorite rhythm game on the system. It puts players in one on one guitar battles against a variety of bosses. When you think of guitar videogames, you would most likely think of the recent hit Guitar Hero. THIS GAME IS NOTHING LIKE GUITAR HERO. The game plays a lot more like Parappa the Rapper, but it a bit more difficult. Instead of me wasting my time explaining how the game plays I would recommend that you just check it out for yourself. It may strike you as a bit silly at first, due mostly to the fact that the story is really foolish, but once you get the hang of how to play it you will fall in love. The game is pretty challenging, especially in the game’s hard mode. Hard mode is not for the weak at heart, but it is where you will spend most of your time. The standard mode could easily be completed in one sitting, but still enjoyable and a great preparation for those seriously wanting to take on the more difficult mode. All in all if you missed out on this game you should give it a try. It is not the easiest game to find. If you do find a copy you will not be getting it at a discount price for sure. At any rate if you are a fan of rhythm games and can find this gem you really should give it a shot. Gitaroo-Man is also an easy recommendation for any EBA fans as well.
This game was soild as rock , Great music to listen and its really a challenge that you can get strieght into.
Man this game was tough but it was very fun. Think of Dancing Stage mixed with Parappa the rapper and beat em up games, Gitaroo Man is a game that was brillient. The story is about U-1 a young lad who has alot of problems these days becuase he's in love with Pico but he just needs to ter her that he loves her. But U-1 has been chosen to be the next Gitaroo Man also your best friend Puma who is a talking that helps you out and you and Puma have to save the world from the clutches of evil from Zowie who want the 8 of the legendary Gitaroo.
Main gameplay is hard to control you get saw hands and broken thumbs after stages you been through like Stage 4 which wasn't easy or stage 8 which was abit freaky. Because in stage 8 you have to beat this guy who is alot like Micheal Jackson but in a church, there are only 10 stages in the game but it is worth playing if Guitar Hero never existed this would be your favourite party type game.
There is also Multiplayer if you want to play two player with a friend which is fun for gamers who like challenging games. The graphics are great just like an Anime cartoon or Manga, also the music in the game is perfect, this game is cheap to get proppley around $10-£10 in shops. But it is hard to control when you first play it so keep that in mind.