Ella McConnell takes a look at the top 10 rhythm video games.

Rhythm and music video games have been quietly present for around twenty years now, but it’s really only recently that they have become a staple of the gaming mainstream. With many developers both major and indie contributing to this rapidly expanding genre, they provide a welcome change of pace from the slew of FPS, RTS and action games so prevalent in today’s market. So let’s turn the volume all the way up to eleven (somewhat overused Spinal Tap reference painful but necessary) and take a look at what are quite possibly the top ten rhythm video games available today.

1: Elite Beat Agents (2006)

The spiritual successor of the excellent Japanese rhythm game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! (definitely worth playing even if you can’t read Japanese), Elite Beat Agents is a largely humorous venture (aside from its one tearjerker level) in which the agents (essentially a squad of male cheerleaders; don’t judge, they’re badass) help out people with problems as mundane as babysitting to as outlandish as saving the world from a race of music-hating aliens. Gameplay-wise your aim is to hit various markers, some requiring a straightforward tap while others require you to drag the stylus along a path or frantically spin it around an on-screen disc until the bars either side of it are fully illuminated (oddly this is more fun than it might sound, especially in versus mode when both players seem to feel compelled to shrilly vocalise their panic at the possibility of not being able to make it in time). With its comic book narrative style and catchy selection of songs, Elite Beat Agents caters for all difficulty levels and features both a download and two card multiplayer, which can be played co-op or competitively. A unique and awesome addition to any DS game library.

2: Gitaroo Man (2001)

Easily predating Guitar Hero (not that the instruments in question are guitars, per se, or even necessarily resemble them), Gitaroo Man is probably one of the most unique rhythm games, both mechanically and stylistically, to have been released thus far. You are U-1, a lonely nerd who is bullied, can’t skateboard very well and is mostly ignored by the object of his affections. However, this all changes when his pet dog tells him (yeah, he’s surprised when it talks too) that he is last legendary hero of the Planet Gitaroo, the titular Gitaroo Man. As crazy and Japanese as you might expect what with its distinctive anime-esque visuals and transformation sequences (and before you ask yes, there are mechas later on), Gitaroo Man has you face a variety of colourful foes set to an eclectic assortment of music, from reggae to operatic metal.

Gitarro Man, AWESOME

Gameplay primarily involves following a line as it winds its way across the screen with the analogue stick while tapping buttons in time with the beats located on it, but during battle sequences you tap the buttons displayed onscreen in order to avoid your opponent’s attacks. Originally released for the PS2, Gitaroo Man has since been ported to the PSP. Additionally the game’s makers also came up with Mad Maestro, another somewhat surreal rhythm game in which you and your school orchestra have to save the town concert hall by brightening everyone’s lives with the power of classical music; more fun (and difficult) than it sounds.

3: Guitar Hero (2005) & Rock Band (2007)

Both stuck at the same position because I’m not even going to attempt to get into which one is ultimately better; that’s a whole different article. Guitar Hero is, of course, the original plastic guitar peripheral wielding venture, creating a brand new kind of rhythm game that has proved time and again to have long lasting appeal. Although Rock Band first introduced the group mechanic (as well as, most importantly, the drum kit and some argue a superior set list), Guitar Hero World Tour soon emerged with equivalent instruments that were widely considered better (and were even compatible with its competitor’s game). Whichever game you prefer to play there’s nothing quite like soundly beating your buddy at Through the Fire and Flames on Expert, even if they can actually play the real guitar and better than you ever will.

4: PaRappa the Rapper (1996)

Pretty much the first rhythm game ever and as such a trailblazer in its own right, PaRappa effectively opened the way for the genre. In plot terms PaRappa is attempting to win the heart of a girl named Sunny Funny, and pragmatically sets about doing so by performing such relatively mundane tasks as learning to drive, getting a haircut and training at a kung fu dojo, rapping all the while. Mechanically the game featured a call and response format, requiring the player to tap the buttons back in the correct order with the correct timing in order to succeed. With its original soundtrack and unique, colourful 2D/3D visuals, it certainly made an impression, and perhaps as a testament to its ongoing appeal a PSP version was released in 2006 in order to mark the game’s tenth anniversary.

5: Rez (2002)

Originally released for the Dreamcast and PS2 (and now available in HD on the Xbox 360’s Live Arcade), Rez’s protagonist is a hacker surfing a futuristic computer supernetwork in order to prevent its governing AI Eden from shutting down in response to an overload of data that caused it to doubt its own existence. Rez is essentially a rail shooter with a twist in that its soundtrack consists almost entirely of electronic music and effects created in response to the player’s actions in games (thus affecting a form of synesthesia). It also had its own special “trance vibrator” peripheral, apparently enhance the synesthesia experience; make of that what you will. An electronic heaven

6: Patapon (2007)

Somewhere between a god and music game, in Patapon the player acts a deity commanding an army of abstract tribal creatures via rhythmic drum beats. In the first game you lead your tribe against the Zigoton Empire in an effort to reclaim the lands they took from you, while in the series’ second instalment the Patapon are washed ashore in a strange new land where they stumble upon a mysterious masked Hero character who aids them in their battle against the Karmen tribe. Earning awards for its innovation, music and relatively simple yet eyecatching visual design, Patapon is considered by some to be one of the best games on the PSP, a third game just having recently been released.

7: Samba de Amigo (2000)

Starting off in arcades before seeing a Dreamcast release, Samba de Amigo was the first rhythm game to require its own peripheral: its iconic maracas. Although largely sticking to Latin-themed songs (understandably, really), it also featured music by the likes of Reel Big Fish and Chumbawamba. Since its original release all those years ago it has recently found its way onto the Nintendo Wii.

8: Dance Dance Revolution (1998)

The undisputed classic dance platform game, DDR started out in arcades before the release of dance mat peripherals soon after also allowed it to be played at home. While stomping on multicoloured arrow buttons arguably bears little resemblance to dancing in the conventional sense, it does sometimes prove to be quite fun (and if not, watching people fail at playing it is often equally amusing, if not more so). Dance Dance Revolution

9: Frequency (2001)

Developed by Harmonix (of Guitar Hero fame; they moved onto that after being told no rhythm game could succeed without a custom peripheral), in Frequency you travelled down an octagonal tunnel playing the tracks located on each wall that ultimately formed the finished song. It was a unique experience (and for once one not of Japanese origin), it bringing together a variety of well known artists such as The Crystal Method, Paul Oakenfold and Fear Factory. This was also the first of many Harmonix games to feature a Freezepop track, band member Kasson Crooker being Frequency’s musical director.

10: Space Channel 5 (1999)

Debuting on the Dreamcast and later released for the PS2, Space Channel 5 has the player control Ulala, a futuristic space reporter from the titular channel. The core gameplay revolves around dance offs and shoot outs, rescuing hostages from enemy aliens the Morolians (certainly making for some interesting news), with the player pressing directional buttons as called out by the opponent. Michael Jackson even makes a cameo (one that he personally requested). Ulala herself has had cameos in a number of video games including Sega Superstars, Puyo Puyo and Samba de Amigo (see above).