Community Rhythm Game Thread

[Theswweet]

Do you like rhythm games, MetaCouncil?

Well, do I have a thread for you!

Rhythm games, while they might still be mostly centered around arcades in both Japan and the west, have a surprisingly large home on PC thanks to stuff such as Konami's e-Amusement cloud variants of games, fan programs for titles like Taiko no Tatsujin, and emulation for the console versions of otherwise arcade exclusive rhythm games. Rhythm games require players to memorize and perfect inputs in much the same way that you might memorize combos in a fighting game. Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of cross-over between the two fandoms.

Some games that are popular today:

Sound Voltex
Current AC version: Vividwave
Current e-Amusement version: Gravity Wars

Sound Voltex is a rhythm game that uses a combination of 4 main buttons, two "FX" buttons, and dual analog nobs in order to clear notecharts. It features a large wealth of songs, and the current arcade version sports well over 1000 to choose from, with multiple difficulties for each song. It's part of Konami's Bemani brand, which is by far the largest developer of arcade rhythm games currently on the market.

Taiko no Tatsujin
Current AC version: Taiko no Tatsujin: Green Ver. (JP), Taiko no Tatsujin 14 (NA/EU)
Multiple Console releases from PS2 through PS4/Switch
Fan recreation TJAPlayer3 instructions from r/taikonotatsujin

Taiko no Tatsujin is a rhythm game centered around repeating patterns of two notes, The arcade controller features 4 inputs (2 on each half of the drum's face, and 2 on each half of the drum's rim), which coincidentally has led itself well to console releases, where besides including an option for a "tatacon" controller, the title can be easily played (and enjoyed) with a standard controller. On PC, TJAPlayer3 and emulations of PS2/DS/PSP/Wii/Wii U console releases allows you to play the title relatively easy, even without official PC support.

DJ MAX
Current console release/compilation: DJ MAX Respect on PS4
DJ MAX 1-3 can be emulated on PC, and DJ MAX Trilogy is also available on PC to import if you're fine with supporting Play-Asia.

DJ MAX is a rhythm game relatively similar to Bemani's Beatmania. Players can use 4, 5, 6, or 8 button modes to play a wide variety of songs, with controls and notecharts optimized for a standard console controller. It's a no-frills rhythm game, and DJ MAX Respect is, in my opinion, one of the best values on PS4. You can still play the series on PC, of course.

Groove Coaster
Current AC version: 4EX Infinity Highway
Current iOS/Android version: Groove Coaster 2
Also available on Steam (Steam Controller highly recommended)

Groove Coaster is a rhythm game that utilizes two buttons layered on top of an 8-way digital pad in the arcade. Players tap to the beat as their avatar travels down the track. It's available on Steam, but the controls are actually designed for the Steam Controller, and most of the music is separate DLC. If you have a Steam controller and would be playing in the arcade anyways it's a good enough deal, but otherwise it's not great. At least it's official and easily accessible?

---------

There are plenty of other rhythm games such as Pop'n Music, Dance Rush, and Hatsune Miku: Project Diva - but I wanted to keep the OP focused on games that are available, in a relatively accessible format, on PC. Project Diva Future Tone is amazing if you have a PS4 that can play it or have a Round1 near you, but if you don't, the rest of these games are some of the best of the best, and more than worth playing.

 

[DollEyes]

I hope the fact that they made the Project Diva VR game on PC means there's the possibility of a Future Tone port.

While I'm not that great at it, osu! is quite fun.

 

[Theswweet]

I hope the fact that they made the Project Diva VR game on PC means there's the possibility of a Future Tone port.

While I'm not that great at it, osu! is quite fun.

The Miku game on PC isn't Project Diva or associated with SEGA, last I heard.

 

[DollEyes]

The Miku game on PC isn't Project Diva or associated with SEGA, last I heard.

Oh really? Interesting

 

[Theswweet]

Oh really? Interesting

Yeah I also have to imagine, that even if they did ever port it to PC, they'd have to get rid of the PlayStation symbols. Might seem small, but for anyone that's gotten used to the symbols it would be hard to adjust. Especially since the PS4/Arcade versions would still exist with the original symbols.

 

[BAN PUNCHER]

IF YOUR RHYTHM GAME DOESN'T HAVE BOOM BOOM DOLLAR K.O.G G3 MIX THEN YOUR RHYTHM GAME CAN FUCK OFF FOREVER

 

[Anne]

Jubeat player reporting in. We have a Qubell machine at the arcade and I play it pretty often. Can clear the whole game on extreme but I'm stuck hovering around A~ ranks on most songs, worse on some of the really hard stuff.

We just got Museca 1+1.5 but I haven't messed with it too much. I like that the hardest mode is called "Exhaust".

I get to play a lot because I'm at a free play arcade with cracked machines btw. Unfortunately no online access, but it's cheap for me to practice.

 

[Wibblewozzer]

That made me think of one of the worst rhythm games that I put too many hours into: Boom Boom Rocket.

Rhythm games are probably my true favorite genre but the games aren't all that common. Good rhythm games are even harder to come across.

I don't really have any I play regularly on PC but I love DJMax Respect and over the last holidays I ended up buying all the DLC I was missing (three packs) and haven't returned to it yet to play them. And tonight I just bought Taiko no Tatsujin on PS4 since it's half off ($25) over the weekend. I do think I might find it too easy since I'll just be playing using a regular controller and I remember the game wasn't generally too difficult using the taiko drum controller on PS2. But an easier rhythm game is occasionally welcome with more difficult stuff being abundant.

I never considered Groove Coaster being playable using the Steam Controller. I've never spent much time with my controller but also have stayed away from some rhythm games on Steam because of inputs for something like Groove Coaster. I might have to see how that works and maybe that'll be a fun one.

Do you have any other Steam released rhythm games to suggest? Here's a couple I've enjoyed (though part of the consideration is how cheap they are to balance the lack of presentation quality):

 

[Theswweet]

That made me think of one of the worst rhythm games that I put too many hours into: Boom Boom Rocket.

Rhythm games are probably my true favorite genre but the games aren't all that common. Good rhythm games are even harder to come across.

I don't really have any I play regularly on PC but I love DJMax Respect and over the last holidays I ended up buying all the DLC I was missing (three packs) and haven't returned to it yet to play them. And tonight I just bought Taiko no Tatsujin on PS4 since it's half off ($25) over the weekend. I do think I might find it too easy since I'll just be playing using a regular controller and I remember the game wasn't generally too difficult using the taiko drum controller on PS2. But an easier rhythm game is occasionally welcome with more difficult stuff being abundant.

I never considered Groove Coaster being playable using the Steam Controller. I've never spent much time with my controller but also have stayed away from some rhythm games on Steam because of inputs for something like Groove Coaster. I might have to see how that works and maybe that'll be a fun one.

Do you have any other Steam released rhythm games to suggest? Here's a couple I've enjoyed (though part of the consideration is how cheap they are to balance the lack of presentation quality):

MUSYNX is a good DJ MAX clone, with a really cheap entry price and a $25 DLC that'll get you all the songs released for the game, forever.

Also, it's too late to do anything about it, but the NA release of Taiko Drum Session is a bit of a trap. None of the DLC has been released over here, and there's a lot. It might just be released later, of course, but there's no guarantee. Of course, every song that's DLC on the PS4 version is also available on TJAPlayer3 in one way or another...

 

[lashman]

does Guitar Hero/Rock Band/Rocksmith (and various PC "ports") count as rhythm games? because i LOVE those

 

[Theswweet]

does Guitar Hero/Rock Band/Rocksmith (and various PC "ports") count as rhythm games? because i LOVE those

Of course! I just neglected to mention them, because the rhythm game community these days is definitely centered around Japanese/Korean games.

 

[Wibblewozzer]

MUSYNX is a good DJ MAX clone, with a really cheap entry price and a $25 DLC that'll get you all the songs released for the game, forever.

Also, it's too late to do anything about it, but the NA release of Taiko Drum Session is a bit of a trap. None of the DLC has been released over here, and there's a lot. It might just be released later, of course, but there's no guarantee. Of course, every song that's DLC on the PS4 version is also available on TJAPlayer3 in one way or another...

I have the base game of MUSYNX already but haven't touched it much yet. Mostly because I grumbled when I saw how much was locked behind DLC and hadn't bought it yet.

I found lists of songs and prices for the all the US DLC for Taiko. Are you sure it's not available? Everything I've found online gave the impression it's available but only able to be bought through the game instead of the PSN store.

 

[lashman]

Of course! I just neglected to mention them, because the rhythm game community these days is definitely centered around Japanese/Korean games.

the rhythm game community was a mistake!

 

[TubaZef]

I'm a sucker for anything that relies on music/rhythm. My favorites are not on Steam thought: Elite Beat Agents/EBA, Gitaroo Man and Rhythm Heaven.

One game I liked a lot recently is Floor Kids. It aims to be more of a "dance game" thought, as in you have to keep the rhythm but you're free to mix your moves anyway you want. It's something quite unique:

 

[Yoshi]

Used to love DJMAX back in the day. These days I'm mostly into "play-your-music" rhythm games like Audiosurf and Melody's Escape.

Here's one that hasn't been mentioned yet. Looks interesting:

 

[Theswweet]

I have the base game of MUSYNX already but haven't touched it much yet. Mostly because I grumbled when I saw how much was locked behind DLC and hadn't bought it yet.

I found lists of songs and prices for the all the US DLC for Taiko. Are you sure it's not available? Everything I've found online gave the impression it's available but only able to be bought through the game instead of the PSN store.

Huh, so they changed how the DLC worked to be like the Vita version in the west. My bad, then!

 

[gabbo]

Audiosurf is the game I've put the most hours into of any game I own, but I'm not huge on the typical rhythm game anymore.
I would have liked to have seen something like Eddy's guitar attacks in Brutal Legend expanded into a full game, or something with greater emphasis on using the note pattern gameplay mechanic in other genres which never really happened

 

[TubaZef]

Audiosurf is the game I've put the most hours into of any game I own, but I'm not huge on the typical rhythm game anymore.
I would have liked to have seen something like Eddy's guitar attacks in Brutal Legend expanded into a full game, or something with greater emphasis on using the note pattern gameplay mechanic in other genres which never really happened

This game tries to do something like that:

I'm a little biased to talk about it cause it was developed by some very close friends. It's a little rough, kinda experimental and definitely not for everyone. But it uses music in a way similar to Eddy's guitar attacks.

 

[OSatan]

Does anyone has a good guide to setup a clone for rockband style drums on PC?

Only have a 4+pedal kit.

And to bad that Taiko clone is for japanse locale, I still have traumas of win 98 when you changed it.

 

[gabbo]

This game tries to do something like that:

I'm a little biased to talk about it cause it was developed by some very close friends. It's a little rough, kinda experimental and definitely not for everyone. But it uses music in a way similar to Eddy's guitar attacks.

I'm going to add that to my wishlist. Looks like it could be interesting. Tell your friends shilling works

 

[Theswweet]

Does anyone has a good guide to setup a clone for rockband style drums on PC?

Only have a 4+pedal kit.

And to bad that Taiko clone is for japanse locale, I still have traumas of win 98 when you changed it.

TJAPlayer3 works fine without Japanese locale. At least, that's how I've used it. I do have W10's Japanese language pack installed though.

 

[Arsene]

Used to love DJMAX back in the day. These days I'm mostly into "play-your-music" rhythm games like Audiosurf and Melody's Escape.

Here's one that hasn't been mentioned yet. Looks interesting:

I actually play this one often. Its a little too forgiving but they add new songs reguraly so it keeps me coming back.

 

[OSatan]

TJAPlayer3 works fine without Japanese locale. At least, that's how I've used it. I do have W10's Japanese language pack installed though.

Up and running lol.

Now to find all the animes...

 

[Arsene]

For any DJMAX fans. This is by the same developers and has several DJMAX songs in it. I still need to pick it up. But i’d much rather have DJMAX Respect.

 

[uraizen]

I have the base game of MUSYNX already but haven't touched it much yet. Mostly because I grumbled when I saw how much was locked behind DLC and hadn't bought it yet.

That looks pretty tame compared to this:

 

[Anne]

Hey, we're supposed to be getting a Groove Coaster cab kinda soon actually.

 

[Theswweet]

Hey, we're supposed to be getting a Groove Coaster cab kinda soon actually.

Groove Coaster is a lot of fun on the cab. We have a few at the Round1 near me and it's great!

 

[Dinjoralo]

All of Rayark's rhythm games, on mobile and Switch, are super worth looking into. Cytus especially is a ludicrously insane value for the amount of really good songs you get with the base purchase.

 

[OSatan]

 

[Theswweet]

A reminder that there's currently an event going on with Dancerush, until May 6th. The only way to unlock a specific song is to get all 9 stamps on your account!

 

[Knurek]

I'm currently playing through ALL Pop'n Music songs (up to Usaneko, since peace is still active in arcades and as such, no dump publicly available), using both ASC and DS4 (well, ASC gets Easy/Normal/Hyper/EX, while on DS4 I additionally play the old, 5-line charts)
There's easily 4000+ charts to play for each version, up to lvl 19 with ASC and close to finishing lvl 6 with DS4.
If I manage to clear 20-30 range using DS4, I think I may as well to try to play my IIDX sim collection (1-25) on it.
So yeah, what I want to say is... See you in 2030.

 

[Anne]

Finally got the S Rank on Just Awake for Jubeat tonight. Here's the chart: Link

Also getting Lunatic Princess up to 920k+. Here's an EXC of that chart too.

Making progress where nothing sits below a B rank and some of the hard stuff is well into A at this point. I'm like 8 months into playing regularly so I'm feeling pretty good about progress being made.

Edit: For context, an EXC = 1 mil points, and that's FC + perfect accuracy. S rank is 900k, SS is 950k, SSS 980k. SSS is FC but dropped accuracy SS is usually when you're more or less FCing with pretty solid accuracy, S is a mix of pretty decent accuracy but a couple % short of FC.

A = 850k which is "well I at least make this look decent tier" and that's where I'm stuck at on most of the harder endgame stuff. Some of the really stupid stuff I still B rank with an A rank once every few credits :/

 

[lashman]

Phase Shift is AWESOME!!!

it's the game i always wanted (but didn't know about until it released on steam, lol ... admittedly, i haven't really been looking into it all that much)

that is all, thank you for coming to my TED talk

 

[Theswweet]

Turns out my local Round1 is getting MaiMai of all games. Whoa!

No ETA besides "soon", but IIRC this was one of those games NOBODY expected to come over.

 

[Wibblewozzer]

For those of you that like to consider games "beaten" or completed how do you decide that on a music/rhythm game for the games in the genre that don't have a story-ish mode? Do you have different rules for each game/series? Last year I considered DJMax Respect complete only because I was like a dozen songs away from completing the 999,999 combo achievement when I accidentally reset it. I played so much to reach that point I figured that was good enough.

So that said I now have A) Taiko Drum Master on PS4 that I'm working on and trying to decide when I'll consider it completed for this year and B) I've also bought all the DLC for DJMax Respect so when I play through all the current DLC songs would it seem correct to call it complete again? Considering the number of songs I probably will.

Just curious if any of you deal with this. I know most people don't worry about it or, even if they do track completed games, they just decide they're in a genre that's "not beatable" like an MMO.

Thread has been quiet and this has been on my mind for a few weeks and I remembered there's a whole thread I could ask.

 

[Theswweet]

I consider games like rhythm games "impossible to complete", since you'll always be getting better at them.

 

[dummmyy]

I've been wanting to get into Pop'n Music but buying a controller is waaaayyy expensive. Building one seems interesting to me, I love DIY projects. Ultimately discouraged by not being able to set up any sort of Pop'n Music on my PC... I had help from someone in the thread once, but I couldn't figure it out and felt like a timesink. I don't feel as guilty now in trying to figure it out because I'm done with the school program I was in so...any help on pointing me in the right direction to get Pop'n Music running on PC?

 

[Knurek]

I've been wanting to get into Pop'n Music but buying a controller is waaaayyy expensive. Building one seems interesting to me, I love DIY projects. Ultimately discouraged by not being able to set up any sort of Pop'n Music on my PC... I had help from someone in the thread once, but I couldn't figure it out and felt like a timesink. I don't feel as guilty now in trying to figure it out because I'm done with the school program I was in so...any help on pointing me in the right direction to get Pop'n Music running on PC?

No need for a DIY or bought controller, Pop'n Music is perfectly playable with a Dualshock (lower difficulty levels at least).
There are two bemani sims on the market - Lunatic Rave 2 (not being maintained anymore, stuck to 640x480, but stable) and Beatoraja (still being maintained, no resolution lock, unstable as hell though). Alternatively you can try to 'find' arcade data (not going to help you with that, since Konmai is quite litigious wrt that).

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Songs are available online as well, although on Baidu, through Chinese forums, so you might have some issues with getting them - if you manage to snag the arcade data, there are converters, which I can link you to if you can't find them). The format used for pop'n has .pms extension, might help you with Google queries)
(Overall, it's much easier to find IIDX bms or SDVX converts, since those two are more popular than pop'n)

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[dummmyy]

Thanks again, Knurek ! You had helped me before, but I think I erased the PM on accident! I have wanted to do a DIY controller for a while, but like I mentioned I had just been scared about the time I'd put into it with my classes going on and all that...I'll try what you've post, but if not, I'll have to get back to you!

 

[Alextended]

Seriously, all these posts and no beat saber?!

I don't play rhythm games much but this one's fun and feels on point to the beat.

Not sure about the 360 gameplay added to the Quest version.

I imagine they'll cave and add it to the other versions too even if they're PC tethered and I'll see then.

 

[gabbo]

I mean in this in all honesty, I had

Seriously, all these posts and no beat saber?!

I don't play rhythm games much but this one's fun and feels on point to the beat.

Not sure about the 360 gameplay added to the Quest version.

I imagine they'll cave and add it to the other versions too even if they're PC tethered and I'll see then.

no idea until I saw these two videos that that was what Beat Saber was about. interesting

 

[Alextended]

I mean in this in all honesty, I had

no idea until I saw these two videos that that was what Beat Saber was about. interesting

Mixed reality videos make it clearer maybe.

Simple concept, two different color sabers and cubes coming at you in sync with the music with both a color and a direction to slice them with.

Then there are the walls you lean/duck to avoid and mines which you need to avoid touching with the sabers as well.

After that it's just the complexity and speed of the song and difficulty tier/assists/penalties chosen.

Easy to learn, hard to master. It'd have done gangbusters in the Wii era for sure.

Not that it would've played as well with that lacking tracking but yeah.

 

[Anne]

I've been wanting to get into Pop'n Music but buying a controller is waaaayyy expensive. Building one seems interesting to me, I love DIY projects. Ultimately discouraged by not being able to set up any sort of Pop'n Music on my PC... I had help from someone in the thread once, but I couldn't figure it out and felt like a timesink. I don't feel as guilty now in trying to figure it out because I'm done with the school program I was in so...any help on pointing me in the right direction to get Pop'n Music running on PC?

Hey there, I don't know if you're still around, but if you enjoy the DIY aspect of building a controller I wouldn't mind looking around for a layout and pointing you in the right direction for a build. I build arcade sticks and work on cabinets at an arcade just as a hobby. I know the types of buttons used for PopN can be expensive, but actually building the controller and wiring it up shouldn't be terribly hard depending on what you wanna do. I've done something similar with replicating the Project Diva PS4 controller but don't have it laying around anymore :/

 

[Theswweet]

Did someone say bump? Project Diva Mega Mix is coming west next year.

 

[DollEyes]

Thought I'd bump this thread. Hadn't heard of this game but happened to notice it on Steam because it's on sale and impulse bought it.


I've only played a few hours but it just feels really enjoyable to play and the XD difficulty looks quite satisfying (though I'm no where close to that). They just released the custom tracks update a couple days ago which is partly what helped push me to purchase it but the custom scene is still a WIP obviously.

 

[Wibblewozzer]

Thought I'd bump this thread. Hadn't heard of this game but happened to notice it on Steam because it's on sale and impulse bought it.


I've only played a few hours but it just feels really enjoyable to play and the XD difficulty looks quite satisfying (though I'm no where close to that). They just released the custom tracks update a couple days ago which is partly what helped push me to purchase it but the custom scene is still a WIP obviously.

What are you using to play it? Mouse? I've had it on my wishlist but been unsure. Maybe I'll take the plunge with the sale and update.

 

[DollEyes]

What are you using to play it? Mouse? I've had it on my wishlist but been unsure. Maybe I'll take the plunge with the sale and update.

Yeah using mouse. I think it works well with mouse honestly but I'm tempted to get a midi turntable however I'll wait until I've put more hours into it before spending money on hardware.