Bap The Buttons! A Rhythm Game Thread

[Faith]

Hi folks!!! Oh my god, I absolutely love this place. Love what we’re all doing here. What rhythm games have you all been getting into lately? Any all-time favs? I’ve been obsessing over pop’n music lately and decided to purchase a scale-model home controller!!!

Popoller!!

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But what about you all? Any Bemani fiends in here? Maybe some SEGA sickos? I’ve been playing some WACCA too but I’m so bad at it

[NovaSquirrel]

I'm a fan of Frequency and Amplitude for PlayStation 2. I like the way you gradually build up a song by hitting notes for individual tracks, and the song selection is kind of a neat early 2000s time capsule. Dance Dance Revolution is fun too, though I think I'm more a fan of the original music that's made for the game (the Dancemania licenses are great too) than the intended gameplay? I play with a regular game controller.

Pop'n music is really cute and I love its music, though it's probably way too hard for me.

[synthcryptid]

we fuckin love speedrunning our way to late-stage RSI /j

the project diva series in particular has always been one of our favorites! we were originally drawn in from videos showcasing the game allowing you to do very amazing things to its PVs, and stayed for over a decade to Experience(tm) community-made charts sadistic enough to make the osu community blush (neither video is ours!)

though we also find ourself coming back to guitar hero and guitar hero adjacent (read: 5-fret guitar rhythm) games! we greatly prefer the stricter engines, with rock band 3's in particular being our favorite (it features a nice degree of lenience for slower parts, but gets extremely strict at higher notes per second). guitar hero and guitar hero adjacent games are the only conditions under which we'd ever willingly listen to dad rock. but thankfully it's got a pretty solid community as well, with custom songs in great abundance!

we very much wish frequency/amplitude had a larger customs community. amplitude 2016 emulates extremely well (you can even play it way above the PS3 port's originally intended 30 fps; on a fairly modest PC with a ryzen 3 3200g, we're able to push it up to 120 without frame dips, which is mind-boggling to us), and has a decent selection of customs, but it sadly isn't a large community, nor is it an active one



aside from that, there's one single game we've been playing most days of the week: beat saber! it's ended up being a direct drop-in replacement for our standard cardio routine, and the large community of custom song authors helps keep our workouts fresh! though the downside to it that we dont get with any other rhythm game: sweat gets trapped in our headset very easily. we would love to be able to play it for longer sessions than an hour at a time, but sadly there's not many good solutions on the market for VR face sweat dissipation technology

[Faith]

I'm a fan of Frequency and Amplitude for PlayStation 2. I like the way you gradually build up a song by hitting notes for individual tracks, and the song selection is kind of a neat early 2000s time capsule.

Oh my god, YES! I am absolutely awful at Amplitude, but my spouse was a kickstarter backer for the PS4 version and ended up ranking near the top 100 or so players after some months of playing regularly — they’d set the controller on their lap and tap the face buttons not unlike a tiny little piano, it was so cool to watch. All of the Harmonix in-house music for those games are all-time classics too, though there’s something sorta funny about Weezer being in the old PS2 setlist.

And yeah, Pop’n is brutal — I’m still hovering around the low-30s in difficulty and anything even slightly above fries my brain instantly

[Faith]

the project diva series in particular has always been one of our favorites! we were originally drawn in from videos showcasing the game allowing you to do very amazing things to its PVs, and stayed for over a decade to Experience(tm) community-made charts sadistic enough to make the osu community blush (neither video is ours!)

Oh my god, I’ve never actually met a proper Project Diva fan!!! It’s always so sadly unattended whenever I go to arcades that have it, but I love how sleek the setup is. Did any specific mechanic really make the game click with you, or is it just the elegance of the controls?

ALSO: hell yes, love a five-button rhythm game! You will have to beat my old scorehero handle out of me though, since I was a terribly awkward teenager posting on it in 2009. I’ve dipped back into it with YARG, but honestly it’s not quite the same. What have you been playing it on whenever you mess around with the genre?

[NovaSquirrel]

I wanted to try the newer version of Amplitude but never got any Sony consoles past the PS2 so I just didn't have anything to play it on. I guess I could try emulation? I didn't even know people were making custom songs at all.

I have tried Marfitude which automatically creates levels using tracker music (though it's definitely very hit-or-miss if a file will even work somewhat ok), and AmplituDS for the Nintendo DS (which is cool, though I'm not sure if the extra songs you could've downloaded are still available anywhere? I might have them on an SD card somewhere...)

I think Amplitude was actually my introduction to Weezer haha.

[ichor]

recent steam sale gave me the opportunity to nab a bunch of dlc for DJMAX RESPECT V! it's exceptionally fun and i'm not too good at it! otherwise i'm hitting whatever cabs are available at my local arcade and waiting for a loved one to ship my Yuancon SDVX controller back.

also i'm psychically beaming my residual WACCA talent your way

[StarlightNecromancer]

A Rhythm game that's on my backlog (and I'll likely get to later) is actually also a FPS. I have two of them actually but only one of them I'm actively looking forward to playing and its Robobeat, its like "What if Ultrakill was a rhythm game?" and it slaps. Also supports custom songs

[vurrsys]

Admittedly I'm not the best at rhythm games; I don't have the best hand-eye coordination and my body gets exhausted easily

However, I really enjoy the Rhythm Heaven series! It's a bit easy at times, but going for all-perfects is really satisfying and I love all of the personality it has. IIRC, it's made by the same team that does WarioWare, and the two have a lot of cross-game references. I like how each minigame is unique (or at least, mostly unique) and the fact that each button does one specific action is a lot easier on my brain than more complex rhythm games.

I'd like to try out other rhythm games, but I don't know if I could take the embarrassment, haha! (Also, arcades tend to be very flashy, and I don't have epilepsy meds yet)

[CrypticNoodle]

Was wondering when a thread like this was gonna open. As for me, I play a whole variety of rhythm games, including, but not limited to:

• Most games in the BEMANI series
• Taiko no Tatsujin
• Groove Coaster
• and so on!

But lately I've been playing Rock Band (more specifically, a mod of RB3 called Rock Band 3 Deluxe). It's fun to play through the RB songs with QoL stuff from newer rhythm games, lol

[Moot]

i'm mostly dogshit at rhythm games but taiko no tatsujin is easily my favourite and i deeply wish to be able to play it on a real machine someday

that and elite beat agents, the fact we only got one of those is a human rights violation to me. even if playing You're The Inspiration does cause me untold emotional damage, it got to the point that i resolved to never play it again after i got a full combo S rank on it on the hardest difficulty lmao

[Lolo De Puzlo]

My rhythm game of choice is pop'n music! I actually prefer to use the smaller console controllers mainly because the size of the arcade buttons make me want to bap them too hard and I end up hurting my hands.

I saw that there's a release of Pump It Up now available on Steam and I'm curious how that one is because it's apparently made for controllers and I really did like Pump it Up.

[jay]

my rhythm game obsession right now is jubeat! playing a decent amount of wacca as well, but jubeat is the one that's really close to my heart

[Ace]

recent steam sale gave me the opportunity to nab a bunch of dlc for DJMAX RESPECT V! it's exceptionally fun and i'm not too good at it! otherwise i'm hitting whatever cabs are available at my local arcade and waiting for a loved one to ship my Yuancon SDVX controller back.

yooooo, how is that Yuancon SDVX controller? I’ve been thinking about getting back into it. Generally speaking most folks prefer GAMO2 stuff but I’m genuinely curious, their builds strike me as totally fine

that and elite beat agents, the fact we only got one of those is a human rights violation to me. even if playing You're The Inspiration does cause me untold emotional damage, it got to the point that i resolved to never play it again after i got a full combo S rank on it on the hardest difficulty lmao

Hell, I miss EBA!!! I know it’s basically baby’s first OSU but it had such a weird lil charm that OSU doesn’t. Pretty sure I permanently damaged my DS screen doing those big spin inputs at the end of songs/sections

[Rivaclaw]

I was properly active playing rhythm games between 2000 and 2010; the original Dancing Stage, Dancing Stage EuroMix, EuroMix 2, a couple of imported DDR cabs around the UK, and my ultimate rhythm game love... EZ2Dancer!

The best way I can describe this game is DDR meets Para Para Paradise; the platform has three arrows (up left, up right, and down) and four hand sensors (though you only use two in most game modes) per player.
The platform is totally smooth, with no raised edges, like an actual dance floor, to encourage players to slide across the platform rather than stomp (ESPECIALLY in Club mode, where one player uses both pads), and most song patterns are actually made to get you dancing in a Hip-Hop style.



As the game is from Koera the music is almost entirely late 90s K-Pop.



Unfortunately Amuseworld got sued by Komani and the game only made a strong impact, outside of Korea, in 2000s UK and China, and as such cabs are super rare.

But yeah, this game was my jam and my favourite of all rhythm games.

[Ace]

Admittedly I'm not the best at rhythm games; I don't have the best hand-eye coordination and my body gets exhausted easily

However, I really enjoy the Rhythm Heaven series! It's a bit easy at times, but going for all-perfects is really satisfying and I love all of the personality it has. IIRC, it's made by the same team that does WarioWare, and the two have a lot of cross-game references. I like how each minigame is unique (or at least, mostly unique) and the fact that each button does one specific action is a lot easier on my brain than more complex rhythm games.

I might be a little excited about Rhythm Heaven 2026!!! Patricia Taxxon made a very short video essay about it pointing out that it works so well because it encourages non-music folks to groove especially hard in the off-beats where the Swing of a song is! It’s not super complex but is ultimately smart and super catchy as a result. Absolutely adore it and totally agree with you :3

I might also recommend Rhythm Doctor if you haven’t tried it! It’s a similar one-button rhythm game that allows the charting to find fun and interesting rhythms as a result. It does have some flashing lights near the end so it might be something you have to approach with caution, but if you can handle small bursts it’s awfully good! I just hope they actually make that flashing lights toggle — it was in the works but seemed to keep breaking everything, it just sucks it’s not there yet =(

[Faith]

My rhythm game of choice is pop'n music! I actually prefer to use the smaller console controllers mainly because the size of the arcade buttons make me want to bap them too hard and I end up hurting my hands.

Another pop’n fan!!! I knew the staff here were good folks

I’m willing to just slam my paws down and go for broke anyway — that’s what replacement springs and ice packs are for :3

my rhythm game obsession right now is jubeat! playing a decent amount of wacca as well, but jubeat is the one that's really close to my heart

I’m gonna spoil the fun for the thread reveal by saying that your home cab is IMMACULATE and you should really share pics with the class

I was properly active playing rhythm games between 2000 and 2010; the original Dancing Stage, Dancing Stage EuroMix, EuroMix 2, a couple of imported DDR cabs around the UK, and my ultimate rhythm game love... EZ2Dancer!

Holy shit, a rhythm arcade game I’ve never heard of! It kinda reminds me of Dance Rush? How’s that scan as a comparison? This looks like a total blast tho, I can’t even imagine how much a cab goes for in 2025

[Rivaclaw]

Holy shit, a rhythm arcade game I’ve never heard of! It kinda reminds me of Dance Rush? How’s that scan as a comparison? This looks like a total blast tho, I can’t even imagine how much a cab goes for in 2025

I've never played Dance Rush (not in the best shape for those sort of games anymore, but I'm working on it), but EZ2Dancer really encourages you to use your whole body.

A lot of the mappings, at first glance, seem to be focused on you looking at the screen the whole time and using your hands with the upper sensors, but then you understand that you can activate the lower sensors with your feet so you start doing standing kicks to activate them, then leg sweeps, etc.

I can remember one song has a seemingly complicated foot pattern towards the end when you're looking forward, but when we realised that it's NOT complicated when you do the steps while turning 360 it blew our minds! We realised that the game wants you to think more about how you can freestyle dance rather than hitting patterns really quickly!

Another track has a foot pattern designed to make you do that air walk/walking-on-the-spot dance movement, which was super sick to see being done by those who knew it!

It sucks hard that they're super rare and there's hardly any working emulation for it either. It's worth your time if you ever get the chance to play it!

[sunlightFrequency]

Robobeat

Oh hell yeah
I loved BPM: Bullets Per Minute, and this has been on my radar for a good bit. Though I still have a soft spot for BPM specifically. Very good roguelike that I would recommend as well for fans of "shoot to the rhythm" style gameplay. The reload sounds and shot sounds syncing to the music is just, magical.

As for more traditional rhythm games I play it pretty safe with Osu and Clone Hero, and Quaver is a decent little F2P mania-like that's gaining support as more people make charts for it.

[ichor]

yooooo, how is that Yuancon SDVX controller? I’ve been thinking about getting back into it. Generally speaking most folks prefer GAMO2 stuff but I’m genuinely curious, their builds strike me as totally fine

held up pretty well honestly! required minimal lubricant and didn't require much setup to play nice with Unnamed SDVX Clone. it's been a while since i've touched it since so i'd need to have another go-round to give you a full overview!

[ProxyGlitchcat]

Oh this is the exact kind of thread I'm so here for

I've finally been getting back to my rhythm game sicko zone lately thanks to finally having access to a relatively-close arcade. Primary game is Sound Voltex (working my way back up to 16s), but I'm definitely intrigued to go back to Pop'n and IIDX soon. Was never very good at IIDX (highest I've been able to pass was 8s), but Pop'n was a high school joy of mine that I haven't touched actively since.

Though I'm always done for 90% of rhythm games, haha

[Ja'aran]

I had a phase where I was really into, I guess you could call them "community" music games like Stepmania, DTXMania, and Osu! If you were wondering what I was doing like a decade ago, it was basically a lot of this lol

[ProxyGlitchcat]

osu is a name that makes me take a long drag off a cigarette and stare off into the starlit sky

was a part of the beatmap approval team when it was still called that from like 2008-2015 lmao, joined the site in 2007. had a bit of a falling out with a lot of the community there but also met some of my lifelong friends (and my spouse) through there

[Mandrake]

I'm a fan of Frequency and Amplitude for PlayStation 2. I like the way you gradually build up a song by hitting notes for individual tracks, and the song selection is kind of a neat early 2000s time capsule.

One of my all-time favourite rhythm games is Amplitude (2003) for the PS2, which was one of the two precursors to Guitar Hero developed by Harmonix. Each song is broken up into six tracks, usually two for drums and then typically one for bass, vocals, guitar, and synths. You fly down the course in a spaceship and press the shoulder buttons in time to the music, and if you perfectly clear two bars, the track stays unlocked for a while and the different instruments build up until you can hear the complete song. It's somewhat overcomplicated compared to Guitar Hero because you have to manually (and usually very quickly) switch between tracks and plan out your route if you want to hold onto your combo. There's powerups that let you automatically clear tracks, double your combo, slow down the tempo, and enter a freestyle mode where you can play a synthesiser/record scratching solo. And after you beat the level, you can listen to the song on loop while freestyling.

You also get to create your own avatar who performs instruments and grooves in sync with the music. Plus every song takes place in a futuristic landscape that flashes and reacts with every successful button press, and has TV screens playing short clips from the music video.

The soundtrack has a lot of variety and has some impressive pulls, such as Garbage, Blink-182, Pink, Weezer, and David Bowie, but the best songs were the original tracks which were made in-house by Kasson Crooker from Freezepop. What made it even better is that it included a Remix mode where you could create your own custom tracks by placing down samples down, adjust the tempo, and add reverb/stutter, and then you could play back your own levels and upload/download them from the online servers that existed at the time. I made some great remixes the last time I played with it, I should probably record them onto a capture card and upload them to YouTube sometime.

This video is Robot Rockerz by Komputer Kontroller on the highest difficulty, making it one of the hardest tracks in the game. Beating this game on the highest difficulty was a huge achievement for me, even though I might have worn out one or two controllers in the process.

[Melty]

Oooh! Surprised we missed this thread before, but complete sega sicko here o/
Mainly maimai finale (fall's gotta get here sooner, wanna play DX again already), been trying to get down more 12+/13 charts (just hit an SSS on Sacred Ruin earlier, along with End Mark + Credits S ranks over the last week or so), though been following the Kaleidxscope streams pretty closely too! Do absolutely wish there was an ongeki or wacca cab here though gfjkldjgf, especially an online/non-R1 one with the latter 'v')b

Outside of that also been playing SMX since that surprise unbeatable collab happened, trying to AP Proper Rhythm on there though the local cabs a bit scuffed, along with some Pump and GC! (Need to get back into jubeat + DRS too,,,)

Home wise too been getting back into a few like Arcaea, vivid/stasis and NOISZ since they all got new updates lately, along with Bleap being a new one, scratches the ongeki itch a good bit! (V/S got its first update out of early access when we've been following it since pretty early on and might just be an all-time favorite at this rate, meanwhile NOISZ's finally fixed a bug on the switch version keeping us from playing the hidden link song with the mobile spinoff, just gotta derust and clear it now @v@)