games list

the main type of rhytmn game on computer is key based. different games have different numbers of keys, with 7 key generally being seen as difficult and anything less being gradually more accessible.

i started playing rhytmn games around the start of 2024, but only really got into them in september when my partner took me out to a bunch of arcades.

still not sure what i feel about them so far, especially as i get better and can have more fully formed thoughts on the games, but i think i like them.

my favourites are dance games, by far, and in general i like games with fun input mechanisms. I generally have a really hard time playing rhytmn games unmedicated, because i have a motor disability that makes standing at arcade cabinets and accurately aiming my hands pretty difficult. i also have hallucinations after a session and usually fall over because the floor is moving and i can't walk, but i think this isn't me, so much as a general human brain moment.

the problem with rhythmn games is that you need to get pretty good before it even feels like you are "playing the game". even most fighting games let you have fun pressing buttons even if youre bad at the game, with things like autocombos and cool animations and comeback mechanics. fighting games also automatically scale to the skill level of your opponent, and so if your friend group or bracket has someone like you in it, you're basically guranteed a good time. rhythmn games are kinda numbing with how you're expected to sit around and train on easy charts before being able to move in.

the thing that helped me most to stay interested in rhythmn games was having a supportive partner who encouraged me and praised me and acknowledged my successes and kindly showed me what to do when it was relevant. a partner who also came second in a rhythmn game tournament lol

bemani

bemani is a brand of rhythmn games made by konami.

im generally a huge fan of bemani games and i think they're cool. until i need to think about the logistics of actually playing them.

my exposure to most of these games is mostly through fanmade emulators/clones and the actual arcade machines. this is because playing them offically is so unbelievably painful. for modern games, konami makes you pay a monthly subscription fee, on top of the price of the game and the content inside of it. and you need to then have the dedicated controller, and these themselves are so expensive despite being dead simple for the most part

generally very obnoxious to get into if you dont have a arcade cabinet nearby you. if you don't live near enough one where it's reasonable to travel, it's hell.

sound voltex exceed gear

for the most part really love sound voltex. its probably my favourite basic key based arcade game and a large part of that is how cool it feels to play. the knobs and the effects and everything is so fucking cool.

my main problem with the game is just how frustrating it is to find a way to play it. the subsscription model, controller, and its a rare cab. it isnt, and none of its supporting media is english , either.

its also kinda excessive how horny the newer ones are? like its weird?

but anyways. the colours and knobs and the effects on the screen all feel so cool. big fan

múseca

in my head múseca sorta occupies the space of "i want to play voltex but easier and with more fun controls and without the objectified character designs". and... yeah.

múseca feels a lot more accessible because of its gentler learning curve, and it also has much friendlier characters and cohesive design that doesn't have you checking who is watching you play. the game uses 5 large rotating buttons, and a large foot pedal. the buttons can either be pressed or spun.

the buttons make the game a lot of fun and it feels really cool when i hit a sequence interspersed with normal presses and rotations. its so cool.

i also like that the game kinda has a extrinsic progression system and creature collecting aspect to it. gives a motivation for keep going. i also just like the aesthetic of the game and the cab a lot

beatmania iidx

in my head its very hard to identify what is Special about beatmania in general for me. it's the progenitor of rhythmn games and is therefore pretty basic? the only special control thing it has going for it is using a dj turn table as a input. the second version, called iidx ("two deluxe"), also is a 7 key game so.

to be clear, the spinny bits in beatmania and voltex and múseca all work VERY differently and they feel completely different, mentally. one of those differences is very important, where beatmania regularly expects you to be able to press the keys while spinning the turntable at the same time, which sound voltex basically never does.

iidx being 7 key (or 14 key lol) also makes it play completely differently, to the point where simply finding a effective finger position is hugely important for getting better.

aesthetically iidx feels kinda grungy and street cool which also sets it apart from the other spinny bits + keys games. and the background animations are also insanely cool.

in my head this game is also a lot more accessible to play than voltex from a hardware perspective. it feels like it has much more community support. its probably just that it is so damn old though. like the main clone everyone plays on pc is at least ten years old, probably closer to 15 at this point? heard a birdy say it has a arbitrary code execution vulnerability :3

iidx is cool as fuck and i like playing it a ton. very simple in execution but very clean.

dance dance revolution

so i am not sure if im gonna continue to appreciate key based rhythmn games long term, since i have a feeling that i may stop enjoying it at a certain point of familiarity and skill level. but dance games are not like this.

moving your body is fun! its so easy to share with someone else! it feels so good to play

ddr in particular is also insanely accessible for a arcade rhythmn game. it was on basically every console back in the day and even the shitty non-arcades like bowling allies have ddr cabs. the entry level controller is also cheap as fuck

it is so omnipresent that i have no idea where one version of ddr ends and another begins.

ddr was for a very long time my primary exposure to rhythmn games. seeing videos of people going ham on a pad and knowing i couldnt do that. it made me kinda disinterested. i had played ddr, but didnt really understand the appeal. it felt kinda cheap and underdeveloped. like a quick cash grab.

but i am realising now that has more to do with the easy charts in rhythmn games being fucking Boring with no interesting anything. the problem with rhythmn games is that you need to get pretty good before it even feels like you are "playing the game". even most fighting games let you have fun pressing buttons even if youre bad at the game, with things like autocombos and cool animations and comeback mechanics. and fighting games also automatically scale to the skill level of your opponent, and so a equally skilled friend group can adapt to each other for maximum fun.

ddr is fun as fuck and is super easy to share with other people which makes it even more fun. dance games in general feel waay more social.

i dont really like soft pads but i am simply stuck with them

move feet between notes and the blue ones are off tempo btw yw

other arcade

pump it up

huge pump fan here.

pump is kinda an enigma cus i feel like there are so many pump fans hiding in the wood works. they're your librarian, or the guy talking about his wedding on the bus (these are two of my true stories). but the actual game is so fucking elusive.

pump is like ddr but instead uses diangonal and neutral inputs, instead of cardinal ones. it feels a lot more like youre actually dancing in pump (even if you still really arent), which is awesome, and generally jusut feels cooler than ddr.

one time we got four people on one song in pump using the two pads.

pump can be kinda frustratimg sometimes to learn cus its overly punlshing and cruel to players and the difflchlty scoring system is Bad and has no cosnsitemtcy beteeen games, stepartists, and just, this game needs some flags to denote if a song has spimmers, crossovers, or other partocular charting thlngs. if not just so you cam search for songs to practice. Way more fun than ddr or itg though. love the 5 pad layout a lot mlre. plus there are mlre pump cabs where i live

wacca

it has big soft spot for wacca cusu first played it with loads of friends in torotno and its super consang incest siscon and has super brlght colours and effects! kinda hard to chart read but so fun and natruaal to play and makes me sho HAPPy

maimai

i really love the unlockaables andhextrinici motivatilns and now that ive startev clearing 13s i ha> the controller on the dx cabs.

when a play with a random on the P2 cab i always get unsolicited infantilising flirts which is why at least One(1) lovable freak with to play with <3

how to get kanade working on waydroid...

i love aesthetic and rewards and controller and the stamp books and profile icons! love just making pretty profile ca> to use as moodboards

theyre pretty horribly impuememted. the menu, thpugh. in fact the whole menu is is shit. Grr. how do u search !!!

dont love that the controller is louder than the game or that it kinda hurtz to run up agaibsr them but oh my gos its so smooth and the touchscreen gestures and fullbody motioms you can do with the buttons Aaaaa

washing machine pgreamcy real ~w~ gine birth here today !!

really love the good vibes this game gies off but unfortunately i simply want to go sleep and not write about another game

taiko no tajistun

for a long time this was a arcade-only game for me. it gave me repetitive strain injury.

now i exclusively play in on my Nintendo 3DS®.

Its my bus game, and using buttons is a lot better for my body health.

taiko in the arcade involves slamming drums, which hurts a lot and is also really fucking hard with my motor skills sometimes. it also made some movements nearly impossible for me.

generally the combo based scoring in the older games is yucky and im not a huge fan of the two button / single line system. it basically leads to all the complexity coming from timing (speed, repitition, spacing), and adding a Fuckton of Notes.

like it realisitcally isnt that different from other rhythmn games which have miltiple lines of notes that can be input at the same time, especially ones like ddr where its rare for notes to actually overlap. but it feels so much worse and makes reading it much harder. also mashing one button in quick succesion is way harder than doing a sequence of notes with different fingers even if they have identical timing.

groove coaster

really cute and i like using it as a palette cleanser and rest game cus i can sit down for a bit lol. adorable and fun ! its kinda like instant noodles if that makes sense. fucj its 3am and now i want rameh wah

computer games

sixtar gate startrail

very cute rhytmn game that is like if voltex didnt have spinny bits, and occasionally became a 7 key game

sixtar gate startrail alternates between being a 4 key game and a 7 key game depending on mode and stage of song, and im still not sure what to think of that. i think i like it though

this is the first rhtymn game i've played with a keyboard and damn bitches have some nice keyboards out there. i like how accessible that makes it and hate how it means i can Only use a keyboard. or like. i can use something else, its just the input scheme is boring.

since the inputs have nothing to add, i mainly play the game cus of its aesthetic. i can say im using it as aesthetic inspiration for my own art, which is genuinely true.

i also bought the wacca dlc at the same time i got the game, which, given that this game is easily misread as sister gate, is incredibly on-brand for me

other other

ever think about how rhythmn heaven feaver and games like it are also rhythmn games?

for some reason my brain associates puyo puyo tetris with rhythmn games

do i mention quaver or any fighting game mods/playstyles