OrangeRight
This game is more of a song pack for Guitar Hero II rather than a full-fledged sequel or spinoff, and I did fully understand this at the time. I remember renting this on GameFly, playing all the songs, and sending it back after I was done with it. I did eventually buy this when it went into the bargain bin. It has a great song selection; I especially love that they got a song by Limozeen, Homestar Runner's parody of 80's rock bands. I enjoyed it for what it was.
2006
While the leap from Guitar Hero I and Guitar Hero II may not have been as significant as, say, Street Fighter to Street Fighter II, the fixing of the hammer-on and pull-off system alone makes this game way more fun than its predecessor. The covers are slightly better, the charting is better, the bonus songs are better, and the finale is way better. While I did like Guitar Hero I at the time, it was Guitar Hero II that really got me into the series.
2001
A really innovative cross between a shmup and a puzzle game, with a great soundtrack that melds seamlessly with the great level design. One of the few games I did not hesitate to buy more than three times on different consoles.
2009
This game attempts to simulate playing an arcade rhythm game with large, colorful buttons by having the player control a puppet that hits virtual buttons. It just barely works; a lot of the time, the on-screen character just simply doesn't hit the button you want them to hit. The game does know this, because the hardest songs in the game are rather easy, especially compared to the actual pop'n games.
While I could get some fun out of this game and the rather wacky songlist the US version has (guaranteed, this will be the only Bemani game that has "The United States of Whatever" by Liam Lynch in it), but eventually it just makes me wish I was actually hitting those large, colorful buttons instead.
While I could get some fun out of this game and the rather wacky songlist the US version has (guaranteed, this will be the only Bemani game that has "The United States of Whatever" by Liam Lynch in it), but eventually it just makes me wish I was actually hitting those large, colorful buttons instead.
2005
The blower of the big western rhythm game bubble that spawned many sequels, copycats, and Rock Band. While the idea of playing plastic instruments to music had been done before, this game did it with a style that was unmatched at the time. From the setlist being on paper, the many jokes in the loading screens, and the result screens being newspaper headlines, the game's style really put you into the delusion of being a rock star. It also had a great song list, which was filled with a lot of great rock and metal songs like Smoke on the Water, Iron Man, and Cowboys from Hell. This game really felt like a love letter to garage bands and rock in general.
However, while the style was there, the substance was not quite there yet. A lot of this has to do with the nearly impossible hammer-on and pull-off system, but almost every gameplay aspect of Guitar Hero I was improved with its sequels. Even back then, I was not really into Guitar Hero until Guitar Hero II. It is still a very important game in rhythm game history, but there is almost no reason to go back to it.
However, while the style was there, the substance was not quite there yet. A lot of this has to do with the nearly impossible hammer-on and pull-off system, but almost every gameplay aspect of Guitar Hero I was improved with its sequels. Even back then, I was not really into Guitar Hero until Guitar Hero II. It is still a very important game in rhythm game history, but there is almost no reason to go back to it.