When Games Become Musicals
A list of games that have moments where the gameplay is arranged to intertwine with a song in a way that gives the player a feeling of participation in the performance! Games that I'm confident fit the vibe are in the main list, games I'm not yet 100% on are below here in the description.
Rhythm games may or may not count for this list, given how their normal gameplay is already so intrinsically tied to a kind of musical performance that it doesn't stand out as a novel, specially designed moment? Not totally sure...
It can be a little nebulous to say exactly what qualifies but please lemme know if you can think of any other examples because I love when games do this.
POTENTIALS/HONORABLE MENTIONS - Games that I either gotta investigate more to see if they fit for my personal conception of this idea or that feel like they skirt the line and I'm not sure yet if they fully qualify but still wanna shout out
-Gitaroo Man. Rhythm game but gives an added sense of drama through its shifting scenarios during songs. Thanks to 87th
-Ristar. The level with the songbirds may well count, I'm just not sure yet if it hits me in that particular "performance" way. Thanks to BigGnome
-Wandersong. Haven't played it yet myself so I gotta look into it! Thanks to Corrugated_Fox
-Drakengard. Ending E features a genuine rhythm game... probably counts? Have to revisit it and make a vibes-call. Thanks to Archagent
-NEO TWEWY. Heard the final boss might qualify but I don't wanna spoil myself!
-Red Dead 1. Entrance into Mexico could well slide into this territory, I have to give it a look
-Red Dead 2. Construction montage feels close but you're not using any regular mechanics which sorta inhibits the performance to me?
-Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure. Literally a musical which owns but you never get to really participate at all during any songs?
-Conkers Bad Fur Day. Just gotta buckle down and watch the musical section on youtube, I never made it that far myself
-Nier Automata. Does the opera boss go far enough? Can be hard to delineate a full-on Gameplay Musical from just a regular game with amazing music
-E.X. Troopers. The dynamic music might count, I have to look into it
Rhythm games may or may not count for this list, given how their normal gameplay is already so intrinsically tied to a kind of musical performance that it doesn't stand out as a novel, specially designed moment? Not totally sure...
It can be a little nebulous to say exactly what qualifies but please lemme know if you can think of any other examples because I love when games do this.
POTENTIALS/HONORABLE MENTIONS - Games that I either gotta investigate more to see if they fit for my personal conception of this idea or that feel like they skirt the line and I'm not sure yet if they fully qualify but still wanna shout out
-Gitaroo Man. Rhythm game but gives an added sense of drama through its shifting scenarios during songs. Thanks to 87th
-Ristar. The level with the songbirds may well count, I'm just not sure yet if it hits me in that particular "performance" way. Thanks to BigGnome
-Wandersong. Haven't played it yet myself so I gotta look into it! Thanks to Corrugated_Fox
-Drakengard. Ending E features a genuine rhythm game... probably counts? Have to revisit it and make a vibes-call. Thanks to Archagent
-NEO TWEWY. Heard the final boss might qualify but I don't wanna spoil myself!
-Red Dead 1. Entrance into Mexico could well slide into this territory, I have to give it a look
-Red Dead 2. Construction montage feels close but you're not using any regular mechanics which sorta inhibits the performance to me?
-Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure. Literally a musical which owns but you never get to really participate at all during any songs?
-Conkers Bad Fur Day. Just gotta buckle down and watch the musical section on youtube, I never made it that far myself
-Nier Automata. Does the opera boss go far enough? Can be hard to delineate a full-on Gameplay Musical from just a regular game with amazing music
-E.X. Troopers. The dynamic music might count, I have to look into it
15 Games
The game that inspired me to make this list in the first place. The Ashtray Maze is a textbook modern incarnation of the Gameplay Musical.
Gray's Voided ending bends the player's/character's sense of time to cut together a wonderful sequence that feels like a playable music video.
The opera house, naturally.
The impromptu Old Gods of Asgard concert/battle
KRZ is full of moments where gameplay, music, and performance all bleed together for the player, with moments like Ezra's walk in the woods in Act 2 and Junebug's song in Act 3 standing out to me as real knockouts.
The way the theme song slinks in during the final battle to enhance the moment and underscore the way the player and Snake are playing out a part in service of greater forces... that's the good stuff.
Lots of great needle drops and music-filled moments in this game but the one that hits me the hardest as a moment of performance is when, at the top of the weather station, the game gives the player a floating carrier to skateboard down the mountain with and I'm Leaving plays. Such a beautiful moment.
After each boss there's a special stage that matches the level design perfectly to a song, it's fun!
RULES OF NATURE
The scene where Mettaton performs a song to lament the player's demise, and the player retains control during the song to wander around the stage with nothing to do, is a good example of this concept being used for laughs.
Some of those bosses link up their gameplay and songs in really exciting and satisfying ways!
thanks to rentheunclean for the suggestion
thanks to rentheunclean for the suggestion
May not love the song... but the Jump Up Super Star level definitely has these vibes!
Thanks letshugbro for the suggestion
Thanks letshugbro for the suggestion
SMBW has Pirahna Plants on Parade, where a song begins and the level's own ground geometry becomes an instrument for the player to join in the music with, very cool!
Thanks to cowboyjosh for the suggestion
Thanks to cowboyjosh for the suggestion
Initiation 4. Those Remedy folks, who knew!
I'd say the Rafael fight feels perform-y enough, and it's rad that he sings one of the vocal parts while you fight
10 Comments
Jump Up Super Star from Mario Odyssey comes to mind
I'd argue that Gitaroo Man plays with mid-level narrative shifts enough to qualify more than most rhythm games. Born to Be Bone and the penultimate level especially. The music and story work in tandem, based on the characters' situation.
Ristar has a level where you make birds sing and the music keeps changing to accompany the birds that join in
Drakengard's Ending E is a rhythm game in terms of mechanics
Thanks for these suggestions! Gonna look into them right away
Mario Wonder has a level like this. Great list!!
I feel like Wandersong would fit here. The primary gameplay is based around playing music to solve problems.
Thanks for the continued suggestions, I'm adding a section in the description to keep track of games that I still need to look into or that I'm on the fence about
the Dominique Pamplemousse games don't "turn into" musicals, rather they are musicals for their full duration. not sure if that commitment would disqualify them from this list or not but it'd be nice to see them here
rentheunclean
6 months ago