Unlike soulless trite that exists merely for cheap thrills like Silent Hill 2, Garten of Banban is a truly meaningful and impactful horror experience. It is a clear commentary on how capitalism ruined education as an institution, turning it from something that existed for genuine development of the mind to something with the top priority of preparing children to be merely another cog in a machine of capitalism. The core contrast between the "wholesome" drawn depictions of the creatures and their real, more radical counterparts is a very clear reference to Lenin's The State and Revolution and the particular quote "attempts are made to convert [revolutionaries] into harmless icons, to canonize them, so to say, and to hallow their names to a certain extent for the 'consolation' of the oppressed classes and with the object of duping the latter, while at the same time robbing the revolutionary theory of its substance, blunting its revolutionary edge and vulgarizing it." While gamers will hail meaningless trash like Disco Elysium and Mother 3 as "masterpieces," the people who truly understand gaming's potential as a form of art will know that Garten of Banban is the true gold standard that games should strive towards.

Actually just kidding this game fucking sucks lmao

Little did I know that the strange looking cabinet with a circular touchscreen at my local arcade would soon become the main reason I go there in the first place. Underrated as all hell, WACCA quickly became my second favorite rhythm game with its unique control scheme and a soundtrack that absolutely slaps—courtesy of the Japanese record label HARDCORE TANO*C. Taken offline much too soon, I live in constant fear my arcade will relocate or sell the machine, and every moment I’m not playing WACCA at the arcade I wish I was. INSANELY enjoyable rhythm game, shame I have to leave my house and pay $20 to access the arcade it's in. A small price to pay for one of the best rhythm games out there.

(NOTE: I'm reviewing WACCA Reverse, the final version of the game with the most songs. I've played a few earlier versions and I believe my comments apply to them as well.)

Pros:

- The control scheme for WACCA is bonkers, but honestly didn’t take all that long to get used to. It's a circular touch screen—if you play other rhythm games, it's a combination between maimai and Chunithm. Not only do you tap the notes as they come, but you also have to hold and drag some notes, which could mean tracing a circle along the screen like you’re drawing a magic circle, or opening a portal to hell or something. You also have to swipe to hit some notes, either swiping to the side, pushing up (toward the monitor) or down (back towards the player). Combined all together, the finger flourishes and “dual hand action” (for lack of a better term) feels immensely satisfying. It's really something you’d have to try for yourself to understand.

- As with most rhythm games, the soundtrack matters. And oh does Marvelous (the developers) deliver. WACCA is a collaboration with record labor HARDCORE TANOC, whose artists primarily make speedcore, drumstep, and other “hardcore” EDM. The game does also feature songs from Vocaloid performers, the Touhou game series, and other Japanese pop musicians, but its HARDCORE TANOC’s tracks that drew me in and keep me playing. It utterly shreds—Strange Bar, Sound Chimera, Metamorphose, KALAKAKLA, FLVSH OUT, Liberate, Cycle Hit—if you are a fan of frenetic and heavy EDM, do yourself a favor and give these songs a shot. I’d sell a kidney, maybe even two, to have these songs in more rhythm games.

- The customizability of the settings for WACCA actually surprised me. Players can change not only the speed of the notes but also the strictness of the timings (making it easier or harder to get higher points). This gives players a chance to practice for higher difficulties, and if they choose, they could totally refuse to play higher difficulties and instead go all-in on high note speed for the basic charts, getting their difficulty that way. It's what I’ve been doing as I practice the jump to expert difficulty, and it's a lot of fun.

- I’ll discuss this more in the cons section, but WACCA was taken offline in 2022, taking with it some of the features that Amusement IC card-owners enjoyed, like participating in online events and uploading their scores to the official website. Some arcades mitigate this by running private servers, which allows players to use those cards. If you can find an arcade that does this, getting a card is a great investment. Players won’t need to play as a guest; they can change their navigator (the announcer), save their high scores, and earn experience towards reward tracks that grant profile cosmetics and new charts. WACCA became so much more fun once I got one.

- It’s a small detail, but I must say the UI and art design for this game is solid. Great color scheme on the machines, and the navigators have sick outfits. Elizabeth is my favorite!

Cons (almost irrelevant):

- WACCA was made for a Japanese audience, and although it was reportedly more popular in the United States than in Japan (maybe a reason Marvelous canceled support), it never got an official English patch. This turns away some players immediately—I’ve seen players leave my local machine after blindly clicking through screens in a language they can’t read. That being said, it's not hard to play it in Japanese, since scores and some song titles are still legible. Plus, some talented members of the small WACCA community have actually created an English patch, one copy of which found its way to my local arcade, greatly enhancing the experience, so this isn’t a problem for me anymore. (Check the r/wacca subreddit if you’re curious on how to find this patch).

- As mentioned above, WACCA was taken offline in 2022 due to low player counts (a decision I’ll never forgive!). The only way to use an Amusement IC card (and save your scores) with the machine is if the arcade staff manage to rig a private server. I have absolutely zero clue how they do that, how it works, or if it's even legal. I believe Round1 locations have a server network in place, so that remains a good place to play WACCA with a card. I play at a local arcade that somehow managed to get their own network; I don’t question it. I don’t even know if you could call this a flaw with the game itself, more just an unfortunate economic reality. Still, that means no more songs or events :(

Objective rating: 4.5 stars
Subjective rating: 5 stars

Hola señores, hoy les vengo a reseñar sexo 2, Sexo 2 es un juego RPG no lineal en dónde violas tu propia historia metiéndole gente que conoces como tu abuela y tu gato muerto de hace 12 años, la jugabilidad si bien es buena está mal balanceada ya que todas las estrategias son mierda comparadas al cum buffering en dónde puedes acumular semen para la siguiente paja, así fue como el conocido speedcumer conocido como July3P hizo un maremoto de leche el 13/9/2020, la música es god, tienes canciones como gemidos de tortuga y aplausos en el baño tanto así que escucharlas te destroza el culo casi tanto como Yuuka Kazami de Yakuza Proyect, le doy un 9/10 pulido pero falta porno de neveras metralleta

I fucking love everything about this game bruh Unwavering Belief saved my life

I think this might be the peak of RGG games for me, the already great combat in Judgment is further enhanced, side content is varied, the sub-stories felt less in quantity compared to most Yakuza games but its still as funny and heartfelt as before, Ijincho looks incredible in Judgment's tone and setting, the dynamic sequences are easily the best in the series, banger after banger tracks and easily the most complex and nuanced story in any game I've played so far.

It goes without saying that I love Yagami, Kaito and the boys but this game also boasts the best antagonist cast in the whole series on par with Y0. It is a bit sad to see some people not caring about the plot as its one that hooked me throughout and strikes a chord with me, almost to an uncomfortable degree at times and at the end I am left with emptiness and a clash of internal beliefs that will probably stick with me for a long time

When a series can make you have a fun time with the combat yet manages to be one of your favorite stories told it really is something special. I love RGG and Nagoshi so much for these games man

I have a lot of love for Chunithum. Sega has continued to make some of the most innovative and delightful rhythm game controllers to wrap your head around. Hitting an Air-Justice feels cool as hell and nothing Bemani has done will compare. Unfortunately Sega is not letting their team actually design the whole game. In maimai and Chuni both, there's just a bunch of songs and they hope you figure it out on your own nerd.

Where the Bemani sound team can effortlessly compose your climb through the ranks to more or less equip you for next big jump in difficulty, Chuni displays some of the weirdest gaps in patterns and general hand placement expectations I've ever had to stumble though. You'd think by the twelfth entry they'd work master notes in earlier but I guess not! The gatcha style character and skill system further muddles any attempt the game could make at describing your progress. In what feels like full combo-ing in Bandori with a C clear, I hopped into this game immediately getting AAA-S on sight read for 10-12s, but I'll still fail maybe every 2 in 3 songs while trying to experiment with skills.

I can't understate how joyous it is to use this controller, but the feedback of the game as a system beyond slipping and sliding and smacking the air creates so many deeply unpleasant moments.

PREQUEL PERFECT PAYOFF PERFORMED
COOL CHARISMATIC CHARACTER CAST
THEATER TALE OF TRUE TEARJERKING
RYUNOSUKE'S RESOLVE OF RAW RESOURCING
SO
SEKI
NAT
SUME