Gitaroo Man

Gitaroo Man
Developer(s)	Koei iNiS
Publisher(s)	Koei THQ (Europe)
Designer(s)	Keiichi Yano
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable
Release date(s)	PlayStation 2 JP June 21, 2001 NA February 18, 2002 EU June 21, 2002 PlayStation Portable JP June 8, 2006 EU September 29, 2006 NA November 14, 2006
Genre(s)	Music
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ELSPA: 3+ ESRB: Everyone PEGI: 3+

Gitaroo Man (ギタルマン) is a video game for the Sony PlayStation 2, published by Koei and developed by iNiS, with visual production by 326 (Mitsuru Nakamura) and music performed by COIL.

Despite a number of positive reviews, the North American and European versions of Gitaroo Man were produced in very low quantities by Koei and, as a result, have become somewhat rare, and is regarded as a cult video game.

Around November 2005 in North America, copies of Gitaroo Man began popping up in GameStop game stores. This was due to a reprint by GameQuestDirect, similar to their previous reprints of PlayStation RPGs Persona 2 and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, both of which were previously very rare.

The game was ported to the PlayStation Portable (PSP), titled Gitaroo Man Lives!. Its Japanese title is Gitaroo Man Live (ギタルマンライブ!).

Story

The player character is U-1, a young boy who is frequently ridiculed by classmates and passed over by Little Pico, the girl of his dreams. The story proper begins when Puma, a dog with the ability to speak, teaches U-1 to play the guitar, simultaneously teaching the controls of the game to the player, and subsequently revealing to him that he is the last legendary hero of Planet Gitaroo, and the possessor of the Last Gitaroo. When they are then attacked, Puma transforms into Puma AC-30 and gives U-1 the Gitaroo, transforming him into Gitaroo Man. As he continues to defeat the opponents, revealed as members of the Gravilian family led by Zowie, they absorb their Gitaroos and later find out that the Gravilians are holding the people of Planet Gitaroo hostage. U-1 reluctantly goes there, and along the way meets and befriends a girl named Kirah. Afterwards, when U-1 has obtained all but one of the Gitaroos, he is shocked to find the last one is held by Kirah, who is actually the Gravilian's strongest warrior. Choosing not to fight, U-1 instead plays the Legendary Song that moved Kirah when they met, and manages to convert her over to his side. Zowie attempts to destroy them using his man-made Armored Gitaroo, but with the power of all eight Gitaroos, U-1 gains great power and manages to defeat him. U-1 returns home and uses what he's learned to stand up for himself.

Gameplay

Each battle comprises a separate level, divided into five types of sections:

• Charge: Successful notes charge up energy for battle.
• Attack: Successful notes deplete enemy's energy. Misses deplete player's energy.
• Guard: Successful presses avoid attack. Misses deplete player's energy.
• Harmony: Same as Attack phase, although this is not broken up by Guard phases.
• End: Same as Harmony, but player's energy does not deplete if notes are missed.

The exceptions to this format are "Void", which is purely Guard phase, and "Legendary Theme (Acoustic)" which is purely Attack phase. These songs, as well as "Overpass/Legendary Theme (Album Version)" are excluded from the multiplayer mode.

An example of Gitaroo Man's charge mode.

Each level typically opens with a Charge phase, in which the player increases their health through playing the Gitaroo. A series of alternating Attack and Guard phases follows, in which the player attempts to drop his opponent's health bar by playing the Gitaroo, and avoids the same by dodging incoming attacks, respectively. If the player survives until the end of the song, then he must complete the Harmony phase to finish the level. The opponent's health bar doesn't so much represent his/her health as it does the progress through the song. If a player does not deal enough damage to an opponent by the end of a segment, that segment will be repeated (with the exception of some levels, most battle phases have two different tunes per segment, that are randomly selected each time a level is played.)

During the Charge, Attack, and Harmony phases, a line called the "trace line" scrolls toward a dot in the center of the screen (the "attack point") from outside of the visible area. There are yellow circles with orange tails on the trace line (called "phrase bars") corresponding to the rhythm of the song. When the beginning of a phrase bar reaches the attack point, the player must follow the direction of the trace line with the analogue stick while simultaneously pressing any face button for the duration of each phase bar.

In the Charge phase, successfully completing a phase bar grants the player a little more health; in Attack phases, completing phase bars drops the opponent's health, while missing them drops a little of the player's health. The Harmony phase acts the same as an Attack phase, but at this point the enemy's health is irrelevant. The End phase is similar, except the player will no longer lose health at this point. The magnitude of the gain in health or drop in opponent's health depends on how accurately the player hit the phase bar. Long phase bars can give their effect a second time if the button is released before the end of the bar, the bonus being greater the longer the button is held.

The phase bars tie into the music by fading in Gitaroo Man's guitar track in the song when they are hit, and causing it to fade back out when missed. Thus, the quality of the player's game playing ties in with the quality of Gitaroo Man's guitar playing.

The Guard phase differs in that the player is responsible for pressing one of the four buttons on the controller at the correct time; the analog stick is not used. Corresponding to the layout of these buttons, a triangle scrolls in from the top of the screen, a circle from the right, a square from the left, and an X from the bottom. When these icons hit the aforementioned attack point in the center, usually following the rhythm of the opponent's part of the music, the player must press the corresponding button to avoid losing health.

Most of the game's music uses a call and response pattern in order to allow for alternating Attack and Guard phases, with Gitaroo Man and his rival dominant in each respectively. The Charge and Harmony phases are typical intros and codas, with the rival tending to musically dominate the Charge phase, and Harmony phase led by Gitaroo Man.

At the end of each level, the player is given a rank based on their performance, as well as an item for the Collection, unlocking character bios. An additional item is obtained if the player can obtain an A or S rank in that level. Further items can be collected in Master's Play mode.

Master's Play

When the game is completed once, the levels (except the tutorial) can be played in Master's Play mode. In this mode, symbols come onto the screen faster, and misses cause more damage. Also, in the majority of levels (some levels like "The Legendary Theme (Acoustic Version) keep the same layout), button presses are a lot more frequent and some phase bars are longer with fewer breaks inbetween them.

Vs. Mode

This mode can be played with 2 or 4 players (or one player against a computer, but only when a second controller is plugged in.) Choosing one of the available songs, Player 1 plays Gitaroo Man's music whilst Player 2 plays the villain's music. Some of the songs are reformatted to support the 2 player (for example, "Born to be Bone" features more parts for Gitaroo Man to play.) If one side manages to deplete the other side's energy, they'll win. If by the end of the song the players are still standing, the side with the most life remaining will play the Harmony segment alone, thus winning, and the results screen will be displayed.

Characters

U-1 (ユウイチ, Yūichi^?, pronounced 'you-one' in the English version): The game's protagonist. U-1 has a romantic attachment to Pico but is constantly upstaged by his natural rival, Kazuya. When the player is introduced, U-1 has very little self confidence and rarely, if ever, is able to stand up for himself, but throughout the course of the game he gradually develops self-esteem, and afterward, a more extroverted personality. He is voiced by Lenne Hardt in the English version and Jun Mizuki in the Japanese version.

Gitaroo Man (ギタルマン, Gitaru Man^?): The alter ego of U-1 and the last of the legendary heroes of Planet Gitaroo. U-1 transforms into Gitaroo Man whenever he is challenged to a battle. Wields the legendary last Gitaroo. It is said Gitaroo Man will reveal his true form when all eight Gitaroos are one.

Puma (プマ^?): U-1's loyal talking pet dog, who isn't even sure himself how long he's been in U-1's family. He is responsible for teaching U-1 everything about battling. Whenever a challenge appears, he transforms into Puma AC-30 and throws U-1 the Gitaroo. He is voiced by Ryan Drees in the English version.

Pico (ピコ^?): One of U-1's classmates and the girl of his dreams. She is always with Kazuya to U-1's dismay. She is voiced by Bianca Allen in the English version.

Kazuya (かずや^?): A snobby classmate of U-1 who comes from a rich family. He is great at skateboarding, is a straight-A student, and is U-1's social rival. He is voiced by Douglas Kirk in the English version.

Kirah (キラ^?): Kirah is one of the main characters, who bears a striking resemblance to Pico. She is identified as a powerful, if misguided warrior of Gravillians who eventually turns over to Gitaroo Man's side to help him defeat Zowie. She is voiced by Bianca Allen in the English version.

Zowie (ゾヰー^?): The prince of the Gravillians and the antagonist of the storyline. His desire for power has led him to an attempt at collecting the eight legendary Gitaroos (of which he already has seven), which can, together, control the universe. He is voiced by Douglas Kirk in the English version.

Panpeus (パンパス, Panpasu^?): A devil wearing a black diaper using the Axe Gitaroo. He is the first Gravillian to fight U-1. He warps the reality in U-1's room, but is sucked back into his own portal in the end. He is voiced by Lisle Wilkerson in the English version.

Flying-O (フライング・オー, Furaingu O^?): A UFO robot (mistaken as a hamburger) Gravillian that uses a built-in Synth Gitaroo. He uses mind control to control citizens in U-1's city but is blown up soon after.

Mojo King Bee (モジョキング Bee, Mojo Kingu Bee^?): A Gravillian dressed in a bee and disco suit who plays the Trumpet Gitaroo. He is defeated by sinking into the swamp whose animals he controlled. He is voiced by Kaleb James in both versions, as he speaks in English in the Japanese version.

Ben-K (ベン-K^?): A shark that U-1 must escape on the way to planet Gitaroo; he later transforms into Mecha Ben-K, who uses his Turn Table Gitaroos on his pecs to do damage. He is hurtled into space by Gitaroo Man's mecha and explodes.

Sanbone Trio (三ボヌ トリオ, Sanbono Turio^?): Three skeletons who use their own bones as Gitaroos. Their names are Pine (パイヌ^?), Carrot (カロト^?), and Soda (ソダ^?). Their pelvic bones are shaped on Dual Shock controllers. The life is sucked out of them when their Gitaroo is taken.

Gregorio Siegfried Wilhelm III (グレゴーリオ・ヴィルヘルムⅢ, Guregorio Viruherumu III^?) A Gravillian who operates a cathedral as his Gitaroo, located on Planet Gitaroo itself. He is obsessed with his own beauty and constantly screams 'Mama' at the top of his lungs. He also narrates the character bios on the Collection screen. He is voiced by Brian Matt Uhl in the English version.

Miranda (ミランダ^?): An old man who lives on Planet Gitaroo. He is the one who sends the request for Gitaroo Man's help when he and his people are captured by the Gravillians. He is voiced by Paul Lucas in the English version.

Ming Ming (眠眠^?): Zowie's pet cat, who likes to jeer at Puma. She appears as a boss character in the PSP version, where she uses a giant samba machine. She is voiced by Lisle Wilkerson in the English version.

Kai-Kakoon: A giant robot who threatens the city in the PSP version. Uses his army of bats to do his bidding.

The backup band: A group of musicians dressed in animal suits, who follow U-1 throughout the Cosmos. Their names are Noren (ノレン^?) (rabbit suit), Yung (ユン^?) (monkey suit) and Mr. Yasuda (安田-さん^?) (panda suit). They are almost always seen at one point in every level.

Songs

• Boogie For An Afternoon
• Twisted Reality
• Flyin' to your Heart
• Bee Jam Blues
• VOID
• Nuff Respect, featuring NAHKI
• The Legendary Theme (Acoustic version)
• Born to be Bone
• Tainted Lovers
• Overpass/The Legendary Theme (Album version)
• Resurrection

The following songs are exclusive to the PSP remake, Gitaroo Man Lives!, in the Duel mode.

• Metal Header
• Toda Pasion

Soundtrack

The Gitaroo Man Original Soundtrack is an audio CD released in 2001, containing the majority of the songs found in the PS2 video game Gitaroo Man. While it is missing the background music played during the Collection viewing mode and the Master Mode versions of songs, it does have four Ropeland remixes of other songs.

Gitaroo Man Lives!

The European box art for Gitaroo Man Lives!

On November 14, 2006, a Gitaroo Man port was released for Sony's PSP console. Gitaroo Man Lives! (ギタルマン ライブ！, Gitaroo Man Live!^?, ) is a direct port of the PS2 game, but with two new songs that can be played in 'Duet' mode, a newly introduced cooperative mode. The songs are 'Metal Header', a rap/rock track, and 'Toda Pasión', a fast-paced samba number, similar to a Carlos Santana song. The game features Wi-Fi multiplayer and the ability to choose easy or normal difficulty settings.

Awards

• Received IGN's award for Best PSP Music Game of 2006. [1]

External links

• Gitaroo Man at Game Rankings
• Gitaroo Man at GameFAQs