Gitaroo Man Lives!
The cult hit is back, but did it survive the transition to a handheld?
Published: November 14, 2006
And in all honesty, that can prove to be painfully difficult. Gitaroo Man (the original PS2 version, that is) was infamous for not only being rather hard to find, but being even more difficult to finish, and the PSP version adds an Easy Mode that doesn't make the game itself any less complex, it just dings the enemy more and hurts you less when you're attacked or mess up. For weak sauce players like me, it was also the only way I was going to finish the game -- and it wasn't easy on the final levels by any stretch. It took a good 10 tries each to beat the final guys, which puts "Easy Mode" about on par with the more difficult rhythm action games.
There are some minor control issues, but they stem mostly from the PSP's analog nub not really having the same kind of precision as the PS2's analog stick. There are times when it can just get a little tiring to sweep the thing around, and it's hard to be properly speedy at times, but again, this is a minor gripe, and the number of times that the controls really failed me could be counted on one hand.
One of the advantages of reproducing a game that was made literally months after the PS2 was released here in the States is that it translates to the not-quite-PS2-level PSP hardware quite nicely. Now granted, cramming everything that fit on a screen a good half-dozen times the size of the PSP (and in a 4:3 ratio at that) into the space of a few widescreen inches is going to overcrowd things a little, but with the exception of a couple random framerate drops, a bit of info overload is really the only complaint I have about the visuals.
Inis and KOEI's wonderfully bizarre character designs (seriously, when was the last time you saw a trio of hard-rocking skeletons battling for captured villagers or a shark that chases you through space and then tromps around a space station trying to blow you up?) and insane situations come through wonderfully. Hell, they might even look better given that the CG cutscenes squeezed onto the PSP screen just look great at that size.
All rhythm action games live or die by the music that you're playing all those rhythms along with, and with a pair of headphones, GML quite frankly rocks just like it should. There's little in the way of dubbed voices for the cutscenes, which just leaves the music to carry things, and it does so beautifully. In fact, there are three little bonuses for PSP owners; two new songs -- the rap/rock "Metal Header" and samba number "Toda Pasion" along with the rare English version of "Flyin' To Your Heart" which was only available in the European release of the game.
And there you have it. More songs, great music, gameplay that's still as challenging as ever, and minimal losses on the way to the PSP. No, it's certainly not the much-asked-for sequel that fans of the original are looking for, but as a sort of GM 1.5, it's not a bad step up. Should we ever get a proper sequel, it'll supplant this as the best (or at least easiest to find) version of the game, but little additions like the two-player wireless Duel Mode show that even as a quick-n-dirty port, Gitaroo Man Lives! survives as one of the most original and challenging rhythm action games out there, and well worth a look on PSP if you missed it on the PS2.
