Dancing is not my forte. Though some of my favorite musical genres happens to be electronica and techno, you won’t find me on the dance floor shaking what my mother gave me.

Thankfully, being a gamer has provided me with many different ways I can get in touch with my more musical side, even if it’s just me grooving in my seat. From miniature turntables to male cheerleaders, these are five of my all-time favorite music and rhythm games.

Bust-A-Groove (Bust A Move)
This quirky little rhythm game was the inspiration for this article’s title. Following in the vein of PaRappa the Rapper, it was a mix of tracks varying from trance to disco. You input a string of arrows on the PlayStation’s d-pad that would quickly be followed by one of the four face buttons. All this in time with the music, of course. It stars a varied cast of characters like the gorgeous Kitty-N, the laughable zombie Bi-O, and even capoeira-dancing aliens named (you guessed it) Capoeira. Each style of dance is represented through all of these characters, so no matter who you pick you’re going to be busting some “stone-cold grooves” (hey, that’s what the announcer always told me!).

If you could manage to pull off “Perfects” for three or more turns, you’d get a Freeze. Dance perfectly, or reach a score higher than recommended for that stage? You’d get what’s called a “fever time”, which showcased your character’s amazing dance moves off in a solo show. To this day, I have not found catchier English localizations of songs, aside from PaRappa’s fantasic display of kiddie-styled rap.

Beatmania
What music fan, at some point, hasn’t dreamt of becoming a DJ? If you are anything like me though, you would have scoped out this gem from Konami. I have only been privileged enough to purchase the US release titled simply, Beatmania.

While there are tons of releases and variations in good old Japan, the first taste I got of this game was the $19.99 bundle from GameStop that included the game (PS2) and a turntable. Yes, it’s a miniature turntable consisting of a record to really “scratch”. Paired with that is a set of buttons to the side in two different colors. The premise is simple: in DDR fashion, press the corresponding buttons in time to the music. The notes will cascade downward on a very simple, clean interface, and you press the buttons and spin the disc whenever indicated.

It sounds very simple, right? Wrong. Even on the most simple songs, you’re going to need some very nimble fingers to pull off some acceptable scores. Think of playing the piano while having to keep track of scratching a record. Song content runs the gamut from happy hardcore, to jazz, to the Metal Gear Solid theme remixed in a more electronica style. You have your J-Pop staple as well, of course. It just wouldn’t be a Konami music game without them. I know I’m eating it up. More, please. Konami, I am getting sort of tired of this ONE PlayStation 2 edition you decided to give us American gamers. I crave more. You know you’ve got them to release.

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! / Elite Beat Agents
Nothing is more appealing than a group of grown men acting as cheerleaders or members of an elite dance troupe setting out to make things right.That’s what you get in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! and Elite Beat Agents for the DS. These are in no way the same game. It’s true they share the same mechanics and art style, but Elite Beat Agents was created specifically for an American audience.

In Ouendan, you will aid a male cheer squad on their journeys to settle different circumstances and solve problems faced by all types of people. In Elite Beat Agents, the squad is more of a Secret Service-type group, or akin to the Blues Brothers. The Japanese release of course includes popular Japanese hits (a few of my favorites as well, especially from Kimura Kaela). Elite Beat Agents received some awesome covers of hits such as “Let’s Dance”, “September”, and “Sk8er Boi”.

So what do you actually do? Numbered circles will appear according to the beat and tempo of the music. It’s your job to touch them right as an outer circle nears the edge of the numbered one. Doing so will keep your life bar afloat. Phrase markers are also present, in which you will start at one numbered circle and trace a curved, often serpentine line to the end. Some songs require you to trace back and forth. As the difficulty level ramps up, you’ll find yourself strugging with finding what circle goes first, even though they’re numbered. It goes that fast.

Portable, fast, frantic, and fun. Need I say more?

Um Jammer Lammy

Hot on the heels of PaRappa the Rapper (which would have made the list but I chose Lammy), Um Jammer Lammy follows in the same vein of gameplay and delivers the unique Rodney Alan Greenblat art and humor that made me fall in love with its predecessor. The rules were always deceptively simple: press the corresponding button on your PS1 controller in time with what was shown on screen. Instead of spitting mad rhymes, yo, Lammy would wail on her guitar like nobody’s business. Of course, throughout the game she’s not actually playing a guitar for the longest time. She’s on a quest to get one, though, so she can perform at the big concert at the end of the game. For instance, she’s not averse to using fire hoses, vacuums, or even a baby…caterpillar thing.

Um Jammer Lammy is one of the few game soundtracks that I own that I can sit and listen to from start to finish any day. They just don’t get old, with lyrics like “I think my diaper is wet/I think the bed gon’ be next!”, or “Now do you like munchies?!/I wonder where lunch is”. It’s a journey through different styles of music, and along the way Lammy earns new effects for her guitar such as the flanger and wah-wah.

The greatest part of the game? For me, it’s the fact that once you’ve completed all the stages as Lammy, you have the option to go back and play them again as PaRappa! He won’t be playing a guitar, but he will be rapping to the same songs Lammy performed with. The songs are different that time around to fit PaRappa, though. It’s almost like playing a sequel, but not quite. Unfortunately, there was a second PaRappa, but we won’t go into that.

If you loved the original PaRappa, you’re sure to love this as well. Plus, who doesn’t love anthropomorphic lambs?

Last, but most certainly not least, we have…

Vib Ribbon
To many, this is one of the strangest music games that has ever been created, and for good reason. With its overabundance of vector graphics and trippy music, it’s definitely an acquired taste. It’s my taste, definitely, because it’s another creation from Masaya Matsuura (Parappa and Lammy!). I’ll never forget the time I spent with this game, though it was short.

You control an adorable little rabbit named Vibri whose main objective is to cross stages created by whatever track you’ve selected to listen to. Yes, you read that right. The track that you choose changes the level. Your level is a thin white line (the ribbon) riddled with obstacles for Vibri to navigate. If you do well, Vibri will transform at the end of the stage into something more glamorous. Doing badly, however, is much less rewarding. Instead of controlling a rabbit, you’ll have a worm or a frog. It’s a fairly simple game to pick up and play if you’re not graphics-spoiled. The monochrome feel really adds to its enigmatic interface, though.

You’re not limited to the songs that come with the game. Oh, no. You can use any CD to create stages for Vibri. Go ahead, use that Britney Spears disc. No one will laugh. If you enjoy the gameplay, you could have a different stage of your choosing every day. We simply must have more games that use this feature, because I know I spent hours on Monster Rancher back in the day trying to get different monsters from my dad’s CD collection.

Unfortunately, Vib Ribbon was never released here in the United States so you’ll have to be crafty about obtaining it and playing it. I recommend that you try it at least once, because it’s an experience no music/rhythm game fan should ever be deprived of.

Well, now. It was tough choosing only five of my favorites. While I would have loved to include some of the rest I have in my library, I didn’t for various reasons. Here are some honorable mentions:

Amplitude/Frequency: I’ve discussed them in a previous article. They’re always going to be more fun to me than Guitar Hero will ever be.

Samba de Amigo: I was always annoyed that you had to pay so much money for the maracas, but was that game fun! I’m planning on picking up the Wii release.

Dance Dance Revolution: Well, what else is there to say about DDR?

Rez: Not technically a music game, but what it incorporated was fantastic. The Xbox Live Arcade re-issue is gorgeous.Too bad I already have the PS2 edition.

Para Para Paradise: One day, I will import the home edition and wave my arms frantically just like those gyaru in Shibuya. Until that day, I’ll have to remain content watching YouTube how-to videos.

Taiko Drum Master: If only we had gotten the DS version!

I know you guys are all of varying tastes. Do you enjoy rhythm games? Sound off! Let me know. Until then, I’m going to be holed up in my room with SingStar, doing my best “WOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOO!” for Song 2.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 at 11:21 am and is filed under Video Games, Top 10. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.