What is the best rhythm game of all time?

[Zephlar]

Let's do a top 3 personal favorite rhythm games ever made and why.

My List:

1. Rock Band

To this day since the release of the first installment I have "Rock Band Nights" at my place with friends and family (Still using RB3). It's the only game that ever really got lots of "casuals" into the genre and is responsible for so many awesome memories for me. Odds are I will be playing this game periodically into a ripe old age.

2. Guitar Hero

I am a little biased because out of all the rhythm games I've played this is my best in terms of skill, and probably the most time I've ever spent on any rhythm game instrument. It's a double edged sword because Activision totally raped this franchise and killed it, but at the same time I was treated to a lot of different peripheral options, and like Rock Band lots of people were actually getting into a genre I was always a major geek for.

3. Frequency (PS2)

Frequency popped my rhythm game cherry in 2001 my freshman year of high school, and paved the way for my future obsession with DDR and anything rhythm based. Not only that but it required you to be quite precise so the difficulty factor was definitely there despite only having 3 buttons. Anyone who could get through expert using only their thumb on the face buttons was a god. It also introduced me to an entirely new breed of music I hadn't really been introduced to before.

What about you guys?

[vladgd]

Mine is very simple.

1. Stepmania

Arch0wl.com + over 1000 hours of stepmania + competitive active scene for the game....

I could play that fucking game all day every day, and in high school, I did. The way that game was very easy to get into, but had limitless difficulty with user made stages, the only limitation to me was how fast my fingers could move. Always fun trying to best others high scores in the old arch0wl scores thread, and oggling over nima and reach godlike ability to not only beat hard songs, but to utterly crush them.

Copy pasting this from the other thread. But going from being super impressed by that famous video to while not replicating it, getting respectably close, I came a long way.



2. IIDX

In my honest opinion, IIDX is the greatest rhythm game with no equal. Only reason it's second for me is when I started getting into the game, the community was on the decline, and being "arcade only"  with no console releases past ps2 REALLY REALLY REALLY hurts the game. It's the stuff outside the game which hurts it for me personally. The game itself is extremely fun, and the layout with the keys and turntable makes me mangle my hands in ways I never knew I had in myself.

3. N/A

I could put DDR which got me into the genre. Pop'n music which I do rather like I never got the huge controller to get the proper experience, and also like IIDX, limited expensive ps2 releases and arcade only...I did enjoy pop'n 10 which is the only version I own, on the mini controller which is servicable, but ehh. Or even ITG which I beleive is superior to DDR in many ways, which died not too long after ITG 2...

I choose to leave this one blank. My rhythm game relationship has been DDR -> stepmania!!! -> stepmania!!! (and a bunch of other stuff like o2jam and pop'n and sucking at IIDX and hating it) -> getting over the learning 100 mile cliff of IIDX to loving the shit out of IIDX! -> IIDX IS GREAT BUT I CANT PLAY MORE BECAUSE NO ARCADE AND THE ARCADE RIP IS TOO LAGGY TO BE PLAYABLE AND WAY TOO COMPLICATED FOR ME TO WANT TO USE D: -> street fighter im a fightan mans now, rhythm games hath died

*editing for importantce*

stepmania is also the one and only reason I am here today, no stepmania, no me on this website

[Zephlar]

Arch0wl.com + over 1000 hours of stepmania + competitive active scene for the game....

Those were the best times seriously. It's really sad A0 decided to shut down that amazing community. So many incredible step charts spawned through that site.

Copy pasting this from the other thread. But going from being super impressed by that famous video to while not replicating it, getting respectably close, I came a long way.

Damn nice job dude! Yes that video is exactly what got me to join A0.com I'll never forget the first time I saw it. He was such a legend to me and probably the reason I never strayed from being an index player.

Only reason it's second for me is when I started getting into the game, the community was on the decline, and being "arcade only"  with no console releases past ps2 REALLY REALLY REALLY hurts the game.

I agree, I did own a copy for PS2 and I think I still have a controller somewhere. It just so happened GH1 came out around the time I finally got into IIDX and I ended up choosing GH as the one I played most. IIDX is HARD! Like, HARD. It's probably the most impressive to watch people play of all the rhythm games out there.

PS2 was the greatest system ever for the rhythm genre. I really miss those days.

[Spectere]

IIDX, hands down. The biggest issues with it are that even Sinobuz is newbie-hostile, particularly if you can't read Japanese, and the arcade controls for the wonderful new quality of life are oblique to say the least (though I'm impressed at what they managed to do with the limited menu controls that they have). When you get over the initial humps, however, there's literally something there for everyone, not to mention a very high difficulty ceiling.

It is definitely due for a difficulty system restructure, however. I can pass like half of the 10s, a dozen or so 11s, and a 12. That literally makes no sense. It also feels as though 12s are a dumping ground, ala 7s in classic IIDX. I think there can definitely be a bit more granularity there.

Naturally, I also have a special place in my heart for StepMania and DDR (Boardman Crew represent! Former member of Team I Can't AAA Shit). The whole a0.com thing still feels surreal to this day. I pretty much joined the community as a complete nobody and, relatively speaking, a rhythm game n00b and eventually wound up running the place for a while. I still find that somewhat difficult to process. I think I did an okay job...wish I were a bit less of a hot head, though I guess that's part of being in your early 20s!

I just kind of wish I knew what was happening. About all I know is that the fall of a0.com was caused by a huge drama-splosion, but I do kinda wish Arch would have called me and let me know what was going on, because I was just as surprised as everyone else was despite being co-admin. That said, I'm sure he was under a hell of a lot of pressure dealing with whatever caused everything to come crashing down.

[Zephlar]

I just kind of wish I knew what was happening. About all I know is that the fall of a0.com was caused by a huge drama-splosion, but I do kinda wish Arch would have called me and let me know what was going on, because I was just as surprised as everyone else was despite being co-admin. That said, I'm sure he was under a hell of a lot of pressure dealing with whatever caused everything to come crashing down.

We need to get the domain back and resurrect it! Whoever this is let's kick their ass and take it back!

WHOIS LOOKUP
arch0wl.com is already registered*
Domain Name: ARCH0WL.COM
Registry Domain ID: 2144218419_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.bizcn.com
Registrar URL: http://www.bizcn.com
Updated Date: 2017-07-20T15:46:01Z
Creation Date: 2017-07-17T19:23:58Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2018-07-17T19:23:58Z

Legit though I would fund getting that domain and bringing the forum back.

[Spectere]

The only issue is that it's been over ten years (oh jesus fucking christ I'm turning 33 this month help). Even if it did get popular again I suspect that most of the old crew have already moved on.

That said, I think Arch0wl does still post on the FFR forums from time to time, so... *shrug*

[Zephlar]

The only issue is that it's been over ten years (oh jesus fucking christ I'm turning 33 this month help). Even if it did get popular again I suspect that most of the old crew have already moved on.

That said, I think Arch0wl does still post on the FFR forums from time to time, so... *shrug*

The old timers would trickle in I bet over time as it's discovered. You never know.

Yeah I forgot you were a fellow scorpio. I'll be 32 tomorrow *sob*

[Spectere]

Well, for what it's worth, happy almost birthday!

32 wasn't so bad. It's the inevitable 40 that I'm not looking forward to.

[Zephlar]

Well, for what it's worth, happy almost birthday!

32 wasn't so bad. It's the inevitable 40 that I'm not looking forward to.

Almost happy birthday to you too! Any big plans?

Where do you see yourself at 40?

[Spectere]

Thanks! I'm probably going to head out to the Baltimore area that weekend to chill with one of my friends, but that's about it. Any plans for your big day?

Not sure where I'll be at 40. Hopefully not still living in Struthers. I'd say my top three place would probably be Austin, TX, Madison, WI, or Columbus, OH. I do know that this site will turn 20 (holy fuck) a couple of months prior, though!

[vladgd]

Y'all ninjas making me feel young which is a nice change of pace from other places I lurk on the internet, I'm all here worrying about stepping my shit up before I turn 30. Which I will be in March.

[Bobbias]

1: Whatever I'm playing at the moment....

I'm not one for ranking stuff like this, especially since I can't be assed to care about anything I'm not playing. Right now I'm sticking with Osu!mania, not because it's a particularly good rhythm game, but because I'm kinda part of the community, and I want the game to improve (even if the powers that be tend to be completely ass backwards, have no respect for people who know what they're talking about, and generally ignore anything that doesn't align with their viewpoint). I like that with Osu!mania, I can play any style of chart I want. There are converters out there for BMS, O2Jam and SM at least. The game supports all the way up to 16k (as 8k co-op [aka doubles]). And the community integration features such as centralized chat, website integration for sharing screenshots/charts, ranking system (as deeply flawed as it is) and even dedicated special tournament client add a lot of value and serve to foster a long lasting centralized community.

Stepmania will always have a place in my heart because it's the game that got me into rhythm gaming (and the "quasar 1.5x AAA" video also incidentally was the thing that introduced me to the game), but I just don't enjoy 4 key gameplay as much as 7 key.

O2Jam will also have a place in my heart for being the game that cultivated my love for 7 key gameplay, even if the game had it's own share of issues.

I respect IIDX (and LR2, even if they're wildly different in some ways, they kinda go together the way DDR and SM do in my head) a lot, but I just can't really truly get into it. The added difficulty of playing with a controller that I feel like I'm fighting against really makes it hard for me to get too into IIDX and the scratch lane just makes me rage because it's either barely used or a gigantic fuck you (or it feels that way to me anyway).

Special mentions to GH/Rock Band, Deemo, and whatever other games I've played but can't remember (or am too lazy to talk about) for everything else they've contributed too.

Also, you're only ahead of me by a month vlad. I'll be 30 in April.