Groove Coaster Wai Wai Party!!!!

[Sheffield Wednesday]

This is a gorgeous, fully-featured Japanese rhythm game with lots of tunes by the legendary in-house Taito band, Zuntata, which means some really cool surprises alongside the usual J-pop. Having only ever previously played this at Arcade Club, I've stumped up for the Switch version which I found while scrolling through the eShop.

What an utterly glorious game.

At the arcade, I found it baffling and overwhelming, not least because it was all in Japanese, but also because the music was unfamiliar and also clashing with the sound of several other games nearby. Headphones on and in my hands, it's a very different proposition and it's already one of my games of the year so far.

Rather than tapping in time with notes falling down the screen, your avatar sweeps around a 3D space as if on a roller-coaster track, hence the name, and the note icons appear in your path. This might sound confusing but it's very straightforward for the most part and adds a great deal of eye candy and variety. The patterns and background animations really bring a lot of personality to each tune. I'm sure that some will be a bit more rote but of the dozen or so I've played so far, many have been superb.

Beyond the core gameplay and flair, there's an unlock structure to the Mission and Challenge modes which makes you want to try different songs and get better at them, rather than dismiss them because the first few seconds don't sound appealing. That's often my issue with rhythm/music games, I end up playing only the same few tunes until I exhaust them. This should mean greater lifespan, but the reality is that the actual game is so much fun I'll be playing it on and off for a good while, anyway, I'm sure. The unlockable stuff is the usual, predominantly skins and avatars and titles, as well as different sound effects, but there are also some unlockable in-menu 'navigators' who chat away while you're selecting different options. It all feels fucking bounteous.

Caveat emptor: Aside from the odd dip into the Zuntata back catalogue with Bubble Bobble and Darius and some anime soundtrack stuff (like the fantastic theme from Neon Genesis Evangelion), it's predominantly Vocaloid J-Pop with a lot of throbbing basslines and glistening synth lines. It's not at all my usual kind of thing but it complements the gameplay and flashy visuals very well and adds to the arcade experience. There's also a fair bit of DLC available as is the way with these games, including Undertale and Touhou soundtracks, but there are a hundred songs in the base game so you won't run out quickly. 

A hearty recommendation.

This is very representative of the music and gameplay on Hard Mode.

https://youtu.be/nJHhyNPz5ik

[Dewt]

It looks (and sounds) marvelous.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

I've only really scratched the surface there, it's a pretty much perfect example of the genre. As I say, I've not really listened to much music like this before but I'm having such a good time with it. The moe aesthetic would have also put me off had I not already played it in the arcade and seen that it's basically irrelevant to the fundamental gameplay. As it turns out, I've really loved digging into this type of music and finding the stuff that most appeals to me, and some of it is fantastic. I'm a bit more open minded these days and I can appreciate it for its strengths. Likewise, I'm not mad keen on Undertale but I think a lot of the music is great and so I've been really buzzing off the Undertale DLC here, as well. Really goofy and fun. My game of the year so far, and although I don't expect it to stay in that spot I can see it sticking around the top five comfortably.

[Sheffield Wednesday]

This is currently on sale on the eShop, 20% off or so.

I picked up a good capture card and got a decent clip of my favourite song in the game. What has happened to me?

https://youtu.be/1dzJpOo8B7E

This game makes me extremely happy.