Just a couple things.
Don't attempt to play Guitar Freaks with anything other than a controller designed for this purpose. I know $70 for one kind of game sounds like a lot. Trust me, it's well worth it. GF is
unplayable with a standard controller and not a whole lot better with a joystick (analog or not). Oh, and I've heard all kinds of bad things about the Guitar Hero controller, in case you were thinking of that.
You can turn off Gitado slot and eventually get everything time released, including the two songs you normally need DDR Strike and PM13 saves for (I think; I never actually tried it). Even so, I recommend you leave Gitado Slot on; it's a lot faster even if you have really lousy luck (like me
). The first reel is either total perfects and max combo. You have no control over this, so don't bother. For the other two, the important thing to rememer is, as much as humanly possible,
avoid white. The second reel is the multiplier, with white being the lowest, 1x. The sole purpose of the third reel is to trip up the careless; if you get the white words, you get
no points. The timing of this "canceller" is constant, so it's pretty easy to avoid. Just keep your eyes open and don't get careless.
In terms of value (2 games for the price of 1), consistently listenable music, and pure jammin' fun, no other Bemani game matches Gitadora. Rock on.