Decisions Decisions >_<

[Trip Machina]

Hey peepz, I haven't gotten a new GuitarFreaks/GitaDora game in a long time and I was wondering on some of your opinions/suggestions on the releases that I don't have.

All I have now is GuitarFreaks, GuitarFreaks APPEND 2ndMIX, and GuitarFreaks 3rdMIX and Drummania 2ndMIX. APPEND 2ndMIX being my favorite, lol. The first game is nice, but 2ndMIX has it ALL along with more awesome songs. GuitarFreaks 3rdMIX and Drummania 2ndMIX is nice, but the songlist isn't as good as 2ndMIX's in my opinion despite the 5thMIX preview songs. Cosmic Cowgirl, Implantation, Virtual Insanity, Classic Party, the Bonus Long Ver. (L.A. Rider Long ver. kicks ass!) songs, and a couple more is all I play on that one.

I have already played GuitarFreaks and Drummania V2 and V3 in the arcades already and they were awesome though I liked V3 a bit more, hehe, so I'm already planning on getting those.


But as for these:


How is GuitarFreaks 4thMIX and Drummania 3rdMIX?

How is GuitarFreaks and Drummania V?

How is GuitarFreaks and Drummania Masterpiece SILVER?

How is GuitarFreaks and Drummania Masterpiece GOLD?


Also, there were some awesome songs on GuitarFreaks 11thMIX and Drummania 10thMIX when I played the machine...I'd love to play them at home tooz, but dunno which of the games has a good bit of 'em.

I think I just may have to get them all, 'cause I like Liar too. XD
BTW, has KILLER QUEEN ever made it on CS GitaDora yet?

[xybur]

No, Killer Queen is not on CS.

Why haven't you bought either Silver or Gold yet?

Get either one (I'd lean towards Gold, but either one is required playing), and then get V last. Alot of V's decent songlist is repeated in V2, with only a few notable songs being on V. Overall, I enjoy V2 way more than I do V, but if that's already a buy for you, then yeah, get it.

Silver or Gold are prerequisites. Then V.

V3 is fun, but I'll be honest, I didn't personally think the songlist on V3 was as mindblowing as previous mixes. However, I really, really appreciate V3 for Battle Mode, it gives the game alot of replay value without being tiresome like Gold and Silver can be with its unlock systems.

[AlphaConqerer]

Also, be aware that for some reason Masterpiece Silver seems to have issues with its drum interface (both KOC and USB controllers), resulting in random misses which really really irritates me. It has nice songs but if you prefer playing the drums to the guitar I wouldn't prioritize it.

I think V and Gold are your best bets.

[dj DNEM]

BTW does anyone have songlists for the 1st 2 Gitadora games for PS2? Can't seem to find them anywhere.

[GA.Mole]

Originally Posted by dj DNEM

BTW does anyone have songlists for the 1st 2 Gitadora games for PS2? Can't seem to find them anywhere.

3rd/2nd
4th/3rd

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

How is GuitarFreaks 4thMIX and Drummania 3rdMIX?

Probably the best of the first "generation" of GFdm games. From the way you've presented this, I get the impression that you play more GF than DM. It (GF4th) still uses the Cool/Good/Miss timings that you're probably used to from 1st-3rd. I found the songs to be much better than the previous mixes with some good licenses/covers on top of the notable originals. The only bad news is that KILLER QUEEN and 桜の時 got the axe for the CS release.

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

How is GuitarFreaks and Drummania V?

It's grown on me over time. I originally thought it was a relatively weak version, but after playing the songs more and more I'm starting to like it a lot more now. It's at least worth it to get some more than decent revivals that you can't get anywhere else (The Least 100sec, 瞬的愛歌（JET LOVE）, Funky Sonic World, and others).

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

How is GuitarFreaks and Drummania Masterpiece SILVER?

It has a pretty decent song list. It also has one of the most frustrating unlock systems, at least within the realm of GFdm. It's the only game I time unlocked. If you play GF more than DM (for reasons already stated) go for it definitely. Just be prepared for terrible roulettes.

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

How is GuitarFreaks and Drummania Masterpiece GOLD?

A better Masterpiece Silver, really. The unlocking system is similar, but fixed in a sense. It will go a bit quicker if you already have a Masterpiece Silver save file on your card (doesn't have to be unlocked). I found Gold to have a better song list than Silver, but Silver isn't bad by any means.

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

Also, there were some awesome songs on GuitarFreaks 11thMIX and Drummania 10thMIX when I played the machine...I'd love to play them at home tooz, but dunno which of the games has a good bit of 'em.

If you mean songs that were new to 11th/10th, they are scattered all over. Mostly in Masterpiece games, but a few in the revival sections of the V games as well.

[DKW]

4th/3rd - Very nice, interesting collection, including a number of substyles you don't see much of in Gitadora anymore (slow ballads, ragtime, acoustic ska, etc.). Very friendly learning curve (the first game I cleared evey songlist on drum, in fact). Includes the ultra-rare Fuuma Tenku, an awesome oldskool track. About the only really bad thing about it is the short-lived blindingly bright color bars for the guitar frets.

V - A great game for newbies, veterans, and recent returnees (like me) alike. Simply put, it's the total package. Soft and hard, gentle and frenetic, simple and challenging, cute and horrendous, girlish and macho, there's something for everybody here. I honestly cannot point to a single track that I did not enjoy.

MS - Just an enormously replayable and entertaining game, an impressive omnibus of the Gitadora style. Go ahead and turn off the dumb unlock system; as much as you'll be playing this, you won't miss it. Includes a lot of underrated hits that you, in all likelihood, are gonna love.

MG - Emphasis is on popularity, of course. Plenty of all-around favorites here (including the vaunted Taisetsu Na Mono and Dragon Blade), and more than a few absolutely wicked-insane-awesome tracks (Use to Rock 'n Roll alone is worth the price of admission, as is Akai Suzu). Easiest, breeziest unlock system of all the Gitadoras.

V2 - I don't know why, but this is the poppiest Gitadora ever; in fact, there's barely a whiff of the various rock/metal subgenres that made this famous. This actually is the one I'd recommend to someone just starting out. Several very calm, gentle tracks. A lot of videos take place on a beach for some reason (I even started a thread about it; no one seems to know why). Weird but ultimately unproblematic unlock system.

I'll get to V3 when...uh, I get V3.

Seriously, though, you can't go wrong with any game, because the whole point is that guitar and drum is the music of the people. Anyone can pick up Gitadora and start playing, anyone can get good at something, and anyone can have fun. This is as close to the complete opposite of IIDX or DDR that there is. Understand? There are reasonable and downright easy notecharts, there's mellow stuff, there's hard stuff, there are plenty of notecharts and challenges to overcome, and that will never, ever change.

I mean, think about it. How did a song from the very first Guitar Freaks (the easiest one, at that) make it to AC V3? Why is there such a hue and cry whenever a track that was never that red-hot in my experience gets removed? Why is it that all the discussions of the bone-crushing, gut-wrenching, nerve-snapping, spine-twisting, eye-melting, finger-shredding songs invaribly revolve around the same tiny handful of titles...Children's Sketchbook, The Least 100 Seconds, Concertino In Blue, Model DD-some number? There's no presumption of players getting constantly better and better, and there's never been any push to drive out the casual player...because without them, Gitadora could not exist.

So, my suggestion: Relax and enjoy! Oh, and don't overlook V2. It seems like just what you should get right now, in fact.

[GA.Mole]

Originally Posted by DKW

4th/3rd - . . . About the only really bad thing about it is the short-lived blindingly bright color bars for the guitar frets.

This was at its worst in GF3rd. It's at least tolerable in 1st, 2nd, and 4th.

[June.H]

seconded, the bars are ridiculously bright on GF3rd as opposed to 4th...too bad it was like that in the arcade version too =/

I'd say go with Silver and Gold (but get a downloaded save for Silver). If you've played the Silver songs to death, get V2. V1 is just...bleah. I didn't like it much. I thought V2 was far more tolerable, in terms of interface and songlist.

[Monster in a box]

Wow, I never though I'd see the day where I'D be the one defending V.

So yeah, V is good. They're all good. V and V2 are the worst of the bunch, but V is definitely not worse than V2. V has Wild Challenger, and Sakuranbo, and Jet Love, and Funky Sonic World, and NGS, and Heaven's Cocktail, and Kaleidescope, and Onihime, and Homesick Part.1&2, and You'll Be a Man, and Nocturne No.9, and The Least 100Sec., and Mushroom Boy, and Going Up, and...that song with the girl with the big yellow hair that says 'There is not a good boy!'

V2 has Sing-a-Well, The Legend, and Rolling1000toon...

Oh, and I haven't played 4th.

[xybur]

Your sense of taste in guitarfreaks songs is spotty at best. You mention a few decent songs and then mention some weird and crazy ones. I still say V2 is loads better than V, if only for the bigger number of licenses that are worth playing on V2.

I still like V2 to this day, probably because it was the fun I played the most at the beginning.

[AdamW]

"You mention a few decent songs and then mention some weird and crazy ones"

Thank you, O Arbiter Of Taste.

[Trip Machina]

^: XD

Thanks thanks everyone for your posts!



xybur - Aww, and I liked KILLER QUEEN; I hope that it makes an appearance in GitaDora someday...or is it as hopeless as IIDX 3rd style's SKIN? XD

I didn't buy any other GitaDora games in a while because I spent my last bits of money on pop'n 14 FEVER! and beatmaniaIIDX 13® DistorteD...and then I was jobless for about a month. XD

You say that GitaDora Masterpiece SILVER and GOLD are prerequisites to GitaDora V even though V came before those two? Are you saying that GitaDora V is harder than those two...or maybe you're speaking of AC game progression (order of machines)?



Mogura - Thanks for the awesome insight! The GitaDora Masterpiece SILVER unlock system just_can't be as bad as pop'n 10's....can it? If it's anything near that, I'm going to time unlock. XD


DKW - Oh man, now I'm really planning on getting them all. I know how vivid the GFDM 3rd/4th lanes are, but I manage...doesn't make the EXPERT EXTRA STAGE ("You Can Do What You Wanna"; not sure of proper name) any easier...it's the ONLY song that I haven't passed on my GFDM games that I currently have; I've even passed stuff like some 8 Star songs on EXTREME PLUS Mode, but not that song. I'm sure the lane flares aren't helping; I really don't play using High Speed unless I'm really desperate 'cause I don't need to, hell, I passed Captivate ~SABAKI~ (Normal) my first time through on the AC...what I didn't know how to do was how to "increase difficulty" on the machine, lol I felt so dumb watching everyone else playing on ADVANCED and EX while I was stuck playing on Normal. XD

I'm guessing that GFDM 5th/4th ended the Star Rating system.



I've pretty much concluded that I'll be getting them all. =)

[cheMIBro]

For me it boils down to this: V and Silver are more balanced, almost every song is good. V2 and Gold don't stay in my PS2 nearly as long, but have better(and worse) songs.

You tend to start nice threads, Trip Machina

[rmz]

In my opinion, quality of songlists:

MPG -> MPS -> V -> V3 -> V2

But that's just me.

I wouldn't bother with 4/3 at all, it's too old, the songlist is really small, and the framerate blows. I normally like old Bemani games, but that framerate makes playing at even 4x almost impossible.

[GA.Mole]

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

Aww, and I liked KILLER QUEEN; I hope that it makes an appearance in GitaDora someday...or is it as hopeless as IIDX 3rd style's SKIN? XD

It's looking like a lost cause. KILLER QUEEN should have been on CS 4th/3rd, but was cut. It also was never on another arcade version past 4th/3rd.

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

You say that GitaDora Masterpiece SILVER and GOLD are prerequisites to GitaDora V even though V came before those two? Are you saying that GitaDora V is harder than those two...or maybe you're speaking of AC game progression (order of machines)?

I think he just means they are really good, and you should put them at a higher priority over the other games.

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

The GitaDora Masterpiece SILVER unlock system just_can't be as bad as pop'n 10's....can it? If it's anything near that, I'm going to time unlock. XD

Eh, I don't mind Pop'n 10's unlock that much, but MPS is really bad. It's hard to describe Roulette succintly, so you'll see what I mean when you get it.

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

doesn't make the EXPERT EXTRA STAGE ("You Can Do What You Wanna"; not sure of proper name)

I believe you are referring to Say What You Mean.

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

I really don't play using High Speed unless I'm really desperate 'cause I don't need to

Keep in mind the scroll speed works a lot different now than they did back in the older games. Every song now scrolls at the same speed by default, so you only have to find one speed modifier that works for you. You may want to consider using speed mods now that a 130 BPM song on 4x won't be scrolling faster than a 150 BPM song on 5x.

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

what I didn't know how to do was how to "increase difficulty" on the machine

Hold Green and Pick twice. To switch between Guitar, Bass, and Open charts hit Pick, Green, Green, Pick. You will need to know those two for CS V and later games.

Originally Posted by Trip Machina

I'm guessing that GFDM 5th/4th ended the Star Rating system.

Yes. And for GF, it also got rid of the Cool/Good/Miss timings and replaced them with Perfect/Great/Good/Poor/Miss to match DM.