What's your favorite rhythm game? And what's so special about it?

[Makaroshi]

• Sound Voltex - for aestetically cool visual, the "remixing" feeling and dynamic gameplay;
• Wacca - for Hardcore Tano*C, amazing originals and also for very fun yet not so hard gameplay with intensive hands movement;
• Chunithm - honestly, it has the best music library so far, that alone makes me want to play it;
• beatmania IIDX/BMS - BoF, awesome IIDX music libraryl
• pop'n music - it just brings satisfaction when I beat something in this game, because I find 9k layout to be the hardest out of all rhythm games I've ever played (yes, for me it's even harder that IIDX lol);

 

[Midori Shimada VT]

My favorite rhythm games:
*MUSECA 1+1/2
*DDR (I was a pro in the PlayStation era DDR games back in the day)
*Taiko no Tatsujin
*Maimai (the washing machine shaped arcade game)
*Dog of Bay (Japan only PS2 launch title, kind like Dogs version of Cats)
*Pop'n Music (especially the Halloween themed one)

 

[Saoi]

Cytus!!
Yes its on mobile but when I was 10-13 (maybe) I loved the music in it.(All of them)I re-downloaded it a few years ago and huh...The game feels very bad...But I didn't regret checking it out again because of nostalgia

 

[undrscor54]

What game should I try first? I'm familiar with the franchise, but never played a single Guitar Hero game. I've heard of Clone Hero though, I might go with that.

Yeah, clone hero is the best way to play guitar hero games, there is so many songs you can download. I dont remember an exact site but there is a site called something like encore chorus (correct me if im wrong) where you can search for a song and get it, as long as someone has made a chart for it.

 

[Kamako]

The remake of Shadow of the Beast plays like a rhythm game but is disguised as an action game. Same with the Kung Fury Arcade game. Both rock.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is excellent.

Persona: Dancing All Night games are alot of fun too

DJ Hero was a really fun time with the controller.

And Audiosurf is a classic if you want to play rhythm stages based on your own songs. It may be a little dated now though

 

[GardeniaSky's icon GardeniaSky GardeniaSky]

The only ones I've ever played are Crypt of the Necrodancer(super fun), and RockBand, but I only ever did vocals.

 

[maciintosh]

Recently, it's been Rift of The Necrodancer. I loved the original Crypt when I played it, so a more traditional rhythm game experience with a similar system of varying monster types immediately interested me. The game also comes with a free, relatively simple to use editor on Steam with full Steam Workshop support for custom charts. The different types of monsters and the various traps that change up how they move allow for a lot of creativity.

 

[Fray Guillermo]

I don't really have an extended knowledge of the lesser known rhythm games, but I loved the Pump it Up arcades, always preferred it over DDR, to be honest. It's a shame all the machines got removed around where I live and haven't been able to play the way it's meant for years

 

[carb0n0x]

For me it's Pop'n'Music Portable, and it's special because I had to rewire my brain to be able to play 7 buttons mode. 9 buttons on PSP is the stuff of nightmares honestly, just look at this:

 

[Cardboardtubeknight Cardboardtubeknight]

Gitaroo Man especially for this gem

 

[NobodyHere]

‘Project Diva second f’, I am simple, I like the songs and I like playing dress up

 

[Theriise]

I highly recommend Elite beat agents/Ouendan, Rhythm heaven and theatrhythm final
fantasy.
EBA/Ouendan: What's not to love about helping people out with the power of music? Some lady having trouble babysitting? Bam! Walkie Talkie Man.
Gotta remember your dead dad on christmas? BAM! You're the inspiration.
The fact that you can help people out just by cheering them on is a delight that is sure to keep people try trying again each stage.
Rhythm Heaven:
Literally made by the same people who made wario ware, each game in the series have fun little widgets and minigames that keep people eager to explore the world it presents. The music by Tsunku is very memorable and when I was growing up, they played that one Rhythm Heaven commercial with Beyonce in it all the time on tv.
Theatrhythm:
Music! Rpg mechanics! Getting to replay your favourite scenes in the final fantasy series though music!
You get to pick and choose your favourite characters in the series and can make several different teams with them to address different quests. Like a team full of physical attackers chop through enemies real quick and thieves increase the likelihood of treasure dropping. If you need help with the levels, investing in a good healer like Lenna or Aerith is worthwhile. Final bar line even has music from the more obsure Final fantasy titles too like Mythic quest.

 

[PittoP]

My heart would probably say Project Diva 2nd just because how much of and improvement it is over the first game, and because I spent and unholy amount of time on it.
I also love Taiko no Tatsujin tho. It's hella fun and as someone who likes drumming it's a joy.

But realistically speaking, I think the rhythm game with the best gameplay is Groove Coaster. I wasn't a big fan of the songs selection in the first titles, but WaiWai Party has so much into it (well... Mostly DLCs, to be fair...) that it's just impossible to not find songs you like.

 

[zacharinolongpants]

Theaterhythm because Final Fantasy music lol

I also had a really cool one on Switch called VOEZ. Tons of music and a lot of it really enjoyable. Plus the touch screen was fun to use with the mechanics of the game.

Um Jammer Lammy is a game I played a ton because the visuals were awesome and the cutscenes were hilarious and unhinged. It was kinda jank to play though lol. I swear that shit was out of sync no matter what I did.

 

[Hourai]

For me its PROJECT DIVA F2nd the music selection is top notch.

I have to agree; I love F 2nd a lot. The songs are consistently great, with only a few of my favorites from other games (mostly Neru songs, but also World End Dance Hall) being absent. It being on the Vita is super nice, because I prefer handhelds over consoles. Plus, some of the charts are just flat-out better than later appearances. Open and Shut: Demons and the Dead is much worse in Future Tone, for instance.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

I love me some rhythm games! Starting with Guitar Hero Metallica in 2008, rhythm games have been among my all-time favourite games and has become one of my favourite genres. I would like to share some of my top rhythm games, and I would encourage anyone else to do the same! I was gonna say top 5, but however many are special or memorable to you works even better!

In no particular order, followed by the platform I played them on:
K-On! Houkago Live (PS3)
Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line (PS4)
Persona 4: Dancing All Night (PS Vita)
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Future Tone (PS4)
Guitar Hero Metallica (Xbox 360)
Rhythm Heaven (DS)
Cadence of Hyrule (Switch)

 

[Eclipse14]

The BIT. TRIP series. Originally WiiWare titles, I know they got two physical releases in Collection for the Wii and Saga for the 3DS.
EDIT: Double posted, thanks internet lag.

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

Hatsune Miku Project Diva series (PSP)
Cytus 1-2 (mobile)

 

[elbanano]

not a big rhythm games fan but I love Crypt of The Necrodancer, the shopkeeper voice goes hard

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

Boogie on the Nintendo DS for me.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

Hatsune Miku Project Diva series (PSP)
Cytus 1-2 (mobile)

Project Diva is generally a fantastic series. I played it a bunch on the Vita as well. I'm unfamiliar with Cytus, but I never got into mobile gaming much

Post automatically merged: Aug 5, 2025

Boogie on the Nintendo DS for me.

I thought that was only on the Wii. Learn something new every day

 

[SliperyHippo]

Rocksmith is pretty cool!
It makes me wish they had a multiplayer mode like Guitar Hero where you could hear your friends play wrong notes or funny licks while they're supposed to be resting, but unfortunately that just isn't a networking possibility.

 

[rollobobo]

Bust-A-Groove 1 & 2

 

[Sunnyside]

I think Rock Band 2 ended up being my favorite game of the entire GH/RB craze. The drums were a fun addition and it had a much stronger base songlist than RB1 or RB3 imo. And the base game was all I ever used. I was strict about never spending money for additional tracks.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. It's amazing. Play it. Preferably while attempting to get as close as you can to emulating the original bongo controls.

Ouendan on the Nintendo DS. Superior to Elite Beat Agents in song selection. That's all personal taste though. Jpop is less cringe to me because I can't understand the lyrics.

Space Channel 5! Dreamcast-era Sega had the best aesthetics.

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

I think Rock Band 2 ended up being my favorite game of the entire GH/RB craze. The drums were a fun addition and it had a much stronger base songlist than RB1 or RB3 imo. And the base game was all I ever used. I was strict about never spending money for additional tracks.

Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. It's amazing. Play it. Preferably while attempting to get as close as you can to emulating the original bongo controls.

Ouendan on the Nintendo DS. Superior to Elite Beat Agents in song selection. That's all personal taste though. Jpop is less cringe to me because I can't understand the lyrics.

Space Channel 5! Dreamcast-era Sega had the best aesthetics.

I ended up playing Guitar Hero at the time, but always wanted to try Rock Band. I really only played RB4 when that came out on PS4. I loved playing those sorts of games on the drums, but they never lasted long enough!

Not a rhythm game, but I love Jet Set Radio in terms of those Dreamcast-era visuals.