
	Platform PSP Genre Music and Rhythm Publisher Koei Developer Koei ETA November 2006
Newsletter
Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly. Enter E-Mail Address Below: Subscribe \| Unsubscribe

Guitaroo Man Lives!

A few years back, a nifty little rhythm-based game crept into the PS2’s library by the name of Guitaroo Man. It don’t break any sales records, or win many awards, but it won over a lot of fans of the genre with its catchy tunes, and zany aesthetic that set the game apart from many of its contemporaries, such as PaRappa the Rappa, and Umjammer Lammy. Recently, a handheld edition of Guitaroo Man was released for the PSP in Japan, and, surprisingly, the game is currently being localized for a North American release as Guitaroo Man Lives!.

Returning will be the game’s guitar-slinging hero, U-1 (pronounced “you-ichi”), as players work their way through the game’s 10 single player stages. As an interesting bonus, Koei has also included a two-player mode via WiFi, where two

Advertisement

people can play cooperatively, trying to successfully pull off duets. These duets are performed while competing against the computer with a shared life meter, so if either player screws up, the meter is depleted.

While many other music games these days require various massive apparatuses, like dance

Advertisement

mats, drums, and such, all players will need in Guitaroo Man Lives! is their controller. Here players simply have to press the buttons of their PSP in a rhythmic fashion, following on-screen prompts, in order to enjoy the game, much like other older music games, such as PaRappa the Rappa. This results in a back and forth from defense to offense, as U-1 faces off in musical, rock and roll-driven combat against a host of unsavory musicians.

One of the complaints leveled against the Japanese release of the game has been that Guitaroo Man Lives! suffers from annoyingly long load times, but hopefully Koei can correct this in time for the game’s North American release. If there’s one thing that the PSP has been sorely lacking thus far in its lifetime, it’s unique games. Hopefully Guitaroo Man Lives! will help to remedy this.

Mr. Nash

(June 6, 2006)