If sales numbers are anything to go by, then most of you deserve a hearty "shame on you." Statistically speaking, you most likely didn't play Gitaroo-Man on PS2 when Koei released it back in 2002. If you're one of the few who did play the game, then good for you! You already know that the game is fantastic. If you happened to miss out, though, Koei is giving you a chance to make up for lost playtime with this enhanced, portable version of the almost-forgotten PS2 treasure.

Gitaroo Man Lives! is one of those story-based music/rhythm games along the lines of Sony's PaRappa the Rapper, Sega's Space Channel 5, and Nintendo's Elite Beat Agents (which, like Gitaroo, was also developed by iNiS). You play as U-1, a whiny little twerp who has a crush on the most popular girl in school but is too intimidated by the class bully to do anything about it. The game begins when U-1's talking dog, Puma, reveals U-1's true lineage as the successor to the Gitaroo Man legacy.

Puma gives U-1 the mythical gitaroo (it's kind of a futuristic "space guitar"), which transforms the kid into the powerful hero Gitaroo Man. With his newfound musical abilities, U-1 and Puma head off to the creatively named Planet Gitaroo to save its citizens from the evil Gravillian empire.


Sure, it's a simple (and somewhat goofy) plot, but it's wrapped around some fantastic gameplay mechanics. In each stage, you face off against an opponent in a battle of the futuristic space instruments. Each stage is made up of three different segments: Charge, Battle and Final. They're usually in that order, but they're occasionally rearranged to add some variety. With the exception of portions of Battle mode, all of these segments play the same -- they just have different effects on your foe.

Twisted Reality

Playing the gitaroo is a little more complex than what you might be used to in these rhythm games. Instead of simply pressing a button at the proper time, you must coordinate the PSP's analog nub with your button taps. As each song plays, a line (called the Trace Line) moves in from the sides of the screen towards a dot in the center. Using the analog nub, you must, well, trace the Trace Line. While the Trace Line snakes around, you must also tap the face buttons in time with the icons shown on the bar. It takes a little getting used to, but luckily there's a tutorial stage that eases you into the action. Once you get the motions figured out, pulling off long sequences is extremely satisfying. It's also worth noting that the game actually controls better with the PSP's analog nub than the PS2 version does with the DualShock's stick.