BIT.TRIP.RUNNER: Game Music vs. Original Soundtrack

As I've recently said, I've been playing a lot of BIT.TRIP.RUNNER in an attempt to finish the one game in the BIT.TRIP series that I feel I actually can beat.  I'm not holding out at all that I'll beat VOID or CORE, so RUNNER it is.  With so many hours spent on the last two levels of the third world (Triumph), I've had a lot of time to think about how the music changes subtly each time you start back at the beginning and how that can change the music experience for each person.  Tack onto that the then difficulty of making a soundtrack for a game where the player can ultimately decide how they want the song to develop.

Especially in the third world, you are offered multiple paths, some lead to more gold bars which have their own musical tone/cue while others might lead to jumping a gap and sliding under a flying chunk of rock, which again, has their own musical tone.  Add onto all of that if you picked up the + which further develops the music.  In 3-10 "The Beginning of the End," I started to intentionally miss the first + because I preferred the way the song developed after the long hallway with the triple beats-from-hell.  I was basically creating a song while playing a video game.  That my friends, is pretty awesome.

Let's get back to the official soundtrack now (which you can listen to in it's entirety over on Gaijin Games' bandcamp page).  Aside from Anamanaguchi's title track "Blackout City," and "Mermaid" which plays over the credits track, the remainder of the music is a reimagining of sorts of the music heard in each of the worlds.  There are elements from the main song in each world, but they don't seem to be as developed as the songs are in-game.  The songs do progress along a similar path though, from rough/basic beats to full on melody to finish with the calming tones of the EXTRA level of Commander Video.

Upon first listening to the soundtrack, I admit that I was a little disappointed that the music I was hearing reminded me of the game, but I didn't feel the same excitement as when I was playing.  I wanted to hear the music that I had created while playing.  What I could do is find a "walkthrough" on youtube (where there's no bloody talking!) and just rip the audio and boom, I've got a copy of the music straight from the game.  But, where's the fun in that?

Part of the experience of B.T.R. is creating entertaining and catchy music while playing a very challenging rail-platformer.  The music from the soundtrack is just foreplay to me sitting down and playing the game, which I just put down after 20 minutes on 3-11 "Rusty Warren."  This is something that is very much apart from most other music/rhythm games which punish you if you don't play the song exactly as it is supposed to be played.  Yes, B.T.R. is very much a challenging game that is ripe with punishment, but it only punishes your lack of reflexes, not your desire to create and develop.  And again my friends, that is awesome.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Instrumental


P.S.  Precursor Games started

Contemplations on BIT.TRIP.RUNNER (PC & 3DS)

I've been playing a lot of BIT.TRIP.RUNNER recently, mainly because during the Steam Sale, I purchased BIT.TRIP Presents. . . Runner 2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien and played through the stages on the first level.  The fact that the game contains a continuing storyline that takes place after the first game (somewhat unlike the previous games in the BIT.TRIP series) compelled me to attempt to finish Runner.  I should also mention that in both the PC and the 3DS version of BIT.TRIP.RUNNER, I initially became stuck on 3-1 Paradise Lost.

The third area of the game takes place in a city that's apparently under constant construction, which is perfect for a rail-platformer set to ever developing music.  The problem that I initially had was that I couldn't tell what was an obstacle and what was part of the background, especially when CommanderVideo dipped below street level or right when you come up from below ground..

Oh, you mean that pipe is an obstacle and not part of the scenery?

For level 3-1, I probably spent a good 30 minutes trying to figure out the music, pattern and how to not die/trip every fifteen seconds.  Maybe it didn't take half-an-hour, but it sure felt that long with all the restarts that I had to go through.  Eventually I did make it past that bastard of a level, which renewed the belief that I infact do not suck at video games and don't necessarily belong back in the kitchen making sandwiches and having babies.

So I began to progress through the third world/level and as is the case with most levels, I could get to a certain point, "tripped" then passed the previously tripped section before immediately tripping again.  And then this level happend:

Thankfully this pain-in-the-ass section happened at the beginning of the level 3-9, aptly named "The Gauntlet."  I must have easily spent about two hours on this one stage, not all in one sitting mind you, before finally passing it earlier yesterday (Friday 7/19/13) afternoon.

Then, I went to the airport with Conklederp to fly down to SoCal, which is where I'm at for the next couple of days, and I brought along my trusty 3DS (aka: why don't more people have these in airports so I can meet more Mii's!?!).  And, since I have a copy of BIT.TRIP.SAGA, I popped that sucker to give the third world another go on a smaller screen.  This is when I first experienced any kind of lag in the game and noticed some loss is graphics.

The lag was really noticable when I had the 3D slider turned on.  Even the slightest bit and if felt like the game was skipping frames, which really isn't what you want in this kind of a game.  I turned the 3D off and it was barely noticeable.  Did I feel that the game was unplayable because of this?  Nope, I was still able to beat a handful of levels and on one particular level (3-5 Congestion) I collected 14/15 gold bars and I know that I missed the same one in both PC and 3DS versions.  The loss in graphics isn't noticeable either unless you know what it is that you're looking for.  On the 3DS, I never would have noticed this little bit of graffiti that is legible in the PC version:

Is that Meat Boy jumping out of a taco?

Knowing it's there is funny, but not knowing what the words say in the 3DS version isn't going to kill you.

The point is, BIT.TRIP.RUNNER is still a very fun game even if some levels (3-9 & 3-10) are a god damn pain in the god damn ass, but it's really the music that keeps me playing.  I'll even sometimes trip myself up if I miss a powerup that develops the music, but only if I'm replaying a level.  Until I pass a level, I don't care what I miss, I just have to pass it first then worry about all the gold bars, power ups and total points not earned.

The ultimate question then should be, "If I beat either the PC or 3DS version of the game first, will I beat the other one as well?"  We'll just have to see how the rest of 3-10 and 3-11 go.  Oh, and I would also like to point out that 3-10 has a section of the damnable dots (exactly like in the second picture) IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STAGE!  It's now just a waiting game now to see who cracks first. . .me or the jump button on the controller.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Instrumental

First Impressions: BIT.TRIP.SAGA (3DS) Part II: Runner, Fate & Flux

This is Part II of a two part review of the BIT.TRIP.SAGA game by Gaijin Games for the Nintendo 3DS.  Part I of the review can be read here, which covered the first three games in the series, BEAT, CORE and VOID, while this review will cover RUNNER, FATE and FLUX.

My review of RUNNER will be solely from the perspective of the 3DS game and not comparing it to the PC or Wii edition.  I will mention, however, that I was a little bit weary about purchasing BIT.TRIP.SAGA because of some negative reviews on Amazon.com about lagging in RUNNER and comparing to how it played against both the Wii and PC versions.  I will say that I have not experienced any lag or skipping frame rates in either 3D or 2D mode.  I typically play with the 3D slider set at about 75% of the way up, unless I'm too distracted by  all the bits and debris flying at the screen and then I'll turn in either down or off.  I will also add that when first playing this on the PC, I felt that it would be an amazing experience on the 3DS and I feel that I was very much right.

All that aside, RUNNER is a great game with an amazing soundtrack.  The game plays like a rail-platformer set to music.  Whenever you miss a jump, run into a wall, get hit by flying beats or fall down a pit, you don't die, the music doesn't stop, you just get flung back to the beginning of the level, all with the music continuously playing.  One might find this to be tedious, having to start over because you were hit by a stray beat, but for me, I feel motivated to play more to hear the music increase in complexity.

Like any platformer, some levels are harder and/or longer than others and there are times when I feel too frustrated and have to switch to another game or just shut the 3DS completely, but that doesn't happen very much.

FATE plays like another throw back to older shooter arcade-style games like Gradius or 1942.  The big difference, is that while it is a rail-shooter, it's more of a double rail shooter.  You're propelled through the level, but you're also attached to a track, all the while shooting enemies and obstacles earning points and replenishing health.

This game is played with a combination of the joystick, moving back and forth along the track and the stylus, which is what you use to aim your rapid-fire projectiles at anything that might be combustible on screen.  When not shooting, you're able to move a lot faster along the track, which I really only did to grab a power up that was floating away.

The music in FATE I probably noticed the least of all the games.  It's not that so much that I didn't enjoy or that didn't pick up on it, more like I was as aware of how the game play was affecting the music.

Like all the other games though, FATE is an exceedingly challenging game and again, like all the other games, I seem to have hit a very hard, tall wall with the second stage.  Is it impossible?  No, but it's going to take a lot of playing to figure it out and make my way through to another fun/frustrating boss fight.

FATE, the last game in the BIT.TRIP series is a throwback to the first game, BEAT.  It's a pong-style game, but the paddle is on the right hand side of the screen.  Other than that, the game plays pretty much the same as BEAT.  But, there are some little differences.

The first difference, is that like RUNNER and unlike BEAT, you have unlimited lives.  You can mess up as many times and not make it out of the Nether and you'll have to start the level from the beginning or from your last checkpoint.  On some level this is a nice bonus, but in some ways, I get tired of constantly messing up in a specific area and just wish the game would tell me by way of a "Game Over" that I need to play something else for a bit.

The second difference is that the beats you hit back don't make any noise or build upon the music until after they hit the left side of the screen.  This can be a little bit distracting as it almost feels like a lag, but because that's the way this game is designed, it's only disorienting for the first couple of beats during the beginning, when the song is just starting.

The third difference is that the beats like to play with you.  A series of them will come flying towards you, then about two-thirds of the way across the screen, they will start spiraling, fracture and you'll have to hit them, alternating between top and bottom of the screen.  It's crazy times like this that the beats seem to be random, but there is always a pattern and it's just something you have to learn or follow Peppy and just trust your instincts.

In conclusion, yes, these are pretty difficult games.  Have you tried playing Mega Man 2 or Ninja Gaiden?  Those aren't easy games (but they do look easy if you watch No Hit Speed Runs), but they're still a lot of fun to play, and that's exactly what Gaijin Games and Aksys Games have put together here.  Here you have six great games that play very well on the 3DS, with great, sometime subtle, sometimes distracting 3D effects, but that's all part of the experience.  If you could power through all six games in 3 hours, where would the fun be?  I've spent just over seven hours and am on the second stage in each game and while I've hit the aforementioned wall, the difficulty won't keep me from trying to find a way to climb, dig or smash my way through to the next massive wall.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

I Can Almost See What I'm Fighting For

First Impressions: BIT.TRIP.SAGA (3DS) Part I: Beat, Core & Void

BIT.TRIP.SAGA is an amazing compilation of the first six games in the BIT.TRIP series developed by Gaijin Games and released by Aksys, with Runner2 having been released a few weeks ago at the end of February (2013).  Additionally, as all the games in this series are available on various platforms, my review will only focus on how they play on the 3DS without comparing how they play on any other platform. Additionally, since this game is broken down into six separate games, I will review them as such although I will be covering the first three games in the series, Beat, Core and Void now and Part II of this review (Friday Edition) will cover Runner, Fate and Flux.

Beat is the first game in the series, pseudo featuring Commander Video.  Beat plays a lot like Pong on steroids and a healthy dose of crack.  You're a paddle on the left side of the screen hitting back balls/pixels of various sizes, colors and sounds against an invisible foe who has an infinite supply of said ball/pixels.  The game can be controlled with either the stylus or the joystick, although I can't see using the joystick for some of the precise movements that are required for the game.  I'm sure there are people out there who prefer the joystick, but this guy, not at all.

After you successfully hit back enough beats and you fill up a meter at the top of the screen, you advance from HYPER to MEGA, MEGA to SUPER, and SUPER to ULTRA, which means that the music becomes more complex and more catchy, you also receive an increased score multiplyer, but that almost seems secondary while being assaulted relentlessly by a near never ending supply of beats.  It also means that the game tries to mess with you more, distracting you from successfully hitting back the beats.  For example, once you start playing MEGA, every time a beat bounces of anything, little pixel fireworks emit from the beat.  Eventually your screen can be filled with very distracting pixels, although it's still very possible to un-focus your eyes and yet, still focus on the beats that are flying at you.

The 3D effect in this game is subtle, focusing mainly on the score and information above the main game play.  The background, which is usually rotating scenes of interstellar-ness.  I've only run into a couple instances when the 3D effect became distracting, but I felt that that was part of the game, that that was it's intended purpose.  The music too blends in very well the action, which is not at all distracting.

After about nine stages, there is a Boss battle, which are fun and aggravating at the same time.  I've only made it past the first boss and to about the third or forth stage in the second level.  I die every time and by "die," I mean that I let too many beats past the paddle.

Core is the second game in the series and so far, the most difficult of the games in the collection.  In this game, you play as a "Plus" sign in the center of the screen and try to "catch" beats as the come flying at/past you.  To "catch" these beats, you hold the directional pad in the direction to create a net-like-thing then activate the net by pressing "A."  The net is only active for the 1/2 second after/while you press A.

In Core, I've found that I have a very hard time keeping up with the beats as they come flying toward the net area and activating the net in time.  I frequently find myself about a half second behind and my brain cannot keep up with where I'm supposed to have the net activated.

The 3D effect, from what I've been able to tell, is not very noticeable, although maybe that's because I'm too focused on not dying faster than I actually am.  This is definitely going to be a game that will take a lot of patience and practice, if I don't get too frustrated.

Void, being the third installment in the series and I feel that, aside from maybe Runner, is the most original game here.  In Void you play as a black hole, "void" type object, absorbing black beats that fly across the screen while avoiding white beats.  As you collect the black beats, your black ball/hole/void grows in size, making it easier to catch black beats, but harder to avoid white beats.  But that's where the "pop" comes in.

Did I forget to mention the "pop" ability?  Popping is what you do when you feel like you've become too big to avoid the white beats and it makes you your default size.  Popping also advances the music, adding additional tones and rhythms to the beats when they're absorbed, as well as progressing through the HYPER - MEGA - SUPER - ULTRA levels of personal development.

The 3D effect is pretty minimal, bringing out the void and beats while keeping the score, which scrolls in the background throughout the game separate and the ever changing color background in the very background.  So you have three distinct and noticeable layers.

I can still only get to stage 1-3 consistently and end up dying in roughly the same place each time.  It's only a little bit frustrating, but no more than say, frequently dying during Mega Man 2.

Up until now, I haven't brought up a feature in these games called the "Nether."  The Nether is exactly what it sounds like, a nether region apart from the main game, but the same at the same time.  In every game, except Runner, you are seamlessly sent to the Nether when you either miss too many beats (some of the games have a meter that fills up, which will decrease down to HYPER and then to Nether) or come in contact with too many negative/white beats in the case of Void.  The Nether plays exactly as the game you're currently playing except that that all color is gone except black and white.  All music is stopped as well except for a simple "beep" noise when you collect/hit a beat.  After enough successful hits, you're returned to the game, again seamlessly.  It's a pretty cool idea and executed really well.

Part II's review (up on Friday March 22nd) will cover the next three games that come packed with BIT.TRIP.SAGA, being Runner, Fate and Flux, so look for that article to come out sometime on Friday.  Happy Monday everyone.

~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian

Beating Emptiness