Welcome to another Throwback Thursday, our weekly look into my Top 100 games and general nostalgia. Hitting the blips and beeps this week: The exploration of gaming genres combined with musical sonatas that is the Bit.Trip series.
The series began with the debut of
Bit.Trip Beat, releasing in the US on March 16th, 2009 for the Nintendo Wii. The game can be simply described as "
Pong with music", but the complexity and joy to be found from this simple concept is far greater than you'd ever anticipate. Players take control of Commander Video in the form of a Pong paddle, deflecting pixelated beats as they bounce from right to left in increasing complexity and creative patterns. In fact, for the Wii version, players would actually twist the Wii remote to control the paddle, emulating the controls just like the original Pong. The combination of groovy undertones and the act of deflecting these beats creates the unique sensation that you yourself are creating this incredibly catchy and satisfying soundtrack. Gameplay and music become synonymous components in ways rarely felt in other music games. Be forewarned though, this game is tough as nails and not for the feint of heart. This first entry lacked any sort of checkpoint system, and though it is only three levels, each level is roughly 15 minutes long to power through. With a variety of unique power-ups that required quick reactions and incredible precision, this was a game that could be particularly punishing, but also very satisfying to replay and go for high scores (while enjoying those sweet melodies).
