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Groove Coaster Zero adds its first horror story level
Taito's Groove Coaster Zero usually has players tapping icons to the tune of electronic music, but for today only, a new track explores a different genre: scary stories. If you load up the free-to-play iOS game between now and midnight PST, you'll get to play a new level set to a ghost story, narrated by Groove Coaster music director COSIO.Yes, this is an April Fool's Day joke. But it's the best kind of April Fool's Day joke, in our opinion, because they really did it. Now, the other joke, a special installation of the Groove Coaster arcade machine called Groove Coaster DX, isn't real, and it's for the best. You'll see why after the break.
Groove Coaster going to arcades in Japan
Groove Coaster is moving from its extremely portable iOS format to the least portable format possible: a dedicated arcade machine. Taito has revealed plans for an arcade version of Reisuke Ishida's touchscreen music game, for release in Japan only this winter.Rather than a touchscreen, the arcade game uses a mysterious "BOOSTER" system, seen above. Is it an Etch-a-Sketch type situation? We don't know. We do know that Taito promises a "very different control experience" from both other music games and the existing Groove Coasters.The cabinet will make its debut at the Japan Amusement Expo on February 15 and 16. If you have an iOS device and haven't tried Groove Coaster, get Groove Coaster Zero for free and check it out. Put your headphones on if you're at work.%Gallery-177610%
Groove Coaster becomes free-to-ride with new release Zero
Groove Coaster Zero sped onto the App Store today, the game a free-to-play version of Taito's rhythm-tastic Groove Coaster. The new version features over 30 tracks including those from the original game and some new tunes too. Some of those tracks have to be purchased in-app, with the ones in the game's shop including some from the original.Groove Coaster delighted JC last year. with him saying he'd happily have paid $50 ten years ago for a game like it. With a free version out now, Taito is showing its thanks to those who did put down money for the original game by giving them three "limited edition" tracks in Zero. We of course don't begrudge Taito making an excellent game free and now accessible to more people. but showing a rollercoaster of love for early, paying adopters is neat too.%Gallery-171399%
Final thoughts from GDC: How JRPGS can dance to Reisuke Ishida's beat
This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs has to offer. For all the discussion about the dire straits the Japanese game industry finds itself in, my lasting image of GDC 2012 will be of a Japanese developer who got so excited about his projects that he literally started dancing at his podium.That developer was Taito's Reisuke Ishida (Space Invaders Infinity Gene), and he was in town to host a talk titled simply, 'Five Techniques for Making an Unforgettable Game.' No self-flagellation about the declining quality of Japanese gaming here; just Ishida running between the two screens on either side of his podium as he danced to the trailer of Groove Coaster. I find Reisuke Ishida's enthusiasm for the craft infectious, to say the least.
Taito's Ishida: 'Expect to see more Groove Coaster'
If you've played Taito's beautifully abstract iOS music game, Groove Coaster, you probably want more of Taito's beautifully abstract iOS music game, Groove Coaster. And you'll have it. During an interview today, producer Reisuke Ishida told Joystiq: "People can expect to see more Groove Coaster in the future." As for the details, like when, or whether it's in the form of game updates or a full sequel, we got "No comment."One (vector-based, icon-covered) avenue he'd like to explore is a console port, much like the XBLA/PSN port of his iOS shooter Space Invaders Infinity Gene. "There's no plan for a console release of Groove Coaster yet, but if it's possible it's something that I'd like to do," Ishida said. "I don't think the controls would be much of an issue; it's pretty simple controls." Ishida said he kept consoles in mind while designing Groove Coaster. "I didn't want to add something that wouldn't be able to be communicated for consoles in the future."In terms of non-Groove Coaster games, Ishida teased a third game in what he called the "Infinity Gene series (which currently includes Infinity Gene and Groove Coaster). "It'll probably have a similar aesthetic to the previous two games, but people shouldn't expect another shooting game. It'll be something different."Ishida quickly clarified: "I'm not saying I'm never going to make shooting games again, just not for the next project."
Reisuke Ishida on why perfect games can't be perfect
Taito designer Reisuke Ishida devoted a GDC panel to "five techniques for making an unforgettable game," and his most interesting tip for accomplishing that was perhaps counterintuitive: don't make it perfect.Perfect games, argued Ishida, are boring. In Space Invaders Infinity Gene, for example, he originally experimented with making the invaders more colorful (which you can see on the right in the shot above). But that look made the game "look too 'normal,'" Ishida said. "It didn't really stand out enough for us." He decided to go back to the white coloring of the original invaders, and that helped give the game a unique look.Those graphics may not be the most aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but Ishida said that helps more than it hurts. "You need a little bit of that quirkiness," he told the crowd, "so it captures your eye and your attention, and it leaves that impression."And that attention leads to curiosity, which Ishida said will really make a game shine. "People will find that curiosity and they'll want to find out where that curiosity is going to take them," he said. Developers obviously don't want to turn off an audience with disharmony, but Ishida said a great game should have "just a little touch -- something that will trigger someone to think that maybe there's a little more that I need to seek out."
Best of the Rest: JC's picks of 2011
Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective If you were interested in this game, but didn't buy it on DS because of faith that an iOS version would follow, I'm holding you personally responsible for the foundering sales of my favorite game of 2011. Live with that. This came out in January, and I still have yet to experience anything so fresh, so unique, as Shu Takumi's side-scrolling adventure/puzzle game. Its comically unpredictable (but predictably comical) storyline cascades toward a twist that shouldn't work, its gameplay turns everyday objects like ceiling fans and globes into methods of both traversal and interaction, as you observe and influence the lives of a cast of bizarre characters from within their phone lines, headphones and wrecking balls. I can't mention this game without mentioning its beyond perfect animation, which gave a jazzy flourish to every movement of every character. The act of serving chicken never seemed so stylish.
Hark, the herald Groove Coasters sing
It's a Christmas miracle! Taito Claus has bestowed five new downloadable Groove Coaster songs upon all the good little vector dots and Invader icons of the world -- including a techno-y Christmas tune. We're not going to be listening for the tapping of reindeer feet this Christmas because we're going to be tapping out music. Even better, the game is on sale right now for .99 -- joining other seasonally discounted Taito games including Cooking Mama and Space Invaders: Infinity Gene.
Daily iPhone App: Groove Coaster
Groove Coaster is a new rhythm game from the creator of the popular iOS title Space Invaders Infinity Gene, and it too is earning lots of accolades as a beautiful and addictive title. It starts out simply enough: just tap on the screen in time with the music as your little character follows a line through 3D space. But while early levels are slow and relatively easy, later levels get more jagged, with quick turns and quicker hits required. Near the end of the game, there are other gestures to play with, and all of the levels have you ranked with various grades. Game Center and Facebook integration lets you compete and share scores with friends, so that will lend a nice chunk of replay value as well. Groove Coaster is a great title, available for $2.99 on the App Store right now.
Portabliss: Groove Coaster (iOS)
Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. In each installment, we'll tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: Groove Coaster! Groove Coaster takes the flashy style of Space Invaders Infinity Gene, a game that turned music into shmup stages, and applies it to a straight-up rhythm game that takes no time to learn and, perhaps, too long to bring myself to stop playing. It's really fun! And, before I go any further, it's temporarily 99 cents, so go buy it. OK, now back to the game. Groove Coaster takes its name from roller coaster-like lines, dotted with, well, dots that indicate when to tap the screen. When your avatar crosses one of these dots, you tap anywhere, or occasionally swipe to the side, hold, or "scratch," corresponding to the beat. It's pretty easy to understand! And, at first, it's pretty easy to play.%Gallery-129422%
Groove Coaster available now on iOS for 99 cents
We've gone from not knowing the release date of Taito's iOS rhythm game Groove Coaster to having the date -- and discovering that it's today. You can get Space Invaders Infinity Gene creator Reisuke Ishida's new game from the App Store right now, as a universal app, for 99 cents. It'll go up to its normal price of $2.99 soon after launch, so if you have any kind of predilection toward rhythm games at all, you should jump on this without hesitation. That'll free up a couple of bucks that you can put toward the soundtrack, which has also been released on iTunes.%Gallery-129422%
Groove Coaster is an iOS rhythm game
Taito teased Groove Coaster, from the creator of Space Invaders: Infinity Gene, earlier this month. Today, two new trailers reveal the nature of the game. Groove Coaster is a touch-controlled rhythm game for iOS -- one that looks exceedingly simple. You just tap anywhere on screen when a circle icon lines up with a glowing icon in the middle of the screen. Of course, being from Infinity Gene's Reisuke Ishida, the rhythm gameplay takes place in a wireframe, vector graphics-esque world with original dance music and beautiful lighting effects. Check out one gameplay sample above via Famitsu and another, after the break, posted by Taito.
'Groove Coaster' coming from Space Invaders Infinity Gene creator
Reisuke Ishida, the creator of Taito's mobile/XBLA/PSN shmup, Space Invaders Infinity Gene, is working on a new game called Groove Coaster. No details -- no release date, platform, or even genre -- have been revealed, but the teaser site offers some clues. A pulsating graphic of an Invader with headphones suggests that it'll still use Taito's iconic characters (and thus will be a Taito-published game). The teaser site calls it an "exhilarating next-gen groove game," which suggests it'll be musical in nature. It also says the game is "coming soon," which our experts have interpreted to mean it's coming soon.
