Rhythm Game General - For all other rhythm games that are NOT FNF

[Tanner Glass]

I think the only time you should consider anything over the LTEK pads is if you genuinely are trying to AAA/AAAA very hard songs.

The LTEK bar is complete garbage if you're a bar player and should not be purchased under any circumstances.

There is a company that does offer DDR arcade-replica pads that are really good but they're still a thousand bucks, plus pretty expensive shipping.

I'd imagine you're referring to B2L (https://ib2l.com/?product=premium-ddr-arcade-single-pad-golden-p1-2) which are much more replica oriented. I've heard only good things about these but still really expensive.

You can also just try and keep an eye out for arcade closures in your local area and get a machine that way as well (do not buy any machines made by Raw Thrills [DDRX until DDRA]).

 

[Premium Gonzo]

Otherwise, get the L-TEK. The handlebar is pretty low and flimsy on the L-TEK so I'd recommend just using something else as a bar

The LTEK bar is complete garbage if you're a bar player and should not be purchased under any circumstances

They fixed the bar issue like a few years ago.

I'd imagine you're referring to B2L (https://ib2l.com/?product=premium-ddr-arcade-single-pad-golden-p1-2) which are much more replica oriented. I've heard only good things about these but still really expensive.

My home pad set up is similar to that but without the gold plating, its some no name chink build. But it's got wheels like a trolley to move it around, and i can easily do 12 footers solid metal too, the connector box had to be bought separately because it was designed to be connected with an integrated custom cabinet. The bar is solid too.

 

[#FF0000]

I've heard only good things about these but still really expensive.

They're just like the modern arcade pads without the issues. I have one myself, it's great but heavy as shit.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

I will have a very hard time getting enough fucks together to buy another hard pad
I loved my Red Octane metal guy very much and was the belle of the ball at so many thing, and I scored it CHEAP, like, five hundred? the wife says it was two fifty, but yeah they were clearancing it out bigtime last day of a con so we were irl and didn't even pay shipping
it was really cool having a hardpad but I get just about as much from throwing the lines down on the floor in masking tape
somewhere down the line we're likely to be moving in with my mostly gamer in-laws, I could see my niece digging dance games enough to "get her a present" of a new metal pad around then (and clearly not for me)

- Stepmania/ITGMania

yeah this has been my main jam for a long time because I really don't care THAT much if I'm hitting it A or SSS or whatever it's more about having fun hopping up and down like an idiot
I recall back in the day getting pretty good results with a ghetto rig of duct taping a soft pad to one of those office chair carpet protectors and running the lines so you can footfeel the pads through socks

edit- thinking more yeah she's right it was $250 for the pad, because we haggled them to toss in a pair of their (TOTALLY SHIT) big af ps1 arcade sticks for around $300 total
they're okay for fucking around but having one of those OG psx/1 hori tekken sticks puts them to shame so much
that reminds me I need to get that fucker going again

 

[Tanner Glass]

I loved my Red Octane metal guy very much and was the belle of the ball at so many thing, and I scored it CHEAP, like, five hundred? the wife says it was two fifty, but yeah they were clearancing it out bigtime last day of a con so we were irl and didn't even pay shipping

if you live in/near a large city - you can grab a second hand LTEK for ~$200 from FB marketplace or similar. Even if you get one new straight from Poland, you're looking at sub $500 (prob like $380-$420).

I'm way too cheap to buy a really good one but they are pretty cool.

 

[Premium Gonzo]

I follow a lot of the rhythm controller builders Yuancon is making a PIU pad it looks fucking sweet too, Yuan isn't cheap but his arcade controllers are solid as shit. My Taiko drum just will not die.

The pad looks sick as well.

https://yuancon.store/controller/padr

 

[Celebrate Nite]

So apparently a song from the Sonic The Hedgehog 2 movie has been added to DDR World (Stars In The Sky)

However they are making no mentions to Sonic at all in the game

 

[Mat Zo]

From what I can tell, a lot of Konami in-house artists became independent so other companies can hire them to do work for them if they wish

what about KARUT?

 

[Just_a_Bored_Guy]

The new Rhythm Heaven is out in a little over a week, so Nintendo put out a demo. The first set of single-player games, remix included, along with a multiplayer game.
Seems promising so far.

 

[Jason_Cruiser]

The new Rhythm Heaven is out in a little over a week, so Nintendo put out a demo. The first set of single-player games, remix included, along with a multiplayer game.
Seems promising so far.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qPedpMR8xnM

Nintendo must have some internal design docs for the level of "diversity". Because over half the characters shown are various shades of mud. Mind be you, the entire series up until this point didn't have a single nigger or mystery brown(all the woman were fair; the darkest character being the wrestling guy from Fever). I'm staking my claim that it was an external "diversity" team or global market "consultant" that forced this onto them. Some of these design are way too White looking for them to naturally decide to make them look like poop.

I was never really interested in his game from the start. The first trailer was already full of browns. It sucks to see another series join the globalised favela sludge that plages modern art.

 

[Colon capital V]

Nintendo must have some internal design docs for the level of "diversity". Because over half the characters shown are various shades of mud. Mind be you, the entire series up until this point didn't have a single nigger or mystery brown(all the woman were fair; the darkest character being the wrestling guy from Fever). I'm staking my claim that it was an external "diversity" team or global market "consultant" that forced this onto them. Some of these design are way too White looking for them to naturally decide to make them look like poop.

I was never really interested in his game from the start. The first trailer was already full of browns. It sucks to see another series join the globalised favela sludge that plages modern art.
Wyświetl załącznik 9184560

I suppose forcing TTS by default, while a nice addition given to a game that entirely relies on sound cues, should have been a red flag regardless of whether this makes it more "accessible" to the 0.02% of players that are blind or visually impaired enough they can't play vidya normally.

EDIT: I've watched the demo gameplay video above, and the artwork in this game looks lower quality than previous RH entries. Not sure why, maybe it's the thinner lines that's turning me off, but this feels less polished than what I've played before. Was Wario Ware Gold like this too? Since WW and RH share the same development teams I believe.

 

[A Deer In Headlights]

The new Rhythm Heaven is out in a little over a week, so Nintendo put out a demo. The first set of single-player games, remix included, along with a multiplayer game.
Seems promising so far.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qPedpMR8xnM

I've been playing it the past couple of days and already beat stage 6 (which I think is the halfway point, so far the newer stages have been advanced versions of the the other levels). Gameplay-wise I haven't had any issues and its pretty much a return to form. The UI for the main menu is generic and the reward for beating "Perfect" stages is a 4 panel comic made by a random contributor that you have to awkardly exit to the main menu in order to see.

Idk if it's because my own sense of rhythm has improved or because I'm not fighting with the controls like I did with the DS version, but it hasn't been too challenging so far for me. I've gotta medals on all the stages so far and most on my first try. I am curious if they did tweaked the judgement system because there has been times where I messed up like 4 times and thought I wouldn't get a medal but still got it, or if its like Bemani where all you need to do is at least maintain a high enough score and not botch the ending.

There is one that does make you tap the button on the 7th beat which isn't a normal rhythm and was the only one so far where I had to count out the beats. Personally this stage has been my favorite, I like the goofy umbrella characters and there's parts where you play on the upbeat

The rhythm toys are a bit meh. 3 of them are soundboards where you pick a noise and a sequence it plays in. One of them is a quiz to identify the correct rhythm using the controller vibration, clever but is un playable on Switch Lite. The concept for Beatspell could be interesting assuming there hasn't been a game like it before where you use rhythm to cast spells, but its a bit handholdy at first and tries to take itself a bit seriously by adding a plot.

I haven't unlocked it, but I think there's a drum lesson mode which was my favorite part about the GBA version.

All in all, if you're a long-term fan and liked the demo I think you'll still enjoy it, especially if it goes on sale. If they really wanted to elevate and introduce more people to Rhythm Heave they should have done a port of Megamix and added in the new stages. Wouldn't mind being able to play some of those stages again on the big screen