GuitarFreaks

Infobox VG
title = GuitarFreaks


GuitarFreaks V3 alongside a DrumMania V3 cabinet
developer = Bemani
publisher = Konami, Konami Digital Entertainment
release = 1998
genre = Rhythm
arcade system = System 573 (until V),
PlayStation 2 (until V4),
Windows XP Embedded (as of V4)
display = Raster
input = Guitar Controller
platforms = Arcade, PlayStation, PlayStation 2

"GuitarFreaks" (also "GUITARFREAKS", abbreviated GF) is a music video game series produced by Konami. The player uses a controller to simulate the playing of an electric guitar. The game consists of music predominantly from rock and roll and J-Pop genres, and is now in its 16th version, GuitarFreaks V5, which was released in June 2008.

Controller

"GuitarFreaks" is played using a controller designed to imitate the shape of an electric guitar, most like the Fender Jazzmaster or Fender Mustang. The neck houses three buttons, colored red, green, and blue. On the main face of the guitar, a pick lever is used to simulate the picking and strumming of an actual guitar. A small metal knob near the pick is used to alter the sound produced by the game, such as adding Chorus/Delay effects.

Gameplay

The interface is similar to other games in the Bemani series. Two "note scrolls"—one for each player—are displayed at the left and right sides of the screen. Colorful animations for each song are displayed in the center of the screen. Each note scroll consists of four columns: one each for the red, green, and blue buttons, and a fourth column, known as the Wailing Bonus column. Individual notes and chords are represented by small colored bars that scroll upward in the columns. To play the correct note, the player must hold down the buttons corresponding to the colored bars, and move the pick lever when the bars reach the yellow picking line. When a guitar icon is displayed in the Wailing Bonus column along with an associated note, the player can tilt the guitar upright while playing the note to receive bonus points.

The player's accuracy is judged for each note played. The current system uses the names "Perfect", "Great", "Good", "Poor", and "Miss" to indicate a player's accuracy. Ratings of Poor or Miss will deplete the player's Groove Gauge, while Perfect and Great ratings will replenish it. If the Groove Gauge is emptied completely, the player fails, and the game ends. Players are allowed to play anywhere from one to five songs depending on the game cabinet's configuration, with the ability to earn additional songs in certain versions of the game

Upon successful completion of a song, players are graded on their performance. When the game ends, the player's total score across all songs played is tabulated.

ession linking

One of the major selling points of "GuitarFreaks" is its ability to be linked to another of Konami's Bemani games, "DrumMania". This allows up to three players to join together to play simultaneously in "Session Mode". During a session, the music will play simultaneously from both games, and the players' guitar and drum sounds are relayed between the two games.

Because the second version of "GuitarFreaks" was released prior to the first version of DrumMania, GuitarFreaks is one "mix" number higher than the "DrumMania" version it links up to. For example, "GUITARFREAKS 6thMIX" is designed to be linked with "DrumMania 5thMIX". The mix versions were synchronized with the release of "GuitarFreaksV & DrumManiaV" eschewing the long-standing number system, and replacing what would have been the 12th and 11th mix, respectively.

uper Session

Seen only in two releases each of "GuitarFreaks" and "DrumMania", Super Session allowed the games to be linked up with Keyboardmania 3rd Mix as well. In addition to having three players control the guitars and drums, two more could be added playing along on keyboards. However, when linked with "Keyboardmania", only about a dozen songs are available to play. "Keyboardmania 3rd Mix" can be linked with "GuitarFreaks 5th Mix" and "DrumMania 4th Mix", or "GuitarFreaks 6th Mix" and "DrumMania 5th Mix".

oundtrack

As with DrumMania, the current version of GuitarFreaks features 500 songs in total. Most songs are either crossovers from other Bemani games, and J-pop and J-Rock. Some mixes also contain covers of popular North American songs.

List of GuitarFreaks games

ee also

*"DrumMania"

External links

* [http://gdamania.co.cc Drummania/DTXMania community Forum]
* [http://www.konami.jp/bemani/gfdm/ GFdm Gateway] , Konami's official arcade website for "GuitarFreaks" and "DrumMania" (in Japanese)
*KLOV game|id=8026, with arcade cabinet details
* [http://www.gdamania.net GDAmania] , a popular GF/DM community website with simfiles, songlists, lyrics and worldwide locations.

References