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| | \/ _ | |_ __ _ _ __ ___ ___ | . . | __ _ _ __
| | __ | || __| / _` || '__| / _ \ / _ \ | |\/| | / _` || '_ \
| |_\ \| || |_ | (_| || | | (_) || (_) | | | | || (_| || | | |
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Voton's (
[email protected]) Gitaroo Man FAQ/Walkthrough v. 1.2
Table of Contents
i) Version History
ii) Introduction
iii) Cast of Characters
iv) Controls
v) Gameplay
1) Charge Phase
2) Attack/Defend Phase
a) Attacking
b) Defending
3) Final Phase
4) Scoring
a) Miss
b) OK
c) Good
d) Great
e) Rankings
vi) Walkthrough
0) Training
1) Panpeus
2) Flying-O
3) Mojo King Bee
4) Ben-K
5) Ben-K take 2
6) Kirah
7) Sanbone Trio
8) Gergorio Wilehem III
9) Kirah take 2
a) Battle
b) Unite
10) Zowie
11) Master
vii) Multiplayer
viii) General Tips
ix) FAQs
x) Legal Stuff
__________________________
i. Version History
12/3/02 - Version 1.2
Tweaked a few things I was unhappy with. Nothing major.
12/2/02 - Version 1.1
Added a few more FAQs, some more Tips, and fine-tuned a lot of the other
sections. Nothing too major, though.
12/1/02 - Version 1.0
Made the general FAQs and Walkthrough, including Controls, Tips, Multiplayer
info, and an Introduction. Nothing special, just getting started. ;)
__________________________
ii. Introduction
Gitaroo Man is a rhythm game for the PS2. The game centers around our
protagonist, U-1, and his magical Gitaroo. His Gitaroo is, quite basically, an
electric guitar, but it can be used as a weapon if in the right hands- and
there are quite a few hands trying to get it! U-1, with the help of his quirky
sidekick, Puma, must wield his Gitaroo in a mighty effort to save his world and
Planet Gitaroo from the clutches of Zowie and his evil minions... and maybe,
just maybe, U-1 can find some self-confidence along the way!
__________________________
iii. Cast of Characters
U-1: Our main man and hero. Quite basically, he's a loser. He gets flushed and
embarrassed around girls, he's horrible at skateboarding, and he's just an
overall failure at life. He's got the self-confidence of... well, someone who
has no self-confidence.
Gitaroo Man: U-1's alter-ego. Put a Gitaroo in U-1's hands, and he transforms
into a shining, gleaming rock 'n roll god.
Puma: U-1's dog. He doesn't seem to be a normal pet (hey, he can talk... can
your dog?), but he's as loyal as any normal, non-talking dog. He's U-1's
right-hand ma, err, dog. He's also the only perso, err, animal who knows U-1's
secret identity (on Earth, at least).
AC30: Puma's true form. Some sort of strange dog-machine, he also works as a
storage place for U-1's Gitaroo.
Pico: U-1's dream girl. She's nice, funny, and likes to rollerblade. What more
could a guy ask for? Don't answer that. Regardless, U-1 tries like mad to
impress her... and usually fails horribly. It's not that she doesn't like him-
he's just that uncoordinated.
Kazuya: U-1's rival. He's the smart, rich, talented guy that can skateboard
circles around U-1... and he does. He is always around when U-1 fails, and
loves to point out what a loser he is.
Zowie: The evil mastermind from Planet Gitaroo. He wants to collect all the
Gitaroos to make himself invincible, so he can rule the Universe. Bears a
striking resemblance to Kazuya, although they are neither related nor the same
person.
Ming-Ming: The Puma to Zowie's U-1. Although he (she?) can't transform into a
techno-cat, he can make some wicked (no pun intended) music anyway.
__________________________
iv. Controls
The controls for this game are rather simple, but can take a while to master.
You only use 5 controls for this entire game:
-The left analog stick changes the direction you are "aiming" your attacks
-The X, O, Triangle and Square buttons dodge attacks and also work to activate
attacks or charges.
That's it. Those are your controls. To help you understand how to use them,
go on to...
__________________________
v. Gameplay
As I stated before, this is a rhythm game. Any "match" actually consists of a
song, which in turn consists of (up to) three phases. They are:
1) Charge Phase - This phase consists entirely of "attack" actions (see below
for more info). The difference for this phase, though, is that instead of
harming your enemy, you heal yourself. The better you do, the more you heal.
Simple, eh?
2) Attack/Defend (Battle) Phase - This is where you spend most of your time.
While in Battle Phase, you'll either be Attacking or Defending.
a) Attacking: This is the hardest one to describe without being able to
show you. Basically, you control a dot in the middle of your screen. When in
Attack Phase, a line will move toward your dot, and disappear when it reaches
your dot. On the line are little areas that are activated if you press a button
at the exact time it reaches your "Attack Point" (the center). The key to this,
though, is that you also have to have the analog stick tilted towards the
direction the line is coming from. So you'll be trying to coordinate direction
with timing, and if you pull it off correctly, your Gitaroo will wail out some
sweet music.
b) Defending: There's a downside to Gitaroo combat- you can be attacked!
When your adversary starts wailing out notes, it's time for you to start
dodging them, in an attempt to avoid taking damage. Icons will come from four
directions (up, down, left and right), and will bear a symbol corresponding to
a Playstation button (circle, square, triangle, and X). Conveniently, the icons
have only one symbol per direction. That means that icons coming from the left
are ALWAYS squares, from the bottom are ALWAYS Xs, from the top are ALWAYS
triangles, and from the right are ALWAYS circles. In order to dodge, you just
have to press the corresponding button just as the icon reaches your Attack
Point. Simple, eh?
3) Final Phase - Once you've nearly completed a battle, this is your chance
to wail on your opponent and finish him (or her) off for good. It's all
attacking, and all you. No breaks, no dodging... just music, fast and furious.
4) Scoring - Not a phase, but important nonetheless. As you're attacking and
defending, you'll likely notice words popping up all over the place. You'll see
one of four words every time an attack or defense comes up: Miss, OK, Good, or
Great. Obviously, these vary with how well you do at pressing the buttons at
the right time.
a) If you press the button at the wrong time or have the analog stick in
the wrong direction, you'll get a Miss. These are the ones you want to avoid at
all costs. Getting 200 OKs and 2 Misses is infinitely better than getting 100
OKs and 25 Misses (with the extras going to Good or Great). Missing an attack
(excluding Charge Phase attacks) will harm you. Missing defends will also
(obviously) harm you. Since this is a game where you are trying to inflict the
most damage while taking the least, Misses are a bad thing to have.
b) OKs are just that- OK. They're better than getting a Miss, but not by
much. Basically it means that you did the bare minimum in order to hit the
attack/defense. Getting an OK on an attack doesn't mean much, other than the
fact that your attack will do minimal damage. Getting an OK on a defense means
that the attack doesn't hit you, but it's still not as good as getting a great.
c) Goods are, well, pretty good. On an attack you will do full damage,
and on a defense attacks will be dodged.
d) Greats are what you're really looking for. This is received when you
press the buttons at exactly the right time, and when you have the line
perfectly in your sights. A Great attack will do maximum damage (as long as it
is held out for its full duration), and a Great defense will make all attacks
nonexistent. This is the way for you to survive the truly tough fights- Greats,
and lots of them.
e) Each time you finish a song, (assuming you DO finish) you will get a
ranking. This ranges from E (I believe) to S (for those who are very
rhythmically gifted). 5 things are weighed into the equation for rankings:
Number of Misses, Number of OKs, Number of Goods, Number of Greats, and Health
left over at the end of a song. Therefore, the more Greats/Goods you get, the
fewer Misses/OKs you get, and the more health you end with, the higher your
rank will be. Be warned, though- S rank is very VERY difficult to get. Bs and
As can be achieved with a little work, but you first times through you will
probably be getting Cs and Ds, mostly. This game requires a lot of practice in
order to prosper. But keep at it, and soon you'll be raking in the A (or even
S) Ranks. Getting higher ranks also unlocks new characters in the Collection
portion of the game.
__________________________
vi. Walkthrough
0) Training
Your opponent: No one!
His Gitaroo: Nothing!
Location: Your bedroom
Difficulty: 0/5
Song: None
Style: N/A
Advice: Nothing, really. This is just to get you acclimated with the game.
I never used it (until I decided to write a Walkthrough), so if you feel like
skipping over it, it's no big deal. You'll get the general idea soon enough.
Notes: What's up with your backup band? They appear throughout the game,
but this is the kind of quirky Japanese humor that is spliced everywhere
throughout this game. Gives it a certain charm, though.
1) Panpeus
Your opponent: Panpeus, the little red devil
His Gitaroo: A musical axe (the type you cut down trees with)
Location: Your bedroom
Difficulty: 1/5
Song: Twisted Reality
Style: Rock, pure and simple
Advice: You may have slight troubles with this level at first, but just
plug away. It's really a very simple melody, and soon you'll find yourself
performing the attacks (and even defenses) without even thinking about them.
Notes: This is a good song to practice if you're a beginner. It goes slow
enough to give you plenty of time to see what's coming, but it can still give
you a decent workout on some of the attacks and defenses.
2) Flying-O
Your opponent: Flying-O, a flying saucer-like robot, and his Little-Os
His Gitaroo: A built-in synthesizer
Location: Business district of U-1's city
Difficulty: 1/5
Song: Flyin' To Your Heart
Style: Japanese Techno-Pop
Advice: This song can be daunting at first, since it moves much faster
than the first battle did. However, after a few practice runs, you'll find
yourself handily beating the snot out of Flying-O and his little buddies.
Sick 'em, Puma!
Notes: This song has a lot of analog stick movement on the attacks (at
least more than you're used to so far). Be sure to keep an eye on where your
analog stick is pointing, so you don't end up missing some notes just because
your aim was just a little off.
3) Mojo King Bee
Your opponent: Mojo King Bee, a man dressed in a leisure suit/bee costume
His Gitaroo: A wicked trumpet
Location: The woods just outside of U-1's home city
Difficulty: 2/5
Song: Bee Jam Blues
Style: Blues/Disco Fusion
Advice: This song is long, and compared to the last two songs, it's a
marathon. Keep your wits about you and your fingers dry, though, and you
should be able to beat it without too much difficulty. Watch out for Mojo King
Bee to switch up some of the rhythms on you- this is a very jazzy blues song,
though, so he's allowed to! ;)
Notes: One of the most catchy songs in the game. The trumpet absolutely
wails on some of the verses. The chorus is nice, too. You'll probably find
your feet tapping along to the music.
4) Ben-K
Your opponent: Ben-K, a giant interstellar shark
His Gitaroo: None!
Location: Space, in some sort of warphole
Difficulty: 2/5
Song: Unnamed
Style: Hip-hop-ish... It's too short and uninteresting to really classify
Advice: Be prepared to have trouble with this level. It's dodging, and
only dodging... but some of the button combinations you have to perform are
pretty crazy. After a while, though, you should be able to get a hang for the
rhythms. Good luck and keep at it.
Notes: I recently changed the difficulty rating on this one. At first I'd
thought it was tough, but once I finally beat it, I realized it wasn't very
hard at all. It's only a bit over one minute long, so if you can just hang in
there, you should make it through. Besides, you don't have to worry about
attacking at all!
5) Ben-K take 2
Your opponent: Ben-K, in his new robot form (think transformers)
His Gitaroo: Turntable pecs (don't ask me)
Location: Asteroid/Space Station
Difficulty: 3/5
Song: 'Nuff Respect
Style: Jamaican/Rastafarian, with a hint of Techno
Advice: Payback time. This battle is a little slow, and a little
drawn-out, but you should be able to beat it pretty easily once you get a
sense for the tempo and rhythm. The only hard thing about this level is that
all the notes are LONG notes. And by long, I mean LONG. In many attack phases
you only get two attacks, and most of your dodge phases are only 4-8 button
presses. There are a lot of charge phases in this song, though, so don't get
too worried.
Notes: This song can be a little frustrating at times. You can find your
cursor slipping off the track, even when you could SWEAR it was pointing in
the right direction. Just keep at it, and try to be mindful of where you're
pointing with the analog stick.
6) Kirah
Your opponent: Kirah, a beautiful girl from Planet Gitaroo
Her Gitaroo: None!
Location: Planet Gitaroo, near the beach
Difficulty: 2/5
Song: The Legendary Theme (Acoustic)
Style: Folk? Just a simple acoustic guitar song
Advice: This isn't really a battle. This is you trying to make this new
girl Kirah like you. So play your heart out, and hope that it's good enough
for her. There's no dodging here, nor is there any charging. You start with
your health bar full, and you have to make it through the song without making
so many mistakes that you drive the girl away. It's a short song, and fairly
simple, and as long as you keep your eye on the line, you should do alright.
Once you wear her down, she'll fall asleep on your shoulder, and you and Puma
will also fall asleep.
Notes: This song should be a breeze after some of the songs you've dealt
with. As long as you pay attention to the speed and rhythm, you should be able
to beat this song your first time through.
7) Sanbone Trio
Your opponents: The Sanbone Trio, three skeleton musicians
Their Gitaroo: Their bones (Xylophones)
Location: A village on Planet Gitaroo
Difficulty: 4/5
Song: Born to Be Bone
Style: Latin
Advice: Good luck. This song is leaps and bounds above most of the other
songs you've done, difficulty wise. You start with minimal health, and worse
than that, you don't get to charge until partway into the song. The first few
times you play this song, you might find yourself dying before you even
transform into Gitaroo Man. Dodge as best you can until you free Puma and get
to transform, and then once you get to charge, be sure to squeeze every ounce
out of it that you can. This level is very difficult, but once you do half a
dozen tries you should be able to work your way through it, sooner or later.
It's a fun song, though, so it's no big deal.
Notes: Some of the rhythms in this song are just downright nasty. Don't
sweat it if you miss a dodge or an attack here or there- it's bound to happen.
When you're missing entire lines, though, that's when it's time to be worried.
8) Gregorio Wilehem III
Your opponent: Gregorio Wilehem III... a very effeminate man.
His Gitaroo: The Cathedral
Location: A Cathedral on Planet Gitaroo (go figure)
Difficulty: 4/5
Song: Tainted Lovers
Style: Progressive Metal
Advice: A difficult piece, but far from impossible. The most frustrating
thing about this level is that they give you two charge phases very early in
the match, and very close to each other. You'll likely find that the second
charge goes nearly entirely to waste, since you'll hopefully be at or around
full health already. After the second charge it's full-out war for the rest
of the song; no more healing after that. Keep trying and you should be able
to get it without too much trouble.
Notes: Does Gregorio creep anyone else out? I don't get what he's
supposed to be (they don't mention him in the story, or why he's working
for Zowie). As far as I can tell, he's just some creepy guy that lives in this
cathedral. He talks about his mother a lot, too. He's... strange.
9) Kirah take 2
Your opponent: Kirah?? She's Zowie's right-hand girl. Or is she?
Her Gitaroo: Some goofy looking s-shaped guitar
Location: Gitaroo Stadium
Difficulty: 3/5
a) Battle
Song: Overpass
Style: Hard Rock
Advice: She comes out with both arms swinging. Just hang in there,
and keep wailing back. You should be able to make it through without too much
trouble.
Notes: None
b) Unite
Song: The Legendary Theme (Electric)
Style: Somewhere between Soft and Hard Rock
Advice: Here's where to cut loose. Charge up, and once it's battle
time again, go nuts. The song is a little harder than the last time you played
it, but it's still the same old melody. You should be able to make it through
this one in your first couple tries.
Notes: Kirah eventually decides that you're right, and joins your side
mid-song. At that point, it becomes less about harming her than about staying
alive yourself. Keep dodging and attacking (remember you take damage if you
miss attacks) and just try to get out alive.
10) Zowie
Your opponent: Zowie, finally. You get your turn to wail on him.
His Gitaroo: A giant Gitaroo that seems to go with his giant robot suit
Location: Above the Stadium, and ultimately just up in the sky
Difficulty: 4/5
Song: Resurrection
Style: Heavy Metal
Advice: This song is a marathon, pure and simple. It has fast dodging
sequences, difficult attacks, and is a long song. Thankfully, there's a charge
sequence many times throughout the song, so if you can peg the melody for the
charges, you should be ok if you don't take too many hits during the battle
phases. Keep at it, and once you get to the Final Phase, you're almost
completely done.
Notes: It's funny that Gitaroo Man looks more evil than Zowie in this
one... he also looks cooler, and I guess that's what they were going for. This
is a fun song, too, once you get a sense for the overall tune.
11) Master
Once you beat Zowie, (whether you had the game on Normal or Hard
difficulty) you'll unlock "Master Play." Master Play is EXACTLY like Single
Play, except all the songs are harder. You might have noticed that I didn't
rank a single song on this above a 4, yet. That's because all the songs in
Master Play are 5s. In fact, some (Sanbone Trio, anybody?) are probably 5+.
You play EVERY note that is in a song, and you bend EVERY note whenever it
gets bent. You also have to dodge about twice as many attacks, and about twice
as fast. It's a real challenge, even for those who consider themselves Gitaroo
gods. I won't do a Walkthrough for this, though, since it's just a harder
version of the same thing. Good luck if you try to conquer it. Once you've
beaten Master Play, you can certifiably say that you are the True Gitaroo Man!
__________________________
vii. Multiplayer
One of the nicest features of this game is that it offers multiplayer battles.
Up to 4 people can play at a time, and it can make for some fast and furious
battles. If it's one-on-one, you will play opposite sides (one person will
play "Good" and one will play "Evil," and you will get the guitar parts of
your "alignment"). If it's 4 players, you will split up in pairs of 2, and
will divide the song approximately in half between your two players. You can
play all of the songs except for the all-dodging song, the all-attacking song,
and the songs that you play while you battle Kirah in the Stadium. You'll find
that long after the story mode has lost its draw, you'll still be playing the
same old songs with 1-3 of your friends.
A quick note for Multiplayer: the scores you get on notes (Miss, OK, Good,
Great) have greater meaning in Multiplayer. In Multiplayer, if you get an OK
to dodge but your opponent gets a Great for Attack, you'll take damage. You
can't just ride out songs by not missing anything. Granted, you take
significantly less damage from any attack if you dodge it, but in some battles
Greats become a necessity. If your opponent is throwing near-constant Greats
at you, the only way you're going to survive (and possibly win) is to get
mostly Goods or Greats, also.
__________________________
viii. General Tips
- It's rumored that if you release an attack just before it's over, you will
do more damage than if you just hold it past the ending point. This could be
right, but don't quote me on it. See for yourself.
- Don't get freaked out if you miss one or two attacks or defenses in a row.
Many people will start frantically mashing buttons when in this situation, but
that won't get you anywhere. Just try to get a sense of the rhythm at that
point, and try to get back in the beat. You'll find you'll make more headway
if you can keep your head like this.
- Don't be too hard on your controllers. This game is NOT pressure sensitive,
so mashing the buttons extra hard or snapping the control stick extra fast
won't get you any bonus points. Try to keep cool, and a lot of times you'll
find that you'll do better when you're not all tense like that.
- When attacking, keep an eye on where exactly your analog stick is pointing.
I can't stress enough how many times I've fallen off a note, sat there and
said "I swear I was pointing the right direction!!" and when I looked, I was
almost a full 30-45 degrees off from what I thought I was aimed at.
- More to come soon.
__________________________
ix. FAQs
-If I "fall off" an attack before I finish it (the line goes outside the blue
cone), does that count as a Miss?
=No. It counts as whatever it counted as, but it just won't do its full damage
(or healing).
-Do I have to use the circle button when attacking, like it says in training?
=No. Any of the buttons will work, and there's no bonus to using any certain
one. I personally prefer to use X, because it's the most comfortable for me,
but you can really use any of those four buttons that you want to.
-Is there any way to play The Legendary Theme in multiplayer?
=No, for the love of God. There's absolutely no way to play that song, other
than in single player mode. Same goes for the all-dodging song, and for the
song you play while you battle Kirah in the Stadium. Sorry, but you can't.
-When I try to play Resurrection in 2-player mode, there isn't any backup
music. Have I gone deaf?
=No. We've had two cases of this, and possibly more (anyone else suffer
from this?). It just doesn't seem to play the backup music... and that makes
it very hard to play your parts, and to dodge. My advice is to just avoid that
level if you're having this problem. It's not worth the frustration.
-Kazuya and Zowie look almost identical. Is Zowie a transformed version of
Kazuya?
=For all anyone knows (other than the game's creators), no. There's nothing
other than appearances that would suggest that. If the creators really WERE
going for that, though, is a completely different story. Why don't you write
and ask? (An interesting note: The voice actors for the two parts are actually
the same person... if this means anything, though, is unlikely)
-I can't find a copy of Gitaroo Man anywhere. Is it just too new, or what?
=No- this game came out in February of 2002. It's rumored that the game is
out of print, but KOEI's website said nothing of the sort. It's really not
quite caught on, yet, but if you search hard enough, you should be able to
find a copy. Good luck!
-Every time I let go of my analog stick while attacking, I see it flash to
the left and then disappear. Is there something wrong with my controller or
game?
=No- apparently this is a fairly common thing. Doesn't mean much, just can be
a little distracting when you're trying to do those really hard runs.
-More to come as I receive (or think of) them.
__________________________
x. Legal Stuff
This FAQ is Copyright 2002 Vic Elder, aka Voton
All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their
respective trademark and copyright holders.
This document is to be used primarily for personal use. It is not to be
copied, edited, or otherwise reproduced, unless it is for strictly personal
use. If you see it posted in an altered form or on another website, please be
sure to let me know. (See below for contact information)
First I'd like to make a nod to "Gitaroo Glacius" and "jmdbcool" from
gamefaqs. While I didn't use anything of theirs, I did look over their FAQs to
give me an idea of what I wanted to do for my FAQ/Walkthrough.
I'd also like to thank Jason Rupp for introducing me to this game, which I
never would've played otherwise. Also, thanks to Jordan Allen for being such
a generous roommate and allowing me to play his videogames. Last, but not
least, thanks to Tim Rush for showing me that I was really bad at genre-ing
music.
A tip you'd like to add? An error that you noticed in my guide? A FAQ that
doesn't appear in my guide or my FAQ section? E-mail me at
[email protected]
or, better, yet, AIM me at "votonfaq"- I'm almost always on, although I may be
away. Be warned, though- If you ask a question that I've already answered in
here, or if your message is spam or flame bait, I will promptly ignore/delete
your message, and if you persist with such questions, I will block your
account or e-mail address. Any persons to submit such things to me will be
credited in this section (or I may add a credits section, if I get enough
people submitting things).
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