Games are about the gameplay, and not the graphics, as excellently demonstrated by rhythm game, Vib-Ribbon, known throughout the video game world for its... graphics, probably, come to think of it.
But it definitely isn't all about the iconic graphic style when it comes to Vib-Ribbon. This quirky little game is so little that it can be fully loaded into the PlayStations' measly amount of RAM, freeing up the CD drive for something far more interesting/personal than the Japanese tracks that ship with the game.
Why on Earth would you want to play your own audio in a rhythm game...
Fun Times
I've not played Vib-Ribbon in ages, since it was on a demo disc, no doubt. If memory serves, you've just got to push buttons with the right timing - like every other rhythm game, I suppose, but this one is weird and Japanese!
Frustrations
I'm emulating Vib-Ribbon, and I'm concerned at what issues I'll have in playing it when pressing the X button to avoid spikes automatically ends the tutorial, as though I pressed the Start button...
The controls really are that simple. Four buttons to avoid four shapes that'll come at you along a line.
After a slow start, I gradually found the right kind of timing. Your window to avoid an obstacle is remarkably small, and when the line you're on is wobbling because of a previous failure, spotting your window is that much harder, and is likely to mean that failure follows failure fairly often.
The more success you have, the closer you are to becoming some kind of Rabbit Fairy Princess looking thing, which is presumably better than just being a Rabbit. In terms of gameplay, it means you're further away from a game over, and may even be getting some bonus points. I'm not really sure.
As interesting as it is, Vib-Ribbon without your own music isn't as fun as Vib-Ribbon with your own music. But I'm emulating it. That's a little more challenging.
Further Fun Times
Having to download a third emulator just because it had a dead easy method of disc swapping meant that it was third time lucky for my attempts to listen to something recognisable in Vib-Ribbon (thank you, Xebra emulator).
Can you guess which track has been converted into pits and loops?
The nearest only CD collection in reach was P2s, and it was mostly Michael Jackson, so Thriller became the first track to try my hand at, and it was... well, it was just Vib-Ribbon but with Thriller in the background.
It was funny to hear Vibri scream upon hitting an obstacle timed to MJ screaming 'Thriller', but not so funny when it meant failing in the task at hand and losing lives or points or whatever matters.
Further Frustrations
As the track went on, the view rotated around so that I was watching the oncoming coming on from the other direction, which does trip you up as much as you might think. And then, to compound my problems, Vib-Ribbon springs multiple obstacles upon me at once.
Now, this might have been in the tutorial, I don't know - my X button kept skipping it - but it basically means 'identify the two shapes and react to them both. React NOW...'
If you've never felt your brain grinding to a halt while on a tight time limit, play Vib-Ribbon. It'll happen. You'll look at a shape and the four buttons that you need to use mean nothing anymore, and you forget which one is which, and you crash into the obstacle and turn into a frog.
But then it'll get easier... until the spikes ('waves', according to the game, but spikes look like spikes) start moving along the line, through other spikes that don't move.
Further Fun Times
It's such a small and insignificant little game, for want of a better word, that failure isn't a bad thing. You just try again. It's just a high score, and who cares about them? Enjoy the music and challenge your brain until you can... incoming pun... Beat It.
Jesus, MJ. Why you gotta be so difficult?
Final Word
Vib-Ribbon is one of those titles that makes you smile for the five minutes you play it, and then you're just left with the memories because you know you won't stick around and master it, will you?
I mean, you might, because it looks so simple and unique. Unlike many rhythm games, the focus is on the character and your task at hand, rather than fancy background graphics. You're not looking at the HUD because it's too small to notice in the first place. You're focused on the foreground - the only ground - and so is everyone else who watches, because Vib-Ribbon is a looker, as weird as it is.
A looker, but not a keeper. Not for me at least. It's nice to see it again and bounce along to its strangeness, and I was moving with the beat for some tracks. Until the inevitable failure. Which lead to more failure. Which often lead to more failure. It really is tricky to get the timing right.
You should give it a look, definitely, but your mileage will probably vary.
Fun Facts
The look of Vib-Ribbon was inspired by waveform images of analogue sounds converted into digital signals. Would it be cool to walk along them? Yeah, could be...
Vib-Ribbon, developed by NanaOn-Sha, first released in 1999.
Version played: PlayStation, 2000, via emulation.