Music & Rhythm

Games where the soundtrack is the game — timing, feeling, and the invisible conductor in every note.

7 games in this room

Every shot fires a musical note. Otocky (FDS, 1987) — Toshio Iwai's Japan-only musical shooter, a decade before rhythm games. Rare

Family Computer Disk System

Otocky

オトッキー

Musical Shoot 'em Up · 1987

Conceived by media artist Toshio Iwai and released for the Famicom Disk System in 1987, Otocky is one of gaming history'…

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Masaya Matsuura co-founded synth-pop band PSY·S before making PaRappa the Rapper (1996, PlayStation) — the game that invented

PlayStation

PaRappa the Rapper

パラッパラッパー

Rhythm / Music game · 1996

PaRappa the Rapper is the 1996 PlayStation rhythm game created by Masaya Matsuura and developed by NanaOn-Sha — widely c…

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Michael Jackson personally asked Sega for a role after playing this game. Space Channel 5 (1999, Dreamcast) — Mizuguchi's 196

Dreamcast

Space Channel 5

スペースチャンネル5

Rhythm / Music game · 1999

Space Channel 5 is the 1999 Dreamcast rhythm game directed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and developed by United Game Artists, a …

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Sony America rejected it. MoMA later acquired it. Vib-Ribbon (1999, PlayStation) loaded into RAM — any CD you owned became a Rare

PlayStation

Vib-Ribbon

ビブリボン

Rhythm · 1999

Vib-Ribbon is one of the most formally inventive games ever released on PlayStation. Designed by Masaya Matsuura — creat…

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In one stage, Lammy performs her way through hell to make it to the concert. Um Jammer Lammy (PlayStation, 1999) — NanaOn-Sha

PlayStation

Um Jammer Lammy

ウンジャマー・ラミー

Rhythm · 1999

Released in March 1999, Um Jammer Lammy is the spiritual sequel to PaRappa the Rapper — sharing the same visual world, r…

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Amigo's designer also gave Sonic his modern look. Samba de Amigo (2000, Dreamcast) — shake maracas at three heights in sync w Uncommon

Dreamcast

Samba de Amigo

サンバ DE アミーゴ

Rhythm / Music · 2000

Samba de Amigo (2000) is Sega's rhythm game built around performance — players shake two maracas controllers at three he…

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Rez (2001, Dreamcast) shipped with the Trance Vibrator — held against any body part, synced to the music's pulse. Kandinsky i Uncommon

Dreamcast

Rez

レズ

Rail shooter / Synesthetic experience · 2001

Rez is the 2001 rail shooter directed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi and developed by United Game Artists, built around a single c…

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