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Joystiq

Bit.Trip Beat bringing funky chiptunes to WiiWare

by Andrew Yoon on Jan 14th 2009 4:25PM

The upcoming WiiWare game, Bit.Trip Beat, goes for a retro style that makes Mega Man 9 look futuristic in comparison. Comprised of 8-bit chiptunes and giant pixel blocks, Bit.Trip Beat certainly looks the part of an '80s arcade game.

This video highlights the simple gameplay. It appears you must simply align a Pong-esque paddle to hit a stream of notes as they stream to the left of the screen. While it looks simple, the team promises it will be "challenging." The game will also feature 4-player local co-op, which should make for an interesting experience.

Alex Neuse, designer at Gaijin Games, said the "team wanted to make a game that used the tools of today to inspire the fun of yesterday." We wonder if Wii fans will agree with the team's vision, or if it'll be passed off as a bit too retro for their tastes.

Tags: aksys-games, bit-trip-beat, gaijin-games, Wii, wiiware

Reader Comments (34)

Wow, that looks great. VERY BASIC...but the music was very welcoming.

Thank you for redeeming the name of Wiiware

I like what i see. Good 8-bit music satisfies in a way that no other music can

your avatar makes me wonder if swat kats ever came out on dvd. has it? that show was so cool.

Sadly no. But high-quality torrents are available, taken from the recent re-broadcasts on Boomerang

looks like it could be fun to play. I would probably have purchased it if it was being released on a PSP/PS3/PC

troll moar

sorry, I replied to the wrong comment!

Yeah, go back to pot and spoon jerk, you're not wanted here!

This game looks rad.

yeah that was the first thing i thought.

LOL, I guess developers are just trying to see how little they have to do to sell a game on the Wii.

Next stop text adventures!

yeah its not like XBLA had a highly regarded 2D platformer on its online service or the PS3 has multiple games that are very simplistic in design, or else you'd look like an idiot

I take offense at this, Shaggitarius. That was a particularly unfair statement.

Text Adventures take a LOT more effort to make than most WiiWare games, dangnabbit.

your comments are jokes.

this is like the poe's law of PS3 fanboyism

A simple game does not mean a bad game. While I will admit, I do wonder at the amount of work put into this, but, I do compliment them for trying something different.

Oh, and don't try to bash text adventures, Zork is possibly the best game of all time.

It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a Grue.

>>THERE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE A "TEXT ADVENTURES" HERE.

>>WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO? _

I meant no slander to text adventures. I cherish many an infocom game.

What would a text adventure be like on the Wii?

You are standing in a open field, west of a white house...

You cannot eat that!

There is no path in that direction.

Game Saved.

Your score is 0 of 255.

You cannot remove the duct-tape from that!

Anyways you get the idea.

Never write anything between Greater than or Less than signs as it doesn't show up on joystiq.

Please add the word WAGGLE between each line of the above demonstrated gameplay.

xyzzy

plugh.

Modern text adventures have improved a hell of a lot since then, though (especially in writing quality). Loved 'Violet' from this year's competition... but somehow I think the keyboardless Wii (yes ok you can plug one in but) is not the appropriate platform. Point-and-click graphical adventures though? Bring 'em on...

And, this game looks (well, mostly sounds) awesome. Hope it lives up to the promise (and has enough tracks to give a few hours' gameplay).

I would buy a good text adventure if one showed up on Wii Ware.

I would actually love to see something made similar to NES Shadow Gate or Unforgiven. Those games rock.

I'll buy it if it's $5

Finally, a music & rhythm game without peripherals that is doing it right

Is this what REZ would've been like if it was made for the Atari 2600?

It might have looked like that, but the sound there is way, way beyond the capabilities of the 2600.

C64 could do it fine

So everyone complaining about 'Carnival Games' in the other post is probably about to explode right now...

See, I like the graphics I saw in the first half of the video, and I do fall into the category of "if it's fun, I don't mind it sort of looking SHITTY," but the gameplay in the second half is really pushing the limits of the very WORD "graphics" in this case. I think I can even say "I understand what you're going for, developer." But... What happened to the cool little space dude? Could you not have made the paddle look like him, flying up and down, catching space bits? Work with us, people!

I think even 'Yar's Revenge' had a tighter look than this. And that came out when Reagan was president. Like when McCain could jump-rope. Like when Obama was watching 'Thundercats.' Ya get me?

When is this coming out? I must play it.

I don't mind the graphics or audio look at all, but to be honest the gameplay and game design looks to be annoying as all hell. That last segment, with blocks lining up while the swirls come in -- there's no pre-planning there, no signal as to which notes are coming next; things like the triplets look like little more than a gimmick to make sure you've got your paddle *precicely* aligned, which is going to be a pain in the neck with the Wiimote; etc. It's a cool concept and an interesting aesthetic, but nothing in this video makes me want to play the *game*.

I think this would be awesome on any platform that had buttons... so, basically anything?
I will probably buy this cause it looks like fun, cool idea, and (like Audiosurf) incorporates music with gameplay.
Also, using the Wii remote seems like a cool idea, as long as it's accurate.
Would be even cooler if we could use the built in accelerometer.

That looks great. I know the rule among most of you is to bitch about all things Wii (and granted, I'm far from happy with the system on the whole), but maybe you should quit being a bunch of insufferable jerks and recognize when something fairly cool and unique comes along.

wow love the look and sound... kinda makes me wish i had a wii for these cool games.

(and mad world has me verrrrry interested in finally investing in the final piece of this gen.)

That looks block-tastic

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Breaking News

Bit.Trip Beat bringing funky chiptunes to WiiWare

Reader Comments (34)

Posted: Jan 14th 2009 4:29PM tkashur said

Posted: Jan 14th 2009 4:36PM imaginarythomas said

Posted: Jan 14th 2009 4:43PM Mr Khan said

Posted: Jan 14th 2009 6:19PM Sly C said

Posted: Jan 14th 2009 7:17PM Mr Khan said

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Posted: Jan 14th 2009 6:24PM Sly C said

Posted: Jan 14th 2009 4:54PM Shagittarius said

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Posted: Jan 14th 2009 5:22PM Shagittarius said

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Posted: Jan 14th 2009 6:45PM chispito said

Posted: Jan 15th 2009 7:13AM xxxsam said

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