Rhythm Games?
Rhythm Games
Image: minapamina
Rhythm games are a genre of video game which involve the player making inputs in sync to a song, sometimes simulating the playing of a real instrument. From the first commercial rhythm game Dance Aerobics to the first arcade rhythm game DanceDanceRevolution, there have been many innovations in making gamers groove to crazy beats over the decades. The following listing aims to give a general view on what kind of rhythm games exist and is by no means comprehensive. There’s a lot of these games.
Arcade games
Image: minapamina
DanceDanceRevolution has long been the centerpiece and a staple machine at any commercial arcade or game center. The machine’s sleek paired with a spectacularly loud play interface will catch the attention of anyone within a twenty feet radius even in the busiest environments. Localized and known as Dancing Stage in Europe, the Benami classic surged rhythm gaming to mainstream popularity, with series such as Andamiro’s Pump it Up and Roxor Games’ In the Groove taking off in its trail.
For gamers really into sick beats but not that much into exercise, Bemani, the company behind DDR, has game series such as Beatmania IIDX, the totally DJ-like DJ simulator, Sound Voltex and Pop ‘n Music all with unique input devices to enable feeling the rhythm in your soul in many different ways. Sega, the Sonic the Hedgehog company, also has multiple lines of rhythm games, most notably Maimai, the washing machine, Chunithm, the spellcaster’s keyboard and Project SEKAI, the vocaloid game that is not Project Diva.
Image: minapamina
Playing at home
In the late 90s to early 2000s, many rhythm game nerds weren’t satisfied with only playing at arcades, sprouting new and exciting ways to enjoy rhythmic smacking of keys in the comfort of your home through arcade game clone software such as the open-source StepMania engine or Be-Music Source (“BMS”) players, both with incredibly dated and unintuitive onboarding for new players. Twenty some years later, legend says these strange, beat-crazed communities still thrive in their own small corners of the internet.
Games designed specifically for home-use such as Guitar Hero and osu! have also seen commercial success as fun and easy ways to get your groove on. As testament to the 2000s rhythm game craze, old guitar controllers and soft DDR mats can be found plaguing flea markets globally even today.
Most modern rhythm games aimed at consumer use are built to be played on smart devices such as phones or tablets or on a PC setup. Controller-based games apparently aren’t worth making when you could just make your game use the extravagant equipment your consumer base has already sunk money into. Some popular mobile games include lowiro’s Arcaea and Rayark’s Cytus series.
Rhythm gaming in Finland
Bemani infamously hasn’t sold their rhythm game machines to Europe, but that hasn’t stopped the europeans from yearning for them. For a mostly complete list of arcade machines around the world, see Zenius -I- vanisher’s map.
To play arcade rhythm games in Finland, Tarry recommends the following places:
A commercial japanese-style game center in Malmi, Helsinki. Open on weekends, Sugoi is the place to try out arcade rhythm games the way they’re meant to be played. All machines are in free-play and accessible with a modestly priced day ticket.
A private-owned garage maintained by hardcore veterans of the Finnish dance game scene. Featuring three top-of-the-line modded ITGmania setups and a Pump it Up cab, McKylä is the heavenly haven of Finnish dance gaming. To play at McKylä, refer to the schedule on their website for open door days (“Avoimet ovet”) or get in contact with a tenant through the Tanssipelaajat Discord server.
Opening January 2026, Tarry’s own arcade will operate in Nekala, Tampere. The association’s arcade will operate similarly to McKylä, with the addition of more rhythm games besides dance games.