5 Recommended Rhythm Games for Beginners
If you’ve been to the arcade, chances are you’ve seen someone go crazy at the latest rhythm game, and you’ve probably wondered if you could do that too. And you can! Even the best players had to start somewhere. Here are 5 rhythm games for beginners to start their journey into the rhythm game genre.
1. Taiko No Tatsujin
Taiko No Tatsujin is familiar face in the rhythm game world with its iconic characters and it’s simple controls, making it a great game for beginners. With only “Don” and “Ka” as your two main inputs, and keeping focus on only one row of notes, you won’t feel overwhelmed and you can easily pick up the game.
The songs in the Taiko series have a wide range from Namco originals, classical pieces, pop songs, and many more so that newcomers can find tracks that they are familiar with. The difficulty of the charts varies from song to song, keeping both beginners and advanced players entertained.
Getting into the game is pretty easy, but as you raise the difficulty level, you’ll see that it’s more than just hitting a drum. The difficulty lies in alternating between “Don” and “Ka” notes while keeping in rhythm. You need to recognize and hit complex patterns while keeping your timing with the song.
The Taiko No Tatsujin series is a good introduction to rhythm games with it’s simple mechanics and wide song selection. As a beginner, you won’t need to juggle your attention with multiple rows of notes at the same time. And with it’s basic controls, you can focus on learning the basics of timing and keeping in rhythm as you play.
You can buy “Taiko No Tatsujin: Drum Session!” on the PlayStation 4, or “Taiko No Tatsujin: Drum ‘n’ Fun!” on the Nintendo Switch to get started with your career as a Taiko drummer.
2. StepMania
Inspired by Dance Dance Revolution, StepMania is a game I would recommend for beginners who are serious about going into the rhythm game genre. With four columns of arrows and its different timing judgements, it’s a good starting challenge for beginners to get used to.
I also recommend Stepmania because of its active community. There are thousands of songs to choose from and they vary from beginner-friendly to insanely difficult, and it’s all made by the players who love the game. You won’t be lacking songs to challenge yourself with when you’re playing Stepmania.
The game can be quite difficult and intimidating at first, especially when you come across fast songs that are hard to read. But if you keep at it and continue to challenge yourself with different songs, the payoff is huge because your fundamentals of rhythm would be solid enough for you to transfer to other games Sound Voltex or even Beatmania if you feel like four arrows aren’t enough.
You can download Stepmania here: StepMania’s Official Site
3. osu!
osu! is a game where you click circles to a beat… That’s pretty much the description of the game.
Don’t let that fool you though, it’s a challenging game with a competitive scene. Watching osu! veterans move their pens or mice around like it’s nothing will amaze the average player. But I would still recommend this game for beginners who want an well-rounded experience to the rhythm game genre.
Just like StepMania, osu! is driven by the community. No shortage of songs here, find an artist or genre you like and click away. That being said, there are charts for beginners to teach them the ropes of the game and to familiarize themselves with timing.
osu! is known for its gameplay which was inspired by the Ouendan series, but the game also offers different play modes inspired by other famous games to try out. If clicking circles isn’t your thing, you can try out the different modes to see which play style you’re most comfortable with before investing into other games.
osu! is a good and challenging start for beginners to test their hand-eye coordination along with practicing rhythm and timing. Getting used to the mechanics of osu! makes the transfer to other games like Project Diva or Jubeat easier because beginners would be used to reading multiple notes that pop out of anywhere on the screen.
Download osu! here: osu! Official Website
4. Cytus II
Cytus II is a game I recommend for beginners looking for an intermediate entry into rhythm games. It has similar mechanics to other games, but it’s one that stands out in the mobile market. That’s because the game has you focusing on a moving judgement line rather than a static one, it makes the game feel unique among its competitors.
You have a handful of songs to work with, most of them being fast electronic tracks. You unlock other songs and difficulties as you play and level up the different characters. Fair warning, if you want a full experience, you’re going to need to shell out some cash for more characters and songs. Aside from that, what you get at the beginning is enough to keep you entertained in the meantime.
Cytus focuses on your combos instead of your timing in my opinion. I’ve noticed that the judgement and timing is rather forgiving compared to other games, giving perfects even when I tap with a small delay. This is because the notes are quite large even on the smallest setting, making the window to tap the note kinda wide enough for early or delayed hits. This is good for beginners who struggle at keeping track of all the notes on the screen, it gives enough time for them to react.
Overall, Cytus II is the starting game for you if you want to see how well you can read fast notes. If you want to play a rhythm game on your phone, this is one of the games you should to pick up.
You can purchase Cytus II on Google Play or on the App Store.
5. DJMAX RESPECT V
I’d like to think that DJMAX RESPECT V is a game that grows with the player’s experience. As a beginner, you can start out with four buttons like StepMania. Then when you get used to four columns, you can try out six and then eight buttons if you want to test your skills. There are a lot of songs and a ton of replayability in this game.
The songs in DJMAX RESPECT V comprise of both iconic songs from previous games and new songs from various artists. You unlock songs as you play, and you can also buy DLC packs to expand your library. What’s nice about playing DJMAX is that they have sound effects attached to note hits similar to Beatmania.
This is a good game for beginners because the judgement is straightforward, showing players a percentage of their accuracy. They don’t need to wonder what makes their hits as “Perfect” or “Good” unlike in other games. In addition, there’s a “FEVER” meter that players need to manage to maximize their score. The activating the “FEVER” multiplier keeps players on point, unless they place it on auto activate and forget about it.
DJMAX RESPECT V is one of the good rhythm games for beginners and advanced players. The scoring and judgement is pretty strict and makes players aim for that 100 percent for a good rating. The song selection is great, and the hit sound effects make them better. If you’ve got money to spend, this game along with its song packs is a must-buy if you’re going to get into rhythm games.
You can buy DJMAX RESPECT V on Steam.
Final Words:
When playing rhythm games, always remember that your sense of rhythm should always come first. Rhythm is something that you can learn naturally and with practice, and it’s a fundamental skill you’ll need so you can have an easier time when jumping from one game to another. Once you got that down, learning hard patterns and memorizing songs will be easier to do, and you’ll see yourself raising the difficulty faster.
The rhythm game scene is competitive, but that shouldn’t stop beginners from trying them out. I hope that with these rhythm games I listed, beginners will pick up one of these games and become a pro at the arcade someday.