Music Themed Games For PS2

If you're not gonna import for all the wacky controllers n' such, Gitaroo Man is the best without a doubt.

I bought a Japanese PS2 mainly for Beatmania, so I'd suggest looking into that. Not only does it give you access to the IIDX series, you can play all the pre-IIDX stuff using the IIDX controller.

I'm assuming he has a domestic PS2, so I can only vouch for Rez: the game everyone and their mother should experience.

Rez... definitely Rez

Parappa sucks. Get Rez.

Or maybe even DDR. Even though that kinda sucks too.

I hate being the thousandth person in a thread to say exactly the same thing, but-

Rez
Gitaroo Man

Although I should mention that Rez is a shooter with a strong musical overtone rather than an actual music game. Arguments, anyone? :)

James

Frequency is good! :)

Drummania
Guitar Freaks 3rd Mix/Drummania 2nd Mix
Gitadora! Guitar Freaks 4th Mix/Drummania 3rd Mix

You can either use the Drummania official controller ($160 with Drummania 1st Mix) or the Topway Drum Performance one.

The learning curve is a bit steeper than Beatmania. In Beatmania, the 1 and 2 star songs should give you no problem at first. As a DM beginner, I needed quite a bit of practice before I could pass one song. Once you get into it, it grows on you.

One of my favorite songs in the DM series is "Centaur" (DM2nd Expert Real mode) by Jimmy Weckl, with a 10-star rating. This song sounds like something the Chick Corea Elektric (sic) Band would perform. I tried it once just for the hell of it... and failed in 3 seconds. Thank goodness for the CPU autoplay in free mode- this is one song I don't see myself clearing for awhile.

Some other good ones are "Mondo Street" & "Bambina" (DM2), "Sea Anemones", "Captain's Voyage", "Furi Furi '60" and "Liar!Liar!" (all DM3).

Gitadora includes some songs that are in the arcade GF5/DM4 such as "Pretty G", a song with a title in Kanji that Babelfish translates to "Wind, horse, sky", and "Jet G Crew".

Cypher makes the most sense in this thread.

Frequency can be had on the cheap ($9-$15) and it's fricken online compatible. I got it the day it came out and I STILL play it.

Thanks for the input. I've already had Rez for the Dreamcast and I didn't care much for it. I think I'll go with Parappa 2 and Gitaroo Man. I'll probably rent Mad Maestro.