Before Guitar Hero and its sequel began tearing up the gaming charts over the past year or so, a quirky little gem known as Gitaroo Man was king of the PS2 music/rhythm game scene (and is still one of my all-time favorite games). Though it was (and still is) more of a rare cult classic than the true mainstream hit it deserved to be, Gitaroo Man remains highly regarded for those who were brave enough to give it a shot when it first debuted over four years ago and the craving for a sequel has been grumbling in Gitaroo fans' stomachs ever since. Now, after all these years, Koei has apparently listened to those grumbles long enough, and although a true sequel wasn't the end result, they have brought U-1, Puma and the gang back to relive their former glory in Gitaroo Man Lives! for the PSP - and thankfully its greatness hasn't diminished one bit.

Being an 'enhanced' port of the original PS2 release, Gitaroo Man Lives! consists of the exact same content as before, including the return of the classic soundtrack, single player storyline, memorable character cast, psychedelic art direction and insanely addictive gameplay, all topped off by a few new features and optimized playability for the PSP's portable environment. Much of the game being identical to its four-year-old counterpart is kind of a bummer for fans like myself who've been dying for a brand new Gitaroo Man outing, but that's merely a minuscule complaint against a remarkably enjoyable music game extravaganza.

Gitaroo Man's main source of gameplay goodness comes from its ten-stage story mode, which preaches an underlying message of learning to believe in yourself via an oddly compelling plot following a young boy named U-1, who is constantly picked on by his peers and doesn't have the self esteem to fight back and win the heart of his dream girl and true love, Pico. U-1's loyal canine companion, Puma, makes him realize his inner strength by helping uncover who he really is - the last remaining descendent of the legendary Gitaroo Men and destined savior of Planet Gitaroo (which is under rule by Prince Zowie and the evil Gravillian family).

Yep, it's way out there for a game premise [Although not that out there for a Japanese game premise! Ed], but in some strange way it works incredibly well, mainly because the cast of characters is so loveable. Pre-rendered cut scenes present the story in a charming anime style and the voice acting, although over the top, is light-hearted and perfectly in tune with the concept. Graphically, Gitaroo Man Lives! isn't the most technically superior game the PSP has seen, but the quirky art direction, oddball character designs and vibrant colors are gorgeous nonetheless. Each stage is also a continuation of the plot, featuring all sorts of crazy activities taking place in the background while you play - this game is just as much fun to watch, because you'll pick up some hilarious background events that are otherwise missed when you're focused on the gameplay.

On his quest to save Planet Gitaroo, U-1 must take his place as Gitaroo Man and defeat all those who stand in the way of his heroic path, which is where the game becomes even crazier. In the Gitaroo universe, head-to-head musical face-offs are the battlefields and instruments are the weapons, so it's up to you to aid Gitaroo Man in breaking his foes down to size by mastering the ways of his magical guitar. Each battle encompasses three song phases - Charge, Battle and Final - during which you play notes in the song by deftly timing the appropriate button presses as they flow by a blue dot (the Attack Point) sitting in the middle of the screen. During the Charge phase, successful rhythm and timing increases U-1's life bar (which you'll want to fill as much as possible, as the going gets tough), while in the Battle phase you and the opposing Gravillian take turns attacking one another. To see who comes out alive at the end, the Final phase lets you shine with a solo harmony to finish off the enemy (or blow the whole thing by missing too many notes).

Notes come in two types - Phrase Bars representing your turn as the attacker and Guard Marks representing the opponent's attacks that you must successfully dodge. While attacking the objective is to follow along the Trace Line that flows towards the Attack Point using the analog nub to hold tight on the line while tapping the circle button as Phrase Bars pass by. Some Phrase Bars only require quick taps, while others are longer notes that reward a higher score for holding the button down through the entire phrase. Quite surprisingly, the analog nub lends a much more precise and intuitive feel to following the changing contours of the Trace Line than the PS2 controller's analog stick, which is a rare event for a PSP game. Another PSP upgrade that I personally appreciated is the ability to pause and resume the game mid-song. Back on the PS2 version, if you paused the game at any time during a song there was no option to resume - you either had to restart from the beginning or exit to the menu. I found this extremely aggravating, so I'm glad it's been fixed in the porting process.

Attacking is the more satisfying end of playing each song, however playing defense is where the real challenge comes in. When being attacked, Guard Marks representing the PSP's four face button symbols randomly float towards the center of the screen, coming in from the top, bottom, left and right, and in order to dodge each attack and save U-1 from taking damage you must press the appropriate face button as its symbol approaches. This may sound easy, but trust me, it can get brutally tough, especially when playing on the Master difficulty level. Putting all of these discussed elements together, Gitaroo Man is still one of the most uniquely conceived rhythm games around and it plays like an absolute dream on the PSP.

What cements Gitaroo Man Lives! (and the PS2 original before it) as an all-time classic rhythm game is its music. Pound for pound, Gitaroo Man's soundtrack is among the best ever. The track count isn't the deepest, totaling just into the double digits, but each song is completely different from the next and the quality and catchiness from track to track is unmatched (well, the Katamari games are right there with it too). There's pop, Latin, reggae, rock, techno, blues and a variety of other musical styles, and they're all great fun to play along with, as well as listen to. Plus there is now a Jukebox function for just listening to all of the game's tunes on the go, which is a great portable feature to have.

Exclusively for this PSP update, two new songs have also been added to the soundtrack - Metal Header, a sort of rock/pop/metal amalgamation, and Toda Pasion, a salsa themed jam. Neither are necessarily in the class of the original songs, but they're still worthwhile additions. These new songs also tie into the other prominent addition, the all-new two-player Duet Mode. The Vs. Mode is back again for competitive Gitaroo battles, however a cooperative Duet Mode brings a little more to the multiplayer party compared to what the PS2 version had. In Duet, you and a friend team up as Gitaroo Man and Kirah to battle a single foe, with both players performing solo parts as well as simultaneous bars, and if one player dies, the other can still continue the fight alone. These two ad hoc wireless modes are good fun, but like the original they lack the depth needed to give them more lasting appeal.

Except for two new decent songs, a fun-but-shallow Duet Mode and some subtle playability enhancements, Gitaroo Man Lives! is the same game it was nearly half a decade ago. While that really isn't a bad thing, some small part of me feels a wee bit disappointed that more effort wasn't put into beefing up the experience even more (or making this the all-original sequel that fans have been longing for). Still, with any luck this will be a PSP hit that leads to a sequel getting the green light. Gitaroo Man Lives! is unquestionably an upper echelon PSP title, just as the original is for the PS2. The music is sublime, the graphics and art design are out-of-this-world charming and the gameplay is fast, intense, intuitive, unique, challenging and more addictive than damn near any other game you can think of. So what are you waiting for? Stop reading and go get your Gitaroo on already!

Reviewed by Matt Litten for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).