Spigot
08-16-2009, 10:24 PM
It's time to burn up the dance floor with an obscure rhythm game for the PS2 in this week's installment of Turning The Spigot!
Unison
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3550/3826429325_bfa092afff.jpg
Year: 2001
Platform: PS2
Rating: Groovy
# of Players: 1-3
Everyone has their guilty pleasure when it comes to gaming. Maybe you secretly love to grind your teeth to the soundtrack of Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB1zWEhgrLs). Perhaps you're one of those sick, twisted souls who keeps Ubisoft in business by buying the Imagine games.
Me? I actually quite enjoy Unison.
Unison is a rhythm game that came out VERY early in the PS2's lifespan. It had a kind of nonsensical storyline that was a sort of 70's exploitation film vibe with that kind of odd take on things that defines Japanese developers.
You play as one of three funky females sent by Dr. Dance to save the future from evil through the power of DANCE! Yes, that's about as paper-thin and stupid as you can get, but it works in the goofy world that Unison creates.
Where the game really shines is in the gameplay. Unlike games like Frequency, Amplitude or even Parappa, Unison is most reminiscent of games like Elite Beat Agents and the Ouendan series. You aren't playing music as much as dancing to the beat. Each analog stick controls a leg or arm of your dancing girl. If your character needs to swing her arm around in a big circle, you sweep the stick in a circle. This is a simple control scheme that gets quite deep as you work through the storymode, either by yourself or with two friends.
All music games are defined by their tracklist and while not all of the songs on Unison have aged well, they are all quite catchy and fit the bubbly, fun feeling that just exudes from every pixel of game. It's just a shame that there are only 12 songs to play. Unfortunately, the NA version of the game didn't include all of the J-Pop of the original. That said, the song choices are nothing if not eclectic. You have Nelly singing "Country Grammar", Apollo 440's anthem "Stop The Rock" and the always danceable "YMCA", amongst others.
Oh, I forgot to mention... unlike most rhythm games, you have to do the practice mode for each song, THEN run through the actual performance... with no onscreen cues. Thankfully the North American version of the game was much more forgiving than the original, but it was still a challenge to complete if you used the most difficult dancer.
The visuals are quite impressive, especially for a first-gen PS2 game that is pushing 9 years old. It is a very odd, anime-inspired game though, so if that particular visual style rubs you the wrong way, you might want to give Unison a pass...
VntcAwbRSlk
Unison can be bought new from Amazon for $30 (http://www.amazon.com/Unison-Rebels-Rhythm-Dance-Playstation-2/dp/B00005AT8D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1250482852&sr=1-1). It didn't have a HUGE print run when released, so it might be hard to find elsewhere, but older game stores will probably have a few copies lying about.
Unison
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3550/3826429325_bfa092afff.jpg
Year: 2001
Platform: PS2
Rating: Groovy
# of Players: 1-3
Everyone has their guilty pleasure when it comes to gaming. Maybe you secretly love to grind your teeth to the soundtrack of Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB1zWEhgrLs). Perhaps you're one of those sick, twisted souls who keeps Ubisoft in business by buying the Imagine games.
Me? I actually quite enjoy Unison.
Unison is a rhythm game that came out VERY early in the PS2's lifespan. It had a kind of nonsensical storyline that was a sort of 70's exploitation film vibe with that kind of odd take on things that defines Japanese developers.
You play as one of three funky females sent by Dr. Dance to save the future from evil through the power of DANCE! Yes, that's about as paper-thin and stupid as you can get, but it works in the goofy world that Unison creates.
Where the game really shines is in the gameplay. Unlike games like Frequency, Amplitude or even Parappa, Unison is most reminiscent of games like Elite Beat Agents and the Ouendan series. You aren't playing music as much as dancing to the beat. Each analog stick controls a leg or arm of your dancing girl. If your character needs to swing her arm around in a big circle, you sweep the stick in a circle. This is a simple control scheme that gets quite deep as you work through the storymode, either by yourself or with two friends.
All music games are defined by their tracklist and while not all of the songs on Unison have aged well, they are all quite catchy and fit the bubbly, fun feeling that just exudes from every pixel of game. It's just a shame that there are only 12 songs to play. Unfortunately, the NA version of the game didn't include all of the J-Pop of the original. That said, the song choices are nothing if not eclectic. You have Nelly singing "Country Grammar", Apollo 440's anthem "Stop The Rock" and the always danceable "YMCA", amongst others.
Oh, I forgot to mention... unlike most rhythm games, you have to do the practice mode for each song, THEN run through the actual performance... with no onscreen cues. Thankfully the North American version of the game was much more forgiving than the original, but it was still a challenge to complete if you used the most difficult dancer.
The visuals are quite impressive, especially for a first-gen PS2 game that is pushing 9 years old. It is a very odd, anime-inspired game though, so if that particular visual style rubs you the wrong way, you might want to give Unison a pass...
VntcAwbRSlk
Unison can be bought new from Amazon for $30 (http://www.amazon.com/Unison-Rebels-Rhythm-Dance-Playstation-2/dp/B00005AT8D/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1250482852&sr=1-1). It didn't have a HUGE print run when released, so it might be hard to find elsewhere, but older game stores will probably have a few copies lying about.