Bit.Trip
Bit.Trip, officially spelled BIT.TRIP,[1] is a series of six video games developed by Gaijin Games and published by Aksys Games for Nintendo Wii, Nintendo 3DS, and the PC. It was published by Arc System Works for WiiWare in Japan, and by Namco Networks America Inc for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Each game revolves around the adventures of a character named "Commander Video", and features "a crazy mix of 80s aesthetics and modern game design".[2]. The styles of the games range from pong remakes, platforming, and shooting. Each game in the series features a chiptune-inspired soundtrack, but a different style of rhythm-based gameplay in each.[3] Beat, Core and Void each contain three distinct levels, each one ending in a unique boss battle. Most bosses are based on various games and game genres from the early Atari era, as are the various bonus stages.
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[edit] Games
[edit] Bit.Trip Beat
Reminiscent of the classic video game Pong, Bit.Trip Beat involves players moving an onscreen paddle in order to bounce off waves of incoming blocks to the beat of the music. As the player progresses through the game, the patterns of blocks become increasingly complex, but players can judge how well they are doing through changes in the graphics and music.[4] The game is played by tilting the Wii Remote to move the paddle, via stylus or circle pad on the 3DS or via touch on iOS devices. Bit.Trip Beat also features up to 4-player cooperative multiplayer.[4]
In October 2009, Gaijin Games released the soundtrack to Bit.Trip Beat as a digital download, first on CDBaby and then on other major music stores. [1] The soundtrack features over 19 minutes of chiptunes from the game.
On November 3, 2010 Bit.Trip Beat was released on the Steam platform for Windows and Mac.
[edit] Bit.Trip Core
The second game in the series, Bit.Trip Core, continues the rhythm based gameplay of the series. The gameplay involves players taking control of a plus shape in the middle of the screen that can fire a laser beam in only four directions (up, down, left and right), with the objective being to destroy patterns of blocks that zoom across the screen. As with the first game, as the player progresses through the game the patterns of blocks become increasingly complex, with changes in the graphics and music occurring based on how well they play.[5]
In March 2010, Gaijin Games released the soundtrack to Bit.Trip Core as a digital download, first on CDBaby, and iTunes, then other major music stores. Despite featuring the same proportion of levels as Bit.Trip Beat, Core's soundtrack is substantially smaller, with less than 15 minutes of music.
[edit] Bit.Trip Void
Released in late 2009, Bit.Trip Void puts players in control of the "void", a black, pixelated circle, which players move around the screen with 8-directional control. The void grows with each black block it touches and must avoid increasingly challenging waves of white blocks. Void features music by guest composer Nullsleep, and its levels are named after Sigmund Freud's three parts of the human psyche.
The soundtrack to Bit.Trip Void was announced on May, 2010, and is now available on CDBaby, as well as through iTunes and Amazon.
[edit] Bit.Trip Runner
Bit.Trip Runner is the fourth installment of the Bit.Trip series. Runner features over 50 levels. The gameplay involves players controlling Commander Video and making him jump, slide, kick, and more through various obstacles in his path. The special guest band Anamanaguchi provides menu and credits music. Though it has over 50 levels, breaking the 3 level norm of the last games, these levels are divided evenly amongst 3 zones, which each have their own distinct background and musical feel; each zone houses twelve levels, including a boss level. For every level (except boss levels) there is a retro challenge awarded should the player collect all gold bars in the normal level. Each retro challenge is harder than the normal level and usually has more gold bars. The perfect completion of a retro challenge will award players with an exclamation point beside the stage and the word "PERFECT" beside the score in the scoreboard, but only if they have done everything "extra" (i.e., jumping on top of springboards that they do not need to in order to finish) in the level beforehand. Bit.Trip Runner won the 2011 Independent Games Festival (IGF) Excellence in Visual Arts award.[6]
On February 28, 2011 Bit.Trip Runner was released on the Steam platform for Windows and Mac.
Bit.Trip Runner is also available on the Mac App Store.
[edit] Bit.Trip Fate
Bit.Trip Fate is the fifth installment of the series. It is a rhythm shooter, or shmup. It was formally announced on September the 4th, at the Penny Arcade Expo, in the Destructoid LIVE booth. It was released on WiiWare on October 25, 2010.
The game sees Commander Video travelling across a set path, able to move anywhere along this path and shoot in any direction. By defeating enemies and collecting the items they drop, Commander Video can enhance his state, though it will drop if he is hit. Along the way, he can run into allies which temporarily give him special weapons. Among these characters are CommandGirl Video and Junior Melchkin from previous BIT.TRIP games, as well as cameo appearances by Super Meat Boy and Mr. Robotube, who are characters from other independent video games.
It is the first video game to prominently feature dubstep music.
[edit] Bit.Trip Flux
Bit.Trip Flux, the last game in the main series, returns to the gameplay of Bit.Trip Beat while combining elements from the other five games in the series, such as beats the player's paddle must avoid. As with the other games, changes in the graphics and music of the title reflect how well the player is doing, though there are multiple checkpoints in each level, unlike in Beat. Bit.Trip Flux also features two-player cooperative multiplayer.[7]
[edit] Bit.Trip Saga/Complete
The entire Bit.Trip series was released for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii in collections respectively titled Bit.Trip Saga and Bit.Trip Complete on September 13, 2011 in North America and March 23, 2012 in Europe. The 3DS version of the game has 6 games redone in 3D and features new control schemes (for instance, stylus control via the touchscreen for beat). The Wii version has 20 extra "challenge levels" for each game, as well as bonus content related to the production of the games. These levels are completely new but are shorter than the already included levels.
[edit] Appearances in other media
Commander Video is a playable character in the video game Super Meat Boy.[8]
[edit] Reception
| Game | GameRankings | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| Bit.Trip BEAT | 80.15%[9] | 80/100[10] |
| Bit.Trip CORE | 79.72%[9] | 80/100[10] |
| Bit.Trip VOID | 80.08%[9] | 79/100[10] |
| Bit.Trip RUNNER | 76.07%[9] | 76/100[10] |
| Bit.Trip FATE | 78.50%[9] | 74/100[10] |
| Bit.Trip FLUX | 88.35%[9] | 85/100[10] |
Throughout the series, the Bit.Trip games have enjoyed positive critical reception. IGN gave Bit.Trip Beat an 8/10, praising the presentation of the game but lamenting the lack of online leaderboards.[11] Bit.Trip Runner won the 2011 Independent Games Festival (IGF) Excellence in Visual Arts award.[6]
[edit] Marketing
In order to promote the first game, a viral marketing campaign and alternate reality game was launched, revolving around the mystery surrounding the Commander Video character.[12] The campaign revolved around internet videos and "missions" sent out by The Commander, which involved spreading word about the game, uncovering information about it and creating a Wikipedia entry.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Gaijin Games Blog: A Public Service Announcement". http://www.gaijingames.com/?p=1440.
- ^ "Aksys Games announces Bit.Trip Beat". http://gonintendo.com/?p=69045.
- ^ "Interview with Alex Neuse of Gaijin Games, creators of Bit.Trip". http://gamemusic4all.blogspot.com/2009/01/interview-with-alex-neuse-of-gaijin.html.
- ^ a b Bit.Trip: Beat Coming To WiiWare
- ^ "Bit.Trip Core Hands-On". http://gamespot.com/wii/puzzle/bittripcore/news.html?sid=6209060&mode=news.
- ^ a b IGF 2011 Independent Games Festival Winners
- ^ JC Fletcher. "Bit.Trip Flux keeps CommanderVideo alive Feb. 28". http://www.joystiq.com/2011/02/14/bit-trip-flux-release-date/.
- ^ http://supermeatboy.com/37/Character_roster_update_/#b
- ^ a b c d e f "Bit.Trip Reviews on GameRankings". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/browse.html?search=Bit.Trip&numrev=3&site=. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
- ^ a b c d e f "Bit.Trip Reviews on Metacritic". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/search/all/bit+trip/results. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
- ^ IGN review
- ^ IGN: "Who is the Commander?"
[edit] External links
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