History VideoGame / GitarooMan

%%* WidgetSeries: '''Yes.'''

* CreatorThumbprint: It has all the themes that would later define [=iNiS=]. Is it weird? [[WidgetSeries Yes]]. Is the music any good? ''Yes''. Is it hard? Let's just say that one fan has lovingly nicknamed it "[[NintendoHard Carpal Tunnelroo Man]]" and leave it at that.

* {{Expy}}: In-universe examples: Kirah and Zowie are suspiciously similar to Pico and Kazuya (see TalkingToHimself).

* PunnyName: Scattered throughout the game. U-1 would be read as Yuichi in Japanese or rather like Ewan in English, [[LuckyTranslation both being boys' names]]; Ben-K, the robotic shark, is probably a reference to [[http://www.badassoftheweek.com/benkei.html this guy]], church Gitaroo wielder Gregorio III brings to mind a Gregorian chant, and [[spoiler:Kirah is a pun on "killer", hinting at her TykeBomb nature.]]

%%* BareYourMidriff: [[spoiler:Kirah]] in Gravillian mode.

* UpToEleven: Gregorio's Gitaroo is his '''entire cathedral'''. No, not the pipe organ inside it, the entire room.

* DifficultySpike: The stages with Panpeus, Flying-O, and Mojo King Bee aren't too tough if you have a good grasp of the game mechanics. Then you hit the [[ThatOneBoss first battle with Ben-K]], and the difficulty just skyrockets from there.
** On Master Mode, you could just start the spike from Mojo King Bee. And considering that's only the [[SerialEscalation third level]]...

* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Mojo King Bee and his trumpet Gitaroo are threatening, but after 4 minutes of nonstop playing and jumping around, he naturally tires himself out, causing him to be finished off by U-1 in the Final Phase of 'Bee' Jam Blues while trying to recover.

''Gitaroo-Man'' is a Music/Rhythm Action [=PlayStation=] 2 game developed by iNiS.

U-1 is a [[ThisLoserIsYou loser]]: his best and only friend is his talking dog, Puma; he can't get attention from his crush Pico to save his life; and [[RichBitch rich, talented Kazuya]] takes every opportunity to pick on him. Fortunately for him, Puma reveals that he's the inheritor of a great legacy: he's the last descendant of Gitaroo-Man's line, destined to battle evil and free his people by playing a magical Gitaroo. U-1 thus finds himself thrust into the conflict between the Gravillian oppressors and his enslaved people, and along the way, he falls in love, learns to to stand up on his own, and [[ComingOfAgeStory grows up]].

The game was given a PSP remake, ''"Gitaroo-Man Lives!"'' which featured some new options such as a Jukebox mode as well as two new songs for multiplayer.

* BoastfulRap: The song "Metal Header", added in ''Gitaroo-Man Lives!'', sung by the HumongousMecha Kai-Kakoon:

%%* EleventhHourSuperpower: [[spoiler: U-1's "True Gitaroo-Man" form in the final stage]]

%%* HotbloodedSideburns: U-1 when he's not Gitaroo-man, Kirah in her [[spoiler:Gravillian warrior outfit]].
* ImprobableWeaponUser: Even considering that all the weapons in the game are instruments, there are some weird ones. Panpeus' axe and Gregorio III's cathedral stand out in particular.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Emperor Zowie is SO not Music/DavidBowie. And no, he's most definitely named after [[Creator/DuncanJones the guy's first son]], if that's what you were thinking.

* NonIndicativeName: Gitaroos can be, among other things, trumpets, [=UFOs=], sharks, space helmets, and church cathedrals.
** Even U-1's Gitaroo changes sound depending on the enemy he's fighting against. Most levels simply make it sound like an electric guitar with a different distorter, though in one level it sounds like an acoustic guitar, and in another it even sounds like a theremin.

* OhCrap: U-1 when he realizes he has to fight the Sanbone Trio without being able to turn into Gitaroo-Man.

%%* ThePowerOfRock: Pretty much the whole premise of the game.

* TheMole: [[spoiler: Turns out that Kirah was trained to fight with her own musical weapon but U-1 refuses to keep battling her in her respective stage, and decides to show her that the real enemy is Emperor Zowie]].

* ThePowerOfLove: Protects U-1 from [[spoiler:Kirah's]] attacks and subsequently prompts her HeelFaceTurn.
%%* ThePowerOfRock: Yeah, that's practically the whole point.

[[quoteright:241:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gitaroo_man_5364.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:241:With your help, our hero ''can'' be this awesome.]]

'''U-1''': I can do it because... Because... Because ''I AM GITAROO MAN!''\\
-- Quote taken from right before the FinalBoss, which sums up the game pretty nicely.

U-1 is a [[ThisLoserIsYou loser]]: his best and only friend is his talking dog, Puma; he can't get attention from his crush Pico to save his life; and [[RichBitch rich, talented Kazuya]] takes every opportunity to pick on him. Fortunately for him, Puma reveals that he's the inheritor of a great legacy: he's the last descendant of Gitaroo-Man's line, destined to battle evil and free his people by playing a magical Gitaroo. U-1 thus finds himself thrust into the conflict between the Gravillian opressors and his enslaved people, and along the way, he falls in love, learns to to stand up on his own, and [[ComingOfAgeStory grows up]].

* RealityEnsues: Mojo King Bee and his trumpet Gitaroo are threatening, but after 4 minutes of nonstop playing and jumping around, he naturally tires himself out, causing him to be finished off by U-1 in the Final Phase of 'Bee' Jam Blues while trying to recover.

* LogicalWeakness: King Mojo Bee's and his trumpet Gitaroo are threatening, but he runs out of breath after 4 minutes of nonstop playing and jumping around, causing him to be finished off while trying to recover.

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler:U-1 is forced to return home, despite having come a long way with his love interest and making friends on Gitaroo world. Back on Earth, his new found self confidence and badassery lets him stand up to the bully and make a different but similar girl notice him.]]

U-1 is a [[ThisLoserIsYou loser]]: his best and only friend is his talking dog, Puma; he can't get attention from his crush Pico to save his life; and [[RichBitch rich, talented Kazuya]] takes every opportunity to pick on him. Fortunately for him, Puma reveals that he's the inheritor of a great legacy: he's the last descendent of Gitaroo-Man's line, destined to battle evil and free his people by playing a magical Gitaroo. U-1 thus finds himself thrust into the conflict between the Gravillian opressors and his enslaved people, and along the way, he falls in love, learns to to stand up on his own, and [[ComingOfAgeStory grows up]].

* AllThereInTheManual: Actually, you have to unlock most of the character profiles. Not like it helps much, though.

* AmbiguouslyGay: Gregorio

* BareYourMidriff: [[spoiler:Kirah]] in Gravillian mode.

* BigBad: Emperor Zowie.

* ButtMonkey: U-1.

* DemBones: The Sanbone Trio.

* EleventhHourSuperpower: [[spoiler: U-1's "True Gitaroo-Man" form in the final stage]]

* FinalLoveDuet: The Legendary Theme in the penultimate level.
* FlyingSaucer: The Flying-O and its minions in Stage 2. They shoot Dance-Until-{{Death Ray}}s.
* ForcedTutorial: When starting a new game on Easy or Normal difficulies.
* GenderBlenderName: Emperor Zowie and Elder Miranda.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Most of the bosses at least get mentioned by Zowie before they show up, but Panpeus and Gregorio III just kind of...appear. Gregorio III doesn't even get a proper cutscene.

* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Kirah]] in the penultimate stage.

* HotbloodedSideburns: U-1 when he's not Gitaroo-man, Kirah in her [[spoiler:Gravillian warrior outfit]].

* LargeHam: Gregorio Siegfried Wilhelm III.
** He does calm down a little when he narrates for the Album, though, replacing the ham with [[LemonyNarrator lemons]].

* LetsYouAndHimFight: "Darn it, Why did it have it have to be Kirah?"
* LifeMeter: You have to charge it up for most stages.

* MusicalAssassin: Just about every major character in the game is.

* NonHumanSidekick / TalkingAnimal: Puma, U-1's pet dog.

* OneWingedAngel: Zowie's armor Gitaroo.
* OverlyLongName: Gregorio Siegfried Wilhelm the Third.
* ThePowerOfRock: Pretty much the whole premise of the game.
* ProtagonistTitle

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Zowie.

* RichJerk: Kazuya.
* RightHandCat: Zowie's pet cat, Ming-Ming.
* RobotBuddy: Puma, when he's not in dog mode.

* RhythmGame
* RuleOfThree: Refering to how many times the YearsTooEarly example was invoked.
* SecondLove: Kirah, most likely.
* SerenadeYourLover: The Legendary Theme (Acoustic)

* ThemeNaming: A few names are references to Music/DavidBowie, oddly enough.
** Not so odd when you consider iNiS's strange obsession with Bowie, however.

* ThePowerOfRock: Yeah, that's practically the whole point.
* {{Theremin}}: Used in the song "Nuff' Respect".

* UnlikelyHero: U-1, oh so very much.
* UpdatedRerelease: ''Gitaroo-Man Lives!''

* WidgetSeries: '''Yes.'''

** Even U-1's Gitaroo changes sound depending on the enemy he's fighting against. In one level, it even sounds like a theremin.

* CharacterTitle

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Emperor Zowie is SO not David Bowie.
** No, the mismatched eyes and camp mannerisms of Gregorio III aren't meant to remind you of Bowie either.

* AndYouWereThere: Kirah, the girl that U-1 Befriends and Zowie the BigBad of the game look very similar to Pico, U-1's Crush, and Kazuya, the boy who bullies him, considering that both sets of characters share the same voice actors, and both Kazuya and Zowie share the same YearsTooEarly catchphrase.

* NintendoHard: If Normal Mode doesn't leave you crying for mercy, Master Mode certainly will. It's not surprising, though, given that half the dev team is also behind [[OsuTatakaeOuendan a certain other]] NintendoHard [[EliteBeatAgents rhythm game series]].

* {{Demons}}: After the tutorial stage, U-1 is immediately confronted by Panpeus, a baby-faced red demon wielding a Gitaroo that's almost literally an axe (that can cut through space-time!).

* [[spoiler: BitterSweetEnding: U-1 is forced to return home, despite having come a long way with his love interest and making friends on Gitaroo world. Back on Earth, his new found self confidence and badassery lets him stand up to the bully and make a different but similar girl notice him.]]

* CreatorThumbprint: It has all the themes that would later define [=iNiS=]. Is it weird? [[WidgetSeries Yes]]. Is the music any good? ''[[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Yes]]''. Is it hard? Let's just say that one fan has lovingly nicknamed it "[[NintendoHard Carpal Tunnelroo Man]]" and leave it at that.

** RockMeAsmodeus: Since this is a rhythm game, it's pretty obvious.

* PunnyName: Scattered throughout the game. U-1 would be read as Yuichi in Japanese or rather like Ewan in English, [[LuckyTranslation both being boys' names]]; Ben-K, the robotic shark, is probably ([[ThatOneBoss fittingly enough]],) a reference to [[http://www.badassoftheweek.com/benkei.html this guy]], church Gitaroo wielder Gregorio III brings to mind a Gregorian chant, and [[spoiler:Kirah is a pun on "killer", hinting at her TykeBomb nature.]]

* [[RichBitch Snobby Talented Rich Guy]]: Kazuya.

* [[ThisLoserIsYou This Loser Is U-1]]
* ThreateningShark: The two stages after the third feature Ben-K. The first stage is '''[[ThatOneLevel really]]''' terrifying. The second stage is a BreatherLevel, probably because he's a HumongousMecha now.