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momobage · 7 years ago

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Band Yarouze Review: It’s a battle of the bands!... and I love a fish man

Band Yarouze (バンドやろうぜ！) is a Japanese card collecting rhythm game made by Aniplex and Sony Music. The goal of the game is to collect cards through gachas and events by playing various songs performed by the four main bands: BLAST, OSIRIS, Fairy4pril, and Cure2tron. Unlike the other games, the player’s character isn’t really in the story; you are more like a bystander or “god-like” being who just observes and sometimes speaks to the members. Therefore, all you do is play the songs and unlock cards, events, characters, and band stories.

I started playing Band Yarouze around March 2016 because the same friend who recommended Ensemble Stars wanted me to suffer more… I’m not even kidding. Even though I like rhythm games, I wasn’t too interested in playing this one at the time. A few characters caught my eye, but not enough to invest into the game. However right now, it is my second favourite game and brings me just as much suffering as Ensemble Stars does.

Main gameplay: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥

The gameplay for Band Yarouze is extremely simple: tap, hold, hold-slide, and swipe (left and right) notes when they slide down towards the bottom of the screen. The notes follow the beat of the song, so it’s easy once you understand the flow. Rhythm games are very popular in Japan, but each of the mechanics are slightly different. I think out of the ones I have tried, Band Yarouze is the most forgiving. For example, some other rhythm games need hold and release notes at a specific time or they won’t count. This makes it difficult to play songs with a full combo, especially if you’re on expert mode with a max note speed. However, in Band Yarouze, if you press a hold note a little longer than indicated, it won’t penalize you unless you miss the next note.

Another interesting point of the game is the event function. Almost all Japanese games have some type of event aspect. In typical games like Ensemble Stars, during the event time you play through and complete lives to gain points and rank up to collect event cards. But in Band Yarouze, you complete the song to gain points and objects (like keys, buns or chips) to either collect points, rank, or exchange items for event cards.

For example, during an event called, “Stand by Me GIGS: Nice Dream, Journey Mood,” (photo above) you try to collect points and rank up to get special cards and items such as stones and gacha tickets. You can also win steamed buns after clearing the event song and use them to play the time-limited event songs. However, in the current event, “Advent of the Quattro Virtuoso GIGS: Dante of the Purgatory,” (photo below) you go through the story challenges and play special lives. If you clear the Live, you win chips and exchange them for limited Super Rare (SR) and Rare (R) level cards. I find collecting points and ranking events easier and more fun than just exchanging items, even though it is easier and less stressful. I like that Band Yarouze changes the rules and mechanics for events because it keeps the game interesting. Even if you play the same song repeatedly, it is still challenging to collect or complete the event. I kind of wish other games would also change their event rules from time to time.

(Left: unbroken card, Right: Broken card. P.S. This is a boy, all of Cure2tron are crossdressing boys)

Unfortunately, Band Yarouze is only available via the Japanese app store and Google play store. As I mentioned in the Ensemble Stars post, you can download a separate Android Game Platform or create a Japanese iTunes account to access these games. There aren’t too many tutorials for Band Yarouze but gyrotalon from Reddit made a basic English guide to the game. This helped me understand the navigational system and how to BREAK and level up cards. You can also check out Banyaro English Tumblr and Banyaro English Twitter for translated event announcements, basic character information, and replies to questions from other Band Yarouze players.

As always, it is free to play and has in-game currency called “medals.” I didn’t use to care about the gacha in this game before since it is kind of expensive (it costs 500 medals for a ten card pull). However, one of my favourite characters got a pretty card and it all went downhill from there. So far, I’ve spent a bit more than $350 on Band Yarouze, which I’m not even surprised. Honestly, since the past few events have been featuring my favourite band or characters, I’m surprised the number isn’t much higher. I spent a lot a few weeks ago, trying to get a SR of Shin. He came home after four or five 10-character rolls… but at least he came home… unlike a certain someone [Cough Koga Cough].

Overall, Band Yarouze is really fun and addictive. Even if you aren’t good at playing music games, you can still have fun trying to beat your score. You also probably don’t need to buy medals unless you want a certain card, but the game gives you many rewards along the way. I’d recommend this game to any beginners who don’t have much experience playing rhythm games. The songs are well composed, the characters are quite unique, and the game is easy to play.

Characters: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥♡

When I started playing Band Yarouze, there weren’t any characters that immediately caught my eye. My friend pointed out some characters that were my type and sadly, I completely agreed and my obsession began. Each band includes one vocalist, guitarist, bassist, and drummer. They each also all play a different type of rock music adapted with modern Japanese elements: BLAST is classic/aggressive rock, OSIRIS is emotional/punk rock, Fairly4pril is alternative/indie rock, and Cure2tron is electronic/pop rock. I have members I like within each band but OSIRIS is by far my absolute favourite.

Their music and appearances are cool and edgy but their lyrics and sound are still so expressive. I love all their songs! My top three are “Darkness,” “Voice,” and “Heavenly Breeze.” Although there is only one vocalist, I love each member’s voice for its unique sound and way of speaking.

(My favourite Kyo cards. He is a beautiful angel with a beautiful voice who should never feel alone.)

Takara Kyo (Kobayashi Masanori) has a quiet but strong voice. His shy personality easily shows through his looks and attitude. But when he performs, it is breathtaking. Especially in “Heavenly Breeze,” Kobayashi’s vocal range and consistent control create a passionate and memorable performance. I’m sure I have cried listening to him sing; it was just so beautiful. Kyo struggles with his thoughts and problems internally but can relieve his stress through his singing. I can’t wait to hear more songs from him that are absolutely ethereal.

(My favourite Ray cards. He is a silly and stubborn dork who should always dream big.)

Ray Cephart (Hanae Natsuki) has a confident and silvery voice. His voice reflects his energetic and playful side, as well as his serious and bossy side. Ray’s overall tone is quite high but leaves a ringing that isn’t necessarily bad. Although, within OSIRIS, I like his voice the least I still find him very charming and sweet. He may act like an idiot sometimes but it’s because he is a big dreamer who wants OSIRIS to become the best band in the world.

(My favourite Makoto cards. He is a strict realist who should continue to follow what he believes is right.)

Kurusu Makoto (Uchida Yuuma) uses a lower and quiet stern voice compared to Kyo and Ray. As an active medical student, his personality is always serious and blunt which easily reflects in his voice. He has this mix of sexual attractiveness and mysteriousness in the way his sentences flow. It’s hard to describe but I’d want to hear his voice if was a tutor explaining math I don’t understand. Even though he can be cold and harsh, he still dedicates himself to practice bass and help the other members of OSIRIS realistically achieve their goals.

(My favourite Shin cards. He is a mature, fish-loving old man who should always smile and help others.)

Finally, Koganei Shin (Umehara Yuuchirou) has a low and husky voice. I’m simply in love with everything about him. His voice is so calming and reassuring, it makes me smile easily. I really wish he had a singing part since he voices Hasumi Keito from Ensemble Stars and other popular idol characters from different games. He has a beautiful singing voice! Let my drummer boy sing! [Internally weeping].

As the leader of OSIRIS, Shin’s reliable personality easily reflects in his voice but so does his silliness and extreme love for fish, especially Hachibiki Sashimi (he works at his parent’s fish shop). Though I hope he always helps cheer people up, either with his music or simply his personality. I must say out of all my favourite characters from the mobile games I’ve reviewed so far, realistically, Shin is the closest to my idea type. He is handsome, cool, friendly, reliable, strong, smart, and responsible; what’s not to like? I know he’s only a 2D character and will never really exist, but if he did, I think I would just cry forever.

Story: 3/5 ♥♥♥♡♡

The main story in Band Yarouze is about the characters’ struggles and difficulties about debuting as a band. There are sometimes choices during a character’s story, but whatever you choose does not really change the outcome. There is no additional gain if you answer “correctly” except to see the characters’ different reactions. Event stories are usually really weird. Sometimes they have impossible storylines like the band members turn into eggs on Easter, or they get transported to the Underworld on Halloween. It could never happen, even in the game’s universe, but it kind of happens anyway and fans still love it. Sadly, there are very few English translations of the story. Even Banyaro English Tumblr doesn’t have full translations of every chapter, only the prologues and some event chapters. I think the game is either not popular enough to have full translations or the game doesn’t have a large international fandom: both are likely. I’ll wait for the day someone translates them all so I can enjoy my silly boys being silly.

Overall: 4/5 ♥♥♥♥♡

Band Yarouze is an amazingly fun, simple and addicting game for anyone to begin playing. The songs are catchy, the artwork is beautiful, the characters are unique, and the story is wild. I don’t completely regret spending money on this game. But I think would be little kinder to my wallet if OSIRIS and Shin were not involved. I would recommend this game to beginners who like great quality music and art. This would be your best option to learn how rhythm games work differently than puzzle, RPG, or other card collecting games. It can teach you to appreciate music and help you diversify in the types of games and music you may play or listen to. I think it will also make you feel like a music genius even if you’re musically challenged like me!

#band yarouze #banyaro #osiris #shin koganei #kyo takara #ray cephart #makoto kurusu #rhythm #mobage #momobage #review

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