BIT.TRIP Runner2: Future Legend of Rythm Alien - An Extremely Good Go-To Game!

Yo wazzup!

Before we start, here is some nice music from the game I am about to discuss. I will probably always begin and end a post with some nice tunes. The song below gets really good about a minute in.

My first real post about a videogame do I want to dedicate to one of my favorite indie games, namely the sequel to BIT.TRIP Runner (BTR), called the BIT.TRIP Runner 2: Future Legend of Rythm Alien (BTR2). Who does not love a long title?  I remember playing the first BTR on Wii together with my cousins and being completely amazed by its charm and atmosphere. However, it was not until the second game that I realised that the concept in these games are really good.

In these posts I will write in depth about a specific videogame that I like. I will try to list all the things I do not like with the game versus all the things I love about the game. This posts will probably contain spoilers, so if you have not played this game you should do it, it is a extremely good game, however it takes a while to get into its gameplay. It is totally worth it though. Anyway, let us discuss BTR2!

What BTR2 did wrong

As I mentioned in my first post do I want to talk about games I really like on this blog.. It turns out I like BTR2 alot. In fact, one of the reasons why I like this game so much is because I simply cannot find anything wrong with it. So with that out of the way, let us move on to the good things with the game.

What BTR2 did well

The Art and the Unique Atmosphere:
If you have played this game, or any other BIT.TRIP game, then the first thing you will probably think is something along the lines "What in the worlds is this?". The reason? Simple. The BIT.TRIP games are all unique experiences with unique atmospheres and unique gameplay. Every BIT.TRIP game out there to this day expect for BTR2 is part of the six part long BIT.TRIP Saga (available to Nintendo Wii and 3DS). Every game in this saga is exactly what the name is, i.e. a trip through bits. A picture of the first BTR game is below. As one may see does it look like 8-bit with modern resolution.. or something along those lines.

BTR2 while not be in this saga, and it may now have the same "bitty" art direction as its predecessors, however, that does not make BTR2 anyless of a bit trip. The story of the BTR2 is about Commander Video (the bitty character above) who gets hit by a relaity beam by his archnemesis (I think) and hence enters the reality. As can be seen below is the graphics in BTR2 vastly different from that in BTR:

As with the first BTR, is the background full of all kinds of moving objects, creatures, etc. which sometimes makes it very hard to focus on playing the game. This is a big part of what makes a BIT.TRIP game a BIT.TRIP game. Once you get used to this, it is impossible not to play this game and smile at the same time. The art direction in this game is one of the most unique ever in a game, and it creates an extremely thick and satisfying atmosphere to sink in to. It is simply beautiful, different and funny to look at. Moreover does BTR2's different art direction one really good thing, namely it does not make BTR a lesser version of BTR2, as is the case with many new games today, eg. Call of Duty, Assassins Creed, every sport game, etc.

The Gameplay and the Soundtrack:
The best part of this game is the implemenation of soundtrack and gameplay. What may first seem like a trial and error game turns out (after several hours playing the game) to not be it. Once you get a hang of it, you are almost in a trance while playing the game. You are not able to tell what exactle you are thinking. It is probably a little of everything of what is going on at the screen. Everything from the small details in the background, to the fantastic soundtrack, to where the next obstacle is and how to counter it. While playing this game it is really hard to think about the outside world, which is one of the finer properties a game can have! And the soundtrack perfectly blends into the games atmosphere and gameplay. Mixing a background tune with the sound effects of your actions is incredibly cool.

Compared to BTR, is BTR2 much more smooth in controls. Some people argue that this is not the case, but I could not disagree anymore! There alot more feautures in BTR2 compared to BTR. Not that one expect anything less from a successor. Moreover does BTR2 provide some bonus levels which unlocks new characters, outfits, etc., as well as hidden retro stages which may be found on various levels. These bonus levels are in general a little bit harder than the rest of the stages. However, they are not impossible, so anyone who gets into the gameplay can beat them without bigger problem. Below is a screen shot of a retro stage.

As a side note (this is not a complaint), is BTR2 one of the few games where some of the unlockable characters are so disturbing to look at that it actually makes that game harder. But who does not like a challenge? Below is the reverse merman, which is clearly disturbing to look at:

Moreover, does the game let you decide which diffuclty you want, and you may change it between every level. The game does not reward you anymore if you pick a harder difficulty, which is incredible nice since then the game becomes more available to anyone.

The Boss Fights:
I do not believe one can mention this game's gameplay without mentioning its extremely cool boss fights. These boss fights have a good length as well as difficulty. It is also nice to see that they learned from the first BTR and included checkpoints between every life of the bosses. This does not make the fight tedious as they could be in BTR. Moreover, are all boss fights different quite different form eachother, e.g. the boss in the forest, where the perspective rotates and you play the game from a slightly third person angle:

or the boss which has a ranodm moveset:

Notable Tracks from the OST: 
I will probably do this with most of the games I write about, namely mention one or two of my favorite tracks from the game. From this game I will leave you with the funky tune called superfunk:

With its jazzy tunes, this track is one of my favorite forest tracks ever in a video game. And the mixture of jazz and electronic is very cool.

The Verdict: 
BIT.TRIP Runner 2: Future Legend of Rythm Alien is an extremely well made game, and since it is not a very long game it makes for a perfect go-to game. In my opinion it is the best indie game made to this day. If you like unique game, and platforming, then you should totally pcik up this game. I would say that BTR2 as a masterpiece among go-to games!

Acknowledgement: Most, if not all of the times, I will link to videos that are not my own, hence I will make an acknowledgement in the end of every video where I thank the people who are uploading the videos, or as in this case the music, to youtube. So thank you Soundtrakcs (yes it is supposed to be misspelled) for uploading BTR2's soundtrack.