Bit.Trip: Difference between revisions

{{quote|"It's a basic story. Life and death. It's the story of a human's life. You are nothing--or are you? And then you are, and then what do you do with your life? And then it ends. No one really knows before you're born and then you die. People have beliefs but nobody really knows."|'''Alex Neuse'''}}

 

 

''Bit.Trip'' is a series of [[Rhythm Game|rhythm games]], originally for [[Wii Ware]], developed by Gaijin Games. The specific games are:

* The sixth and final game ''Bit.Trip Flux'' was released February 28, 2011. In essence, it is a [[Book Ends|horizontal reversal of the first game]], but with elements taken from each of the other games in the series.

 

 

The initial hype for these games came from an online [[Viral Marketing]] campaign, encouraging users to try and decode hidden messages from a mysterious "CommanderVideo" entity. CommanderVideo is portrayed in the game's story cutscenes as a box/astronaut/television-like creature, and the story follows his adventures through space as he matures, assembles a [[Five-Man Band]], and beats up a gear robot to... uh... well, [[Mind Screw|nobody's really too sure]]. The series does have a plot, but it's entirely based on [[All There in the Manual]] (which ''Bit.Trip Complete'' includes as in-game liner notes). It's mostly symbolic instead of literal in terms of storytelling, and it was only once the series was completed that people could reflect on the series as a whole for its meaning. {{spoiler|The final game is dedicated to [[Carl Sagan]] as well, and in hindsight, the series incorporates a lot of his philosophy}}.

* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]: Conspicuously averted in ''Bit.Trip Flux'', in which every beat is the same color, including the ones that bounce back and must be hit again an instant later.

* [[Continuing Is Painful]]: If you die in ''Bit.Trip Void'', you have the choice between accepting your current score for the high score list, or losing all your points to continue. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwFAbnc6elY Averted] somewhat in ''Bit.Trip Runner''. If you hit an obstacle in one of the stages, you just get instantly shunted back to the start of the stage to do it all over (although you do have to re-get all the points you got up to the point you 'died'). There is no limit as to how many times this can happen: just keep going until you get it. Note that this does not apply to Retro Challenges, which are just there to give you bonus points. Though at a certain point, going through a level over and over only to die on a point near the end gets painful.

* [[Crapsack World]]: Triumph in ''Bit.Trip Runner'', and all of ''Bit.Trip Fate''.

* [[Crossover]]: [[Meat Boy]] and [[Robotube Games|Mr. Robotube]].

* [[Sequel Escalation]]: Each game so far adds a new Mode to Mode Up into. Nether, Hyper, and Mega Modes were the first ones featured in ''Bit.Trip Beat'', then ''Bit.Trip Core'' added Super Mode, followed by Ultra Mode in ''Bit.Trip Void'', Extra Mode in ''Bit.Trip Runner'', Giga Mode in ''Bit.Trip Fate'', and finally Meta Mode in ''Bit.Trip Flux''. Yet another instance of the games' [[Idiosyncratic Combo Levels]].

* [[Sequel Hook]]:

** The floating bricks and the flapping birds/bats in the background near the end of ''Bit.Trip Void'' also hold significance to both ''Bit.Trip Runner'' and ''Bit.Trip Fate'' (they're similar to the flies around the garbage seen in Triumph for ''Bit.Trip Runner'').

** The fourth game had the [[Five-Man Band]] shown in [[The Stinger]] confronting an angry Mingrawn Timbletot, who flies away screaming "YOU ARE NOT A MAN!".

* [[Some Dexterity Required]]: While the controls are simple enough, the ''things the game makes you do with them'' can only be described as combos from hell. Add to that the fact that ''Bit.Trip Beat'' and ''Bit.Trip Flux'' use non-optional motion controls: the muscle memory has to be all in your wrists.

* [[Special Guest]]: Each game has a chiptune artist that provides the menu and credits songs. Both ''Bit.Trip Beat'' and ''Bit.Trip Flux'' have [http://bit.shifter.net/ Bit Shifter] (he only made the menu music for the latter, however, as it has [[Silent Credits]] instead), ''Bit.Trip Core'' has [http://www.bubblyfish.com Bubblyfish], ''Bit.Trip Void'' has [http://www.nullsleep.com Nullsleep], ''Bit.Trip Runner'' has [[Anamanaguchi]], and ''Bit.Trip Fate'' has [https://web.archive.org/web/20131207062627/https://minusbaby.com/ Minusbaby]. And it appears that music by [http://zonotope.bandcamp.com/ electric group Zonotope] will be in ''Bit.Trip Runner 2''.

* [[Springs Springs Everywhere]]: In ''Bit.Trip Runner''.

* [[Sprite Polygon Mix]]: The playing field is simple 2D, the backgrounds are all 3D environments (except for ''Bit.Trip Void'', but its cutscenes still feature them) Averted in ''Bit.Trip Runner'''s Retro Stages, which are solely 2D.

* [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]]: CommandgirlVideo.

* [[Theme Naming]]: Every game name except ''Bit.Trip Runner'' and ''Bit.Trip Complete'' is only four characters long. In addition, most of them are pretty descriptive of gameplay: ''Bit.Trip Runner'' is about... [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|running]], ''Bit.Trip Void'' has you controlling a movable black hole, and so on.

* [[Unexpected Gameplay Change]]: ''Bit.Trip Beat'' has you playing a game of ''[[Breakout]]'' for one boss and an ''authentic game of [[Pong]]'' for another, at which points the rhythm aspect of the game would be completely set aside. Though if you listen closely, the bouncing of the ball from the walls and paddles does kinda follow the rhythm.

* [[Variable Mix]]:

** In games after ''Bit.Trip Beat'', "Nether" has a metronome to help you out.

** In ''Bit.Trip Flux'', the music doesn't change, but instead the instrument used when Beats hit the paddle and leave the screen change... all the way up to a ''violin'' in Meta mode.

* {{spoiler|[[A Winner Is You]]}}: At the end of ''Bit.Trip Flux'', you are presented with {{spoiler|a GAME OVER screen}}. It is, by far, the best parody of the trope.