@Adam: Ahh, okay. I don't see how it'd be that much more (if any) of a jump than the one from Void to Runner. I don't think it'd even be all that necessary for the overworld to have musical gameplay - just some groovy music and keep your time in it to a minimum. I think a bigger issue is what a Bit.Trip overworld would look like. But man, I so want to see them do it.

"Mortal Kombat on Sega Genesis is the best video game ever."

"I disagree. It's a very good game, but I think Donkey Kong is best game ever."

"Donkey Kong sucks!"

"You know something, you suck!!"

Void let you move around freely in a restricted environment with a set pattern of enemy waves. That's quite different from a JRPG overworld which allows you to move in any direction on a scrolling map, generally with random encounters.

And of course it has to have musical game play! That's the very thesis of the series! You can't just have good music that you don't interact with. Any game might have that. Bit Trip does not set itself apart by having good music but by having player control / interaction with the music through traditional game play.

Every Bit Trip level has a set track length that cannot be deviated from. With an overworld though, the music goes on indefinitely and is interrupted by battles. That's not very Bit Trip at all. As they say on Arrakis, the music must flow.

When I mentioned that I thought possibly having levels with fixed beginnings and endings was a mistake because it catered to the sense of entitlement that gamers have today, where they expect to be able to "beat" games and instead they should have been more endless loops the way the games the Bit.Trip series pays tribute to used to be, I got a cryptic response from Alex that suggests the end of the series may go in that direction.

If there is a nod to the notion of cycles in life then it would be interesting if the last game really did go back to the roots and become more of a pure-play early 8-bit game...

That would be great. I'd love for a Bit Trip that never ends but just goes on and on, my friend. Even if I started playing it not knowing what it was, I think I'd keep on playing it just because it's a Bit Trip that never ends but goes on and on, my friend. Ev... oh I can't do this. But to repeat, that would be great. Make it so, Commander Video.

I didn't find anything interesting at all in the first three games (which might be because I am played out of the type of games it emulated, Pong/Missle Command/etc.) but as soon as I got back from my trip (no pun intended) I dl'd this one. I'm loving it, but Pitfall (which seems to be the main inspiration) has always been one of my top 5 games.

I'd like to see what they could do with a game like Q*bert or Frogger, either of those would fit in with the rythym type games they seem to excel at.

I loved World 1 and 2. But world 3, while of course fun, intense and incredibly frusturating(Levels 3-10 and 3-11 are insane) I just can't stand the choice of location and the dull lifeless music for it. Really? an ugly Boring City with Junk scattered everywhere? World 1 and especially 2 were much more unique and ubeat and both had music that pumped you up. World 3 is ugly imo. Anyways, I'm at 2-11 and it's beginning to frusturate me. But hey, maybe it should since it's the last level before the boss.

So far I'd nail this baby with a 9/10. I'm just dissapointed with the look and music of World 3, that's it really. Tomorrow I'm giving this game a final go as I'll no doubt finish it. Levels 3-10 and now 3-11 have irritated me to the tee' I can't count how many times I've swore There one was particular part in 3-10 that had me stumped for over an hour.

While I agree Zone 3 has dull scenery, the music was not dull at all.

How many of you have found the single game over screen in the game?

There's a game over screen? Do tell.

Gaijin Games is now posting proof of the entire game being perfected (actually the entire game being "!!"). They just put mine up (first picture down):

http://commandervideo.com/perfects.html

I cannot believe the state of some people's rooms in those photos - do you really want to share that you live in a pig stye?

Neither can I. It's pretty sad how truly lazy, unorganized and messy alot of people can be. With me I'm crazy organized, a neat freak and take pride in how I look and my place looks. I couldn't function in that type of messy environment

Anyways, finished Bit Trip. Runner a week or so ago. Fantastic game! But again I wasn't crazy about the setting for the 3rd World(along with the mellow generic music) and I was dissapoined that there wasn't an epic Boss fight at the end or a Boss for that matter. Instead you get one tricky as hell challenging stage. That aside, I loved the first and second Worlds...Awesome music, great settings, intense and incredibly challenging gameplay, and who doesn't love the Pit Fall inspired Bonus Stages? Again, World 3 just didn't do it for me Setting/Music wise, but it definitly rocked and kicked my regarding the challenge and it was still fun. But No end boss makes me a sad panda

Overall It's a 9/10 for me.

Anyways, I can't wait to see what's next in the Bit Trip series. I havent played any of the previous games, but Runner definitly spiked my interest. Rage of the Gladiator, Cave Story and LostWinds 2 are up next!

There have been a couple articles floating around lately (I'm too lazy to link them, but hit up Google News) about how the Bit.Trip creators "can't wait" to make a game for the 3DS.

That is all.

I'm not sure how I once read the word 3DS without immediately thinking "Gaijin Games." As if Bit Trip isn't enough visual overload already, I can't imagine what they'll do in 3D.

I've been stuck on 3-9 for months now. This game's difficulty is never steady, and it's annoying.

If 3-9 is the level with the long series of things you have to slide under/ jump over, I think the way I finally figured out the timing for it was to turn off the sound and just focus visually, because the sound kept throwing me off somehow.

I was stuck on 3-11 for ages, but finally sat down and finished it- it took me 2 hours, complete with 2 hours worth of cursing. Once I got that jump/duck rotation down pat, I would struggle with the duck downstairs bit, and vise-versa. It think the patterns for each parts differ from visual/sound patterns, and it takes a while to get good at them. It's a pretty frustrating game, but saying that, finishing 3-11, and then the game, would have to be one of the more satisfying things I've done playing games.

I played 3-11 again last night for old times' sake. Two and a half hours later I fell asleep on the couch, only to wake up this morning and finally beat it. Awesome game.

I just perfected Impetus. How the hell did I do that?

VIB RIBBON.
Bit Trip Runner is the WiiWare equivalent of the reason I have an imported PS1.

And both are totally and completely WORTH IT.