osu!

Rhythm games are one of the most widespread genres in Japan. In the Land of the Rising Sun, there are dozens and hundreds of models of arcade machines on which you can - and should - dance at the pace of some pop song, or at least just press the buttons in the correct order. Why, a part in some kind of rhythm game is an excellent option for a date with a Japanese woman, a Korean woman or a girl from some other Asian state (this was even demonstrated in the film "Scott Pilgrim Against All").

Like many other elements of Japanese culture, local rhythm games almost never leave the Land of the Rising Sun. Perhaps because they offer a rather strange gameplay. And Western gamers have their own rhythm games - like the same Guitar Hero series or the infinitely long Just Dance line.

Therefore, osu !, one of the most popular rhythm games in Japan, is virtually unknown in the West. But in vain. Osu! Combines everything that fans of rhythm games love so much and offers even more - a huge fan base who not only support the project, but also complement it.

Little dance revolution

A key feature of osu! is that this game is completely free and is completely open source. This means that a whole community of Japanese fan-developers is volunteering to support it, constantly porting to new platforms and expanding the gameplay possibilities.

For example, initially osu! existed exclusively in the Windows version. But then the user community ported it to macOS. Later, beta versions appeared for mobile operating systems, Android and iOS, and the development of the project for Linux began. And all this is done by enthusiasts and ordinary people, voluntarily, but with soul and love.

By itself, osu! Is a classic rhythm game. You listen to music and press the buttons on the keyboard to the beat. At the same time, the gameplay is as simple as possible. In the Windows version in standard mode, the game requires literally pressing two keys - Z and X. But how exciting!

The gameplay does not require any special skills. You choose a level (which is called a "map" here) and beat the rhythm. To do this, you can activate notes, sliders and spinners. The first is needed for single sounds, the second - for long-term sounds, the third - for repetitive ones. That's all.

Osu! Game Modes

In addition to the standard mode, in which there is a sequential passage of map levels, osu! offers three more specials. These can be rated, competitive, or advanced.

Special modes in osu! the following:

• Osu! taiko. The number of notes increases to four, and the gameplay itself reproduces the game on the drum kit. Accordingly, it is required to press four keys. On levels that use other, more electronic sounds instead of drums, the mode is called osu! Laser;
• Osu! catch. Instead of pressing buttons, the player is asked to catch fruit. Various apples, cherries and other oranges here act as notes, droplets act as sliders, and bananas act as spinners. The controls are, as a consequence, slightly different. Fruits fall onto a movable platform, which must be driven from side to side by pressing the arrow keys;
• Osu! mania. A game mode that reproduces the gameplay of arcade rhythm machines. It is required to press various buttons in time with the playing song. The number of keys depends on the map level and ranges from 1 to 18, but the most popular among players are the modes with 4 and 7 buttons.

Modes often copy popular games in Japan. For example, osu! Mania is practically a clone of the arcade machine Beatmania IIDX, and osu! Taiko repeats the gameplay elements of Taiko no Tatsujin.

Maps in osu!

Not only levels are varied, but also maps. There are five main groups:

• Rating. Their quality was checked by the developer community itself - and it was convinced that it is so high that at least arrange esports competitions;
• Qualified. Essentially regular cards that can become rating cards. But if users or developers find an error in them, the levels can be disqualified in the "Under development" section;
• Favorite. The maps that the user community liked the most. They may not be very high quality, but just get the "People's Choice Award";
• Under Construction, Approved and Pending. Not yet reviewed by the creator community, so there is no rating on them;
• Abandoned. If a card has not received an update for more than 30 days, it is promoted to this class.

You can download new maps directly from the osu! supporter download client. It also serves as a content manager and lets you vote on your favorite levels.