10/7 - Let's Talk Sound Voltex

While Northern California has been home to a plethora of music games, one particular music game is standing out. Sound Voltex is the only music game in Northern California to be housed in a public arcade and is almost exclusive to Round 1! But what makes this game so unique? What makes this game so great that both old and new music game players alike are willing to stand in line 10 to 15 minutes at a time? We at the Arcade Hub talked to Andrew Castro and Kevin Park in finding out what's the deal with Sound Voltex?

The title screen for Sound Voltex III: Gravity Wars.

Sound Voltex is a music game created by Konami, under their BEMANI series of games. It utilizes four white keys and two black keys and two "cross-fader" knobs. What makes this game already so visually different is the orientation of the cabinet itself. The screen is positioned vertically, and the cabinet itself is very flashy that glows gold. The visuals of Sound Voltex are very different but yet, interesting to customers passing by at Round 1.

In Sound Voltex, you are a ship, navigating through a song in hopes of clearing or passing a song. To achieve a good score, one must press or hold buttons that correspond to the notes on the screen, and, when prompted, turn the knobs in the direction the game tells you.  Kevin Park, a seasoned Sound Voltex player, explains the features of the game. "If you look at Sound Voltex, there are a lot of cool features, it's a lot more engaging and all and all, it's eye-candy." he explains. "Big easy buttons, two knobs... it's definitely more simplistic and friendly." This game tends to be a "crowd-stopper" as many individuals who have never heard or seen the game before stop to take a look at what a player is doing. Andrew Castro talks about why this may be. 

The setup of Sound Voltex: four white buttons, two black buttons and two cross-fader knobs.

"This is a game where I, more or less feel like I'm doing more of a performance than most of the games say for maybe Dance Dance Revolution." Andy says. "Because the whole point of it is that, there is just this giant screen where everyone can come and watch and I'm busy moving my whole body, trying to read all these screen turns and knob stuff."

A quote from Castro, a cool aspect of this game is that, "I can go 'wiggy wiggy wiggy' with the knobs".

The game itself offers a variety of music. While Sound Voltex has some Konami Originals (music from the Konami franchise), it also contains tracks from the very popular "Touhou" series (a shoot-em-up game) and Vocaloid series.

What makes this game so friendly to new players is that Sound Voltex itself, both in gameplay and visuals, is not intimidating. New players can enjoy songs they are familiar with without being scared of having to be perfect at the game. "The beginner levels like when you first get into the game, it's really appealing, it's really fun and it's really addicting." Kevin comments. "And the way that the game is constructed, it's really easy to get into." The timing windows of Sound Voltex are forgiving. According to Kevin, the "perfect" judgment (meaning you hit a note perfectly) window is a few frames wider in comparison to Beatmania IIDX's . It allows for individuals to learn the game at their own pace rather than having to strive to be as good as the majority of players like with Beatmania IIDX.

For another player, Eric Andrus, Sound Voltex has become an investment for him. With over 300 plays, he's easily spent about over $400.

While many individuals are flocking to Sound Voltex, it begs the question: is this game reviving the music game community? Kevin does not believe so. "Reviving is a big word." Park says. "I wouldn't say that the [music game community] is 'dead' in the first place: Arcades aren't really popular in the first place." Kevin does believe that Sound Voltex is at least getting music gamers, old and new, interested in the genre again. "I want to say that Sound Voltex sparks the interest in people or reignites the passion that people used to have and everything, but I wouldn't say that people are going to start playing music games just because Sound Voltex is there." he explains. "I think it's at least good start."

At Round 1, both machines are back to back which also allows for "Friend Mode" to be enabled where both players can play together cooperatively.

This game has truly started to bring interest back into arcades. What Sound Voltex offers that many music games nowadays do not is that player-to-player co-op. "If you don't have an e-amuse card, buy one." Andy exclaims, "For people who have an e-amuse card and they're into the game: use "Friend Mode"! "Friend Mode" is very important in my opinion because that's how I feel I feel like I got really good. Don't be afraid to talk to your friend who's better and say, 'hey, I'm stuck on x difficulty, can we do Friend Mode' and the games will link together." Sound Voltex brings together more community aspects by being able to play with your friends in a fun, cooperative manner. It has similar aspects to GITADORA where players are playing together just to have fun and to get better rather than competing and trying to "outshine" each other. Andy's final statement for the game overall is that, "You learn through a shared experience which makes it even more community driven: don't be afraid to sit out a turn so you can link with somebody! It builds that bond, that community, and that's half the fun of these games."

Special thanks to Kevin Park and Andrew Castro for their contributions to this article.