If the Japanese rhythm arcade game MaiMai Orange is a concert orchestra, the player with a perfect game is the finest of maestros.
Rhythm games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band challenge players to match music tracks with the buttons on fake guitars. Arcade dancing games like Pump It Infinity and Dance Dance Revolution require players to stomp on tiles to the beat. MaiMai Orange, developed by Sega, is something in between, a combination of extreme dexterity and physical endurance set to complex songs and varied patterns to replicate. When someone pulls off a perfect game, it is a sight to behold.
Here is a perfect performance on MaiMai Orange of a track called “Caliburne – Story of the Legendary Sword.” The outer circle requires precise hits to the beat or touch-and-hold moves. Anything with a long trail in the middle of the screen requires a swipe. We use no hyperbole in calling this amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC38Pqrx0fU
If you want to get a better idea of what that player just accomplished, here’s a bird’s eye view of what “Story of the Legendary Sword” looks like, if you’re standing at the MaiMai Orange machine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3AE4qQ3Yuk
Westerners tend to define hardcore gaming around first-person shooters and action games. MaiMai Orange presents a whole new take on who actually deserves to call themselves hardcore.
Photo via ほくほく線/Wikipedia (CC BY SA 3.0)
