The 21 Best Rhythm Games of All Time

At the height of the instrumental peripheral era, Guitar Hero reigned supreme as everyone's go-to rhythm game. And the best entry in the series is the third one, which is triumphantly sub-titled Legends of Rock. The newly developed wireless guitar controllers that came bundled with this sequel felt and handed much better than its past iterations. And the same note-tapping gameplay remained as fun as ever. The storyline-fueled Career Mode was a nice detour for solo-minded players that wanted to jam out with their own band. And with classic songs on this game's playlist, such as "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce, you could never go wrong with this awesome guitar simulator.

While Guitar Hero mainly focused on strumming on plastic guitars, Rock Band decided to offer a full musical ensemble with a kit that consisted of two guitars (lead guitar and bass guitar), a drumset, a keyboard, and three microphones. And what set this excellent series entry apart even more from its main rival was its "Pro" mode, which challenged instrumentalists to perform legit methods of playing their chosen instrument. The massive song library this threequel houses is super impressive and features a who's who of popular and underrated musical artists - we tend to choose "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse and "Crazy Train" by Ozzy Osbourne whenever we have a full Rock Band 3 session.

When you get into the topic of the best rhythm games, a Dance Dance Revolution game has to get a mention. Naoki Maeda, who is noted as the longtime composer for Konami's beloved franchise, stepped in for this release to produce a bunch of original bangers that cause everyone to hop out of their seats and tap some arrows with their feet. Seeing a bunch of young kids in arcades stomp on those metal dance DDR dance pads takes us back to a wonderful time. And we damn sure had the time of our lives using the plastic dance pad and PS2 EyeToy accessory to play Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2. "Boom Boom Dollar (K.O.G G3 Mix)" will forever be a bop!

The blockbuster success of the Guitar Hero series inspired a completely different spinoff series that appealed to all the clubgoers who always enjoy vibing out to unique DJ mixes. DJ Hero embraced the same vibes by letting players mix two popular songs with a pretty cool turntable controller close by to make them really feel like they're ruling over the dancefloor. DJ Hero 2 threw in a new and improved story mode, plus its bigger focus on multiplayer made the art of video game DJ'ing a more social affair. Our favorite mix in this strong sequel will always be "Nasty" by Janet Jackson and "D.A.N.C.E." by Justice ("Informer" by Snow and "ABC" by The Jackson 5 goes crazy, too!).

RIP Fuser. It's a damn shame that you can't even purchase this game from any digital gaming storefronts now that it's permanently been put on ice. Development studio Harmonix (Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Dance Central), which is known for producing some of the best rhythm games, made another one in this DJ-centric experience. Just like the previously mentioned pick on this list, Fuser gives players a bunch of dope records to mix among a rabid crowd of digital music festivalgoers. With four record players, custom instruments, sound filters, and up to 24 records to choose from, the creative soundscapes players could produce here seemed limitless.

Using two lightsabers to cut through blocks to the rhythm of the beat put forth by all genres of music is such a novel concept. And it ended up becoming a destination for virtual reality enthusiasts who want to take advantage of all the headsets currently on the market. Beat Saber is such a great rhythm game that gives players a casual good time at lower difficulties and an immense workout on much higher ones. Waving in arms in time to the musical vibes put forth by tough tunes such as "American Idiot" by Green Day and "Can't Feel My Face" by The Weeknd is great for parties and solo sessions.

Say hello to the world's first-ever self-described "pop album video game." That classification comes from Sayonara Wild Hearts' uber-talented development team, Simogo. And after taking in its eye-popping visuals, deeper-than-expected story, and catchy pop music soundtrack, we became believers in the fine work that the studio produced. Collecting hearts and beating bosses while timing our button presses as perfectly as possible while gorgeous imagery flashes across our screen is therapeutic and simply awe-inspiring.

Did the Kinect not really take over the world as envisioned by Microsoft for the Xbox 360? Well, not really. But that motion peripheral still ended up enjoying a hot period where its owners were thankful for its presence. The Dance Central series gave Kinect owners plenty of reasons to keep their devices on. And the main reason was solely to have one of the best rhythm games and workout simulators right inside their living room in Dance Central 2. Getting up to jam out to tunes from the likes of Sir Mix A Lot, Lada Gaga, and Remy Ma without having to hold any controllers was and still feels amazing here. Ay, bit shout out to the Lu$h Crew!

The Final Fantasy games feature some of gaming's most lush soundtracks that fans instantly recognize after just a few seconds are played from their favorite tracks. Theatrhythm Final Bar Line not only offers the greatest songs from all the mainline games, but it also adds in a whopping amount of quality tunes from Final Fantasy spinoffs and even assorted Square Enix RPGs. What makes this game such a wonderful love letter to Final Fantasy is how it features so many lovable characters (both good and evil ones) that can make up your many battle parties that fight on your behalf while you tap and hold buttons with precise timing. The fact that this game features all those magnificent Final Fantasy VII Remake songs makes it the best in the Theatrhythm series.

The Kingdom Hearts IP is another Square Enix property that can lay claim to having some of the best music in gaming, period. Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory does such an applause-worthy job of honoring the songs that define the greatness of the series while adopting the gameplay concept of the Theatrhythm series. Instead of watching chibi-style versions of your party members horizontally battle across various locales, this game gives you access to the Kingdom Hearts crew as you remember them and lets you play out each song along a vertical path. Sure, the confounding Kingdom Hearts plot springs up here. But that's still not enough to keep us from nodding along to the greatness of tunes such as "This is Halloween" and "You've Got A Friend In Me (Toy Box Version)."

Metal: Hellsinger answers the question "What if someone made a version of DOOM, but with rhythm gameplay mechanics?" The final product that comes through here is a video game rendition of Headbanger's Ball that transports players to the types of locations that won't look out of place on your typical metal album cover. Navigating through the eight Hells is a super entertaining task full of high-octane and blazingly fast first-person gunplay. Slaying demons to the beat of a bunch of original metal tunes kicks so much ass, as expected.

Musical rail shooters owe their thanks to Sega's Rez, which originated on the Dreamcast. This trippy acid trip of a game places players in the role of a hacker's avatar who's responsible for shooting down a bunch of errors within a malfunctioning AI system. And while you're blasting all those incoming enemies, it's done to the beat of the current song being played. And that always creates an intense yet calming feeling of synesthesia. That sensation is amplified tenfold with Rez Infinite, which allows for VR headset compatibility through the original game's campaign and the freely explorable "Area X."

Aaero is such a mystifying experience. While traveling along the ribbons of light present within several mysterious locales, you'll use your speedy ship to shoot assorted enemies out of the sky. All the while, a wholly original EDM track plays out and challenges you to keep in sync with it to the beat of your enemies exploding in unison. This one's not easy by any means. But once you gain a full understanding of all its intricate movement, shooting, and music-powered systems, Aaero will convince you of its placing on this list of the best rhythm games of all time.

The Taiko no Tatsujin games are arcade staples - anyone lucky enough to come across one of its many series entries will be enthralled by its massive Japanese taiko drum controllers. Taiko No Tatsujin: The Drum Master! is one of the few home ports of that winning formula. And even though you can't bang on some plastic drums in your home, using a controller to play out some percussion rhythms is still an utter blast. The track list for this game is extensive and features a cool mix of video game music, classical tunes, and even anime theme songs. The fact that you can drum out the entirety of Dragon Ball Z's "CHA-LA HEAD-CHA-LA" is reason enough for us to return to this tako drum simulator from time to time.

Thumper keeps it really simple with a control scheme that only allows for moving either in the left or right lane and using a single button to perform a crucial action. Even with that simple approach to controlling your space beetle, the gameplay you're treated to grows more complex over time and a whole hell of a lot more lively in the process. The high levels of velocity you'll hit in this game are intoxicating and even more so when you experience them with a VR headset on your head. The"thumping" music and psychedelic visuals are simply mind-blowing for anyone that's willing to give Thumper a try.

So a traditional dungeon crawler got married to a rhythm game. And that couple had a roguelike baby, which then resulted in the happy family amalgamation known as Crypt of the NecroDancer. There's so much to love here - its wonderful pixelated art style, an incredible EDM soundtrack composed by Danny Baranowsky, and a gameplay loop that's all about moving to the beat are among the reasons why we love this game so much. Having the option to choose a keyboard, controller, or a USB dance pad to groove across dangerous dungeons full of mythical baddies leads to tons of fun playthroughs that never feel the same thanks to those aforementioned roguelike qualities.

What are you willing to do to be with the girl you love the most? Are you capable of learning kung-fu from an onion, getting your driver's license from a moose, and adopting good working habits from a Jamaican frog? If you said no to all those questions, then you're just not as dedicated to your loved one as much as PaRappa the Rapper is. The self-titled game he stars in will always be recognized as one of the best rhythm games for its treasured art style, an adored cast of characters, and unforgettable tracks to play along to. "YOU GOTTA DO WHAT? YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!" That important life lesson and so much more define the fun "Simon Says" music-fueled gameplay this pick is all about.

Then came the sequel to PaRappa the Rapper, Um Jammer Lammy. What's so surprising about this sequel is its overall change in direction when it comes to its musical genre - instead of staying with the realm of rap/hip-hop, Um Jammer Lammy opts for a soundtrack full of equally catchy rock and roll tunes. The same gameplay styling of this game's predecessor still applies here and works just as well as it did before. Um Jammer Lammy should always get a mention on the list of the best rhythm games simply because of great tracks such as "Fright Flight," "Vital Idol - Taste of Teriyaki," and "Got to Move."

Yeah, this one's a deep cut! Anyone old enough to remember playing this game's demo over and over before they got the full game knows this one. Bust-A-Groove is a PS1 throwback that's pretty much the ultimate breakdancing simulator. With a roster full of fly dancers such as Frida, Heat, and Kelly at your disposal, you could adapt your character's playstyle to all sorts of genres of music to stay on beat and embarrass your opponent. "2 BAD," "CHEMICAL LOVE," and "The Natural Playboy" are clearly the greatest tracks from this fighting game/rhythm game mashup.

If there's one thing you can count on when it comes to Sony Interactive Studio's many first-party game makers, it's that they'll come up with something super unique to diversify the PlayStation game catalog. Pyramid and Japan Studio joined forces to craft one of the quirkiest yet incredibly charming rhythm games of all time. Patapon puts you in the position of an invisible god-like figure who's responsible for adding tons more confidence to your followers. And that's done by commanding them all to perform all sorts of actions to the beat of a tribal drum. The music here is great and we feel the exact same way about its distinctive art style. This PS4 remaster is the preferred way to play one of the best rhythm games of all time.

So way back in the day, the PS2 player base got introduced to the amazing Frequency, which is a rhythm game that was put out by the great Harmonix development studio. Later on, the sequel arrived and added a bunch of toe-tapping pop-rock songs to the original game's electronica and trance music OST. This sequel hits so much harder than its predecessor thanks to a more diversified audio pallet. And the gameplay, which challenges you to hit notes to the beat across multiple musical lanes with your trusty "Beat Blaster," still amazes us years after it first hit the PS2 scene. And with this final entry, we've reached the end of our list of the very best rhythm games ever released that you need to find a way to play ASAP!