Overview
Like the title says, this will be a beginners guide to Groove Coaster and how to play with keyboard. This guide will also take a deeper look at the history of Groove Coaster.
Introduction
Hello there, welcome to my guide on Groove Coaster for Steam. This guide will cover on how to play the game and is suitable for beginners and advance players.
Pictured above: Your future bae, Linka
What IS Groove Coaster
To put it simply, Groove Coaster is a rhythm game franchise based on Taito’s Space Invader series. Released on 2011 as an IOS game, it’s since has spawn numerous sequels and an arcade cabinet on 2013. Nicknamed [グルコス (GuruKosu/Glucose)] by the japanese community and also known as Rhythmvaders outside Japan.
Groove Coaster arcade cabinet
- Groove Coaster (2011)
- Groove Coaster Zero (IOS) (2012)
- Groove Coaster (Arcade ver.) (2013)
- Groove Coaster EX (Arcade) (2014)
- Groove Coaster 2: Heavenly Festival (Arcade) (2015)
- Groove Coaster 2: Original Style (Android/IOS) (2015)
Note: This is the latest MOBILE Groove Coaster game on the market - Groove Coaster 3: Link Fever (Arcade) (2016)
- Groove Coaster 3EX: Dream Party (Arcade) (2017)
- Groove Coaster 4: Starlight Road (Arcade) (2018)
Note: This is the latest Groove Coaster arcade on the market - Groove Coaster for Steam (PC) (2018)
- The gameplay and interface are based on Groove Coaster 3: Link Fever
- Was promoted alongside Taito’s Space Invaders Extreme
- Playable on keyboard, gamepad, and Steam controller (although the 2nd one requires a workaround in order to work FIX THIS, DAMMIT)
Do keep in mind that despite that the Steam version is the earliest, the mobile version (Groove Coaster 2: Original Style) is still as relevent as any other version with constant updates and easier controls.
The Controls (and How to Nail It) Part 1
Since this game is based on the arcade version, the controls on Steam version will mimic the ones on the arcade.
The arcade version has 2 knobs called ‘Boosters’. Basically 2 joystics with button on top. The button is represented by ‘spacebar’, ‘right control’ and ‘keypad 0’ on the keyboard while the ‘WASD’ and the ‘Directional Arrow’ represents left and right ‘Booster’ respectively (and also ‘keypad 8456’ represents right ‘Booster’ as well). Also, using only ‘WASD’ and ‘Directional Arrow’ is just enough to play this game as a button from any of these are equal to a hit AND a swipe. Don’t worry, the controls can be configured in the option menu.
As for the gamepad… let’s leave that for another day…
The game itself has 2 gamemodes which is ‘Casual’ and ‘Arcade’. Certain notes only appear in ‘Arcade’ mode which requires player to use both hand in contrast of ‘Casual”s one hand gameplay.
- Hit
Self-explanatory. You just hit the button in time to the beat. - Hold
Same as ‘Hit’. Just hold a button until it’s coomplete. No need to release said button on the beat like any other rhythm games. - Swipe
Comes with 8 directions (N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW). Just tap the appropriate button to the direction shown. Sounds easy but you’ll soon learn it the hard way. - Scratch
Like ‘Hold’ but with squiggly line instead. Just repeatedly tap 2 opposite buttons on the SAME booster. Example: repeatedly press ‘A’ and ‘D’ on the left booster. - Beat
Mimics the ‘Hold’ note but you have to repeatedly tap buttons instead. You need to repeatedly tap 2 buttons at DIFFERENT boosters. Example: press ‘A’ and ‘Right Arrow’ repeatedly on both boosters.
… Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnddddddddd that’s just the basics. It gets more complicated afterwards.
The Controls (and How to Nail It) Part 2
Continue from where we left of…
- Ad-Libs
A hidden notes that lurks within the music. These Ad-Libs are just ‘Hit’ notes so just hit any part where there’s no notes appear. This is much more complicated than it seems as some songs has tricky Ad-Lib placements which can cost you your perfect run. Also, 100% Ad-Lib is usually a REQUIREMENT to get ‘S++’ rank (most of the times)To help you with Ad-Libs, I’ve linked a Reddit post regarding to it if you need a further explaination on it.
- Critical
Same as ‘Hit’ but you need to hit both button on both boosters at the same time. - Critical Hold
Same as ‘Hold’ but combine that with ‘Critical’. Tap and hold both buttons on both boosters until it’s complete. - Dual Swipe
This is ‘Swipe’ and ‘Critical’ notes combined. There are 3 variations of these;- Linear Dual Swipe (West and East)
- 90* Dual Swipe (North and West)
- One Way Dual Swipe (South and South)
This one requires a bit of muscle training to nail this note. You need to assign one hand to one direction while the other hand to the other direction.
Example: 90* Dual Swipe (North West and North East)
Left Booster will go to North West while Right Booster will go North East. - Swipe Hold
Just ‘Swipe’ + ‘Hold’. Swipe and hold the note in the appropriate direction until it is complete.
And that’s that. Before you ask anything, NO! There’s no such thing as ‘Dual Swipe’ + ‘Swipe Hold’, that would be a nightmare.
Anything Else That I Need to Know? (Possible FAQ)
1. Try it before you hate it.
2. More songs are available within the in-game shop
3. DLC will be coming soon. Touhou music is expected to be released as an August DLC.
There’s a calibration option in the menu. Not the best solution but it does its job. Also, adjust your internal timing too.
Depends on what pattern you’re trying to nail, really… Practice is always the obvious answer but the other trick is to try to move your arm instead of hands or fingers. This is an arcade game, get physical.
- Play it in vertical mode
- Reassign the keys to suit your playstyle
- Change to a better controller if you have one.
Videos
Here is where I dump my gameplay
Link Link Fever!!! [AC-HARD]
Shiva [AC-HARD]
End Section
Thank you for reading this guide. I hope it will be very helpful for beginners and pro players alike. If you would like to add something to the guide, just comment in this guide and I’ll add if possible.
Happy playing