Sixtar Gate: STARTRAIL Review: Come Along On a Fantastic Voyage!
Rhythm games have been my raspberry jam ever since I was exposed to the likes of Parappa the Rapper, Bust A Move, and Pop’n Music 2 many years ago. The concept of striking a series of buttons to the beat of a tune carries a certain allure that I will never shake off. It is especially joyful when the game features music that is unfamiliar to me because it means that my ears will soon be subjected to new auditory wonders that I would have missed out on had it come to me via any other format of media. So, with my most recent non-series anthology music game on Switch being Muse Dash from way back in 2019 or so, I was ready for something new, and, at long last, it arrives in the form of Sixtar Gate: STARTRAIL by Lyrebird Studio. The stakes are high in this game, satisfying my itch for rhythmic finger tapping to original music on the go, but did it rise to the challenge set before it? Well, let’s dive into this together and find out exactly how it measures up!
The gameplay of Sixtar Gate: STARTRAIL primarily consists of pressing four of the Joy-Con face buttons and two trigger buttons to match the timing of notes falling vertically down four scales in time to the music. Each face button corresponds to a specific scale, while the trigger buttons react to a different type of note that appears across the two left scales or the two right scales, respectively. This is pretty standard in the genre, but the gimmick that allows Sixtar to stand out from the crowd is the addition of a fifth scale that will occasionally appear in the middle of the screen. When this occurs, the right button of the left Joy-Con and the left button of the right Joy-Con can be used to react to its associated notes. This results in an added level of complexity that you must watch out for as you progress through the song. The game provides you with many options to customize your experience, such as speed modifications to control how quickly the notes move across the screen, different note skins, and even a variety of optional in-game widgets to add a little personalization to your sessions.
I was already fairly receptive to the idea of playing this game due to my love of the genre in general, but seeing familiar songs such as Crossing Delta and Life is Piano – songs I’ve played and enjoyed in Pump It Up XX – quickly brought me into the fold and tapping out S rank Lvl. 6-7 sessions. That is, after a quick and easy button calibration from the options menu to ensure that I have no one to blame for my off-timed button presses but myself. The sensations of “One more play!” or “OH, COME ON! I can do better than that!” are quite plentiful in my play experience as I work towards the coveted “PB” ranking on my favorite songs. Although I’m pretty sure that I’ll likely never manage to beat any songs on the most demanding “Quasar” difficulty level, I don’t exactly care as I’m quite content with completing songs in lower difficulties until I eventually reach my natural skill ceiling.
No Two Stars Are Alike
If you are a Steam gamer, you may be asking yourself why you should consider the Nintendo Switch release even though the game was previously released on Steam some months ago, along with some currently available DLC. The truth is, after briefly comparing the two releases, I came across numerous differences that should be noted, as they will likely impact which version you choose. Quite possibly, the most important thing to compare would be the song list, and I find myself in a weird place with this one. On the one hand, the Steam version appears to have more songs, but many of them need to be unlocked through play with in-game currency. On the other hand, whereas the Switch version has very few unlockable songs, there are about 90 tracks in total, with the likelihood of DLC being released further down the line. Of the songs in the Switch version, Lyrebird Studio went the extra mile by modifying all the note charts to be more suited for the Joy-Con button layout. They even added a brand-new note type where you are tasked with flicking one of the analog sticks either left or right. This bares a similar feel to the record scratch in IIDX. I personally ran some comparisons by playing songs with specific difficulties on both the Switch and a button-layout configured Steam Deck, and the difference between the two was very noticeable.
In addition to what I have mentioned above, the Switch version of Sixtar also has two brand new modes added to the game:
Outer Space – A course mode that features song blocks – each containing three songs of varying difficulty to test your mettle at maintaining a high combo and life bar across multiple tracks without a break. I’ve always been a sucker for Course Modes in rhythm games, and this one goes the extra mile of preventing players from exploiting the restart option partway into the course after making a mistake and breaking the combo. This is because no matter which of the three songs you are engaged in at the time of selecting the restart option, the game will send you back to the beginning of the course. So make sure you are in it for the long haul before giving this a whirl! The courses are divided by various License ranks, and you can complete License Tests on the lower ranks to unlock more advanced licenses.
Adventure – A short story detailing the adventures of the spaceship “Ausflug” and its crew comprised of Shii, Rami, and the nameless Captain. The story is told across a series of nodes accessed along a linear path, each featuring either a story snippet or a song meant to convey the system affecting the ship at the time. This mode didn’t particularly resonate well with me, but it was still worth playing through because of the four playable songs that can be unlocked by progressing through and, ultimately, completing it. It also isn’t a very lengthy mode, so if you aren’t interested in the story, it won’t take long to just acquire the tunes and press on.
Though I want to say that this release is pretty close to perfect for what it brings to the table, I need to mention one issue that I have had, which is purely conditional to the individual. If you happen to be gifted with fairly large hands, then playing this game in handheld mode, particularly the more challenging songs, on the traditional Joy-Cons could prove to be a bumpy ride. Note that this isn’t the fault of the developers of this game but of the Joy-Cons themselves. The button layout requires precise and rapid use of the face buttons, triggers, and analog sticks, which resulted in my hands feeling quite a few cramps after but a few songs at Lvl. 6 difficulty or higher. Fortunately for me, however, I was able to mitigate this problem quite a bit by utilizing the Hori Split Pad Pro accessory, as the larger controller ends gave my hands more room to grip and maneuver. If you are concerned that this could be an issue you are faced with while playing this game, then know that there is a solution to the problem.
The Stars Have Aligned, And Great Fun is Nigh
Sixtar Gate: StarTrail does an incredible job of bringing IIDX-like scaling note rhythm gameplay to the Switch while injecting some unique tweaks to give this game a feel all its own. Having been passed over by the likes of PM Studio’s DJ Max series, it feels great to finally have this style of rhythm game available for playing on the go. The songlist, while not as robust as the Steam version, is still superb and bares room for growth by way of DLC and future software updates, of which at least some of them will be free, according to the developer’s Twitter page. I’ve been having an absolute blast with this title and will likely continue to do so for months to come. I may never manage to reach the high-end difficulty levels, but when it comes to rhythm games, it isn’t so much the destination as it is the journey. So long as you can accept that mantra into your playstyle and appreciate some subjectively great music, then I believe you will find much to love on this musical voyage into the cosmos as well.
Also, as I did with my DJ Max Respect Review, I can’t end this without mentioning my most played songs. They are as follows:
414 Per Speed – Sound Souler
Aqua Stars – Sound Souler
Crossing Delta – t+pazolite x Hommarju x Ginkiha
Energy Synergy Matrix – Tanchiky
Goodtek – Ebimayo
Into a Frenzy – Masahiro “Godspeed” Aoki (this one sounds like it could be in a Falcom game!)
Playing With Ruby – Niwashi
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Final Verdict: 4.5/5
Available on: Switch, PC (Reviewed on Switch); Publisher: CFK; Developer: Lyrebird Studios, Starlike Inc.; Released: March 16, 2023; ESRB: E for Everyone; MSRP: $24.99 (Digital)
Full disclosure: The publisher provided a review code.
