space channel 5

Pro tip: Auto Mode in Space Channel 5

Since today's the 10-year anniversary of the US launch of the Dreamcast, I figured a Dreamcast-style tip was in order.

The game Space Channel 5 is a rhythm game with kind of a nutso story: You have these aliens (in space) who are capturing (space) people and forcing them to dance. You play the part of a reporter who uses her power of dance to rescue them, Simon-Says-Style. The better you dance, the more people you rescue, and the higher your ratings get. You have to maintain a certain viewership or the game ends.

Easy, right?

Well, for the first few seconds it is kind of easy, but then the game throws all kinds of stuff at you: stalls, motions between the beats, changing tempos, that kind of thing. It actually gets pretty tough.

So that's why, when I get frustrated, I take my controller, hold L & R, and press Up, Left, A, Left, A, Down, Right, B, Right, B. Done right, you hear Ulala (your character) say, "Yeah!" I don't even have to pause the game first or anything. From then on, the computer takes over and plays a perfect game, which is kind of hard to convey in picture form, so I've prepared a video sample.

It takes about an hour to watch the game go on autopilot from start to finish, but it's worth it if only to see (and hear) the cameo by Michael Jackson as 'Space Michael' (no, really).

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