Inspired games

Ever since the first Guitar Hero has been a huge hit since its first release, there has been many fan games and indie games inspired by the Guitar Hero series—and Rock Band series that Guitar Hero branched from—released over the years, recreating the gameplay of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band video game series.

Since the original titles were exclusive on PlayStation 2 at the time, many inspired games were developed for PCs for versatility and easy access for custom content such as custom songs to allow an indefinite feeling of replay value and customization.

Games inspired by Guitar Hero[]

Commercial games[]

Rock Band[]

Main article: Rock Band Wiki

The Rock Band franchise developed by Harmonix, in a way, is a "branch" of the Guitar Hero series and the spiritual successor to the classic Guitar Hero games developed by Harmonix, the company that developed the original Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, and Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.

When Guitar Hero was purchased by Activision and further developed by Neversoft, Harmonix created its competing rhythm video game series Rock Band that uses a full band-gameplay experience, which Activision and Neversoft in response, created Guitar Hero World Tour as a full-band title, and both series competed on the rhythm video game market.

Like with Guitar Hero, some games in this article are inspired by the Rock Band franchise or were inspired by both rhythm series. Here is a list of Rock Band games that were released over the years.

• Rock Band (2007) - Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii
• Rock Band 2 (2008) - Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Wii
• The Beatles: Rock Band (2009) - Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
• Lego Rock Band (2009) - PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360
  • Lego Rock Band (Nintendo DS) (2009) - Nintendo DS
• Rock Band Unplugged (2009) - PlayStation Portable
• Rock Band Mobile (2009) - J2ME
• Rock Band (iOS) (2009) - iOS
• Rock Band 3 (2010) - Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
  • Rock Band 3 (Nintendo DS) (2010) - Nintendo DS
• Green Day: Rock Band (2010) - Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii
• Rock Band Reloaded (2010) - J2ME, iOS
• Rock Band Blitz (2012) - PlayStation 3 (PSN), Xbox 360 (XBLA)
• Rock Band 4 (2015) - PlayStation 4, Xbox One
• Rock Band VR (2017) - Microsoft Windows

Before creating Guitar Hero, Harmonix developed Frequency and Amplitude, which the handheld Rock Band games for Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable and Rock Band Blitz were based on gameplay-wise.

PopStar Guitar[]

PopStar Guitar is a Guitar Hero-inspired video game developed by Broadsword Interactive and published by XS Games for PlayStation 2 and Wii on October 28, 2008 in North America, November 27, 2008 in Australia, and November 28, 2008 in Europe. PopStar Guitar shares gameplay similar to the classic Guitar Hero video games except each version of the game utilizes different peripherals. It features 60 licensed songs, 44 are master recordings while 16 are covers.

The PlayStation 2 version supports several PlayStation 2 Guitar Hero and Rock Band guitar controllers (not all are supported) and utilizes the five GRYBO frets and lanes during gameplay, playing just like how the classic Guitar Hero games played.

Meanwhile, the Wii version does not support Guitar Hero or Rock Band guitar controllers but has its own four-button GRYB peripheral for the Wii Remote called the AirG controller, which slides and plugs into a Wii Remote, connected to its extension port, followed by the Wii Nunchuk connecting to it. The player then "air strums" by shaking the Wii Nunchuk to simulate strums in a four-lane GRYB gameplay.

Rock Revolution[]

Rock Revolution is a rhythm game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami—the publisher of the GuitarFreaks franchise that Guitar Hero was inspired by—on October 15, 2008 in North America for Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, November 11, 2008 in North America for Wii, May 15, 2009 in Europe for Nintendo DS, and May 22, 2009 in Europe for Xbox 360. However, unlike Guitar Hero, Rock Band, or Konami's GuitarFreaks & DrumFreaks series, Rock Revolution did not receive well and sold only 3,000 copies in the first month of release.

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions would have their own guitar and drum controllers while the Wii version would use the motion controls of the Wii Remote and the Nintendo DS version utilized its touch screen and microphone.

Ultimate Band[]

Ultimate Band is a rhythm game developed by Fall Line Studios and published by Disney Interactive Studios for Wii and Nintendo DS on November 25, 2008 in North America, April 9, 2009 in Europe, and April 14, 2009 in Australasia. Both versions of the game feature Band gameplay including Guitar, Bass, and Drums, minus Vocals. However, they don't utilize Guitar Hero or Rock Band instruments.

The Wii version uses the Wii Remote with the Wii Nunchuk Controller attachment for its gameplay. For Guitar gameplay, for example, the player holds the C and/or Z buttons on the Nunchuk and "strums" by shaking the Wii Remote. The Wii version features 36 playable songs.

Meanwhile, the Nintendo DS uses its touch screen for gameplay. The Nintendo DS version features 15 playable songs, 11 songs from the Wii soundtrack and 4 songs exclusive to the Nintendo DS version.

The soundtrack for both versions are cover versions.

Fortnite Festival[]

Main article: Fortnite Festival on the Fortnite Wiki

Fortnite Festival is a Rock Band-styled subgame of Fortnite developed by Harmonix—now a subsidiary of Epic Games—and released by Epic Games on December 9, 2023 in the Fortnite ecosystem, available on macOS, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Android, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 for free featuring artists such as The Weeknd, originals by Epic Games, and more.^[1][2] Additional songs can be purchased for 500 V-Bucks each, but songs and gear can also be obtained by progressing through the Festival Pass (more through the Premium Festival Pass for 1,800 V-Bucks).^[3][4]

It features two major game modes: Main Stage and Jam Stage.

• In Main Stage, the player can play a variety of tracks in the standard Guitar Hero/Rock Band layout on Guitar, Bass, Drums, Keyboard, or Vocals on Easy, Medium, Hard, or Expert difficulty solo or with a band in online play. The player can also customize their rocker and their instrument on stage.
• In Jam Stage, players can party up on any stage and play jams and mash-ups together. More jams are unlocked by progressing through the Festival Pass from the Main Stage.

Upon release, only computer keyboards and gamepads were supported and guitar controllers were originally planned to be supported in January 2024 with the release of the PDP Riffmaster Wireless Guitar Controller,^[5] however the controller's release date had been delayed till Spring 2024^[6] with early adopters receiving it in March 2024.^[7] Support for guitar controllers was added on April 23, 2024 (4 months after release).^[8] In this update, however, only the PDP Riffmaster Wireless Guitar Controller, Rock Band 4 Rivals Wireless Fender Jaguar Guitar, and Rock Band 4 Wireless Fender Stratocaster Guitar are compatible with Fortnite Festival for Xbox One & Xbox Series S/X, PlayStation 4 & 5, and PC (Xbox One & Series X/S guitars for PC). Other instrumental controllers are not yet compatible but developers are looking into supporting other guitar controllers and instrumental controllers through custom keybinding.^[9]

Indie games[]

Games with custom songs support[]

RULES FOR USERS: Do NOT ask or answer where to find custom songs for these games on the WikiHero. For more information on this rule, see the NoPiracy template.

The follow indie-developed computer games below support custom songs. Most of these game's custom song formats are based on Frets on Fire's custom song format that is still being used in newer games to allow charts to be compatible with multiple games.

For Guitar Hero game mods or modified Guitar Hero games that support custom songs such as Guitar Hero II Deluxe (v2.0 Custom Edition and v3.0+), Guitar Hero World Tour: Definitive Edition, and FastGH3, see fan-made modifications.

For personal computer

Screenshots	Title	Websites	Developer	Release date	Latest version	Active?	Platforms	Song files supported	Gameplay features (bolded = unique notable features)
Freetar Game Freetar Editor	Freetar (form. Freetar Hero)	Official website (web archived), Google Code Archive	Anton Struyk	May 19, 2006	v0.2 Beta (Jul 12, 2006)	Discontinued 2007; Archived 2008	Java SE, Microsoft Windows	Chart: [name].sng (convertible to notes.mid for Frets on Fire or others) Audio: [name].mid, [name].midi, [name].mp3, [name].ogg, or [name].flac Note: Both chart and audio files must have the same file name.	Basic gameplay with custom HOPO support like in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. It comes with its own chart editor called Freetar Editor for making note charts for it or for Gunnar Hero.
	Frets on Fire (abbrev. FoF)	Official website, Fan Forum, FoF Wiki	Unreal Voodoo	Aug 3, 2006	v1.3.110 (Nov 5, 2008)	No	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux	Chart: notes.mid Audio: guitar.ogg (Guitar; required), song.ogg (background audio; optional) Info: song.ini	Basic features with mod support, built-in basic chart editor, HOPOs are automatic (short distance away from the last note's (tail) length) and chords could be auto-HOPO chords.
	Guitar Zero	GOD Viollator's Guitar Zero website, Guitar Zero/Frontman Wiki, forums (web archived)	Travis Baldree[10]	2006	v1.21 (Jan 2007)	Discontinued 2008	Microsoft Windows	Chart: song.dat Audio: guitar.ogg, song.ogg	Graphically based on Guitar Hero II, it uses its gameplay features including whammy and Star Power.
Performous v1.2.0	Performous (form. UltraStar Next Generation or UltraStar-NG)	Official website, GitHub	Performous team/contributors	January 21, 2007 (UltraStar-NG v0.1.0)	v1.3.1 (Feb 9, 2023)	Active	Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X, PlayStation 3 (Yellow Dog Linux, Gentoo Linux)[11]	Same basic files as FoFiX but also supports SingStar's .xml files, UltraStar's .txt files, and StepMania's simfile charts	Originally a recreation of the karaoke PC game UltraStar (inspired by the SingStar series) as UltraStar Next Generation (or UltraStar-NG for short) until it was renamed to Performous on October 29, 2008 (which the new name took effect with v0.30's release on November 11, 2008), this open source game combines the karaoke aspect of SingStar/UltraStar with the 5-lane rhythm game aspect of the Guitar Hero/Rock Band games (in the song format as Frets on Fire X) and the dancing aspects of Dance Dance Revolution and StepMania (in the song format as StepMania). Playable instruments: Vocals, Guitar, Bass/Rhythm, Drums, and Dance.
As Guitar Zero 2	Frontman (form. Guitar Zero 2)	GOD Viollator's Guitar Zero website (download broken), former Frontman website (link broken; no archives available), Unofficial FoF Forum mirror (working download; may only be compatible on older hardware; see this wiki page for pre-requisite dependencies), Guitar Zero/Frontman Wiki, forums (web archived)	Frontman team, Callisto2002 (programmer)[12]	December 2007[13]	Beta 6 Update 3 (Aug 5, 2008)	Discontinued 2008	Microsoft Windows	Chart: notes.chart, notes.mid Audio: guitar.ogg, song.ogg Info: song.ini	Originally graphically based on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, it uses its gameplay features including custom HOPOs, whammy, Star Power, and multiplayer (Cooperative, Face-Off, Pro Face-Off). It also supports custom themes and mods.
v3.1XX (MegaLight theme) v4.0.0 alpha1 (MegaLight V4 theme)	Frets on Fire X (abbrev. FoFiX)	Google Code Archive (up to v3.121 and v4.0.0alpha1), Official forums, FoF Wiki, GitHub (legacy updates and v4.0.0alpha2)	FoFiX team	October 13, 2008 (v3.015)	v3.123 (Oct 16, 2021), v4.0.0alpha2 (Sep 29, 2011)	Rarely active on GitHub	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux	Chart: notes.mid Audio: guitar.ogg (Guitar/Co-op Lead; required), rhythm.ogg (Bass/Rhythm; optional), drums.ogg (optional), song.ogg (optional), acoustic.ogg (acoustic audio; optional), piano.ogg (keyboard audio; optional), preview.ogg (song selection preview audio; optional) Info: song.ini Others (optional): album.png (album art), video.ogg (video background), script.txt (lyrics)[14]	Formerly a mod for Frets on Fire as the MFH/Alarian Mod to give Frets on Fire extra gameplay elements, this became an open source standalone title as FoFiX which includes Guitar Hero World Tour & Rock Band gameplay features like open notes, slider notes, solo markers, and more, as well as online multiplayer, custom themes, custom career support (via song.ini's unlock_ tags). Playable instruments: Guitar, Bass/Rhythm, Drums (4-Lane), Vocals (pyaudio dependency is required to be installed to play Vocals).
Free version Steam version	Phase Shift	Official website, Steam page	DWSK	March 20, 2010 (v0.34)	v1.27 (Jan 2 2015, free version) v1.36 (Apr 29, 2019, Steam version)	No; Steam purchase delisted since May 2019	Microsoft Windows	Same files as FoFiX (excluding acoustic.ogg, piano.ogg, and script.txt) and optionally: Audio: keys.ogg (Keyboard, replaces FoFiX's piano.ogg), crowd.ogg (crowd) Vocal Audio Split (optional): vocals_1.ogg (Lead Vocals) vocals_2.ogg (Backing Vocals) Drums Audio Split (optional): GH Method drums_1.ogg as Bass Drum, drums_2.ogg as Snare Drum, drums_3.ogg as Cymbals, drums_4.ogg as Toms RB Method drums_1.ogg as Bass Drum, drums_2.ogg as Snare Drum, drums_3.ogg as Toms and Cymbals Videos (optional): .avi recommended but other formats may work[15]	Almost every feature FoFiX and modern Guitar Hero/Rock Band games had (also allows open notes on all guitar tracks) except playable Vocals (lyrics are displayable), custom careers (creatable via PSCareerCreator), online multiplayer, and Steam achievements for the Steam version. Playable instruments (EOF recommended to chart all these instruments): Guitar, Co-Op Lead (Guitar and Co-Op Lead share the same audio track), Rhythm, Bass (Bass and Rhythm share the same audio track), Drums (4-Lanes, 5-Lanes, 4-Lane Pro as 7-Lanes), Real Guitar (RB3 Pro Guitar), Keyboard (5-lane and full), Real Bass, Real Drums (for MIDI drumkit), Dance (DDR-style).
	Guitar Hero - PC Edition (abbrev. GHPCED)	Official website (web archived at v1.1.42.3)	Ateri	2013	v1.1.42.5 (2016)	Discontinued 2017	Microsoft Windows	Custom songs: custom_[name].ghc (converted from .chart with conversion tools bundled with it) Included songs: .ght (audio), .ghx (chart), .ghz (info)	Most FoFiX gameplay features, leaderboard support, level-up system.
	Live Studio Sessions	Official website (web archived), FoF Forum thread	NewCreature	Sep 04, 2014	v0.1 (Sep 04, 2014)	No	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android	Same basic files as FoFiX	Basic FoFiX features but had online leaderboard support and was the first Android game with custom songs support. Playable instruments: Guitar and Bass. Keyboard and Drums were planned but development stopped.
	Guitar Hero - PC Edition 2 (abbrev. GHPCED 2)	N/A (Discord-exclusive for testing; disbanded)	GHPCED 2 team	Cancelled 2017 (started 2016)	Private Beta (Build 8) (2017)	No	Microsoft Windows	Custom songs: custom_[name].ghc (converted from .chart with GHPCED's conversion tools)	Graphically based on Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, it would have included modern Guitar Hero and Rock Band features, starting with Guitar; the demo release only previewed and autoplayed Guitar tracks. However, a playable version was not released before project cancellation.
	Clone Hero	Official website, GitHub, ScoreSpy for Clone Hero	Ryan "srylain" Foster, CH Team	Mar 1, 2017	v1.0.0.4080 (stable, Nov 29, 2022) v1.1.0.4261-PTB (PTB, Oct 25, 2023)	Development originally completed on November 29, 2022 with v1.0.0.4080[16] Development towards v1.1 was announced to the public on Oct 25, 2023.[17]	Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android	Same files as Phase Shift plus: Chart: notes.chart Audio (optional): bass.ogg (Bass; without it, rhythm.ogg would share both Bass and Rhythm) Videos (optional): Windows: .mp4 (x264), .avi, .webm (VP8), .ogv, .mpeg Linux: .webm (VP8), .ogv (VP8 .webm recommended; VP9 .webm unplayable; .mp4 can have issues; x265 .mp4 playable if HEVC codecs are installed) ^ files bundled: .sng (since v1.1.0-PTB)	Graphical based on Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, it has most features that Phase Shift has except custom careers, real instruments, and Dance instrument, but has easy/smooth gameplay, more modifiers/cheats, online multiplayer, online leaderboard support (ScoreSpy version of Clone Hero only), and other new playable tracks (notably Guitar Hero Live controller support). Playable instruments (Moonscraper recommended to chart all these instruments): Guitar, Co-Op Lead, Bass, Rhythm, Keyboard (5-lane), Drums (4-lane, 5-lane, 4-lane Pro), GHL Guitar, GHL Co-Op Lead, GHL Bass, GHL Rhythm.
	Fret Smasher	Official website, Steam page	Lavoie Studios	Early Access 2021	v0.38 A2 (June 16, 2025)[18]	Yes	Microsoft Windows, Linux, Steam OS	Same files as Clone Hero	Share most modern gameplay features, includes custom careers, Steam achievements, level-up system, leaderboard support, unlockable cheats and modifiers, online support, but strict/tight gameplay. Playable instruments: Guitar, Co-Op Lead, Bass, Rhythm, Keyboard (5-lane), Lead Rival 1, Lead Rival 2 (Lead Rival tracks added in v0.35 A2), and eventually Drums.
	Yet Another Rhythm Game (abbrev. YARG)	Official website, GitHub, Nightly builds, YARC Launcher (recommended for auto-updates), YARG Mobile GitHub (Android branch)	Yet Another Rhythm Company (abbrev. YARC)	Dec 22, 2022[19]	v0.13.1 (Oct 6, 2025)	Yes	Microsoft Windows, macOS (since v0.10.0b), Linux (since v0.10.0b), Android (TBD)	Most files as Clone Hero and Phase Shift (notes.mid originally, notes.chart since v0.10.0) plus: Audio (since v0.6.1): .aiff, .wav, .mp3, .opus (partially supported in v0.6.1, fully supported in v0.9.1) ^ files bundled: .sng (since Nov 18, 2023)	YARG, short for "Yet Another Rhythm Game", is an open source Rock Band-themed indie game that plans on adding many modern features that the previous inspired games and Guitar Hero/Rock Band series supports. For the roadmap on features that it includes and plans to include, see the website's roadmap page. YARG's original game engine was replaced by v0.12.0. Playable instruments: Guitar, Co-Op Lead, Bass, Rhythm, Keyboard (5-lane), Pro Guitar (since v0.2.0), Drums (4-lane & 5-lane since v0.2.1), Vocals (since v0.3.0, Harmonized Vocals supported since v0.7.0 and reworked in v0.12-a6), Pro Drums (since v0.4.0) Planned playable instruments:[20] GHL Guitar, Pro Keys (based on Rock Band 3's Keyboard track), True Drums (similar to Phase Shift's Real Drums)

For console

Screenshots	Title	Websites	Developer	Release date	Latest version	Active?	Platforms	Song files supported	Gameplay features
	Gunnar Hero	Team Sushi blog page, GameBrew Wiki page	HardHat, Team Sushi	March 17, 2007[21]	v0.20[22] (Aug 20, 2007)	No	PlayStation Portable	Chart: [name].sng Audio: [name].mp3 Note: Both chart and audio files must have the same file name, placed in /PSP/GAME/gunnarhero/song/ or /PSP/GAME150/gunnarhero/song/ for custom firmware users.	The first portable Guitar Hero-like experience with custom songs support, using charts made in the Freetar Editor. Has basic gameplay elements. PSP controls are customizable but the default control scheme (on a OGRBY note color scheme) is: L Button: Hold Orange Fret (1st fret) Square Button: Hold Green Fret (2nd fret) Cross Button: Hold Red Fret (3rd fret) Circle Button: Hold Blue Fret (4th fret) R Button: Hold Yellow Fret (5th fret) D-Pad Down or Analog Stick: Strum Start: Pause Select: Screenshot v0.20 adds customizable keyboard support (requires piKey keyboard homebrew driver installed to use a keyboard on a PlayStation Portable).
	Guitar Star	GameBrew Wiki page	festi	January 22, 2009	v1.01 (Jan 22, 2009)	No	PlayStation Portable	Same files as Frets on Fire and are placed in /PSP/GAME/GS/music/ or /PSP/GAME150/GS/music/ for custom firmware users.	A second inspired title for PlayStation Portable in the French language, developed/coded by festi and graphically designed by cladil. While Gunnar Hero used Freetar Hero's song format, Guitar Star uses Frets on Fire's song format (.mid chart, .ogg audio files, and song.ini info file). Has basic gameplay elements with custom song support. The only built-in song is "Defy the Machine" by Tommi Inkila, which was in Frets on Fire. PSP controls for this game (on a OGRBP note color scheme) are: D-Pad Left: Hit green notes (1st lane) D-Pad Down: Hit red notes (2nd lane) Square Button: Hit yellow notes (3rd lane) / Confirm in menus Cross Button: Hit blue notes (4th lane) Circle Button: Hit pink notes (5th lane) Triangle: Hit yellow+pink notes (3rd+5th lane) / Cancel in menus Start: Start game or pause
	GuitarFun	Wii: Website translated, Gamebrew page, Wiibrew page PS2: PSX-Place page, Internet Archive	Hermes	July 5, 2008[23]	v3.5 (Nov 22, 2008)	No	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Wii	Same files as Frets on Fire (see gameplay features for song directories)	A Guitar Hero-inspired clone for Wii (must be modified) and had a PlayStation 2 port capable of playing Frets on Fire custom songs. The Wii port is compatible with the Guitar Hero Wireless Les Paul Controller for Wii, USB computer keyboards, Wiimote, Wiimote + Nunchuck, and PlayStation 2 guitar controllers through a PS2-to-GameCube converter. Guitar Hero World Tour guitar controller is supported in an unofficial modded version. Custom song directory is /guitarfun/songs/. For more details on controls or these controls, see the Wiibrew Wiki or Gamebrew Wiki page.
	Guitars On Fire	Gamebrew page, Wiibrew page	Daid	June 27, 2009[24]	v1.1 (Jan 1, 2010)	No	Wii	Same files as FoFiX (see gameplay features for song directories)	Another Guitar Hero-inspired Wii homebrew title with more gameplay features than GuitarFun that supports up to 5 players and supports some features that FoFiX have such as Drums. Guitar controllers supported are Les Paul guitar controller, Guitar Hero World Tour Wireless GUitar Controller (including Guitar Hero: Metallica variant), Tac Guitar Mania Freedom V Wireless Guitar Controller, and PlayStation 2 guitar controllers through a PS2-to-GameCube converter. Other input methods supported are drum controllers, Wii Classic Controller, GameCube controller, and USB computer keyboard. See their controls on either homebrew wiki. It's main custom song directly is located in /GuitarsOnFire/songs/ but also supports GuitarFun's song directory (/guitarfun/songs/). Other optional song directories include /app/GuitarsOnFire/song/ and /app/guitarfun/songs/.
	GuitarNX	Gamebrew page, GitHub	Tijeras94	May 22, 2020	v0.0.1 (May 22, 2020)	No	Nintendo Switch	Same files as Frets on Fire placed in /switch/GuitarNX/data/songs/.	A port of festi's PlayStation Portable homebrew title Guitar Star with a new theme, containing basic gameplay features like Frets on Fire (Guitar only and the four main difficulties as Supaeasy, Easy, Medium, Amazing like in Frets on Fire). Comes with 7 songs by default including "Defy the Machine" by Tommi Inkila (a premade song for Frets on Fire that was also in Guitar Star) and some songs by Muldjord and Sectoid.

For mobile

Screenshots	Title	Websites	Developer	Release date	Latest version	Active?	Platforms	Song files supported	Gameplay features
	Live Studio Sessions	Official website (web archived), FoF Forum thread	NewCreature	Sep 04, 2014	v0.1 (Sep 04, 2014)	No	Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Android	Same basic files as FoFiX	Basic FoFiX features but had online leaderboard support and was the first Android game with custom songs support. Playable instruments: Guitar and Bass. Keyboard and Drums were planned but development stopped. Touchscreen controls?: Menus only. Physical controls?: Yes (controller mapping may crash on newer or incompatible devices).
	Clone Hero	Official website	Ryan "srylain" Foster, CH Team	Mar 1, 2017	v1.0.0.4080 (stable, Nov 29, 2022) v1.1.0.4261-PTB (PTB, Oct 25, 2023)	Development originally completed on November 29, 2022 with v1.0.0.4080[16] Development towards v1.1 was announced to the public on Oct 25, 2023.[17]	Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android	See Clone Hero above under computer games for details.	See Clone Hero above under computer games for more details. Touchscreen controls?: Only to open input menu window to bind controls for physical controllers. Physical controls?: Yes.
	Clone Hero Mobile	Official website	JMMD Studio (jayymmd)	May 24, 2020 (v1.14.8)	v1.15.57 (Dec 15, 2021)	No	Android	Audio: .mp3, .ogg, .wav	Unrelated to Clone Hero despite having a similar title, this is a three-lane Guitar Hero/Rock Band-themed indie game that can import audio files and autogenerate charts for each difficulty (Easy, Medium, Hard, and Expert) with its built-in "music analysis system". Touchscreen controls?: Yes. Physical controls?: No
	CloneHeroX	Google Play (no longer available)	JMMD Studio (jayymmd)	Sep 11, 2020	v1.3.16 (Oct 12, 2020)	No	Android	Most FoFiX/Phase Shift/Clone Hero files	While unrelated to Clone Hero, this game does support custom songs and custom chart. However, the game is currently unstable in its current state (may crash on some devices) and its aspect ratio is only optimized for 16:9 screen ratio size on a 16:9 / 9:16 screen and will stretch on any other screen ratio. Touchscreen controls?: Yes. Physical controls?: ???
	YARG Mobile	YARG Mobile GitHub (Android branch)	Yet Another Rhythm Company (abbrev. YARC)	TBD	TBD (last updated Jun 21, 2023)	Inactive for now	Android (TBD)	See Yet Another Rhythm Game above under computer games for details	See Yet Another Rhythm Game above under computer games for more details Touchscreen controls?: To be developed. Physical controls?: Yes

History with Guitar Hero-inspired games[]

Frets on Fire by Unreal Voodoo and Freetar by Anton Struyk were both commonly-played Guitar Hero-inspired games from 2006 to 2008 with basic gameplay elements. Guitar Zero, which is a look-alike clone of Guitar Hero II, also received some attention in 2006 and 2007 and had a sequel in 2008 that was based on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, which was renamed to Frontman. However, Guitar Zero 2/Frontman received a cease and desist from Activision on October 2018 but was restored as Frontman with new graphics in February 2009, with no further response from Activision.^[25] However, these early Guitar Hero-inspired games were short-lived, especially Freetar and its editor when Struyk joined Vicarious Visions and had to focus on his job than his side projects^[26], and the Frontman team had difficulties contacting their programmer Callisto2002.^[12]

Frets on Fire was very popular and revolutionary at time for being one of the first Guitar Hero-inspired games, yet very basic, that it received a lot of unofficial mod support to enhance its gaming experience, most famously the MLH/Alarian Mod that eventually became its own standalone title called Frets on Fire X (or FoFiX for short), containing features from Rock Band and Guitar Hero World Tour including playable Drums and Vocals and gameplay elements. FoFiX is the only inspired game to support playable Vocals but lyrics were displayable in newer inspired games and even though newer inspired games replaced them, FoFiX still occasional receives updates to this day on its GitHub page.

Phase Shift by DWSK became the next well-known Guitar Hero/Rock Band-inspired video game with more gameplay elements included in these later Guitar Hero titles especially when the Guitar Hero franchise originally discontinued in 2010. However, the PC version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock with tools and game mods such as GHTCP and GH3+ seen more attention over the years, being video streamed on popular streaming websites like YouTube and Twitch by popular Guitar Hero players, that Guitar Hero III overshadowed Phase Shift, but Phase Shift still had its own unique features that it was sought for.

Phase Shift included almost everything FoFiX could do plus many more including Real Guitar/Bass (playable with Rock Band 3's Pro Guitar), Pro/Real Drums (7-lane Drums playable with Rock Band 3's Pro Cymbals and MIDI drumkits respectively), and Dance support (Dance Dance Revolution-styled playable track) except for Vocals that FoFiX had but it still supported displayable lyrics, making it the game with most playable instrumental games and all of these new instruments can be charted in Editor on Fire. The standalone free version ended with v1.27 on January 2, 2015 while the game would be greenlit for a Steam release with an early access purchase for it on April 25, 2019^[27] and new updates for the Steam version would include new graphical overhauls and better online play. However, shortly after, the Steam version's development was eventually put on indefinite hiatus—possibly canceled—in early May 2019, when its purchase was delisted from Steam with no direct explanation from the developers, which led to the disappointment of many fans.

Two years before that in 2017, a lot of attention was drawn to Clone Hero, a new competitor to FoFiX, Phase Shift, and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (modded PC version), while it was being developed in Unity by Ryan Foster, slowing acquiring features that Phase Shift had (minus Real Guitar/Bass and Dance) as well as improving its game engine and adding new gameplay features when a team was formed. It eventually supported Drums (4-lane, 5-lane, and Pro features for 4-lanes) during public testing and became the first Guitar Hero-inspired game to feature Guitar Hero Live's gameplay style and controller support. After years of development during its public testing period, v1.0 was officially released on November 29, 2022,^[28] thus officially concluding Clone Hero's development.^[16] Currently, Clone Hero is most popularly-played Guitar Hero-inspired game to date due to the attention it received with popular Guitar Hero III YouTube and Twitch streamers.

In 2020, a new competitor for Clone Hero was being developed known as Fret Smasher by Lavoie Studios. A private alpha testing occurred on February 23, 2020 in its Discord server^[29] and an Early Access alpha release was published on Steam in June 1, 2021^[30] and Discord users have a chance of gaining access to the Early Access Steam version to test features and report bugs. While it has a smaller number of playable instruments, it supports many features that Clone Hero already has but includes some features Phase Shift had that Clone Hero didn't such as custom careers. It, along with Clone Hero, aims for better online multiplayer experience with new and returning online game modes from Guitar Hero games.

A notable difference between the gameplay experience of Fret Smasher and Clone Hero is the feeling of their game engines with no modifiers; Clone Hero's game engine was built for smooth and ease gameplay with a note-hit timing window of 140 ms to help new players play notes while Fret Smasher went back to a tighter, stricter gameplay experience with tighter a note-hit timing window of 120 ms and stricter HOPOs and strumming timings to increase challenge for skilled players,^[31], but these can be altered with cheats like "Infinite Frontend" (extends HOPOs/Taps' pre-hit window to 120 ms) or "Drunk Mode" (doubles note hit window to 240 ms but score saving is limited) to make Fret Smasher play easier, or Precision Mode (reduces note-hit timing window) to make Clone Hero a bit more difficult.

In October 2022, a new Guitar Hero/Rock Band-inspired video game (graphically inspired by Rock Band) was in development called Yet Another Rhythm Game, or YARG for short. Like Frets on Fire X and Performous (formerly titled UltraStar Next Generation that was inspired by UltraStar, which was inspired by the SingStar series), it is an open-source video game where anyone can contribute in its development. It's first development release was on December 22, 2022. Many features and fixes were included over updates such as Pro Guitar support (from Rock Band 3) in v0.2.0 that Phase Shift also supports, Drums support in v0.2.1, Vocals support in v0.3.0, Pro Drums support in v0.4.0, additional audio file support in v0.6.1, vocal harmonies in v0.7.0 (for multiplayer on Vocals), song caching in v0.8.0—to discover, save songs' data, and reload them quicker—new graphics and audio engine in v0.9.0, tap notes, Rock Band 4's Brutal mode, .chart support, and macOS and Linux support in v0.10.0, whammy feature and Star Power's draining rate by beats in v0.10.5.

As of July 1, 2023, an Android port is in the works, being developed by ebellumat.^[32] Unlike the Android port of Clone Hero, which does not support touchscreen controls other than being able to touch the input settings' menu, full touchscreen control is being planned in the Android port of YARG as well as having gameplay support in both portrait and landscape orientations. The only other known Guitar Hero-styled indie Android games that had custom songs and touchscreen support—albeit were short-lived and were left incomplete or buggy—are Live Studio Sessions (2017) by NewCreature and CloneHeroX (2020) by jayymmd.

Mobile and web games[]

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Newgrounds, Scratch, and similar sites spawned many Guitar Hero clones. Other websites also had Guitar Hero-inspired games playable on the web too. As Adobe Flash Player has been discontinued since December 31, 2020, Flash games these days can only be played on a Flash emulator like Newground Player or a web browser extension that has Flash emulation such as Ruffle.

The Google Play Store for Android and iOS App Store also spawned many rhythm games inspired by Guitar Hero and Rock Band, or the Dance Dance Revolution series.

Homebrew for other gaming platforms[]

List of indie-developed games for non-computer platforms based on the Guitar Hero series.

• D-Pad Hero (2009) by Kent Hansen & Andreas Pedersen - Nintendo Entertainment System (website)
  • D-Pad Hero 2 (2010) by Kent Hansen & Andreas Pedersen - Nintendo Entertainment System (website)
• Game Hero (2011) by thunderstruck - Virtual Boy (Planet Virtual Boy webpage)
• GuitarFun (2008) by Hermes - PlayStation 2, Wii, PC (Wii: website translated · Gamebrew page · Wiibrew page; PS2: PSX-Place page · Internet Archive)
• Guitar Star (2009) by festi & cladil (Gamebrew page · website)
• Guitars on Fire (2009) by Daid - Wii (Gamebrew page)
• Gunnar Hero (2007) by HardHat & Team Sushi - PlayStation Portable (website · Gamebrew Wiki page)
• GuitarNX (2020) by Tijeras94 - Nintendo Switch (Gamebrew page · GitHub)

ROM hacks[]

List of hacked games that include Guitar Hero-like gameplay elements.

• Guitar Hero 64 (2021) for Super Mario 64 (1996) by ArcticJaguar725 - Nintendo 64 (website)

Trivia[]

• The Guitar Hero franchise was inspired by GuitarFreaks, a rhythm video game arcade series created by Konami and published in Japan. GuitarFreaks also spin-off the DrumMania series and together, they are known as the "Gitadora" (ギタドラ) series. Konami also assisted in creating Guitar Hero Arcade and published Rock Revolution that did not receive well reviews and sales.
  • Besides Guitar Hero, the 1999 rhythm arcade video game Guitar Jam developed by Namco may have also been inspired by the GuitarFreak series.^[33]

External links[]

• A list of every known rhythm game (including inspired titles) on Github documented by szymmirr - https://github.com/szymmirr/rhythm-games

References[]