Sequence is an entirely unique game which combines rhythm gaming with RPG mechanics. Three boards drop arrows simultaneously in a DDR fashion - one for attack, one for defense, and one for regeneration of mana with which to attack further. The player rotates between the boards while pressing the arrows in time with music in order to win the battle, gain experience and items, craft weapons, and learn new spells.

It's quite fun, if a bit short. The voice acting is quite solid for a budget title, the music is fairly good, and the graphics are perfectly serviceable if quite static - however, for the type of game it is, that doesn't get in the way.

The story gets a little odd (if predictably so) towards the end, but all in all, I had a lot of fun throughout. It's more for rhythm game fans than RPG fans, as those mechanics are the dominant ones, but it's definitely worth a look if you want to try something different.

Sequence is an amazing music driven game with phenomenal dialogue lines and voice acting, the storyline is also very compelling. Totally worth the full price, I strongly recommend this game for everyone!

Im huge fan of stepmania and in the meanwhile I played it without a step board, arrows, arrows everywhere - thats why I gladly started playin Sequence, no, not by the arrows itself but by the close gameplay of rhythm music game ;) If u are one of those who enjoy any kind of music game dont hesitate to play this sweet title with charmin hand drawn artworks and really good piece of music tracks, U'll love it since u can play here as total casual to complete storyline and yet play for fun or choose the way-of-a-peaceful-warrior's-magic-fingers and smash ur keyboard in the end >:D 9/10

This game is surprisingly addictive. While other indie games like Limbo, Braid, etc., may make a better first impression with their stark visual style and challenging gameplay, Sequence is the game I find myself coming back to the most. It's just plain fun. The game has amazing replay value, too. The different difficulty settings mean you can always give yourself a new challenge, and if you happen to be lucky enough to own a PC compatible dance pad or guitar, then there are even more ways to play it, too.

I'm not a huge fan of rhythm, but I was pulled in by the game's deep strategy. There is a lot more to this game than just pressing buttons to the beat! In fact, there is so much more to it that it might be off-putting or confusing to some people. In order to be successful, you have to be good at multi-tasking, and there is no such thing as a perfect run on the songs (due to the three-screen system, missing some notes is inevitable).

The music is good, with all the tracks distinctive and crisp. The art style is so-so. Another interesting feature of this already interesting game is the story. With a game like this, I really would have expected a tacked-on story or even none at all. However, the developer put in a decent effort to make an engaging tale with a few twists and turns. It didn't blow me away, but it is by no means terrible. It's a little above standard visual novel quality, and while I wouldn't reccomend playing the game for the story alone, I think quite a few players will be pleasantly surprised by just how good it is.

All-in-all, one of my favorite indie games. I'm a little sad that more people haven't played this game, as it is a fresh take on both RPG and rhythm games. Definitely needs more love!

Sequence: 8.5/10

The first thing I’d like to touch upon is the engaging gameplay. Think Guitar Hero, but more complex; directional arrows will fall from the screen and you must match them at the bottom, to the beat of the song. But where it becomes more complicated is that there’s “three screens” – one for offense (casting spells, which lowers your opponents health, heals you, etc.), one for mana (which is the resources for spells), and defense (in which you counter your opponent’s attacks; if you match the arrows, you don’t take damage, but if you don’t, you take damage equal to what the arrow is worth). This leads to a very fun experience, because you must decide on the fly if you want to cast X spell at that time, while managing mana and seeing if you want to finish that spell, or negate the damage incoming to you, etc. The spell must be finished completely, without mistake, to be cast; if you mess up one note, it doesn’t do anything, so the more rewarding the spell, the more difficult to pull off. I am not ashamed to admit that I had to shelf my “best” healing spell for a moderate heal because I could never pull it off. The game is at its best when you’re on equal terms with your opponent, having to juggle mana, spells, and defense. Unfortunately, the difficulty isn’t always there, and I’ve been able to literally completely ignore defense and just go for mana and spells. This is okay when the enemy is essentially a “gear check”, so to speak, but it happened more than I’d like. The game has seven floors (perhaps more, I’m currently on floor six of a stated seven), and each floor has a “special power” (that is designed to hinder you) for each fight: for the sixth floor, for example, you can’t see the screens you’re not currently selecting. Another power is that you’re unable to switch screens until the timer is expired, so you better make sure you’re on the defensive screen, or you’re going to be taking a lot of damage.

I would like to note that I was very surprised at how well the (controller, never tested the keyboard) controls worked; I was swapping screens and hitting notes effortlessly, and I can count the amount of times I was disoriented / confused on my hand.

Being a rhythm game, the music is important, and Sequence delivers. I’d like to note that I enjoy it so much I’ll be throwing the tracks on my iPod for repeated listening. Said tracks are varied so it’s not just the same type of music, although I do wish there was more variety when you’re grinding; hearing the same song all the time on the same enemy did kind of get on my nerves. But, still, they’re good songs, so I don’t mind much. For each song, the tempo dictates how the notes are going to hit you: if it’s a slow song, there’ll be fewer notes, but they’ll count for more, while the opposite is true for frantic music.

While the story does exist, it’s not very engaging. I am – as I’m sure a lot of others are – tired of the main character waking up and not knowing what’s going on / amnesia / what-have-you. The dialog between the main character and your ally is often amusing (they’ve had discussions which includes ♥♥♥♥♥, “…like a Disney without hidden sexual innuendo, they were missing something”, etc.) that I’ve forgiven the absence of the story. And, without spoilers, the dialog made me care for the plot development about two-thirds of the way through the game, so the plot is a lot better than most games in this genre.

My largest complaint is the grinding required to advance in the story. I am at heart an RPG-enthusiast, so I really don’t mind grinding – usually I enjoy it. Sequence, however, doesn’t pull grinding off very well, though. The game employs a crafting element to the game, which is required to use to advance. You can craft items such as permanent health increases, items that disable the hindering “special powers” that each floor uses against you, and, most importantly, key items that allow you to challenge the boss for that specific floor. To get these specific items, you must defeat certain enemies, and upon defeating them, you have a percentage chance to get one of three items that they carry. This wouldn’t be so bad, except you must often get a 25% drop from multiple enemies, and this quickly becomes annoying when they pose no threat to you. Without said grinding, however, the game would be at least half as long, so I don’t mind it too much…but enough to complain about it. ;)

Another small complaint is the difficulty curve. In the beginning, it was about perfect for me and my difficulty setting (I chose the default “normal” difficulty), since I wasn’t fully aware of how to time the notes and how the game worked, etc. Then floors two through five didn’t give me many problems…and then the sixth floor is kicking my ♥♥♥. I feel like they’re trying to prolong the game with unnecessarily high “gear checks” at this point. This would be more forgivable if said difficulty curve was more spread out and not super noticeable after having a very easy time previously.

Overall, I am very impressed with this gem of a game that I paid $1 for (among two other solid games). In fact, I like it so much that I played five straight hours of it one day, and am planning on putting all of the songs on my iPod to listen to later.

While there are some small flaws in my eyes, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

TL:DR = 8.5/10;
Pro = Gameplay is very fun, music is great, fun dialog.
Con = Unnecessarily long, RNG-reliant grinding, spiked difficulty curve.

[I played this game offline; I have eight hours logged as of posting.]

As a RPG and Stepmania enthousiast, this would seem like the perfect Indie game for me. And indeed, it was fun to play. It was unique. It was something fresh. And being a RPG fan, I am used with doing repetitive things in order to get that one rare drop.

One warning is that even casual gamers who would like to simply play the game and go through the story, might still face some moments where they have to engage battles over and over to get that last item for a recipe. Bite through it, the way you make story progression is quite slow in itself. Ronald Jenkees kicks ♥♥♥, but not after the 6~7th time in a row. Yeah, having only one fixed song per enemy doesn't get you on your toes that much.

On sales it's usually just one buck, so hopefully no buyer's remorse after you've even spent an hour at it.