📰 New article from Retro Handhelds
Community Rhythm Games and the CRKD Les Paul Pro Have Me Back In 2006 Again
Retro Rhythm Revival: How Clone Hero, YARG & the CRKD Les Paul Pro Brought Me Back to 2006
Remember those glory days of plastic guitars, frantic strumming, and bonding over “Trogdor! Burninate the countryside!”? Yeah, I thought rhythm games were dead—buried under a pile of oversaturated sequels and thrift store clearance bins. But thanks to two open-source powerhouses—Clone Hero and YARG—the genre’s back, better than ever.
These community-driven heirs to Guitar Hero and Rock Band let you download custom charts, play online with friends (Clone Hero), or chase perfection with tight latency control (YARG). They run on nearly any platform—including Android—and even support real guitar controllers.
Which brings me to the CRKD Les Paul Pro, a sleek, modern twist on the classic plastic axe. Mechanical frets, hall-effect strum bar with adjustable haptic feedback, swappable RGB necks, and Bluetooth/WiFi connectivity? This thing feels premium—especially compared to the squishy buttons of yesteryear. (Side note: The app’s weird photo request? Hard pass.)
If you missed the rhythm game wave—or just want to relive it—the stars (and Star Power) are aligning again. 🎸🔥