Smartphone apps are a dime a dozen. Each day, dozens premiere on app stores worldwide, and by the next week, only a handful haven’t been left to collect dust in user’s app drawers. But an exception does exist — Cytus (《音乐节奏》), a cell phone game created by Taiwan-based company Rayark, has remained in the top three on the App Store for more than two years. How has it managed to do so, especially in a fluid industry where people constantly crave new thrills? Let’s check out the app to find out.
智能手机APP如今已多如牛毛。在全球APP商店里，每天都有一堆新鲜APP上架，但是一周之后，其中的大部分都会被遗忘, 尘封在用户收藏应用文件夹的“抽屉”里。不过，其中一款APP却出乎意料的“长寿”。这款名为《音乐节奏》的手机游戏由一家总部位于台湾的公司Rayark开发设计。迄今为止，它高居APP商店前三甲的位置已超过两年之久。在这个人人不断寻找新刺激的不断变化的行业里，这款APP到底是如何做到“长盛不衰”的呢？让我们一探究竟！

If you’re familiar with Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero, then you should be no stranger to Cytus’ gameplay mechanisms. However, there are a few twists in this rhythm game. With most music games, the notes usually scroll toward a designated area where you must tap the notes in time. Cytus instead has a scan line traveling up and down the screen to match the tempo of the music. When the line passes through gray circular touch points, which gradually expand, flushing with color as they become active, you need to tap them or hold your finger down for longer notes. Occasionally you’ll be asked to follow a diagonal line of circles, dragging your digit through them as the line rises or falls.
如果你熟悉《舞蹈革命》、《吉他英雄》，那么《音乐节奏》的游戏机制你也一定不会陌生。只是这款节奏软件有几处不同之处。在多数音乐游戏中，音符一般在固定的区域内滚动，你只要适时点击音符即可。但在《音乐节奏》中，有一条扫描线在整个屏幕中上下移动，以匹配音乐的节奏。当扫描线经过不断变大的灰色音符的圆心时，音符被激活变红，此时你需要点击音符或是长按后底部的音符不松开（直到该音符结束）。有时，你还要根据节奏的起伏，将带箭头的音符滑块沿着斜线和圆点组成的路径上下拖动。
These twists aren’t what really make Cytus stand out. What matters the most is the core of the game — the music. Cytus consists of 90 free songs ranging from techno to J-pop. And as androidapps.com points out, “Cytus is like the Billboard’s Top 50 of J-pop”.
不过这些新特点并不是让《音乐节奏》脱颖而出的真正原因。它成功的关键在于所用的音乐。《音乐节奏》囊括了90首免费歌曲，从电子舞曲到日本流行音乐应有尽有。正如androidapps.com网站所言，“《音乐节奏》就像日本流行音乐‘公告牌50强榜单’ (《公告牌》是创办于1894年的美国音乐杂志，以发布各类音乐排行榜而闻名)。”
According to developer Rayark, high quality original records were contributed by the likes of Japanese video game music composer Tsukasa Masuko and Japanese music producer naotyu- (full name Naoki Chiba).
该游戏的开发商Rayark表示，这款游戏中的高质量原创曲目都出自如日本电子游戏音乐作曲家増子司、日本音乐制作人千叶直树等人之手。
And even if J-pop is not your cup of tea, you can fully appreciate Cytus, because the songs themselves are energetic and well suited to this kind of game.
就算你对日本流行音乐并不感冒，《音乐节奏》一样可以让你沉浸其中，因为它的歌曲都充满活力，十分适合此类游戏。