Series guide
All Guitar Hero games in order
By Lenn Hodes · founder — every cartridge tested by hand
Guitar Hero went from one plastic guitar in 2005 to a full band in 2008 and to nothing in 2011, with one comeback in 2015. Below are all sixteen releases in order, Band Hero and DJ Hero included — the Wii and DS copies are the ones we stock and test — with the notes that matter second-hand: which controller each game needs, why the Wii guitar is empty without a Remote, and why the DS games will not play on a DSi or 3DS.
The short answer
Guitar Hero (2005) → II (2006) → Rocks the 80s (2007) → III (2007) → Aerosmith (2008) → On Tour (DS, 2008) → World Tour (2008) → Metallica (2009) → Smash Hits → Guitar Hero 5 → Band Hero → DJ Hero → Van Halen (2009) → Warriors of Rock (2010) → DJ Hero 2 (2010) → Guitar Hero Live (2015). Start with III or World Tour.
Tested Guitar Hero and DJ Hero games in stock
Wii and DS copies — every disc and cartridge play-tested on real hardware, and each listing says whether a controller is included.
Guitar Hero On Tour
Personally tested · Good condition
Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits
Personally tested · Good condition
DJ Hero
Personally tested · Good condition
Guitar Hero 5
Personally tested · Fair condition
Guitar Hero World Tour
Personally tested · Fair condition
DJ Hero 2
Personally tested · Good condition
Guitar Hero Warriors of Rock
Personally tested · Fair condition
Guitar Hero Metallica
Personally tested · Good condition
Every Guitar Hero game in order
- Guitar Hero · 2005 · PlayStation 2 — Harmonix and RedOctane’s original, with the first Gibson SG controller — 47 songs, most of them covers
- Guitar Hero II · 2006 · PS2, Xbox 360 (2007) — practice mode, co-op bass and rhythm parts, and the 360 version that introduced downloadable songs
- Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s · 2007 · PlayStation 2 — a short expansion built on the GH II engine — the last game Harmonix made before leaving for Rock Band
- Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock · 2007 · Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PC — Neversoft takes over; the first Guitar Hero on Wii, with the Les Paul controller that holds a Wii Remote
- Guitar Hero: Aerosmith · 2008 · Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PC — the first band-specific game, on the GH III engine
- Guitar Hero: On Tour · 2008 · Nintendo DS — the handheld version with the Guitar Grip that slots into the GBA port — followed by On Tour: Decades (2008) and On Tour: Modern Hits (2009)
- Guitar Hero World Tour · 2008 · Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, PC — drums and vocals arrive — the full band, a music studio, and the first game where every song is a master recording
- Guitar Hero: Metallica · 2009 · Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 — the best of the band games: 28 Metallica tracks plus their picks, and expert+ drums with a second pedal
- Guitar Hero Smash Hits · 2009 · Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 — 48 songs from the first games re-recorded as masters, now for the full band
- Guitar Hero 5 · 2009 · Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 — any-instrument party play — four guitars if you like — and drop-in, drop-out; 85 songs
- Band Hero · 2009 · Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360, DS — Guitar Hero 5 with a pop setlist and a family rating; the DS version has its own drum grip
- DJ Hero · 2009 · Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 — a turntable controller instead of a guitar: 93 mixes, and a guitar can join in on some of them
- Guitar Hero: Van Halen · 2009 · Wii, PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 — the last band game, sent free to buyers of Guitar Hero 5 before it reached shops
- Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock · 2010 · Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 — the Quest mode with Gene Simmons narrating, 93 songs — and the end of the classic series in 2011
- DJ Hero 2 · 2010 · Wii, PS3, Xbox 360 — more mixes, vocals and a two-turntable battle mode; the last game before Activision shelved the series
- Guitar Hero Live · 2015 · PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PS3, Xbox 360 — the reboot with a six-button guitar and live-action crowds; its GHTV streaming mode closed in December 2018
Do you have to play them in order?
No — there is no story to follow, only setlists. The order shows the hardware instead. The first three games are guitar-only. Guitar Hero III added the Wii and the Les Paul. World Tour added drums and a microphone, and from then on every game is a band game: Metallica, Smash Hits, Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero and Warriors of Rock all share that kit. DJ Hero swapped the guitar for a turntable. Guitar Hero Live started over with a guitar that works in nothing else.
Which Guitar Hero should you buy now?
- Guitar only: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock — the setlist everyone remembers, and the Wii version is the cheapest way in.
- Full band on a budget: Guitar Hero World Tour or Guitar Hero 5 — the same drums and microphone serve both.
- For one band: Guitar Hero: Metallica — the best of the band games by some distance.
- Something else on the same kit: DJ Hero — the turntable is the unusual part, but the guitar can join in.
- On a DS: On Tour: Modern Hits — the best setlist of the three, if the Guitar Grip comes with it and your console has a GBA slot.
Buying Guitar Hero second-hand
The disc is half the game — you need the controller that matches it
A Guitar Hero disc without a guitar is a menu. The five-button guitars from Guitar Hero III up to Warriors of Rock are interchangeable on the same console — a Les Paul from GH III plays Warriors of Rock on the same Wii. Guitar Hero Live is the exception: its six-button guitar is the only one it accepts, and the classic guitars do not work in it. Our listings say whether a controller is included.
On Wii, the guitar needs a Wii Remote inside it
The Wii guitars have no electronics of their own for the wireless link: you slide a Wii Remote into the neck slot, and it does the talking. So a Wii guitar without a Remote is not a controller, and one Remote per player is the real requirement. The drums and microphone from World Tour onwards connect through USB and the Remote as well.
The DS games only fit a DS or DS Lite
Guitar Hero: On Tour, Decades and Modern Hits, and Band Hero DS, all use the Guitar Grip — a fret-button peripheral that plugs into the Game Boy Advance slot. The DSi, DSi XL, 3DS and 2DS have no GBA slot, so the games cannot be played on them at all. The grip is also not included with a loose cartridge; check for it before you buy.
Online is gone, the discs are not
Nintendo’s Wi-Fi Connection closed in 2014, so the Wii games no longer download songs or play online, and Guitar Hero Live’s GHTV went offline in 2018. Everything on the disc still works: the career, the setlist, local multiplayer. For Guitar Hero Live that means the 42 on-disc songs, not the hundreds that GHTV once streamed.
Every copy tested before it is listed
Booting, gameplay, saving, disc and label condition — checked on real hardware. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked to all 27 EU countries. Originals only; if something ever turns out not to be genuine, you get your money back.
Browse tested Nintendo gamesQuestions we get asked
How many Guitar Hero games are there?
Twelve Guitar Hero console games from Guitar Hero (2005) to Guitar Hero Live (2015), counting the band games and expansions, plus the three DS On Tour games, Band Hero and the two DJ Hero games from the same studios. There have been no new games since 2015.
Do I need to play the Guitar Hero games in order?
No. Every game is a standalone setlist with its own career mode. Playing in order only matters for the hardware: the later games need the full band kit for drums and vocals, and Guitar Hero Live needs its own six-button guitar.
Which Guitar Hero game is the best one?
Guitar Hero III for guitar alone — the setlist and the difficulty made the series. World Tour or Guitar Hero 5 if you want the full band with drums and vocals; Metallica if you want the hardest charts and the best single-band setlist.
Do Guitar Hero guitars work with Rock Band, and the other way round?
Usually, on the same console: from Guitar Hero World Tour and Rock Band 2 onwards both series read the five-button guitars as a standard controller, and the exceptions are the early pairings (the PS3 Guitar Hero III guitar only worked in the first Rock Band after a patch). Guitar Hero Live’s six-button guitar works in nothing else. Drum kits are the less reliable part — test before you rely on one across series.
Is there a Guitar Hero on Nintendo Switch?
No. The last Nintendo console with a Guitar Hero game is the Wii U, with Guitar Hero Live (2015). On the Wii the series runs from Guitar Hero III to Warriors of Rock, and the DS has the three On Tour games.
Do you ship outside the Netherlands?
We ship to all 27 EU countries with track & trace. Parcels leave from the Netherlands, there are no customs charges within the EU, and your country’s exact rate appears at checkout before you pay.
Years given are the first release; European dates were sometimes a few months later. Onze Wii-collectie in het Nederlands.