Long confined to the arcades and Sony's once-juggernaut PlayStation, the rhythm and music genre is finding increasing representation on Nintendo's hardware these days, with many entries published by Nintendo themselves leading the way and third parties beginning to make following steps.
Games in the genre are generally not a particularly cerebral affair: most are based around a stream of directions given to the player which the player must execute in time with music. They are significantly challenging nonetheless, based on the sheer speed and volume of inputs they require from the player, especially in higher levels. Some have input methods that test the player's physical agility as well by hitting a drum or executing dance steps.
In this article, I'll take you on a little tour of the noteworthy entries that have been leading Nintendo's platforms into the genre, ranging from some of the first cautious steps to a sampling of today's ever-increasing volume of releases.
Donkey Konga was the first entry in a new franchise for Nintendo and Namco that wasn't actually all that new at all: it was born out of the desire to bring Namco's Taiko no Tatsujin franchise to Nintendo consoles. For reasons I'm not privy to, it was believed that the franchise wouldn't sell without attaching a character from Nintendo's suite to it—so Nintendo let Namco borrow DK and set to work building the DK Bongos.
The DK Bongos plug into a GameCube controller port and resemble a pair of bongo drums. Underneath their rubber heads are sensors that detect when you strike them with your hands, and in the center is a mic that detects when you clap (though it generally works better—and causes less pain over time—if you tap the sides of the drum with your fingers instead.) In the Donkey Konga games, music plays while drumbeat icons scroll across the screen to the left. When they land in the target, you must perform that action, whether it's striking left, right, both, or clapping. The resulting game taps solidly into the primal percussionist in everyone, especially as the patterns get more involved. True-to-form for GameCube titles, Konga also let you play multiplayer, if you had the Bongos to back it up, allowing up to four drum-bangers to get in on the action.
Donkey Konga went through three iterations in Japan and two in North America and Europe, and featured songs both local and based on Nintendo franchises. Nintendo also sought to use the Bongos in other ways, releasing the critically-acclaimed Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and working on DK Bongo Blast (which had Bongos excised and is now headed to Wii).
Ultimately, though, it seems the franchise—and the Bongos—went the way of the dodo. The Bongos themselves were probably the key weakness, with consumer reluctance to buy peripherals: to this day you can find them, heavily discounted, on retailer shelves. Taiko Drum Master, however, is actually finding new Nintendo life: a Nintendo DS version, complete with a pair of drumstick styli, is headed to Japan this summer.
Konami's Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) franchise has a long history, debuting in arcades and spawning a long list of series entries for Sony's PlayStation consoles. The concept is simple, but like most games in the genre, difficult to master. Players stand on a dance pad that has pressure-sensitive points representing directions, and arrows scrolling up on the screen show the steps players should make once the arrow reaches the top. Points are handed out based on how timely and accurate the player's steps are.
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, a joint production of Nintendo and Konami, brought the DDR franchise to Nintendo consoles for the first time worldwide (though accessory maker MadCatz had tried poorly prior, with MC Groovz Dance Craze.) There was, in fact, actually another entry, albeit in Japan only, for the Nintendo 64: Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum, which featured lowered difficulty and seemed to be aimed at the younger set. Mario Mix carried this tradition on, bringing substantially lowered difficulty and theming the entire game—music and all—with Mario and friends.
The result may not have been a challenge, though it's still a good deal of fun, especially for those who might not have the skills to handle a regulation-issue DDR game. The title, while lacking in the more traditional DDR modes of play, also added its own spin. Mush Mode augmented the standard-issue arrows with Mario-themed characters, such as Koopas whose shells would go flying when stepped on. A set of minigames based around the Nintendo Action Pad, like a whack-a-mole equivalent and another simulating running and jumping served to round out the package somewhat.
Mario Mix was a much bigger seller than NOA expected it to be, apparently; new printings sold out quickly and fetched $100 on online auction outlets. It looks like Konami may be considering a different tack, though, for Wii: Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party is in the works for a release later this year, and it appears it might actually be less of a bastard stepchild and more of a mainline DDR game, except with added Wii controls. Time will tell, of course, what the title will look like when it actually gets released.
One of the titles accompanying the Nintendo DS to its Japanese debut in 2004 became a bit of an import hit, introducing many (including yours truly) to the joys of getting games from overseas: Daigasso! Band Brothers.
Band Brothers took the tack that the DS you held in your hands actually was a musical instrument. Every d-pad direction and face button was a note on the scale, and L and R were drafted to handle sharps and octaves, respectively. The songs in the game were arranged for the DS's synthesizer, and you could pick one of the up to eight parts that each song was made up of to play, while the DS would accompany you with the rest. Music for your part would scroll by on the top screen, displayed as the d-pad directions and buttons you'd need to press to make it happen, and unlike many music games, you'd actually have to sustain notes—holding down the button in question until it was time for that note to stop playing.
Band Brothers had two distinctive features that cemented it in the fond memories of DS owners. The first was actually something of a showcase for one of the DS's most touted features: DS Download Play. With a single Band Brothers game card (which was all many players outside Japan had as, due to cost, importing the game wasn't exactly an impulse buy), any song in the game could be played by a group of people, each taking a part. The results were often hilariously bad, but it was so much fun to play that it really didn't matter.
The other feature that hooked the Band Brothers addict was a full-featured music editor in the game. Would-be composers could arrange songs right on an on-screen musical score with very few limitations, making playable songs for the game. Compositions could be traded wirelessly, or—through unofficial hackery—copied off the game card and shared online. With regard to new music, Band Brothers also made one other milestone: Nintendo released an expansion pak that fit into the GBA slot specifically for the game, containing a substantial number of new songs.
Nintendo of America was originally considering releasing Band Brothers as Jam With the Band, but the title never actually made it. Future prospects for the franchise seem to be nil as well... so it may just be that Band Brothers was a one-hit wonder.
Games in the genre are generally not a particularly cerebral affair: most are based around a stream of directions given to the player which the player must execute in time with music. They are significantly challenging nonetheless, based on the sheer speed and volume of inputs they require from the player, especially in higher levels. Some have input methods that test the player's physical agility as well by hitting a drum or executing dance steps.
In this article, I'll take you on a little tour of the noteworthy entries that have been leading Nintendo's platforms into the genre, ranging from some of the first cautious steps to a sampling of today's ever-increasing volume of releases.
Bang, Bang, Bang on the Drums
Donkey Konga was the first entry in a new franchise for Nintendo and Namco that wasn't actually all that new at all: it was born out of the desire to bring Namco's Taiko no Tatsujin franchise to Nintendo consoles. For reasons I'm not privy to, it was believed that the franchise wouldn't sell without attaching a character from Nintendo's suite to it—so Nintendo let Namco borrow DK and set to work building the DK Bongos.
The DK Bongos plug into a GameCube controller port and resemble a pair of bongo drums. Underneath their rubber heads are sensors that detect when you strike them with your hands, and in the center is a mic that detects when you clap (though it generally works better—and causes less pain over time—if you tap the sides of the drum with your fingers instead.) In the Donkey Konga games, music plays while drumbeat icons scroll across the screen to the left. When they land in the target, you must perform that action, whether it's striking left, right, both, or clapping. The resulting game taps solidly into the primal percussionist in everyone, especially as the patterns get more involved. True-to-form for GameCube titles, Konga also let you play multiplayer, if you had the Bongos to back it up, allowing up to four drum-bangers to get in on the action.
Donkey Konga went through three iterations in Japan and two in North America and Europe, and featured songs both local and based on Nintendo franchises. Nintendo also sought to use the Bongos in other ways, releasing the critically-acclaimed Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and working on DK Bongo Blast (which had Bongos excised and is now headed to Wii).
Ultimately, though, it seems the franchise—and the Bongos—went the way of the dodo. The Bongos themselves were probably the key weakness, with consumer reluctance to buy peripherals: to this day you can find them, heavily discounted, on retailer shelves. Taiko Drum Master, however, is actually finding new Nintendo life: a Nintendo DS version, complete with a pair of drumstick styli, is headed to Japan this summer.
Dance Dance: Mario Mix and Beyond
Konami's Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) franchise has a long history, debuting in arcades and spawning a long list of series entries for Sony's PlayStation consoles. The concept is simple, but like most games in the genre, difficult to master. Players stand on a dance pad that has pressure-sensitive points representing directions, and arrows scrolling up on the screen show the steps players should make once the arrow reaches the top. Points are handed out based on how timely and accurate the player's steps are.
Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix, a joint production of Nintendo and Konami, brought the DDR franchise to Nintendo consoles for the first time worldwide (though accessory maker MadCatz had tried poorly prior, with MC Groovz Dance Craze.) There was, in fact, actually another entry, albeit in Japan only, for the Nintendo 64: Dance Dance Revolution: Disney Dancing Museum, which featured lowered difficulty and seemed to be aimed at the younger set. Mario Mix carried this tradition on, bringing substantially lowered difficulty and theming the entire game—music and all—with Mario and friends.
The result may not have been a challenge, though it's still a good deal of fun, especially for those who might not have the skills to handle a regulation-issue DDR game. The title, while lacking in the more traditional DDR modes of play, also added its own spin. Mush Mode augmented the standard-issue arrows with Mario-themed characters, such as Koopas whose shells would go flying when stepped on. A set of minigames based around the Nintendo Action Pad, like a whack-a-mole equivalent and another simulating running and jumping served to round out the package somewhat.
Mario Mix was a much bigger seller than NOA expected it to be, apparently; new printings sold out quickly and fetched $100 on online auction outlets. It looks like Konami may be considering a different tack, though, for Wii: Dance Dance Revolution: Hottest Party is in the works for a release later this year, and it appears it might actually be less of a bastard stepchild and more of a mainline DDR game, except with added Wii controls. Time will tell, of course, what the title will look like when it actually gets released.
Jamming With the Band
One of the titles accompanying the Nintendo DS to its Japanese debut in 2004 became a bit of an import hit, introducing many (including yours truly) to the joys of getting games from overseas: Daigasso! Band Brothers.
Band Brothers took the tack that the DS you held in your hands actually was a musical instrument. Every d-pad direction and face button was a note on the scale, and L and R were drafted to handle sharps and octaves, respectively. The songs in the game were arranged for the DS's synthesizer, and you could pick one of the up to eight parts that each song was made up of to play, while the DS would accompany you with the rest. Music for your part would scroll by on the top screen, displayed as the d-pad directions and buttons you'd need to press to make it happen, and unlike many music games, you'd actually have to sustain notes—holding down the button in question until it was time for that note to stop playing.
Band Brothers had two distinctive features that cemented it in the fond memories of DS owners. The first was actually something of a showcase for one of the DS's most touted features: DS Download Play. With a single Band Brothers game card (which was all many players outside Japan had as, due to cost, importing the game wasn't exactly an impulse buy), any song in the game could be played by a group of people, each taking a part. The results were often hilariously bad, but it was so much fun to play that it really didn't matter.
The other feature that hooked the Band Brothers addict was a full-featured music editor in the game. Would-be composers could arrange songs right on an on-screen musical score with very few limitations, making playable songs for the game. Compositions could be traded wirelessly, or—through unofficial hackery—copied off the game card and shared online. With regard to new music, Band Brothers also made one other milestone: Nintendo released an expansion pak that fit into the GBA slot specifically for the game, containing a substantial number of new songs.
Nintendo of America was originally considering releasing Band Brothers as Jam With the Band, but the title never actually made it. Future prospects for the franchise seem to be nil as well... so it may just be that Band Brothers was a one-hit wonder.