This showed up and I almost put in the Pile of Games (Most with a Kiddie License) That Will Never Even Have the Shrink Wrap Broken. But in a fit of boredom, I opened it and put it into the DS. ‘What the heck,’ I thought, ‘it’s got to at least have the Kill the Wabbit song.’
And, boy am I glad I did, because I love this little thing. No joke. I give it a 10 out of 12, which is kind of like an 8.8 on the 7-9 scale.
-TomI didn’t even know that existed. I’ll have grab a copy.
Tom, there isn’t a single mention of Carl Stalling in your review. For shame. But seriously, what’s the deal? Is the soundtrack Stalling’s brand of insanely stitched together classical motifs accompanied by boink noises, or is it just straight classical?
Whoo-hoo! Thanks for the heads-up, Tom! I’ll be picking this up today. (Or tomorrow or whenever it’s out.)
I was hoping for an in-depth comparison to Mad Maestro, which actually came with a baton peripheral in Japan, I believe.
Seriously, though, I think I’ll pick this one up as Tom was right about Space Invaders.
I was hoping this was a modern remake of EA’s “Cartooners” with a WB license. That would rock.
So is it basically Elite Beat Agents/OUENDAN!!! in Looney Toons clothing?
Does it have a dancing frog?
How is the difficulty on the harder setting, does it compare to EBA?
Wtf? Out of 12?
I KNOW! I MEAN, WTF DUDE! JUST WHEN YOU THINK HE’S GOING TO ZIG, HERE COMES THE ZAG!
I’m sorry to say I don’t even know who Carl Stalling is. :( But, no, these aren’t zany remixes, unless you count the terribly synthesized techno versions you can unlock. There is, however, a cute clucking sound during the selection from Carmen.
Roguefrog, if you click on the link, you’ll see that I’ve noted a few important differences from EBA. For a couple of reasons, I like it much better than EBA. Your mileage may vary.
JanRandomNumbers, the difficulty level is such that you can easily unlock everything on easy on probably the first try, and maybe even on medium. On hard, there are a bunch of them I won’t be able to get without practicing. But more importantly, there’s a grading system. On medium, I’m unable to get A’s or the coveted S’s yet. But I’m digging practicing to try to get better.
-Tom
I remember reading about this when it was in development and then completely forgot about it. I can’t wait to pick this up and it’s perfect timing since it’s mini-vacation time. I liked EBA at first and love music/rhythm games in general so this will be a lovely distraction even if it’s too short or too easy. Either or both is fine with me! Mad Maestro was fun on the PS2 even though it was tricky for me to handle the different force levels required for the light, medium, and hard presses. How intense or crazy does the sliding get? My Lite screen is still pristine and I’m loathe to change that so I was wondering if I should break out my original DS.
Leopold!
Leopold!
L-L-Leopold!
Wow, I’d never even heard of Mad Maestro.
LadyG, the sliding isn’t any crazier than any other touchscreen-intensive game. It’s more about pacing yourself than just tearing crazily through the motions. Carefully following the tempo encourages a light touch much more than, say, the wild stuff you do in a Wario game or World Ends With You.
-TomMad Maestro was unplayable. It was one of those games that pretended that analog face buttons actually work.
Does it make you wonder how many other hidden gems (probably attached to kiddie IPs) end up in the Pile of Games, never to be noticed?
Nuts, I was about to write the same thing!
Love that episode.
I played through most of the easiest difficulty (Apprentice) tonight and I relish the concept, I’m not sold on the execution.
I don’t like that when you screw up the music screws up as well, because this is a “rich get richer” mechanic. Play poorly and not only does the music sound bad it makes it harder to recapture the beat. Play well and the beat is strong and the game is easy. I appreciate the realism of it, but I prefer games that support those playing poorly and provide additional challenges those who are doing well.
The sound fidelity is all over the place and it’s quite distracting to me. Most of the classical music that’s part of the game sounds fine, but the audience reaction and Looney Toons fanfare sounds after a level sounds like they’re at a significantly lower sample rate. It doesn’t ruin the game, it just makes it feel less polished.
The “remixed” versions of the classic tunes I played are incredibly bad. The Carmen remix sounded like a cheap 80s children’s television show trying to wow the kiddies with the Casio synthesizer effects.
I’m going to give it another shot tomorrow, but right now I think Ouendan/EBA provides a much tighter, more cohesive experience. I also can’t see myself getting into the music as much; I adore the classic music selection of the Looney Toons, but the faster pace of the songs in Inis games provides a punch that makes victory a good bit sweeter.
Yeesh! He’s only the most indispensible element to the Warner Brothers formula this side of Mel Blanc. The main single-handedly crafted cartoon music. Oh, you PLEB.
Also, boy, those 3D models of Bugs and co. are terrible.