This is a obscure title from Fresh games, not the mobile developer, but a subcompany of Eidos (now Square Eidos). In essence. its a rhythm game all about pushing one button, the tricks is how hard you press. You play as a conductor trying to save an opera house, and with the help of classical music, and a magic fairy (whut) you can get enough musicians to play in a concert at the grand finale.
Like most games of this type, there can be a lot going on in the screen, but sadly thats a distraction, your main focus should be in the center, following the tempo of the music and the circular target points, which is supposed to simulate you waving a baton - and the music can be in 3/4 or 4/4 measure of time. This rather tedious gameplay is challenged by songs that switch tempo, songs which have you push an arrow as well as the pressure button, and the multitude of minigames.
Graphics: 4
Lets get this out of the way, sometimes this could pass for a good PS1 game. The graphics are fairly ugly and blocky for a PS2. There can sometimes be some interesting stage design with stuff going on, but sadly youre going to be so focused on keeping the beat (or fail!) that you won't get much time to notice unless you get good at looking out of the corner of your eye.
Sound: 6
This is a music game, based off actual classical music - this score should be so much higher! Sadly, in order to alter the music according to your performance, it was recorded in midi style. Powerful pieces like Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' and Mussorgsky's 'Baba Yaga's hut'are dimmed through this weaker audio. That said, if you are not expecting audio quality greatness, there is a large selection of songs to choose from. Many sets that may have unfamiliar titles can seem familiar when heard from TV shows and other media.
Addictiveness: 5
Getting all the way through a song can be challenging, especially the ones to unlock minigames. Sometimes you have have it almost perfect then mess up somewhere towards the end and get yourself booed to game over. It requires like all games of this type, a lot of practice and memorization. Some songs like 'Flight of the bumblebee' I did so much I started passing it on muscle memory.
There is voice work in the game, but its rather flat. The sound effects can be nice, like in a minigame where your music helps a fire brigade with their assembly line delivery, they are all hup!hup!ho!yup!.
Story: 6
It actually has a story, but its something about magical music powers and involves a fairy that doesn't do much. I did like the people you recruit into your orchestra need to be aided in their real life problems (with music, of course!) and they all learn(or knew) how to play something in the finale.
The collection of minigames is pretty neat, you can unlock them one at a time based on a challenging song. These show a different side of the game. Its a quirky game, so anything from duck races, fashion shows to alien encounters use your button presses in more inventive ways.
Depth: 7
The minigames, the ability to use pressure sensitive presses of the controller are novel ways to interact in this game. But I wanted more. At the very end of the game the concert feature allows you to choose songs and play them one after the other, without a physical bar to gauge your success, I liked that approach and wished it was used more. At no point did I feel like really was a conductor, and thats a detriment to the game. Maybe it was too much to expect in a game with fairies and space aleins.
Difficulty: 7
Some of these songs are quite hard, but fortunately, beating the game doesn't require you to unlock minigames. To beat everything 100%, earn all songs for play in orchestra and all minigames, takes a lot of work. There was one song, Bizet's 'Farandole' that was MADNESS to try and beat. It starts slow and just builds and builds, the game demanding faster and faster actions from you. You will be challenged, even if you are not going for total game conquering.
Overall: 5.8
This was a bit of misfire in this genre, the graphics and sound quality really let the overall product down. I commend the developer for taking a risk on solely classical music, but sadly, Fresh games (Eidos) was known for unusual games, but not great ones. This is a obscure title from Fresh games, not the mobile developer, but a subcompany of Eidos (now Square Eidos). In essence. its a rhythm game all about pushing one button, the tricks is how hard you press. You play as a conductor trying to save an opera house, and with the help of classical music, and a magic fairy (whut) you can get enough musicians to play in a concert at the grand finale.
Like most games of this type, there can be a lot going on in the screen, but sadly thats a distraction, your main focus should be in the center, following the tempo of the music and the circular target points, which is supposed to simulate you waving a baton - and the music can be in 3/4 or 4/4 measure of time. This rather tedious gameplay is challenged by songs that switch tempo, songs which have you push an arrow as well as the pressure button, and the multitude of minigames.
Graphics: 4
Lets get this out of the way, sometimes this could pass for a good PS1 game. The graphics are fairly ugly and blocky for a PS2. There can sometimes be some interesting stage design with stuff going on, but sadly youre going to be so focused on keeping the beat (or fail!) that you won't get much time to notice unless you get good at looking out of the corner of your eye.
Sound: 6
This is a music game, based off actual classical music - this score should be so much higher! Sadly, in order to alter the music according to your performance, it was recorded in midi style. Powerful pieces like Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' and Mussorgsky's 'Baba Yaga's hut'are dimmed through this weaker audio. That said, if you are not expecting audio quality greatness, there is a large selection of songs to choose from. Many sets that may have unfamiliar titles can seem familiar when heard from TV shows and other media.
Addictiveness: 5
Getting all the way through a song can be challenging, especially the ones to unlock minigames. Sometimes you have have it almost perfect then mess up somewhere towards the end and get yourself booed to game over. It requires like all games of this type, a lot of practice and memorization. Some songs like 'Flight of the bumblebee' I did so much I started passing it on muscle memory.
There is voice work in the game, but its rather flat. The sound effects can be nice, like in a minigame where your music helps a fire brigade with their assembly line delivery, they are all hup!hup!ho!yup!.
Story: 6
It actually has a story, but its something about magical music powers and involves a fairy that doesn't do much. I did like the people you recruit into your orchestra need to be aided in their real life problems (with music, of course!) and they all learn(or knew) how to play something in the finale.
The collection of minigames is pretty neat, you can unlock them one at a time based on a challenging song. These show a different side of the game. Its a quirky game, so anything from duck races, fashion shows to alien encounters use your button presses in more inventive ways.
Depth: 7
The minigames, the ability to use pressure sensitive presses of the controller are novel ways to interact in this game. But I wanted more. At the very end of the game the concert feature allows you to choose songs and play them one after the other, without a physical bar to gauge your success, I liked that approach and wished it was used more. At no point did I feel like really was a conductor, and thats a detriment to the game. Maybe it was too much to expect in a game with fairies and space aleins.
Difficulty: 7
Some of these songs are quite hard, but fortunately, beating the game doesn't require you to unlock minigames. To beat everything 100%, earn all songs for play in orchestra and all minigames, takes a lot of work. There was one song, Bizet's 'Farandole' that was MADNESS to try and beat. It starts slow and just builds and builds, the game demanding faster and faster actions from you. You will be challenged, even if you are not going for total game conquering.
Overall: 5.8
This was a bit of misfire in this genre, the graphics and sound quality really let the overall product down. I commend the developer for taking a risk on solely classical music, but sadly, Fresh games (Eidos) was known for unusual games, but not great ones. |
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