Mad Maestro
Part two of the Fresh Games debut duo has an interesting hook, but it may not hold for long.
Published: April 6, 2002
Out of the two Fresh Games titles, I initially liked Mad Maestro better. It was relatively easy to learn, it was catchy, and – gaspitty gasp gasp – it featured… classical music? For a second, I imagined kids getting their first introduction to Tchaikovsky or Schubert or Wagner through a video game, and the prospect was exciting: bringing classical music to the masses. Except it dawned on me as I played more and more of the game that this really wasn't a game for the masses, and like it's other Fresh Games counterpart, it will only satisfy a very niche crowd. Of course, within that crowd, it should satisfy heartily – as long as they can stomach classical music.
If it isn't obvious by now, I do indeed enjoy classical music. Often times when I'm writing a particularly annoying review, or I just need to get my creative juices going, I'll switch gears from the usual death metal/country/industrial/bubblegum pop/rock/reggae/techno/whatever music happens to be blaring from my speakers at any given moment to something a little more cerebral, like good jazz or classical. Even more obvious, however, is the fact that I just like music in general, which is why I have a particular fondness for music games, whatever their form.
Mad Maestro is certainly a music game, though it doesn't take the form of any music games of past. Rather than borrowing from a DDR or a PaRappa, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. decided to try something new: they'd go with a custom controller or at the very least try and tap the analog capabilities of the DualShock 2. The result is what's know Stateside as Mad Maestro. Unfortunately, bringing the custom baton controller that would have obviously helped the game's fun factor wasn't part of the package. This of course leaves us with the predicament of playing a game that had a custom controller designed for it without the custom controller. It's not quite as fun-robbing as playing, say, Dance Dance Revolution without the dance pad, but you still feel as through the game never really takes off in the same way it could had you been able to use the controller. There is a bit of good news, however: since the game is essentially the same piece of code that was released in Japan, the controller can be imported and used with the US version. Good luck finding the controller, though, as it's not exactly in high demand – either here or in Japan.
Still, there is fun to be had here, and the DualShock 2 does an admirable job of making the game as interactive as possible without all that hardcore hot-n-heavy baton action. The analog sensitivity of the shape buttons is actually used quite well, by using pressure to indicate how accented a direction is you can indicate light, medium or hard accents. See, depending on the time signature (4/4 or 3/4), a cursor moves in either a counter-clockwise diamond or triangle. When the cursor gets to a circular cue point, you simply press any of the face buttons with the corresponding pressure; blue is light, green is medium and red is hard. If an arrow appears in one of the cue points, you press that direction on the d-pad. On the right is a meter showing you exactly how hard you're pressing on a button at any given time, and on the left is a meter that gauges your performance. Do well consistently, and you slip into Angel mode where the background changes and all is cheery. Of course, if you start to falter during Angel mode, you can slip into Devil mode, which will quickly turn the background into something akin to a Tim Burton movie. It's a simple idea, but like any good rhythm game, timing is everything. Being classical, there's a tendency to switch tempo a couple of times per song, and you'll have to keep up. It's not tough to follow the on-screen action, but staying perfectly on beat is often easier seen than done.
With controller basics out of the way, we can move on to the story. Or perhaps, "story." There isn't much linking you from song to song other than the basis that you're uber-conductor Takt, a man guided by Symphony, the faerie guard of the Bravo Town Concert Hall. The Concert Hall is scheduled to be torn down, and the only way to save it is to recruit townsfolk to play in a massive orchestral concert inside the Concert Hall. To do this, you'll have to stop invading aliens, save a failing fashion show, re-unite an on-again off-again couple on the rocks, and plenty of other goofy situations to add plenty of zany cast members to the fold.
Mad Maestro isn't exactly the most stunning visual tour-de-force on the planet, though it does try harder to present itself than Mister Mosquito. Locales are varied (what other game do you know of that has you playing in a circus, open field where aliens have landed, and a fashion show?) and have plenty of detail for what they're showing. The characters are often the kind of plucky, over-the-top fare you'd find in classic Japanese character designs, and they do a good job of adding some personality to the instruments they play.
The game certainly isn't a total looker, but since the background details are minor fluff because of where your eyes focus on-screen, you'll hardly have time to complain. You'll notice big changes when you do well or poorly, but picking out specific details is something best left up to an observer who's not trying to conduct a full symphony. There are moments when you can watch pieces of your band play different parts, and it's nice to see all the animation is synched up perfectly with the audio, so when you hear a cymbal crash, you'll see it happen at the precise moment it should, so long as the camera is on the right person.
There really aren't any sound effects to speak of, since this is a rhythm music game, but the stuff that fills the menus does a good job of highlighting choices without getting in the way. Likewise, the voice acting is expectedly terrible, but then that does add to the whole Japanese feel to the game. Symphony, the only real standout voice in the game, does a good job of sounding the part of a chipper faerie.
Because you're dealing with classical music, there's only so much you can say. It all really boils down to whether or not you like music of this type. For casual fans, there's enough familiarity in songs from Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and of course "Flight of the Valkyries" to keep most entertained. The only real gripe I had about the music is that it's not really real instruments playing. I understand that it'd be a whole lot more difficult to show errors or the evolution of the band with pre-recorded instruments, but the whole MIDI-ish feel to the audio does server to cheapen the greater aural experience.
Like its Fresh Games debut partner, Mister Mosquito, Mad Maestro is a pretty nice title. It has the distinction of being the first classical music game that I know of, but then classical music isn't exactly all the rage right now. If it had shipped with the controller, this might be a justifiable purchase, but as it stands, the game feels just a little too shallow to keep anyone but the most die-hard orchestra geek entertained for an extended period of time. Just like Mister Mosquito, this game is worth picking up if you see it lying in a bargain bin for $20. Otherwise, it's probably wiser to snag it for a few days from your local video store and try it out with a few friends.
If it isn't obvious by now, I do indeed enjoy classical music. Often times when I'm writing a particularly annoying review, or I just need to get my creative juices going, I'll switch gears from the usual death metal/country/industrial/bubblegum pop/rock/reggae/techno/whatever music happens to be blaring from my speakers at any given moment to something a little more cerebral, like good jazz or classical. Even more obvious, however, is the fact that I just like music in general, which is why I have a particular fondness for music games, whatever their form.
Mad Maestro is certainly a music game, though it doesn't take the form of any music games of past. Rather than borrowing from a DDR or a PaRappa, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. decided to try something new: they'd go with a custom controller or at the very least try and tap the analog capabilities of the DualShock 2. The result is what's know Stateside as Mad Maestro. Unfortunately, bringing the custom baton controller that would have obviously helped the game's fun factor wasn't part of the package. This of course leaves us with the predicament of playing a game that had a custom controller designed for it without the custom controller. It's not quite as fun-robbing as playing, say, Dance Dance Revolution without the dance pad, but you still feel as through the game never really takes off in the same way it could had you been able to use the controller. There is a bit of good news, however: since the game is essentially the same piece of code that was released in Japan, the controller can be imported and used with the US version. Good luck finding the controller, though, as it's not exactly in high demand – either here or in Japan.
Still, there is fun to be had here, and the DualShock 2 does an admirable job of making the game as interactive as possible without all that hardcore hot-n-heavy baton action. The analog sensitivity of the shape buttons is actually used quite well, by using pressure to indicate how accented a direction is you can indicate light, medium or hard accents. See, depending on the time signature (4/4 or 3/4), a cursor moves in either a counter-clockwise diamond or triangle. When the cursor gets to a circular cue point, you simply press any of the face buttons with the corresponding pressure; blue is light, green is medium and red is hard. If an arrow appears in one of the cue points, you press that direction on the d-pad. On the right is a meter showing you exactly how hard you're pressing on a button at any given time, and on the left is a meter that gauges your performance. Do well consistently, and you slip into Angel mode where the background changes and all is cheery. Of course, if you start to falter during Angel mode, you can slip into Devil mode, which will quickly turn the background into something akin to a Tim Burton movie. It's a simple idea, but like any good rhythm game, timing is everything. Being classical, there's a tendency to switch tempo a couple of times per song, and you'll have to keep up. It's not tough to follow the on-screen action, but staying perfectly on beat is often easier seen than done.
With controller basics out of the way, we can move on to the story. Or perhaps, "story." There isn't much linking you from song to song other than the basis that you're uber-conductor Takt, a man guided by Symphony, the faerie guard of the Bravo Town Concert Hall. The Concert Hall is scheduled to be torn down, and the only way to save it is to recruit townsfolk to play in a massive orchestral concert inside the Concert Hall. To do this, you'll have to stop invading aliens, save a failing fashion show, re-unite an on-again off-again couple on the rocks, and plenty of other goofy situations to add plenty of zany cast members to the fold.
Mad Maestro isn't exactly the most stunning visual tour-de-force on the planet, though it does try harder to present itself than Mister Mosquito. Locales are varied (what other game do you know of that has you playing in a circus, open field where aliens have landed, and a fashion show?) and have plenty of detail for what they're showing. The characters are often the kind of plucky, over-the-top fare you'd find in classic Japanese character designs, and they do a good job of adding some personality to the instruments they play.
The game certainly isn't a total looker, but since the background details are minor fluff because of where your eyes focus on-screen, you'll hardly have time to complain. You'll notice big changes when you do well or poorly, but picking out specific details is something best left up to an observer who's not trying to conduct a full symphony. There are moments when you can watch pieces of your band play different parts, and it's nice to see all the animation is synched up perfectly with the audio, so when you hear a cymbal crash, you'll see it happen at the precise moment it should, so long as the camera is on the right person.
There really aren't any sound effects to speak of, since this is a rhythm music game, but the stuff that fills the menus does a good job of highlighting choices without getting in the way. Likewise, the voice acting is expectedly terrible, but then that does add to the whole Japanese feel to the game. Symphony, the only real standout voice in the game, does a good job of sounding the part of a chipper faerie.
Because you're dealing with classical music, there's only so much you can say. It all really boils down to whether or not you like music of this type. For casual fans, there's enough familiarity in songs from Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and of course "Flight of the Valkyries" to keep most entertained. The only real gripe I had about the music is that it's not really real instruments playing. I understand that it'd be a whole lot more difficult to show errors or the evolution of the band with pre-recorded instruments, but the whole MIDI-ish feel to the audio does server to cheapen the greater aural experience.
Like its Fresh Games debut partner, Mister Mosquito, Mad Maestro is a pretty nice title. It has the distinction of being the first classical music game that I know of, but then classical music isn't exactly all the rage right now. If it had shipped with the controller, this might be a justifiable purchase, but as it stands, the game feels just a little too shallow to keep anyone but the most die-hard orchestra geek entertained for an extended period of time. Just like Mister Mosquito, this game is worth picking up if you see it lying in a bargain bin for $20. Otherwise, it's probably wiser to snag it for a few days from your local video store and try it out with a few friends.
