Topic: Attn Wii Music Fans!

Wii music makes me feel like a rock star.

@warioswoods: Woah, that guy's link you posted is amazing! This is the sorta vids that reviewers should have up rather then obiovusly trying to make the game look bad by having a dog suit randomly bark the LoZ theme.

Yours is great too

@Bahamut ZERO

Thanks; that one of mine was made ages ago when I first finally got the balance board and was able to use the free drumming. Check back here for sure in a day or two once I put up some more recent ones by several of the regulars on this thread (if none of them object to me uploading those, but I'm pretty sure they don't).

WassiJames really is incredible, and shows how far you can take it if you have a good enough musical ear. I think your paragraph above about the general hatred for this game amongst reviewers is all correct; people love pretending to be a blazing electric guitarist, but they find it ridiculous to hold the Wii remote like a trumpet or a violin.

I have to say that Nintendo's E3 presentation didn't help matters; it's like they went for a Japanese-style quirky and intentionally campy presentation rather than a good demonstration of the game's features, which did not go over well with the gaming culture over here. They should have given a presentation more like their demonstration for Google Zeitgeist instead, walking through the open ended nature of the game.

Unfortunately people apparently don't want their music games to actually involve creating music -- they just like to have fun with a DDR-style button prompting game while listening to the song play in parallel.

@sean007s

Creating a song in this game is really nothing like Mario Paint, and takes some real getting used to before it clicks, but that's part of its strength. It's not about putting notes on a staff one by one, it's about taking an existing song, and by using your ear and your creativity, playing within and against the song's structure in order to bend it into something new. You don't ever start with a blank song, you always have to use one of the existing ones and just find ways to reinvent it. It will feel very restrictive when you start, but I think some of the better videos online (like WassiJames') show just how open ended the game is once you get the hang of it.

I'm surprised how the songs sound nothing like what they're supposed to be, but they sound beautiful anyway.

I agree with Bahamut ZERO's rant. People just want to rock out. The sad truth is that most videogame reviewers are, in fact, pretty uncreative people. Most videogame reviewers I know all listen to hard rock, classic rock, and that sort of bull crap. To really apreciate this game you have to be a musically minded person. (BTW the videogame reviewers I speak of are the ones on OTHER websites--I actually quite like all the reviewers here at Nintendo Life)

Not to mention most of them want to play Rock Band or Guitar Hero and want to look like rock stars playing the game (in reality they look like a bunch of idiots to me!)

MIDI SOUND

Also, yeesh, is this a Wii Music love or Rock Band hate thread? I play drums in real life and in Rock Band...don't understand why I'm a philistine for liking rock music and enjoy the creative elements of Rock Band and hope to see them improve upon the release of Rock Band 3. Also, as a music fan, I don't like listening to Midi quality instruments, like those in Guitar Hero World Tour and Wii Music.

But you guys have improved my interest in Wii Music, and I thank you for your fair support for it.

I own all the guitar heros--I'm a huge fan of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, thank you very much. And the MIDI sound--not a big deal. The soundtrack to Twilight Princess was Midi, and it's one of the best soundtracks of all time. But the real thing is this game couldn't be done in anything BUT midi. You have over 65 different instruments, each with their unique sound. Not only that, but you can play any of these instruments at any point durning any of the 50 songs. SO, you have to use Midi. It's the only way. Plus it's pretty good quality for the most part.

@koolkitties: We're not saying Rock Band is bad, but more so that people (reviewers especially) want every music game to be exactly like Rock Band.

I understand. For every guitar hero, we need our elite beat agents, Wii Musics and Groovin' Blocks. Thanks for being so kind on your responses. Still, I don't think Wii Music is my game. I'll stick to my Rock Band 2 DLC.

Honestly, I couldn't stand the Twilight Princess soundtrack, I know I was supposed to love it but it really just ended up annoying me.

Thanks for explaining why it had to be Midi, though I wish the midi was a bit higher quality.

I've had a lot of fun with Rock Band in a party / multiplayer setting countless times. I just appreciate the fact that there is finally a music game that lets you play with the music itself rather than merely testing hand / eye coordination and speed.

lol, we're not 360 fanboys, we won't bite your head off

As much as I love Guitar Hero and Rock Band, I'd take Wii Music over them any day. I've always loved games that let you unleash your creativity, like LittleBigPlanet and Animal Crossing, so Wii Music was just a good fit for me. I'm glad that whenever Nintendo does a music game, like Wii Music or Rhythm Heaven, they think outside the box and don't try to copy Rock Band.

You people should really try "KORG DS-10 Synthesizer" for the Nintendo DS.
This is a great synthesizer/KAOSS pad/drumcomputer/mixer and I produced 15 really cool songs with it.
This kind of music software is the way to go. (In a way it's like Mario Paints music mode, just a lot more serious with tons of additional features.)

Wii Music is really a game for creative people as it gives you freedom that is not available in games like Guitar Hero or Rock Band. It's very customizable, where in GH/RB every song is always the same and you can't add any of your own likings to them.
On the other side, it's unfair to say that the gameplay in GH/RB is nothing more than "timed button-pressing", since you learn at least some rhythms in these games.
On that note: Donkey Konga 1&2 are also great rhythm based music games. Here you really learn to play bongos.

But if you are a creative guy who wants to make his own personal music, get KORG DS-10 Synthesizer and Wii Music.
If you are a casual musician-wannabe get Guitar Hero. Rock Band resemblances some simulated drumming and real singing so that's not too shabby.

Electronic experimentalists should try Electroplankton as it's a great relaxing experience.

Games like Elite Beat Agents or Rhythm Paradise just excersise you in timing. There's not much to them. They are more games than music.

Dr. Kawashima 2: More Brain Training - That piano minigame is one of the best games to learn some classic piano tunes. Great for piano novices.

Now, do you know some other music games on the Wii/DS/Gamecube I should try? I'm really into music games...
testing, playing and fiddling with all of em.

@SKTTR: Ouden 2. It's a Japanese version of EBA, but is soooooooo much better.

The good thing is Wii Music sold a couple million copies worldwide so there is always the chance of a sequel. Last time I looked sales count more than reviewer opinions when it comes to that sort of thing!

I just found the greatest little Wii Music gem. I've mentioned WassiJames and his work here before, and you may have seen his remarkable little composition made from the Bridal Chorus.

Well, recently some of his Wii Music work was performed live on stage as part of some show (I found an Italian news article about it a while back, but couldn't get much from Google Translate). Anyhow, one of the pieces has been put on YouTube. It starts by showing Wassi's composition on a screen, then the real instruments play it. Quite a nice little result from something in a game.

That's pretty incredible. His Bridal Chorus was darn impressive and it certainly deserved this kind of attention. (you've got to wonder what's up with that dog, though). I'm glad that some people recognize the genius of this game.

My goodness, could the guy with the oud look any more bored? It's so odd to hear this pretty classicalish music with another musician sitting right next to the guy, twiddling his thumbs and looking around for no reason.

But that is very cool that he had his music from the game performed.

Adam that reminds me--I still haven't sent you anything have I?