When you play DS games, do you usually listen to the music and sound effects if they're not essential to gameplay? The DS has many fine features, but its speaker is really not one of them. Still, some games manage some great music that really enhances the gaming experience ... and some don't. Give us the aural rundown -- sound, yea or nay? If yea, then do you rely on the speaker, or do you employ headphones?
Posts with tag music
DS Daily: Volume up or volume down?
When you play DS games, do you usually listen to the music and sound effects if they're not essential to gameplay? The DS has many fine features, but its speaker is really not one of them. Still, some games manage some great music that really enhances the gaming experience ... and some don't. Give us the aural rundown -- sound, yea or nay? If yea, then do you rely on the speaker, or do you employ headphones?
Jammin' Guitar Pick stylus lets us shred our touch screens
We've seen a GameStop.com listing for a product called the "Jammin' Guitar Pick" for a while, but we've been patiently waiting for a picture to show up. Today, one day before the product's release, one has surfaced. It's a very simple idea: a guitar pick with a stylus stuck to it, and it comes in a pack of three for $8. Oddly, the pointier part of the pick doesn't appear to be the part where the stylus is attached.We're just thrilled that someone at Naki thought Jam Sessions was going to be big enough to call for its very own third-party accessory. Too bad the picks are coming out just as word comes out of the game's delay. We're thinking about picking up the accessory now in anticipation, and so we can pretend we're giving one of them sexy solos while we're playing Meteos.
Taiko stylus giveaway reveals control method
As total music game freaks, we've been pretty interested in the DS version of Taiko Drum Master. The graphics made the transition to a handheld system just fine, and we know from the Ouendans and other music games that it'll be able to handle the sounds-- and it should easily handle the Super Mario Bros. theme (yay!). Really, we thought, as long as it didn't ask players to bang on their touch screens like a drum, everything would be cool.Yeah, that's what it does. This ad, small as it is, is still clear enough to show a drum on the touch screen, with two special styli used as drumsticks. We know that's the most logical way to control a drum game on the DS, but ... a lot of screens are going to get pounded. Try to employ some self-control when playing Taiko!
[Via GoNintendo]
Ontama shows random Dreamcast influence
The actual game, a rhythm-puzzle thing that we totally want, doesn't look like anything else. We've got new screens after the break.
DS Daily: OUENDAAAAAAN
It's out, and we don't have it. It kinda hurts. Some bloggers seem to have gotten their hands on a copy, so we know it's possible that one of our faithful readers has Moeru! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2! We need to live vicariously through you, hypothetical reader! We need your impressions!Those of you who don't have it or just don't have it yet: do you have one on the way? Do you consider this the biggest game release of the year? Or are you holding out for a US release? Or an Elite Beat Agents 2: Beat Harder? Personally, we'll take any and all iNiS music releases and will be importing Ouendan 2 as soon as finances allow.
Konami makes iTunes useful
For years, we've been crying bloody tears over the lack of availability of game soundtracks in the US. With the rise of music download services, that situation has changed. First we had some Final Fantasy soundtracks on iTunes, then the Mother 3 OST, and now the best news of all: Konami has made a deal with Sony BMG to make their entire music catalog available on download services.Naturally, we'll be loading up with Castlevania music, but Konami has a very large collection of notable game soundtracks that at least deserve a previewing: the Metal Gear Solid series, Contra, Goemon/Mystical Ninja, and Akira Yamaoka's brilliant Silent Hill work. We don't know when Konami will start releasing music on iTunes/Rhapsody/your favorite download service, and we don't know what the order of releases will be. One thing we can confirm: this is hot.
[Via Dot Matrix with Stereo Sound]
It's a Wonderful Music Sampler
Not only did people who went to the Square Enix Party get to try a bunch of new games-- and, well, a bunch of new releases of old games-- but they also got a bounty of free promotional stuff, including the set of CDs seen above. It contains songs from the soundtracks of two Final Fantasy spinoffs for the PSP, and from It's a Wonderful World, which is more in line with our interests.
The CD's have been ripped, and we've got the Wonderful World sampler available for download. It's J-poppy and synthy! Is it ever synthy.
1. Twister
2. Give me all your love
[Thanks, Jamal!]
Rhythm Tengoku taunts us even more
Rhythm Tengoku, the Game Boy Advance rhythm-minigame collection from the Wario Ware team, is headed to the arcade as a collaboration between Nintendo and Sega. And as an arcade game, it's even less likely to come to the US.Rhythm Tengoku is a collection of weird minigames in the same style as Wario Ware, but all involving performing exceedingly random tasks in time with music. It appears to contain the same minigames as the original, with some new stages, as well as the welcome addition of simultaneous 2-player.
If this arcade game comes out somewhere we can play it, we'll take back every bad thing we ever said about minigames and recent Sega games. We'd also take a localized version of the GBA game. We're simple folks.
Get serious with new DS Style screens
We're expecting a load of news when the Square Enix Party starts. For now, we've got new screens from the DS Style series, which is obviously too serious for parties. Specifically, new screens were released of Flower Blooming DS: Gardening Life, Shall We Listen to Classical Music on the DS?, and three World Walking map programs: Italy, France and Taiwan.We could kind of see picking up a DS map program instead of a guidebook when we go on vacation, since we tend to take the DS with us anyway. We are definitely feeling a strong urge to buy the classical music "game" as well, since it's being developed by iNiS. Smart move, Squeenix.
Friday Video: Masters of drums
Since Taiko Drum Master was announced this week for the DS, and we also happen to be a little fond of rhythm games, we thought we'd bring you another pair of videos dedicated to getting your drum on. The first makes us yearn for arcades, because there's nothing like huge drums or motorcycles and steering wheels to really get you in the game. We also want that guy's skill, because he really knows how to rock out. The video was originally posted to Chris Kohler's Game|Life blog, so you've probably seen it before, but we felt it was a good finisher for the week.The second shows off a Taiko Drum Master mini-game featured in Nodame Cantabile, which was recently released in Japan.
We can't resist looking at Ontama again
We knew we were going to blab about Ontama more. Sure, it'll probably turn out to be a mildly interesting game for children, but until we find out for sure we're going to continue on the OMG RHYTHM GAME tack. Here are a few things we learned from watching the video again and from poking around the recently updated website, making full use of our terrible Japanese language skills.Not only does the game involve tapping directions on the D-pad rhythmically while circling blobs on the touch screen, it also involves blowing into the microphone. For something that seems to be for young audiences, it certainly has a lot going on. Also possibly of interest: J-pop fans may (or may not-- we have no idea!) be pleased to hear that Ontama contains music from a group called 80 Pan.
And, via Insert Credit, a little background on the developer Noise Factory: they used to be an internal SNK team who developed fighting games for the Neo-Geo. The fact that a fairly hardcore fighting game developer is working on this is another reason to think that quality gameplay might be found in here.
More hot rhythm game action
If you don't want to (or can't) try the flash-based preview of Nodame Cantabile DS, you can always kick back and watch this video. Not into this kind of thing? Maybe you should give it another try, because we have seen the future, and it is the rhythm game ... at least, it seems to have a lock on a big part of the DS's future.The game is out for the DS this week in Japan.
Confirmation and vague release window on Guitar Hero DS
At this point, we think it may be safe to assume that any and all awesome franchises will appear in some form on the DS ... and as long as they put some effort in, hey, we're not complaining. At last, Kai Huang, president and founder of RedOctane, confirmed to GameSpot that the company is looking at a DS Guitar Hero for release early next year. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have said anything else about it, but if we're a year away, there may not be much to say.Of course, We're curious about the approach they're going to take with the portable Guitar Hero games; there's even a version set for mobile phones, and so we can only guess they're looking at several control options. We predicted an Elite Beat Agents-style scheme, and we're sticking to that for now.
Follow the bouncing ball with Ontama
Ontama is a new rhythm game for the DS. Which is, really, all we needed to know for our hype-generating machine to go into full power. In case you hadn't noticed, we tend to get worked up about the music games.
Rather than telling little mini-stories like Elite Beat Agents, Noise Factory's new game seems to be a somewhat more stripped-down, arcade experience, with characters that seem to be limited to describing gameplay. We don't exactly know how the game works, but we can tell that you touch little round creatures (probably the Ontama themselves, since that translates to "sound balls" or "music balls") to send them into icons on the top of the screen; you then hit directions and buttons that correspond to those icons at the right moment, like Parappa the Rapper.
Enjoy the trailer after the break, and see if you can figure out a little bit more of what's going on.
New Ouendan 2 screens: versus mode CONFIRMED, excitement UNCONTROLLABLE
Some incredible new screens of Ouendan 2 have exploded onto the web and filled us with hot-blooded rhythm spirit. Two new scenarios are featured: the first involving a girls' choir who need HEEEAALP performing harmoniously, and the second involving a soccer player who requires the power of your dancing to succeed. Wait, cheering for a sport? Preposterous.
One especially notable feature evident in the screens is a new multiplayer mode, where one member of both the Ouendan squad and the new rival squad face off. Judging from the little antenna icon on the screen, it's definitely wireless play. Our case of rhythm spirit will be incurable if the game turns out to be online.
Continue reading New Ouendan 2 screens: versus mode CONFIRMED, excitement UNCONTROLLABLE
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