Wii Music

"For those with an ear for creativity"

Rhythm and music based games are becoming popular these days, with cheap imitations following them. Rock Band and Guitar Hero are as the best of these games that take an original idea (timing based music games) and make it work. Knowing this, it was about time Nintendo came up with something to throw into the mix. Does innovative magic work or become lost in a sea of cheap knock-offs?

Well this would be specifically based of your perception. Wii Music for the Wii is a game about purely making music. There is no set goal (aside from 3 mini-games). You just pick an instrument, song, play style, and venue and start jamming with up to 3 friends.

When you start up the game, you are immediately greeted by Sebastian Tute, one of several “Tutes” (who look like miniature Miis) who will assist you on your way to making musical masterpieces. He explains the general control style for each of the instruments, and the rules of jamming and how to make videos. Once you have completed the tutorial, you're free to explore the game.

From the main menu, you can view videos, start a jam, take lessons, which you have unlocked, or play mini-games. If you saw the Wii presentation at E3 2006, there was a game that depicted a Mii conducting an orchestra of Miis. Well that is an available mini-game simply titled “Mii Orchestra.”

In “Custom Jam” mode, you pick a song and instrument, adjust parts and tempo, and start playing; Tutes will play the parts that are being played by humans. If you don't feel like setting up anything and just want to play, then just select “Quick Jam” to randomize instruments and parts. A music flow-chart can be brought up at any time during play to give you recommended times to play notes, but it is intended for you to use as a guide; you decide how you want it to sound like. Once you've played through the song, which are 2-4 minutes each, you can play the song again while playing different parts, and have your previously played parts still play, a feature called “overdubbing.” This way, one person can play an entire six-man band.

Once you're satisfied with your performance, you can save it as a video. Just make an album cover, make a personal rating, and save it. You can view/delete your videos at any time from the menu, and you distribute videos over Nintendo Wi-Fi connection through WiiConnect24.

After you make a few videos, you'll unlock more instruments and play styles. Instruments vary from contemporary (trumpet, violin, piano), to modern (electric guitar, galactic horn, DJ turntables), to the truly bizarre (dog/cat suit, rapper, black-belt). You can review the controls for each of the 60 instruments and experiment with playing them in the “Instrument Improv” mode.

As for the songs, there are a total of 50 tracks, all of which are instrumental (naturally). Examples include “Do-Re-Mi,” “Daydream Believer,” the Mario and Zelda themes, “My Grandfathers Clock,” “Ode to Joy” and various public domain, video game, and licensed songs.

If you're still playing Rock Band or Guitar Hero, this might not be engaging enough to be worth the $50 price tag. If you're looking to just make some music, and you have a mind for creativity, this is right up your alley.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/10/08

Game Release: Wii Music (US, 10/20/08)