Now Playing: Music Monstars (DS)
I’ve been taken with the look of Music Monstars ever since I first saw it back in July and can now confirm that the gameplay is just as captivating. Borrowing the Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents style where you tap on colored circles as they animate across the screen, Music Monstars mixes in a bit of Rock Band whimsy by placing those spinning markers over top of instruments.
I don’t have a clue how accurate the guitar or keyboard are (pretty good, actually) but the drum sounds and patterns match the songs well and as you can see in the user-created video below, they provide just enough freedom to serve as a mini-band of your own. It’s no Korg DS-10 but there are plenty of effectors to change the sound of each instrument and even a Composer mode that lets you lay down tracks, record, and share your creations.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbH_omjM5Fw]
While Freestyle and Composer modes are great diversions for the musically inclined, the draw of the game is Career mode. Here you’ll work your way through a setlist of songs that encompasses everything from public domain standards like the ‘Can Can’ to modern “hits” like O-Zone’s ‘Dragonstea Din Tei‘ . The setlist makes a lot of surprising stops along the way and seeing what song pops up next is half the fun. All the tunes are immediately familiar but only the title is given before you start (you can check the Artist in Practice mode) which keeps you guessing even as you’re tapping away to the beat. It’s genuinely fun to hear the next track for the first time so I won’t drop any more names just yet.
Unlike Ouendan or even Guitar Hero DS, Music Monstars doesn’t feature original recordings. All of the songs are rearranged in MIDI which may sound startling in this age of playable “master tracks” but they have a consistent kitsch-y monster movie feel and all the instrumentation is there. The top screen even displays karaoke-style lyrics, presumably for your Mom to sing along as she looms over your shoulder when you insist she check out the game. Don’t bother asking her to tune up her vocal chords, you get no points for singing along.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv9LFYW2_4E]
So far I’ve unlocked 18 songs and as best as I can tell from the hilarious ramblings of my pudgy vampire manager, Max, I’ve got a good ways yet to go. Then it’s back through again on Hard mode. Music Monstars doesn’t quite have the heart of Ouendan’s touching comic book stories but I’m having a blast and most of the songs are toe-tappingly catchy and classic in their own way; you’ve surely not played along to the Pennsylvania Polka in a music game before.
The only downer is that the game is currently only available in Europe, but developer Novarama has mentioned that a U.S. release is coming. I just hope the song licensing doesn’t prove to be a problem or Music Monstars could wind up filled with more one-hit-wonder, 90’s pop songs than even a middle-aged bartender can stomach.
