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Did anyone play Wii Music?

Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,114
Everyone who was lucky enough to witness the e3 conference where it was announced is at least vaguely aware of Wii Music, but has anyone played it?

I was thinking about it today and I'm curious what it was actually like. Could you compose with it? Did it have any game modes, or was it just a "toy?"

In the videos shown at that conference it looks like you just mash random buttons to "play" songs, and it's hard to tell completely but it seems like each time you press a button or flail the remote it just plays the next note of the song, so you're really only controlling the tempo.

The reveal for people unaware:

 
Sleve McDichael

Sleve McDichael

Avenger
Oct 28, 2017
1,758
I remember playing it at a kiosk at Mall of America that Nintendo set up. Good times.
Didn't hate it, but never bothered buying it.
 
Rover

Rover

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,420
I played it and didn't hate it. It reminded me a lot of the music lessons that we had in elementary school, which was more about finding rhythm, keeping time in songs and playing with different simple instruments. It would have made sense to position it as kids/family thing, but that E3 reveal was really not that.

It also definitely could have been more of a value if it let you make songs, even something as basic as the mario paint music editor.

For what it's worth, Nintendo revisited the idea of a music toy with the first Labo release and it was pretty great.
 
Josh5890

Josh5890

I'm Your Favorite Poster's Favorite Poster
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
23,236
Remember when Reggie said this would be THE holiday game of 2008 to own?
 
OP
OP
Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,114
Rover said:
I played it and didn't hate it. It reminded me a lot of the music lessons that we had in elementary school, which was more about finding rhythm, keeping time in songs and playing with different simple instruments. It would have made sense to position it as kids/family thing, but that E3 reveal was really not that.

It also definitely could have been more of a value if it let you make songs, even something as basic as the mario paint music editor.

For what it's worth, Nintendo revisited the idea of a music toy with the first Labo release and it was pretty great.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

There's Electroplankton as well, which was also far more interesting than this.
 
Slick Butter

Slick Butter

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,500
I was excited for it as a kid and got it and was extremely disappointed. Who was it made for? I can't believe literally anyone could find it fun.
Only the drum kit mod seems like it might have been fun but I never got to try it because it required the Balance Board.


Clay said:
There's Electroplankton as well, which was also far more interesting than this.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Now you've reminded me that kid me also sold my copy of electroplankton
 
FaceHugger

FaceHugger

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
13,949
USA
I actually never saw a unit of it in a store. I remember the videos online back in the day but I figured they cancelled it. I assumed it was just a E3 / whatever demo.
 
GamerJM

GamerJM

Member
Nov 8, 2017
15,643
It was a lot of fun to fuck around with. There were some old YouTube videos of people managing to do pretty impressive things with it but I could never manage anything close to that. I got a lot more value out of it than Wii Fit. It probably didn't really have enough to it to justify the full 50$ physical release pricetag in retrospect, but at the time I thought it was fine.

The classic E3 demonstration wasn't really representative of it. Also, the main reason I bought it was because that was still sort-of during my extreme Nintendo fanboy days, and I was in denial that the game's E3 showing was lame as hell. So I was like, that one lone person on forums in 2008 who was like "I actually thought Wii Music looked fun during Nintendo's press conference". I turned out to be right but mostly by coincidence.
 
overnightnocturne

overnightnocturne

Member
Jun 10, 2019
449
My issue with Elektroplankton is that it's to niche for the DS.

I dug the aesthetic but there isn't a lot of gameplay for people who aren't interested in making music
 
Kamon

Kamon

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
309
I had it as a kid. I think I played it, like, twice. I didn't see the point in it.
 
GamerJM

GamerJM

Member
Nov 8, 2017
15,643
Teenage Fansub said:
Didn't expect the thing to make me feel old today would be a thread on Wii Music.
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Arlo did a video a little while back talking abut Nintendo's 2008 E3 showing with the Wii Music bit, and his tone implied was that it was so long ago that it was assumed that the viewer wasn't familiar with it. I guess it makes sense given that he's a family friendly YouTuber so his age demographics are probably pretty young, but it made me feel old as hell that this was long enough ago that a content creator can just assume that the viewer was too young for it.
 
AppleKid

AppleKid

Member
Feb 21, 2018
2,536
It actually seemed like a neat concept during the rehearsing bits. I remember myself and family members spending nearly an hour just trying out all the different instruments (+ cat and dog) on the select screen for Chariots of Fire. When it came to actually playing full songs it always sounded awful though. Bought it used and returned it the same weekend
 
Firima

Firima

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,476
The most glaring example of the kind of shit that put Nintendo in the doghouse until Switc they apologized with the Switch.

Nooooo I did not play this.
 
World B. SkiFree

World B. SkiFree

Member
Nov 2, 2017
984
Rover said:
I played it and didn't hate it. It reminded me a lot of the music lessons that we had in elementary school, which was more about finding rhythm, keeping time in songs and playing with different simple instruments. It would have made sense to position it as kids/family thing, but that E3 reveal was really not that.

It also definitely could have been more of a value if it let you make songs, even something as basic as the mario paint music editor.

For what it's worth, Nintendo revisited the idea of a music toy with the first Labo release and it was pretty great.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I picked up a Wii a few years ago and also got this game because it was cheap and I was curious. I think it is okay; your comparison to music lessons and learning different instruments in grade school is right on. Limited but neat to mess around with, good novelty.
 
babyzelda

babyzelda

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 31, 2017
375
Hate on Wii Music all you want, it deserves it, but Electroplankton is singlehandedly the game that got me into games. I imported it from Japan because I had no faith in The American Market, and it was everything I wanted it to be. Not all software on game devices needs to be games, and I really wish there were some weird art toys on the Switch, too.
 
Everlasting_Cyclone

Everlasting_Cyclone

Member
Jun 8, 2018
1,841
I saw Miyamoto play it. He was so passionate and happy. It was so contagious. I wanted to experience that.

I played the heck out of it for a month or three and never touched it again.
 
OP
OP
Clay

Clay

Member
Oct 29, 2017
8,114
overnightnocturne said:
My issue with Elektroplankton is that it's to niche for the DS.

I dug the aesthetic but there isn't a lot of gameplay for people who aren't interested in making music
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

What system would it have been better suited for? Niche games like that are better to put on wildly popular systems like the DS. How big could the crossover be between people craving a game where you make electronic music by poking at plankton and people who own a system like the Wii U? If you have a huge install base you're more likely to find that overlap.
 
Why would you do that?

Why would you do that?

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,801
New York City
I played it. It's not very good at all.

There is one part that's very fun, though, it's basically a bunch of musical challenges / games you need to complete, like "pick the right notes in this chord" type stuff. I really enjoyed that.
 
Archduke Kong

Archduke Kong

Member
Feb 2, 2019
2,312
Scott the Woz did a good video on it. The game looks miserable.




I was actually blissfully unaware of Wii Music until last year, funny enough. I usually avoided the "Wii" series of games because I didn't actually think of them as games. It was Nintendo's "hey we're appealing to the blue ocean" series, so I mentally checked out once I figured that out. I'm a musician (an indie pop artist by the name of Archduke Kong, look me up on Bandcamp if you feel like it) and as a future music teacher, I can appreciate the intention of Wii Music. Looking into the actual game though? This is... actually kind of insulting.

It isn't much of a game, and it's not much of an educational tool. The rhythm game type section had potential but it's undercut by the song selection being public domain being the worst part. If you're learning an instrument, most of the time that's gonna be your starting point and it's the most boring part of learning an instrument. What a missed opportunity for Nintendo to use their vast catalog of catchy songs to help get people into the idea of making music. I actually think the concept of Wii Music could be pretty cool if handled right, but yeah, it's pretty much what you think it will be after that E3 conference. It's the peak of Nintendo's "we're bored of making regular video games" mentality and indulges way too heavily in a lot of their worst tendencies during that generation.
 
the androgyne

the androgyne

Member
Oct 30, 2017
128
I bought a JP copy a while ago for 300y, mostly cause it has an awesome slip case with sparkles! It was just a stocking stuffer for my 4 year old girl, and even she got bored of it on Christmas day. Then she ripped the slip case lol. I got some fun out of it pretending to do Homer Simpson's "Saxamaphone"!
 
ChrisD

ChrisD

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,612
Played it maybe twice, three times tops, after buying it at a used game store for like $7. Game is.. okay? Definitely not worth $50, $40, or even $30 really. If it released at $20 I feel it'd have done real well as a fun little addition to the Wii line.

In saying the above, I do still remember that Menu Theme (https://youtu.be/dvUGDMxl8OU) very well. It's a great piece that really feels "Wii" to me.
 
Why would you do that?

Why would you do that?

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,801
New York City
Clay said:
There's Electroplankton as well, which was also far more interesting than this.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
overnightnocturne said:
My issue with Elektroplankton is that it's to niche for the DS.

I dug the aesthetic but there isn't a lot of gameplay for people who aren't interested in making music
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
On the note of Electroplankton, the designer of that game previously worked on an unreleased Super Nintendo game / sound toy that dealt with music, called Sound Fantasy. Here's a video of it:



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JL5tKSSWdPo


I wonder if he had any involvement with Wii Music, actually. Or if the game would have been better with his involvement...
 
Discokuningas

Discokuningas

Banned
Jan 18, 2018
755
Didn't own it myself but have played it. It was misunderstood game. Not bad at all. It wasn't something like Guitar Hero but more creative thing.
 
Rover

Rover

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,420
babyzelda said:
Hate on Wii Music all you want, it deserves it, but Electroplankton is singlehandedly the game that got me into games. I imported it from Japan because I had no faith in The American Market, and it was everything I wanted it to be. Not all software on game devices needs to be games, and I really wish there were some weird art toys on the Switch, too.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Port the Tenori-On app to the Switch you cowards
 
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