Customer Reviews

Wii Music

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(64)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(25)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

Potential buyers, please be careful when reading some of the reviews posted here: nearly all of the negative reviews will try to convince you that this game is simplistic, shallow, or aimed at a very young audience. This could not possibly be further from the truth.

First off, this is, perhaps, the only real music game on the market today; yes, there are the Guitar Hero / Rockband games, but, however fun they might be, those games are nothing more than a glorified Simon Says, where you simply hit the correct button on your fake instrument at the correct time as shown on screen.

This game is not simply about performing a part as indicated. Instead, Wii Music puts you more in the position of a band leader: first you select a song, then assign instruments out of the 60 available to different roles, each of which holds different possibilities for what will occur when you play, i.e., a violin assigned to the role of "chord" for a song will follow the main harmonic movement of the song. Assign that same instrument to the "harmony" role, however, and it will notes that are roughly in contrapuntal relation to the main melody, or put it in the role of "bass", etc.

Once you assign instruments, you record each part, one by one, until you have created an entire arrangement. While recording an individual part, you can do whatever you want to change the feel of the song: hold out a note for a suspension, throw in fills and riffs, completely change the rhythm, shake things up for the chorus or bridge of the song, etc. The final recording can be a truly original take on the song, according to the musical vision you carried out.

If you have a musical ear, or at least a musical curiosity and willingness to take the time to be truly creative, this game will offer you more than any other on the market. Most reviewers who are actually trained musicians have praised this game, and rightly so -- don't listen to the voices online who don't understand the point.

Bottom line: if you're looking for a simple, quick game to pick up like Guitar Hero, you won't understand the point of this game, but if you truly enjoy music and would, for instance, enjoy trying to create your own folk arrangement of Beethoven' Ode to Joy for 2 violins and a banjo, buy this game.

I love the recent string (no pun intended) of musical games coming out from Guitar Hero to Rock Band. Problem is, those kits are flippin' expensive and I'm not too keen on storing either plastic guitars or bulky drum sets. Don't get me wrong, I own them anyway but lugging them to a friend's house is no fun task.

Enter Wii Music.

Wii music is pantomime meets Rock Band. The bulk of the game revolves around the player mimicking gestures to simulate sound according to the actual song being played as the notes are hit automatically unless the player's timing is off. The player does this up to six different instruments to simulate melody, bass, percussion etc. When the player is done, he or she can make a CD jacket to label the track and make a music video of it. On top of this, there are three minigames.

1: Wii Conductor. Move your arms similar to a conductor to make an orchestra go.
2: Hand bells like the ones some people use in Christmas musicals or church services.
3: Music quiz thingy similar to the memorization game on Wii Play.

That's it! That is, in a nutshell, the entire game.

While the game itself is simplistic, that is also the idea. Nintendo, in it's grand scheme of marketing to the casual gaming audience, has created a very simple, yet elegant, game to allow the player to easily mimic music without real lessons or going nuts while trying to play Through the Fire and Flames on Guitar Hero 3. In doing so, Nintendo has appealed to anyone who desires a musical experience but either A) doesn't have the time to master easy, medium, hard, and extreme mode and/or B) does not have at least $80 to spend on a Guitar Hero set. All that is needed is at least one full Wii remote and nunchuck set although more sets with more players make it more fun.

While up to six instruments may participate in a song, only four players can go at a time although this does not mean the player can record tracks for all six instruments. This means four people at a time can go nuts with over 60 instruments including cowbell (which we all know we need more of), a DJ turntable, recorder, flute, sitar, and much more.

This game is very addicting. My graduate students friends are playing the game in my apartment as I type this, not only having a blast but hogging the darn TV in the process. They're hooked on Ode to Joy, which we arranged with sleigh bells, a flute, and a clarinet. When working on my thesis for more than five hours at a time gnaws at my brain, I love saddling up the Wii and playing Twinkle Twinkle on the piano.

Now, with all the goodies in Wii Music there are a few drawbacks especially with the sound and selected songs. Unlike Guitar Hero, Wii Music's musical selection is mostly derived from the public domain track list. This means it's very generic songs like Twinkle Twinkle, Yankie Doodle, Ode to Joy, and Swan Lake. This constitutes the bulk of the soundtrack. There are a few good licensed songs like September by Earth, Wind, and Fire along with Loco-Motion. The real songs that everyone bought Wii Music to play are the Nintendo mixes like Legend of Zelda and the Mario Bros Theme Song. Unfortunately, there are only seven Nintendo songs and of that only three are any good (the aforementioned two and F Zero Mute City).

The soundtrack could have been soooo much better even with more licensed songs by Nintendo such as Castlevania, Star Fox, Metroid, and Paperboy. Anything would've been better than the ragtag bunch of songs from Europe that were used. Not to mention they could've used some greater public domain songs like Greensleeves or Battle Hymn of the Republic.

The next con is the sound itself. While the majority of the woodwinds and drums sound magnificent, several other instruments do not. The most notable bad sounding instruments are the trumpet, saxophone, violin, and viola. Don't even get me started on the more... interesting instruments like the cheerleader, the black belt, cat and dog suit, and the rapper. Those wacky things seemed to have carried over from Mario Paint despite a 15 year gap. While having an all-male cheerleading squad sing the Legend of Zelda theme song was disturbingly amusing, I would never be so bold as to show that in public.

The only other cons are basic Nintendo ones such as the use of weird instructional characters. The Maestro instructor looks and talks like a more flamboyant homosexual version of Beaker from the Muppets. The other issue is how the remote distinguishes movement for the cursor and that of the instrument itself. It can get very annoying but I find that if I want to switch, just hold the remote in front of the TV for two seconds and the cursor switches over from the instrument.

All in all, Wii Music is a really fun game for the whole family and your friends if you've consumed enough alcohol... seriously. I give it a solid A- as it fully utilizes the Wii interface but lacks in some sound and musical selection issues. It's too bad you can't really go heavy metal... *sigh* party on Wayne!

A big mistake being made in nearly every review is people likening Wii Music to Guitar Hero. It's like comparing Mario to Pinball.

Music games generally fit into three categories:

- Rhythm (you copy exactly what you see on the screen)
examples: PaRappa The Rapper, Simon Says, Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution

- Free Form (emphasis is on music rather than gameplay)
examples: Electroplankton, Traxxpad, Fluid

- Hybrid (a combination between a non-music genre, such as an RPG, and a music game)
exmaples : Rez, Ragnarawk

It's hard to pin Wii Music down, but it best fits into the Free Form category. The comparisons to Guitar Hero are silly, as Wii Music is not a "simon says" type game. When reviewers compare the two, they're just stating their preference for one genre over another, which is rather useless.

One example of people's silliness comparing the two are the complaints about the track list. Track lists are important to Rhythm games, not so much Free Form games.

Much like beginner piano lessons where you're first taught "Chopsticks" or "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", Wii Music's track list has songs that ease you into the creation of music, which is the main point of a free-form music game. The tracks are not for listening to as much as they are templates for your own creations.

As a Free Form music game, Wii Music is strange. While it doesn't allow you total freedom of pitch and tone (which most do), it still allows enough wiggle room to create your own songs. For example, playing only the 8th notes in a given song - such as Jingle Bell Rock - will sound nothing like Christmas. Or you can stick to the established notes and remove entire sections, or play certain parts quietly, or just cut loose with the Wiimote and make noise.

Still though, you are limited in what you can do, as Wii Music doesn't allow total musical freedom. The tradeoff in losing that freedom is that it lets non-musicians create music with relative ease. I want to emphasize "relative", because making music is still difficult; it takes thought, planning and some basic knowledge of music theory. Wii Music wisely teaches players the basics of music theory over many lessons, though some painfully last 30+ minutes, and I wish they'd use real music terminology rather than dumbed-down terms.

The last song I made took two hours to get to the point where I was happy with it. Those two hours were spent experimenting with different instruments, rhythms, and melodies - all of which were enjoyable. It was also spent dealing with occasionally inaccurate controls, frustrations with certain notes I couldn't change, and some bad sounding midi instruments - all of which were not enjoyable.

Collaboration is fun, so long as you're both in the same mood (creative or silly). I've jammed with friends sitting on the couch at the same time, as well as people online where we take turns adding pieces to the composition.

Wii Music has the ability to save and share your creations, something I wish other free-form games would focus on, but the sharing features still come up short to youtube, which has become the premiere place for users to show off completed works.

Wii Music is also full of mini-games, including ones that focus on volume, theory, memory and yes - rhythm. You can compare the little bell game to Guitar Hero all you want :) However, these are mostly distractions compared to the real meat - the free form "jam" mode.

Wii Music, even for a free-form music game, is strange, brilliant and sometimes frustrating. It's sad that its been shoved into the middle of the silly "hardcore vs casual" game war, released at the same time as popular rhythm games (increasing the amount of useless comparisons) and is often judged by reviewers with an established belief of what a music game can and can't be. In the end it's one of Nintendo's most ambitious and insane games ever made, and if you have some untapped creativity lying around, it's worth a buy.

When I first saw a glimpse of this game when the Wii originally released I thought it was awesome. Just the conductor snippet alone looked fun and the potential was exciting. The more I saw of it through TV spots and promotional videos the more I began to wonder about the enjoyment of the product. I will be honest in saying the moment in purchasing it I asked the store clerk "So, what do you do in the game, what's the point?" He couldn't give me an answer other than experiment with instruments because he didn't really know either. We couldn't figure it out from the package either. This should have been a clue. So, regardless of my feelings I decided to buy this game because it was titled (Wii) Music, also if anything it is finally something else that my toddler daughter will be able to do without much difficulty. Needless to say it was less than 24 hours before it ended up as a trade in. So here is why...

First and foremost it was just boring. Before you think I didn't put any effort into it I did play it for 7 hours. I did most of the various instruments, the hand bell & sound mini-games, all the jam sessions, and created videos with video art. I thought well maybe it was just boring the first night so I tried it again twice the following day to let it grow on me and by the third go around on the second evening I finally said..."this game is boring". There is nothing to do except doink around for an hour with instruments that feel nothing like the real thing. The controls feel nothing like the real instruments. I've never played piano with my fists clumped just waving up and down in a single position. Most of the instruments lack a sense of actual playing. It mostly feels like you hold the position similar to the real instrument and just randomly wave the controls. It feels like they tried to force the action fit the controller instead of allowing the controller to be apart of the action like Wii Tennis & Bowling. I also think it is unfair to keep the full drum sampler locked unless you have a balance board. Seems like a marketing ploy. I felt disconnected from what was happening on the screen and was too bored to care. After a brief 15 min. of playing simple instruments and dog barks in a few jam sessions my daughter got bored and went off to do other things. (She loves to play Cosmic Family & Mario Kart because it keeps her interest). I tried to coax her into playing the songs she recognizes like daddy; but, she finally said "Don't like this game".

Second, the song selection is disappointing. Now I was not expecting this game to compete at all or be in the same genre as GH or RB, again, this was mainly for my toddler daughter; but, the music is drab for two reasons. One, the selection is obvious public free midi-music, such as Ode to Joy, Twinkle Little Star, Do-Re-Mi basically most things that come packaged with a $25 mega-store keyboard. There are no lyrics on any songs and it sounds like a children's educational instrument. Does Nintendo need to save money? Two, not only are the song choices drab again the quality of the music sounds like the $25 keyboard. I know Nintendo is big on midi music for some reason and it causes Wii Music to fall short. The drums sound fake, the guitars sound fake and the only thing that doesn't sound like it came from a computerized sound patch is the electric piano. I did play long enough to unlock the Zelda theme song and I can honestly say they would have been better off adding and pushing more Nintendo originals towards the front of the game. I would have been far more interested in playing drums and trumpet to Mario or Donkey Kong themes. I know the few Nintendo songs are there; but, why do I need to do hours of Bethoven and nursery rhymes to play them?

Lastly, the reason why I am giving this two stars and not one is because the conductor portion did amuse me for a period. I was impressed that I could hold the baton (Wii Remote) in a single position and the orchestra would hold their note/position; but, again who wants to conduct a choppy version of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star? This was neat; but, the rest of the game is so boring it kind of defeats the enjoyment of the act. This should have been a larger factor of the game and possibly included a music mix generator. Can you imagine how much fun it would have been to conduct Zelda with a personalized dance beat?

So, that is about it. I typically don't write this long and I usually love what Nintendo has to offer. I have always appreciated their originality and attempts to experiment. I will continue to support the family oriented products and company, they have been great for years. I did appreciate that they were exposing more worldwide instruments other than the basic rock band types; but, the presentation causes it to fall short. I assume being a full-time musician I defaulted to expect more; but, for everyone I believe there will be some level of disappointment and eventual boredom. Finally, all I can say is I would probably be more forgiving if this game had a $29.99 price tag or was a WiiWare download. It is definitely not worth the retail price of $49.99. I would pick it up used or wait for when it drops shortly after Christmas like the other original Wii titles have. I guarantee you wil be happier playing this as a weekend rental and using the remaining $45 on a great previously owned game.

When I saw Wii Music in E3 2008, I asked my father to get this game for my birthday. When Wii Music was released, I was shocked at how everyone was giving this game bad reviews. I knew that these reviews weren't true (in my opinion). My birthday came, and my father gave me the game, wrapped in Wii pajama pants. Of course, Wii Music was so good, I played it for hours!

One of my favorite things about Wii Music is all of the instruments that you can play. The instruments range from familiar instruments like the piano and trumpet, to ethnical instruments like the guiro and shamisen, and odd "instruments" like the dog suit and cat suit. Unlike most people, I think the sound quality of the instruments are fantastic!

Another favorite is the custom jam mode. I love that you can give a song a certain style, like rock, Japanese, and Latin. I also love how you can play the song in any way that you want. Also, making your performance into a music video is just awesome.

Like most games, Wii Music has its flaws.

These are some of the flaws:

. The rapper "instrument" is horrible! It's a disgrace to rappers everywhere! Nintendo should've hired a real rapper to say or "rap" the phrases.

. Wii Music doesn't have familiar instruments like the organ, French horn, and xylophone! Also, Wii Music doesn't have ethnical instruments like the tabla and didgeridoo.

. There is no mode where you can play your own song.

. There is no Orchestra Jam Mode.

. Wii Music lacks licensed songs and Nintendo songs.

Well, that's my review! I hope this was helpful to you! :)

My family got this game for Christmas and we've been playing it almost constantly since we unwrapped the box. We're musicians, so we may be biased in favor of it -- but that also means that we can see the potential in the game.

To play the basic form of this game, you choose a piece of music and an instrument each for up to four players. The number of available songs and instruments increases as you play -- we've just added a sitar to our collection. Players are divided up into melody, harmonies, and percussion (if you choose -- you can also do "Ode to Joy" on Dog Suit and ukelele if you want to) and everyone plays. You can have "sheet music" to guide you if you like, but in any case, all players can control tempo and phrasing of the piece and otherwise add their own creative touches.

You can play with friends or lay down multiple tracks and put everything together to make videos. You can conduct the orchestra of Miis -- several conductors together can work to achieve "chemistry" together, too, a surprisingly challenging task. There are also games to work on pitch and rhythm, all of which were fun and which would also be excellent for ear training or music classes.

There are options involving the Wii balance board, too -- that's an addition to our wish list, for sure.

As you play, "lessons" are offered to you. Doing well with them leads to more options in the game. I assume that this means the game will grow with the players.

Kids can certainly play this game, adults will find the skill tests challenging, and trained musicians will get a kick out of it.

While the past year, we've really seen the outrageous success of music games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band deliver with the hype and the gameplay for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, there actually hasn't been all that much for wannabe musicians to jam to their hearts too. While Rock Band and Guitar Hero have the excitement, there just is also the gimmicks of playing with more than just guitars. Well Nintendo has shown that recently with Sambe De Amigo with songs to download to, and now they are about to show that all over again with a little help from your favorite Mii's and just a little imagination, you can jam to any musical instrument, and anyway you like to play is here on the Wii, with Wii Music.

Wii Music, one of the more surprisingly hyped games showcased at the E3 Video Game Expo earlier this year, is finally available for the Nintendo Wii. The game features no outrageous gimmicks like a guitar controller or a dance mat like the ones from Dance Dance Revolution, but just the simplicity that anyone can play and make your own music. The graphics look great and bring in a more natural way of playing to your favorite songs from Nintendo's past like the themes from Super Mario Brothers and The Legend Of Zelda, or classical standards, and even guilty pleasure pop songs like Wham!'s Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.

There are over 60 different kinds of insturments to jam to from conga drums and violins, all the way to cow bells, yes I said cow bells. There also are great games to play with including Mii Maestro, where you can conduct your way through the simplicity of an orchestra, and drum solo mode, which you could play to the beat of a drum. But, you'd need the balance board from Wii Fit to play for that game, and improv jams you can custom make and record and save for your Wii viewing pleasure. Also, you can play alone, or with others to your favorite songs online through the WiiConnect online, which is a treat die hard Wii fans had wished for that even Rock Band couldn't deliver.

All in all, while hard core music video gamers are more aniticapated for the releases of Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour for the Wii, Wii Music is a unique musical experience for young and old gamers that is sure to please your wallet and the casual gamer alike, at a affordable price. It really takes my breath away, and is a fun and unique musical game that is well worth the money and in more than one musical note after another with all the different ways to can strum your heart away.

Graphics: B+

Sound: B

Control: B+

Fun & Enjoyment: B+ for solo player; A 1/2- for multiplayer

Overall: B+

I managed to get my hands on this early, excited to try out the next iteration in the 'Wii' series of games. After spending some time with it with a friend, we've both come to the conclusion that Nintendo's aimed this at a much narrower audience than previous 'Wii' games like Wii Sports. The relationship between your input and the game's output - the music - was just too unsophisticated for us. It kind of felt silly to play, which was funny initially, but then just silly.

I haven't observed this, but I think it would be something that younger kids could get a lot out of. Its relative lack of sophistication would make it ideal. It does in fact remind me a slightly more advanced version of toys and creative toys you'd give to toddlers. The package is otherwise polished and charming, and I think it'd appeal heavily to that kind of age group.

For me though, this one's a miss, unfortunately. I can't enjoy this the same way I did prior Wii games from Nintendo.

I'm Who This Game Was Made For. Ever since Nintendo started hyping up this game, I have been excited for it, and I'm so glad that I ignored the reviews and got it anyway.

This game is exactly what i hoped it would be: Addictive and a freaking blast. Any time that I tap a beat on my desk, with a pencil, or just all the little songs that come up during any given day, I think of how to put that in a Wii Music song

Arranging songs is a blast, and it's HARD! I think this game may actually be too hard for some other reviewers that didn't like it; it takes dedication to re-record each part until it sounds just like you want, arranging them into a song that you love. It's complicated sometimes, depending on how your artistic vision is.

I'm so glad that I bought this game; i've had hours and hours of entertainment. It can take an hour or two to make a good six-piece arrangement, and then I record it and put the videos on YouTube where wii music lovers all comment on each other's videos :) It's great!

If you thought you'd like this game before seeing the reviews, you will probably love this game! If you have any interest, get it. It's worth it.

When our copy of Wii Music arrived, we were a bit skeptical. Based on the summary, the game lets you play a bunch of virtual musical instruments by waving around your Wii remote and pressing buttons. I'll be honest and say that did not sound very satisfying on paper. However, after countless jam sessions, hand bell performances, symphonies, and music video recording, I can tell you that this game is incredible.

Unlike most games, there is no set path and there is no right or wrong way to experience Wii Music. The game is more of a tool to allow your kids (and you) to understand music theory and foster their musical creativity. This is not done through the sadistic exercises that piano teacher from your childhood employed. Rather, the game introduces you to the basic mechanics of the various instruments and underlying concepts of music and sets you on your way.

You start with about two dozen different instruments to try. As you progress through the additional lessons, games, and challenges offered, you unlock more. This process is extremely satisfying because of not only the sheer number the game offers in total (a whopping 60!), but also their variety and humor. This is a fantastic way to introduce you children to instruments they would never have the opportunity to experience otherwise. Sure, there are the expected standards like a drum set, piano, violin, trumpet and guitar, but that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Ever played the djembe or taiko drums? Rocked out with a shamisen or sitar? Maybe strummed a dandy on the jaw harp? Neither had I until Wii Music. For some real laughs, you can "play" a dog or cat suit (your Mii barks or meows while dress in full costume), lay down some dope beats with your DJ turntables or beat-boxing, or just go nuts as a cheerleader yelling and shaking your pom-poms. There is enough variety here to keep your family smiling for hours.

Getting to the actual music, the main mode is the "jam sessions" where you can choose your role in the band (melody, percussion, bass, etc) and play your heart out to dozens of songs from the elementary "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" to some pop and rock classics like "Mr. Postman" or "Material Girl". Your kids are not scored, graded, or judged like other music games like Guitar Hero. They are free to play however they like, in whatever style they like. They don't have to worry about the notes they play, as the game does a surprisingly intelligent job of deciding that for them. To get a great performance, it's all about the timing, rhythm, and the gusto with which they play.

The lessons mode does a fantastic job of gradually teaching them more advanced concepts of musical theory. It demonstrates how you can play the same song in different styles and how the mood of a song can change from start to finish. This serves as a great teaching tool and make the game more engaging by enabling your kids to play the same songs it an endless variety of ways.

There are other modes such as music videos, hand bell performances, music quizzes (another great teaching tool), and our favorite, conductor. Conductor allows you to take control over a symphony or choir who follow your lead through a number of rousing classical numbers. Depending on the speed and tempo of your movements, the musicians will play faster, slower, louder, or softer. This is one mode that does score you and leads to some great competition. If you conduct with robot-like precision, you will not get as high of a score as you might think. You are awarded for creativity and the personality you inject into the performance.