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IGN Review of Major Minor's Majestic March
When I heard that PaRappa the Rappa alum Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Greenblat were teaming up for a Wii music game, I was excited. When I heard that their new project put players in the role of a drum major I was intrigued. After watching the credits roll on Major Minor's Majestic March, the only feeling I had was boredom.
As an aspiring drum major, the titular Major Minor, it's up to the player to unite the citizens of March Town in order to become the greatest marching band of all time. Luckily, Major's Great Great Grandma Gladiola (referred to as GGGG) left him a magic baton that bestows instruments on any of the March Town citizens he points at.
As it is a marching game, Major Minor features well known works such as The Marriage of Figaro, Pomp and Circumstance, and the Star Spangled Banner. Twenty five tracks are available and each piece will sound different depending on how many band members you have. However, even with a full marching group behind you, songs rarely escape the sound of overly energetic nursery rhymes.
The story has every intention of being charming and the pieces necessary to boot. Unfortunately, none of these pieces add to a cohesive whole. The magic baton that Major receives from GGGG actually bears a carved version of her head that gives Major marching tips. Kind of like when the White Ranger had that talking saber Saba. In her attempts to be a hip, energetic old person GGGG (and her catch phrase of "MARCH, MARCH, KEEP ON MARCHING") reached a level of annoyance second only to that covetous raccoon from Animal Crossing, Tom Nook.
The artistic styling of Rodney Greenblat is probably his most tame videogame outing yet. The undeniably cute characters (ranging from marching Teddy Bears to Cacti) are drawn well enough, but their animations are rather weak. The in-your-face charisma of PaRappa and Um Jammer Lammy's character sets are forgotten in favor of anthropomorphic critters who stick to the "left, right, left, right" of marching.
The unskippable (not a real word) cut scenes also take away from Greenblat's gaming flare. Told mostly through overlapping stills to imitate animation, the scenes end up looking more like a Richard Scarry children's book. Combine the Richard Scarry-esque story sequences with the prior mentioned nursery rhyme music feel, and you're left with some pretty snooze worthy exposition.
Annoying dead relatives and lack of flair aside, the controls are surprisingly well done. They're not that interesting mind you, but they are executed very well. As Major's drum major status implies, you'll be leading a marching band consisting of March Town citizens. You set the tempo with up and down motions of the Wii remote, press A, and the marching begins.
The tempo you set is the single most important factor in the game. Band members you have picked up are displayed in a side view on the screen's lower third. Each member has an icon over their head that indicates if the tempo is too fast, too slow, or just right. Go too fast and certain members won't be able to keep up, thus dropping out. Go too slow, and members will drop out from boredom.
To change your tempo, simply speed up or slow down the speed at which you are raising and lowering the Wii remote. Monitoring your tempo becomes even more crucial as your band grows. To pick up more members, all you have to do is point at March Town citizens as you pass them. Citizens are placed so that when you point at them, it will be in time with the current tempo you have set. An icon over their head will let you know when to point so that you maintain your current tempo. It takes a little practice, but you'll be marching and picking up new members simultaneously in no time.
Power ups are also scattered throughout stages to help you keep band members satisfied. Some items increase everyone's mood, others put you on autopilot for a few seconds, and some actually harm your band. Like March Town citizens, items are placed at points along the route that allow you to maintain your tempo as you flick to the side to pick them up. You won't know exactly what item you're about to get (as they're on floating cards with their backs to you) until they flip. This gives you a split second to see if the item will help or hurt you, then flick out to get it.
Having so many members recruited by a certain point in each stage will allow you to enter drill mode. Simply perform the specified waggle directions (up and down, circles, left to right, or random waggling) and you can rack up some easy bonus points.
The last tempo variable worth mentioning is the antagonist Egg Plant Fox. If Egg Plant jumps into formation with your band, he'll screw up the tempo for everybody. The only way to get the Dora the Explorer Swiper clone out of your formation is by quickly picking up items that drive him away.
If you think marching by yourself is a silly concept, two-player modes are also available. Contest Mode has one player keeping rhythm, while the other recruits. The roles switch after every ten beats, and the person who keeps time best and recruits most wins. In Co-Op mode, one person keeps time while the other recruits with no swapping of roles. It's pretty cut and dry, but the option is there.
©2009-04-14, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
As an aspiring drum major, the titular Major Minor, it's up to the player to unite the citizens of March Town in order to become the greatest marching band of all time. Luckily, Major's Great Great Grandma Gladiola (referred to as GGGG) left him a magic baton that bestows instruments on any of the March Town citizens he points at.
As it is a marching game, Major Minor features well known works such as The Marriage of Figaro, Pomp and Circumstance, and the Star Spangled Banner. Twenty five tracks are available and each piece will sound different depending on how many band members you have. However, even with a full marching group behind you, songs rarely escape the sound of overly energetic nursery rhymes.
The story has every intention of being charming and the pieces necessary to boot. Unfortunately, none of these pieces add to a cohesive whole. The magic baton that Major receives from GGGG actually bears a carved version of her head that gives Major marching tips. Kind of like when the White Ranger had that talking saber Saba. In her attempts to be a hip, energetic old person GGGG (and her catch phrase of "MARCH, MARCH, KEEP ON MARCHING") reached a level of annoyance second only to that covetous raccoon from Animal Crossing, Tom Nook.
The artistic styling of Rodney Greenblat is probably his most tame videogame outing yet. The undeniably cute characters (ranging from marching Teddy Bears to Cacti) are drawn well enough, but their animations are rather weak. The in-your-face charisma of PaRappa and Um Jammer Lammy's character sets are forgotten in favor of anthropomorphic critters who stick to the "left, right, left, right" of marching.
The unskippable (not a real word) cut scenes also take away from Greenblat's gaming flare. Told mostly through overlapping stills to imitate animation, the scenes end up looking more like a Richard Scarry children's book. Combine the Richard Scarry-esque story sequences with the prior mentioned nursery rhyme music feel, and you're left with some pretty snooze worthy exposition.
Annoying dead relatives and lack of flair aside, the controls are surprisingly well done. They're not that interesting mind you, but they are executed very well. As Major's drum major status implies, you'll be leading a marching band consisting of March Town citizens. You set the tempo with up and down motions of the Wii remote, press A, and the marching begins.
The tempo you set is the single most important factor in the game. Band members you have picked up are displayed in a side view on the screen's lower third. Each member has an icon over their head that indicates if the tempo is too fast, too slow, or just right. Go too fast and certain members won't be able to keep up, thus dropping out. Go too slow, and members will drop out from boredom.
To change your tempo, simply speed up or slow down the speed at which you are raising and lowering the Wii remote. Monitoring your tempo becomes even more crucial as your band grows. To pick up more members, all you have to do is point at March Town citizens as you pass them. Citizens are placed so that when you point at them, it will be in time with the current tempo you have set. An icon over their head will let you know when to point so that you maintain your current tempo. It takes a little practice, but you'll be marching and picking up new members simultaneously in no time.
Power ups are also scattered throughout stages to help you keep band members satisfied. Some items increase everyone's mood, others put you on autopilot for a few seconds, and some actually harm your band. Like March Town citizens, items are placed at points along the route that allow you to maintain your tempo as you flick to the side to pick them up. You won't know exactly what item you're about to get (as they're on floating cards with their backs to you) until they flip. This gives you a split second to see if the item will help or hurt you, then flick out to get it.
Having so many members recruited by a certain point in each stage will allow you to enter drill mode. Simply perform the specified waggle directions (up and down, circles, left to right, or random waggling) and you can rack up some easy bonus points.
The last tempo variable worth mentioning is the antagonist Egg Plant Fox. If Egg Plant jumps into formation with your band, he'll screw up the tempo for everybody. The only way to get the Dora the Explorer Swiper clone out of your formation is by quickly picking up items that drive him away.
If you think marching by yourself is a silly concept, two-player modes are also available. Contest Mode has one player keeping rhythm, while the other recruits. The roles switch after every ten beats, and the person who keeps time best and recruits most wins. In Co-Op mode, one person keeps time while the other recruits with no swapping of roles. It's pretty cut and dry, but the option is there.
©2009-04-14, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved