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Parappa Team Creates Major Minor's Majestic March
Posted by Mike Fahey at 3:20 AM on February 1, 2008
Back in December Majesco announced they were reuniting the Parappa team of artist Rodney Alan Greenblat and musician / game designer Masaya Matsuura for an exclusive Wii title, and now we know that title's title! Major Minor's Majestic March (Mmmm) will see you using your Wiimote as a band leader's baton, helping your adorable animal marching band keep time, recruiting new members, and picking items on the road towards creating the most impressive parade the world has ever seen. The game will feature 8 locations, 15 musical instruments, and over 25 marching band tunes from around the world, composed into original medleys so the player can mix and match instruments to create their own unique sound. Sounds like exactly the sort of whimsical musical concept that made us fall in love with the Parappa series in the first place. Mmmm.
MAJESCO ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES 'MAJOR MINOR'S MAJESTIC MARCH'Legendary Designer Masaya Matsuura and Artist Rodney Alan Greenblat Bring First Marching Band Game Exclusively to the WiiTM System
(BRISTOL, U.K., January 31, 2008) - March to the beat of your own drum as Majesco Entertainment Company (NASDAQ: COOL), an innovative provider of video games for the mass market, today announced Major Minor's Majestic March for the Wii™ home video game console. Developed by NanaOn-Sha, Major Minor's Majestic March marks the return of the creative team behind the renowned PaRappa the Rapper franchise-legendary game designer and multimedia musician Masaya Matsuura and famed New York artist Rodney Alan Greenblat.
"There's something magical about marching bands that truly captures the imagination. The concept of leading a virtual band that's reliant on your musicianship is a perfect fit for the interactive capabilities of Wii," said John Merchant, Marketing Manager, Majesco Europe. "The combined musical and artistic superiority of Matsuura and Greenblat make them a natural choice to deliver this innovative title exclusively to the Wii audience."
Major Minor's Majestic March turns the Wii Remote™ into a "special" baton that the bandleader, Major Minor, uses to keep tempo, recruit new band members and pick up valuable items. While marching through eight whimsical locations that contain various hair-raising events, Major Minor strives to create the most impressive parade ever. Players can add up to 15 different instruments to their dynamic procession--including brass, woodwinds, and percussion--to alter its composition and resulting performance. Players are scored on how well their band maintains its rhythm and manages obstacles that could otherwise throw the procession into disarray. The band keeps tempo to more than 25 popular marching band songs from around the world, composed into original medleys for each stage.
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Khabi
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
I love off the wall random games as much as the next person. But really conducting a marching band of animals that that are likely to give you cavities?
I've done the whole marching band thing in high school (keep the one time in band camp jokes to yourself :) ), while an okay, and mostly fun passtime in highschool, I'll have to pass on Video Game version.
Don't get me wrong. I love rythem games, I own all the guitar hero's (besides rocks the 80's) and rock band. But have you ever watched a drum major in a marching band? For the most part, they just mark time with their hands to keep everyone in sync.
I guess we'll have to wait and see what they come up with here, but my first impression.. meh.
On a side note, if they wanted to go with the cutesy animal marching band, they should license the happy tree friends characters. I would totaly buy "Happy Tree Friends: Marching Band Massacre". Flippy + Trombone = 100% pure awesome.
Khabi
damon53
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
Hey Kotaku, please find out what kind of graphical style they have in mind, 2-D like Parappa, 3-D rendered versions of the characters, cel-shading, or something in-between?
damon53
iskew
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
Rodney Greenblat is incredibly cool and he chooses his participation in things like this very carefully (probably belied by his whimsical art, but he does). I was introduced to his art through one of his first big exhibition tours when it made a stop in Norfolk when I was 16. His somewhat free and child-like art was incredible to see (it's hard to tell in his videogames, but he actually does a lot of physical medium art like sculpture and such for his creations). Plus, he often used the easy-on-the-eyes colors and shapes to make viewers digest much deeper concepts. His can-head stuff in the exhibition I saw pondered religion, social problems and issues of class and race.
Anyway, Parappa was awesome and it's good to see him back again. It's a classic case of two great humans getting together to make a product that ten mediocre designers could never pull off.
iskew
damon53
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
:/ I hope it turns out good. Marching band animals are not as cool as rapping animals....so who knows. Cooking Mama was once a joke, and now it's freaking huge seller.
damon53
NoBullet
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
By the way, I got the NIN reference on the pig image name.
NoBullet
NoBullet
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
I really like Rodney Alan Greenblat's art style.
NoBullet
fuchikoma
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
I love most music/rhythm games.
That looks mortifying. It will need a heavy dose of comedy to be worthwhile.
But I'll see as details emerge I guess...
fuchikoma
fyren
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
@kingdavid73:
Don't worry. I bought Nights as my first purchase on the wii.
Im stuck in a rock and a hard place.
If you do remember the Nights from your Saturn days, I was 11 back then, then it should be familiar to you.
The only gripe is that
1.This game fails to capture the magic that I had back when it came out on the saturn.
2. For a 12 year old game, it hasn't chaged a bit :/.
3.I don't have any other wii games, or sports, but the wii nunchuck thingie absolutely blows. Its over sensetive and nights just dosn't respond to it. I had to settle for the Dpad.
fyren
Lightguy
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
I read the name and expected a Sheep In The Big City game.
:(
Lightguy
Dhurken
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
Music in video games has always interested me. Music as the goal of video games is even better.
I particularly liked the way that a song was the "reward" for finishing Portal. Not everything has to be visually justified.
Why has beating a game been relegated to cut-scene territory? When a movie's over, it's over. Why not the same for games? Are we paying our $50-$60 for a two-minute movie? Or the sense of adventure and achievement that those rare games that are worth playing give us? Why not allow us to play through the events of that final cut-scene?
Take Resident Evil 4: game ends, the jet-ski, over which I just had full control, is now in a beautiful cut-scene. But why wasn't I the one to drive the girl into the sunset? After all, I completed the task, didn't I? Better ending: you pilot your jet-ski out to sea, dialog takes place, you drive off. Fade-to-black, while actively controlling the jet-ski...and cue credits. Maybe, in your mind, sitting there on the jet-ski and watching the sunset was the more appropriate choice. But, regardless, it was not yours to make.
Sorry, small matters, I know, but it's something that I think about from time to time.
Dhurken
Chillblain
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
Awesome.
Chillblain
levarien
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
Anyone else get a "Happy Tree Friends" vibe from those screen? I was half expecting some serious violence with those instruments.
levarien
drywaller79
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
I've been waitin for a good wii music playing title. Hopefully this delivers.
drywaller79
ssjmichael
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
I love the Parappa team and all but this doesn't sound interesting to me. I guess I don't feel like leading a band in a parade using my Wii as a baton.
ssjmichael
Kyle81
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
@kingdavid73: The nights game was ass though, so you can save yourself some time :P
Kyle81
Grumps
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
This game looks a little too adorable. But I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.
Grumps
mizzle
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
This sounds a little like that Wii Music title that was supposed be on the way at some point.
mizzle
kingdavid73
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
sigh, freakin Wii. I dislike it so much, but they keep on doing this to me. First it was the new Nights game, now a new game from the Parappa team!? sigh.... I guess I'll have to eventually get one. Maybe when they're under $200.
kingdavid73
Rebochan
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
That sounds like it was tailor made for the Wii. I'm all over it.
Rebochan
87th
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
I've been waiting for a good Matsuura game since Vib Ribbon. I hope this is it.
87th
CaptLtrl
Posted 7:59 AM 1/2/08
Parappa opened my eyes to the rhythm genre. I will definitely pick this up.
CaptLtrl
Nymo
Posted 1:59 PM 1/2/08
As a Parappa fan, I was expecting something more different and quirky.
Here, I just see a marching-band version of "Mad Maestro" using waggle control.
Certainly doesn't seem as whimsical or totally-new-and-off-the-wall as a rapping dog that launched the music game genre.
Who knows, it may be as good, or better, than Parappa, but I was hoping for something new from those two. Something that was sort of a natural-evolution of Parappa.
that, And I hate the use of alliteration. It must makes me
I'll reserve final judgment when I see and try it out for myself...
Nymo
TheIrishNinja
Posted 1:59 PM 1/2/08
@peztrip: haha, indeed.
im already interested, love the creative team.
TheIrishNinja
peztrip
Posted 1:59 PM 1/2/08
Image tags FTW.
peztrip
Kirkpad
Posted 1:59 PM 1/2/08
I bet this will be better than Wii Music.
Kirkpad
ImpetuousStyle
Posted 1:59 PM 1/2/08
Wow, what happened with Greenblat? This doesn't look like Parappa quality, hell; this can't even be compared to Dazzleoids. WHERE DID THE CHARM GO, GREENBLAT? YOU SAID THERE WOULD BE CHARM.
ImpetuousStyle
Chef
Posted 5:58 PM 1/2/08
Go Greenblat, though I was kind of hopeful that Major Minor was the guy from Sheep in the Big City.
Chef
holycaribou
Posted 5:58 PM 1/2/08
I think this looks great! It's about time that Wii owning marching band nerds get something better than that damn Drumline movie!
holycaribou
UnJamma6096
Posted 3:02 PM 7/2/08
It's definitely a step away from all the hardcore rock games like guitar hero ans such.
UnJamma6096
Mrkinator
Posted 3:02 PM 7/2/08
At first I thought this seemed kinda lame. But the more I think about it, it seems kinda cool. I love NanaOn-Sha, Rodney is a great artist and I love music so I guess I gonna have to buy it :P (PaRappa better be an unlockable character!!)
Mrkinator