New Wii rhythm game seems to have all the ingredients for a music game hit: The reuniting of PaRappa The Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura and PaRappa artist Rodney Greenblat. More »
Wii title Major Minor’s Majestic March, the latest music game from PaRappa The Rapper dev NanaOn-Sha, is getting a series of anime shorts.
The folks that brought you PaRappa the Rapper and UmJammy Lammy (game designer Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Greenblat) have re-teamed for Wii title Major Minor’s Majestic March. Guess who’s releasing it in Japan?
On its surface Major Minor’s Majestic March is very simplistic, but then again so was Parappa the Rapper. And that’s an apt comparison. Both games were created by Masaya Matsuura and both feature bright cartoon characters drawn with bold, clean lines.
Instead of tapping out a rhythm on a controller, as players did with Parappa, Major Minor’s Majestic March has players setting their own tempo as the Drum Major of a marching band. That may not sound like a big difference but what it means is that it takes the control away from the game and allows gamers to dictate how they want to play. The key to the game isn’t rhythm as much as it is consistency.
You’ll probably need a refresher on this one. Major Minor’s Majestic March is a Wii game currently in development at Majesco. It’s being designed by Masaya Matsuura, with art duties being handled by his old Parappa buddy, artist Rodney Alan Greenblat. It plays a little like Space Channel, except you’re conducting an animal marching band. Read those last two sentences over again, let them sink in for a second, and you’ll see why this might be one of the quietest, yet most pleasant unveilings of the show.
Majesco is bringing it’s ‘A’ game to E3 this year, with a strong line up of titles for the Nintendo Wii and DS ranging from the quirky and curious to the deep and involving. By far the most intriguing game in my opinion is Major Minor’s Majestic March for the Wii, which reunites the Parappa the Rapper team of Masaya Matsuura and Rodney Greenblat. Along with Major Minor, Majesco’s Wii line up includes Cooking Mama World Kitchen, the house remodeling title Our House, and Zoo Hospital, which is a bit like Trauma Centre for the arguably less-evolved set.
On the DS they’ll be showcasing the recently announced Mistwalker RPG AWAY Shuffle Dungeon, featuring the combined talents of famed RPG creator Hironobu Sakaguchi, character designer Naoto Oshima and composer Nobuo Uematsu. Trying desperately to outshine that title on the DS will be Wonder World Amusement Park, Babysitting Mania, and physics-based puzzler Marker Man Adventures.
Between Major Minor and AWAY, this is shaping up to be the most exciting Majesco line up in years. Hit the jump for more info.
