Let’s talk about a Nintendo-published rhythm game that made its name on Nintendo DS and deserves a modern revival. You’re probably thinking about Elite Beat Agents, but that’s actually not the focus of today’s discussion. However, it is important to our story, so let’s begin there.
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan is one of the more surprising success stories from a console that was a goldmine for under-appreciated and unique creative experiences. The game’s wacky premise of a cheer squad helping strangers and fighting aliens in a rhythm game played using the touchscreen earned viral success as import websites and magazines touted the wonders of this bizarre iNiS-developed curio. Fast-forward a few years and Nintendo finally rewarded eager fans with a localized release, replacing the songs with Western hits and the cheer squad with spies. To this day, Elite Beat Agents remains one of the company’s more bizarre published efforts of the last 20 years.
Yet this wasn’t even Nintendo’s only rhythm game success story on the Nintendo DS. As Elite Beat Agents grew in popularity, Daigasso! Band Brothers similarly gained online notoriety as a Japan-exclusive import gem. Unlike the wildness of Osu, however, this was a far more grounded and complex musical experience. Rather than wacky hijinks, this was all about you and the performance.
Band Brothers aimed to recreate the challenge of perfecting a real instrument. The d-pad and face buttons were used to represent the eight notes of an octave from A-G, with the L and R buttons being used to denote pitch and octave. The charts you performed were sheet music, replicating the act of playing a guitar or keyboard or whichever instrument you saw fit. There were even special modes for replicating the use of drum kits.
Think of it like a rock band. Just as a bass player, guitarist, drums and vocals perform together to make a complete song, so, too, do the different instruments in Band Brothers. It’s a departure from typical rhythm games like Groove Coaster, where players perform a chart inspired by a song’s collective sound, but performing a single instrument is effective in making you feel like you’re performing on stage.