Daigasso! Band Brothers

Last updated

Daigasso! Band Brothers
DBB box art.jpg
Japanese box art
Developer(s) Nintendo R&D2
Nintendo SPD [1]
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Producer(s) Shinya Takahashi
Composer(s) Masami Yone
Akito Nakatsuka
Minako Hamano
Masaru Tajima
Toshiyuki Sudo
Platform(s) Nintendo DS
Release
  • JP: December 2, 2004
Genre(s) Music
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Daigasso! Band Brothers [lower-alpha 1] is a music video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was released in Japan on December 2, 2004 as a launch game for the Nintendo DS. The game features multiple songs, which include classical music, television themes, and video game music. The game is controlled using both the buttons on the DS as well as its touch screen in certain portions. It uses a variety of different instruments, which are combined selectively in order to compose a song. Besides the primary mode, players may play together, each one playing a different instrument in the song. Players may also compose their own songs. It was to be released in the United States as Jam with the Band, but was never released nor formally cancelled. It has a sequel titled Jam with the Band , which was released in Japan in 2008 and in Europe in 2010.

Contents

Gameplay

The single-player game of Band Brothers includes 35 normal songs, plus three unlockable songs. These are divided into the categories J-Pop, World, TV (anime/tokusatsu), Classic, and Game (includes a variety of medleys from Nintendo titles such as Mario , Fire Emblem , and Zelda ). Each song has a number of parts available for the player to play, usually ranging from 6 to 8, and each part will generally be a different instrument, but many songs have more than one part played by the same instrument.

In the Beginner mode, all notes are represented either by a D-Pad icon or a button icon, and any direction or face button respectively will automatically play the correct note. In Amateur mode, each of the eight buttons on the face of the Nintendo DS system correspond to a musical note; there is also a drum set where each button, including the L and R buttons, plays a specific drum or cymbal. As many songs contain fast or difficult parts to play, they are covered in the Beginner and Amateur modes—when the cursor is about to move over them, the lower screen will change to the "touch" command; touching the bottom screen at this time causes the notes underneath the touch screen portion to be played automatically. These do not contribute to the player's score, but prevent high-speed sequences from being forced on the player early on, and activating them helps to keep the rhythm and flow of the song.

In Pro Mode, the player must hold down the L button while playing specified notes to raise them by a semitone, and hold down the R button at other notes to raise them by an octave; some notes combine both of these functions to raise a note an octave and a semitone. The player may also play a +R note as X, as X represents the same note as an octave higher. In addition, the drum set sometimes requires the player to hit two notes at once, and the touch screen portions must be played manually; at this point the game receives a drastic increase in difficulty, and essentially turns the Nintendo DS into a musical instrument.

As a song progresses, the top screen scrolls through one bar at a time (one stretching across the screen horizontally, and the next few bars shown below it). A cursor moves to show where in the song the player currently is, and as the cursor moves over a note's "head", the aim is to press the button displayed on that head, and if necessary holding it down until the end of the "tail". Some long notes will have a tail extending across multiple bars, and very short ones will have none at all. Successfully hit the buttons at the proper time and it'll make an excellent piece of music, but hit it at the wrong time and it'll sound like a jumbled mess.

As in many music/rhythm-based games, every single note is given a title based on the accuracy, and the more accurate notes increase the score by more. These ranks are Best (perfect timing), Good (slightly too fast or slow), Bad (the note's head will not disappear; much too fast or slow) and Miss (the correct note was not played at all, or stopped before the end of the tail). At the end of a song, the score is calculated as a number out of 100.

In Free Play Mode the player scrolls through the songs using up and down on the D-Pad, and selects a part from the list using the touch screen. Listed with the instrument name will be a star difficulty level from 1 to 5. In Amateur and Pro modes (which are judged separately and toggled via a switch on the title screen), the player's score is recorded and appears next to the instrument of the song.

Progression through the game is done in the Recording Ticket mode, a single player mode where the player must play three randomly selected songs, depending on the ticket level of the player; for example a level three ticket will have the player randomly playing songs using instruments with a 3-star difficulty rating. The goal is to play the three songs and get a total score of 240/300, while making as few mistakes as possible; if the player makes too many mistakes, represented by a bomb and a burning fuse, then the game ends.

Beating the Recording Ticket Mode at the Beginner level, which only has 1 level, unlocks the Amateur mode; and beating all five levels of Amateur mode unlocks Professional mode. Beating the five levels of the Professional mode unlocks the Recording Ticket Gold Mode, a harder version of Professional Recording Ticket Mode that requires a near perfect performance to beat, i.e. 297/300; Recording Ticket Gold Mode consists of only one level, with songs randomly chosen from all 5 difficulty levels.

Daigasso! Band Brothers utilizes the Nintendo DS' Wireless Link connection to allow multiple players to join in and make music. In 2 to 8 player link-ups, each player, like in solo player mode, takes command of one specific instrument in the music piece. Each player in the group is part of a band, and must play the song together as a group, and the better each player follows along, the more in tune the song comes through. Every note played, right or wrong, can be heard on the other players' systems, and if every single part in the song is played by a human absolutely nothing will be automated. Scores are measured by percentage of notes hit, each players percentage is represented by a balloon in the bottom screen. This lets everyone know how they are doing in comparison to their friends score.

Another feature is a full blown music editor allowing the player to create their own custom tunes, using the touch screen to select the notes. It contains the basic features of any MIDI composer, although the players are limited to 8 parts in a song and not every single MIDI instrument is available. This mode is used by many people to recreate tunes from video games or other MIDIs using a program to convert them into sheet music. There is also a mode in which players can sing or hum a tune into the Nintendo DS microphone, which will be recognized by the game and converted into notes on the screen. Any musical piece the player compose can be transmitted wirelessly to a friend's cart(s) so they can play the song.

Song list

SongPerformer(s)/Media of originThemeType
Abarenbō Shōgun Theme Abarenbō Shōgun TVUnlockable
Animal Crossing Title Theme] Animal Crossing GameExpansion
Aoi BenchSasukeJ-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Athletic Medley [lower-alpha 2] VariousClassicStock
Athletic Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island GameExpansion
Ayumi's Theme Famicom Tantei Club GameExpansion
Azusa Ni-GōKaryūdoJ-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Barbara Bat ThemeDaigasso! Band BrothersGameUnlockable
Children's Songs Medley [lower-alpha 3] VariousWorldStock
Choo Choo TRAIN Exile J-PopStock
Christmas Medley [lower-alpha 4] VariousWorldStock
DAYS FLOW (from Eureka Seven )J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Donkey Kong Jungle Beat Theme Donkey Kong Jungle Beat GameExpansion
Dragostea din tei O-Zone WorldExpansion
Eikō no KakehashiYuzuJ-Pop & AnimeExpansion
The Entertainer Scott Joplin WorldStock
F-Zero Medley F-Zero GameStock
Famicom Medley Famicom Disk System GameStock
Fire Emblem Theme Fire Emblem GameStock
Foster Medley [lower-alpha 5] Stephen Foster WorldStock
The Four Seasons/Spring Antonio Vivaldi ClassicStock
fragile Every Little Thing (from Ainori )TVStock
G-Men '75 G-Men '75 TVUnlockable
Gekkō Ka Janne Da Arc (from Black Jack anime)J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Hana Orange Range J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Happy MaterialMahora Gakuen Chūtōbu 2-A (from Mahou Sensei Negima! )J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Hoshi no Kirby Medley Kirby seriesGameStock
Kirari! Sailor DreamSae (from Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon )TVStock
Koko ni Shika Sakanai HanaKobukuroJ-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Love Parade Orange Range J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Mario Medley [lower-alpha 6] Mario GameStock
Matsuken Samba Part 2Ken MatsudairaJ-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Melissa Porno Graffitti (from Fullmetal Alchemist )TVStock
Namonaki Uta Mr. Children J-PopStock
Neomelodramatic Porno Graffitti J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Nihon Break Kōgyō ShakaMan ZJ-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Onegai! Señorita Orange Range J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Point of No Return Chemistry J-PopStock
Pocket Monsters Medley Pokémon GameStock
READY STEADY GO! L'Arc~en~Ciel (from Fullmetal Alchemist )TVStock
Renai Revolution 21 Morning Musume J-PopStock
Rewrite ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION (from Fullmetal Alchemist )J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Russian Medley [lower-alpha 7] VariousWorldStock
SakuraKetsumeishiJ-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Sakuranbo Ai Otsuka J-PopStock
SEASONS Ayumi HamasakiJ-PopStock
Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana SMAP J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Shanghai Honey Orange Range J-PopStock
Slider Super Mario 64 DS GameExpansion
Slow Classic MedleyVarious [lower-alpha 8] ClassicStock
SMILY Ai Ōtsuka J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Smoke on the Water Deep Purple WorldStock
SONG OF ASHLEY WarioWare: Touched! GameExpansion
Sora mo Toberu Hazu Spitz J-PopStock
Star Wolf Theme Star Fox 64 GameExpansion
Starry Heavens day after tomorrow J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Tentai Kansoku BUMP OF CHICKEN J-Pop & AnimeExpansion
Tokotoko Yoshi Yoshi Touch & Go GameExpansion
Tokusō Sentai Dekaranger Psychic Lover (from Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger )TVStock
Touch Younha (from the Touch movie)TVStock
TsubasaUndergraphJ-Pop & AnimeExpansion
WAY OF DIFFERENCE GLAY (from Ainori )TVStock
When the Saints Go Marching In Dixieland JazzWorldStock
World Songs Medley [lower-alpha 9] VariousWorldStock
Yama e no Michi Shin Onigashima GameExpansion
Yeah! Meccha Holiday Aya Matsuura J-PopStock
Zelda no Densetsu Medley The Legend of Zelda GameStock
Zenbu Dakishimete KinKi Kids J-PopStock
Zenryoku ShounenSukima SwitchJ-Pop & AnimeExpansion

Development

The game first appeared at the Tokyo Game Show in the Spring of 2001 where it was announced for the Game Boy Advance—although it was originally being developed for the Game Boy Color—under the tentative name Game Boy Music. It lacked many of the features in the DS game, such as the touch screen and wireless multiplayer, but it had a wide variety of instruments to play, and featured the same graphical style of the DS game; it also starred the game's mascot, who would eventually be named Barbara the Bat. The game was delayed for several reasons, but the two main reasons were: [2]

  1. The limited technology of the Game Boy systems made it difficult to produce a good music game; in particular, the lack of buttons and an inadequate sound system.
  2. The developers of the game had trouble getting Nintendo to approve the new characters they created, as a new character would not have the automatic appeal of an existing character.

Eventually, Daigasso! Band Brothers was released in Japan for the Nintendo DS in 2004 as a launch title; the game was also announced for a North American release, and as late as September 2006, it was listed as "in development", but is no longer found on Nintendo of America's website. It was also listed as "To Be Confirmed" on Nintendo Australia's website until its last relaunch. [3]

In September 2005, Nintendo released an expansion pack titled Daigasso! Band Brothers Tsuika Kyoku Cartridge (or Great Concert! Band Brothers Request Selection Cartridge in English). The expansion comes in the form of a GBA cartridge, which is inserted into the DS at the same time as the original Band Brothers card, making Band Brothers the first DS game that uses the GBA port for more than some minor unlockables. It features 31 new songs, which were chosen based on a survey posted on Nintendo's website in July. The scores of the songs do not save after being played.

Sequel

A sequel named Daigasso! Band Brothers DX was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on June 26, 2008. It was released in Europe under the name Jam with the Band on May 21, 2010. [4] The sequel is capable of interacting with the Wii through a game-specific channel called the Live Channel, known as the Speaker Channel in Japan. Jam with the Band also allowed the player to download new songs to the 8 megabyte capacity game cartridge via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

Daigasso! Band Brothers P

Another sequel named Daigasso! Band Brothers P was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan in November 2013, developed by Intelligent Systems. [5] The game was discontinued in May 2020 and became unplayable. [6]

Notes

  1. Japanese: 大合奏!バンドブラザーズ, Hepburn: Daigassō! Bando Burazāzu lit. "Grand Ensemble! Band Brothers"
  2. Csikós Post by Hermann Necke; Radetzky March by Johann Strauss Sr.; Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms; Trepak from The Nutcracker by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Toreador Song from Carmen by Georges Bizet; Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka by Johann Strauss II; Galop Infernal from Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach.
  3. The Other Day I Met a Bear; If You're Happy and You Know It (using the melody from the cover by Kyū Sakamoto); Picnic (ja:ピクニック (童謡))); Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star; Vltava from Má vlast; Ah, Lovely Meadows (ja:おお牧場はみどり); Home! Sweet Home!.
  4. Silent Night; Jingle Bells; O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree); Angels We Have Heard on High; Joy to the World
  5. Oh, Susanna; Camptown Races; My Old Kentucky Home; Old Folks at Home; Beautiful Dreamer.
  6. Super Mario Bros. overworld theme; Super Mario World grasslands theme; Super Mario Bros. 3 grasslands theme; Super Mario Land grasslands theme; Super Mario Sunshine Isle Delfino theme; Super Mario 64 grasslands theme.
  7. Kalinka by Ivan Larionov; Sabre Dance from Gayane by Aram Khachaturian; Here Comes the Postal Troika (ja:トロイカ) with no known author; an extract from Act 1 of Swan Lake by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky; Korobeiniki with no known author.
  8. Largo from Symphony No. 9 by Antonín Dvořák; Air on the G String by Johann Sebastian Bach as arranged by August Wilhelmj; Salut d'Amour by Edward Elgar.
  9. Tico-Tico no Fubá from Brazil; La cumparsita from Uruguay; Hava Nagila, a Jewish folk song; La Bamba and La Cucaracha both from Mexico.

Related Research Articles

<i>Wrecking Crew</i> (video game) 1985 video game

Wrecking Crew is an action game developed and published by Nintendo. Designed by Yoshio Sakamoto, it was first released as an arcade video game for the Nintendo VS. System in 1984, titled Vs. Wrecking Crew with a simultaneous two-player mode. It was released as a single-player game for the Family Computer (Famicom) console in 1985, and as a launch game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) later that year. A sequel, Wrecking Crew '98, was released in Japan in 1998 for the Super Famicom.

<i>Ice Climber</i> 1985 video game

Ice Climber is a platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the arcade VS. System in 1984, and for the Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System consoles in 1985. The characters Popo and Nana, collectively known as the Ice Climbers, scale 32 vertically scrolling, ice-covered mountains to recover stolen vegetables from a giant condor. In some European countries, Ice Climber was bundled with the Nintendo Entertainment System.

<i>Balloon Fight</i> 1984 video game

Balloon Fight is an action video game developed by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo. The original arcade version was released for the Nintendo VS. System internationally as Vs. Balloon Fight, while its Nintendo Entertainment System counterpart was released in Japan in 1985 and internationally in 1986.

<i>Mario Kart DS</i> 2005 video game

Mario Kart DS is a 2005 kart racing video game developed by Nintendo EAD Group No. 1 and published by Nintendo. It was released for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in November 2005 in North America, Europe, and Australia, and on December 8, 2005, in Japan. The game was re-released for the Wii U's Virtual Console in North America and PAL regions in April 2015 and in Japan in May 2016.

<i>Yoshi Touch & Go</i> 2005 video game

Yoshi Touch & Go, known in Japan as Catch! Touch! Yoshi!, is a video game that was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It debuted in Japan on January 27, 2005, in North America on March 14, 2005, in Europe on May 6, 2005, and in Australia on May 19, 2005. As of August 2007, the game sold 197,337 copies in Japan. Yoshi Touch & Go was produced by Takashi Tezuka and directed by Hiroyuki Kimura. The game was released on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2015.

The Virtual Console was a line of downloadable video games for Nintendo's Wii and Wii U home video game consoles and the Nintendo 3DS handheld game console.

<i>Bleach: The Blade of Fate</i> 2006 video game

Bleach: The Blade of Fate is a 2D fighting game that features the cast of characters from the Bleach anime and manga. The game featured Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection, which allowed players to connect and play against players all over the world. The game modes include story mode, arcade mode, VS mode, training mode, challenge mode, and survival mode, time attack mode and Urahara shop. The game's theme song is "Ichirin no Hana" by High and Mighty Color.

<i>Wii Music</i> 2008 music video game published by Nintendo

Wii Music is a music video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released in Japan and North America in October 2008, and in Europe and Australia in the following month. Wii Music is part of both Nintendo's Touch! Generations brand and the Wii series.

<i>Planet Puzzle League</i> 2007 video game

Planet Puzzle League, known as Puzzle League DS in Europe, and as Panel de Pon DS in Japan, is a video game for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console in the Puzzle League Panel de Pon visual matching puzzle game series. In North America, Planet Puzzle League is part of the Touch! Generations brand; in Japan, Panel de Pon DS is marketed in the general Touch! brand. The publisher for the game is Nintendo, and the developer is Nintendo's second-party developer Intelligent Systems, creator of the original Panel de Pon and its cult classic English-language adaptation Tetris Attack. The game was released in Japan on April 26, 2007 in North America on June 4, 2007, and in Europe on June 29, 2007.

<i>Jam Sessions</i> 2007 video game

Jam Sessions is a guitar simulation software title and music game for the Nintendo DS that was originally based on the Japan-only title Sing & Play DS Guitar M-06 originally developed by Plato and released months earlier. It was later brought to North America, Europe and Australia, courtesy of Ubisoft.

<i>Jam with the Band</i> 2008 video game

Jam with the Band, known in Japan as Daigasso! Band Brothers DX, is a music video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is the sequel to the Japan-exclusive Daigasso! Band Brothers, which was released at the DS' launch. Jam with the Band was released in Japan in June 2008 and in Europe in May 2010. It uses the largest save capacity for a Nintendo DS game at eight megabytes. Its release was accompanied by a Wii Channel for the Wii console called the Live Channel, known in Japan as the Speaker Channel, that allows players to hear the game's sound through their television. It features the character Barbara Bat, who was also in the predecessor.

<i>Rhythm Heaven</i> 2008 video game

Rhythm Heaven, known as Rhythm Paradise in Europe and Rhythm World in Korea, is a Japanese rhythm video game developed by Nintendo SPD for the Nintendo DS. It is the second game in Nintendo's Rhythm Heaven series and the first one released worldwide, following the Japan-only Game Boy Advance title Rhythm Tengoku, and was succeeded by Rhythm Heaven Fever for the Wii and Rhythm Heaven Megamix for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released in Japan on July 31, 2008, in North America on April 5, 2009, in Europe on May 1, 2009, and in Australia on June 4, 2009.

<i>WarioWare D.I.Y.</i> 2009 video game

WarioWare D.I.Y., known as WarioWare: Do It Yourself in the PAL regions, is a minigame compilation and game creation system by Nintendo SPD and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the seventh title in the WarioWare series and the last to be developed for the Nintendo DS family of systems. Formally revealed at Nintendo's conference in October 2008, the game was released in Japan on April 29, 2009. It was released in 2010 in North America, Europe, and Australia respectively and was accompanied by a separate WiiWare title, WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase.

<i>Guitar Hero: On Tour</i> 2008 video games series

Guitar Hero: On Tour is a series of music video games based on the Guitar Hero series for the Nintendo DS handheld game system. The series is developed by Vicarious Visions and published by Activision. Three games in the series have been released since June 2008: Guitar Hero: On Tour, Guitar Hero On Tour: Decades, and Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits.

<i>Rock Band 3</i> 2010 music video game

Rock Band 3 is a 2010 music video game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, in late October 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on November 23, 2011. It is the third main game and the 6th major console installment in the Rock Band series. As with the previous titles, Rock Band 3 allows players to simulate the playing of rock music and many other subgenres using special instrument controllers mimicking lead and bass guitar, keyboard, drums, and vocals. Rock Band 3 expands upon previous games by including three-part vocal harmonies — previously used in The Beatles: Rock Band and Green Day: Rock Band — plus support for MIDI-compatible keyboards, electronic drumkits, and even use of a real guitar in "Pro" mode.

<i>Theatrhythm Final Fantasy</i> 2012 video game

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy is a rhythm video game, developed by indieszero and published by Square Enix for Nintendo 3DS and iOS. Based on the Final Fantasy video game franchise, the game involves using the touch screen in time to various pieces of music from the series. The game was released in Japan in February 2012, and in North America, Australia and Europe in July. An iOS version was released in December. A sequel, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, was released in 2014. A third game based on the Dragon Quest series, Theatrhythm Dragon Quest, was released in 2015. An arcade game, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: All-Star Carnival, was released in 2016. A second sequel, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line, was released on February 16, 2023 for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game & Watch</span> Series of handheld electronic games by Nintendo

The Game & Watch brand is a series of handheld electronic games developed, manufactured, released, and marketed by Nintendo from 1980 to 1991. Created by game designer Gunpei Yokoi, the product derived its name from it featuring a single game as well as a clock on an LCD screen. The models from 1981 onwards featured an alarm in addition.

<i>Rotozoa</i> 2010 video game

Rotozoa is a single-player exclusive puzzle video game published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game revolves around a colour-matching concept, with a mechanic similar to that of Snake, taking place within a diffuse world of microorganisms. Developed by skip Ltd., the game is the fifth WiiWare installment in the Art Style series. It was initially released in Europe on May 28, 2010, under the alternative title Penta Tentacles, and followed in North America on June 21, 2010. It was eventually also released in Japan on October 18, 2011, both preserving the launch title of the PAL release and being the final WiiWare game to be released in the former.

<i>Groove Coaster</i> Video game series

The Groove Coaster series is an iOS / Android and arcade rhythm game franchise developed by Matrix Software and published by Taito. The first Groove Coaster was released for iOS on July 28, 2011. This rhythm game follows a roller coaster type track on screen, where players must make the appropriate controller inputs. Like many rhythm games, a life bar is attached to the game play. Players gain or lose points on the bar depending on the input timings.

References

  1. "Spotlight: Nintendo SPD", Kyoto Report, January 26, 2012. Retrieved January, 2012.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 18, 2005. Retrieved October 5, 2005.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Jam with the Band". games.nintendo.com.au. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  4. "Pump up the volume and Jam with the Band!". Nintendo of Europe. April 13, 2010. Retrieved April 25, 2010.
  5. "Daigasso! Band Brothers P". Nintendo Co., Ltd. January 15, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  6. "Band Brothers P Will Finish Its Performance On 3DS On May 1, 2020". Siliconera. December 3, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2022.