Mad Maestro!

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Mad Maestro!
Mad Maestro cover.jpg
Developer(s) Desert Productions [lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s) Hiroyuki Kotani
Producer(s) Tomikazu Kirita
Designer(s) Jun Chuma
Junichi Suehiro
Programmer(s) Kakushi Ohara
Takahiro Tanaka
Kouji Yamaguchi
Artist(s) Kazuya Hattori
Toshiyuki Onishi
Yukiko Shiba
Writer(s) Kazuya Hattori
Composer(s) Jun Chuma
Yuji Takenouchi
Mayuko Kageshita
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: October 11, 2001
  • NA: March 13, 2002 [2]
  • EU: March 28, 2002
Genre(s) Music
Mode(s) Single-player

Mad Maestro!, known in Japan as Bravo Music [lower-alpha 2] , is a rhythm video game developed by Desert Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It was released in October 2001 in Japan and internationally by Fresh Games in 2002. Playing as the orchestra conductor Takt, the player must play the song by pressing the button according to the correct pressure on the screen. The game utilizes a soundtrack composed of entirely classical music by famous composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky. The game's original title was Shake It Bravoes! (シェイク イット ブラボーズ!, Sheiku itto burabōzu!). [3]

Contents

Despite mixed critical reception in the west, the game was sold well and received positive reviews in its native Japan. This led to three Japan-only follow-ups with two "expansions", Bravo Music: Christmas Edition in 2001, and Bravo Music: Chou-Meikyokuban in 2002, and alongside them, a proper sequel called Let's Bravo Music also in 2002.

Gameplay

Typically rhythm games rely on timed input according to on-screen cues and tempo. Mad Maestro features this style of gameplay, with the additional layer of pressure sensitivity. Utilizing the pressure sensitivity with the DualShock 2, the player must conduct an orchestra by tapping correlating buttons with varying degrees of pressure. There are three levels of pressure; light, medium and hard. By playing good and increasing their score, the player can reach Bravo Mode, which is required to beat the stage. By playing 3 or more notes bad however, the player is forced into Devil Mode, where their score will fall until they play a correct cycle perfectly. The Japanese release featured an optional Baton peripheral.

Story

In Bravo Town, a young composer named Takt is the leader of an orchestral group known as the Bravo Youth Orchestra, and they perform at the town's Concert Hall. To modernize the town however, Bravo Town announces that they will tear down the hall. Prior to the date however, a fairy and overall guardian to the hall named Symphony awakens. She flies over to Takt's house, who tells him that the concert hall was around for a very long time, and that if it does get demolished, music could lose their power. So, she recognizes Takt's musical power and they decide to recruit various Bravo Town citizens to convince the town to keep the Concert Hall.

After recruiting a couple, a clown and her lion partner, a fashion designer and a model, a reporter and some aliens, as well as a young flute prodigy and a long-forgotten-about composer, the new Bravo Youth Orchestra compose at the hall, which convinces the town to keep the hall as everyone returns to their life, and Symphony goes back to becoming the guardian of the Concert Hall.

Characters

Music list

The list of pieces of music in the order they appear on the game.

1. Hungarian Dance No. 6 in D Major - Johannes Brahms

2. Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Minor - Johannes Brahms

3. Slavonic Dance No. 7 - Antonín Dvořák

4. Thunder and Lightning Polka - Johann Strauss Jr.

5. Finale from Carnival of the Animals - Camille Saint-Saëns

6. The Marriage of Figaro - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

7. Scene from Swan Lake - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

8. Toreador March from Carmen - Georges Bizet

9. Ride of the Valkyries from The Valkyrie - Richard Wagner

10. Night on Bald Mountain - Modest Mussorgsky

11. Marche Militaire - Franz Schubert

12. Entry of the Gladiators - Julius Fucik

13. March from the Nutcracker - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

14. Trepak from the Nutcracker - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

15. 40th Symphony in G Minor K550-1st movement - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

16. Orpheus in the Underworld Overture - Jacques Offenbach

17. Baba Yaga's Hut from Pictures at an Exhibition - Modest Mussorgsky

18. 9th Symphony in D Minor-Ode to Joy - Ludwig van Beethoven

19. Dance of the Four Swans from Swan Lake - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

20. Morning Mood from Peer Gynt - Edvard Grieg

21. William Tell Overture - Gioachino Rossini

22. Rakoczi March - Hector Berlioz

23. 5th Symphony in C Minor-1st Movement - Ludwig van Beethoven

24. Radetsky March - Johann Strauss Sr.

25. Csikos Post - Hermann Necke

26. Toy Symphony - Leopold Mozart

27. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

28. Dance of the Reed Flutes from the Nutcracker - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

29. Algerian Suite from French Military March Music - Camille Saint-Saëns

30. Flight of the Bumblebee - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

31. Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks from Pictures at an Exhibition - Modest Mussorgsky

32. Divertimento No. 1 in E flat major K113 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

33. Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2 - Georges Bizet

34. In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt - Edvard Grieg

Reception and legacy

The game received "mixed or average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. [4] The use of pressure sensitivity in addition to standard rhythm game play mechanics was considered by some to be overcomplicated. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40. [9]

According to Dengeki Online, the Japanese edition of Mad Maestro was the 195th best-selling video game of 2001 at 54,794 copies. [18] Mad Maestro! was followed by three Japan-exclusive sequels, all for the PS2: Bravo Music Christmas Edition (ブラボーミュージック Christmas Edition) on November 22, 2001; Bravo Music: Chou-Meikyokuban (ブラボーミュージック 超名曲盤) on January 17, 2002; and Let's Bravo Music (Let’s ブラボーミュージック) on December 12, 2002. [19] [20] [21]

Notes

  1. ↑ Additional work by Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. [1]
  2. ↑ Japanese: ブラボーミュージック, Hepburn: Burabō Myūjikku

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References

  1. ↑ "JAPANスタジオ作品一覧 2002年～2001年" [List of Japan Studio works 2002–2001] (in Japanese). Sony Interactive Entertainment. 2021. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  2. ↑ I. G. N. Staff (March 13, 2002). "Fresh Games Ship To Retail". IGN. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  3. ↑ Kona (2001). "SCEI、指揮者となってゲームでクラシックを奏でるPS2用音楽アクション「シェイク イット ブラボーズ!」". Archived from the original on October 21, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Mad Maestro! for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 7, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  5. ↑ Miller, Skyler. "Mad Maestro! - Review". AllGame. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ Edge staff (December 25, 2001). "Bravo Music". Edge . No. 105.
  7. ↑ EGM staff (May 2002). "Mad Maestro!". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 154. p. 107.
  8. ↑ Bye, John "Gestalt" (April 15, 2002). "Mad Maestro". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  9. 1 2 "プレイステーション2 - ブラボーミュージック". Famitsu . Vol. 915. June 30, 2006. p. 89.
  10. ↑ Leeper, Justin (April 2002). "Mad Maestro". Game Informer . No. 108. p. 77. Archived from the original on February 23, 2005. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  11. ↑ Major Mike (April 10, 2002). "Mad Maestro! Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GameZone. Archived from the original on February 14, 2005. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  12. ↑ Liu, Johnny (April 23, 2002). "Mad Maestro Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on September 29, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  13. ↑ Davis, Ryan (March 20, 2002). "Mad Maestro! Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on May 6, 2019. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  14. ↑ Padilla, Raymond (April 11, 2002). "Mad Maestro". GameSpy. Archived from the original on December 12, 2004. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  15. ↑ Bedigian, Louis (May 6, 2002). "Mad Maestro! Review on PlayStation 2". GameZone. Archived from the original on January 1, 2005. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  16. ↑ Smith, David (March 14, 2002). "Mad Maestro". IGN. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 28, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Mad Maestro!". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine . May 2002. p. 101.
  18. ↑ IGN staff (January 11, 2002). "Dengeki Online Top 200 Of 2001". IGN. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  19. ↑ Sony staff. "ブラボーミュージック Christmas Edition" (in Japanese). Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  20. ↑ Sony staff. ブラボーミュージック 超名曲盤(限定版) (in Japanese). Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
  21. ↑ Sony staff. "Let's ブラボーミュージック" (in Japanese). Sony Computer Entertainment. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
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