Regular readers of this blog will know just how enamoured I am with Wii Music. But that’s not to say that Miyamoto’s latest is without its flaws. On the contrary, there are some glaring issues which will almost certainly prevent it lasting as long on my current playlist as I’d like. What’s interesting is that most of these problems could be quite easily rectified, as you’ll see if you read on. So here are the five things I’d change about Wii Music, to not only make it a better game, but to substantially increase its longevity.
5. Overdub Omission
A bizarre one, this. Let’s say, for example, you’ve just finished the final part of a tune, but you want to listen to the song again before deciding whether it’s how you want it, or you’d like to remove one instrument which sounds out of place. Returning to the instrument selection screen, you finally get things sounding perfect and then you want to save your tune. Only problem is: you can’t. You’ll have to go through and overdub one of the instrument parts you’ve already recorded - either that or choose an instrument and then remain silent for the whole song before saving your music video once it’s over. Surely there should be an option to save without having to complete the final part of a song and then save. A patch to fix this wouldn’t be too much effort, I’m certain.
4. Handbell Hell
The Handbell ringing and orchestra-conducting minigames are hugely enjoyable - if lightweight - diversions that undoubtedly add to the fun of Wii Music. So why do we only get a choice of five songs in each? Opening these games up to cover a wider selection of music - if not the entire tracklist - would certainly make them more worth revisiting. But no - once you’re done there’s only high scores to aim for. Handbell remains entertaining every now and again if you’ve got friends round, but there’s little to keep the solo player returning once he or she has mastered each tune.
3. WiiTube
As you can see from the video above (and indeed the many similar ones featured on the site) YouTube is full of Wii Music owners videoing their performances to share with the world. It’s one thing to be able to swap tunes with Wii pals, quite another to be able to demonstrate to a potential audience of millions what Wii Music is capable of. It’s a tremendous advert for the game, so why can’t we just save YouTube-compatible vids for easy uploading rather than having to set up our video cameras for shaky and/or poor-quality footage of our best work? Games like Skate have proved it’s possible to do, and Nintendo would be wise to add a similar feature.
2. Battle of the bands
Mario Kart Wii has undoubtedly benefitted from regular online challenges and even the Check Mii Out channel offers competitions to inspire Wii owners to get creative. An excellent way to extend Wii Music’s lifespan would be to set regular monthly tasks - like performing the Animal Crossing theme in a jazz style, or tackling Material Girl only using wind instruments. There could be prizes on offer for the best examples, and the songs would be available for Wii Music owners to download and watch as further inspiration. Makes sense, no?
1. D.L.C.
Above all, Wii Music would be a much better and longer-lasting game if it offered regular downloadable content. I’m not asking for much - a new song or two every now and again to spark players’ imaginations into gear, the odd new instrument to master, perhaps even a new set of Jam Mastery lessons teaching you a whole new style, or the option to use the balance board for percussion instruments outside the special drumming mode. While fifty songs and sixty instruments sounds like a lot, there are bound to be tunes which people don’t want to bother with, and some of the novelty music-makers won’t be touched by those who take their Wii Music a little too seriously to bother with dog and cat noises. Given that Guitar Hero World Tour offers the opportunity to download tracks to an SD card, it’s not as if the lack of memory space would be a serious issue. At least think about it, eh, Nintendo?
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