DS Import Review - Nodame Cantabile

Earlier this week, we talked about some upcoming Japanese DS rhythm games and we introduced Nodame Cantabile, a recently-released title that comes from the manga series of the same name. This game features over 20 pieces of classical music ranging from Toreador to Beethoven’s Fifth, among other well-known tunes, and you conduct music by tapping circles on the touch screen with the beat of the piece. We had a chance to play an import copy of the game and we are excited to share our impressions of the game with you. If you are interested in importing an unusual music game for your DS, read on to see what we thought of this title, and whether it makes for a friendly import experience.

Nodame Cantabile is very easy to play with no knowledge of the Japanese language. Every action in the game is done with the DS stylus. The core gameplay involves tapping scrolling circles on the touch screen, which vary in height according to the particular instrumental note. You must tap with the beat, and the game helps you do that; as the circles scroll to the right, musical notes descend from above and when they intersect the circle, that’s when you should tap. The fact that you tap circles at different locations of the touch screen is very interesting and a nice change from most rhythm games. Based on your accuracy and timing, you will receive a “Great” or a “Good” hit mark, which keeps your life meter replenished at a steady pace, but if you miss a circle your meter will decrease slightly. Sometimes special colored circles will appear, which include a ‘tail’, and to successfully hit these special circles you must tap and drag on the direction of the tail. These special circles add a nice touch to the otherwise simplistic gameplay, to some extent.

The game features a lot of familiar tones and other not-so-popular ones that are still nice musical compositions. The game starts out very easy but gradually picks up in pace. In between performances, you will travel around a city, talking to different characters from the manga series. We can’t comment on the story due to our lack of Japanese, but it’s nice to have an underlying storyline to the game alongside some nice character designs. Sometimes you won’t conduct an orchestra; instead you will play a variety of mini-games which are fun in their own unique way. One mini-game is a side-scroller involving a character trying to reach a spaceship while evading obstacles. There’s also a memory cooking mini-game and a sorting mini-game, but our personal favorite is a mini-version of Taiko no Tatsujin, also known as Drum Master, a popular drum arcade game in Japan which is hitting the Japanese DS market this summer (you can find some screenshots and info on this game here).

Unfortunately, while the language does not present any major issues, the game is hard to recommend as an import. The main story is extremely short, ranking at about three hours. You can still replay any song, but this won’t add much replay value either; the main gameplay is far too easy, even for average rhythm gamers. The special tailed circles add a nice challenge for a while, but once you master them you won’t have much trouble getting through the songs. Only the very last piece is challenging enough. Even if you miss circles, your life meter decreases at a very slow rate, making the game far too forgiving and easy. The mini-games are fun but feel unnecessary and tacked-on; it would’ve been nice to see more rhythm-based mini-games instead.

Nodame Cantabile is a nice rhythm game but hard to recommend to avid rhythm game players. The game is fun while it lasts, but its short length and ease of gameplay might appeal only to rhythm game beginners looking for an easy way of entering the genre. Unless you’re one of the few fans of the Japanese manga series you should look somewhere else to get your rhythm gaming fix.

Things we liked:

● Interesting additions to standard rhythm gaming
● Good variety and amount of songs

Things we didn’t like:

● Easy and forgiving gameplay
● Very short main quest
● Mini-games feel unnecessary

Import friendly?

The game is very easy to play and the menus are easy to navigate without knowing Japanese, but you will miss out on the story.

Final Score: 6 / 10