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PS2
Nodame Cantabile
- New Import, In Stock |
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NCS Game Synopsis
«©NCS»
Shinichi Chiaki is a third year student at the
Momogaoka College of Music and plays the piano as
well as the violin with impressive skill. However,
what he really wants to do is conduct. Megumi Noda
is a second year music student who's a piano playing
prodigy. Unlike the immaculate Shinichi, Megumi is
an unkempt girl who's clothes and detritus generally crowd her piano. When Shinichi
and Megumi meet, there's friction at first on the
part of Shinichi but their lives change radically
when they find a middle ground and make beautiful
music together.
Nodame Cantabile for the PS2 chronicles the first meeting and the
growing relationship between Shinichi and Megumi in
an interactive adventure game setting. That's not
all however. There's also a challenging music rhythm
game which strays from the conventions of Bemani.
Instead of a flat surface upon which cues drop upon
ala Pop'n Music and Beatmania, the cue trigger is a
rapidly shifting green-line which ricochets on the
foreground of the screen. When it shifts, your job
is to watch its new direction of movement and push
the L-Analog stick accordingly. Follow it in quick
succession and you're soon engaging in thumb
calisthenics. It's not easy at first but once you
get the hang of the mechanics, it gets easier.... or
somewhat easier.
Bonus Schwag
All preorders shipping today will include a bonus binder which
holds a couple of CDs or DVDs. The front-right
portion of the binder features a length of piano
keys. We received a 1:1 ratio of this bonus item
and we'll include it with all new orders as well.
Jan Code: 4983164735840
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NCS Game Notes
» In the "Now Loading" screen, an outline
sketch of badger rolls around.
» Metro and Desert Productions developed
the game for Banpresto. When their respective
company logos are displayed on screen, listen to
the fevered rantings of the girl who was hired to
intonate their names.
» The title screen shows Megumi and Chiaki
at a piano. Leave it alone and an introduction
plays to Chopsticks or another song in the
background as the camera slowly pans up Megumi's
wiry seated frame or a scene of Megumi and Chiaki
in reverie. The song and the images change upon
each subsequent viewing.
» Press "START" and seven options appear as
follows below. When you move down the list of
options, the annoying girl from earlier will
perform a one-tone sing-song as you move along the
selections:
1) Start / Story Mode that begins with a
lesson, a practice run, and then the main game
where Chiaki goes through the Nodame Cantabile
storyline.
2) Lesson Select / Resume saved lessons
from Story Mode - note that each lesson
starts at the very beginning.
3) Free Play / Enjoy a game of orchestral
conducting without the strictures and introductory
primers of the Story Mod.
4) Replay / Shaded and not selectable at
the outset of the game.
5) Music Room / Listen to music selections
with videos for songs you have already completed
(opens up after 1 game).
6) Tutorial / View a demonstration and a
tutorial accompanied by a voice-over on how to
play the rhythm portion of the game.
7) Option / Set sound (stereo/mono) and
Voice options.
How to Play the Rhythm Game
A green line trails all over
the screen and a pastel blue follower (that's you)
trails after its movement and sharp ricocheting
trajectory. Your job is to hit the thumbstick at
the moment that the green line moves from ricochet
to ricochet so that a little spot of light pops on
the point of ricochet. It's not easy and pretty
challenging since the green line can go anywhere
on the screen and bounce in sharp angles in split
second turns. One saving grace is that you don't
have to match the direction of movement on the
thumbstick - just hit it in time with the ricochet
and the cues will accept any of the cardinal
directions on the thumbstick.
When the music is playing and Chiaki is conducting, the images on
screen shift from him, to the audience, and to the
orchestra as the line-action plays out on the
foreground of the stage. Note that only Chiaki
moves during the conducting and the other
characters are static images. If you conduct
poorly, the looks on the gaces of the orchestra
will become mortified. The movement of your Dual
Shock maneuvers affects the tempo and play of the
orchestra. After each conducting session, you can
review the music and listen to how the orchestra
played without the line-trail cue on the
foreground. In spots where you messed up, the
music will become lower in volume or sound
distorted. You'll also be able to revisit the
pained expressions of the members of the orchestra
and Chiaki's feeble movements as he realizes his
folly.
If you botch the cues, you'll be able to tell fairly quickly by the
darkened expressions of the musicians on screen.
If you're hitting the cues like a champ, hearts
will eventually rise up on the screen along with
sparkling gems.
Story Mode
Start a NEW GAME and Chiaki goes through a short tutorial and a
sample exercise. The first chapter is titled
"Lesson 1" and subsequent stages follow the
numbering and name scheme. In the next scene, he's
sitting on the floor with a bunch of papers around
him. He experiences a flash back where he's in
front of a piano when his teacher hits him with a
ream of paper. In the next scene, he's outside and
encounters his former girlfriend Saiko Tagaya. The
scene shifts into a golden-hued bar where their
conversation continues. Following that, Megumi is
slowly ascending the steps to the Sweet House and
humming one bar with every step (that you initiate
by pressing the "O" button). Once she gets inside,
Chiaki may be seen slumped on the door as the
sound of insects from outside still permeate the
background. To wake him up, press any of the face
buttons on the Dual Shock and Megumi will blow a
blast of air from her mouth which sets off another
flashback in Chiaki where he reminisces about the
first time he saw Megumi play the piano and the
events that followed. Voice acting accompanies the
dialogue in the game.
Chiaki gets to conduct a session and after that, "Lesson 2" begins
where Megumi runs up to him yelling "Senpai" and
holding a length of cord above her head with both
hands. They go to a room with two pianos inside
and greeted by a guy with squarish glasses and
grayish hair. He's wearing a grey vest with white
shirt underneath.
The camera focuses on the piano keys and Megumi plays a little bit
before Chiaki smacks her backwards with the effect
of lightning exploding in the background. Megumi
screams and can be seen falling backwards while
lifting up her left arm in the background of the
static image. Scene shifts to sunset behind
buildings as Chiaki reminisces some more.
In the next scene, Chiaki is outside the door where he was slumped
over earlier. Press any of the face buttons or
triggers to ring the doorbell and after a while,
Megumi slams the door outwards cheerfully which
smacks Chiaki in the face. Inside, he notices the
mess around Megumi's piano and the unkempt
condition of the room in general. Despite her
slovenly manner, Megumi is ever cheerful against
Chiaki's moody temperament. Help clean up the mess
by hitting the face buttons and trigger buttons
and the piano will soon be uncluttered and ready
for play. Whenever a bit of mess is cleaned up,
Megumi exclaims in the background as if a part of
her was being snatched away. You're clear once the
blue-striped sihrt above the piano disappears. The
next interaction is where Chiaki washes Megumi's
hair - press the buttons to wash out the shampoo.
Now that she's clean , it's time for piano-playing
where the two play side by side and the green-line
rhythm game pops up. Occasionally, the green line
turns invisible so you'll have to follow the trail
of sparkles.
Closing Statement
Nodame Cantabile is one half interactive novel and one half music
rhythm game. When playing the story mode, Chiaki
is the protagonist and he makes his way through
the story interacting with cast members and going
through the paces of the Nodame storyline. When he
reaches certain junctures, it's time for musical
rhythm games that require deft handling of the
Dual Shock 2 controller.
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This document and photos are ©NCSX 2007. All rights
reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of
this document may be made without express written
consent of National Console Support, Inc. |
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