Maestro! Green Groove

I’ve always had a soft spot for rhythm action games and although the DS seems an obvious place for them few have ever really clicked with me. The main exception to the rule would have been Elite Beat Agents and now, Maestro. The DSi Ware Maestro game we have here, titled ‘Green Groove’, is in fact the first section of a full retail game from last year named Maestro! Jump in Music, a game that has sadly been over looked and was unknown to me.

In Maestro you control the game’s hero, Presto as he fights to rescue his love, Bella from the clutches of the evil Staccato. The dastardly Staccato has kidnapped Bella and has stolen all the sounds from the world. Standard video game story but it’s presented to you in quite a charming way. But fear not, Presto can save the day with your help. He’s a pretty simple guy, he likes to walk from left to right and… actually that is all he does. Luckily Presto’s preferred mode of walking is upon the musical strings that run throughout the land. It is by plucking these strings that you control Presto’s movement and the path he is taking. As you pluck and Presto collects the objects upon the path, musical notes are released, playing the song for that level.

While the concept is simple the game soon becomes quite complex with you needing to jump and fall with perfect timing to catch all the the notes and keep the song complete as well as taking out enemies with a well timed percussion tap. With the song playing as you move through the level you are given instant feedback on your performance. The reward for a perfect run is having played the run itself with a perfect tune. It’s a a shame the DS is such a private experience, a perfect run will leave you feeling quite smug but with no one to show off to.

While the visuals of the game are quite simple they are pleasing to the eye with some impressive cutscenes taking place around boss battles that only help build upon the game’s charming nature.