I then tried a “more difficult” song, the Super Mario Brothers theme. This time it was on the trumpet, and I had to press the 1 or 2 buttons in time with the music. I was told to hold the Wii-mote near my mouth as if I were actually playing a trumpet, but I just felt silly since that action adds nothing to the gameplay.

Wii Music has a feature that allows people to record and share their musical arrangements (i.e., the same song but played with different combinations of instruments) with friends via WiiConnect24. They can even layer different versions of songs on top of each other. In turn, your friends can add their own mix to it and send it right back.

I was very unimpressed with Wii Music. It’s like Rock Band for kindergarteners. It removes all the elements that make rhythm-based games appealing to gamers. What Nintendo doesn’t realize is that people like challenges. They like the good feeling of starting out playing poorly and progressing over time. They like keeping score. Most importantly, they like to feel that their actions actually mean something. If a player doesn’t hit the right notes, the music will sound horrible, as expected. I do not have high hopes for this game.

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