Product Description

In Mad Maestro the city has announced plans to destroy the concert hall! Enter the hero, Takt, a young conductor attempting to recruit the best musicians so they can put on a mega concert to save the performance hall. In order to accomplish this, Takt must travel around the city making people happy with his music and recruiting them for his orchestra. Among the recruits: a lion, a supermodel, a fisherman, and space aliens. Once he has his ensemble together, it's time for the big show: a musical extravaganza at the symphony hall. Perform perfectly and you will save the hall and keep music alive for generations to come. The game features 11 levels, including the epic performance at the symphony hall. Touch-sensitive controls allow you to feel the music. The soundtrack features Brahms, Strauss, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Schubert, Beethoven, and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17554 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: Capcom
• Released on: 2002-03-22
• Platform: PlayStation2

Amazon.co.uk Review
Determined to inject a little oriental culture into the wild hearts of western PS2 owners, Eidos have imported Mad Maestro, a rhythm-based game that's destined to either win you over or have you cursing the TV in frustration. The plot, such as it is, revolves around an orchestral conductor who must use the magical power of music to save the local town hall from demolition--important because a fairy lives there. With that out of the way it's on to the gameplay, which involves tapping keys on the controller in time with highlighted symbols onscreen. Sounds simple, but once things start to hot up it's a frantic battle to hold the rhythm and keep the orchestra playing in time, and tune.

The main problem with Mad Maestro, as with all games of this genre, is that there's no time to enjoy the on-screen visuals. Keeping time requires so much concentration that anything else is virtually impossible. It has to be said that there's not really much to miss, though, as the blocky, stilted graphics and effects are nothing to write home about--shame. It was a brave move to bring over such a uniquely Japanese title and it remains to be seen how well it fares in the European marketplace against the likes of Britney's Dance Beat and Parappa the Rapper 2.--Chris Russell

Customer Reviews

I don't know if it's art, but I like it...
I bought up this game having played Parappa the Rapper on the PS1 and Dance Stage and Guitar Freaks in the arcades. There's always been something about this type of game, where the player actively becomes involved in the music that just hits the right note with me (Sorry).

So when I got home and loaded this up, I was far from disappointed, especially when this goes so far beyond anything of it's type that I've played in terms of subtlety and addictiveness.

The controls are simple to get to grips with, and the only way to truly master the game is to learn (Or some might say FEEL) the music, the simple fact that you control the tempo, volume and parts of the orchestra means that when you are off the beat, you'll hear it as well as have the PS2 tell you about it, the volume of the orchestra really does rise and fall with the touch of an analogue button.

Since buying this, I've found it hard to tear myself away from it, the music chosen is accesible for classical stuff (Surely Evryone will know and like 'Ode to Joy', or 'Ride of the Valkyries'), the simple, cartoony graphics and lighthearted plot (coupled with some entertaining sub-games) should keep all but the most cynical (Or untalented) individuals happy for a while.

Don't even think about using this with your dance mat though.

Good Stuff, highly recommended. I'm off to do 'Baba Yaga's hut' again.

whoa
This is a truly genius game. What amazes me every time is how the orchestra reacts to your errors... it's not like you are just conducting a piece that will sound right now matter what. The game actively and in real time shows you motions, be they incorrect dynamics or tempo or expressiveness... You will hear EVERYTHING.

not to mention that the game is damn fun and extremely addictive!

however, a word of warning. If you do not like classical music, you will be left out on this one... if you have no musical ability whatsoever and can't hold a steady beat, you'll never make it past the first stage...

it's a terrific game, but it relies on the true sensibilities and abilities of the player....

also, you tend to block out the background graphics of the game and concentrate on the conducting... once you know the piece well enough, you can simply conduct as you know it should and and look at the pretty picture...

:)

however... i wish i could find the baton that is sold with this game in Japan... it would have been a HUGE help and improvement on the gameplay!

The Game You'll Go Numb Over!
Mad Maestro is a little gem that originally came from Japan and was thankfully released over in the UK some time later.
Its foothold in the rhytm action genre is that its what button you press, its how hard you press it!
With the DualShock controller, you'll be put in charge of an orchestra to perform various classical pieces in great environments that interacted with how well your doing.
If your asked to play loud, you must hit the button in time hard, but if your playing softly you must tap away as light as possible. What sounds boring actually can get infuriatingly addictive and annoying in equal measures as you can so easily start giving it some welly when your meant to playing sensitively.
While there's plenty to find and do, with some nice mini games to find, your hands will be tested to the limit, a bit like button bashing, and they start to hurt after a few rounds (the rounds last for serveral minutes unlike the itty bitty DDR games).
A great innovative game, but play in small doses!