‘Old School Musical’ Nintendo Switch Review: Chiptune In

We’ve got more than enough music/rhythm games to go around on the Nintendo Switch, particularly with Taiko Drum Master thumping its way to the console this November. But Old School Musical belongs on this list, taking a simple gameplay concept and wrapping it around a number of homages to the classics of old. It’s not without its hang-ups, but it’s more entertaining than expected.

The game focuses on Tib and Rob, a pair of pixel-like beings who have lived on an island their whole life with their over-abusive mother. They vow to get away one day, but find themselves thrust into a mysterious journey when their world begins glitching up like crazy.

Soon after, they’re thrust to a space station, where they’ll mosey across a number of world inspired by games like Mega Man, Metal Slug, The Legend of Zelda and, in an inspired bit of madness, Out Run. The goal is to get through each stage, playing along with the beats of a chiptune that plays in the background.

A Simple Format, Combined With Awesome Tunes

Old School Musical‘s gameplay is set up simply, with buttons that must be pressed with prompts that come from different directions, each with special colors so they stand apart. Occasionally, you’ll come across segments that require you to use the shoulder buttons. But they’re thankfully apart from the other segments, so you don’t have to go pressing things all over the place, to the point you’ll wear out your Switch.

The chiptunes themselves, produced by the team at La Moutarde and various musical talents, are a lot of fun. They fit the mood of each stage that you’re going through, and some of them are absolutely inspired. What’s more, they mix nicely between 8-bit and 16-bit, as we could definitely hear some Genesis-style vibes with some of the songs.

And the story is pretty funny, too. That’s a bit odd considering there’s an abusive mother thrown into the mix, but she’s just comically mean, throwing them to the wolves with a heinous training exercise at first before forcing them to fight off at their own tempo. As the story goes on, there are jokes that fans will truly appreciate, and the “big” reveal at the end actually makes a good amount of sense.

The Smaller Issues

That said, there is something mildly distracting about the interface. See, the action with the two brothers plays out in real time in the background while you press the buttons. Sometimes you’ll want to take a peek to see what’s happening, and as a result, you can lose track of what buttons you want to hit. And that can be difficult, especially on the game’s highest setting, when prompts come flying out of nowhere.

Also, the game gets progressively hard as time goes on. After you beat the main quest, you’re thrown into a secondary mission to take on an army of chickens across each stage. There are certain challenges that come along, like a “wavy” screen effect and occasional speed ups and slow downs, but they all get meshed together, proving to be much more difficult than needed. La Moutarde should’ve taken things a little more gradually here, so that the quest isn’t so heinous to get through.

But, again, the story shines through. Going against a chicken army can be hilarious, and, again, some of these jokes are very cool. Sure, there are a couple of groaners (like Skyrim‘s “arrow to the knee” — yes, again), but the writing is sharp for the most part.

Worth Tune-ing In For

Old School Musical also features a multiplayer mode, which doesn’t really seem necessary. Sure, playing as a group can be fun at first, but when you all get penalized when one of you ends up making a mistake, it can be infuriating. This should’ve been tooled around to be a little more competitive, instead of a group exercise that requires perfection nearly every time.

Even with these minor setbacks, Old School Musical is a pleasant surprise. The soundtrack is diverse and toe-tapping, and a lot of fun to listen to; the visuals are fresh and represent a number of old-school examples in the best way possible, even if the interface isn’t the best; and the story has a lot of bright spots, even though the post content is more of a grind than it should be.

This game may not hit on all the right notes like other music/rhythm releases, but it nails the performance enough that it’s worth a look.

WWG’s Score: 3.5 out of 5

(Disclaimer: A review code was provided by the publisher.)