Received: March 15th, 2018 | Written March 10th-12th, 2020
Year: 1995 | Developed by: Daft
Published by: Enix | [ ⬤ ]
Recently I've downloaded and played Joysteak Studios' Songbird Symphony on the Nintendo Switch which I ended up liking a lot, and yes, it's true:
Or at least, it did to me anyway; what follows is incredibly moving and poignant 😭
you will believe a game revolving around a singing birb will make you cry. So I guess it's fitting then that I cover a music-driven title for my next review, since I've been inspired to talk about it.
Image from Wikipedia
Gangan Comics was a Japanese manga imprint founded by video game publishing firm Enix in 1991 that entailed Shōnen manga and Seinen manga, whose parent company was changed to Square Enix in 2003 after Enix merged with SquareSoft, and is still in print today. Some of the manga series to come from the Gangan magazine are Hiromu Arakawa's Hagane no Renkinjutsushi/Fullmetal Alchemist and Atsushi Ōkubo's Soul Eater to name a couple well-known examples.
Image from Wikipedia
One other property to have come from this monthly Japanese magazine is the dark fantasy shōnen manga series Hameln no Violin Hiki, or "Violinist of Hameln" as it translates to, which was written by Michiaki Watanabe from 1991 to 2001 and ran for a whopping thirty-seven volumes; the story centers around an eighteen-year old named Hamel who travels northbound with his crow companion and guardian Oboe and uses his oversized violin to incapacitate his foes from doing more harm as music acts as a magical quality, and along the way is accompanied by orphaned sixteen-year old Flute and Hamel's childhood friend Raiel (or in the former's case, as far as I looked up, "abducted her as payment for his services" … uhhhh… 😧). The story was serious but told in an irreverent tone.During its run it got adapted into a thirty minute anime film done by the Nippon Animation studio on April 1996 (with music done by Kohei Tanaka? Oh man, the genius composer of Copya System's Lennus and Matrix Software's Alundra really has done everything, I'm very impressed 😃) and anime series by Studio Deen that ran from October 1996 to March 1997 at twenty-five episodes sans the humor of the manga they're based on but didn't go as into dark territory as said manga did, several years after the original manga ended Watanabe returned to the realm of Hameln with the short-lived seinen manga sequel series Hameln no Violin Hiki: Shchelkunchik ("Nutcracker") which lasted eight issues from January 2008 to October 2011, and from 2013 onward there's been a somewhat alternate universe version of the premier series by the name of Hameln no Violin Hiki: Zoku ("tribe" or "family").
Image from GameFAQs
Before all that, though, the very first thing Hameln no Violin Hiki adaptation came in the form of the Super Famicom video game on September 29th, 1995 which was developed by Daft and published by Enix appropriately enough which from what I gather largely follows the manga well but made certain changes (like Hamel and Flute meeting each other at the beginning), and was the only video game adaptation that was made based on Michiaki Watanabe's IP (he has an "author" credit in-game). Daft was a video game developer that made games that were released from 1993 to 2005 by different companies: a good chunk of their portfolio comprises of the K-1 kickboxing video game series but before that they worked on licensed properties like Super Back to the Future 2 based on Robert Zemeckis' second film out of the Back to the Future trilogy as well as a couple video game adaptations of Ami Shibata's Nangoku Shōnen Papuwa-kun manga series.
Left: In the town of Staccato | Right: Beginning the adventure proper
In the sidescrolling platformer Hameln no Violin Hiki you take control of the violinist Hamel whom you can move to the left and right, climb the ladder up and down, and even duck down, with the B button you can jump in the air with how much altitude you gained dependent on how hard you pressed the button, in mid air you can glide down by holding up to let Hamel's violin slow down his fall, you attack your foes by playing the violin which will cause notes to shoot out from it, and with the Y button you can pick up and toss a rock ahead of or above you, same thing for Flute should you stand beside her though you can a choice to put her down by pressing Y and down if the time to carry her has passed. You can also press Start and press Select to restart the portion you're at if for some reason you messed up to the point of no return but at the expense of one of your lives.
Left: Angry tulip ahead | Right: Flute turned ostrich
Joining you is the CPU-controlled Flute who can climb up tiny steps and ladders and can fit through small openings, but that's really about all she can do without Hamel's aid; she will follow you as you move along but if you wish for her to remain in place you can press the X button once (preferably while standing on a floor switch) but if you want her to move again or catch with you simply press the X button once more, and if you needed an extra boost you could even stand on Flute. Should Flute fall offscreen and is too far away from Hamel then the crow Oboe will automatically come pick her up and carry her back to your present position.
Be careful not to press Start when you don't want to, like up in the air or slightly above water with death awaiting you at the bottom of the screen, otherwise Flute will automatically take off the costume thereby endangering you should you be in a precarious situation
During the course of your adventure you'll pick up different costumes for Flute to wear in order to overcome certain obstacles along the way especially if you wish to reach the goal that awaits you at the end of the stage. To make her wear the costume of choice (or what's presently available) press the Start button to access the Kigurumi Select screen, select the costume, and the press the A button to have her wear it. Mostly you can stand on her head to ride on her with varying degrees of (manual) control, sometimes jumping on her hat will cause her to activate her ability based on the costume she's wearing, or in a few cases you can carry and throw her to deal some damage in quick succession. To have Flute get out of costume either press the X button or press Start twice, preferably while you're on the ground or hanging onto stairs.
Left: Destroying those blocks by tossing a rock at it | Right: Pushing a rock out of the way
This is also a map-based platformer so you can continue on to the subsequent stage or attempt to replay the one you just passed, or you can return to the town for supplies should you have the requisite amount of gold at your disposal. Occasionally you'll find certain items that will come in handy, like gold coins, fruit to replenish Hamel's health, a hat that gives you another life, a heart to augment your health capacity by one, musical notes to increase the potency of your musical violin note projectiles, keys to unlock certain doors during the interior stages, an hourglass to extend your allotted time by thirty seconds, and stars (sometimes found inside chests); if you have four by the time you reach the goal you'll be taken to a bonus area for a chance to collect all the gold and reach the gold by the time the timer reaches zero. Should you lose your last life you can use up one of your unlimited continues at your disposal sending you at the last portion you lost your life in, and at the end of each Movement (or chapter, rather) you'll be contending with a boss fight.
Left: Threaded platform | Right: About to enter the castle
Hameln no Violin Hiki is an arresting game to look at as its visuals are incredibly fascinating as most areas have different color schemes, the color palette is exquisitely chosen, it has a good sense of detail when called for it, and it knows how to make good use of shading on occasion; the graphic design by T. Konakawa, N. Takeguchi, and K. Hirayama do a very good job drawing you into this universe. 😃 The town of Staccato has got a vibrantly bright and colorful palette, the town of Regatto has got a haunting and desolate look after having been destroyed when you get there, the plains and lake and mountains have got a neat backdrop, the forest areas have got a sense of visual depth with the differently shaded trees to create a sense of atmosphere, and the areas taking place within the bricked walls have a got a detailed and menacing décor (some of which have dragon heads spewing fire).
Left: Demolition boxing robot Flute | Right: Dismantled warrior skeleton
This platformer also has impressive visual effects wizardry to help augment the visual depth and/or sense of atmosphere; in the aforementioned forest areas with the trees in the upper backdrop the bottom half mirrors them in a perpetually wavy and watery reflection, after the Enix logo pops up when the screen scrolls down where Hamel and Flute are the backdrop behind the tree with the town contracts and squeezes the further down the screen scrolls which is pretty cool when seen in motion, I love how the screen turns black and white upon losing a life and how the screen above the HUD momentarily inverts its colors after using Flute as a screen-wiping nuke (after buying the costume, that is),
Left: Curling puck Flute 🥌 | Right: Flute toss
whenever Tuba moves himself his shoulder plates tilt just slightly and readjust themselves with a subtle bit of Mode 7 (i.e. without the obvious pixilation), the color layering effects when it comes to the water is deeply immersive, during the trek in the mountain there is a very neat array of whirling clouds in the bottom portion of the screen that covers not just the foreground but the backdrop as well, inside the volcanic area is a lot of vibrantly flaming lava, but the thing that impressed me the most is the Kigurumi Select screen whenever you toggle between and select the costume for Flute to where the outline in the center morphs itself with such polished and succinct smoothness.
Left: Separated | Right: Fighting a giant monster by the name of "Tuba"
Hamel and Flute have got solid designs in-game and have a good amount of animations going for them, occasionally exaggerated (especially in Flute's case when she's thrown or stood on by Hamel, and Hamel has a priceless reaction once he loses his last heart), with simple colorization as Hamel wears black and Flute wears pink, and they have a charming anime quality about them; I even love that the HUD is presented in the form of a Treble Clef with profiles of both human characters but should you be running out of time then the entire HUD will flash in red. During the intro and before the start of a new Movement you get a close up shot of the central characters presented in Michiaki Watanabe's style.
Left: Flute's turned into a gorilla 🦍 | Right: Contrasting Flute's calm swaying idle pose with Hamel's grumpy sit-down impatient idle pose
The other human NPCs are drawn well too, including Raiel later on with his green outfit and golden piano he carries on his back like a back pack. Throughout the game are different monsters that you'll be contending with, such as angry tulips, bats, snakes, skeletons, big green monsters, grimacing armored bear-like creatures, tiny ghosts struggling to carry a round spinning blade, evil sentient trees that attack you with their open-ended and leafless branches, et al. The bosses are largely bigger than Hamel, with the first boss Tuba being the biggest of them all as he towers over the entire screen with an imposing look on his face, and in the end he faces up against an angel-like character with blood-red feathers wielding a scythe who turns out to be Hamel's twin sister Sizer.
Left: Standing on Flute as she swims on the watery surface like a penguin 🐧 | Right: Stepping on a switch simultaneously to make a menacing skull door appear
Hameln no Violin Hiki's music was composed by Y. Mori who was also one of the planners of this game in their only audio-based video game contribution which is all done in pure classical symphony to complement the violin-based action and various settings' sense of atmosphere. 🎻🎵 The soundtrack is very good and makes it easy to get engrossed into the music-themed action, for this game incorporates original music and even adapts music found in the public domain (most of which I recognize by sound but not by name) which works perfectly for Hameln no Violin Hiki as I wouldn't have it any other way. 😃 The title theme initially begins with ambient bird chirping sounds but is shortly followed by a familiar melody, Staccato's theme is peaceful and heavenly and is also based on a familiar melody,
Left: Monkeying around 🐒 | Right: Sunfish Flute riding as the wind guides you up in the air
in the second Movement there is a nameless village that has got a pleasant theme, both themes for the safe portion of Regatto and staff roll have got music based on a different key segment of "Waltz of the Flowers" from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite, in one portion later on Hamel and Flute meet with a couple injured NPCs where you hear "Clair de Lune" from Claude Debussy's Suite bergamasque playing in the background, and once you defeat Sizer as Hamel, Oboe, Flute, and Raiel venture forth with the sun rising above them there is a tranquil take on Johann Sebastian Bach's "Suite No. 3 in D Major, BWV 1068 Air". Other music I'm sure comes from public domain but can't quite put my finger on it are the theme for the dark forest early in the game, a dramatic cue for a town in ruins,
Left: Well, it's a good thing Hamel and Flute can seemingly breathe underwater forever, otherwise they both would've drowned by the time Bassoon finished talking thereby making this battle an automatic win for him | Right: Entering the ruins of Regatto
and the theme for the when the battle against Bassoon is initiated including the soft but intimidating nonetheless prelude leading up to it. I really liked that about this soundtrack: any time you meet up with a boss at the end of a Movement it's soft but with an imposing air about it but once the dialogue stops the music suddenly gets louder and action-packed with a highly dramatic flair lingering throughout the moment, especially great is that each boss has their own theme dedicated to them. 😃 The plains theme when the action begins kicks things into symphonic gear, and the theme for when you venture through the forest areas sounds engrossingly atmospheric, the theme for when you explore the heart of the castle is foreboding and enriched with depth,
Left: The safer portion of the town of Regatto | Right: Flute dressed up as a monster
the lake theme is soul-soothing with the adventurous piano and digitized choral "ahhh"s during certain portions of it, I like the sounds that simulate rain in the theme for when outside the monster tower on account that it's raining as well as its slower tempo version when you enter it, when you journey in the mountains its theme is so empowering and inspiring to listen to that it's one of my favorite themes in the game, the lava cave theme is menacingly composed especially with the simplistically eerie piano notes, and the theme for when you venture inside the final area before facing off against Sizer is relentlessly dramatic and is a good way to signify that your journey is almost coming to an end.
Left: Tossing frisbee Flute | Right: Tipping
Sizer's theme is purely riveting and I love how Raiel contributes to the ensemble melody by playing his spirit-summoning piano once he shows up to help you fight her. I'm not sure why, but when I listen to some of Hameln no Violin Hiki's themes my mind instantly takes me to Quintet's Tenchi Sōzō/Terranigma; which is strange since neither game share the same composer, but they do share the same publisher Enix (it's worth pointing out that today's title has got three weeks on Quintet's Magnum Opus as that game came out in Japan that October 20th in 1995). 🤔 I surmise that it's got to do with a similar choice of instrumentation they both incorporate, they both have the digitized chorus during certain themes, and during this game's forest theme there is a deep crescendo (I think that's what its called) that's similar to what's heard in the latter title's credits theme. Honestly, these soundtracks would make good companion pieces together, but that's just me. 😄
Left: Elephant Flute dousing out the fire 🐘 | Right: The injured
I first learned about this game on RVGFanatic's website in 2008, I thought his take was an engaging read and what screenshots he showed made me intrigued, and it wasn't until later in life that I learned Hameln no Violin Hiki was based on a manga (one that was, to the extent of my knowledge, not officially translated outside Japan), plus I love classical music so this platformer seemed like it was right up my alley. After I started importing Super Famicarts in 2012 whenever I browsed on eBay for it in the past its price tag was usually in the thirtysomething or fortysomething dollar range or higher, but I always checked once in awhile in case I stumbled upon a copy with a more reasonable price: that opportunity came in March 2018 as I found a cart that cost less than $30, and upon playing it I found it to be endearing and fun to play on the whole and a curiosity worth quenching, but not without its caveats which I'll elaborate on shortly. 😃
Left: Standing on Flute soaring like an eagle 🦅 | Right: This boss has a name, no I'm not saying it, it's inappropriate (it starts with "f" and rhymes with "maggot"... I'm surprised Michiaki Watanabe unironically gave a character that name, unless that word means something different in Japan...)
The gameplay is good and intuitive once you get accustomed to its controls, I liked that there's a medieval aesthetic to the game as it's like you've been transported to foreign Europe (albeit an alternate universe one), and the music motif is genius especially with Hamel's violin action and occasional public domain music you'll hear during certain key areas and/or moments. There is a good of amount of versatility and variety when it comes to using Flute after collecting more costumes for her to wear as there is a trial and error element when using them for the first time; I also find it interesting how tossing Flute in her normal state apparently causes more damage than Hamel's notes.
Left: But if that portable piano is made out of gold, Raiel's back must be killing him at this point 😨 | Right: Fighting a sentient tree
Some costumed abilities are the elephant which douses water from the trunk after jumping on her head, the monkey costume which makes Flute climb up or down depending on whether you pressed down or not, and the curling puck costume which continually rolls by at a continuous pace until she gradually slows down (it also acts as a shield for the rocks falling down towards should you hold her above you). For the most part this game is pretty straightforward, but during the interior portions there is an open-ended layout and it's here that Hameln no Violin Hiki imbues an action/puzzler quality as there are moments when you have to choose the correct costume to progress, gather keys to unlock doors, and there are paths that can be opened by standing on a floor switch and sometimes Flute must stay behind for Hamel to enter a path so that he can step on another floor switch so Flute can join you.
Left: Hopping up and around | Right: Musically incapacitating leaping enemies
This game falls into the category of games comprising more than one character where "one cannot progress without the other" like Silicon & Synapse's The Lost Vikings games and WayForward Technologies' Nintendo Wiimake of A Boy and His Blob as it is possible to reach the door alone as Hamel but unless Flute is with you then you can't open it. The tone is irreverent as there is an anime charm about and there are occasional moments of levity (primarily due to the exaggerated facial expressions of the characters), but it's not exactly what I'd call a lighthearted game with the music getting deeper and serious and atmospheric the further you progress which suggests a dark direction. Now let's talk about those caveats I brought up: if you lost a life during a boss fight then the dialogue starts up again before the fight recommences which I found a bit unnecessary (it'd be one thing if this was an installment or variant of Nihon Falcom's Ys franchise, but this is not it),
Left: Ducking underneath thorns | Right: Journeying underwater on Flute as an octopus 🐙
there are certain moments when Flute's AI is uncooperative (particularly if Hamel is separated from Flute and she's in a literally complicated spot) unless you have her to remain in place, but the biggest problem I have with this game is that it's too long and must be beaten in one sitting for there is no password system. Now I'd be fine if the difficulty was reasonably challenging, which it is once you know what to do (none of the bosses I could beat on my first try, especially Bassoon, and certain moments I had difficulty with, but using Flute as Nuke makes quick work out of the final two bosses), and if its length was acceptable. In my recent playthrough (March 9th) I must've started at around 10 at night but didn't finish it until shortly after 1 in the morning (March 10th) three hours later, which is bad. 😖 It helps that I didn't have to go to work that day and the unlimited continues were a lifesaver, but a tiny bit of leniency would've been welcomed in this regard.
Left: Nuking the room | Right: Floating up the tower
The way the adventure concludes itself after only four Movements does make the proceedings feel like they ended at lot sooner than expected as it ends on a rather open note, and Sizer may have been the game's antagonist but she wasn't exactly the true villain; the manga had only been around for four years by the time of this game's release so the story may have been further developing in the source material during this time. And yet, by the same token, I am glad it's only comprised of four Movements because this game is long enough as it is. But I wish to reiterate that Hameln no Violin Hiki on the Super Famicom is a good platformer while it lasts and a lot of fun once you get into the swing of things. 😃
Left: Fighting against Hamel's twin sister Sizer | Right: Three against one
If you own a Super Famiconsole and wish to play a game revolving around music (whether rhythm-based or not) and like to play platformers that are fun then I recommend this platformer, but if you're averse to long games that mandatorily require to be played all the way through then that might act as a turnoff, which is a shame because it's a well-made game with a good amount of challenge. I never read the manga nor watched the anime adaptation, but based on this game I liked Hameln no Violin Hiki as I found it to be a musical journey worth embarking on. 😄
My Personal Score: 8.0/10
d(^-^)bTO EACH THEIR OWNd(^-^)b
Happy 25th Anniversary,
Hameln no Violin Hiki video game!!! 🥳
Thank you for reading my review, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think (neither spam nor NSFW allowed); hope you have a great day, and take care! 😃
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Awww, you just know they're gonna wind up together... 😊
