Mad Maestro!, known in Japan as Bravo Music (ブラボーミュージック), is a rhythm video game developed by Desert Productions and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It was released in October 2001 in Japan and internationally by Fresh Games in 2002. Playing as the orchestra conductor Takt, the player must play the song by pressing the button according to the correct pressure on the screen. The game utilizes a soundtrack composed of entirely classical music by famous composers such as Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky. The game's original title was Shake It Bravoes! (シェイク イット ブラボーズ!). Despite mixed critical reception in the west, the game was sold well and received positive reviews in its native Japan. This led to three Japan-only follow-ups with two "expansions", Bravo Music: Christmas Edition in 2001, and Bravo Music: Chou-Meikyokuban in 2002, and alongside them, a proper sequel called Let's Bravo Music also in 2002.

Gameplay

Typically rhythm games rely on timed input according to on-screen cues and tempo. Mad Maestro features this style of gameplay, with the additional layer of pressure sensitivity. Utilizing the pressure sensitivity with the DualShock 2, the player must conduct an orchestra by tapping correlating buttons with varying degrees of pressure. There are three levels of pressure; light, medium and hard. By playing good and increasing their score, the player can reach Bravo Mode, which is required to beat the stage. By playing 3 or more notes bad however, the player is forced into Devil Mode, where their score will fall until they play a correct cycle perfectly. The Japanese release featured an optional Baton peripheral.

Story

In Bravo Town, a young composer named Takt is the leader of an orchestral group known as the Bravo Youth Orchestra, and they perform at the town's Concert Hall. To modernize the town however, Bravo Town announces that they will tear down the hall. Prior to the date however, a fairy and overall guardian to the hall named Symphony awakens. She flies over to Takt's house, who tells him that the concert hall was around for a very long time, and that if it does get demolished, music could lose their power. So, she recognizes Takt's musical power and they decide to recruit various Bravo Town citizens to convince the town to keep the Concert Hall. After recruiting a couple, a clown and her lion partner, a fashion designer and a model, a reporter and some aliens, as well as a young flute prodigy and a long-forgotten-about composer, the new Bravo Youth Orchestra compose at the hall, which convinces the town to keep the hall as everyone returns to their life, and Symphony goes back to becoming the guardian of the Concert Hall.

Characters

Music list

The list of pieces of music in the order they appear on the game.

1. Hungarian Dance No. 6 in D Major - Johannes Brahms
2. Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G Minor - Johannes Brahms
3. Slavonic Dance No. 7 - Antonín Dvořák
4. Thunder and Lightning Polka - Johann Strauss Jr.
5. Finale from Carnival of the Animals - Camille Saint-Saëns
6. The Marriage of Figaro - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
7. Scene from Swan Lake - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
8. Toreador March from Carmen - Georges Bizet
9. Ride of the Valkyries from The Valkyrie - Richard Wagner
10. Night on Bald Mountain - Modest Mussorgsky
11. Marche Militaire - Franz Schubert
12. Entry of the Gladiators - Julius Fucik
13. March from the Nutcracker - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
14. Trepak from the Nutcracker - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
15. 40th Symphony in G Minor K550-1st movement - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
16. Orpheus in the Underworld Overture - Jacques Offenbach
17. Baba Yaga's Hut from Pictures at an Exhibition - Modest Mussorgsky
18. 9th Symphony in D Minor-Ode to Joy - Ludwig van Beethoven
19. Dance of the Four Swans from Swan Lake - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
20. Morning Mood from Peer Gynt - Edvard Grieg
21. William Tell Overture - Gioachino Rossini
22. Rakoczi March - Hector Berlioz
23. 5th Symphony in C Minor-1st Movement - Ludwig van Beethoven
24. Radetsky March - Johann Strauss Sr.
25. Csikos Post - Hermann Necke
26. Toy Symphony - Leopold Mozart
27. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
28. Dance of the Reed Flutes from the Nutcracker - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
29. Algerian Suite from French Military March Music - Camille Saint-Saëns
30. Flight of the Bumblebee - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
31. Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks from Pictures at an Exhibition - Modest Mussorgsky
32. Divertimento No. 1 in E flat major K113 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
33. Farandole from L'Arlesienne Suite No. 2 - Georges Bizet
34. In the Hall of the Mountain King from Peer Gynt - Edvard Grieg

Reception and legacy

The game received "mixed or average" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. The use of pressure sensitivity in addition to standard rhythm game play mechanics was considered by some to be overcomplicated. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 30 out of 40. According to Dengeki Online, the Japanese edition of Mad Maestro was the 195th best-selling video game of 2001 at 54,794 copies. Mad Maestro! was followed by three Japan-exclusive sequels, all for the PS2: Bravo Music Christmas Edition (ブラボーミュージック Christmas Edition) on November 22, 2001; Bravo Music: Chou-Meikyokuban (ブラボーミュージック 超名曲盤) on January 17, 2002; and Let's Bravo Music (Let’s ブラボーミュージック) on December 12, 2002.