Power Chord- Fret Nice Review

In my Lego Rock Band review I admonished the title for sticking too close to the music game formula, and not offering participants the type of playful diversions that the vibrant blocks are known for.  While seeing brick-built musicians perform family-friendly songs was undoubtedly endearing, I desired mini-games that offered alternative uses for our music controllers. A drum-pad based Whack-A-Mole or slot-car racing game that used a strum bar to change lanes would have meshed perfectly with the jovial nature of the Lego brand and offered a reprieve from the endless expeditions down note highways.

Hopefully, game developers Harmonix and Traveller’s Tales will take careful notice of recent release, Fret Nice. The title allows players to use a simulated six-string to guide a protagonist through its hop-and-bop, horizontally scrolling realm. While the platformer isn’t faultless (Sadly, the game controls better with a conventional controller) it does illustrate that plastic instruments don’t have to restricted to rigid music-mimicking confines.

Instead of focusing on precarious bounds from successions of suspended towers, Fret Nice’s concentration is on combat and collection. Throughout each stage are a set number of antagonists that resemble puffy storm clouds with mouths, eyes, and horns. To dispatch each of these cuddly foes, players must match the number of appendages with an equal number of fret or controller buttons presses. The one caveat is that gamers must be in the air to execute enemies. With a standard controller, a jump is initiated with the ‘X’ button, but when using a music controller, leaps are activated with a quick lift of the guitar neck. Although this can be switched to a fret button in the game’s option screen, neither choice exhibits the intensiveness of using a Dualshock 3.

Not only do eliminated opponents leave behind skeletal remnants filled with collectables, but musical notes litter the environment, enticing players to remove them from the landscape. At the end of each stage, players are rated for their score, completion time, percentage of opponents removed with gold and silver medals awarded for higher levels of achievement. As such, gamers will be revisiting Fret Nice’s realms, to reveal additional levels and well as purchase accessories for their avatars. For some players, returning to previously explored levels will dampen the sense of wonder that often accompanies progress-oriented platformers.

Despite the game’s novel gameplay hook, Fret Nice often gets bogged down in tired videogame tropes. Including a mine cart level with intermittent QTE button mashing events seems to contradict the unique vibe that the title was striving for. At least, there are a variety of fun (and thankfully, non-essential) power-ups that are hidden in each area- from a remote-control helicopter that shadow and protect the protagonist to the ability to blow juicy, pick bubbles.

Fret Nice’s visual style recalls the patchwork aesthetic of Little Big Planet, where characters and objects are constructed from smaller pieces. While this lends the game a bit of charm- seeing the leader characters move around the screen like a stilted stick puppet is endearing, the design does have its drawbacks. Initially, discerning level floors can be an exercise in trial and error. Like the game’s moniker,  Fret Nice’s soundtrack is consistently pleasant, yet never quite memorable.

Fret Nice has both a quirky charm and several solid design elements that contribute to the title’s proficiency. Sadly, these mechanics are never powerful enough to push the game into ‘must play’ territory, relegating the title into the realm of undeniably amusing platformer. Although the game’s $15 USD price seems slightly inflated, those looking for a unique way to use their simulated Stratocasters might find enough value to warrant the cost.