Short Reviews - Pianista: The Legendary Virtuoso
By: RJ (@rga_02)
- Pianista: The Legendary Virtuoso
- Developer/Publisher - Superb
- Nintendo Switch
If you are tired of playing the 7th iteration of U.S.A by DA PUMP and feel like you should be a bit more “cultured,” or “enlightened,” well there is a game for you. Superb’s Pianista: The Legendary Virtuoso will get you on track into classical enlightenment via your Nintendo Switch.
Pianista is a bit of an outlier compared to traditional rhythm games. Don’t expect to see your typical touhou arrangement or DJ Genki beats. Here you will find piano arrangement of classical music ranging from Claude Debussy to Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns. If that latter name doesn’t give a sense of being an erudite individual, I don’t know what will.
This game has 70-plus songs to chose from representing the three eras of classical music - the Baroque, the Classical and the Romantic. Since I am an uncultured swine, I only knew a handful of the tracks in the game, but that made my experience so much better as I grew to appreciate each track over time. Despite its small library, I never got the feel of any sort of repetition. Each track has its own charm which gives you a comforting feel no matter how many times you’ve played it.
Like the sounds itself, the gameplay is relatively simple - and I mean that in a good way. You have the option of either a four or six buttons and you time your inputs as the notes go down the lane. If you’ve played MUSYNX for the Switch or PlayStation Vita, you’ll find yourself at home here.The game itself isn’t that difficult as you it eases you in well. Even in its highest difficulty mode, I didn’t find it to be anymore difficult than what you would experience from any other rhythm game out there. I found it more to be a chore as the notes felt more tiring.
There are three main modes. Matinee is your standard arcade mode where you have three stages to play. Concours is where you have set songs to play from where you have a goal to achieve. Lastly, there is a two-player mode called ensemble where you and another person play using a detached joycon. Note, there isn’t a free-play mode.
Like the songs in its library, Pianista is a simple classic music game. Far from the bright flashing lights of other Switch rhythm games such as Groove Coaster, it gives off a warm entranced feeling of tranquility that is rare in its genre.
Now excuse me, I have to sip some wine I got from 7/11 after feeling enlightened.