(c) April 2005

Table of Contents:
Set 0: About this FAQ and myself
Set 1: Pre-game (useful until NA launch)
Set 2: Introduction to the game
Set 3: Score Maker Pro
Set 4: Recording Ticket GOLD
Set 5: Band Play (multiplayer)


Set 0: About this FAQ and myself

Q: Simply put, what is the purpose of this?
A: My purpose is to help those who have a liking to this
game. I've seen people ask several question I find
answering at least once, so I wanted to help those people
and set up an FAQ for some of the most commonly asked
questions, and some others that might help the ordinary
person.

Q: Can I use this for reasons unexplainable?
A: All I can say is if you decide to use this for
profitable/worldwide content, please e-mail me first at
[[email protected]]. While I have no control over this, it
would be very generous to consult me first before making
devious actions.

Q: What about updates?
A: For now, this will remain how it is unless the NA
version is dramatically different or more questions
arise...in other words; expect this as version 1.0 for now.

Q: How about giving credit to those who helped out?
A: Ok sure why not. Thanks to the following
1) Gamefaqs.com for having such an amazing website.
2) Nintendo for making the coolest games ever, including
this one.
3) Lik-sang.com for sending me this awesome import (read my
review!)
4) Several Gamefaqs users for numerous reasons, including
underworldlord, Impossible II, falconpq, KingDarian,
putadu, tayalioni, Fullgore EXE, and jagged ice025.
5) The reader (you) for taking time out of your busy life
to read this.

Set 1: Pre-game

Q: What the heck is this game?
A: I'm glad you asked! This game is called Daigasso Band
Brothers (US name: Jam with the Band). Basically, its a
rhythm game...sort of like Dance Dance Revolution but with
your hands and makes more sense. Instead of following the
beat, you MAKE the beat by playing an instrument of choice,
depending on the selection per song. If you mess up a note,
you easily notice (just like real life).

Q: When will this game be released in the US?
A: Honestly, I have no clue...and I doubt anyone else will
either. But if I had to guess...*thinks*...I'm predicting
early summer, late spring.

Q: Is there any place I can learn about this game more in
depth?
A: You can look at pictures and video clips at Gamespot and
IGN. I also recall seeing a review on DS.IGN.com. You can
also check the reviews on this website; although I haven't
checked them out, they might point out some flaws and
strengths of the game

Q: Ok, I'm seriously thinking about it. Where can I buy
this game?
A: Seeing as you can't buy it off the counter, you must
import it from a website. Several choices are PlayAsia.com,
Lik-Sang.com, and NSCX.com. Each has its highs and lows but
you'll have to ask others about it. I ordered from Lik-
sang.com and had no problems, but people say they take a
while to ship (despite the fact I got it with no shipping
charge). All I can say about the price is expect to shovel
out at least $50, assuming you don't want special delivery.
The only other alternative is go to Japan but cost of game
< cost of plane ticket to Japan.

Q: I can't read Japanese!
A: That isn't a question
Q: Oh sorry. What if I have no Japanese knowledge?
A: Quite honestly, while the game is Japanese oriented, it
is almost unnecessary to even look at the text in terms of
navigation. Most of it is either a given (give or take
about 5 minutes of trial and error) or is actually shown in
English (its either in small amounts or disappears very
quickly). I can't read any Japanese and I can understand
the game like the back of my hand...*looks at hand*...well
that's new.

Q: Anything else you can tell me?
A: Basically, the game starts off easy just by pushing the
D-pad and buttons depending on the color of the notes. As
you progress, you must actually push them in specific
directions depending on how they are displayed. Once you
get good, the L and R buttons are used, shifting notes
either sharp or and octave up. Also, there are 2 modes
where you can create music. The one available from the
start is just you sings and it records the notes. The
microphone (according to other people) just plain out
stinks. However, when Pro Score Edit mode is unlocked, that
is where the fun gathers for most people.

Q: Should I get this game!?!?!?
A: That is a choice you must make for yourself! However,
unless you have the patience or just don't want the game a
lot, then I can tell you it is well worth importing. Seeing
as how this is my first game imported EVER, that tells you
something...

Set 2: Introduction to the game

Q: Yay. After waiting *insert # here* days, I finally have
the game. I never asked before. Do I need a specific device
to play my DS on this?
A: Although hardware consoles may require Action Replay or
something, the DS is able to play imports without any
tampering or programming such. So in other words, just pop
it in and play!

Q: Ok, the game is on. What is the story about?
A: Erm...if I had to guess, the bat girl wants to give away
her shop and she wants to see if you are worthy. But I
don't speak any Japanese, and it is not even very
important.

Q: Passed the dialogue. Now what?
A: Remember, I said that little or no Japanese background
is needed so you should be able to figure it out by
guessing. However to save time, I'll explain it briefly.
Touch the icon on the left for single player, middle for
multi player, and right for making songs. Right now, we'll
just focus on single player. Go there and touch the left
blinking thing. The upper right isn't available but don't
worry about it until you get used to it. Lower right is
just back. You should be at a selection of songs. The first
one is in English (gasp) and titled Seasons. On the bottom
screen, you see a bunch of Japanese with stars. Stars
indicate difficulty on a range from 1-5. You can either
scroll down and find a cool song or just try one of those.
Might I suggest a little further down "Smoke on the Water"?

Q: Chose the song and at a new screen. What next?
A: You'll notice a few buttons. The one on the left
triggers a practice mode...but you don't have to worry
about that until the game gets harder. The top right (or
mid right) is the play button and the bottom right is the
back button. In the middle is a nice little disk you can
rotate and just look at the notes you get to play. When you
are ready, hit play.

Q: Wait! Before I hit play, what do I do during the song?
A: Well, anything with a blue icon means use the D-pad in
any direction and anything with a red icon means use any
button on the right (excluding start and select of course).
At some parts of certain songs, there will be the word
TOUCH with a hand pointing at the lower screen. This is
there to help you, as the notes played may be too much out
of your caliber. Unfortunately, unless you can find a way
to hold your stylus without disturbing your play, you'll be
forced to get your screen dirty (it could be worse...you
know, scratches!).

Q: Yay I finished! How did I do?
A: Well, seeing at it's your first time, I'd say you did
great...but I'm not the one grading you. However, you do
see a number, which basically grades you on your
performance. 85+ is considered "So Hot", 75-85 is "Not
Bad", 65-75 is "Still Better" (might be wrong with that),
and worse is "No Good". The number you get is based on the
Greats, Goods, Bads, and Misses. Greats obviously mean you
hit the note dead on while goods are just a tad off but
still sounds ok and bads are fairly off but considered good
enough. Either dramatically missing your note or playing it
wrong causes a miss. There is also the condition bar, where
the more it is filled in the better, but that can be
misleading at times (IMO).

Q: Once I've gotten used to the game, what should I do
next?
A: You can play and stuff or you can test your uber skills
in the recording studio. Go back where you pushed the left
thing earlier and if the game lets you, you should be able
to go to the thing on the right (earlier, it wouldn't let
you). Go there, skip the dialogue of the bat using A to
speed it up, and knock on the door (literally, use the
stylus and tap the door). Then just press play (the only
button there). What will happen is you will play three
random songs with a random instrument.

Q: What should I know about the recording ticket?
A: Well, you see that bomb there? If it hits 0%, BOOM! game
over. Also, your total score needs to be at least 240
(average of 80 each song). You should be fine though if you
know what you're doing. In addition, keep in mind that once
you beat this, the notes change from simple colors to
specific button/direction commands depending on which
difficulty you play them at (preliminary changes 1-star d-
pad/button notes to specific directions and buttons). So
make sure you're prepared!

Q: What happens after I complete all five levels of the
recording ticket?
A: After you see the cool credits (and wipe away the fog
revealing watermelons or some other deceiving picture), Pro
mode is unlocked, where all the notes played are
accompanied with the L and R buttons. The R button shoots a
note up an octave while the L button makes a note sharp
(half step up). Also, Score Maker Pro is unlocked in the
Edit menu.

Set 3: Score Maker Pro (I will do as much as I know...which
is what I've been experimenting on)

Q: How do I unlock it and where is it located?
A: It is located under Edit on the main screen and is
unlocked by passing the five levels of Recording Ticket
(after you pass the initial level)

Q: So what exactly is it? And what should I know about it?
A: Score Maker Pro [SMP] is an edit mode in which you can
compose your own music and then play them in single player.
The variety involved allows numerous hours of
possibilities. However, those without music theory
experience (whether it is from school, college, or band
experience) may have an extremely tough time with it. I
will try to answer as many question as I can about it. In
addition, there are 2 free samples in which making both of
them give you two free songs (keep in mind they are fairly
easy).

Q: What are the limits in SMP?
A: You can make up to a possible eight songs. Each song can
use up to eight instruments. The song itself can have up to
120 measures (4 count beat * 120 measures = 480 beats in a
song).

Q: OK, lets start with the basics so that I can make a
melody to this awesome song that is stuck in my head. What
should I do to start off?
A: First go to SMP and make a new creation (top choice).
Then touch the number one and hit the top right button and
select an instrument. Although it is in Japanese, just
scroll through all of them and find one that grabs your
eye. You can also play notes using the buttons and control
pad. The bottom choice (percussion/drums) doesn't become
available until you have selected at least one instrument.

Q: Ok, I just grabbed the *insert instrument*. Next?
A: Touch the same number (assuming you used 1) and hit the
top left button to start composing music. The first thing
that will pop up is a little box with two "clefs" on the
right (a weird curvy one and another with a colon), the
words up and down, and Japanese text. If you are
playing...fairly high notes, you want the weird curvy one
(which is called the Treble Clef). If the notes are fairly
low (like bottom half of a piano low), then you want the
colon clef (which is called the Bass Clef). The words up
and down indicate the number of sharps and flats used.
Anything sharp is a half note up and anything flat is a
half note down. If you have a keyboard or piano at home,
find any black key and hit it. The white key on the left is
that note's sharp and the key on the right is that key's
flat (yes, it acts as both). Random note: 2 white keys in a
row may be considered a sharp or flat note; E.g.: B sharp =
C and C flat = B. If you don't know the number of sharps or
flats involved (which is usual unless you are skilled w/
music theory or just using sheet music), just click the
Japanese text to continue; you can always return. If you
notice you are making a certain note continuously
sharp/flat, just return to change it.

Q: Ok done. Now what?
A: Let's just get you acquainted with the surroundings to
avoid screwing something up. I'll get to the notes later.
Top left is a red button, which erases the current
highlighted text (depends on note). The one to the right of
it is undo, and next to that is redo (just like Microsoft
word format...). Bottom left is play (it isn't hard to
figure out what to do under that), Bottom right is return
to the screen with numbers, and the pink-ish one to the
left of that one gives you the screen you saw earlier. I
don't know what the middle pinkish button does but seeing
as how I haven't used it much, you may not find it
necessary (but I promise to find out what it does). The
arrows on the right are scroll buttons, but you can also
use the control pad.

Q: How about the stuff I need to make music with?
A: The eight buttons at the left (the higher part) are the
notes as follows: sixteenth notes, eighth note, dotted
eighth note, quarter note, dotted quarter note, half note,
dotted half note, and whole note. Seeing as how we are
forced to use 4/4 time, that is how I will explain it
(don't worry, I'll explain it at an elementary level, not a
theoretical level). Starting with the whole note, a whole
note takes up the entire measure with the same noise. In
other words, count to 4 via a beat (tap shoe, snap, clap)
and make a random noise/note for the entire measure (the 4
beat count). The half note is 2 beats every measure (gasp,
half of a whole note), the quarter note is 4 beats every
measure (each tap of shoe, snap, clap), the eighth note is
8 beats every measure (2 note every tap of shoe) and the
16th notes are 16 beats every measure (4 per beat). The
dotted notes are basically taking a note and add half of it
to itself. E.g.: the half note plus a half of a half note
(quarter note) is 3/4 of a note (2+1=3). Same goes for the
quarter and 8th notes.

Q: What else should I know about the notes?
A: See those 2 buttons on the right of the notes (one
directly to the right and one under that)? The top one is
called the triplet...basically, it takes a beat and divides
it into three. If you don't know how that sounds, tap your
shoe and count to 3 every beat. These are labeled as three
eighth notes with a 3 at the top of them (see button). If
you want to label 3 quarter notes, you must use that in
addition to the slur (or the other button). The slur
basically connects 2 notes. However, the slur can ONLY
connect between two of the same notes (due to capabilities
of the game possibly). So if you wanted to connect a half
note with an 8th note, just make both notes the same sound,
go to the note which you put first, and hit the slur
button.
Just try to experiment with it for a bit to get used to it.

Q: What about those other buttons under the notes?
A: Those are called rests, the time frame in which a person
DOES NOT play. If you are one of those people who have no
clue what a rest is, find Four Seasons (Spring) under
single player (it will be in Japanese but it is a common
song to find it). The first 3.5 beats are nothing. A more
complex example may be found under Smoke on the Water,
where the main instrument (Electric Guitar?) plays on the
"off beat" of certain measures (or if you counted to four
for each measure, the E. Guitar will play directly after
you say a number. Just try listening to the music and count
to 4 over and over again. You'll understand what I'm
saying). The rests work exactly the same as the notes
(16th, 8th, dotted 8th, etc). Keep in mind that if you
apply a rest to your music in SMP, you won't see it until
you add a note after it.

Q: How come when I make a note flat, it has a sharp symbol?
A: Assuming you've noticed the flat and sharp buttons on
the right, when you tap the flat key, what it does is drops
the note down to the next line or space and adds a
sharp...the equivalent to adding a flat on the same note.
This happens due to the L button only being able to make a
note sharp in single player mode (so be thankful). In other
words, it is 100% normal. Added note: if you notice that
you are making specific notes sharp/flat by about the 10th
measure, hit the pinkish key I talked about earlier and
change it. Keep in mind you will have to go back and change
them (The notes will have a little square-ish thing with
added lines meaning "ignore the flat/sharp on that note.
Also, in a measure, if you change a note, it stays like
that for the entire measure.

Q: How important is it that I make my piece have a set
number of default flats/sharps?
A: Quite honestly, it isn't that important if you are
making a piece just for hearing. However, if you notice
that you are making a particular note sharp/flat
constantly, than it may save time (like mere minutes) to go
back and change it. Note 2 things: if you change the key
signature (# of sharps/flats throughout the piece) within a
certain measure, it will only affect the notes after that
measure; and, when you change the key signature, you will
be required to go back and change the notes that have been
altered (the note will have a square like figure with
extended lines).

Q: What does the pinkish button in the middle at the bottom
you never mentioned do?
A: The green button pushes all of the measures over one
(did you forget something?). The red one next to it
destroys that measure (accidentally put one too many
measures extra?). Next row down, the left button is a copy
button and the right button is a cut button, just like in
Microsoft Word. To use, tap one of the 2 buttons, tap the
green button (which becomes available once you've selected
one of them) for a starting point, carry the shaded area
over to desired location, and tap the newly formed red
button (which has replaced green). Once you've done that,
use the left bottom-most button to paste the measure(s) in
a desired place. The left and right arrows scroll, but you
can use the control pad for that. The bottom right pink
button exits the menu.

Q: Anything else I should know about SMP?
A: Only a few. If you go back to the screen you first saw
after selecting it, the button at the top allows you to
name your song in Japanese OR English. More down to the
right you'll see a tempo meter with a number. You'll just
have to experiment to find a proper tempo, but metronomes
and other techniques help (WarioWare: Touched has an
unlockable metronome; you can use that as a helper). At the
bottom part of the screen, going left to right, is the play
button, a nifty button which allows you to add chords
either automatically or manually, a save button, and an
exit button. As any computer teacher will tell you, "Don't
forget to save".

Q: Wait, back up a second...what are chords?
A: Chords are cool sounding notes combined...but that's all
I'm going to tell you, as they are very complicated to
explain. Try putting in a nice elementary song (Mary Had a
Little Lamb, etc.) and try experimenting with it!

Set 4: Recording Ticket Gold

Q: What is this and how do I get it?
A: Recording Ticket Gold [RTG] is a mode unlocked after you
have completed all 5 recording ticket levels in Pro mode.
Note: along with it, you also get the Barbara Bat Theme
song you heard in the credits unlocked in your menu of
songs. The RTG is a much harder version of the standard
recording tickets. Instead of averaging 80 per song, you
must average 99/100. Also, the bomb only drops in 3 steps:
100-->66-->34-->1-->BOOM. So you can imagine how hard and
frustrating this gets.

Q: Do I get anything for beating it?
A: I've heard you get nothing new except you see the
credits again...and that shadowy figure behind the fog isn't
as deceiving as before...

Set 5: Band Play

Q: What is Band Play?
A: Band Play, located in the middle of the main menu, is
multiplayer mode. Here, you can play up to eight people
without a game. What makes this more interesting however,
is that you can play with an unlimited number of players if
they all have the game.

Q: How do I set this up?
A: First off, say yes to the disclaimer (I don't know what
it says). Next, select the mode you want to play in.
Assuming your friend does not have this game, select the
top choice. Next, choose "DS Download Play" (you might be
able to see it behind the Japanese text). Next, choose
Leader. After you choose the desired instrument in a song,
wait for your friend to download the game and choose his
choice of song. If he does have the game however, you
should select "DS Wireless Play" and choose either Leader
or Member, depending on who wants what position.

Q: Is there any difference between the two multiplayer
modes?
A: The only difference I have noted is the fact you can
have unlimited players in the other mode.

Q: Anything else to know about it?
A: Actually, there is one thing: there are two songs to
unlock only by this method. The easiest way to find them
(because they are both in Japanese) is to play all of the
songs alone at least once, do multiplayer, and scroll down
and look for them. They should be at the bottom half of the
menu.

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