Band Hero for Nintendo DS (unofficially referred to as Band Hero DS to differentiate itself from its console counterpart) is a completely different game than its console counterpart as the Nintendo DS version is based on the Guitar Hero: On Tour series gameplay-wise, developed by Vicarious Visions, but includes more playable instruments and a new setlist of songs depending on the region of the game.
Though the game is compatible with all Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS models—some of which have limited playability on them—only players that have the Nintendo DS Lite will receive the "full band" experience due to the nature of the hardware's design, but a regular Nintendo DS is the second best choice without the Drum Grip peripheral.
Gameplay[]
Band Hero gameplay on Guitar with the Guitar Grip peripheral attached in a Nintendo DS Lite.
While being based on the Guitar Hero: On Tour series, Band Hero introduces more playable instruments on the Nintendo handheld hardware, including Drums and Vocals. Drums, like on Guitar and Bass that requires Guitar Grip, has a 4-lane GRYB highway and the handheld's D-Pad and buttons are used for Drums (Drum Grip peripheral for Nintendo DS Lite that covers the buttons are optional). However, Lead and Rhythm cooperative instruments were presented in the On Tour series are not available in Band Hero for Nintendo DS.
In-game main menu screen of both top and bottom screens without the Guitar Grip attached.
Unlike the console counterpart and a majority of Guitar Hero games, Band Hero on Nintendo DS does not feature a Career mode and all songs (based on the region of the game) are unlocked from the start. It's mostly Quickplay ("Solo" mode) with multiplayer supported in DS Download Play in versus (Pro Face-Off where connected players face each other for the highest score) or cooperative (all connected players work together for the biggest core).
Completing certain tasks can also give the player awards, which can be seen from the "Awards" menu. The player can also manage their band and customize their own rocker but the amount of customization is limited. More content can be unlocked in the "Fan Request" game mode while being connected to a copy of Band Hero for Wii.
Peripherals[]
Guitar Grip[]
The Guitar Grip for the game, which by default is themed after Guitar Hero: On Tour, but the bundled Band Hero skin can be applied inside the clear plastic shell after pulling off the plastic shell.
The Guitar and Bass parts will be played with the same "Guitar Grip" previously created for the Guitar Hero: On Tour series, though this unit will not work on any of the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS models due to the lack of Slot-2 (the "Game Boy Advance" cartridge slot). The gameplay for Guitar and Bass is considered to be the fourth iteration of the Guitar Hero: On Tour design by developers Vicarious Vision, and have further improvements to meet with different strumming styles.
By default, without the Guitar Grip, Band Hero's screens are in standard 0° position. When the Guitar Grip peripheral is attached before the game is launched, the game's screens are rotated 90° counterclockwise to make use of the Guitar Grip attachment.
Drum Grip[]
Drums gameplay and the Drum Grip on a Nintendo DS Lite.
The Drum Grip is a new silicone "drum skin" that fits over the bottom half of the DS Lite unit will provide four "pads" for drumming that map to the unit's directional pad and face buttons; this design was selected over use of the touch screen due to the inability of the touch screen to recognize near-simultaneous taps, a factor that would have interfered with the drumming experience. The Drum Grip is limited to the Nintendo DS Lite due to the skin's form factor. Unlike the design of original drumkit for the console version of Band Hero, the DS version is laid out as green, red, yellow, and blue from left to right like Guitar and Bass. The decision to design towards the DS Lite rather than the newer DSi was due to the much larger volume of DS Lite units that have been sold relative to the DSi.
While the Drum Grip can only fit on a Nintendo DS Lite, it's optional as Drums can be played on any Nintendo DS or 3DS model's control pad. The Drum Grip itself is only a silicone skin with drum-like pads that covers the Nintendo DS Lite's D-Pad (➕) and four face buttons, which are the actual inputs for Drums.
- Green pad (bass drum):
◂➕or➕▴ - Red pad (snare):
➕▾ - Yellow pad (hi-hat, crash cymbal, high tom):
B - Blue pad (ride cymbal, crash cymbal, low tom):
AorX
Star Power in Drums can be activated by pressing the L or shouting in the handheld's microphone.
Built-in microphone[]
Vocals gameplay in Band Hero on a Nintendo DS Lite.
The Nintendo DS or 3DS's built-in microphone is used to play Vocals and plays just like in the console games. This instrument can be played on any Nintendo DS or 3DS model with a working built-in microphone and the built-in microphone is pitch detected.
Star Power can be activated by pressing L.
Stage Stunts[]
Stage Stunts are a gameplay feature exclusive in the Nintendo DS version. While playing songs, the top-right sign of the horns icon will occasionally glow red for a short period of time. Tapping it enters a random Stage Stunt minigame that will allow the player to gain extra points to their score by completing the Stage Stunt minigame before the timer ends. Players can ignore these Stage Stunts: If the player doesn't tap the Stage Stunt icon, the opportunity to enter a Stage Stunt will disappear within a few seconds and the player will have to wait for a opportunity for the next Stage Stunt. There are 5 Stage Stunt events including:
- Stage Dive: Time your jump correctly by tapping the screen when the moving needle is in the middle of the vertical meter to dive off the stage and be caught into the crowd. Timing your jump when the needle is not in the center hit zone will cause your character to land flat in the pit and ends in failure.
- Crowd Surf: Use the touchscreen to carefully drag your character over the crowd onto the stage. Try not to fall off the crowd or the stunt ends in failure.
- Swag Giveaway: Use the touchscreen to flick and throw merchandise ("swag") at three crowd members reaching out for swag. Stunt ends in failure when timer runs out.
- Smash Stuff: Use the touchscreen to smash a guitar over a guitar amp over and over until it breaks. Stunt ends in failure if the amp isn't completely broken before timer ends.
- High Fives!: Use the touchscreen to give high fives to the audience that have their hands raised. Try not to miss any raised hands or the stunt ends in failure.
- Save a Roadie: Use the touchscreen to keep pulling a roadie up from the pit. Stunt ends in failure when timer runs out before the roadie is saved.
Fan Request[]
As its own menu option on the main menu, Fan Request is a unique multiplayer game mode where the Band Hero Nintendo DS user connects wirelessly to Band Hero on Wii, doing challenges to unlock additional content in the game.
Soundtrack[]
- Main article: Setlist in Band Hero § Nintendo DS setlist
Band Hero on Nintendo DS includes 30 songs on its game card, 15 of it exclusive on each region: North America and Europe. All songs are unlocked from the start. These setlists differs from its console version's counterparts, but like with the console version, Band Hero on Nintendo DS is primarily focused on pop rock music.
Trivia[]
- While the Guitar Grip is not required to launch Band Hero like the Guitar Hero: On Tour series is, the player will still receive an error message when the Guitar Grip is removed from Slot-2 and the player would have to restart their device. Also to play Guitar or Bass, the Guitar Grip must be in Slot-2 before launching the title or the player would have to restart their device. The Guitar Grip must be detected upon launch.
- This may be due to the fact that the Guitar Grip's presence determines which screen orientation the game (along with the game's appearance and the touch location of the graphical icons) will be used if it detects the Guitar Grip in Slot-2 when booting the game. If there is no Guitar Grip in Slot-2 upon launching the game, the game's screen orientation will be in its default position for the gaming session. If the Guitar Grip is in Slot-2 upon launch, the game's screen orientation will be rotated 90° counterclockwise for the gaming session.
- If the player inserts the Guitar Grip after the game was booted in standard screen position without it, the player will receive a message that they must restart the game to use the Guitar Grip.