Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Music on: Electric Guitar starts with a pleasantly direct fantasy: pick up the stylus, treat it like a pick, and strum on the DSi touch-screen. This is not built around the usual rhythm-game loop of following a song and proving your timing. It is closer to having a small, stylus-driven guitar toy in your pocket, and that distinction will decide very quickly whether it is for you.

The basic setup gives you 32 definable chords assigned through the DSi buttons and D-pad. That is enough to make the first session about finding combinations that feel useful to you rather than memorizing a preset sequence. Delay, Distortion, and Flanger pedals sit on the touch-screen, and moving their order around changes the sound. The effects are not just decoration; they are the main reason to keep poking at the app after the initial novelty of strumming wears off.

Advanced Play is where the idea gains real depth. Chord variations, arpeggios, melodies, and a library of more than 950 chords offer far more to explore than the simple opening setup suggests. You can also save up to ten play sessions, which suits an app designed for short returns and gradual experimentation. The limitation is equally clear: there is no competitive or cooperative angle here, since it is strictly for one player. If you need goals handed to you, the open-ended format may feel thin; if you enjoy making your own little practice sessions, it has more staying power.

Graphics

The important image is the DSi touch-screen under your stylus, with the guitar-style strumming area and the effect pedals sharing the interaction space. It is a compact, hands-on layout built around watching where you strum and reaching for Delay, Distortion, or Flanger when you want to change the sound.

Story

There is no narrative journey to carry Music on: Electric Guitar. Its story is the small arc of going from randomly strumming a few mapped chords to making deliberate choices about voicings, arpeggios, and effects.

That lack of a scripted hook is appropriate for the format. You are not being cast as a guitarist or led through a campaign; you are handed a set of musical tools and asked to make the session worth your own time.

As a result, the game’s sense of progression depends on curiosity. A player who wants a sequence of songs, characters, or set-piece rewards will find little to hold onto, while somebody happy to build a personal library of saved ideas can create their own momentum.

Overall Experience

Music on: Electric Guitar is a focused little music app wearing a game label. Its best moments come from the immediate act of strumming and then discovering that a different chord choice or pedal arrangement pushes the sound somewhere else. The move into Advanced Play gives the package enough range that it is not merely a novelty.

Still, this is a specialized recommendation. It does not offer the directed thrill of a traditional music game, and its single-player, self-motivated structure puts the burden on you to experiment. The 32 definable chords make the basics approachable, but the much larger chord selection will matter most to anyone willing to spend time learning what they want from it.

Give it a chance if the thought of turning your DSi into a simple electric-guitar playground sounds relaxing, especially if you like trying out effects and chord shapes without any pressure to perform. Skip it if you are after a playlist, a score attack, or a structured rhythm challenge. For the right kind of tinkerer, its modest premise has genuine replay value.

Retro Replay Score

6/10