Old School Musical

Lore & Background

Old School Musical is a rhythm game where players progress the main characters, Tib and Rob, through each level by correctly timing inputs. Notes flow toward the center of the screen from four directions, and the corresponding button must be pressed as the note eclipses the circle in the center. Missing or poor timing drains the player's HP bar, while correct timing fills a fury bar; when full, each consecutive successful note refills HP.

The story begins with brothers Tib and Rob living on an island with their strict, cruel mother. Their world is destroyed by glitches, and their mother leaves a remote and a letter instructing them to meet her at the communication tower. After defending themselves, the brothers use the remote to open a portal to a space station, traveling to several worlds but never finding the tower. Eventually they reach Arckhania, a post-apocalyptic world, where they meet their mother on the top floor. She reveals that the letter contained a virus, and by carrying it, the brothers have been spreading glitches that corrupt worlds. She attempts to blow them up, but they escape. A sage named Cloche-Pied shows them a temple mural depicting the brothers as legendary heroes destined to save the universe from 'the shadow.' After retrieving a magic key from the Chicken Republic, they open a portal to the Shadow World, where their mother reveals her real name is Xelivad and that she is the shadow who destroyed Arckhania. The brothers defeat her with their teleporter remote, and the glitches stop. Tib and Rob settle into a peaceful life in Cloche-Pied's world.

Development began in 2011 under the title 8Bit The Musical. Director François Bertrand, a fan of rhythm and retro games, initially compared the gameplay concept to the Project Diva series. After years of work, development was paused due to challenges with Microsoft XNA; all code and assets were scrapped, and the game was rebuilt in Unity. During the last year, the gameplay was changed to a format where all buttons come to the center of the screen. Dozens of songs that could not fit into the main story led to 2-3 months of development for the post-game 'Chicken Republic' mode.

Reader's Guide

Old School Musical received 'generally favorable' reviews according to Metacritic. Nintendo World Report gave the game a 7/10, complimenting the well-built gameplay but criticizing the music and story as forgettable. Shacknews called the story mode 'painful' to get through but praised the soundtrack and post-story challenge mode. Polygon found the game to be a 'basic but fun' experience beyond its disordered retro game references. The game's significance lies in its homage to classic 8-bit and 16-bit games through pixel art and chiptune music, and its development journey from a scrapped XNA project to a Unity-based release. The inclusion of free DLC packs (Toricity and MV Expo) and a limited physical edition by Super Rare Games extended its reach. The mobile Pocket Edition, containing only the Chicken Republic gamemode, brought the rhythm gameplay to iOS and Android in 2019.

Did You Know?

• The game was originally developed under the title 8Bit The Musical starting in 2011.
• The post-game 'Chicken Republic' mode was created to include dozens of songs that could not fit into the main story.
• The physical edition released by Super Rare Games included all DLC, a game manual, stickers, and trading cards.