Tails and the Music Maker is an educational spin-off video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. It was released in North America in September 1994[1] on the Sega Pico system for children's education. It was later published in Japan by Imagineer on 5 December 1995.[3] The main character is Miles "Tails" Prower, who uses the various activities in the game to teach children about music theory and instruments.
Gameplay[]
The objective of Tails and the Music Maker is to learn scales, tempo, rhythm and about instruments, along with matching music to the correct instruments and basic piano knowledge. The player may also create their own music and art.
Controls[]
Storyware input[]
| Magic Pen placement | Action[5] |
|---|---|
| Click on characters/objects | Interact |
| Click on Tails | Hover |
| Move cursor | Follow |
Direction Buttons[]
| Button formation | Action[6] |
|---|---|
| Hold orange direction button/White direction button | Prepare to jump |
| Release orange direction button/white direction button | Jump |
| Red animation button | A real boost |
| Blue direction button | Walk left |
| Green direction button | Walk right |
Objects[]
Items[]
Gimmicks and obstacles[]
Characters[]
Playable characters[]
Non-playable characters[]
Pages[]
First Page[]
The title screen of Tails and the Music Maker.
The first page of Tails and the Music Maker only features the title screen, which functions as the invitation to the rest of the game.[5] By selecting one of the sixteenth notes on the title scroll, the credits sequence can be accessed.
Second Page[]
The second page features Tails in Green Hill. Here, Tails is accompanied by a turtle and a frog. Clicking on the coconuts on the trees in the background will make them drop, and the turtle will walk to the corresponding palm tree. It is also possible to toggle the waterfall's flow by clicking on it.
- Travels With Tails: The second page's first activity. By clicking on the musical note, Tails will be sent to a mini-game where he must run through three stages. These levels are all modelled around Green Hill Zone, although they are completely absent of Badniks, loops, Rings, and Spikes. There are also pits that will bounce Tails back up to the platform he fell from, instead of giving the player a Game Over.[7] Clicking on the frog will send the player to the page's second activity, a musical chairs-styled minigame where Tails must compete with six other frogs. To win, Tails must not be the one left standing on the orange lily pad when the music stops.[7] Tails can be controlled by either the four panels at the top of the screen, or by using the direction buttons beside the drawing pad. Choosing each of these options will change the tempo of the background music.[7] The controls on the second page are different than the other activities, and are as follows:
| Button Formation[7] | Action[7] |
|---|---|
| White direction button | Jump |
| Blue direction button | Stop |
| Green direction button | Tip-Toe |
| Green direction button twice | Run |
Third Page[]
The third page features Tails standing on checkerboard platforms. Dr. Robotnik is seen in the background riding his Egg Mobile. Musical notes are seen falling from the sky.
- Percussion Pinball: The third page's first activity. Clicking on the machine on top of the hill will take the player to a pinball-like mini-game where they must touch the bell at the top of the table to score points. Tails himself will roll up and act as the pinball. The bumpers on the pinball table are shaped like various percussion instruments, and demonstrate the sound of that instrument when hit.[8] Clicking on the falling notes around the music machine will activate the page's second activity, where the player must draw circles around musical notes that bounce down the scale into flashing versions of themselves. Once all eight notes are caught, the scale will play.[8]
Fourth Page[]
The fourth page features Tails standing in front of a wall with a measure of notes in front of him. There are also yellow Coyotes in the background that will howl and turn purple if the player clicks on them, and Dr. Robotnik can be seen if the player knocks on the Recreational Vehicle door on the right. A tumbleweed can be interacted with to play a rendition of "On Top of Old Smokey".
- The Great Wall of Music: The fourth page's first activity. Here, the player can click on top of the wall to activate a Breakout-styled mini-game. Each of the panels feature a different note value, and will play for that length when hit by Tails. The activity features whole notes, half notes, quarters notes, and eighth notes. Clicking the drawing pad will launch Tails into action as the ball, and moving the magic pen around will move the platform back and forth.[9]
Fifth Page[]
The fifth page features Tails standing on a large piano. The notes the keys play are labelled, and the back of the piano features images of instruments on it. These include: a harp, accordion, electric guitar, trumpet, tuba, piano, trombone, flute, violin, and what resembles a bass clarinet but sounds like a saxophone.[10] The player can change the tempo of the music. By clicking the metronome atop the piano, the tempo of the music can be changed. While the white piano keys feature notes, the black keys do not; in fact, sharps and flats are not present anywhere in the game.
- Making A Musical Match: The fifth page's first activity. Here, the player must match the instruments' sounds to their correct images. At the beginning, the game will show each correct combination, before mixing everything up and starting the mini-game.[10]
- Match That Tone: The second activity of the fifth page, accessed by clicking the bird beside the metronome. Here, the player can learn various songs on the piano. It is a memory-based game where the player must repeat the sequence of notes played. After successfully completing three songs the bird will be freed from the cage.[10]
Sixth Page[]
The final page feature Tails and Sonic on a beach. If the player clicks on Sonic, he will Spin Dash around before returning to his starting position.
- Draw System: The sixth page's first activity. It is a Mario Paint-styled coloring book, where characters can be added and animations can be made. There are three options of brushes: a paint brush, pencil, and paint tube.[11] There are also ten different colors to choose from.
- The Recording Studio: The second activity of the sixth page, it is accessed by clicking the guitar that is leaned up against the tree on the right. Here, the player is able to listen to musical themes associated with each instrument featured in the game, or play tunes from common nursery rhymes by clicking the horn on the upper left corner of the piano and then selecting an icon.[11] The tunes present are as follows: "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star", "Farmer in the Dell", "Jingle Bells", "Cat and the Fiddle", "Mary Had a Little Lamb", "Three Blind Mice", "Pop Goes the Weasel", "Billy Boy", "Bicycle Built for Two", "Eensie Weensie Spider", "Hickory Dickory Dock", and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat".[11]
Development[]
Realtime Associates, one of the production teams behind Tails and the Music Maker, also produced Sonic the Hedgehog for the LeapFrog Didj.
Trivia[]
- Despite the fact that the stripe on Tails' shoes is colored red on the box art and title screen, it is miscolored purple on all of his in-game sprites.
- This game notably uses the character designs for Sonic and Tails from Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and the Sonic the Hedgehog TV series, although Dr. Robotnik uses his usual classic design seen in the other games.
- A few unused graphics are found in the game's data:
| Sprite | Description |
|---|---|
 |
Unused sprite of Tails |
 |
Unused sprite of Tails |
| Unused font |
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tails and the Music Maker. AllGame. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved on 8 February 2022.
- ↑ Tails and the Music Maker (Sega Pico) United States Parents' Guide, pg. 22.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Product List (Japanese). Imagineer. Archived from the original on 10 January 1998. Retrieved on 8 February 2022.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Flynn, Ian; Sega (8 December 2021). "Learning with Sonic". Sonic the Hedgehog Encyclo-speed-ia. Dark Horse Books. p. 65. ISBN 978-1506719276.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tails and the Music Maker (Sega Pico) United States Parents' Guide, pg. 4.
- ↑ Tails and the Music Maker (Sega Pico) United States Parents' Guide, pg. 5.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Tails and the Music Maker (Sega Pico) United States Parents' Guide, pgs. 6-7.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Tails and the Music Maker (Sega Pico) United States Parents' Guide, pgs. 8-9.
- ↑ Tails and the Music Maker (Sega Pico) United States Parents' Guide, pgs. 10-11.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Tails and the Music Maker (Sega Pico) United States Parents' Guide, pgs. 12-13.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Tails and the Music Maker (Sega Pico) United States Parents' Guide, pgs. 14-17.