High School Musical: Makin' the Cut! | Nintendo DS

Take East High from Albuquerque to the national stage

High School Musical: Makin' the Cut! turns the Disney Channel movies into a Nintendo DS rhythm adventure built around the Wildcats' run at the Best Youth Musical in America competition. Sharpay signs up East High's top performers—and the player—for a road that begins in Albuquerque and aims for the Broadway finals. You can perform as Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Ryan, Chad or Taylor, or create a custom student and build a look of your own.

Rhythm play designed for the DS

The game uses the Touch Screen for more than simple note taps. Dance numbers mix three recurring actions: tapping icons as they fill and turn green, dragging basketballs through a hoop, and tracing patterns before time expires. Music-show sequences add instrument changes and directional sliders, so the timing challenges shift between dancing and playing along with the band. During video-production moments, the DS microphone can trigger dramatic stage effects for a score bonus; tapping the microphone icon remains an alternative if you prefer not to speak.

Twelve songs from High School Musical and High School Musical 2 support the competition. Judges track hits, misses and move combinations, then assign a grade after each performance. A D or better advances the story, while cleaner timing and longer perfect combinations are the route to higher grades and score multipliers.

Unlocks, customization and Video Studio

Story progress opens songs, stages and outfits for Quickplay. Quickplay also includes three custom-character save slots, letting you adjust a character's appearance and use unlocked content outside the campaign. The Video Studio is a separate creative system: choose camera cuts, draw between camera positions for smooth pans, change the lighting, add effects such as confetti and cue dramatic moments. Recorded performances can be watched, re-edited or deleted from their save slots.

• Story: move through regional performances toward the national musical final.
• Quickplay: replay unlocked songs on unlocked stages and chase better grades.
• Video Studio: direct, save and edit music-video performances.
• Multiplayer: compete in a local wireless Dance Off or exchange saved music videos.

Local multiplayer and hardware requirements

Nearby wireless play supports two players through DS Multi-Card Play. Each participant needs a Nintendo DS-family system and a copy of the game. Dance Off adds offensive Zap Attacks and defensive shields to the normal timing contest, while Share a Video transfers a saved creation between nearby copies. These features do not rely on an online server. A stylus is strongly recommended for the tap, slide and trace controls; the microphone is used only for an optional scoring bonus during stage-effect cues.

Quick Specs