Quick review: Osu! Tatake! Ouendan!(DS)

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:43 am

I just picked this one up from the local import store today. After seeing some of the videos, I've been meaning to get it for a while now. It comes from a genre I would normally have pretty much no interest in (rhythm games) but what I saw of it is so unusual that I had to check it out.

If you've seen any of the videos of this, you pretty much have the idea. The basic premise is that you control a squad of male cheerleaders who tend to barge in when summoned by people in distress and perform motivaitonal dances that affect how well they perform their tasks (scenarios vary. The first one is a kid trying to get his homework done, others include someone trying to survive a dodgeball game or a race horse who suddenly has to pursue a fleeing thief.) This is a lot harder than it might look from the videos, and so far i am finding it quite challenging. It never really feels unfair though. I'm not far into it though. The music is standard J-pop stuff and is reasonably well done, although nothing too memorable.

The most interesting aspect of this is the storytelling, which is done in the form of semi-animated manga. It's all done in a very over-the-top style and looks quite excellent. The game isn't particularly import friendly (all the text and menus are in Japanese) but you can probably get by without the text. The gameplay is simple enough that little explanation is needed.

all in all,it's a rather interesting game that'll uses the DS in a way that probably couldn't be replicated on any other platform. I'd say it's worth importing, since the chances of it ever getting released outside of Japan are slim to none.

BrianC · Post by **BrianC** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:47 am

Doesn't this game have the theme song from Full Metal Alchamist in it?

tsunami0ne · Post by **tsunami0ne** » Sun Sep 18, 2005 8:15 pm

BrianC wrote:Doesn't this game have the theme song from Full Metal Alchamist in it?

Yep, it's the last level. Most of the songs are J-rock, though there are a few girly songs thrown in for variety. It's a very fun game, but for people who hate seeing the GAME OVER screen, it might be too much for them. I bought this game over a month ago and still play it more than advance wars ds (clocked in 60 hours for that). It actually made me not enjoy Band Brothers anymore too

ahnslaught · Post by **ahnslaught** » Mon May 15, 2006 3:37 am

I'm resurrecting this thread just to blabber on about how this game fricking rocks. I've been playing this game constantly for months now - the songs don't get old, the stages always bring a smile to my face, and the game is just so simple to get into! I really don't recall ever playing a game with such "just one more time" potential than Ouendan.

Seriously, this game is becoming one of my all time favorites. Now, here's hoping inis does just as good a job on Elite Beat Agents.

Anyway, I've been trying to find other games inis developed, and I only found Guitaroo Man. Anyone have any experience with that one? The reviews I've read say it's pretty good, but extremely hard. Also, are there other games that inis has made in the past?

LoneSage · Post by **LoneSage** » Mon May 15, 2006 3:42 am

ahnslaught wrote: Anyway, I've been trying to find other games inis developed, and I only found Guitaroo Man. Anyone have any experience with that one? The reviews I've read say it's pretty good, but extremely hard. Also, are there other games that inis has made in the past?

Gitaroo-Man's one of the best PS2 games; I usually play it everynow and then, wanting to play just Mojo King Bee but I end up playing half of the game.
It's amazing, the difficulty's just fine (but insane on Masters), and yeah...get it.

Arznei · Post by **Arznei** » Mon May 15, 2006 3:54 am

THAT was your review? Wow. Don't work for IGN.

I've had this game since the beginning of january and it's my absolute favorite DS title of all time. It prompted me to hunt down Gitaroo Man (PAL, medium scratches but ORIGINAL) and play through that. While Gitaroo Man is a good game, I enjoy Ouendan more.

Ouendan wins simply for having Kokoro Odoru and Guts Da Ze, but the other songs are really enjoyable too. The only stage I really dislike is the pyramid level and possibly the last level (Ready Steady Go) because the intro is too damn long.

I have all three music games for DS and this is definitely the best of the lot. It's awesome that they're remaking Gitaroo Man for the PSP and that they're making an americanized (ugh) game based from Ouendan.

Looks like they're back in action.

ahnslaught · Post by **ahnslaught** » Mon May 15, 2006 4:36 am

Eh? Problem with the review? Sorry to disappoint if I didn't provide a hyper-detailed game, but the main point about my post was to get an idea for other inis games, and maybe give an impression or two about ouendan.

Well, different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Moogs · Post by **Moogs** » Mon May 15, 2006 11:41 pm

I initially hated Ouendan. I mean, after playing the first three songs or so I absolutely loathed the game for being such an inane exercise and for making me feel like an idiot.

I was also pretty ticked off that none of the songs are performed by the original artists. But, anyway...

I didn't start enjoying Ouendan until I unlocked the Hard difficulty level. By the time I got to "READY STEADY GO!" on Hard, I felt like I was actually doing something. That bit in the song right after they throw three of those blasted spinning wheels at you one after the other? Yeah, I love that part! That quick little double tap they throw in for the fourth beat damn near gets me off, and I don't know why.

The Very Hard difficulty level is a bit rough at first, but I finally got the hang of it.

So... yeah. The game is pretty dumb at first, but the harder difficulty levels make it a lot more fun.

EDIT: Oh, and by the way, Ouendan is being released in the States as "Elite Beat Agents." All new music and characters, technically a sequel of sorts.

Valgar · Post by **Valgar** » Tue May 16, 2006 12:34 am

My complaint was the game is too easy (yes I had S rank on all VERY HARD songs). I like the songs in Gitaroo-Man better and the MASTER mode was much more of a challenge.

mannerbot · Post by **mannerbot** » Tue May 16, 2006 2:13 am

My complaint is that Valgar is overpowered.

Arznei · Post by **Arznei** » Tue May 16, 2006 4:15 am

Moogs wrote:EDIT: Oh, and by the way, Ouendan is being released in the States as "Elite Beat Agents." All new music and characters, technically a sequel of sorts.

Elite Beat Agents is not a sequel. It's just a game the company is also releasing outside of japan using the same Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan theme. While I am skeptical since most english music bands in music games aren't always that good (take Burnout 3's soundtrack, emo emo emo angst) apparently Walkie Talkie Man is in there, performed by a local band Steriogram.

Vexorg · Post by **Vexorg** » Tue May 16, 2006 4:51 am

Arznei wrote:
Elite Beat Agents is not a sequel. It's just a game the company is also releasing outside of japan using the same Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan theme. While I am skeptical since most english music bands in music games aren't always that good (take Burnout 3's soundtrack, emo emo emo angst) apparently Walkie Talkie Man is in there, performed by a local band Steriogram.

The first thing I do on pretty much any EA game is turn off the music. Fortunately, emo emo emo angst(TM) doesn't work for rhythm games. The one major concern I have about EBA is that I'm not so sure I care for the new character designs (I quite liked the look of the Ouendan characters.)

Arznei · Post by **Arznei** » Tue May 16, 2006 5:33 am

Vexorg wrote:
Arznei wrote:
Elite Beat Agents is not a sequel. It's just a game the company is also releasing outside of japan using the same Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan theme. While I am skeptical since most english music bands in music games aren't always that good (take Burnout 3's soundtrack, emo emo emo angst) apparently Walkie Talkie Man is in there, performed by a local band Steriogram.
The first thing I do on pretty much any EA game is turn off the music. Fortunately, emo emo emo angst(TM) doesn't work for rhythm games. The one major concern I have about EBA is that I'm not so sure I care for the new character designs (I quite liked the look of the Ouendan characters.)

Crawl. ing in. my skin. these wou~~~nds. they will. not heal.

I could totally see an emoemoangst song in a rhythm based game, but it probably wouldn't sell as well for it's lack of originality. Ouendan's characters are awesome, I think they're so much better than the ones in EBA. Oh god.. if this isn't a good game I'm going to enjoy Ouendan even more.

Moogs · Post by **Moogs** » Tue May 16, 2006 10:59 am

Arznei wrote:
Moogs wrote:EDIT: Oh, and by the way, Ouendan is being released in the States as "Elite Beat Agents." All new music and characters, technically a sequel of sorts.
Elite Beat Agents is not a sequel.

You... did notice I said "technically" and "of sorts", right?

Besides, if all the music is new as well as the characters and (most likely) the scenarios, then it kind of is a sequel.

Arznei · Post by **Arznei** » Tue May 16, 2006 3:08 pm

Moogs wrote:
Arznei wrote:
Moogs wrote:EDIT: Oh, and by the way, Ouendan is being released in the States as "Elite Beat Agents." All new music and characters, technically a sequel of sorts.
Elite Beat Agents is not a sequel.
You... did notice I said "technically" and "of sorts", right?

Besides, if all the music is new as well as the characters and (most likely) the scenarios, then it kind of is a sequel.

Just like Shadow of the Colossus is a sequel to ICO, right? Hahaha.

Post by **system11** » Tue May 16, 2006 5:00 pm

Love this one, struggling to beat the man vs mouse level (12?). Something about the third section of that song totally throws me off. Still not as good as Gitaroo Man, but a marvel for handhelds.

Post by **Ghegs** » Tue May 16, 2006 5:43 pm

Arznei wrote:Just like Shadow of the Colossus is a sequel to ICO, right? Hahaha.

That one's a prequel, actually.

Moogs · Post by **Moogs** » Tue May 16, 2006 8:08 pm

Arznei wrote:
Moogs wrote:
Arznei wrote: Elite Beat Agents is not a sequel.
You... did notice I said "technically" and "of sorts", right?

Besides, if all the music is new as well as the characters and (most likely) the scenarios, then it kind of is a sequel.
Just like Shadow of the Colossus is a sequel to ICO, right? Hahaha.

Actually, no.

I know Elite Beat Agents is a localised version of Ouendan and NOT a sequel. but considering the fact that the only thing that's the same between both versions is the gameplay, it's kind of like a sequel.

Arznei · Post by **Arznei** » Wed May 17, 2006 3:29 am

Moogs wrote:
Arznei wrote:
Moogs wrote: You... did notice I said "technically" and "of sorts", right?

Besides, if all the music is new as well as the characters and (most likely) the scenarios, then it kind of is a sequel.
Just like Shadow of the Colossus is a sequel to ICO, right? Hahaha.
Actually, no.

I know Elite Beat Agents is a localised version of Ouendan and NOT a sequel. but considering the fact that the only thing that's the same between both versions is the gameplay, it's kind of like a sequel.

What I was getting at is that they're still loosely connected by the style and way the games play, but that doesn't necessarily mean they connect with eachother in any way.