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Wednesday, September 28, 2005 »

Until then, go register for a free demo of Dragon Quest VIII. Free Dragon Quest is probably the most generous offer anyone has ever made you!!

DAI-SEI-KOU

Tuesday, September 20, 2005 »

I suspect all the DS-havers on this side of the Pacific were too busy keeping their Nintendogs in line last month to pay attention to obscure rhythm games that only came out in Japan, so I would like to call everyone's attention to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, which has been occupying my DS ever since I tired of piloting the Metamo Ark.

Like many rhythm games, the gameplay involves performing actions in sync with a number of songs. In Ouendan, instead of stomping or strumming in sync with scrolling arrows or bars, you tap patterns of circles on the touchscreen. Some sequences involve tracing along the path of an arcing ball, or furiously spinning the stylus in circles. It's a perfect fit for the system, and it's incredibly fun. Plus I never had to take a break after an hour of play because my legs were sore.

It would have been easy for developer iNiS to come up with some schlocky, psychedelic backgrounds to play on the top screen during each song, but with Ouendan they've gone the extra mile and cast an insane collection of characters into 15 little vignettes. Each stage has you playing as the titular male cheerleading squad as they help other characters overcome their problems, ranging from university entrance exams to an army of space robots. Each story is told through hilarious manga-style illustrations on the top screen, with occasional breaks in the furious circle-tapping so you can watch the key scenes unfold. These story scenes really push Ouendan up above all the other rhythm games out there, as they instill it with personality and maybe even some emotional investment that you don't get from all of DDR's lasers and rainbow lights. That and I can finally tell all the songs apart.

Oh, and would you be amazed if I said most of the songs are actually really good? The soundtrack is a sampling of Japanese rock with a few pop songs tossed in, and while you probably won't recognize any of the songs, it's far superior to the horrible dance tracks in most Bemani games. There's even a song by the Hotei in there. Unfortunately, the fact that the stage patterns are synced so closely with the licensed Japanese soundtrack means that a domestic release is out of the question, but I don't think anyone who imports will be let down. (In fact, Ouendan is my first import.) I'd even go as far as to say this is the best game available for the DS. Just be sure to grab it before it becomes as scarce as iNiS's earlier rhythm game, Gitaroo Man.

There, I made it through the whole post without mentioning the 50-foot-tall, ratzilla-battling salary man or the concert violinist with miniature superheroes and demons fighting it out in his stomach.