The Good, The Bad, And The Hmmm... Part 1
First review is one that's way past due: Elite Beat Agents/Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! for the Nintendo DS.
Elite Beat Agents/Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!
Publisher: Nintendo/Nintendo
System: Nintendo DS
Developed by Inis, this eccentric Rhythm Action game for the Nintendo DS handheld system was a cult runaway hit import in the summer of 2005, finally making its way to American shores in November of 2006 (TBA in Europe)... With some major changes. I'll be explaining them along the way.
The Basics:
In both games you take on the role of a group of three helpful young gentlemen who wander around the city and help a variety of problem infested people by... well... Dancing in formation. Because when I have a problem, a group of men dancing in formation is all I need to overcome it. Well, I did say it was eccentric. Such problematic people include:
A violinist on the subway with a case of the runs (JPN)
A pug separated from his master (USA)
A girl with a dead boyfriend (JPN)
A couple of elitist rich bitches stuck on an island (USA
A fat Cleopatra (JPN)
A crime fighting magician (USA)
As well as others. Broken into selectable mission style levels, you help them (and dance in formation) by hitting a series of buttons timed to the level's song's beat with your DS stylus, rolling a ball, and turning a spinner. Start out easy, get harder, the usual.
The Glaring Differences:
Before I can get into the actual review section, I need to point out the differences between the two versions, because they're pretty huge.
Japanese game - Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!: In the Japanese version of the game, you take on the role of a team of high school male cheerleaders. Do you need to read that again? That's okay. You take on the role of a team of high school MALE cheerleaders. Oh. Shit. XD!!!! Yes, this is truly an awesome thing. There are four teams of cheerleaders to pick from: The Easy Mode team and the Normal Mode team, as well as an unlockable Hard Mode team and an Insane Mode team which is a group of girls. (If anybody cares, the team leaders are - in order - Tanaka Hajime, Ippongi Ryuta, Doumeki Kai and Amemiya Sayaka (I believe).)
American game - Elite Beat Agents: Not quite as fitting but still funny, in the American game you play as a group of dancing secret agents. There are, again, four teams of agents to choose. I haven't unlocked the Hard Mode and Insane Mode (Now named Sweatin' and Hard Rock modes, respectively) yet.
Aside from the character changes (Which make me sad, but I suppose are understandable. It's "hard" to sell a wide audience of Americans on dancing male cheerleaders.), the two versions of the game feature vastly different soundtracks using "popular" (Read as: Cheap songs you hear everywhere) songs from their respective countries as well as vastly different dancing and level arrangements. Again, understandable since it'd be hard to sell the game in America with a J-Pop soundtrack, and in a music game, you need beats and dancing to match the songs or it will be fairly literally impossible to play.
Now for the part that bothers me: They feature vastly different LEVELS. Seriously. None of the levels overlap AT ALL. This seems a little much to me for a TRANSLATION. If they were going to go to all that trouble to localize the game, why didn't they just make Elite Beat Agents a full on sequel? I shouldn't bitch too much since I own the Japanese version, but these things bother me. Alright, on with the review.
The Good:
The first thing that needs to be said is that these games are FUN. The gameplay takes some serious getting used to, but once you know what you're doing, they're challenging and entertaining, pushing your ear as well as your timing and hand-eye coordination.
The art and animation are great, also. The stories (prior to the level) are laid out in comic style panels which introduce you to the characters of the level and give you a little about what's going on. During gameplay, the bottom screen displays your three gents dancing in front of a background, while the top screen unfolds the progressing story in simple animation and more comic panels, which are sometimes funny and distracting. Note: Don't look up.
The game is split - as mentioned earlier - into mission style levels, and the levels are split into 3 (occasionally 4) sections, or tasks. Depending on how you do during the level, at each of the 3 level pauses, you'll get either a O if you played well or a X if you played badly, and the upper screen will reflect the story result of this with the main character either completing the task or failing it, with appropriately amusing results. It's not as confusing as I make it sound.
The Bad:
The worst part about both versions of the game is level progression difficulty on Normal mode. The game progresses well enough for about the first 7 levels in the American version, 8-9 levels in the Japanese version. There's a steady rise in the number of notes and the speed of the song (The BPM), and then suddenly... Pow. The game goes insane with speed and timing and some notes that don't even make sense to the beat. This can be overcome with practice, of course, but some levels actually had me turning the music off to beat them because the notes were just so off the beat.
Another thing I feel I need to point out - and this will make me sound like a Japanophile - is some of the music choices in the American version of the game. They don't make sense. Some are great and I can't help but smile, but some are... Hm. The two worst offenders thus far are, IMO, Sk8er Boi (Avril Lavigne) for the Taxi level and Y.M.C.A (Village People) for the treasure level. I loved the treasure level to death and the song combined with the dancing FLOORS ME everytime (Sometimes to the point where I can't pass it because I'm laughing too hard) but... Y.M.C.A? I'm not really sure how the two go together.
The Hmmm...:
I gotta admit, the "Hmmm..." on this - for both versions - has to be the song choices. I know using popular (Well-known) songs in music game is a huge selling point. Who doesn't want to play with songs they know? Besides, it's SO much easier than actually writing new songs. But would it really kill them to do that? They don't even shell out money for the original recordings, so what we're left with is bad (sometimes downright awful) karaoke of songs we all have stuck in our heads already, usually in games or to levels that have literally zero to do with the actual lyrics. They end up feeling out of place. However, Elite Beat Agents/Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! is only a minor offender in this. For the most part, they make everything fit, so they can kinda be forgiven. Here are "complete" song lists for both games (Bonuses not included), Title - Original Artist - Level:
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!:
Loop & Loop - Asian Kung-Fu Generation - Exam Crisis
Koi No Dance Site - Morning Musume - Secretary's Busy Day
Melody - 175R - Matsuri Competition
Guts Daze! - Ulfuls - Bandit-Nabbing Horserace
Linda Linda - The Blue Hearts - The Ramen Stall
Thrill - Tomoyasu Hotei - Dodgeball Crush
Kokoro Odoru - Nobody Knows - Pottery Master
Taisetsuna Mono - B'z - Teachers' Dilemma
Neraiuchi - Linda Yamamoto - Cleopatra's Pyramid
One Night Carnival - Kishidan - Violinist
Taisetsu na Mono - Road Of Major - Election For Mayor
Over The Distance - Yaida Hitomi - Ghost Love Story
Shanghai Honey - Orange Road - Policeman vs. Robots
Taiyou ga Moeteiru - The Yellow Monkey - Mutant Rat Attack
Ready Steady Go - L'Arc~en~Ciel - End Of The World
Elite Beat Agents:
Walkie Talkie Man - Steriogram - "Trio of Mayhem! Love and Boyfriends!!"
Makes No Difference - Sum 41 - "Red Carpet Premiere! Smash Hit or Box Office Crash!!"
Sk8er Boi - Avril Lavigne - "Hey, Taxi! To the Hospital, and Hurry!!"
I Was Born To Love You - Queen - "Art and Beauty! Love and Happiness!?"
Rock This Town - The Stray Cats - "Magic Meets Madness! The Show Must Go On!"
Highway star - Deep Purple - "A Pug's Life! 400 Miles from Home!!"
Y.M.C.A - Village People - "Ahoy, Mates! Sunken Delights and Adventure!!"
September - Earth, Wind, And Fire - "Cry Wolf! Meteorology and Parenting!!"
Canned Heat - Jamiroquai - "Family Honor! Introducing the Secret-Weapon Ninja!!"
Material Girl - Madonna - "Survive! Celebrity Lives and Desert Isles!!"
La La - Ashlee Simpson - "NURSE! Gold Medal Hero or Zero!!"
You're The Inspiration - Chicago - "A Christmas Gift"
Let's Dance - David Bowie - "Rags to Riches! Go East Wildcatter!"
The Anthem - Good Charlotte - "Batter Up! Home Run Hero Makes a Comeback!!"
Without A Fight - Hoobastank - "No More Music!? The Last Hope!!" (Part 1)
Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones - "No More Music!? The Last Hope!!" (Part 2)
Final Score - Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!: [*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][ ][ ]
Final Score - Elite Beat Agents: [*][*][*][*][*][*][*][ ][ ][ ]
-TBA Next Post-
Elite Beat Agents/Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!
Publisher: Nintendo/Nintendo
System: Nintendo DS
Developed by Inis, this eccentric Rhythm Action game for the Nintendo DS handheld system was a cult runaway hit import in the summer of 2005, finally making its way to American shores in November of 2006 (TBA in Europe)... With some major changes. I'll be explaining them along the way.
The Basics:
In both games you take on the role of a group of three helpful young gentlemen who wander around the city and help a variety of problem infested people by... well... Dancing in formation. Because when I have a problem, a group of men dancing in formation is all I need to overcome it. Well, I did say it was eccentric. Such problematic people include:
A violinist on the subway with a case of the runs (JPN)
A pug separated from his master (USA)
A girl with a dead boyfriend (JPN)
A couple of elitist rich bitches stuck on an island (USA
A fat Cleopatra (JPN)
A crime fighting magician (USA)
As well as others. Broken into selectable mission style levels, you help them (and dance in formation) by hitting a series of buttons timed to the level's song's beat with your DS stylus, rolling a ball, and turning a spinner. Start out easy, get harder, the usual.
The Glaring Differences:
Before I can get into the actual review section, I need to point out the differences between the two versions, because they're pretty huge.
Japanese game - Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!: In the Japanese version of the game, you take on the role of a team of high school male cheerleaders. Do you need to read that again? That's okay. You take on the role of a team of high school MALE cheerleaders. Oh. Shit. XD!!!! Yes, this is truly an awesome thing. There are four teams of cheerleaders to pick from: The Easy Mode team and the Normal Mode team, as well as an unlockable Hard Mode team and an Insane Mode team which is a group of girls. (If anybody cares, the team leaders are - in order - Tanaka Hajime, Ippongi Ryuta, Doumeki Kai and Amemiya Sayaka (I believe).)
American game - Elite Beat Agents: Not quite as fitting but still funny, in the American game you play as a group of dancing secret agents. There are, again, four teams of agents to choose. I haven't unlocked the Hard Mode and Insane Mode (Now named Sweatin' and Hard Rock modes, respectively) yet.
Aside from the character changes (Which make me sad, but I suppose are understandable. It's "hard" to sell a wide audience of Americans on dancing male cheerleaders.), the two versions of the game feature vastly different soundtracks using "popular" (Read as: Cheap songs you hear everywhere) songs from their respective countries as well as vastly different dancing and level arrangements. Again, understandable since it'd be hard to sell the game in America with a J-Pop soundtrack, and in a music game, you need beats and dancing to match the songs or it will be fairly literally impossible to play.
Now for the part that bothers me: They feature vastly different LEVELS. Seriously. None of the levels overlap AT ALL. This seems a little much to me for a TRANSLATION. If they were going to go to all that trouble to localize the game, why didn't they just make Elite Beat Agents a full on sequel? I shouldn't bitch too much since I own the Japanese version, but these things bother me. Alright, on with the review.
The Good:
The first thing that needs to be said is that these games are FUN. The gameplay takes some serious getting used to, but once you know what you're doing, they're challenging and entertaining, pushing your ear as well as your timing and hand-eye coordination.
The art and animation are great, also. The stories (prior to the level) are laid out in comic style panels which introduce you to the characters of the level and give you a little about what's going on. During gameplay, the bottom screen displays your three gents dancing in front of a background, while the top screen unfolds the progressing story in simple animation and more comic panels, which are sometimes funny and distracting. Note: Don't look up.
The game is split - as mentioned earlier - into mission style levels, and the levels are split into 3 (occasionally 4) sections, or tasks. Depending on how you do during the level, at each of the 3 level pauses, you'll get either a O if you played well or a X if you played badly, and the upper screen will reflect the story result of this with the main character either completing the task or failing it, with appropriately amusing results. It's not as confusing as I make it sound.
The Bad:
The worst part about both versions of the game is level progression difficulty on Normal mode. The game progresses well enough for about the first 7 levels in the American version, 8-9 levels in the Japanese version. There's a steady rise in the number of notes and the speed of the song (The BPM), and then suddenly... Pow. The game goes insane with speed and timing and some notes that don't even make sense to the beat. This can be overcome with practice, of course, but some levels actually had me turning the music off to beat them because the notes were just so off the beat.
Another thing I feel I need to point out - and this will make me sound like a Japanophile - is some of the music choices in the American version of the game. They don't make sense. Some are great and I can't help but smile, but some are... Hm. The two worst offenders thus far are, IMO, Sk8er Boi (Avril Lavigne) for the Taxi level and Y.M.C.A (Village People) for the treasure level. I loved the treasure level to death and the song combined with the dancing FLOORS ME everytime (Sometimes to the point where I can't pass it because I'm laughing too hard) but... Y.M.C.A? I'm not really sure how the two go together.
The Hmmm...:
I gotta admit, the "Hmmm..." on this - for both versions - has to be the song choices. I know using popular (Well-known) songs in music game is a huge selling point. Who doesn't want to play with songs they know? Besides, it's SO much easier than actually writing new songs. But would it really kill them to do that? They don't even shell out money for the original recordings, so what we're left with is bad (sometimes downright awful) karaoke of songs we all have stuck in our heads already, usually in games or to levels that have literally zero to do with the actual lyrics. They end up feeling out of place. However, Elite Beat Agents/Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! is only a minor offender in this. For the most part, they make everything fit, so they can kinda be forgiven. Here are "complete" song lists for both games (Bonuses not included), Title - Original Artist - Level:
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!:
Loop & Loop - Asian Kung-Fu Generation - Exam Crisis
Koi No Dance Site - Morning Musume - Secretary's Busy Day
Melody - 175R - Matsuri Competition
Guts Daze! - Ulfuls - Bandit-Nabbing Horserace
Linda Linda - The Blue Hearts - The Ramen Stall
Thrill - Tomoyasu Hotei - Dodgeball Crush
Kokoro Odoru - Nobody Knows - Pottery Master
Taisetsuna Mono - B'z - Teachers' Dilemma
Neraiuchi - Linda Yamamoto - Cleopatra's Pyramid
One Night Carnival - Kishidan - Violinist
Taisetsu na Mono - Road Of Major - Election For Mayor
Over The Distance - Yaida Hitomi - Ghost Love Story
Shanghai Honey - Orange Road - Policeman vs. Robots
Taiyou ga Moeteiru - The Yellow Monkey - Mutant Rat Attack
Ready Steady Go - L'Arc~en~Ciel - End Of The World
Elite Beat Agents:
Walkie Talkie Man - Steriogram - "Trio of Mayhem! Love and Boyfriends!!"
Makes No Difference - Sum 41 - "Red Carpet Premiere! Smash Hit or Box Office Crash!!"
Sk8er Boi - Avril Lavigne - "Hey, Taxi! To the Hospital, and Hurry!!"
I Was Born To Love You - Queen - "Art and Beauty! Love and Happiness!?"
Rock This Town - The Stray Cats - "Magic Meets Madness! The Show Must Go On!"
Highway star - Deep Purple - "A Pug's Life! 400 Miles from Home!!"
Y.M.C.A - Village People - "Ahoy, Mates! Sunken Delights and Adventure!!"
September - Earth, Wind, And Fire - "Cry Wolf! Meteorology and Parenting!!"
Canned Heat - Jamiroquai - "Family Honor! Introducing the Secret-Weapon Ninja!!"
Material Girl - Madonna - "Survive! Celebrity Lives and Desert Isles!!"
La La - Ashlee Simpson - "NURSE! Gold Medal Hero or Zero!!"
You're The Inspiration - Chicago - "A Christmas Gift"
Let's Dance - David Bowie - "Rags to Riches! Go East Wildcatter!"
The Anthem - Good Charlotte - "Batter Up! Home Run Hero Makes a Comeback!!"
Without A Fight - Hoobastank - "No More Music!? The Last Hope!!" (Part 1)
Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones - "No More Music!? The Last Hope!!" (Part 2)
Final Score - Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!: [*][*][*][*][*][*][*][*][ ][ ]
Final Score - Elite Beat Agents: [*][*][*][*][*][*][*][ ][ ][ ]
-TBA Next Post-