Stuck babysitting pesky kids? Stuck on a remote island? Stuck finding a model for your master painting? Stuck with a Nintendo DS with a perfectly working touch screen that you do not know how break?

What do you do?

If Nintendo could do anything about it, a group of Men in Black- esque Elite Beat Agents will show up at your door step and blast these troubles away by… Dancing. (Think Will Smite/Tommy Lee Jones…. in manga… with their dancing shoes on)

Yup, you read right… dancing. Utilizing some of the coolest dance moves this side of Michael Jackson (Wave hands in the air together, anybody?), the Agents will groove you outta your troubles.

The gameplay itself is easy to learn. Tapping away at rapidly shrinking rings in time with the music while the main story unfolds on the top screen, Elite Beat Agents shows one of the most innovative use of the NDS unique touch screen/dual screen layout.

Learning the game is one thing, mastering it is a whole new monster all together. If you are like me, you’ll probably spend hours on end, playing the same songs over and over again just to get the super elusive “A” or “S” rank, and at some of the later stages just trying to clear the stage to unlock the next ones.

Repeated playback of the same song can cause some serious mental issues if one is not careful, like say in the event that said song is of the Macerana or My Heart Will Go On variety. Trust me, listening to the same song for an hour (at least) is not very uncommon once you start getting into the game.

And getting into the game is easy simply because it’s a game that is very hard not to like, if it makes any sense at all. It is chockful of some of the most bizarre characters and oddball situations in any game I’ve played so far, and that is saying a lot.

The title has a certain bit of… for lack of a better word, magic to it. Unless you’re lacking the humour gene in your DNA, you’ll laugh at and laugh along with the game as you search for pirate treasure to the Village People’s YMCA, hang out with socialites on a deserted island to the tune of Madonna’s Material Girl, and (of course) saving the world from evil planet conquering aliens (Aliens that conquer planets, not malevolent lands that occupy aliens). The storylines are so cheesy and over the top that you really have to applaud the evil geniuses that came up with them.

The rhythm of the story telling is something to enjoy too. The songs get progressively faster, and hence harder, but a master touch was the inclusion of Chicago’s You’re the inspiration midway through the game breaks the rhythm, not in a bad way. In fact, it was one of my favourite songs to play in the game. Of course, the fact that the rhythm is slower and hence easier to tap along helps too.

The playlist are all covers, of course. But they are a mish mash of old favourites and relatively recent top 40s. You will play songs from Jamiroquai to Village People. From Cher to Madonna to Avril Lavinge. Great stuff.

All in all, it’s a fantastic overall package and one of the best games on the Nintendo DS. Say what you want about Rock Band for the PSP, Elite Beat Agent is THE rhythm game for the handheld console.

Let’s see Rock Band Unplugged fans come up with a tribute video like this!

I’m sure you won’t be the slightest bit surprised to hear I shrieked with joy when I found this in Smash Bros:

Osu! Tatakae!

Ouendan!

Princess Marth

Greaaaaaaaaat Piiiiiiiiiiiiizzaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Isaac

Sqwii!!

The game I am playing at this actual in fact moment is called The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It’s not that good.

When it first came out the reviews were saying it’s the best game EVER! and Wow! It’s amazing! But I have to say I am not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. The mostly reason I am playing it is because of Link.

I have two problems with this game, besides being crap at it.

1. Link’s clothes at the beginning of the game. Why has he got only one sleeve? Do they not pay him enough to buy a full outfit?

2. The wolf thing. Actually it’s not as bad as I thought it would be, they have managed to make it credible I guess. What’s with all this shape-shifting? I also read that ‘in the manga for Ocarina of Time it says that Zelda used the Triforce of Wisdom to actually become male while disguised as Sheik, and sealing away the consciousness of Zelda.’ Honestly, what are Nintendo smoking? Seriously? Cos I want some

You see I’ve never really played a Zelda game before. I did play about 1 minute of it on the NES and was not impressed at all. It was harder than Kid Icarus even, which PS is not that hard once you know what to do, i.e. take it slowly and kill everything. Anyway I was always under the impression that Zelda was an RPG and I do rather like RPGs. Now playing this game I realise it is in fact an action game.

I am not good at action games. The only other action game I can remember playing is Soul Reaver, which wasn’t hard.

Really, I’ve never had to refer to a walkthrough so many times for one single game.

Also, it is annoying that you always end up at the ruddy checkpoint when you load. This was most annoying after I got that pigman in Hyrule Field, which took me about 5 attempts, then had to do the jousting thing on Eldin Bridge. I couldn’t do it after goodness knows how many attempts, so I thought, heck, I’ll come back tomorrow after I’ve looked at the walkthrough. But when I load, lo and behold, I have to do the whole frigging Field battle all over again, as if it wasn’t hard enough first time.

I do not think I am good at this game in fact.

The other game which I am even worse at is this game of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! on the DS. They do not sell it in this country, only in Japan, I had to get my copy from someone else.

It’s utterly an awesome game and completely funny and I quite fancy the guy with the big hair, I wish he wouldn’t look into the camera like that it’s very distracting.

How am I supposed to concentrate on anything if you shove that under my nose?

Oh dear, I made his mama spill the dinner. Oops.

The game I want to play now is Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn.

What I also want to know is, why is Link right-handed in the game of Twilight Princess, but left-handed in Brawl? Pit is left-handed in Brawl too, but he is in actual fact ambidextrous.

I don’t need to get a life. I’m a gamer! I have loads of lives!

This has nothing to do with anything whatsoever, other than that Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan is the greatest game ever made. Best use of $220 I ever made (DS lite + 1 + 2, and I have played the crap out of both of them and keep them handy in case of dire need of pacifier and I am a self-declared Minor Ouendan Deity) and it even overflowed and made up for the $30 I “spent” (trade-ins yay!) on Elite Beat Agents for the sole purpose of playing Jumpin’ Jack Flash. The Elite Beat Divas don’t have the charm of both teams of Cheer Girls, though. That and I just found this image on Danbooru and it is now my wallpaper (there is a 1600×1200 version, you may click if you feel so inclined) because I need some burning passion cheerleaders in my life right now.

And, yes, that is Amemiya Sayaka who graces my last.fm profile with her presence. I don’t plan to change that anytime soon. Or ever.

I don’t know whose brilliant idea this was, but this is an anime that needs to get made. Now. Or, well, just Sekai wa Sore o Ai to Yobundaze. With fluid dance moves. GET ON IT, KYOANI.

PIERCE THE HEAVENS WITH YOUR DANCE! CHEER GIRLS!

And while we’re at in, in case you’re one of the rare few who haven’t seen it in the year it’s been floating around: this is what cosplay should be like.

(Will there be an actual post at some point in the near future? Will deadlines destroy my mind? I don’t know! I want to go back to work on Monday and it’s only barely Sunday morning!)

1. Asian Kung-Fu Generation – Loop & Loop (ループ&ループ)
2. Morning Musume (モーニング娘。) – Koi no Dance Site (恋のダンスサイト)
3. Ulfuls (ウルフルズ) – Guts da ze!! (ガッツだぜ!!) (by Hiroaki Takeuchi)
4. 175R – Melody (メロディー) (edit)
5. The Blue Hearts – Linda Linda (リンダ リンダ)
6. nobodyknows+ – Kokoro Odoru (ココロオドル)
7. B’z – Atsuki Kodō no Hate (熱き鼓動の果て)
8. Tomoyasu Hotei (布袋寅泰) – Thrill (スリル)
9. Road of Major (ロードオブメジャー) – Taisetsu na Mono (大切なもの)
10. Linda Yamamoto (山本リンダ) – Neraiuchi (狙いうち)
11. Kishidan (氣志團) – One Night Carnival
12. Hitomi Yaida (矢井田瞳) – Over The Distance
13. The Yellow Monkey – Taiyō ga Moete iru (太陽が燃えている)
14. Orange Range – Shanghai Honey (上海ハニー)
15. L’Arc-en-Ciel – Ready Steady Go

A lot of J-Pop/J-Rock doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, but since the Ouendan! soundtrack is pretty much made up of Japanese chart toppers most of the songs are actually pretty decent.

Here it is for your listening pleasure =]

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/84231565/Ouendan_soundtrack.rar.html

So far ive got another 2 games secured for my nintendo DS. The list just keeps on coming! Ive secured second hand games of the popular Phoenix Wright Series and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! And i cant wait to play!!!

Lets start with the Phoenix Wright Series.

The Phoenix Wright, or Ace attorney series is originally from a GBA handheld. It was originally known in japanese as Gyakuten Saiban Yomigaeru Gyakuten and ever since its release, it has caught the nintendo world by storm! You play a role of Phoenix Wright, a defense attorney, who must solve crimes and mysteries in court. Its more of a visual novel and its a heavily text based game. You get to talk to the witnesses, present evidence, cross examine stuff and make analysis and report your findings before the court to prove the person innocent and weed out the real culprit. There are a total of 5 trials in the first installment of the game.

Sequels have already been released in the name of :

Ace Attorney: Justice for All

Ace Attorney: Trial And Tribulations

and the Japan only version currently: Ace Attorney 4

Im really interested in playing this game. Im kinda used to visual novels and text based games, as long as the story is engaging and fresh. Hotel dusk was one good example of a visual novel and i love the way the story unfolds. This game, allows you to be a lawyer, instead of a surgeon or detective.

In fact, it was so popular that i couldnt find them in any stores that ive been to in Singapore! Especially the first installment of the game. This is due to the fact that Capcom had difficulty meeting with the demands, since its surging popularity has sold faster than you can say “Objection!” Reports from punchjump.com states that Phoenix Wright is still rare till today. Following the announcement that Capcom plans to make a new Phoenix Wright game, “Phoenix Wright received restock at online stores like Walmart.com and JR.com for a limited time this week. The game quickly sold out within days.” To add further to the delays, Capcom’s next reprint is scheduled for mid-August.

True enough, copies of the game from ebay were way more expensive than an average DS game, and stores here were empty of the title.

(surgeon.. check! Detective…check! …lawyer…… check!)

_________________________

OSU! TATAKAE! OUENDAN!!!!!

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! is a music rhythm game which literally stands for “Hey! Fight! Cheer Squad! Simply put, you play through the storyline of male cheerleaders trying to save everyday people’s problem through cheering, and the success is based on how you play the game. The game is a music rythm game where you tap the appropriate markers while the music is being played. If you are accurate in the beats and rhythm, you will succeed the mission.

Tatakae is the Japanese version of the game, featuring unique japanese cultural references and humor based on that. The music selections also features Japanese songs and artists. A spiritual successor of the game was also created for the Western Market and its called Elite Beat Agents.

Elite Beat Agents is almost the same as the original counterpart, except with some added features and an all new music tracks, more suited for the western market. The franchise was incredibly popular and the popularity was mainly started not in Japan but in the America through word of mouth. Initial sales of the original game werent very good, but the demand of the Japanese import soared in the western market, prompting to create the western version of the game and a second installment of Tatakae.

Again, the Japanese import, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! is nowhere to be seen. But i managed to get hold of a second hand copy due this weekend.It could probably be due to the fact that is a relatively old game and its an import, so its not easy getting hold of it. Though the game is in Japanese, there is little you need to understand to play the game. The manga styled animation is enough to laugh your ass out, coupled with male cheerleaders dancing in the background, a sure recipe for success!

(surgeon.. check! Detective…check! …lawyer…… check!…Rhythm Master… CHECK! )

A followup up to Ouendan 1 from a storyline perspective while taking most of the improvements that Elite Beat Agents had to offer is what makes up Ouendan 2.  The gameplay is the same as both these games: tap the screen as colored markers come up in time with the music to cheer on the various characters you’re helping.  The biggest change for the best is that there seems to be a much sharper learning curve with this game.  I finished through the Normal difficulty and while the first 6 levels were easy, the last few had just enough tough tracks that played on musical off-beats to throw me off and require a few reruns at it.  Notably, there’s a couple songs that are equivalent to “Canned Heat” and “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” from EBA in terms of their syncopation that threw me off.   However, I like that – the improved challenge earlier in the game feels much better than making Normal “too” easy.

It’s still all presented in Japanese, but, as with the first game, I think only one scenario seems a little odd and requires just a bit of Japanese culture knowledge; the rest are self-explanatory by pictures.  It is region free, so no need to mod your DS or anything like that.  Fans of the first game will see some of their favorite characters (crazy old pottery guy!) in some of the stories, so there’s nice continuity with the game.

When I  got the import title  Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan for the DS and played through it, I figured that this game  had potential for sequels – the game concept is  definitely non-culture specific , though the stories told in OTO are mostly in Japanese and have heavy cultural references.    However, the music,  while mostly J-pop, could easily be done using newer American bands, as long they had a lot of good rhythm.

Enter Elite Beat  Agent, done by the same people, which is definitely not a translation, but a reversioning of OTO for American audiences.  The gameplay is exactly the same, the only difference is that the stories are  geared towards the states (such as a babysitter trying to score with her bf while  trying to tame the kids she’s tending, or a taxi driver getting his  9-month pregnant fare to the hospital on time.

So far no problem with the  songs  – while I’m not a big fan orf Avril Lavigne,  “Sk8ter Boi”  actually works for the gameplay of EBA.

If you like music games, and haven’t had a change to grab OTO as an import, you’ll definitely find EBA to a great rhythm game for the DS.