The Nintendo DS may have a reputation for being the home of games that are a little too quirky or gimmicky to be released on any other console. Games such as Trauma Center: Under The Knife, Feel The Magic: XY/XX and Nintendogs are a few that may fall under that category but, if you think those games are quirky, you should see which ones don’t make it to North American shores. Osu! Takakae! Ouendan is one such game.
Developers iNiS are the innovative team behind the cult classic Playstation 2 game Gitaroo Man. Much like Ouendan, Gitaroo Man was a music-based rhythm game that made the player feel like they were controlling a musical instrument instead of a PS2 controller. Ask any fan of the game and they’ll probably tell you that Gitaroo Man was capable of pulling the heartstrings of players by including slower acoustic ballads, which aren’t often heard in action-driven rhythm games. iNis apply a similar tactic in Ouendan during a particularly poignant stage, but the developers also want to make you laugh out loud as the game also has a great sense of humor.
"Ouendan is arguably the best game to be released for the DS..."
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Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, which can be translated as "Go! Attack! Cheer Squad," follows the story of a trio of male cheerleaders who are called upon by the residents of Japan when they are in need of help. It is your job as the Cheer Squad to keep everybody cheering and it’s all done by tapping your DS’ touch screen with the stylus. The bottom screen is where your Ouendan are displayed, as well as a health bar that shows how well you’re doing. The bottom screen also plays host to numbered circles that appear throughout a stage. These numbered circles have concentric rings placed around them that gradually shrink in size and the objective is to tap the circle as soon as the ring comes into contact with it. If you hit the circles at the right time your health will boost up, but if you keep tapping them off-beat or even miss them completely, your health will plummet. It may sound a little confusing but it’s actually the simple gameplay and interface that is so compelling and capable of attracting even casual gamers. Once you get the hang of it, it’s definitely hard to put down and you’ll soon find yourself wanting to perfect all of the game’s 15 levels.
The DS’ top screen isn’t left out, rather, it is where all the game’s narrative takes place. The narrative is told through a series of manga-like drawings, so even though the game’s text is in Japanese, you still have a good sense of what is going on during the stages. Whether it’s a violinist running late for a performance that gets stuck on a train while having digestion problems, or a handsome ghost that tries to let his girlfriend know he’s still in love with her by spilling coffee into a heart shape, there is very little lost in translation in the beautiful manga artwork. Each stage brings an original storyline to the forefront and each one becomes exponentially enjoyable. iNis clearly have a gift for storytelling and they don’t settle for making just any ordinary rhythm game. The outcome of the storyline in each stage depends on how well you play, so if your cheering skills aren’t up to par just yet, you’ll have to sit and watch your performance affect the characters in substandard ways.
"...welcomes the casual and the hardcore alike."
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Since Ouendan is currently an import-only the in-game text is completely in Japanese, but don’t fret just yet. Navigating the menus is actually simple as the game doesn’t have a vast array of modes. It basically winds down to a little bit of trial and error that can easily be memorized. The main menu gives you the option of playing a single-player game, a multi-player game or taking part in a quick tutorial, so getting right into the gameplay isn’t a problem. At the beginning of the game there are only two difficulty levels available, easy and medium, that are represented by two different cheering squads. There are two other sets of difficulties that can be unlocked and it is actually the harder difficulties that prove to be more intuitive. The new cheer squads offer different rhythms to follow and more circles to tap, but these settings make the players feel like they are accomplishing more and becoming a bigger part of the performance.
Considering this is a music game, one of the most important aspects of the game is the actual music that you play to. Fortunately, Ouendan’s soundtrack is fantastic and one that offers different styles of music such as J-pop, J-rock, ska, punk, disco and even a touching piano ballad. The songs are incredibly catchy and there is enough variety in the different types of music to warrant them never become annoying. Fans of Japanese music will be pleased to know the songs featured in Ouendan are from actual bands and artists like L’arc~en~ciel, Asian Kung-Fu Generation, Morning Musume and Orange Range. Unfortunately, the DS doesn’t have the greatest set of speakers in the world. Granted, it is still capable of producing great sound. Try plugging in some headphones for the full experience.
"The songs are incredibly catchy..."
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As mentioned before, Ouendan’s narrative is told through inspiring manga art, which shows off the graphical capabilities of the DS. The colors are bright and crisp while the animation is fluid throughout. However, the 3D models of the Ouendan aren’t very nice to look at and are a bit of an eyesore in the otherwise vibrant environments. It makes you wonder why the developers didn’t just use 2D models to correspond with the comic book visuals seen on the top screen. Speaking of which, seeing a narrative being played out through images definitely gives you a sense of what types of games may be released for the DS in the future. iNiS, along with other recent developers, have really paved the way with this new type of presentation on a handheld system.
The great thing about music-based games is their ability to draw in unseasoned gamers because of their simple learning curve. Ouendan is no different in this respect as it allows plenty of time for the player to become adjusted to the different types of challenges thrown at him or her. The game is also deep enough to provide insanely frustrating challenges on the higher difficulties, but it is this juxtaposition that welcomes the casual and the hardcore alike. Ouendan also has quite a bit of replay value due to the sheer contrast in difficulty levels and the presence of a multi-player game, in which 2-4 players can link up in local wi-fi and tackle the stages as a team.
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan is arguably the best game to be released for the Nintendo DS, but the sad part is that it probably won’t ever make it to North America. This is truly unfortunate because the game is utterly capable of finding its niche here, quite like Namco’s Katamari Damacy has. If you’re the owner of a DS, you shouldn’t be discouraged from playing this game as the DS is a region-free system, meaning it is able to play games released in any part of the world. There are plenty of trusted websites out there that will allow you to buy a copy, so don’t miss out on this hidden gem of a game.
