Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan

 Well, Noble Phantasms first ever review of a game, and a truly deserving game at that. For those not in the know Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, (Japanese, translates to; Go! Fight! Cheer Sqaud) is a Rhythm/Beat Action game that tells the story of 3 men in a cheer squad, called the Ouendan, going round, and cheering people on in times when they’re struggling. This ranges from, a college student with a noisy family, a teacher who caqn’t control his class to an asteroid heading toward Earth, with the only way to stop it, being to lead the entire world in one massive cheer.

 Weird sounding, and a VERY weird game. In a good way. As with most Rhythm/Beat Action games, it has several different modes of difficulty, from Easy to Very Hard mode. Easy is ridiculously way too easy, and I really recommend you skip it, and head straight for Normal, which is the toughest option you can choose when you first get the game. Easy has about 1 beat every 5 seconds, which is just boring in the first song. Normal has at least more beats, which is great.

 The game itself, is brilliant, with tonnes of brilliant stories, some that’ll have you not actually being able to play the game for laughter. Seriously, sometimes I lose a song because I’m laughing too much. How can you not laugh when you see this kind of stuff. Well, there is one level that is rather touching. The music is great, while contrasting the rest of the game, and the sound effects have been changed/quietened for that song too.

 There is one level that beats them all, and that’s the last. I won’t describeit, as I just can’t. But what I can say, is that, if the fact you want to finish the game doesn’t keep you trying over and over, the adrenaline rush will. I’ve never had such an adrenaline rush from a game before, much less a handheld game.

Verdict

Visuals: 8/10

Awesome looking 3D Ouendan in the background, with animations on the top screen that you won’t even see because you focus on the bottom screen. With the awesome art style, and the attention to detail, this is a high scorer.

Sound: 9/10

Err… it’s a music game, so the sound and music is bound to get a high score, but this games music is exceptionally good. Much better than the EBA versions music.

 Lifespan: 9/10

Very few games have this level of a ‘one-more-time’ feel. If you fail a song, you keep trying until you’ve beaten it just once, then you do exactly the same with the next song. It’s pretty addictive, in a brilliant sort of freaking awesome way. I’ll be playing this well into 2008.

Value: 9/10

Since it’s an import game, it’s proabably gonna be available for about £25, which is not only cheaper than your average DS game, but makes this even better value. The games 15 songs are great, so are well worth the money just for the choice in music, along with the incredibly long lifespan, it’s definitely great value for money.

Final Verdict: 35/40

 ————————————-

Oh and, for those wondering about the games playability due to the Japanese language, the only problems you’ll have are with the menus, during the first few minutes you have the game. Once you’re used to the menus, you’ll be totally forgetting that the text is japanese, or even, it adds to the gameplay.