"In case of an emergency, scream OUENDAAAAN!!!!"

One thing I admire about the Japanese, apart from their impeccable manner, is how they aren't afraid to run with crazy ideas. God knows how many excellent games have flown under the radar just because no sane localisation team would take a risk, and because most core gamers probably wouldn't give a damn anyway. However, times are changing: region-locking has seen a decline (at least with portable gaming) and gamers are steadily appreciating new titles based on their actual merits rather than hype and sales figures.

A decade ago, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan would have been an anomaly for most Western gamers - portable rhythm action featuring three Japanese male cheerleaders dressed in black trenchcoat-like uniforms, a fully touch-screen-based interface and unbelievably wacky scenarios backed by a myriad of J-Pop and J-Rock? Yeah, it probably would have sold as much as sushi-flavoured candy.

Fast-forward to the new millennium...

Ouendan is seriously a breath of fresh air in a world polluted by killing simulators, generic platformers and Final Fantasy copycats. Ryuta Ippongi and his cheer squad are rhythm fighters - that is, they aid the local townspeople, who find themselves in rather unamiable situations like an upcoming exam or a restaurant patronage slump, by performing some cheerleading/martial arts kata fusion to the beats supplied by various popular Japanese covers.

There are 15 songs in all ranging from oldies such as Linda Linda by the Blue Hearts to newer tracks that will be, at least, familiar to some; Loop and Loop comes courtesy of Asian Kung-Fu Generation and Ready Steady Go will have Fullmetal Alchemist fans leaping with joy. The soundtrack makes or breaks any rhythm game, no matter how good the underlying gameplay mechanics are. In Ouendan's case, the offering is very strong and despite all of the songs, save one, being performed by sound-alikes, they are all of a very high standard - put on a pair of headphones and crank up the volume guys.

As for how the game plays, Ouendan is incredibly simple to pick up, but on the higher difficulty settings it's simply devilish! Rhythmic markers appear on-screen and you must tap them in-sync with the music. You are forewarned by a smattering of rings that start out big, gradually shrinking in size until they fit snugly over the circular rhythmic markers – at which point you tap the darn things. For the faster beats, you are further aided by numbered markings that denote the order in which you must tap them. Occasionally you will encounter sliding beats that require you to drag the stylus across a marked path. And very rarely, but usually during the most unexpected times, you will have to spin like crazy to keep your beat score chugging and prevent your ever-depleting life bar from an instant drainage – especially on the tough-as-nails female cheerleaders mode *shudders*.

As at the time of this write-up, a sequel to Ouendan has already made its rounds, bulking up its unique rhythm action with more great songs, a proper multiplayer mode and several minor (but much appreciated) improvements/fixes like the ability to save replays and share them wirelessly, and skippable introduction scenes. This is the part of the review where I would usually document the inherent flaws in a game, but it would seem that iNiS, the makers of Ouendan, were quick to patch up its wounds. That said, the likelihood of screen-scratching is still about 99% (drastically reduced with a screen protector) if you want to play this game seriously, and if you don't like J-Pop/Rock – well, this is obviously not for you.

Since its inception, Ouendan has seen a localised quasi-sequel in the form of Elite Beat Agents which replaced the funky cheer squad with some secret agent folk, and featured a wholly English soundtrack (for better or for worse) – it was met with great success. That just goes to show that in this day and age, gamers (and now we have “non-gamers”, too) are more open to fresh ideas. Okay, so male cheerleaders are still out of the picture, but at least something out-there like touch-screen rhythm-action, which sounds absurd on paper, is met with arms wide open. Ouendan started the fire, though, and if you enjoyed any of its subsequent follow-ups, you're sure to have blast with the original.

VERDICT – 9.0/10 - Superseded by its sequel, but still a classic due to a great song selection

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/29/07

Game Release: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (JP, 07/28/05)