Played on:
DS
I had never imported a game before I heard of Osu Tatakae Ouendan (Ouendan for short). I had been reading a lot about this rhythm game from the makers of Gitaroo Man and also was told that there wasn’t any real Japanese comprehension needed. So, I bit the bullet and imported the game. I was incredibly happy that I did, too – the game really put the DS to use with the action taking place on one screen and the story unfolding on the other. Gameplay was simple, too – just touch the numbers at the right time, slide the stylus along parts of the screen and occasionally draw tons of circles on the screen.
I was far from the only importer of this title. Evidently, tons of people imported it and both inis and Nintendo took notice. After about a year went by, we have no seen the release of Elite Beat Agents here in the US. The game is an Americanized version of Ouendan with new music (19 songs in this one vs. 15 in Ouendan), new scenarios and some nice added touches to the overall gameplay. If you’ve already purchased Ouendan, though, is Elite Beat Agents worth grabbing?
In EBA, youwill take the role of a secretive government agency known as, you guessed it, the Elite Beat Agents. Around the world, your leader, Commander Kahn, will keep an eye on a massive computer screen to help you find those in need of your services. When a mission starts, you’ll be presented with some story around it and bits of story in between parts of the level. If you successfully dance your way through the level and inspire the person you’re helping, you’ll beat the level.
When you first start the game, you’ll be thrown into a tutorial. It will teach you the basics of hitting each beat, what to do when a slider pops up and how to tackle a spinner. Each of these are relatively simple and comprise all of the gameplay you’ll get from EBA. On a regular note, you’ll just tap the screen when a shrinking ring is the same size as said note. On a slider, you’ll have to follow a ball across a path after tapping the note. Spinners are the most nefarious of the three types of notes, though – you’ll have to furiously draw circles on your DS – not bad until you realize how often you may have to retry some of the harder levels. I can nearly see scratches on my DS Lite screen from this.
With such simple gameplay, it would seem that EBA isn’t worth picking up unless you are the target audience for the Touch Generations games (EBA is a Touch Generations game). However, skipping it on that basis would be a horrible idea. First of all, the music is addicting. Secondly, the higher levels are pretty difficult. Finally, the scenarios you will be playing in are hilarious.
At first, gamers may take a look at the list of songs and balk at it. I mean, not many gamers tend to like Ashlee Simpson’s La La or Avirl Lavigne’s Sk8er Boi. However, after playing through the game, I found every song to be catchy. Particular favorites included YMCA and Jumpin Jack Flash. There are 19 songs in total and a list of these songs can be found in many places across the net. There’s something here that everyone will enjoy, too.
Also, the higher difficulty levels can be a real bear to get through. From the lowest level to the next one up, song beats will change. You’ll have new notes in new places to hit and things will speed up. The level after that, things will speed up more and even more notes will be introduced. This is where most gamers will run into their first real difficulty with the game. The final difficulty mode, featuring the Elite Beat Divas instead of the Agents, is really hard. There aren’t new beats introduced but the circles for said beats shrinks considerably and the speed goes through the roof. These levels are still quite fun to play through, though, and require near perfection to beat.
Playing through all of the difficulty levels is required for some unlocks, though. I’d highly recommend you start from easy even if you’ve played Ouendan – the easy levels are, oddly enough, hard to go back to when you are used to higher speeds. As you play each level, you’ll accumulate points based on performance. These points are kept track of (the highest score of each level) and are totaled up. There are a ton of ranks to achieve in the game – I’ve yet to reach the final one still. There are three songs unlocked by ranking up. Also, passing each part of a stage on all four difficulty levels unlocks another fun secret, but I won’t spoil that one.
Finally, though, the scenarios really make the game. Each song fits with the scenario incredibly well (though Sk8er Boi is somewhat arguable). The story stuff at the start can be skipped unlike in Ouendan, too – a godsend on the last level where the story can go on for a minute or two, crazy on multiple attempts of said level. The scenarios range from comedic to incredibly emotional – I’ve read about hardened gamers getting choked up while playing the level featuring You’re the Inspiration. However you look at it, these scenarios really add a lot to the game.
Overall, I’d highly recommend grabbing Elite Beat Agents if you own a DS (along with Ouendan if you don’t mind importing). The game is just plain fun and is easy to play. It has an addictive quality to it that I’ve yet to really find on the DS and it manages to show off just what the system was built for. This is one of the best games yet on the DS – it ranks right up there with New Super Mario Bros.
