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Queen, Elite Beat Agents and Phoenix Wright make for a great combo
It's not often we're at a loss for words, but the potent combo of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now," Elite Beat Agents and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is too much for our feeble little brain to handle. The gameplay looks incredibly punishing and, quite frankly, we wouldn't mind a few of Wright's cases going down like this. Instead of failing to describe this fan-made mash-up any better, we're just going to direct you past the break, then into the comments section where you can heap on some praise of your own. [Thanks LuigiHann!] Source - osu! - Queen - Don't Stop Me Now [Cruisin'] (Storyboard showoff) Source - osu! (Queen - Don't Stop Me Now [Hard ROCK!])
Mega64 musically irritates populace with Elite Beat Agents
It's nice to see that after all these years, the guys from Mega64 haven't lost the ability to get out there into the public and just really irritate people. Nothing fancy, no higher purpose, just getting on people's nerves for the sheer enjoyment of you, the Internet. In a tribute to Elite Beat Agents, they've added musical accompaniment to the numerous shots of agitated humans who look like they'd like nothing more than to see the three suit-clad gentlemen in front of them die and rot forever in the bowels of Hell. ... Except for thumbs-up guy at the end, he seems like he's feeling it. Check it out after the jump.
Rumor: Elite Beat Agents 2 listing appears
Click for to embiggen! Even the tiniest hint about a confirmation of Elite Beat Agents 2 -- a game that would surprise no one and thrill nearly everyone -- is like the skies opening up to shine a light onto the Earth whilst the angels sing. Well, get to singing, angels, because this listing from the Nintendo UK press site shows Elite Beat Agents 2 right underneath Elite Beat Agents. Could it be? Maybe. Maybe even probably ... but we'll have to wait for some sort of official confirmation to be certain.
Gaming to Go: Elite Beat Agents
Agents are ... go! Elite Beat Agents built a reputation on many things: colorful characters, marvelous music, and, on later difficulties, the combination of soul-crushing challenge and those godforsaken spin markers. But look beyond that shiny veneer and you'll see above all an incredibly unique game, one that takes advantage of the DS's touch-screen capabilities arguably better than any other title on the system. And it's a hell of a lot of fun. Give the game a spin for just a few minutes and you'll see what I mean, as part of Elite Beat Agents's charm is its bite-sized gameplay. Take one of the many songs for a ride and you'll get a glimpse of nearly everything the game has to offer, with the frantic tapping, circling, and groovy beats the title is known for. It's okay to dance with your DS. I don't judge. Can you feel the music? Come along with this week's edition of Gaming to Go and see why exuberant dancing can solve all of the world's problems. %Gallery-30898%
Let's all chip in and buy Karthik Bala a copy of Ouendan
Earlier today, we pointed you in the direction of Joystiq's hands-on impressions of Guitar Hero: On Tour, itself on tour as various websites tried the game out for themselves.One of those sites was ShackNews, which also got to speak to Vicarious Visions CEO Karthik Bala. And we had only just started reading when one of Bala's opening statements got our blood boiling: apparently, Guitar Hero: On Tour was developed to "see if it was even possible to do a really good music rhythm game on a handheld."Altogether now: "WHAAAAAT?!"We can only assume that Bala is totally unaware of the vast treasure trove of rhythm-based awesomeness already available on the DS -- never mind what is still to come, or even on other handhelds.
DS Daily: EBA or Ouendan?
We know this is a loaded question, and has been debated many times by many gamers. We want to know where our readers stand on the issue, though. So, what do you think is better -- Elite Beat Agents or the Ouendan games? And why? Normally, it just comes down to the music (American pop/classics vs. J-pop). But, is there another reason? Perhaps you enjoy the stories more when you can read them? Or maybe you like a set of characters better?If you haven't played both titles, which do you think you'd like better? And if you haven't played either, why not? Do these rhythm games just not interest you, or have you not gotten around to it yet for some other reason?
Ouendan cosplay performance grooves Singapore
At this year's Singapore EOY earlier this month, a ragtag group of well-dressed Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan cosplayers took the stage for a game-inspired performance. Thanks to the internet culture in which we live, there's plenty of pictures and videos from the event to enjoy. The SGCafe forums has started a thread for people to post images of the cosplayers, and although there are ample number of videos from the event on YouTube, the best two we saw were this one (embedding disabled) and this one (embedded after the break), the latter from very close to the stage but unfortunately missing the first 30 seconds of the performance. View - Gallery Watch - Video 1 (complete) Watch - Video 2
The Twelve (well, thirteen, actually) Sales of GameFly
Video game rental service GameFly has a pretty big year-end sale going on through January 4th for over 30 of its used DS games. Though the carts are all pre-played, each one will come with a new manual and case, so you need not worry about receiving an incomplete set. As usual, we've picked the notable titles out of the bunch and listed them for you, except this time, we've done it in Christmas carol form! On the twelfth day of Christmas, DS Fanboy sent to me: Twelve Diddy Kong racers Racing ($17.99), Eleven Spectrobes for collecting ($15.99), Ten Hoshigamis a-SRPG-ing ($14.99), Nine Planet Puzzles Leaguing ($19.99), Eight Custom Robos a-fighting ($12.99), Seven Sim Cities a-building ($16.99), Six Bombermen a-touching ($22.99), Five of Sonic Rush's golden rinnngggggs ($17.99), Four Mana Children ($14.99), Three Elite Beat Agents ($22.99), Two Mega Man Star Forces ($17.99 each), And a Naruto: Ninja Council 3 ($17.99)! [Via CAG]
Free PC Ouendan/EBA emulator hits public beta
One thing you can count on for any decently successful rhythm game: someone will figure out a way to make a free PC clone. First there was Stepmania for DDR players, then there was Frets on Fire for Guitar Hero shredders and now there's Osu! for Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents fans. The public beta, available since yesterday, does a remarkable job of capturing the tap-out-the-rhythm gameplay of the DS games, though the dancing cheerleaders have been replaced with static videos for each song. You can build your own levels or download over 100 "beatmaps" of primarily J-Pop songs that were made by testers. Casual fans beware -- a lot of these fan-designed levels are killer, though there is an easy mode that makes things a little more manageable. Even if you're a master at the DS games, using the mouse takes a little getting used to. Then again, if you have a tablet PC, it's probably just like the DS games. Except, er, bigger.
Keiichi Yano: Elite Game Development Agent
Keiichi Yano of iNiS has a unique perspective on the Japanese and American game industries. His company remade their game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! into a new game whose references and music are more famililar to Western audiences; now Japanese shops are importing the resulting game, Elite Beat Agents, for Japanese sale. In addition, as discussed in this interview with Gamasutra's Christian Nutt, iNiS has been licensing their nFactor2 engine out to developers for use in Xbox 360 games-- a move that, to be honest, would seem to have more benefit to the American market. Furthermore, the genre to which he contributed so much-- music games-- now has an American juggernaut in Guitar Hero that threatens to subsume all other music games (except Rock Band, which is a direct descendant of Guitar Hero) in the public's consciousness. We'd listen to anything Keiichi Yano had to say based only on our teary-eyed devotion to Gitaroo-Man. Luckily, he's actually interesting in this interview about music games, middleware, and international game development. Readers-- are-- GO!
Elite Beat Agents dev working on Xbox 360 project
No doubt communicating to Gamasutra via boisterous cartoon speech bubbles, Keiichi Yano of the annoyingly capitalized iNiS confirmed that his team is currently working on an unnamed Xbox 360 project. "Yeah. We are currently working on a title," he said when prodded about Microsoft's console during Seattle's GameFest event. "I can't really get into it more than, 'Yes, we're working on something!'" With iNiS' past creations consisting of feel-good rhythm games such as Gitarooman, the Ouendan series and Elite Beat Agents, said something could easily involve catchy tunes, rhythmic button presses and unintentional gyration. We're certain the iNiS co-founder isn't pressed for ideas, but even if he was, he'd only need to holler for help. The strange men leaping out of his closet in response would probably share some sort of song about putting Gitarooman on Xbox Live Arcade ("it was the best decision ever made!").
The B[ack]log: Elite Beat Addict
Alex Ward isn't going to appreciate me saying this, but I recently beat Elite Beat Agents. In one sitting, I might add. If you've ever read one, you'd know that a typical video game manual generally frowns upon such protracted play sessions, urging you to take a break every hour and go stare at something that isn't comprised of polygons. That seemed like terrible advice at the time, and for two very good reasons. The first, being the one most concerned with my personal health, was that severing the connection and stepping outside would result in a sudden depressurization and my intimate inspection of a churning jet engine. Perhaps this would have been the superior option had I packed Lost in Blue for the 5-hour flight from New York to Los Angeles, but I wisely went with Nintendo's music-and-rhythmer instead. The second reason then, was that I found myself far too enthralled to even consider giving up for a moment -- not even when I was losing.
Japanese gamers get EBA characters in Ouendan 2
The Japanese always luck out when it comes to games! From June 28th to July 11th, Japanese gamers with a copy of (deep breath) Moeru! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 will be able to head to the nearest DS Download Station and download the Elite Beat Agents characters, as well as Neko, for use in Ouendan 2. If we said we weren't jealous, we'd be bold-faced liars. [Via NeoGAF]
DS Daily: Phoenix Wright or Ouendan?
The time has come, faithful readers, for us to settle something once and for all. It's bound to be a heated issue, but it's a question worth answering. If you had to choose (and we grow faint just trying to imagine the horror of such a situation) between the Ace Attorney series and the Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents set, which side would you pick? Hot rhythm action or shouts of "Objection!" and an endless cast of wacky characters? It's a tough choice. Let's fight it out.
Elite Beat Agents rocks up in Europe July 13th
Apparently, not everyone believes the language of music to be universal. Pro-G reports that Nintendo of Europe has rolled out of bed (which is the size of Manchester), grabbed a nearby megaphone and proclaimed July 13th as National Elite Beat Agents is Out In Europe Its About Time Seriously What Took So Long...Day. The streets would normally explode in a jovial mass of gyrating gamers at that time, but it's likely that most of them would have imported the rhythm game when it came out in the US eight months earlier. Though some waiting period is to be expected for a continent home to as many languages as Europe, eight months seems an awful stretch for a game which primarily communicates through catchy tunes and brightly colored icons. As importers of Japan's recent Osu Tatakae Ouendan! sequel will attest, the game doesn't quite fall within the realms of text adventure or incomprehensible RPG. With cartridge space limitations working against the possibility of Nintendo recording different language versions of all the songs, it leads to the conclusion that the eight months were spent redrawing the game's many instances of "HEEEEEELLPPP!!" Don't think this is the only case of a suspiciously long delay -- Metroid Prime Pinball also took eight months to make it across the ocean, and the Wii's Super Paper Mario is still without a release date. An instantaneous localization would be obviously be an absurd request, but perhaps it's time for Nintendo of Europe to take a few pointers from Square Enix, Mistwalker and Atlus. Starting the translation process during the game's development might just reduce eight months to something a bit more palatable to the impatient.
Today's beatiest game video: Ouendan 2
Today's video pick -- other than all of those Halo videos of course -- shows footage from Oundan 2, the sequel to the Japanese game that became Elite Beat Agents. There's no word yet on an American version of the title, but rhythm fans and importers should stick this on their list. The game is out in Japan on May 17. See the video after the break. %Gallery-1975%
Elite Beat Agents all the rage in Japan
Wired's Chris Kohler has been enjoying some time in the Land of the Rising Fun lately, documenting his trip through about a billion photographs. This one above, is of interest. It shows Elite Beat Agents, which is pretty much a sequel made exclusively for the U.S. market to that of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, which is the title on the right. What's odd is that in Akihabara, the area of Japan that Chris has been trekking around, has a few places that sell import games, but he has found Elite Beat Agents in several locations, each one priced at 4890 yen (which comes out to about $41.50 USD). This is also odd, because Chris reports that the prices from shop to shop usually vary. See also: Was EBA good enough to make you import Ouendan?
Ouendan 2 release date, partial song list revealed
Japan's Famitsu magazine (as translated by NeoGAFer JonnyRam) has leaked word of a May 17 Japanese release date for the next game in the Ouendan series. The magazine also features a partial song list for the game, full of a bunch of Japanese bands and tracks you've likely never heard of. Not to worry -- the intrepid hunters over at Platformers.net have gathered up some handy YouTube links for listening to ten of the 19 revealed songs. Sure, we're looking forward to the recently announced Elite Beat Agents sequel too, but there's something about Ouendan's catchy J-Pop tunes that get our stylus fingers tapping that much faster. Maybe it's because, in Japanese, we can't understand the cloying, saccharine lyrics behind the catchy beats. Hooray for the language barrier! Previously: New Ouendan 2 images appear in Famitsu Read - Release date and partial song list Watch - YouTube videos of ten songs
Audio interview with Keiichi Yano is a gas, gas, gas
Nintendo World Report's reporters are the envy of Elite Beat Agents-loving, homebound bloggers everywhere, because they got to chat with EBA, Ouendan, and (best PS2 game ever) Gitaroo-Man creator Keiichi Yano at GDC. They've provided the audio from the interview with a promise to transcribe it later, but why wait when you can hear it all from Yano himself? Some of the topics covered include: Ouendan sales (not as bad as we heard!), why Gitaroo-Man is so awesome, choosing music for iNiS games, and hangin' with Mr. Mizuguchi. The ambient GDC din is noticeable, but the audio quality is more than good enough to make for a pleasant listen. And if you make it to the end, you get an EBA gameplay tip!
Osu! Tatakae! Ouenden sequel information trickles out
Keiichi Yano, VP of development for iNiS Corporation showed off some concept art, a few screenshots, and offered morsels of information about Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashi. Prospects of the Japanese sequel to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan had recently trickled out of Nintendo. Yano said that the title, due this year, will include new features and characters, including rival Ouendan. He also confirmed that those characters will be playable, saying, "From the screenshots, you can gather that you will be playing them. You're not only playing them. That's all I can tell you." Yano also said, "I can't tell you," when asked about plans to use the DS microphone and WiFi in the new version. Yano didn't confirm an American version of the new game, saying, "I know it's going to be an import for most of you. If you do get a chance, please try to check it out." Making no Wii announcements, Yano confirmed that that platform is an interest. "Yes, we are talking to Nintendo [about the Wii], and hopefully we'll have something to talk about soon." %Gallery-1975%
