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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.
English guide to Ouendan 2 menus
Among its other many virtues, Ouendan owed a lot of its overseas hype and success to its undaunting language barrier. Despite the menus and manga panels being filled with Japanese text, importers were able to follow the rhythm title's illustrated screwball plots and quickly pick up its self-explanatory controls. Ouendan's recently-released sequel, Moeru! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, likewise requires little-to-no familiarity with the Japanese language in order to enjoy the game.Even with these assurances though, there are still many import-shy gamers who hide behind their mothers' skirts at the sight of kanji characters. Fortunately for them, the Platformers has translated Ouendan 2's menu selections, providing a visual guide with an overlay of English text. Most of the buttons and icons are obvious, but having a quick reference like this would be useful for first-time importers. Now there's no excuse for avoiding the cheer squad!
Would you like to read impressions of the DS Style series?
Game|Life's Chris Kohler got a chance to "play" with the DS Style collection at the Square Enix Party, and came away with positive impressions of the title we're most interested in: the classical music program which he translates as Would you like to listen to classical music on the Nintendo DS? The program sounds pretty interesting: it contains 100 pieces of music, a shuffle feature, and information and images related to each piece. It also gives users information about buying the music on CD. Kohler's impressions of the other titles weren't as positive, but it didn't sound like there was anything wrong with them. He just couldn't summon up the excitement for looking at maps.
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%
Get serious with new DS Style screens
We're expecting a load of news when the Square Enix Party starts. For now, we've got new screens from the DS Style series, which is obviously too serious for parties. Specifically, new screens were released of Flower Blooming DS: Gardening Life, Shall We Listen to Classical Music on the DS?, and three World Walking map programs: Italy, France and Taiwan.We could kind of see picking up a DS map program instead of a guidebook when we go on vacation, since we tend to take the DS with us anyway. We are definitely feeling a strong urge to buy the classical music "game" as well, since it's being developed by iNiS. Smart move, Squeenix.
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?
Play! Ouendan! 2! Demo! [update 1]
Those of you who can get to a Japanese download station on March May 10th will be able to try out the highly anticipated rhythm action title Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. That's right, a demo will soon be available a full week ahead of the March May 17th release date. We're not sure which stage (or stages) will be featured in the demo, but we're really hoping its the one where you get to sell shoes to aliens. We've always wanted to try that.As detailed elsewhere on these pages, the new game will feature many of the characters from the original game, as well as a new playable cheer squad. There's also going to be a versus mode, although online play remains unconfirmed.[Update: Those "M" months are so confusing!]
New Ouendan 2 screens: versus mode CONFIRMED, excitement UNCONTROLLABLE
Some incredible new screens of Ouendan 2 have exploded onto the web and filled us with hot-blooded rhythm spirit. Two new scenarios are featured: the first involving a girls' choir who need HEEEAALP performing harmoniously, and the second involving a soccer player who requires the power of your dancing to succeed. Wait, cheering for a sport? Preposterous.One especially notable feature evident in the screens is a new multiplayer mode, where one member of both the Ouendan squad and the new rival squad face off. Judging from the little antenna icon on the screen, it's definitely wireless play. Our case of rhythm spirit will be incurable if the game turns out to be online.
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
Cheer up! More Ouendan 2 scans are here!
Every day we get to see even one more frame of Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 is a good day. Just getting an excuse to type the awesomely overblown title out makes us smile. And today we have two nice, big magazine scans to stare at. The scans show two of the new levels, and we have descriptions of the objectives thanks to the language wizards at NeoGAF, who can instantly make small amounts of Japanese become English. The first level involves Tsuyoshi Hanada, the student from the first level of the first Ouendan, and his job search. The second involves a salesman who wants to peddle sneakers in space. The screenshots from this level indicate that the rival Ouendan team will be playable! The full scans are available after the post break. Click them (rhythmically, of course) for larger versions. [Via NeoGAF]
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%
Creating Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and its recreation as Elite Beat Agents
Keiichi Yano, VP of development for iNiS Corporation created Gitaroo-man and Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan. Americans know him most recently for the conversion of the latter title to Elite Beat Agents. But since the original Japanese rhythm game centered on the rousing Ouendan, at his GDC seminar, Yano explained the process of rebuilding the title for a more American approach with "The Agents." With two Ouendan helpers occasionally chiming in, but mostly standing at attention during the presentation, Yano described the history of his company's titles. He was the game designer and also lead programmer for the company's first game, Gitaroo-man -- "[my ambitious role] was the stupidest thing ever." He hadn't created a game before, saying, "[I] studied pretty hard, read all the books, [and] came to GDC. At the end of the development cycle, we thought we had a really good game. ... We gained a fair amount of confidence." But Gitaroo-man was a retail disappointment. "It sold, like, nothing," Yano continued. "Any confidence that we had built was completely crushed like a fly. At this point, we had kind of lost all confidence in the music genre. ... We really did a lot of soul-searching back then." iNiS went on to prototype a new game and show it off to Nintendo. Yano said, "To make a long story short, they thought our idea sucked. ... We went on and we kept pitching this game [elsewhere]." %Gallery-1974%
GDC 07: The making of Ouendan & Elite Beat Agents
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/The_making_of_Ouendan_and_Elite_Beat_agents_Keiichi_Yano_speaks_at_GDC'; The gaming community has embraced iNiS' incredible DS music games, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! and Elite Beat Agents, much to the surprise of game designer Keiichi Yano. His panel at the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco featured an incredible large audience that filled the presentation room. All kinds of people, from gamers, to developers, to prominent members of the gaming press, all attended the session to show their support of this small development team. Yano-san went into incredible detail about the inspirations behind the game, the process of working with Nintendo, and gave us some delicious images from the upcoming sequel.
Ouendan 2 scan: blurry but still awesome
Duckroll over at NeoGAF teased us with this less than ideal scan of a Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 preview from a Japanese magazine. Normally we wouldn't report on a scan of this quality, but it's Ouendan, and normal rules and logic do not apply. We can learn some interesting things from the scan: spinners are back, so don't remove your screen covers; also, this is definitely new material and not a re-localization of Elite Beat Agents for a Japanese audience. You're welcome to click on the image and investigate a larger version of the scan; we hope HEEEAAALP arrives soon with a clearer scan. [Via NeoGAF]
Friday Video: The Elite Beat Agents and Mel Gibson
So how 'bout that Mel Gibson? Drinking and driving, ranting about, well, everyone... the actor/director doesn't seem to be in the best place these days. It sounds like he might need some help! So what can we do? Why, send in the Elite Beat Agents, of course! They'll fix everything! Well, if the player has the skills to get the job done, that is. In this week's video spotlight, a parody from Game Almighty sends the agents in to help the star on a certain notorious evening. How does it end? Watch the video! All we're gonna say is that it's hilarious.
Elite Beat Agents sequel is on (oh yes)
Dengeki Online has today posted Nintendo of Japan's latest release schedule, which includes mention of the long-awaited sequel to -- drum-roll for nervous anticipation -- Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (which was rejigged for the West as Elite Beat Agents). There's no release date mentioned other than a non-specific "during 2007." Four-player action is confirmed, though, as is the new sensation's snappy title: Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Tamashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan. Got all that? Quick translation: Burn! Hot-Blooded Rhythm Spirit, Yo! Fight! Cheerleading. Need we say more?
