Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan,[a] or Ouendan, is a rhythmvideo game developed by iNiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DShandheld game console in 2005, for release only in Japan. Ouendan stars a cheer squad rhythmically cheering for various troubled people, presented in-game in the style of a manga comic. In each stage, players use the DS touchscreen to tap specifically marked spots that appear in rhythm to various Japanese pop songs, scoring points for accurate timing and avoiding a poor performance which can cause the stage to end prematurely. Though never released in Western markets, it was a popular import to these regions,[1] leading to the development of the Westernized Elite Beat Agents, as well as a Japan-only sequel Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2.
Each level of Ouendan features a plot line accompanied by a specific song. A character (or characters) facing a problem will cry Ouendan![b] when their conflict reaches a climax. This call summons the cheer squad, and the song starts. During the game, the story is told on the Nintendo DS's top screen, and gameplay takes place on the touch screen. The player uses the Nintendo DS's stylus to perform varying actions according to the markers that appear on screen:
Marker
Description
Hit Markers
Numbered circles that must be tapped in sequence in time with the music.
Slide Markers
Markers with tracks extending from them. The player must trace the stylus in time with a ball rolling on the track and may be required to move back and forth across the track several times.
Spin Markers
A spinner that the player must rotate quickly until bars along the sides of the screen are filled. The speed at which they must be spun depends on the tempo of the music and difficulty of the song. If the player has time to continue spinning the marker after filling the gauge, bonus points are awarded for each continued rotation. The positions of Spin Markers are constant across all difficulty levels.
Depending on how precise the player's actions are, they will be awarded 50, 100, or 300 points. There is a health meter that indicates the character or characters' fighting spirit, or kiai, that constantly drains over the course of the song, but can be refilled with hitting the indicated beats; the more precise the player is, the more energy is restored. However, if the player should tap a marker too early or miss a beat completely, the meter will deplete even further. If the life bar should empty, the level will end, resulting in failure for the character. To advance in the game, each stage must be completed successfully. The game saves progress automatically once a stage has been completed. After a successful completion of a mission, players are given a letter grade rank of S, A, B, C or D, depending on the breakdown of scores of individual markers. (The best grade, S, requires all markers to be played, with at least 90% of them to be scored 300 and no more than 1% of them to be scored 50.)
Each level is divided into four phases (although some levels last five phases, such as the first one), and at the end of each one before the last, there is a junction point where the player can take a rest while a scene from the story plays out on the top screen. If the life meter is at least fifty percent filled and in the yellow, the scene will depict a positive result such as, in the case of the pottery maker, gaining great inspiration for a new work. If the life meter is less than fifty percent full and in the red, the resulting scene will depict the character encountering a setback, such as the pottery master coming up with yet another drab creation.
The score for each level is based on the timing of the beats (including individual small portions of phrase markers), and the current number of beats made in a row, which increases a combo multiplier by 1x each time. Thus, for example, after completing 50 beats in a row successfully, the multiplier will be at 50x. After completing any song, the player can go back and attempt to improve the score for that song. Additionally, as a combo grows, flames will appear behind the cheer squad, and the longer the combo is maintained, the taller the flames will rise until reaching the top of the touch screen. The flames will disappear completely if the combo is broken. The use of flames is constant throughout the game to represent the protagonist's determination. Maintaining long and full combos is key to earning high scores, as the game's save data will only remember the rank of a mission completion with the highest score.
There are four difficulty levels in the game. Initially, only Easy mode[c] (Hajime Tanaka) and Normal mode[d] (Ryuuta Ippongi) are available, but completing Normal mode will unlock Hard mode,[e] and completing Hard mode (Kai Domeki) will unlock Expert/Insane mode (Sayaka Amemiya and the Cheergirls).[f] Each mode uses a different cheer team leader, with the exception of Expert/Insane Mode, which changes the whole team into a team of 3 cheerleader girls (Sayaka serves as the leader of the Cheergirls, while Aoi Kanda and Anna Lindhurst serve as the backup Cheergirls) who appear more American.
Increasing the difficulty level generally increases the number of markers to hit, the rate at which markers appear, and the rate at which the life bar depletes. Expert mode is basically Hard mode rotated 180 degrees, with markers being smaller and appearing faster, thus allowing less response time. However, there are subtle differences, such as extra markers for short double beats and different, more complex beats for some songs. While the maximum combo for a mission on Expert is typically identical to that of Hard, there are three particular missions where Expert mode's max combo count is higher than that of Hard.
The game's main campaign comprises 15 missions, each assigned to a different song. Missions are also grouped into one of seven acts; in acts containing multiple missions, players can choose the order in which they complete missions in the current act, but must complete all missions in an act before moving on to the next act.
Plot
The Ouendan are a cheer squad, wearing distinctive black gaku-ran Japanese school uniforms with red armbands.
Ouendan details the plight of several characters in hopeless situations who cry out for help. In response, the Ouendan, an all-male cheer squad or an all-female Cheerleader group appear to help each character work through their problems by cheering them through music. The origin of the Ouendan is unexplained in the game, though they are always nearby when help is needed. The Ouendan appear wearing highly stylized black uniforms (based on gaku-ran Japanese school uniforms) with red armbands (for the Cheergirls, blue cheerleader outfits with long sleeves), a common sight at Japanese school sporting events.[2]
Most of the scenarios are inspired by modern Japanese culture, or are heavily influenced by the Japanese form of print comics, or manga. For instance, the first stage features a high school student distracted from studying for his college entrance exams by his family, while a later stage focuses on a pottery master who has lost the inspiration to create unique works.[2] Most of the stories are presented in a light-hearted or comical fashion, emphasized by absurd storyline twists and the sounds of whistles and cheer shouts as the player progresses through each stage. The one notable exception to this is a love story set to the Hitomi Yaida song "Over the Distance," which is told in a more heartfelt, subdued tone further marked by the gameplay's whistle sound effect being replaced with subtle chimes in the song's first phase and the initial loud countdown not being used.[3]
While the individual stories otherwise have no connecting theme to them, characters from some stories reappear in others as background figures or supporting characters. However, all of the characters reappear in the final story, in which the Ouendan must lead the entire world in a cheer to save Earth from being destroyed by an asteroid.
Development
At the 2007 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, iNiS Vice President Keiichi Yano described the process which eventually resulted in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan. His first inspirations for the game came when he first tried a Nintendo DS handheld, and development on the game began after successfully pitching the concept to Nintendo. At the conference, he also displayed early concept art for lead Ouendan character Ryūta Ippongi, who originally wore the shirt of his gaku-ran uniform unbuttoned and had a significantly shorter hairstyle. Yano noted that Nintendo was fond of the characters due to their manga-style aesthetic.
Yano also displayed an unused Ouendan stage from a prototype build that featured a puppy in danger. The stage concept was ultimately dropped from the final version of the game because the puppy died if the player failed the stage.[4]
The music used in Ouendan consists of hit songs by well-known J-pop artists. The majority are taken from the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s, though The Blue Hearts' "Linda Linda" and Linda Yamamoto's "Neraiuchi" date from 1987 and 1973, respectively. All of the recordings featured in the game, besides 175R's "Melody" (which also plays over the game's end credits) are covers, rather than recordings by the original artists.
Reception
Some news sources, such as GameCentral on Channel 4's Teletext service in the UK, gave it positive coverage, leading to the game becoming something of a cult hit among gamers who were prepared to import it.[citation needed]
In December 2006, Press Start Online placed Ouendan at number one in their HeartScore list, a top 25 of underappreciated games and personal favorites.[5]
In a review for Retro Gamer, Darran Jones considered the game a future classic, and noted that while it lacks some of the features in its sequel and Elite Beat Agents, he felt that it had a better mix of songs and more personality compared to its peers. He also described the difficulty as "challenging, but never unfair".[6]
Following high import sales for Ouendan, Nintendo and iNiS developed Elite Beat Agents, released in North America in November 2006, in Australia in May 2007, in Europe in July 2007, and in South Korea in October 2007. The game features the same gameplay as Ouendan, but with scenarios, characters and songlists geared towards western audiences, replacing the male cheerleaders with special agents. Several general gameplay improvements were made as well.
On February 21, 2007, Nintendo announced a true sequel to the game, Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. The game features the original characters from Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, as well as a new rival cheer group that the player both encounters and plays as. The game was released on May 17, 2007.[7] It has 4-player wireless play, as well as several other new features, most of which were first implemented in Elite Beat Agents.[8]
osu!, an indie game inspired by Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, was released for personal computers in the same year the sequel was released.
The main characters of Ouendan would also make minor appearances in Nintendo's crossover fighting series Super Smash Bros., appearing as stickers and trophies in Brawl and spirits in Ultimate.
Track listing
The music used in Ouendan consists of hit songs by well-known J-pop artists. The majority are taken from the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2000s, though The Blue Hearts' "Linda Linda" and Linda Yamamoto's "Neraiuchi" date from 1987 and 1973, respectively. All of the recordings featured in the game, besides 175R's "Melody" (which also plays over the game's end credits) are covers, rather than recordings by the original artists. The following track list is organized by the original artist, name of the song, and cover artist.
175R is a Japanese ska punk band from Kitakyūshū, Fukuoka Prefecture.
Daigasso! Band Brothers is a music video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It was released in Japan on December 2, 2004 as a launch game for the Nintendo DS. The game features multiple songs, which include classical music, television themes, and video game music. The game is controlled using both the buttons on the DS as well as its touch screen in certain portions. It uses a variety of different instruments, which are combined selectively in order to compose a song. Besides the primary mode, players may play together, each one playing a different instrument in the song. Players may also compose their own songs. It was to be released in the United States as Jam with the Band, but was never released nor formally cancelled. It has a sequel titled Jam with the Band, which was released in Japan in 2008 and in Europe in 2010.
An ōendan (応援団), literally "cheering squad" or "cheering section", is a Japanese sports rallying team similar in purpose to a cheerleading squad in the United States, but relies more on making a lot of noise with taiko drums, blowing horns and other items, waving flags and banners, and yelling through plastic megaphones in support of their sports team than on acrobatic moves. In addition to cheering for their own teams, ōendan have been known to lead fans in cheers which tease and taunt the other team and its fans. This is usually done in the spirit of good competition, but occasional fights have broken out if the taunting gets too heated. Smaller ōendan are sometimes called ōenbu.
Elite Beat Agents is a rhythm video game developed by iNiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in North America, Europe and South Korea. As the second of three rhythm games developed by iNiS specifically for the DS, it is the follow-up and international counterpart to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, a Japanese rhythm game released in 2005, sharing many common elements with it.
Linda Yamamoto, Chinese: 山本稲; pinyin: shan bendao) is a Japanese singer and model whose latest hit song was "Nerai uchi" in 1973.
"Look Back Again"/"Over the Distance" is a song by Hitomi Yaida, released as a double A-side single. It was the second single taken from the album Candlize.
Kotaro Umeji is a Japanese graphic designer. He has shaped the image of U-1 and other characters from the video game Gitaroo Man for the PlayStation 2 video game console and Gitaroo Man Lives! for the PlayStation Portable video game console, and the characters and art found in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents both for the Nintendo DS video game console.
"Ready Steady Go" is the twenty-third single by L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on February 4, 2004; it reached number 1 on the Oricon chart. The four alternate versions on the single omit each titular band member's contributions; for instance, the "Hydeless Version" features none of hyde's vocals, while the "Yukihiroless Version" has no percussion whatsoever.
Planet Puzzle League, known as Puzzle League DS in Europe, and as Panel de Pon DS in Japan, is a video game for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console in the Puzzle League Panel de Pon visual matching puzzle game series. In North America, Planet Puzzle League is part of the Touch! Generations brand; in Japan, Panel de Pon DS is marketed in the general Touch! brand. The publisher for the game is Nintendo, and the developer is Nintendo's second-party developer Intelligent Systems, creator of the original Panel de Pon and its cult classic English-language adaptation Tetris Attack. The game was released in Japan on April 26, 2007 in North America on June 4, 2007, and in Europe on June 29, 2007.
Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 is a rhythm video game developed by iNiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. It is the third of three rhythm games developed by iNiS for the DS, and is the sequel to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan while incorporating many of the improvements in gameplay made in its international counterpart, Elite Beat Agents. The game has 4-player wireless play, supports the Nintendo DS Rumble Pak accessory, and was released in Japan on May 17, 2007.
"Pop Star" is a song by Japanese singer Ken Hirai. The single went on to top the 2005 Oricon Charts and is known for its remarkable music video, featuring Ken in seven different personas, including a raccoon and his own manager. The Video also helped Hirai break into the US and Canadian Markets where stations would play the video despite the fact that it was in Japanese. The song was featured in the Nintendo DS game, Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, as well as on Taiko No Tatsujin 8 and Taiko No Tatsujin Portable 2 for the PSP. It is also a track in the Konami's Jubeat Ripples series. Its latest appearance is in the Namco game Happy Dance Collection for the Nintendo Wii. The song was also featured in the Japanese drama Kiken na Aneki starring Ito Misaki.
"Atsuki Kodou no Hate" (熱き鼓動の果て) is the thirty-third single by B'z, released on June 5, 2002. This song is one of B'z many number-one singles in Oricon charts. The song was featured in the arcade drumming game Taiko no Tatsujin and also on the Nintendo DS rhythm game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan.
Jubeat, stylized as jubeat, is a series of arcade music video games developed by Konami, and is a part of Konami's Bemani line of music video games. The series uses an arrangement of 16 transparent buttons in a 4x4 grid for gameplay, and each of the 16 buttons overlays a screen.
"Linda Linda" (リンダリンダ) is a single by the Japanese punk rock band the Blue Hearts that was released on May 1, 1987. Lyrics and music were written by Hiroto Kōmoto, the band's lead vocalist, and was arranged by the Blue Hearts. The track reached No. 38 on the Oricon charts during its release year.
Osu! is a free-to-play rhythm game originally created and self-published by Australian developer Dean Herbert. It was released for Microsoft Windows on 16 September 2007, with later ports to macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
"Loop & Loop" is a song by the Japanese rock band Asian Kung-Fu Generation. It was the second single released from their second full-length studio album, Sol-fa, on May 19, 2004.
Keiichi Yano is a Tokyo-based video game designer and musician responsible for a number of music video game titles including his most famous game, the 2002 cult video game, Gitaroo Man. Yano has been involved in music from a young age and he earned a major in jazz studies at the University of Southern California. He has spent time playing saxophone in Tokyo jazz clubs.
The Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan series was developed by iNiS Corporation exclusively for the Nintendo DS system and published by Nintendo. It consists of the Japan-exclusive Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan duology and its international counterpart, Elite Beat Agents, which contains the same gameplay but had its characters and themes adapted to fit a Western audience.
Nintendo Pictures Co., Ltd. is a Japanese animation studio owned by Nintendo that develops "visual content" using Nintendo properties.
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