"Ouen! Dai-sei-kou!" ("Cheer! Big Success!")

Finished in on insane, took me exactly 1 week to finish it. Now if only i could finish the other 15 games i'll be all set.

OUENDAAAAAAAAAN!

Since having 'Osu! Takakae! Ouendan!' (Go! Fight! Cheersquad!) since Tuesday (after being raped £8:90 from customs, something which has never happened to me when buying from Lik-Sang before and everytime I ring up the customs office theyve been either engaged or have an answering machine telling me they wont take my call at the moment...outrage, anyway I'm straying from the point)

I've been playing it on and off for the past few days and have just a few minutes ago managed to finish Hard mode (thereby unlocking the final 'insane difficulty') I say this with pride because anyone who has attempted the last song ('Ready, Steady, Go!) infamously known as RSG will know how difficult it is even on normal (FYI the song is actually the theme from the hit anime series 'Full Metal Alchemist')

The game itself is best described as being in the rhythem genre and takes advantage of the DS' touch screen to make it extremely accesible (not needing any extra maracas or bongos). There are 3 kinds of 'activity' the game requires you to cmplete during a song, the bulk is made up of tapping numbers in order and accurate to the beat (closer giving you more points) second is 'tracing' a path following a ball (sometimes going and back and forth more than once) and thirdly a kind of spinning wheel which is used to give big bonuses (or save your arse in the later energy draining games but also has the downside of you looking like a berk in public)

The game differs from most in its unique manga based (story driven) format. You're basically a team of Ouendan (cheer squad) which Japan uses just as America uses female cheerleaders who help people in need. Not by directly intervening, but by cheering them on and inspiring them to do better (thus why they are dressed like Japanese punks, to instill fear and inspire) The manga does this in incredibly simple pictures (ableit hilarious) that you need no Japanese knowledge to enjoy. The music while is all Japanese is very catchy (not suprising that the vast majority of the songs also appear in the Kareoke machines across Japan)

The downside to the game I would say is if you're not playing with headphones the DS speakers do show up the music quite badly. It'd also be nice to have more songs and manga but with 15 completely individual stories/songs its hard to honestly begrudge the game for it. What it does lack is the 'throw-against-wall' factor when you lose, I've only ever given up on a song once and that was last night trying to do RSG on hard and my hand was shaking so bad I couldnt even finish the first part. All in all its a must buy for anyone who enjoys a good game, regardless of the attitude to manga/anime/jrock. You also get a Japanese DS case! which is worth it alone.

Links:

Official Site
Metal Gear Ouendan
Real Life Ouendan
What the song 'Ready Steady Go' sounds like

do you know the way to wan chai

neko in jail!

Sally and Tara were taken to the vets yesterday, BOTH in the same cat-carry-box which Sally objected to. In the photo is Tara using her super strength to bend the bars with her bare paws, seconds later she overpowered the driver and went for some fish and chips.

the very last!

My very last music, quiz & disco held at my old primary school! This photo was taken by my 9 year old nephew because I thought it would look disturbing to take a photo with a mobile standing at the school gate with children running by. He did a good job!

sy has passed act 2005

Status:

8 New Years Resolutions made
3 completed

Suggested Action: Stop making new years resolutions and overshooting myself :p