About a year ago Nintendo released a game for the DS in Japan only called Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan. It is a rythym/music game, where you tap targets on the screen in time to the beats of a selection of groovy J-Pop songs. At the same time, a story is being told in the background of a group of ‘motivators’ helping people get better at something.
For instance, in one song you help a chef prepare better food to save his ailing restaurant. In another you motivate an old horse to win a race. The better you do at the song, the better they do at their chosen task.
In short the game is a masterpiece. It’s simultaneously wacky, charming and very, very addictive. And despite not being much of a fan of rythym games, I find myself really enjoying this one (which I picked up in Japan). It’s easily one of the most impressive DS games released so far, and has found itself a very large fanbase even outside of Japan.
This website is a good example, and gives you some screenshots of what the game is like to play. And here is a video (worth watching, believe me) of one of the songs being played in hard mode.
Later this year an English version of the game will release under the title ‘Elite Beat Agents’. It will be very different, with new songs, characters and stories. I’ll probably buy it, but I can’t see it being as good as the original. Hopefully the spirit of the gameplay survives intact!