Blending elements from Rhythm Heaven, Elite Beat Agents, and Donkey Konga, while throwing in some subtle strategic and puzzler components as well, Ontamarama bends head over heels in pure chaos, and is sure to put a healthy strain on your hand-eye coordination. (Say that ten-letter title ten times fast, and you've got yourself a tiny tongue twister, too.) Having landed on a platform with a disappointing deficit in truly creative rhythm games, Ontamarama might come as a welcome surprise to Nintendo DS enthusiasts insistent on tapping that touch screen in beat to some catchy music, or to those with hand cramps from strumming to Activision's latest money-making scheme. However, that's where matters get sketchy, as this strange showcase, barely delivered from the clutches of Japan-exclusive obscurity, focuses more on inconsistent button-mashing and screen-grazing than conventional get-in-the-groove gameplay, and might even influence hand soreness from extended sessions of play. If that and the lack of a no-brainer multiplayer mode fail to repel you, then read on for a quick critique of one of the DS' most overlooked and underappreciated offerings. It's an acquired taste, but you could potentially become captivated with this charmer if you give it a well-deserved opportunity to sample its madness for yourself.

Ontamarama's not the least bit craven with the DS handheld's interface, and will force you to interact with it like never before, whether you like it or not. During a song, notes stream in from the right, and you'll use the d-pad, the face buttons, or even both simultaneously, to play them. Simple? There's a catch. "Ontamas" must be cleared first in order to fill in the notes before they can be successfully played. (But be sure to avoid the black ones!) To remove them from the playing field, you can either tap them, encircle same-colored Ontamas, or blow into the DS' microphone to quickly eliminate all of them from the screen at once, a godsend in desperate situations, which happen to surface aplenty. This is where some tricky strategy is utilized for that ever-elusive high score, since the method you use to clear Ontamas ultimately has varying effects on it. A ranking system has also been implemented to gauge your note-playing accuracy, adding its own share of replayability.

During the midst of all this insanity, you should be sure to keep a watchful eye on the top screen, too. Ignore the character animations if you choose; it's the performance percentage that you should concern yourself with. Drop to 0%, and your opponent gains free bragging rights. Managed to max it out? A score multiplier ensues, while the competition's left panting.

Complementing Ontamarama's naturally frenetic nature is a lush, colorful atmosphere. Although saturated with an almost toddler-like appearance, the backdrops and character designs are of high quality and actually act as an asset to the game's charm. When you're not dancing your mitts across your DS during a song, you might be navigating Ontamarama's polished menu setup, accessing other gameplay modes with ease. The game's overall presentational values are top-notch and very stylus-friendly.

Of course, every worthwhile rhythm game is inevitably required to partner up with a decent soundtrack for it to prove, well, worthwhile. Ontamarama delivers, but not in the way that you might expect. Nowadays, licensing is all the rage, but this game sneers at the trend and instead offers a completely original (and downright weird) track listing, representing numerous musical genres and underlining its uniqueness in the process. On most occasions, each track stands as an antithesis to the one before it, and the sheer variety of tunes in the game is another factor that contributes to its lasting value.

And on that note, Ontamarama also excels. If you've managed to get hooked on the multifarious gameplay mechanics, and you've traversed through the game's Story mode on the easy difficulty setting, two additional difficulties can be unlocked as well. Freeplay and Challenge options can also be made available, and eventually, you should probably take a visit to the Shop and choose from a plethora of items to customize your Ontama-conducting while spending Ontama Points you've earned previously.

As if it hasn't been clarified yet, Ontamarama is quite unlike anything else released, on any platform, ever, and it might be calling out your name if you're currently searching for some quality quirky software to master on-the-go. If that's the case, buy it, enjoy it, and know that you're one of the few who's dared to succumb to the zany magic that Ontamarama can provide... with patience.