This game is a challenging, rhythm-based game worth any DS owners time, that is, if you can manage to find it.
Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan is a rhythm-based game in which circles that surround circles close in on the circles they're surrounding, if you can imagine that. Once the circles hit the circles (I know, I know..) you tap the circle and are based by either an X for miss, 50 for good, 100 for great, and 300 for dead-on awesome. I know what you're saying, But reviewer, that sounds boring with just circles!! Never fear! There are..circles attached to lines and patterns! Also, wheels you spin via the screen of touching! In any case, when you start the game, you can't really tell what mode you're starting out on, since you're choices are (gibberish) and (gibberish). I started on the first gibberish, which I assumed was beginner, but it was actually normal. Good thing though, normal mode put me right at home. Warning: this game is extremely challenging. This game is SO strict when you miss, just missing two in a row can get you a big giant failure cutscene. That's because someone had the bright idea to make your status bar CONSTANTLY dropping, and you have to keep getting dead-on-awesomes to keep it up at a steady rate. I once had a 140 combo and got 4 50's in a row and failed. This game is very strict. But being said, this is a rhythm game, so music plays an important role. Next paragraph, please.
Thank you. Music consists of J-pop and J-rock. Don't like it? Hope for an American release. The only song in this game I knew before I got this game was READY STEADY GO! by L'arc~en~Ciel. When I actually got to this song, I could tell that it was not preformed by L'arc~en~Ciel but by some other band doing their song. I assume all of the other songs in this game that aren't made especially for this game are like that too, although I'm not sure. There are 15 stages increasing in difficulty on each one. Once you beat the last one on normal mode, you'll unlock hard mode, and when you beat that, you'll unlock super hard mode. I have not made it past super hard mode, although I am on stage 14 (the fifteenth stage, the counter starts at 0). If there is anything past this honestly brutal mode, I suppose it would be super super hard mode. The songs in this game...might not stick with you the first play through, but when you get to hard, you could find yourself humming some of the songs, and when you get to super hard mode, you might be tempted to shout out some gibberish. There is only one song I hated in this game, and it happens to be near the end of the game. Causing me to play it over and over again and again. Onto other things.
Graphics are what you would expect out of a rhythm-based game. Good, but nothing special. Manga style cutscenes flourish this game like pimples on a teenager. The whole thing is basically manga/anime style graphics except for the in-game cheerleaders, (oh right, I forgot to mention this is a cheerleading game), who are in 3D. Again, it's nice, but nothing special.
Playing this game alone is a blast, and because I only imported one, I can only assume playing it with others is a virtual knock-out. This game gets one of my high recommendations for any owner with a DS. Just beware, if you do manage to find this game, you could be paying up to 50 smackers for it. To anyone who read this whole thing: thanks, and if you don't have this game, make it the next on your list. You won't be disappointed.