A Japanese game that is playable, regardless of language issues. Did I mention that it is very fun?
*NOTE* I will write this review assuming you HAVE NOT read my Elite Beat Agents review. Be warned though, a lot will be the same since they are very similar games.
Gameplay (10/10): The concept is very simple...you tap the circles in numerical order with the beat of the song. There is also the addiction of spinners (you spin on the screen as fast as you can) and these things that you drag the stylus on. Overall it is simple to figure out though. There is also a training before you start, though you may not understand all of it. The game itself takes its time with letting you get used to it though, so you will likely figure it out just fine. That isn't reason enough for this rythm game to get a 10 though...so what else makes it so good? The song collection. The songs are fairly varied and are all good, unless you absolutely despise Japanese music. But wait, there is more? Well each song actually has a story that goes with it, for which the song is merely there to set the mood. This actually works out well because it makes the game more interesting and gives it more meaning as well. Now there can only be so much meaning with a game about a male cheer squad, but it is better than something like DDR (no offense, because I love DDR), which is just straight music pretty much. Thankfully you don't need to really understand Japanese for this game, because the menus are simple to figure out and the stories explain themselves through the animations and pictures. I have a very basic understanding of Japanese, but it didn't help much since the words would come and go too quickly for me to read. Thankfully, it doesn't really detract, since as I mentioned, the pictures explain themselves. So good music, easy to get into, and interesting mini-stories? How can it be better? Well, it also offers a nice challenge on 'Insane' mode, but it never feels impossible, which is nice (something that I feel a lot when playing other rythm games).
Graphics (9/10): The 'cheer leaders', are modelled in 3-D, and look nice. The circles you need to tap are in bright colors and are hard to miss (except when your hand is in the way). The story sequences are animated just enough so that it still feels like a Manga, but at the same time feels like a cartoon, and all the art is well drawn. The graphics are simple and get the job done beautifully. Why does this get a 9, when Elite Beat Agents got a 9 because of a slight lack of animation (which I don't feel this lacks)? Because honestly the 3-D models look like they could be better (EBA proves this) and also there are too many repititious moments during the scenes. Otherwise, great looking game.
Sound (10/10): Well this really revolves around how good the music is. I must say, that besides maybe one song, the rest were absolutely GREAT. They have good beats to play along to as well. The other good thing, is that, depending on how 'on-beat' you tap the circles, sound effects will play. The more perfect you are, the more perfectly the sound effects will synchronize with the song, otherwise it might just sound nasty. This is actually very good because it motivates you to stay on beat so that the song is still fun to listen to.
Value (8/10): There are 15 songs, with 4 difficulties...making 60 tasks to complete. Assuming you take about 10 minutes per song (that is being generous of course, because later on you will likely spend 45-60 minutes on a song), you will AT LEAST get 6 hours worth of gameplay out of this. That isn't including coming back and getting all the S-Ranks, which I can almost guarantee will not happen (I had beaten EBA before playing this, and I got mostly A, with a couple of B's...never an S on my first completion of a song). So realistically speaking, you can expect a good 12-20 hours of time out of this (this varies due to different skill levels). That isn't including wanting to come back merely because it is fun and the songs are good. The only thing that makes this not great is that it should have had incentive to complete, besides rank. It would have been nice to unlock some songs or something else.
With that being said, this is in no way a horrible game. This is an extremely addictive game that you will likely not want to put down for a while. Like EBA, I recommend this game to all people. The only potential problem is the culture gap, since this game was made for the Japanese people. But if you are fairly open-minded, you will find a lot to enjoy from this game. If not, then get Elite Beat Agents instead (read my review for further details). Either way this is a very solid game that I am VERY proud to say is in my collection. Enjoy.