Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2

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Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2

Developer(s) iNiS
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Engine Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan engine
Platform(s) Nintendo DS
Release date JP May 17, 2007
Genre(s) Music video game
Mode(s) Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s) CERO: A
Media Nintendo DS Game Card
Input methods Touch screen

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (燃えろ!熱血リズム魂 押忍!闘え!応援団2 Moero! Nekketsu Rizumu-damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ōendan Tsū?, lit. "Burn! Hot-Blooded Rhythm Spirit: Hey! Fight! Cheer Squad 2") is a rhythm video game developed by iNiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console.[1] It is the third game to use its gameplay, and is the sequel to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan while incorporating many of the improvements in gameplay made in Elite Beat Agents. The game has 4-player wireless play,[2] supports the Nintendo DS Rumble Pak accessory, and was released in Japan on May 17, 2007.[3]

Contents

[edit] Storyline

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii follows more or less the storyline from the original Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, and is set roughly six years after the original game based on the game manual and the age differences of returning characters. Players act as the leader of a three-person cheerleading squad. Whenever someone is stressed out or backed into a corner, all they need to do is shout "Ouendan!" (Japanese for "Cheer Squad"). Then, the Ouendan appear (usually out of a place like a closet or waiting there while eating ramen) and use cheering and dance to help that someone through their troubles. The map of the territory that the Ouendan patrol within Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii is the same as that found in the original game, although it has been turned ninety degrees and is now rendered using 3D graphics.

The original Ouendan (signified by wearing their long Gakuran jackets) are still present in this game, cheering people on. However, a new rival Ouendan appear that challenge the original Ouendan in skill and cheering (the "new" Ouendan are signified by their blue military-style outfits.) The individual stories are all unrelated, but characters featured in one stage may appear as background or supporting characters in another. One can also see characters from the first Ouendan game as lead, supporting or background characters, such as the pottery maker from the first game that appears as a guest at a hot springs, and gifts the hot springs family with new pottery work should the player be successful in the stage. In the final stage, all of the characters in the game unite when the two Ouendan join together and once again lead the entire world in a cheer to save Earth when the sun's activity stops, plunging Earth into a second ice age.

[edit] Gameplay

Further information: Gameplay in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan and Gameplay in Elite Beat Agents

As in the original game, this sequel is played almost entirely via touch screen (the only actual face button used is the Start button for pausing the game). The player acts as the Ouendan, who cheer on the people that are in turmoil and shout out for them (the original "Black" Ouendan control the west side of that world, Yūhi Town, and the new "Blue" Ouendan control the east side, Asahi Town.) The gameplay plays out identically to that found in the first Ouendan; the player must tap colored circles in precise time with the music in order to cheer the character through his or her problems. There are three types of marker:

  • Hit Markers: These need to be tapped to the beat.
  • Phrase Markers: When this is tapped, the stylus must be held down and follow a ball sliding along a track. If an arrow appears at the end of the track, the player must run the stylus back in the opposite direction.
  • Spin Markers: At certain points, a large wheel appears. Players must spin the wheel by making circular motions on the screen (either direction will do.) Once the required amount of spin has been cleared, further spinning will earn bonus points.

The top screen displays the stage's protagonist overcoming his or her dilemma. If the player's cheering is good, then the meter at the top of the touch screen stays in the yellow, and the character is seen triumphing over whatever it is holding him or her back. If the player's cheering is bad, then the meter on the top of the screen falls to the red and the character struggles. If the player's performance is particularly poor, the meter will hit the bottom and the mission will end in failure. Then, the player can either try again, quit to do something else, or review the last five seconds of gameplay up to where he or she lost.

At intervals in the song, the story progresses on the top screen. If the meter remains in the yellow, then the story will progress positively (scoring an "O") and if the meter is in the red, it will progress negatively (scoring an "X"). The number of Os and Xs given will determine the story's outcome from one of three possibilities: a good ending, which results in a special illustration, an average ending, or a bad ending. The final two levels do not adhere to this pattern.

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii contains multiple enhancements over the original game, many of which were first featured in Elite Beat Agents. These features include the ability to save stage replay data and use it later in a "ghost versus" mode, 4-player wireless play, Rumble Pak compatibility, multiple stage endings depending on the player's performance, and the ability to skip intro and epilogue sections of each stage. Also, as the player earns new ranks by achieving cumulative high score totals across all stages and difficulties, three additional bonus stages are unlocked when specific ranks are earned.

Brand new features introduced to the series for the first time in Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii include the ability to save 20 replay data files: in Elite Beat Agents, players could only save one replay for each song regardless of difficulty, and saving a new one would overwrite it. Moreover, on the easiest difficulty, the player can continue a failed stage from the point the failure occurred, beginning with half of the life bar. It is also possible to unlock a mode in which the game's timer circles/markers are disabled, forcing the player to hit the markers with only the rhythm of the music as a guide. On the Kigaru ni Ōen mode, only the timer circles are missing. On all other difficulty levels, the whole marker disappears, and as the player moves up the difficulty levels, the markers disappear faster. The game also includes an unlockable gallery featuring pictures of the various cheer teams unlocked each time a specific player rank is reached, the "end of stage" images, and the Story mode scenes. The multiplayer mode has also been upgraded, as players are now allowed to use the male cheerleaders on Karei ni Ōen mode. They retain their male animations, except their dancing corresponds to the positioning of the Very Hard markers. Likewise, the player is allowed to use a Cheer Girl on the easier difficulties, retaining the female moves, but the dances correspond to the male markers.

[edit] Elite Beat Agents characters

Between June 28 and July 11, 2007, players could use a Japanese DS Download Station to unlock additional characters from Elite Beat Agents. This can also be achieved with an Action Replay DS This provides an "EBA Mode" which replaces both Ouendan squads in the single player game with the Elite Beat Agents or the Elite Beat Divas, and also allows the use of Agent J and the Ramen Shop Cat in multiplayer matches. In the final stage, the Elite Beat Agents replace the original Ouendan, while the backup dancers of the Blue Ouendan are led by the Ramen Shop Cat. Animations do not change, other than the fact that their right hands never open due to the microphone's presence.

[edit] Track list

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii features 19 tracks in total, most of which are cover versions. The following track list is organized by the order in which they are unlocked, the original artist of the song and the name of the song.

♪ - denotes that the track is performed by the original artist.
  1. Sukima Switch - "Zenryoku Shōnen" (全力少年? literally "Full-powered Boy")
  2. Kaela Kimura - "Rirura Riruha" (リルラ リルハ? an abbreviation of "Real Life Real Heart")
  3. FLOW - "Okuru Kotoba" (贈る言葉? literally "Words to Give You")
  4. Ken Hirai - "Pop Star"
  5. Hitomi Yaida - "Go my way"
  6. The Checkers - "Julia ni Heartbreak" (ジュリアに傷心 Juria ni Hātobureiku?, literally "Heartbroken for Julia")
  7. Going Under Ground - "VISTA" ♪
  8. Home Made Kazoku - "Shōnen Heart" (少年ハート Shōnen Hāto?, literally "Boyish Heart")
  9. mihimaru GT - "Kibun Jōjō ↑↑" (気分上々↑↑? literally "Best Feeling")
  10. Tomoyasu Hotei - "Bambina" (バンビーナ Banbīna?)
  11. SMAP - "Bang! Bang! Vacances!" (BANG! BANG! バカンス! BANG! BANG! Bakansu!?, "vacances" being a French language word for "vacation")
  12. Ai - "Believe"
  13. Kishidan - "Zoku" (? literally "Family")
  14. Porno Graffitti - "Music Hour" (ミュージック・アワー Myūjikku Awā?)
  15. Hyde - "Countdown"
  16. Sambomaster - "Sekai wa Sore o Ai to Yobundaze" (世界はそれを愛と呼ぶんだぜ? literally "The World Calls That Love")

The following three tracks are unlockable within the course of the game by achieving cumulative high scores across all difficulty levels and stages. As certain high score totals are reached, the player will move up in rank, and by achieving certain ranks, a bonus stage and track is unlocked. When these levels are unlocked before completing some of the difficulties, they are released in relevant tiers and must be completed along with the other songs to progress to the next tier. In the order in which they are unlocked, they are:

  1. Orange Range - "Monkey Magic"
  2. Nana starring Mika Nakashima - "Glamorous Sky"
  3. ZZ - "Samurai Blue" (サムライブルー Samurai Burū?)

[edit] Track-specific notes

  • The "Bang! Bang! Vacances!" track is covered by a female group, while the original artist, SMAP, is a male group.
  • Orange Range's "Monkey Magic" is a re-released track, originally done by Godiego, from the intro to the 1979 TV series Monkey, an English translated version of the Japanese TV show of Saiyuki the Journey to the West. In the UK, the BBC released the original "Monkey Magic" by Godiego on vinyl in 1980.

[edit] References

  1. ^ 『押忍!闘え!応援団2』発売決定! 任天堂発売スケジュール更新. Dengeki Online. MediaWorks (2007-02-21). Retrieved on 2007-02-21.
  2. ^ Joystiq - Elite Beat Agents sequel is on (oh yes)
  3. ^ Ouendan 2 Coming Next Month

[edit] See also

[edit] External links