Elite Beat Agents

Last year a little game called Osu! Tatakae! Oendan! hit the DS in Japan and became an instant classic. The game provided a rhythm action style of gameplay utilising the touch screen and was wrapped in an over-the-top manga presentation. The stars were 3 male cheerleaders (Oendan) who solve the world's problems by dancing perfectly to various J-pop tunes. While this game gained worldwide fame, it had never been officially released in the west or translated into English. Enter Elite Beat Agents, the spiritual successor to Oendan, with distinctly more American themes, but the same great gameplay.

Gameplay itself remains the same; touch coloured circles in time with the music that plays in order to fill up your “elite-o-meter”. Every so often you'll need to follow a ball across the screen too, which synchronises with various waves performed by the agents. Both of these elements combine well with each musical track, but there's also a “spin the wheel” mechanic which doesn't involve any musical synchronisation and feels a little tacked on, like the developers thought the tapping and sliding wouldn't be enough to hold gamer's interest.

The music selection in the game covers a wide spectrum and is sure to contain something that everyone will recognise. From “Jumpin' Jack Flash” and “YMCA” to “Material Girl”, the music is used well with each scenario. Only a couple of the newer tracks seems a little out of place, but besides that each stage offers some cohesive use of tunes. The stages themselves will see the Agents helping an array of people from a babysitter who wants to ask her beau to “go steady”, to the dubious blonde heiresses with more money than sense who find themselves trapped on a deserted island (to the tune of “Material Girl” no less).

Elite Beat Agents carries on the tradition of extreme manga presentation, so be thankful that isn't lost in the westernisation, because it really is something that makes this game so appealing. Every scenario is introduced and intersected with comic-like illustrations that come to life with the extravagance of their presentation and animation. The game's exaggerated sense of crazy humour permeates throughout and makes each stage an even more enjoyable experience. One particular scenario, however, played to “You're My Inspiration”, shows that even relatively serious subjects can be broached by the Agents and will leave even the most stalwart gamer with a lump in their throat. Furthermore, once you've cleared a stage, you can save a replay of your performance, and since there's so much going on in the background and on the top screen while you're playing that you would otherwise miss, this is an excellent feature.

One thing that must be said about Elite Beat Agents is that it is sometimes unfairly tough, especially in the later stages, and requires an intimate knowledge of the timings and rhythms of each song. Even on the default difficulty level, you will find yourself needing to repeat some chapters several times before clearing them. This can get frustrating at times, but you'll never feel cheated, as the solution always lies in knowing the rhythm of the song and the pattern of circles that appear.

Beyond the single player game there are unlockable stages and multiplayer modes, allowing you to compete or cooperate with your Agent buddies. Cooperative mode allows players to take on different parts of the music while others wait for their turn. Competitive modes see 2 teams of players playing the same song and striving to give the best performance. Unfortunately only the Vs. mode is available over single-cart play and it can take a while to upload a song to someone else's DS. These modes are enjoyable, but only a few songs are available and some small amount of lag did occur.

Overall, Elite Beat Agents is a faithful successor to one of the most enjoyable games to have never made it to the west. While the main game can be difficult and even frustrating at times, the presentation and addictive gameplay are enough to keep you coming back for one more try.

Final Verdict: 9.0