Elite Beat Agents Review

By Tom Bramwell Published 24 January, 2007

Osu!

Version tested: DS

Often when it comes to assessing the cross-Pacific paddle of a treasured Japanese videogame - particularly something of a musical bent - it's a case for us of bemoaning the inevitable infusion of Western cultural icons. Like Avril Lavigne. Worse, you're forced to note that even lifeless, incomprehensible babble in another language, or happy cartoon scrawls with outsized heads and mental flapping arms, sweep you along on waves of sympathy far greater than any of those inspired by the phoned-in nonsense scraped from the reels of an LA recording booth, or squeezed from the underpaid pencil of whichever intern's borrowing the "artist" credit that morning.

But in the case of Elite Beat Agents - the Western reinvention of cult sensation Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan - there's no need. After all, thanks to the DS' multi-region sympathies, you can simply play through Ouendan in Japanese, as we're so fond of pointing out, and indeed any inexplicability there only adds to the fun. Elite Beat Agents is merely a second serving for people who don't do imports. At least, that's the theory - but, as we discovered when we danced through it earlier this month, the biggest surprise is that you can happily own and love both. EBA is just as ace.

Rather like Harmonix' rhythm-action games FreQuency and Amplitude, and even Guitar Hero, neither Ouendan or EBA really owes its brilliance to the specific music. You may snottily declare that it's Asian Kung-Fu Generation and Yaida Hitomi or nothing for you, but those of a slightly more open mind will discover that levels featuring Madonna's Material Girl, and Jumpin' Jack Flash, are every bit as good. Even the awful Lavigne is palatable and - I'm not even sure my Word processor will accept these words - Cher's Believe is surprisingly playable.

But let's start again, because most of you won't have played Ouendan, however essential we think it is. Both games work like this: as music plays, your job is to tap circular icons that appear on-screen in time to the beat. These icons are numbered and coloured, so you always know which to tap next. As for when to tap them, each circle is surrounded by a second outlined circle, which is shrinking - when it overlaps the boundary of the numbered circle, that's the time to strike. As you'll soon realise, you usually need to tap several circles in quick succession, and each tap is tailored to match a particular beat. To help underscore its involvement in the piece, a particular sound is given off - along with a points bonus - depending on how well-timed your strike is. Variations on the above include circles with multiple outlines (for tapping more than once), circles set in a coloured trail that snakes around the screen (which move off when you tap them, with the idea being to keep your stylus in contact with them as they go), and LPs that appears on-screen at the end of a sequence (where the idea is to madly rotate them).

'Elite Beat Agents' Screenshot 1

The best taps since my old flat's bathroom. Sniff.

As you play, missing too many beats completely and falling out of sequence reduces a top-of-the-screen meter to zero, at which point it's Game Over and you need to begin again. Conversely, a talented beat agent will be able to string long combos together, which amplifies the score - with a multiplier number constantly sat in the bottom left or right of the screen, depending on the option you choose in the menus.

And that's the whole game. Everything else that makes it essential is to be found outside the mechanics. Most importantly, there's the difficulty curve, and how it evolves the combinations satisfyingly. Initially more preoccupied with timing, you won't appreciate the genius of the concept so much, but by the time you do you'll be having your stylus dragged this way and that and following obediently. It's never random. Patterns emerge to match phrases in the music, much as they do in Harmonix' titles, and you start to record these in your brain, whipping them out almost instinctively. Slight modifications hold your attention, but your mind is freed to concentrate on new phrases. Extensive play - and the compulsion is such that there really is no other sort - delivers you into the sort of mental state where your fingers act faster than your brain. This is particularly acute on the harder difficulty, unlocked once you polish off normal, where level design is very different (and like the Japanese version, this rejuvenation certainly adds to the game's long-term appeal).

There are crutches to lean on if you struggle, though. A "review" button allows you to watch a replay of your attempt and pinpoint where you went wrong. Sometimes it's a case of learning the sequences by rote, although thankfully not too often. There's also a lower skill setting for anybody who has difficulty adjusting to normal straight away. A detailed rundown of how many notes you missed, how many "elite" notes you managed and so on is offered after each level, too, along with a facility to save off replay data to amuse your friends. Or yourself. Depending on how much you enjoy reviewing your own success (I tend to give mine 3/10).

'Elite Beat Agents' Screenshot 2

These girls are ace. And their raccoon is ace.

Keen-eyed readers will have spotted a gap in the above-phrased eulogical ramblings, of course - the early frustration, the stumbling steps. But these are justified ten bazillion times over by the game's superb sense of humour. Like the Japanese, little comic strips unfold panel by panel prior to each level, setting up the scenario. EBA is no sterile song matrix - the eponymous songsmiths are called in to help citizens out of sticky situations "through the medium of dance". The comics set up each sequence as the song starts to roll. Perhaps it's a babysitter who wants to "go steady" with her American-football-loving boyfriend, but who can't find an opportunity to tell him, or perhaps it's a taxi driver who can't help speeding and getting caught. The EBA sort things out.

Yes it sounds silly, but you're used to silly (if not, welcome to Eurogamer). The principal concern among Ouendan fans was that these sequences would lose their appeal once translated. More than the introduction of stupid angst-rock, we feared the loss of the beat squad's daft antics. Without them, the game was dead - another homogenised Western licence-fest. Fortunately, it hasn't gone that way. We were so sceptical that it took a few levels to convince us (not helped by the abovementioned babysitting/steady claptrap), but by the time you're helping giddy bimbos to feed themselves by seducing lions and bears on a desert island - all the while you're humming and tapping Material Girl in the background - the effect is restored. Then it's off to fight a virus in the bowels of a sprinter by taking on the guise of an outrageously skirted nurse with a giant syringe. It certainly does the wacky with authentic aplomb, even if the cries of "Heeeeeaaaaaalp!" from the ailing public are less iconic than Japan's "Ooooou-eenn-daaaaaan!"

Perhaps the biggest challenge the Western version faced though was recreating Ouendan's surprisingly heart-wrenching "Over the Distance" level. It's obvious when EBA's equivalent arrives, and initially it's hard not to mock: It's Christmas. Listen, honey - Daddy's not coming home. I know he said he was but, but... he was in an accident. (In a hooker, more like.) But once it gets into its rhythm, even this is acceptable. Almost. The little girl is very arresting. Which is probably not something you're allowed to write on the Internet. What's more, the game's finale is superb, with a double-header boss battle that brings together the whole cast to face off an alien threat. It's hard not to like a game whose principal baddies are geometrically interesting floating eyes called "rhombulans".

Overall, sure, Elite Beat Agents has trouble making the same impact as the unexpected brilliance of Ouendan, but it does a miraculous job of avoiding the constraints of the culture it arrives in, and infuses the player with the same borderline prescience of tap-judgement that rendered the original's level design so inspired. It even cleans up a few quirks along the way. The multiplayer options (single- or multi-card), along with rumble pak support, merely add some soothing background melodies. And so where we'd expected to disapprove of EBA for messing with a formula, instead we're in the welcome position of being able to recommend Ouendan fans pick it up - you'll be surprised - as well as insisting that DS owners oblivious to the previous phenomenon either get the US version of hang about for the European release this summer. OSU!

9 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (57) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ZeroAX #1 5 years ago

    Lol sounds great I'll buy it!!!

  • binky #2 5 years ago

    This is such a fun game its unreal! I've only gone through on easy so far, and even that starts to get tricky.

    BUY BUY BUY

  • sport #3 5 years ago

    played this to death - haven't touched Osu yet but this grabbed me from the start

  • The_Aardvark #4 5 years ago

    Definitely going to pick this up when I'm in New York next month.

  • AcidSnake #5 5 years ago

    So this is out now?
    And when's starfox command out?

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #6 5 years ago

    When's someone going to ask Nintendo why they're so damn cheap that they make billions in profit yet won't fork out for the real music in the likes of Donkey Konga and this, instead of tenth-rate cover versions of songs that were rubbish in the first place? I DEMAND TO KNOW.

    Ouendan FTW!

  • pinkio #7 5 years ago

    Just over £20 from good old Play-asia.com.... bargain!

  • #8 5 years ago

    AWESOME GAME!

    AWESOME SCORE!

    AWESOME BRAMWELL!

  • Dizzy #9 5 years ago

    Woot! Order now... been waiting for this.

  • lambtron #10 5 years ago

    @ AcidSnake

    I got Starfox command as a xmas present from a colleague but I have found it to be not so great. Sadly.

  • Santino #11 5 years ago

    ouendan doesnt have single cart multiplayer as far as i know, and dammit one of these days i'm going clear the very final stage of the super hard mode. i havent missed a beat and all are perfect bar around 5 or so which are regular points and that is enough for game over...madness.

  • binky #12 5 years ago

    @ Supermonkey - Yup single card vs.

  • #13 5 years ago

    Tom said:

    "...I know he said he was but, but... he was in an accident. (In a hooker, more like.)"

    o_O

    LOL

  • RE*AC*TOR #14 5 years ago

    I love this game and the original - happy it got a great score.

  • Wendelius #15 5 years ago

    I own both Ouendan and EBA and can confirm that it's really worth owning both.

    I used to own a DS a while ago that I sold. I had Ouendan on it and it's the one game I have consistently missed since. So I rebought a DS earlier this month and imported both Ouendan and EBA. I've now completed the "Normal" level on both and been having a blast all the while.

    The Western version loses some of the charming quirkiness but adds some nice little touches, like being able to skip the song intro (useful when you are trying the final song for the 12th time in a row :) ) and level replays.

    Also, there are average and outstanding levels on both so no game wins purely based on the music (although J-Pop silliness somehow makes me smile more :) ).

    I do wish the DS wasn't apparently so space and/or resource constrained and could play higher quality versions of the songs though (see the music quality in Gitaroo Man Lives! on the PSP). It might be because I'm less familiar with the originals, but the Japanese songs sound slightly better to me.

    One thing is for sure: Both games are incredible fun and owning them both doesn't make you feel like you wasted your money. Get them!

    Ouen! Dai-sei-kou!
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/07 @ 15:01

  • Santino #16 5 years ago

    supermonkey, as far as i know ouendan doesnt have single card multiplayer and elite beat agents does. i cant gaurantee elite beat does but ouendan definitely doesn't

  • Fairlane #17 5 years ago

    its great - but really hard- well for me anyway. But I can't dance :-)
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/07 @ 14:42

  • Feanor #18 5 years ago

    EBA has a level where you save a pug.

  • Arganoid #19 5 years ago

    On the gamepage it says it's out now, but play.com lists it as being released on 1st March. Amazon doesn't list it at all (and the same for Phoenix Wright 2).

  • soylent_grey #20 5 years ago

    @ Feanor

    Not only do you save a pug, but you do so to frickin' DEEP PURPLE!!!1!
    What more needs to be said?

  • SeanLB #21 5 years ago

    Just ordered this from Play-Asia after being reminded to do so from this review. Where would I be without Eurogamer?

  • Chtulie #22 5 years ago

    Regarding any comments on the sound quality of the songs:
    Use headphones or attach some good speakers to the headphone jack. It's the DS' speakers that make them sound tinny, the actual sound quality of the music files is very good.

    It's also best to play EBA before OTO, as the latter is significantly harder from the start.

  • WinstonChurchill #23 5 years ago

    I was about to question why the review for this has only just appeared when everyone I know has had it for months before I remembered mine's not European.

    Excellent game. The YMCA level/song/dance is worth the metaphorical price of admission alone.

  • Kiigan #24 5 years ago

    EBA! EBA!

  • Wendelius #25 5 years ago

    @Chtulie

    I play the game with Seinnheiser headphones on my ears and it doesn't make the sound sound great by any stretch of the imagination. You might think it's great but, as far as I'm concerned, it sounds relatively poor (although not enough to spoil the gameplay!).

    Gitaroo Man Lives on the PSP has a jukebox option and I can happily listen to those songs without playing. I wouldn't listen to the Ouendan or EBA songs just as an audio experience though (although I love them and have bought some of the original tracks at a higher quality).

    As I said in my comments, this in no way spoils the game though. The music is fine while engrossed in the gameplay.

    Wendelius
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/07 @ 15:50

  • consignia #26 5 years ago

    This game is slightly easier than Ouendan. I crusided through normal, and victory is in sight for JJF on hard, yet I find Ready Stead Go on hard almost impossible. It took me a month to do it on normal.

  • SeanLB #27 5 years ago

    Forgive my ignorance on the matter but do Ouendan and EBA have different songs, and does this mean the Euro version will have different songs? Or am I beating along the completely wrong track, and it's mainly just difficulty and the nuances Wendelius mentioned that make the titles differ?

  • spazmo #28 5 years ago

    Oundan and EBA have different songs. EBA western, Oundan Japanese. Euro version will be same as US.

  • lambtron #29 5 years ago

    Too many awesome games, too little money/time to play them all.

    Its a great time to be a gamer, wish I just had more time :'(

  • Wendelius #30 5 years ago

    @SeanLB

    "You may snottily declare that it's Asian Kung-Fu Generation and Yaida Hitomi or nothing for you, but those of a slightly more open mind will discover that levels featuring Madonna's Material Girl, and Jumpin' Jack Flash, are every bit as good. Even the awful Lavigne is palatable and - I'm not even sure my Word processor will accept these words - Cher's Believe is surprisingly playable."

    The review doesn't exactly spell this out but both games do indeed have a totally different play list. Japanese Pop for Ouendan and "Western Pop" for Elite Beat Agents.

    The little enhancements added to EBA are nice but the gameplay is essentially the same with different songs and accompanying stories. And both are great fun working your way through.

    Hope this helps.

    Wendelius

  • Feanor #31 5 years ago

    "Not only do you save a pug, but you do so to frickin' DEEP PURPLE!!!1!
    What more needs to be said?"

    Oh, cool, is that who the song was. I've only played it on the demo pod at games stores, and it's hard to hear the music with all the surrounding noise. Which makes it hard to beat the level, even on Normal.

  • Mr_Brown #32 5 years ago

    Was always going to buy this eventually...so I'll buy it when its released over here. I'm in no rush getting it, but can't wait to play it!

  • earl_roberts #33 5 years ago

    What ANOTHER great DS game? Yawn!

  • Mageme #34 5 years ago

    Preferred Ouendan myself, wasn't overly fond of the tracks on EBA. Still, both definitely worth the money!

    Still playing Ouendan on super-hard mode... Damn, that's a creation straight from the depths of hell itself. Completely unforgiving and yet you're still compelled to try again (and again, and again)!

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #35 5 years ago

    "music rights that will allow the songs to be included in a game that can be sold all over the world on a portable, region free device would no doubt be ASTRONOMICALLY huge."

    (a) Any game on any format can be imported anywhere, but imports are a tiny fraction of the market. EBA isn't *released* worldwide.

    (b) The cost doesn't seem to stop producers of other music games, who have a lot less money than Nintendo. You don't hear Dance Dance Revolution games loaded up with shitty karaoke versions.
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/07 @ 17:36

  • SFA_AOK #36 5 years ago

    Rev: Two words - Guitar Hero.

  • Hendo #37 5 years ago

    Ouenden uses covers too.

  • SFA_AOK #38 5 years ago

    OK, I've just dug through an e-mail list I'm on to find a message from someone who is in the know about this sort of thing. I won't repost the whole thing here but basically, negotiating rights to the original is immensely complicated. Most recorded music has two copyright holders, the publisher (who usually owns the composition) and then the owner of the copyright to the specific recording of the song. This is further complicated by the fact that to use original recordings, permission would probably be needed from a whole host of people involved with the original recording; the band, session musicians, even techies involved behind the scenes.

    And that's a cut down version of events; it can actually be even more complicated with that, with more groups all looking for a chunk of money. Not to mention that copyright holders are going to want to maximise the money they get from such deals so negotiating rights won't come cheap. And that's before we get into the technical problems solved by recording a new version - hopefully, some of these will be obvious.

    Hope that clears things up for people somewhat...
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/07 @ 18:00

  • daedalus2 #39 5 years ago

    Picked this up in December, and have gotten probably 30-40 hours out of it since. This is, hands down, the best game I've played on any portable platform. I hate Cher, I hate Ashlee Simpson, and you'd better believe I hate Avril Lavigne, but that hasn't stopped Elite Beat Agents from getting me to sing along to 'Sk8r Boi'. This may sound like a dubious endorsement, but it's actually a testament to the sheer infectious power of this game.

    Pure, distilled essence of fun. This is why I play games.

  • siro #40 5 years ago

    I'm japanophile, know the language, like the music, but still, I prefer EBA. Replay saving, Easy to check high scores, better world map. Seriously, I'd give EBA a 10. This is heroin gone game.

  • siro #41 5 years ago

    I need to add something.

    I actually hate rhythm games and am crap at them. I mean it. And I never give 10s (last time would prolly have been Monkey Island 2).

    OK, next time I'll use edit ;)
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/07 @ 19:05

  • Hendo #42 5 years ago

    It's true, EBA is the better game. Anyone that turns their nose up at it because of the songlist deserves to miss out on such a gem of a game.

  • Chtulie #43 5 years ago

    The japanese songlist is actually the same sort of campy pop, and also in cover form. But without any camp classics. People who say OTO has a better soundtrack are xenophiles, ricechaser, yellow fever, and some other terms I've learned from the film 'the Corrupter' but have momentarily forgotten.

  • poxymoron #44 5 years ago

    Sounds great. Not the sort of thing I would normally bother with, but will certainly give it a try.

    Question for someone who has played Ouendan. Let's say I was to order if off playasia.com. Are the in game menu's, dialogues etc. all in Japanese? Will I be able to figure out wtf I'm doing?

  • Santino #45 5 years ago

    all the menus in ouendan are totally japanese apart from a skip button for the intro cutscenes. However they are very easy to work out and i believe there is a translation online also.

  • Feanor #46 5 years ago

    Ouendan menu translation.

    http://cr ackedrabbitgaming.com/guides/ou...
    Edited by 1 at 24/01/07 @ 21:41

  • Wendelius #47 5 years ago

    I don't speak or read Japanese and had no trouble with Ouendan. It's all about selecting single player (you see silhouettes to indicate the mode of play), your difficulty level (the size of the flame next to the menu option tells you how hard it is) and then clicking where "Help!" appears on the map to start playing a song. No problem.

    But use the above translation guide if you want to explore the game options (like switching between left and right handed and.. err.. that's about it really).

    Wendelius

  • jamespo #48 5 years ago

    bah sounds like a game of solitaire with an mp3 playing

  • Garibaldi #49 5 years ago

    It may sound dismissive but I have no interest in licensed songs in a game translation of Ouendan. The charm of the original was having no idea what the next tune would be, and also trying to work out what whackiness was going on in the scenario rather than having it directly spelt out in English.

    Really not an Elitist ( usually! ) but that's my position on it.

  • Chtulie #50 5 years ago

    I have no interest in licensed songs in a game translation of Ouendan. The charm of the original was having no idea what the next tune would be, and also trying to work out what whackiness was going on in the scenario rather than having it directly spelt out in English

    It's not a translation.

    OTO and EBA both have cover songs, neither have original songs.

    The scenario is pictoral in both games, language being a definate secondary (why did you think OTO was so import friendly?), and both games are just as mental.

    Again, EBA isn't a translation, it's a refined sequel.

    Also:
    bah sounds like a game of solitaire with an mp3 playing

    Lucky for you this isn't guitar hero. Those metal guys would've gone nuclear on you for that comparison. Rhythm action games are an aquired taste, but they're very easy to get into. And you'll get nowhere in these games if you can't get into the song.

  • UncleLou #51 5 years ago

    It may sound dismissive but I have no interest in licensed songs in a game translation of Ouendan. The charm of the original was having no idea what the next tune would be, and also trying to work out what whackiness was going on in the scenario rather than having it directly spelt out in English.

    Really not an Elitist ( usually! ) but that's my position on it.

    In other words, Ouendan wouldn't have worked for you if you were Japanese, and EBA isn't a worse game, you're just in the wrong culture area to enjoy it as much.

    I've got no problem with the "I enjoyed Ouendan" more crowd as long as they're willing to accept that it's only a cultural thing, and the games are pretty much identical, apart from that.

    In fact, Japanese gamers won't have had that "exotic" bonus with the original Ouendan, maybe they'll enjoy EBA more than they did Ouendan? ;)

  • Garibaldi #52 5 years ago

    Yeah, I didn't mean translation literally, just a lazy way of saying 'our version of it'.

    It's totally a cultural thing, I have little interest of hearing songs I already know in bemani games, mainly because they're mainstream as all hell and I despise most of them - plus some of the scenarios in Ouendan were more interesting to me because they were foreign, such as the guy competing in the ceremonial race.

    Ouedan was, for me, a new spin on a genre I've never previously liked, hence why I bonded to it so fiercely - so personally I can't say EBA is as good a game because it doesn't have that delicious taste of unfamiliarity about it!

  • psychokitten #53 5 years ago

    I adore Ouendan, finished it on Insane or whatever they call the last difficulty. I've been raving about it for a long time now, it was even in my top 5 fave games I submitted to Eurogamer (it didn't make it, bastards!).

    I have EBA aswell and it's good fun, but not as good as Ouendan. I'm not sure why. Ouendan seems to have a certain charm that EBA doesn't quite reach, it's good fun and it's funny, but it's missing that something extra. I suppose part of that is a cultural thing, a lot of the songs in EBA are just.... annoying. They work well enough in the game, but still... I guess it's partly aswell that Ouendan was new and fresh, EBA is the same thing with other songs. I preferred some of the stories in Ouendan too, Salary Man vs Giant Mouse beats Material Girl any day (I really don't like the Material Girl one, grrr).

    Having said that, I really like EBA aswell. I'd definitely recommend both. Unless you hated one, then don't bother with the other, but you don't have a soul then so who cares what you do, right?
    Edited by 1 at 25/01/07 @ 09:34

  • Lawlost #54 5 years ago

    £18.99 from Movietyme.com

  • JayPee #55 5 years ago

    Load of bollox about the tracklist thing IMO.

    EBA is just as fun, filled with the same sort of humour, some really tough songs etc.

    Sure, not all the songs are that great, but the same can be said for Oendan. I made a CD of the tracklist from Ouendan, and there are tracks I regularly skip when out in my car.

    The final song is ace, the stories are good, the skipping is good, the tracks are on the most part good, and it looses nothing to the fact that it’s not “crazy Japanese”. Anyone who thinks it does probably hasn’t played EBA and thinks the only reason they loved Ouendan so much was because of it’s cultural quirkiness.

    I have completed both on super-hard (Aka the “Girly” Levels). And have found both games equally charming, quirky and most importantly fun.

    If I had a CD of the music from each and had to choose one to be my desert Island disc? – Probably Oendan, but this is moot really; as soon as you start tapping along you forget about musical preferences, prejudices and whatnot.

    And thank you someone for pointing out that Ouendan also does use covers. And in some cases they are pretty far from the originals. The EBA covers are pretty good really. Not nearly as bad as the Donkey Konga ones

  • Hendo #56 5 years ago

    @JayPee

    Couldn't have said it better myself.
    *applauds*

  • mcwildcard #57 5 years ago

    More fun than a wank, less mess, but just as taxing on the wrist.

  • Flagship #58 5 years ago

    is this out in the UK??

  • hulahoops #59 5 years ago

    It's heart rending.

    Jeez.

    :)