Ah, those wacky Japanese… Apparently, in Japan, cheerleaders are the not the lovely blond, buxom, and bouncy young ladies in skimpy outfits that they are here. No, instead cheer squads of Tokyo are more like large, Neo-like men in long black trench coats who view cheering as a militant activity. The reason we know this? Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan!, of course, which apparently means “Hey! Fight! Cheer Squad!

Cheerleading…for Men

This import game is generating a lot of buzz here in the US, and for good reason. This game can only happen on the DS. A music game from Inis, the same folks who brought us the quirky Gitaroo Man, this is a truly innovative use of the system. In Osu!, you take the part of a wandering cheer squad who doggedly search for people with self-esteem problems and, well, cheer them on.

For instance, in one situation, a young man is failing school and needs to study. What better way to make an environment conducive to learning than having a group of strange guys yelling at you to a beat? The better you cheer, the happier his life becomes.

Other weird situations abound, all told in gloriously colorful and expressive manga-style graphics across both screens. In another situation, near as we can tell, a young violinist must perform, but is infuriated because he has a bad case of the runs. Only the power of your cheer can keep his diarrhea at bay so he can play up a storm. At least, we think that’s what’s going on… we’re not really sure.

There is an overhead map filled with people who need the incredible power of cheering to brighten their lives, and you just tap on a location and go. The meat of the game is tapping circles on the screen in numbered succession, all to an underlying beat. You must time your taps with the music and ever-shrinking flashing rings, and sometimes you need to move the pointer around in a circle to “spin.” The game, even though completely in Japanese, is easy to pick up and figure out, and hard to master (some of these levels are brutal). The music sounds superb on the DS, and this is one of the few games that really shows off the audio potential of the system

Touch the Music

Nintendo published Osu! in Japan, and hopefully it, or another publisher, will release it here. Regardless, great sound, thoroughly entertaining gameplay, and amusing visuals make this a primo DS import game for now. This is an excellent music game by any standard, and a great example of how the DS can do things no other system can.