I have already proclaimed my unabashed love for Elite Beat Agents (EBA), so it should come as no surprise that Osu! Tatake! Ouendan! found its way into my mailbox. As the original Japanese game that inspired EBA, Ouendan has been critically acclaimed and developed a large fan base, both in its native Japan and foreign countries. I couldn’t wait to try it out.

When I began on the easiest level, I was a little surprised. Like EBA, it was hard when it was too slow (you have to concentrate to hit the sparse buttons, a drastic change from the more constant buttons that practically keep the tempo of the later levels). However, the overall pacing of the difficulties was much, much better. Levels progressed at an accelerated rate to that of the Westernized EBA. While it may be challenging for the new player, I felt that there was less of a plateau in difficulty among the levels. While in EBA there would seem to be a couple easy songs and many harder songs (in each of the four difficulty levels), Ouendan provided levels that progressed more steadily. As a player (and an EBA veteran), I felt respected. The game adjusts to the player’s rising skill, making it more fun.

Also high on the fun factor were the charts themselves. By charts, I mean the layout and pacing of the touch buttons and other devices during the songs. They were laid out in such a way so that they were not frustrating (such as not placing buttons all the way across the screen so you have to rush over to that spot) but high on the fun factor (such as laying out a string of buttons for a fun little drum solo). Perhaps it was the songs themselves, as many felt more like dance songs than those in EBA. Overall, there were fewer tricky rhythms to stumble over (like triplets in even time signatures) and the beat patterns fit the songs really well.

One you get past the fantastic gameplay, the main difference between EBA and Ouendan is the language. Ouendan is in Japanese. While I know some Japanese, I cannot read most of this game. The stories are still fairly easy to figure out from the pictures alone, but it appears the there are some stories that I may not understand due to language and/or cultural barriers. Keiichi Yano described how he changed the stories entriely for EBA because some problems just don’t suit Western audiences, such as the student having trouble focusing to study for an important exam. I have to admit, I found the stories for EBA to be much easier to relate to, perhaps because I’d seen stories like them so many times (the oil tycoon falls from power, the stealthy ninja steals secret plans, the lost puppy must find his way home).

Considering that I skip past most of the story animation after watching it once or twice, I really believe that the gameplay is the most important aspect of these iNiS games. If I had to pick between the two, I’d say Ouendan is definitely the more solid of the two and more fun in terms of gameplay. However, I’d definitely recommend Elite Beat Agents to most of my friends first since it is much more accessible. I am really glad that I played EBA first because it seems less difficult in general, making Ouendan quite a treat.  

Designing games can be a very time-consuming process – especially if you take the time to play other games to keep an eye on the market. While working on a paper design project for class, I decided to share a couple games I really enjoy with my group to help inspire us.
One of my partners enjoys games, but not the same types of games that I play. He is more into the action, stealth, and FPS games. As our project was fairly free-form, we had a lot of room for innovation. However, it’s not easy to come up with an innovative idea that would be fun and engaging. This is where I decided to turn to two games I find very innovative: Katamari Damacy and Okami.

Again and again, I have found myself showing Katamari to people who only casually play games or rarely play at all. I even got my sister to buy it, and it became the first PS2 game she ever bought (the other title she owned being the RPG Legends of Legaia, which she never finished). She has been showing it to her friends, especially those who do not game. So why do we both want to show it to everyone?

There is something pleasantly surprising about rolling a ball and finding everything stick to it. The simple controls (mainly the two PS2 analog sticks) are fairly intuitive, making it easy for beginners to pick it up. An inherent beauty can be found in the ability to manipulate your environment in this new way – everything becomes a manipulative, as long as you are big enough. The sound effects are very amusing – especially when the annoying kid who blocked your way moments ago screams in terror as you roll him up along with a couple penguins. Then there’s the ridiculously Japanese music that ranges from perky J-Pop to jazzy swing. It’s quite satisfying to pick up everything around you while listening to such lyrics as “I want to wad you up into my life.” Aside from the mechanics and music, the visuals are highly stylized and full of colors so bright that they are almost hard on the eyes at first. The towering King of All Cosmos is terrifying with his huge head and tights that leave nothing to the imagination. Yet the little prince you control is so tiny and seemingly helpless, it’s hard not to love him.

With all these unique qualities, it’s no surprise that Katamari has spawned fiercely loyal fans. I am among them, even though I have not gotten around to finishing the game. However, this does not stop me from expressing my love of the game to others. I showed my partners the multiplayer mode of the game, in an effort to get them used to the unique world and innovative mechanics. I wanted to show them an experience that was very different from anything they had experiences, and Katamari is one of those games that truly has to be played to be understood.

After my partners had gotten a taste of Katamari, I played a quick demo of Okami. After all, I had heard little about the game until I saw someone else playing it. After watching the fluid movements of the wolf and staring transfixed at the screen for half an hour, I decided I had to play it. The art style is so unique in how it combined brush art with a 3-D environment that I was captivated simply as a viewer. My partners were similarly impressed with the art and flow of the movements. In the short time I played for them, they could see why I loved it.

This leads me to wonder, why do we love to share games with other people? In the one semester time that I have had the privilege of studying games in school, I have found a community of people who love games. They love talking about games and sharing their personal experiences. It could be about the desire to know the latest news, but I like to think that it could be more than that. Perhaps it’s more about sharing what we love with others and hoping that the market will someday adapt. I know that I dream of the day when innovation outsells the sequels, but it hardly seems commercially viable. Perhaps I love to share simply because I love games; I want understand the pleasure I find in video games and why I need to play them.  

There are few games that you play and actually think, “Wow, if I could make a game like this, my life would be complete.” After playing Okami for an hour, I’m convinced that it will likely be one of those truly innovative games that everyone will wish they had created.

Okami’s most striking feature is the visual design. The world and characters are all made to look like Japanese brush paintings. The designs are a type of hybrid between 2D and 3D, where the lines are in 2D but the watercolor-style colors and character movement create a sense of 3D perspective. After obtaining a paintbrush, you gain the ability to paint the world and mold this fantastic reality.

The story of Okami was laid out like a storybook in the beginning, with simple 2D animation sequences and gibberish voice-over narration. It is based on traditional Japanese mythology, but it was captivating to watch. When the story switches to cinematics later on, the movements of the wolf are captivatingly realistic in their ability to portray her as a living animal. As a former dog owner, I know what expressions dogs can and can’t make.

The gameplay itself is very smooth. The wolf’s movements are animated to highlight the fluidity of this animal’s movements. Fights are fairly straightforward and don’t require a laborious wait. The paintbrush feature aids in battles and can be used to fill in pieces of the environment. Unlike other games, this feature is not in a separate space; the paintbrush can be applied at any time as an overlay for the current view. While the paintbrush will only react to certain objects, this seamlessness in which it is integrated into the game puts the player in the position of the artist and author of reality.

As you may have noticed from the beginning of my blog, I had been feeling frustrated for a long time with my gameplay. I had started several games without getting attached. I miss that feeling of addiction that I found so often with RPGs. Since Final Fantasy X, I have been searching for the next game that would pull me in. With Final Fantasy XII newly released, I thought it would be that. However, I received it in the mail and didn’t even touch it yet. So why was Okami so much more fascinating to me than the other games?

Okami was fairly simple and straightforward in the beginning. It was friendly in that you couldn’t run off the edge of the level and die. The wolf you control never talks, like a real animal. Your companion, a bug, has silly comments that keep the story from being dragged down by stuffy mystical drama. The bug tells you what to do and has character – he gets jealous yet compliments you on your new abilities. The NPCs say interesting things and seem to have their own lives. The visuals are fresh and beautiful and the paintbrush feature is quite innovative.

Traditionally, I have been a sucker for long games with good visual design. Maybe that’s because I want to escape to a world as beautiful (if not more so) than the world we inhabit. I grew up in Oregon, where I was surrounded by lush green. I love the clear blues of tropical oceans and vibrant sunsets. One of my favorite aspects of Final Fantasy X was the use of color. The sunny beaches and vibrant environments made it feel like a vacation. I love taking a trip to imagined worlds in games when it feels like a relaxing, captivating break from life.

I hope to make a game someday as beautiful as Okami. The visual design is only one part. The innovative paintbrush mechanic, seamless movement, and overall fluidity in the fantastic 2D/3D hybrid realm that really make the game shine. I am excited to be able to play more of Okami and rediscover my passion for gaming again.