Elite Beat Agents Review
By, A-Zar
Background Info
Elite Beat Agents (EBA) and it’s predecessor Os Tatoke Ouendan are games that are unlike any other I have ever played before. I haven’t experienced many music or rhythm games aside from Donkey Konga, Jungle Beat, and Electroplankton, so this was a completely new experience, and one that I am happy to say is well worth your time and money.
In EBA, you take on the role of Agents that have to help people with their problems by performing some pretty cool dance moves to the beats of many well-known songs. In the original game, you were Ouendan, which are men cheerleaders who dance to help root for people in trouble that need help. Sounds kind of confusing, yes, but the game’s premise went through a pretty big overhaul in the Americanization process for obvious reasons. While men cheerleaders may be accepted in Japan, a man who is a cheerleader in America and other countries is something else. Fortunately, the change does not affect the game play in any way.
Game play/ Story
You begin a mission as a corresponding song begins to play. You start by watching scenes presented in a comic book format that display the problem you have to help solve. You are then led into the song by tapping several series of beats that are in the song. The beats are presented as small circles arranged on the bottom screen by color and in number order. The time at which you tap the circle is dictated by the beat of the song and it requires timing. There is a learning curve to this, but the tutorial combined with the low level of difficulty in the early stages will help you become adjusted to the unique game mechanics. Depending on how well you time the beat, you will be given a score of either “X” which is the lowest and a miss, 50, 100, or 300, which is highest. Too many X’s or 50s will hinder your score and prevent you from moving on in the level.
In every level there is a status bar located at the top of the bottom screen. It continuously decreases from the accepted passing level and a “Yes” to the failing zone of “No.” You can maintain a Yes by timing the beats correctly and getting 100s and 300s. If you get 50s, it will not suffice for the decreasing levels and eventually cause failure. Getting several Xs in a row will also cause failure. You do not fail when the meter hits No, but instead when the meter runs out completely. There is actually a decent amount of leeway in the No area of the meter and it will take several Xs to finally fail you, but that is where the story elements come into play. Every song is broken up into 3-4 parts. After 1 part of the song is successfully played through, the story progresses, and depending on how well you did, you will either receive an X, or an O. An O will help the people in trouble towards their goal, while an X will produce a funny scene of them getting deeper in trouble, but not yet failing.
After you complete the level and finish all the parts, your score is tallied, and depending on how many Os and Xs you got for every part of the mission, the solution to the person’s problem will be better or worse. Many of the stories are very funny and all of them are worth the time to read through. Your score, how many 300s, 100s, 50s, Xs, and continuous beats are all tallied and you can even save the best runs from each level to go back and view later.
Game Mechanics
There are several levels of difficulty in the game. An easy mode, normal mode, hard mode, and very hard mode. Each level of difficulty has the same songs, but the number of beats increases substantially, thus, changing the level completely and making several playthroughs absolutely necessary. The speed of beats increases since there are many more, and the amount of time you are given before you see the beats in advance becomes tremendously lower, providing for insane levels of difficulty in late levels. The easy mode is pretty much your tutorial. Normal mode will serve for an average level of difficulty, with some songs proving more difficult than others. Hard mode, which is entitled “Sweatin’” in the game is when the difficulty really picks up, and memorization of beats will become necessary. The game is at it’s best in this stage because you will be tapping so many beats at a pace that really gets you into the game and you start to feel the song. Very hard mode is just insane. The circles get significantly smaller, the number of beats that appear simultaneously onscreen is mind-boggling, and the duration that you see the beats before you have to touch it is sometimes a second or less. It is truly an accomplishment to beat the game on this difficulty and it will yield some pretty nice unlockables. Although the songs will always remain the same, the game doesn’t get tired in the different modes. It actually picks up in fun and value. The easy mode is pretty dull and way too slow, so if you get into the game, you’ll be begging for the harder levels. There are also several unlockable songs that you achieve by increasing your rank. This helps to extend the life of the game as well. Beating every song on every difficulty level will get you a great surprise that is worth the effort.
Multi-Player
EBA boasts a fantastic multiplayer mode as well as deep single player mode. You can do single card download play and compete with friends or do co-op mode, as well as multi-card play. As an added bonus and extra incentive to find someone else with the game, every story for each level is completely different. The multiplayer is tons of fun and definitely worth it.
Closing Comments
EBA is a game that should be in every gamer and non-gamer’s collection. It is a great reminder of what gaming should be, and that is fun. Everyone will enjoy this game. The song selection is great with favorites, such as “YMCA” and “September” by Earth, Wind, and Fire. The game has some flaws however, that can not be ignored. Certain songs will have points where the beats on screen seem forced because they do not follow the beats of the song. This happens rarely, but when it does, you will know, and it will kill you. You can do your best to get past this and it proves to be a minor problem when compared to everything that is done right with the game. The graphics are great and everything is presented wonderfully. The agents and their moves look fantastic and cool enough to make you want to try. You may even learn a thing or two. As an added bonus, the rumble pack is compatible, which is always a huge plus for me. Every single beat is felt with the rumble pack very accurately when using it and it definitely extenuates the experience. The bottom line? This game is a must have for everyone with a DS. Get it as soon as you can and enjoy.
Score: 9.4/10
Background Info
Elite Beat Agents (EBA) and it’s predecessor Os Tatoke Ouendan are games that are unlike any other I have ever played before. I haven’t experienced many music or rhythm games aside from Donkey Konga, Jungle Beat, and Electroplankton, so this was a completely new experience, and one that I am happy to say is well worth your time and money.
In EBA, you take on the role of Agents that have to help people with their problems by performing some pretty cool dance moves to the beats of many well-known songs. In the original game, you were Ouendan, which are men cheerleaders who dance to help root for people in trouble that need help. Sounds kind of confusing, yes, but the game’s premise went through a pretty big overhaul in the Americanization process for obvious reasons. While men cheerleaders may be accepted in Japan, a man who is a cheerleader in America and other countries is something else. Fortunately, the change does not affect the game play in any way.
Game play/ Story
You begin a mission as a corresponding song begins to play. You start by watching scenes presented in a comic book format that display the problem you have to help solve. You are then led into the song by tapping several series of beats that are in the song. The beats are presented as small circles arranged on the bottom screen by color and in number order. The time at which you tap the circle is dictated by the beat of the song and it requires timing. There is a learning curve to this, but the tutorial combined with the low level of difficulty in the early stages will help you become adjusted to the unique game mechanics. Depending on how well you time the beat, you will be given a score of either “X” which is the lowest and a miss, 50, 100, or 300, which is highest. Too many X’s or 50s will hinder your score and prevent you from moving on in the level.
In every level there is a status bar located at the top of the bottom screen. It continuously decreases from the accepted passing level and a “Yes” to the failing zone of “No.” You can maintain a Yes by timing the beats correctly and getting 100s and 300s. If you get 50s, it will not suffice for the decreasing levels and eventually cause failure. Getting several Xs in a row will also cause failure. You do not fail when the meter hits No, but instead when the meter runs out completely. There is actually a decent amount of leeway in the No area of the meter and it will take several Xs to finally fail you, but that is where the story elements come into play. Every song is broken up into 3-4 parts. After 1 part of the song is successfully played through, the story progresses, and depending on how well you did, you will either receive an X, or an O. An O will help the people in trouble towards their goal, while an X will produce a funny scene of them getting deeper in trouble, but not yet failing.
After you complete the level and finish all the parts, your score is tallied, and depending on how many Os and Xs you got for every part of the mission, the solution to the person’s problem will be better or worse. Many of the stories are very funny and all of them are worth the time to read through. Your score, how many 300s, 100s, 50s, Xs, and continuous beats are all tallied and you can even save the best runs from each level to go back and view later.
Game Mechanics
There are several levels of difficulty in the game. An easy mode, normal mode, hard mode, and very hard mode. Each level of difficulty has the same songs, but the number of beats increases substantially, thus, changing the level completely and making several playthroughs absolutely necessary. The speed of beats increases since there are many more, and the amount of time you are given before you see the beats in advance becomes tremendously lower, providing for insane levels of difficulty in late levels. The easy mode is pretty much your tutorial. Normal mode will serve for an average level of difficulty, with some songs proving more difficult than others. Hard mode, which is entitled “Sweatin’” in the game is when the difficulty really picks up, and memorization of beats will become necessary. The game is at it’s best in this stage because you will be tapping so many beats at a pace that really gets you into the game and you start to feel the song. Very hard mode is just insane. The circles get significantly smaller, the number of beats that appear simultaneously onscreen is mind-boggling, and the duration that you see the beats before you have to touch it is sometimes a second or less. It is truly an accomplishment to beat the game on this difficulty and it will yield some pretty nice unlockables. Although the songs will always remain the same, the game doesn’t get tired in the different modes. It actually picks up in fun and value. The easy mode is pretty dull and way too slow, so if you get into the game, you’ll be begging for the harder levels. There are also several unlockable songs that you achieve by increasing your rank. This helps to extend the life of the game as well. Beating every song on every difficulty level will get you a great surprise that is worth the effort.
Multi-Player
EBA boasts a fantastic multiplayer mode as well as deep single player mode. You can do single card download play and compete with friends or do co-op mode, as well as multi-card play. As an added bonus and extra incentive to find someone else with the game, every story for each level is completely different. The multiplayer is tons of fun and definitely worth it.
Closing Comments
EBA is a game that should be in every gamer and non-gamer’s collection. It is a great reminder of what gaming should be, and that is fun. Everyone will enjoy this game. The song selection is great with favorites, such as “YMCA” and “September” by Earth, Wind, and Fire. The game has some flaws however, that can not be ignored. Certain songs will have points where the beats on screen seem forced because they do not follow the beats of the song. This happens rarely, but when it does, you will know, and it will kill you. You can do your best to get past this and it proves to be a minor problem when compared to everything that is done right with the game. The graphics are great and everything is presented wonderfully. The agents and their moves look fantastic and cool enough to make you want to try. You may even learn a thing or two. As an added bonus, the rumble pack is compatible, which is always a huge plus for me. Every single beat is felt with the rumble pack very accurately when using it and it definitely extenuates the experience. The bottom line? This game is a must have for everyone with a DS. Get it as soon as you can and enjoy.
Score: 9.4/10
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