En síntesis, Osu para gente normal.

Pero llendo más allá, se re-nota sabiendo la historia de su desarrollo que se le puso una cantidad de cariño y carisma a este título muy poco usual en el medio actual, se abrazo al máximo el concepto loco e innovador e hicieron prácticamente un saturday morning cartoon ochentero en un videojuego rítmico que desborda un carisma enorme.
Es lo suficientemente absurdo con su sentido del humor que fusiona un sentido de la exageración fantasiosa nipona con el poder "radical" tan occidental, siendo genuinamente atrapante cuando ocurren momentos épicos como el tramo final del juego u serios como la historia que acompaña el tema de "You're the inspiration."

Su sistema jugable, al igual que el resto del paquete, se siente como adictivo, bien pensado, responsivo y a la final muy propio de sus historias, conectando a través de las pistas musicales al jugador y sus historias, exigiéndole dominar el sistema para recompensarlo con los mejores desenlaces.

En resumen, una entrada sólida, apasionada, memorable como poco y que merece mayor reconocimiento general.

One of my favorite genres of story is "eccentric protagonist/group of characters go around to different people in need of help in order to give them the strength to overcome their problems themselves in unconventional ways, rather than just doing it for them". This is the framework that Elite Beat Agents uses to deliver some Japanese rhythm game goodness to us all, and I find it to be a genius formula. Sure, there's a lot of obvious goofiness to every episode, but in the end they're all stories of humans (or dogs or white blood cells) trying their best to overcome incredible odds, just needing a little bit of motivation and cheer. I'll admit while the "You're The Inspiration" episode didn't get me that bad, mostly because I felt like it was trying a little too hard to be emotional (not just a dead dad, but a dead dad ON CHRISTMAS), but every time I think about the mom in the "September" episode I do actually start tearing up every time. I just love seeing that kind of strength come out in people, even if it's a person in my funny DS rhythm game. It kind of happens upon a similar "world in harmony" theme that Rhythm Heaven also happens upon. Rhythm Heaven is about finding beauty and rhythm in everyday things, and how they all come together to make a wonderful song that the world sings together. Elite Beat Agents is about harnessing that rhythm to do the impossible and become the best person we can be. It's the perfect framework and presentation for a game like this, I can't praise it enough.

As for the actual rhythm game, it's mostly solid. I agree with JaxMagnetic's review that it isn't all that graceful on a DS touchscreen, in fact I'm willing to bet emulating this makes certain parts a lot easier. There were a couple too many instances of "well you didn't tap hard enough so your input was just completely ignored" or "you didn't have the stylus exactly in the middle of the ball line so you lose points", and that combined with how easy it is to wipe out in this game did lead to some levels being real headaches. Ultimately I had to learn that beating this game requires a mix of both getting into the flow of rhythm and paying attention to exactly when you need to tap certain buttons, because going with only one of these usually leads to failure. I also am not completely sure how to feel about the way song charts just sort of switch between which part of the song to follow, I get that throwing you off is the point but some of the tricks the charts can pull feel down right evil. But no matter how many criticisms I have with this game, I can't help but be in love with it. I didn't even mention how much I love the "America done by Japan" style of this game, people walking around with names like Lucy Stevens and Don Tanner, satirizing American stereotypes in a way feels like it's laughing with rather than laughing at, not that there's anything wrong with laughing at. It's got an unbreakable spirit and a beautifully 2000's soundtrack, you simply can't beat the Elite Beat Agents.

Also I think I need to get a new model of 3DS, the original model kind of sucks ass. Dumb ass retractable stylus, can't stand that thing.

The DS doesn’t have enough good rhythm games, but Elite Beat Agents helps fill that void with a campy off the wall style that any fan of the genre will enjoy. You play as three Charlie’s Angels esque agents (men instead of women) with crazy hairstyles who go out helping people do impossible tasks that break real-world rules. Various stages include helping a pirate find treasure, help a taxi driver deliver a pregnant woman to a hospital after a cop tells him to not speed ever again, or a movie director make successful movies. These are told in comic style frames and they are quick and funny to watch. You play about 30 seconds of a song then you watch the rest of the wacky story unfold, and how good you were at that segment determines whether or not they succeed in their goal or fail.


The game play is different from most rhythm games in a sense that you don’t follow colored blocks that fall into place and you hit it at the right time. The game uses solely the touchscreen, but I couldn’t really dig the way the rhythm mechanic was designed. You hit numbered circles, and depending on the beat, an outer circle will close in, but once it gets even with the numbered circle you tap it. The numbers tell you what order to hit it, but you must follow the colored group. Various other “notes” range from following a ball with your stylus, double tapping, triple tapping, or using a spinner to fill a meter. These are weird for rhythm games and helps add to the random crazy feeling of the stories, but it is really hard to master because timing is hard when trying to line up circles within circles.


Later on the songs get harder so there are all these circles floating around and you can get confused and lost on the tiny screen and the game has little room for error. Keeping your meter in the Yes is important because if you are in the No after the segment you fail that part of the story. My issue is that the meter is constantly running down and you are keeping it up, so failing a lot in slow sections makes you fail faster. Once you get the hang of it you start having fun, but younger people may get frustrated quickly due to the high learning curve.



A rhythm game isn’t complete without good songs and EBA is lacking here as well. There are famous songs here such as Village People’s “YMCA” or Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8ter Boi” but that’s just it, it’s a hodge-podge of random artists and these are just cover songs (remade by someone else). Not only that, but the audio is very low quality and tinny so it feels like a half-baked rhythm game. I like some of the songs here, but there should have been more consistency and less random pickings, plus there are only 19 songs so you can finish this in one or two sittings. The game also lacks any type of modes besides multiplayer so you will get bored after a few sittings with this game.

EBA has a great sense of humor, funny stories, and a decent selection of songs, but it feels like its missing something and the high learning curve will turn anyone away except the hardcore rhythm fans. This is a great weekend rental or something you can pick up in your bargain bin if you are craving rhythm action on your DS.

Uno de los mejores juegos que haya jugado en mi vida. Ayudamos a otras personas a resolver problemas relacionados con la vida cotidiana, pero no de manera directa, sino dándoles ánimos para que sean ellos mismos los que saquen fuerzas para sobreponerse a sus propios conflictos, los cuales suelen estar llevados a la exageración y tienen grandes cantidades de humor, pero también tienen su lugar episodios más serios y emotivos.

Su jugabilidad es una sencilla y profunda que aprovecha al máximo la pantalla táctil de la Nintendo DS, pues consiste en tener que pulsar unos botones al ritmo de la música con el stylus que van apareciendo por la pantalla y que requieren de timing y precisión, además de que en algunos momentos introduce una ruleta que hay que girar y que refuerza los momentos climáticos de las canciones. También sabe muy bien cómo escalar su dificultad, pues a medida que vamos superando fases, estas van introduciendo de manera progresiva inputs más exigentes. Y lo que es mejor, iremos desbloqueando dificultades que nos harán volver a jugar al título varias veces.

Lo que digo en esta reseña también se aplica a Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! 1 y 2, juegos que se quedaron en Japón por estar muy centrados en la cultura japonesa, pero que portan su mismo mensaje.

The way the art looks and how it tells stories through music is nothing short of amazing. It's so expressive! Even each part you fail has hilarious stuff happening. It drips with style and passion, this is gameing as an art. The mechanic are also really tight for a rhythm game. While difficult at times, it's always fair in how it follows the music.

A someone who lost a parent at an age you don't expect to, the song with the girl who's father didn't come home for Christmas because of an accident was a gut punch for me (in a good way). Didn't expect something so extremely emotional in this kind of game.

One of the games i would play incessantly as a kid. And holy shit does it hold up. The gameplay is so fast, so exciting that there is zero down time from the secomd you turn the game on. Every action is satisfying to pull off with great sound effects. The track list is such a random dogs breakfast of genres and eras, but the DS compression charm makes me actually enjoy even the worst songs. (Believe by Cher? Sum41? Skater Girl?) On the other hand, this game introduced me to Jamiroquai, but i cant give bonus points since it would have been 5 stars regardless. A fantastic companion piece to Ouendan, which is just as fun.

Played the full 2/3/4 star difficulties to completion

I played this a ton back in 2007 and I'm very glad to say it holds up extremely well. The track charts are (mostly) just a blast to play, especially on the higher difficulties. And yes, Jumping Jack Flash is as much of a pain in the ass as it ever was.

But god do I love this game. The style, the songs, the little cutscenes before and after every track. Everything just exudes this "fuck yeah let's do this" energy. I love it.

A truly Elite rhythm game

this is a sequel to the japanese exclusive game "osu! tatakae! ouendan", which of course spawned the pc rhythm game osu. this game is like osu on pc if it was actually good; the music is boppin, and there's wacky anime shenanigans happening on the top screen while buff dudes dance on the lower screen (or a team of cheerleaders if youre on max difficulty (i wish your character choice was seperate from your difficulty)). only major complaint is the lack of a practice mode, some of the later charts can be difficult purely because you can barely read them.

Might be one of the most entertaining and addictive rhythm games out there. The songs are all covers of western music, but most of them are just flat out improvements over the original, including its version of Jumping Jack Flash, which is perhaps part of one of the most hype conclusions to any game ever.

The comic scenes are really fun and give the game so much personality, while the gameplay is simple but absolutely fiendish on the higher difficulties. It really gets your blood pumping as you work on perfecting each song, just so you can survive. Your DS screen will take a beating, but it will be worth it.