Range of Titles Prompts DS Jap-Jealousy

If you’re a DS owner, and you’re anything like us, then you’ll be a little upset that there’s not much to look forward to until the release of Meteos and Nintendogs in far-off September/October.

What makes it even worse is having to watch our counterparts in the land of the rising sun enjoy the positive flood of ingenious, addictive and desirable titles issuing forth from resourceful Japanese developers.

The latest of these to show up on the ever-watchful SPOnG radar is the punchily titled Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan! This, we are told, translates roughly into English as ‘Hey! Fight! Cheerleader Team!’ Yes, really. And in Japan, it would seem that cheerleaders are not wholesome girls-next-door, but trenchcoated, heroic young men. A rhythm game in the mould of the fantastic Gitaroo Man, Ouendan requires you to tap, stroke and - where necessary - spin the ever-decreasing circles that appear on the DS touch screen, in time to a J-Rock soundtrack. The precision of your performance directly affects the storyline of a manga comic which unfolds on the top screen. What with the Japanese cheerleaders and the J-Rock music, it seems too much to hope that the game will see a European release. Then again, if Electroplankton can make it here, then why not? In any case, like all honourable Nintendo handhelds, the DS is not region locked so you could always import it.

Naruto is fast becoming the new Dragonball Z on consoles, with the popular fighting series based on the anime now in its third iteration on GameCube. Already available on DS is a fighting game, Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 3, plus an RPG, Chidori vs. Rasengan. Of course, Naruto and friends will also feature in the anticipated Jump Super Stars. And they’ve got Another Code out there already too! Curse them! It seems that wherever Japanese developers come up trumps with a fresh and original idea for the DS, over here in Europe we get second rate ports with touch screen functionality as an afterthought.

But even the Japanese are still waiting for one game which we can be pretty sure we’ll see over here too: Winning Eleven, or as we know it, Pro Evolution Soccer. Konami’s definitive footie game, given a DS twist, with wireless connectivity, free online play, it’s almost too good to be true. But we’re getting carried away now; let us know what DS titles you are most looking forward to in the forum below, or indeed, what Japanese titles you most hope will make it over here.