Originally Posted by Gamespot

The male cheerleader is a little known and mysterious individual whose existence borders on the supernatural. Much like the yeti, unicorns, and the rarely seen feral Care Bears, male cheerleaders aren't something you see often. There is, of course, a reason for this.

No, it's not because the notion of men jumping around like their female counterparts is both unsettling and hilarious. The reason the male cheerleader is rarely seen is because he's off doing important work just below the radar of the common man. What kind of work? Up until recently, no one really knew just what male cheerleaders did. However, the recently released import Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan! for Nintendo's DS sheds light on the secret lives of male cheerleaders with a fun, addictive rhythm game that's something all DS owners must experience.

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Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan! is a rhythm action game that puts you in charge of a trio of male cheerleaders that, much like Batman, is never far from those in need. The trio remains in a state of catlike readiness until it hears the call of "Ouendan!", or "Let's cheer!", from someone in need of help. You'll find two main modes in the game, a single-player experience that offers easy and normal difficulties, as well as an unlockable cheerleader difficulty and a multiplayer mode for two to four players.

The single-player game is a collection of 14 slices of life that finds your trio of cheerleaders making the rounds in Japan and helping anyone that cries out for help. You'll find people in need by using the DS's stylus to navigate a 2D map of the city. The needy masses can be seen running around at specific locations crying for help.

You'll tap an individual to select him or her, and then you'll hop in to help him or her. As you progress through the game, you'll open up additional needy folk in search of help until you reach the mother of all help requests and find yourself saving the world.

The multiplayer mode comes in two flavors, a simple two-player versus and a four-player rumble, that let you mix it up with friends over the DS's Wi-Fi. You'll be able to choose from any of the 14 songs, and you can compete against your friends. The interesting twist is that although the songs are recycled for this mode, the artwork is not, which lets you appreciate a few more hilarious story sequences, most notably two that feature monkeys (which is always a plus).

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So just what is the gameplay in a male cheerleading game like? It's surprisingly easy to pick up, but difficult to master. Developer Inis, which was responsible for the underappreciated Gitaroo Man for the PlayStation 2, has put together a very smart system for Ossu! Tatakae! Ouendan! You'll basically see a series of numbered circles that you'll have to tap in time with the music. A shrinking concentric circle will serve as your guideline, and it will alert you to when you can tap the numbered circle.

As you progress through the game, the mechanic expands a bit to include dragging a circle between two points in time with an onscreen icon and using your stylus to fill an onscreen gauge by spinning it on a wheel that appears on the touch screen. Your taps will yield points that fill a dwindling energy bar that cycles between red and yellow at the top of the screen. If the bar runs down to nothing, it's game over.

Originally Posted by Kotaku

Nintendo DS import favorite Ouendan [Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan] will be getting a Euro release. A Nintendo of Europe team member slipped word to game journos that the game will be heading to the UK sometime in the future. No word on a U.S. release, but it should be in the cards.
The rhythm game follows a troupe of cheerleader like helper dudes that go around encouraging people who are stuck in difficult situations.

Originally Posted by blackjack

Thanks! I found a couple of the songs elsewhere, and surprisingly, I really miss the whistle and percussion sounds. :D

Double Post:
Argh. Total lack of seeders. :(

Originally Posted by Chairman Kaga

I am proud to say I suck at this game! But it is still fun.

I'm still on normal mode (my bad), although I haven't touched the game in awhile. Do you need to hit a lot of perfects in some of the songs so your life won't run out? Because on one stage, I went without missing a hit, and still died near the end.