Yoot Saito's Odama

Since the old thread is gone, might as well make a new one.

From the creator and the makers of Seaman for Dreamcast (and Sim Tower for PC), comes Odama, a bizarre mixture of feudal warfare and pinball.

A brief summary at Nintendo.com describes it best:

Originally Posted by Nintendo.com

The main character in Odama is Yamanouchi Kagetora, the general credited with creating the Way of Ninten, a philosophy that puts the greater good above the individual’s needs. With this philosophy to guide him, he finds that his individual soldiers can band together to create a force strong enough to defeat even the most powerful enemy.

When his nemesis, a general named Kendare, kills his father, Kagetora exacts his revenge against a vast army with only 30 soldiers in his command. Kagetora has a secret weapon, however – a legendary weapon called the Odama.

The Odama itself is the most prominent character in the game. This gigantic ball rolls across the battlefield, pulverizing anything in its path – friend or foe. A commander stands guard between the two flippers, hacking down any soldiers who attempt to pass. The army of soldiers carries items for players and obeys their every order.

So basically you have to go to war against enemy troops, commanding your armies by shouting into a microphone that comes with the game, all the while controlling a gigantic pinball ball and using it as a weapon against enemy forces. The trouble is, the ball will crush friendlies alike, so you need to be careful and guide your troops accurately for the best coordination. Hitting enemy troops with the Odama let's you convert them to your side, growing your army further. Many battle fields have all manner of obstacles you need to get past or destroy, such as getting your troops to cover a large moat with a makeshift bridge in order to get your Odama to strike the enemy on the other side (and naturally so your troops can cross as well).

I've been interested in this game for well over 18 months now, ever since I first read about it. At the time it was destined to become and stay a japanese import oddity, so I was excited when I heard a European release had been confirmed on Nintendo Europe's official website. I went to a supermarket to look for empty DVDs today and I noticed the game is already being sold over here, while the official release date seems to be April 10th (for the US as well).

Screens:







More screens

Nintendo.com Odama page

Got-Next's Odama preview

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I saw this (I believe at) TGS, quirky as it may sound it seems to work.

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I saw this in an EGM a few years ago, but I never expected in a million years for a US release.

I might pick it up simply for the novelty of it. (And how many good pinball games are made nowadays, anyway?)

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Is there a score tab, or a scoring system, or a scoring anything in this game?

I mean who plays Pinball not for score?

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I'm unreasonably excited about this game. I love virtual pinball machines, and this one looks very good indeed. I think it was at E3 last year but I missed it somehow (or maybe I thought it was a strategy game or something, since that's what it looks like at glance).

Anyway, excited! =D

I was speaking idiomatically.

It looks absolutely insane.

The way it seems so far is not really as a pinball game, but a strategy game with a pinball element, which is ridiculous. Definitely among the strangest games I've seen. Hopefully they'll show more of it at E3.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by NES Oldskooler

It looks absolutely insane.

The way it seems so far is not really as a pinball game, but a strategy game with a pinball element, which is ridiculous. Definitely among the strangest games I've seen. Hopefully they'll show more of it at E3.

It'd be a waste of space at E3 this year, considering its already out in Europe, and it will be in the US/Japan within weeks....

Anyways, holy shit. I just was watching videos, and this looks great. I normally get pretty bored of pinball pretty quick, but I could see myself playing a LOT of this game...

- WraithTwo -

FELIPE NO

http://odama.nintendo.com/final/

The game looks friggin' sweet after looking over the official website and the new videos. The soldier dialogue seems to be pretty amusing, too. Like "Hey! Free stuff!" when you drop riceballs to distract enemies.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

This is one of those games that makes me want a Gamecube so badly. I understand the translators were given a great deal of latitude, so some of the soldier comments are pretty hilarious, especially when morale drops and they start making cracks about your leadership.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I tried this out today. It's pretty fun, kudos to Nintendo for not dubbing it over in English.

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