Wow, I'm shocked and excited:
http://www.dsfanboy.com/2007/02/21/osu- … l-is-a-go/

Never mind the added EBA features, I just want those adorable SD designs back. No word on the soundtrack, but I'd love more Tomoyasu Hotei and an Utada song.

If that wasn't enough, Panel de Pon DS was also announced. Bye bye, SNES. The DS Lite is now my most favorite system ever.

Edit: Joystiq mentions that the sequel's title is Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Tamashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, or Burn! Hot-Blooded Rhythm Spirit, Yo! Fight! Cheerleading. The title alone has me doubly excited.

And so it was, the seed for another legendary piece of gaming is planted.  May it blossom into one of 2007's most sweetest plums.

iNiS, you're the freaken best.  The anticipation is going to be painfully delicious.

This is good news. I never played the original Quendan, though I wanted to. Played the ever-loving shit out of Elite Beat Agents. Could this mean a sequel to EBA is going to come stateside? I'd love to see that.

Well, that's two more DS games I'll be preordering.  I do wonder how Nintendo will bring Panel de Pon to America this time.  Yoshi?  Pokemon?  Something else?  Should be interesting.

Nintendo Puzzle Collection never did come out in the States, did it? I wonder if the fact that it didn't have Pokemon characters had something to do with it?

From the screens I've seen of Panel de Pon DS, the interface is pretty plain. Hopefully they'll just release it as is with a Touch Generations label over here, although I wouldn't mind them giving it a Wario Ware touch.

After I made my post, I remembered that Panel de Pon also hit the GBA in the form of the very plain Dr. Mario and Puzzle League collection with no characters attached.  And you're right, the Cube puzzle collection never came here.

Yano's keynote presentation was today, and 1up.com did up a live blog:

http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=793 … Id=5844217

As far as the future of iNiS's games are concerned, they do seem to be very interested in working with the Wii.   There's a strong hint that an EBA2 is in the pipeline.  And while there's no release date for Ouendan 2 yet, there is confirmation that there will be a "rival" group in the game, and that there are "new features designed for hardcore players."  Kotaku also snapped two screenshots:

http://kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007 … ndan_2.jpg

And then there's the Famitsu scan, which, although of poor quality, does seem to reveal that not only do Ryuta, Saito, and Suzuki return from the first game, but also Tsuyoshi from the stage "Exam Crisis!"

http://img171.imagevenue.com/img.php?im … _194lo.jpg

A summary of the 1up.com report: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3157852

Also.... Same scan, better quality:

http://gonintendo.com/wp-content/photos … _144lo.jpg

And two songs have now been confirmed: Sukima Switch's "Zenryoku Shonen" and Going Under Ground's "VISTA."

I hope this means a mission mode, similar to what DDR has now. It would be a great way to extend the life of the game even further. However, I'm praying that they don't add an SS rank.  I think I would lose my sanity trying to get all 300s.

The addition of a rival group is interesting, though I wonder how they'll actually affect the gameplay. My first thought was that they'd be anti-Ouendan, cheering against you and handicapping you as in multiplayer mode, but the screenshots don't seem to indicate that.

Apparently it will be sans license as the U.S. release is being called Planet Puzzle League.  Due out in June, I think.

Nintendo World Report's got a 23 minute audio interview up with Yano, which you can check out as an mp3 here:

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/spec … rtid=13112

This is the first time I've ever heard the man speak, and his English is indeed fluent; not at all surprising, since English is one of his first languages.  Can't wait to listen to the whole thing during my lunch break!

Listened to the entire interview.  Man, I know it sounds odd, but you know how Yano talks about his company philosophy of creating games that make people feel good?  Even listening to Yano himself talking makes me feel good.  ^_^;  He's got a good voice, really; nice laugh, too.

But yeah, neat insights and anecdotes abound in the interview; Q Entertainment's Miziguchi and him being drinking buddies, the intended exaggerated stereotypical view of American culture in EBA, Gitaroo Man speak, the Ouendan/EBA song selection process, Yano's love for the spinners..... followed up by sound advice on how to do them properly.

And, it's worth mentioning that Kohler heard from sources close at Nintendo that Ouendan 2 would be coming sooner this year than later. Late spring/early summer, perhaps?

Fantastic interview. You can really tell how much passion Yano has for making and playing games, yet he isn't at all pretentious about any of it. His laugh is truly infectious, and you just get the sense that he'd be a great guy to hang out with.

Ya know, I still don't really get the spinner hate. I mean, I don't regularly get 20000 bonus points, but the only spinner I've ever had trouble on was the final spinner in "The Anthem" on Hard Rock. To this day, I think the best I've gotten on it was 100.

Most surprising revelation for me: iNiS isn't pronounced eye-nis. The proper pronunciation actually sounds surprisingly like the tagalog word for "annoyed." In fact, I just realized it's spelled the same way, too. Does anyone know the true origin of their name?

Oh, I saw that on a release list, but it didn't occur to me that it would be the localized version of Panel de Pon. I wonder why they've abandoned the Tetris Attack name?

New scans, courtesy of JeuxFrance:

http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?imag … 5bisg0.jpg
http://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?imag … 1bibf3.jpg

Hajime's got Kai's hat!  Could he have raised through the ranks that quickly?

Well, the Tetris name now has to be licensed through The Tetris Company and there are restrictions on how many Tetris games can come out during a given year to prevent brand spamming.  Of course, Nintendo only called it Tetris Attack the first time it was released on SNES and GB back in 1996.  Then it was Pokemon Puzzle League on N64 and Pokemon Puzzle Challenge on GBC in 2000 and then just Puzzle League on GBA in 2005 (the 2003 Cube version never came here).

I don't mind it not having the Tetris branding or the Yoshi/Pokemon motifs, but I have to say the screens make it look pretty dull without any sort of theme.

Re Tetris Attack, I wish they'd just have used the original Panel de Pon title (and theme) for the Western releases as well.

This is more for Angela than anyone, but I guess we should all be pleased to see Reggie's comments in his recent Newsweek interview with N'Gai Coral concerning Ouendan 2.  Sorry I don't have the actual link, but he basically says he expects the series to continue to expand its fanbase and thinks it'll have greater acceptance than EBA.  Not really sure why he's comparing EBA to Ouendan 2 unless he's basically admitting that some variant of Ouendan 2 will head stateside, but who knows.

I saw the interview.  I don't think he was necessarily comparing the acceptance of Ouendan 2 over EBA, but stating more of the general belief that the bigger the fanbase, the higher the recognition for the series - and therefore, the higher the probability that the next game will be more successful.

But it always kind of irks me when Guitar Hero is being referenced when it comes to talks about Ouendan/EBA.  Inevitable, of course, both being rhythm games after all..... but the monsterous success that the former has over the latter leads me to believe that gamers inequitably continue to gravitate toward the overrated over the truly excellent.

Ouendan 2 gets a release date: May 17th!  YES!

From Kohler:

---

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 -- aka the sequel to the Best Game Ever -- is hitting Japan on May 17. That's less than five weeks from now. Get very excited.

EDIT: Here's the final tracklisting, as we know it now:

Sukima Switch - "Zenryoku Shonen"
Kaela Kimura - "Real Life Real Heart"
FLOW - "Okuru Kotoba"
Ken Hirai - "POP STAR"
The Checkers - "Julia ni Shoshin"
Home Made Kazoku - "Shonen Heart"
Going Under Ground - "VISTA"
mihimaru GT - "Kibun Jojo"
SMAP - "BANG! BANG! Bakansu!"
Hotei Tomoyasu - "Bambina"
AI - "Believe"
Hitomi Yaida - "Go My Way"
Orange Range - "Monkey Magic"
NANA starring Mika Nakashima - "Glamorous Sky"
ZZ - "Samurai Blue"
Kishidan - "Zoku"
Porno Graffitti - "Music Hour"
Hyde - "COUNTDOWN"
Sambomaster - "Sekai wa Sore o Ai to Yobunda ze"

---

I'll be hittin' up a pre-order faster than you can say "OSU!"

May 17?! Much earlier than anticipated, that's for sure. I seem to recall reading that iNiS were working on EBA up to the last minute, so when did they find time for Ouendan 2? Although, really, I'm grateful that I don't have to wait much longer for more cheering action.

Out of what's been revealed so far, I'm only familiar with "Bambina" and "Pop Star." "Bambina" in particular is a fantastic choice--there are so many elements of the song that are tailor made for Ouendan.

I'll be pre-ordering as soon as NCSX starts taking orders.  And yes, this is much earlier than I was expecting as well.

They've begun taking pre-orders. Go for it!

Also, GoNintendo's got the boxart up.  Totally kickin': http://gonintendo.com/wp-content/photos … rt_dsf.jpg

Done and done.  And I love the box art ripped from other games!  I recognize the Rhythm and Damsahi rips, but do you know which games they pulled the Moreo and Nekketsu things from?

You're talking about the boxart that Kohler mocked-up, right?  The "Moero!" is from Pro Yakyuu, the Japanese equivalent of Jaleco's Bases Loaded, but I'm not certain where that "Nekketsu" comes from.  Something from the Kunio-kun series, perhaps?

Oh... ha.  I didn't realize that was a mockup he made.  Too bad.  He did a great job with it.  Maybe I should have actually clicked on your link to the real box art before replying.  Whoops.

Famitsu's got a scan of the Cheergirls, both the original group and the new rival one.  I sort of suspected that the new group would have red-colored outfits to contrast with their female counterparts and male team members -- but the bigger question is: will their choreography differ from the original girls?

Famitsu's also got their score up: 9/9/8/8 (34/40).

Either Kylie is one of the rival Cheergirls, or that's the wrong link ^_^ Although, really, I would love to see Kylie as a cheergirl.

I did a quick search for the Famitsu's score for the first Ouendan, and it was apparently 35. So, thankfully, Ouendan 2 is at least as good as the first one. The kiosk demo comes out later today/tomorrow, so hopefully we'll have some news on any gameplay changes or additions.

More than that, I'm just noticing the shot with the two mustached fellas in red and green overalls.  Could they be....?!

Oh, it seems to be pointing to the correct picture now. Before all I saw was a biography of Kylie Minogue and a picture of a young girl being interviewed o_O

I've always loved spotting the cameos, but I never expected them to show up. Makes me wonder who else will make an appearance (Elite Beat Divas, please).

Someone from NeoGAF translated the Famitsu reviews. It looks like there are no major changes to the gameplay, aside from the EBA tweaks. That seems odd, as Yano promised new features for hardcore players. Perhaps the Famitsu reviewers haven't unlocked the new stuff yet?

The official site is finally up, as are some videos: http://touch-ds.jp/mfs/ouendan2/ I'm totally that guy in the third video, always humming along and saying "Dai-Sei-Kou" at the end.

I have to say, the patterns are looking surprisingly fresh and inventive, proving that the nature of the gameplay has the potential for far more variety than DDR or some other rhythm games. The infinity sign in particular looks really fun, so I hope it's still there on Insane.

And I can't believe this is really coming out just one week from now. It's like Christmas in May!

And let me be the first to say, "Happy Holidays!"  Gonna keep all of my DS Lites charged for one hell of an enjoyable weekend next week. ^_^

I'm dying to watch the videos, but at this point, I'm waiting till the game's release.  I did, however, watch the kiosk demo in action; it's Julia ni Shoushin, and man, it sure looks fun.  Agreed on the patterns - even on the Ryuta mode of difficulty, they're already throwing in well-implemented half beats and double taps.

And I really missed that hard and powerful sounding percussion when you hit notes.  That was one of the few things Ouendan had over EBA, so it's great to see it come back for the sequel.

Rar!  My DS is in Kyoto hopefully getting repaired, so I reeeeeeally hope I have it back in my grubby hands when this game comes out.  :\

Got my copy in from NCSX tonight, and I've managed to pull myself away after playing through the first ten stages on Normal.

The menu and option screens are very much set up like the first Ouendan, so vets will be able to get through with no trouble at all.  The game once again starts you off with Hajime's Easy (Light Cheering) and Ryuta's Normal (Bold Cheering) modes.  The stage select screen is like a hybrid of Ouendan and EBA; it's a birdseye view of a busy metropolitan city like the first Ouendan, but is actually 3D-made.  Pretty sleek, and certainly more graphically detailed than EBA's circular globe.

Anyone who's familiar with the gameplay from Ouendan or EBA will be able to jump straight into this one.  I breezed through the first six or seven songs, but the patterns begin to ramp up in trickiness soon after - "Bambina" and "Kibun Jojo" threatened to destroy my sense of rhythm my first time through.  >_<;  Also, detractors of spinners, good news; they are significantly easier this time around, at least from what I've played on Normal Mode. 

You can skip the song intros a la EBA, yes -- but for the even more inpatient, you can actually skip the ENDING of the song, after its last section fully plays out, and shoot straight to the rank result screen.  Like EBA, there's also multiple endings for each song, depending on the number of sections you passed during the level.  And there's also the special dual-screen artwork shot if you passed each section successfully.  The replay save system is a little different this time, in that they give you twenty slots of your choosing - so instead of restricting you to one save per song, you can conceivably have twenty saves of the same song. 

The rival group dynamic kicks in immediately after the first level.  Apparently, you alternate between both the original group and the new one depending on which song you choose.  So only the original group is featured in "Zenryoku Shonen," while the rival one is in "VISTA."  Whether they'll be interchangable or not remains to be seen, but I somehow doubt they made different Ouendan introductions for every stage between the two groups.  Other than that, there's no change to the gameplay - just the group's choreography and grunts and shouts.  It should be interesting to see how both groups play when it comes to the final level -- a truce & alliance, perhaps?

Other miscellaneous things: The little Ouendan music fanfare when you get a "Dai-Sei-Kou!".... so cheesy, so good.  The screams of "OUENDAN!!!" are as amusing as ever, and are more personalized to the characters.  (The choir duo's sing-song scream had me in stitches, as well as the werewolf boy's mutated howl.)  o_O   

Early word on the message boards say there's a sort of stealth mode to unlock, which removes the timer circles and slide bar cues.  I'd imagine that would provide a nominal challenge for learning a song inside out to be able to pass.  *_*

I'm loving it so far.  Best stage is the boy trying to not wet his bed, clever clever stuff.  The cameo appearance of the "Mario brothers" was a nice touch too. <-- highlight for level spoilers.  As far as last levels go though, I'm not too impressed.  EBA and Ouendan were way better in that sense.  But that's mostly cause I love RSG and JJF, and never heard the songs in this game before.  Time will tell!

By the way.. I WANNA BE A POP STAR!  Haha, catchy stuff. 

-Mike

I've cleared the game with the Cheergirls, albeit with pretty mediocre ranks. I don't even want to calculate how many hours straight I've played. At this point, my arm is sore and my eyes are hurting, but I had a smile on my face the entire time.

For me, the best part is the return of the SD character designs. I also love that the city actually looks active, with cars and trains moving about.

There's one on Insane that's akin to the final one on "The Anthem" from EBA. I think it may be a tad easier, but it still goes by very fast.

From what I gather -- and I didn't realize it until Magnificent Cheering -- the city is divided in two. The left half appears to be a sort of suburb and is represented by the Ouendan, while the right half has more of a big-city feel and is represented by the rival group. As for the final stage, well, it's extremely cool ^_~  It's a bit more subdued this time around, but I personally enjoyed the change of pace. Plus, it's absolute hell with the Cheergirls -- just the way I like it!

I love the one from the "Bambina" stage. Takuya(?) is just so adorable. Although, I'm actually not too fond of the cover itself.

Angela mentioned the trickiness of the patterns as the game progresses, and I second that notion. I'm not sure if it's just because I'm not familiar with the songs yet, but the patterns do seem much trickier this time. One of the reasons, I think, is the introduction of what I've been calling "the bean" (an extremely short, curved phrase marker). I don't remember anything like it in Ouendan or EBA. Its small size makes my brain think it's just a regular hit marker so I always forget to slide my stylus.

Also, one of my favorite parts of Ouendan was the final section of "Shanghai Honey" on Insane. Never mind Insane, I honestly think that there are songs on Normal in Ouendan 2 that have that same sort of randomness.

Finally, I promised I wouldn't let them get me again, but (spoilers) they got me again with "Believe." Sniff.