
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've got on their minds. Today, Lowell makes amends for a poor life choice and finally gets down with that funky, funky beat...
Rewind with me all the way back to mid-July 2007. Pokemon Diamond and Pearl were mere weeks away. New Super Mario Bros. and Wii Sports spun endlessly that summer inside my Nintendo Wii, and I couldn’t wait for the seventh and final Harry Potter book, The Deathly Hallows, to debut. Among all this madness, a little rhythm game about secret agents helping out those in need launched on 13th July in the EU: Elite Beat Agents. For me, this cult classic got lost in that hectic midsummer shuffle.

Now – on (well, around) the game’s 15th anniversary in the Europe – I’ve finally set this egregious error right.
Elite Beat Agents released as the international equivalent of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! and the second in a trio of rhythm games developed by iNiS and designed by Keiichi Yano. However, the localisation process resulted in two very distinct games with a strong familial connection, rather than the same gameplay with translated text.
I found myself huffing air out my nose in amusement so often my screen fogged up.
Despite living in the Land of the Rhythm Games, it turned out to be quite difficult to get my hands on a copy of Elite Beat Agents as it was never released in Japan. Online, I could find plenty of South Korean copies, but as Nintendo had some archaic region locking practices back in those days, I couldn’t play that version on any of my 3DS family of consoles.
So, I decided to go cave-diving in Japanese used electronics stores for a copy of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! instead, which also proved fruitless. So fruitless in fact that I managed to find a copy of the sequel, Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii: Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, buried in a veritable wall of used DS games for the tremendous price of ¥270 (about £1.60).
But not the original. Dejected, I searched online for Ouendan 1, and as if by providence there it was in the More Items To Explore section – a compatible copy of Elite Beat Agents. And it arrived in pristine condition two days later.

A dozen hours of Elite Beat Agenting later, and I can’t think of a more pleasantly absurd game. Split into two screens, the top half depicts people in dire and humorous circumstances, calling out for help as if for the Ghostbusters. Whether a story about a painter named Leo trying to convince a woman named Mona to become his muse, or the Captain of a ship searching for treasure after his crew mutinied, the Elite Beat Agents arrive to cheer them on by dancing to covers of early-2000s pop-rock on the DS’s touch screen, though many tracks, such as David Bowie’s Let's Dance, were pulled from decades prior.
there’s a disconnect created through adapting the original game for a non-Japanese audience because in Japan, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan somewhat makes sense
I am no stranger to rhythm games – I managed to clear most Guitar Hero 2 songs on Expert back in the day – yet still struggled with Elite Beat Agents on the Crusin’ (normal) difficulty. Once I nailed the rhythm of tapping the circles with the stylus in their numbered sequence as the outer circle overlapped, however, I could nab a B ranking and even a few A rankings, being more than happy to go back and play some of my favourites – particularly Sum 41’s Makes No Difference – over again for a higher score.
If I hadn’t lived in Japan, I may never have understood why the Agents cheer these people on through their problems, instead accepting the absurdity of the three Men In Black-inspired protagonists as they leap from a convertible to dance to Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne. Indeed, there’s a disconnect created through adapting the original game for a non-Japanese audience because in Japan, Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan somewhat makes sense.
The scenarios are reminiscent of a comedic manga. Rhythm games were and still are quite popular in both arcades and on smartphones here. And ouendan – or cheering squads – make appearances in almost all real-life sporting events. I’ve personally seen several ouendan performances at Japanese high schools during sports festivals, for example, and their less-traditional counterparts during Renofa Yamaguchi FC football matches.
While I’m sure these nuances weren’t lost on a large portion of Elite Beat Agents’ audience, its distance from the Japanese source material makes it all the more special. No ouendan culture in Europe and North America, you say? Okay, make them special agents grooving to Highway Star by Deep Purple so Sam the miniature pug can find his way home – why not? I can’t get over it. I found myself huffing air out my nose in amusement so often my screen fogged up.
Undoubtedly, if I played Elite Beat Agents 15 years ago, it would’ve been one of my favourite DS games of all time. I came away with only two minor criticisms: my dominant hand hurt after tapping away for more than 30 minutes at a time, and I desperately wanted to look at the top screen to watch a meteorologist summon fighter jets to clear a cloudy sky but doing so caused me to miss a beat or two. Even then, I could easily consider both points as praise; I didn’t want to put the game down nor did I want to miss any tiny scene from each narrative.

Luckily, I still have a lot to play. Once I nab some higher scores on the Crusin’ difficulty, move onto Sweatin’, and eventually unlock the Elite Beat Divas, I will continue my hunt for a copy of Ouendan 1 to play before Ouendan 2. I’ve heard that fans of the series – and I now count myself among them – consider the Japanese counterparts superior, and I cannot wait to find out why.
So, if you also skipped Elite Beat Agents, which was critically acclaimed but did not sell enough to warrant a sequel all those years ago, do yourself a favour and correct that egregious mistake along with me. Better yet, help me hunt down Keiichi Yano and force him to make us an Elite Beat Agents 2. Back when Switch was still called NX, he once said he'd love to make a sequel.
Where's a Kickstarter when you need one?
Further reading:
Comments 39
Wow, a lot of talk about Elite Beat Agents recently huh.
Man, I love that game. Definitely the best bargain bin purchase I've ever made.
Good to read you managed to enjoy EBA (so far), it's definitely one of my top favorite games. Personally, I can't really tell which one is my favorite. They're all great in their own right, and I'll happily take either a new EBA or Ouendan game, if they ever make a new one. Biggest question for me though is if they'll be able to make it play as well as it did on the DS. The Switch isn't as good for these types of games I feel.
Also yes I have all three games, I've played all three quite a bit too. I can tell the first is my least favorite though because the beat maps aren't quite made with your hand placement in mind, causing you to miss some notes because you couldn't see it under your hand. Those notes are only a couple here and there though. Otherwise, outside of a few more QOL things the first doesn't have, it's still as great as the other two.
Honestly, I'd love for Nintendo to release a new DS system if only for this series.
One correction - DS games even if played on a 3DS are not region locked.
The game was really good and I had a blast playing it.
The DS's partial regionlocking was weird enough, the Korean copies might've actually worked.
Though Korean copies might've only supported Korean text anyway.
Playing EBA after Osu, it felt like a knockoff - definitely try to find a copy of the 1st Osu if you liked EBA.
One of my favorite ds games, it never gets old
My first job was near a Gamestop, and I used to go there during my lunch break to check out games and grab demos from the DS Download Station. I remember the day I tried the Elite Beat Agents demo and ended up going out of my way to make sure the DS didn't turn off (wiping the demo) until I could go back the next day to get a copy. It was absolutely one of my top three favorite DS games, with the two Ouendan games filling the other top spots. I didn't even have to understand Japanese to enjoy them, the images of each story spoke for themselves. These games are absolutely worth playing if you can find them.
Definitely a winner. While not all songs are perfect, most of them adapt incredibly well to the action. A top notch localization effort, and one that absolutely baffled me back then.
While I was never able to nab the Ouendan games (only japanese DS Game I got was Jump Ultimate Stars), the soundtrack of the first game is amazing, catchy and almost every song is a Jpop contagious beat...Ouendan 2 track list on the other hand, was lacking in comparison.
As a rhythm game enthusiast, this one hooked me and I always wished there was a port or something to modern consoles/PC. One of those "short but sweet" experiences. Loved it to pieces!
NINJA APPROVED
Loved this game but not what it did to my touch screen.
EBA until this point has forever been my absolutely favorite music/rhythm game. The music tracks selected were great. The timing on the hits to the beat of the music was superb. The storylines were all so absolutely hilarious they were a joy to watch (and that final stage, with the anti-music aliens was so good!); some stages were actually pretty emotional when you put the songs together with the story playing out above. Not to mention that the game has some of my all time favorite songs. For me, ever since playing EBA, it has always been my gold standard for rhythm games, and has yet to be bested by anything. If they made a new EBA for Switch, or even just re-released the original EBA on Switch, I would jump on it day one!
@Lowell New Super Mario Bros. spun endlessly in your Wii in mid-July 2007? Are you sure?
Absolutely love EBA. It opened my eyes to September, Jumpin' Jack Flash and Material Girl. Why did it never get a sequel!?
The game was a blast and had the classic quality and challenge of 2000’s nintendo games ive played this for hours more than the average game and was still very fun mastering and unlocking each song
I wouldn't be surprised if the DS version is the only way to play the game and it won't be re-released or remade due to the cost of licensing the music again.
My favorite of the new Nintendo IPs to come out of the DS, a close second is the Kyle Hyde series (Hotel Dusk and Last Window, though I'm yet to play the second game). I was lucky I could get the Ouendans a few years ago.
I like the games in the order they were released, i.e. my favorite is Ouendan 1, second place is EBA and Ouendan 2 is my least favorite of the three, mostly due to how much focus there is on the Asahi Ouendan (the Blue team), I prefer the Yuuhi Ouendan (the original one).
The only other systems where something like this could've been a thing were the 3DS and Wii U. If they were to make a new one on Switch, it would need a need control scheme.
It’s an awesome game, although interestingly I found the harder difficulties easier than the easy ones. I think it’s because the hard mode basically has more targets to hit that correspond to the beats of the music rather than being one target randomly aligned amongst a whole load of beats. So Elite Beat Divas was actually my favourite mode by far. I really need to replay the game myself.
All three games are great, but the first Ouendan game is one of my favorite games of all time. A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Such a fun game. One of my all-time favorites.
The stage "A Christmas Gift ", with the song "You´re The Inspiration" (Chicago cover) is one of the most emotional stories I´ve ever seen in a videogame.
The ending of EBA suggested a sequel would be coming, and I'm still waiting. EBA is incredibly fun.
Your not the only one who’s fixing decades old mistakes! I was a 2000 kid who NEVER played a mega man battle network and I have every intention on fixing that! (Also fixing the whole never played klonoa lunatea’s veil thing😅)
Elite Beat Agents is the one of the best DS rhythm games ever made.
Rythym Paradise is awesome too.
@TioRogerio I came here to say this. That stage emotionally affected me more than most video games I’ve played.
I still can’t pass Sweatin’ difficulty. Not because I’m bad at rhythm games (or am I?), but I’m afraid to go too hard on my system’s touchscreen. Darn spinners. Also, the touch sensitivity has gone way down since I have screen protectors on all my DS systems (except my most recent ‘backup, backup’ DS, my official Nintendo refurb New 3DSXL, because getting the licensed HORI ones has gotten too expensive).
Congrats on playing one of the best DS games (There are too many good DS games to have a single title claim the title of best). The Ouendan games, along with the original Rhythm Paradise on GBA, are the only Japanese games I've ever imported.
@TioRogerio @PrinceVigo Truer words have never been spoken. Knowing nothing about the game and going in cold, that chapter just hits you in the feels.
I played it to death when it first released, putting some minor scratches in my DS screen from spinning too hard. To this day, the intro to Jumping Jack Flash gives me chills.
I ought to see if I can find Ouendan myself.
There's osu!, a fan-made PC version with identical gameplay, but using M&K just isn't the same.
Best rhythm game ever.
And, oh man, that Christmas sequence. . .
@TioRogerio
@PrinceVigo
@MasterLeon
Great game! I love the level with "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire.
Fun fact: If you have a regular DS or DS Lite, you can use the Metroid Prime Pinball rumble pak for vibration feedback in Elite Beat Agents.
One of the best rhythm games ever, I still have my copy. Would love a modern collection of the two Ouendan games and EBA.
I tried to play it about 3 times from the beginning, but just could not get into it. But it introduced me to Walkie Talkie Man, so all good.
Ouendan is far more better than Elite Beat Agents !
I used to hear that from friends for years, but I didn't understand why. EBA was fun despite disappointing, and what the hell with that japanese stuff ?
Then, I ordered it (+ the 2, never played it yet but it's sais it's not as good) in 2015. I then understanted : this one is the spirit of fun. No more, no less.
I am never really sure why games like this even have a story, I played this loads but couldn't tell you anything more than they wore suits.
was a fun frantic wild time
That game was so much fun.
The original Ouendan was better than Elite Beat Agents - I think largely due to the fact that wacky storylines for the songs were amped up with wacky visuals to match
This article inspired me to finally, finally get the game. It’s one I’ve had my eye on for years but never got around to and man, is it great. The songs are so nostalgic and it’s packed with that quirky Nintendo humor that’s very reminiscent of the Warioware games. I can see why it’s a cult classic.
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