| Elite Beat Agents | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | iNiS |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Engine | Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan engine |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release date | NA November 6, 2006 AUS May 3, 2007 EU July 13, 2007[1] |
| Genre(s) | Music video game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: E10+ OFLC: PG PEGI: 12+[2] |
| Media | Nintendo DS Game Card |
| Input methods | Touch screen |
Elite Beat Agents is a rhythm game developed by iNiS for the Nintendo DS. A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual that creates Video games A developer may specialize in a certain video iNiS is a Japanese Video game developer that specializes in rhythm games. is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Kyoto Japan founded on A game engine is a software system designed for the creation and development of computer and video games sometimes referred to as simply Ouendan, is a rhythm Video game developed by INiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS In Computing, a platform describes some sort of Hardware architecture or Software framework (including Application frameworks, that allows The is a dual-screen Handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Australasia is a Region of Oceania: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, and neighbouring Islands in the Pacific Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. See also [[Game classification]] Video games are categorized into Genres based on their Gameplay interaction A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a Video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's In video gaming, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session A multiplayer video game is one which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time A video game content rating system is a system used for the classification of Video games into suitability-related groups The Entertainment Software Rating Board ( ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, Advertising guidelines and The Office of Film and Literature Classification is a Statutory Censorship and classification body which provides day to day administrative support for the Classification Pan European Game Information ( PEGI) is a European Video game content rating system. Digital media (as opposed to analog media) usually refers to Electronic media that work on digital Codes. The is a dual-screen Handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. The is a dual-screen Handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a Video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's iNiS is a Japanese Video game developer that specializes in rhythm games. The is a dual-screen Handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It is a spiritual sequel to Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, a Japanese rhythm game released in 2005. A spiritual successor, sometimes called a spiritual sequel or a companion piece, is a successor to a work of fiction that instead of being a standard Sequel sometimes referred to as simply Ouendan, is a rhythm Video game developed by INiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS Events March 6 &mdash The television show 60 Minutes tackles issues within Video game controversy. The game was released on November 6, 2006 in North America, May 3, 2007 in Australia and in Europe on July 13th, 2007. Events 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II promotes his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him with Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1174 - William I of Scotland, a key rebel in the Revolt of 1173-1174, is captured at Alnwick by forces loyal to Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. It was released in South Korea on October 11, 2007 as Dowajweo! Rhythm Hero (도와줘! 리듬히어로; Help! Rhythm Hero). Events 1138 - A massive earthquake struck Aleppo, Syria. 1531 - Huldrych Zwingli is killed Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Similar to Ouendan, the player taps and drags on indicated locations on the touch screen of the DS in time to the rhythm of the music to score points, while the upper screen shows comic-style scenes of the fictional "Elite Beat Agents" cheering on others in tough situations through their dance moves. A Touch Screen is a display which can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative
Elite Beat Agents was released under Nintendo's Touch! Generations label in North America, which markets games to audiences outside of the traditional gaming community. Touch! Generations is a Nintendo brand used for the Nintendo DS and Wii showing games created to appeal to a broader audience than the traditional gamer Though sales were not as high as expected, the game was well received by critics and merited several 2006 gaming awards.
Contents |
The main characters of Elite Beat Agents are members of a fictional government agency responsible for helping those in need. When someone facing a crisis reaches the end of their rope and cries out for help, the agents arrive on the scene to help them succeed. The agents never help the person directly. The agents encourage the person through their dancing and the people they assist are instilled with motivation that helps them overcome various obstacles.
Several of the levels in Elite Beat Agents are thematically similar to those found in Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan; for instance, a level where the agents help a white blood cell named Cap White eliminate a virus inside of an athlete's body shares similarities to a level where the cheer squad (the main characters of Ouendan) must assist super-heroesque medicine as it fights a virus in a violinist's body. In addition, some of the story characters from Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan show up in the stories for Elite Beat Agents. The individual stories are not linked by an overarching narrative, but do pop up in various other stages. For example, two celebrity sisters help a lost dog who called on the agents. In a later stage, the sisters call for help from the agents themselves. In the final two stages, all of the characters in the game reappear, when the agents must face a worldwide threat.
Like Ouendan, the tone of the stories told in Elite Beat Agents is primarily humorous. Although the first few stage scenarios are fairly mundane, such as helping a babysitter control a trio of rowdy children while trying to ask a potential boyfriend to go steady, they progressively become more fantastic. For example, one of the last stages is about a washed-up professional baseball player who battles a fire-breathing golem in a theme park. The one notable difference to this trend in the game is the stage "A Christmas Gift," in which the agents assist a young girl in reuniting with the spirit of her deceased father. This shift in tone is further marked by the game's "clap" gameplay sound effect being replaced with more subtle chimes accompanying the stage song, "You're the Inspiration. " You're the Inspiration " is a song written by Peter Cetera and David Foster for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago " This stage is similar to the one in Ouendan, where a deceased man is attempting to reunite with his girlfriend and one in Ouendan 2 where a figure skater is skating in memory of her deceased sister.
The final levels in the game involve all of the characters previously helped by the Elite Beat Agents joining together to help eradicate a music-hating race of aliens, the Rhombulans, that are invading Earth. In Geometry, a rhombus (from Ancient Greek ῥόμβος - rrhombos “rhombus spinning top” (plural rhombi or rhombuses
The fundamental aspects of gameplay are unchanged from Ouendan to Elite Beat Agents. The stages of Elite Beat Agents are presented in a comic book fashion. A comic book (often shortened to simply comic and sometimes called a comic paper or comic magazine) is a Magazine or Book of narrative After the introduction to a character and their problem, the agents are deployed and the action begins. The play mechanics involve performing one of three actions with the stylus in various combinations.
To successfully perform each action one must complete it as a timed circle converges on each main circle. The timing follows the rhythm of the music. The Hit and Phrase markers must be hit in numbered sequence. The markers are arranged in 'tracks' which range from one to about fifteen markers in length. Success is monitored by the "Elite-O-Meter", a gauge at the top of the touch screen that is constantly draining at a rate based on the difficulty level. Successful actions, such as tapping the Hit Markers in sync with the music, will keep the gauge filled, while missing a marker will partially deplete the gauge. If the meter empties completely, the stage ends prematurely in failure. The first three levels of Breezin' mode feature an on-screen indicator to highlight the order in which the markers must be hit.
Each stage is divided into multiple gameplay sections separated by story sequences, the specific number of which varying by stage. If the Elite-O-Meter is in the yellow when the player reaches one of these breaks, the story will depict the person in need making significant progress towards his or her goal. If it is in the red, the scene will instead depict the person encountering a setback. In between breaks, during the gameplay, the top screen shows the person attempting to accomplish what they need to do at that time. The scene depicted changes every beat, or when the markers switch color, depending on the player's progress. If the player scores an "Elite Beat" by scoring 300 points on each marker in a single beat, then the person makes a lot of progress very enthusiastically. If the player scores a "Beat" (no score lower than 100, but not all 300), the person will be shown making average progress on their goal. However, if the player does not score a special beat bonus at all by scoring a 50 on a marker or missing it entirely, the person on the top screen will encounter difficulties and setbacks. The player will receive bonuses to the final grade and unlock artwork for completing a stage with positive outcomes at all stage breaks.
Each stage has three possible endings for its story. The ending depends on the number of gameplay sections passed. If all gameplay sections are passed the story will have the best ending, with the main character succeeding in its challenge. If at least one section is passed, but not all of them, then the story will have the average ending, where the main character succeeds with moderate success. If all sections are failed, however, the story will have the worst outcome,where the main character finishes his or her endeavor but still fails.
High scores are acquired by achieving combos, or stringing together a series of successful actions. The longer the player is able to maintain a combo, the greater the multiplier applied to each successful action. Should the player miss a marker completely, the multiplier will stop and the player must start a new one. The game keeps track of individual stage high scores for all difficulty levels, as well as a cumulative high score that affects the player's "Agent Rank. " The Agent Rank is a special title such as "Soldier of Song" or "God of Groove" that will change as the player's cumulative high score reaches specific milestones. Elite Beat Agents features three bonus stages that are unlocked when three such ranks are achieved.
The player's performance in each stage is rated on a letter-grade scale, with "D" being the lowest possible rank and S being the best. To achieve an S-rank in a level, at least 90% of all beats must be 300, another 9% must be at least 100, and no more than 1% may be 50. The player must end with a "Perfect", obtained by missing no beats throughout the entire song. However, it is possible to break a combo by missing a dot on a Phrase Marker track and still get an S-rank. Due to the nature of the game's scoring mechanic, it is possible to achieve a new high score in a stage while simultaneously earning a lower grade than the previous high score performance, although this is somewhat rare.
A few additional features have been introduced to Elite Beat Agents from the game play in Ouendan. Primarily, these include the ability to reveal more statistics about a player's performance when they complete a song; the ability to save their performance as "ghost" data that they can later use in a "Vs. Ghost" multiplayer mode; the ability to review the last few moments of a failed performance, and the ability to skip the musical introductions to stages.
Up to four players can compete against each other using the wireless capabilities of the Nintendo DS using one or more copies of the game with 2-4 Nintendo DS consoles. The same song list is used, but the stage is set using one of five predetermined, competition-based scenarios.
Only songs that the "host" player has completed are available for play. Each player attempts to perform the song in the same manner as the single player mode. There is no Elite-O-Meter, but instead, the cumulative performance of each player is tracked during the game. At the normal break points for the song, the scene depicts which player is ahead, though it is possible for both players to be tied at this point. During the song, each player can fill a star meter by completing Elite Beats; when the star meter is full, the screens of the opposing players will shake for a few moments, and the on-screen markers will be reduced in size for a short time, making them more difficult to hit. The winner is the player with the best cumulative performance at the end of the song.
When utilizing single-card multiplayer, only five songs are available on "Cruisin'" and "Breezin'" difficulties. When all players have a copy of the game, all of the songs and difficulty levels become available, but each scenario is still assigned to a certain song.
This mode can also be played by a single player against a saved replay for any song.
There is also a cooperative mode, in which players take turns to play. Each user must have a copy of the game to do this. Each song uses the same scenarios as the single player game, but only the stages the host has completed in single player are available. Both players share a single Elite-O-Meter, so if one person fails, the game ends for both players. The players take turns playing certain segments of the song, as well as Spin Markers. When it is not the player's turn to play, the markers are grayed out.
All of the tracks that appear in Elite Beat Agents are cover versions (cover artists in parentheses). In Popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition ( Performance or Recording) of a previously recorded commercially released [1] The title of the mission that accompanies each song follows in italics.
The following three songs are unlockable within the course of the game by achieving cumulative high scores across all difficulty levels and stages. Steriogram are a rock band from Auckland, New Zealand, formed in 1999. "Walkie Talkie Man" is a single by the New Zealander band Steriogram, released in 2004 Sum 41 (sometimes referred to as The Sums) is a Canadian Pop punk band from Ajax Ontario. " Makes No Difference " is the first single by the Canadian Punk band Sum 41 from the album Half Hour of Power. Avril Lavigne Whibley (born September 27 1984 better known by her birth name of Avril Lavigne (ˈævrɨl ləˈviːn is a Canadian Grammy Award " Sk8er Boi " (pronounced "Skater Boy" is a song by Avril Lavigne, and was the second single from her debut album Let Go Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991 was a Zanzibar -born British Musician, best known as the lead Queen were an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist " I Was Born to Love You " is a 1985 's song by Freddie Mercury, and was released as a single and on the Mr The Stray Cats are a Rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist/vocalist Brian Setzer (Bloodless Pharaohs/ Brian Setzer Orchestra) with " Rock This Town " is a Song by the Stray Cats from their UK debut album Stray Cats. Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertfordshire in 1968 " Highway Star " is one of British rock group Deep Purple 's most famous songs Village People are a concept Disco group formed in the late 1970s " YMCA " is a 1978 song by the Village People which became a hit in January 1979 Earth Wind & Fire is an African - American Funk band led by Maurice White that achieved worldwide success in the 1970s " September " (sometimes called " Dancing in September " is a song written by Maurice White, Al McKay and Allee Willis, Jamiroquai is a Grammy Award -winning English Acid jazz / Funk / soul band " Canned Heat " is a song by the English Funk / Acid jazz band Jamiroquai. Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie (born August 16 1958 known as Madonna, is an American " Material Girl " is the second single and Signature song by American Singer-songwriter Madonna from her 2nd studio album " La La " is a song by the American singer Ashlee Simpson from her 2004 album Autobiography. Chicago is a Rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago Illinois. The band began as a politically charged sometimes experimental rock band and later moved to a predominately " You're the Inspiration " is a song written by Peter Cetera and David Foster for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Chicago David Bowie (ˈboʊiː born David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 is an English Musician, actor producer, and arranger. " Let’s Dance " is the title album track on David Bowie 's album Let's Dance. Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf Maryland that formed in 1996 " The Anthem " is the second single taken from Good Charlotte 's second studio album The Young and the Hopeless. Hoobastank is an American Post-grunge band best known for their 2004 hit " The Reason " " Jumpin' Jack Flash " is a song by English Rock and roll band The Rolling Stones, released as a single in 1968 As certain high score totals are reached, the player will move up in rank, and by achieving certain ranks, a bonus stage and song is unlocked. In the order in which they are unlocked, they are:
During development, 1UP.com listed Ricky Martin's "Livin' la Vida Loca" as one of the game tracks[3], but the song proved to be absent from the final game release. Cher ( IPA: /ʃɛr/ born Cherilyn Sarkisian, May 20 1946 " Believe " is a Grammy Award winning global number one Multi-Platinum Dance Song which served as the world-wide lead single for American singer The Jackson 5 (also spelled The Jackson Five or The Jackson 5ive, and later known as The Jacksons) was an American popular music Family For the rap single by Jin see ABC (Jin song "ABC" was a 1970 number-one hit song by The Jackson 5. Destiny's Child (sometimes referred to as DC or DC3) was an R&B and pop Girl group comprising lead singer Beyoncé Knowles " Survivor " is an R&B song written by American Singer-songwriter Beyoncé Knowles, Anthony Dent and Mathew Knowles for Destiny's 1UPcom is a video-game site owned and operated by Ziff Davis Media, publisher of the popular video game magazine EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly. Enrique Martín Morales (born December 24, 1971) better known by his Stage name Ricky Martin, is a Grammy Award and Latin Grammy " Livin' la Vida Loca " ( English: Living the Crazy Life) is a song by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin. [4] Chris Kohler, the writer of the original article, stated:
If you remember my E3 posts, you might also be saying, Where the heck is 'Livin' La Vida Loca'? A fair question. Near as I can figure, the song was dropped from the game. Blame it on the confusion of E3. I'll try and fix the internet.
Due to the surprisingly high import rate of Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, Nintendo and iNiS began discussing the possibility of officially exporting the game to other regions. sometimes referred to as simply Ouendan, is a rhythm Video game developed by INiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS However, as Keiichi Yano, vice president of iNiS and director of the game explained in an interview with 1UP.com, selling the game at retail in Western markets would have been unfeasible due to the game's innate reliance on Japanese popular music and cultural references. 1UPcom is a video-game site owned and operated by Ziff Davis Media, publisher of the popular video game magazine EGM (Electronic Gaming Monthly. [5] It was due to this fact that when Yano and iNiS began work on the North American version, the black-clad cheerleaders of Ouendan were removed and work began on a replacement. The first concepts were of a trio of dancers styled after the Village People [6], before the final decision of a trio of men styled after government agents, using distinctly Western references such as the Ghostbusters, Blues Brothers, Men in Black and Austin Powers series for inspiration. Village People are a concept Disco group formed in the late 1970s Zuul redirects here For the videogame see Zool. Ghostbusters (titled on-screen as Ghost Busters) is The Blues Brothers are a Grammy Award -nominated American blues and soul revivalist band founded in 1978 by comedians Dan Aykroyd The term Men in Black ( MIB) in Popular culture, is used in UFO conspiracy theories to describe men dressed in black suits claiming to be government Sir Austin Danger Powers, KBE, is a Fictional character from the Austin Powers series of films In addition, the concept of the Elite Beat Divas and Commander Kahn directing the Agents would come from Charlie's Angels. Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency and is one of the first shows to showcase women
Upon release, Elite Beat Agents was critically acclaimed by many critics and consumers. The game has an average review ratio of 87. 7% on Game Rankings, including such web sites as IGN (9. Game Rankings is a Website which keeps track of Video game reviews from other sites and combines them to present an average rating for each game IGN (abbreviated and formerly known as I magine G ames N etwork is a multimedia news and reviews Website that focuses heavily on Video 5/10) and GameSpot (8. GameSpot is a video gaming Website that provides News, Reviews Previews Downloads and other information 9/10), and magazines such as Electronic Gaming Monthly (8. Electronic Gaming Monthly (often abbreviated to EGM) is an American Video game magazine. 5/10, 9/10, 9/10), and Nintendo Power (9. Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo. 5/10). [2] The G4 Network TV show X-Play rated the game a 4 out of 5, with the track listing keeping EBA from getting a 5 out of 5. X-Play (previously GameSpot TV and Extended Play) is a TV program about Video games known for its reviews and [3] The game has also been received well on reputable UK gaming websites, such as Gamestyle (9/10).
During 2006 video game awards, Elite Beat Agents was nominated and received many awards, notably best Nintendo DS game of 2006. The game has the distinction of being the first runner up of GameSpot's Best Rhythm/Music Game Reader's Choice Award and the winner of the Editor's Choice Award, handed out for the first time as part of GameSpot's 2006 Best and Worst Awards [4]. The other games nominated for the award included Guitar Hero II, SingStar Rocks!, and another iNiS-developed title, Gitaroo Man Lives!. This is a list of titles of the SingStar Video game series, developed by London Studio and published by Sony Computer Gitaroo Man ( ギタルマン) is a Video game for the Sony PlayStation 2, published by Koei and developed by
From the date of its release to November 28, 2006, Elite Beat Agents sold 120,000 copies. For the town in Argentina, see 28 de Noviembre. Events Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Reggie Fils-Aime has stated that while sales were strong, he was disappointed that they were not better, having expected 300,000 copies sold in light of critical acclaim. Reginald "Reggie" Fils-Aimé (ˈfiːzəmeɪ fee-suh-may) (born March 1961 is President and Chief Operating Officer of Nintendo of America He has also stated that he hopes that Nintendo can work with iNiS on a sequel. is a Multinational corporation headquartered in Kyoto Japan founded on iNiS is a Japanese Video game developer that specializes in rhythm games. [7]
The Agents can be unlocked as playable characters in Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2. GameTrailers ( GT) is a media website that specializes in video game related content Electronic Gaming Monthly (often abbreviated to EGM) is an American Video game magazine. Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo. is a rhythm Video game developed by INiS and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console. Agents J, Morris, Derek and Commander Kahn are all stickers in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. often abbreviated SSBB or Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros The former three also appear as a trophy.
The Agents have appeared twice in Scott DeWitt's gaming webcomic Fanboys. Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are Comics Published on a Website, often exclusively providing easy access to an