Ouendan makes you a member of a local helper squadron. Your goal is to help out people who are in a pinch, thereby bringing peace to the world. Ouendan's gameplay is based around a simple concept that combines comic-book style storytelling with rhythmic gameplay. You interact with the game by touching numbered markers, called Hit Markers, that appear on the screen and slowly begin to shrink. The timing of your touches is important, as you have to strike the Hit Markers in time with the movement of a Timer Cycle, displayed at the top on the screen. Connect successful strikes together, and you build up a combo which adds to your score. Successful play affects the outcome of the an episode that unravels on the top screen.

Although this exact game never made it out of Japan, many gamers will know the game in its modified form as Elite Beat Agents.

PAX 06: Elite Beat Agents Hands-on - August 28, 2006
Nintendo's cheer squad shakes their pompadours at PAX fans.

Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! - August 10, 2005
Dance the night away on the Nintendo DS in this quirky Japanese release, from the creators of Gitaroo-Man.

GDC 2007: New Characters for Ouendan 2 - March 7, 2007
And other tidbits, including the origin of the Elite Beat Agents.

Japanese Release Dates Update - June 11, 2005
Lunar, Halo, Naruto and more get updated release dates.

Nintendo's New DS Game - May 11, 2005
Help other characters and maybe even save the world.