Aliens are invading Earth…! Think you have heard of this setting in game before? Let me finish that tag line: Aliens are invading Earth… And forcing people to DANCE! Before there was Donkey Konga and his bongos, before there was Dance Dance Revolution and its dance pad, even before there was Samba De Amigo and his maracas, there was Space Channel 5 and its Dreamcast controller. Space Channel 5 was ahead of its time, it seemed, but with a story as bad as aliens forcing people to dance, who needs good translation or game play?!
The game is simple: You are Ulala, a hot reporter chick for Space Channel 5. You are, it seems, also Earth’s last defense against feet controlling aliens. The only way to defeat aliens is not machine guns or death rays, but to out dance the aliens by copying their moves to the beat. There are 4 directional keys on the Dreamcast controller, plus A and B buttons, which must be used depending on if there is a human to rescue or an alien to shoot.
The game is hard: Hard is an understatement, for those of us who are “too white to dance,” like myself, getting past the last level of this game is a virtual impossibility. After owning this game for about four years, I am yet to defeat the last boss. Expect this game to be a musical challenge.
The game has issues: Strangely, they didn’t use MP3 or CD quality music. They used, what seems to be, MOD files for the music. This means the music isn’t quite up to par with what you expect from a dancing game. Still, the music isn’t as bad as it could have been, and it will get stuck in your head. The bigger issue comes from the mistranslation. The directions tell you to use the A button to shoot the aliens when they say shoot. The problem is they NEVER say shoot! They say kick! Also, the game never tells you how close you are to hitting the right beat, so you can get frustratingly lost in the pattern, losing multiple moves back to back with little chance of recovery.
Overall, this game is amongst the strangest you will play. In my opinion, the game is neither bad nor good. It is definitely amusing, definitely challenging, and definitely could have been better. If you see this title somewhere really cheap, or you love dance games that resemble a Japanese version of Simon, I say give it a whirl. The biggest problem that could ever come from it is either getting the annoying theme music stuck in your head or getting caught by your loved one for trying to look up Ulala’s skirt.
I am the PR Manager for a successful game company and enjoy writing reviews for non-competing products. I am married to a lovely wife and we have a lovely daughter named Rowan, who is currently two. I am also a professional juggler and swordfighter, which comes in handy in a variety of situations.
