..The music in EBA is horrid. Not only the selection but the people they have covering it. It sounds like they found the cheapest voice talent as possible to sing the songs which ruined the few good choices, such as Cher’s Believe , the only pbumable one being the singers for You’re the Inspiration . True, popular songs were selected for the soundtrack, but they were generic, run-of-the-mill popular songs we’ve all heard a thousand times before and are sick of. I don’t go out of my way to listen to J-pop, so the only song I’ve been familiar with on the two Ouendan games is READY STEADY GO , so it’s hard to be fair regarding these two games since I have no idea if the Japanese feel the same way about the song selection as I do about EBA. However, based on vocal talent, Ouendan is the clear winner. The only song that’s irritating in the Ouendan games is Pop Star in Ouendan 2; that voice gets old quickly. I thought it was a fun experience being exposed to songs I wouldn’t normally hear and greatly enjoyed the melodies which you can actually get in your head so you can “feel” when to hit the numbers instead of watching the circles like in EBA; Walkie Talkie Man was an absolutely HORRIED choice in that regard. I fell in love with Linda Linda and frequently play the level to hear the song, which I’ve never done with EBA, and the other songs never disgusted me so much it felt like a chore to try and get a high score on the level. I think I can tolerate twenty-minuets of EBA if I’m lucky before my eyes and ears start to bleed.

More important than the songs, however, is the scenarios and the people you cheer on or “healp”. The majority of the people you help in Ouendan are all likable characters and/or ones you can identify with and would genuinely like to help. Before you EBA nitpicker fans come in yes, I realize the ONE exception in regards to a likable character in Ouendan is Cleopatra, but put the level in context. Slavery existed back then. It sucks, but that’s how things were, and the real Cleopatra did indeed have slaves. Granted you want to smack her and say “Lose weight like everyone else and exercise!” but that’s the ONE exception. Keep in mind also I said SOME of the levels have characters you can identify with in Ouendan; that can’t be said for ANY of the characters in EBA nor do you want to help any of those losers. Who here can identify with freaking out over a test? Wow, everyone! How about being a snobby rich girl stranded on a disserted island who seduces animals with her looks and pilots with cash. No one, really? Oh, and you wouldn’t want to help one out, either? What about helping out an oil Baron getting his riches and trophy wife back? No, no one wants to help him either? What about a sweet little boy who wants to confess his fondness for a female clbummate of his who’s moving away? Wow, all of you!

Worst of all is how creepy some of EBA’s levels are, most notably the Christmas and cat saving a baby level. What’s so bad about Lucy’s level? Think about it. The EBA do a voodoo dance and resurrect her dad’s ghost just to give her a teddy bear. What happens after the level ends? Presumably her dad goes back to being dead and she gets a new bear. Wowee. Not only that, but if you screw up, a rather disturbing scene where a picture of her dad all muscled up falls out of his diary. That’s pretty sick and weird. No, you can’t compare this level to Over the Distance in Ouendan. That level works because it is from the opposite point of view. A man’s spirit begging for time on earth to go back and apologize to his wife before pbuming on is extremely beautiful and the woman’s voice singing the song is so amazing it only adds to the level. There isn’t a single level in EBA that’s so sweet and deep, but then again it doesn’t seem to think a whole lot in regards to Americans’ tastes…