Set in an alternate reality version of Old Edo, Detective Oharu is a 19 year-old redheaded gal who walks with an extremely odd gait and chops up Edo-era miscreants with a stylized sai (釵). Her alternate weapon is an energy lasso, sort of like Wonder Woman's which is used to tie up enemies and smash them around. As the story goes, a criminal enterprise has infiltrated society with their nefarious operations and it's up to a bright-eyed and impressively endowed young woman to bust up the gang. The game is broken up into levels which are selected from a menu screen with each subsequent stage unlocked after a mission is completed. Furthermore, the levels feature completion percentages. Find all the special items and kill everyone to reach 100% but do a half-ass job and you might scrape by with 50%. Each level concludes by defeating a somewhat mighty boss.

View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website.

» Aya isn't the heroine but her replacement is just as tacky with a weird outfit. She doesn't fight zombies but rather goes after strange and odd criminals dressed in Edo-era clothing.

» Oharu's red hair is spiky and she wears a blue shawl over her right shoulder while a colorful top barely covers her bosom. Like Aya, she wears a boa which is fluffy white and trails her when she runs around the world. Oharu possesses a strange gait that must be witnessed for its animatronic mechanics. She steps gingerly with both arms swaying gently in a girlish way but then again, she may be tipsy. When she runs, Oharu really scrabbles along with youthful energy.

» Press START on the title screen and a bunch of salarymen bellow out "Oanechan" followed by a young woman's voice screeching "HAAAAI" The selections that pop up are:

NEW GAME
LOAD GAME
OPTION
RETURN

» Upon starting a game, Oharu appears in shadowy silhouette while a story scrolls upwards and is read by a girl. The first mission takes place in a quaint town and starts with the heroine standing and swaying while she pokes her sword into the air. Yellow-robed thugs appear and it's time to go to work. Smack a foe twice and the chirping of birds may be heard as he's dizzied. Smack him once more and he joins his ancestors. Every enemy leaves behind a bonus in the form of a scroll, a big coin, fortune cats, rice balls for health, etc.

» The game COMMANDS are as follows:
L-Analog............ Movement
R-Analog............ Camera
D-pad................. Push in any direction to tumble and somersault in the direction pressed
X-Button............. Jump; Press again in mid-air for a double jump
Square................ Attack
Circle................... Throw out electric lasso to snag enemies and swing them
Triangle............... Special Attack
L1-Trigger............ Center Camera
R1-Trigger............ Guard
L2-Trigger............. Forward roll (R2-Trigger also performs this move)

» The lasso can only be used when an enemy is dizzied. For example, at the outset of the game, dizzy one of the yellow robes and then lasso him. Oharu will automatically swing him around to do damage to anyone that may be within the radius of the hapless victim.

» Oharu's attacks aren't as versatile as Aya's. Her attacks are limited to 2 sequential attacks before the game engine enforces a 1/4 second time-out period. That 1/4 second delay is a killer when you're facing three hammer-wielding madmen and a twirling sword maestro who cuts while in mid-pirouette. As such, the game engine requires that the player cut and dash. Attack twice, run away and then swoop in to attack again. In a way, this is good because it prevents mindless button mashing but sometimes we just want to mash it up for the satisfaction of seeing multiple enemies getting smacked. An exception to the 1/4 second time-out rule is when heroine is aloft. Perform a double jump and then immediately start hitting the attack button. She'll perform five consecutive attacks while in mid-air before she reaches the ground again. To perform an upwards spinning attack, jump and then hit the attack button once while in midair.

» A map on the lower-right corner keeps track of Oharu's location and the location of notable items.

» Detective Oharu must plow her way through 25 levels. At the outset, only one level is available for play but subsequent levels are unlocked as she beats bosses and completes stages.

» Oharu must be wearing wooden shoes because they clatter loudly when trampling across bridges and in the indoor levels which have a slight monotone "echo" to them.

» The camera in the game gets really bad at times where it loses its footing. Hit the L1 trigger to reset it. Hit it a lot.

» Oharu's breasts shudder during and after a double jump landing. We noticed this after studying the animation carefully for the 20th time this morning.

» The boss in the first level is a blue samurai. He's an easy kill as long as you use your lasso. Eschew the lasso and he'll continually recover from dizzies and attack you with expert slashes.

» Famitsu gave the game a score of (19/40) but damn them. Oneechan (Oanechan) isn't about the technical merits, the wonky camera, or the garish costumes. No, it's about the spirit and verve of the overall game in its unbounded glory. Famitsu: Get with the program already.

Jan Code: 4527823994270

The full name of this game is: Simple 2000 Series Vol. 114: The Jokouppichi Torimonochou - Oneechan Go Go Go!

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