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"Ontamarama is a somewhat tricky to pronounce music game with an identity crisis. If DDR ever decided to marry Elite Beat Agents and raise a family, their first kid would look something like Ontamarama (just don't try to think about the inherent creepiness of games marrying each other). The result of this strange union is an amazing charming game that unfortunately plays worse than its inspiration. Sometimes it's better to perfect one solid gameplay element before you try blending together a couple."
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IGN
"Ontamarama continues the unexplainable penchant for O*ama-named games. The oddly-named rhythm game features anime-style characters and a distinctively modern Japanese soundtrack. Its gameplay sets it apart from other rhythm games, though probably for a good reason. Can you pat your head while rubbing your stomach? You’ll need more multitasking ability than that to play this game successfully."
Full Source:
Nintendo World Report
"Ontamarama was the out-of-left-field game on Atlus’ E3 line up. I wasn’t surprised to see Touch Detective 2 ½ or Draglade, but I barely heard of Ontamarama before I got my hands on it their booth. I spent some time with the cheerful Ontamas pressing the D-pad and furiously drawing circles on the screen, but to get an inside look at Ontamarama we went straight to the source."
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Siliconera
"At this year's E3 show, Atlus was showing off—as is their wont—a number of titles you just can't get anywhere else. The biggest headlines were probably generated by the announcement of the sequel to the highly popular Wii installment of Trauma Center, but the one that drew the most attention from me was Ontamarama. I found it rather hypnotizing to try to figure out, let alone play; likely touching off the same nerve that led me to my Ouendan addiction. Since Atlus' Ontamarama is a localization of Japanese release Ontama: Onpu-tō Hen (and that was, in fact, exactly what was on display at E3), I decided to get my hands on that release and give it a more in-depth look."
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N-Sider via
Gonintendo
"We can't pronounce it, and you'll have trouble reading it, but Atlus's latest music game Ontamarama is still the real deal. Half Puyo Pop, half Elite Beat Agents, the title is a touch-based music game that treads the thin line between painfully addicting and unapologetically niche. We've gone hands-on with the game's initial stages, so let the ranting begin."
Full Source:
IGN
"During E3 we caught up with Atlus USA--American distributor of the Trauma Center series--to see what’s on the horizon. One title in particular caught our eye--a Japanese rhythm game for the Nintendo DS called Ontamarama. In a nutshell, the game is a cross between a simplified right to left scrolling Guitar Hero-type music title and any DS game where you poke around a lot with the stylus.
The storyline is vague and very Japanese. Basically, Otama are sound spirits, and they live and run free on an island somewhere. A demon convinces the locals that these innocent looking spirits are actually evil, and need to be captured. Beat and Rest, two local Otamaestros from the island, challenge the villagers to free the Otama, and that’s where you come in."
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Gamespot
"Ontamarama! It really is fun to say, a polysyllabic power trip, if you will. Naturally, we were more than a little disappointed when the folks at the Atlus E3 booth proceeded to tell us about the game in a restrained and entirely professional manner. We think of "Ontamarama" as something you scream with cheerleaders doing cartwheels in the background, fireworks exploding and confetti raining down from the sky. Perhaps they're saving that for the launch party.
Much like its name, there's an oddly fun and somewhat unhinged element to be found in the game itself. Though the version shown was still very much cloaked in the Japanese language, it was the music-and-rhythm gameplay itself that initially perplexed us. After several bouts of tapping the DS screen and pressing directional buttons in tandem with the music (what little we could hear over the blare of Barker Hangar), we repeatedly wound up staring at the same screen. The colorful characters displayed were just being polite about it -- we failed miserably at this game. It took a few more tries and some helpful coaching from Atlus before we heard a more familiar sound... "click."
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joystiq
"Leave it to Atlus to bring a quirky Japanese rhythm game to America. Already released in Japan as Ontama: Onpu-tou Hen, Ontamarama is a music game that requires multitasking of the Nintendo DS touch screen and D-Pad to play along with the beat of a Japanese soundtrack. A series of colored panels scroll across the top of the touch screen, indicating which direction to press on the D-Pad. The rest of the touch screen fills up with colored slime-looking objects which cause the similarly-colored scrolling panels to fill with a solid color when tapped, increasing their score value. Some panels are larger and require multiple slimes to be cleared from the touch screen to become filled. As a shortcut, you can draw a circle around a slime group that's all the same color to clear multiple slimes at once."
Full Source:
Nintendo World Report
"Every year Atlus has a surprise game on their list. Last year it was Touch Detective, this year it’s Ontamarama. Before E3 I bet most people didn’t know about Ontamarama since it is fresh in Japan too, Ontamarama was released last month. There are Ouendan-like elements in Ontamarama, but Ontamarama is not an Ouendan clone. A musical bar on the top of the screen has colored notes floating from the right side of the screen to the left. Each color corresponds to an arrow on the D-pad that you need to press when it scrolls in the empty circle on the left. Before you can press the button you need to poke one of the happy looking Ontamas on the touch screen to drain musical energy. You end up using both hands in Ontamarama and there is a slight learning curve when picking up the game."
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Siliconera
"Although at first Ontamarama seems a bit like a simplified Dance Dance Revolution, it requires unique, two-fisted gameplay. Or more specifically, gameplay with one hand on the D-pad and the other clutching a stylus. As a series of directional indicators scroll across the top of the screen (with each input icon timed to correspond to the beat of the current backing track), the player's task is simply to tap the appropriate direction on the D-pad as the corresponding icon reaches the end of the scrollbar."
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1-up
"IRVINE, CALIFORNIA — JULY 10th, 2007 — Atlus U.S.A., Inc., a leading publisher of interactive entertainment, today announced Ontamarama™, a new music arcade game for the Nintendo DS™!
Making full use of the Nintendo DS dual screens, touch functionality, and microphone, Ontamarama will provide an entertaining level of challenge for novice players, while offering satisfyingly challenging play modes for advanced gamers. Fast reflexes and a keen sense of rhythm are the keys to success in this frantic, fun, and addictive music-based game!
Ontamarama has not yet been rated by the ESRB.
About Ontamarama:
On a peaceful tropical island, Ontama roam free. These gentle sound spirits, when properly conducted, offer the people of the land a beautiful and enchanting symphony. Wishing to rob the inhabitants of this joy, an evil demon begins to control the natives into capturing the Ontama. Two aspiring “Ontamaestros", Beat and Rest, discover the plot and decide to foil the evil demon’s scheme by challenging the villagers under the demon’s control in order to release the trapped Ontama!
Key Features:
• Fast-paced music-based gameplay that challenges the player’s reflexes, timing, and concentration.
• 12 stages to play, including a tutorial, each with their own catchy melody to master! Each successful challenge nets the player “Ontama Points", which can be used to unlock new songs, items, and Ontama styles!
• Story mode with three difficulty settings that tailor the game to gamers of varying skill levels.
• Freeplay and Challenge modes offer excellent replayability, allowing favorite stages to be revisited and offering greater levels of difficulty for skilled Ontamaestros! The more you play, the more you can unlock!"
Full Source:
Nintendo World Report
