Odama (Nintendo GameCube, 2006)

Odama came recommended to me by a pinball fan who'd found something... different. It uses a Japanese feudal field of battle as the table for the pinball board and you throw an enormous ball (the Odama) around the field to assist in the shepherding of a Ninten bell (or, Ninten-do) carrying the souls of your warriors thru your opponents gates in a reversal of the capture-the-flag concept. The Odama can destroy your men as well. The creator of this game thought he'd stumbled on something profound in this metaphor for a soldier's death in war being as indiscriminate as a game of pinball.

The game *requires* the microphone attachment--via Memory Slot 2 on the GameCube or Wii (yes, it works great on the Wii!)--and you'll be yelling at your troops to advance, defend, open sluice gates, close 'em, move left/right, etc. All GameCube games require that you use the GameCube controllers! This control scheme isn't flawless but adds a certain lunacy to the action that is oddly appropriate. Most copies came with the microphone included but always make sure! I initially ordered this game thru GameFly and received it without a mic. No good! You can "play" but you can't order your men thru the enemy's gates to end the level.

This game is hard. But like any good game of pinball the action is frantic and defeat is always a mere blink of the eye away. Use online guides if you get frustrated.

I'm thrilled to finally have this game and it's a great conversation piece. The new XBL pinball on the 360 may have gorgeous graphics and precise control but the feudal environment of this game, the pulsing drums, death cries of your men as you inadvertently kill them, great voice-acting and great over-all design make it well worth the price of admission.

Again, the game works great on the Wii. Nintendo seems to be standing by their backwards-compatibility claims. As the Wii proves, graphics aren't everything. It's game design! For you new Wii owners new to gaming and wondering what else is available for your system and waiting patiently while the Wii-titles slowly come out, look up Sanity's Requiem, Ikaruga, Pikmin II, Zelda: The Windwaker, Metroid: Prime and Mario Kart: Double Dash for some good times. Resident Evil 4 will have a Wii-version utilizing the wiimote soon--but the Cube version is great.

What is Odama? a Japanese Feudal pinball fight on a Labrynth style table which you tilt your ball(the Odama) around with your controller and strike down your enemies while yelling orders to your troops through a microphone. Does this sound like your kind of game? Well Let me answer that with one word HARD! it is frustrating and very difficult. But like any good pinball it will reward with you with a sense of well being if you manage to succeed in getting the Bell moved were it needs to go safely while keeping your troops out of harms way. I honestly say this, I throughly enjoy yelling at this game and making a fool of myself in front of the tv screen. Yoot Saito, is a Genius!
Get this game for something different and extremely new to the world of pinball. Get this game for a challenge. and finally, just get this game because the company offering it is Fantastic! they are real people concerned with your purchase. and they proved that to me when something went wrong.

Ever since I first saw this game I thought it was one of the most intriguing games I've ever seen. I never played it until just recently because the price was always a bit on the spendy side.
First off, this game is pretty difficult and complicated. I wouldn't reccomend it for small children or people who aren't very good at video games, but once you get passed the learning stage this game is awesome!
The game is set in a battlefield in which your troops are set up against another army. Your goal is to get as many of your troops as possible to the far side of the battlefield. How? You simply play pinball on the battlefield while shouting out orders to position and command your troops (such as "push forward", "charge" or "rally" to name a few). Try to take out as many of the enemy soldiers and fortifications as you can with the pinball while trying not to kill your own men.
You may think that the microphone that attatches to your controller might not be very responsive, but I was surprised to find that it works pretty much every time!
It sounds complicated, but if you like strategy games like warcraft or age of empires, I'm sure you'll love it.

Odama is one of those games you just have to play to get the idea clear. its a feudal-japan-era-pinball game. there, and while the grapics are not the best that the gamecube ever saw, its game play its very enjoyable. the level of difficulty is medium overall and if you really are going to buy it get it with the microphone, that is where the real fun of this game is. not only that, but it will make your army movements much swifter as you play along. Odama is a great game if youre looking for something fresh to try out, if youre not into weird games, then stay away. sp enjoy go ahead and try out your luck in feudal japan as you plummel trough hordes of enemies.

Great game, great alternative for lovers of pinball with a medieval touch. It comes with an integrated system for the players involved with the microphone.
I recommend ...