Oh, Odama

I think the blogging gods like me. Either that, I have uncanny timing. Maybe I can see into the future. Maybe not. In any event, a few posts back I asked for more quirky games from Japan to be sold in the U.S. even though they may have only marginal appeal (the most important criteria being that it appeals to me).

In early April, Odama is going to be released for the Nintendo Gamecube. As the Gamecube winds down to make way for the Revolution, new games for this console are few and far between, and this latest offering has quirky written all over it.

Odama, or "paddle warriors", can only be described as a Japanese medieval battlefield pinball game. The object of the game is to roll a giant ball over a large field, mowing down enemies samurai soldiers. Your forces are supposed to break through the enemy gates and carry a large bell through to be victorious. I'm telling you, this kind of stuff is right up my alley.


The game also comes with a microphone; so while you are batting the big ball around with your flippers, you can also give voice commands to your army. Ah, there's nothing that makes you feel more like a geek than talking out loud to the little people in your television. Charge!