Odama

Now I'm a fan on Pinball, and a fan of Strategy. Never did I realize that both were strange bedfellows. Odama is a charming game full of character(s) and style and enjoyment. But Yoot Saito is of the Old Skool style of punishing difficulty. There are times you may as well be chanting "Lose! Lose!" You may weep. You may wail. You will hurl the controller, or in my case, the microphone because the clip is only so durable.

To be fair, in pinball, luck (known among the elite-types as "physics") is a large part of success. There are more places for the ball to go than there are ways to block it. This part of pinball has been captured gloriously. You will be amazed at how quickly and how frequently you lose all control of your lil' iron buddy.

The incessant "The data has been saved" recording your every defeat doesn't help morale either.

Add in the Nintenbell and you've just doubled your losing chances, because the opposing armies are more than an equal match. Hence strategy. However once divined, strategies only work for you so long as luck is also on your side. A single slip can mean the downing of your army, just as sacrificing an Odama to gain a cannon launch can mean the downfall of your enemies.

I'm proud to own this game (for cheap!) but I can't say I find it pleasurable for more than 15 minutes at a time. It deserves a sequel. And some HAX GameShark codes.