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.
