N-Philes

Odama takes place in a variety of locales in ancient Japan in an effort to avenge your father, Lord Yamanouchi Nobutada of the Yamanouchi's clan. A man named Karasuma Genshin, a "trusted vassal" of the Yamaouchi clan, betrayed Yamanouchi during a battle, and the honorable Lord had chosen to take his own life rather than admit defeat. Tamachiyo, the eldest son of Yamanouchi, took the namesake of "Kagetora". "Kagetora" is moonman speak for "Shadow Tiger", which is pretty badass if you ask me. I mean, geeze, I wouldn't want to mess with anyone who calls himself a "Shadow Tiger". Anyway, our sweet little shadow tiger is hungry for revenge, so he enlists the help of his clan's army to raid Genshin's camp and restore honor to his family's name. This is where the Odama comes in. The Odama, as its name suggests, is a giant damn ball that you use to roll over and crush your opposition. This was apparently passed down within the Yamanouchi's family for generations, and was stolen from China during the Tang Dynasty.

But that's enough of that history lesson. One of Odama's many striking features is its interesting boss designs. After a few levels you're confronted with a Japanese general who wants to do nothing but cause your army grief and despair. That's pretty much the point of every game's boss, really, except the generals in Odama are gigantic men who roam the battlefield and kick the daylights out of your Ninten Bell, which you must preserve in order to complete the stage. It's a really funny sight to see, especially when said general are a good twenty times larger than your average soldier. The final fight against Genshin and his keep is no laughing matter, though. You'll navigate the Odama around four sides of the stage, attacking Karasuma's Keep from all directions. Every time your Ninten Bell gets too close to the gate, Genshin will hop off the top of the temple that he is perched on and attack your precious bell. He'll give it such a nasty kick that it'll fly clear across the stage, and back to the gutter, where it started.

Do you have any idea how frustrating this is? You have to yell "Press Forward!" over and over again until your mouth is dry, and then this jerk just leaps down and kicks you clear into the next stage. Well, luckily, you don't have to stand for that. When he hops down, you can send your Odama flying clear into him. He'll keel over a bit, and when you do it again, you'll have him on his back and scrambling to get back up. But no, you won't let him back up, will you? "Rally! Rally! Rally!" Your available soldiers will move towards the downed general and start hacking away at his big, dumb head. Eventually he'll come to his senses though, and just get right up and kick your bell back from whence it came. If you keep up the music, you'll eventually murder Genshin and his troops will back off. All in a day's work for the Yamanouchi clan.

Perhaps the best part of the entire last stage isn't the final boss, but the stage itself. When you begin the level you are told that there is a hidden warp somewhere on the map. It doesn't tell you where it is or where it will take you, but it's there. Well, since we here at N-Philesfaqs are so nice, we want you to get the most out of your pinball military simulator experience. All you have to do is shoot your Odama right into the main gate when the stage begins. Once you break that, you can shoot the ball once more through the open door and you'll be transported to modern-day Kyoto, Japan! What's that – is that a highly exaggerated replica of Vivarium's office? And in the distance... is that Nintendo's building? Yes! Listen to the sound of busy streets as people rush through them! Cars stuck in traffic jams! Mass transit in action! And now you get to crush them all with your legendary pinball. Once you roll over the inhabitants of Kyoto you'll recruit them into your army and you'll be able to deploy them in battle. Once you return to Karasuma's Keep, you'll notice some Japanese businessmen and women being deployed on your field in place of soldiers. Now, will you all just go out and buy Odama? Please? It's a good game, I swear!