OH NO!

Oh No! is a Japanese on-rails 3D running game developed by Tycoon and published in 2000 for the PlayStation by a collaboration between Asmik Ace Entertainment and TBS. TBS stands for the Tokyo Broadcasting System, the Japanese television giant that brought Takashi's Castle to the world. Anyone who has seen that show knows how crazy it is, and that's nothing compared to what we'll find in Oh No!...

The Japanese are weird. All of their (stereotypical) character traits can be found in the opening cinematic. You'll see bums (the first of many!);

children peeing themselves (seemingly out of choice, not by accident),

and then there's this charming wtf moment...

A brief attempt at Google Translate tells me this is something about the man being calm on holiday. And chopsticks (I may have entered it wrong). And yes, that is his ball towel the kid's wiping his face on. That's entertainment!

In case you haven't guessed, this game is entirely in Japanese. I have no idea what's going on in these cut-scenes but they are hugely entertaining. The actual game itself is far easier to understand, but don't worry. I've included a translation of the menu's to help you navigate.

You initially play as two brothers making their way to school in their underwear. I guess all of that peeing and showering took up too much time. Along the way, people, cars and feathered festival dancers will try to get in your way. Each hit will take away some of your health meter displayed at the top of the screen. When it reaches zero, it's game over.

As you go through the stages, your health meter will slowly decrease, making finding food a necessity. Burgers will increase your health by one or two points depending on the size but watch out for the fish sandwiches as these will decrease your health bar by two!

At the end of a level is a dancing mini-game. Four middle-aged guys in animal outfits (no idea) turn up and force you to dance. These consist of two different types; tapping the buttons shown rapidly in order or press the correct sequence as the icons scroll by. They aren't particularly hard and don't require much rhythm to get a good score. Regardless of the outcome, you'll still progress to the next stage.

Once you've completed the main game, a second mode will unlock. This sees you playing some of the same levels as a girl but the difficulty has been ramped up considerably with more hazards and mid-level checkpoints removed. Once you've completed this, the Crazy and Omake Modes are unlocked. Crazy Mode is essentially an easy version of the game. The health bar has been removed along with the burger collectables and a rolling attack has been added. This is a fun mode that is enjoyable if all you want is a casual playthrough. You'll just have to complete the much tougher first two modes first.

Omake Mode is a fleshed-out version of the dancing games. While the gameplay remains the same, you can select your stage and your character. While a fun diversion, it's not nearly as good as the main game or the rhythm games it takes its inspiration from.

Graphically it uses a similar visual style to PaRappa the Rapper; 2D images placed within a 3D world. It gives the game a cartoonish feel that's perfect for its anarchic tone. The music is also top-notch, having a heavy rotation on my playlist. There are tracks that take inspiration from a variety of styles including ska, punk, samba and rock. It's a great soundtrack and one that I've also provided in the download link.

I've spent a lot of hours playing this game and definitely think it should've been brought over to the West. Give it a go, just watch out for all of the bums.

To download the game, follow the link below. This custom installer exclusive to The Collection Chamber uses Retroarch with the Mednafen_PSX core to emulate the game on PCs. XBox 360 controllers supported. English Menu Translation, Japanese Manual, MP3 Soundtrack and Poster included. Tested on Windows 7and Windows 10.
  02.05.2016 Version 2 -  Added Japanese manual & poster scans
                                        Improved installer

File Size: 388 Mb.  Install Size: 727 Mb.  Need help? Consult the Collection Chamber FAQ

Download


Oh No! is © Asmik Ace Entertainment
Review, Cover Design and Installer created by me

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