Rah! Rah! Rah! Cheer We Go for Nintendo DS is a music and rhythm action game with pom-poms, jumps, and cheers. But will it make you jump for joy or sit on the sidelines? Read on to find out:

First, customize your cheerleader girl’s face, hairstyle, and hair color. Then you can enter Story Mode where your cheerleading squad tries to keep your school, sports teams, and whole town in high spirits with awesome dance moves and cheers. By doing well in these challenges, you’ll earn medals. Get silver or gold medals to earn money, which you can use at the shop to buy new cheer outfits, accessories, and decorations for your room. Replay song challenges in Dance Mode to improve your score to get better medals. If you have a friend who owns the game and a DS, you can also link up for multiplayer dance-offs. Finally, unlock touch screen arcade action games in Story Mode. If you have a DSi, you can even take your picture in the game.

Gameplay is actually very similar to other music titles like Elite Beat Agents, or Natsume’s own Princess Debut. When you see a ‘clap’ icon, time your tap when a circle gets small enough over the icon. When you see a pom-pom, you’ll need to wait for the circle to close in, then trace the line pattern on screen. Keep an eye out for tricky jumps and other moves, too.

Unfortunately, the core gameplay is where Cheer We Go falls flat. The circles you must watch out for are only dotted lines, and coupled with icons that blend into the bright backgrounds, it makes it hard to see what you’re doing. Plus the music is rather bland and won’t make you want to get up and cheer. Young girls who attend cheer classes or competitions might like this game anyway, though.

Kid Factor:

Because of the hard to see graphics and faster moving icons, Cheer We Go can get pretty challenging and might frustrate some young gamers. Reading skill is a must for all the text. If you’re looking for a better dance game for your young girl, you might want to try and look for Natsume’s other similar game: Princess Debut (if you can find it). It has easier to see graphics, more interesting music, a more robust story mode, and less frustrating gameplay. Cheer We Go is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews