It’s a strange genre to bring to the Game Boy Advance, the dancing genre. After all, how can a developer convert the appeal and entertainment created by jumping up and down on a pad in an arcade while people standing by laughing/ cheering (as applicable) to a diminutive handheld? How can the relatively tiny sound capabilities of the GBA’s speakers possibly hope to capture the most vital element of the genre, the music, in an exciting and vivid manner that makes the game worth more than five minutes of a person’s precious play time? Apparently some developers believe it’s a possibility, and as a result we can look forward to a version of one of the more entertaining dance games on the market, Space Channel 5. The full name of THQ and Art. Co’s little title is Space Channel 5: Ulala’s Cosmic Attack, and if screenshots and previous franchise releases are to be believed, this is one impressive looking game prospect.

The plot to the will be remarkably silly, with space reporter Ulala (quite clearly derived from a French term which most people should be familiar with) being responsible for defending the earth from an alien invasion, rescuing a number of hostages that have been taken by the aliens in the process, and with a final objective of improving her credentials as a reporter. Now, most would assume this means that she could kit herself up with a rocket launcher and a brace of pistols and spread hellfire across wherever the aliens are headquartered at, but no. Ulala chooses instead to let her smooth dancing moves do the fighting. Whoever said art couldn’t be beneficial was wrong it seems. Despite being absolutely ridiculous, there is a charm in this kind of story which provides enough of an excuse to warrant a game a second look on the shelf, so it will probably be quite a successful story come launch day for the title. Obviously, a game that focuses around dancing will place little importance on a story (Unless it’s some form of “ballroom dancing career” type game), for the actual gameplay and music will be far more vital to the title’s success.

The controls on the Dreamcast were incredibly functional and simplistic, meaning that there should be little lost or compromised in translation to a console with fewer buttons available. As the gameplay consists mostly of mimicking the alien’s moves until Ulala out-styles them so badly that they have a breakdown and can be zapped away, it’s just as well the game requires little thought while playing, games such as this one become an exercise in being able to find one's way around the available controls without any thought soon enough. While most dance games have been simply a matter of memorization and reflexes, Space Channel 5 has always advocated finding a rhythm with the button presses, actually managing to bring a certain degree of dancing skill to the pressing of the buttons. Bring yourself into a rhythm with the music, and you shall have victory, “dance” with the timing that you would exhibit at the local pub on a Friday night and you shall loose, quickly. With eighteen levels, this game should last a while, and then of course, there is always the appeal of going through the levels again to perfect that dancing technique for the included two player mode. Whether this dance off game can rival the multiplayer entertainment that games like Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Zapper and Kurukuru Kururin provide remains to be seen, but there is every chance it will be, considering the ONLY way to play dancing games in the arcade is against another human opponent.

The music of the Dreamcast Space Station 5 was a great upbeat cheesy “Austin Powers” styled affair, and as music is of utmost importance, expect the GBA incarnation to be of a similar “groovy” quality. If Space Station 5 can have you tapping your feet to the tunes whilst on public transport, and accordingly drawing a large number of bemused looks from other commuters, than the game is achieving its purpose admirably. It probably goes without saying that those interested in this sort of game should probably move to purchase a pair of quality earphones, as you’ll want to get the absolute best possible sound the GBA can produce to really get into this game.

From the early screenshots, this game is visually very impressive. Ulala looks much like the Dreamcast character rendition that caused her to become a major publicity icon for the system, and the backgrounds appear to be suitably detailed. No doubt there will be a number of trippy colour explosions thrown in within the dances to give the game the same vibrant, “spectacle for the eye” feel that many of the best dancing games have. Animation is possibly the most important element of the graphics, as a well animated character moving in time with the beat will contribute far more to the atmosphere and consequently the appeal of the game than any background could do. Obviously, the quality of animation cannot be commented upon at this stage, but it is almost inconceivable for Sega to allow one of their quickest growing franchises to overlook such an important facet of the game. Expect the animation to be of a high quality.

Space Station 5 is shaping up to provide a great little portable dancing game for those who enjoy the niche genre. Provided the developers can capture the rhythmic gameplay, genuinely fun soundtrack and overall deliberately camp impression that gamers who experienced the Dreamcast version had which caused the game to be one of the best for the system, then the Game Boy Advance version should be a special treat. Handheld games have constantly been attacked for a lack of variety and originality that can be found from title to title, so perhaps Space Station 5 will be able to abate those complaints somewhat. Keep eyes on this space for more concrete detailed news as it becomes available.