Sakigake!! Otoko Juku: Shippuu Ichi Gou Sei

Sakigake!! Otoko Juku: Shippuu Ichi Gou Sei is the first video game adaptation of the manga Sakigake!! Otokojuku, about a private school that teaches troubled teens ouendan - a form of male cheerleading that involves percussion instruments and chanting, best known to western gamers as the core mechanic of the Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan/Elite Beat Agents games. Both the manga and the anime series - which came out close to this game's release and is assuredly its main inspiration and reason for its existence - is extremely violent as well, and the game's nature as a brawler emphasizes this aspect.

The game is a side-scrolling beat 'em up with some light platforming and RPG elements. You can choose to play as either Momo, Togashi, J or Toramaru and freely switch between them during the stage. They each have their own health bar but share the same sprite during these segments (even J - the blond Westerner). The game doesn't have health pickups. Instead, healing in this game is done by ordering the rest of Otokojuku students to form a cheering squad (no, not pom-pom-waving dance troupe, a macho ōendan) and cheer for you.

Boss fights are presented very differently. You are locked into one character for the duration of the fight but both your chosen character and the boss can move around in a 2D arena, not bound to a straight line like in the beat 'em stages. Your characters have their own distinctive sprites in boss fights.

The game also has a light RPG element. By continuing to use a character, you improve his stats (which can be checked via a status screen accessed by the Select button) but these stats will reset at the beginning of a new chapter. The game has 4 chapters. In each of these, you can find and rescue a tied up Hidemaro. The reward for each time you rescue him is unlocking one additional playable character only during boss fights.