Let me tell you this now: Odama is fantastic. A pinball game set on the battlefield of feudal Japan? The premise is clearly genius, but so out there that the final game could have fallen anywhere along the scale. A brainless pinball mash-em-up? A childishly simple strategy game with flippers tacked on the side? It could have all gone horribly wrong... but it hasn't. The army commanding and pinball smashing fuses perfectly, with immensely compelling arcade gameplay the result.

To begin with, its hard to know what the hell is going on. Your advisor is telling you to close gates and advance and push forward and protect the bell and who knows what else. All it seems you are able to do is lose control of the ball and crush your own men into bloodied mudburgers. So yeah, the first level is kind of insufficient as tutorials go, and doesn't bother explaining the controls much beyond the voice commands. Overall, though, and surprisingly, the game is instantly addictive, and driving your bell through enemy gates the goal.

Video A - 11.6MB

So, how the heck can you possibly help things by throwing that giant ball around, if it ends up smacking your own men into dust? First thing, calm it down a bit, try to control the ball, rest it when you need to. On the next few attempts you'll realise you have highly reactive control over the terrain with analog stick tilt, and a whole series of special items that become essential to success. To begin with you can claim limited victories by tilting and gingerly rolling your ball over enemy troops, but you will need to fire ramps, hit switches, and direct your men to achieve victory later on.

Your ball, known as the Odama, is a powerful military tool of Chinese origin, and your secret weapon in reclaiming your fiefdom and palace. To succeed in every stage you must force-through the Ninten-Bell, symbol of your men's belief in the Ninten-do, carried forward by the fearless Bell carrying group. The Bell group is indestructible unless forced beneath your flippers (instant game over), and a direct hit deafens opponents, throwing them to the ground and giving you chance to advance unopposed. Collect a heart and your Bell glows white, after which the next direct hit creates the Heavenly Odama.

Video B - 9.4MB

This Heavenly Odama is absolutely critical during later levels, and the primary way to boost your numbers. It can pass safely over your men, and recruit rather than pulverise the enemy. On the back foot with your Bell surrounded by enemy troops? Can't get flipping because your men have been forced into the path of the Odama? Watch your Heavenly Odama sail through the Ninten-Bell and followers alike, mopping up enemies, and turning them into raw recruits, along the way. It's a move that can make or break an attack, and tingly-good fun when perfectly executed.

You could blindly flip your flippers and may clock a level or two by doing so, but you would be King Stupid if, at that point, you decided the game was completely random and the physics broken. Those people clearly don't know pinball, so just ignore the poor ignorant fools. Once tilt control, directing your men, and the Heavenly Odama are mastered, at no point does it feel as if the game is out of your control, or that success is born out of anything but skill. No, the game expects you to do some work, to develop your pinball skills, learn how to direct your men, and consider the plan of attack. Do this, and the reward is a pinball game like no other.

Video C - 9.7MB

One very smart way in which Odama draws you in, is by taking the piss when things go badly. The form of vocal mocking from your emotive, Japanese advisor after the nth failed attempt of Kuruwa Plains will be familiar to anyone who has played Vivarium's Seaman. What starts as gentle encouragement ("Nintendo gamers are a rare breed indeed"), descends into criticism ("Surely it would be wiser to quit?") and then open contempt ("Ha!"). You will also be goaded for powering back up soon after leaving, but rather than alienate the player, this good natured banter builds a stronger relationship between yourself and the game. There is no gold medal for the 100th button push here, no fake rewards - Nintendo has far greater faith in the player than that.

Troops can be released a handful at a time from the base of the map, at the centre drain between your two flippers. If your Odama is heading south, release some troops and they will roll it out of harm's way. Sending in backup also boosts morale immensely, which is key to gaining the trust of your men. Cut through the enemy with your Odama and spirits soar; cut through your own battalion and everyone just wants to go home. With morale in the bank, your men will obey voice commands to advance, press forwards (through the enemy), and later charge or flank and destroy. You can muddle through the first few levels by just 'press forwards', but later levels require considered movement of men, and rallying to fell ladders or attack giant bosses.

Video D - 14.1MB

Your men will let you know exactly how they feel too, popping out funny little speech bubbles when things are good ("Victory will be ours!"), and when things are bad ("Hoisted by our own petards!"). As well as throwing the player completely by making you laugh out loud, and wanting to work that bit harder to look after your troop, these endearing little comments will often tell you exactly what to do next. It's all good stuff.

The voice recognition works extremely well, easily becoming second nature. The mic clip attaches to your controller - used Dreamcast style - and is worthy of praise in itself. The hardware has that perfectly designed attention to detail that Nintendo seem to be able to pull out of R&D on a whim. Rich detail runs throughout, with completely tapped cover art on Western versions of the game, and a mythos that joins both Japanese history and 'the Nintendo way' into a single narrative, with just the right dab of self-conscious humour to carry it all off. This is Nintendo's SeGa GaGa, but without the self-deprecation and sense of doom.

The level design is imaginative, innovative and, best of all, evolves throughout the game, rarely holding back. You start with tables that progress to multi view, multi-flipper hills and compounds, solving puzzles and working out a strategy from the get go. Latter levels take in villages and roads, scrolling relative to your bell group, and require a different approach to what has gone before. Others involve placing magical statues and attacking a giant, human-headed spider creature. That's, "a giant, human-headed spider creature", to save you re-reading the last sentence there, a giant human-headed spider creature that is bald, grins maniacally, and eats your troops, so I'll revise my earlier statement: Odama doesn't hold back at all. Ever.

Odama is the kind of game that should be loved: it achieves something new, different, with a strong sense of humour, wonderful story and brilliant detail. This is a game that ignored sales meetings and focus groups, and aimed itself directly at fun instead. You should buy it.