Obscure Video Games: Oh No!

Paw-handed bulging bald boys are nothing to be negative about

“Oh no!” is what I say whenever I hear somebody’s put out another runner game. I completely lost interest in the genre years ago. However, back in 2000, it was still a fairly novel concept. That’s when Asmik Ace Entertainment released Oh No! for the original PlayStation in Japan.

In Oh No! you control a group of (literally) snot-nosed brats who are trying to get to the end of each stage without going hungry or getting killed. The boys run uncontrollably forward, either in a horizontal or vertical line; you can switch between the formations with the triangle button. To keep your health meter up, the boys must eat hamburgers lying on the ground. Avoid the fish sandwiches, though. They will deplete your health because, as we all know, street fish is just nasty. At the end of each stage, Oh No! gives you a nice change of pace — a dancing mini-game similar to Bust a Groove.

So should you dig up Oh No! and give it a try? I would say yes, if you can find it fairly cheap. I had a lot of fun with it. The wacky characters are quite amusing, and (for a PS1 game) the cel-shaded graphics are surprisingly good. Maybe they should have called it “Oh Yeah!”