Video Game / Space Channel 5

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A rhythm game devoted to dancing duels against multi-colored screen-faced aliens or robots.

The first game, released in 1999, has you play as spunky reporter Ulala as she tries to save the day from the Morolians while getting the big scoop and dancing well enough to keep her ratings up and stave off being canceled. Along the way, she'll meet local dreamboat Jaguar and her Rival from Channel 42, Pudding. You'll take them on multiple times to win the scoop.

The second game has a new threat to the galaxy: Purge and his Rhythm Rogues! Even worse, Jaguar seems to have disappeared while searching for information about Purge! It's up to Ulala and her co-worker Noize to save Jaguar and stop Purge from forcing the Galaxy to dance for him! Along the way, she'll meet Pine, a beautiful woman who is the head of the Space Police; President Peace, the President of the Galaxy who has the Power of Song; and Shadow, Purge's second in command and ground leader of the Robo.

In 2020, a new game was announced for Playstation VR: Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda★Funky News Flash. Developed and published by Grounding under license from Sega. It was released first on PlayStation VR on February 25, 2020 (NA) and February 26, 2020 (EU), Oculus Quest on October 13, 2020, with HTC VIVE and Steam VR releases following after that.

There was a series of cell phone games also released in Japan known as Ulala's Channel J. Most of them were minigames except for Purge's game, which took place after he was sent into space and gave him the title of Anti-Hero. The games have since been discontinued.

One of the most cameo-able Sega games, it is famous for its soundtrack, odd gameplay, and even odder premise.

It's also known for its rather bright colors, making it look like a 60s psychedelic view of space. The first game even has a message which warns about epileptic seizures on one level.

The console games were originally developed for the ill-fated Dreamcast, but were eventually ported to the PlayStation 2. Part 2 is now available in high definition as part of the Dreamcast Collection, along with Dreamcast hits like Sonic Adventure and Crazy Taxi, and can be downloaded on the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade or Steam.

Space Channel 5 has also appeared in all 4 Sega Superstars games so far, with Ulala being playable in all 4 games, and Pudding being playable in Tennis and Racing Transformed. Ulala is also featured on the SEGA side amongst the cast of Project × Zone.

Left, trope, right, trope, up, trope, trope!

• And Your Reward Is Clothes: Part 2 has various unlockable outfits for Ulala (though some "outfits" actually turn Ulala into other characters). You can also unlock different items to replace Ulala's microphone, including a lollipop, a frying pan, and a rose (from Jaguar).
• Ascended Extra: Space Michael was just a Celebrity Cameo in the first game, but has a bigger role in the sequel as the new chief of Space Channel 5, playing a major part in the dance battle against Purge at the end of Report 4 and joining Ulala's crew for the remainder of the game.
• As Himself:
  • Michael Jackson appears as... err... "Space Michael". Technically, this incarnation is the same one who appeared in Moonwalker.
  • In the Japanese games, Ulala's voice actress is credited as herself. This is to reference the fact that her voice actress also worked with the motion capture used to animate Ulala.
• Batman Can Breathe in Space: Zig-zagged. Ulala is shown in space without any protective gear in the first game, but she wears a helmet in the 4th mission of the second game.
• Battle of the Bands: In Report 5 of Part 2, the final battle between Ulala's team and Shadow has the two groups assembling a band for a musical duel. Ulala plays the keys, Pine has drums, Pudding plays the guitar and Space Michael and a Morolian provide vocals.
• Beware the Silly Ones: The Big Bad of the second game, Purge, is a flamboyant manchild with the ridiculous dream of making the rest of the galaxy dance for him. He establishes himself to be a surprisingly credible threat when he kidnaps President Peace, devastates the Space Channel 5 base and almost kills Ulala during their final battle.
• Big Bad:
  • In the first game, the real villain is Blank, the chief of Space Channel 5, who brainwashes the Morolians as part of his plan to boost the channel's ratings.
  • Purge, a madman who forces innocent people to dance for him, is the main antagonist in the sequel.
• Big "NO!": Ulala yells a heart-wrenching "No!" when Fuse is shot down by Purge.
• Bilingual Dialogue: Space Michael only speaks in English, even in the Japanese version.
• Black Cloak: Purge wears a black cloak with platform shoes. Somehow, he's able to run pretty fast with said cloak and platform shoes.
• "Blind Idiot" Translation: Ulala's and the cheerleaders' chant of "Let's dancing! Let's shooting!" is not proper English grammar.
• Bookends: The opening cutscene and climax in the first game features Jaguar scooping up a prone Ulala in space.
• Bootstrapped Theme: When Ulala appears in other games, "The Reporter From Space Channel 5" and "Coco Tapioca the Huge Dancer" are usually picked as her Leitmotif instead of her actual theme, "Mexican Flyer", due to licensing issues.
• Boss Subtitles: All bosses have subtitles giving a brief description of who they are. For example, the final boss of the second game is called "Super-Duper Suit: Purge the Great", which appropriately conveys how his current form is more than a match for Ulala when she is on her own.
• Brainwashed:
  • Jaguar is brainwashed by Purge and adopts the identity of Shadow in the second game. He is only freed by Ulala before the final Report.
  • The entire Morolian race was brainwashed by Blank in the first game. In their regular state, they are quite friendly.
• Brought to You by the Letter "S": In the second game, the various robots and the Big Bad Purge's suit have the letter "P" in their bodies.
• Calling Your Attacks: Both the enemies and Ulala say their cues ['left', 'right', 'down', 'up', 'hey', and 'chu'/'shoot']. Mimicking the attack pattern is what makes up the gameplay.
• Camp Straight: Purge is as flamboyant as it gets, but at times his taunts to Ulala come off as slightly flirtatious.
• Canon Welding: Space Michael's bio in Part 1 implies that Moonwalker is in the same continuity as Space Channel 5, as the events from that game took place over 500 years prior to Part 1.
• Captain Obvious: One of the help cues is "Press LEFT for Left and RIGHT for Right!" Justified in that they want to make sure the gamer knows to use their own left/right for commands and not try to match the facing-forward direction of the opposition (where their left is your right and vice versa). More of a necessity in the Japanese version of each game, as every button callout is still in English with the tutorial giving the translations for each directional input.
• Character Customization: The second game takes this to the extremes. You can even dress up as different characters!
• Cheat Code: The second game gives you a cheat code. The person who gives it to you is the Final Boss of the previous game.
• Chekhov's Gunman: President Peace in the second game is both a living battery for Purge's ultimate weapon and the only person capable of destabilizing Dance Dimension X.
• Clap Your Hands If You Believe: In the 6th report of Part 2, when Purge traps Ulala in Dance Dimension X and appears to have defeated her, she gets her second wind by clapping her hands alongside every person who has supported her throughout the game.
• The Coats Are Off: Purge loses his coat before challenging you to the Final Dance-off.
• Combined Energy Attack: The final three "chu"s that deal the finishing blow to the final boss in both games are facilitated by Fuse focusing the combined energies of everyone in the universe into the satellite antenna.
• Combining Mecha: The boss of the 4th report in Part 2 starts as a simultaneous fight against Purge and a robot that is using President Peace as a living battery. The two antagonists eventually merges into one, with Purge acting as the robot's head.
• Cool Shades: Blank in the first game; his were pink variants of the classic Kamina 'boomerang' shades. His 'turn' icon even glinted next to the glasses!
• Creator Cameo: Besides Ulala, who is credited as herself, Michael Jackson provides the beatboxing in the song that plays during the battle to save him. For unknown reasons, his vocals were removed in the OST release.
• Credits Gag: Don't think it's safe to put down the controller after the credits... The very last command is "Up!" right after it ends.
• Crowd Song: The final battles against Blank and Purge has you and everyone you've saved singing against them.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: Blank enslaves an entire race and sends them on acts of terrorism in a vile attempt to exploit the panic and boost Space Channel 5's ratings.
• Cute and Psycho: Purge is childish and playful at first... But then he shows how insane he truly is and commits acts of terrorism that spread chaos across the galaxy.
• Damn You, Muscle Memory!:
  • Sometimes if you mess commands up, they throw different commands at you.
  • The first game explicitly averts this during the final stages of the game: Even when the Morolians are no longer brainwashed and are allies, Ulala still uses the attack-button beam to rescue them, so that players won't have to worry about changing the "attack Morolians, save humans" muscle memory built up already.
• Dance Battler: All characters in these games try to solve their problems by dancing. Even their weapons are only operational if they are working a choreography.
• Dancing Is Serious Business: Everyone sings and dances in this game to solve their problems.
• Dance Party Ending: The ending of Kinda★Funky News Flash ends with Ulala proclaiming "Let's dance to the end of the galaxy!", as opposed to marching to it in Parts 1 and 2. Sure enough, the space populace all dance away in celebration.
• Dark Reprise: "Evila: Attack of the Perfect Reporter" is a sinister remix of Mexican Flyer, the main theme of the game.
• Darkest Hour: Report 4 in the second game. Purge has successfully escaped with the kidnapped President Peace after destroying the Space Channel 5 station and (apparently) killing Fuse. Ulala herself can barely hold her tears at the end of the stage.
• Defeat Means Friendship:
  • Beating rivals such as Pudding or Jaguar has them join you later in the game.
  • The Morolians become Ulala's friends after she frees them from their brainwashing.
• Disc-One Final Dungeon: The fourth stage in Part 2 is set up similarly to the fourth and final stage of the first game, with Ulala confronting the Big Bad and channeling the dance energy of her friends into a final attack through the antenna on Fuse's ship. But after a turn of events for the worst, it takes two more stages to get to the true final battle.
• Disney Death: Fuse appears to die in the second game by Taking the Bullet for Ulala. The final stage reveals he has survived.
• Dissonant Serenity: Purge, no matter what happens, always seems to be calm. Until his voice starts cracking when he begins to realize that Ulala has him beaten by the end.
• Do Well, But Not Perfect: To get 100% Completion in the first game, you need to intentionally screw up at points during a New Game Plus, since you take different routes depending on your ratings.
• Dual Boss: The first part of the King Purge battle has you taking on Purge and the Mecha President Peace.
• Duel Boss: When the crew reaches Purge at the end of part 2, he separates Ulala from her allies and challenges her to a dance-off.
• Dynamic Difficulty: Certain sections are cut or replaced if you are doing poorly, this extends to the actual lyrics.
• Early-Bird Cameo: In the second report of part 2, Pudding appears at the beginning. Later, you take her on in a duel of guitars.
• Energy Weapon: The final 3 "chus" of both games trigger a Wave-Motion Gun to defeat the Big Bad.
• Enfant Terrible: One of the children you rescue in the first game is a genius. However, his parents think he's studying every day, but in reality he's plotting their demise.
• Even the Girls Want Her: When Ulala rescues the cheerleaders on the way to save Space Michael, they chant "Let's dance! Let's shoot! Sexy Ulala, yeah!".
• Evil Costume Switch: Jaguar wears a black and red costume as Shadow when under Purge's control in Part 2.
• Evil Laugh:
  • Purge's is 'nyeh-heh-heh-heh' in English, and 'ah-HAH-hah-hah-HAH' in Japanese.
  • The first game's Blank doesn't laugh, save for an 'ah-ha!'
• Evil Plan: Purge is trying to make the galaxy dance for him.
• Evil Twin: Evila is a robotic duplicate of Ulala that the first game's Big Bad tries to replace her with. In the second game, the Evilas have been mass produced and repurposed as Space Channel 5's security bots.
• Eye on a Stalk: One of the bosses from the first game has these, which also serve as its weak point during the latter half of the battle.
• The Faceless: Fuse is always heard, never seen.
• Fake Difficulty: The second boss, but in the Dreamcast version. The second boss fight throws in rescuing children, the only boss to have rescuable hostages. During the first phase, it's rather easy to tell the Space Children from the Morolians because the boss thrusts them in the player's face, making it quite easy to see them. However, during the part where you rescue them, the boss is notably further away, and the space children look VERY similar to the aliens at a glance, causing many players to accidentally shoot the children or fire the rescue beam at aliens. The fact that in the first game, "Chu" was used for both the hostages and the aliens didn't help. The Playstation 2 version thankfully improves this by making the children glow blue. It's also obvious in the Game Boy Advance version, too.
• Fate Worse than Death: Purge is trapped in the giant metallic P as he is sent flying into deep space. Of course, this doesn't last long, as you see in the credits.
• Fembot: The Ultimate Reporter, Evila, is a robotic counterpart to Ulala.
• Final Boss: Blank in the first game, Purge in the second.
• Final Boss, New Dimension: The final bosses in both games take Ulala to a psychedelic dimension where they believe they have an advantage against her.
• Finger-Snapping Street Gang: In the first game, when (Space) Michael Jackson joins Ulala's group after being rescued, she and all of the other dancers will imitate his famous snap walk from "Beat It" (Which, in turn, was also inspired by West Side Story (1961)) as they head to the next room.
• Foil: Ulala and Purge are mirror opposites. Even the way they get their Dance Energy is opposite from each other. Ulala's energy comes from love and friendship, and she needs people's support to make it stronger. Purge's energy however stems from his anger and hatred towards everyone, and he can absorb people's energy to make it stronger.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Purge is only 18 years old, and yet he makes most of the enemies you face off against.
• Giggling Villain: Purge, especially in the Japanese version. In parts where the English version would be in full-out insane laughter, all you hear is this sadistic giggle.
• Going for the Big Scoop: Ulala will brave robots, aliens, and even naughty tentacle plants to get the scoop/save the world/save the president.
• Gondor Calls for Aid: When facing the final boss in both games, Ulala can't beat them on her own and gets overwhelmed. However, she's brought back from the brink by the singing and cheering from everyone she's helped along the way.
• Gratuitous English: Plenty of it, a lot of which is simply left in the English version un-dubbed. The cheerleaders' chant is grammatically incorrect: "Let's dancing! Let's shooting!"
• Guide Dang It!: Wonder why you aren't getting 100% ratings in Part 2? There are secret commands you need to input in between segments. While a lot of them are pretty formulaic and predictable, each chapter is likely to have a few hidden moments you might not expect at first glance.
• Hypnotize the Captive: In the second game, civilians are captured by the Rhythm Rogues and forced to dance against their will.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: The first time you take on Purge the Great, you can only dodge his attack barrage. However Ulala can only dodge for so long, and she is nearly killed by Purge.
• Hulk Speak: The plant boss in report 2 of Part 2 says things like "Throw star at you"
• Hypno Ray: Happens in both games. To the Morolians in the first game and Jaguar in the Second.
• Identical Stranger: Padding and Texas in the second game's Extra Mode. According to their character bios, Padding is a Pudding impersonator, and Texas is Pine's twin sister.
• Idol Singer: Pudding's previous job.
• In-Game TV: The Moro Channel 5 cutscenes in Part 2, which would be interrupted by Purge as he gives you information about his plan without completely giving it away.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Rumor has it that Ulala is voiced by one of Sega's staff members — possibly Nahoko Nezu, the only female choreographer for the games, especially when she shares the same birthday and age as Ulala (when the game first came out).
• Insufferable Genius: Purge may brag about how he's a genius and amazes himself, but he is smarter than the average villain in the series. He has a plan for everything, should you beat him here, he'll have a backup idea at the ready. That is, until the ending, when Ulala has him beat.
• Interface Spoiler: Shadow's identity is pretty easy to deduce for those who played the first game. He and Jaguar have the exact same pose and dance moves. When you take on Shadow to rescue Space Michael, you can hear Jaguar's battle theme in the background from the first game, and Shadow does the same commands from the first game.
• In the End, You Are on Your Own: The final boss in both games starts with Ulala taking on the Big Bad on her own, only to be outclassed and nearly killed, and then everyone joins her to save the day.
• Intrepid Reporter: The space reporters will brave alien invasions, meteor fields, giant mechs, and more to get their reports done.
• Involuntary Dance: The aliens and the Rhythm Rogues force people to dance.
• It Runs on Nonsensoleum: At the end of Report 4 in the second game, Noize and Ulala escape the exploding Space Channel 5 station, but their ship starts to run out of power. This prompts Noize to ask Ulala to dance in order to energize the vehicle.
  Noize: "There's no power! Ulala, all that's left is dance and jiggy power!"
• Kaizo Trap: In the very end of the credits, the player is given one last command to mimic: "UP!"
• Karma Houdini: Sure, he may have threatened the galaxy, but that doesn't stop Mr. Blank from appearing in Part 2 and having everyone perfectly fine with it!
• Large Ham: There is not a single character in this franchise who isn't loud and bombastic.
  "My name is..." "JAGUAAAAR~"
• Leitmotif:
  • Purge, Pine, and President Peace get their unique themes.
  • Ulala has Mexican Flyer, which becomes a Recurring Riff in the games.
• Let's Fight Like Gentlemen: When Ulala finally gets a chance to fight against Purge, he blocks off Ulala's friends with an invisible wall so they can't help her. It's only him and Ulala, nobody else can interfere.
• Like You Would Really Do It: Part 2 contains an In-Universe example.
  Fuse: Oh come on, do you REALLY think they would kill someone off in this game?
• Magic Dance: Everything in the game is done with dance, which is implied to somehow be a renewable source of energy.
• Magic Music:
  • In the second game it's shown that dancing isn't the only source of power in this universe. Ulala engages Pudding and Pine in a guitar and drum duel respectively, while Space Michael's vocals and dance are used to oppose the Rhythm Rogues. President Peace is kidnapped by Purge for his singing voice, but in the finale, .
  • Chapter 5 of the second game sees Ulala and her allies battle the Rhythm Rogues as a band.
• Masturbation Means Sexual Frustration: In the second game's English, if Ulala and Noise do good enough... then Fuse's comments sound like he's doing something inside his ship.
• Meaningful Name: Ulala is a play on "Ooh, la, la", obviously referencing how she is a Ms. Fanservice.
• Mecha-Mooks: Unlike the previous antagonist, Purge employs mostly robots, with Shadow being the sole exception.
• Metaphysical Fuel: The various vehicles seen throughout the games are powered by 'dance and jiggy power'.
• Mysterious Past: When putting all the pieces together, it's revealed that Jaguar originally worked for Space Channel 5, and saved Ulala when she was a child. He sensed that something wasn't right with Blank, however, and soon left.
• Names to Trust Immediately: "Space President Peace"? Sounds like a pretty down-to-earth ruler.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed:
  • Ulala is based on Lady Miss Kier, lead singer for Deee-Lite of "Groove Is In The Heart" fame. Kier unsuccessfully sued Sega for intellectual property.
  • Space President Peace is influenced by Tom Jones.
• Nobody Can Die: Nobody dies in the console games. Averted however in Purge's Cell Phone game, where he can die by running out of time or being electrocuted to death. This makes his death the only time someone can die in the games.
• Non-Standard Game Over: Missing the final 3 chus/shoots in the games. Looks like it's back to the beginning of the report for you!
• Non-Indicative Name: The 100 Stage Dance Battle in Part 2. It has 200 stages.
• Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Ulala is 22 years old; Purge is only 18 years old.
• Old Save Bonus: In the Dreamcast version of Part 2, having saved data from Part 1 allowed you to unlock Mr. Blank and Cecil right off the bat.
• Older Than They Look: Jaguar may look young, but he's 35 years old.
• OOC Is Serious Business: In Kinda★Funky News Flash Ulala encountering Morolians that speak English instead of Morolian chatter is one of the first tips she gets that things are INCREDIBLY wrong.
• Our Presidents Are Different: President Peace sings to purge evil and sadness from people's hearts, and he's used as a core for some of Purge's robots.
• Overly Long Tongue: The second boss of the first game, who elicited an equally suggestive-sounding "Oh, it's slimy!" from Ulala upon wrapping her in its tongue.
• Parental Abandonment: Ulala was found alone in space when she was young and was saved by Jaguar - she was listed as the last "survivor" - implying her parents are dead.
• Peace & Love Incorporated: Space Channel 5 itself starts as this, with their attempts to brainwash everyone into watching their station and keeping them from the truth. They get much better after Blank resigns.
• People Puppets: In both games, the villains shoot people with rays that make them dance uncontrollably.
• The Power of Friendship: It doesn't matter if there's a man made of giant televisions or a Teen Genius inside a Super-Duper Suit, the power of friendship will save the day every time. This gets reinforced during gameplay. Whenever Ulala saves a new group of citizens, they'll all start just watching her dance and defend them. Then one by one they'll all start joining in and contributing their dance energy. Do well enough consistently enough and you'll end up with an entire army of citizens providing backup for you. Made more apparent in Part 2 which includes special citizens that, when saved, will add something extra to the transition scenes to give Ulala some extra style and a morale boost. Sometimes they'll even come rushing back to help Ulala out with the boss.
• Pre-Rendered Graphics: All areas in the game were pre-rendered video footage, and the characters are 3D models put in front of the video.
• Pretty Boy: In a bonus mission in Part One, Ulala says, "They got a boy toy!".
• Psychopathic Manchild: Purge takes this to a slightly disturbing level in Report 6. He goes so far as to charge up the Ballistic Groove Gun to not only destroy everyone there, but himself as well.
• Rank Inflation: In the last level of Part 2, your view rating can reach 200%. No explanation is given for this.
• Rapid-Fire Fisticuffs: After rescuing "Space Karate Man," Ulala and her followers incorporate the crane stance and airboxing into their dance routine.
• Rhythm Game: This is a simon-says rhythm game. The only visual indicator is the active character icon, whether it's the opposition or the player, meaning the player has to remember the timing or rely on background music. Sometimes you may need to rely on visual cues or input opposite prompts, but you'll be warned about these situations. Individual segments need to be perfect to avoid penalties.
• The Rival: Pudding, of Space Channel 42, shows up in early chapters of both games trying to beat Ulala to the punch on the scoop. Ulala treats her more as a nuisance, but she ends up teaming with Ulala to take down the big threat.
• Say My Name:
  • Ulala in the first game yells Pudding and Jaguar's names when they get smacked by the final boss.
  • In Part 2, Ulala yells Fuse's name after his Heroic Sacrifice.
  • Ulala and Purge start their final confrontation by just saying each other's names a couple of times.
• Scarf of Asskicking: Shadow has a Red Scarf that flaps regardless of if there's wind or not.
• Score Screen: The end of a report will show the rating percentage, the maximum, the percent of people rescued, along with the quota.
• Secret Character: Somewhat used in Part 2. Filling certain conditions will unlock different characters to play as, Even the Big Bad himself.
• Sequential Boss: The second part has Purge the King, a 3 part battle, with no recovering stars.
• Shout-Out: When rescuing Space Michael, the zombie dance from Thriller, the moonwalk and gravity-defying lean from Smooth Criminal, other dance moves from Beat It, and his signature head tilt are performed.
• Sinister Silhouettes: Most of the second game has you looking at Purge's silhouette. His real appearance is only revealed at the end of Report 4.
• Soft Reboot: Kinda★Funky News Flash is a compressed re-imagining of Part 1, shifting some small details to make it an open gateway to new players.
  • Ulala is not a rookie reporter and is instead a well-known savior of the galaxy. That role is shifted to Roo & Kie, the recruits and stand-ins for the player, and making Ulala the mentor to you.
  • Blank, the CEO of Space Channel 5, is nowhere to be found.
  • The Morolians invade again, but this time to steal the Groove Moxie of the galaxy.
• Space Clothes: Every character wears very bright and/or tight clothing.
• Space Is Noisy: Played with. As the name implies, this series takes place in outer space, making it odd that music can be heard throughout the levels. However, this is because the heroes have a sound system that lets them hear songs and weaponize the rhythm. Near the end of both games, there's a moment where the music and sound system fail on Ulala, making the music fade out and the commands harder to hear until she's left in complete silence, unable to fight back at all because she can't hear anything.
• Space Police: The Sexy Space Police is introduced in Part 2. Ulala joins them to combat the Rhythm Rogues.
• Space "X": Every significant element in the series is called "Space (noun)". Space Bucks, Space President, Space Michael...
• Spoiler Title: Report 4 in Part 2 is called "The end for Space Channel 5?!" It concludes with the Space Channel 5 station exploding.
• Stripperiffic: Ulala's outfits tend to be pretty revealing.
• Stuff Blowing Up: In the second game, at the end of report 4, the entire Space Channel 5 station is blown to pieces after Purge deflects an energy ball back at Fuse.
• Theme Music Power-Up: Ulala is literally empowered when her theme music starts playing at the end of both games.
• A Twinkle in the Sky: Both Purge and Blank are blasted off into the depths of space at the end of each game.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Purge, if some of the profiles for the Rhythm Rogues are to be believed.
  "He created his first robot at just nine years old."
• Underwear of Power: The Super Ulala Suit's description says "Rumored to be just underwear."
• Unexplained Recovery: Fuse, Blank, Ulala and Purge all survive situations where they would normally die. The first one lampshades this, saying that no one would die in a game like this.
• Villainous Breakdown: Purge completely loses it before the final 3 chus as he tries to kill everyone that is opposing him. In the English dub, he's being as snooty as usual. But in the Japanese dub, he's screaming at the top of his lungs at everyone there.
  "Dance yourselves to hell, see if I care!"
• Vine Tentacles: In the second report of Part 2, Ulala faces off against a mutated plant, which restrains the protagonist and lashes at her with its vines.
• Virtual Paper Doll: Part 2 includes a "Changing Room" where you can give Ulala different outfits and replace her microphone with other items.
• Wave-Motion Gun: The Final Hit against the Final Boss in both games has Fuse channel the dance energy of all the heroes through the antenna on his ship, firing it as a gigantic light beam to send the villains flying into the distance.
• We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties:
  • In part 1, this happens when Jaguar makes himself known. Purge even says "Check the transmission - quickly!"
  • In Part 2 the loading screen is replaced with a "technical difficulties" message right after Ulala is killed by Purge.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Purge believes he's been given a holy mission to lead the Brutish and Unhappy masses of the Galaxy to the heavens by dancing.
• Who Forgot The Lights?: One section in Part 2 has Ulala and friends trapped in a pitch-black room. It lights up to reveal that they're surrounded by robots.
• World of Ham: Of the Camp variety. Almost every single character can and will proudly engage in flashy, dramatic dance battles. Even the random NPCs that Ulala can recruit in each level will all perfectly copy her sexy strut and dance moves no matter how flamboyant; whether they be men, women, children, robots, or aliens!
• You Can't Thwart Stage One:
  • Report 4 in the second game has Purge successfully steal the Space Broadcasting Satellite.
  • In report 2, immediately after you've saved President Peace from the Waltzing Robot, Shadow teleports in and abducts him AGAIN with no trouble.