Play Elite Beat Agents Online

Elite Beat Agents came out for the Nintendo DS in 2006, developed by iNiS. It was part of that early DS wave where developers were still figuring out what the touch screen could really do, and this game just ran with it. It felt like a weird, specific kind of experiment that could only exist on that hardware at that time.

You control a team of secret agents who solve people's problems by dancing. The main objective is to tap, hold, and drag markers on the touch screen in sync with the beat of a pop song. The screen scrolls automatically, and you have to follow a path of numbered circles, hitting them as they shrink to match the outline. The pacing is frantic; songs start simple but quickly layer on complex sequences and spinners you have to whirl your stylus around. It feels like a chaotic, joyful panic where you're just trying to keep up with the music.