Just thought I'd make a list.
Osu-type games:
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan: Inspiration for Osu! Features a Japanese male cheering squad helping people in everyday situations. Tap circles on the touch screen to the beat. Japan Only.
Elite Beat Agents: An "Americanized" version of Ouendan, features the same gameplay but new stories, replacing the cheer squad with a Men-In-Black-styled government agency helping people with the power of dance. Released worldwide.
Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2: Sequel to Ouendan. Now features 2 competing cheer squads (no effect on gameplay) and incorporates many of the features (such as replay saving) which were added in EBA.
Nodame Cantabile DS: Made by Namco but clearly inspired by the Ouendan games. Tap circles to "conduct" classical music. Also contains several min-games and a story mode following the Anime series of the same name. Very forgiving and easy compared to other rhythm games, so it may be a good introduction to the genre. Japan only.
Happy Feet: Decent, but uninspired and easy. Tap circles to the beat, like in EBA, but without sliders or spinners. The rhythm portion is only half the game (the other half is sliding downhill like a penguin) and there aren't many songs. Mostly for kids who like the movie, but not a terrible game.
High School Musical: Makin' the Cut!: *Vomits* Only notable because the gameplay is directly ripped from Elite Beat Agents, but it's worse in every conceivable way. Made by the same company who made the Happy Feet game, and their attempts to add variety (and rip EBA off less visibly) suck. Instead of an "approach circle," notes are pie charts that you must tap when they completely fill, which is unintuitive, especially as the notes are poorly synced to the music.
Other:
Daigasso Band Brothers: A multiplayer-focused title, in which each player can choose a different "instrument" to play by tapping buttons and the d-pad. Midi music allows for the buttons you press to actually impact the sound of the song, as well as an extensive song editor. Japan only.
Electroplankton: One of the first demos when the DS was announced, it's more of an interactive toy than a game. Uses the touchscreen in a variety of innovative ways. Tapping and sliding the "plankton" creates and modifies relaxing musical sounds in real time. Only available online, outside of Japan.
Taiko no Tatsujin DS: Touch de Doko Don!: A DS version of Namco's long-running Taiko no Tatsujin series, which was only seen in the US in the form of "Taiko Drum Master" for the PS2, but was also the inspiration for Namco's "Donkey Konga" series. Tap a touch-screen drum according to an indicator on the top screen. Difficulty ranges from simple to maddening. Japan only.
Kira Kira Music Hour series: I don't understand the premise of this game at all, but it was just released in Europe as "Kira Kira Pop Princess," so between that and what I've played in Japanese, it seems to be about trying to get famous by dancing. The DS is held like a book and you tap large rectangles on the touch screen. The generic music is a bit bland but the gameplay is compelling... Now that it's out in English I might try it.
Ontamarama: Collect colored blobs using the stylus to fill a colored indicator before you tap the d-pad in the direction indicated by that color... to the rhythm of the music. Doing both at once is quite difficult. Released worldwide.
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2: One of the minigames is a music game. Across 5 columns, notes fall from the top of the screen, and you tap them when they reach the bottom. Only about 6 songs (Licensed songs, but "sung" by the Rabbids) but fairly entertaining while it lasts. At the time, I thought, maybe they could make a whole game out of this.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Mehhhh.... This is basically a full game version of the RRR2 minigame. Notes fall in five columns, tap them at the bottom. Chipmunk music isn't too terrible, but it gets old fast. Notes aren't synced to the beat as well as in RRR2, either. Interface and presentation feels really unfinished. Meh.
I'll add more later.
Osu-type games:
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan: Inspiration for Osu! Features a Japanese male cheering squad helping people in everyday situations. Tap circles on the touch screen to the beat. Japan Only.
Elite Beat Agents: An "Americanized" version of Ouendan, features the same gameplay but new stories, replacing the cheer squad with a Men-In-Black-styled government agency helping people with the power of dance. Released worldwide.
Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2: Sequel to Ouendan. Now features 2 competing cheer squads (no effect on gameplay) and incorporates many of the features (such as replay saving) which were added in EBA.
Nodame Cantabile DS: Made by Namco but clearly inspired by the Ouendan games. Tap circles to "conduct" classical music. Also contains several min-games and a story mode following the Anime series of the same name. Very forgiving and easy compared to other rhythm games, so it may be a good introduction to the genre. Japan only.
Happy Feet: Decent, but uninspired and easy. Tap circles to the beat, like in EBA, but without sliders or spinners. The rhythm portion is only half the game (the other half is sliding downhill like a penguin) and there aren't many songs. Mostly for kids who like the movie, but not a terrible game.
High School Musical: Makin' the Cut!: *Vomits* Only notable because the gameplay is directly ripped from Elite Beat Agents, but it's worse in every conceivable way. Made by the same company who made the Happy Feet game, and their attempts to add variety (and rip EBA off less visibly) suck. Instead of an "approach circle," notes are pie charts that you must tap when they completely fill, which is unintuitive, especially as the notes are poorly synced to the music.
Other:
Daigasso Band Brothers: A multiplayer-focused title, in which each player can choose a different "instrument" to play by tapping buttons and the d-pad. Midi music allows for the buttons you press to actually impact the sound of the song, as well as an extensive song editor. Japan only.
Electroplankton: One of the first demos when the DS was announced, it's more of an interactive toy than a game. Uses the touchscreen in a variety of innovative ways. Tapping and sliding the "plankton" creates and modifies relaxing musical sounds in real time. Only available online, outside of Japan.
Taiko no Tatsujin DS: Touch de Doko Don!: A DS version of Namco's long-running Taiko no Tatsujin series, which was only seen in the US in the form of "Taiko Drum Master" for the PS2, but was also the inspiration for Namco's "Donkey Konga" series. Tap a touch-screen drum according to an indicator on the top screen. Difficulty ranges from simple to maddening. Japan only.
Kira Kira Music Hour series: I don't understand the premise of this game at all, but it was just released in Europe as "Kira Kira Pop Princess," so between that and what I've played in Japanese, it seems to be about trying to get famous by dancing. The DS is held like a book and you tap large rectangles on the touch screen. The generic music is a bit bland but the gameplay is compelling... Now that it's out in English I might try it.
Ontamarama: Collect colored blobs using the stylus to fill a colored indicator before you tap the d-pad in the direction indicated by that color... to the rhythm of the music. Doing both at once is quite difficult. Released worldwide.
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2: One of the minigames is a music game. Across 5 columns, notes fall from the top of the screen, and you tap them when they reach the bottom. Only about 6 songs (Licensed songs, but "sung" by the Rabbids) but fairly entertaining while it lasts. At the time, I thought, maybe they could make a whole game out of this.
Alvin and the Chipmunks: Mehhhh.... This is basically a full game version of the RRR2 minigame. Notes fall in five columns, tap them at the bottom. Chipmunk music isn't too terrible, but it gets old fast. Notes aren't synced to the beat as well as in RRR2, either. Interface and presentation feels really unfinished. Meh.
I'll add more later.
