Space Channel 5

A Rhythm Game devoted to dancing duels against multi-colored screen-faced aliens or robots.

The first game 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 cancelled. 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.

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 infectious and memorable soundtrack, odd gameplay and even odder premise.

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

The console games were originally developed for the ill-fated Sega 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.

As per The Wiki Rule, Space Channel 5 has its own wiki here.

Tropes used in Space Channel 5 include:
  • 100% Completion: Easier said then done.
  • Akira Ishida: He voices Purge in the Japanese version.
  • 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).
  • Any Torment You Can Walk Away From: The end of both games.
  • As Himself: Michael Jackson... Well, sorta, if Space Michael can be categorized here.
  • Badass Boast: "I'm taking the Space Transmitter with me as a present!"
  • Bald of Evil: Blank in the first game.
  • Batman Can Breathe in Space: Ulala does this in the first game, but she wears a helmet in the 4th mission of the second game.
  • Best Boss Ever: The boss from the fourth mission of the second game is a giant, apish, speaker-handed robot piloted by a mad scientist, and you have to use the power of Space Michael Jackson (voiced by Michael Jackson) to defeat him.
  • Beware the Silly Ones: Well let's see here, we have an evil genius who's ridiculous and a bit too fabulous at times. Surely, Purge can't be that too big of a threa- HOLY CRAP, DID HE JUST KILL ULALA!?
  • Big Bad: Blank in the first game and Purge in the sequel.
    • The Dragon: Respectively, the Morolians or Evila and Shadow.
  • Big No: Ulala does this twice in under a minute after Fuse is shot down by Purge.
  • Bilingual Dialogue: Space Micheal 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.
  • Boss Subtitles: All bosses, but when you get one that says "Super-Duper Suit: Purge the Great", well... you know you're screwed.
  • Brainwashed: Jaguar, in the second game, becomes Shadow, until Ulala saves him in the most unintentional reference to Sesame Street ever.
    • Also the Morolians in the first.
  • Brought to You by The Letter "S": In the second game, P stands for Purge.
  • Calling Your Attacks: Both the enemies and Ulala say their cues ['left', 'right', 'down', 'up', 'hey' and 'chu'/'shoot']. If they didn't, the game would be Unwinnable.
  • Camp: You betcha.
  • Camp Straight: If you thought that Purge wasn't straight... better luck next time.
  • Captain Ersatz: Deee-Lite' Lady Miss Kier sued Sega because Ulala seems to be very close to her stage persona.
  • Captain Obvious: "Press LEFT for Left and RIGHT for Right!"
  • Character Customization: The second game takes this to the extremes. You can even dress up as different characters!
  • Chekhov's Gunman: President Peace in the second game.
  • The Coats Are Off: Purge loses his coat before challenging you to the Final Dance-off.
  • Combining Mecha: The boss of 4th report in Part 2 starts as a Dual Boss eventually merges into one.
  • Conspicuous CG: Well, it's a video game so it's obviously CG-I; but in the final moments of the first game, it becomes pretty obvious that the crowd behind Ulala is pre-rendered.
  • Cool Shades: Blank in the first game; his were pink variants of the classic Kamina 'boomerang' shades. His 'turn' icon even had a glint next to the glasses!
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Blank fits this trope perfectly.
  • Credits Gag: Don't think it's safe to put down the controller after the credits...
  • Crowd Song: The final battle against Purge has you and everyone you've saved singing with him.
  • Cute and Psycho: Purge is childish and playful at first... But then he starts going insane. This is especially shown in the English dub, in which he has an insane laugh that's reminicent of THE JOKER'S.
  • Damn You, Muscle Memory!: Sometimes if you mess commands up, they throw different commands at you.
    • Not to mention, on the PC version, the directional-commands are handled with the directional pad on the keyboard... which is on the right half of the computer.
  • Dance Battler: Ulala, and how, and even Lampshaded.
  • Dancing Is Serious Business: Everyone sings and dances in this game.
  • Dancing Theme: And how.
  • Dangerously Genre Savvy: Mr. Blank. During the Giant Evila battle, he figures out that the rhythm of the music is what's helping Ulala (and the player) out. So what does he do? He goes and personally shuts off the music himself.
  • Dark-Skinned Blond: Jaguar.
  • Dark Fic: "Light Character Study: Purge" gives a new look on Purge, one that most people may miss.
  • Dead Guy, Junior: Purge Junior. Until you remember that Purge isn't dead, and the extra reports are in the same time as the normal ones...
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Beating rivals such as Pudding or Jaguar has them join you later in the game.
  • Delayed Explosion: Both games have this at one point.
  • Disc One Final Dungeon: The fourth stage in Part 2 is set up in a similar fashion to the fourth and final stage of the first game. But after a turn of events for the worst, it takes two more stages to get to the true final battle.
  • Disney Death: Fuse in the second game by Taking the Bullet.
  • 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.
  • Distracted by the Sexy: Whether it be Ulala, Pine, Purge or Shadow, you may get distracted by the characters' dance moves.
  • 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+, 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: The dance off between Ulala and Purge.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: In the second report of Part 2, Pudding appears at the beginning. Later, you take her on.
  • Energy Weapon: The final 3 "chus" of both games.
  • Enfant Terrible: One of the children you rescue in the first game is a genius. However, his parents think he's studying everyday, but in reality he's plotting their demise.
  • Evil Albino: Purge, who actually shows signs of being an albino. He wears goggles for most of the game, presumably to help with his eyesight and is never seen in sunlight.
  • 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!'
    • In the Japanese version, Blank does laugh. It sounds a lot like King Dedede's laugh from the Japanese dub of Kirby of the Stars.
  • Evil Plan: Purge is trying to make the galaxy dance for him.
  • Evil Twin: Obviously, Evila. Padding and Texas of Space Channel 5 Part 2 aren't really evil, just... alternates.
    • Well, then there's Purge Jr. who is actually evil.
  • Expy: Syndrome from The Incredibles MUST'VE been inspired from Purge.
  • The Faceless: Fuse is always heard, never seen.
  • Fake Difficulty: The second boss, but in the Dreamcast version. The second boss fight throws rescuing children in, 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.
  • Famous Last Words: "Dance yourselves to hell, see if I care!" Even though Purge doesn't really die, as shown in the credits...
  • Fate Worse Than Death/And I Must Scream: 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.
  • Final Boss: Blank in the first game, Purge in the second.
  • Final Boss, New Dimension
  • 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.
  • Freudian Excuse: The fact alone that Purge doesn't understand love or happiness kinda shows how crappy his life must've been as a child.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Purge is only 18 years old, and yet he makes most of the enemies you face off.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: The infamous Naughty Tentacles scene. Even in the dub, Ulala says, "Oh, not there!" in a very suggestive way!
    • Some of the outfits. In a bonus mission in Part 1, Ulala says, "They got a boy toy!".
    • Of course, there was also 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.
    • The fact that Blank and Cecil are always together in Part 2. ALWAYS. Just let that sink in for a moment...
  • 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. Seriously, she should get paid more.
  • Gondor Calls for Aid: The Final Boss in both games.
  • Hand Wave: Wait... How did Purge show up in the credits if he was sent out into Space?
  • He Knows About Timed Hits: That's one of the ways the fourth wall is broken.
  • He Knows Too Much: Jaguar in the beginning of Part 2 by Purge.
  • 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 killed by Purge.
  • Hulk Speak: 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.
  • Hypnotize the Princess: And how. "Oh, no! The _____ is being forced to dance!" Replace the blank with 'Space Bird Mistress/Space Dog Trainer/Space Tour-Guide/Space Michael' etc...
  • 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.
  • Insufferable Genius: Purge may brag about how he's a genius and amazes himself, but he really 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: Well, that's odd; Shadow and Jaguar have the exact same pose and dance moves... Eh, It's Probably Nothing.
    • Hmmm... when you take on Shadow to rescue Space Michael, you can hear Jaguar's battle theme in the backround from the first game, and Shadow does the same commands from the first game. But surely, that doesn't mean a thing.
  • In the End You Are on Your Own: The final boss in both games starts off as this, then everyone joins Ulala to save the day.
  • Intrepid Reporter: These people will brave alien invasions, meteor fields, giant mechs, and more to get their reports done.
    • Hot Scoop: And they'll look good while doing it.
  • It Runs on Nonsensoleum: "There's no power! Ulala, all that's left is dance and jiggy power!"
  • Kaizo Trap: "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 are several to say the least, who pull it off rather well.
    • "My name is..." "JAGUAAAAR~"
  • Leitmotif: Purge, Pine and President Peace get their own unique themes.
  • Let's Dance 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. But just because Purge uses this trope, doesn't mean that he won't go back to his cheating ways AFTER the fight...
  • Let's Play: While there are some Let's Plays out there, PeachFan2262 really does this well with her hilarious commentary.
  • Loners Are Freaks: The second game seems to give this message with Purge.
  • Magic Dance: Everything in the game is done with dance. See also Metaphysical Fuel.
  • Magic Music: In the second game, it's shown that dance isn't the only unusual legitimate superpower in the universe.
  • Meaningful Name: Ulala (Ooh, la, la).
    • One would think that, but in actuality, "Ulala", while being the official English spelling of her name, is simply a romanization of "Urara", which is a common Japanese girl's name. It's even spelled in Hiragana ("うらら") when written in Japanese.
  • Mecha-Mooks: Purge just loves these.
  • Metaphysical Fuel: Even the vehicles are powered by 'dance and jiggy power'. See 'It Runs on Nonsensoleum'.
  • Michael Jackson Space Michael: Guest stars in both games, essentially as himself
  • Mission from God: Purge thinks he has this.
  • Mondegreen:
    • First time you hear "shoot" from the enemies in report 1 of Part 1, it sounds like "tits" or "kiss".
    • Part 1 never subtitled or otherwise wrote "chu" in any text, leading a lot of people (including the creators of the YouTube Poop parodies) to think it was "shoot". The GBA version cleared that up, since it needed to replace most of the voiced dialog with text to save cart space.
    • In report 4 of Part 2, when cheerleaders say "right", it sounds like "left". During the battle with Purge in the same report, you can hear a lot of "Damn!" or "Sheet".
    • In report 3 of Part 2, it sounds like Pine is saying "Dirty" when she fires the Space Police's cannons, and Ulala sounds like she's saying "Clean" when she would normally say "chu".
      • A lot of lines can be like this because the voices are too quiet to hear.
  • Multiple Demographic Appeal: The game was designed with that in mind.
  • Musical Assassin: OH YES.
  • The Music Meister: Purge.
  • 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.
  • My Suit Is Also Super: The Super Ulala Suit.
  • Naughty Tentacles: In the end of Report 2 of the second game, a huge tentacle monster grabs Ulala. It would just be normal tentacle use if it wasn't for Ulala's quote following her 'abduction'...

Fuse: Look, tentacles! Can you handle it, Ulala?
[Camera falls off stand and goes static]
Ulala, held up by tentacles: Ah... Not there!

    • The character bio even states that the boss is "A dirty-minded robot that attacks Ulala with its tentacles and tongue."
  • Nintendo Hard: The game looks deceptively easy... until you play it. 'I didn't know it had to be at the same moment too!' indeed.
  • 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 deaths the only time someone can actually die in the games.
  • Non-Indicative Name: The 100 Stage Dance Battle in Part 2. It actually has 200 stages.
  • Nonstandard Game Over: Missing the final 3 chus/shoots in the games. Looks like it's back to the beginning of the report for you!
  • Older Hero vs. Younger Villain: Ulala is 22 years old; Purge is only 18 years old.
  • Older Than They Look: Jaguar may look young, but he's 35 years old.
  • Old Save Bonus: In the Dreamcast version of Part 2, having save data from Part 1 allowed you to unlock Mr. Blank and Cecil right off the bat.
  • Only One Name
  • Our Presidents Are Different: President Peace sings to purge evil and sadness of people's hearts, and he's used as a core for some of Purge's robots.
  • Panty Shot: The games have more than a few.
  • Parental Abandonment: Ulala was found alone in space when she was young and was saved by Jaguar.
  • Peace and Love Incorporated: Space Channel 5 itself actually starts out 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!
  • Psycho Electro: You learn in the second part of Report 6 that Dance Energy isn't the ONLY thing Purge can control...
  • 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. To see a cheerful villain up to this point suddenly take a dark tone somewhat throws people off.
  • Real Men Wear Purple Sleeveless Disco Suits: Purge, we're looking at you.
  • Repeat After Me: Purge and Fuse do this at one point in Report 4's Boss.
  • The Rival: Pudding, of Space Channel 42.
    • Though, technically, Pine counts as her rival... at drums.
  • Rule of Cool: Who cares if it makes no sense? IT'S STILL AWESOME.
  • Rule of Fun
  • Say My Name: Ulala does this in the first game respectively for Pudding and Jaguar when they get smacked by the final boss.
    • In Part 2, Ulala does this for Fuse after his Heroic Sacrifice and 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.
  • Screw the rules, I have RATINGS!: Blank... Did he just summon multiple robots to the field!?
  • 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.
  • Show, Don't Tell: Apparently, Noize can play drums. Who knew?
  • Sinister Silhouettes: Purge just loves these. 3/4 of the second game has you looking at his silhouette.
  • Sleeves Are for Wimps: Purge once he takes off his Cloak.
  • Space Clothes: This game goes over the top with this one with everyone wearing very bright and/or tight clothing.
  • Space Is Noisy: If these games didn't exhibit this trope, they would be very boring.
  • Space Pirates: The Underground Space Pirate Broadcasters.
  • Space Police: The Sexy Space Police in Part 2
  • Spoiler Title: Report 4 in Part 2 "The end for Space Channel 5?!" The station explodes.
  • Starship Luxurious: The Luxury Spacecraft G in Part 1, and the Space Symphony in Part 2.
  • Stripperiffic: Ulala's outfits tend to be pretty revealing.
  • Stuff Blowing Up: The best moment of this is in the second game, at the end of report 4.
  • Theme Music Power-Up: And since it's a rhythm game, the player is quite literally empowered when the theme music starts playing, as the notes are set to a song they have extreme familiarity with.
  • A Twinkle in the Sky: Both Purge and Blank have this when they are defeated.
  • Underwear of Power: The Super Ulala Suit's description says "Rumored to be just underwear." That said, it doesn't really look like any underwear This Troper has seen.
  • Unexplained Recovery: Fuse, Blank, Ulala and Purge all survive situations where you'd normally die.
  • 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."

"Dance yourselves to hell, see if I care!"

UP!

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