A funky rhythm game by Mizuguchi with a retro disco staging. Intuitive controls, sparkling choreography and an irresistible soundtrack. A pop gem of the Dreamcast.
Your verdict
Category
Rhythm1 player3+
Description
Ulala, Space Channel 5 reporter, chains dance steps to rescue alien hostages in this Sega rhythm game. Published by Sega, released in Japan in December 1999. Rhythm game with dance sequence memorisation, colourful retro-futuristic atmosphere, groovy music and iconic Ulala character. Japanese version.
Space Channel 5 review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
2/5
Story
★★★★★
"Classic"
A tangy retro-future, bright shapes and frenzied choreography: everything evokes a 1960s pop reread in garish colours. Ulala's flamboyant silhouette and the geometric sets compose a style as groovy as the game's spirit. This visual whimsy, gleefully kitsch, keeps an irresistible charm.
Impossible to resist the retro groove of "Mexican Flyer" and the call-and-response dance exchanges that pace Ulala's adventure. Sparkling funk and colourful disco turn every level into a supercharged TV show. This offbeat, joyful sonic identity remains one of the most original of the rhythm game.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
Matching the dance steps of zany aliens to funky beats, mic in hand as an intergalactic reporter: the idea is as goofy as it is adorable. The fun springs from that 'left-right-shoot' call-and-response that quickly grows irresistible. Stylish, retro-futuristic and brimming with charm, a unique rhythm game that puts a smile on your face at once.
Space Channel 5 is the original Japanese edition of Mizuguchi/UGA's game with a signed domestic sleeve. Collector value comes from perfect consistency with the original artistic concept and from Michael Jackson's Japanese voice cameo, a configuration never reproduced identically in the West.
A cult cover
It's all sixties pop: Ulala poses, mic in hand, over punchy oranges and pinks worthy of a retro-futurist magazine. The rounded typography and vitamin-bright flats announce the spacefaring musical and its irresistible groove. Joyful and stylish, it remains a peak of fully owned kitsch design.
Is Space Channel 5 still worth playing in 2026?
An original creation by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Space Channel 5 invents an intergalactic rhythm where Ulala frees humans captured by the Morolians by repeating dance sequences. The seventies pop aesthetic, the catchy soundtrack and the delightfully kitsch charm make for a unique experience. Short and accessible, the title keeps a striking freshness thanks to a singular visual identity. For anyone fond of atypical rhythm games and bold propositions, it is a recommendation as joyful as it is memorable, even decades later.
