Nobody does quirky video game madness quite like the Japanese. Unless something is being lost in the translation, this madness has been the cornerstone of titles like Katamari Damacy, Incredible Crisis and WarioWare: Smooth Moves. And Konami takes us there one more time with another title that arguably teeter-totters between brilliance and insanity - Tomena Sanner.

In Tomena Sanner, businessman Susumu Ichioshi is all about dancing. He wants nothing more than to bust out some impressive moves at a major party. Problem is, he's behind schedule and could be late to the party. So he's running, running, running. He won't stop running until he gets there. But as is the fate of any businessman running to a dance party, he's confronted with obstacles the likes of dinosaurs, samurais and moving vehicles. To make it on time, he will have to deal with these obstructions and more, and maybe collect a few power ups to get to the stage before time runs out so he can bust a move.

The player controls all of this action with essentially one button, a tap of the screen, as Ichioshi runs left to right with the iPhone held horizontally. Players pick one of nine individual levels, or a final "endless" stage, and Ichioshi is off to the races. He just keeps running, and the gamer is tasked with tapping at exactly the right time to deal with each obstacle. The timing is different for each hindrance. Players are scored "Great," "Good" or "Miss" depending on the timing of their response to the obstacle. The "Miss" rankings must be kept to a minimum, as they slow Ichioshi down, and he only has 1 minute to reach the goal.

Of course, his speed can also be altered positively or negatively by balloon pick-ups. They can also do things like put some extra time on the clock. And the "Great" ranking provides a speed boost. It's important to get to that goal, because then Ichioshi gets a chance to dance, which is executed again by tapping the screen, this time in response to scrolling prompts. He dances until the player misses a step.

Tomena Sanner's art style is minimalist, bordering on not-trying. Ichioshi is as faceless as it gets, with a figure defined just enough to tell he's wearing a suit, and therefore a businessman. Certain environments and obstacles look better than others, but most are kept simple. This is mostly to the advantage of Tomena Sanner's simple gameplay, but it's not very aesthetically pleasing.

What is fun is seeing how Ichioshi interacts with the different obstacles. Sometimes, as with women or T-Rex, he simply vaults over them and keeps running. Other times, he might stop, bust a move with his barrier, and then continue on his way. He can even get a bit violent when he wants, flipping cars or delivering swift kicks to foes. Because make no mistake; anything in the way of Ichioshi dancing is a foe.

The interactions change based on the rating as well, which effects how players string together a series of jumps to get through the level faster. This also provides replay value in two ways. The first is based on the scoring system. Like any good old-school side-scroller, Tomena Sanner can get challenging, and part of the fun is learning the patterns, going back and trying to perfect a run, chaining together the jumps as the game allows to a point where Ichioshi is almost flying. Tomena Sanner even offers some leeway in different paths the gamer can take, adding to the replay value along with a high score system. Plus, it's just fun to see the interactions, so players will likely want to go back to try to get "Great," "Good" and "Miss" ratings against each obstacle, just to see how they unfold.

Tomena Sanner is also available on Nintendo's WiiWare service. That version adds multiplayer to the formula, which seems great for such a quirky game, as these types are often best experienced with friends. Plus, players can compare and contrast strategies. On either platform, though, Tomena Sanner is a great casual game, the kind players can pick up for a few minutes and enjoy, or play for hours on end, trying to get the top scores. And at a price tag of $1.99 on iPhone, it provides more than its share of entertainment.