The End of An Era...

Thanks for the memories, Dance Dance Revolution!

Years ago, the K-Mart that housed the arcade with the Dance Dance Revolution machine closed down and was replaced by a Lowe's. The only place for me and my pals(now all in our twenties) to stomp around like a bunch of spazzes is at Dave n Buster's, or at the local bowling alley--even Gameworks is gone.
DDR Extreme 2 marked the last Dance Dance Revolution game I wanted to play. I've played DDR Supernova and I'm afraid to play Supernova 2 or Dance Dance Revolution X(featuring Fall Out Boy and Britney Spears).

I'd like to thank all my buddies who played this game with me--you all know who you are, you shouldn't be ashamed of dancing like a doofus.

And of course, thank you Gamespot and IGN and GameFAQs.com for providing the pictures.

Thanks for reading these Nostalgiabombastic reviews!

Day 5: Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2

Playstation 2
2006

This game came out of nowhere for me. After the failure that was DDR Extreme...I had honestly given up on the series and felt as though Konami had abandoned making Dance Dance Revolution games with decent song lists....and then I stumbled across this. Surprised that they even bothered to make a Dance Dance Revolution game that was not an arcade port, I delved into it with the help of my little sister--and...we had a blast.

Instead of just mindlessly going through Arcade mode to unlock songs(which was fine for the DDR MAX series, but took forever), there is a "Dance Master Mode," which forces you to start from the bottom tier and work your way to the top, unlocking goodies as you go. Just to mess with you, they have you meet certain requirements, like "play this song as it scrolls DOWN" or "play this Light song with the Arrows INVISIBLE." It all proved to be good fun and actually made me better at Dance Dance Revolution--it forced me to break my habit where I play the songs on 1.5 or 2.0x speed.

PROTIP: Despite starting from Beginner mode and slowly moving up,
Dance Master Mode is a great way to sharpen your skills. Get Dancin'!

On top of that, the arcade style graphic design is back in full swing and better than ever--as is the song list. Sure, the dancers are back--which is stupid because I always just turn them off anyway(and for some reason, they thought it'd be a great idea to have basically every dancer in existence selectable), but the song list is definitely one of the best in the series. Remixes and original mixes of arcade favorites like Dynamite Rave, Look to the Sky and Burnin' the Floor are back, as are some spectacular new songs found in the latest arcade versions of the game. Only a handful of popular radio songs are found in this game, but tend to be more fun(La Bamba, Play that Funky Music White Boy, etc.).

Whatever damage Dance Dance Revolution Extreme did to the series, DDR Extreme 2 makes up for it, and then some. Definitely a must-own for DDR fans and work-out fanatics everywhere.

Congratulations! You don't have to play Heavy mode on 2.0x speed anymore!

Graphics: 4.5: Sexy in-game menus and the always crisp and clear graphics give the game the boost it needs in the graphics department. The only thing hurting the score is the annoying dancers--who look goofy and outdated while dancing around in the background(should you enable them)...and they don't even dance in sync with the music.

Sound: 5.0: The best in the series is back, baby! You'll find yourself unlocking favorite after favorite after favorite arcade hit in Dance Master Mode, and then some in the new music department.

Control: 4.5: At this point, I didn't even bother playing this game on the pad--there's no way you're going to get me to play Sakura on a dance pad when I'm upstairs on the 2nd floor. I still say the Red Octane pads are the way to go--good luck finding them.

Fun Factor: 5.0: Even without a dance pad, this Dance Dance Revolution is just a joy to listen to while playing on the D-pad of a standard controller. It's a great way to kill time when bored, and pays homage to a great franchise that impacted all of our lives in some way.

Just one of the many cool music videos in this game--this Final Fantasy-like music video is from the song Polotvsian Dances and Chorus.

The Prime Setlist
1) Polotvsian Dances and Chorus
2) Cartoon Heroes speedy Mix
3) Sync
4) Sakura
5) Paranoia Survivor

Day 4: Dance Dance Revolution Extreme

Playstation 2
2004

This game was the DDR game destined to be the best--having obtained the soundtrack to the arcade version, and of course, having PLAYED the arcade version well before the import to the PS2, I had high expectations for this one. Unfortunately, this entry failed to meet them. The music videos are back in this game, as is Endless Mode--which is nice, but some of the songs just suck, as does the majority of the set list. The most enticing songs in the list in the beginning are the Neverending Story theme, Kim Wylde's Kids in America, Darude's Music, and the remix of Faith Hill's There You'll Be. The rest are somewhat of a joke--Kung Fu Fighting? really? And since when did Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon have a theme song that one could dance to? In terms of the song list, this game is definitely the most disappointing--way too many lousy songs, not enough good songs from the arcades. That is, until you unlock them all, which is extremely frustrating and tedious--and trust me on this one, ALL the best songs from the arcade are unlockables.

Have fun trying to figure out how to navigate this menu.
It looks simple, but looks can be deceiving.

New to the series is Party mode--which was supposed to help sell the Playstation 2 add-on, Eye Toy. Unfortunately, with or without the Eye Toy...it sucked. Thank god it was removed from the later versions of the game...or was it...? I could honestly care less. Also intolerable with this DDR is the whole design of the game. Gone is the arcade-perfect song selection and level selection graphic design. In it's stead, we get a god-awful song selection screen in the form of a jukebox(a failed throwback to the other DDR's maybe?), with the difficulty level built-in and easily missed. On top of that, the controls are bass-ackwards--press left and the cursor goes right, and vice versa...same with the difficulty adjustment. If a player has a preference, they're best adjusting it in the Options Menu so it stays there. Konami really screwed themselves over in this game--I honestly wouldn't be surprised if fans sent letters--because the next game is infinitely better.

PROTIP: When making a Dance Dance Revolution
game, don't focus on graphics too much. Because
they get out-dated in moments, and the focus should
be on songs--not pretty(ugly) graphics.

Graphics: 3.5: The music videos move smoothly, the arrows don't break at any speed or distortion setting, and some of the music videos and non-music video backgrounds are fun and appealing, but the graphic design of the menus(green and pink message bars? woof!) are inexcusably poor. Wish they would've gotten rid of some of the more pointless music videos though(here's lookin' at you, Your Rain!) Plus, the background animations are repetitive and highly song specific--you'll sometimes see the same waterfall 33 times before the minute and a half song ends.



Sound: 3.5: I don't know how else to dock down points for the poor selection of songs in the early and middle stages of this game. I played through the game and obtained all the goals in order to simply play the hyper-awesome arcade songs, like The Legend of Max, A and V. It's too bad that THIS game is the only version they're available on...

Control: 4.0: It's a DDR game. Once again, playing on a Red Octane or metal arcade-style pad is great excercise and all, but playing on a cheapie pad is frustrating since they slide around so easily. Aside from that, this game loses points here for the counter-intuitive song selection menu.

Fun Factor: 3.0: Unless you're a real DDR Aficionado and ya gotta have 'em all--or you actually LIKE the starting lineup songs in this game, don't bother picking this one up unless you absolutely HAVE to play A, V, or the Legend of Max. If you can find it used for a nominal fee--only then should you really go for it.

The Best Songs
Playlist 1
1) A
2) Neverending Story
3) Ecstacy midnight blue mix
4) V
5) The Legend of Maxx

Playlist 2
1) Kids in America
2) There You'll Be
3) Tsugaru or 321 Stars or B4U
4) Tsugaru Apple Mix
5) Drop the Bomb

Day 3: DDR MAX 2: Dance Dance Revolution

Playstation 2
2003

This is essentially the home version of Dance Dance Revolution Max 2: 7th Mix from the arcades. The graphic design of the menus and song selection are mirrored perfectly and the theme has switched from blue/purple/yellow to orange/black and red. Also nice is the inclusion of "Flicker Free" mode in the options menu--which is great for those epileptic people. The introduction of more Japanese-influenced songs like Tsugaru and Orion gives this a more arcade-y feel than the previous outing, and the inclusion of the almost-forgotten but still awesome arcade songs like Ghosts, So Deep and Celebrate Nite Eurobeat Remix definitely make the hardcore fans(myself included) happy. This game also includes the immensely popular DJ Sammy song "Heaven" and a song from the somewhat popular (I guess?) group Crystal Method...which I didn't really care for.

Count how many great songs there are...okay, now count how many of them are still popular...

This game is great in how it throws the old style of Oni songs out the window, and includes the arcade way--which was just songs that are a bit trickier than most Heavy mode songs. Plus, the division in song difficulty is more clearly marked now with Green being standard songs, Yellow being hidden songs, Oni being a purple-y blue and Red being the "stay the hell away until you can beat all the Heavy and Oni songs." The best song in the entire game(for me at least) is the excellent hybrid between classical and techno--Kakumei. Available in both Heavy and Oni mode, this song truly brings the thrill of being at the arcade home.

PROTIP: There are a lot more Heavy mode songs with a higher difficulty in this DDR. Be sure to sharpen up your skills so that you don't miss out on the best songs!

Another terrific addition to this game is the Endless mode, which is unlocked after a lot of hard work for--quite literally--endless hours of fun and the ability to program a song list to your liking. Sort of like iTunes before iTunes...A stellar addition to anyone's PS2 library.

The Ultimate Playlist:
1) Get straight to the business with Break Down! or Warm-Up with Heaven
2) Fun Time: The Whistle Song
3) Tsugaru...'nuff said.
4) Burning Heat!
5) The best techno/classical hybrid ever written--Kakumei!

Graphics: 4.5: Those same, colorful backgrounds are back to mess with your head again. These backgrounds actually succeed in messing with you with super-bright screens and super-tight arrows, as well as when the backgrounds scroll UP with the arrows...However, there are actual music videos in the background, which are a nice touch.

Sound: 4.5 : The inclusion of the best songs from the arcade are definitely a plus--however, some songs got left out(Ecstacy midnight blue mix, B4U Zeta mix, etc). The remainder of the list is quite versatile and just as good as the previous DDR title in terms of quantity, but definitely one-ups its predecessor in terms of quality song choice.

Control: 4.5: Once again--get the Red Octane pad. It'll be worth the $99. Otherwise, be prepared to move around like a slip n slide if playing Heavy mode.

Fun Factor: 5.0: Definitely another great game to add to your collection if you are a Dance Dance Revolution aficionado. I've spent many holidays and time from school off just playing Endless mode on this game.

That's right folks. You get to dance
with a GUNDAM...if you play the song
D2R

Day 2: DDR MAX: Dance Dance Revolution

Playstation 2
2002

Now then, onto the Playstation 2 ports. DDR MAX. The home equivalent of DDR Max: Dance Dance Revolution 6th Mix. Featuring songs from many versions of Dance Dance Revolution series, this game had the most variety and versatility in terms of the song list. There are a select few slow R+B songs for the newbies, the instantly recognizable radio hits for the apprehensive(Ordinary World, and the now-famous Sandstorm by Darude), as well as a great deal of arcade favorites(Ecstacy, era, My Generation, Spin the Disc, etc).

PROTIP: The R&B songs(Secret Rendez-Vous, Let the Beat Hit 'Em) are best for beginners,
Midnight Blaze and the Naoki songs are fun for intermediate players,
and Heavy mode players should pride themselves by learning to play Healing Vision Angelic Mix, Rhythm and Police, the Paranoia's and especially MAX 300.

The graphics are crisp and clear and rival the arcade versions, and the sound goes without a hitch. The only qualms with this one I have are that there aren't as many videos in the background as there are on the arcade, and once again, the pad is slippery--especially for the more skillful(Standard, Heavy Mode players). This Dance Dance also included the new and frustrating Oni mode, which gives skillful players 3 strikes, and then it's game over.
One last thing, be sure to carefully watch your save data on your memory card--this game tends to corrupt very very often.
Overall, this one is great for its song list that will keep you coming back to enjoy again and again.



Graphics: 4.5 Although it could use more variety in terms of the background videos, the visuals are extremely crisp and clean, and the graphic design perfectly mirrors its arcade brother.

Sound: 5.0 An excellent selection of music--Konami really put a lot of effort into compiling this song list keeping both arcade fans and curious newbies happy.

Control: 4.5: The best way to play this game, hands down, is with the RedOctane heavy-duty dancepad. Whether with the glossy or standard plastic, it is the best brand to buy when playing this game on the higher difficulties. All other mats are inferior in comparison--and of course...you could always use the D-pad on a standard controller if you're tired or lazy.

Fun Factor: 5.0 : Definitely one of the better home ports of the Dance Dance Revolution franchise. Don't let the purple cover art scare you away from this great game!

A Prime Playlist:
In a 5-song Set:
1) Warm-up Song: Ecstacy or Dark Black Forest
2) Faster Paced: Era or Holic
3) More Fun: Midnight Blaze or Healing Vision
4) Getting Speedy and Damn Difficult: Healing Vision Angelic Mix
5) The Tough Song: Rhythm and Police(but it's fun as hell!)
OR
To try and impress the crowd: Max 300. But you HAVE to beat it!

PROTIP: Don't get discouraged when playing Heavy Mode--the songs tend
to followthe rhythm much better and flow a lot easier than on Standard Mode,
so just go with it when learning to play a new song.

Day 1: Dance Dance Revolution Konamix

Playstation
2001

Let's start with Dance Dance Revolution: Konamix on the Playstation.  Aside from the watered-down graphics--which were all the Playstation's 32-bit capabilities could handle--this was a perfect port of the Dance Dance Revolution experience, much like it's forerunner, Dance Dance Revolution. Konamix featured the classic songs Drop the Bomb, B4U, Dynamite Rave as well as the new song at the time, Era. Aside from Practice mode and Edit mode, there really is no difference between this home version and the 4th or 5th Mix at the Arcades. For me, this one gets a solid 4.5 out of 5.0 for being the best rendition of Dance Dance Revolution on the Playstation, and for giving me a way to practice back in 2001 without embarrassing myself at a public arcade.

Graphics 3.5 : The overwhelmed Playstation can handle only so much--even the arrows feature the system's signature "Jaggies." But when moving around or even using a D-pad, you'll hardly notice. The flashy backgrounds and bright colors do the job of movement in the background to distract the player.

Control 4.5 : On a controller or on a pad, the controls are perfect. The only reason the score isn't perfect is due to the standard mat having a tendency to move around, even when only on Beginner mode.

Sound 4.5 : All the songs are great, it truly is a treat to hear the arcade versions' best songs compiled onto one disc. I could do with less R+B tunes, however...

Fun Factor 4.5 : A great way to experience Dance Dance Revolution at home.

The Dance Dance Revolution Series: A Nostalgic Look Back at the Series in the Past Ten Years.

Let's face it--dancing is an embarrassing thing to do. Especially on a flashy, neon lit machine in front of friends and people whom you don't know in a public place. But the only way to get good at it is to practice--which is what was enabled by the PS2 arcade ports of the DDR series.

Now, I have fond memories of this dancing sensation game--it all began in high school summer school at the local K-Mart. After school, my buddies and I would ride our bikes to the K-Mart, get pizza, play fighting games and then DDR at the arcade. One of my friends was skillful enough to play Heavy mode and knew the majority of the songs by heart before I even set foot on the machine, but when I did...it was surprisingly fun. So I decided I should practice.

Here are my experiences with the Dance Dance Revolution games, and my reviews of 'em.

Editors Letter June 2010

Greetings fellow Nostalgiabombers and fans of GamePro(and Nintendo Power and Electronic Gaming Monthly and Next Generation...)! And thanks for stopping by once again.
This week I'll be grooving to the beats of the Dance Dance Revolution games on the Playstation and Playstation 2. Be sure to check back everyday, since I'll be reviewing a different DDR game every day.
After this week, be on the lookout for more posts, reviews and sneak previews, as well as additional features(videos maybe?...)
Although this site mainly revolves around the past, look forward to some fun stuff in the future!
--Wolfenstein Prime

Sneak Preview

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep

Platform: PSP
Release Date: Third Quarter 2010
Developer: Square Enix




I know what you're all thinking--"oh great, a new reason for all the Roxas fan girls to squeal." However, seeing as the first two Kingdom Hearts games were simply fantastic for me--I'm looking forward to the new PSP title, Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.



The story is rather complex: three different characters, three different storylines, and three different save files. That's what's been revealed thus far for the game without a release date other than "2010." We know for a fact that it IS coming to America(don't ask how or I might get into trouble), we just don't know when.



The graphics in the videos and the screenshots look absolutely spectacular--you'll find it hard to believe that this is merely a PSP game, where the majority of the games for the system resemble PSone graphics. And yet, the charming, cinematic quality and the high-polygon count of all the characters still remains intact.



If anything, the battle system resembles the Kingdom Hearts I and II battle system, but with more customizable options and less limitations with summons. Players should have the choice to rapidly mash the Attack button, or let loose with a flurry of magic. Plus, the skillset promises to be more vast than any Kingdom Hearts game ever.

Look to the stars for this highly anticipated prequel to the Kingdom Hearts series sometime this year, most likely Winter 2010.

*all images originally from gameFAQs.com

Cool Boarders 3 Review

Playstation, 1998

Although fun back in its day, Cool Boarders 3 is a classic snowboarding game that has not aged gracefully. Once the player chooses their boarder and board, they are given the selection of prime carving locations that pay homage to Japan, the Midwest United States and Eastern European slopes and must meet requirements such as dodging an avalanche or racking up as many points as possible in a halfpipe.

Home is Just Over that Mountain

Cool Boarders 3 boasts a great variety of features, although they all share the same goals: make it down a mountain in as fast a time as possible, or squeeze as many tricks as one can into a single run. In single player mode, the challenges are just that--challenging--but once you learn the ropes of how to do the tricks and do them in rapid succession, the formula gets stale. Unlockables include new courses, new boards and new characters--although the vast majority of the characters are already available at the start of the game.

PROTIP: At the end of the run on Devil's Butt, be sure to grind the rail to the far left of the slope--otherwise you need to time the jump PERFECTLY to make it above the painful rocks.

Stereo to H-E-Double Hockey Stick

Being a snowboarder game with snowboarder-appropriate music, the soundtrack is reminiscent of the music played at local surf or skate shops--until the same three songs are played again and again and again. Tunes that are catchy at first quickly turn into an irritating conundrum of the same flat guitar chords and wah-wah distortion played at every screen, stage and slope. In comparison to rockin' soundtracks like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater or even fighting games, the muddy and flat rock music doesn't compete.

On top of this, irritating menu noises (how many times can a person stand the sound of a "swoop") and EXTREMELY repetitive character noises give the player a headache long before the competition starts. It is quite irksome how a 13-year old boy snowboarder makes the same sound as a twenty-something girl when they fall on their butts or get punched in the face. The best sounds in the whole game are found in the company logo introductions--9-8-9 Studios' introduction sounds as if Fox Sports West produced it, and Bob and Larry in the Basement produced the rest of the sounds in the game.

Before Shaun White, There Was...Pixels

Although the controls are simple, they feel rather stiff in comparison to other extreme sport games. It's great how a player gets a sense of speed when carving the slopes at 65 MPH, but try making a turn or landing a railslide on a downed tree, and it takes a bit of time to master such a feat. The combat mechanics are also quite clunky and unnecessary--the hitbox is completely inaccurate and sometimes a character will fall down for no apparent reason and suddenly realize that they were punched 3 seconds ago. All the same, they do their job--as do the graphics of the game.

Crisp, clear powder is laid before the player as far as the eye can see--but no matter what stage they're boarding on, the same rocks, trees and pixelated powder plague every screen. The character models are also quite blocky, suffer from the typical Playstation "jaggies" and have little variance in them. The only truly outstanding character is Fast Eddy--a boarder who dons a motocross helmet and goggles, and maybe Joker--a guy whose ridiculous mohawk is, well...a joke. The remainder of the characters are unappealing characters who look more like they belong in a fashion show than a snowboarding competition. Also unappealing is the score, text and MPH indicator in the game--other extreme sport games and even NFL MADDEN games have a tendency to use appropriate, but appealing, in-game text. This game does not--it uses a cheap number and text display system that can be found in a cheap digital wristwatch.

As you can see, the ho-hum graphics are rife with pixelation...

They call it "Half Pipe" For A Reason...

Cool Boarders 3 was a game I had no problems with back in it's heyday, when Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was still NEW, and extreme games were few and far between. When given another snowboarding game a few years later (MTV Snowboarding to be exact), it paled in comparison to the fun I had with Cool Boarders 3. But now, with the myriad of Tony Hawk games and the realization that snowboarding is an immensely slower sport than skiing, this is a game that hasn't aged gracefully. The perfect candidate for a rental or reminiscing, but no more.

Graphics: 3.0

Crisp visuals, but blocky environments, pixelated powder and "jaggy" character models hurt the score big-time.

Sound: 3.0

Tame rock music plays continuously throughout the entire game, giving the correct mood...until one realizes that they've heard the same, and flat, muddy riff five times before the run is complete.

Control: 4.0

Good, but not great. The simplicity of downhill boarding is fine, but try doing a trick or landing a jump and the controls start to get picky.

Fun Factor: 4.0

A fun game for a while, especially in multiplayer mode with a friend, but once the clunky combat and irritating course requirements knock your character on their ass multiple times--it gets as old as the outdated graphics.

*All image sources are from GameFAQs.com