The Dance Dance Revolution Series

To be honest, this week I was going to review a completely different game. The reason I chose Dance Dance Revolution (or DDR for short) is because I’ve been trying to lose weight and gain some leg muscle, so I found myself playing DDR everyday. It then occurred to me that DDR is classified as a retro game, since it’s 10 year anniversary was in 2008, and because the game is originally for PS2, which is a now retired system. 

One of the many dance pads out there for players to use.

DDR was introduced in Japan by the game companies Konami (known for making Castlevania, Frogger, and Contra) in 1998, and was later introduced to North America and Europe in 1999. Dance Dance Revolution was actually called Dancing Stage for a short amount of time in Europe. The game became so popular that you can actually find DDR arcade machines in many different countries, and in popular gaming spots like Gameworks and Dave & Busters in the US. There are also DDR tournaments, where your DDR skills could get you a trophy and prize money. The reason that Dance Dance Revolution jumped to popularity was because at the time the idea was original, giving you a good workout while dancing to some awesome music. (Don’t like using your body to play? No problem! The game allows you to use a normal controller to play the game as well.) Konami’s music division, Bemani, also helped develop the game by creating original music with some of Konami’s in-house artists, while still making room for licensed music from different genres. 

Konami has released tons of different DDR game titles and editions, but while there’s so many different games to choose from, Konami made everyone’s life a little easier by doing one simple thing: keeping the menu layouts the same. From the oldest to the newest DDR games, the DDR menu keeps its simple layout for players. The controls and difficulties stay close to the same as well (although some DDR games don’t have beginner mode), making it easy for players to navigate through the different DDR games. For my review, I’m going to be using the menu from Dance Dance Revolution MAX 2 for my explanations, since it was my first DDR game! (I apologize for blurry photos, I don’t have the right gear to record gameplay yet so I have to use my phone. Bear with me!)

            

So let’s break down the menu a bit. We’ll start with the games Game Mode. In Game Mode, you first choose how you want to play: single player, with a friend on versus, or with two pads (I’ve seen people play double mode before, that nonsense is hard and I applaud anyone that can do it). Since I’m playing alone, I went with single player. Once that’s done, you then choose your difficulty: beginner (the mode name speaks for itself), light (for players who are better than beginner mode but aren’t quite ready for harder modes), standard (for more advanced players), or heavy (pro level dancing). Since the dance pad can slip around sometimes from all of the movement of dancing, I tend to play on light mode when I’m at home so I don’t twist my ankle while trying to keep up with the song I’m playing and where my dance pad is sliding off to. In the arcade versions of DDR,  the dance pads are large and metal, with bars behind you so you have something to hold onto while your legs go crazy. It’s much easier to play on the arcade versions of DDR than the home versions. 

     

So now we’re ready to pick a song, and there’s many different songs and genres to pick from! There are songs ranging from disco to techno, and some slow songs for you to cool down to when you’re warming up or starting to get too tired from playing so much. “Hold up, I’m not exactly sure how to play, or what’s going on on my screen.” The controls are actually quite simple: when playing with the dance pad, you place your foot on the correct arrows when they reach the top of your screen. There will be times where you’ll have to step on two arrows at the same time, so keep an eye out for that! The arrows that are green and have a trail following behind them are arrows that you keep your foot on. For example, if a long green up arrow is coming up, you step on the up arrow at the right time and hold your foot there until the green note is gone. So one foot could be holding a note while the other is still stepping on the other 3 arrows. (For you beginners that are freaking out over this, don’t worry! These notes are easier to deal with on the light and beginner modes of the game, so you won’t be expected to do anything crazy). At the bottom of your screen, you have the points that you’re earning with each step displayed for you, while at the top you have a green bar that shows you how well you’re doing. When the bar is green, you’re doing just fine. If it’s small and red, you need to start doing better or else you’re about to lose. If the bar is full and colorful, you’re on a roll and doing fantastic! 

After you’ve passed the song you’re playing, you get graded! I got a D, because taking pictures and playing DDR at the same time is really hard. If you get a new high score on a song, your grade is then displayed next to the songs title on the song select screen for everyone to see! If you’re not happy with your grade, practice and aim for a better grade! That pretty much covers Game Mode, so let’s take a quick look at what else DDR has to offer.

            

Workout Mode: In this mode, you get to make a workout plan for yourself! After entering your current weight and the weight you want to become, the game then brings you to song select, and after a song is played the game will tell you how many carbs you burned off and how long you’ve been playing. I’ll be using this mode for my workouts, since the game will save your progress and show you how much you’ve lost!

Lesson Mode: This is what mode I’d recommend to all brand new DDR players. The game will take you through a step-by-step lesson plan on how to play the game, and how to improve your dancing skills so you can increase what difficulty you play on!

Training Mode: Having trouble with a song? Maybe you’re having trouble with a just a certain part of a song? Training Mode allows you to pick a song and practice through different segments of it so you can finally get through the song with no trouble! 

Edit Mode: In this mode, you can take a song that you like and edit it! Add in your own notes, so that you have a beatmap that you can call your own! (I’d suggest using the normal controller for this part, it takes awhile to get your song just as you’d like it, and using your feet for the job will just make it take much longer).

Options, Records & Information: These are to use for your convenience, so at any time you can edit your games settings, check your highscores, and look up any information about the game you may need. A lot of the stuff in Information is legal rights and such, so you may click it once or never. It doesn’t effect your game at all.

Overall, the Dance Dance revolution games are for people of all ages. The game helps improve rhythmic timing and stamina all while having fun dancing around. As for weight loss, players have reported losing 10-50 pounds by playing DDR. One woman lost 95 pounds just by playing DDR everyday as a workout. There are so many different versions of Dance Dance Revolution (including a Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario version), so you always have plenty of uplifting and upbeat songs to dance to. The games are cheap and easy to find on sites like Amazon or Ebay, and the pads aren’t pricey either. If you’re looking for a great way to let loose, have fun with friends and family, or to get a good workout, then I recommend you look into buying games from the Dance Dance Revolution series.

By the way, I’m giving away some prizes on our Facebook page!
Got something to ask me? Wanna show me something? Want to send a game request?
Shoot me an email at systemshuffle@hotmail.com
or check out our facebook page!