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.

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Shadow of the Colossus

That’s right everyone, I explained on my facebook page that the next review would be of one of most favorite games of all time, so today, I give you the review of Shadow of the Colossus. Shadow of the Colossus (or Wander and the Colossus in Japan) is a game Developed by Team ICO (named after one of their other games titled ICO) and was released October 2005 in North America and Japan for Playstation 2. The game was later released on Playstation 3 in HD, sharing a disc with a HD release of ICO as well. This isn’t your typical action-adventure game either since there’s no running around gaining experience points and levels with upgraded weapons like action-adventure games would usually have. Instead, all you have to your name is a magic sword, your horse, bow and arrows, and yourself. You have a health bar, a stamina circle that gets smaller as you grab ledges and jump around that slowly recharges when you’re resting, and your weapon slot displayed for you at the bottom right corner of your screen, so be sure to keep a good eye on those.

“But hold on, if this isn’t my usual action-adventure game, how on earth is it different?” Well hold on there reader, let me tell you the background of the story first. You play as a young man named Wander, who steals an ancient sword from his village, and takes a dead girl (who one can only assume he’s either friends with or in love with) to a forbidden land where he lays her on an altar. “Well, why would he do that?” Legend has it that if you take the sword to this forbidden land and defeat the Colossi that rest there, a god named Dormin will give life back to a passed away individual. That’s right, the game gets straight to the point: kill all of the Colossi and you win. The game consists of constant boss fights. 

Colossi aren’t the smallest creatures to fight. To find where these large gods are located, you hold up your sword and lines of light with spread from the tip of your sword. Move the sword around until the light evens out to a single line, pointing out the direction you must head on horseback to find your next battle. The world in this game is huge, so it may even take you a few minutes to reach the boss itself. Don’t worry though, the Colossi are the only enemies in the game, so you don’t have to worry about bumping into anything on the way to them. 

So how are you suppose to beat them? Well, each Colossus has a special glowing mark somewhere on your body, and it’s your job to get to that point and stab it until the Colossus falls to its death. As you go through the game, Colossi get harder and harder to beat, meaning there may be certain things you have to do before you even start looking for the mark. I mean, getting on the creature itself is a puzzle. Some Colossi even have more than one mark and in different places, so how do you find them? The same way you found the Colossus in the first place: get some distance, hold up your sword, and point in the direction of the Colossus. Where the light thins out on the Colossus’ body is where the mark lies. It’s then your job to find a way onto the Colossus and finish them. After defeating a Colossus, a dark clump of light shoots towards you and soaks into your body, causing you to pass out. You’ll awake back at the altar where you began your journey, watch a statue representing the Colossus you just defeated collapse, and move onto the next fight.

Shadow of the Colossus is a very emotional game, from the boss fights to the soundtrack. The story line has you tearing up and feeling as if you really are Wander himself. You start to feel like his troubles are your own, and that it’s you stabbing that sword, making those jumps and riding towards your next battle. It had stunning graphics for the time it was released (especially for a PS2 game), and music usually only plays during battles. I love that they did this, because think about it this way: You’re on horseback, riding to your next destination where you know something that wants to kill you is just sitting there waiting for you to arrive, all while just listening to the sound of your horse galloping across fields and stone. I have never played a game with a better build up before a fight or event, and it still gets me pumped every time I play. In fact, it was so intense for me as a kid, sometimes I would ask my friends or my brother to get to the boss for me since I’d always feel like chickening out and quitting the game.

Overall, this game is stressful, beautiful, heart wrenching game, and you’ll feel like you can take on things 10 times your size after beating it. I highly recommend this game to anyone who needs a good game that makes them think, that allows them to get lost within the games world, and lets the player feel like they’ve accomplished something after each and every battle. If you have a PS3, buy the ICO and Shadow of Colossus duo disc. The game looks amazing in HD, and ICO is another game that I’d recommend to anyone who wants a great game that makes you think (that’s a review for another time though). If you have a PS2, get a copy of Shadow of the Colossus on Amazon or Ebay for 15$ or less. This game is a an epic masterpiece.

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Rayman

Rayman was released for PlayStation on September 1, 1995 by Ubisoft as a 2D platformer, and is Raymans only 2D game since all of Raymans sequels though we’re released in 3D afterwards. It’s a platformer that, in all honestly, screams that it’s from the 90’s, and was one of my favorite games as a kid. I never got very far in it though, and my family would rage quit at it, which is why I decided to revisit it. That, and the fact that Rayman games nowadays aren’t even known because of Rayman himself. The Rayman series is now run by crazy, stupid bunnies that play a bunch of minigames with Rayman (kind of), whom were introduced in one of the Wii’s first games, Rayman Raving Rabbids.  Comparing Raymans first game and main idea for the series to what it ended up becoming made me question why Ubisoft decided to go from platformers to minigames, and why’d they change Rayman’s mascot from Rayman himself to the bunnies.

Alright, let’s pause here before I even begin to think of playing the game. Let’s actually go look at Rayman’s manual for a change. The cover of the game shows a cartoon drawing of Rayman breaking through a wall, followed by quotes about the game such as “A+” “Best character, best animation, best soundtrack” “Game of the month” “Megaward”. Something that worries me: Game of the month? Only the month? Was it not good enough to be anything more than “Oh wow yeah this is a good game” and then be completely forgotten? Uh oh.  Not only that, but the cover of just Rayman busting through a wall tells me nothing about this game. Alright, well lets turn to the back, shall we? On the back of the manual, there’s an ad (typical for PS games) but it’s an ad for… Rayman 2?! Wait, are you telling me that when they released Rayman, they already had such high hopes for the game that they already had a release date for Raymans 3D sequel? Usually on the back of game manuals, they either have the games cover repeated, or have ads for other games made by the same company. To prove my point, I looked at manuals from games that ended up having sequels (Spyro, Crash, Frogger, Ape Escape, Pac-Man World) and none of them even hinted at a sequel. I think Ubisoft was really sure that Rayman was going to be a big hit. (Edit: Mark pointed out to me that because I have a greatest hits edition, my manual may be updated from the original. I’m not sure if that makes my manual any different and we can’t find anything saying otherwise, but still a thought to keep in mind.)

Alright, alright. Let’s turn to the back of the game case. Usually when we would be at Blockbuster or GameStop as a kid, we’d always look on the back of the box for a summary of what the game was really about, right? The first sentence on the back of Raymans case threw me off. “Captivating, mind-blowing and addictive one trip and you’re hooked!” Okay wait, is this a headliner for a 2D platformer or for some sort of drug? They made it sound like this game is going to make you trip like you’re on acid. Reading the rest of the back just made me realize how much Ubisoft is screaming “WE’RE UNIQUE AND FREAKING WEIRD, LOVE US” as they they go on and on about how demented their creatures are, and how messed up and colorful their worlds are that the player may not even be able to handle it. In fact, they have a bulleted section going through what the game has to offer, and I’m going to go through it and comment on what I think about it:

• “Menacing opponents that learn your playing style to defeat you.” Hold on, isn’t this completely backwards? Usually enemies have their own way of trying to kill you, and it’s the players job to learn how to counter it! When I played the game, there was a bad guy I could NOT get by without getting hit, because no matter what I did, it would just mimic me! The problem with that is that I couldn’t get around it any other way, which would make me die frequently. And this happened more than just a few times. There are also many trial-and-error parts, where there is no way to avoid an up and coming attack from off screen unless you know it’s there. It happened a lot. Ubisoft, you want the player to beat your baddies, not the other way around!
• “Incredibly intense visuals with 65,000 colors and 4 independently scrolling back drops.” Whoa whoa whoa what? 65,000 colors? I’ll admit, The artwork is very appealing to the eye and everything is very colorful, but comparing 65,000 colors to 4 backdrops makes it kind of sound like a bit of a let down. The color schemes and art for this game is where you can obviously tell that this game is from the 90’s. You know how back then everything was weird bright colors with patterns and the more color you had on the cooler you were? Yeah, it’s exactly like that on Rayman.
• “70 Surrealistic levels” Dear god yes, we get it, your game is weird and out of this world. Although, I am happy with the decent amount of levels to go through and length of the game.
• “Over 50 demented characters” Ohhh boy.
• “Exhilarating CD-quality sound effects and music” Okay, this is half and half for me. The effects can sometimes sound muffled (I get it’s an old game, but I mean even for an old game it’s not the best for its time), but I love the Rayman soundtrack. The music always perfectly matches the mood and environment of the level, which sets the mood completely. There are some very… strangely placed sound effect though. For example, there’s a giant plum you can stand on to float through water and this plum makes… car noises as it floats. Another is at the end of every act in each level (there’s usually a sign with a ‘!’ on it to mark the next area and there’s a few in each level), there’s a guy who makes screams “YEAH” followed by a second of music and a creepy giggly laugh, no matter the mood of the level or if there’s any music in the background at all (it’s a little startling the first time you here in while playing). I tried to get a sound clip of it, but of course my lack of better recording equipment stopped me from doing so.

Let me tell you the story of Rayman; Rayman’s world, the Glade of Dreams, is at peace, when one day a mysterious man named Mr. Dark steals the energy orb called The Great Protoon that keeps the world in balance. Electoons, creatures that surrounded the orb, were then caged and spread across the world as bad guys started to appear out of nowhere, causing trouble in the once peaceful land. A magician telling the story to the player then calls to Rayman, asking him for aid to save the Electoons and defeat Mr. Dark! Here’s my problem with this story: Who the hell is Rayman!? We have gone through his manual, the main story of the game, and it never gives us any sort of back story to Rayman! When the magician calls to him, he’s in a hammock on the beach with drinks and a sunset somewhere and just agrees to go and save the world? He’s not some sort of superhero, he’s literally just some dude with nothing better to do! He has no motivation to go and save anything! Hell, where Rayman was at when all of this chaos was going down, it looked like he wasn’t even being affected by any of it! I think Ubisoft looked at Sonic the Hedgehog from Sega and Mario from Nintendo and just said “Well hey we can make a random character and make money too!” At least Sonic and Mario have some motivation or reason to go and do what they do, Rayman is just some random guy! You know why no one cares or barley ever cared about Rayman? Because even in his own game he’s no body. You can’t relate to the guy on any level, he has no personality and is just a mindless puppet! Ubisoft probably switched him with the mentally unstable rabbits because even they have more emotion, personality and are far more entertaining than Rayman ever was.

Overall, this is probably the most unnecessarily hard platformer I have ever played. I got it at a flea market for $6, and there’s good reason behind that pricing. This game isn’t in demand because it’s one of those games that made you cry as a kid because you just can’t figure out why you can’t beat that one bad guy that mimics your every move, or that one level that has enemies jumping out of bushes that you can’t avoid. I’ll admit, the game has areas before levels that teach you about obstacles that lay ahead of you, but that doesn’t excuse how difficult it actually is to play through. Ubisoft tried way  too hard to create “the best next thing” to make money, but ended up making a nobody character instead of giving depth to a game that had the potential to turn into something really extraordinary. I’m hoping to get my hands on Raymans sequels for a little revisit to see if Ubisoft ever changed their ways, but by the looks of modern day and the games they have now, something tells me probably not.

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Bomberman Fantasy Race

Bomberman Fantasy Race was released for Sony’s Playstation on August 6, 1998 in Japan, July 2000 in Europe, and March 31, 1999 in North America. The game was developed by GraphicResearch Inc. while Atlus released the game in North America, while Bomberman Fantasy Race was released by Virgin Interactive in Europe. The game is a spin-off of the Bomberman Series, and I personally haven’t met many people who have actually heard of this game. Around the late 90’s, the Mario Kart series had been getting a lot of fame and praise which made Nintendo’s competitors start popping out racing games like crazy. Series that had nothing to do with cars in the first place suddenly had a racing game with their name on it such as the Jak series, the Crash Bandicoot series, Lego Racers, and the Bomberman series.

Bomberman Fantasy Race was honestly one of my favorite games a kid, so you can imagine my excitement when I got a hold of this forgotten racer. I never got very far in the game as a child since I didn’t really know what I was doing, which honestly worried me when I picked it back up as an adult. Usually games that I could never beat as a kid ended up being disasters  when I played them years later (take the Rugrats games for example, oh god). So I was hoping that my naive childhood self hadn’t tricked me into thinking this game was good when it may not actually be all that great.

 

When you start up the game, before you even get to the start menu, the game brings you to a screen where you can either load your data or make a new file. I decided to go with a fresh start for the sake of the review, where then the game let me pick a character to permanently play as and a name to create using 5 letters. I went with the main character Bomberman himself, entered my name, and started my fresh file. Now, if you wait at the start screen and don’t press any buttons, the game will bring you to the only tutorial in the game. You have to figure out the rest of the controls yourself, or go to the options and configure your buttons to be the way that’s the most comfortable for you to play with. I found this a little confusing, especially when I started my first race and didn’t really have any idea as to what I was doing. Nearly every button has a use too, so take a race to figure out what the controls are or read up on it in the manual.

Here you have our main screen that consists of several different options, such as:

• 1 Player: Unlocking Stages and earning money for your character by yourself in races.
• VS Mode: The multiplayer mode of the game that you can play with family or friends in.
• Options: Typically settings for the game.
• Time Attack: Practice on different tracks and race against your own shadow while trying to beat your own timed laps. Great for practice!
• Stable: Buy different Louie’s and Tirra’s here to race with!
• Bank: Keep your money safe and sound here while you save up for your favorite race track, Tirra or Louie!

 

Louie’s and Tirra’s are what you ride to the finish line in Bomberman Fantasy Race! That’s right, instead of cars, the player uses one of two different animals to make their way to victory. The game starts you off with one of each species, making you save money you earn from races to buy the rest that are available. Louie’s are rabbit type creatures that are very light and easy to jump around with, while Tirra’s are faster but harder to control when it comes to turns and jumps. Each have great traits that make them equally good to pick from, so go with your gut and pick the right creature for your racer!

 

Starting up 1 player mode brought me to the screens above, where I chose which creature I wanted to ride, and was given the option to spend money on some items I can start with in the race. I could save my money and use random items available for me to grab throughout the races coarse, or start with the advantage of having two pre-bought items.  It’s not exactly clear what each item does, but they are guaranteed to help you in some way, so experiment with them!

 

Next is stage select. This stage select is different than other racing games I’ve seen, that’s for sure. Each course costs a certain amount of money to unlock. You use money you’ve won from other courses to do so, and the more expensive the course is to unlock the more winnings you’ll get for placing first. The harder the courses get, the more difficult they are to read. For example, it may be hard to tell when a sharp turn is coming up, or what parts have a jump pad you can use to speed ahead everyone else. Practice makes perfect on these courses, so don’t be afraid to run through them a few times to perfect them! Once you’ve gotten first place on a stage, a star will show up on where the stage is on the map letting you know you’ve completed it. You can still replay the stage, it’s just a friendly reminder that you came out on top. The stages are Bomber Coast Lake, Oyna Mountain, Bakuzan Ski Course, Star Express, Waca Isl Beach Side, and Bomber Circuit. The game gives you Bomber Circuit for free, giving you the opportunity to earn money right away.

 

Unfortunately, since I don’t have a camera to record the race itself and taking pictures while playing is extremely hard, I couldn’t give any photos of the race itself. Even so, there are still things to say about the race. One, the computers DON’T CHEAT! They’re at a decent level where they’re challenging to beat, but it’s not impossible to do so! Because the game is a Bomberman game, bombs are involved. Even if you don’t pick up any items off the track itself, you always have bombs on hand to use. You can throw them at your enemies to slow them down, or you can get the timing just right and drop a bomb directly in front of you, giving yourself a small speed boost! You also use the D-Pad to move in this game, not the analog stick, so make sure to take breaks between races or else you’ll end up like me and get a hand cramp. It takes a little getting used to, but it’s not too uncomfortable to play with. If you get in first place in a race, you’re given a bonus round to yourself after the race is done. In the bonus round, you do a single lap around the course and collect as many coins as you can. The amount of coins you grab are the amount you keep, and you also get a time bonus that gives you more coins the faster you complete the bonus round.

Overall, Bomberman Fantasy Race has yet to disappoint me. This game has a very simple goal of becoming the best racer around, while unlocking different stages and creatures to ride. It gives a great feeling of accomplishment and is for players of all ages. The game does lag a slight bit at times, but I really believe it’s from the game pushing what the Playstation could do and what’s capable of. If you have $10 to spare and want to try out a great racer for a rainy day, or get this as a gift for a younger family member, you can order Bomberman Fantasy Race on Amazon, or download it in the PS3’s online store.

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