Title: Dance Dance Revolution Konamix
Developer: Bemani
Publisher: Konami
System: Playstation
Released: A while ago
Review Date: 8 December 2003

Review by: Quantum Human

Dammit, I'm addicted to DDR. Everytime I go somewhere with a decent arcade, I spend at least an hour on the nearest MAX2 or Extreme machine. I still suck, but that's okay.

First Glance

Power on. Konami logo... press start... bam! I love that sound. It's funny. Get into the menu screen. Very flash-y. Game mode. Select first song. "Hysteria." Go. I remember the first time I played this game... I went into the first level and basically said, "WHAT THE HELL ARE ALL THESE ARROWS? WHAT AM I DOING? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" And then I sat on the bed. You see, you don't play DDR with a controller, though you can, but if you do you suck at life. DDR is played with a dance pad. It's got four arrows, up down left right, and as the song plays arrows appear on the screen to tell you which ones to hit. The game has three difficulty levels, which in this game are called Basic, Trick, and Maniac (in later games they're Light, Standard, and Heavy). Basic is pretty easy for most people once you get the hang of it. There's one song that's rated 1 of 10 for difficulty, up to I believe two 6 of 10s. Trick is significantly harder, and Maniac is unholy. Let's go for a ride.

Graphics

Why do the Japanese insist on making games that they know will give them seizures? The graphics in Konamix are very flashy and very space-age. Behind the arrows on the screen there's a dancing character in front of a very bright, continuously shifting abstract art background. The arrows flash, the background flashes, the character flashes, the score meter thing flashes, your mind flashes, the lights in the emergency room flash. Damn those Japanese. The graphics are well-made for the most part, though there's that one robot thing that just looks ridiculous. The dancing characters are smooth and actually pretty cool, though quite polygonal. Van Gogh it's not; more like Picasso on acid. But fun. Very fun.

Rating: 7/10
Sound

TECHNO!!! This game's soundtrack is awesome. Seriously, if you made a game about dancing and the music sucked... who would buy it? Yet most DDR fans seem to regard Konamix as the foundation of the series. I'll tell you why; the music kicks more ass than Bruce Lee and his entire extended family. Perennial favorites like Paranoia and Hysteria, with their infectious beats, draw in more experienced players, while abundant songs from DJ Taka and Naoki keep everyone going. By far, I think the best song on this particular mix is Hysteria. Also worth a listen are .59, Cutie Chaser, and Drop the Bomb. If you're into techno, DDR is a must.

Rating: 9/10
Gameplay

Talk about innovation. DDR is something totally unique, the best of what has become a fairly extensive collection of dance games. Simple interface and easy basics make DDR a fun game to pick up, while the sheer impossibility of things like Double Maniac Paranoia have some people making a living just from playing this game. Konamix offers several game modes including Single, Double, Six-Arrow (added up-right and up-left arrows), Nonstop, and Workout. Workout mode is very handy; it just runs songs for a preset amount of time, giving you your techno fix and some great aerobics at the same time. Granted, the Playstation soft dance pad is a piece of crap. For those of you who aren't willing to dish out the $150-plus for a hard pad, it might be a bit annoying. But overall, it works well.

Rating: 8/10
Controls

You know, there really isn't much to control in this game... just lots of steps/button pushes. Go through the menu... then dance. That's it. See above about those crappy plastic soft pads, though. They have a tendency to slide everywhere, and invariably one of the arrows doesn't work quite right. But that's not a problem with the game; that's a hardware problem. The controls are simple and effective. What more do you need?

Rating: 7.5/10
Overview/Recap

DDR is great as a party game, as a solo effort, or even as a massively geeky exercise machine. (But hey, it's a shitload cheaper than a Bowflex, and maybe you'll actually use this thing.) This is the kind of game you can play for fun or you can play to win tournaments and make cash. If you plan to make cash with this, though, be prepared to train night and day. It's hard, no question about that, but it's damn good fun.

Points of Interest/Point and Laugh
  • + Truly innovative gameplay
  • + Rockin' techno score
  • + Double feature; gaming and exercise
  • - Soft pads suck; hard pads expensive
  • - Requires a good amount of perseverance to learn
  • ? And the Japanese wonder why their kids are epileptic...
  • Let Me Repeat that One More Time

    Graphics: 7/10
    Bright and flashy; at least they fit the music.

    Sound: 9/10
    Could be substituted for a dance club DJ.

    Gameplay: 8/10
    Original and entertaining; great exercise.

    Control: 7.5/10
    Intuitive. Shell out for the arcade pad if you can.

    Overall (not an average): 7.5 of 10
    A great game for those with some coordination and a love of electronica.