DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution

DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution
PlayStation 2 cover art
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	NA September 23, 2003[1]
Genre(s)	Music
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Distribution	DVD

DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution is the fifth home version of Dance Dance Revolution to be released in the United States. It was released by Konami on September 23, 2003, for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console. DDRMAX2 contains a total of 69 songs, 28 of which are hidden and unlockable.

The interface used is a recoloring and smoothing of the song wheel interface first introduced in the US in DDRMAX. The names of the difficulty modes are "Beginner," "Light," "Standard," and "Heavy," just as they were in DDRMAX.

The game received mostly favorable reviews from critics, and is one of the only three games in the Dance Dance Revolution series to have sold over a million copies, and is the first game in the series to have sold over a million copies in the US.

Gameplay

The core gameplay of DDRMAX2 is the same as the previous Dance Dance Revolution games. The 2-tiered scoring system which debuted on DDRMAX is still utilized on DDRMAX2.

Changes from the Japanese DDRMAX2

Unlike the Japanese arcade version of DDRMAX2, the dancing characters which were removed on DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution 6thMix are present as an unlock on DDRMAX2. Beginner difficulty, which debuted first on Dancing Stage EuroMix 2 is also present in this game. Like any other US home versions, the song list only bore several new songs from the arcade version with several Dancemania licenses, mostly from the Japanese version of DDRMAX, as well as 3 new Konami Original and 4 songs from other BEMANI series not seen in any Japanese games (which later added on the Japanese home version of Dance Dance Revolution Extreme). Select songs even feature their original music videos, such as:

• Conga Feeling
• Days Go By
• Dream a Dream
• In The Navy '99 (XXL Disaster Remix)
• Love at First Sight
• Take Me Away (Into the Night) (radio vocal)
• The Whistle Song

Extra Stage

If, on the final stage, a player gets the grade of AA or better on any Heavy step routine, the game gives the message "Try Extra Stage." The song wheel on the Extra Stage is locked to MAXX UNLIMITED, which is played with the Reverse Scroll modifier, the Dark modifier and a x1.5 Speed modifier. The Extra Stage is also played in "Pressure" mode, where health bar starts full and does not regenerate if it depletes with missed steps.

If the player scores a grade of AA or better, then they are forced to play "One More Extra Stage." This time, the Song Wheel is locked on 革命 (KAKUMEI).. The player is forced to play its Oni steps in a Reverse Scroll modifier, a Dark modifier and a x3 Speed modifier. On One More Extra Stage, it is in sudden-death mode, which means just one step that is not scored "Perfect" or "Great" or one freeze that is scored "NG" ends the game.

Nonstop Modes

Unlike the arcade version of DDRMAX2, Nonstop Mode appears instead of Challenge Mode. Nonstop Mode, a feature from DDR KONAMIX, allows the player to play one of several set courses without stopping. The game also features an Endless mode, which allows the player to play through all of the songs on the game. DDRMAX2 as with other home versions, features a Workout Mode, which can track calories burned.

Music

Reception

Critical Reception

DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution has received mostly positive reviews. GameSpot gave the game a 7.2 out of a possible 10 complimenting and criticizing the game graphics, on the positive side, saying, "Graphically, DDRMAX2 looks roughly the same as DDRMAX, but improvements have been made. The random video that plays in the background of most tracks looks a little better. Additionally, some of the more popular songs, like Kylie Minogue's 'Love At First Sight' and DJ Alligator Project's 'The Whistle Song' to name a couple, actually play portions of the song's music video in the background." On the negative side, saying "However, these video clips have been encoded at pretty low bit rates, so don't expect DVD-quality playback here. You'll see some pretty noticeable blur and compression artifacts." They overall recommended the game, rounding of their review saying "...if you own dance mats and a PlayStation 2, DDRMAX2 is worth owning. If you don't have any dance mats... well, Konami is selling a version of the game that comes packaged with a dance mat, giving potential hotsteppers no excuse to get started."

IGN was even more positive, saying "DDRMAX2 is totally addicting, entirely difficult to put down, and the limit of one's playtime seems pretty much endless. It's ridiculously good fun." They also praised the songlist saying "The new song additions include Busy child (The Crystal Method), Little Bit Of Ecstasy (Jocelyn Enriquez), and Get Down Tonight (K.C. & The Sunshine Band). Seriously, this song list is huge, impressive and for those who are picky, it seems there is enough for everyone in here." But they mentioned as a warning "On the other hand, for the purists, it's probably got too many popular songs in it, thus diluting the mix, but you can't please all the people all the time."

Other reviewers gave very similar reviews, saying the game was the same as ever, but was still really fun, acknowledging the large soundtrack and the addition of music videos in the game.

Sales

After a series of low selling expansion titles of the first game, DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution surprisingly stood out compared to other games in the series in terms of sales, selling 1.09 million units in the US.^[4] It is one of only three titles to have sold over a million units, the other two being the first game, Dance Dance Revolution and possibly either Dance Dance Revolution Extreme or Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA, and is the first and only game in the series to have sold over a million units in the United States alone.

References

External links

• Konami (US Home Page), makers of DDR.