Dance Dance Revolution Extreme

"Enjoy the ultimate version of one of the best games ever created!"

Quick pros & cons:
Pros:
- Most songs of any version, ever (about 240)
- Biggest song variety of any version, ever
- Great selection of songs from other Bemani games, selected by the players themselves
- Beginner mode for the newbies
- 30 challenging Oni courses, and fun Nonstop courses to try
- DDR's gameplay is timeless

Cons:
- A few of the new songs kinda stink or don't seem to fit DDR
- A few MAX and MAX2 songs didn't make it back
- More old licenses would have been even better

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NOTE: I'm assuming readers already know about Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) and how it is played. I don't want to duplicate the basics that are already in 4,000 other reviews. This review will focus exclusively on THIS version of the game, and what makes it different from the others.

For DDR's 5-year anniversary we have received what can only be called the ultimate version of the game.

Many of the pre-DDRMAX songs that defined the early games in the series have been brought back for the occasion (including licenses), joining almost-complete sets of songs from MAX and MAX2, a small but fun bunch of 20+ new songs, and a set of about 50 songs new to DDR brought over from other Bemani games, like beatmania IIDX and pop'n music. These songs were chosen in a poll of DDR players from around the world (did you participate? I did!). Combined, there are about 240 songs in the game, so you'll be at it for a very long time before you'll have seen it all! The variety is almost mind-boggling... everything from J-pop to house to trance to dance classics to world beats to eurobeat to everything in between. Your ears will never be bored (as long as you don't play the same song over and over).

The new songs created for Extreme are pretty good, and most of the new Bemani ''crossover'' songs are a lot of fun to play, either because they sound great (like L'amour et la liberte) or they have fun steps that go along perfectly with the music (like Daikenkai). But not all are perfect... I'm not too fond of The Least 100 Seconds and Across the nightmare, for example, because they don't seem to fit much at all. You may have your own likes and dislikes, but the fact of the matter is that they were chosen by players for a reason! Not to mention if you don't like even fifty of the songs, there are almost two hundred others. Overall, I'm very happy with the list, as are most DDR players I've seen, and I love the direction Konami has taken with the new music over the last several games. There's more high-energy stuff than ever before.

Beginner mode makes almost every song a 1-footer and makes it easy for beginning players to get into the game. And, when you're playing Beginner mode, you can't fail, no matter what!

The Oni endurance mode is back and it's a real demon this time. Forget everything you knew about Oni back in MAX2. The 18 courses MAX2 offered up are on the whole MUCH, MUCH easier than Extreme's 18 new courses. Extreme's 5-9 song courses feature tons of 8- and 9-footers, and virtually no Standard-level songs, unlike its predecessor. Some of them will make you cry, or make your feet bleed. You'll fear IIDX Boss, full of Challenge steps; the Real Demon Road, boasting songs like So Deep and Cartoon Heroes; and of course, the Legend Road consisting solely of 10-footers! There's even a Slow Road with ridiculous low-tempo songs and a Trick course where strange custom modifiers will drive you crazy! For the players up to the challenge, it's a joy, and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with clearing an Oni course is now stronger than it's ever been!

Not quite up to that level of challenge? Nonstop mode is back, after having disappeared for several versions. Here you can play a course of four songs back-to-back, without the pressure of not being able to make even four mistakes. And the courses are very well put together. Some are made of songs from a particular game, one is composed of sugar-coated happy pop songs (Love Heart), one brings together four old Dancemania licenses. You can even play courses composed of the most popular (or LEAST popular!) songs on the machine, or courses composed of completely random selections from the bank of 240! It's addictive, it's fun.

My biggest complaints with the game? Besides the few songs I don't like (which everyone's bound to have), there are a few notable songs that didn't make it back from MAX2. I'll miss Justify My Love, Drifting Away and More Than I Needed To Know, in particular. This is likely not Konami's fault; they probably just couldn't get the licenses back. And yeah, it's too bad they couldn't have brought back even more of the old songs. But there's 240 in there, and I'd say I'm pretty happy with that.

Konami made a wise decision not to further mess with the formula. The gameplay is unchanged since the addition of the freeze arrow and Dark modifier, and it's still as enjoyable as it's ever been. Many songs have added Challenge steps this time around, plus you can freely play the MAX2 Oni remixes without having to reach them in Oni mode. There's always more to do... whether it's conquering Double mode, learning to freestyle, discovering a song you had never played, attacking that 10-footer or clearing that course you've had in your sights, you will always find something to do with DDR Extreme. Let's Dee Dee Arrr!!

Graphics: 7
Arrow graphics ... well, look like arrows, as they should, and the scrolling is smooth, as it needs to be. And the background movies don't look all that amazing. But if you're looking at them too closely, you're probably not playing the game! Graphics aren't a factor in a game like this, built for gameplay alone.

Sound: 9
The variety of the music is amazing, and I can't imagine a version with more songs. I know that the sound quality had to be lowered somewhat to fit all of the songs in, but in our noisy arcades, I can barely tell the difference. Most players won't notice it at all, and it's never once bothered me.

Gameplay: 10
It's Dance Dance Revolution. It's fun, challenging, a good workout, a great time with friends, and the most fun you can have stomping on fiberglass and metal in a public place. What more could you want?

Features/Replay: 10
Replay value is through the roof. Tons of steps to try and courses to clear. It would take an incredibly long time and a huge degree of effort to pass literally EVERYTHING. And don't forget that you can use your own steps on machines with memory slots. The possibilities are endless.

Overall: 9
It's easy to say ''well, I don't like these movies'' or ''it could have had this modifier'' or ''why isn't this song there?'' But to find real fault with DDR Extreme is as tough as some of the steps themselves. At the core, it's the same awesome game we've been loving for years... only it's the most complete, feature-packed, challenging, accessible and overall best version of the game ever made. Period.

Also try: Pump it Up, beatmania IIDX

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/09/03