Dance Dance Revolution Extreme

"The definitive version of the best wallet emptier I've ever found."

DDR- the game that makes a mockery of the stereotype of the arcade slob. Konami's megahit which has gamers everywhere dancing like maniacs on the four arrows is now in it's eighth incarnation- and this version, DDR Extreme is undoubtedly the most complete game in the entire series, providing a DDR aficionado with EVERYTHING they need from a dancing game.

Firstly, there's the range of choices initially available. As well as the traditional light, medium and heavy difficulty levels, there's also now the beginner mode for those who really suck. The fear-inspiring Oni mode from DDR Max 2 is back and more hardcore than ever, but for those who aren't quite up to the ''four-combo-breaks-and-you're-out''-ness of the demon courses, old-fashioned Nonstop mode has also made its welcome return. Additionally, many of the songs in the main game now come with a FIFTH difficulty level- the Oni or challenge steps. Fortunately you don't have to dance under Oni course rules, but these new steps which are (usually) tougher drastically extend the replayability of the songs they come with.

That leads us onto the song selection itself, and this is where DDR Extreme really shines. The song list is the largest ever in DDR history- I don't know how many songs there are, but I know there are more than 200, drawn from all branches of the Bemani franchise (even ParaPara Paradise). Most of DDR Max 2's songlist has come through intact, including most of the special remixes which could previously only be done in the oni mode of that game. There are also dozens of songs from older mixes which have not been seen in the DDR series for many a game, giving new dancers such as myself the chance to experience classics such as Butterfly, Captain Jack (Grandale Remix), Little Bitch, Dam Dariram, Rhythm and Police and ALL the old mixes of PARANOiA. Furthermore, there are a whole heap of new songs brought in from the likes of Beatmania, Guitar Freaks and so on, including Across the Nightmare, Pink Rose and the RevenG classic Sakura. Finally, there are a bunch of all-new songs just for DDR Extreme, such as Love Love Shine, Crash!, Daikaikai, The legend of MAX and the official new Hardest Song In Dancing Game History, PARANOiA Survivor MAX (I can claim, with awe and pride, to know somebody who can pass it on its Oni step). This song mix is absolutely stunning, giving unsurpassed freedom of choice to gamers and giving DDR Extreme virtually eternal lastability. However, there are a few minor problems. Including Oni-only step songs, Konami included up to three different mixes of some songs (Afronova, Dynamite Rave and Brilliant 2U to name just a few) instead of bringing in more variety- I was personally rather disappointed at the absence of both Stomp To My Beat and Boom Boom Dollar. Also, why did they leave in Somewhere Over The Rainbow, probably the WORST song in DDR history? However, apart from those two complaints (one minor, one merely humorous) the song mix in DDR Extreme verges on perfect.

The movies, on the other hand, have suffered. One of the first things I noticed when I upgraded from Max 2to Extreme was that they'd taken the dancing girls out of Candy. They'd also stuffed up the video for BreAkdown, for reasons unknown to me (since you can still see the singing Emi-chan in Sweet Sweet Magic), but as I played further I noticed that a lot of the videos were getting EXTREMELY repetitive. The low point of the entire game in this regard is probably Sync, which has the distinction of having possibly the most boring video I've ever danced to (a shame, because it's quite a good song). Of course, I realize the obvious repetition of videos is due to storage space in the arcade unit and videos aren't really important compared to music, but it is a little depressing. On the up side, a lot of the new songs don't suffer from this and have some of the best videos ever seen in DDR, including Pink Rose, Sakura, A, The legend of MAX and the best video in the game, Dance Dance Revolution (the series' new title song) which is remixed from the old 4th mix opening video and looks AWESOME. This mix of good and bad is a bit disconcerting, but overall I suppose I can still say that DDR Extreme is probably the best-looking DDR so far. But I still miss those dancing girls.

Gameplay wise, nothing has really changed, and this is good- if it ain't broke, don't fix it and DDR was NEVER, EVER broke. With the inclusion of both Nonstop and Oni courses and up to 5 levels of difficulty per song with a selection of over 200 songs (some of which have to be unlocked before they can be danced) DDR Extreme really can last for ever, especially if you start playing on Double mode, meaning you get to do it ALL over again. The addition of beginner level means this is the easiest mix of DDR for a beginner to get in to, although in my opinion if you need to start on beginner you aren't suited to arcade dancing anyway. About the only other thing Konami really could have done was add some more mods to the options screen, such as .25 speed or those other weird ones which appear in the Trick Oni course. Maybe next time- for now DDR is still king of arcade dancing.

Ultimately, DDR Extreme is the best version of DDR ever released. Although short on innovation it rules in consolidation, bringing together the best of 7 mixes of Dance Dance Revolution and dozens of other Bemani games into one ultimate mix which has everything you could want in a single arcade unit. This is the mix which defines ''definitive'', so tie your laces tight, reach for your wallet and prepare to dance like you never thought you could.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/07/03