Dance Dance Revolution Extra Mix

"This was Konami's hidden EXTRA"

Dance Dance Revolution Extra Mix!! Konami has done it once again!! Dance Dance Revolution Extra Mix was released shortly after Dance Dance Revolution 4th Mix. This game is the second to last Dance Dance Revolution installment that Konami released in Japan. I personally like this game a whole lot, especially the music, which has a really big impact to the seasoned DDR player. The music on this game is different from all other Dance Dance Revolution games...more like the ''hidden/deep'' side of Konami.

Now, for the Review!

Graphics - 10/10
Graphics are no real biggie for Dance Dance Revolution games, especially this one. The graphics on this game are no different from the past Dance Dance Revolution games. Some may say it's slightly enhanced, and some will say that it's the same. It looks the same in my opinion. It uses a Dance Dance Revolution 4th Mix interface for choosing songs. The only major graphics that I've noticed were the opening demos and the ending video. Those videos were pretty amazing to be running on a Playstation. In some of the backgrounds of some songs, a high influence of drugs and narcotics is present and definitely noticeable; honestly it didn't bother me at all, but it kinda scared me a bit when I saw that animated needle.

Gameplay - 10/10
The gameplay is awesome just like many of the other Dance Dance Revolution games. As I stated earlier, it uses a Dance Dance Revolution 4th Mix interface meaning that you can choose ALL MUSIC mode to choose your songs as well as the normal mode in which you must choose a category of songs. Playing this game with the pads are obviously more exciting than playing this game with a typical PSX or PS2 remote controller. The arrows seem to be a little bit out of synch when playing in Game Mode, but it isn't very noticeable and it isn't very annoying anyway. This game contains new modes like Solo Mode and Challenge Mode, which can definitely be challenging to ALL DDR players. The Challenge Mode is a new addition to this game in which the player must complete certain ''tasks'' during the selected songs in order to clear them. This Challenge Mode concept definitely helps the replay value of this game. For some, this game may be more highly addictive than many other Dance Dance Revolution games.

Sound/Music - 10/10
The Music on this game is AWESOME!! Cool hidden and deep songs from the Dancemania series arise in this game. The songs are very different from those songs from all other mixes. This game is packed with songs from Dance Dance Revolution Solo Bass Mix, which also separates this game from all other Dance Dance Revolution games. There are even songs from Dance Dance Revolution Solo 2000 and 4th Mix Plus on this game that are now available on any other DDR home release. A lot of this music just makes you wanna get up and dance, ''shake your booty'', and groove!! I own a surround sound speaker system with one 35-watt subwoofer; I must warn you all about the songs that come from DDR Solo Bass Mix, the bass is VERY powerful!! They don't call it Bass Mix for nothing! Another change in this game is the use of a lady announcer instead of that guy announcer from all other Dance Dance Revolution games. The lady announcer also makes this game more interesting and I sometimes find myself laughing at her. One thing though, she is not as ''lenient'' on her words as the guy announcer is when you're doing bad.

Overall - 9/10
Overall, despite the very few technical problems that this game has, Dance Dance Revolution Extra Mix is one of the best Dance Dance Revolution games ever made! Everything seems to fall in place as it should. Of course they're songs that you can unlock just like all the other DDR games. Once again, this game is highly addictive and I love it! For those who don't like good classic songs like CAFE or Club Tropicana, then go back and play DDR 3rd Mix for a caffeine high.
I love this game and I'm glad that I got it. I'm pretty sure that if you play it and hear those really good songs, then you'll love it. This game is an absolute MUST have!

BUY OR RENT
Hahaha, what a silly question!! I would do nothing more than buy this game!! I just want to let you all know that Dance Dance Revolution Extra Mix is the RAREST (hardest to find) of all Dance Dance Revolution games for the PSX next to DDR 1st Mix (Japanese). For those who don't think that this game is good, then rent it...that's if you can even find a copy! Try looking on eBay constantly; it rarely appears. I'm glad I have it! It's worth the whole $60!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/03, Updated 05/07/03