Dance Dance Revolution 2nd Remix

"When the world of gaming and the world of dance converge..."

Dance Dance Revolution has grown to become my favorite series in Konami's entire ''Bemani'' line of musical games. This genre of Konami games started with ''Beatmania'' and grew to contain ''DDR,'' as well as ''Pop 'n Music'' and realistic games for the Guitar, Drums, and Keyboards. However, this series holds a special place in my heart. Not only does it have the most recognizable and catchy music (especially for an English-speaking audience) but it also has an amazing ability to combine the worlds of video-gaming and dancing into one incredible genre. This game has music and visuals to keep you entertained forever, but it is the true interactive nature of the game that makes it so fun.

This is the first of the DDR games, and always has its own special appeal (despite any features added in the later games). This is the only title in the series to contain the ''ever-changing'' dance styles during the rounds, where it tells you the name of the style as well (HipHop, Jazz, Capoeira, etc). To this day, it remains a must-buy for PSX owners. And now, as for the game-specifics:

The basic gameplay is simple to learn, but insanely tough to master. The game is played with four primary buttons, one being for each direction on a control pad (up, down, left, and right). On your side of the game screen, you will see these four directions indicated at the top section. During gameplay, flashing arrows will move slowly from the bottom of that ''column'' up to the top where your arrows are. The basic premise is to hit the correct direction's button whenever the flashing arrows meet with the arrows at the top. You hafta listen to the rhythm of the song as well, because the simple ''sight'' of the arrows can't always tell you exactly when to hit the arrows. You have a ''dance meter'' which increases as you do well and decreases as you miss. If it empties, you lose.

Each time you press a directional button, the game will keep track of how close to the exact beat you were. You can ''Miss'' or get a ''Boo'' if you do it poorly. A ''Good'' means you did it fairly well, while a ''Great'' or ''Perfect'' is right on the money. Each of these five possibilities yields more points than the one before it. Also, the game keeps track of a ''combo'' for you. A combo is how many ''greats'' or ''perfects'' you have gotten in a row. If you get a ''good'' or worse for any arrow... the combo ends. You receive a score at the end of the level, depending on how well you did (from ''E'' to ''A'' and then to ''S.'' You get an ''SS'' if you did a combo for the entire level, from start to finish). It takes coordination as well as a sense of rhythm to play this game well, especially for the later levels. This also gives an incentive to play again, to earn an ''SS'' on every level variant.

This aspect alone makes the game incredibly fun to play with a standard control pad. However, this is not the true nature of the game. If you purchase the special Dance Dance Revolution Controller from Konami, you can experience the Arcade game's true play style (the one that proves to combine the gaming world with the world of dance). With this ''dance mat'' set up, you use your feet and dancing skill to play the game. The dance mat (as with the arcade machine) has four large arrows on it (set up like a giant version of the directional pad you're used to). With this, you must ''step'' to the beat properly, and this adds much more challenge and appeal to the game. In fact, only those with true dancing skills and coordination have ever been able to beat the toughest levels with the dance mat.

Songs that you play in DDR are amazingly catchy and well done. Aside from the ''Konami Original'' songs that you'll find in the game, all the songs that you play are taken from the ''Dancemania'' compilation series in Japan. This series of mix-CD's is released by Toshiba-EMI in Japan, and is composed of dance hits from around the world (mainly Europe). And, aside from the specialty DDR games, all of the songs in Dance Dance Revolution are in full English. So yes, every song that you hear in this game is from a REAL artist or group that has released their own CD in the past. Names like Chumbawamba, Olivia Newton John, EPMD, The Specials, Me&My, Captain Jack, and many others are well-known in America and worldwide.

Either way, this game is truly one of the most well-conceived titles to come out of the gaming industry. When you get into it, it becomes very addictive. There are different dancers that you can choose to play on-screen, and songs that will easily make you want to go out and buy the artists' full CD's (because the songs are so great) ^_^ And besides, the game is universally appealing and simple enough for anyone to wanna try. Men, women, kids, adults... all of them will like the songs and the ability to ''show off their moves'' on the miniature dance floor. It is truly a series in which the term ''video game'' barely seems acceptable. I'd rather say ''interactive experience.'' But even then, descriptions can't do the game justice. Give it a try, it's all I can say.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/09/00, Updated 03/09/00