DDR MAX
Information:
Released on October 29, 2002, DDR Max was the first DDR game available for the PS2 system. It introduced Freeze arrows, the groove radar, Oni mode, and is the only DDR game in America that doesn't have dancing background characters as an available option.
My Opinion:
This is probably the best DDR game I own in my collection. The song list really takes me back to the earlier days of DDR when it used to be fun to play and where it wasn't all about challenging songs or who had the highest score. Standard DDR gameplay. Gameplay is still the same as always, although despite the introduction of Oni, there really isn't much beyond main gameplay to be excited about. Which is perfectly fine, however if something else was included such as solo gameplay or endless mode, it would have made gameplay perfect. Once you unlock everything, the songlist is a total of 71 songs. I really love a lot of the music included on this version mainly because it contains a lot of classic songs I've played either in the arcade or songs I'm just familiar with from previous releases. My favorite song on this version is Midnite Blaze and I'm glad it made it on here from the DDR PC release. With the exception of a few songs, this mix is completely different from the arcade release which can be disappointing because there were some good songs on there that still haven't been included into a USA mix. Lots of replay value! Unlocking everything takes plenty of time and encourages this. Even once you have everything unlocked, the songlist is still really good where it's fun to replay songs over and over again without getting bored or wanting to switch over to another mix. I'm not a big fan of the way DDR Max looks. The color scheme is supposed to match with the fire motif present throughout the game, but it's way too bright and not really anything to be impressed about. While the layout incorporates ideas introduced in DDR 5th mix Japan, it's still not refined enough as it later came to be in future releases. So in comparison, it looks really terrible, however the ease of the interface is what redeems it. While there are several challenging songs, the songs are fairly balanced where you won't be pulling the hair out of your head because you can't pass a song. The difficulty of the game comes mostly from having to learn how to play with your feet rather than your hands.
Gameplay - 4
Music - 5
Replay - 5
Graphics - 3
Difficulty - 4
// Overall Score - 21 - AA Game
DDR MAX 2
Information:
Released on September 23, 2003, DDR Max 2 was the second DDR game available for the PS2 system. It introduced Beginner mode, endless mode, featured music videos, and brought back nonstop courses and dancing characters.
My Opinion:
I remember playing the arcade version of Max 2 back when I used to work at the bowling alley. I didn't like it at first because the songlist and features were a huge jump from the 4th mix machine I was used to, but after playing it over and over again I really came to enjoy a lot of aspects of the game. DDR Max 2 for the PS2 sort of captures those memories but doesn't do as good as a job as I would hope. Standard DDR gameplay again. It's a shame Oni mode was replaced with Nonstop mode because I remember the challenge the Oni courses brought in the arcade release. It seems weird to me that they introduced Oni Mode in the previous DDR release then got rid of it in the next release. Beginner mode is interesting since it features two characters that got introduced in the arcade BG movies. Although it puts me off that you can't select them as a BG dancing character. Speaking of which, they cell shaded the characters which made them look awful, and there's really no point to playing with them as they turn off on certain songs. I don't understand why they were included as the Max2 theme was designed without them being included. They appear crowded on the screen and don't blend well with the BG videos. While it's nice to have Endless Mode, the songlist isn't great enough to the point where you'd want to play it. This game features 69 songs, but repeats several from the previous release. Which is okay, but several of the repeats are terrible (Silent Hill and Secret Rendez-vous are two songs that I've had enough of seeing). While there are several really good new additions to this mix (such as Try 2 Luv. U and Days Go By), there are several really awful and bland additions as well (Forever Sunshine is an example of this). When I play this mix, I usually only play a handful of songs before switching over to another DDR game. What I find interesting about the song selection though is that there are several songs on this mix that I normally select in the arcade. For instance, Super Star is one song I like to play in the arcade due to the movement involved on the standard stepchart combined with the weird presentation that occurs with the song background. Very little unfortunately. Several of the song selections are great but once you get through them, there isn't much left so you'll end up playing them again. Which is alright if you like to listen to the same song over and over, but when you have other DDR games in your collection, there's no point to just limiting yourself to what's on here. It's just like at the arcade; why limit yourself to a few songs when there are hundreds of others on the machine? The graphics on this mix are much improved from the previous release. The whole theme gives the feeling of a dance club with the dark colors and a nighttime feel. Several of the songs add to this feeling which is a nice matching (Let's Groove and Spin the Disc for instance). Plus the danger gameplay warning adds to the feeling by implying you're being kicked out of the club for being a terrible dancer. With Beginner mode, the game isn't that hard to play anymore, especially when they show you what to do on the screen. There are several challenging songs in the mix, but they're just remixes of previously challenging songs.
Gameplay - 3
Music - 3
Replay - 3
Graphics - 5
Difficulty - 3
// Overall Score - 17 - B Game
DDR EXTREME 2
Information:
Released on September 27, 2005, DDR Extreme 2 was the first PS2 DDR game that was not based off an arcade release. It was also the first PS2 DDR game to introduce a new unlocking system, first that offered online play, and also the BPM meter. It shares a similar interface with the Japanese PS2 DDR Str!ke release.
My Opinion:
This was the first DDR Game I purchased for the PS2. Seeing as I enjoy DDR and I had a PS2, it was odd that I didn't have a game in my collection. I decided to purchase this one first because I heard a lot of good praise for it, and for the most part, it is a fairly decent DDR game. Gameplay for this game has changed slightly in comparison to previous releases. In previous releases, songs unlocked after playing X songs or after doing X in the game to unlock it. Extreme 2 unveiled the Dance Master Mode, which was basically a giant map filled with song missions. As you completed missions, you could move forward on the map, unlock things, etc. As you played, you earned points which could be used to purchase what you unlocked. Definitely an innovation over previous releases although it was troublesome at times. This game has a total of 74 songs. A few have been repeated from previous games, and several were taken from the Xbox releases, but overall it has a nice selection of music to pick from. The song selection on this game is really what got me to purchase it. I would probably give it a 5 but the inclusion of a lot of really terrible songs and cuts turned me off. For instance, As the Rush Comes and Silence both are decent songs but they just faded them out toward the end. If you've never heard the full versions of the songs, it wouldn't bother you but since these songs have been played everywhere it's hard to let it go unnoticed. Most of the replay value is now spent in playing for points to purchase items unlocked. I see two big things that add to replay value, the first being Dance Master Mode. The challenges can be really hard at times and you may find yourself replaying the missions over and over just to pass and move on. The second thing that adds to replay value are the character costumes. They cost a whopping 100,000 points each. Considering on average a song will give you 1,000 points each time you play it, and 30 costumes to unlock, you're going to have to play 3,000+ songs in game mode just to pay for them all. The graphics for this game are a major improvement over the static images found in previous releases, however I have some problems with it. The overall look and feel of the game comes off like an exercise machine to me. It feels like I could walk into a gym and expect this title to be on a DDR setup in the corner and it wouldn't look out of place. The gameplay screen is more open and permits for the dancing characters, however they don't exactly work with the background movies, and at times, it looks better with them off. While there are several new characters to pick from, and several favorites that were included, once again, the beginner dancers which show you how to play aren't selectable. Going back to the costumes which are available for purchase, all they really are is just the same outfit in a different set of colors. For example, Princess Zukin, instead of being red, her unlockable outfit is Blue. I don't know why they even bothered, I think they should have just added more characters. Most of the difficulty comes from the Dance Master Mode, but that's about it in terms of difficulty. Beginner mode is still here to keep things easy so there isn't much of a challenge for new players. There are some difficult songs on the mix, but most likely you've played them in the arcade already.
Gameplay - 4
Music - 4
Replay - 4
Graphics - 3
Difficulty - 3
// Overall Score - 18 - A Game
DDR SUPERNOVA
Information:
Released on September 26, 2006, DDR SuperNOVA (DDR SN) came about as the next PS2 release for DDR. While not boasting a lot of changes, the game features an all new songlist for the PS2, new background characters and dancers, and Battle Mode.
My Opinion:
After the Japanese release of DDR Extreme, the game just died. No new arcade releases came out since that mix, and the only new content was really being found in the xbox releases. The PS2 releases were playing catchup and introducing content found on old arcade releases along with terrible new songs meant to appease new fans to the series. DDR SN to me looked like an attempt to revive the series. However, DDR needs a lot of work to get back on track. Of course gameplay is still pretty much the same and retains everything fans of the series are familiar with. The unlock system is similar to the last release (DDR Extreme 2) but improves greatly on the system making it more interesting. I played this release a lot with my family and I noticed that some of the beginner charts are watered down versions of the basic charts. It makes me wonder how much of a rush they were to put this out or if maybe that's what they were trying to do. Which is a re-occurring problem with this release wondering what was intentional or pure laziness in creation. My biggest complaint with gameplay is the select screen after style selection. You're offered five different modes for no reason. Tutorial makes sense, along with All Music, but the three difficulty selections in between are pointless. The game doesn't start you on that difficulty, all it does is arrange a handful of songs for the player that could fit the category. The only difference between one of these selections and All Music is that you have less music to pick from and you get the game over screen at the end. It seems to me it would have made more sense to combine all three and call it "Arcade Mode" and just label All Music as "Event Mode." Unfortunately, the home version doesn't contain all the songs found on the arcade release. Which doesn't make a lot of sense since the American audience isn't playing catchup anymore with the console releases. My guess is it was done to keep content available for future releases which is understandable but a bit annoying to think about. However, I feel the selection is still pretty good. The game features 74 songs total once you have them all unlocked. Plus no more challenge chart only songs so you get some good use of space in the selections. What is interesting though is the inclusion of five "boss songs" which are the bright red songs on the song selection wheel. It's an unusually high number considering most of the previous releases had only two. Following in DDR Extreme 2's footsteps, DDR SN's replay value is mostly geared in earning points in paying for stuff in the shop. Then after that it's about the same as it would be in previous releases. Battle Mode is an interesting addition but the announcer for it is intrusive and annoying. The mode isn't really balanced and doesn't take difficulty into consideration. Plus I found it's hard to get a two player game going on any of the Advanced modes so having it separated from the gameplay menu doesn't help. A huge improvement over the last console release. The new dancing characters are unique improvements over their original character models. The backgrounds are pretty amazing as well, although it's a little disappointing that most of them are just recolored versions of one stage. The art style used is very sophisticated, pretty dark but very much appropriate since there's a lot of emphasis on being in outer space in the game. All the difficulty in the game can pretty much be found in the Stellar Master Mode which is pretty difficult for unlocking content. The same can be said for the "boss songs" as well, especially Chaos which features stop and go step-chart action. Paired up with Battle Mode, the game gives several features to constantly keep challenging you.
Gameplay - 4
Music - 4
Replay - 3
Graphics - 5
Difficulty - 4
// Overall Score - 20 - A Game
DDR SUPERNOVA 2
Information:
Released on September 25, 2007, DDR SuperNOVA 2 (DDR SN2) was the most anticipated release in the DDR community after players saw what was on the arcade version. Naturally this release was to be an improvement over the previous installment however many fans of the series were disappointed with the release after they saw the content.
My Opinion:
I was looking forward to this release when it was announced much like everyone else interested in the DDR series. The arcade version was revealing a lot of content that the community was hoping to see in the console release. Everyone had their own hopes of what would be in it as well as what could be expected of it. Sadly while this was a decent release, the hype really tore this game apart. Looking at DDRSN and DDRSN2, there's really no difference between the two titles. All that changed really were the songs, two new characters, the unlock system, and the graphics. If you're a fan of the series or new to DDR, the experience holds about average, but there was nothing really in this game that was worth noting. Too much stayed the same between the releases and sadly a lot of stuff in the arcade version was not present in the console version. For example, the secondary outfits, new characters Julio & Alice, tons of songs, tons of noteskins, the Zukin wars challenge, etc. The most disappointing was that a lot of songs that were expected to be in this release were not. The most argued exclusion amongst the DDR community were the "planet" songs found in the arcade release. The default songlist contains a lot of songs geared toward attracting new people to the series which got a lot of negative opinions. A lot of those songs I didn't particularly care for either however there were a few good picks in there. Almost the rest of the unlocks in the game were songs that were leftover from DDRSN arcade, and a few that were new from the DDRSN2 arcade. Like any other DDR game, there's a lot of replay value just in unlocking everything and then having fun with what you've unlocked. I tend to go from game to game when I play DDR so if you do have several DDR games already you'll find it adds some refreshing new content to what you have so it doesn't become repetitive. I was disappointed that there were no new stages and a couple of the characters from the arcade were left out, however I do enjoy that Yuni was in this release. While you had to unlock the character, Yuni was a good addition to the game. The interface and graphics were still pretty nifty and had this futuristic feel to it, but it wasn't as impressive as I felt DDRSN was with it's dark style. Oddly enough, only a couple songs had challenge charts, and one boss song was repeated from the last release, so there wasn't a lot of challenging songs in this release. There were some heavy hitting songs but nothing that caused a serious headache to get through. I felt it was pretty average in difficulty, and even if you were new to the series here I don't feel you'd be overburdened. I think that's actually a good way to describe this release, in that it was just mainly average.
Music - 3
Replay - 3
Graphics - 4
Difficulty - 3
// Overall Score - 16 - B Game
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Once again, just linking to youtube because they could be embedded haha, so thanks to those who need thanking. I've really enjoyed the DDR series, but it just no longer is keeping up with the times. I really think a lot could be done to save this series but as of now it's just being crushed by other music games. It should be interesting to see where this series will go in the future.
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