- DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution
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This article is about the North American PlayStation 2 release. For the Japanese arcade and PlayStation 2 release, see DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution 7thMix.
DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution 
Developer(s) Konami Publisher(s) Konami Platform(s) PlayStation 2 Release date(s) September 23, 2003[1] Genre(s) Music Mode(s) Single player, Multiplayer Rating(s) ESRB: Everyone (E)[2] Media/distribution DVD DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution is the fifth home version of Dance Dance Revolution to be released in the United States. It was released by Konami on September 23, 2003, for the Sony PlayStation 2 video game console. DDRMAX2 contains a total of 69 songs, 28 of which are hidden and unlockable.
The interface used is a recoloring and smoothing of the song wheel interface first introduced in the US in DDRMAX. The names of the difficulty modes are "Beginner," "Light," "Standard," and "Heavy," just as they were in DDRMAX.
The game received mostly favorable reviews from critics, and is one of the only three games in the Dance Dance Revolution series to have sold over a million copies, and is the first game in the series to have sold over a million copies in the US.
Contents
Gameplay
Main article: Gameplay of Dance Dance RevolutionThe core gameplay of DDRMAX2 is the same as the previous Dance Dance Revolution games. The 2-tiered scoring system which debuted on DDRMAX is still utilized on DDRMAX2.
Changes from the Japanese DDRMAX2
Unlike the Japanese arcade version of DDRMAX2, the dancing characters which were removed on DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution 6thMix are present as an unlock on DDRMAX2. Beginner difficulty, which debuted first on Dancing Stage EuroMix 2 is also present in this game. Like any other US home versions, the song list only bore several new songs from the arcade version with several Dancemania licenses, mostly from the Japanese version of DDRMAX, as well as 3 new Konami Original and 4 songs from other BEMANI series not seen in any Japanese games (which later added on the Japanese home version of Dance Dance Revolution Extreme). Select songs even feature their original music videos, such as:
- Conga Feeling
- Days Go By
- Dream a Dream
- In The Navy '99 (XXL Disaster Remix)
- Love at First Sight
- Take Me Away (Into the Night) (radio vocal)
- The Whistle Song
Extra Stage
If, on the final stage, a player gets the grade of AA or better on any Heavy step routine, the game gives the message "Try Extra Stage." The song wheel on the Extra Stage is locked to MAXX UNLIMITED, which is played with the Reverse Scroll modifier, the Dark modifier and a x1.5 Speed modifier. The Extra Stage is also played in "Pressure" mode, where health bar starts full and does not regenerate if it depletes with missed steps.
If the player scores a grade of AA or better, then they are forced to play "One More Extra Stage." This time, the Song Wheel is locked on 革命 (KAKUMEI).. The player is forced to play its Oni steps in a Reverse Scroll modifier, a Dark modifier and a x3 Speed modifier. On One More Extra Stage, it is in sudden-death mode, which means just one step that is not scored "Perfect" or "Great" or one freeze that is scored "NG" ends the game.
Nonstop Modes
Unlike the arcade version of DDRMAX2, Nonstop Mode appears instead of Challenge Mode. Nonstop Mode, a feature from DDR KONAMIX, allows the player to play one of several set courses without stopping. The game also features an Endless mode, which allows the player to play through all of the songs on the game. DDRMAX2 as with other home versions, features a Workout Mode, which can track calories burned.
Music
Licensed Tracks
Song Title Artist A Little Bit of Ecstasy Jocelyn Enriquez Busy Child The Crystal Method Days Go By Dirty Vegas Conga Feeling Vivian Dream a Dream Captain Jack Drifting away Lange feat. Skye Heaven DJ Sammy & Yanou ft. Do Get Down Tonight KC and the Sunshine Band Ghosts (Vincent De Moor Original Mix) Tenth Planet In The Navy '99 (XXL Disaster Remix) Captain Jack Let's Groove Tips & Tricks vs. Wisdome Long Train Runnin' Bus Stop Love at First Sight Kylie Minogue Lovin' You (Rob Searle Club Mix) Vinyl Baby So Deep (Perfect Sphere Remix) Silvertear Take Me Away (Into the Night) (radio vocal) 4 strings The Whistle Song (Blow My Whistle Baby) DJ Alligator Project Twilight Zone (R-C Extended Club Mix) 2 Unlimited Will I? Ian Van Dahl Console Konami Original/BEMANI crossovers
Song Title Artist Bad Routine DJ. Spugna Forever Sunshine Chel Y. I Need You Supa Fova feat. Jenny F. Keep On Liftin' DJ Nagureo More Deep (ver.2.1) Togo Project feat. Sana Tomorrow Perfume DJ Taka Try 2 Luv. U S.F.M.P. Konami Originals
Song Title Artist Afronova Re-Venge AM-3P KTZ AM-3P (AM EAST mix) KTZ BRE∀K DOWN! BeForU Burning Heat! (3 Option Mix) Mr.T with Motoaki.F Can't Stop Fallin' In Love Naoki Celebrate Nite N.M.R. Celebrate Nite (Euro Trance Style) N.M.R. D2R Naoki Destiny Naoki feat. Paula Terry DIVE (More deep & Deeper Style) BeForU Do It Right Sota feat. Ebony Fay Do It Right (80's Electro Mix) Sota feat. Ebony Fay Don't Stop! -AMD 2nd Mix Dr.VIBE feat. JP Miles End Of The Century NO.9 Feeling Of Love Youhei Shimizu Groove Sho-T feat. Brenda Hysteria Naoki 190 Hysteria 2001 N.M.R. I Feel... Akira Yamaoka I Was The One Good-Cool Jam & Marmalade Final Offset Kakumei DJ Taka with Naoki Kind Lady Okuyatos Kind Lady (interlude) Okuyatos Maxx Unlimited Z PARANOiA (Kcet Clean Mix) 2MB Put Your Faith In Me Uzi-Lay Radical Faith TaQ Rain of sorrow NM feat. Ebony Fay Secret Rendezvous Divas Silent Hill Thomas Howard Silent Hill (3rd Christmas mix) Thomas Howard SP-Trip Machine (Jungle Mix) De-Sire Spin the Disc Good-Cool Still In My Heart Naoki Super Star DJ.Rich feat. Tail Bros. Super Star (From Nonstop Megamix) DJ.Rich feat. Tail Bros. The Shining Polaris L.E.D. feat. [Sanae Shintani|Sana]] Think Ya Better D sAmi Tsugaru De-Sire vs. RevenG Vanity Angel Fixx Xenon Mr.T Note: All Boss Songs Notified in Bold., and All Challenge Remixes are notified in Italics. Except that The Challenge remix of Super Star is DJ Nikaido & E.Isomura Remix became Nonstop Megamix.
Reception
Critical Reception
Reception Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 82.35%[3] Metacritic 82/100[4] Review scores Publication Score Electronic Gaming Monthly 7.67/10 GameSpot 7.2/10 GameSpy 4/5 IGN 8.5/10 Official PlayStation Magazine (US) 4/5 DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution has received mostly positive reviews. GameSpot gave the game a 7.2 out of a possible 10 complimenting and criticizing the game graphics, on the positive side, saying, "Graphically, DDRMAX2 looks roughly the same as DDRMAX, but improvements have been made. The random video that plays in the background of most tracks looks a little better. Additionally, some of the more popular songs, like Kylie Minogue's 'Love At First Sight' and DJ Alligator Project's 'The Whistle Song' to name a couple, actually play portions of the song's music video in the background." On the negative side, saying "However, these video clips have been encoded at pretty low bit rates, so don't expect DVD-quality playback here. You'll see some pretty noticeable blur and compression artifacts." They overall recommended the game, rounding of their review saying "...if you own dance mats and a PlayStation 2, DDRMAX2 is worth owning. If you don't have any dance mats... well, Konami is selling a version of the game that comes packaged with a dance mat, giving potential hotsteppers no excuse to get started."
IGN was even more positive, saying "DDRMAX2 is totally addicting, entirely difficult to put down, and the limit of one's playtime seems pretty much endless. It's ridiculously good fun." They also praised the songlist saying "The new song additions include Busy child (The Crystal Method), Little Bit Of Ecstasy (Jocelyn Enriquez), and Get Down Tonight (K.C. & The Sunshine Band). Seriously, this song list is huge, impressive and for those who are picky, it seems there is enough for everyone in here." But they mentioned as a warning "On the other hand, for the purists, it's probably got too many popular songs in it, thus diluting the mix, but you can't please all the people all the time."
Other reviewers gave very similar reviews, saying the game was the same as ever, but was still really fun, acknowledging the large soundtrack and the addition of music videos in the game.
Sales
After a series of low selling expansion titles of the first game, DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution surprisingly stood out compared to other games in the series in terms of sales, selling 1.09 million units in the US.[5] It is one of only three titles to have sold over a million units, the other two being the first game, Dance Dance Revolution and possibly either Dance Dance Revolution Extreme or Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA, and is the first and only game in the series to have sold over a million units in the United States alone.
References
- ^ Konami - DDR MAX2
- ^ GameFAQs - DDRMAX2
- ^ "DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/ps2/914995-ddrmax2-dance-dance-revolution/index.html. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
- ^ "DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution for PlayStation2 Reviews, Ratings, credits, and More at Metacritic". http://www.metacritic.com/playstation-2/ddrmax2-dance-dance-revolution. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
- ^ "US Platinum videogame Chart". The Magic Box. 2001-12-27. http://www.the-magicbox.com/Chart-USPlatinum.shtml. Retrieved 2011-10-21.
External links
- Konami (US Home Page), makers of DDR.
Preceded by
DDRMAX Dance Dance RevolutionDDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution
2003Succeeded by
Dance Dance Revolution ExtremeCategories:- 2003 video games
- Dance Dance Revolution games
- PlayStation 2-only games
- Video games developed in the United States
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