Dance Dance Revolution Supernova
© Konami

Mania Grade: B
Platform: PS2
ESRB: E10+
Genre: Puzzle
Players: 1-2
Online: Yes
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Suggested Retail: $39.99
Graphics: B-
Sound: B
Gameplay: B
Replay: A-
Fun Factor: B+
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"Dance Dance Revolution Supernova"

Some games do not need to change their core engine to remain a hit, after all just look at the Madden series. For DDR, the playing system is as good as it can ever be, so it is extremely hard to improve. The only main addition that I could think of is allowing people to choose if they want to dance through the entire song, or only part of it. Currently all of the tracks are set up where only part of the song is used. Another feature that I would like to see added would involve allowing you to import of your own songs, rather than being limited to the ones supplied on the disk. Once that was completed you being able to set the beats for them. Of course if this were to happen the home DDR system may never be able to release another game, because people would be spending considerable time making the dances, and not buying new games.

As per what is different in this game from the last is obviously the play list of songs. This strong song list that has been my favourite yet, making it worthwhile to purchase the game. This is in no part to one of my favourite bands being on the label, Fall Out Boy. There are many other popular artists as well though like, Kelly Clarkson, David Bowie, the Bangles, Franz Ferdinand, and Cyndi Lauper to name a few. All of the artists round the tracks out quite nicely, and beyond them you will also find some annoying songs, but what is pleasure without a little pain? Overall the music is very nice, even in spite of a few snoozers.

A returning feature of the game includes the background videos. All of the songs have videos to coincide with the music going on. These fall into two categories though, where Konami has created them, while the other ones have been used from the artist’s music videos. Having these backgrounds from the artists make it a complete joy to dance to their songs. Likewise many of the artificially created videos are a nice touch, but generally they are a kin to j-pop. This can get out of hand, as most of them are too “cute” for their own good, making it difficult to fully care about the song.

The theme of this game follows the idea of inter-stellar travel, hence the name Supernova. Stellar Master is the mode that is used to unlock extra songs, and as you complete songs, more options become available. You originally start off on a planet, but the more you play, the more planets that become available. As you continue through the game you will eventually unlock all of the songs by collecting points, which are given based upon how well you do in the game. As in a lot of the previous games, these points are using to buy the songs from the store.

This Stellar Master mode replaces the challenge mode of the previous game. You need to fulfill the conditions of each planet before you can move onto the next. There is decent variety in the goals that need to be meet, such as getting higher than a particular score, or letter grade. The only goals that I did not like were the ones that could only be met by chance, such as having your score end with a specific number. A game like this should be a bit more about talent, and not luck.

In the store, songs will only appear if you have beaten them through other modes. Once you have enough points then you can spend them to make the songs appear for personal use, rather than allowing the computer to dictate which songs you are going to play. The store is well done, but I personally do not enjoy buying them, rather I would prefer it if they were automatically unlocked.

All and all, this is another solid experience for the DDR franchise. I liked the music in this game, much more than the last one. Everything is tied in quite well, just like the previous games. Mainly the series is sort of like a sports game, in the sense that one is released every year, with a slightly modified experience. I figure that if you liked the previous one, you are going to like this one a little more. If you hate DDR all together, this game will not change your opinion. This is a solid experience none the less. In the end, Captain Gordon gives Dance Dance Revolution Supernova a B.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? CaptainGordonEdward@Gmail.com