To date, two official home versions of Dance Dance Revolution have been released for personal computers, with a third title currently in production. One title, Dancing Karaoke DKarab>, was released exclusively in Japan in 2001 and the other, Groove Motion DDR was released exclusively in North America in 2008. In contrast, dozens of programs with similar gameplay to Dance Dance Revolution have been released on multiple computer platforms by fans of the series.
Dancing Karaoke DKara
Released on January 16, 2001, Dancing Karaoke DKara combined the gameplay of Dance Dance Revolution with Karaoke style singing. Konami had previously released two titles with similar gameplay in the past as very rare arcade machines. The song selection was primarily download driven and features a unique set of music that has not been repeated in any other DDR game. The downloadable songs were sold for ¥150 a song and released in packs of varying size a week or so apart from each other. As of August 9, 2001 the total number of songs available for DKara including the original game and downloadable content was 80, however an undetermined number of songs have been released since then.
Gameplay
Music
Dance Dance Revolution
An American home version for the PC, simply titled Dance Dance Revolution was released on May 24, 2002. The game used the engine and interface from Dance Dance Revolution 4thMix which had also been used by the previous PlayStation DDR game, Dance Dance Revolution Konamix. The game only included Konami original songs.
Gameplay
Music
Downloadable content
In the months after the release of Dance Dance Revolution, Konami offered free downloads for the game on the product website. The free downloads consisted of additional dancing character that were displayed during game play. The characters ranged from general styles (Club DJs, trendy outfits) to odd and seasonal styles (Bondage gear, Christmas dresses, Halloween costumes, Robots). The download page displayed blank entries for up and coming downloads. The nature of the new dancers were revealed when the downloads were posted. Dancing characters were released as pairs (Usually a man and a woman when gender even applied), however the final blank entry was a lone dancing character instead of a pair. The final character was a bonus character named Jason, that replaced Guy, a previous downloadable character.
Groove Motion DDR
Groove Motion DDR is an exercise program with a Dance Dance Revolution theme. Announced in 2008 by Konami, it has been in production since 2006 and is part of Konami's fitness series. It is not so much a game as it is video instruction for aerobic exercise and utilizes dance mats that are there for self-positioning and are not attached to the computer. Up to 24 people can participate at one time, requiring a large amount of space to accommodate everyone. A projector is used instead of a TV to allow everyone dancing to see the screen. While dancing, waistband pedometers are worn to track individual workout stats.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Groove Motion DDR is like most DDR games without actual interaction. Much like the Dance Dance Revolution DVD Game, the dance mats are not connected to the computer and are there to merely assist the player in following along with the action onscreen, as opposed to keeping track of their score.
Interface & graphics
The game is modeled after the classic Dance Dance Revolution look, using graphics and visual elements from older DDR games such as Dance Dance Revolution Solo Bass Mix. It also features mirrored life action dancers to assist participants much like ParaParaParadise, another music video game series by Konami.
Music
The music of the game is unconfirmed however during a video presentation some claim to have heard songs such as "Dynamite Rave" and as seen in a visual demo "Baby Baby Gimme Your Love", both in-house tracks produced by Konami for the Dance Dance Revolution series.
See also
- In the Groove
- StepMania
References
External links
- Groove Motion DDR website (Japanese)