Dancing the morning away...

[jducoeur]

I know I've asked one or two people about this, but it was in the crush of the housewarming party, and I don't think I internalized all of the answers. So:

Now that we've unpacked most of the high-priority stuff, I finally have floor space in the playroom. And now that I've mostly gotten over The Sick that I came down with after Christmas, I have little excuse not to get off my ass and start exercizing every morning. In the medium term, this particularly means getting an elliptical machine, which seems to be the device I most like for burning calories and getting a decent cardio workout. But whilst I'm shopping around for that, I may as well do the fun alternative, and get myself a proper DDR setup.

So -- which DDR game should I start with? (Bearing in mind that I'm playing this on a PS2.) I seem to recall that keshwyn recommended starting with DDRMax2, on the grounds that it was the first game with a good beginner mode for getting oneself up to speed -- is that correct? Even more important: what recommendations do people have for which pad to buy? (This will be on a tile floor; I'm willing to go for either a foldable or rigid pad.) Finally, any suggestions of where to buy this stuff? I've noticed that the selection at my local EB is pretty lame; I suspect I can always resort to Amazon, but if there are any good mom-and-pop video game stores around, that might be an interesting alternative...

Comments

[johno.livejournal.com]

Best Buy's sometimes have a good selection of DDR stuff.

We have DDRMax2 and like it a lot, but have not explored other versions of the "game."

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

If you're interested, my sister wants to get rid of her bells-and-whistles Nordic Trak.

[leanne-opaskar.livejournal.com]

I'd second the recommendation on Max2. Extreme might be fun, too. Haven't played Extreme2.

I have a pair of RedOctane firm pads that are very nice and not very slippery, but we play on the carpet. I'm not sure how well they'd hold up on tile, or if they'd slide around lots. We got them a few years ago, and they are very nice, but we haven't used them much since we took up hockey. *sheepish grin*

[mindways]

I'm familiar with four of the games:
> DDR MAX. Pros: Good music. Cons: Bad for complete beginners (no beginner mode, and very few 1- and 2-footers).
> DDR MAX 2: Pros: Very good music.
> DDR Extreme: Pros: Some good music. Cons: Can't turn off "Dance Mode"*; no dance radar**. Other: Has a different UI than the other three - better in some ways, worse in others.
> DDR Extreme 2: Pros: Very good music, continuous play**, slightly better UI (keeps the good parts of DDR Max, discards the rest). Cons: Unlock system can be annoying, particularly for experienced players.****

Personally, I'd recommend DDR MAX 2 or DDR Extreme 2 - though the games are the cheapest part of the whole setup, so if you want you can always spring for both. They both have Beginner mode and some very fun music. (In my opinion, at any rate. Obviously, preferences may vary.)

* = "Dance Mode" is a setting that exists (and is 'on') by default in all four games. If your pad supports corner hits, "Dance Mode" will register them as arrow hits for an arrow on the other side of the pad - which can be very annoying under some circumstances. On DDR Extreme, you can't turn the option off without doing PS2-memcard-hacking.

** = DDR MAX, DDR MAX 2, and DDR Extreme 2 all have a little display that shows some of a song's characteristics - how much jumping there is, how frenetic it is (both on-average and at-peak), etc. - when you're selecting what to play. This can be useful.

*** = DDR MAX, DDR MAX 2, and DDR Extreme all emulate the arcade game: 3 songs, then you have to re-start another game. Not a big deal (and it gives you built-in rest breaks), but I prefer the "just keep on playing" feel. It's not an arcade game; why be limited by arcade conventions?

**** = DDR MAX, DDR MAX 2, and DDR Extreme all have automatic unlocks - as you play, more songs slowly appear. DDR Extreme 2 has this weird level grid (called "Dance Master Mode") where you play challenges, and as you progress in Dance Master Mode new songs become available at the Store; you can then "purchase" (unlock) them using Points that you earn every time you play a song (both in regular play and Dance Master Mode). The catch is that the difficulty of DMM starts very low, ramps up slowly, and cannot be made more difficult or skipped - so if you're good enough that the really easy stuff is tedious, you're in for some annoying hours unless you can get someone else to come over and play through the easy DMM for you.

[outlander.livejournal.com]

Thanks for starting this thread--I am looking to get a DDR setup as well, so it is extremely helpful for me.

[asdr83.livejournal.com]

The offer to borrow laurion's dance pads and try them out is still on the table if you'd like.