I’ve been a DDR player for around 8 or 9 years now. I’m not one of those professional plays-on-two-arcade-machines-at-once kind of gals, but I’m certainly decent. If you’ve read my E3 hands-and-feet-on preview of the Wii version of the upcoming DDR game - you know my dilemma with how the series has changed over time. It’s gone from a tracklist of Eurobeat, hardcore, and Japanese-inspired songs to Britney Spears and Sean Paul songs slowly but surely. That’s when I left the scene… And waited ever so patiently for a return of the music that devoted DanceDanceRevolution players have been waiting for on current-gen consoles and arcades. We’re tired of tap dancing around on the PS2 if we want good music! Luckily I had a chance to try out the upcoming PS3 version of DDR at a Konami preview event in NYC this week which also utilizes the PlayStation Move hardware.

Sneak Preview: The music is back!

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How many times have you walked into an arcade to check out what’s the latest in arcade hits to play just to find the DDR master ramping up 230+ Perfects on something like the cruel, cruel song The Legend of Max? Or to stretch your eyes to the sight of Street Fighter champion Justin Wong single-handedly (he might as well) pummel every single opponent daring enough to challenge him. Or maybe you are not the type to subject yourself to public humiliation. You really want to play, but you don’t want the crowd’s glaring eye to witness your utter failure as you play on Light mode in DDR or want to challenge the AI solo-style in Marvel vs. Capcom. But seeing these elite players do what they do best is what really fuels a player to want to join the ranks of the elite arcade-goers, flexing their skills to the passing crowd. Who doesn’t wish they could play like that? I am only one of the many trying to climb my way to the top.

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