I've been playing a bunch of DDR lately

[Discoalucard]

Mostly because I want to lose some weight. Between 30-45 minutes per day and cutting out all soda/junk food from my diet, it has been working pretty well.

Anyway, my apartment has all four of the PS2 mixes lying around somewhere. I finally found my PS2->Xbox converter so now I can use the dance pad on my Xbox. Has anyone played any of the Ultramixes? I hear they're more geared towards American audiences, which I'm OK with. Especially if there's more awesome 80s songs.

Also, is there anything huge I'm missing out on with the Japanese PS2 versions? I've been under the impression that most of the good songs have made it in there, even if they're a mix or two late. I started playing back in college mostly with the Japanese 5th Mix, although I never actually owned a copy, and it's annoyingly expensive ($50 last I checked) on the aftermarket.

[michiyoyoshiku]

I remember Importing 2nd and Club Mix for Dreamcast before DDR blew up like it did

Musically I think Ultramix is the best

you aren't really missing much not having the Japanese Mixes Most of the music in the DDR are Konami orignals anyway.

If you really want a good work out skip DDR all together and check out Pump it up in either Arcades or on PS2/XBOX Not only is the music better but the Mat layout is less likely to kill your legs.

[Discoalucard]

I don't like Pump. That middle arrow kills me.

My roommate has the PS2 release. Except the mat isn't nearly as nice as the DDR mats we have lying around.

How is In the Groove? I know it's a terrible ripoff but still.

I might see about grabbing Stepmania stuff too. I'm assuming I can hook my PS2 mat to my PC using a USB connector? I don't really have the space by my computer to set up a mat though...

[Gilder]

I have all the Ultramixes (and PSOne and PS2 american versions) and can tell you about each one in detail. Ultramix 1 is general the only version that is literally obsolete due to having a small songlist (50 some songs) and most songs being on other American mixes. Only 4 licensed songs, but they do standout (specifically "Ready Steady Go" by Paul Oakenfold).

Ultramix 2 is when it really made a hit. Alot of great music with only very few songs being from other mixes. Used alot of A Different Drum label music that turned out to have amazing stepcharts ("Skulk" by echo !mage and both Alien#Six13 songs). Has 2 10 footers if you're already that far into the game. Has a bad timing window for jumping steps (either it has to be absolutely perfect or it won't read it).

Ultramix 3 is considered a disappointment to DDR fans because it really strays from not only how Japanese mixes are, but how it strayed away from Ultramix 1 & 2. I happened to like it however, as a lot of the licenses have great steps and is one of the few mixes where people actually enjoy playing it due to songs they know (Black Eyed Peas, Good Charolette, B-52's, NOFX, etc.) Respectfully Konami Originals as well including songs from Castlevania and Rumble Roses.

This isn't even taking account to the songpacks you can purchase online. At first the songpacks were great, but then started going down in quality. Also timing errors accure alot when transfering songs from one mix to another.

I'd say that if you have the PS2 mixes (and all of them at that) you aren't missing much from the Ultramixes. Don't even bother trying to obtain the PC version of DDR, as it is seriously a watered down version of DDRMAX with some songs from Konamix for the PSOne and same interface. You also aren't missing anything from Disney Mix for PSOne other than it's super expensive for no reason other than being obnoxiously rare.

The upcoming versions (DDR SuperNOVA, DDR Ultramix 4, DDR Universe) shall prove interesting for each mix has (generally) something different. DDR SuperNOVA is going to have obscure licenses (Fall Out Boy, Franz Ferdinand, The Buggles, David Bowie, Lipps, Inc). DDR Ultramix 4 will have even more (Natasha Bedingfield, Prodigy, Pussycat Dolls, DHT). There isn't a lot of info about DDR Universe other than a few songs and the fact that it'll be on the Xbox360.

[Gilder]

admin said:

How is In the Groove? I know it's a terrible ripoff but still.

In the Groove is really good, but it's intended towards the hardcore crowd who are tired of DDR's lax difficutly.

Red Octane pads come with a USB cord for your computer including PS2 and Xbox connectors.

[Discoalucard]

They're making a 360 version? that rules, I didn't know there. I hope there are converters by then. I don't have Live to download songs on the original Xbox, but maybe they'll offer them there.

Ultramix 3 has Rock Lobster in there, right? And that Castlevania song? This one mall nearby about a year ago has a DDR tour where they set a bunch of machines up and let us play. Crappy mats though, and I'd been out of practice for years.

I can generally do 6-7 foot songs. Anything more on Maniac/Heavy and I just can't follow the arrows.

Anything more with Akira Yamaoka songs? Man I love that guy.

[Gilder]

admin said:

They're making a 360 version? that rules, I didn't know there. I hope there are converters by then. I don't have Live to download songs on the original Xbox, but maybe they'll offer them there.

Ultramix 3 has Rock Lobster in there, right? And that Castlevania song? This one mall nearby about a year ago has a DDR tour where they set a bunch of machines up and let us play. Crappy mats though, and I'd been out of practice for years.

I can generally do 6-7 foot songs. Anything more on Maniac/Heavy and I just can't follow the arrows.

Anything more with Akira Yamaoka songs? Man I love that guy.

Yeah, "AKUMAJO DRACULA MEDLEY" by KUKEIHAKURABU is on there. On heavy, it's a really hard 8, so it'll take some time doing well. I'm on a 9-10 footers and I had a bit of difficulty on this at first.

Akira Yamaoka songs? He uses a bunch of aliases. Also has remixes of songs done by other people. Let's see:

DDRMAX2: "i feel..."
DDR EXTREME: "i feel...", "Your Rain (Rage Mix)", and "You're Not Here"
DDR EXTREME 2: "Inside Your Heart" and "Injection of Love (Hina Mix)"
DDR ULTRAMIX 2: "i feel... (T.O.Y. Remix)", "In My Eyes (Midihead Remix)"
Also has several songs in the songpacks (two of which at one time were free)

and mixes coming up with Akira Yamaoka:
DDR SuperNOVA: "iFutureList" (might not make it as it was only in the E3 build)
DDR Ultramix 4: "bitmania" (again, might not make it as it was only in the E3 build)
DDR Universe: "DIAMOND JEALOUSY"

Edit: Also of note that I should have pointed out earlier, none of the Ultramixes are compatible with Xbox 360

[ed]

My version of DDR is pacing back and forth next to the computer for hours while listening to Gradius II in BridgeM1, or something. I'm in good shape though

[Weasel]

I've got DDR Extreme 2 for PS2, and personally I wish I would have bought one of the Ultramixes - Extreme 2 has a lot of generic J-Pop in it with few songs that I actually enjoy dancing to (Block Rockin' Beats among them).

Unfortunately, I don't have much use for Ultramix as I don't have an XBox dance pad (or the convertor), nor do I have my XBox anymore (since I traded it to my brother for my GameCube).

[MRSKELETON]

Why is it when asians do anything they look absurdly cool?

Anyway, I've never actually "Played" DDR Because of a bad experience.



I got beat my a girl half my age on easy.
How the shit does that happen?

[dartagnan1803]

you can just as easily download stepmania and play all the songs on your computer.
the added benefit of fan made song charts set to music from virtually any source you can think of;
from Van Halen, GreenDay, Sonic, Ys, Xenosaga, Stratovarius, Streets of Rage, and countless others.

It's not quite as polished as the actual releases.
But it's free.
and it offers more options and possibilities.
Plus you can always track down the arcade and console songs online.

although you will need to pick up a Smart-Joy adaptor from Play-asia to play with a pad on your computer.

[megatronbison]

mazinsaga said:

Why is it when asians do anything they look absurdly cool?

bar playing the NES with a U-Force, no-one can make that shit look good

[Discoalucard]

I got Ultramix 2 and 3 last week. They're both pretty good, although I prefer 3. I've never heard of Basement Jaxx before but they're really cool.

Also, Rock Lobster on Heavy is amazing.

I like the way the dancers look and move better too, even though there's only four compared to...what...forty or so in Extreme 2? The 30 FPS is pretty lame though - I hear this is because Konami of Hawaii (who has since been closed down) are rather incompetant programmers. I mean, 5th Mix for the PSOne could do 30 FPS...

[sfchakan]

I was in the same boat as michiyoyoshiku, enjoying the game on the DC shortly before the big DDR push here in the States. To this day, I enjoy 2nd Mix's music selection more than any other DDR, but it's just not very user-friendly compared to later games.

[steven]

good for you disco. I never was good at DDR, my ex always tried to get me to play but after pathetically failing miserably at it I came to fear the mat =P