From Gamest Issue 238, Gamest editors share their impressions on the most popular games of the Amusement Machine Show 1998. Below are their impressions of the newly revealed Dance Dance Revolution.
Zenji Ishii: My initial thought was “first it was music, now it’s dance?”, but it seems to be a well-made game. I could see myself getting into it, but I wouldn’t play it alone, so it’s probably a game for a certain time and place. Music games aren’t really my favorite genre, but I could see this bringing new life to them.
C・LAN: The game itself is as simple as stepping on panels in time to the music, but it does really give the feeling of dancing and seems very effective at attracting players. That’s Konami for you, they know how to make ’em. I’d get embarrassed over my two left feet, but this will definitely draw crowds and build excitement in busy game centers.
MVP: Of course it was fun when I was dancing, but I didn’t really come away from the game with anything more than that. It was fun at an event, but I don’t know if there will be any reason to play this at a game center. It seemed easy, and like it doesn’t have much of a learning curve. If you want to dance, you’d be better off just going to a club.
Iseneko: Before I played it, I thought it would just be Beatmania for your feet, but I was way off. Just stepping in time to upbeat dance music is fun in and of itself, and the sense of accomplishment (exhaustion?) I had after playing was greater than in Beatmania.
RED: My impression of the game was something like “fun but embarrassing”. As far as the game goes, there’s not really a whole lot to it, but maybe that’s for the best so anyone can play it. For better or for worse, it’s definitely not the kind of game Gamest would nitpick.