***INTERESTED BUYERS, PLEASE READ!***
As of this review, there were four other reviews written and this is the only one so far that is written by (I assume) a member of the game's target audience - gamers who enjoy Japanese-style games, specifically Dance Dance Revolution! If you like DDR, techno music and para para, this game is for you~ If you've never played/don't like DDR and are looking for popular American songs by artists like Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, etc, this game is NOT for you.
***THIS GAME IS NOTHING LIKE DANCE CENTRAL***
Now, onto the rest of my quick review for the fans of DDR!
1. MUSIC
The song selection is pretty good~ It's a mix of well-selected DDR, para para and something in between and as long as you're familiar with that style you should be able to enjoy most of the song choices here. Some songs I initially thought wouldn't be any fun were actually LOADS of fun when I tried them, so don't worry if you don't think you'll like a few of the songs.
One thing I didn't like is that some of the songs are fairly short and it can be a little disappointing. Especially with NAOKI's "A Geisha's Dream" and Niko's "Night of Fire", which are my favorite songs. They run about 1:30 each - I wish they were longer.
2. GAMEPLAY
In order to bring you the best review possible, I have to admit that when I first got the game (a couple hours ago), I just popped it in and started playing Dance Mode. That means I just chose a song and difficulty and was thrust directly into the dancing, no instruction whatsoever. I haven't tried Lesson Mode yet, the tutorial section I suppose, so I can't comment about that but it was still tons of fun learning along the way, though the learning curve is quite steep.
Unlike DC, there are no flashcards to tell you when a move is coming up - it just DOES a few seconds before you need to execute it, so it can be a little tricky but with determination and practice, this style of 'learning as you play' results in a much smoother, dance-like experience.
3. OVERALL
I enjoyed this MUCH more than Dance Central! I am a Japan-loving geek and I love my anime, manga and Japanese video games so if this sounds like you, you might like to give this game a chance~ DDR enthusiasts will enjoy the song selection and this is the first game of its kind for para para fans where hand motions are key :)
