I have never played one, nor have I had any desire to do so. What is the story line? What is the deal? I just don't get it.

what's to get?? you dance around on a dance pad, following the arrows on the screen. it's fun and you make an arse of yourself.

That's really what the games are? You get to pay to make an ass of yourself? Is this serious? People pay to do this instead of just dancing?

I think the games are pretty cool myself and so do alot of other people. We have Dance Dance Revolution on our college campus and people line up to play against each other. I wish they'd make the game for Dreamcast. Add a couple pads, invite people over and have a party. Don't dis it till you try it.

I mean no dis -wink- but I still don't understand. In Asteroids, I shoot asteroids for points and survival. What is the game aspect of dancing? How are points earned? What significance do they play? Etc?

<i>I mean no dis but I still don't understand. In Asteroids, I shoot asteroids for points and survival. What is the game aspect of dancing? How are points earned? What significance do they play? Etc?</i>

You earn points by completing the moves. The better your timing and accuracy, the more points you get. The person with more points wins.

Essentially these games are "Simon Says" games.

Samba De Amigo (Dreamcast) is a great game when played with the pads and maracas.

Its almost like Um Jammer Lammy and Parapa for Playstation. You move in the direction the screen tells you to and you get points based on your accuracy. At school they would hold tourneys once a month and there would be two ways to win. One was based on technical and the other on style. This way one person won based on the accuracy of the moves and another won based on accuracy of the moves and how they move their upper body and hips. Each tourney would have 5 judges to rate style. Obviously the machine would rate the accuracy.

Some students even used the machine for exercise. Awfully expensive expercise if you ask me, but there was an article written about it and people lost anywhere from 10 to 30 pounds from playing a game. Personally I'll stick with the gym.

These machines are abundandt at amusement parks. Just try the game out at least once if you ever see one. There are a variety of music types and speeds, and its better when you play against someone.

And thats all I have to say about that.

The concept is like Karoke. You make an ass of yourself because it's fun, and most of the fun comes from watching your friends make a bigger ass of themselves. Playing by yourself can be really boring unless you're practicing to show up your friends ;)

I saw Nick Nolte using one on 48 Hours last night. You guys are right. It does make you look like an ass -smile-

Wait a minute...there are "Maracas" for the dreamcast?

I play because my wife loves it, DDR is one of the only videogames she'll play with me. Plus its a good party game and the second best work-out i've had.

I am the lord master of DDR waaaa!!

I am entering a tournament this Friday, and am sure to win the Style competition.. hope they have good prizes..

These games are just plain fun. It's a throwback to the old games of the 80's, a simple yet addictive concept.

I wish I could find all the releases of this at a decent price.

I'd like to get the japanese imports, since the one coming out in the US sounds like it combines elements of all the Japanese releases.
I have heard a lot of the music from each of the releases there and its some really great stuff!
Anyone have a tip on where to get the imports at a good price from?
Oh, and is the mat required, or can you use the controllers?

I bought the PSX DDR for $49.99 and it came with a mat. You DO NOT need the mat to play the game, but it does add to the fun. There is a DDR 2nd mix also coming out for PSX. As far as DC goes, there are two imports, but I haven't heard anything about a US release. Not to mention the lack of dance pads for the DC as well.

Why do people insist that playing DDR will make one look like an "ass"? Frankly, I've seen some really good DDR players, and their dance moves are just as complicated and graceful as people who dance for a living. I've seen people breakdancing on the arcade stand, flip over the railing, jump off the arcade machine - while still finishing all of the required steps for the game. This takes SKILLS.

Personally, I play DDR to a) improve my dancing skills b) improve my coordination skills :)

yes, go to

http://www.dailyradar.com/features/g...age_663_1.html

or

http://www.sega.com/sega/game/samba_launch.jhtml#

sadly it looks like they're no longer for sale.

RedOctane does sell the maracas (albeit 3rd party): http://redoctane.com/dermar.html

They also sell a crapload of DDR stuff: http://www.redoctane.com/ddr.html

They even sell Dreamcast DDR Pads and they actually rent out all those DDR games that are listed below

I think everyone is cold to the idea of playing dancing games at first. But once you get into it, you really won't be able to stop. I think the best idea if you're trying to avoid embarassment is to try the home versions. Then you can get the hang of it w/out thinking you're a total buffoon. Dissing DDR and Pump It Up and other type of music games without truly giving it a chance is just plain ignorant.

I think NCS (http://www.ncsx.com) current has DDR Best Hits and DDR 4th Mix in stock right now. I consider 4th the best mix of em all so far while Best Hits combines the best of mixes 1,2,3

Express might have some of the DDR titles in stock too
Otherwise, try EBay

Here's the rundown for all the DDR games

Import PSX:
DDR (Orig): Fairly low in song selection
DDR 2nd Mix: Pretty good
DDR 3rd Mix: Better
DDR 4th Mix: Best So Far! More Speed oriented.....imo
DDR Best Hits: Best of 1,2,3
DDR: Disney's Dance Rave: classic Disney songs remixed DDR Style, it's alright

PSX:
DDR: this one came out a few months ago, it's alright too, rather play the imports if possible, however

Import DC:
DDR 2nd Mix: Basically a best hits collection of mixes 1, 2, and some of 3
DDR Club Mix: I really don't like this one, avoid

I just signed up for Red Octane's rental program.

Anyone who uses it, can you answer a question.

I have a few games in my basket, when I go to check out, it appears to want to charge me the rental fee for each game.
Am I supposed to enter my credit card and let the order go through and I won't be charged, or should there be a reflection in the total to state that I am a member of the rental program?

*EDIT*

Nevermind. I didn't see that you could click on payment method and choose the rental program you are in.
DOH!

[Edited by Vryce on 05-31-01 at 05:41 AM]