eHOLE rating: 52% (36/69). This is a review of the NA CS release.

This release saw the franchise inching ever closer to a bid at mainstream commercial respectability; although many of the new licenses still remained techno-adjacent (with Get Down Tonight the sole outlier), they all did time on the Billboard Hot 100 or at least the offshoot dance chart. It was, of course, a fool's errand - there is no way to look respectable while playing Dance Dance Revolution, and not especially when playing a mix that includes The Whistle Song.

Favorite song: xenon. Yes, this is an incredibly basic-bitch pick, but once in a blue moon things get popular because they deserve to. Konami knew what they were doing putting this and Kakumei (a close second) at the very end of the unlockables list. This sort of manic chiptune didn't feel nearly as overexposed in 2002 as it does twenty years out; in its time, it felt like the ultimate realization of a track from one of the metropolitan Sonic the Hedgehog levels, slinky and funky and propulsive but with the added kind of big bass that the Genesis never could have dreamed of.

Fun Fact: Forever Sunshine, the corniest song in DDR and perhaps of all time, was composed by Castlevania mainstay Michiru Yamane.

-JP DDRMAX2: DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION 7TH MIX-

The awkward middle child of the MAX/MAX2/EXTREME trilogy, yet still an undeniable banger. Following an online poll from Konami, over 30 Konami Original tracks were revived, alongside a new set of Beatmania crossover tracks.

MAX2's new standout feature is Challenge mode - pick a course of pre-selected stepcharts, play them through to the end, but lose immediately if you drop more than 4 notes. The course themes are cool, usually organized by the artist or genre. There's also secret remixes of retro songs tucked in here, most taken from the Nonstop Megamix CDs. I like most of the new remixes, but I feel like there were some missed opportunities: Hysteria and Paranoia Evolution's Nonstop Megamix remixes absolutely should've been here. Hysteria did get a new remix in its place, and it's fine, but, dude, c'mon.

Anyway, I've always felt mixed towards Challenge mode. Even the best dancepads are super inconsistent and misfire by nature; your odds of beating one of these fair-and-square is incredibly low unless you're lucky enough to have a premium at-home metal pad or your local cab is extremely well-maintained. I've beaten maybe, 3 or 4 of these courses in my lifetime, and they felt super rewarding, but, the average mom with a floppy mat will NEVER pass one of these. I think they would've played out better if they mimicked the course modes from IIDX and Pop'n: In those you start with a full healthbar but can't get any health back from combos. It'd be way more leeway on stray Goods and Almosts, but you'd still die instantly from dropping a tense stream.

As for new songs, MAX2's licenses take heavily from American top-charters, more trance from Dancmania's Fantasia lineup, and a smattering of speed mixes. This is the only song selection of the trilogy that doesn't necessarily feel like it's tying to an emotional narrative, but the individual picks are all pretty fine so it's not a big deal. My favorites are A Minute (Extended Mix), ever snow, Long Train Runnin', rain of sorrow, The Reflex, Little Boy, The Whistle Song, spin the disc and More Than I Needed To Know and Tsugaru.

The new boss song Maxx Unlimited is kinda sucky tho. I guess they wanted a boss track that's more technical than stamina-focused, so it just has a lot of really difficult freeze arrows and jumps. It's the first song in the series where I feel it's improbable for the average player to pass without using a bar.

-JP DDRMAX2 FOR PS2-

This version feels is good in some ways but very slapdash in others. All the challenge-exclusive remixes are playable in the regular arcade mode now, alongside a host of new console songs and remixes. They have some killer crossover tracks here, like Jam & Marmalade and Peace-Out. But here's what I don't like:

1. The 3 new challenge charts for Kind Lady, Look To The Sky and Do It Right are sorted into the console songs instead of the challenge songs, and it does my OCD something fierce. It looks ugly, I hate it, why did they do this, I'm so mad

2. FOUR entire dancemania tracks from the arcade version were cut, literally why

3. All the challenge remixes are here, but not all of their original versions. Y'know like, Matsuri Japan from Nonstop Megamix is here, but not regular Matsuri Japan. And I would normally be fine with that, but the thing is, some of the remixes have their originals here - Dynamite Rave, B4U, and Drop Out. The pattern is totally broken! I don't like it! And like, I know why they did this - it's cause these songs were the top 3 songs from the request poll, - but like, my brain still doesn't like it! They should've either brought back all the challenge remix originals, or none at all.

The functional selection of songs here is all perfectly fine but I would've arranged them way differently if I could have. It bothers me. Blah.

-US DDRMAX2 FOR PS2-

This version's cool, it has most of the new MAX2 Konami songs, the best highlights from the new Dancemania tracks (Long Train Runnin, Drifting Away, Whistle Song), and a great selection of returning tracks from Konamix and DDRMAX US. Some stellar licenses from JP DDRMAX also come back (Let's Groove, Twilight Zone, Lovin' You, So Deep), they feel right at home with the western-centric pop selections.

This and the JP version are also the first mainline DDR games to use music videos for licensed songs that originally had them, it's a neat touch and makes some of the really old returning licenses (conga feeling, both of the captain jack songs) feel more at home with the US-exclusive licensed tracks. Hell, even those new US licenses are good, I dig Love At First Sight and Days Go By.

Unlike the JP version, US only has 7 of the challenge mode remixes. They split them up across all the subsequent releases - you gotta play US Extreme and Extreme 2 to see the rest. I don't really mind this, because they wised up and included all the original versions, too. My OCD can breathe a beautiful sigh of relief.

But the coolest change is that Challenge mode was replaced with Nonstop mode - the same deal, but with the regular lifebar instead of 4 hits, and you can use speed mods. This is a GODSEND for at-home players, and a trend they'd being back later for Extreme 2 and SuperNova. You can even make your own custom songlists for marathon jam sessions, it kicks ass.

So yeah, this is another case where you could absolutely debate the US version beats out the JP version. Some really good shit here.