Dance Dance Revolution Extreme

Dance Dance Revolution Extreme is one of several games from the Dance Dance Revolution series, created by Konami. Dance Dance Extreme was released in Japan, firstly to arcades in December of 2002 and in a home version for games console in October of 2003. In fact, Dance Dance Extreme was the eight incarnation of the Dance Dance Revolution franchise.

Release of Dance Dance Extreme

Although it was originally released exclusively in Japan, it was soon introduced to other countries around the world though exportation or pirating. It was initially believed that this would be the final release from Konami's Dance Dance Revolution. However, the series continues in a multitude of games console adaptations and, in 2006, Dance Dance Revolution Supernova was produced for arcade machines across the world.

When Dance Dance Extreme was adapted for games console play, it was designed and released for PlayStation 2.

Difficulty Levels

One of the main appeals of Dance Dance Extreme is that it has 240 songs, which is the biggest soundtrack of any game in the series. Additionally, this version of the game has two new levels of difficulty, beginner and challenger, which are added to the standard levels, light, standard and heavy.

However, the essence of the game is very similar to its predecessors. In other words, the object of the game is still to hit the correct arrows at the right time.

The beginner mode is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the easiest level of play and was known in the original Dance Dance Revolution as simple mode. In beginner mode, the screen contains a picture of a dancer performing the moves as the game is played. This is designed to be an added visual cue for a player who is new to the game.

Additionally, the beginner level offers a tutorial on how the game works. A great feature of the beginner mode is that it allows you to continue playing to the end of the song regardless of accuracy level. Moreover, players can enter or exit beginner mode whenever they choose.

Challenger mode, the other new level on Dance Dance Extreme, is the most advanced level of play and is therefore more complex than heavy. This feature of the game is not selected at the beginning of the game. Instead, players must choose challenger difficulty during stage selection.

Interestingly, only a few of the 240 songs on the game have a challenger level. Although, on the other hand, some songs have only a challenger level of play.

Judgment

As well as having new levels of difficulty, the Dance Dance Extreme game has new levels of step judgment. The latest judgment is 'marvelous' and can be achieved by gaining extremely accurate steps. The marvelous judgment is even more strict with the timing of steps than the perfect judgment. If you achieve a step that is marvelous, you will notice that it is colored white. However, the marvelous judgment is not available on normal game play modes.