TGS Hands (and feet)-on impressions: Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party
Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 at 11:44am by デール
Okay, so I play a lot of DDR. I have to bike probably a couple of miles just to get to the closest game center that has a DDR machine and I still sometimes go three times a week. Obviously I was excited to hear that there was going to be a DDR release for the Wii, but I didn’t get my hopes up too high, especially when I found out the game was being showcased at TGS in the “Kids Corner.”
Hottest party comes with Konami’s flimsy plastic dance-mat, and if they plug into the game-cube port, your DDR Mario pads should be compatible, and so should these slightly nicer pads. However, the Japanese site suggests that the pad included is just for Wii, and doesn’t have a note about GCN compatibility.
The game-play is identical to any other in the DDR series, except that occasionally graphics of fists will appear in place of the left or right arrows which require you to shake either the wiimote or the nunchuck in time with the music instead of stepping on an arrow. In the song I played, though, I had a hard time getting the controller to respond; this may be due to an early build or the fact that I just wasn’t sure how to move the controllers the right way. Otherwise, the experience seemed consistent with other DDR games, but the song list didn’t seem to include any familiar favorites. There are four difficulty levels but I wasn’t able to verify how hard the game really gets- however, I did see some kids play a beginner level that I’m sure even a complete novice could pass with flying colors.
Hottest Party can also handle up to four players on one console, but no internet mode is being advertised and only two-player matches were being held at TGS.
verdict: Players that are serious about DDR-ing at home know a good pad is essential, but since Hottest Party is only the second DDR release for a Nintendo console in the US market, nice 3rd party mats are few and far between. Since the song list is also a departure from the series, Hottest Party, like Mario, may indeed end up being more of a beginner’s title and not one for the hard-core fans. However, if you’ve got a Wii and your Gamecube pad has been in the closet for a while, there’s no reason not to bust it out for a second run with some new control features.
official site(s): Konami’s US DDR Hottest Party Site
Japanese Site
September 23rd, 2007 at 1:43 pm
so how much more of a sweat am i going to break shaking my hands along with y feet?
September 23rd, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Well, NP reviewed it and gave the game a pretty good 8/10 so it seems as it might have legs (and hands)- pardon the punt- to compare to other DDR games.
September 23rd, 2007 at 3:35 pm
it sounds like this is a major PASS. Mario Mix SUCKED because it was so SLOOOOOOW and easy that it BORED ME. Plus the story was annying. I just wanted DDR on a Nintendo system… why is that so hard to do? why do we get the dee dee dee version?????
September 23rd, 2007 at 3:50 pm
I don’t think the pad is what will make the game unpopular with serious DDR players. (I have a flimsy pad that slides backwards a foot or so for every song I play, and it’s not that big a problem.) It will be the tacked on waggle. Almost every other game developer today seems to think that, “Oh, this is a Wii game, gotta use motion controls!”
I can see how on easier difficulties the added control might be a cool thing to have, but Heavy players will probably only see it as a nuisance.
I think I’ll stick with my PS2 versions unless Konami comes out with some better ideas for DDR on Wii.
September 23rd, 2007 at 9:20 pm
oops, I retrack part of my comment. I think I read the article wrong.
September 24th, 2007 at 9:19 am
I saw a video of this on the web, they took 2 DDR experts and let them try hottest party on the highest difficulty with the hand motions turned on (i think you can turn them off), and the 2 pros got smoked. They said it was much more difficult and frantic than traditional DDR. Anyway, even if this DDR were designed more for the masses, to that I say good, traditional DDRs are too hard for most people and families which makes them suck in my opinion. I’m pretty excited for this.
September 24th, 2007 at 10:22 am
well, I’m pretty good at Standard (and some Heavy) and that’s good enough for me… when I was playing Mario Mix… or “Dee Dee Dee R”, I needed to be on the MOST DIFFICULT, or the 2nd to most difficult to make it feel like Standard mode or “medium”.
The first difficult level was a freakin JOKE, and I swear easier than BEGINNER on DDR. Terrible, Terrible game unless you got someone else to unlock everything for you so you could play the better difficulties. I sold my Mario Mix… not worth keeping at all. IMO
September 24th, 2007 at 5:03 pm
used cisco: Link to video?
September 24th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
“The first difficult level was a freakin JOKE,”
Do you have any idea what you’re talking about?
DDR Mario mix is made for everyone, not just DDR pros. My neighbor had a birthday party for his girls. A bunch of 11 year olds over to have a good time. The only console they had was a PS2. They put in DDR on the PS2 and the kids were miserable. The party was flopping. No one even had a chance to finish a song. I quickly ran home and got my gamecube and DDR mario mix and brought it over. All the kids had a blast. Even the grandma decided to try the first song on easy. Everyone loved it. It literally saved my neighbors girls birthday party. Several people were out hunting for gamecubes and DDR mario mix that very night.
I admit, DDR mario mix could use a higher difficulty level to help satisfy more experienced players, but you have to realize not everyone is an experienced DDR player. In fact, I would argue, MOST are not. Everyone has to play a first time, and DDR mario mix is a great way to introduce the play mechanics. And if you can beat Cabin Fever and Bowsers castle on the hardest difficulty, then you are damn good at DDR.
September 24th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
This is a portion of the video I saw, but a lot is missing. It still gives a pretty good idea of what it will be like. They are playing on expert and the host asks if its fast enough and the guy says its fine. There was more conversation where some people say the inclusion of the remote really takes it to the next level.
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/13556
Also,
here is a video of BEGINNER on hottest party. It looks similar to HARD from Mario Mix
http://www.gamevideos.com/video/id/8915
I could be wrong but i don’t think difficulty will be a problem on this one.
September 30th, 2007 at 12:02 am
[...] dvbrevolution wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpttgs04.jpg Okay, so I play a lot of DDR. I have to bike probably a couple of miles just to get to the closest game center that has a DDR machine and I still sometimes go three times a week. Obviously I was excited to hear that there was … [...]