Review - DDR Supernova 2

DDR Supernova 2 (PS2)

 1-2 Player

 Variable Difficulty

 I've put a lot more time into DDR than I ever thought I would, and after three games and many hours spent dancing I've become a big fan of the series. I own DDR Max, Max 2, and DDR Extreme 2 and I've now come to love Supernova 2. I'd also like to explain what kind of DDR player I am. Most DDR gamers that I see playing the arcade or talking up a forum are the hardcore gamers who are only happy with the most extreme difficulties and the most Japanese of songs. I am not one of them. I play DDR a lot, but I don't go past the red difficulty setting (now called Difficult). 

The songlist is easily the most contentious part of any DDR game, and you will hear many opinions about it. Personally I found this list to have the most songs that I've really liked, and I couldn't be happier. The steps are a little more challenging that in previous games I've played, but they are also more entertaining. I don't think there's a correlation though. There are a couple songs that I don't like, but even they are growing on me. Music tastes are highly subjective so I suggest you do some research and see if you like the songs. 

Outside of the game mode DDR is your typical DDR game of the past with a new coat of paint with the same half-hearted presentation. The advanced mode, edit mode, shop and information sections are all back and function just as before. There is a tutorial mode that is absolutely worthless and has the honor of the worst game mode I've ever seen in any videogame. In past games the tutorial made some attempt to teach you the basic techniques of the game with examples and short practice sessions, but the tutorial in supernova 2 doesn't teach you anything you can't learn from simply watching the game demo. The extent of the help the tutorial gives you is to tell you how to step left, right, up, down, how to do jump steps and how to hold for a freeze step. What's worse is that it takes fifteen long, repetitious minutes to explain such basic info when it should take no more than two.

The presentation problems continue with the occasional lag and the way things seem to be thrown into the game with disregard. Take for example the stage selection which gives you the option to choose stage 1-20 and let's you guess as to which stage is which. Would it have killed them to name the stages so that we could have an idea of which one we were picking, or even telling us which stage number we were currently playing on? Then there are the vague explanations for some of the help modules, etc. The list goes on.

DDR has definitely become less newbie friendly over the years and this game continues that trend. Unless you are a DDR freak that can handle the insane difficulties don't expect to get very far in the Hyper Mode which is the primary way to unlock songs and other content. There are support modules that are supposed to help you in tough situations, but they offer little relief if you're not already an expert. I made it to the 8th stage in Hyper Mode, but only by using a controller and modules. Eventually I got to a song that I cannot expect to pass in my wildest dreams - even with a controller. Thankfully, you can bypass Hyper mode altogether and simply unlock the content the old fashioned way by just playing the game mode. However, many step charts still suffer from being too easy or too hard.

My biggest complaint is the fact that Konami has been scaling back on the game's characters and character options. It may not seem like a big deal, but watching the same person dancing on screen gets old fast, and severely limiting our character options doesn't help. Konami should be expanding the character list and giving us more options - like different outfits, dance moves, etc. Without the characters and backgrounds you're just staring at a blank screen with arrows so I think it's important. In Supernova 2 you get ten characters (2 you have to unlock), and thankfully they look normal. (see DDR Hottest Party).

I've just about unlocked everything the game has to offer, and I've had a blast doing it. I love the music, the steps, the characters and the videos. I don't love the way Konami ignores people who don't know how to play the game or their lazy approach in giving us a game with just enough stuff to keep us happy until the next installment. DDR could be so much more, but Konami doesn't want to take the extra steps to make their game all that it could be. 

I GIVE DDR SUPERNOVA 2 A 8/10 [GREAT]
Song list Bias +
Franchise Bias +

PROS:
- Characters look normal
- You can unlock content quickly in Game Mode
- Lots of different play modes

CONS:
- Tutorial is worthless
- Only 10 characters to choose from
- Mainly geared towards the experts
- Lazy effort with the presentation and options

VALUE:
- $40 for this game new is good - especially when you consider the price of DDR games doesn't depreciate too much.

tags: sony  ps2  konami  supernova  ddr  bemani  review  dance  revolution  

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