Happy holidays and DDR Extreme's 20th anniversary at the same time :O

[Skullbac]

It's hard to believe that the first (and best) rhythm game that I've ever played has just turned 20 years old... (Eastern Standard Time)
Yep, that's right. On 25 December 2002, Dance Dance Revolution Extreme was released in Japan.
Technically the game was never released in the United States, but it still got very popular there due to a bunch of arcades importing or (uh oh...) bootlegging machines.

In fact, it was only a few weeks ago that I came to the realization that the version I played was actually a bootleg. It was the USA PS2 version inside a metal box at my local McDonald's, back in 2007.
I know this because I remember hearing YMCA by Village People while playing the game at one point, which actually is present on the USA PS2 version of DDR Extreme.

I was only 6 years old back then. I thought what you had to do was hit the arrows as soon as they appeared on the screen.
It was in fact when they landed on the frets that you had to hit them, so I was just spamming them without really knowing what I was doing.
Since I didn't know much english back then (my first language is french), I thought that perfects were the "meh" judgement due to them being yellow LOL
It wouldn't be until 2011 when I visited Old Orchard Beach, Maine that I would play the real DDR Extreme on some rather beat up pads (you had to stomp hard for the arrows to register).
I don't remember which songs I played there, but they also had an ITG machine which is what made me discover that people can be actual gods on this game, hitting over 12 notes per second which I still have a hard time doing to this day!

The last time I had the time of my life (which means playing DDR Extreme) was in Summer 2021 at my local movie theater.
I played on the machine for an hour till I ran out of coins (don't worry I did let other people play too in between credits).

I was devastated when they removed the machine in March of this year...

The best I could do would be simulating DDR charts at home with youtube videos
Basically I would imagine a DDR pad on my floor, and I would hit those arrows as if I were playing the game, get exhausted after 7 songs, then try again later.

I am currently exiled to Pump It Up Fiesta EX 1.10 at another arcade close to my home, but I hope one day the Extreme machine makes a comeback in Quebec City.
If not, then you bet the first thing I'll do once I learn how to drive will be to go to the nearest machine (which is 3 hours from home in Montreal).
No matter how much beating the pads have received in the past 20 years, I bet I will still have the time of my life once again.

DDR Extreme has by far the greatest soundtrack I've ever heard in any video game ever, I love just about every song in it.
Konami (and other artists) still manage to make great music for their newer games, but my love for late 90's / early 2000's sound is what gets me stuck to their older gems.

My 5 favourite songs in the game are :

5. Look To The Sky (True Color Mix) - SySF. feat. ANNA
4. If You Were Here - Jennifer
3. Dynamite Rave - NAOKI
2. Dam Dariram - Joga
1. MEMORIES - NAOKI feat. PAULA TERRY

Also, this person who mashed up the entire soundtrack (240 songs, 6 hours!) in a YouTube video is a goddamn legend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msIhtSbcZ6g


Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone, and happy 20th birthday to one of, if not the greatest rhythm game ever

I may have been only 1 year old when the game was released, but I am glad that it ended up being part of my rhythm gaming career.
Although I don't play keyboard games much anymore, I will be ready anytime to use the reading speed and skill acquired on other rhythm games onto the DDR Extreme machine.