At long last, I now have an excuse to write about one of my absolute favourite games: the wonderful and ridiculous Dance Dance Revolution. Two days ago, the game turned 20 – marking two decades since its original release in Japan on the 26th September 1998. It’s almost as old as me. Almost.
For those who (somehow) missed it, DDR is a rhythm game that requires players to step in time to arrow instructions on the screen. It originated as an arcade cabinet game, and much of hardcore competitive scene is still centred on this aspect. But there were also a lot of home releases for consoles such as the PlayStation, Dreamcast, GameCube and the Wii. And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT.
Despite its impractical nature, DDR still had a significant cultural impact – it formed a key part of arcade culture in the late 90s and early 00s, and has even been referenced in films such as Scott Pilgrim vs The World. To me, at least, it felt like practically everyone had a soft dance mat at home when I was growing up. I still own at least four games and two pads for the Wii – sue me.
Source: Eurogamer Dance Dance Revolution just turned 20 – here's how Konami and fans are celebrating