Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2
Encyclopedia
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2, called in Japan, was announced by Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...

 on May 15, 2008 as part of the 10th anniversary of Dance Dance Revolution celebration. Hottest Party 2 features the same gameplay as the first Hottest Party and introduces new gameplay modes, gimmicks, characters and graphical enhancements. The game also features an all new soundtrack featuring licensed music from the past four decades as well as new Konami Originals. Hottest Party 2 was released on September 16, 2008 in North America. A teaser site for the Japanese release was launched on December 9, 2008 featuring new gameplay footage from the game.

Development

Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2 was announced on May 15, 2008 alongside Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3
Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3
Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3, or DDR Universe 3, is a video game for Xbox 360. It was announced by Konami on May 15, 2008 and it was released on October 21, 2008...

and Dance Dance Revolution X
Dance Dance Revolution X
Dance Dance Revolution X, abbreviated DDR X or simply X, is a music video game, and a part of the Dance Dance Revolution series. DDR X was originally announced by Konami on May 15, 2008 for the North American PlayStation 2. The arcade version was announced on July 7, 2008, July 9, 2008 in Europe,...

by Konami on the DDR Online Community website as part of Game Day 2008. A sequel to the 2007 Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party, known as Dancing Stage Hottest Party in the European and Oceanic regions, is a video game released by Konami in and to several countries for the Wii console. Konami took the game beyond the traditional setup of Dance Dance Revolution by incorporating the Wii...

, Hottest Party 2 features many improvements. Konami promises an entirely new soundtrack featuring music from the "last four decades", more innovative Wii Remote
Wii Remote
The , also known as the Wiimote, is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and...

 and Nunchuk support, four-player multiplayer and brand new gameplay modes. Hottest Party 2 features a difficulty range that allows both new players and seasoned dancers to enjoy the game. Mii
Mii
A is a digital avatar used in Nintendo's Wii and Nintendo 3DS gaming consoles. They allow users to capture a likeness of themselves and others. After creating one using the Wii's Mii Channel or the Nintendo 3DS's Mii Maker, they can be used as playable characters in various titles for the...

 support will be added to the game, allowing players to incorporate their Mii avatars onto the dance floor. Courses, a mode featured in the mainstream Dance Dance Revolution series, will be introduced on the Wii for the first time. Dance gimmicks such as Triple Stomp and Dance N' Defend Battle Mode will add new dynamics to the standard gameplay. New dancing characters will be introduced and the dancers will show off realistic dance moves that players can watch and practice in special mode. New dancing stages with greater detail will be added to the game, more than 50 total environments for the characters to dance in. Konami also announced a sample of the music to be included in Hottest Party 2, including covers of "Black or White" by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

, Umbrella
Umbrella (song)
"Umbrella" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna, featuring a rap verse by Jay-Z. The song was written by The-Dream, Christopher Stewart, Kuk Harrell and Jay-Z, and was produced by Stewart and The-Dream for Rihanna's third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad...

" by Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

, "We Got the Beat
We Got the Beat
"We Got the Beat" is a song recorded by the American rock band The Go-Go's. Written by the group's lead guitarist Charlotte Caffey, the band recorded the song in 1980 and it was released in May as a single in the UK on Stiff Records. The song's single release brought the Go-Go's underground...

" by The Go-Go's
The Go-Go's
The Go-Go’s are an all-female American rock band formed in 1978. They made history as the first all-female band that both wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to top the Billboard album charts....

, and the inclusion of Justice
Justice (band)
Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay . The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter...

's D.A.N.C.E.
D.A.N.C.E.
"D.A.N.C.E." is the second single by Justice, and the first from their album †. It includes an edit and extended versions of "D.A.N.C.E", a rougher mix in the style of their earlier releases, "B.E.A.T", and the track "Phantom" which was previously issued in limited quantities twice on 12" vinyl...

 A teaser trailer and a series of gameplay screenshots were released by Konami alongside the announcement.

On August 1, 2008 The Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 2 teaser website was updated with a new trailer revealing additional information about the upcoming game, alongside the new song "Into Your Heart", by series producer Naoki Maeda. The updated dancers with new dance moves are featured, along with the detailed stages featuring club style lighting, video walls and live crowds, new gimmicks that shrink the size of the on-screen arrows to varying degrees, the first appearance of Training Mode on the Wii, Dance N' Defend Battle Mode in action and the 360 degree dancing character viewer.

Gameplay

Gameplay remains relatively unchanged from the original game. New modes on Hottest Party 2 include a new battle mode and the "Groove Arena", an updated version of Groove Circuit from the previous version. New additional arrow gimmicks include arrows that rebound when hit and must be hit three times in order for them to fully disappear, arrows that only appear suddenly, missiles, and an implementation of holds for the hand markers.

Scoring

When played with the Wii Remote, a separate "hand combo" attached to the lifebar increases if the player can keep the beat of the song with the controller while in play. These hand combos can add a bonus to the player's score when a hand marker is eventually reached.

Music

The songs in yellow are licensed covers, the songs in white are Konami Originals, the songs in red are "boss songs", and the songs in green are featured in existing games. The songs with padlocks next to them are locked until certain conditions are met in the game, and songs with a clapperboard next to them have music videos featured.


Soundtrack album

The original soundtrack for FuruFuru Party was bundled with the original soundtrack for Dance Dance Revolution X
Dance Dance Revolution X
Dance Dance Revolution X, abbreviated DDR X or simply X, is a music video game, and a part of the Dance Dance Revolution series. DDR X was originally announced by Konami on May 15, 2008 for the North American PlayStation 2. The arcade version was announced on July 7, 2008, July 9, 2008 in Europe,...

, and was released on January 29, 2009. It was part of the pre-order bundles for the PlayStation 2 version of DDR X in Japan, which was released the same day.

Compatibility

It has been discovered that DDR Hottest Party 2 is not compatible with some 3rd party dance mats made for Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix and 3rd party mats made for Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party
Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party, known as Dancing Stage Hottest Party in the European and Oceanic regions, is a video game released by Konami in and to several countries for the Wii console. Konami took the game beyond the traditional setup of Dance Dance Revolution by incorporating the Wii...

. Cable converters, such as those made by DDR Game, exist to get around this issue. It is compatible with most Gamecube pads, even when used as 2nd/3rd/4th player.

Reception

During E3 2008 Konami showcased Hottest Party 2 to the press. The reaction was favorable with video game publications citing how easy the game is to pick up and play. Chris Watters of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...

 pointed out that players who have two left feet will appreciate the training songs that teach players useful fundamentals. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

's Lucas M. Thomas said that Hottest Party 2 is "exactly what you'd expect" of the Dance Dance Revolution franchise yet remains solid and challenging with the addition of the Wii remote and Nunchuk. He goes on to say that the new gimmicks in the Hottest Party series have been met with mixed feelings but are a welcome addition to the standard footwork and keep the gameplay fresh. He also sarcastically remarks that Mii heads on the detailed dancing character bodies "doesn't look disturbing at all."

WorthPlaying.com's Jesse Littlefield gave the game a 6.6/10, complimenting some of the additions to gameplay and Wii Remote support. However, the stages and characters were dubbed "poorly detailed" and the covered songs were declared to be "sub-standard", although the Konami Originals were considered the "better half" of the soundtrack. The lack of online play was also criticized.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK