Old school player coming back, need some mix advice

[SurferX]

So, I started playing DDR quite awhile ago, like when 3rd mix was the main machine you'd find in arcades here. I joined this site maybe 6 months after that when researching imports and home pads and still remember the days of competitions, major players on here signing autographs, and building homemade hard pads because the one metal pad at the time (Beat Gear) was basically a myth.

Anyway the last mix I seriously played was DDRMAX2, then I just kind of fell out of it and haven't played any of the mixes after that. But after a chance meeting with a random DDR machine while hanging with some old friends, I found it's just as fun as I remember and am looking to get back to it after a 5 year hiatus has put me down to only doing 6-footers.

So since I've been out of it so long, I've been looking over the mixes that have come out and am looking for some advice. Back in my day, the DDR USA mixes were like the worst things ever. So I only bought the Japanese imports on PSX that time, and I still have my import copies of 3rd, 4th, Extra, and 5th mix, but now I'm looking at the PS2 mixes.

I want to know if the USA mixes from DDRMAX2 onward have become more true to the arcade, or if they have remained terrible in comparison and missing the best songs. Also I noticed that the USA mixes have sequels like Extreme 2 and X2, which I do not see an arcade or Japanese console version for, what is up with that?

My first instinct tells me to just get the PS2 imports of the official arcade mixes, even though they will be difficult to find and expensive. I want to know if there is good reason to go with the USA version of some of the mixes starting from MAX2 and beyond, as the USA versions are easy to find and cost like $10 now.

Also a quick question on pads. My friend has the BNS DX-Xtreme Fusion pad from buynshop.com and I really like it. Although the website looks like it hasn't been updated for awhile, just wondering if anyone has ordered from there recently and can say that it's still good. Any help is appreciated.

[Suko]

First of all, welcome back.

Second, although I really hate to say it, this site is pretty barren now-a-days. You might have more success at bemanistyle.com or zenius-i-vanisher.com

Now, to help answer your question...I started playing back in '02, so I bet I have the same preferences as you do in DDR. I thought that DDR Max 1 & 2 were the two best US incarnations of the DDR arcade mixes. They aren't perfect, but they're as close to the original AC releases as you can get. DDR SuperNova on the PS2 is the same way, though a lot has changed in DDR between Max 2 and SuperNova. If you can get it, I highly suggest importing DDR Extreme (Japanese PS2 version). It was the best home port DDR I had ever played.

Most of the US PS2 DDR games incorporated a ridiculous mission mode which requires you to perform certain tasks to unlock additional music. I absolutely despise this game mechanic and t has made me stop buying DDR home games. However, since you're more-or-less restarting your DDR career, you might enjoy it. I suggest you get DDR Extreme 2 or DDR SuperNova on the PS2 if you want to try something different.

Alternatively, look into Stepmania and getting that to run on your PC. You can hook up some Red Octane Ignition pads via USB to your PC and play all the songs you could possibly want for free. It's definitely the cheapest and most versatile option. You can get the simfiles you want from zenius-i-vanisher.
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"Arcades have gone away but the culture is not gone."

DDRecall | Groovestats | Beatspace | UI Bemani Club | Suko's Shirt Shack

[SurferX]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions on those sites, especially zenius-i-vanisher. I remember people just starting to make songs for DWI back in the day as the main DDR PC program but at this point Stepmania just has everything.

I think I will go with your suggestion on Stepmania and just output my laptop to my TV and play that way, there are just way too many advantages to it over buying overpriced used PS2 imports at this point given everything and more is available on Stepmania now.