 |


BUST A MOVE - DANCE & RHYTHM ACTION
SLPS 01237
Copyright © 1998 Metro / Enix
Sony PlayStation, 1 or 2 players
Genre: Dance Simulation
Available Now
¥5800
—by Maria M. Rider



|
 |

With the popular PARAPPA sweeping Japan,
a new kid on the block of "Simon" games debuts onto the video
gaming scene. BUST A MOVE is a hot
Dance Battle video game that combines the fluid 3D graphics of
the Sony PlayStation and an awesome dance track The game basks
in PARAPPA's popularity, but this video
game is not just another clone.
BUST A MOVE adopts a "Simon
Says" gameplay where the player copies exactly what key
combinations are shown. Players control one of ten characters,
and with each successive key combination the dance variety
advances. Each of the ten characters has a particular style in
different music genres: hip-hop, industrial, house, dance,
disco, latino, and techno. In particular Hiro is a virtual twin
for John Travolta in SATURDAY NIGHT
FEVER, and he dances like Travolta too, complete with
leisure suit.
The player has a Dance Level Bar that represents how
well he is doing in keeping the rhythm and completing the dance
moves. The worse the player does, the emptier the Dance Level
Bar gets. The opponent can do a Dance Attack on the player and
cause the Dance Level Bar to get knocked back to the minimum.
This does not bode well for the player, who has to either
continue to work on keeping the beat and/or Dance Attacking the
opponent in vengeance. If the player successfully keeps the
rhythm, hits the buttons in the correct sequence most of the
time, and dodges the computer or second player's Dance Attack,
they get a reward of a Fever Time which gives the player a cool
freestyle show.
BUST A MOVE, unlike PARAPPA, has 2 player capability so that the
player can battle against others instead of only the computer.
It also has the regular options such as Difficulty (Easy,
Normal, and Hard), Sound (Mono or Stereo), and Memory Card
(Saving and Loading Games). There is a Practice Mode where the
player can get the rhythm and timing down for all ten
characters in the game. Also, a Dance View mode which lets the
player view the different Dance Routes (key combinations), the
different Speeds, and Camera angles for all the playable
characters in the game. The Dance View is only accessible upon
completion of twelve stages and available for the characters
who have been completed in the game.
BUST A MOVE is a full several
steps up from PARAPPA THE RAPPER because
it has long lasting playability, catchy music, and beautifully
rendered 3D graphics. It's like watching a dancing battle show
with the 3D sprites strutting their stuff! BUST A MOVE is very addicting, especially if
you enjoyed playing PARAPPA THE RAPPER.
With the added fact that you can play against another person,
the game has even more playability; unlike PARAPPA, which was done when the player
finished all the levels. I enjoyed the way you can freestyle
and don't always have to follow the key combinations as they
display them on the screen, flashing to the beat. Some of the
stage songs are slow and can cause problems for some players.
With lots of practice, almost anyone can master BUST A MOVE, but they risk a case of "PSX
Thumb," like this reviewer has now.
BUST A MOVE is highly
recommended to those PARAPPA THE RAPPER
fans who wanted more of a similar game. Also, if you like music,
dancing, and of course video games, you will enjoy this
one. 
Rating: **** out of 4 |
 |