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GAMES

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


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