Highlights
- Konami Amusement reveals Dance Dance Revolution World, a new game in the franchise coming to Japanese arcades.
- The new DDR edition will eventually replace the Dance Dance Revolution A subseries, featuring new characters, dance routines, and music.
- As of right now, Konami hasn't revealed a release date for Dance Dance Revolution World or the potential of a home release.
Konami Amusement is ready to bring a new edition of Dance Dance Revolution, its venerable rhythm game series, to arcades. Called Dance Dance Revolution World, Konami said the new game is destined for launch in Japanese arcades.
The Dance Dance Revolution series is a unique pioneer in the annals of rhythm gaming. Though rhythm games, including titles like Konami's own Beatmania series, predate Dance Dance Revolution, its unique mechanic of having to step on controller pads mounted to the floor of the arcade machine introduced a new level of fast-paced physicality to the genre, sparking interest in both dance and exercise-themed game mechanics. Dance Dance Revolution and its various sequels and spin-offs continue to be a staple of arcades, and players continue to adapt the iconic Dance Dance Revolution dance pad controller (used for the home editions of the game) to add an extra level of challenge to games, such as beating a famously tough Kingdom Hearts boss with the dance pad.
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Konami Announces Dance Dance Revolution World For Japanese Arcades
Now Konami has a new edition of Dance Dance Revolution in development, as well as an official site for the game. Dance Dance Revolution World is the first recent DDR release that isn't part of the venerable Dance Dance Revolution A subseries. The A line includes games like Dance Dance Revolution A20 and the most recent DDR game, Dance Dance Revolution A3. A3 was released in 2016 and took design hints from Konami's Sound Voltex rhythm game line, as well as incorporating new characters, dance routines, and licensed songs from games and anime, including tracks from Undertale creator Toby Fox. Dance Dance Revolution World will eventually replace A3 over time, as Konami rolls out new machines and updates to existing ones.
Konami hasn't mentioned anything about the potential release date of Dance Dance Revolution World. The official site is very light on details, and only features new designs and art for the characters Emi and Rage. Both characters first appeared in Dance Dance Revolution 3rd MIX, which first appeared in 1999 and has some songs returning in the form of the DDR Classic Mini replica console song selection. As for Emi and Rage, their new designs are quite different from earlier. Both have heavily street dance-influenced outfits, with Rage returning to the angular hairstyle seen in Dance Dance Revolution Extreme and Emi adopting a bright blue hair color and a more aggressive outfit featuring a glowing cat-eared hood.
Many fans are excited to see a venerable series like Dance Dance Revolution see new life in the form of an updated release, following last year's celebration of the franchise's 25th anniversary. Even among younger players who don't remember the original versions, the dance pads and iconic gameplay of the series capture imaginations easily, leading them to recreate it in unrelated titles like Minecraft. Konami would do well to make a killer song list or hint at a possible global or home release to take advantage of this upswing in awareness.
