What kind of music would you like to see in future Konami music games? Would you like to see more Konami original songs, or more popular licenses? Are there any new genres that have been under represented in Konami’s music games up until this point? Are there any songs from other Konami’s non-music games that you would wish to see make an appearance in a Konami music game?

This is something that may have been mentioned before on various forums, but it’s this one major issue has completely alienated me when it comes to domestic DDR releases. In the case of the domestic PStwo series the songlist should follow the list of new songs that are in the arcade release ala the Japanese releases. Prior to DDR Supernova, I somewhat understood that the different songlists were partially the result of every Dancemania song having to be released individually in this region. However, since those songs (Aside from the 2008 X-Edits) are no longer in the series I see no justification for any substantial deviation in the songlist anymore and as a result I’ve opted to not purchase a domestic release since 2005.

In the case of licensed songs that don’t appear in the arcade, whoever is making that decision really needs to re-evaluate the song selections up to this point as for every good license there’s 5 subpar licenses in the series. If Konami’s domestic branch of operations are planning to use more worthless yesteryear pop songs then don’t bother wasting the money and use it for QA testing.

I don’t mean to come off as jaded nor am I trying to flame anybody with this, but I honestly do feel that these changes would convince me to start purchasing domestic releases again.

I’d honestly just like for Konami to bring back more of the Dancemania licenses. Those are the songs that originally got me hooked on DDR and now I think the came is completely lacking in them. If Konami had just 5 new Dancemania licenses in each of the games I would be completely happy.

PS: Sup Ryan.

The Dancemania songs were by far some of my favorites, too. Newer mixes are still fun, but Dancemania is one of the main reasons I still like to play Extreme whenever I happen to find a machine.

You might check out "Techno Party (Vol. 1), " or "totally dance, " a couple of megamix CD’s I ran across some time ago. Or the soundtrack to "A Night At The Roxbury, " that had some great gems on it, too. "Shake Up The Party (Pound Boys Fiesta Mix)" from the latter just SCREAMS "Stepchart me!", trust me on this.

Perhaps anthems from musicals/movies (other than HSM3), like "Time Warp" from Rocky Horror Picture Show, or "Zion" from Matrix Reloaded? It’s a fun, totally unexpected direction to take, and yet, it ties in with dancing rather perfectly. ~.o

One thing I notice, in stepchart complexity, is that the Universe-series charts and the Arcade-series charts are being developed from totally different perspectives; and both could use a little exchange and balancing.

Finally, there’s that last little batch of premium-rated DDR Extreme material floating out there, like the song "Dance Dance Revolution" and "BURNIN’ THE FLOOR (MOMO Mix)." I most of the recent titles’ developments, though; building on that is certainly a good thing.

I remember back during 5th Mix... "songs like sana morlette ne ente and DIVE written in Japanese?! :O DDR is DEAD now, this stuff will NEVER catch on!" and "They’re putting HOLD arrows in DDR? No way! They’re gonna mess EVERYTHING up..."

XD *lol* Ah, the days...

Also, unrelated to the music issue; I believe there’s much more that seperates the Japanese releases from the American ones. For a prime example, get an imported mix (like MAX2, EXTREME, or FESTIVAL), and check out the structures of their Course modes.

DDR is not new around here anymore, it’s okay to design elements of the game that assumes some experience/expertise in playing the game. :)

Also, did you see some of the crazy things they did in DDR FESTIVAL’s Dance Master Mode? 9.9 I swear, E-02 (I will Survive) took me longer to beat than MAX. (period).

I pretty much wanna see the licensed songs from Max JP.... Telephone Operator, My Sweet Darlin, etc..

Defiantly, Konami should put more hardstyle music in there somewhere. I mean sure slow songs are good for new people but when you get better and have to replay the same songs over and over because every other song is too easy makes the game less desirable. Putting heavier faster songs in there would defiantly get people hyped up about DDR again. The Legend of Max and Max 300 are as hard as they come when your in the US, I would like to see more of these as well as many other experienced players.

- Thanks Konami

I think you’d have to be hard-pressed to find a lot of members of the DDR community that don’t miss the Dancemania licenses a single bit.

To be honest, part of what made it so fun (and what got me into writing the music I do) was playing a song that was so fast and so silly, and you didn’t know what language it was in until you looked it up online. We all miss the trance, the Eurobeat (ESPECIALLY the Eurobeat... Y&Co is fantastic but he can’t handle it all!), the Eurodance (SAIFAM still does this stuff), and whatnot. That element of "tee-hee I’m playing something fun and unusual" was what drew most of us in, I think.
If a deal with Dancemania is absolutely unacceptable, then Konami could always re-partner with Avex like it did with the very first Disney Mix. Or, at the TRULY least, have another Musicianship contest on the condition that they meet certain stylistic standards.
Just... less "Top 40". We hear these songs enough, there’s no allure. There’s no mystique. Even if some of the songs were INCREDIBLY sugary in the "Dancemania days", it’s clear that modern DDR releases could actually use more such sweeteners.