Orange Lounge Radio

I'm planning to get some type of DDR for my (8 year old) daughter for Christmas. I feel like she's going to love it but I don't want to spend tons of money in case she is not interested. What version of the game should I buy for what console (xbox, ps2, gcn?) What controller(s) should I buy? We definitely need 2 controllers so her little friends can play with her. I was considering 1 tx1000 from Lik-Sang and 1 regular dance mat but I know nothing about this... I weigh 200lbs and will definitely be playing a few times at least, I don't want to smash the mat on Christmas day. Any helpful advice apprecaited.

You could actually DDR for very cheap to see if she likes it... some of the older DDR versions for PS1 and probably even MAX would cost you 19.99, maybe even less used... a cheap dance mat will also run you about 20 dollars. Since you just want to pick something up for recreational use and not a whole lot of advanced song playing, i honestly wouldn't worry about the pad toooo much-- if you decide you like it you can "upgrade" later, 20 dollars isn't a bad investment to start.

Also, The recently released DDR Extreme 2 bundle (game + pad) runs at 59.99 and is a great deal, really-- as the official Konami pads are pretty solid, for a soft pad

Only thing about EX2 though is it only starts with 25 or so songs, unlocking em is much harder and more time consuming this time around... but EX1 can be unlocked in a few weeks of playtime. (well except memories of course, but that's just one song)

My only gripe about EX1 really is the songwheel interface.

but if she really doesn't mind only having 25 songs, either EX2 or Mario Mix will fit the bill.

DT

The only games in DDR that have a "Beginner Mode," which is for the earliest of beginners, are DDR Extreme 1 and 2 (PS2), Mario DDR (Gamecube) and I believe both Ultramixes (XBOX). Mario DDR takes you from the earliest levels up thru hard and probably has the best learning curve. Adventure mode will take you thru the songs and features gradually, but is the worst buy because there are no other DDRs for the Cube.

EDIT (4:35pm):

Gamecube: 1 DDR game
PS2: 4 games (plus 3 PSone games) <--Assumes N. American consoles
XBOX: 3 games (once Ultramix 3 is out)

It should be mentioned that PS2 also has a few knock-off titles that can use the dance pad: American Idol, Britney's Dance Beat, In The Groove, Jungle Book Jungle n Rhythm.

I think the best buy for the money is any game/pad bundle you can find for PS2.

Thanks for the advice I bought 2 of these http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 31-5827034 as well as DDR EX. If we manage to break these we'll get 2 of the metal pads.

robbway wrote:The only games in DDR that have a "Beginner Mode," which is for the earliest of beginners, are DDR Extreme 1 and 2 (PS2), Mario DDR (Gamecube) and I believe both Ultramixes (XBOX).

Max2 also has Beginner's Mode.