Search - Game Music :: Dance Dance Revolution Party Coll

Great collection but lacking something...

J. Lee | Adelaide, South Australia | 09/25/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"You'll probably be like me. You'll look at the track list and think it's got so many great songs you like. Of course, it's bound to have some songs you are not terribly fond of but overall it looks like a good purchase, right?



Well, yes and no.



I don't regret purchasing this CD. It has many songs I'm very fond of such as El Ritmo Tropical, Conga Feeling, Drop the Bomb, Synchronized Love, Rhythm and Police, etc. This is a good thing because I'm having difficulty acquiring legitimate copies of some of the previous DDR OST CDs. So, I see the songs on this CD and am very excited because it means although I want to get all other soundtracks in the DDR series, I can get this first and have access to my absolute favourites (although missing some great songs such as Irresistiblement) which will satiate me until I get the other CDs. The first disc is great and if it were just that, this would be receiving 4.5 or maybe even 5 stars.



The second disc however is another story. It contain songs which are from the PS2 versions of MAX2 and Extreme which are all welcome additions to the CD. Then come the product BGM tracks. While they aren't exactly my cup of tea, they are necessary and don't actually sound all that bad. So, why only three stars? It's all down to the "super" nonstop megamix. Anyone who has listened to a Dancemania CD will know they can create quite some beautiful megamixes. Even in the DDR series there have been great ones (Solo 2000, 5th Mix, MAX and Extreme), some good ones (3rd Mix and MAX2) and some mediocre ones (2nd Mix and 4th Mix). I've heard some not very nice comments about the 4th mix in particular and although it is my least favourite of all the megamixes, it is by far stellar when compared to this hodge-podge mish-mash of songs. They have tried to cram far too much onto this CD with the result of the megamix being just plain bad. The songs are far too short, often cutting huge amounts from great songs. The longest track in the megamix is Moonlight Shadow at a paltry 47 seconds. The songs do not blend together at all well, in some cases merely stopping one song and picking up the next one with no blend whatsoever.



Considering the previous megamixes contained versions of the songs which, in most cases were longer than the arcade versions, to be given songs which are in fact shorter and aren't blended as seamlessly as in some other versions is a huge disappointment.



Basically, if you are a fan of the series I would say you should buy this CD by all means. However, it probably works best as a late addition to your collection. I'd suggest buying all previous soundtracks before buying this one. You'll probably be less disappointed with those."