Guess who got DDR for the Wii? Yeah, that's right. Dave dragged me into Game Stop the other day and I discovered that they had a version for the Wii. All this time I was thinking I was going to need to spend more money and purchase another gaming system entirely just for one simple game but turns out I no longer have to which makes me super happy. When I got home from work tonight, I played it for about an hour and oh my goodness I totally forgot how much of a workout it used to give me. As someone who doesn't sweat normally, I managed to lose a bit of water weight for that exercise alone. I completely forgot how much fun it was though not quite the same without taking turns with my college friends.
When I was freshman in college, Alli and I each bought a DDR pad (or maybe just me because she already had one) and we began a mini fad. She had vast amounts of experience from her days of playing before it came out for the Play Station 2. For her, she had to learn at the arcade where every turn cost money and there was no way to turn off the failure setting. You failed a song, you paid more. Alli, being one of my more practical friends probably found herself needed to learn quickly to get the most for her dollar and by the time we began dancing in college she was pretty awesome at it. I, on the other hand, had only seen it and maybe tried it once or twice but I couldn't stomach the cost (not that there was an arcade close enough for me to invest it).
I did remember the arcade version and I knew that it would be the most perfect way to ward off the freshman fifteen. So I bought a second pad and the dancing ensued. It was quite comical watching the two of us for Alli would be dancing like a crazy person and I would be just trying to step on the right pad at the right time. However, that dynamic worked in a weird way to get people involved. I was the person to show that anyone could do it and suck and have a wonderful time while Alli showed what you could eventually get to if you continued to play.
One night, my friend Ryan and I literally stayed up all night just the two us determined to get the grade of B at the basic level. Finally as the sun came up, both of us were danced out. I think he managed to actually score a B; however, there was still more work ahead for me. Many all-nighters later, we all eventually became quite decent at the game and it became a great way to get to know each other and just hang out having fun. Most freshmen in college indulge in the world of binge drinking and partying, but not us. Yet somehow, I think we managed to have just as much fun and probably more fun than most college freshmen. While I was playing tonight, I remembered fondly some of the jokes associated with us playing and that quiet pang of the past briefly encompassed my heart. Those were really fun days.
Still, playing it today brought me sheer joy that is once I got past the fact that all the songs are famous US pop songs. Part of what I loved about DDR was the J-Pop and the songs sung in cute Engrish. Granted, Lady Gaga has made the j-pop sound mainstream here in the U.S. so that lessens some of dislike. Also, the songs that I've been able to unlock are j-pop and that makes me super happy. I'm so excited to have it here and to be able to play it whenever I want to (maybe I'll even try the Wii remote and add the arm motions). Another incredibly fun video to help me work out. Throughout high, I longed for the day that video games would be more physically interactive and that day is here and I couldn't be happier about it.
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