The ’00s was a decade rife with video game peripherals for games nobody plays anymore. How many Rock Band instruments are currently languishing in basements? And don’t get me started on Donkey Konga drum barrels. One peripheral-based game series, however, never truly went away, if you frequent arcades. Playboy Club creator Model Marin Amai loves getting on her feet and racking up high scores in Dance Dance Revolution Max 2.
Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova
- Released: May 2006
- Platforms: Arcade, with a port made for PlayStation 2
- Developer: Konami
- Publisher: Konami
- Genre: Music, exersize
Why Marin Amai loves Dance Dance Revolution
“I’ve been playing since I was 10,” Marin told PLAYBOY. “My mom brought it home one day and said ‘You’re going to love this.’ And I was like, ‘Mom, I don’t know why you wasted your money on this thing, but I’m not going to like it.’ But I tried playing it, and I just couldn’t stop. I’ve been playing ever since.”
The original version Marin’s mom brought home was Dance Dance SuperNova for the PlayStation 2, complete with the dance pad controller. And while she’s fantastic at the home version, nothing hits like the real thing, in this case, the flashy arcade machine. For the uninitiated, watching someone who’s really good at DDR stomp out a high score is one of the most captivating things that can happen in an arcade.
And unlike Rock Band or Guitar Hero, Dance Dance Revolution is a series that never totally went away. Its most recent release is Dance Dance Revolution World, which released worldwide in June of 2024.
And despite there being countless versions, the series is comfortably consistent. Players pick a song and stomp their feet on arrows facing all cardinal positions in accordance with the screen. As far as rhythm games go, few offer the intensity or the workout of DDR. Marin gets her fix playing Dance Dance Revolution at an arcade at the Stockton flea market.
“As they pass, people will watch me, and they’re like, ‘Woah, wait,” Marin says, “I’m a girl. I’m bigger than most people. I don’t think they would think I could step the way that I do.”
Marin Amai is on The Playboy Club. Talk to her now.
