Bust a Groove
Bust a Groove is a hybrid music/fighting video game for the Sony PlayStation released in 1998. The game was developed by Metro and published by Enix in Japan, brought to the U.S. by 989 Studios and to Europe by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. One of the first rhythm games to follow in the wake of "PaRappa the Rapper"s unexpected popularity, the game combined "PaRappa the Rapper"-inspired rhythm-based gameplay with elements of fighting games, including special moves designed to damage the opponent and head-to-head competitive play. The Japanese version is titled , but in all  other regions it was released as "Bust-A-Groove", to avoid a trademark conflict with the Japanese puzzle game "Puzzle Bobble", which was released in North America and Europe as "Bust-A-Move". The sequel, "Bust a Groove 2", unlike its predecessor, wasn't planned to be released in Europe, and "Dance Summit 2001", the third game in the series, was released only in Japan on the PlayStation 2. Gameplay. The game play revolves around the beat of the music playing, displaying arrows that correspond to directions on the D-Pad, as well as the symbols for the circle and  X button. By every fourth beat of the song, the player must match the commands on the screen, causing their character to complete a dance move, or else it is considered a miss. When the player performs a combo of eight dance moves, advanced paths with more complex moves allows the player to earn more points. The player also uses a "Jammer" as an attack to interrupt rivals, which can also be dodged by a somersault move. This was used by pressing the square button by causing the player to do the back flip, and avoid the "Jammer". Songs. † In  addition to the song, there was an instrumental version—in which titled "blue knife (start G move mix)" from the soundtrack—was used for the opening cutscene for the game. There is also a different version, calling it "blue knife dream (orchestra stall mix)", it was used for the staff credits. Release. In Japan a premium version was released containing a "premium disc" with four movies. Accomplishing certain tasks in the game unlocks certain movies. One of the movies features Hatsumi Morinaga, the artist responsible for singing the theme of Kitty-N's stage. This feature contains shots of the  artist singing the song in the studio, an interview with the artist, and a live-action version of the game, with costumed Japanese dancers taking the parts of the various characters. The other three movies contained within the disc were all for other Enix games: "Astronōka", "", and "Hello Charlie" (released as "Eggs of Steel" in the U.S.). The premium version is otherwise identical to the game-only version. The following changes were made in the English localization of the game: Bust a Groove: Arcade Edition. An arcade edition of "Bust a Groove", although released only in Japan, held the title  of "Bust a Groove". The controls are the same as the PlayStation version but the controller is significantly different. The player now has to press the giant Left, Up and Right buttons in a giant pad and step on a footpedal for the 'Down' command while the action buttons (Square, X etc.), are replaced by a giant "Dance!" button. The buttons also have to be pressed in a rhythmic manner or still be counted as a "miss". A Jammer button is also included. The arcade version features only five stages (Robo-Zs stage always being the last one). Reception. PlayStation . "Hyper" magazine reviewed the PlayStation game and gave it a 91% score. "Next Generation" reviewed the PlayStation version, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that ""Bust-A-Move" is definitely an idea whose time has come, and it helps bridge the gap between hardcore gaming and mass culture appeal. It doesn't hurt that it's also a serious blast to play." "Next Generation" also reviewed the U.S. PlayStation version, rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Overwhelmingly infectious tunes that have been translated to English for the U.S., hordes of secret dancers, and  stages, charming touches such as secondary animations in stages for players who execute tough movies, and a clever, though not entirely unique, concept make "Bust-A-Groove" a game that deserves to find an audience in the U.S." Arcade. In Japan, "Game Machine" listed "Bust a Groove" on their April 1, 1999 issue as being the third most-successful dedicated arcade game of the month.