Dance Dance Revolution Extreme (JP)
Konami, 2003
Golden Age of DDR
I’m not ashamed to say I have a favorite Dance Dance Revolution mix. For anyone who knows me, they know it’s the Japanese home version of DDR Extreme. While it’s the mix I played the least in the arcades, by the time it came home and I got a copy of it, it quickly grabbed the top spot in my heart.
There is a golden age of DDR and Extreme is the pinnacle. Hitting the sweet spot as the 
last game of the golden age, JP Extreme is a solid home port with the necessary arcade songs and a fantastic mix of console old and new songs. All the pertinent Extreme songs are on the roster: 1998, A, Across the Nightmare, DDR, Sakura, Paranoia Survivor & Survivor Max, The legend of Max and V. Unlike the American port of Extreme, it’s as if someone played the arcade version and thought an accurate port was the right thing to do.
The home version plays exactly like the arcade version and, if you’re savvy enough, you can find a way to enable Marvelous timing, arcade timing windows and the Boost and Wave mods found in the arcade version only. Generally, the Japanese versions of DDR are spot on, and this port — even without the additions — is still faithful.
The home version features all the usual features that you’ve come to expect: Diet Mode, Edit Mode, Lesson Mode and Training Mode. One of the best things about the mix, however, comes in the options. If you have save data from Party Collection, you can unlock all the songs in Extreme, and if you need to, you can unlock all the songs in DDR Max and Max 2. That saves time and gets you to the meat and potatoes of what you came here to do: play awesome DDR songs.
And the roster is awesome. There is nary a repeat in sight that drags the mix down (ahem, we’re looking at you AM-3P and your various remixes). The quality of songs is high, and a lot of the Konami originals added here are welcome additions and crossovers from Beatmania IIDX. Of note is Max.(period), which was new as of Extreme JP’s home release. Max.(period) is one of the new Boss Songs and is a great addition. Boss Songs in this mix are indeed all the Boss Songs from the arcade version, which lends credibility to the mix and its authenticity.
There isn’t much wrong with this mix. The unlock system, if you don’t have support data 
from Party Collection, is kind of aggravating but it’s not so terrible that the mix isn’t worth your time. It’s time consuming but it only means playing more DDR.
If you’re going to play a home version and don’t have Stepmania, take the time to import DDR Extreme JP. Extreme JP is the closest port of Extreme to the arcade short of Stepmania and well worth the money to track down a copy, a PlayStation 2 and swap discs.
A great roster, solid mechanics and peak DDR in its golden age form makes it a must-buy if you’re at all into dance games and Bemani. DDR Extreme JP was a good final step in the series.
DDR Extreme JP versus DDR Extreme NA
The DDR Extreme versions released in Japan and America are wildly different. DDR Extreme JP is the closest port of the arcade version that you’re going to get unless you have Stepmania and fine tune your installation to match that arcade version.
The American version, released in 2004, is not an accurate port. It features different graphics that replace the well-known song wheel and Groove Radar featured in DDR Max and Max 2 and a song roster that did not resemble the arcade version with a lot of licensed songs and few Konami originals and Bemani crossovers that were introduced in the arcade version. Also, the combo and grading systems are different: A combo break automatically results in a max A grade, Extra Stage requires clearing an 8‑footer on Heavy instead of AA grade on any song’s Heavy difficulty, and Encore Extra Stage/One More Extra Stage was removed.
To correct the missteps of Extreme NA, Extreme 2 was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 with a slightly more accurate song roster to match the arcade version of Extreme.