Software:Bust a Groove 2

Bust A Groove 2
Cover of the NTSC-U/C version of Bust A Groove 2
Developer(s)	Metro
Publisher(s)	Square Enix (Formely Enix) Namco (arcade)
Artist(s)	Hideyuki Tanaka
Platform(s)	PlayStation, Arcade
Release	JP: April 15, 1999 NA: August 22, 2000
Genre(s)	Rhythm
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer

Bust A Groove 2 is a rhythm game developed by Metro and published by Enix for the Sony PlayStation in Japan on April 15, 1999 and in North America on August 22, 2000 and is the sequel to Bust A Groove. The game was originally released in Japan as Bust a Move 2: Dance Tengoku Mix (バスト ア ムーブ2 ダンス天国MIX, Basuto a Mūbu 2: Dansu Tengoku Mix), and was never released in Europe.

The game takes place one year after the previous installment and shares the same overall gameplay. It combines dance moves and special abilities designed to damage the opponent. It also features new songs, new characters and updated costumes for the returning characters retained from the previous game. A third game in the series, Bust A Move: Dance Summit 2001 was only released in Japan on the PlayStation 2.

Gameplay

Bust a Groove 2's gameplay is still the same from the previous title. However, backgrounds have become crazier; if a player attains high scores, background stages will sport crazy effects and changes (see Fever Time).

"The single-player game has changed - it now features branching paths in the single-player game that move you up to more difficult opponents depending on how well you're dancing. The popularity meter has been axed; now your character has a small border around his or her name that changes in color depending on how well you're dancing. Also, a new meter sits in the middle of the screen that tracks every "Cool, Chillin', and Freeze" event and moves up accordingly. When all three bars are filled to capacity, your points are doubled for every dance move made during that time. In Bust a Groove 2 there is a standard two-player versus mode, a practice mode to help you get accustomed to timing the fourth beat, and a dance-view mode that allows you to cycle through each dancer's individual moves and string them together to make your own dances."

The game also included 2 new commands aside the somersault and "Jammer" (attack) moves. This time, the player could now do a 'reflect move' and guard attacks.

Fever Time

If a player obtains a high score by completing a stage with very few mistakes or missed actions, a special dance solo starring the winner of the round takes place immediately after the round ends. This is known as Fever Time.

In some cases, both the winner and loser may dance together during a special Fever Time. This occurs if both players were able to finish the stage with close high scores.

Characters

The initial characters such as Heat, Hiro, Kelly, Kitty-N, Shorty, Strike, and Capoeira were retained from the original Bust A Groove and did not bring back several of the original game's characters which includes Frida, Hamm, Gas-O, Pinky and Burger Dog (Although makes a cameo in Comet's stage) and added several new characters: Comet, Bi-O, and Tsutomu.

Some new hidden characters were also introduced into the game, and could be unlocked after completing certain tasks. Pander and Robo-Z Gold are the only hidden characters that have a unique dance style, other hidden characters merely mimicked other characters' dance moves.

Main

Name	Age	Dance Style	Jammer	Info
Heat	20	Breakdance	A giant flame comes down on the opponent in the shape of a dragon	The poster boy of the game and a Formula 1 racer who gained the ability to produce flames after a racing accident. Traumatized, he turned to the dance floor. His design is based of Akira Fudo from Devilman.
Comet	16	Rollerblade Dance	Using a wand, Comet magically turns the opponent into food or small animals.	A waitress working at Sushi Planet who dances on Rollerblades. She has magic powers which allow her to change anyone into any kind of food she wishes. She is Frida's sister from the original Bust A Groove who discovered her powers after being kidnapped and nearly killed after their captors did not receive their demands. Her design is based of the anime character Princess Comet
Shorty	13	Candy Hip-Hop	A giant cake falls and flattens the opponent	The daughter of a diplomat father and a supermodel mother, she was lonely until her parents gave her Columbo, a mouse that eats anything in his sights. Now she and Columbo dance all day for fun.
Strike	22	Gangsta Walking	Strike takes out his machine gun and starts shooting; the screen "shatters" if the attack connects.	After the events of the first Bust A Groove, Strike soon turned over a new leaf while in the state penitentiary for a crime he didn't commit. Upon his release due to good behavior, he and his friends from prison formed the super popular rap group Notorious, sweeping the nation and critics alike with authenticity and hard hitting lyrics. Satisfied with the respect, wealth, and fame that comes from his talents, Strike soon makes his way to the world of dancing to show what he's made of.
Tsutomu	11	House	Blackboard Eraser Trap	A boy whose father is a professional baseball player and mother is a government official. He is unliked at school because of his mature personality. He has a quick temper, and wets himself when angered. The only person who is kind to him is his teacher, Miss Monroe. He has a crush on her and wants to marry her when he turns 18.
Capoeira	Unknown	Capoeira	A mysterious satellite appears above the opponent producing rays of light that shrink the opponent causing them to shrink with oversized bobble heads	The partner aliens Kiki and Lala who came from the planet Capoeira continue their journey in search of every billboard they come across on Earth.
Bi-O	47	Pop-Locking	Using the axe lodged in his head, he removes his head and throws it at the opponent.	He is the father to Gas-O of Bust a Groove. In a fight, Gas-O turned him into a zombie with poison gas and an axe to the head. Gas-O is now in prison.
Hiro	21	Disco	An autographed picture of himself crashes is thrown at the opponent	A vain computer geek who loves computers and himself. At the disco he transforms into a playboy, but is actually shy with women. He is based of Tony Manero from the movie "Saturday Night Fever"
Kitty-N	17	Jazz	A giant crane appears above the opponent and picks them up, later dropping them back down onto the ground	Former member of the group Miracle 5. She was in love with her dance instructor Michael Doi, but he is gay. Now Kitty-N is on mission for love.
Kelly	24	Soul Bump & Grind	Kelly reveals a megaphone and screams towards her opponent knocking them out	An investment banker/secretary who used to have a fetish for infantile objects. Her cross-dressing boss(who she had a crush on) barraged her with his hypocritical distaste for her fetish, driving her away, embarrassed and silent. Tired of being everyone's doormat, she changed her baby outfit, and wore a police officer's uniform that gives her the self-confidence and rush of liberation and power to become the queen of underground dance.

Unlockable

Name	Age	Dance Style	Jammer	Info
Columbo	Unknown	Cutie Hip-Hop	Similar to Shorty's attack but a pudding falls instead of a cake	Columbo returns with Shorty. He can also be seen sitting on Shorty's head. Shorty received Columbo as a gift from her parents to keep her company while they are away.
Sushi Boy	Unknown	Rollerblade Dance	Same as Comet's	A miniature tin-man wearing in-line skates. He is the mascot for Sushi Planet and is seen on the 'Sushi Planet' sign to the restaurant in Comet's stage.
McLoad	Unknown	Soul Bump & Grind	Same as Kelly's but he breathes fire instead of shouting in a megaphone	A giant dinosaur who appears in Shorty's stage.
ChiChi & Sally	Unknown	Capoeira	Same as Capoeira's	Alien siblings who like to stick out their tongues. They can be seen appearing and disappearing in the background of Capoeira's stage.
Michael Doi	34	Jazz	Same as Kitty-N's except the hook Kitty-N uses is blue while Michael's is purple/pink and says "Doi" on it with a heart.	A stereotypical homosexual male and Kitty-N's dance instructor.
Hustle Kong	Unknown	Disco	Same as Hiro's but instead of Hiro being in the picture, it's Hustle Kong	Hustle Kong is a gorilla with boxing shorts on who makes a cameo in Hiro's stage.
Robo-Z Gold	Unknown	Vogue & African	Robo-Z Gold locks onto the opponent and fires a missile	The final boss of the game, a revived Robo-Z, this time with a shining suit of golden metal armor and wings.
Pander	31 (15​1⁄2)	Kabuki	Hands appear and flips the screen.	The Hidden boss of the game, Pander is very unusual looking and has the most unusual and bizarre level. He appears as a miniature panda at first then transforms into a human-like figure with black tights on his arms and legs and white skin which looks like make-up, one brown loafer, and a pair of white briefs with a panda tail painted on.

Songs

Song	Artist	Character	Notes
ZOMBIE HOPPER	Kaname	Bi-O
ALLEGRETTO BREAK	Junichi Tanaka	Capoeira/ChiChi & Salli
Magic Tower	Tetsutaro Sakurai & Reiko Oda	Comet/Sushi Boy
Magic Tower	Tetsutaro Sakurai & Lala Moore	Comet/Sushi Boy	American release
The Heat is On	Aaron G.	Heat
Let The Music Take Control (Hiro's Groove)	Stellar All Stars	Hiro/Hustle Kong
Moon Light Party ~ Clap Your Hands	DJ Hasebe & Emiko	Kelly/McLoad
Moon Light Party	DJ Hasebe & Robbie Danzie	Kelly/McLoad	American release
Hello! Kitty-N	Anji	Kitty-N/Michael Doi
Hello Kitty	Lala Moore	Kitty-N/Michael Doi	American release
Hizashi no oku no happīhāto (ひざしの奥のハッピーハート) (Happy Heart Behind Your Knees)	Aie	Shorty/Columbo
Happy Heart In The Sunshine	Robbie Danzie	Shorty/Columbo	American release
Here Comes Trouble	Masters Of Funk	Strike
Got To Be Happy	Yukihiro Fukutomi & Momoko Suzuki	Tsutomu
Acid Line	Joujouka	Robo-Z Gold
Enka 1	Parts of Console & Michiko Kawai	Pander

The game also features an opening theme called "High Voltage (Theme Of Bust A Move 2)" by "Stellar All Stars" and an ending theme named "Bust A Groove" by "Black Bottom Brass Band".

Changes

The following are several in-game changes made with the English version of the game. Most noticeable is the change of Hiro's symbol due to the age rating concerns.

• Aside from changing the language the characters speak to English, several announcer voice overs were still changed though they're already in English (e.g. the voice over in the Mode Select screen). Most likely because of the mentioning of "Bust A Move" which is the Japanese title.
• The 2 Player Mode (VS) loading screen was changed.
• The arrows appear to be in different colors while the Japanese only bears yellow arrows.
• Hiro's character symbol is a cigarette in the Japanese version but instead, was changed into I♥ME for the United States version.
• The TV Show-esque epilogue, "Dancing Heroes", which shows CG endings of the characters and is hosted by a minor character named "James Suneoka" was entirely removed and instead, only the credits are shown. This may be due to the fact that the endings were already in English and featured numerous inappropriate and sometimes offensive jokes. Prior to the endings, James would say jokes such as needing three more bullets to reunite the Beatles or would get Bi-o's axe stuck in his head with blood squirting out.

Development

The game was in development as early as April 1998.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 70% (9 reviews) Metacritic 66% (8 reviews) Review scores Publication Score Famitsu 31 out of 40 GamePro GameSpot 7.3 out of 10 IGN 6.8 out of 10 Next Generation

In Japan, Game Machine listed Bust a Groove 2 on their September 1, 1999 issue as being the eleventh most-successful arcade game of the month.

Next Generation reviewed the PlayStation version of the game, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "Honestly, the whole game just feels like a retread of a past hit with developers who didn't do anything other than milk the success of the last title. The game is definitely fun for a while, but it's really not the evolution of the series we'd hoped for."

Bust a Groove 2, along with its predecessor, is one of the more valuable PlayStation games on the secondary market. For example, complete, used copies sell for more than $100 which is more than the original MSRP of $35.99.