Title: Digital Dance Mix Vol.1 Amuro Namie (デジタルダンスミックス Vol.1 安室奈美恵)

Release date: 01/10/1997
Catalog number:
GS-9133

Publisher: Sega
System: Sega Saturn
Developer: Sega AM2

Producer: Suzuki Yu
Type: Music game

 

 

History


Digital Dance Mix is more of an experimental work than an actual game. As Insert-disk states it:

AM2s research wing was still very much interested in the Sega Saturn’s game engine. Could it do more than they realised. What they needed was something that would test simultaneous audio, 3D model movement, texture mapping and real time camera and lighting effects for their engine. 1996 had been a massive year for Namie. […] As with so many perfect alignments in history, this peaked at the perfect time for Yu Suzuki and AM2 to develop an engine to test out the Sega Saturn’s abilities. With permission to use the tracks “Chase the chance” and “You’re my sunshine” along with permission to use Namies image Sega could create what was essentially a tech demo. 

AM2 studied Amuro Namie’s dance steps through Motion Capture and the result was at the time a small revolution in the world of video games, not only for the quality of its graphics, but also for the novelty of the concept. For Suzuki Yu, this game was also a mean to experiment his Virtua Fighter 3 models on Saturn engine.

The game sold 116,553 units in Japan in 1997 and even though it was not released outside the country, it drew some attention around the world. For example, reviews of the game could be found in French video games magazines and French TV channel Game One would constantly air the introducing video sequence.

 

Contents


The game opens with a video sequence featuring excerpts of You’re my sunshine and Chase the Chance music videos – the collage also includes a few images of Body Feels EXIT and Don’t wanna cry music videos.

The menu includes three sections: Digital Dance, the main part of the game, Sing It, its karaoke version and Presents which consists in four mini-games. The player can also check Amuro Namie’s profile and discography as well as enter a sound test with the singer’s spoken voice.

 

Digital Dance


Digital Dance is the main part of the game. It lets the player choose between two songs, several costumes and stages before starting the show. Elements can be mixed at will: they even include different choregraphs and a “Super Deformed” version of Namie. When the show starts, the player can control the camera.

Available songs

Chase the Chance
– 
You’re my sunshine
– Chase the Chance with Special Dance
– You’re my sunshine with Special Dance

 

Available Costumes

– Black outfit
– Blue outfit
– Red outfit
– Army outfit
– Silver outfit
– Black & white oufit
– SD version of Namie

These costumes are inspired by actual outfits worn by Amuro Namie during TV lives and concerts. An alternate color can be chosen during the performance.

 

Available Stages

– Psychedelic stage
– Outside stage
– Hall stage
– Plain stage

Stages are slightly different depending on the song. For instance, the outside stage for Chase the Chance features a view of Tokyo while its counterpart for You’re my sunshine shows Santa Monica.

 

The Show

Amuro Namie is accompanied by polygonal dancers and approximatively performs the same choregraphs as in TV lives. The player can leave the camera moves by itself or can choose to control it, zoom in and out, activate lights, etc.

 

Sing It


Sing It is similar to Digital Dance, except it includes karaoke versions of Chase the Chance and You’re my sunshine. Lyrics are being shown on the screen so the player can sing along.

 

Presents


Presents include four mini-games: Chase the Dance, Door my sunshine, SWEET 16 CARDS, a walk in the maze. All names are puns related to Amuro Namie’s songs.

Chase the Dance is a rhythm game featuring a “Super Deformed” (SD) version of Namie. Its principle is similar to games such as Beatmania or Dance Dance Revolution. The player has to hit the corresponding button the moment the letter enters the red square on the stave.

Door my Sunshine makes the player choose between multiple shapes to recreate the key on the left. When all parts have been found, the door opens and a SD version of Namie appears.

SWEET 16 CARDS consists in a matching pairs game. Cards show digitized versions of Namie and progressively reveal a picture of the artist.

a walk in the maze is finally a maze where the player (a blue monkey) has to reach Namie through teleporting boxes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Promotional Pictures