People all over the world have finally got their hands on the Nintendo Switch, and with a relatively generous supply of games supplied at launch when including Nintendo eShop offerings, choices on which software to buy must be made. One of these launch day titles is a port of last year's Just Dance 2017, which was released on all major home consoles last October. So how does this new version compare?
Well before getting into that, let's have a quick overview of the Just Dance games for those that are unaware. Your basic task is to follow the direction of an on screen dancer to earn points. The complete dance routine is shown in the centre of the screen, with smaller icons displayed in the bottom corner signalling which moves are about to come up. To keep things as interesting as possible several modes are available with different goals to hit or different purposes entirely.
At the heart of this is your standard Just Dance mode, which has been a staple of the series. This mode allows you to jump in to any one of the songs included in the game and just have fun, racking up points and trying to get five stars. Different routines are available, from solo offerings to dances for quartets, although you don't need to have three willing volunteers to play with you to try these out – you are able to choose which dancer you would like to imitate and play on your own if desired.
Other modes returning from previous games in the series include: 'Dance Quests', in which you dance to a setlist of three songs against AI competitors trying to earn a bronze, silver or hopefully gold trophy by placing third, second or first overall respectively; 'Sweat' mode which swaps points earned for calories lost – enabling you to create your own workouts whilst keeping an eye on how many pizzas you've managed to burn off; finally some online focused offerings for the most competitive dancers out there.
The first of these online modes is 'Just Dance TV', basically a creepy, virtual portal into front rooms around the globe. Here players can share videos of themselves dancing along to their favourite songs and you have the option to "like" any that take your fancy. Interestingly with the Nintendo Switch's lack of a camera, as opposed to the one built-in to the Wii U Gamepad and camera accessories available for other consoles, it is impossible to share your performances with the world through your system this time around.
The second of these modes is 'World Dance Floor' which takes things up a notch. Here you are thrown in to a worldwide stream to compete against other players from around the globe in real time. After voting for your preferred song, you start to dance along just as you would in any other mode, except this time there is a leaderboard on the left hand side indicating how well you're doing in relation to everyone else dancing along with you. Getting to the top of these rankings is a very hard feat; practice in other modes is recommended first if you're the competitive type hoping to beat the best.
The one entirely new mode to Just Dance 2017, also available on other consoles, is 'Just Dance Machine'. Here, aliens are running out of energy for their spaceship and spot Earth in the distance. After considering a banana and a chicken as possible sources of fuel they settle on a dancing human – you (yes, really). Your job is to dance along to short clips of songs which vary from wildly different genres in order to score enough points to help the aliens home. A nice change, but not really enough to shout about.
As has become tradition, this games' soundtrack features mostly songs from the last two or three years with some older ones thrown in for good measure. Songs such as 'Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)' by Silentó makes an appearance for chart lovers, 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen is there and 'PoPiPo' by Hatsune Miku rounds off a game featuring a relatively wide selection of genres including standard pop songs, dance, J-Pop, rock, and disco to name a few. Not quite something for everyone – but not too bad.
'How Deep Is Your Love' by Calvin Harris and Disciples has been added as a timed exclusive for Nintendo Switch owners, although this is only available through Just Dance Unlimited – a paid subscription service giving players access to an ever-growing catalogue of over 200 extra songs which are available throughout all game modes. When starting up the game you are offered a 90-day trial of this service, which is well worth it to see if it feels like a good idea for you. It is worth noting that a Nintendo Account is needed to do this.
Players can either dance along using a single Joy-Con or a smartphone, after installing an app to sync with your console. We would argue that the Joy-Con offers a slightly smoother performance and is much more comfortable to hold than a smartphone – which without a wrist-strap seems much more likely to find itself flying across the room and occasionally caused the game to stutter slightly for us. Both options track your movements just as precisely as previous instalments in the series – it never feels quite perfect but it is good enough to have fun with. The game mostly runs perfectly, although during our time playing we did encounter a rather odd glitch which caused a bright orange smiley face to completely take over the screen for a few seconds before the game decided to turn itself off… How bizarre.
Of course, exclusively for Nintendo Switch is the ability to play in tabletop mode. It is clear that Just Dance is primarily a home console game, with the TV setup being almost crucial to its success – the Switch's screen just isn't large enough to be a viable option for very long. Playing solo this way is possible although still not desirable, but including any more players than that results in more squinting than dancing, so we recommend sticking to TV mode.
Conclusion
Just Dance 2017 is great at what it does – serving as a surprisingly jam-packed offering for solo players as well as being a great addition to parties, sleep-overs and gatherings of friends; yet it isn't perfect. Although it has a pleasing amount of unlockables such as avatars and the like, it doesn't feel like enough to keep you wanting more, and considering the game is obtainable at a much cheaper rate on other consoles than the full retail price tag on the Switch version, it is hard to recommend this over other versions, as ultimately the game is identical.
This is a good version of a solid dancing game, but whether it's a cost effective launch window offering on Switch is up for debate.
Comments 29
Finally, a reason to upgrade from my Wii U.
Seems odd of Nintendo to not include at least some kind of camera in the Switch. I can't imagine a 0.3 megapixel (lol) camera costing much or occupying enough space to significantly affect the intended form factor of the Switch. I just hope that the camera won't be the first of what may result in a long line of peripherals for what should be a portable system.
Also, locking the "exclusive" song behind Just Dance Unlimited borders on false advertising (as the song will no longer be in your possession past the trial period, in the event that one does not renew their subscription). I'm guessing that it is no longer possible to outright buy new songs/routines for the game since the launch of Just Dance Unlimited.
When will Snipperclips get a review?
I don't care what the score says anywhere. To me, this series is pants.
@sillygostly Just Dance went the same way as Guitar Hero, microtransactions being the key to getting access to extra songs which leaves Rock Band as the only western music game franchise that does things the old (and better) way of you being able to buy songs as DLC which you can keep forever.
JUST SODOFF already
If you're going to make us scroll down to see the score, at least take out the "Our Review" section from the top.
But yeah, it's just Just Dance and Just Dance is pants.
@sillygostly The Switch does have a camera - in the right Joy-Con. It's just infrared or whatever.
1 2 switch is better!
People still play just dance?
10/10 GOTY
A must have for switch. Go out in the streets of London and just dance
7 meh's out of 10 meh's equates to meh.
Nothing to see here, move along.
User ratings 1!! Between this and 1,2 switch reviews it seems there's a huge disparity between the public and paid reviewers 😕
At a more reasonable price, I could see this be a hit with new Switch owners. They already have two controllers out of the box, and the portability means a game like this will have many many more opportunities to make an appearance at casual gatherings.
@Boxmonkey
People who create an account to rate games on metacritic aren't "the public" though.
Now the Switch is out, I can see hoards of hipster types playing this at some random comicon over the summer.
Fair score. Ive been playing this with my young daughter. She adores it and to be honest, I like it too. Very silly fun and I did in fact get a sweat-on.
So, if you happen to look up intro an apt in Brooklyn and see a sweaty laughing fat man and a young, earnest looking lass leading about, you' lol know what's up.
With this, the pleasing distraction of snipper clips and 1 2 snap, me and my youngster can play video games together and be equal. And do a bit of exercise to boot.
That said, (off topic) we both played a ton of Zelda. She loves the cooking. I do the fighting, we both explore.
Bravo Nintendo. You may have made close to the perfect console for me at this time. Although handheld mode in the pub has yet to be tested....
@Sinton 7/10. Thanks.
@TheLobster : I was referring to a camera that can be used to take pictures/video. You can't use the Joy-Con's IR camera to take photos. It's only there to discern shapes and distance. There's also an IR camera in the New 3DS which is how the super steady 3D feature operates.
The Switch prices for many of its games is definitely too high imo.
@sillygostly I knew what you meant. But I was saying that of course it DOESN'T not have a camera. In fact. It might be implemented in some interesting ways. We'll have to see!
@SLIGEACH_EIRE
What does pants mean? Is that a good thing?
@Priceless_Spork Only in a literal sense, like how it's good to remember putting them on in the morning. It means 'not very good' I'm colloquial terms.
No surprise there though. Good ole Slig doesn't seem to enjoy much nowadays.
Were is the original Wii review?
Not my thing, but glad it exists for those that enjoy it.
@KIRO - You paint a lovely picture describing your experience with this game. My daughter is just getting into gaming with me. The joy I feel sharing an interest with her is immeasurable. Have fun!
That actually sounds like an amazing glitch.
@SetupDisk : I assume you're joking, but in case you (or others) aren't, well, luck is in your favour, as I had just purchased Just Dance 2017 on the original Wii for my sister yesterday, and I have spent some time with it so I can provide you with a basic review and comparison with the Switch version.
The Wii version offers more of the same except for the obvious (i.e. online features), so modes such as Just Dance Unlimited and Just Dance TV are out, and there is no online multiplayer mode whatsoever. However, I believe that there is a mode that allows you to play against CPU characters in lieu of online multiplayer. Basically, the Wii version has far fewer features than the competition and offers the worst value for money overall. It's still a serviceable option for those who have yet to upgrade their Wii, and the core experience is the same as it has always been, so you won't be missing out on much for favouring the Wii version, however, you'd be crazy to support the Wii version when the Wii U version has additional features and superior quality audio and picture for the same price. The Wii version also supports karaoke via a USB microphone, which is a feature not supported in the Switch release. The initial loading time is quite long though (as it is on Wii U as well), however, once that is out of the way, the songs and interface tend to load reasonably quickly from thereon. Load times are significantly decreased on Switch, which lends itself well to quick sessions with friends.
Multiplayer is also limited to 4 players as the Wii version does not support the Just Dance Controller app (available on iOS and Android). There are also two songs that the Wii and Wii U versions have over the Switch version (unbelievably) and that is the presence of Zayn Malik's "Like I Would" and a cover of Wham!'s "Last Christmas"; two very popular songs that are likely to be favoured in a party environment. On Switch, however, these songs are exclusive to Just Dance Unlimited, and taking their place on the cartridge are generic songs that I've never heard of, which is a significant downside as there are relatively few popular/recognisable songs this time around when compared to previous instalments in the Just Dance franchise, and the two omitted songs would have been welcome additions to the Switch release (particularly as they are not available as purchasable DLC).
Amusingly, the enclosed booklet in the Wii version only includes very basic health/safety information and instructions on how to turn on the Wii and so forth, followed by 9 empty pages reserved for "Notes".
Amazon are now offering this for £20 so im happy to give it a whirl at that price. this will fulfill my party game itch
Tap here to load 29 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...