To be honest my fingers are hurting from doing reviews but this is my third review of this beautiful summer day. Not really heat wave but yeah. Anyways now this game is more of an obscure gem and all. I first experienced this actually on a demo disc in 2008 and loved playing it as a kid. Got me to get the full game which was for $20 (now in the $100 like wow) and I never regret it other than losing the disc… dance your way and defeat your rivals in this whack rhythm game using your fingers. Ladies and Gentlemen… this is BUST-A-Groove 2. Or the better version “Basuto a Mūbu 2: Dansu Tengoku Mix”

Graphics: 8
It suffers from the usual PlayStation schtick with pixelization and not looking good in modern tvs. It’s basis is an anime inspired theme and every stage is very lively with colors all around and objects moving about. The models looking good though they do have some jagged areas and polygons which is weird looking at times. It does contain flashing lights so people who are sensitive should be cautious when playing this game. Overall it’s great graphics, tho suffers a bit more on the pixelation and polygon issues the PlayStation is known for.

Sound: 9
The music is what makes this game a bop. Rock, Disco, Rap, souls and even samba. Each player’s stage have their own music and it works so well with the environment. The Japanese version is clearly the better version when it comes to music as some some songs just sound so much better. Some complaints tho: one is one stage with the sushi bar.. every time I listen to it does sound a bit too sexual but it probably go over kid’s minds whenever they play it (it is E for Everyone). Another complaint is the cop’s stage is not a song I’m very fond of. Other than that most songs are quite a treat to listen to and who knows, you might bop to a few or even restart a stage just to listen to them (Kitty-N stage. I highly highly recommend listening to that no matter what).
Sound effects and voices are decent enough. The announcer is quite lively and yells when the match starts, when something happens or when you win or lose. Overall not much to talk about but it’s decent.

Story: 5
Not really much of a story to say, each character have a background of their own and dance skills to prove and beat the “final boss”, which is Robo-Z


Addictive: 8
This game is very addicting to me and it shows with my many hours of play. It’s weird, it’s quirky, and it’s fun. Each character with their own personality moving around the dance floor, and with a friend it gives hours of fun and entertainment. Very basic concept of a dancing rhythm game but your fingers will keep you occupied until your thumbs are hurting from raging. Kidding kidding on the rage.


Depth: 7
The game consists of ten playable characters and eight hidden (two unique and six just reskins of other characters) each player have their own unique style of dance and attack (which is limited to two) to incapacitate the opponent for a few seconds if hits. The opponent can evade the attack if timed correctly. Each character also have a stage of their own that represents their style of music and dance. The stages themselves are lively with personality on its own and changes as the stage progresses with the song. Little bit of a breakdown

heat : break dances his way to victory and attacks the opponent with a flame which he spirals out of. His stage looks like a foundry with melted lava metals and an elevator to dance on while it moves. His stage music consists of break dance hip-hop

Strike : robs and steals the banks with his trusty gun and hip-hop skills. His attack consists of a gun which hits the player to the floor as he breaks away to his victory. His stage music is more into rap with the bank as his stage with a tied up officer

HIRO-KUN : my personal favorite character. Egotistical, a woman lover. A… geek who’s afraid to talk to the ladies? His disco skills aren’t one to sleep on and his love for himself is so great his attack is an autographed photo of himself the players fall infatuated by it while my boi dances to the finish line.

Kitty-N : An actress who plays a superhero cat-esque cosplay who dances with grace and a bit of clumsiness mixed in (not really but the animation just seems odd for her height). Her music is more on techno reminiscent to like Sailor moon or early 90s anime music with her attack being a claw machine picking up the opponent and dropping them down to the floor. Her stage is a production studio with cameramen and a background that looks like she’s in a middle of a shoot.

Comet : a waitress with magical powers that if she wishes, can attack the opponent by turning them into a snack or an animal. Her stage is all about sushi and animals with her music more so on the pop side.

Bi-O : a zombie who moves… well like a zombie. He removes his head and attacks the opponent while dancing thriller-esque moves. His stage music is eerie heavy metal zombie shiz with his stage being a pirate ship.

kelly : a cop who grinds and… moves to the floor like a…. sexualized… dancer. With slow rhythm and blues music she attacks her opponents with a megaphone yelling at them. Her stage is a crime scene in the middle of the city

Shorty: pop and lock with cringy love pop songs! Her moves with her little buddy animal will be a hassle against the opponent as she attacks them with a huge cake. Her stage is somewhat a river with animals all around like a zoo, with her music reminiscent to cringe love song pop hits from the 90s.

Tsutomu : a child (looking like a puppet… kinda creepy) dressed with a weird school uniform and backpack. He tap dances his way with his attack being a door that opens and an heavy object smacks the opponent from above. His music is more so on house music of the 90s with his stage being a Japanese tower with pink petals flowing around in the middle of the night.

Capoeira : aliens who are named after their… dance moves. Original… anyways two are better than one right with having two aliens dancing in synch to win against opponents. Their attack is an ufo who shrinks the body and makes the opponent into a bobble head while their stage is the UFO going to earth with music being… capoeira based :/

Robo-Z : the “Final boss” who dances like crazy and shoots a missile onto the opponent who is in a helicopter during the final stage. His music sounds like he’s on acid and his stage looks like the golden state bridge. Standing in a body of water with the opponent in a helicopter.

Every stage you have a “meter” which consists of “Cool, chillin’, and freeze” which all three aligned it creates a drastic stage change and double points to the player who achieved the meter. They are assigned at random yet can be aligned if done correctly when inputting commands
Inputting commands? Yeah, being a rhythm game you must input various buttons that appear on the screen when dancing. The more you input correctly the higher your score. You get a combo up to 8 combos before completing the set. You start off with three combos or five depending how accurate you input your commands and you miss commands the announcer will tell you to get better or yell “oh no”. More accurate the inputs, the higher the combos. The higher the combos, the higher the score. The higher the score, the more complex the inputs are. Reaching the high score puts you in “Fever time” where you dance solo or if your opponent has a score close to you, dance together with a funky tune playing. Fun at first but easily skipped if you get bored of watching it.
Two players is just the same. You and a friend face each other in a stage with the highest score being the winner.
Then there is training. This helps you find the rhythm of each song, able to hit the inputs accurately and learn each character quirks and difficulty of mastery.

Difficulty: 7
Each character has their own difficulty and when choosing them they have three options. “Easy, Normal, Mixed”. Some characters have directional inputs mixed with button inputs to give a challenge and each stage have their own rhythm. Some are slow and some are fast, it takes a while to adapt to the speed and win. Other than those whenever you go to the next stage, depending on how your skills are, you can branch out to either the lower or higher paths of the stages. The higher it is the more difficult the play through but it’s worth it if you want to face the true final boss. In the end the game is difficult on its own but very adaptable.

Overall this is one of the most obscure games I’ve played and I’ve enjoyed it so much. It’s one of those “hidden gems” that the PlayStation had and it’s only becoming more rare as the physical copies are going higher in prices. This game is not to be slept on and I guarantee you. If you like weird cartoony games with rhythm, this is the game.

Overall rating: 7.3333333333333333333333 (infinite)
My rating : 8.5