Pump It Up: The Perfect Collection

Pump It Up: The Perfect Collection is a dance arcade game from Korean manufacturer Andamiro that stands alongside Dance Dance Revolution as one of the most significant rival dance machines of its time. Instead of four directional arrows, it uses a platform with five panels arranged in an X shape, so the player steps on the top and bottom corners as well as the center, leading to a different, often more acrobatic style of movement than on competing machines and requiring dedicated practice even for experienced dancers from other games. This layout also allowed choreographers to design routines resembling actual dance rather than simple step alternation.

The music selection combined Korean pop music, eurobeat, and tracks composed specifically for the series, and the faster tempo and greater emphasis on choreography earned the game a reputation as a more physically demanding variant of dance games. The Perfect Collection compiled and expanded on the content of previous versions and added new songs and difficulties, making it one of the most comprehensive entries of the series' early era and a popular entry point for new players getting acquainted with the whole history of the series at once.

In arcades outside Asia, including Europe, Pump It Up established itself as a popular alternative to Dance Dance Revolution and built its own loyal player community, which valued the different step layout and more demanding choreographies at higher difficulties that opened up room for personal dance style and improvisation. A competitive scene with tournaments gradually formed around the game as well, where players showed off elaborate routines of their own devising. The series continues with new versions to this day, and Pump It Up is considered one of the pillars of the dance arcade game genre alongside Dance Dance Revolution, sharing its audience but offering an entirely different movement language and spectator experience that drew attention beyond arcades for years.

Why play: Anyone looking for an alternative to Dance Dance Revolution with a different step layout and more demanding choreographies that open up room for their own dance style will find it right here.