I have recently purchased the 2025 edition of “Just Dance” for the Nintendo Switch since it was on “rollback” at Walmart for ~$14. How did I justify this purchase of what some may consider a game of childhoods long past from an antiquated franchise? Well, I began by getting my friends hooked on my already installed “Just Dance 2022.” On one winter afternoon, when a few of us were huddled together in my apartment trying to get our work done, we all began to feel tired. It was then that I suggested that the best way to bring the energy and endorphins back was to take a dance break. Sure, it was a silly idea, especially when only one person in the room was an actual dancer (not me, to be clear), but it worked. We put on a pop hit and started jumping around the room for a bit, and realized, this wasn’t half bad. That’s when I brought up my pre-downloaded “Just Dance 2022” game. Because what makes friendship more fun than competition? Since then, I have received many requests for study time featuring “Just Dance” breaks to the point where it is now one of the scheduled activities at an upcoming roommate event. It was a hit. Now, you may be saying to yourself, “I don’t like dancing so I don’t think this is for me.” However, there are many ways to enjoy the just dance experience outside of the actual dancing. First and foremost, the karaoke aspect. “Just Dance” provides the song lyrics on the side of the screen (the bottom left corner, to be exact), so you can sing along while your friends dance to their hearts’ content. The other way to enjoy the game is simply by being in the room and watching your friends be the most goofy versions of themselves. There is something truly cathartic about the experience of releasing your inhibitions for the sake of getting a “Perfect!” to appear on the screen and immersing yourself in a 2022 bop.
All was going well until the songs got old. This is truly the age-old problem of “Just Dance”; the game does not evolve with the times. It is quite literally a relic of one particular year, forcing you to buy another copy. As the complaints started to roll in, I began searching for a solution to keep the dance party going. As of two weeks ago, I have fixed the problem! There is a subscription you can buy for just $3.99 for one month where you can access all the “Just Dance” songs from all the previous editions. Wow, am I right? But then I found yet another hitch in my “Just Dance” scheme—It turns out that for my version of “Just Dance” (2022) the subscription service was discontinued, and I needed a copy of “Just Dance 2023” or later to get all the songs … because of course I do. That’s when Walmart and capitalism saved the day! Since I refuse to buy the Nintendo Switch 2 that just came out (I may write an article about this, but in short, the games are like $90 and you don’t even actually own them … ), I am no longer purchasing the newest games, meaning all the Nintendo Switch games are going down in price. I was able to snag my copy of “Just Dance 2025, Ariana Grande Bonus Pack, and Unicorn Pack” (I honestly can’t explain why this exists, it was just what was available) for $14 from Walmart. I might be going back for a few other games as well, honestly, so don’t use my tips against me! To my surprise, the new game also comes with one month free of the unlimited subscription, along with the typical 40-ish new songs! Basically, these $14 got me millions of friendship points.
I tried out the game for the first time with my roommate a few days ago (as of the writing of this article). I was very surprised to see the UI and dancer visuals were completely different from previous versions. My initial thoughts are as follows: The UI is not great. I don’t enjoy how they show you song packs you don’t own at the top of the screen then try to lead you to spending more money … I just want to see my list of songs. The dancers look more … human now … which was weird at first, but I got used to it. Although my roommate and I did enjoy the songs with the animated characters the most (like the lion in “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” one of my top “Just Dance” songs I’ve ever played, to be honest; it brought us so much joy). The backgrounds of the dances are also much more dynamic now, with lots of moving buildings and background characters to add to the ambiance. Again, I don’t think that was a problem in the previous games, but I got used to it and began to enjoy it as we played. My main gripe so far is that they removed the ability to save different dancer cards. For those that do not know and are simply reading this article because they are fans of my work (hehe), it is basically the mechanic that allows you to create profiles for your friends so that their names appear next to their points while playing, they can have their own avatar and they can track their overall point totals. I liked having a record of all the friends I have played with, so it will be sad to lose that feature. Then again, I do have “Just Dance 2022” still, so I guess I can still add them on that version of the game. The songs on “Just Dance 2025” are definitely way better than 2022, both in notoriety and the general enthusiasm my friends have expressed in wanting to dance to almost all of them. Some of my favorites so far include “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter, “Paint the Town Red” by Doja Cat, “Basket Case” by Green Day, “Lovin’ On Me” By Jack Harlow and, of course, my five bonus Ariana Grande songs (who could forget!).
In this economy, I feel the “bang for my buck” I received in this purchase was pretty great. Not only is it replayable, slightly addictive and even good for your health (some of those songs are a real workout, especially the extreme versions), but it is nice to have something to look forward to with my friends. Does it also give me another excuse not to leave my house? Yes, but more importantly, it has become a new way to connect with people, which is not something I expected when I initially purchased the game. So, if school’s got you down, life’s feeling rough and you just don’t want to get that assignment done, take my advice and just dance—you might be surprised who ends up dancing alongside you.
