Just Dance 2017
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Paris Ubisoft Pune Ubisoft Milan Ubisoft Reflections
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Series	Just Dance
Engine	UbiArt Framework
Platform(s)	Windows Wii Wii U PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 Xbox 360 Xbox One Nintendo Switch
Release	Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii, Wii U, Windows NA: October 25, 2016 EU: October 27, 2016 UK: October 28, 2016 AU: October 29, 2016 CHN: April 28, 2017 Nintendo Switch WW: March 3, 2017
Genre(s)	Dance
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Just Dance 2017 is a 2016 dance video game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on June 13, 2016, during its E3 press conference as the eighth main installment of the series,^[1] and was released in October 2016 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, Wii U, and Microsoft Windows; and on March 3, 2017, for Nintendo Switch. The game was the only title of the series to be released on Microsoft Windows, and was released as a launch title for Nintendo Switch.

Gameplay

As in previous installments, players must mimic the routine of an on-screen dancer to a chosen song, scoring points based on their accuracy. For input, the game supports either the respective motion controller system for a particular console platform (Wii Remotes on Wii and Wii U, PlayStation Move on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Camera on PlayStation 4, Kinect on Xbox 360 and One and Joy-Con on Nintendo Switch), or a smartphone with the game's companion mobile app.^[2] For the PC version, a gamepad and a keyboard can also be used for menu navigation.

The "Dance Party" mode has been renamed to the "Just Dance" mode, players can now have the ability to search for a song using the menu. The "Superstar" rank has been added, in which it's achievable at 11,000 points. A new "Just Dance Machine" mode was added on current-generation console and PC versions, in which players must dance through routines of different styles to help recharge an alien spaceship, using a unique scoring mechanic which shows green if successfully or red if messing up.^[2][3][4] Each session contains five routines, with "Cosmic Rounds" popping up randomly. The story of this mode follows two aliens that are dancing on their ship. All of a sudden, their battery is running low. To recharge its battery, the aliens travelled to Earth and abduct human dancers known as "coaches" to recharge its battery by dancing. In the ending, the battery was charged and the aliens leave Earth as they keep dancing. But unfortunately, their battery is running low once again.

Ubisoft confirmed that the Dance Quests, Sweat (workout and playlist modes), Just Dance TV, and World Dance Floor (which has been revamped in the Wii U, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One versions of the game, with new features, such as cross-platform between all versions of the game, besides PC, Beat the Boss, where players would need to get a target amount of stars across one to three song(s) to defeat the boss, Spotlight Players, where players would try to beat a player from the "World Video Challenge" mode to earn a share of the pot of Mojo coins, Happy Hours, which now appear daily instead of weekly, and feature songs from the Just Dance Unlimited service, and Tournaments, where players compete each other for the top combined score across three songs in daily tournaments and eight songs in weekly tournaments, while the same features from Just Dance 2015 was retained in the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions of the game, in which the said title was continued to be its basis, with the "Community Remix" feature now in a full screen format as akin to the Wii U, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions) features would be retained on 2017, as well as the Just Dance Unlimited subscription service for versions of the game on current-generation consoles and PC, with additional content and playlist features.^[2] The game's companion app was also updated to become "a hub for players' activities", with photo editing features and Just Dance TV content alongside the app's main purpose as a motion controller.^[2] The Wii U exclusive "Party Master" mode was removed. Furthermore, the Wii U version doesn't have the ability to apply effects for "Autodance" videos, just like in previous entries.

All online services for the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions of the game were discontinued on November 19, 2018.^[5]

The Chinese version removes online features, such as Just Dance Unlimited and the World Dance Floor.

Soundtrack

The following songs appear on Just Dance 2017:

Note: "In the Hall of the Pixel King" by Dancing Bros. (based on "In the Hall of the Mountain King", written by Edvard Grieg, and "Ode to Joy", written by Ludwig van Beethoven) and "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polkadot Bikini" by Brian Hyland (covered by The Sunlight Shakers) were planned to appear in the game, but they were scrapped for unknown reasons. They were later brought back to Just Dance 2018.

Reception

Steve Hannley of Hardcore Gamer thought that although Ubisoft had defied his prediction that Just Dance Unlimited would be the future of the franchise instead of physical releases, they had put a larger effort into the on-disc content of 2017 than 2016 (which he described as being a "last minute afterthought" to introduce Unlimited). The Just Dance Machine mode was considered to be "pointless" due to being a basic concept driven by its presentation, but is "a concept that's never been done before in rhythm games and an example of the innovation the series needs to warrant another physical release". Hannley also praised the higher quality of the game's soundtrack, including more recent hit music, fewer "joke" songs, and surfacing Gigi Rowe's "impressive" debut single "Run the Night". In conclusion, Hannley continued to assert that Ubisoft should focus more on providing more immediate access to recent music rather than requiring players to wait for the next annual physical release, but that Just Dance 2017 was "thankfully a marked improvement over its predecessor."^[4]

References

External links

• Official website