What is Dance Dance Revolution (or DDR)?
Dance Dance Revolution is, in short, a rhythm game with a large four-panel controller that you use your feet to play. The premise is simple: Arrows (left, down, up, and right) will scroll up the screen in time to a song, and the object is to hit the directional panel in beat with the corresponding arrow. Your accuracy is graded by the following ratings:
- Marvelous/Marvellous!!! (Only available in Nonstop/Oni Courses and DDR Extreme 2/Str!ke)
- Perfect!!
- Great!
- Good
- Boo/Almost (Almosts appear on DDR home versions and DDR Supernova AC in the US)
- Miss/Boo (Boos replace Misses on DDR home versions and DDR Supernova AC in the US)
Grades are issues when the song ends and can range from E (song failure) to AAA (getting all Perfects). For all intents and purposes, a Marvelous counts as a Perfect.
DDR Song Lists:
Song genres range from J-Pop to Trance to Happy Hardcore, and each song is about 1:30, give or take (DDR 6th Mix's Nori Nori Nori is much shorter, whereas DDR 7th Mix's Kakumei is much longer.) For full songlists of each mix, refer to the following website(s):
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http://www.ddrfreak.com/versions/listver.php (features most of the song lists from some of the DDR mixes; it is incomplete and does not feature lists for games like DDR Str!ke and DDR Mario Mix)
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Dance_Revolution (each mix is separated into its own article, and the song lists are linked or listed in each article)
Ranking System:
There is currently a ranking website for those who would like to keep track of their DDR scores in an organized fashion called DDRecall. Only arcade scores are accepted, due to the larger Perfect window (also addressed below in the FAQ).
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http://www.ddrecall.com/ (the site also features a record-keeping system for In The Groove called "GrooveTrack", but it is much less popular than the other ITG record site "GrooveStats")
Other Rhythm Games:
There are a few other popular rhythm games that will be referred to or discussed in the thread (links to related sites are at the bottom of the post):
Pump It Up! - Pump It Up! (PIU) is Korean company Andamiro's 5-Panel Rhythm Game that is very similar in premise to DDR but features a very different grading system and is home to some of the most stamina-draining stepcharts in any dance game. A few of the more notable are the Nightmare charts for the songs "Dignity", "Love Is A Danger Zone 2", and "Canon-D". Gaia Online user aokiqiao has created a Pump It Up! thread, but the link is currently unknown. PIU currently has eight international arcade releases but only one console release: Pump It Up! Exceed.
In The Groove - In The Groove (ITG) was Seattle-based company RoXoR Games's answer to DDR. It features the exact same arrow layout as DDR and offers song mods only previously available in Stepmania, a DDR simulation game for the PC. It is most noted for having harder charts than DDR, as DDR features songs with difficulty ratings of 1-10 whereas ITG ranges from 1-13. Its most popular songs that feature incredibly hard charts include Pandemonium, VerTex^2, Euphoria, Summer ~Speedy Mix~, Determinator, and Bloodrush. ITG has two arcade releases and one console release.
beatmania IIDX - beatmania IIDX is a rhythm game from the makers of DDR (beatmania is actually the first rhythm game ever made). It features 7 keys and a turntable, each that are hit in tune with songs. The game features an incredibly small timing window and offers a very steep learning curve, which has turned many players off to the game. beatmania IIDX currently has 13+ arcade releases (with its beatmania predecessor having a variety of other releases), 11+ Japanese console releases, and one US console release under the name "beatmania". Gaia Online user RePure has created a beatmania IIDX thread.
Pop'n Music - Pop'n Music is a rhythm game similar to IIDX featuring nine bubble-like buttons. It too has a multitude of arcade and console releases and is most noted for having the largest range of genres in rhythm gaming.
Stepmania - Stepmania is a popular DDR/ITG simulator available for free at Stepmania.com. It features a variety of customizable themes and noteskins, and one can even upload or create their own songs for play. More information about Stepmania is available at their website.
Flash Flash Revolution - Flash Flash Revolution (FFR) is a flash-based DDR simulator. It is widely considered very inferior to Stepmania or the lesser-played Dance With Intensity (the precursor to Stepmania) as it is said to have a terrible interface
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