DDR Freaks!

[Ashley]

Ok everyone...I know there was an old thread on this but since I just became a ddr freak myself...it was time to incite the revolution again.

So what's your favorite song? Light, heavy, standard or beginner? How many days/weeks/hours/months experience? Do you play with others or have a private session in a freezing basement somewhere?

To answer my own questions, I love Dream a Dream and Ghosts off Max2, light mode, and I've only logged hmm...maybe 16 hours worth of time. I play with others (Shatterheart, Lighbringer, Gypsy and I had some two on two teams going for 3 days and my brother and I play quite a bit now).

Also, any tips out there? I've learned it's best not to return to home between every step, but that's just me. ^^

[ShiroiHikari]

DDR

Tip: don't stomp. Hurts your feet, and hurts the pad...

[Kkun]

DDR Freaks unite. Rock on, Ashley.

Lessee, to answer the questions...my favorite DDR song right now is a tie between Burning Heat!(3 Option Mix) and Sakura, both on Heavy. When I'm at the arcade I tend to play one of those, in at least every other set of songs.

I've been playing DDR for almost two years now. I think I've logged close to like..two thousand hours playing DDR. That's probably exaggerated, but it seems like a lot.

Uh, usually I play at home (DDR Max 2 for PS2 or PS1 Japanese versions) and at Putt Putt, where we have DDR Extreme. It's usually with others, but when it's at home I play alone.

I love DDR so much...I played it today at Putt Putt, in fact...

[TheMelodyMaker]

I've never played it myself, and I don't think I'd have the stamina to last even a single round, but it would be cool to see it in action.

(Off topic, with all the custom hardware that they've made in the past even back to NES times just for their own games, the folks at Konami ought to just make their own console. I think they'd be pretty successful. ^_^ )

[PXDN Gamer]

Im more of a pump player but when I do get my few rounds of DDR in I usally love to play superstar, Spin the disk, Siants go marching in (cause it is mega fun)

[CDLviking]

I played it once at Golfland (bit o' trivia: this is actually where they filmed the "Waterloo" scene in Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure) and I was totally lost. I have no rythm.

[Psycho Ann]

I'm a DrumMania freak above all and then a Pumper before I'm a DDR-ist.

As for DDR, my favorite would be 3rd Mix's Wonderland for SSR. And all versions of Afronova and Paranoia except for their SSR options which would make me trip and fall.

I guess I've been playing since DDR 3rd Mix went big in Asia which was.... probably 5-7 years ago when I was in Junior high.

[SVD997]

I played ddr in the arcade once and loved it! I haven't played in awhile but I enjoyed it. I wish my college allowed console systems so I could play ddr.

[Benu]

Yes I am another DDR Freak!!! Yea!! Well I don't really remember the names of the songs. I just play whatever and I mix the diffculties up and play it like that. I just play and play hard. I keep the beat is the only advice I can give. The music actully matters in the game so keep the beat.

[Bobtheduck]

advice:

Learn to not return to home
Learn to turn
Learn to turn and jump
learn to alternate
learn when NOT to alternate (I.E. when the song is heavy on Freeze steps)

Faves:
Afronova (Light mode, I got an a once...)
Break Down (light mode, almost always get AA)
In The Navy (Light, I always get A's)
Dream a Dream (Light, A's)

Captain Jack is the ugliest man in Techno, but his songs are addicting. (just don't watch his uncensored music videos)

[Kkun]

Oh yeah, Captain Jack's uncensored stuff is uh........not good.

His songs on DDR are awesome though.

[HikariChan]

i love DDR!!! the song i like is My butterfly!! somthin like that!!!
but on hard^____^
i guess you can say i like to fall!!!!

[Zilch]

I'm a light-standard kinda dude(DDRMAX, 1 and 2). I love "I Like To Move It", "Breakdown", and "Tsugura".

[Gypsy]

I play normally on Standard (although, I'm making the painful transition to Heavy ... how humbling ).

My fav songs are (respectively):
Breakdown
true ~trance sunrise mix~
Sana Morette Ne Ente
Conga Feeling
Heaven
Forever Sunshine

Currently, I'm trying to unlock CANDY on my DDR Max.

Tips: Well, I'm hardly a pro at this, but there's a couple things that I see beginners doing that could end up messing them up.

1. Just like Annette said, stomping stinks. It is a game of stepping, not putting your heel through the floor. This is a good way to throw yourself off balance or off beat.

2. Keeping your knees slightly bent at all times isn't a bad idea - I notice when people first start out they're worried about how stupid they look and try to just stand still as much as possible. After you get into the Standard and Heavy modes, you're never really holding still long enough to worry about appearances.

3. Playing completely flat-footed will just slow you down, your should be on the ball of your foot most of the time.

4. You do not have to go back to the middle. Nevermind what that silly screen shows you on the beginner tutorial. Your best bet is to hit your step, then keep that foot there until you have to move it to hit another step.

5. Finally - when hitting a simultanious up and down step, swivelling your entire body around to meet the step seems to be more accurate than keeping your torso towards the screen. Don't be afraid to twist your body a little - your neck does turn, you know.

[shooraijin]

*is not worthy* *is not worthy*

[Kkun]

Oh man, Gypsy, I'm glad someone aside from me likes Sana Morette Na Ente. That song is so cool. I'm currently trying to AA Burning Heat! on heavy..and pass So Deep on Heavy...and..any of the Maxs on Heavy. T_T

[Fsiphskilm]

Hey now le

[Fsiphskilm]

Dang double

[Kkun]

Yeah, Volt those are all good songs. I can't bring myself to play The Whistle Song though... I think the song is one big double entendre for something I can't bring up here, nor would I bring up anyway.

Anyway, I think I'll add in some tips I've found for playing. These are just general observations I've made from the many, many hours of time I've spent playing DDR.. take 'em, leave 'em, whatever. Just thought I'd post them. If you want to see what I'm talking about in an example, just click on the name of a song and it'll take you to it's step chart.

1)Turn sideways on funky arrows.

This just tacks on to the don't be afraid to turn your body thing. When you see arrows that are like left-down-right-down-left-down-right, it's much easier to turn sideways. It's like running.
Hit the left arrow with your left foot, down arrow with your right foot, and right arrow with your left foot. Then, from there, just run on it to the beat. It makes hitting those kind of steps much easier. (example: The beginning of Can't Stop Falling In Love ~Speed Mix~ on Heavy). There are also examples of having to turn so you're almost facing backwards to make some arrows easier to hit.
When you get more experienced at DDR, swerving your body will become almost like second nature. There are steps such as left-up-right-up-right-left-down-right-down-left-down-right that are killer if you don't know where to stand on the pad. (example: All of Rhythm and Police on Heavy, Exotic Ethnic Heavy, Healing Vision Angelic Mix Heavy). Practice may not make you perfect, but it will help.
My description may be a little confusing, but these kind of steps are ones that I see a lot of people struggle with, trying to stay facing the screen and do them.

2)If the steps seem awkward from the front, don't be afraid to turn around.

There are plenty of songs I've found where I have trouble hitting the steps while facing forward or sideways, so what do I do? I turn around backwards, if only for a moment. It makes playing the steps worlds easier. One example of this is Frozen Ray on heavy where one section has lots of steps that come in threes. You can literally spin around the pad on this song if you know where to start. I'll try to come up with some other instances of this later...

3)Pay close attention to the steps.

Uh. This is kind of a duh thing, but what this will really help is your ability to read steps without the help of speed modifiers. Speed mods actually make the song easier. Just remember, a lot of people can pass Bag on heavy on 5x Speed. You're not bad until you can pass it on normal speed.
Some songs have steps that seem really close together, like the groovy part on My Summer Love heavy, Twilight Zone heavy or all of Burning Heat! heavy. It's hard to read at first, but as you practice, you'll see that the steps start to almost slow down as they become easier to read.

4) Don't panic.

This is one I used to have trouble with, and I see other people have trouble with. When some confusing looking steps come your way, slow down. The worst thing you can do is speed up your leg movement when weird steps appear because you'll just try to hit lots of arrows that aren't there and will probably hit none that are!

5) Drink. Lots. Of. Water.



Uh, okay, so everyone who's reading this is probably wondering when I'll shut up. Those are just some things I've found to help your DDR playing experience.

[Gypsy]

Oh man, Gypsy, I'm glad someone aside from me likes Sana Morette Na Ente. That song is so cool. I'm currently trying to AA Burning Heat! on heavy..and pass So Deep on Heavy...and..any of the Maxs on Heavy. T_T

Oh, Burning Heat is fun too! It sounds like an old NES game. Yeah .. when I try any of the Maxxes on anything other than Light, I usually do some sort of injury to myself (or just sit down on the pad and start laughing ]tip[/b] from me, and I'm sure other DDR'ers will agree: If you can't seem to do a song - don't get discouraged and stop trying. Eventually, you'll be able to read the steps and translate them to your feet. A song that seems impossible to you one week, you might A the next, because everytime you play, you get a little bit better - even if you don't finish the song.

Oh, and Volt - tell that little DDR freak that he's welcome anytime.

[ShiroiHikari]

Some songs have steps that seem really close together, like the groovy part on My Summer Love heavy

I'm actually working on perfecting this. I can do it on 2x (kinda) but on 1x? HAHAHA. :p (This is with my fingers, mind you)

Oh man, Gypsy, I'm glad someone aside from me likes Sana Morette Na Ente. That song is so cool.

Ditto! It's such a cute song :3 But I'm always afraid someone's gonna make fun of me for liking it. XP

A song that seems impossible to you one week, you might A the next, because everytime you play, you get a little bit better - even if you don't finish the song.

Yup! Never give up on a song. Maybe give it a rest for a while and come back to it later, but don't give it up. :]

[Kkun]

Gypsy -
Yeah, definitely sage advice. I'm currently trying to pass So Deep on heavy and I get a little better every time. I couldn't pass Burning Heat on Heavy for the longest time, but I played it like 20 times, getting a little further each time. Now, it's one of my favorite Heavy songs.

ShiroiHikari -
Boo! 8D No fingers! Lol. Just kidding. Not bad...it's a fun song on your feet though. That groovy, as I call it, part is so much fun when you can do it on Heavy on your feet. It's crazy. Especially on 1x, which is awesome. And crazy. Like this guy -->
Uh, and liking Sana Morette Ne Ente is nothing for anyone to laugh about, heh. I'm a guy...who likes the song Cowgirl. No one here can top that. No one.

[Bobtheduck]

Oh, Burning Heat is fun too! It sounds like an old NES game.

I think it's from an old konami classic, R-type (which goes by a different name internationally, I think... I played the original on MSX) So you were right in what it sounded like because that's exactly what it was from, sorta... They changed it a bit (NES/MSX songs were never that long) but I think that's where it's from.

[Kkun]

Hmm...I thought it was the theme from Gradius V.

[ShiroiHikari]

I heard it was from Gradius too...even though I don't know what Gradius is :p

[Kkun]

Hehe. Gradius was this old 2D shooter, like 1942 or Einhander. I...think it was supposed to be pretty good.

[Yusuke]

Sakura is my FAVORITE DDR song, I just love the beat!

[BishounenCookie]

Last summer I went to an anime screening at a university halfway across the state with my cousin and his friends, who introduced me to bemani at a massive arcade called Pinball Pete's. They had DDR 5th, Max2, and Extreme, among other various bemani such as Guitar Freaks and PPP. I thought DDR was great, but I didn't start playing on my own until a few months later.

I now own a pair of ignition pads, but I rarely use them. Actually, they have only been used a couple times on family get-together occasions, where I rig them up to my Windows box and a TV, my cousins and I play StepMania. I am pretty much exclusively an arcade player. Unfortunatley in my area there is only one place to play, it's an 8th mix with reconditioned platforms which costs a quarter per song. (sometimes 75c for 3, sometimes 1.00 for 4, depends on what the arcade ops feel like setting it) At the moment I am playing some 9-foot and some 10-foot songs. One of my favourite songs to play is Drop Out, because it has the "wtf?!" effect on both passers-by, and other DDR players because of the fast jumps. I also like to show off Paranoia Survivor which I can pull off pretty well until past 3/4 of the way through, I am on my knees, huffing, and grasping my jug of water. >_<;; Then people start to walk away. Those are just my show-off songs. Other songs that I actually enjoy are So Deep, true... (both mixes), Frozen Ray, sync, and sakura.

I must confess, I hate other people who play DDR. They usually annoy me by stomping, trying to do dumb tricks, picking the same song for 3 out of 4 rounds (*cough*, matsuri japan), telling me what songs to pick, or (ooh this one makes my blood boil!!) shadowing me, or otherwise acting like n00bs. I find that playing in the early afternoon on weekdays allows me to avoid other players almost completely. It's not uncommon for me to be able to spend up to 2 hours at the machine without having to share it once.

My cousin is alot better than me. If any of you play StepMania, hopefully you are familiar with the "NeoMax." I watched my cousin do it on heavy... I was blown away. Not at all a hard song to do on the keyboard, but on a pad is a different story...

Lessee... what else can I say. I have vomitted twice while playing DDR, once after playing daikenkai on standard a long time ago (yeah, must have been really out of shape), and once more recently after playing can't stop falling in love speed mix.

So yeah, that's my story. Thanks for reading.

[inkhana]

>If any of you play StepMania, hopefully you are familiar with the "NeoMax." I watched my cousin do it on heavy... I was blown away. Not at all a hard song to do on the keyboard, but on a pad is a different story...

Oooh, I've not played that one. (I mostly have game, anime, and "custom" mixes). Must look that one up...

I love to play Stepmania. My sister is a lot better at playing on the keyboard than I am, though. I generally prefer to play on foot (hey, I figure if I have to stink at something, I may as well practice being stinky at it on foot...XD) She can play the challenge mode on the keyboard... Me...I can only play two songs on heavy...O.o LOL, now everyone knows how bad I am...

I have yet to get sick playing SM, but I reckon it'll happen sooner or later. I did nearly black out a couple of times, though.

[Fsiphskilm]

[quote="Bish