Dance Dance Revolution 4th Mix PSX
Chieko Aldana
The core involves the player stepping their feet to correspond with the arrows that appear on the screen and the beat. During normal gameplay, arrows scroll upwards from the bottom of the screen and pass over a set of stationary arrows near the top (referred to as the "guide arrows" or "receptors", officially known as the Step Zone). When the scrolling arrows overlap the stationary ones, the player must step on the corresponding arrows on the dance platform, and the player has been given a judgment for their accuracy of every streaked note (From highest to lowest: Marvelous,[a] Perfect, Great, Good, Almost,[b] Miss[c]).
Additional arrow types were added in later mixes. Freeze Arrows, introduced in MAX, are long green arrows that must be held down until they completely travel through the Step Zone. Each of these arrows awards an "O.K.!" if successfully pressed or an "N.G." when the arrow is released too quickly. An "N.G." decreases the life bar and, starting with X, also breaks any existing combo. X also introduced Shock Arrows, walls of arrows with lightning effects that must be avoided, which will award an "O.K.!" if successfully avoided or an "N.G." if any of the dancer's panels are stepped on. An "N.G." for shock arrows has the same consequences found with freeze arrows, but hitting a shock arrow additionally hides future steps for a short period.
A standard Dance Dance Revolution arcade machine consists of two parts, the cabinet and the dance platform. The cabinet has a wide bottom section, which houses large floor speakers and glowing neon lamps (led on X cabinets and hide lights on white cabinets). Above this sits a narrower section that contains the monitor, and on top is a lighted marquee graphic, with two small speakers and flashing lights on either side. Below the monitor are two sets of buttons (one for each player), each consisting of two triangular selection buttons (four on X and white cabinets) and a center rectangular button, used mainly to confirm a selection or start the game.
The dance stage is a raised metal platform divided into two sides. Each side houses a set of four acrylic glass pads[1] arranged and pointing in the orthogonal directions (left, up, down and right), separated by metal squares. Each pad sits atop four pressure activated switches, one at each edge of each pad, and a software-controlled cold cathode lamp illuminating the translucent pad, not available on the white cabinet. A metal safety bar in the shape of an upside-down "U" is mounted to the dance stage behind each player. Some players make use of this safety bar to help maintain proper balance, and to relieve weight from the legs so that arrows can be pressed with greater speed and accuracy.
The Solo arcade cabinet is smaller and contains only one dance pad, modified to include six arrow panels instead of four (the additional panels are "upper-left" and "upper-right"). These pads generally do not come with a safety bar, but include the option for one to be installed at a later date. The Solo pad also lacks some of the metal plating that the standard pad has, which can make stepping difficult for players who are used to playing on standard machines. An upgrade was available for Solo machines called the "Deluxe pad", which was closer to the standard cabinet's pad. Additionally Solo machines only incorporate two sensors, located horizontally in the center of the arrow, instead of four sensors (one on each edge).
DDR games have been released on various video game consoles, including the PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, GameCube, Wii, Xbox and Xbox 360, and even PCs. Home versions often contain new songs, songs from the arcade version, and additional features that take advantage of the capabilities of the console (e.g.; Xbox 360 versions such as the Dance Dance Revolution Universe series include support for online multiplayer and downloadable songs over Xbox Live, and high definition graphics). DDR has even reached Nintendo's Game Boy Color, with five versions of Dance Dance Revolution GB released in Japan; these included a series of three mainstream DDR games, a Disney Mix, and an Oha Star. The games come with a small thumb pad that fits over the Game Boy Color's controls to simulate the dance pad.
Home versions are commonly bundled with soft plastic dance pads that are similar in appearance and function to the Nintendo Power Pad. Some third-party manufacturers produce hard metal pads at a higher price.
A Christian version of DDR, named Dance Praise, has been made by Digital Praise. Ubisoft produced a dance game based on Disney's The Jungle Book titled The Jungle Book Groove Party.
Besides direct clones, many other games have been released that center around rhythm and dance due to DDR's popularity. Dance! Online released by Acclaim combines dance pad play with an MMO element. ABC's Dancing With the Stars and Codemasters' Dance Factory are more recent examples of games that pay homage to DDR and the genre it created. Konami uses music from its other rhythm game series such as Beatmania and Beatmania IIDX, Drummania, GuitarFreaks, and Pop'n Music, as well as making references to DDR in its other games and vice versa.
Tournaments are held worldwide, with participants usually competing for higher scores or number of Perfect/Marvelous steps (referred to previously as "Perfect Attack" tournaments, now more commonly known as "Marvelous Attack" or "MA tournaments"). Less common are "freestyle" tournaments, where players develop actual dance routines to perform while following the steps in the game.[10]
Other DDR players choose to incorporate complex or flashy techniques into their play movements, and some of these "freestyle" players develop intricate dance routines to perform during a song. Freestyle players tend to choose songs on lower difficulty levels, so that the player is not restricted in their movements by large quantities of required steps. Some players can even dance facing away from the screen.
Somewhere in the middle are the players which choose to do a little bit of both of the formers. There are criticisms of the In The Groove style of play which focuses on "perfect attack". More traditional players say it takes the fun away from the game the harder the step-charts get, which makes players use much less movement overall to conserve stamina. By doing this, it is no longer a dance game and many arrows do not fit perfectly with the beat because there are simply too many of them. The middle players enjoy moving to the beat and still trying to improve their scores without having to adopt the In the Groove style of play.
Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant are both seen playing the home version in the 2007 romantic comedy Music and Lyrics. While Barrymore's character seems to do well in front of her niece and nephew, Grant's has a little trouble keeping pace and ends up teaching the kids his old band's trademark dance moves.
In the 2006 comedy film, "Grandma's Boy (2006 film)," a modified version of Dance Dance Revolution is prominently featured in a scene where the character Bobby challenges video game tester, J.P., to a dance off. The film humorously exaggerates the gameplay, showcasing the characters' over-the-top dance moves and intense competition, which highlights the cultural impact and recognizability of the game during the 2000s.
On October 2, 2018, Deadline reported that Cara Fano would be supervising the production of a film based on the series. The report states that the film "will explore a world on the brink of destruction where the only hope is to unite through the universal language of dance." Stampede Ventures and Branded Pictures Entertainment have partnered to produce the film. Producers J. Todd Harris and Marc Marcum are also working with Konami on the project.[21]
May 28, 2010 - Navy General eyes Dance Dance Revolution for boot camp. - The Mole
We understand that Wii Fit has dubious health benefits at best (whatever CTA Digital might say top the contrary), but apparently word hasn't reached the Navy's top brass. According to the Navy Times, recruits need more work than ever before to get into fighting shape, "given that many young people prefer computers and video games" to sports and physical activity. The solution, says Navy Surgeon General Vice Adm. Adam Robinson, is to use break in would-be sailers slowly, introducing "the equivalents of Nintendo's Wii Fit or Konami's Dance Dance Revolution" in basic training. This sounds rather silly to us, but what do we know? We're lovers, not fighters.
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Jan 21, 2010 - StepMania: The Manga - J Dogg
In the strange but true department, we have this...
Prominent Japanese manga publisher Manga University has announced the upcoming launch of "StepMania: The Manga," an all-new original comic based on the wildly popular dance/rhythm video game. Made in consultation with the game's creator, Chris Danford, and written by up-and-coming Japanese manga artist Uno Shino, "StepMania: The Manga" follows the exploits of a brash high-schooler named Yukino as she is thrown headfirst into the world of StepMania by her best friend and veteran dancer Momo, who works at the local arcade.
\"StepMania: The Manga\" is a...
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How's playing DDR Wii games using the Dolphin Emulator? Are there any issues at all? You can use any USB dance pad and it'll work perfectly fine once mapped right? I'm considering doing this so if anyone can answer these questions .... thank you :)
This is a dancing game consisting of a screen and a dance platform that players control with their feet. The platform has four pads, which players must touch to music in the order specified by a chart on the screen. So players must dance to the music in the way the game demands.
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