More
and more videogames are becoming more of fitness games. But
there's a series of fitness games that has been around for
more than 10 years. It's called Dance
Dance Revolution
(DDR). You've probably heard of it, but do you really no much
about it?
The History of Dance Dance Revolution (DDR)
First licensed by Konami and developed by Bemani, Dance Dance
Revolution first debuted as an arcade game in Japan in 1998.
It was imported to arcades in the U.S. in 2000. The first
home version came out on Sony's PlayStation the next year.
DDR on the PlayStation 2 came out in October 2002 titled DDR
MAX. Since then DDR has evolved- coming out with a new game
every year. DDR has come out on all major game systems like
PlayStation, PlayStation 2, Xbox, Xbox 360, Nintendo GameCube,
Nintendo Wii, and the Sony PS3 version is supposed to arrive in
2010 along with the new Xbox 360 version.
The gameplay of DDR is the player moves their feet in a set
pattern as the notes come up the screen. There are four arrows
that the player steps on to the beat: Up, Down, Left, and
Right. The notes are generally divided by color according
to the rhythm. At the top of the screen, there is a meter
called the "Dance Gauge".
If you hit the notes successfully, (the successful notes
are Marvelous, Perfect, and Great) the gauge gradually rises
until the gauge turns rainbow-colored. If you hit the fail
notes (the fail notes are Good, Almost, and Boo) the gauge
gradually decreases until you're in the red and you fail,
resulting in a Game Over. These notes are judged by your accuracy
in hitting the notes.
The notes that stretch down the screen are called Freeze
Arrows, you have to step on the note and hold, if you hold
on, you get an O.K, if you let go you get an N.G. (not good).
The more notes you hit and the higher your combo (the number
of notes you hit in a row), the better your score.
The songs' difficulty ranges from 1 to 10. (Although in the
newer game the range is stretched from 1 to 18 and is a major
pain in the butt.) 1 being the easiest and 10/18 the hardest.
The harder songs usually have more notes and more difficult
rhythms. The different difficulties that you can play on are
Beginner, Light/Basic, Standard/Difficult, Heavy/Expert, and
Challenge. The songs can be licensed tracks (popular, actual
songs) or Konami originals (songs that Konami artists made
themselves). The licensed tracks are usually easier than the
original songs. Songs usually range from 1 to 2 minutes long.
The Boss songs are definitely harder than all other songs.
Popular examples are the "Paranoia" and "MAX 300" series.
Dance Dance Revolution Gameplay modes
DDR can be played in multiple modes: Game Mode (Where 1-2
players can play the classic arcade style), Workout Mode (Dance
and the computer counts the calories you burn), Endless Mode
(Play all through all the songs), Edit Mode (You can make
up your own step files and dance to them) and many more! You
can also plug a controller for the game system you have for
DDR and use that, which is what some players do to beat hard
songs.
Dance Dance Revolution Summary
DDR has been said to be one of the best fitness game series
ever, and one of the best music game series as well. Personally,
I think it's pretty darn fun. Some player don't like it because
it takes time to get good at it. Just keep trying harder and
harder. This game is recommended for gamers who know how to
play Guitar Hero, because it's note style is very similar.
Even though becoming a master at DDR takes a long time and
can be frustrating, I highly recommend it for gamers. Just
take time to practice and soon you'll be a master at Dance
Dance Revolution.
