User:Miik/DDR2: Difference between revisions

'''DanceDanceRevolution''' (ダンスダンスレボリューション), abbreviated '''DDR''' and also known as '''Dancing Stage''' (ダンシングステージ) in select games and territories, is the second music video game series produced by KONAMI in the [[BEMANI]] series in 1998. It started initially as an arcade-only game but since received both home versions (both ports and exclusive versions) and various spin-offs. To this day, DanceDanceRevolution is the BEMANI series with the most released titles internationally.

=== Arrow Types ===

The arrows used on a song chart are usually placed following the bar (a bar equal to 4 beats). Other than the regular arrows, the game also have:

=== Judgement System ===

Players are judged by how well they time their steps to the patterns shown on screen when they reach the [[DDR Glossary|Step Zone]]. Each arrow that passes the Step Zone receives a text-based timing result based on the accuracy. From highest to lowest: <span style="color:#f0d3a1;">'''Marvelous!!!'''</span>, <span style="color: #f6ee1f;">'''Perfect!!'''</span>, <span style="color: #25ea17;">'''Great!'''</span>, <span style="color: #1ba1ff;">'''Good'''</span>, <span style="color: #fe1d23;">'''Miss...'''</span><br>

Missing a Frezze Arrow or stepping on a Shock Arrow will result in getting a <span style="color: #757474;">'''N.G.'''</span> (No Good) while hitting it (or avoiding stepping on it for Shock Arrows) correctly will give the timing <span style="color: #f47514;">'''O.K.!'''</span> The timing Marvelous was added on every play modes in [[AC DDR SuperNOVA2|DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2]]. Until [[AC DDR X2|DanceDanceRevolution X2]], Almost was a judgement result placed before Miss.  

;LIFE GAUGE / DANCE METER

The timing result influences both the score of the player and the player’s life meter. Continuously missing or receiving poor timing judgments drain the life gauge. After a while if the player doesn’t improve, this could lead to the game ending prematurely (getting a “Game Over”, thus failing the song). A visual cue exists to help identify when the life meter is low, it goes from being rainbow colored (no misses in a while) to green (a few miss) and finally to red (danger). The life gauge usually starts at half its capacity and is shown in green as default.  

In later games, the standard LIFE GAUGE is often replaced with a stricter gauge such as [[DDR AC General Info|RISKY]] during a special event called an EXTRA STAGE which is unlocked after fulfilling one or more conditions.  

Another concept is the ability to create a combo. After hitting successfully a number of steps, the combo number will appear on the screen. Since [[AC DDR 2013|DanceDanceRevolution (2013)]], getting a Great won’t break the combo and only getting a Miss or a N.G. can now break the combo.

* Single Play (シングルプレー): A solo game using the 4 foot panels.

* Double Play (ダブルプレー): A solo game using two 4 foot panels

* Versus Play(バーサスプレー): A two players play style using each a 4 foot panels.  

=== Songs Selection ===

In most games, the song list was accessible using a song wheel with each song having a related song banner. Since DDR X2, the songs are now chosen from left to right, with album jackets replacing the series' long-time traditional banners. The songs featured in the game are usually short, around 1:30 in length. The BPM of the songs can either be constant or vary during the song. In DDR 5thMIX, a new feature known as a stop (a moment where the arrows stop scrolling on the screen) was added.  

In DanceDanceRevolution, songs are rated using a number from 1, being the easiest, to 20, being the hardest. The difficulty number is known as a Foot Level due to a feet icon being displayed next to the rating number for the song in the earliest games. Initially in the first game, the rating was from 1 to 8 and each number had a corresponding name. However, these names were dropped in DanceDanceRevolution 4thMIX. The rating was changed to 9 in DanceDanceRevolution 3rdMIX and finally to 10 in DDRMAX. The whole system was upgraded to its current range of 1 to 20 in DanceDanceRevolution X.

; <span style="color:#1fd6fe;">'''BEGINNER'''</span>

Introduced in DDRMAX, the [[GROOVE RADAR]] was supposed to be the successor to the traditional feet level system. Due to the negative reception, the Feet Level system returned in DDRMAX2 and ever since, both systems are used in the game.  

In a nutshell, the GROOVE RADAR is a graphical representation of a song difficulty using a pentagram. The pentagram is drawn using 5 criteria: VOLTAGE, AIR, FREEZE, CHAOS and STREAM.  

Both to help or to increase the difficulty of the game, modifiers are included for players to use since the very first game. The possible options range from changing the color of the arrows or their shapes to hiding the steps on the screen. Usually, the players are free to use any options but on select occasion such as an EXTRA STAGE, the modifiers are set by the game and can't be changed.

After each song completion, an evaluation is performed on the player’s performances. It typically includes a list of each timing judgement with how many of them were obtained, a global score and a letter grade. In case the song was failed, the word FAILED appears in red letter before the evaluation screen. The same happens when the song is cleared with the word CLEARED appearing in green.

Following the naming convention started with beatmania, each new DanceDanceRevolution games had the suffix MIX added after the version number. That system was kept from DanceDanceRevolution 2ndMIX until DDRMAX2 -DanceDanceRevolution 7thMIX-. The games released after that, received a unique name such as EXTREME or SuperNOVA instead. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the series, DanceDanceRevolution X was announced as the successor to SuperNOVA2 and spanned two sequels: X2 and X3 VS 2ndMIX. Since 2013, the arcade game returned to its core name DanceDanceRevolution. The 2013 version is known as DanceDanceRevolution (2013) while the current version is known as DanceDanceRevolution.

* [https://www.facebook.com/dancedancerevolution Facebook Page]