What Is DDR?: Difference between revisions

Depending on the timing accuracy of the player, various text-based judgement can appear on screen. From highest to lowest:

* <span style="color:#f0d3a1;">'''Marvelous!!!'''</span> is the judgment obtained when the step hits perfectly on the arrow. While it was introduced in [[AC DDR EXTREME|DanceDanceRevolution EXTREME]]'s Course mode, it was later added on every Play mode in DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2. The accuracy for this rating is higher than a Perfect.

* <span style="color: #f6ee1f;">'''Perfect!!'''</span> is the judgment obtained when the step hit the arrow exactly on the beat.

* <span style="color: #25ea17;">'''Great!'''</span> is the judgment when the step hits the arrow slightly before or after the beat. Prior to DanceDanceRevolution (2013), it was the last rating that didn't break a combo count.

* <span style="color: #1ba1ff;">'''Good'''</span> is the judgment for a step that hits the arrow more than slightly off-beat. Since 2013, this rating doesn't break the combo anymore.

* <span style="color: #f47514;">'''O.K.!!!'''</span> is the judgment obtained when a freeze arrow is hold successfully or when shock arrows pass the STEP ZONE without being stepped on.

* <span style="color: #fe1d23;">'''Miss...'''</span> (also known as Boo in SuperNOVA and select American CS games) is the judgment for a step either hit too late, or not at all.

** <span style="color: #757474;">'''N.G.'''</span> (No Good) is the judgment obtained when a Freeze Arrow is missed or Shock Arrows are stepped on. N.G. is now counted as part of Miss but is still shown on screen during gameplay.

** In older games, hitting a step off-beat would get the step rating Boo (known as Almost in SuperNOVA and select American CS versions). That step rating was merged with Miss in DanceDanceRevolution X2.

The existence of a judgment better than "Perfect" can be thought of as an anachronism: as the game uses frame-based timing, a Perfect on the first 30 fps arcade cabinets literally meant frame perfect. After the series transitioned to 60 fps, the Perfect timing window was changed to 2 frames to keep gameplay consistent and comparable, allowing the introduction of a new frame perfect timing window smaller than the original.

The timing result influences both the score and the player's DANCE GAUGE (ダンスゲージ). Continuously missing (Miss) or receiving timing judgments lower than Good (except O.K.) will 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 and/or blue (a few misses) and finally to red (danger). Also, audio cues that help identify when the player is in danger of failing include a booing audience and the announcer encouraging the player to stop missing notes. The gauge usually starts at half its capacity and is shown in green and/or blue by default. If the DANCE GAUGE is set to GRADE, it will always be colored yellow except when in DANGER. Prior to DanceDanceRevolution (2013), the DANCE GAUGE was known as the dance meter in the game tutorial.

Another concept is the ability to create a combo (コンボ). After hitting successfully a number of notes (4), the combo number will appear on the screen. Since [[AC DDR 2013|DanceDanceRevolution (2013)]], getting a Good won't break the combo and only getting a Miss or a N.G. can now break the combo.

An alternate scoring system similar to the [[What is beatmania|beatmania]] and its [[Beatmania IIDX Information|sequel]]'s [[EX Score]], which was primarily used in competitions and as an accuracy standard. First used in [[AC DDR EXTREME|DanceDanceRevolution EXTREME]] in the CHALLENGE mode, and [[AC DDR X2|X2]] and later games, which can be enabled through a code. 3 points are awarded for a MARVELOUS!!! and O.K.!!!, 2 points for a PERFECT!!, and 1 for GREAT!.

Since [[AC DDR A|DanceDanceRevolution A]], EX Score is now displayed in the results screen, meaning that the player do not need to input their codes anymore.

| This is the default mode found in every version of the game which allows the player to select one song by STAGE.

| Instead of selecting one song at a time, a set of songs (known as a course) can be selected. Available in select games only.<br>In A20, COURSE is no longer a separate mode and courses can be chosen from folders in the song list.

Due to the game being an arcade game, it uses a STAGE (ステージ) system to limit the amount of songs played so that other player can enjoy the game too. Only one song can be played by STAGE. In the earlier games, the number of STAGE possible for a play session was decided by the arcade operator, usually from 3 to 5 songs. In the most recent versions, the game is set to 3 STAGEs (FIRST, 2nd, and FINAL) with a potential EXTRA STAGE if unlocked.

After each song completion, an evaluation is performed on the player's performance. It typically includes a list of each timing judgement with how many of them were obtained, the max combo, the calories burned (since DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2), a global score, and a letter grade. In case the song was failed, the word FAILED appears before the evaluation screen. The same happens when the song is cleared with the word CLEARED appearing (except for [[Tohoku EVOLVED]], which displays "Pray for All" instead).