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DDR AC General Info

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DanceDanceRevolution
History - Gameplay (Scoring - GROOVE RADAR) - Trivia - Glossary
AC releases (Info - All region) - CS releases (JP - NA - EU - Other)
List of DDR characters - List of DDR artists - List of DDR songs (CS exclusives)

General Arcade Gameplay

Unlike beatmania IIDX and pop'n music, DanceDanceRevolution's menu layout tends to change a lot based on what version the player is playing. Also unlike beatmania IIDX and pop'n music, DanceDanceRevolution has dedicated menu buttons.

All DanceDanceRevolution cabinets have at least left, right, and start menu buttons. Widescreen cabinets, like those sold with DanceDanceRevolution X or DanceDanceRevolution (2013) and later, also have up and down menu buttons. The directional menu buttons are used to navigate menus, and the Start button to make selections.

Once the game is started, the first order of business is inserting/tapping the player's e-amusement pass if the machine supports e-amusement. After that, or otherwise, they will be taken to the Select Style screen. After that, they will be taken to the Select Difficulty or Select Mode, and from there to Select Music or Select Course. In DDRMAX or later, they can hold Start upon selecting a song to enter modifiers. In earlier versions, they must use codes. After play, their score will be evaluated, and they will be returned to Select Music if not playing a course. When the game is done, a final evaluation is performed, and in earlier versions and under certain circumstances the player can enter their name.

Entry

The first screen that appears when starting a game with an e-amusement card is the Entry Screen. If the player doesn't have an e-amusement card, the next screen will be the Play Style selection screen instead.

e-amusement

e-amusement is KONAMI's online service used to keep all the players play data such as the scores, rivals and unlock achievements between all of their games. It was introduced in DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA and is now found in every title since. In DanceDanceRevolution, e-amusement has the following features in game:

  • Dancer Profile
  • Rivals: The player can have up to three rivals by entering their DDR-CODE. Allows the player to target their Rivals' scores during gameplay and play their EDIT DATA.
  • Workout Function: Keeps track of the calories spent while playing. Requires the weight (in kilograms) of the player.
  • Character: Pick a character from the available roster to be shown on screen dancing during gameplay, provided the song doesn't have a full-screen background video.
  • Play Area Browser: Player's play history across the various prefectures in Japan or other countries.

On the official website of DanceDanceRevolution, e-amusement members can access a more detailed view of their play data, view their Rivals and change their settings.

Game Modes

As of DanceDanceRevolution A3, the game currently has the following entry modes, all of which can be paid with either credits or PASELI:

Mode Duration EXTRA Stage Course Mode Modifiers Remarks
NORMAL Up to 3 stages No No Limited
PREMIUM 3 stages guaranteed; up to 5 Yes Yes Full
BPL BATTLE 2 stages guaranteed No No Full Added on DanceDanceRevolution A3
20th anniversary model cabinets-exclusive. Activated by pressing [1] on keypad.
GALAXY 4 stages guaranteed; up to 5 Guaranteed Yes Full Added on DanceDanceRevolution A3
EXTRA SAVIOR A3/COURSE TRIAL A3 songs unlock instantly upon play

Selecting a Style

Single Play (シングルプレー)  
One side of the dance floor (4 foot panels), one player. Always requires only one credit.
Double Play (ダブルプレー)  
One player uses both sides of the dance floor (8 foot panels). The BEGINNER difficulty and the LEFT, RIGHT, and SHUFFLE options are not available in this style. This normally requires two credits, but with Double Premium or Joint Premium enabled, it will cost one credit.
Versus Play (バーサスプレー)  
Two players, each with one side of the dance floor. This requires two credits, or one credit if Joint Premium is enabled.
Couple Play (カップルプレー)
Only available in 3rdMIX and earlier. Two players each have one side of the dance floor, but each has different notes for the same difficulty. This requires two credits. This style is still available to use in EDIT DATA songs only as of DanceDanceRevolution (2014).
Unison Play (ユニゾンプレー)
Only available in 3rdMIX and 3rdMIX PLUS. Two players have one chart at the center, with different colors of arrow: Blue arrows for the left-hand player, red arrows for the right-hand player, and yellow arrows for both players. However, left-hand player can step on the red arrows and right-hand player can step on the blue arrows. Having more than two arrows in one row requires respective players stepping on them. On the 1st STAGE, charts for the left-hand player and right-hand player are separate but will show its animation of merging once stepping zone starts blinking.

As of DanceDanceRevolution A3, the player can now switch between the Single and Double play styles by pressing [3] on the keypad. This only works if there is one player playing.

Mode of Payment

Once selecting a Play Style, the game will require a valid mode of payment. For Normal Play (ノーマルプレー), credits, coins or PASELI can be used while Premium Play (プレミアムプレー) is exclusive to PASELI members in Japan or can be selected for players outside Japan or in non-PASELI locations by adding more credits.

PASELI

For more details on PASELI, please see this page.

PASELI (Pay Smart Enjoy Life) is a digital currency service that can be linked with an e-amusement account. Depending on the titles, the exclusive features vary from game to game. As of DanceDanceRevolution A3, by selecting PREMIUM MODE, you obtain:

  • All STAGEs guaranteed (1st STAGE to FINAL STAGE only). Even if the NORMAL DANCE GAUGE is depleted, the song will continue until the end.
  • LIFE4 and SPEED in 0.25x increments, from 0.25x to 4x.
  • STAR SYSTEM to access EXTRA STAGE.
  • Nonstop / Dan Courses.

Number of stages

This only applies from 1st STAGE to FINAL STAGE and does not include EXTRA STAGE and ENCORE EXTRA STAGE. A minimum of one stage and a maximum of five (or three in some versions) stages are allowed.

Cabinets

As of DanceDanceRevolution A3, there are five different cabinet models released throughout the series' lifespan. Each model has different aspects and features, as shown below:

Feature Classic SuperNOVA X 2013 20th anniversary
Year debut 1998 2006 2008 2013 2019
Color Black Red Black/Silver White Gold
Software type Type B Type B Type A Type C-G Type I
Screen display 29 inch, cathode-ray tube 29 inch, flat cathode ray tube 37 inch, wide LCD 42 inch, wide LCD 55 inch, liquid crystal LCD
(no screen tilting)
Screen resolution 15kHz
(480i equivalent) 		480p 1080p
(720p enlarged) 		1080p
(720p enlarged) 		1080p
(720p enlarged)
USB ports Present Present Present Absent Absent
Up/Down buttons Absent Absent Present Present Present
Special features Absent Absent Absent Absent Present

Selecting a Mode

Modes that appeared only in a single version of DanceDanceRevolution are not included.

NORMAL MODE

This is the default mode available in every mix. It allows the user to select the individual songs to play and to select the difficulty levels (after 2ndMIX only) one at a time. Depending on how the operator set the machine, the user can play 1 to 5 songs per game, plus an EXTRA STAGE if earned. In DanceDanceRevolution, 2ndMIX, 5thMIX, DDRMAX, and from DanceDanceRevolution (2013) to DanceDanceRevolution A, this is the only mode available.

BATTLE MODE

A variant of NORMAL mode available in selected games. It features a BATTLE lifebar (which starts at the center and moves to the player side that has an advantage) and no choice of modifiers to select; instead, modifiers are activated on the rival player's side at random depending on the main player's performance and vice versa. If the BATTLE lifebar is at the center at the end of a song, it results in a draw. On SINGLE play, the opposite side is replaced by a CPU.

COURSE MODE

Instead of picking individual songs, the player can select a course. A course is a group of at least four songs with each course having 2 difficulty levels. There are two lifebar types:

  • The Normal lifebar, which functions similarly to the standard lifebar.
  • The Challenge lifebar, where the player is given 4 or 8 lives (depending on the difficulty level chosen) that deplete on each combo break. When the player runs out of lives, they fail the course. Successfully clearing each song will regenerate a life or two.

Before DanceDanceRevolution X, the COURSE MODE was split into two parts: NONSTOP MODE and CHALLENGE MODE. In DanceDanceRevolution A20 onwards, Courses are split into two parts: NONSTOP and 段位認定.

NONSTOP
Formerly its own mode as NONSTOP MODE, first appeared in 3rdMIX and was removed in 5thMIX, and CHALLENGE MODE first appeared in DDRMAX2. EXTREME was the first mix to have both. NONSTOP MODE included courses with a selectable difficulty level and the standard lifebar.
CHALLENGE MODE
Similar to NONSTOP, but the difficulty of the songs in the courses is fixed, and features a lifebar set to LIFE4 and no choice of modifiers to select.
Dan (段位認定)
Similar to NONSTOP, but the difficulty of the songs in the courses is fixed, it features a lifebar set to GRADE (a yellow lifebar, which is filled to maximum at start but depletes faster), and some modifiers are unavailable.

Selecting Options

As of DanceDanceRevolution A3, 14 modifiers are available in the game (during the Select Options screen) with a few choice options being exclusive to Premium Play (PASELI only in Japan, in yellow in the table). When using Versus Play, each user can have their own settings which have to be set before playing a song. During special events such as an EXTRA STAGE, the number of modifiers available is limited and some are set to ON to increase the difficulty.

Prior to DDRMAX, the modifiers had codes that had to be entered one by one. It was replaced in DDRMAX with an options menu, which is accessed by holding the Start button after selecting a song. Since DanceDanceRevolution A, a player can also press [9] on the numerical keypad to access the Options menu. From DDRMAX until SuperNOVA, an option category named "OTHER" included ARROW, CUT, and DARK together. Selecting them would turn them ON. They were divided each into a category in SuperNOVA. For the first time in DanceDanceRevolution (2014), the modifiers' names were translated into Japanese instead of English. From DDRMAX to DanceDanceRevolution X3 VS 2ndMIX, a category titled STEP was available to change the song difficulty for each player. It was renamed in DanceDanceRevolution (2013) to DIFFICULTY, and in DanceDanceRevolution (2014), it was removed from the list due to the introduction of a Difficulty Select screen.

Introduced in SuperNOVA2 during gameplay, a maximum of 11 modifier square icons can be shown on the screen on top of the score box for each player. The modifiers icons are shown only when they are set to a value different than the defaults. The only exception is for SPEED which even "x1" is shown, and for SPECIAL ARROW, SCREEN FILTER, and GUIDELINE, they simply don't have any icon.

Note: ARROW MOVE, APPEARANCE, TURN, STEP ZONE, ARROW COLOR, SPECIAL ARROW, SCREEN FILTER, and LIFE GAUGE require an e-amusement account since DanceDanceRevolution (2014) and CUT, FREEZE ARROW and JUMP count as ASSIST options. Also, the SPECIAL ARROW, SCREEN FILTER, and GUIDELINE options can be changed in the e-amusement website instead.

SPEED

Allows to change the speed of the arrow flow from 0.25 to 8 times faster than normal (x1) with matching spacing of arrows. During DanceDanceRevolution X2 to DanceDanceRevolution (2013), the x0.25 and the x0.5 speeds were removed. In DanceDanceRevolution (2014), x0.25 and x0.5 were added back. A total of 24 speed modifiers currently exist with 9 of them being exclusive to Premium Play.

On DanceDanceRevolution X2 onwards, the player may also adjust the speed at the beginning of a stage using the Left and Right navigational buttons right before the first note of a chart or the SCREEN FILTER appearing.

SPEED (矢印の速度, Arrow Speed)
Options First added
×0.25 DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2
×0.5 DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2
×0.75 DanceDanceRevolution A
x1 DanceDanceRevolution
×1.25 DanceDanceRevolution (2014)
×1.5 DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-
×1.75 DanceDanceRevolution (2014)
×2 DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-
×2.25 DanceDanceRevolution (2014)
×2.5 DanceDanceRevolution X
×2.75 DanceDanceRevolution (2014)
×3 DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-
×3.25 DanceDanceRevolution (2014)
×3.5 DanceDanceRevolution X
×3.75 DanceDanceRevolution (2014)
×4 DanceDanceRevolution X
×4.5 DanceDanceRevolution X
×5 DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-
×5.5 DanceDanceRevolution X
×6 DanceDanceRevolution X
×6.5 DanceDanceRevolution X
×7 DanceDanceRevolution X
×7.5 DanceDanceRevolution X
×8 DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-

ARROW MOVE

ARROW MOVE was known as BOOST when it was introduced in DDRMAX until DanceDanceRevolution (2013). Also in 2013, NORMAL was simply known as OFF while BOOST was titled ON. BRAKE and WAVE were introduced as a fixed option in a DanceDanceRevolution EXTREME course. They were later made as selectable options in DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2.

ARROW MOVE (矢印の動き方, Arrow movement)
Options Description First added
NORMAL Arrows flow (scroll) at a constant speed. DanceDanceRevolution
BOOST Arrows accelerate as they reach the Step Zone. DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-
BRAKE Arrows decelerate as they reach the Step Zone. DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2
WAVE Arrows slow down and speed up at fixed points on their way up the screen. DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2

APPEARANCE

As of DDR A, HIDDEN+/SUDDEN+ replace the old HIDDEN/SUDDEN options, even on upgraded legacy cabinets.

APPEARANCE (見え方)
Options Description First added
VISIBLE Arrows are always visible. DanceDanceRevolution
HIDDEN Arrows will disappear when they reach the middle of the screen. DanceDanceRevolution 2ndMIX
SUDDEN Arrows will appear after they reached the middle of the screen. DanceDanceRevolution 3rdMIX
STEALTH Arrows are invisible. DanceDanceRevolution 3rdMIX
HIDDEN+ Similar to beatmania IIDX, a lane cover is placed at the top (or bottom if using REVERSE) of the player's side. This can be adjusted by using the Up and Down navigational buttons; the lane cover can also be toggled off and back on by pressing the Start button during gameplay. DanceDanceRevolution X2
SUDDEN+ A lane cover is placed at the bottom (or top if using REVERSE) of the player's side. Like HIDDEN+, this can be adjusted by using the Up and Down navigational buttons. DanceDanceRevolution X2
HIDDEN＋＆SUDDEN＋ Both lane covers are displayed. The shutter window can be adjusted in the same fashion as the individual HIDDEN+/SUDDEN+ modifiers. DanceDanceRevolution X2

TURN

TURN (回転)
Options Description First added
OFF The chart is in a normal position. DanceDanceRevolution
MIRROR Charts are flipped by 180 degrees. DanceDanceRevolution
LEFT※ Charts are rotated 90 degrees to the left. DanceDanceRevolution 2ndMIX
RIGHT※ Charts are rotated 90 degrees to the right. DanceDanceRevolution 2ndMIX
SHUFFLE※ Columns of notes are randomly arranged. DanceDanceRevolution 2ndMIX

※Not available if the play style is DOUBLE.

STEP ZONE

The Step Zone refers to the set of stationary arrows near the top of the screen. It was known as DARK when it was introduced in DDRMAX2 until DanceDanceRevolution (2014).

STEP ZONE (ステップゾーン)
Options Description First added
ON The Step Zone is visible at all times. DanceDanceRevolution
OFF The Step Zone is not visible at all times. DDRMAX2 -DanceDanceRevolution 7thMIX-

SCROLL

SCROLL (矢印スクロール, Arrow Scroll)
Options Description First added
NORMAL Arrows scroll up from the bottom. DanceDanceRevolution
REVERSE Arrows scroll down from the top. DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-

ARROW COLOR

By default from the original DanceDanceRevolution to DanceDanceRevolution 2ndMIX, the arrow color is set to FLAT. The default was changed to VIVID in DanceDanceRevolution 3rdMIX with FLAT being an option activated using a code (in SSR, FLAT is the default with VIVID being an option activated using a code), and to RAINBOW in DanceDanceRevolution (2014). In DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA, ARROW became a new option category with VIVID, NOTE, FLAT and RAINBOW as options. Also in SuperNOVA, the color scheme SOLO was renamed RAINBOW. The category name changed in DanceDanceRevolution (2013) to ARROW COLOR.

ARROW COLOR (矢印の色)
Options Description First added
RAINBOW The default color since DDR (2014). Arrows have different gradient cycles which correspond to note value: pink for 1/64-beat to 1/16-beat notes, blue for 5/64-beat to 1/8-beat notes, purple for 9/64-beat to 3/16 beat notes, and orange for 13/64-beat to 1/4-beat notes. DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-
NOTE Arrows are color-coded according to note value. Unlike RAINBOW, this uses flat, simple colors: red for 1/4th notes, blue for 1/8th notes, yellow for 1/16th notes, and green for all other quantizations. DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA
VIVID The default arrow color until DDR (2013). The arrows emit a rainbow gradient cycle which varies in starting colors depending on note value. DanceDanceRevolution 3rdMIX
FLAT Arrows follow the VIVID color cycle but all have the same starting color. DanceDanceRevolution

CUT

ON1 was named LITTLE when it was introduced in DanceDanceRevolution 2ndMIX. The name changed to CUT in DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA and again in DanceDanceRevolution X to ON1 as ON2 was introduced.

CUT (タイミング別カット, Cut by Timing)
Options Description First added
OFF Chart is unchanged. DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-
ON1 Only shows the 1/4-beat notes. DanceDanceRevolution 2ndMIX
ON2 Only shows the 1/4 and 1/8-beat notes. DanceDanceRevolution X

FREEZE ARROW

FREEZE ARROW (フリーズアロー)
Options Description First added
ON The chart will include freeze arrows. DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-
OFF The chart will only include the notes at the start of the freeze arrows (i.e. no holds). DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-

JUMP

JUMP (同時踏み, Simultaneous stepping)
Options Description First added
ON Includes simultaneous notes. DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA
OFF Removes the simultaneous notes from the chart. DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA

DISPLAY TIMING

In the CS games, this option appears in the general game options menu instead.

DISPLAY TIMING (表示タイミング)
Options Description First added
-5.0 to -0.1 Causes the arrows to appear sooner by the designated amount of time. DanceDanceRevolution A3
0.0 Causes the arrows to appear at the normal time. DanceDanceRevolution A3
+0.1 to +5.0 Causes the arrows to appear later by the designated amount of time. DanceDanceRevolution A3

LIFE GAUGE

This modifier was named RISKY with ON and OFF being the two possible options when it was first introduced in DanceDanceRevolution X2. In DanceDanceRevolution 2014, it was renamed GAUGE as LIFE4 and the classic NORMAL were added as options. LIFE GAUGE modifiers cannot be chosen in Courses before A20 or EXTRA STAGEs.

LIFE GAUGE (ゲージ)
Options Description First added
NORMAL This is the standard dance gauge. DanceDanceRevolution
LIFE4 The song ends on 4 combined combo breaks (Good and Miss in X2 and X3 VS 2ndMIX; Miss in DDR 2013 onwards) and/or N.G.s. This is an option for advanced players. DanceDanceRevolution (2014)
RISKY Getting a single Good (in X2 and X3 VS 2ndMIX), Miss, or N.G. will fail the song. DanceDanceRevolution X2
FLARE I-EX An option for advanced players where the dance gauge does not recover and decreases with each Great/Good/Miss/N.G.. Perfects also reduce the dance gauge with FLARE Level EX. DanceDanceRevolution A3

SPECIAL ARROW

The CLASSIC arrow was the default and only choice from 1st to 5thMIX; it was replaced by NORMAL in DDRMAX. The ability to change the Special Arrow was introduced as an unlockable reward of the both Enjoy Lv. and code systems in SuperNOVA2 to X. In X2, the option was unlocked by default for everyone.

SPECIAL ARROW (特殊アロー)
Modifiers Description First added
NORMAL   The default rounded-tip arrow design. DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX-
X   Uses the arrow design seen on the step panels of a DDR X arcade cabinet. DanceDanceRevolution X
CLASSIC   The original V-cut arrow design used until 5thMIX. DanceDanceRevolution
CYBER   A special cyber-themed arrow design. DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2
MEDIUM   Arrows are half-sized. DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2
SMALL   Arrows are quarter-sized. DanceDanceRevolution X
DOT   Arrows are reduced to small dots. DanceDanceRevolution X

SCREEN FILTER

In DanceDanceRevolution X, OFF was known as NONE. The default changed from OFF to DARK in DanceDanceRevolution (2014).

SCREEN FILTER (背景フィルター, Background filter)
Modifiers Description First added
OFF   The screen filter is not shown. DanceDanceRevolution
DARK   40 percent opacity. DanceDanceRevolution X
DARKER   60 percent opacity. DanceDanceRevolution X
DARKEST   80 percent opacity. DanceDanceRevolution X

GUIDELINE

GUIDELINE (ガイドライン)
Options Description First added
OFF The guidelines are not shown. DanceDanceRevolution
BORDER Displays guidelines along the top edges of the arrows. This display is similar to the EDIT mode found in the CS releases of DanceDanceRevolution. DanceDanceRevolution (2014)
CENTER Displays guidelines along the center of the arrows. DanceDanceRevolution (2014)

EXTRA STAGE

The EXTRA STAGE was introduced in the original DanceDanceRevolution but was not found again after except since DDRMAX. The ONE MORE EXTRA STAGE was also added in DDRMAX. The name ONE MORE EXTRA STAGE was changed in DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2 to ENCORE EXTRA STAGE.

In DanceDanceRevolution 2ndMIX CLUB VERSiON 2, an EXTRA STAGE was possible if the beatmania IIDX machine started the link session during the EXTRA STAGE. Since DanceDanceRevolution (2014), the EXTRA STAGE is only available in PREMIUM MODE.

Usually, the EXTRA/ENCORE EXTRA STAGE system changes from title to title. For more details on how the EXTRA STAGE and ENCORE EXTRA STAGE systems work, see the individual pages below.

Game EXTRA STAGE ENCORE
EXTRA STAGE
DanceDanceRevolution ✔ ✘
DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution 6thMIX- ✔ ✔
DDRMAX2 -DanceDanceRevolution 7thMIX- ✔ ✔
DanceDanceRevolution EXTREME ✔ ✔
DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA ✔ ✔
DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2 ✔ ✔
DanceDanceRevolution X ✔ ✔
DanceDanceRevolution X2 ✔ ✔
DanceDanceRevolution X3 ✔ ✔
DanceDanceRevolution (2013) ✔ ✘※
DanceDanceRevolution (2014) ✔ ✔
DanceDanceRevolution A ✔ ✔
DanceDanceRevolution A20 ✔ ✘
DanceDanceRevolution A20 PLUS ✔ ✘
DanceDanceRevolution A3 ✔ ✔
DanceDanceRevolution Solo BASS ✔ ✘

※ ENCORE EXTRA STAGE was briefly available in DanceDanceRevolution (2013) due to a bug.

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