=============================================================================== Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA Dancing Stage SuperNOVA 10-footer Guide Version 0.85 Copyright 2006 By Glaexeaus-clexaul@msn.com All rights reserved =============================================================================== If you would like to use this guide elsewhere other than GameFAQs, please email me at clexaul@msn.com. I will reply to your e-mail with an answer ASAP. Current hosters are www.gamefaqs.com www.1up.com No where else is allowed to use this FAQ without my permission, which can be obtained by e-mailing me. =============================================================================== Table of Contents =============================================================================== 1.Version History 2.Introduction a.Dance Dance Revolution/Dancing Stage b.SuperNOVA c.Extra Stage d.One More Extra Stage e.Nonstop/Challenge Courses 3.Tips a.Techniques b.The Handbar c.Helpful Songs 4.The 10 Footers 5.Maxing a.Max 300 b.MaxX Unlimited c.Max 300 (Super-Max-Me-Mix) (Expert) d.Max 300 (Super-max-Me-Mix) (Challenge) e.The Legend of Max f.Fascination MaxX (Expert) g.Fascination MaxX (Challenge) 6.PARANOiA a.PARANOiA Survivor b.PARANOiA Survivor Max (Expert) c.PARANOiA Survivor Max (Challenge) d.PARANOiA Respect 7.The Other 10 footers a.Sakura b.bag c.Healing-D-Vision d.Xepher e.CHAOS -Expert f.CHAOS -Challenge 8.Tidbits a.Artist Notes b.The art of Xepher c.Background Videos 9.FAQ 10.Miscellaneous 11.Credits =============================================================================== 1.Version History =============================================================================== v0.8 13/Jul/06 Added a section for Xepher and CHAOS (Expert) Added video links Added Artist Notes section v0.8 21/Jul/06 Revised some of the ratings. Added descriptions to helpful songs. Added lyrics. v0.85 7/Aug/2006 Revised more ratings Added some more subsections Made FAQ more Europe-friendly =============================================================================== 2.Introduction =============================================================================== Welcome to my DDR/DS SuperNOVA 10-Footer Guide! This FAQ will cover every 10-footer song in SuperNOVA (arcade version) with strategies and techniques to get you prepared for the 10-footer challenges! Anyone who wishes to send in a strategy can send it to clexaul@msn.com or taih@rogers.com if the first e-mail gets no response after a while. =============================================================================== 2a.Dance Dance Revolution/Dancing Stage =============================================================================== Quick overview of DDR/DS. Dance Dance Revolution/Dancing Stage. It's a game where you use your feet to hit the arrows on the dance pad to correspond with the arrows on the screen. There are 10 levels, reffered to as "footers". Obviously, 10 is the hardest. The 5 difficulties in SuperNOVA are Beginner, Basic, Difficult, Expert, and Challenge. SuperNOVA contains the most songs of all the DDR/DS games so far, but it does not have all of them. There are 10-footers that won't be included in FAQ because they are not in SuperNOVA. I may add them later on in a new section, but it isn't looking bright. I said the overview was quick, so shut up about it. Anyway, this FAQ may use some terms you are unfarmiliar with, so here is a quick overview of those. 4286-When these numbers come up, imagine the number pad as a DDR/DS pad. The are the arrows. 4=left 2=down 8=up 6=right. Jump-two arrows at once. 4th-Quarter beats. In SOLO mode, the red arrows. 8th-These fit between 4th beats. In SOLO mode, the blue arrows. 16th-These fit between 8th beats. In SOLO mode, the purple arrows. 12th-Seen much less. In SOLO mode, they don't have a distinct colourof their own. Simple-In a case of simple swarm of 5, a pattern like 42424. As a triplet, maybe 626. Hard-In a case of a hard swarm of 5, something like 62848. A a triplet, maybe 842. =============================================================================== 2b.SuperNOVA =============================================================================== DDR/DS SuperNOVA came out in 2006 (or at least DDR SN did, not sure about DS SN so...), and was highly anticipated. When it came, however, there were numeous problems with badly synched songs, and still are. Luckily, Konami has decided to fix that, and even add a new song, but it is unknown so far. SuperNOVA is quite a bit different from past DDR games, so this section will cover those differences. Firstly, there is a new Battle Mode for 2 people, which was seen on Disney Mix as Magic Dance, where you...well, I haven't really tried it yet, but I know you attack the other player with modifiers throughout the songs. Next, 'Miss' is no longer here either, but was used in only a few mixes anyways, so no big deal. It is now 'Boo'. The Perfect window is now MUCH smaller, so it is harder to get better grades, aspecially AA. The scoring system is now different as well, but is similar to that of DDR Extreme and Extreme 2(both CS). Every song is out of 10 000 000, whereas in the arcade DDR EXTREME, it was maximum score=footerx1 000 000, and the points you got for each arrow depended on what you got, and the point you were in the song and the combo(messed up, I know). The grading system is almost the same though. Each song has a certain amount of DP, or Dance Points. The DP is determined by (the number of arrows+freezes) x 2 Every Perfect got you 2 DP. If you got all perfect, you'd have 100% of the DP, which got you a AAA. It all falls down like this: Perfect=2 DP Great=1 DP OK=2 DP Anything else=0 DP In DDR EXTREME, Perfect=2 DP Great=1 DP Good=0 DP Boo=-4 DP Miss=-8 DP OK=6 DP The grade you got all depended on the DP. I think this is how it is in SuperNOVA: 100%= AAA 95%= AA 80%= A 70%= B 60%= C 50% and below= D Fail= E EXTREME had it pretty much the same, but AA was only 93%. In SUPERNOVA, the score you get is also equal to the DP, just x 100 000 to make it out of 10 000 000 instead of 100%. Starting the game, you'd normally get to choose your difficulty, but in SuperNOVA, it's not quite the same. Instead, you get to choose from different songlists and courses or a tutorial. Here's what it is: Tutorial - A tutorial. Easy - A preselected songlist that contains easy songs. Medium - A preselected songlist containing semi-hard songs. Difficult - A preselected songlist containing difficult songs. Nonstop - The list of the Nonstop Courses Challenge - The list of the Challenge Courses All Music - All the songs in the game except Fascination MaxX, CHAOS, and Healing-D-Vision. On Easy, Medium, and Difficult, it's a partial songlist, containing songs of that difficulty. However, you can still change between Beginner, Basic, etc. All Music is all the music except Fascination MaxX, CHAOS, and Healing-D-Vision, and you still can choose between Beginner, Basic, etc. To change the sorting of the songs, you have to hit < + > + [] (the green button), which I believe will not work on Easy mode. To get the options, when you select the song, you MUST hold down the green button until the screen comes up, or you don't get it. In the options menu, to go back, it's the < + > + [] Also, a lot of the modifiers have new names. I'm not listing them in this FAQ, though. Some of the difficulty names changed, so here's what it was and is: DDR DS SuperNOVA --- -- --------- Beginner Beginner Beginner Light/Basic Standard Basic Standard/Trick Difficult Difficult Heavy/Maniac Expert/Maniac Expert Challenge/Maniac2/ONI Challenge/ONI Challenge =============================================================================== 2c.Extra Stage =============================================================================== In previous DDR games, Extra Stage was achieved by getting a grade of AA/AAA on your last song that hard to be Heavy/Maniac or Challenge/Maniac2/ONI, and usually had to be an 8-10 footer. Now, it can be any song on Expert, any difficulty. Here's the thing. Since getting Perfects is now harder, just getting a mere 93%DP is hard enough, but now you need a 95%DP to get AA, which is why getting Extra Stage is so much harder. Extra Stage is where you get to pick one more song, but you get no life back, the arrows are on Solo, x1.5, and Reverse, adn you play it on Expert, and Expert ONLY. You can pick any song to play in the songlist, but for Extra Stage, there is a new song, depending on the difficulty you chose. If you chose Easy or Medium, you unlock Healing-D-Vision as your Extra Stage. If you chose Difficult or All Music, Fascination MaxX was your new choice. =============================================================================== 2d.One More Extra Stage =============================================================================== One More Extra Stage allow you to play one more song, as long as you beat either Healing-D-Vision or Facination MaxX as your Extra Stage. As far as I know, even obtaining a B will still get you OMES. On DDR Extreme, you had to AA/AAA The legend of Max to get OMES! Anyway, for OMES, you get only one choice. CHAOS. Like other OMES's, you play on 1 difficulty, which is Expert in this case, and there are no modifiers. BUT, you only get 1 life, meaning if you get a Good, Boo, NG, or Almost, you fail instantly. If you don't know CHAOS REALLY well, it's almost impossible to pass it as OMES. =============================================================================== 2e.Nonstop/Challenge courses =============================================================================== There are other ways to play Healing-D-Vision, Fascination MaxX and CHAOS without getting ES or OMES. While none of the default Nonstop Courses have any of them, a few Challenge courses do: MAX of MAXX ----------- Name Difficulty Single Double ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Max 300 Expert 10 10 MaxX Unlimited Expert 10 10 Max 300 (Super-Max-Me-Mix) Expert 10 10 The legend of Max Expert 10 10 Fascination MaxX Expert 10 10 Boss Rush Episode II -------------------- Name Difficulty Single Double ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trip Machine survivor Expert 9 9 Dragon Blade Expert 8 8 Konoko no nanatsu no oiwaini Expert 9 9 Healing-D-Vision Expert 9 10 CHAOS Challenge 10 10 Boss Rush Episode IV -------------------- Name Difficulty Single Double ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Healing Vision (Angelic Mix) Expert 9 9 PARANOiA Survivor MAX Challenge 10 10 CHAOS Expert 10 10 Fascination MaxX Challenge 10 10 Healing-D-Vision Challenge 10 10 In the Nonstop Courses it's possible to play them in the Player's Best series, or in Random Caprice/Random All. Note that the Player's Best goes by how many times the song is played, not how well it's done. So play the hell out of the songs you Healing-D-Vision or CHAOS or Fascination MaxX, and you can play them with whatever modifiers you want in the course, but the difficulty is always Expert. =============================================================================== 3.Tips =============================================================================== 3a.Techniques =============================================================================== 10-footers, and even the lesser songs, may require you move your body or use your feet in a certain way. This section will cover the techniques you will need to learn and master to be able to do 10-footers or anywhere near. 1-Streaming This is a very basic technique used on any difficulty. An example of streaming is 42864286. You face right in this case. There are times you will have to change the way you face, and quickly. For example, 4286284. You go from looking right to turning left. This can be difficult with 16th steps(or 8th at 270+BPM) When you have to turn so quickly you may fall over. Just practice on the pad (with the game off) with 8th notes at a low BPM and go steadily faster, pivoting yourself here and there. Streaming also refers to lots of arrows in a row, placed simply, as in no crossovers or anything like that. 2-Crossovers This can be used for fast songs, but I only use it for 200+BPM myself. A crossover is when you face something like 426. You hit 4 with the left foot, then 2 with the right, and 6 with the left, crossing your feet over. This can be effective for timing, but sometimes the steps aren't meant for crossovers, so you will be screwed up if you use them. I stayed away from them except for 10-footer PARANOiA's, but they are good to know, and you should be comfortable with them and without them. 3-Corkscrew Definitely one of my least favourite techniques, and I never use it personally, but it's good to know. A corkscrew is 4268624. 4 with left, 2 with right, 6 with left, 8 with right, 6 with left, 2 with right, 4 with left. I prefer to just use my feet twice or even three times than do a corkscrew. This is used in Cartoon Heroes, and is pretty much useless for everything else. 4-Full Turn 42684. 4 with left, 2 with right, 6 with left, 8 with right, and 4 with left again. You will have your back to the screen for a second, which can royally screw you up. Only use it if freeze arrows force you to. I don't think any song in DDR/DS requires a full turn though. 5-Taps Taps are relatively easy, but they can be pretty hard when there are a lot or really fast ones. A tap is simply 2 or more of the same arrow in a row. You see them a lot in Expert and Difficult, but the harder ones are in songs like Can't Stop Fallin' In Love (Speed Mix) or Dead End, with6 taps in a row of the same arrow. Max 300's ending only has 3, but they are at a fast pace, which makes them just as hard to hit. Learning to do taps well is a good thing. Another thing with taps, is that it happens a lot and you don't know it. Say you have a pattern like 42424. You are tapping on 4 with the left foot 3 times, and on 2 with the right foot twice. It's like tapping. 6-Gallops This can be a tough trick for those unfarmiliar, and is best to practise on a controller first. A gallop sounds like "ba-bump, ba-bump". Maybe more than that. Anyways, thats a gallop, simply put. Need a diagram? Fine. Here: 4286 <--step area 4 <--arrows 4 2 2 8 8 6 Those are some gallops. "bump, ba-bump, ba-bump, a-bump." "4, 4-2, 2-8, 8-6" You will see quite a few of those in DDR/DS. 7-Conserve Energy It's not the easiest thing to do, especially during a song with a high BPM where your reaction time needs to be higher. You will tend to fall over or make bigger movements than are necessary, which wastes energy. If you watch someone do a 10-footer with ease, you will notice they step very close to the center. That is not easy at an arcade where the pads don't allow you to have half the foot in the center and the other half in the pad without being uncomfortable, but it is still do-able. Doing this will allow you to conserve energy and be less tired. Another thing that will help conserve energy, is to use your toes. It helps a lot, though it may be a little painful. 8-Reacting Obviously, a crucial part in DDR/DS is seeing the arrows. More important is reacting to them. The best way to do this is to start using speed modifiers. I started using them on 9-footers, but it's okay to start earlier. Just don't always have them, or else it will be hard to tackle newer techniques when the arrows race up the screen. Start with just a x1.5 modifier, then make your way up to x2. That's probably as far as you will need to go, and that is only for 130-200BPM songs. For the lesser ones, a higher modifier is good. Anything above 200BPM might be too much on x2 or even x1.5 The reason you need these reacting skills is so you can do 10-footers without memorizing them. If you look at their BPM, most of them are 300+BPM. Having a 170BPM song on x2 makes it 340BPM. Great practice for 10-footers. =============================================================================== 3b.The Handbar =============================================================================== There are lots of mixed feelings on handbars. Here's what I think. Using a handbar from start to finish is fine. No one will say anything bad about you, and you will only be referred to a "bar hugger" at most, which isn't that offensive, if so at all. Using a handbar for even the measliest songs isn't a good thing. You may be referred to as a bar raper. The handbar can do wonders for you. For one, it helps your balance. It will keep you from falling when you have a song on x2 or x3, and allow to play almost with ease. It lets you react to something without big movements, which can happen when unaided on a fast paced song. As well, it keeps up your energy, since you don't have to hold yourself up as much, since your weight is shared with the bar. BUT, for a shorter person, reaching the up arrow can be a hassle, and it can take a while to get used to a handbar. Sadly, it is almost the only way to accomplish a 10-footer at first. So, you can use it as you progress in Expert, say 8 to 10-footers, but no less than that. Otherwise, you are a disgrace. Unless you have something like x3 on for some reason. =============================================================================== 3c.Helpful Songs =============================================================================== The best way to build up strength in the techniques listed in 3a are by practising songs that feature these things. Here are some songs that will help: (Note that not all these songs are in SuperNOVA but if you can get them from somewhere else that's great) Streaming --------- Taking streams of arrows can be very tiring, especially at the faster speeds of 10-footer. Be prepared. Max 300 -Difficult Healing Vision -Expert A -Expert .59 -Expert Holic -Expert The legend Of Max -Difficult Can't Stop Fallin' In Love (Speed Mix) -Expert Crossovers ---------- Crossovers are getting popular in these 10-footers, so you should be able to do them pretty well. Can't Stop Fallin' In Love (Speed Mix) -Expert Afronova -Expert A -Challenge BREAK DOWN! -Expert Rhythm And Police (K.O.G G3 Mix) -Expert exotic ethnic -Expert sync (EXTREME version) -Challenge Taps ---- These song feature the same arrow OVER AND OVER, which can be quite useful to know for some 10-footers. Can't Stop Fallin' In Love (Speed Mix) -Expert Dead End -Expert PARANOiA -Expert Trip Machine CLIMAX Random Surprises or Arrows -------------------------- Arrows that don't allow crossovers without screwing you up is hard, but it must be dont in plenty of 10-footers. Also, you must be on your guard at all times, or even these songs can get you. Healing Vision (Angelic Mix) -Expert Leading Cyber -Expert Drop Out (From Nonstop Megamix) -Challenge End Of The Century -Expert Healing-D-Vision -Expert Gallops ------- Lots of people have trouble with these, and they are seen in a few 10-footers, so you should practice these songs as well. Tsugaru -Expert Tsugaru (Apple Mix) -Challenge Matsuri Japan -Expert Matsuri Japan (From Nonstop Megamix) -Challenge [Kakumei] -Expert/Challenge Burning Heat (3 Option Mix) -Expert So Deep (Perfect Sphere Mix) -Expert Cow Girl -Expert Rhythm And Police (K.O.G G3 Mix) -Expert Healing-D-Vision -Expert Twilight Zone (R-C Extended Club Mix) Jumps ----- These songs wil help you with step-jumps, as they are full of them. DXY! -Expert Drop Out -Expert Waka Laka -Expert [Daikenkai] -Expert/Challenge Cartoon Heroes (Speedy Mix) -Expert MaxX Unlimited -Difficult 16th ---- Little 16th beats with triplets or such are fairly rare, although they care crucial to 10-footers. Cartoon Heroes (Speedy Mix) -Expert Colors (for EXTREME) -Challenge Witch Doctor (Giatn Toons Version) -Expert Max 300 -Difficult The Least 100 Seconds -Expert So Deep (Perfect Sphere Mix) -Expert Drop Out (From Nonstop Megamix) -Challenge Drop Out -Expert Xenon -Expert Healing-D-Vision -Expert V (for EXTREME) -Challenge Across the nightmare -Challenge Gradiusic Cyber (AMD G5 Mix) Speed ----- These songs have lots of arrows at high speeds. Not 300 speeds, but around 200, which can be pretty difficult and tiring, so these are useful to know as well. Healing Vision (Angelic Mix) -Expert Afronova -Expert exotic ethnic -Expert PARANOiA Rebirth -Expert Orion.78 (civilization mix) -Expert Stamina ------- You obviously need stamina to do 10-footers, and playing these songs a lot will really help. Healing Vision (Angelic Mix) -Expert Afronova -Expert exotic ethnic -Expert Drop Out -Expert Cartoon Heroes (Speedy Mix) -Expert A -Challenge Can't Stop Fallin' In Love (Speed Mix) -Expert Awkward ------- You don't really need this part, but having these songs on x1 could potentially help for doing bag. i feel... -Expert L'amour et la liberte(DDR Ver.) -Expert Memories -Expert xenon -Expert Gamelan de Couple *ITG* In The Groove is a brother to DDR/DS, with the same style playing, but much harder and with at least 50 modifiers. They go up to 13 footers, but there are only 2 so far. The 9 footers in ITG are much harder than in DDR, with lots more 16th notes, and there are many more 10-footers and higher for you to hopelessly practice on. So get it. *Edits* Of course, the best way to obtain these things can be to edit a song with specialized steps and playing it several times. Otherwise, you will find yourself attempting the 10-footers over and over again. =============================================================================== 4.The 10-Footers =============================================================================== Just a basic synopsis of what you will see in these 10-footer songs. Speed. Oh, yes. Speed. Most of these songs are not an average speed song. From 14BPM to 400BPM, these songs are to be revered in their quick arrows on the screen and in the required movements. They average at about 300BPM, the slowest at a constant 65BPM. Others jumping 300-150-14-150-320-89(Basically [Sakura]). It is important to get used to extreme speed and a crawling snail. Constant arrows. These songs will BOMBARD you with arrows and leave no room for mistake. Once you reach your tired point where you can't go anymore, the song will last maybe a few seconds before you fail. You must develop enough endurance to last all those arrows, whther there are 573 or 655 or even just 382. Always be wary, since they can often surprise you. Lastly, you'll see parts you can improve on greatly, which will help you overall. A gift from Konami. (Yes I know that was rather cheesy) Here is the order from easiest to hardest in my opinion, of the 10-footers I have played or seen with x1 modifiers unless stated otherwise: 1) [Sakura] 2) bag -x3 or greater/know it fairly well 3) Xepher 4) PARANOiA Survivor 5) CHAOS -Expert (after you know it really well) 6) Max 300 (Super-Max-Me-Mix) -Expert 7) Max 300 8) MaxX Unlimited 9) PARANOiA Respect 10) Max 300 (Super-Max-Me-Mix) -Challenge 11) PARANOiA Survivor MAX -Expert 12) The Legend of Max 13) Fascination MaxX -Expert 14) PARANOiA Survivor MAX -Challenge 15) Fascination MaxX -Challenge 16) CHAOS -Expert (first time) 17) CHAOS -Challenge (first time) 18) bag (first time) The following sections will be outlined as follows: Summary Author-Who it was by Difficulty-What difficulty it is on BPM-The range of the BPM in the song from slowest to highest speeds. Keep in mind that the count at the title screens aren't always right. Stops-The amount of stops in the song Steps-The amount of steps with jumps as 2/without jumps as 2 Stepchart-An URL to a stepchart of the song. Video-A video of the song. If the link goes two lines, you must copy and paste 1 LINE AT A TIME or else it will not work. Stream /10-The rating of streams in the song Complex /10-The rating of how complex the steps are (crossovers, jumps, pivots in the streams, etc.) Stamina /10-The rating of how much stamina is used Speed /10-The rating of the BPM Surprises /10-The rating of how surprising swarms or stops are Overall /10-The rating of the song overall Lyrics-If the song has them, it's here. Practice-Things to build on to do the song Strategy-How to beat it. Follow along in the stepchart as you go. =============================================================================== 5.Maxing =============================================================================== You may have noticed a variety of songs that have "Max" in them. These are often 10-footers, and most sound closely related. Max songs are often remixed, with great examples like DM Ashura's neoMax or Dj Demon(also DM Ashura)'s MaxX ResurrexXion. =============================================================================== 5a.Max 300 =============================================================================== The first Max song, Max 300, appeared in DDR 6th Mix. At that time, if you could do PARANOiA on Maniac(Expert) you were DDR King. Then this came in, with a whopping 300 BPM, and a few freeze arrows, new to the DDR franchise. The full version of the song is 9BPM faster than 300, but it is still close. Anyway, Max 300 was the dawning of a new era in DDR, as the first 10-footer, and the first real challenge. The author, an omega sign, is actually Naoki, who has many other pseudonyms like Z or 190'. Author-[Omega] Difficulty-Expert BPM-300 Stops-1 Steps-573/555 Stepchart-http://www.ddrfreak.com/stepcharts/stepchart.php?song=max300&difficul ty=Maniac&mode=Single&code=Normal&Submit=Submit Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlW5BnT9u_c&search=max%20300 Stream 8/10 Complex 7/10 Stamina 7/10 Speed 7/10 Surprises 7/10 Overall 7.2/10 Practice -------- Galloping. Just for a tiny bit at the beginning. No big deal. Streaming. Really, the only way to beat this song is to play it over and over again. No other songs have any 16th/8th stream even close to Max 300's, except Max 300 on Difficult. Playing it on that helps too. High speeds. Play [Sakura] a lot. Or at least beat it. It's speed tops Max 300 with 320, which is great practice for reading Max 300. Stamina. For newer people at this, Max 300 is VERY draining. Work on stamina, and play an easy song to relax before playing Max 300. Strategy -------- Starting off Max 300, you should be relatively cooled down. Be very wary, though, since there are lots of swarms in Max 300, which is what it is known for. After a few measures into the song, you should get the beat of the song. It tells you how the first few steps will go. First you are faced with a few easy gallops, then the same thing with 4 and 6 reversed. Next you face 7 simple 8th beats, then again on the other side with an add-on of 848. The a triplet, and the first swarm. You should make it through this easily if you've done Max 300 on Difficult a few times. Then there's the easy part. A straight stream of 4th beats, then the longest stream in Max 300. Try to pace yourself, as it is easy to go a little to fast as you start to doubt your abilities. Do not go faster as you switch from 68 to 24, as that can easily throw off your timing and stress you out. The next 17 arrows can be difficult, but you should be able to make it through first or second try. It's easier than the ending of Max 300, Difficult. Just face right for the first 20 arrows, then left for the next 3, right for 4, and left for the final 6, for a total of 33 arrows. Another simple stream of 4ths, then 17 8ths, but 9 of them are the right arrow. This is relatively easy, but remember to pace yourself, and don't underestimate your abilities. Two jumps, then its rather straight forward and easy. 4th steps, then 2 triplets, 4th steps, two triplets... Also fairly easy is the next triplet swarm. There are 14 simple triplets, where it is something like 464 where the first and last arrow are the same. This should be done without problems, but your stamina will probably start running low. Then 8 harder triplets where the three steps are all different. If your stamina is really low, you'll probably want to do a straight stream of more spaced out arrows which isn't as demanding as doing faster triplets. Meaning, "da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da" instead of "d-d-d, d-d-d, d-d-d, d-d-d." That's okay if you're really tired, but after you've beaten the song a few times, expect no less than "d-d-d, d-d-d, d-d-d, d-d-d." Following that, there is one simple triplet left, step, and two jumps. The next bit is a bit of a cool off, or so it seems, especially with a handbar. "d, d-d, d-d-d-d, d-d, d-d-d-d, d-d, d-d-d-d, jump-jump." Then the same thing with 4 and 6 switched. Next pattern contains a step, then 3 swarms of 7, which can be tormenting, depending on how well you can move your feet at this point. For most, it will take a few tries to do this part well. Following is a step, 2 simple swarms of 7, then some 12th notes. This can be done well by listening to the music and going with it. Finally, your resting jump, freeze, then slow down and stop. The time from the arrow to when it starts up again is exactly 18 beats, or it should be. Just count 18 4th beats, or 9 half-beats, which is easier. Meaning (with the half-beats): "jump, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, step". Knowing this will greatly improve timing and will help you from getting destroyed once the song starts up again at full 300BPM speed. So, once the song starts up again, you are faced with some of the most difficult steps in this song, which are made more difficult if you are caught off-guard due to the stop. You will probably die here because of exhaustion, and because it is so fast, and there are so many arrows. If you do try to attempt it, you are lucky that it doesn't require too much pivoting, and most of it has 4th taps, but then you have swarms of 5. The first four are surprisingly easy and not as draining, but the next 5 are more difficult, posing as another place for you to die. This requires a bit more pivoting, and will leave you VERY exhausted, making the next swarm of 11 much harder than it actually is, even though you have to tap 4 with your left foot and move the right foot to every other step. Practicing using you foot more than once in a row on other songs can help at this point. If you somehow make it through that swarm, you are granted a gift for making it this far. A simple pattern of steps, gallops, and a few jumps. Try to get as perfect as you can to retain as much health as you can through the gallops and jumps. Then a step-triplet-step-step-triplet pattern until a deadly 17 8th notes come up. You will likely fail here or just after, since you are now probably at the edge of puking. Fear not, as most people give up here. You will not be shamed. Anyway, this swarm is like the ones at the beginning. Lots of pivoting. Just try to step every other arrow and you might make it. If you do make it through, you are face with 666. 4th, 12th and a 16th. It's similar to the pattern just before the stop, just in a triplet. A LOT of people die on these as well. Tapping your foot is just too hard when it has to be that fast. Still, you have to try to make it through 666, 444, then 888222jump. There's not real strategy, but PARANOiA Eternal has some taps that almost reach the speed of the taps here. That can help a bit. BUT there is an alternate way to take these, but you look like a fool unless you use a handbar, and is mainly used for the 888222. Hit the first 8 with the right or left foot, then alternate for the next 8, making sure your first foot is off the pad, or it won't register. It may take some practice, but it does work. After that, you have a jump with a freeze. I HAVE DIED BECAUSE I COULDN'T HOLD THE FREEZE ARROW, SO LEARN TO HOLD THEM DOWN WITHOUT FAIL. Hold that freeze, and you've successfully completed Max 300! Go sit down and have a drink at this point. You deserve it. =============================================================================== 5b.MaxX Unlimited =============================================================================== This Max song debuted in DDR 7th Mix, and was the second in the Max legacy. It topped Max 300's 300BPM by 20, reaching a 320BPM. It has a much more synthy sound to it, as the background suggests. However, it is still very similar to Max 300 in many ways. The steps however, are another thing. The author, Z, is another pseudonym for Naoki. Author-Z Difficulty-Expert BPM-140-320 Stops-1 Steps-600/555 Stepchart-http://www.ddrfreak.com/stepcharts/stepchart.php?song=maxx_unlimited& difficulty=Maniac&mode=Single&code=Normal&Submit=Submit Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk55DahQzzA&search=maxx%20unlimited Stream 7/10 Complex 8/10 Stamina 7/10 Speed 7/10 Surprises 8/10 Overall 7.4/10 Practice -------- Galloping. There are a fair amount of gallops at the beginning, middle and end (basically everywhere). They are not easy like Tsugaru, but closer together like So Deep (Perfect Sphere Mix). Jumping is a big asset in MaxX Unlimited. Contrary to Max 300, this song has a LOT more jumps. 27 to be exact. And they aren't easy to get either, since they come in packs. Streaming. You don't see much of it at first, but it's a killer at the end when you are dead tired. Learn to make it as easy as possible so you don't give up when the time comes. Reacting. For someone new to this song, reacting to speed changes is crucial if you don't know when it slows down and starts up again. Strategy -------- Just like Max 300, make sure you are well rested before you do this song. Also make sure you have beaten Max 300 a fair few times, or this will destroy you. Playing a bit of So Deep (Perfect Sphere Mix) isn't a bad idea either. And Drop Out. The massive jumps in that song will help you so much in MaxX Unlimited. So, starting the song, you have a little longer than Max 300 to get the beat. Not that it matters, but you do have some more time to calm down and relax. Anyway, you start 300BPM with 6 gift 4th beats, then a triplet thas pivots you. Another 6 4th beats, and you get five 8th notes this time, but they are easy to do. No sweat. Some more gifts, a triplet, then more gifts, then a stream of 9. Luckily, this is a simple stream, and should also be done with ease. now you start the gallops. Just follow the music and you'll do fine. It's a little reminiscent of So Deep (Perfect Sphere Mix), but there is a subtle difference that you'll spot and make through fine. At the end of the third set of gallops and steps, you will find your first barricade of jumps. 4 jumps that SHOULD be done fairly well, especially if you practiced on Drop Out. Then another similar pattern but with 4 and 6 switched, then another pattern, but the jumps here are more difficult. 28,24,28,26. you may have to do a crossover to hit 24 if you wish, which will be a lot easier than alternating. Then you hit a swarm of 4, step, swarm of 5, then another step and swarm of 5, then last step before a real swarm of 11. I had tripped up here once, so try to be careful when these swarms get to you. More gallops again (in a different order), and at 280BPM. Just listen to the music and you'll do fine. After those gallops, a swarm of 5, then lots of simple triplets, but enough to wear you down quite a bit. Sadly, only the first 7 are simple, then you hit a difficult 842 862 pattern that is very hard now that your worn out more. Just treat them like you did in Max 300, and put them as 'da-da-da-da-da-da" instead of "d-d-d, d-d-d". After those, you meet another long swarm. Put more effort into this, which will greatly help you stay up and working and alive. The song now slows down to a mere 150BPM. You get some more gift steps, and you may have to listen to the music again to get these right since they are freeze arrows and are therefore all the same colour. Of course, playing it once will let you know exactly how to step when the arrows come. Then the song speeds up again to 300BPM. You will now face "step-gallop-gallop- gallop-gallop-jump-step-gallop-gallop..." three times until you face another 8 swarm, then a slow down to an even slower 140BPM. This part is very similar to the above part, but instead of freeze arrows, you are faced with gallops. these are also pretty easy to do, and are another gift, as long as you hit them right. Make sure you know how they go from a stepchart or playing with the handclap on a home version. Then, just like Max 300, a jump-freeze that slows down to a stop, then starting up again at full speed. This time, though, the full speed is 320BPM, which is actually QUITE a difference. To keep yourself prepared, do like Max 300 and count 9 beats as soon as you hit the jump arrow, and on 9, hit the left arrow and just follow the step patterns from there. So, now you have another gift from Konami. A couple of straight 4ths and the few gallops and triplets. by now though, these are pretty hard to hit as you are really tired from those swarms and gallops. Luckily, they don't bombard you as much as they did in Max 300, so if you mess up when the song starts up again, it's not all over. The you face a "64, 2, 64" which is really difficult since 64 are jumps, and you are really tired. My advice is to just miss the down button here, since if you try to hit it, it might delay your timing and make it worse. especially since right after, you have some triplets, and a VERY painful swarm that ends in a jump. Put FORCE into the next few jumps when they come down at the end of a swarm, since it helps you actually hit them, since you will probably jump rather meekly from the tiredness, and the pads won't register. Follow the music that once again sounds like Max 300 to hit the jumps and gallops. After the five 4th note jumps in a row, you have a few swarms of 4, and a few simple steps. The gallops and jump-triplet-jump-jump. Followed by a swarm of 4 that should be taken facing right, but you will be facing left since it comes right after the jumps which happen right after the triplet that pivots you to the left. just ignore the right arrow if you wish and move on. After another few steps and gallops, you get another gallop-jump-triplet-jump- jump. At least this time, the triplet leaves you facing the way you should. Now, most people will fail here a lot of times, but if you can, muster all your energy into your arms if you use a handbar, and put yourself relatively straight. Not perectly straight, but standing more than leaning. Use all your abilities to hit the painful 842 862 8428628 and so forth, as you will actually find they are relatively easy, but you are still extremely worn out. Do all you can to pivot yourself left and right, and you'll make it. Keep pushing yourself on, and then you reach a few gallops, jump-step-gallop, triplet with a jump, gallop, then swarm of 11 with the final jump at the end. You do not have to hit all the arrows in that swarm to survive if you have a fair amount of health, but try to hit some, and hit the final jump-freeze with all you've got, and really try to hold it. After that, You've competed MaxX Unlimited! Give yourself some rest and drinks and a seat, maybe a toilet to barf in, and do whatever after. =============================================================================== 5c.Max 300 (Super-Max-Me Mix) -Expert =============================================================================== If anything, this is a remix of MaxX Unlimited, but hey. It's still kind of close to Max 300. It has the synthy sounds of MaxX Unlimited, but the...well it should be a remix of MaxX Unlimited. This song debuted on DDR Ultramix 2 in America for the X-Box, and the author, Jondi & Spesh, actually isn't Naoki. Author-Jondi & Spesh Difficulty-Expert BPM-140-320 Stops-0 Steps-655/586 Stepchart-http://www.ddrfreak.com/stepcharts/stepchart.php?song=max300supermax me&difficulty=Maniac&mode=Single&code=Normal&Submit=Submit Video- Stream 6/10 Complex 8/10 Stamina 6/10 Speed 7/10 Surprises 8/10 Overall 7/10 Practice -------- Gallops. Once again, they are pretty popular, as would be expected in a should- be MaxX Unlimited remix. Along with gallops, there are lots of jumps, also to be expected. 69 jumps, which beats MaxX Unlimited's 45. Luckily, they are more spaced out, but that leaves room for steps, making lots of step-jumps in this song. Crossovers are easy, but when they have freezes included that can easily distort you, they can be pretty difficult. These mix with the gallops as well. Streaming isn't seen as much, but the swarms at the end demand them. You do not pivot as much as in MaxX Unlimited, but some require a crossover, and the ending is MUCH worse than MaxX Unlimited and Max 300. Also, speed changes are not as worryable in this song, as it simply goes from 300-320-140-300-320. No stops or freeze-stop (Yay). Strategy -------- Like the other Maxes, this song starts off at 300BPM. And unlike the other maxes, the beginning is VERY easy. Being rested up isnt as important in this song. All the energy goes away at the end anyways. So starting off, you come to 30 quarter beats, followed by a jump. Almost 1/20 of the arrows gone already! Anyway, VERY simple freezes and steps follow, with a tune very similar to MaxX Unlimited. after a bit of that, the steps become jumps, but are still VERY easy. Then you come to the harder triplets and steps and more triplets and steps and so on, now at 320BPM. Now it becomes a little more difficult and brings in step-jumps. Ignore the freezes, since you will have to hold them down anyway. They are just thrown in maybe to scare people or look cool. Anyway, you get step-step-jump-step-step- step-jump..., all at 4th beats. Finish off with a jump-step-jump, then it gets a little more into the 10-footer difficult. Once again, the freezes mean nothing, but you do have jump-step-triplet-triplet-step-step then over and over. If you are following the step chart, you may notice one of the triplets has 84-8-4. That is incorrect, and should just be 4-8-4. Anyway, these parts are only slightly more difficult, but your stamina may stat to diminish with all these jumps. A little into that, and it gets slightly more difficult with jump-triplet- triplet-triplet-step and that happens twice with simple triplets. Then comes MaxX Unlimited's ending-ish with hard triplet x5, but a measly swarm of 7. Then atriplet ending in a jump, which starts the 140BPM. This part is very easy, and you don't even have to listen to the music to get it right. However, the steps are a tiny bit off the actually sound. No biggie at all, but it 16th note should be the next 4th note, and the 8th note be the next 16th note in the 4th-16th-8th triplet. Then, it starts up at 300BPM again, this time showing Max 300 steps. They are similar to max 300's beginning in reghards to timing, but the patterns are a little harder, and they threw in some uneeded freeze again. Now you reach the triplet-step-step-triplet-step-step-triplet-step-step-swarm of 5 with another useless freeze-step. That goes twice, then more MaxX Unlimited where the song slowed to 280BPM. This song, however, stays at 300BPM, and of course has different patterns, but same timing. ANother thing, is this is where the crossovers start coming in in those patterns. Nothing tough, but when it ends in a crossover, STAY in that position and start from there. Some more easy jumps, and then it really rears it's ugly head. By now, you are at least a little tired, and won't be happy to see the amount of simple triplets they have, and the even worse step-jump-step-jump patterns. After a bit of that, you get swarmS with a CAPITAL 'S' until the last 2 jumps. The first 4 are simple swarms of 7. Then 2 tougher swarms of 7, then 2 with crossovers. Then a nice straight 47-arrow swarm. It starts off easy. Just a few connected swarms of 7. Then a short vision of Drop Out, and 15 arrows of pain and no taps. This should put you pretty tired, but it's over as soon as you hit those last two jumps and hold the last freeze. Congratulations! You just beat Max 300 (Super-Max-Me-Mix) which had more arrows than the others, but was so much easier, yet was still just as short a song! =============================================================================== 5d.Max 300 (Super-Max-Me-Mix) -Challenge =============================================================================== These steps came out first on DDR Str!ke, and were much harder than the Expert counterparts. DDR Ultramix 2 did not feature Challenge at all, so these steps were not in DDR Ultramix 2. Author-Jondi & Spesh Difficulty-Challenge BPM-140-320 Stops-0 Steps-655/610 Stepchart- Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erI0CHbzxKw&search=max%20300%20super%20max %20me Stream 10/10 Complex 8/10 Stamina 9/10 Speed 7/10 Surprises 7/10 Overall 8.2/10 Practice -------- Jumps, Gallops, Full turns, long streams. REALLY long streams. Strategy -------- Starting the song, it's pretty basic. Step, triplet, steps, and a jump. Nothing particularly difficult. A bit of that, and then you get the freezes and steps that follow the song that are similar to the Expert steps. Then the jumps that are also similar to the Expert steps. Then back to the freezes and steps. Now the hard part comes. Difficult but crossover-less swarms of 9 followed by some steps, then over again and again. Well, 4 times. Then you get easier gallops that COULD use a corkscrew, but it's your own choice. Some more gallops later, we face relenteless jumps. Drop Out will definitely prepare you for these 16 jumps. As soon as those are over, you get a few simple triplets, then more jumps. Put extra force into the jumps, as they may not register if you don't hit hard enough. You get a lot of them, with steps and triplets fitted between the jump swarms. Now the slowdown. This part is very simple. No jumps or 16th beats. Just a nice simple 8th stream. When it starts up again, you get some easy gallops, and more unneeded freezes, just like the Expert steps. Although, they do cause crossovers, but they can be ignored and won't cause damage. Harder again, you get steps, triplets, and nice swarms of 9 again, but this time around, you get taps. Not exactly easy, and maybe best to not try to hit them, or you might take a little longer than needed and mess up a lot. The other swarms of 9 have crossovers, but aren't too difficult. The freeze arrows return, and now they are harder than ever, asking for many crossovers and awkward full turns. These too, can be ignored, though, but it may be best to try and go with it, in case you lose too much health. Now you get some gallops thrown in with the freezes, but the turning is over, and it is a lot easier here. BUT, the freezes mean to make you hit the gallops with 1 foot, but that can be avoided easily by ignoring the freezes at these parts. Now a couple of easy jumps, then a very tough part. So many triplets that are simple and tough, and they leave you in awkward positions sometimes, maybe full turns if you don't shift yourself back. Just never do a crossover, and you should be fine here, although it is faster and harder here. Triplets and steps later, you get a nice long swarm that is fairy easy, but then a REALLY long swarm of about 50 with 1 crossover at the end, then another swarm of 7 to put yourself back to normal. These swarms are not too hard, but your tiredness doesn't help, and there are a lot of arrows. After, you get another swarm identical to the swarm of about 50, but this time, it finishes a little earlier, and stops just before the final jump. The long swarms are really tiring, and even if you do really well the first swarm, the second swarm will get you to pretty low health (like me the first time). Land that jump, and boom! You've just finished Max 300 (Super-Max-Me-Mix) on Challenge! =============================================================================== 5e.The Legend of Max =============================================================================== The Legend of Max came out on DDR Extreme, and topped the previous Max (MaxX Unlimited) by 346BPM (no that's not a typo). It sounded MUCH different from the other Maxes, and was fairly simple until one point of the song that was VERY crushing. There was a rumor of a song known as "Max to the XXXimum." It was to be Extra Stage, and not The Legend of Max, which was not yet made, and wasn't going to be. Max to the XXXimum reached speeds of 400BPM for most of the song, and was Konami's first 11-footer. Apparently, it was too difficult, so they lowered the speed down to 333BPM and made The Legend of Max. Of course, only Konami know's the truth. I have actually heard a supposed Max to the XXXimum. It is possible it is the original, but it was not from a Konami site, but BemaniStyle, which isn't exactly an entirely reiable when it comes to searching songs and there library of Simfiles/Songs. Anyway, it does sound like the Legend of Max at 400BPM, but has sped up parts of Max 300 and MaxX Unlimited. That was okay, but when it sounded like MaxX ResurrexXion, which wasn't even Konami's, the doubts came. Still, Max to the XXXimum is just a rumor, and nowadays isn't taken very seriously. Anyway, the author of The Legend of Max, ZZ, is yet again, another pseudonym for Naoki. The supposed author of Max to the XXXimum was Beta, also to be Naoki. Author-ZZ Difficulty-Expert BPM-83.25-666 Stops-1 Steps-573/500 Stepchart-http://www.ddrfreak.com/stepcharts/stepchart.php?song=legend_max& difficulty=Maniac&mode=Single&code=Normal&Submit=Submit Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epEGp650qnE&search=the%20legend%20of%20max Stream 7/10 Complex 9/10 Stamina 9/10 Speed 8/10 Surprises 8/10 Overall 8.2/10 Lyrics ------ Just a note, you have to listen VERY VERY closely to hear some of these. Even then, it's like a whisper. That's why I'll notify when the lyrics come up in the strategy. (Can you see?) THE FLY! (Do you see your goal?) EnerGY! Realty. Realty. FEAR... Revolt... (Do the right thing) (Trust yourself, and you'll know the way) (Listen to yourself) (You can do this, you can!) Practice -------- Jumps and step jumps are a plenty in this song, and triplets are seen too, some just before jumps. Galloping is useful at the ending, and there are lots of jumps there as well. Streaming is VERY good near the end, as it gets really insane with difficult swarms and triplets. Tapping is used throughout, and its crucial in the near ending. Strategy -------- There are 73 jumps in this song, far surpasssing all the others. They are also placed more difficulty as well, but not too difficult. Plus, the speed again outmatches the predecessors, at an amazing average of 333BPM. It also goes to 666BPM and 83.25BPM. These parts are easy though, so don't fret. First thing, you can hear "Can you see?" A little. The song starts off at 333BPM, and like Max 300 (Super-Max-Me-Mix), has very easy 4th notes. 22 VERY easy patterns, followed by a jump-freeze which is very short. Then six 4th notes and a simple swarm of 5. Here you can hear more obviously, "The FLY!". Anyway, This launches staright into a pattern of step-step-step-step-step-step-triplet-step-step-step-step-jump,jump,jump and then over again. Somewhere in there, you can hear "DO you see your goal, but in a different voice from the rest, and it's like a...uh...robot? And a little later, you easily hear "EnerGY!" Continuing on...on the fourth run, after the first triplet, you face another simple triplet, step, triplet, step, and jump. Now a new pattern forms, but it is still relatively easy. Step-step-triplet-step-step-triplet-step-step-triplet -gallop-gallop-jump and over again. The gallop-gallop-jump part can be tricky, but just use some extra force on spacing out the jump from the gallop and you're good. Regardless of what you do, this part will wear you down a bit. After a few of those, you will reach a potentially killing part. If you do this for Extra Stage, it's a lot worse. After the final jump, you get triplet-jump- jump-triplet-jump-jump-triplet-triplet-triplet-swarm of 5. The jumps can be particularly hard, since they are not the same, and cause you to turn the other way and pivot. The next part is relatively simple, and can allow you to regain some stamina you just lost at those last swarms. Just follow the song and the steps, and it's really easy. The only thing is, there are a lot of jumps, and some require you to alternate your feet quickly or do a crossover. At that speed, your first reaction will be to simply alternate feet. Then the part of the song runs through again, but this time with hard triplets thrown in, and the jumps still remain. If anything, there are even more. Just try to hold your own, since it's not difficult unless you make it that way. Oh yeah. You hear "Realty!" twice in here. Fairly hard to hear, but not as much as some of the others. After that though, it IS difficult. you will face a jump-triplet-step patterns a few times, and they are not easy. You can you the strategy with the constant triplets here, and space them out so instead of "jump,d-d-d,da" it's a "jump-da -da-da-da". AFter, you get a jump-step-jump, then step-step-triplet-step-jump- triplet-jump-swarm of 7-triplet-triplet-jump-freeze. This can be easy until the swarm of 7. I don't know why, but it seems particularly hard. Just practice doing it when no one is looking and you should get used to it, though. Here, you can here VERY easily, "The FEAR!" Anyway, if you notice during the freeze, it's a lot faster than just 333BPM. Actually, it's twice as fast. This is the only point where it reaches 666BPM, and you don't have to do anything. Aren't you lucky? Anyway, it then slows to 333BPM, 166.5BPM, then 83.25BPM as it gets to the stop that is in the first two Maxes. This time, you don't ahve to count the beats until the song starts up because the song continues at 83.25BPM. Plus, it's kinda obvious listening to the music. It isn't hard at all to pick up when it will begin. If you aren't convinced, then just count out 9 beats again from the jump to the first arrow. Around the end of this segment, you can just make out "Revolt." in that roboticy voice. So, going from that first arrow, it's really easy. Just follow the music, and you'll have no problem. After, it speeds up to 333BPM again. you get 6 quarter notes, then a triplet. This goes twice, then you get a step-harder triplet- step-step-harder triplet-step-step-triplet-triplet-triplet-step. You will probably be pretty tired at this point, but hold on, because the worst part comes now. Triplets. Lots of triplets. Worst part is that you need to tap for them. For some at least. I had read that instead of going "d-d-d,d-d-d" for "424 424" and some other triplets, just simply go "d-d-d-d-d-d-d", adding another step between the triplets. I do not think this works well unless you have absolutely perfect timing, because it may count something like the second 2 in "424 424" and make it "almost" or "boo". Just get used to sounding like a horse. I find it really easy myself, and have been since the start. After a few of those, you get some harder triplets, but still some easy ones. Now Hell REALLY breaks loose. Swarms of 7, that cause you to pivot every time. Here, you really notice how much 13BPM makes a difference. Just practice on a home pad that you can slide on. Get through a few of those, and one swarm of 5, then you get the massive swarm of 17, which REALLY causes you to pivot. Once again, just practice sliding on a home pad, then practice at the arcade. Throughout all of this from the triplet freak out to here, the rest of the lyrics are shoved in just at a whisper, and it is almost impossible to really figure out what it is saying, unless you have it as an mp3 or something and you blast the volume. At the arcades, you probably won't hear it. Notice that "You can do this, you can!" is at the hardest part of this song. Most of the time, those lyrics will prove to be false for the first while of trying to beat the song. If you get through that, then your practically in the clear. Just make it through some easy yet tiring gallops and jumps, then land the final jump, and you've completed the legend of Max! =============================================================================== 5f.Fascination MaxX -Expert =============================================================================== Welcome to the new Max of SuperNOVA. This is probably the hardest Max, and the most complicated. For now at least. The Challenge steps are still a mystery so... The author:100-200-400, is a pseudonym for someone. Presumably Dj Sota. Could be Naoki, but both authors use pseudonyms to describe the BPM of the song (190, 180, .3k[300]). There is no direct link to either of them. Thanks to Deoxysapple for that bit. Author-100-200-400 Difficulty-Expert BPM-100-200-400 (lol) Stops-2 Steps-/ Stepchart- Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp_MAnvA6SE&search=fascination%20maxx Note that the video is old and may be incorrect. Stream 8/10 Complex 8/10 Stamina 10/10 Speed 10/10 Surprises 10/10 Overall 9.2/10 Practice -------- High speeds. 400 is plenty to be wary of. Reaction. this song changes speeds VERY abruptly, going from 100-400-200-400-200-400-200-400-200-400-100-200-stop-stop-400-100-200-400. Gallops. Got a LOT of those in the middle. Jumping is also crucial at the end when they tackle you when you are so tired. Crossovers are also used. Not exactly a good thing either. Strategy -------- Starting off, you have 100BPM. Very slow, but as soon as the first arrow comes up, it goes straight into 400BPM, kinda like Healing Vision (Angelic Mix). Luckily, you only have 4th notes, but you got a nice stream of 65 with crossovers, then a jump. DO NOT TREAT IT AS 1 BEAT FROM THE STREAM AS THE SONG SLOWS DOWN TO 200BPM, SO IT IS SPACED AS 2 BEATS. After that, it assaults you again at 400BPM with step-triplet-step-triplet-step -triplet-step-triplet then a nice swarm of 9. However, this is relatively basic, but will tire you down A LOT. Next, it slows down to 200 again for a tiny bit, then up again at the first step to 400BP, re-assaulting you with step-triplet-step-triplet-step then a slightly more complitcated swarm of 9. This one causes you to move across the pad. Again, with the 200BPM then assault at 400BPM with the same step-triplet-step-triplet-step-triplet-step-triplet then a nice swarm of 9, and even more difficult still. And again with the slow down and a step-triplet-swarm of 11, but not harder than before. At that 11th step, it slows down to a mere 100BPM. Sure, the song is nice and slowed, but still doesn't stop it from being crazy. No, it's not like bag, but it's stupid, and gets you off-guard. Plus, it's stupid AND you're tired. It's actually pretty easy but anyways...all you need to do is read the arrows and listen to the music, and you've got it. Now, we're back up to 200BPM, which is more bearable. Lot's of gallops, which are easy. The crossovers are very easy to deploy, and they are easy gallops for most of it, then it's a little harder, but not by too much. If you made it through the beginning of the song, this should be a breeze. At the last up arrow, you get a stop. It is not unexpected when it starts up again unlike the other Maxes, but it can be hard to figure out the first time going through. As usual, though, there are 9 beats from the up arrow to the next arrow in the stop. When it does start up again, it is really hard, assaulting you with would-be 12th notes, if it were not for the fact that they were the tiniest bit off, perhaps all 48th notes or 64th, which can be noticed when playing on SOLO, where ALL the arrows after the stop are purple. Either way, the arrows are placed 12th notes apart. After 23 of those, there is another stop, and it is also predictable when it starts again. Just like before, it assaults you with 21 would-be 12th notes, but this time with a few crossovers. Then, it goes up again to 400BPM. Unlike before, this time around at 400BPM is REALLY insane. They assault you (notice I say that a lot [it's funny because it's true{LOL Crispy}]) when you are so tired with step-swarm of 5-step-swarm of 5 several times. At least they are simple swarms. Still, you get the step-simple swarm of 5 thing 8 times before the swarms get more complicated and start using crossovers (nothing like 42624) that should be easily deployed if it wasn't at 400BPM and you weren't next to dead. The best to do here is give up, since you don't want to push yourself to hard for nothing, since there is harder ahead, and you probably won't have near the stamina or speed for this unless you play In The Groove. Still at 400BPM and purple arrows on SOLO, the song now assaults you with step-step-jump a LOT, minus the first one which is just step-jump-step-jump =) Anyway, you will probably need to make some edits to make it through this if you can, since this is very grueling and very difficult, and lasts really long. Plus, the patterns aren't easy at all (8-4-62-8-2-46-8-6-42 etc.), so this will require a ton of building up. After a lot of that, you will get a nice DIFFICULT stream, then a slow-down to 100BPM, with rather easy steps, a few taps, but nothing really hard. Then it goes up to 200BPM, with slightly easier steps, and no taps. Then, 400BPM again, and for the last time. Easy swarm of 5 with an uneeded freeze at the end, then triplet with an uneeded freeze at the end, and another, and a DIFFICULT swarm of 13. Like The legend of Max, just practice sliding on the home pad until you can do it at the arcade. This will take a lot longer to get right though. Finally, after the useless freeze, you get another, FINAL warm of 7, which is also really difficult. Make it through this somehow, and BOOM! You've completed the new hardest song in DDR! =============================================================================== 5g.Fascination MaxX -Challenge =============================================================================== Only in an Challenge course so far, Boss Rush IV, Fascination MaxX on Challenge is the fourth song out of 5. The Challenge course features: 1)Healing Vision (Angelic mix)-Expert 2)PARANOiA Survivor MAX -Challenge 3)CHAOS -Expert 4)Fascination MaxX -Challenge 5)Healing-D-Vision -Challenge As a Challenge course, you have 4 lives, which will be lost one at a time when you get a Good or lower. When your lives are gone, you fail. Normally, you get some lives back, depending on the difficulty of the song. In this Challenge course however, you DO NOT regain any lives, but the legnendary Jboy has passed it, but not in the video below. Luckily, we still see the whole song. Anyway, I think this Challenge version is pretty...lazily done. The only big difference is the beginning, which is SO much harder, then the rest follows the same beat as the Expert steps, with some jumps thrown in during the last streams. This is almost as bad as the whole "Copy-and-paste the steps from PARANOiA Survivor to PARANOiA Survivor MAX and put Mirror on them and add 20BPM and put a new ending in!". Possibly even worse, since this was so anticipated. Great job Konami. Great job. Author-100-200-400 Difficulty-Challenge BPM-100-200-400 (lol) Stops-2 Steps-/ Stepchart- Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51SvCQ-om6g Practice -------- Coming Soon Strategy -------- Coming Soon =============================================================================== 6.PARANOiA =============================================================================== Also a famous song, PARANOiA is the most remixed song in DDR. A mere 3 of them are 10-footers, but the PARANOiA's are the some of the hardest songs. PARANOiAs in DDR include: PARANOiA/180 PARANOiA MAX -Dirty Mix-/190 PARANOiA MAX -Dirty Club Mix-/190 PARANOiA MAX -Dirty Club Another Mix-/190 PARANOiA KCET -Clean Mix-/2MB PARANOiA Evolution/200 PARANOiA Eternal/STM 200 PARANOiA Rebirth/190` PARANOiA Survivor/270 PARANOiA Survivor MAX/290 PARANOiA Respect/.3k Others include: PARANOiA Max -Clean Mix-/? PARANOiA KECT -Dirty Mix/? PARANOiA DEAD/Naoki vs. 190 PARANOiA MAX (Funky Bleep Mix)/190 PARANOiA Revenge/Deep Shadow There are SO many more, but that's enough. Continuing, PARANOiA's have a sound rather like the Maxes, but with some differences. Then agaim, they all have the same author (Naoki) except ones under 2MB, .3k, Deep Shadow, and STM 200. Quite a few came before Max 300. =============================================================================== 6a.PARANOiA Survivor =============================================================================== This is one of the easiest 10-footers in DDR, but it doesn't mean its really easy. PARANOiA Survivor came with The legend of Max in DDR EXTREME, but was no where NEAR as hard. Sure, 270BPM is still pretty high, but later, you can really sense the ifference. The author, 270, is again Naoki. Author-270 Difficulty-Expert BPM-135-270 Stops-0 Steps-527/509 Stepchart-http://www.ddrfreak.com/stepcharts/stepchart.php?song=parasurvivor& difficulty=Maniac&mode=Single&code=Normal&Submit=Submit Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7P7cOt0LZw&search=paranoia%20survivor Stream 8/10 Complex 8/10 Stamina 6/10 Speed 6/10 Surprises 6/10 Overall 6.8/10 Lyrics ------ Sound. Sound. Heeyeey... Electric. Electric. Electric. Electric. Sound. Sound. Practice -------- Jumping is seen here and there at the end, but isn't big. Galloping also is rather sparse, but it's there. Streaming is pretty easy, but there is a ton of it, which is why it's an 8/10. The only way toreally parctice that is to play this a song lot though. Crossovers are pretty crucial at the end, but that's it. They aren't complicated at all either. Strategy -------- Well, the song is rather noticeably slower than the Maxes at first, so a x1.5 modifier may be of help. But first, try to play the song through on x1 just to make sure you can or can't do it at that speed. It starts off easily enough. Triplet-step-step-swarm of 5-step swarm of 5-blah blah blah gallops triplets swarm of 4 etc. Nothing really hard at all if you've done some other 10-footers, although this should be accomplished after [Sakura] since it isn't that hard. Follow through as the music goes, and you'll do perfectly fine. Then you hit the first slow down to 135BPM that is completely random, since there is no warning at all, except the 16th notes, which would have been a pain at 270BPM. If you played PARANOiA Survivor on other difficulties, this part should not be a shock. Just follow the music, and you've got it. Then it starts up again to 270BPM, and is noticeably harder. Swarms of 5, triplets, quadruplets and gallops are all mixed here, and if you don't know how the music goes, all there is is to follow the steps as best you can. The only way to really get prepared for these steps is to play times a few times. A few measures down, you get a little tired, so the steps get a little easier, but by no means is it just plain easy. There are still triplets and gallops, but following the music can make it bearable. Then you get another unexpected slow down to 135BPM. Just like before, look for the 16th beats, or play the song a few times to get it memorized. Then you get your first jump and more swarms at 270BPM again. Slightly different than before, there are no gallops, but lots of difficult swarms of 5-7 and triplets, and another unexpected slow down to 135BPM. This time, there are no 16th beats, just 4 quarter jumps to warn you. Again, play the song mulitple times if needed to get this part in your head. Now the final speed up to 270BPM, you get some fairly easy swarms, but some arrows start on an 8th beat, so listen to the music and watch the steps carefully to make it through the triplets and swarms of 5. A lot more swarms later, you get some swarms of 4, gallops, then harder swarms of 5. Push yourslef hard to pivot yourself the way you need to, and you'll make it to the halfway freeze, which is a gallop, not a jump. Unlike the Maxes, it doesn't slow down to a stop, just plows right through at 270BPM. Also, if you want to count out the beats, it's 9 QUICK beats, so 4th beats at 270BPM instead of at 135BPM. After the freeze, you get some fairly easy steps and triplets, but you are fairly tired at this point, so it's a little harder. Than you get some jumps with a step in them, which can take some practice. Drop Out can help you here. Some gallops and jumps later, you get a freeze, then again with triplets, steps and gallops and jumps. now you are probably more tired, but there should be enough to keep you going. Some gallops later, you get some more jumps and steps, and now face the most difficult part of the song. Swarms of 12-18 bombard you, each with crossovers. now you are really tired, and accomplishing this is that much harder. However, try to push yourself and more force into these steps and make sure you hit them, and you'll do fine. Make sure to use crossovers, pivot, and step hard to get through this difficult part of the song. At the final swarm of 18, push yourself as hard as necessary to make it through this difficult swarm, since pivoting is used a lot, but there are no crossovers. Sadly, the streaming makes up for the crossovers plenty. Make it through this, and use your remaining force to hit the gallops and swarm of 4, and the final jump-freeze. There you go! Another 10-footer you've done. =============================================================================== 6b.PARANOiA Survivor MAX -Expert =============================================================================== PARANOiA Survivor MAX sounds almost exactly like PARANOiA Survivor, but 20BPM faster, and with an extended ending. On Expert, the steps are exactly the same, but mirrored, so left is right and up is down. Except the new ending. That's brand-new steps. Strangely enough, this song is MUCH more difficult, even on Mirror, and even after beating most other 10-footers. The author, 290, is aother pseudonym of Naoki, again. Author-290 Difficulty-Expert BPM-72.5-290 Stops-0 Steps-586/567 Stepchart-http://www.ddrfreak.com/stepcharts/stepchart.php?song=parasurvivormax &difficulty=Maniac&mode=Single&code=Normal&Submit=Submit Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJk18N2QLIo&search=paranoia%20survivor%20 max Stream 8/10 Complex 9/10 Stamina 8/10 Speed 7/10 Surprises 7/10 Overall 7.8/10 Lyrics ------ Sound. Sound. Heeyeey... Electric. Electric. Electric. Electric. Sound. Sound. Feels good-good-good-good...! Practice -------- PARANOiA Survivor on Mirror. PARANOiA Survivor MAX (Expert) on Mirror. Strategy -------- First off, it may be wise to do this song on Mirror a few times, since the steps are easier that way if you use a handbar, and you get used to the speed when you have farmilliar arrows. Either that, or do PARANOiA Survivor on Mirror. To be honest, doing both is wisest (duh). When you actually do the song normally, you may find it it surprisingly harder than it's slower counterpart. Still, you can make it through following the PARANOiA Survivor strategy and making changes where needed since the arrows are Mirrored, and slightly faster, but it shouldn't be a big problem. Also note that the song is a ltitle harder if you use the handbar in terms that there are a lot more Up arrows, which are slightly harder to reach, which can be a problem. When you get to the the big gallop-freeze, notice it slows down to 72.5BPM. It isn't a surprise to when it starts up again, and is no different from the freeze length on PARANOiA Survivor. Another change, the final gallops of PARANOiA Survivor are still Mirrored and all that, but this time, they are at 145BPM. Like before though, it isn't a big deal. So, continuing from there, you notice the final swarm of 4 before the would be jump-freeze continues with one more arrow, where it speeds up again to 290BPM, and still continuing where PARANOiA Survivor did not. It get you instantly again with swarms of 5, steps, then a gallop followed by awkward triplets, and it will help to go through this part of the song more than once to get the feel of the beat it goes to. Also, you need to use crossovers, and this part seems a little harder than the others. Anyway, get through that, then the same thing backwards, and then a fwe easy swarms of 4 and 2 and triplets with some easy crossovers then the jump-freeze and there. Yay! You've beaten PARANOiA Survivor MAX! Boo! You only did it on Expert! Just joking! It's still a great feat! ...Huzaah! (Is that how you spell it?) (...rhetorical question) (meaing don't email me about it) =============================================================================== 6c.PARANOiA Survivor MAX -Challenge =============================================================================== Previously the hardest song in DDR, it reigned over the others with constant streams, jumps, and crossovers. Oh, the crossovers. Author-290 Difficulty-Challenge BPM-72.5-290 Stops-0 Steps-655/613 Stepchart-http://www.ddrfreak.com/stepcharts/stepchart.php?song=parasurvivormax &difficulty=Challenge&mode=Single&code=Normal&Submit=Submit Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Af-asdrDlY&search=paranoia%20survivor%20 max Stream 11/10 <-- YES it deserves 11 so shut up about it! Complex 11/10 <-- YES it still deserves 11 so shut up about it! Stamina 10/10 Speed 7/10 Surprises 8/10 Overall 9.4/10 Lyrics ------ Sound. Sound. Heeyeey... (Electric.) (Electric.) (Electric.) (Electric.) Sound. Sound. Feels good-good-good-good...! Practice -------- Every 10-footer you can do. That SHOULD be Max 300, Max 300 (Super-Max-Me-Mix), MaxX Unlimited, The legend of Max, PARANOiA Survivor and Survivor MAX on Expert, [Sakura], and bag (modifiers acceptable), and possibly others. Strategy -------- Start this song VERY well rested, because you will get tired. Fast. The first arrow comes, and you're nt sure if you hit it with the left foot, or the right foot. Either one is acceptable, but do the left foot to avoid a lot of death. The first streams are very straight forward, followed by some easy gallops, triplets, and more streams, with a crossover that's pretty tough. Get used to it though, because there's lots more. Then you get some jump steps and jump jumps. Get used to those too. There are plenty as well. Aproaching the slow down is fine, but there is an extra arrow in the 145BPM section, that doesn't actually go with anything. Just tap after the triplet and it shouldn't be a problem at all. You just have to know it's there. Once the song comes back at 290BPM, it's still pretty easy if you can do most other 10-footers. Follow the patterns that are similar to Expert, but just with all those blanks filled in, and a few jumps thrown in here and there. This should all be fairly simple, but pretty tiring by the time you get the second slow down to 145BPM. At least this time, they didn't add any uneeded steps. Starting up again, it's actually easier than the Expert steps, and the steps overall here are very simple. At the third slow down to 145BPM, instead of being greeted with 4 jumps, the first one is now a gallop. no biggie. Just a heads-up. Now it gets harder, since you are very tired. Once the song goes back to 290BPM you must hit the first step with the right foot, instead of the left foot, which some people might do. Swarms of 5 and triplets later, you are faced with a crossover that does not put you back into the right position at the end of it. This is a swarm of 5 that starts the first arrow, down, with the right foot for most people. To avoid the crossover, just shift and use the left foot instead of the right. It's a big lifesaver, although you COULD use the right foot twice, which normally doesn't do much damage to your life. Triplets later, you are faced with something similar to The legend of Max, where the triplets go 6-6 6-6 6-6 with step in the -. If you managed to get through this part in The legend of Max, then this part should be no problem, unless you are really dying of thirst or something. You actually might be by now if you are not prepared enough. Next, it's sort of the same thing, but with swarms of 5, and crossovers. This isn't particularly difficult either, just remember to do the crossovers, and don't do unnecessary shifting with your feet. In other words, if a swarm ends with a crossover, stay in that crossover, and continue from there. The last swarm is a swarm of 7, which takes you into the gallop-freeze that slows down to the 72.5BPM. Use this opportunity to rest. Maybe count the beats like PARANOiA Survivor. 9 QUICK beats. Now the song starts up at 290BPM again, and you are very tired,and this is pretty hard because of that. There are plenty of crossoevrs that can be avoided like the other one. For instance, the 626 848 could use a crossover, but make it easy and use your tight foot to start the 848. For the gallops, it doesn't matter much. Do what you normally do for this kind of thing like in Twilight Zone (R-C Extended Club MIX). Careful in them though. They hide triplets and small swarms. Best t study the stepchart at this point carefully. When the jumps come, use some extra force for them, since you can't afford to lose too much health at this point, since the worst has yet to come. Once the final jumps come in before the big swarms, don't use a crossover for them. Shift your body in mid-air if you have to. You are meant to start the first swarm facing left. Now comes the part you are VERY likely to die. You will now see why this was the hardest song of DDR EXTREME. 3 swarms of 31 and a final swarm of 18 comes flying at you with no mercy, and likely no survivors. if you attempt it, start with the left foot on the first arrow, and go crossover to hit the left arrow, and continue from there. IF you have DDR EXTREME 2 at home, practice this end part over and over until you can do it fairly well. REmember to hit as close to the middle as you can, use your toes, and maybe somehow fit a drink of water just before this. Going through the patterns, there are many crossovers in these long streams, and no real break. Just remember to always start the next swarm with a crossover. They are meant to be so. Reaching the swarm of 18, it ends with the last 2 arrows at 145BPM, and the next few gallops that way as well. This is where the end is in PARANOiA Survivor, but remember, it continues. This part's easier than the EXPERT steps all the way through, but in no way are they simply easy. But if you made it this far, do whatever you can to make it to the end. it isn't that hard, and isn't riddled with crossovers. just some rather painful streams. Land that final jump-freeze and HIP HIP HURRAY! You did the hardest song on DDR EXTREME, which is one of the hardest songs in total anyway! Sit down, barf in a toilet, and relax. =============================================================================== 6d.PARANOiA Respect =============================================================================== Finally coming from Japan, PARANOiA Respect was first in DDR Party Collection in Japan only. Now it is in DDR/DS SuperNOVA for you to play. This is a fairly hard song, but is not a match for PARANOiA Survivor MAX on Challenge. Also, BEST PARANOiA SONG EVER! The author, .3k, is a pseudonym for Dj Sota, who also did MAXIMIZER under the name Cli-Max S., in DDR EXTREME in America. Author-.3k Difficulty-Expert BPM-300 Stops-5 Steps-578/555 Stepchart-http://www.ddrfreak.com/stepcharts/stepchart.php?song=paranoiarespect &difficulty=Maniac&mode=Single&code=Normal&Submit=Submit Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcwkpnDHNdE&search=paranoia%20respect Stream 8/10 Complex 8/10 Stamina 8/10 Speed 7/10 Surprises 9/10 Overall 8/10 Lyrics ------ Need some help but here's what I got. Sound. (Feel so good!) xI dunno how may times but there's a lot. Feel so good! Bring it on down! Practice -------- Crossovers are plenty at the end. Reacting is good since there are pretty surprising stops. Streaming is also pretty common here. This song on other difficulties a few times. Strategy -------- It is strongly advised that you play this song a fwe times on another difficulty before attempting the song on Expert. Having done that, you should now be prepared for the stops in the song, and are also farmilliar with the beats of the song and how they will flow. Starting off, you have a less time to get ready than other 10-footers. It is a hard beginning, too. Unlike most others, they bombard you with big streams right away. After 3 steps that go to the music of course, that should be done very well if you know how the song goes. Then the stream comes. A swarm of 8 that shouldn't be too hard if you follow the order given in section 4. Anyways, a few of those patterns later, on the last pattern, there is a swarm of 7 instead of 8. You will recognize it by the final arrow being and up arrow that is an 8th note. The steps stop there for a short period of time. This won't be a surprise if you have played this song already. So DO THAT IF YOU HAVEN'T. Following the stop, you get a jump, then 2 swarms of 4 that are pretty easy. The next few triplets can be a little awkward, but use your eyes to time them right. A gallop and some jumps and steps later, you get that pattern again with a few differences, but nothing too hard. Some extra gallops and lack of jumps, and your first swarm with a crossover. Just before the jump, there is another stop at the down arrow. That should not be a surprise. When it starts up, you get the pattern twice AGAIN, then a cool-down section. You should be fairly tired now, since they didn't go easy at the beginning. For the next while though, it's very easy. Simple steps, a triplet thrown in here and gallops there, the occasional jump, swarm of 5...use this time to relax and ease up. At the jump that is 46, there is a stop. Well, the one that is followed by another 46 a few spaces after. Also shouildn't be a shock. After, it gets a little harder with more jumps and harder triplets, but it is still pretty easy. A LOT of that later, at a swarm of 5, there is a down arrow, and it stops. Also shouldn't be a surprise. After that, you get more swarms of 5 with a crossover in some of them. No biggie though. Just remember to put yourself back to normal after them. Some more of that, and you get more triplets that aren't very hard, then a swarm of 19 that could be potentially hard, since there are lots of pivots at every corner. At the end of that, you get the final stop, and face the REALLY easy part. A simply long freeze arrow, coupled with spaced out steps. Now comes the hard part. Big swarms riddled with crossovers and freeze arrows that want you to hit two arrows with 1 foot. Make it easy on yourself and ignore the freezes. They are there to throw you off. Just trust me on that. If you can make it through that, then you get some steps, swarms of 4, then the final two jumps of the song. YAY! You beat PARANOiA Respect! That wasn't so hard, was it? =============================================================================== 7.The Other 10-Footers =============================================================================== These don't have a specific category to go in like the Maxes or PARANOiAs. These aren't as hard as the Maxes or PARANOiA's for some reason, though. =============================================================================== 7a. Sakura =============================================================================== First seen on DDR EXTREME, Sakura was only in Nonstop and Challenge courses, and could only be played otherwise by unlocking it with codes. The title for Sakura in DDR EXTREME was actually a kanji that can be seen at: http://www5.big.or.jp/~otake/hey/kanji/gifmoji/req/sakura.gif Sakura means cherry blossom, and viewers/readers of Cardcaptors/Cardcaptor Sakura will know that. The author, RevenG, is a pseudonym for Naoki. Author-RevenG Difficulty-Expert BPM-14-320 Stops-0 Steps-/446 Stepchart-http://www.ddrfreak.com/stepcharts/stepchart.php?song=sakura& difficulty=Maniac&mode=Single&code=Normal&Submit=Submit VIdeo-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hklYdbXw5Is&search=sakura%20ddr Stream 5/10 Complex 6/10 Stamina 5/10 Speed 7/10 Surprises 6/10 Overall 5.8/10 Practice -------- Galloping is seen here and there. Taps are needed in some places. High speeds. You may want to try this on x1.5 if x1 is't good enough at one point. Strategy -------- Firstly, this is probably the easiest 10-footer. Period. The first time, it may be hard if you are unfarmilliar, but the second time, it should be a breeze. The song starts at 300BPM. You get a straight stream of 4th notes with crossovers, but I prefer not to do them, but its your choice. Then an 8th note and 4 taps. Still easy. More streams of 4th notes, and your first set of really easy gallops. After those, it gets sorta hard. Triplets and steps. Only sorta hard though. More of that and more gallops later, the triplets gat a little harder, then easier but with more frequency, then two jumps and a slow down to 150BPM. It's still really easy here, even as it slows down. You may want to play this song on another difficulty to know this part. Anyway, it slows down and down and down, all the way till the freeze arrow, where it reaches it's lowest: 14BPM. In here there is a single step, which can be very hard to time; I still haven't quite mastered it. Once the next arrow comes up, it starts up at 150BPM. The gallops and jumps are easy at first, but then it gets more complicated, and this is where you'll likely die. If you can, put on a x1.5 modifier, and use the handbar if you must to make it through the beginning to this point. You'll realize it's not that hard after all. At the last up arrow, it slows down again, then blares up to 320BPM. That doesn't necessarily mean it's hard, though. Once again, simple 4th streams, and a simple swarm of 5. Then some taps, triplet, swarm of 5, more simple triplets, some gallops and streams of 4th notes again, triplets, crossovers, taps, simple stuff. Then some jumps that go with the song, and a swarm of 23 that slows down slowly to 88.88BPM that isn't hard at all. Yay. You've done a very non-spectacular feat. Woot. =============================================================================== 7b.bag =============================================================================== This song is very slow. 65BPM. Almost the slowest song in DDR. And at x1, one of the hardest if you haven't memorized the steps. So, it may be best to have a minimum of x3 on. The author, RevenG, is a pseudonym for Naoki. Author-RevenG Difficulty-Expert BPM-65 Stops-0 Steps-383/382 Stepchart-http://www.ddrfreak.com/stepcharts/stepchart.php?song=bag&difficulty =Maniac&mode=Single&code=Normal&Submit=Submit Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HwZC3vMXFY&search=bag%20ddr Stream 10/10 Complex 10/10 Stamina 4/10 Speed 10/10 Surprises 10/10 Overall 8.8/10 Practice -------- ... Strategy -------- If you try to follow the stepchart, you're doomed. Just to let you know. bag is a slow song throughout, and is recommended you have a speed modifer. That way, the steps are much more spaced and easy to read. And, the steps are equivalent to a 9-footer this way, so it requires no strategy. Just some notes. bag is composed of 24th notes, and the few 32nd notes. However, at high speeds, I noticed the steps were not evenly placed, but I will do more investigation in this matter. Also, the steps do not entirely follow the bagpipes, so be careful of when you step. However, they do have a sort of rhythm to it. So...uhh...yeah. If you want to be able to do it x1, get used to whe the arrows hit, have it next to memorized, and voila. It turns out to be fairly easy as long as you know when to hit. =============================================================================== 7c.Healing-D-Vision =============================================================================== Only in an Challenge course so far, Boss Rush IV, Healing-D-Vision on Challenge is the fifth song out of 5. The Challenge course features: 1)Healing Vision (Angelic mix)-Expert 2)PARANOiA Survivor MAX -Challenge 3)CHAOS -Expert 4)Fascination MaxX -Challenge 5)Healing-D-Vision -Challenge As a Challenge course, you have 4 lives, which will be lost one at a time when you get a Good or lower. When your lives are gone, you fail. Normally, you get some lives back, depending on the difficulty of the song. In this Challenge course however, you do NOT regain any lives, which is why JBoy failed at the end. The steps for Healing-D-Vision are okay at first, but then a little into the speed up, and it's just so...stupid. Stupid hard. And crappy looking. Lazy. Ugh. Author-DE-STRAD Difficulty-Challenge BPM-180-360 Stops- Steps-/ Stepchart- Practice -------- Coming Soon Strategy -------- Coming Soon =============================================================================== 7d.Xepher =============================================================================== Originally on Beatmania, Xepher is now on DDR for the first time, but it's steps are a little dissapointing as a 10-footer, but it is challenging nonetheless, and it's background video is beautiful. Author-Tatsh Difficulty-Challenge BPM-170 Stops-0 Steps-/521 Stepchart- Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GvFR1E-rBg&search=xepher Stream 6/10 Complex 6/10 Stamina 6/10 Speed 6/10 Surprises 6/10 Overall 6/10 Lyrics ------ In the video, it shows the lyrics, but it says 'ha' instead of 'has'. Existing in this place Now are un cleanable lies I wonder when it has began... How far do I have to go to see the light? Stars in your eyes Stars in your eyes Stars in your hearts Stars in your hearts You will be in shadow Of shade and commit the eighth sin Unrequited existance will turn Everything into nothing Practice -------- Gallops. Lots of gallops. There are a few step jumps in here as well. Tapping is seen here and there, but when it is seen, it's pretty insane. Strategy -------- Xepher, like [Sakura] and some other 10-footers, is very easy. And if you watch the video, most of Expert and Challenge steps are the same, so doing it on Expert may be a good idea, just so you feel comfortable. Starting off, you get some simple but quick gallop swarms with jumps or triplets at the end of them. Not particlarly diffuclt, but if gallops aren't your area, don't try this song yet, and go beat Tsugaru and Twilight Zone. AFter that, you get some harder gallops, but nothing really coplicated. Then some streams, jumps, and then some easy triplets, followed by a triplet-freeze that may look like a jump, but isn't. Now you get some long simple streams with a few crossoevers, then a couple of jumps and taps added in. At the end of that, you get a freeze with taps of 7. If you can do Can't Stop Fallin' in love (Speedy Mix), then this is a breeze. After, we get a segment pretty similar to the beginning. Gallops and jumps. So scary. Then we get some 8th triplets with ignorable freezes, then a nice long stream identical to Expert. Then the stream starts to change a bit, and you get some harder triplets, but it's still really easy. Some more jumps, then the hardest part of the song. Jumps with freezes and taps then swarms of 5, gallops, steps, then swarms of 5 again, and yeah. AFter we get two jumps, the last one being a freeze, then a couple more steps and the song is done. Yay. You've beaten Xepher. =============================================================================== 7e.CHAOS -Expert =============================================================================== CHAOS is new to DDR as well, and has a new beat to go with it. the steps in CHAOS are not hard on their own, but damn those stops can throw you off unless you've memorized them. CHAOS is the One More Extra Stage of SuperNOVA, which means if you get a single good or less, you fail instantly. So, it's wise to know the song well before attempting it as OMES. The author, DE-SIRE Retunes, is possibly Naoki, as Naoki is DE-SIRE. Author-DE-SIRE Retunes Difficulty-Expert BPM-170 Stops-42 Steps-340/321 Stepchart- Video-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYyUEy2dmNM&search=chaos%20ddr Stream 6/10 Complex 7/10 Stamina 5/10 Speed 6/10 Surprises 13/10 Overall 7.4/10 Practice -------- CHAOS on Expert LOTS of times, or develop some seriously good reaction time. Watch the video over and over until you memorize every stop. Strategy -------- After watching that video a hundred times, you should be farmilliar with the stops. If you aren't get farmilliar with it, since words can't really help that much. you try writing a strategy for me. =============================================================================== 7f.CHAOS -Challenge =============================================================================== CHAOS on Challenge is so far featured only in a Challenge course, Boss Rush II, and is the 5th song. Boss Rush II contains: Trip Machine Survivor -Expert Dragon Blade -Expert [Konoko no nanatsu no oiwaini] -Expert Healing-D-Vision -Expert CHAOS -Challenge People have made it up to CHAOS, and I think so far we've gotten 30 seconds in then failed, which is good considering the guy had only 3 lives to start with. Reports say the beginning is the same, then new stuff comes in then boom. We can safely say Challenge is harder than Expert. Author-DE-SIRE Retunes Difficulty-Challenge BPM-170 Stops-42 Steps-/ Stepchart- Practice -------- Coming Soon Strategy -------- Coming Soon =============================================================================== 8.Tidbits =============================================================================== Here's a section with little random stuff for you. =============================================================================== 8a.Artist Notes =============================================================================== Several artists made the 10-footers. This section will elaborate on them a little bit. ----------- Naoki Maeda ----------- Naoki is the sound director of DDR, and composes (or helps compose) most of the songs in DDR and other Bemani games. Very little is known about him officially, even in the his profile, not revealing age or very much at all. It was thought Naoki Maeda is another pseudonym, since 'Naoki M.' happens to be an anagram of Konami. However, there is proof from one of the interviews with another Bemani artist. Of the 10-footers, Naoki Maeda composed Max 300, MaxX Unlimited, The legend of Max, PARANOiA Survivor, PARANOiA Survivor MAX, [Sakura], and bag. It is possible he also composed Fascination MaxX, CHAOS, and Healing-D-Vision. Pseudonyms are: [Omega], 1479, 180, 190, 190', 270, 290, 8 bit, B3-Project, BIG-O, BLUE DESTROYERS, Crystal Aliens, DANDY MINEIERO, d-complex, DE-SIRE, DJ KAZU DR.VIBE, FACTOR-X, KTz, Luv UNLIMITED!, mitsu-O!, MR. DOG, MUSTACHE MEN, N&S, N.M.R., NAOKI, NAOKI 190, NAOKI underground, NM, NO.9, NW260, RE-VENGE, RevenG, Stone Bros., Tail Bros., THE FINAL BAND, THE SURRENDERS, UZI-LAY, Z, and [2 overlapped Z's] He was also in: DIVAS, and FIXX, where he was partnered with Taku Sakakibara (TaQ). ------------- Sota Fujimori ------------- Also part of Konami's music experts, Sota is good with synthesizers and makes trance and J-Pop music. Of the 10-footers, Sota Fujimori composed PARANOiA Respect. It is possible he did Fascination MaxX. Pseudonyms are: .3k, CLI-MAX S. S.F.M.P, SOTA, Supa Fova, System SF, SySF, and Vision F. He is also in Chel Y. and OKUYATOS. ------------- Jondi & Spesh ------------- Jondi and Spesh are two guys who make music. Sorry, but I don't know much about them, excpet that they have started remixing music for DDR, mainly on the Ultramix series. Of the 10-footers, Jondi and Spesh composed Max 300 (Super-Max-Me-Mix). --------------- Tatsuya Shimizu --------------- Don't know much about him, except he makes some music for Bemani. Of the 10-footers, Tatsuya Shimizu composed Xepher. Pseudonyms are: Tatsh ([Tatsuya - suya] + [Shimizu - imizu] = Tatsh), dj Killer, and he is a member of platoniX. =============================================================================== 8b.The art of Xepher =============================================================================== Xepher had first appeared in Beatmania IIDX 12 Happy Sky, and featured it's own little video, which conatined many things one would not notice during gameplay. The lyrics are included (Thank god, there's NO WAY anyone could figure them out otherwise), some acrostic poems using XEPHER, and some other words. The 'X' has nothing in the acrostic poems, which was to signify the unknown. Also, in the notecharts in Beatmania IIDX 12 Happy Sky, there is an 'X' drawn in the Hyper and Another difficulties, for 7 key and 14 key. These are the acrostic poems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- X Expense Punishment Hocuspocus Ecstasy Reality X End Prayer Hesitation Existence Regret X Everlasting Pain Horrible Evening Recurrence ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- During the video, sometimes in between lyrics for a mere second, and in the middle of the song, there are other words, which were from the original set of lyrics, a bit rewound. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- keep on dancing between the sky with prayers between the sky Until now what you don't know do exists With your fingertips follow the path of dirty dark sky At the end of the bright road, what is waiting for you? take you to harmony but you don't know The hatred that was given birth to in you has taken the stars and turned it into poison which is killing you silently the never-ending fighting and pains your name is written in the sky ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The original lyrics were much longer, but by taking parts of it, Tatsh made the actually sung lyrics, which were sung by Junko Hirata and Naoto Yumi. These are the original lyrics: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- You who have issued forth your love, Look to the sky in this world of madness Now, your eyes should be here, eyes that never fade away But you don't know anything I wonder when it began? I wonder where we may go to visit with the end? We trace the black sky that was dirtied beneath our feet With the whiteness at our fingertips The stars that you sheltered invite you towards their repose, but You don't know anything about how The stars that tear and devour in this newly-birthed hatred Will become your poison, and scorch your body The sins of the morning spill over into the evening and dirty the night Where are you, whom we called the sky? That girl is the key to washing away the sin Walking together, you can discover the weight of that sin The girl who knows nothing of time became a curse herself An incredible power must be eating away at her heart at last Scorched by the hatred of the past, you released the fire Your own screams invited the sin, sneering You cannot return to where you were anymore Your heart begins to fade away under the influence of the serpent that wanders the sky; It collected your light and made it unclear The battle continues, dancing in and between the sky And the pain continues as well The endless sky... You melted me in the morning, we spoke in the evening, you loved me in the night You came close to me in the night, when we called you the sky And committed a great sin Your unrewarded existence will turn everything into nothing ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- =============================================================================== 8d.Background Videos =============================================================================== Some of these songs have specific videos to them, and do not feature a background dancer because of this. Here are links to them: Xepher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39RYmpPqUL4 Sakura Someone get one for me. =============================================================================== 9.FAQ =============================================================================== Frequently asked (or going to be frequently asked) questions. Q:Why isn't (insert incomplete song) done yet? A:Because I have no or little information on it. Duh. Q:Why isn't Genom Sreams here? A:Because that will be featured in my Doubles 10-footer FAQ. Q:(insert something) is wrong! A:Then tell me what is right. Q:[insert webpage] is broken! A:If it goes over one line, then you must COPY AND PASTE 1 LINE AT A TIME! or it will not work. Otherwise, thanks for the notice! Q:Why isn't 'legend' in 'The legend of Max' capitalized? Did you make multiple mistakes? A:No. It just IS that way. Like I would make that mistake all throughout the guide. Q:I think 100-200-400 is Naoki/Dj Sota. A: That's fine, but if you don't have creditable proof, leave me alone. No offense Deoxysapple. You had some proof. Not talking about you. =============================================================================== 10.Miscellaneous =============================================================================== Anyone with other strategies, tips or the like, send them to clexaul@msn.com, or if I don't reply within a week, try taih@rogers.com, but only as a last resort. Also, videos of Fascination MaxX, CHAOS, or Healing-D-Vision (Challenge) would much be apprectiated if they are creditably NEW and not from the test locations. And have a fairly good view of the screen and steps. And any spelling mistakes can be sent to me as well. I'm a perfectionist. 'Lol' is not a spelling mistake. =============================================================================== 11.Credits =============================================================================== My parents for supplying me money to play DDR. www.ddrfreak.com for supplying me with stepcharts. www.youtube.com for supplying me with videos. www.wikipedia.org for artist notes. My friends at www.bemanistyle.com for talking about this stuff and leaking info and lyrics to me, especially Fletcher. Good job, man. Deoxysapple for several reasons like talking to me about SN which was conveniently near him. Konami for making DDR. And thank YOU for taking time to read this FAQ. I hope it was helpful.