********************************** *** ** *** ** Dance Dance Revolution *** ** Arcade [SuperNOVA] *** ** Tips and Tricks ************** ** Ver. 1.0 ************** ** By *** ** LegendaryN8 *** ** Nathan Albertelli *** ********************************** *** n.albertelli@gmail.com All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. This is my FAQ, and its publishing is protected. You steal, and bad things happen. It took me a long time to put this together, please reference it responsibly. This FAQ is designed for individual use only. It is not for public/mass distribution or to be sold. If you use it or reference this guide, you may place it as you like [that being on a website] but please cite who created it (that would be me), and all will be well. Contents: ::Foreword:: I. Introductions II. DDR Theory ***A. Not All Players are Created Equal ***B. Take Note of Other Players' Motions ***C. Progression ***D. Be Experimental III.Tips and Tricks for Improvement ***A. Use What's Given to You ***B. Understand the Music and the Steps BPM Changes Stops IV. Intermediate Play ***A. Left, Right, Left... Crossovers Around the World Gallops V. Advanced Play ***A. Double Stepping ***B. Flat Footing ***C. Making the Best use of the Bar ***D. PA (Perfect Attack) ***E. 10 Footers and Beyond Passing 10's Center Pad Concentration AAing and AAAing 10's VI. Closing Commentary If you want to find a particular topic from the Contents, hit Control +F. Then either cut and paste the word into the search bar, or type it in. Foreword: I tend to use acronyms [DDR is an example] a lot, and I will make full use of abbreviations and jargon [DDR talk] where necessary. I will, however, make sure that I define these words and acronyms for you when I use them for the first time. But, for the ease of reading, I will define these words and acronyms only once. __________________________ | I. >>>>Introduction<<<< | __________________________| Hello boys and girls! If you are reading this, this is a bare-bones FAQ for improving at Konami's "Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA" arcade game. While I am not the best player in existence, I do consider myself an "expert" at this game, and I am willing to share my observations and strategies for you to help maximize your playing ability! This FAQ focuses on the same game set-up as the home version, and the theories could be applied there as well, this FAQ is designed to improve arcade play more precisely than just DDR [Dance Dance Revolution] play in general. Many of my tips will have to do with the structure and format of a "typical" DDR arcade game pad, as it's more rigid and unforgiving than say, a home version cobalt flux pad, and can contribute to the performance of the DDR player. I will mainly be making references to stepcharts that are on the difficulty rating "heavy/expert". Heavy/Expert is the rating system that is colored green in difficulty when you select your mode of difficulty. If you play on an intermediate level, (re: standard, the mode of difficulty highlighted with red feet), please read the section titled "Intermediate Play" for tips that will be most applicable to you. This guide is not going to tell you "how to step" to beat a song, because, honestly, if I explained it to you, chances are that it wouldnt have nearly the same effect as it would if I showed you how to learn it on your own. That is the primary focus of this FAQ sheet. The main idea is to get you to understand and learn the motions that are not only most confortable for you, but also are, in general, the best ways to move. I will go over basic pointers, expert "tricks" that help increase your speed and stamina, and key moves that really will open up a new world of play for you! I do realize that there is a possibility that someoen will read this that would be considered "better" than myself, and hopefully, they will agree with my pointers. I am pulling on 5 years of experience and tutoring to build this FAQ, and conprehensively, I believe this is the soundest strategy-building guide I can provide for you. I will not participate in the linking of simfiles, stepcharts, mp3s of songs, songfiles, courses, simulators, or anything relating to the direct downloading of DDR/ITG/PIU/DanceManiax/Drummania/IIDX and so forth. I no longer have the appropriate links that would help you attain songs for Stepmania, however, if you visit their site [www.stepmania.com], they can help you with your simfile needs. One last comment - I will not give the foot rating of a song that I reference. Most heavy/expert songs fall in difficulty between 5 and 10. If you are not sure about a particular foot-rating, and want to find out what it is, I highly recommend using some of the fan-based sites that specialize in tabbing this info. Keep in mind that this FAQ has applications on any DDR mix and ITG mix as well (excluding anything that has any more than 4 arrows for single play). This and the general newness of SuperNOVA are the reason why when I use songs as an example, they will be songs that are both from SuperNOVA and recent DDR arcade release. If you have any questions or criticism regarding this FAQ, please feel free to email me @ n.albertelli@gmail.com! Also, if it helped, I always like to hear positive feedback. For now, onward with the FAQ! ____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________ | II. >>>>DDR Theory<<<| _____________________| *** A. >>>>Not All Players Are Created Equal<<< The general rule of thumb to use while playing DDR, is not to use other players as an absolute guideline for how you should and should not play. However, a general guideline always helps. Most players usually have to endure the same trial-and-error process it takes to learn how to play and apply those learned skills to move up in ability. Very rarely does a player learn how to do Max 300 on heavy/expert right from their first time playing. It is understood that learning to play at that ability level takes time - and that length of time varies from person to person. *** B. >>>>Take Note of Other Players' Motions<<<< There is a general pattern you will see most players use when they play. Many players turn their body when they play more complicated step patterns, and if you see many players do the same turn, chances are that this would be the best way to approach that particular section of the song. ____________________________________________________________________________ *** C. >>>>Progression<<<< As I stated earlier, most players [almost all of them] have to go through the same trial-and-error process that it takes to get better at this game. However, there is a very clear guideline that you can use to help move you up in ability faster. The simple example of this is taking note of foot difficulties and seeing what there is to "learn" from playing that song. Chances are that there are sections of that song that are unique to its level and need to be mastered in order to progress in ability. Take note of step charts with a critical eye, and ask yoruself "if I learn to do this type of pattern right, will it improve my performance"? Chances are, it will. *** D. >>>>Be Experimental<<<< I have never met a person who got exceptionally good at DDR that played only a few songs. If you want to improve more quickly and get to the harder stuff, you gotta be willing to take risks on songs that you may not pass. Half the fun in playing is the uncertainty that comes with trying a new step pattern. That's why DDR players always ask for new mixes. It means more new songs and more fun step charts. So, you might as well try them all! = D ____________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________ | III.>>>>Tips and Tricks for Improvement<<<<| ___________________________________________| *** A. >>>>Use Whats Given to You<<<< -Make full use of the "groove radar". In Konami's, DDR Max, DDR Max 2, DDR Extreme, and recently, DDRSuperNOVA, there is a circular diagram that tracks specific attributes in a step chart. Read it well. The following are present on the Groove Radar: www.ddrfreak.com explains it thusly: # Air - Measures the number of jumps in the song # Chaos - Measure the irregularity of steps # Freeze - Measures the number of freeze steps # Stream - Overall density of the steps # Voltage - Peak density of steps Each of these attributes can affect the overall difficulty of a song - the bigger the piece is that is pointing to each of these sections, the more frequently you will encounter that particular attribute. *If you see that there is a big chunk of the groove radar covering the "air" portion, that means there will be ~a lot~ of jumps. Example: Afronova (heavy/expert), End of the Century (heavy/expert) *If you see that there is a big chunk fo the groove radar covering the "chaos" portion, it means that you will have to pay extra close attention to the step chart, because there will be many different colored notes (arrows)! Example: Innocence of Silence (heavy/expert), Bag (heavy/expert). *If you see that there is a big chunk of the groove radar covering the "freeze" portion, you are going to see a lot of freeze arrows (the special kind you have to "freeze" your foot on to step on it correctly). *If you see a big chunk covering the "stream" portion, it means that the song is going to be a constant barrage of steps, usually in the form of a run [a run is a set of unbroken step patterns, usually at least 7 steps long]. High stream usually means that there are either many shorter runs in the stepchart, or there are one or two very long runs in the stepchart. Example: Daikenkai (heavy/expert), Seduction (heavy/expert) *If you see a big chunk covering the "Voltage" portion, it means you are going to have to step many sections of the step chart very quickly. High voltage a measure that indicates that there are several bunched up sections of the song that require quick footwork. Example: Across the Nightmare (H/E), Konoko no Nanatsu no Owaini (H/E) ____________________________________________________________________________ *** B. Understand the Music and the Steps *Especially if a song has a lot of chaos on the groove radar, it remains important to figure out why that chaos is so high - chances are it is because the steps are not with the base-beat of the song. High chaos usually means that the steps were made to copy the foreground music (like a synthesizer, front percussion, or piano). *Almost always, if you are on beat (your taps go with the beat of the song), you will usually get a score of "perfect". However, with songs that have a high chaos rating (that big chunk covering it, remember?) being on beat will not help you entirely. You will have to learn something called "sight reading" which I will cover very soon. >>>BPM Changes *Also, bpm (beats per minute) changes can hamper your score - learning where the bpm changes are and how to read the slow-down or speed-up can help your score and overall performance considerably. A simple note to keep in mind: Most bpm changes will either be exactly half or exactly twice their starting amount. To say it bluntly, if you have been tapping at a certain rythym, that rythym will most likely not change if the bpm changes. Make sure to listen to the music for your cues! >>>Stops *Stops in the stepchart can be a serious issue and even cost you your game if you do not see them coming! If you encounter a stop, and the arrows after the stop are a different color or pattern than what you saw before, do not panic. Usually the music will follow the same beat as it did before that stop. Keep the beat in your head that you heard before the stop and apply it. Healing Vision Angelic Mix [HVAM] has a really good example of a potentially dangerous stop. When you get to that end run in HVAM, and you run into that stop, the next note is NOT a red note! It is blue, so you have to step just a fraction of a second earlier than what you would normally. In that case, it takes practice, but once you see someone do it once, you will know exactly how to read it. *If you are still having difficulty with a particular song, it never hurts to watch someone who knows the song and watch how he/she plays it. Make sure to listen to their feet and watch the screen - especially if you know the person can at least *AA* it! ____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________ | IV. >>>>Intermediate Play<<<< | ______________________________| This section will focus on tips and strategies that will get you to stay heavy/expert mode without having to switch back to standard/difficult mode. *** A. >>>>Left, Right, Left...<<<< Ok, I said I wouldnt tell you how to step for a specific song, BUT, I will go over a golden rule if you want to stay in heavy/expert. Alternate your feet. What does this mean? When you see a novice player play, they usually do something that makes life very difficult for them, they do not use both feet when they play. They dont go, "left foot, right foot, left foot". Unless you are hitting the same arrow twice (double stepping), you will save energy and do better if you learn how to use both your feet. Let's use a song as an example. You want to play Firefly on heavy/expert. In order to play this song without using a lot of energy, you need to use both feet when you play. A good idea how to figure out what foot goes where is to use the left foot for the left arrow, and the right foot for the right arrow. Chances are that you will not tangle your feet up if you stick to this basic rule of thumb. The only exception would be if you are doing "around the world, or a crossover, which I will discuss right now. ____________________________________________________________________________ >>>Crossovers *A crossover is a DDR move that does not follow my golden rule. It is a move where the player plants his/her foot on either the bottom or top arrow while alternating the other foot for the other three arrows. Keep a note that the foot you "plant" does not hit any other arrows aside from the arrow that it is placed on - that is planting. In this case, the left foot hits whatever down arrows show up, and the right foot hits any other arrows that show up. An example of a simple crossover: left then down then right In order to do those three steps without double stepping, you would do it two ways: left [right foot] then down [left foot] then right[right foot] or left [left foot] then down [right foot] then right[left foot] There are several heavy/expert songs that have crossover steps. Such examples are like V, Exotic Ethnic, Sync, Seduction, Cant Stop Fallin' in Love (Speed Mix) [CSFILSM], Xepher, No. 13, Flowers and many others. In fact, I would go so far as to say that at least half the heavy/expert step songs in DDRSuperNOVA include at least one crossover. ____________________________________________________________________________ >>>Around the World *Around the World was a freestyle move that was created when the steps that allow this particular move were first created. It features steps that a person can not do unless they turn their body in a complete circle. The only other way to hit the arrows properly would be to double step. If you wanna do "around the world", use this as an example, and follow my golden rule. Hit up then left then down then right WITHOUT using the same foot twice (double stepping). When you do that, you just did "Around the World". It won't improve your play if you master this, but it is always nice to have a bit of "flair" with your technique, no? If you can do it at high speeds, it looks pretty cool too = D ____________________________________________________________________________ >>>Gallops *a pattern that involves two differently placed arrows that are very close to each other, usually a red and a yellow arrow. A gallop can be any combination of two different colored arrows, but the example listed above is by far the most common in DDR. They can be found in these songs: All Heavy/Expert Gekkou Chou Mind Parasite Matsuri Japan Freedom Nijiiro No. 13 Tsugaru Tsugaru Apple Mix Xenon and many others... At first you might not know how to hit it correctly, or you might get the following grades (perfect, good) usually meaning that you hit the second step too early or too late. This is a common mistake as usually a person new to gallops will figure them for almost being a jump and hit it as such, or as a red and blue arrow. The common tell-tale sign of a gallop is that they are commonly found together in groups, and are rarely alone. So, instead of having to do just one gallop, you will commonly be thwarted with several. So if you see that you are getting a lot of good out of nowhere, you might be mis-reading a gallop. Their appearance once again are two arrows that are placed closer together than a red and blue note together. There are exceptions to this rule, but chances are that you wont read it as a gallop then. To do a gallop correctly, find the base note (the red arrow, if there is one) and use it to keep your beat. Go at the two arrows as if you are going to do a jump, but let them hit at different times, but close enough that you would almost hit them at the same time. Rinse and repeat. After a while, you will realize what the gallop actually is, and you may not even do the "gallop dance" anymore. After a while, you probably will figure out that they are just two closely placed arrows and could basically be played as an incomplete triplet (three arrows that are close together, usually a red then a yellow then a blue arrow). But I digress. The best way to learn how to play gallops is to recogize them for what they are, and play songs that have them. __________________________ | V. >>>>Advanced Play<<<< | __________________________| This is probably the section that most of you are referring to, and I don't blame you, as it will resolve some of your most frequently asked questions such as how to AAA, how to beat 10 footers, how to use the bar, and much more! I am under the assumption that if you are reading this section, you probably have had a lot of experience with DDR in the arcade, and are well aware of things like pad misses, being exhausted, full comboes, AA's, 10 footers, modifiers, and so forth. I will address many of these topics, but I want you to keep one thing in your mind while I address these: My ideas are not quick fixes - reading this will not guarantee you an instant AAA, mastery of a 10, or unlimited endurance, but it will get you there faster. The important thing is to keep an open mind and be willing to try new things. Ok well enough talk, let's get to the meat and potatoes! ____________________________________________________________________________ *** A. >>>>Double Stepping<<<< This is one thing that deserves its own section! Double stepping is something that many experienced DDR players do, but might not be fully aware that they are doing it. It can play to your advantage or be a great disadvantage depending on how and when you use it. Using it where a song has lots of crossovers and turns can bleed your energy dry. Times when it is good to use double stepping: *When there are multiple amounts of the same arrow -This is probably the first time that someone will do a double step and not realize that they are doing it. Usually a doublestep is a term used for hitting two different arrows that are usually 8th apart(red then blue right after for example), or tighter, like a gallop, but stepping twice for the same arrow is also technically a double step. *When no turn can be made -Certain patterns can not be done by turning. A really good example of this is End of The Century. While you could technically do turns for its steps you would have to spin several times, which would actually make life harder for you. *When position is critical -Sometimes even if you can turn, doing so would put you in a very awkward position where you might be facing away from the screen. Unless you are confident in doing a turn like that, I recommend doing a double step. Times where it is bad to double step: *When using the golden rule would be easier -It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to hit many arrows with the same foot when you could hit them using both feet more easily. If the pattern doesn't put you in a nasty turn, and you can clearly alternate your feet, it is just easier to use my golden rule than double step. *When doing a turn would be easier -Some pattern sequences are created intentionally so that you can do a turn. A good example would be a right down left down right sequence. While you can do that with double stepping, chances are that you will either get greats or break combo altogether. Simple crossovers are easier to do than doublestepping in this case. ____________________________________________________________________________ *** B. >>>>Flat Footing<<<< *Out of all the things that can contribute to things such as accuracy, endurance, playability, and basically your overall look while playing, this would be it. Flat footing is a method of play that involves keeping the heel and ball of your foot level as you play. Since this is somewhat vague in itself, I will include a video - and before you ask, yes this is me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2ygCzwZl_A (I realize that this is in fact, ITG2, and, as I mentioned in the introduction, I would be using ideas that can be applied to any game that has 4 panels). as you can see from the video, I keep my foot relatively flat as I move from step to step. The basic idea is to keep the bottom of your foot "flat" so that when your foot hits, the whole of your foot comes down at the same time instead of just the ball of your foot. When a person starts playing, they tend to do a "running transition" where the foot is flexed upward as if you are running, and most of the contact is made with the ball while the heel almost never strikes the pad. While this way is ok and will not hurt your performance, when you get to things that require more endurance, you will want to use less energy per step. This is one way of doing that. You can also note that my feet do not come very high off the pad before striking again. Once again, this is for conserving energy and ensuring the best accuracy per step. ____________________________________________________________________________ *** C. >>>>Making the Best Use of the Bar<<< If you watched the video in the Flat Footing section, you will notice that the video showed me using the bar as well. The bar can help you, but do not use it as a crutch. If you use it as a crutch, you will compromise a lot of endurance that you would build without using it. If you choose to use the bar, I recommend doing what I do in the video. Make sure that you grip the bar so that your elbows point outward, not inward. If you do it with your elbow pointing inward, you could hurt your wrist badly, pull a muscle, or even break a finger or two. The way I grip it emphasizes that you arent trying to lean on it - the idea is to use it as a guide so that you do not misstep on harder songs that require quickness not easily done accurately without it. You will know that you are using the bar correctly if you can interchange from using just one hand to two hands and not get a difference in score. It will maximise the excercise your legs can get while at the same time pushing up your accuracy. A small note: I would not recommend using the bar unless you have been in heavy/expert for a while - at the very least a few months. You can lose a lot of turning and transitioning skill if you become too dependent on the bar too early. ____________________________________________________________________________ *** D. >>>>PA [Perfect Attack] I see it now, this is what you were REALLY waiting for, huh! As you already know, this is perhaps the most difficult challenge of the Konami's Dance Dance Revolution, a perfect attack. A perfect attack occurs when you are able to consistently hit perfect after perfect one right after the other without getting greats. If you manage to perfect attack a whole song, you attain the much coveted AAA - and since this is commonly used as a measure of ones ability, the harder the song that is AAAed, the better the player usually is. Now that we have discussed that, let's get into the discussion of getting this score- a few key things to remember: *One, you do not have to play a song over and over to AAA it. You can gain just as much experience (if not more!) if you play other songs that have harder stepcharts than the one you are trying to AAA. A good guideline to use is to play the songs you know you can AAA once in a while, just to see if you can score it. If you don't get it, it's no big deal, maybe you need to work on something that is holding you back from it - so try something harder and see if you can get the same score. *Two, take note of your average scores, not your top scores. I see soooo many players think that getting a AAA on a song means that they are improving. This isnt the case if it is a song you played over a dozen times and you have few or no AAAs besides that. Look at your scores for harder songs, have you AAed all the songs? Have you worked AAed any 10 footers yet? If you are trying to AAA, but are having difficulty, maybe it is time to look at where you might be coming up short- and usually it is in working on harder songs. *Three, not all AAAs are earned by effort. Some come by complete luck! Your legs and body will not move perfectly every single time, but sometimes, when you zone out and don't care what score you get, you usually do a whole lot better than how you would do when you are trying really hard. The idea is to have fun! So relax, enjoy, and those coveted AAAs will come more and more naturally. ____________________________________________________________________________ *** E. >>>>10 Footers and Beyond<<<< Not many people who play DDR will attempt to tackle a 10 footer, (that being a song that is level 10 difficulty, the hardest level difficulty setting in the game) let alone try to master them. I will focus on two primary parts: -Passing 10's -AAing 10's (If you can AA a 10, you can AAA it!) ____________________________________________________________________________ *Passing 10's When you first tried a 10 footer, you probably felt intimidated at best, or perhaps outright nauseous at the thought of trying it. This is normal, of course! Beating 10 footers takes an extra bit of skill and pulls on all the things you learn from playing other songs that are lesser in difficulty. It takes application of every single section of the groove radar to get through all of them! Some are fast and furious, some are slow and technical some are twisty and confusing, but if you have mastered every section of the groove radar, use the golden rule, do your crossovers, and even think ahead in the song in anticipation of stops, BPM changes, and the need for double stepping at times, you will be well on your way to beating every single DDR 10 footer! One last technique I can teach you... It involves concentrating your feet towards the center of the pad. *Center Pad Concentration When you start playing, your legs will be spread far apart, and this is a very draining way to play. You might not even be fully aware of how far apart your legs really are, but if you find that you can't move quickly enough, this is usually one of the reasons why. Each time you play something that isn't a 10, try to think of how far apart your legs are and take note of it. If your stance is too wide, you won't be able to move fast enough to turn and pivot at 5 beats per second. So, let's see what this means... it means that you are going to become a novice once again (of sorts). The novices did have it right when they stand in the middle, but they are too close to the center. You want to be on the fringe of that middle metal square... almost to the point of brushing up against it with every move you do. If you aren't feeling metal screws with every foot sweep, you aren't close enough. After honing this technique down, along with keeping your feet low like I mentioned in the Flat Footing section, you will notice that you can move faster and not get exhausted from it. But wait! I am still out of breath! Why could that be? All this tension from trying to beat a 10 has made me nervous! A common thing that people do when they are nervous is hold their breath. If you are playing Max300 for example and you find that you are out of breath, but your legs aren't strained, chances are that you are not breathing right. So let's take a lesson from runners. Distance runners usually space out their breathing so that it is almost in rhythm with their running pace. This can be used in DDR too! Try it out next time you do something that really challenges you. If you want a literal example, this would be one of them Breathe in ...2...3...4... Breathe out ...2...3...4 (repeat). You will also notice that breathing in rhythm is also a calming effect, and will help you focus more clearly on beating those 10's! Now, to the final section of this FAQ - ____________________________________________________________________________ *AAing and AAAing 10's The DDR legends smile on you as you attempt the most challenging goal this game can offer. I will get straight to the point (as I darted around things before): You need to have mastered everything mentioned above if you want to master the 10's (that being getting them to at least AA level). -Remember to check your breathing. -Check your stance, make sure your feet are as close together as they can get without breaking combo. -Keep your feet as flat as you can, but do not be afraid to keep them nice and relaxed. -Transition: keep both those legs moving or you will break down. -Think ahead, think of what is coming, and be prepared to move as needed to overcome it. -Good PA comes from practice, but from practice in general, not just on one song! If you cant AA Max 300, maybe you can AA Bag, Paranoia Survivor Max, Xepher, or other songs! -Relax and have fun!! _____________________________ | VI. Closing Commentary | _____________________________| I would like to thank my brothers and friends for getting me into this game and keeping interested in it. Nothing has challenged me more mentally and physically than this game has! Just when you think there couldn't be anything more done with it, there are so many other things that can be tackled! I think it will be a long time before the whole foot-concept gets old to me. Five years and running strong, it just never gets old! ~I want to give credit to www.ddrfreak.com for using direct information listed on their site explaining verbatim what the groove radar is in detail - I could not think of an accurate enough description for it. I want to thank my DDR and ITG rivals for pushing my interest further in this game. A good score battle is always fun. Lastly, I want to thank my beautiful girlfriend for putting up with the times I went to the arcade and pushed her to play = D