Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) Wiki
For other uses, see Dance Dance Revolution (disambiguation).

Dance Dance Revolution, abbreviated DDR, is a game that was released in arcades by Konami on September 26, 1998 in Japan. DDR is a unique music video game involving dance and rhythm that defined the genre. The game involves timing and balance by having players use their feet instead of their hands like typical video games. In March 1999, the game was released to the Asian and North American arcade audiences. It was also released to the European arcade audience under the name Dancing Stage. Players and game critics were caught off-guard by the game's addictive qualities winning the new franchise many merits to its design.

On April 10, 1999, Dance Dance Revolution was released on the Japanese PlayStation, adding new music and gameplay elements. A console release was not made for any other region until 2001. Despite the global popularity of DDR the series remained obscure outside of Japan and few official additional arcade releases of DDR were made elsewhere until the multi-regional release of Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA in 2006.

General Information[]

Original[]

  • First BEMANI game to run on KONAMI's PlayStation-based System 573 Analog hardware.
  • The original Dance Dance Revolution is also known as "version 1.0".
    • Since Dance Dance Revolution X, both versions (original and 1.5) are combined into a single folder, labeled DDR 1st.
  • The game features promotional materials related to the Dancemania series during the opening credits. This would continue to be the case until EXTREME.
  • The game features an announcer which was used until Dance Dance Revolution 2ndMIX CLUB VERSiON2.
  • The music selection screen is a jukebox-like menu with CD covers, each representing a song available to play.
  • Three play style options are available: SINGLE, DOUBLE, and COUPLE.
    • DOUBLE requires a step code to activate.
  • Three play modes are available: EASY, NORMAL, and HARD. The modes primarily differ in the songs available for selection.
    • EASY mode allows for only one stage. It will not end early if the dance gauge reaches zero.
    • NORMAL and HARD modes allow for three stages but will end the game early as soon as the dance gauge is empty. An EXTRA STAGE can also be earned in both of these modes.
    • The Single BASIC charts of BUTTERFLY and KUNG FU FIGHTING vary depending on the mode. The game uses slightly easier variations when playing on EASY or NORMAL, whereas it uses the standard BASIC charts for HARD mode. The easier variants were not used in any future games in the series.
  • Two difficulties are available for the songs' charts: BASIC and ANOTHER.
    • The difficulty is selected via a step code when choosing the play mode.
    • Only Dance Dance Revolution game where the gate transition effect uses different colors depending of the difficulty and mode played (a darker shade of yellow/white for ANOTHER, as well as light blue for DOUBLE).
  • The difficulty is rated in a foot rating scale of 1 to 7 for all the dance levels available on each song:
    • BEGINNER (1 foot), AVERAGE (2 feet), NOVICE (3 feet), EXPERT (4 feet), PROFESSIONAL (5 feet), MASTER (6 feet), HERO (7 feet).
  • Only one modifier is available, the TURN option MIRROR, which requires a step code to be entered on the dance stage.
  • The default arrow color is FLAT, and the default arrow design (later called CLASSIC) has a V-shaped cut on its tail end.
  • AFRO, LADY, KONSENTO:01 (コンセント1号), OSHARE-ZUKIN (おしゃれずきん), DISC-A and DISC-B (輪っか) are the only selectable characters. By default, AFRO is player 1 and LADY is player 2.
    • During gameplay, the selected character appears on screen dancing in front of animations.
    • Unlike future games, the animations that are played are determined by the current stage and the characters used.
    • To identify the choreography used by the dancer, the game shows on screen the type of dance currently in us, which is a feature only found in Dance Dance Revolution and its Internet Ranking Version. The list of choreographies is as follows:
      • HIPHOP, FUNK, LOCK, CAPOEIRA, JAZZ, SOUL, HOUSE, HOPPING, WAVE.
  • The possible judgments for stepping are PERFECT!!!, GREAT!!, GOOD!, BOO!, and MISS.
  • The possible rank results for a song are S, A, B, C, and D.
  • First game in the series to have an EXTRA STAGE system. This system would not return until DDRMAX's release.
  • Total songs: 9

Internet Ranking[]

  • An enhanced version of the original Dance Dance Revolution, with two new songs and many graphic/difficulty/play differences:
    • Difficulty scale is expanded to 8, which is labeled as "EXORBITANT".
      • All other difficulty labels were also changed, and would stay the same (with the addition of foot level 9 CATASTROPHIC) through Dance Dance Revolution 3rdMIX PLUS: SIMPLE (1 foot), MODERATE (2 foot), ORDINARY (3 foot), SUPERIOR (4 foot), MARVELOUS (5 foot), GENUINE (6 foot), and PARAMOUNT (7 foot).
    • Score display is now in red instead of blue.
    • Successfully hit arrows now disappear and display a flash on the receptors.
    • Internet Ranking codes are displayed after your game to submit your high scores online.
    • The 1998-2003 KONAMI logo is now used instead of the 1986 one.
    • Music for HOW TO PLAY is different.
    • All songs save for KUNG FU FIGHTING received new backgrounds.
    • MY FIRE is no longer a FINAL STAGE song.
    • MANIAC difficulty added, though it is only available in SINGLE and COUPLE modes.
      • ANOTHER charts were added to DOUBLE mode as well.
      • The gate transition effect becomes red when playing on MANIAC charts, and dark blue when playing on Double ANOTHER.
    • VERSUS play mode added, which requires a code to activate.
  • Dance Dance Revolution Internet Ranking Version is also known as "version 1.5".
    • Since X, both versions (original and 1.5) are combined into a single folder, DDR 1st.
  • Total songs: 11

AS/NA version[]

  • Loosely based on DanceDanceRevolution 2ndMIX, though with a much smaller songlist, no Play Mode options, and STEP BATTLE removed.
  • Also released in Asia, with BOOM BOOM DOLLAR swapped out for STRICTLY BUSINESS.

EU version[]

  • The game is based on the American release of DanceDanceRevolution.
  • Dancing Stage INTERNET R@NKING Version is also known as "Version 1.5".
    • Three new licenses were added. Despite that all of them are credited to the songs' original artists, they are covers.
    • The typos found in PUT YOUR FAITH IN ME (Jazz Groov) and BRILLIANT 2U (Orchestra-Groov)'s banners were fixed.
    • BRILLIANT 2U, MAKE IT BETTER, and PUT YOUR FAITH IN ME are now 2ND STAGE songs, while PUT YOUR FAITH IN ME (Jazzy Groove) was moved to FINAL STAGE.

Gameplay[]

Dance Dance Revolution is to move one's feet to a set pattern. One player can play using one dance pad (Single mode), two players can play using one dance pad each (Versus mode), or one player can play using both dance pads (Doubles mode).

Players must step to the beat, matching their beat to the arrows presented to them on screen by stepping on arrows on a dance stage. A judgment is displayed for each step, depending on the player's timing; Perfect!!, Great!, Good, Boo or Miss.... An on-screen life meter, known as the Dance Gauge, begins halfway full at the start of each song. Perfect and Great steps slowly fill the Gauge, while Boo and Miss steps quickly deplete it. Good steps have no effect either way. If players accumulates too many Boos or Misses, and the Dance Gauge becomes empty, the song fails and the game ends.

Players may play anywhere from one to five songs, depending on how many the arcade operator sets the machine to play each game. At the end of each song, players see their accumulated points, bonus points, and how many of each kind of step they made. They also get a letter grade that is dependent on the judgments received during play, ranging from SS, all steps Perfect, to E, failure, which is only seen in Versus mode when the other player passes. If players manage to pass their songs a cumulative results screen is given, totaling the stats from all played stages.

Interface and graphics[]

The song selection interface of Dance Dance Revolution is a jukebox-like menu of CDs that represent the available songs. On this screen, various step codes can be entered on the dance stage to modify the arrangement and appearance of arrows during gameplay. On the arcade version of Dance Dance Revolution step codes must be entered to switch between difficulty levels.

During gameplay, 3D dancing characters appear in the background of each song. Different characters can be selected at the main title screen by standing on either the left or right arrow panels while pressing the select button.

Characters[]

Home Version[]

Home Version[]

The home version was released in Japan on April 10, 1999 for Sony PlayStation. It includes all 11 songs from the original arcade version along with 5 new songs, three of which are from the arcade version of Dance Dance Revolution 2ndMIX and the rest being console-exclusive songs (which would be added in DDR 2ndMIX Link Version) for a total of 16 songs. It also includes Edit Mode (for editing stepcharts) and Arrange Mode (a mode where if the player step on direction the arrows not meant to appear, they will get a miss). [1][2][3]

General Information / Changes[]

JP version[]

  • Direct port of Dance Dance Revolution Internet Ranking Version, but with two new CS songs and three songs from Dance Dance Revolution 2ndMIX.
    • Charts are based on the ones from the Internet Ranking version of the game. As such, all songs have full SINGLE charts and both BASIC & TRICK charts on DOUBLE.
  • Only console Dance Dance Revolution title in any region with STRICTLY BUSINESS as a playable song.
  • Color-coded FLAT arrow fixed from the arcade version.
  • The OUCH!! judgement, which breaks a combo and lowers the DANCE GAUGE, is exclusive to ARRANGE MODE. It penalizes the player for hitting anything other than an arrow.
  • Total songs: 16

NA version[]

  • Interface is based on Dance Dance Revolution BEST HITS.
  • SINGLE, UNISON, VERSUS, and DOUBLE play options are available by default.
  • BEGINNER Mode is a separate mode available for SINGLE and VERSUS play.
    • All songs are rated 1 foot (SIMPLE).
  • All songs are available for play without any unlock or stage requirements.
  • The RANDOM music is a sped-up version of the following songs: BRILLIANT 2U(Orchestra Groove), DYNAMITE RAVE, LET THEM MOVE, AM-3P, PARANOiA, DROP THE BOMB.
  • Total number of songs: 27

Songlist[]

Main article: Dance Dance Revolution (1998)/Songs

Soundtrack[]

The 1st mix songs are in DDR 2nd mix soundtrack.

Reception[]

On release, Famitsu magazine scored the game a 34 out of 40.[4] The successful DDR series began with the 1998/1999 release of this game, and its popularity can be attributed to the innovative connection between a dancing stage and the need for the player to move his or her body to match the instructions on the screen.

References[]

  1. Dance Dance Revolution PS Version
  2. Japan's AC Ver. DDR 1st INTERNET RANKING Ver.
  3. Dance Dance Revolution Asia Arcade
  4. プレイステーション - Dance Dance Revolution. Weekly Famitsu. No.915 Pt.2. Pg.8. 30 June 2006.

External links[]

Sources[]

Dance Dance Revolution Arcade Games
Main Arcade Series DDR (1998)DDR 2ndMIXDDR 2ndMIX CLUB VERSIONSDDR 3rdMIXDDR 4thMIXDDR 5thMIXDDRMAXDDRMAX2DDR EXTREMEDDR SuperNOVADDR SuperNOVA2DDR XDDR X2DDR X3 VS 2ndMIXDDR (2013)DDR (2014)DDR ADDR A20DDR A20 PLUSDDR A3DDR WORLD
Spinoffs DS TKDDDR Solo BASS MIXDDR Karaoke MIXDDR Solo 2000DS DCTDDR Karaoke MIX 2ndDDR KIDSDS Disney's RAVE
Foreign Releases Dancing StageDS EuroMIXDDR USADS EuroMIX2DS Fusion
Dance Dance Revolution Console Games
PlayStation DDR (1998)DDR 2ndMIXDDR 2ndMIX CLUB VERSIONSDS TKDDDR 3rdMIXDS DCTDDR Oha SutaDDR BEST HITSDDR 4thMIXDS Disney's RAVEDDR EXTRA MIXDDR 5thMIXDS EuroMIXDDR KONAMIXDS PARTY EDiTiONDS FeverDS Fusion
Dreamcast DDR 2ndMIXDDR CLUB VERSION
PlayStation 2/3 DDRMAXAerobics RevolutionDDRMAX2DS MegaMixDDR EXTREMEDS FeverDDR Party CollectionDiet ChannelDS FusionDDR FESTIVALDDR EXTREME 2DS MaxDDR STR!KEDDR SuperNOVADDR SuperNOVA2DDR: Disney Channel EditionDDR XDDR X2DDR (2010)/New Moves
Nintendo 64/GameCube/Wii DDR: Disney Dancing MuseumDDR MARIO MIXDDR HOTTEST PARTYDDR HOTTEST PARTY 2/Furu Furu PartyDDR: Winx ClubDDR: Disney GroovesDDR HOTTEST PARTY 3/MUSIC FITDDR (2010)/hottest party 4DDR II/hottest party 5
Xbox/Xbox 360 DDR Ultramix/DS UnleashedDDR Ultramix 2/DS Unleashed 2DDR Ultramix 3/DS Unleashed 3DDR Ultramix 4DDR UNIVERSEDDR UNIVERSE 2DDR UNIVERSE 3DDR (2010)
Handheld DDR PocketDDR: Hello KittyDDR: Dear DanielDDR GBDDR: Winnie the PoohDDR GB2DDR Oha Suta GBDDR GB3DDR GB: Disney Mix
Mobile DDR MobiusDDR SDDR S+DDR FREEDOMDDR Dance WarsDDR Pocket Edition
PC DDR PCDDR Classroom EditionDDR VDDR GRAND PRIX
TV DDR FamiMatMy First DDRDDR Strawberry ShortcakeDDR DVD Game