Dance Dance Revolution A3 is a music video game in the Dance Dance Revolution series, and the sequel to Dance Dance Revolution A20. It was developed and published by Konami and released on March 17, 2022 on arcade platforms in Japan.
General Information / Changes[]
- First mainline Dance Dance Revolution arcade game to launch without any new licenses.
- Final Dance Dance Revolution arcade game to support CRT-based cabinets.
- As with Dance Dance Revolution A20, the colors of the user interface and logo are dependent on which cabinet model the game is running on.
- On 20th anniversary model cabinets, the interface features gold colored art assets against a deep purple & magenta background.
- On all other cabinets, the interface has steel colored art assets against a blue & sea-green background.
- Single and Double can now be switched on the same credit during song selection by pressing [3] on the numeric keypad, similar to beatmania IIDX since SPADA.
- Play style is now indicated on the MUSIC SELECT and TOTAL RESULT screens due to this.
- However, switching between Single and Double cannot be done either during options settings or once the song has been confirmed for selection, or when playing on BPL BATTLE Mode.
- The ability to pay for PREMIUM PLAY with coins has been added for Japanese machines[1] without PASELI.
- EXTRA STAGE system carried over from Dance Dance Revolution A20 PLUS; please see its page for more details.
- All NONSTOP courses from A20 PLUS (though not A20) return.
- Dan courses were added on May 19th, 2022, coinciding with the launch of GOLDEN LEAGUE A3.
- All previously released, non-GOLDEN LEAGUE content from A20/A20 PLUS and before was made available by default at launch, with the following exceptions:
- BEMANI 2021 manatsu no utagassen 5 ban shoubu (BEMANI 2021真夏の歌合戦5番勝負) until August 25th, 2022; any songs missed can now be unlocked through EXTRA SAVIOR A3.
- ANTI ANTHEM was still EXTRA EXCLUSIVE until September 22nd, 2022; it is now available by default.
- BPL ouen gakkyoku kaikin stamp rally (BPL応援 楽曲解禁スタンプラリー) until October 13th, 2022; both songs are now available by default.
- The CS songs from Dance Dance Revolution GRAND PRIX's music pack vol.2 still required an active subscription and music pack purchase until January 31st, 2023; they are now available by default.
- All of the licenses exclusive to the 20th anniversary model cabinets of A20 were exclusive until August 31st, 2023, until their removal in January 22nd, 2024.
- Folder and difficulty clear lamps now appear as circular spotlights, instead of glowing tube lights.
- All local, area, and world record scores (via e-amusement data) have been reset.
- Player's personal best scores and clear lamps are kept when transferring play data from A20 PLUS to A3, as are all player options.
- The recent CLASS obtained in GOLDEN LEAGUE as of the end of the A20 PLUS also carry over.
- BEMANI series category sort has been removed.
- Special Selections category sort has been added, which consists of Dance Dance Revolution GRAND PRIX Advance Play songs, along with two song recommendation folders (added on May 22nd, 2023):
- "First Step", a selection of songs tailored for first-time players. This is the default selection for first-time players and those who do not have an e-amusement pass. Unlike Dance Dance Revolution X2's HAPPY MODE, any settings and difficulty can be selected.
- On 20th anniversary model cabinets and A/U region cabinets, it is instead defaulted to the POPULAR SONGS genre sort folder.
- "Next Step", a selection of songs for intermediate players to learn more complex skills.
- "First Step", a selection of songs tailored for first-time players. This is the default selection for first-time players and those who do not have an e-amusement pass. Unlike Dance Dance Revolution X2's HAPPY MODE, any settings and difficulty can be selected.
- As of March 24th, 2022, FAST/SLOW and judgement placement adjustments in the SETTING page of the A3 website no longer require the basic e-amusement subscription[2].
- PLAY DATA, RIVAL, and SETTING can now be viewed on your e-amusement account from April 4th, 2022.
- BGM from previous Dance Dance Revolution games plays during BREAK TIME while playing Dan courses, though the music is selected at random.
- A display timing adjustment option was added on March 13th, 2023. It can be set anywhere from -5.0 to +5.0 in 0.1 increments.
- BPL BATTLE mode was added on July 11th, 2023 (originally July 6th, 2023)[3]. It allows local matching between two 20th anniversary cabinets (by pressing [1] on the keypad during mode select screen), and is based on the competition rules of the BEMANI PRO LEAGUE event.
- In North America, conversion kits to the TDX version began appearing at ROUND1 USA locations on August 14th, 2023.
- This marks the first time a conversion kit has been issued for a live BEMANI arcade title. In this instance, it is switching from an "upfront" purchase model (MDX) to a "revenue share" purchase model (TDX).
- This TDX kit is unavailable at Dave & Buster's, which continues to operate Dance Dance Revolution A20 PLUS. As a result, A3 remains unavailable in Canada and several states.
- As of September 11th, 2023, on cabinets in the United States, selecting Normal Play will allow benefits previously only available on Premium Play. This includes the ability to select courses, access EXTRA STAGE, and having the same expanded set of in-game options.
- Guaranteed access to final stage (regardless of failing) is still Premium Play exclusive.
- As of mid-2023, all stages received graphical downgrades across all versions.
- The GALAXY PLAY feature was added on November 1st, 2023, and has the following differences from Premium Play:
- It costs three times as much as Premium Play, but progress towards GALAXY STAGE occurs three times faster.
- FLARE has been added as an option in LIFE GAUGE, which prevents recovery for step ratings below PERFECTs (similar to pre-SuperNOVA2's EXTRA STAGE system). It is applicable on GALAXY STAGE during the BABY-LON GALAXY event.
- The player is guaranteed four stages, including EXTRA STAGE and GALAXY STAGE.
- Playing a song from EXTRA SAVIOR A3 or COURSE TRIAL A3 will immediately unlock the song in question, regardless of the results.
- eAMUSEMENT support for Dance Dance Revolution A3 on CRT-based cabinets ended on April 30th, 2024.
- As of April 30th, 2024, offline kits for Dance Dance Revolution A3 have been made available to arcade owners.
- The machines with an offline kit are denoted with game version MDX:J:B:B:2024042451. On machines without an offline kit, the version number begins with MDX:J:B:A instead.
- This is the first Dance Dance Revolution release since Dance Dance Revolution X3 VS 2ndMIX to offer offline kits in Asia.
- Offline kits can only be installed on CRT-based cabinets.
- With 52 original songs made exclusively for the game, Dance Dance Revolution A3 currently holds the record for the most arcade original songs of any arcade Dance Dance Revolution title.
- Last Dance Dance Revolution game to feature courses.
- Last game in the A series.
- Last Dance Dance Revolution game to feature Justin and Wil-Dog from Ozomatli as the announcers; they had been used since Dance Dance Revolution X.
- Last mainline Dance Dance Revolution arcade game to feature dancing characters.
- New songs: 208 (online), 72 (offline)
- Total songs: 1,196 (online), 924 (offline)
New Songlist[]
- Main article: Dance Dance Revolution A3/Songs
References[]
Gallery[]
Teaser
Sources[]
| Dance Dance Revolution Arcade Games | |
|---|---|
| Main Arcade Series | DDR (1998) • DDR 2ndMIX • DDR 2ndMIX CLUB VERSIONS • DDR 3rdMIX • DDR 4thMIX • DDR 5thMIX • DDRMAX • DDRMAX2 • DDR EXTREME • DDR SuperNOVA • DDR SuperNOVA2 • DDR X • DDR X2 • DDR X3 VS 2ndMIX • DDR (2013) • DDR (2014) • DDR A • DDR A20 • DDR A20 PLUS • DDR A3 • DDR WORLD |
| Spinoffs | DS TKD • DDR Solo BASS MIX • DDR Karaoke MIX • DDR Solo 2000 • DS DCT • DDR Karaoke MIX 2nd • DDR KIDS • DS Disney's RAVE |
| Foreign Releases | Dancing Stage • DS EuroMIX • DDR USA • DS EuroMIX2 • DS Fusion |