Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX
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| Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX | |
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| Developer(s) | Konami |
| Publisher(s) | Konami |
| Release date(s) | November 19, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Music |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Everyone (E) |
| Platform(s) | Xbox |
| Media | DVD |
Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX, or DDR Ultramix, is the sixth home version of Dance Dance Revolution to be released in the United States, and the first DDR game to be released on the Microsoft Xbox video game console. It was released by Konami exclusively in North America on November 19th, 2003, though an adaptation called Dancing Stage Unleashed was created in Europe. It comes with 51 songs, nine of which are hidden and unlockable. 15 of those songs were new to Dance Dance Revolution.
DDR Ultramix was developed and published by Konami Digital Entertainment, formerly known as Konami Computer Entertainment Hawaii.
The interface used is a recoloring and smoothing of the song wheel interface first introduced in the US in DDRMAX. The names of the difficulty modes are "Light," Standard," and "Heavy," just as they were in DDRMAX. By pressing the Start button, you can change the sorting method from the default (New songs first, then returning songs, then unlocked songs) to an alphabetical sort, a sort by song speed in BPM, and a sort by popularity.
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[edit] Gameplay
The general premise of DDR Ultramix is the same as in other Dance Dance Revolution games. One player can play using one dance pad (Single play style), Two players can play using one dance pad each (Versus play style), or One player can play using both dance pads (Double play style).
A player must step to the beat, matching the beat to the arrows presented to them on screen by stepping on arrows on a dance stage. Depending on the timing of each step, the step is scored "PERFECT," "GREAT," "GOOD," "ALMOST" or "BOO." A health bar is on the screen, and starts half-way at the beginning of the routine. PERFECT and GREAT steps increase the health bar until it is full. ALMOST and BOO steps diminish it. GOOD steps have no effect either way. If a player accumulates too many ALMOSTs or BOOs in rapid succession, and the health bar fully diminishes, then they fail the songs.
Freeze Arrows, introduced in DDRMAX, have returned. Instead of just stepping on the arrow, you have to hold it for as long as the green arrow line remains on the screen. If you hit the arrow and keep it held, you score an "O.K.", which scores six dance points. If you do not succeed, it scores an "N.G.", with is worth nothing when your dance points and grade are calculated. OKs help build up the health bar, and NGs diminish it. You get extra base score points for successfully holding a freeze arrow.
At the end of each song, the player sees their accumulated points and how many of each kind of step they stepped. They also get a letter grade, ranging from E (only seen in two player modes when one player fails but the other passes) to AAA (all steps PERFECT), solely determined by the kind of steps they make.
There are two scoring systems: the long-score system used to determine rankings, and an independent dance point system used to determine the grade.
The long-score system is changed. Bonus points have been eliminated, and now the maximum score for a song is the foot-rating for that routine multiplied by 50 million. The highest number of points possible for a single song is 500 million points for a 10-foot song. Bonus points are also added based on performance. These have, however, been eliminated.
The dance-point system uses raw step values to determine the grade. It goes by the following formula: A PERFECT step adds two points, a GREAT step adds one point, a GOOD step is worth nothing, an ALMOST step takes away four points, and a BOO step takes away eight points. An O.K. freeze adds six points, and an N.G. freeze is worth nothing. The dance points are also tied to the life bar. As always, if you take too many bad steps and deplete the life bar, you will fail, and the game will end immediately. In two-player games, if one player fails, they can continue dancing, but it ceases to accumulate dance points for the failed player, accumulates score points at only 10 points per step, and automatically gives the failed player an 'E' for the song.
A dance score is determined by the number of missed steps (Good, Almost, and Boo) and the percentage of "Perfect" steps. The grading system is known to be somewhat more lenient than arcade DDR games. An "AAA" rank is all perfect steps. A "AA" rank is over 90% "Perfect" steps with no more than 2 missed steps.
There is no Arcade-style gameplay in DDR Ultramix. The regular game continues in Event Mode, where the dancer plays songs until they decide to quit. If a song is failed, the player is sent back to the song wheel.
[edit] Backgrounds
Dancing characters can be turned on or off in the Options menu. They are on by default. Only two dancers are available. Afro is the dancer for the first player, and Lady is the dancer for the second player.
Full motion video backgrounds can also be turned on or off in the Options menu. They are off by default. Both can be on at the same time, but some gamers complain that the game slows down when both are on, so most gamers use one or the other.
[edit] Groove Radar
The Groove Radar is a graphical representation based on a five-point difficulty system. The five skill areas are as follows:
- Stream is the ability to smoothly go through from step to step. This is determined by the number of steps in the song.
- Voltage is the ability to hit the fastest steps consistently. This is determined by the fastest tempo of the song, and how long such tempo is sustained in aggregate.
- Air is the ability to hit "jump steps," steps that require you to hit two arrows at the same time. This is determined by the number of jump steps.
- Chaos is the ability to navigate rapidly-changing step patterns. This is determined by analyzing the overall step routine.
- Freeze is the ability to hold onto the freeze arrows. This is determined by the number of freeze arrows.
The foot-rating system of measuring song difficulty is also used. The representation appears beneath the Groove Radar graphic.
[edit] Modifiers
Modifiers are changes that can be made to modify the step routine. A menu is available to make these modifications easily. This menu can be accessed by holding the Green select button when you choose your song.
Some of the available modifiers include the following:
- Speed mods change the speed at which the arrows scroll on the screen. You can increase it to multipliers of 1.5x, 2x, 3x, 5x or 8x. The default is "1x."
- Boost, when turned on, causes the arrows to accelerate as they near the step zone. The default is "Off."
- Appearance mods change how the arrows appear on the screen. The default is "Visible." "Hidden" makes the arrow fade out halfway up the screen. "Sudden" makes the arrow fade in halfway up the screen. "Stealth" means the arrows are not visible at all.
- Turn mods affect the pattern of the arrows themselves. The default is "Off." "Left" turns all the arrows 90 degrees left. "Right" turns all the arrows 90 degrees right. "Mirror" flips the step pattern so that all left and right arrows swap, and all up and down arrows swap. "Shuffle" creates a random swap of the arrows, and can vary from turn to turn.
- Other mods affect the difficulty of the step routine. The default is "Off." "Little" eliminates all steps that are more frequent than standard 1/4 steps. "Flat" makes all the arrows appear the same, regardless of their step fraction. "Solo" changes the colors of the arrows to the colors used in DDR Solo 2000. "Dark", a new modifier in DDRMAX2, removes the "step zone," forcing the player to rely solely on the beat to determine when to step.
- Scroll mods affect the direction in which arrows scroll. The default is "Normal." "Reverse" makes the arrows scroll from top to bottom instead of bottom to top. The health bar is also moved to the bottom.
- Freeze can turn the Freeze Arrows on or off. The default is "On."
- Step is the last chance to change the difficulty of the song. The default is whichever difficulty you selected before choosing the song.
[edit] Challenge Mode, also known as Mission Mode
The Challenge Mode in DDR Ultramix is nothing like the Oni Mode in US DDRMAX or arcade DDRMAX2. In fact, a version of it would appear in US DDR EXTREME as Mission Mode. Players must complete a series of tasks of increasing difficulty in order to get more unlocks.
[edit] Workout Mode
Workout Mode is a special mode where you can play songs and have the game keep track of your exercise performance, such as calories burned.
[edit] Initial Songlist
- .59 - dj TAKA
- ABSOLUTE (Cuff -N- Stuff it Mix) - Thuggie D.
- AFTER THE GAME OF LOVE - NPD3
- BALLAD FOR YOU - NM feat. Thomas Howard
- CAN'T STOP FALLIN' IN LOVE (SPEED MIX) - NAOKI
- CANDY ♥ - Riyu Kosaka
- Castles In The Sky - Ian Van Dahl feat. Marsha
- DIVE - BeForU
- Do That Thang (M*A*S*H Radio Edit) - MASAI
- DROP THE BOMB -System S.F. Mix- - Scotty D.
- DXY! - TaQ
- Electro Tuned (the SubS mix) - TaQ
- exotic ethnic - RevenG
- Healing Vision - DE-SIRE
- HYPNØTIC CRISIS - BLUE DESTROYERS
- HYSTERIA - NAOKI 190
- INFINITE PRAYER - L.E.D. LIGHT feat. Goro
- INSERTiON (Machine Gun Kelly Mix) - Thuggie D.
- KEEP ON MOVIN' (DMX Mix) - N.M.R.-typeG
- Keep Ya Body Movin' - Thuggie D.
- Kind Lady - Okuyatos
- La Señorita Virtual - 2MB
- Let the beat hit em! (CLASSIC R&B STYLE) - STONE BROS.
- Let's talk it over - SHIN Murayama feat. Argie Phine
- Look To The Sky (True Color Mix) - System S.F. feat. ANNA
- LUV TO ME (disco mix) - tiger YAMATO
- ON THE JAZZ - Jonny Dynamite!
- Overblast!! - L.E.D. LIGHT
- PARANOiA ETERNAL - STM 200
- Quickening - dj TAKA
- Ready Steady Go - Paul Oakenfold
- Sana Morette Ne Ente - Togo Project feat. Sana
- Secret Rendez-vous - DIVAS
- SEXY PLANET - Crystal Aliens
- Shiny Disco Balls - Who Da Funk
- So In Love - Caramel S.
- SUPER STAR - DJ.RICH feat. Tail Bros.
- Sweet Sweet ♥ Magic - jun
- THE EARTH LIGHT -L.E.D. LIGHT
- There 4 You - Thuggie D.
- TRIP MACHINE (luv mix) -2MB
- TSUGARU - RevenG vs DE-SIRE
[edit] Hidden Songs
- Colors (for EXTREME) - dj TAKA
- GRADIUSIC CYBER - TAKA
- Healing Vision (Angelic mix) - 2MB
- MAX 300 - Ω
- MGS2 mission R - L.E.D.
- ORION.78 (civilization mix) - 2MB
- PARANOiA Rebirth - 190'
- PUT YOUR FAITH IN ME (Saturday Night Mix) - UZI-LAY
- Sana Morette Ne Ente (BLT Style) - Togo Project feat. Sana
[edit] Xbox Live Capability
Live Mode takes advantage of the Xbox Live online gaming service. An internet connection is required. In Live Mode, players can play online against other players around North America. It keeps track of global rankings.
By Xbox Live, players can download song packs that add new songs to the game. For DDR Ultramix, six song packs are available in the United States at a price of $5.00 each. Each song pack has five songs in it. These song packs can be used in DDR Ultramix 2, but song packs from the latter cannot be used nor purchased on DDR Ultramix.
[edit] External links
- Konami (US Home Page), makers of DDR.
- Official DDR Ultramix Website
| Japan/Asia: | 1stMIX - 2ndMIX - 3rdMIX - 4thMIX - 5thMIX - MAX (6thMIX) - MAX2 (7thMIX) - EXTREME - Best Hits - Extra Mix - Party Col. - FESTIVAL - Mario Mix - STR!KE - SuperNOVA - Universe - Hottest Party - SuperNOVA 2 |
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| North America: | DDR - DDR USA - Konamix - MAX - MAX2 - ULTRAMIX - EXTREME - ULTRAMIX 2 - EXTREME 2 - ULTRAMIX 3 - Mario Mix - SuperNOVA - ULTRAMIX 4 - Universe - Hottest Party |
| Europe/Australia: | Dancing Stage EuroMIX - PARTY EDiTiON - Disney Mix - MegaMiX - Fever - Unleashed - Fusion - Unleashed 2 - Mario Mix - Max - Unleashed 3 |
| See also: | Dancing Stage - Disney versions - Game Boy versions - DDR Solo - List of DDR games |
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Notable Dance Dance Revolution songs
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| Songs: | MAX series - PARANOiA series |
| Artists: | BeForU - Takayuki Ishikawa - Naoki Maeda - Taku Sakakibara - List of Bemani musicians |
