+---------------------------------+
|DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION UNIVERSE 2|
+---------------------------------+
FAQ/Guide
by JesseTehSkox (Jesse Haun)
crazyperson90@gmail.com
Version 1.0
"Space Space Shooter goes 'dooder dooder dooder'..."
+-----------------+
|TABLE OF CONTENTS|
+-----------------+------------------------------------------------------------
|1. INTRODUCTION
|2. DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION: THE BASICS
| 2A. Learning the Basics with Game Mode
| 2B. Jesse's Assorted Dancing Tips
|3. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
|4. LICENSED SONGS, PART ONE
| 4A. Apache
| 4B. Dorset Perception
| 4C. Fire
| 4D. He's The Greatest Dancer
| 4E. I Know You Got Soul
| 4F. Is It Any Wonder? (Tall Paul Remix)
| 4G. Jungle Boogie
| 4H. Love Don't Let Me Go
| 4I. Rockit
| 4J. Safety Dance
| 4K. So Fine
| 4L. Take Me Out
| 4M. The Way You Move
| 4N. Walk Like An Egyptian
|5. LICENSED SONGS, PART TWO
| 5A. Always
| 5B. Anytime Soon
| 5C. Don't You Love Me
| 5D. Hey!
| 5E. I Wish I Could Be Beautiful
| 5F. Love In Motion
| 5G. Not Me (Extended Mix)
| 5H. Steppin' Out
| 5I. Sunshine In London
| 5J. The Tide
|6. LICENSED SONGS, PART THREE
| 6A. Anthema
| 6B. Arrivals And Departures
| 6C. Breathing More
| 6D. Contract [Breach Mix]
| 6E. Do It Right
| 6F. EternuS
| 6G. Get Up! Give Up! Move On!
| 6H. Handle Your Business
| 6I. In Different Things (USA Club Mix)
| 6J. I Wanna Be Your Star (Speedy Mix)
| 6K. Makes Me Cry (Drew Campbell Remix)
| 6L. Moving Higher
| 6M. Musika Atomika
| 6N. Orange Sky
| 6O. Ragganinja
| 6P. Rock The Show
| 6Q. Space Space Shooter (Cusimo & Co. Remix)
| 6R. Summer Girl
| 6S. Synergy
| 6T. Tactical
| 6U. Until Forever
| 6V. Yoru Funk
|7. NEW KONAMI ORIGINALS
| 7A. Akiba Drift
| 7B. Better Than Before
| 7C. Breathe The Air
| 7D. Contra (Medley Mix)
| 7E. Elfadiciell
| 7F. Emi's Song
| 7G. Entry of the Gladiators (Kaz Mix)
| 7H. Higher Ground
| 7I. Lily Funk
| 7J. Mochi Crunch
| 7K. on voit la mer
| 7L. Rhythm Is Rhythm
| 7M. Somebody In Da House
| 7N. Unborn
|8. OLD KONAMI ORIGINALS
| 8A. COSMIC COWGIRL
| 8B. Dead End
| 8C. Disabled the Flaw
| 8D. Let The Beat Hit 'Em (Classic R&B Style)
| 8E. MATSURI (J-SUMMER MIX)
| 8F. NEMESIS
| 8G. potpourri d'orange
| 8H. Senses
| 8I. Spin the Disc
| 8J. What Is Love?
|9. DOWNLOADABLE SONGS
| 9A. BATTLE BREAKS
| 9B. Catch it!
| 9C. DYNAMITE RAVE
| 9D. GRADIUSIC CYBER
| 9E. Himawari
| 9F. jelly kiss
| 9G. Love This Feelin' (ZONK Remix)
| 9H. Moment 40
| 9I. Put Your Faith In Me (Saturday Night Mix)
| 9J. TOE JAM
|10. POWER COURSES
| 10A. Funky House Mix
| 10B. Progressive Mix
| 10C. Faster Harder Mix
| 10D. Global Mix
| 10E. Aggro Mix
|11. THE NEW AND (SLIGHTLY) IMPROVED QUEST MODE!
| 11A. Five Basic Types of Challenges
| 11B. Song and Movie Clips, and Other Ways to Suck Less
| 11C. Session Offers
| 11D. Championships
| 11E. Shop Inventories
|12. CHALLENGE MODE
|13. OTHER MODES
| 13A. Party Mode
| 13B. Workout Mode
| 13C. Xbox Live
| 13D. Training Mode
| 13E. Edit Mode
| 13F. Jukebox
| 13G. Records
| 13H. Options
|14. GLITCHINESS
|15. THE EXTREME HIGHS AND LOWS OF UNIVERSE 2
|16. VERSION HISTORY
|17. LEGAL CRAP
|18. IN CONCLUSION...
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+---------------+
|1. INTRODUCTION|
+---------------+
Welcome, everyone, to my "exciting" DDR Universe 2 FAQ! I'm still 17, I'm still
a f***ing furry... nothing much has changed since I FAQed the first Universe.
That was only a month ago, after all. =P
FAQing, you know, can be more than a mere timewaster. Working on this, so far,
has been quite therapeutic. I've had a lot on my mind lately... been pretty
depressed, really. But nothing helps keep my mind off all that like writing a
guide for a happy peppy dancing game! I hope this helps you all out as much as
it did me, albeit in a different way...
+-------------------------------------+
|2. DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION: THE BASICS|
+-------------------------------------+
"How do I play DDR," you ask? Firstly, I'd like to welcome you back; what was
it like living under a rock for nine years? Now, you've got a dance pad with
four directions: left, down, up, and right. First, you pick a song, then its
time to dance! See that line of arrows at the top of the screen? That's the
"Step Zone." As the song plays, arrows will scroll up to the Step Zone in time
with the music. When an arrow reaches the Step Zone, "step" on the direction
that matches the arrow! When two arrows come up at once, you must press both at
once, by jumping. Those long green arrows are Freeze Arrows – you have to step
on these at the beginning and hold that direction down until the freeze arrow
ends. It's just that simple.
But with these simple controls, things can still get quite hairy. There's no
way in hell a DDR beginner will survive any songs on Expert or probably even
Difficult. Stick with the Beginner and Basic difficulties until you've got the
hang of things.
If this is your first DDR game ever, it's probably wise to start with the
"Basic Edition." This teaches you the basics of how to play, has a "Lesson
Mode" for additional enlightenment, and "Game Mode Light" which features only
the Beginner difficulty and a shortened songlist. When you're comfortable
with the game, move onto the "Master Edition!" That's where the real learning
happens! Start in the regular Game Mode here.
--------------------------------------
2A. LEARNING THE BASICS WITH GAME MODE
--------------------------------------
It's the standard DDR mode, and something you should definitely get
acquainted with if you're a DDR newbie, before you even think about tackling
anything else! Especially not that nasty nasty (but not as nasty as in the
first Universe) Quest Mode...
First, you're asked to select a style:
4 PANELS: Standard DDR gameplay with one dance pad per player.
8 PANELS: Each player dances on two pads at once. This is exclusively a one-
player mode in the PS2 editions, but I'm fairly certain you can do this with
two here. Either way, be aware that every song has different steps for this
mode than "4 Panels." (Also, given my limited living space, I can't cover
this mode in this FAQ currently. I apologize...)
Next, we reach the "Setup Players" screen. Any additional players should hit
the A button now to join in. You can use X and Y to choose your characters
(there's some sexy ladies in this game, if I do say myself...) and up and
down to change your difficulty level. The five fundamental difficulty levels
of DDR are as follows:
BEGINNER: Really easy stuff for beginners, obviously. DDR Universe doesn't
give these songs step ratings, but surely they'd almost all be one-footers.
If you can do this, move on to Basic posthaste; Beginner won't do much to
improve you DDR skills.
BASIC: The easiest "normal" difficulty, with ratings usually ranging from 2 to
5 feet. Pretty simple stuff, mostly. Steps are mostly just on the beat.
DIFFICULT: Songs here generally range from 4 to 7 feet in difficulty. Steps
here tend to follow the music more closely.
EXPERT: Most Expert charts here range from 6 to 9 feet. This is where things
get tough, as steps will either follow the song exactly, or just generally
kick up the difficulty for extreme pain... or possibly both. Whee.
ONI: Sort of an "alternate Expert" chart that only a few songs have. Oni
charts are generally harder than a song's Expert chart, though in the case
of "DYNAMITE RAVE" here, it's debatable.
Now we've made it to the "Select Music" screen! Use left and right to switch
songs. You can still use up and down to change difficulty here; no need to go
back a screen. While picking songs, in addition to simple step ratings, you can
also view a graphical representation of the song's difficulty, the "Groove
Radar." This rates songs on five separate attributes:
STREAM: Pretty much just the overall number of steps.
VOLTAGE: The overall density of steps; how many steps are squashed into how
much time.
AIR: The overall number of double steps, or jumps.
FREEZE: The overall number (and possibly length) of Freeze Arrows.
CHAOS: The number of "chaotic" steps, either steps that aren't quarters or
eighths, or steps that force you to turn as you step.
Use A to confirm when you've picked the desired song and difficulty. Select
"Random" if you're not sure what to pick, and what to leave that choice up to
the game.
Also, if you go to "ABC Order," you can change to other ways to order the songs
than by the logical default order. The panel always displays what the next
ordering scheme is; the game uses the Default Order by default. "ABC Order"
puts the songs into different folders in alphabetical order, regardless of song
type. "BPM Order" puts all the songs in order according to their maximum BPM,
from fastest to slowest. And the seemingly useless "Artist Order" works
similarly to ABC Order, except it goes by the artist's name instead of song
title.
If you hold down A when you select a song, you'll be taken to the "Arrow
Options" screen first. You can tweak various aspects of gameplay, including:
SPEED: The speed that the arrows scroll up the screen. Note that this only
affects the speed of the arrows, not of the song itself; in essence, it just
spaces arrows out more (or less) so make them easier to read. Options range
from 0.5x to 8x; the default speed is, of course, 1x.
BOOST: If this is on, the arrows will gradually speed up as they move toward
the step zone.
APPEARANCE: "Visible" is the default setting. With "Hidden" on, the arrows
will vanish about halfway up the screen. "Sudden" is the opposite; arrows
start out invisible and appear halfway up. "Phantom" makes the arrows only
appear very briefly halfway up. "Stealth" makes the arrows completely
invisible.
TURN: "Off" is default. "Mirror" rotates all arrows 180 degrees. "Left" rotates
them 90 degrees to the left; "Right" does the same, but in the other
direction. "Shuffle" picks two random sets of arrows and reverses their
position, giving a new arrangement that generally doesn't fall under any of
the other options.
OTHER: Again, "Off" is default. "Flat" makes all the arrows the same color,
making it that much harder to tell different kinds of notes apart. "Solo"
gives you different colors for the different kinds of notes. "Dark" removes
the step zone from the screen. "Help" makes certain arrows glow yellow;
stepping on them restores more of your dance gauge than usual.
MODIFY: "Off" is default once again. "Cut" removes all non-quarter notes from
the song (but really cripples your chances of a good score on higher
difficulties). "LR-only" converts all steps to either left or right arrows;
no steps are actually eliminated, so I don't think this affects your score.
"All jump" seemingly converts every pair of steps in the song into a jump,
which makes it exhausting, but also pretty dumbed-down. "All freeze" makes
every step a freeze arrow. On the other end of the spectrum, "No jump" and
"No freeze" completely remove those respective step types from the song,
leaving only regular steps in their wake.
REVERSE: Turn this on, and the arrows will scroll in "reverse," that is,
from top to bottom.
Think you're ready to play a song? I already explained how to play; just step
on the arrows! As you step, you'll get a "step rating" for your accuracy on
each arrow:
PERFECT: You stepped precisely on the arrow, more or less, and got the best
possible rating, in this game at least. Combo continues, dance gauge goes
up, and you're awarded the maximum possible amount of points for the step.
GREAT: You nearly stepped on the arrow... close enough, right? Combo still
continues, the dance gauge still goes up, but you only get half the points
for that step.
GOOD: You missed the step by a bit. Your combo stops, and your dance gauge and
score are left completely unaffected.
ALMOST: You missed the step by quite a lot. Your combo stops, the dance gauge
drops, and you get no points.
BOO: You managed to completely miss the step somehow. Combo stops, dance gauge
falls, and you're awarded no points whatsoever.
Two additional ratings exist that apply exclusively to freeze arrows:
OK!: You held down the freeze arrow for its entire duration, so the dance gauge
goes up and you're awarded points... the normal maximum score for a normal
step, apparently.
NG: You stepped off the freeze arrow before it ended. This doesn't effect your
combo negatively, but the dance gauge takes a hit and you don't get any points
for it.
The game also shows you your combo, or how many Perfects and Greats you've got
in a row. Note that jumps add two to your combo in this game.
If you let your dance gauge empty out, you fail the song, obviously! So try to
keep it as full as you can, by getting lots of Perfects and Greats!
After the song, you'll reach the evaluation screen, where you're awarded a
letter grade based on your performance. I'm not currently 100% sure how DDR
Universe calculates this exactly (possibly that archaic dance point system?),
so if anyone knows for sure, email me! The letter grades range from AAA
(only awarded for a Full Perfect Combo) clear down to E (You failed!).
There's a lot of different kinds of steps that you'll come to know and love.
Beginners will mostly see quarter notes, notes that are strictly on the beat,
and intermediate players will get used to eighth notes, those off-colored
ones right between quarters. But when you enter the dreary waters of Expert
charts, you'll face some fairly unusual stuff...
DOUBLE-TAPS, TRIPLE-TAPS, ETC.: A series of eighth notes on the same arrow, so
named because you'll be using the same foot to tap that arrow repeatedly. They
can be annoying, but there's no super-secret trick to making these easier, so
you'll just have to train up your foot for extended tapping.
CROSSOVERS: Steps that force you to turn your body and, quite literally, cross
your legs over. A basic example is the pattern of left-down-right, where you
hit the left arrow with your left foot, the down with your right, and then
cross your left foot over to hit the right arrow. It can be weird at first,
but it's vital to your success in the harder songs, which often feature series
of crossovers that force you to turn your body 180, 270, or even a full 360
degrees. These take practice; start small, and gradually learn to make bigger
turns. The hardest part is getting used to not facing the TV at all times...
CHAOS: As these notes are called on the Groove Radar, any arrows that aren't
pure quarters and eighths. Perhaps most basically, but not easy by any means,
are sixteenth notes, which you step twice as fast as pure eighths. You'll also
encounter twelfth notes (commonly referred to as "triplets"), and even such
horrors as twenty-fourth and thirty-second notes! Fortunately, chaos is almost
always controlled chaos; that is, they match up with something in the song, so
make sure to listen, and know your songs!
GALLOPS: A name given to a sequence of steps consisting of two sixteenth notes
in a row, two sixteenths of nothing, two more sixteenth notes, and so on. Step
these sort of like a horse galloping (hence the name!). A few songs in this
game feature assorted types of pseudo-gallops, either with only a one-note
break between each pair of steps, or even in triplets instead of sixteenths.
---------------------------------
2B. JESSE'S ASSORTED DANCING TIPS
---------------------------------
Now you know how to play. Time to consider other important stuff. Like, uh...
pads! Unfortunately, there aren't exactly a lot of choices for the 360 yet.
Your best choice is the one that comes bundled with the game; do NOT get any
Mad Catz crap or anything like that. Trust me. If you'd like something
sturdier, sorry, you're out of luck for now unless you're up to the task of
building yourself a pad... and considering my lacking technical knowledge, I
can't really help you there. Sorry again.
Pay attention to the beat, especially in early stages where steps tend to
follow the beat exclusively.
Try to step with the balls of your feet. Not your heels. It's a good habit to
get into. Stepping with your heels can make your ankles hurt, something just
about anyone who's played DDR has experienced. That was really my biggest
problem getting into the game, but don't give up, you'll get used to it and
learn to step in a more ankle-friendly way soon enough.
Stay hydrated! DDR is exercise, and like any other kind of exercise, that's
important. Water is good. So is fruit juice. Really, any cool beverage will
do... so, like, don't go drinking a pot of hot coffee on the dancefloor. That's
just stupid.
Try to return your feet to the center as rarely as possible. It may seem
perfectly acceptable in early songs, but as you get into the harder stuff,
you'll face long streams and other rapid-fire steps that don't really give
you the opportunity to return to the center. Best to get used to staying away
from there now then, eh?
+-----------------------------+
|3. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS|
+-----------------------------+
Q: What is Dance Dance Revolution UNIVERSE 2?
A: Why, it's Konami's second foray into the world of rhythm games on the
Xbox 360!
Q: How many songs are there in this mix?
A: 52 by default, and 18 more unlockable. I know, disappointing, that's less
than the first Universe had. Meh. Add 10 more (so far, there may be more in
the future) if you intend to download songs off Xbox Live.
Q: What? You mean I can't use the MegaPack songs from Universe on here?
A: Nope. But in Konami's defense, this is supposedly Microsoft's fault, not
theirs.
Q: Can you rip your own songs and play them on this game?
A: Everyone always asks that when a new DDR comes out. The answer is no, and I
doubt they'll ever add that feature. And if they do, believe me, you'll hear
all about it... so please, for the love of all that is holy, STOP ASKING!
Q: Why aren't there more "classic" DDR tunes in here? Why all this new crap?
A: I personally prefer getting a whole bunch of new tunes. They're trying to
differentiate themselves from traditional Japanese DDR, and I like it, if
only for the sake of variety. J-pop is nice once in awhile, but not all the
time!
Q: Are there any ten-footers in the game?
A: Only one stepchart has been given an official ten-footer rating: "GRADIUSIC
CYBER" Doubles Expert. And that song's only available through downloading
anyway. Sadly, singles players don't have any ten-footers whatsoever, only
some fairly hard nines. Yeah, I'm just as disappointed about this as you
are.
Q: Quest Mode sucks! Is there any other way to unlock songs?
A: Sadly, no. At least not that we know of. There might be a special unlock
code, like some of the Ultramixes had, but if there is it hasn't been
discovered yet.
Q: Wait... where are "ON THE JAZZ" and "Balalaika, Carried with the Wind (Jondi
& Spesh Mix)"?
A: I know, they're in the music credits section of the manual, but not playable
individually. Weird. Those two songs are only in the game as part of the
Power Courses in Party Mode. Don't ask me why they didn't put them in the
game so the song total at least matched Universe's, because I couldn't even
fathom a reasonably logical explanation for this. Let's just say that Konami
doesn't always act logically and move on...
Q: What's the deal with beatmania/pop'n music/GuitarFreaks/drummania?
A: These are some other popular Bemani series, and quite a few songs from those
games have made the leap over to DDR. beatmania is another popular rhythm
game series (popular in Japan, at least), classified as a "DJ simulator," in
which you have a set of keys and a turntable to "scratch." Using those, you
actually "play" a variety of songs... so if you're crap at the game, the
songs sound like crap too. It's cool. pop'n music is sort of like a more
cartoony version of beatmania, with big colored buttons instead of a keypad,
that mainly features happy songs and tunes from popular anime. GuitarFreaks
and drummania are games in which you play songs with a guitar and a set of
drums, respectively. Several songs into the series, Konami got the bright
idea to combine the two games, giving them identical songlists and allowing
the machines to link up. And you thought Rock Band was such a totally
original idea...
Q: (Insert song here) was in (insert game here) first, you moron!
A: That's not a question. Anyway, while I consider my knowledge of Bemani to be
relatively thorough, and I checked and double-checked this stuff, I'm not
perfect by any means. Correct me if you see something wrong... but please,
be a little nicer than that! :D
Q: Those lyrics are wrong! I can't believe you f***ed them up so badly! I hate
you, I hate you to death!
A: Again... not a question, genius. Well, I tried to use online lyrics sites to
check for accuracy, but in some cases I either couldn't find lyrics anywhere
(like with "So Fine") or the lyrics didn't seem to match up with the song
(like with "Jungle Boogie"). In any case, I'm sure I made plenty of mistakes
in compiling the lyrics so maybe some of you nice folks could help me out?
If you've got a question for me concerning this game, go ahead and email me at
crazyperson90@gmail.com! Just, you know, make sure I haven't already answered
it somewhere in this guide, please. Don't be lazy. I hate laziness.
+---------------------------+
|4. LICENSED SONGS, PART ONE|
+---------------------------+
Ah, the first group of licenses. Universe/Ultramix veterans should know, it's
where all the well-known licenses go. The bait to entice your random idiot off
the street to plop down seventy bucks for the game, if you will. They've given
us quite an interesting selection this time, featuring a few rather modern
hits, a couple classics, a surprisingly obscure choice of psychedelic
downtempo, and one of the most bizarre music videos to ever grace the series
with its presence. Um... hooray?
--------------------------------------
4A. Apache – The Incredible Bongo Band
--------------------------------------
BPM: 116
Length: 1:40
Genre: Funk
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 47 6 0
BASIC 3 103 8 0
DIFFICULT 5 175 10 4
EXPERT 7 257 25 16
EXPERT NOTES: Pretty much your typical Universe series seven-footer, in that it
features streams that can get somewhat long, with crossovers, plus a
distinctive trick. In this case, it's the occasional skip thrown in, which
throws you offbeat for the next few notes.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: The brainchild of Michael Viner, The Incredible Bongo Band
released two albums of instrumental funk (with bongo drums playing a prominent
role, of course) in the 70's. This song is their most famous piece, released
in 1973, known for its signature percussion break which has been sampled
extensively... perhaps excessively.
Miscellany: The original version of Apache was released in 1960 by British
rock group The Shadows. This is one of the more popular of the countless
covers of this song.
--------------------------------
4B. Dorset Perception – Shpongle
--------------------------------
BPM: 120
Length: 1:36
Genre: Psybient
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 64 1 5
BASIC 3 110 1 4
DIFFICULT 5 168 10 7
EXPERT 7 244 17 16
EXPERT NOTES: The streams here tend to stay short, and aren't as heavy on the
crossovers as a lot of songs. The main difficulty comes from the proliferation
of pesudo-triplets and gallops, following the weird psychedelic rhythm here.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Shpongle is one of the more influential bands in the
"psychedelic downtempo" or "psybient" scene, mostly unknown in the world of
mainstream music. This is the lead track of their 2001 album, "Tales of the
Inexpressible".
------------------------
4C. Fire - Ferry Corsten
------------------------
BPM: 132
Length: 1:46
Genre: Trance
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 79 2 4
BASIC 3 164 4 3
DIFFICULT 6 232 16 10
EXPERT 7 273 12 13
EXPERT NOTES: Simple, at least compared to a lot of the tricky seven-footers
they've loaded this game with. Unlike those, which employ tricks that seem to
approach eight-footer territory, this one's purely short- to mid-length
streams with a few crossovers thrown in for good measure.
-----
Lyrics:
Oh woman you make me feel
Like I'm on fire
Oh woman you make it real
It's the only way for me
Oh woman you make me feel
Like I'm on fire
Oh woman you make it real
It's the only way for me
Oh woman you make me feel
Like I'm on fire
Oh woman you make it real
It's the only way for me
Oh woman you make me feel
Like I'm on fire
Oh woman you make it real
It's the only way for me
Oh woman you make me feel
Like I'm on fire
Oh woman you make it real
It's the only way for me
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Ferry Corsten, aka System F, is one of the pioneers of
trance and one hell of a prominent remix artist who, as far as I can tell,
released this song in early 2005. The vocals are sampled from the Duran
Duran song "Serious", which is sung by Simon LeBon. (See? I almost had this
right the first time... but thanks to Keith Young for setting me straight!)
--------------------------------------------
4D. He's The Greatest Dancer – Sister Sledge
--------------------------------------------
BPM: 113
Length: 1:46
Genre: Disco/R&B
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 74 0 0
BASIC 3 120 4 9
DIFFICULT 5 203 15 3
EXPERT 7 244 17 7
EXPERT NOTES: A generic Universe 2 seven-footer if there ever was one. The
streams are mostly short and simple, but they've thrown in small doses of
pseudo-triplets and sixteenth clusters to make things ever-so-slightly more
interesting.
-----
Lyrics:
Oh-what-wow
He's the greatest dancer
Oh-what-wow
That I've ever seen
Oh-what-wow
He's the greatest dancer
Oh-what-wow
One night in a disco
On the outskirts of Frisco
I was cruisin' with my favorite gang
The place was so boring
Filled with out-of-towners touring
I knew that it wasn't my thing
I really wasn't caring
But I felt my eyes staring
At a guy who stuck out in the crowd
He had the kind of body
That would shame Adonis
And a face that would make any man cry
Oh-what-wow
He's the greatest dancer
Oh-what-wow
That I've ever seen
Oh-what-wow
He's the greatest dancer
Oh-what-wow
Oh-what-wow
He's the greatest dancer
Oh-what-wow
That I've ever seen
Oh-what-wow
He's the greatest dancer
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Sister Sledge is a disco quartet consisting of Kim Sledge,
Debbie Sledge, Joni Sledge, and Kathy Sledge. And yeah, as per the group's
name, they're actually sisters. Released in 1979, this was one of their most
successful singles, second in the US only to their very next single, "We Are
Family".
----------------------------------------------------------
4E. I Know You Got Soul – Jason Nevins vs. Eric B. & Rakim
----------------------------------------------------------
BPM: 124
Length: 1:47
Genre: Classic Hip-Hop Remix
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 78 7 0
BASIC 4 162 3 0
DIFFICULT 6 210 8 13
EXPERT 7 294 46 1
EXPERT NOTES: Scattered among the rather typical streams here are a decent
amount of gallops and "half-gallops" (as in, pairs of sixteenths not followed
by another pair). Most of them tend to occur fairly randomly in the song, but
as a general rule there'll always be one on every instance of "You got it!"
The hardest part is right at the end, with a sixteenth cluster leading right
into a final set of gallops.
-----
Lyrics:
Just talk about it, those that can dance and clap your hands to it...
It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you
Without a strong rhyme to step to
Think of how many weak shows you slept through
Time's up, I'm sorry I kept you
Thinking of this, you keep repeating you miss
The rhymes from the microphone soloist
And you sit by the radio, hands on the dial, soon
As you hear it, pump up the volume
Dance wit the speaker till you hear it blow
Then plug in the headphone 'cause here it go,
It's a four-letter word when it's heard, it's control
Your body to dance (You got it!) soul
Directs the tempo like a red alert
Reaches your reflex, so let it work
When this is playing, you can't get stuck wit
The steps, so get set and I'mma still come up wit
A gift to be swift, follow the leader, the rhyme will go
Def wit the record that was mixed a long time ago
It can be done but only I can do it
For those that can dance and clap your hands to it
I start to think and then I sink
Into the paper like I was ink
When I'm writing, I'm trapped in between the lines
I escape when I finish the rhyme
I got soul (soul soul soul soul soul soul soul...)
Those that can dance and clap your hands to it...
Those that can dance and clap your hands to it...
A beat like this might tempt me
To pose, show my rings and my fat gold chain
Grab the mic like I'm on Soul Train
But I'll wait 'cause I mastered this
Let the others go first so the brothers don't miss
Eric B. breaks the sticks (You got it!)
Rakim will begin when you make the mix
I'll experiment like a scientist
You wanna rhyme, you gotta sign my list
'Cause this is how it should be done
This style is identical to none
Some try to make it sound like this but you're getting me
So upset that I'm wet 'cause you're sweating me
I drip steam like a microphone fiend
Eager to MC is my theme
I get hype when I hear a drumroll
Rakim is on the mic and you know I got soul (Soul soul soul...)
You got it!
You got it!
Those that can dance and clap your hands to it...
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Eric Barrier and William Griffin (aka Rakim) are a former
hip-hop duo known for popularizing a more jazz-influenced style of hip-hop.
Their 1987 release "I Know You Got Soul" is regarded as a classic of the
genre and, according to All Music Guide, "single-handedly kicked off
hip-hop's infatuation with James Brown samples". Jason Nevins is a prominent
producer and remixer who released this mix, as far as I can tell, in early
2003.
Miscellany: In the vaguely interesting trivia department, this song (or the
original version anyway) was sampled in another DDR song, specifically from
DDR Extreme 2; a snippet of Rakim's lyrics served as the titular sample of
M/A/A/R/S's "Pump Up The Volume".
-----------------------------------------------
4F. Is It Any Wonder? (Tall Paul Remix) – Keane
-----------------------------------------------
BPM: 129
Length: 1:40
Genre: Piano Rock
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 69 4 0
BASIC 3 198 7 48
DIFFICULT 6 242 2 36
EXPERT 7 272 1 80
EXPERT NOTES: One of the rare stepcharts in this game to not feature sixteenths
in any way, shape, or form. This one sticks with streams, with a surprising
number of double-taps thrown in, but the most notable thing here is the huge
amount of freezes. Though streams and freezes never co-habitate, leaving
things in pure quarters during the freeze sections, it's actually harder than
you'd think, as they're put in positions designed to twist your legs into all
sorts of uncomfortable positions.
-----
Lyrics:
I always thought that I knew
I'd always have the right to
Be living in the kingdom of the good and true and so on
But now I think I was wrong
And you were laughing along
And now I look a fool for thinking you were on my side
Is it any wonder I'm tired?
Is it any wonder that I feel uptight?
Is it any wonder I don't know what's right?
Sometimes I get the feeling that I'm
Stranded in the wrong time
Where love is just a lyric in a children's rhyme, a soundbite
Is it any wonder I'm tired?
Is it any wonder that I feel uptight?
Is it any wonder I don't know what's right?
Oh these days
After all the misery made
Is it any wonder that I feel afraid?
Is it any wonder that I feel betrayed?
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Keane is a British piano rock band consisting of Tim
Rice-Oxley on piano, Tom Chaplin on vocals, and Richard Hughes on drums.
"Is It Any Wonder?" was released in 2006 as the first physical single from the
album "Under The Iron Sea".
Miscellany: It's a song about the Iraq War, which seems an odd choice for a
happy peppy dancing game but, uh, here it is. This song features its music
video, which nullifies any dancing characters.
-----------------------------------
4G. Jungle Boogie – Kool & The Gang
-----------------------------------
BPM: 106
Length: 1:36
Genre: Funk
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 78 0 0
BASIC 3 108 20 10
DIFFICULT 6 188 40 0
EXPERT 8 319 25 8
EXPERT NOTES: Harder than you'd expect from such a well-known song. Its slow
speed allows it to get away with throwing a lot of tricky stuff at you,
including fairly large sixteenth clusters which can reach up to nine notes in
length and some of which include crossovers. Other than that, there's also
some pseudo-triplets and gallops thrown in to follow this tune's funky
rhythmage.
-----
Lyrics:
Get down, get down
Get down, get down
Get down, get down
Get down, get down
Get down, get down
Get down, get down
Get down, get down
Get down, get down
Jungle Boogie
(Get down with the boogie!)
Jungle Boogie
(Get it on!)
Jungle Boogie
(Get down with the boogie!)
Jungle Boogie
(Get it on!)
Jungle Boogie
(Get up with the boogie!)
Jungle Boogie
(Get up, boogie, get down!)
Jungle Boogie
(Get down with the boogie!)
Jungle Boogie
(Come and shake it around!)
Jungle Boogie
(Get up, boogie, get down!)
Jungle Boogie
(Boogie boogie!)
Jungle Boogie!
(Boogie boogie!)
Jungle Boogie
(Ough!)
Jungle Boogie
(Get up, boogie, get down!)
Jungle Boogie
(Get the boogie!)
Jungle Boogie
(With the jungle!)
Jungle Boogie
(Get down with the boogie!)
Get down, get down
Get down, get down
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Kool & The Gang are a well-known American ensemble whose
career spanned several phases, including R&B, disco, and more. This song, in
particular, comes from their funk phase and was released as part of their
1973 album "Wild and Peaceful".
---------------------------------------------------
4H. Love Don't Let Me Go – David Guetta vs. The Egg
---------------------------------------------------
BPM: 127
Length: 1:38
Genre: Electronica
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 74 3 0
BASIC 2 123 2 6
DIFFICULT 5 196 16 30
EXPERT 7 286 20 19
EXPERT NOTES: The intro is pretty much just a long series of triplet gallops.
After that, things mostly settle into a pattern of short- to mid-length
streams and a few pseudo-triplets, aside from one point in the middle where
the song decides to throw a variety of different crap at you – a few triplets,
a skip or two, that sort of thing – before settling back into its pattern of
streams and pseudo-triplets.
-----
Lyrics:
You've got me dancin' and cryin'
Rollin' and flyin'
Love don't let me go
You've got me drownin' in a river
Cold and in fever
Love don't let me go
Don't let me go
Don't let me go
Love don't let me go
Don't let me go
Don't let me go
Don't let me go
Got me drownin' in a river
And it's cold and in fever
Hey...
Don't let me go
Don't let me go
Love don't let me go
Don't let me go
Don't let me go
Don't let me go
Got me drownin' in a river
And it's cold and in fever
Hey-hey-hey-hey...
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: David Guetta is a popular French DJ, whose tracks tend to
feature singer Chris Willis as vocalist. I'm pretty sure this is one of those
tracks. The Egg is a British electronic funk band whose lineup consists of Ned
Scott on keyboard, Maff Scott on drums, Ben Cullum on bass, and Matt White on
lead guitar. This song is actually a mash-up, whose full title is "Love Don't
Let Me Go (Walking Away)", featuring the lyrics from David's 2002 song "Love
Don't Let Me Go" (by Chris Willis, of course) set to the tune of The Egg's
single "Walking Away".
---------------------------
4I. Rockit – Herbie Hancock
---------------------------
BPM: 111
Length: 1:40
Genre: Electronica
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 84 2 0
BASIC 3 116 10 4
DIFFICULT 6 227 22 14
EXPERT 8 341 21 27
EXPERT NOTES: Rather tricky steps made a little simpler by the fact that they
follow this well-known tune rather closely. In particular, pay close attention
to the keyboard, as you'll generally be stepping the melody exactly as Herbie
plays it. Yes, that means that some of the freezes fall an eighth after the
step before it while others are only a sixteenth later, and it's hard to tell
just by looking on 1x, so paying close attention to the song is paramount. In
addition, you'll always be stepping sixteenth clusters on the record scratches
leading to some of the longest clusters in the game – one of them reaches a
whopping twenty-four steps! Good thing it's a slow song, eh?
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Herbie Hancock is one of jazz music's most influential
pianists and composers, and one of the first to embrace synthesizers and funk.
This is one of his most famous solo works, released in 1983 as a single off
his album "Future Shock", and was one of the first popular singles to feature
scratching and other turntablist techniques. The scratching on this track was
provided by Derek Showard, aka DJ Grandmixer DXT, one of the pioneers of
establishing the turntable as a legitimate musical instrument.
Miscellany: This song features its music video, one of the strangest I've
personally ever seen, which nullifies any dancing characters.
-----------------------------------
4J. Safety Dance – Men Without Hats
-----------------------------------
BPM: 102
Length: 1:36
Genre: Synthpop
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 67 1 0
BASIC 3 104 5 4
DIFFICULT 5 162 13 2
EXPERT 7 282 15 1
EXPERT NOTES: What is it with Universe 2 and its tendency to load its seven-
footers with sixteenths? Once again, small sixteenth clusters and gallops
rule the day, which always follow Ivan's vocals, or the synth during the
vocal-free portions of the song.
-----
Lyrics:
We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine
I say we can go where we want to
A place where they will never find
And we can act like we come from out of this world
Leave the real one far behind
And we can dance
(Dancez!)
We can go when we want to
The night is young and so am I
And we can dress real neat from our hats to our feet
And surprise 'em with the victory cry
I say we can act if we want to
If we don't nobody will
And you can act real rude and totally removed
And I can act like an imbecile
I say we can dance, we can dance
Everything's out of control
We can dance, we can dance
We're doing it from wall to wall
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody look at your hands
We can dance, we can dance
Everybody's takin' the chance
Safety dance
Oh well the safety dance
Ah yes the safety dance
It's the safety dance
Well it's the safety dance
Oh it's the safety dance
Oh it's the safety dance
Oh it's the safety dance
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Men Without Hats were a Montreal-based synthpop group most
popular in the early- to mid-eighties, known for the deep, expressive voice of
lead singer Ivan Doroschuk and an elaborate use of synthesizers. This was the
group's first, and most popular, single, released in 1982.
Miscellany: This song features its music video, which nullifies any dancing
characters.
-----------------------------
4K. So Fine – The Freestylers
-----------------------------
BPM: 118
Length: 1:55
Genre: Funky Drum and Bass
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 67 1 0
BASIC 3 158 9 16
DIFFICULT 6 239 43 4
EXPERT 8 347 43 2
EXPERT NOTES: If you can tackle these seven-footers easily enough, here's a
good entry point for moving on to the next level. Why? Well, this song is
basically just like most of these licensed sevens, just harder. The streams
are longer and a little more complex, there's a few more sixteenth clusters
in there (following the lyrics), but it's pretty much the same kind of
stepchart.
-----
Lyrics:
Midnight, when I thought the day was coolin' down
Spotlight, lookin' at the hottest girl in town
Spellbound, by the way she made her body move
Get down, 'cause I know I gotta catch that groove
So fine, perfect and she's cold as ice
So fine, I think about her all the time
She said, "Are you tryin' to make a move on me?"
I said, "Well you're gonna have to wait and see"
Waitin', for the DJ to pull my favorite song
We were on the dancefloor all night long
So fine, perfect and she's cold as ice
So fine, I think about her all the time
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: The Freestylers are a British electronica group, which
doesn't seem to have a single cohesive lineup as far as I can tell. For a
period of time during '02 and '03, they were also known as Raw As F**k. This
song is from their 2006 album "Adventures in Freestyle".
---------------------------------
4L. Take Me Out – Franz Ferdinand
---------------------------------
BPM: 105
Length: 1:49
Genre: Post-Punk Revival
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 65 5 0
BASIC 4 177 27 2
DIFFICULT 6 228 50 2
EXPERT 9 396 54 1
EXPERT NOTES: Surprisingly tough for such a well-known license. There's a lot
of sixteenths thrown in this song, some in clusters of up to 15 notes falling
on the fast-paced guitar bits, and the worst part is that virtually all the
sixteenth clusters in this song contain crossovers. Ouch.
-----
Lyrics:
I say don't you know
You say you don't know
I say take me out
I stay you don't show
Don't move time is slow
I say take me out
I say you don't know
You say you don't know
I say take me out
If I move this could die
If my eyes move this could die
I want you to take me out
I know I won't be leaving here
I know I won't be leaving here
I know I won't be leaving here
I know I won't be leaving here
With you
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Franz Ferdinand is an indie rock band from Glasgow, Scotland
consisting of Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy, and Paul Thomson. Their
name derives from Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Russia. This was their second
single, and their breakthrough hit, released in 2004.
Miscellany: This song features its music video, which nullifies any dancing
characters.
------------------------------
4M. The Way You Move – Outkast
------------------------------
BPM: 126
Length: 1:36
Genre: Hip-Hop House
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 73 4 0
BASIC 3 152 15 4
DIFFICULT 7 269 62 19
EXPERT 9 400 40 21
DIFFICULT NOTES: These honestly could've passed as the Expert steps for this
one, the way it throws jumps into most of its streams. Hell, some of the
streams are literally nothing but jumps!
EXPERT NOTES: But instead of going with the perfectly fine seven-footer steps
for Expert, they decided to come up with something a little more insane. Which
is actually sort of cool. Things are hardest right at the beginning, where
you're stepping fairly long and complicated sixteenth clusters along to Big
Boi's rapping, which is harder than the sixteenth sections in "Take Me Out"
not only because this is 21 BPM faster, but also because it follows a
naturally less predictable pattern. Things mostly get simpler after that,
keeping to only streams until the very end, where sixteenths rear their ugly
heads again; keep in mind that one the very last line ("Can you feel the, baby
can you feel the, baby can you feel the B-A-S-S, bass?"), you step everything
BUT the two occurrences of the word "baby". No, I don't know why, but it's
something to keep in mind.
-----
Lyrics:
Ready for action, nip it in the bud
We never relaxin', OutKast is everlastin'
Not clashin', not at all
But see my – went to do a little actin'
Now that's for anyone askin'
Give me one, pass 'em
Drip drip drop, there goes an eargasm
Now you comin' out the side of your face
We tappin' right into your memory banks (Thanks!)
So click it or ticket, let's see your seat belt fastened
Trunk rattlin', like two midgets in the back seat wrestlin'
Speakerboxxx vibrate the tag
Make it sound like aluminum cans in the back
But I know y'all wanted that 808
Can you feel the B-A-S-S, bass
But I know y'all wanted that 808
Can you feel the B-A-S-S, bass
I like the way you move
I like the way you move
I love the way you move
I love the way, I love the way
Hey baby, girl don't you stop it
Come on lady, dance all around me
You look so fine, look so fine
Drivin' me out, out of my mind
If I could I would just leave with you, baby
Ooooh, 'cause you light me and excite me
And you know you got me, baby
I like the way you move
(But I know y'all wanted that 808)
I like the way you move
(But I know y'all wanted that 808)
I love the way you move
(But I know y'all wanted that 808
(Can you feel the, baby can you feel the, baby can you feel the B-A-S-S, bass)
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: OutKast is a Grammy-winning hip-hop duo consisting of André
"André 3000" Benjamin and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton, known for maintaining an
experimental approach to their music, and widely praised for their originality
and artistic content. This song was released in 2003 as the first single from
Big Boi's half of their best-selling double album, "Speakerboxxx/The Love
Below"; released at the same time was the first single from André 3000's half
of the album, the arguably better-known "Hey Ya!"
Miscellany: As seen on pre-release leaked song lists and confirmed by checking
the Music Credits section of the manual, this is actually the "House Mix" of
this song.
---------------------------------------
4N. Walk Like An Egyptian – The Bangles
---------------------------------------
BPM: 206
Length: 1:43
Genre: Pop Rock
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 2 79 6 0
BASIC 4 134 10 11
DIFFICULT 6 298 43 2
EXPERT 8 385 20 0
EXPERT NOTES: Fun Expert steps. Well, since it's such a fast song, the streams
obviously stay quite short – the longest streams here are only four steps
long. But things still stay interesting, with a few occurrences of "eighth
note gallops" and a few fast-paced series of jumps.
-----
Lyrics:
The blonde waitresses take their trays
They spin around and they cross the floor
They've got the moves (Oh-ay-oh)
You drop your drink then they bring you more
All the school kids so sick of books
They like the punk and the metal band
When the buzzer rings (Oh-ay-oh)
They're walking like an Egyptian
All the kids in the marketplace say
Ay-oh-ay-oh, ay-oh-ay-oh
Walk like an Egyptian
Slide your feet up the street bend your back
Shift your arm then you pull it back
Life's hard you know (Oh-ay-oh)
So strike a pose on a Cadillac
If you want to find all the cops
They're hanging out in the donut shop
They sing and dance (Oh-ay-oh)
They spin the club, cruise down the block
All the Japanese with their yen
The party boys call the Kremlin
And the Chinese know (Oh-ay-oh)
They walk the line like Egyptian
All the cops in the donut shop say
Ay-oh-ay-oh, ay-oh-ay-oh
Walk like an Egyptian...
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: The Bangles were an all-girl group, consisting of Susanna
Hoffs, Debbi Peterson, Vicki Peterson, Annette Zilinskas, and Michael Steele.
This is their most popular song, from their 1986 album "Different Light".
Miscellany: This song features its music video, which nullifies any dancing
characters.
+---------------------------+
|5. LICENSED SONGS, PART TWO|
+---------------------------+
This second group of licenses seems to contain songs by less well-known
commercial artists that there's still a chance you might've heard of. Less pop
crap, more dance music! Well... sort of... not really...
-----------------------
5A. Always – Amon Tobin
-----------------------
BPM: 118
Length: 1:44
Genre: Drum and Bass
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 83 2 2
BASIC 3 140 3 4
DIFFICULT 6 218 11 4
EXPERT 7 265 21 14
EXPERT NOTES: This song likes to begin streams with a gallop, typically
following the guitar here. The streams themselves, though, are not anything
all that outstanding for the most part, with the exception of a longish stream
about halfway through that's packed with crossovers, and a mid-length stream
with triple taps thrown in shortly after.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Amon Tobin is a successful Brazilian DJ known for his
creative use of sampling (as well as for having a more prolific career than a
lot of the artists that get stuffed into the second group of licenses). This
song is from his most recent album, "Foley Room", released in 2007.
------------------------------
5B. Anytime Soon – Blu Mar Ten
------------------------------
BPM: 129
Length: 1:39
Genre: Electronica
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 75 2 2
BASIC 3 136 7 3
DIFFICULT 5 185 26 8
EXPERT 6 211 16 10
EXPERT NOTES: Simple enough; one of the only new six-footers in this game to
actually FEEL like a six-footer! Streams are kept short and are generally nice
and simple, with the exception of one or two crossovers and a single stream
that begins with a double step. There's also a few offbeat steps toward the
middle, but they're not really hard because it's fairly obvious what they're
following in that minimalistic part of the song.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Blu Mar Ten are a UK-based drum and bass trio consisting of
founding members Leo Wyndham and Chris Marigold, along with more recent
addition Michael Tognarelli.
-------------------------------------
5C. Don't You Love Me – Andy Caldwell
-------------------------------------
BPM: 127
Length: 1:29
Genre: House
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 70 8 1
BASIC 2 115 10 1
DIFFICULT 4 172 11 6
EXPERT 6 237 34 4
EXPERT NOTES: ...and here's one of those six-footers that DOESN'T seem like a
six-footer. It starts off six-footer-like enough, but soon introduces gallops,
pseudo-triplets, and even tiny sixteenth jackhammers (though not in too hard a
fashion, might be a good place to practice those elements).
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Andy Caldwell is a San Francisco-based house DJ, and this
song is pulled from his 2006 album, "Universal Truth".
----------------
5D. Hey! - Tipsy
----------------
BPM: 200
Length: 1:48
Genre: Electronica
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 89 0 0
BASIC 4 174 11 0
DIFFICULT 7 314 49 8
EXPERT 8 335 41 26
DIFFICULT NOTES: Deceptively tiring. Your main nemesis here is the speed, a
blazing 200 BPM. It's almost entirely free of streams, with the exception of a
couple eighth-note gallops toward the end, but at this tempo that's not a
guarantee of a simple routine. The wave of quarters is almost nonstop, and
they're not afraid to throw jumps into the equation, either.
EXPERT NOTES: Even more tiring, obviously. They've thrown streams into the mix
now, which aren't that long, but they're deadly at this speed regardless.
The odd thing, though, is that they've added a few freeze note sections that
actually make those parts of the song almost easier here than on Difficult.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Who is Tipsy? I don't know, a Google search doesn't come up
with anything worthwhile in this case so, sorry, I've got squat here.
----------------------------------------
5E. I Wish I Could Be Beautiful – Rithma
----------------------------------------
BPM: 122
Length: 1:46
Genre: Deep House
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 67 5 0
BASIC 3 140 7 13
DIFFICULT 5 219 11 25
EXPERT 7 295 12 29
EXPERT NOTES: The first half is fairly uninteresting; just streams, albeit
decent-sized ones, and a rogue pair of gallops thrown in for reasons unknown
to me. This song's gimmick kicks in when we enter the second half: triplets.
Not only are there sequences of twelfth notes on the series of synth hits, but
there's also a brief twenty-fourth note jackhammer thrown in for fun. Yeah,
twenty-fourth notes. How often do you see those?
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Rithma is Etienne Stehelin, a California-based house and
trip hop DJ. This song seems to be a pretty recent license; as far as I can
tell, it was released as a single in February 2007.
------------------------------
5F. Love In Motion – Alien Six
------------------------------
BPM: 124
Length: 1:49
Genre: Electronica
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 102 3 2
BASIC 3 154 14 3
DIFFICULT 5 223 14 35
EXPERT 7 306 26 15
EXPERT NOTES: No crossovers whatsoever in the streams here, but the song makes
up for a lack of difficulty in that area by making you step some streams with
one foot while holding a freeze with the other, gallops and jumps in streams,
plus a few odd offbeat jumps.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Alien Six is an electronic music writing and production firm
consisting of Geoff Pinckney, Pete Steer, Laura Cyganik, and Pete Cresdee.
----------------------------------------
5G. Not Me (Extended Mix) – Sarah Taylor
----------------------------------------
BPM: 140
Length: 1:37
Genre: Eurobeat
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 77 3 0
BASIC 4 118 5 3
DIFFICULT 7 258 24 14
EXPERT 8 327 35 9
DIFFICULT NOTES: This one's more akin to arcade/PS2 mix seven-footers than what
they've got here in Universe 2, in that there's nothing really special about
it. It's just short streams with crossovers. That's it.
EXPERT NOTES: After an opening packed with three-note streams that end in
jumps, the song settles into its main gimmick, gallops at the beginning or end
of streams, that don't always follow a set pattern. You get two breaks from
this madness, the first being a very simple series of quarters, and the second
being streams that incorporate pseudo-triplets instead right at the end.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Sarah Taylor is one of those rare singers from Nashville,
Tennessee that ISN'T involved in the world of crappy country music. This is
her first (and only, thus far) single, released in 2007.
--------------------------
5H. Steppin' Out – Kaskade
--------------------------
BPM: 128
Length: 1:43
Genre: Deep House
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 72 11 0
BASIC 3 116 11 6
DIFFICULT 5 183 14 18
EXPERT 6 214 8 28
EXPERT NOTES: Well, it's easy compared to some of the six-footers here (many of
which seem more like seven-footers to me), but it's still got a few tricks up
its sleeve. There's a lot of offbeat steps here, including streams that start
off the beat, and a few minor freeze tricks in the first half.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Kaskade is a Chicago-based DJ and record producer and, what
surprised me the most, apparently a Mormon. He's had a rather successful
career thus far, compared to some of the artists in this group, and this was
his first top 10 single, released in 2004.
-----------------------------------------------------------
5I. Sunshine In London – The Sunchasers feat. Victoria Pope
-----------------------------------------------------------
BPM: 128
Length: 1:51
Genre: Dance Pop
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 90 0 3
BASIC 4 164 8 11
DIFFICULT 6 229 8 10
EXPERT 7 268 17 2
EXPERT NOTES: An uncharacteristically basic chart. Short streams rule the day,
most of them three notes long, with an upper limit of seven. That's all there
is here.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: The Sunchasers are a group hailing from New York, featuring
Victoria Pope on vocals, Stanley Andrew on guitar, Chris Wilson on piano,
Larry Fricke on bass, Frank Basile on drums, and backing performed by Mark
Husbands.
---------------------
5J. The Tide – Noisia
---------------------
BPM: 172
Length: 1:46
Genre: Breakbeats
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 112 0 2
BASIC 4 175 8 8
DIFFICULT 7 267 16 18
EXPERT 9 368 62 23
DIFFICULT NOTES: Being a fast seven-footer, the streams are obviously quite
short. The longest they get is three steps. But this one challenges you in
different ways – there's tons of double taps, a decent amount of pseudo-
triplets, plus no shortage of offbeat steps.
EXPERT NOTES: Yikes. We've got ourselves one hell of a cata here! The streams
themselves are still short (albeit a little longer than on Difficult) but
everything else is kicked into high gear. There's tons of jumps here, but
this song's signature is no doubt the gallops. They're a real pain in the ass
at 172 BPM and there's several bunches of 'em just waiting to trip you up.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: NOISIA is a Dutch electronic music trio, whose members have
typically amusing Dutch names – Nik Roos, Martjin van Sonderen, and Thijs de
Vlieger. This is one of their more popular releases to date, released in 2007.
+-----------------------------+
|6. LICENSED SONGS, PART THREE|
+-----------------------------+
Three different groups of licenses? This is madness! These artists seem to be
even more obscure than those in the second group, a good number of them being
unsigned artists who release primarily to the Internet. Also, the various
contest winners go in this section as well.
And for the first time since DDRMAX, some of the unlockable songs are actually
licenses! Specifically, seven of these songs ("Anthema", "Contract [Breach
Mix]", "Orange Sky", "Ragganinja", "Space Space Shooter (Cusimo & Co. Remix)",
"Synergy", and "Tactical") are hidden by default and must be unlocked in Quest
Mode.
----------------------
6A. Anthema – oo39.com
----------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Ofa, Harowa in Quest Mode
BPM: 144
Length: 1:30
Genre: Anthem Trance
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 73 1 4
BASIC 3 127 2 3
DIFFICULT 5 193 21 11
EXPERT 9 342 7 4
EXPERT NOTES: Interesting. Things start out really simple and you'll be
wondering how, exactly, is this a nine-footer? The hardest it gets in the
beginning is a gallop into an offbeat double-tap, repeated a few times... but
soon enough, things escalate into a pretty fun challenge, with a couple
sections packed with sixteenth jackhammers, and another gallop and double-tap
appended to the end of the patterns from earlier in the song. Fun.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: oo39.com is apparently some sort of Japanese DDR site. (I
don't speak Japanese though, so who knows?) There's several songs from them in
this game, and if I remember correctly, it has to do with some contest that
was held at some point. I'm not sure though... help me out, somebody, anybody!
------------------------------------
6B. Arrivals And Departures – LINUS!
------------------------------------
BPM: 144-158
Length: 1:49
Genre: Art Rock
(The song scrolls at 158 for the majority. The slowdown seems to come right at
the end.)
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 69 2 2
BASIC 3 149 11 2
DIFFICULT 5 228 8 4
EXPERT 7 310 25 11
EXPERT NOTES: Pretty darn easy. Most all the streams here are only three notes
long. The only tricky parts come during the guitar solo, where streams
fluctuate in length a little (reaching up to – gasp – five steps) and
occasionally start offbeat, plus you'll have a few triple-taps to step with
one foot while holding a freeze with the other.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: LINUS is a Honolulu-based indie rock band whose lineup has
the somewhat suspicious habit of not revealing their last names on their
MySpace profiles – Deeniri on guitar and vocals, Nikolaus on bass, Stanley on
drums, and Tim on guitar and sax. This song is off their first full-length CD,
"The Construction", released in 2005, and its appearance here is apparently
the band's biggest success to date, judging by the announcement's prominence
on the official site.
Miscellany: Stanley is, according to his MySpace, a big "Whose Line is it
Anyway?" fan. That instantaneously puts this band in my favor...
--------------------------------
6C. Breathing More – Larissa Lam
--------------------------------
BPM: 140
Length: 1:30
Genre: Dance Pop
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 96 10 0
BASIC 3 125 10 8
DIFFICULT 5 188 17 16
EXPERT 7 237 9 15
EXPERT NOTES: The middle is the easiest, with nothing really worse than three-
note streams. The beginning and end are the more interesting parts, chock full
of offbeat quarters and streams that begin offbeat, following Larissa's
vocals. The streams can reach somewhat decent length toward the end, but all
in all, it's not a particularly tough chart.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Larissa Lam is a former record label exec turned full-time
singer/songwriter. This song is off her 2005 album, "Revolutionary".
-----------------------------------------
6D. Contract [Breach Mix] – Rupesh Cartel
-----------------------------------------
UNLOCK: Cadonia regional championship in Quest Mode
BPM: 138
Length: 1:32
Genre: Synthpop
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 73 9 0
BASIC 4 131 10 1
DIFFICULT 6 233 14 0
EXPERT 8 301 11 0
EXPERT NOTES: After an intro of short streams, the song kicks into is main
gimmick: pseudo-triplets, and lots of 'em, which are gradually infused with
gallops and jackhammers as well. It all becomes a pretty chaotic mess,
especially in the middle where all this madness doesn't seem to follow any
particular pattern.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Rupesh Cartel is Viktor Ginner and Daniel Gustafsson, an
electronic pop duo from Stockholm, Sweden. This remix was included on the 2005
single release of the original "Contract".
----------------------------------
6E. Do It Right – AFD feat. Ashley
----------------------------------
BPM: 126
Length: 1:32
Genre: House
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 62 9 0
BASIC 3 99 12 0
DIFFICULT 5 179 30 3
EXPERT 7 266 17 36
EXPERT NOTES: The streams here are remarkably twisty, packed with crossovers.
There's an occasional jump thrown into 'em for good measure, too. Of course,
the twisty streams are the only really notable thing about this tune; yeah,
there's quite a few freezes but nothing really tricky done with them.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: How frustrating. A Google search yields plenty of downloads
for this song but not a single *bleep*ing profile of the artist. All I know is
that "Do It Right" is really their only hit so far.
----------------------
6F. EternuS – Sanxion7
----------------------
BPM: 140
Length: 1:34
Genre: Techno
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 69 4 0
BASIC 4 163 1 6
DIFFICULT 6 233 32 25
EXPERT 9 368 8 17
EXPERT NOTES: Unlike most DDR songs, this isn't in 4/4 time, but rather 6/8,
and this really shows with the proliferation of triplets, both galloped and
clustered. The hardest part is adapting to the unusual time signature, because
the steps themselves aren't too hard, for a nine-footer anyway; there's plenty
of catas here that are a lot harder in that respect.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: DDR SuperNOVA 2 (US PS2)
About The Artist: Sanxion7 is Anthony Konzel, an independent composer and
remixer who is apparently well-known within the Bemani music community. This
song is one of the winners of the 2007 DDR Song Contest by BroadJam, which
apparently had the interesting twist this time that the winners got to make
their own stepcharts for their songs. Cool.
-----------------------------------------
6G. Get Up! Give Up! Move On! - The Divys
-----------------------------------------
BPM: 144
Length: 1:42
Genre: Electro Rock
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 68 0 0
BASIC 2 132 2 0
DIFFICULT 4 236 40 4
EXPERT 6 311 24 8
EXPERT NOTES: Pretty damn hard, for a six-footer anyway. The streams can get
pretty long, at 10+ notes, with the occasional jump thrown in, no less.
A few sixteenths pop up here once in awhile, too.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: The Divys are a Philadelphia-based band featuring KLiffee
Ritz on guitar and William Rule on vocals. They say their name derives from
the "late great" Divine, of old John Waters flicks.
----------------------------------------------------
6H. Handle Your Business – Starla Marie feat. Coco J
----------------------------------------------------
BPM: 95
Length: 1:58
Genre: Hip-Hop
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 64 0 0
BASIC 3 109 0 4
DIFFICULT 5 201 13 2
EXPERT 7 336 0 4
EXPERT NOTES: Well, it's a very slow song. One would be correct in assuming
that means there's sixteenths clustered about here, but one would also be
surprised by just how few there are. There's only a few parts where they're
really plentiful, as they're just mostly an occasional addition to other parts
of this rather long song, which is mostly just in longish streams.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Starla Marie is a San Francisco-based R&B songstress, and
Coco J is apparently the male rapper here. This song is the lead track from
Starla's self-titled debut album.
Miscellany: This song features its music video, which nullifies any dancing
characters.
-----------------------------------------------
6I. In Different Things (USA Club Mix) – ReName
-----------------------------------------------
BPM: 120
Length: 1:42
Genre: Synthpop
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 55 5 4
BASIC 2 114 4 3
DIFFICULT 5 221 6 7
EXPERT 7 268 3 4
EXPERT NOTES: Like so many other seven-footers in this game, it's a mix of
short streams, pseudo-triplets, and a few gallops. This might be a decent
place to practice the latter two elements, as there's a section of nothing
but simple offbeat quarters in the middle that gives you a chance to rest.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: All I really know about these guys is that they're a German
synthpop group signed with Ultramix favourite record label A Different Drum.
------------------------------------------------------
6J. I Wanna Be Your Star (Speedy Mix) – Melody & Mezzo
------------------------------------------------------
BPM: 175
Length: 1:42
Genre: Speed Euro
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 95 5 0
BASIC 3 148 7 9
DIFFICULT 6 336 32 9
EXPERT 8 394 80 16
EXPERT NOTES: THIS is an eight-footer? No way! Well, your biggest obstacle is
the speed. (Obviously, it's the "Speedy Mix"!) You'll be stepping some short-
to mid-length streams at a decent tempo, and what makes it particularly tiring
is that this song has a crapload of jumps, which really like to pop up at the
beginning or end of a stream. There's also a few sixteenths thrown in
because... well, I don't know why, honestly.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Melody & Mezzo are a Quebec-based speedy synth/dance pop duo.
This is their most recent single as of this writing, released in 2007.
Miscellany: Something interesting I noticed whilst gathering info on this song:
one of the duo's producers is apparently Thomas Howard Lichtenstein, a well-
known Bemani vocalist. This song features a special music video created
exclusively for this game, which nullifies any dancing characters.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
6K. Makes Me Cry (Drew Campbell Remix) – Binghi Ghost feat. Turbulence
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BPM: 152
Length: 1:45
Genre: Techno-Ragga
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 89 1 0
BASIC 3 166 16 20
DIFFICULT 6 255 12 10
EXPERT 8 324 45 17
EXPERT NOTES: A fairly tame eight-footer, comparably. You'll face a few gallops
and pseudo-triplets, but it's mostly just streams, some with a bit of air in
there. Nothing too terrible.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: The Binghi Ghost is something you don't see everyday – a
white dude who sings reggae. Turbulence is the name of a surprisingly large
number of reggae performers and I can't figure out exactly which one this is.
Drew Campbell is, as near as I can tell, the producer and engineer for Adeline
Studios, a music production firm located in Oakland, California, and
apparently a frequent Binghi Ghost collaborator.
---------------------------
6L. Moving Higher – Contour
---------------------------
BPM: 174
Length: 1:42
Genre: Drum and Bass
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 117 2 14
BASIC 4 140 9 7
DIFFICULT 7 319 27 4
EXPERT 9 376 50 13
DIFFICULT NOTES: The only thing that makes this series of short, basic streams
that start alternately on- and off-beat worthy of seven-footerdom is the
speed. There's nothing else notable about it.
EXPERT NOTES: Ouch. Now you've got some crazily long streams for a song of this
speed, plus a bunch of jumps. And what's worse, they combine the two a lot;
about half the jumps here, I'd estimate, have an eighth leading into them. And
at the end they bring back something we saw a lot in the first Universe, but
not so much here, the "stream where every other step is a jump", which is
absolutely hellish at this speed. Oh, and there's a couple sixteenth
jackhammers tossed in just for "fun"...
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Contour is J. Lewis, a Finnish DnB DJ who released this track
in 2005.
---------------------------
6M. Musika Atomika – Syrian
---------------------------
BPM: 135
Length: 1:41
Genre: Electronica
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 80 1 1
BASIC 3 149 2 1
DIFFICULT 4 188 20 8
EXPERT 8 274 17 5
EXPERT NOTES: Say hello to "EternuS Lite"! This song also has a weird time
signature and is loaded with triplets, but unlike "Eternus", they're in
simpler patterns and are restricted only to gallops.
-----
Lyrics:
Musika atomika
Energia bionika
Musika atomika
Atomika electronika
Musika atomika
Una voce cosmika
Musika atomika
Atomika automatika
Musika (Now you've got to dance)
Atomika (To the cybertronic beat)
Bionika (The groove is amplified)
Sinetika (Loud across the atmosphere)
Just connect to the mechanical melody
Musika atomika
Energia bionika
Musika atomika
Atomika electronika
Musika atomika
Una voce cosmika
Musika atomika
Atomika automatika
Musika (Automatic DJ)
Atomika (Spinning technopop)
Bionika (Artificial sounds)
Sinetika (And cybernetic rock)
Just connect to my electronic soul
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Syrian is an electronic music duo from Italy, consisting of
Andylab and Voyager. (Methinks those aren't their real names.) They're known
for their lyrical focus on futuristic themes. This song is pulled from their
most recent album, 2007's "Alien Nation".
-------------------------
6N. Orange Sky – Arctures
-------------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Bibi, Cadonia in Quest Mode
BPM: 150
Length: 1:48
Genre: Progressive Trance
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 89 1 1
BASIC 4 199 17 18
DIFFICULT 6 248 21 34
EXPERT 8 331 16 14
ONI 9 439 21 21
EXPERT NOTES: Easy, compared to some of the eight-footers in the game. The
streams are a little easier than you'd expect, though they do throw some
gallops and a little sixteenth syncopation in to make thing interesting.
ONI NOTES: Difficulty-wise, the closest thing to a real boss song Universe 2
has. They could've easily turned this into a ten, but that doesn't mean these
steps are easy, oh no. Take the minor syncopation of the Expert chart and
multiply it tenfold, at least. You'll be following all sorts of odd rhythms
which fortunately do follow the melody quite closely, but this is still a
chart that requires a few playthroughs to fully comprehend.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Arctures is an Orinda, California-based musician, and also
apparently a big Bemani fan. Particularly beatmania and pop'n music. What a
disappointment it must be to have his music in DDR instead... =P
Miscellany: No, I don't know why they gave ORANGE Sky a PURPLE background...
---------------------------------------
6O. Ragganinja – Greg Packer & Assassin
---------------------------------------
UNLOCK: Harowa regional championship in Quest Mode
BPM: 174
Length: 1:32
Genre: Drum and Bass/Ragga
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 35 1 4
BASIC 2 92 0 8
DIFFICULT 3 159 30 10
EXPERT 5 228 26 11
EXPERT NOTES: A little harder than your average five-footer, if only because
the considerable speed adds a bit of difficulty to the usual assortment of
short streams. It's unusual for a rather fast song to be so easy but, well,
there it is.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Greg Packer is one of the pioneers of the Australian dance music
scene. MC Assassin is the vocalist. This song was released in 2005.
-----------------------------------
6P. Rock The Show – Future Prophecy
-----------------------------------
BPM: 145
Length: 1:42
Genre: Electro Rock
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 70 3 0
BASIC 3 137 5 3
DIFFICULT 7 297 19 5
EXPERT 8 355 17 0
DIFFICULT NOTES: More of a hard six by Universe 2's standards, but whatever.
Three-note streams for most of the song eventually give way to harder, longer
streams toward the end, which also develop a habit of ending with a jump. A
few pseudo-triplets, too.
EXPERT NOTES: Basically, this plays out like a harder version of the second
half of the Difficult chart right from the beginning. The streams are longer
and have more crossovers now. There's also exactly three gallops, so keep
your eyes peeled for those.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: It was hard to find info on this group, but it seems the
duo is made up of Hagay and Itay Elazar, and this track comes from their
2006 album, "Body Shaker".
-----------------------------------------------------------
6Q. Space Space Shooter (Cusimo & Co. Remix) – Kick & Punch
-----------------------------------------------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Tamommo, Capp in Quest Mode
BPM: 180
Length: 1:45
Genre: Happy Hardcore
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 2 92 1 4
BASIC 4 196 8 2
DIFFICULT 6 295 27 8
EXPERT 8 439 27 24
EXPERT NOTES: This one's similar to "I Wanna Be Your Star" in that it's fast
and really hard for an eight-footer. They both should probably be nines, I'd
say. This has fewer jumps than that song, but the streams are harder and
longer here so it's still more than challenging enough. (It's embarrassing to
admit, but... this is actually one of my favourite songs in the game...)
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: I can't find much about Kick & Punch, though I know they're
a happy hardcore duo who released "Space Space Shooter" as a single in 2007.
Cusimo & Co. are a happy hardcore group from Quebec consisting of Dave Phaneuf,
Jamie Thompson, Alessandro Iacovaccio, and Thomas Howard Lichtenstein as their
vocalist. Again, he's a well-known Bemani vocalist, but ironically, all the C&C
material that's hit DDR so far has been remixes of other songs, so he hasn't
been involved all that much in the songs we've got.
---------------------------
6R. Summer Girl – Neverakka
---------------------------
BPM: 135
Length: 1:44
Genre: Synthpop
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 61 6 0
BASIC 3 149 9 0
DIFFICULT 5 217 13 16
EXPERT 7 278 4 23
EXPERT NOTES: Just as I'm about to ask "What's so hard about offbeat quarters?"
as they seemingly dominate this song, I came across the sole reason this chart
gets to be a seven – streams with a sixteenth cluster thrown right into the
middle. There's several of those in the second half.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Nevarakka, as it's properly spelled, is part of the Ultramix
favourite "A Different Drum" label. It's mostly the work of a fellow named
Philip Jidbrant.
Miscellany: Perhaps you noticed while playing through this song on Expert, but
there's a "freeze green" jump at the end of Measure 21. You know, that sort of
putrid green that freezes are. The weird thing is, neither of the arrows are
actually a freeze, yet they're still coloured as if they were. What the hell?
------------------
6S. Synergy – C-14
------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Dempasa, Ruby in Quest Mode
BPM: 140
Length: 1:37
Genre: Trance
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 90 2 6
BASIC 4 154 7 11
DIFFICULT 7 255 26 3
EXPERT 8 319 16 18
DIFFICULT NOTES: I think this is more of a hard six by this game's standards,
but whatever. Offbeat quarters aren't that much of a challenge, and the
streams here don't get too hard.
EXPERT NOTES: Universe 2 seems to really love its pseudo-triplets, as they pop
up yet again in this chart. But the true challenge lies in the tricky
galloping bits in the middle, though that challenge is fairly short-lived as
it's only a small portion of the song.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Well, yet again, I've got nothing. Well, nothing related to
the artist anyway. I've got jokes though. What's the difference between a
diabolical midget and Hillary Clinton in a marathon...?
----------------------------
6T. Tactical – Drew Campbell
----------------------------
UNLOCK: Ruby regional championship in Quest Mode
BPM: 151
Length: 1:48
Genre: Techno
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 107 5 2
BASIC 3 158 4 11
DIFFICULT 6 213 22 15
EXPERT 8 321 29 12
EXPERT NOTES: The first two-thirds of this song are just insanely easy for an
eight footer, but after a few freeze tricks, things get crazy right at the
end, with gallops added to the equation, plus one of the longer streams you'll
ever see, complete with lots of double-taps.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: See "Makes Me Cry" for what I've got on Drew Campbell.
----------------------------
6U. Until Forever – Beatdrop
----------------------------
BPM: 142
Length: 1:32
Genre: Techno
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 84 0 0
BASIC 4 145 5 0
DIFFICULT 6 242 3 0
EXPERT 7 273 21 0
EXPERT NOTES: This stepchart was rated eight feet on SN2, though I guess it was
demoted because, well, it's not any harder than most Universe 2 seven-footers,
in that it's mostly in streams with just a dash of pseudo-triplets and
jackhammerage.
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: DDR SuperNOVA (US PS2)
About The Artist: Beatdrop is Dain C. Olsen, a rather prominent composer over
at OverClocked. This is the other winner of that BroadJam song contest.
------------------------
6V. Yoru Funk – oo39.com
------------------------
BPM: 100
Length: 1:25
Genre: Instrumental Funk
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 72 3 2
BASIC 3 99 5 4
DIFFICULT 6 185 13 4
EXPERT 8 294 33 8
EXPERT NOTES: There's a lot of things that are frustrating about this song.
Most prominent for me is that it seems to scroll at about half the speed it
should, given how frantic this song is. The stepchart itself has a bad case
of Yellow Note Syndrome; that is, practically everything is offbeat. Your
only advantage is that the really chaotic parts always follow the horns or
jazz organ, so you're not completely in the dark trying to step this
madness...
-----
Song Type: License
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: See "Anthema" for what little I know about oo39.com.
+-----------------------+
|7. NEW KONAMI ORIGINALS|
+-----------------------+
Universe 2 may be one of the most license-centric DDR games yet, but that
doesn't mean that ALL the songs here are licensed. Because they're not. Some of
them are conscripted. >_> There's also two new songs from Togo, who seems to be
quickly becoming one of the Universe series' favorite Konami Original
composers. Cool.
Seven of these songs ("Breathe The Air", "Elfadiciell", "Emi's Song", "Mochi
Crunch", "on voit la mer", "Rhythm Is Rhythm", and "Unborn") are hidden by
default and must be unlocked through the Quest Mode.
---------------------------
7A. Akiba Drift – Ko Kimura
---------------------------
BPM: 132
Length: 1:45
Genre: Electronica
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 101 8 0
BASIC 2 116 12 24
DIFFICULT 5 206 40 20
EXPERT 6 305 21 16
EXPERT NOTES: Hey, look, it's one of the most gravely misrated stepcharts in
DDR history! I mean, really, what kind of six-footer features sixteenth-note
double-taps and crossovers? Consider this a seven, at least. Don't try this
if you're just getting into Expert and can barely beat "Senses"...
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Well, I've got exactly squat. JACK SQUAT.
--------------------------------------
7B. Better Than Before – Drew Campbell
--------------------------------------
BPM: 136
Length: 1:40
Genre: Electro Ballad
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 77 2 0
BASIC 4 146 8 1
DIFFICULT 6 230 14 5
EXPERT 7 279 23 4
EXPERT NOTES: After one of the easiest first halves of any stepchart in the
game, things get slightly more interesting with the injection of gallops and
tiny jackhammers into the mix of entirely crossover-free short streams.
-----
Lyrics:
I can do it better than before
I can do anything I dream
I don't need the skies above to help me
'Cause I've got everything I need
I said I can do it better than before
I can do anything I dream
I don't need the skies above to help me
I've got everything I need
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: See "Makes Me Cry" for what I've got on Drew Campbell.
----------------------------------------------
7C. Breathe The Air – Bill Hamel with Spacebar
----------------------------------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Rab, Cadonia in Quest Mode
BPM: 140
Length: 1:38
Genre: Electronica
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 87 7 2
BASIC 3 109 9 10
DIFFICULT 6 296 12 12
EXPERT 8 392 8 4
EXPERT NOTES: There's not a lot that's unique about these steps, as they're
your typical eight-footer assortment of long-ass streams with crossovers and
a few gallops and jackhammers, but it does this really standard stuff it does
quite well. A decent challenge.
-----
Lyrics:
In the darkest night
I can feel you there
When I breathe the air
In the darkest night
I can feel you there
When I breathe the air
In the darkest night
I can feel you there
When I breathe the air
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Bill Hamel is a successful remix artist, having hit #1 on
Billboard's Dance Charts with remixes of songs by the likes of Madonna, New
Order, and Rihanna, though he also does some original work, such as this.
Spacebar is an Orlando-based rock/electronica band consisting of James Rowand
on vocals and bass, Arthur Hardie IV on guitar and keyboard, Brandon Coleman
on drums, and... Bill Hamel on the synth.
----------------------------------
7D. Contra (Medley Mix) – NEKOJIRA
----------------------------------
BPM: 150
Length: 1:45
Genre: Contra Medley
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 101 7 0
BASIC 3 191 11 6
DIFFICULT 6 280 21 20
EXPERT 8 382 23 24
EXPERT NOTES: Pretty tough, actually. Not at a Contra level of difficulty, of
course... but it's no cakewalk either. The first half is the hardest part,
thanks to gallops that pop up at pretty weird rhythms. The second half is a
little simpler, but it's still packed with really long streams, so there's no
break from the pain! ^_^
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: NEKOJIRA... I've got nothin' useful on this dude. I can find
his MySpace page, but it's horribly useless for factual purposes. I doubt he's
really 101 years old. The only likely true fact I can take from there is that
he's from Tokyo Bay, Japan.
Miscellany: According to Starrodkirby86:
"Through a little emulation, I got to the Sound Mode in Contra and the BPMs
just rang a bell to the remix (Courtesy of Youtube there). Now I hope I get
to the right order, since I probably suck at Contra's gameplay and all, but
nevertheless...here we go. The first song in this medley of songs is the
first stage in Contra or Area, which is the Jungle. After the first set of
freeze arrows and no apparent other music (Just Sound effects, y'know?), it
goes to Area 2, or known as Base01 (That is what the game called it, there
must be a more specific name out there but it's probably all of the base
stages, but I haven't gotten very far.). After the last set of freeze arrows,
it goes to the Victory music and the song ends."
Also, I'd like to point out that the background image for this song is a
horse's head... for Contra? What the f*** were Konami smoking?
--------------------------
7E. Elfadiciell – oo39.com
--------------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Bonolu, Harowa in Quest Mode
BPM: 170
Length: 1:29
Genre: Techno
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 71 9 2
BASIC 2 110 13 0
DIFFICULT 4 183 28 14
EXPERT 8 297 27 15
EXPERT NOTES: Right away, this song hits you with a six-note jackhammer, at
this high speed. Ouch. There's two more that are nine notes long later, too.
After that, you'll be stepping really short streams interspersed with gallops
for awhile before getting into some pretty intense streamage in the latter
half. One particularly long stream reaches 46 notes in length, which is a lot
for a song at 170 BPM.
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: See "Anthema" for what little I know about oo39.com.
----------------------------
7F. Emi's Song – Blu Mar Ten
----------------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Sasube, Manarina in Quest Mode
BPM: 175
Length: 1:44
Genre: Trance
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 85 2 0
BASIC 3 120 5 4
DIFFICULT 7 289 8 22
EXPERT 8 350 8 16
DIFFICULT NOTES: A few somewhat tricky streams make this a seven-footer, I
guess, but just barely. Some of the fast songs that are only a six-footer on
Difficult are quite a bit more difficult than this.
EXPERT NOTES: This plays sort of like your typical Universe 2 seven-footer at a
higher speed. It's your typical setup of streams with a sprinkling of
sixteenths, but at a speed that bumps up the difficulty a bit.
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: See "Anytime Soon" for info on Blu Mar Ten.
Miscellany: Presumably, "Emi" refers to the well-known DDR character of the
same name... so it's a little weird that the background is a picture of
scuba divers and surfers and not... you know... Emi.
----------------------------------------------------
7G. Entry of the Gladiators (Kaz Mix) – Julius Fucik
----------------------------------------------------
BPM: 140
Length: 1:41
Genre: Military March
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 99 1 2
BASIC 3 145 1 22
DIFFICULT 6 251 14 0
EXPERT 7 300 69 0
ONI 9 466 14 0
EXPERT NOTES: Though there are some decent-sizes streams here, and a few quad-
taps, most of the difficulty comes from the 69 jumps in the song. (And the
immature DDRers rejoice!) They're usually alone or right at the beginning of
a three-note stream, though beware, there's one of those tricky streams where
every other step is a jump right at the end.
ONI NOTES: Well, judging by the fact that this serves as the final stage of
Challenge Mode, I guess it's sort of a de facto boss song here. It's certainly
no ten-footer, to be sure, but it is one helluva hard nine. Tons of sixteenths
here, following this tune's well-known melody, and they're not even
jackhammers, they go all around the pad. Tough stuff.
-----
Song Type: Public Domain Remix
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Julius Fucik was a noted Czech composer (with a ridiculous
mustache and a name that's easy to misread...) who composed over 300 marches,
polkas, and waltzes, including this one. Yeah, this is a military march.
Apparently, the Czechoslovakian army consisted predominantly of clowns.
-----------------------------------------------
7H. Higher Ground – Togo Project feat. ChiyoTia
-----------------------------------------------
BPM: 134
Length: 1:31
Genre: Two Step
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 66 9 0
BASIC 3 158 14 7
DIFFICULT 6 240 9 18
EXPERT 8 265 16 17
EXPERT NOTES: Pretty darn easy for an eight-footer. It's mostly all short- to
mid-length streams with only a couple jackhammers. It's easier than quite a
few seven-footers in this game...
-----
Lyrics:
Where is my place, I ask myself?
I'm goin' higher ground
Nothing to say, this is my way
I'm gonna rock this place
Na na na na na, na na na na
Keep on goin' on and on
No no no no no, no no no no
There is no time for turnin' back
And nobody can catch me now,
I'm goin' higher ground
This is my way so don't you ever stop me now
Here we go (we go, we go, we go, we go, we go, we go, we go...)
Higher ground
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Togo Project is Hiroyuki Togo, a guitarist and composer who
seems to mostly work in beatmania/IIDX, but recently has started to compose
brand new songs for the Universe series. Cool. ChiyoTia is a Japanese vocalist
who was hired for "Fly away", from DDR SuperNOVA, and apparently Togo liked
her enough to bring her in for a song of his own. "I'm going higher ground",
indeed...
--------------------------
7I. Lily Funk – Konception
--------------------------
BPM: 130
Length: 1:32
Genre: Techno Funk
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 74 5 0
BASIC 4 168 34 6
DIFFICULT 7 267 27 8
EXPERT 9 357 3 9
DIFFICULT NOTES: There's a lot of streams here, most three steps long, a select
few quite a bit lengthier. Beware, all 27 of those jumps come either at the
beginning or end of one of those short streams. There's also a few gallops in
there because, well, Universe 2 seems to have a huge boner for gallops...
EXPERT NOTES: The difficulty here arises from two main factors: streams in
lousy, unintuitive sequences that pretty much force you to turn or else have
your legs twisted into oblivion, and the usual tricky usage of sixteenths,
especially in the funky rhythms that come during the record-scratchin'
breakdown right at the end.
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: I can't be sure, but if I had to venture a guess, it's
DJ Konception of Honolulu-based duo Kause & Konception, who previously had a
song in DDR Ultramix 2 – "Altitude", to be exact.
---------------------------
7J. Mochi Crunch – NEKOJIRA
---------------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Istar, Moldig in Quest Mode
BPM: 145
Length: 1:42
Genre: Techno
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 110 0 0
BASIC 3 189 8 1
DIFFICULT 7 365 7 4
EXPERT 9 416 9 26
DIFFICULT NOTES: Lots of streams, not much else of note. It's suitably
challenging for a Difficult chart, just not at all interesting.
EXPERT NOTES: This, on the other hand, is VERY interesting. Lots of chaos.
Lots of syncopated sixteenths, following the weird rhythms here. There's
two distinct patterns you'll find them in, one that's mostly gallops with
four-note clusters thrown in, and the other where gallops are thrown into
streams to switch the steps between being on and offbeat. It's all pretty
hard, I'd say this is one of the trickiest songs in the game.
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: See "Contra (Medley Mix)" for the only slightly more than
nothing that I know about NEKOJIRA.
Miscellany: This song features the same bizarre vocal samples as another
NEKOJIRA song, "ZETSUBOUTEKIDA!", which appeared in DDR Ultramix 4.
------------------------------------------------------
7K. on voit la mer – Togo Project feat. Tomoko Kataoka
------------------------------------------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Taka, Manarina in Quest Mode
BPM: 170
Length: 1:38
Genre: Island Chill
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 79 0 4
BASIC 4 131 16 7
DIFFICULT 6 252 27 36
EXPERT 8 317 20 32
EXPERT NOTES: Nothing more than short- to mid-length streams at a decent pace
in rather odd rhythms. There's air in a few of them, too, but all in all it's
pretty tame as a fast eight-footer when compared to the likes of "Hey!", "I
Wanna Be Your Star", "Space Space Shooter", and such, though you should still
watch out for the wave of sixteenth clusterage right at the end.
-----
Lyrics:
(They're in some foreign language... most likely Japanese, but it looks like
the title is French. Either way, I only know English and a bit of Spanish for
now, so I'm amazingly useless here!)
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: See "Higher Ground" for info on Togo. Tomoko Kataoka is the
vocalist for this song, but I don't know anything worthwhile about her.
-------------------------------
7L. Rhythm Is Rhythm – oo39.com
-------------------------------
UNLOCK: Moldig regional championship in Quest Mode
BPM: 128
Length: 1:28
Genre: Electronica
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 64 4 0
BASIC 4 170 41 4
DIFFICULT 7 257 30 12
EXPERT 8 297 53 20
DIFFICULT NOTES: Some of these streams get pretty damn complicated for a song
on Difficult. There's plenty of crossovers, plus a short series of streams
with freezes near the middle that pretty much forces you to turn. Pseudo-
triplets also show up but, prominent as they are in this game, you should be
used to them by now.
EXPERT NOTES: It boggles the mind that this isn't a nine-footer. Forget the
tough streams and all the air, the true difficulty comes from all the
syncopated sixteenths, mostly on the vocals, so a good ear will go a long way
in deciphering the mess that is this stepchart.
-----
Lyrics:
Rhythm is rhythm is...
Rhythm is rhythm is, master moonlight (?)
(Come on, freak, get out the sensation)
(Body freak, generate the foundation)
Rhythm is rhythm is, master moonlight
(Cool, kick the nation with the groove)
('Till we rock the place when the biz gets moved)
(Whatcha got to say, whatcha got to say?)
Rhythm is, rhythm is...
(Whatcha got to say, whatcha got to say?)
Rhythm is, rhythm is...
(Come on, freak, get out the sensation)
(Body freak, generate the foundation)
(Cool, kick the nation with the groove)
('Till we rock the place when the biz gets moved)
Rhythm is, rhythm is...
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: See "Anthema" for what little I know about oo39.com.
Miscellany: This song features the same vocal samples used in a much older
Konami original, "think ya better D" (which, coincidentally, appeared in the
first Universe)... and some samples clearly by that same crappy rapper, but
which I can't for the life of my find in that song... even though I could
swear I've heard them before... and thus, I feel like I'm going crazy because
of a frikkin' happy peppy Japanese dancing game. Nice.
---------------------------------------
7M. Somebody In Da House – Steve Porter
---------------------------------------
BPM: 130
Length: 1:45
Genre: Techno
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 75 1 0
BASIC 3 127 4 4
DIFFICULT 6 276 18 3
EXPERT 7 334 13 4
EXPERT NOTES: Steady progression in difficulty is what this is all about. When
the song first starts, you'll only see three-note streams, but as the song
wears on the streams get longer and jumps are added into the mix, with some
sixteenths slowly added to the mix. As you near the end of the song, in fact,
there's some fairly tricky sixteenth syncopation going on that seems more like
what one would see in an eight-footer.
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Steve Porter is a DJ and producer whose website claims: "The
next generation of electronic music producers is gaining hold and leading the
charge is DJ/production phenom STEVE PORTER." Um... good for him?
-----------------
7N. Unborn – Gein
-----------------
UNLOCK: National dance championship battle in Quest Mode
BPM: 175
Length: 1:29
Genre: Hardcore Drum and Bass
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 76 0 0
BASIC 4 150 0 3
DIFFICULT 6 246 12 6
EXPERT 8 362 27 27
EXPERT NOTES: What's this? The final unlockable song in the game is only an
eight-footer? What a disappointment! But in its defense, it's a fairly hard
eight-footer, with streams that can get pretty long and a little twisty with
jumps thrown into 'em too. Also watch out for the usual one-two punch of
pseudo-triplets and sixteenth jackhammers.
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: Brand New!
About The Artist: Gein are a Milwaukee-based drum and bass group featuring
Weston B. Means (aka "The Butcher"), Adam M. Darby (aka "Abel"), and Radislov
Eremija (aka "Saint"). Their stuff tends to skew in, well... a rather dark
direction. This is pretty tame for them, apparently.
+-----------------------+
|8. OLD KONAMI ORIGINALS|
+-----------------------+
Yeah, there's a lot of new stuff in this game... but old crap is just as
important! As usual, they've revived some classic Konami originals, on a
seemingly random basis. Some of them we haven't seen for awhile... one of them
we've seen for three mixes in a row now.
Five of these songs ("Disabled The Flaw", "MATSURI (J-SUMMER MIX)", "potpourri
d'orange", "Spin the Disc", and "What Is Love?") are hidden by default and must
be unlocked in Quest Mode.
-----------------------------------
8A. COSMIC COWGIRL – Toshio Sakurai
-----------------------------------
BPM: 145
Length: 1:38
Genre: Funk Heavy Metal
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 113 23 0
BASIC 4 202 35 58
DIFFICULT 6 294 12 14
EXPERT 8 338 41 39
EXPERT NOTES: In the beginning and end, the steps follow the song very closely,
complete with small patches of gallops and a few sixteenth clusters. Things
are simpler in the middle, where it's mostly streams and off-beat quarters.
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: Guitar Freaks 3rd mix / DrumMania 2nd Mix
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix 2 (Song Pack 8)
About The Artist: Toshio Sakurai is a Konami Original artist who mostly
composes tunes for the Guitar Freaks & DrumMania series.
--------------------
8B. Dead End – N & S
--------------------
BPM: 190
Length: 1:38
Genre: Street Noise
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 2 72 15 0
BASIC 5 216 27 0
DIFFICULT 7 337 12 0
EXPERT 9 410 40 0
DIFFICULT NOTES: The streams here are entirely crossover-free; the worst you'll
face is a few triple-taps. Of course, the true difficulty isn't the
composition of these streams, but rather the speedy tempo at which you must
step them. One really tricky part comes about a third of the way through, when
there's a long wave of left arrows alternating between double-taps and pseudo-
triplets.
EXPERT NOTES: It's the same basic premise as the Difficult chart: mostly simple
streams at a blistering pace. Still, things have been made a lot harder.
Streams can now get fairly long, and there's actually the occasional crossover
thrown in there.
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
First Appearance: DDR 3rd Mix (JP Arcade)
American Appearances: DDR Konamix, DDR Ultramix 2
Artist Notes: N&S is a pseudonym of Naoki Maeda, used exclusively for this
song. DDR fans should definitely know who this guy is, he's only responsible
for most new Konami Originals to hit the arcade and PS2 mixes! He works
under a variety of pseudonyms... a few of which you'll find on other songs in
this category.
------------------------------
8C. Disabled the Flaw – D-Crew
------------------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Bagania, Capp in Quest Mode
BPM: 145-171
Length: 1:10
Genre: Ground Ash
(As far as I can tell, this one starts out at 145 during the intro, speeding up
to 171 as soon as we get into the song proper.)
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 2 84 14 0
BASIC 5 164 38 30
DIFFICULT 7 243 19 10
EXPERT 9 272 19 23
DIFFICULT NOTES: Nothing too outstanding here. Streams that stay fairly short
and are, for the most part, crossover-free. The challenge mostly comes from
the speed, but it's slower than "Dead End" so if you can beat that, this
should be no problem at all.
EXPERT NOTES: Don't let the low note count fool you, that's because it's a
short song, not because of a low concentration of notes. This one has some
pretty long, twisty streams at a decent pace, and some of the streams either
open with a gallop or feature a few three-note sixteenth clusters in the
middle, typically following the synth.
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: beatmania 6th mix
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix 2 (Song Pack 9)
Artist Notes: D-Crew is Osamu Migitera, a Konami Original artist who works
mostly in beatmania, pop'n music, and Guitar Freaks, though he recently
composed a brand new song, "A thing called LOVE", exclusively for DDR. You
might also know him as "Des-ROW".
Miscellany: Yeah, this is one of the shortest songs in DDR history.
----------------------------------------------------------
8D. Let The Beat Hit 'Em (Classic R&B Style) – Stone Bros.
----------------------------------------------------------
BPM: 102
Length: 1:27
Genre: Classic R&B
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 65 0 0
BASIC 3 133 4 0
DIFFICULT 5 172 14 0
EXPERT 6 192 32 0
EXPERT NOTES: The ideal place to practice crossovers and jumps in streams,
I'd say. There's plenty of that kind of thing here, yet it's at a slow
enough pace that it's not too hard.
-----
Lyrics:
Turn me on
Let's see who's better
If you wanna play a tune
I wanna groove with you
So turn me on
Hey yo, I'm like this so watch the moves that I make
How I take over the floor, throw the grooves that I shake
I'm number one, how'd you figure that I'm losing my place
If you're the joker, player, than who's the ace
Hey yo, it's me, the player to beat, I'm playing for keeps
I got some special moves so homey don't sleep
You learn and I teach controllin' the game
You can brag all you want but you kids don't be rollin' the same
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: DDR Extra Mix (JP PS1)
American Appearances: DDR Konamix, DDRMAX, DDR Ultramix
About The Artist: Stone Bros. is another Naoki pseudonym, used mostly for bad
rap songs like this.
Miscellany: The original version of "Let the beat hit 'em!" appears in DDR
Disney Mix, and DDRMAX also features a "Beatmania II Version".
-------------------------------------
8E. MATSURI (J-SUMMER MIX) – RE-VENGE
-------------------------------------
UNLOCK: Manarina regional championship in Quest Mode
BPM: 180
Length: 1:33
Genre: Ethno Dance
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 2 107 5 0
BASIC 4 213 5 24
DIFFICULT 5 291 24 16
EXPERT 7 345 23 39
EXPERT NOTES: Bizarre. Just... bizarre. This one alternates between triplet
gallops and eighth notes seemingly arbitrarily. Weird steps like those should
have been an eight-footer, definitely. Jumps that pop up in streams toward the
middle only serve to complicate things even further.
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: Dance ManiaX 2nd Mix
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix (Song Pack 4)
American Appearances: DDR SuperNOVA
About The Artist: RE-VENGE is yet another Naoki pseudonym, used for various
"ethnic" songs such as this.
Miscellany: This song received new Expert steps in the Japan-only PS2 release
DDR Festival, because the original Ultramix steps sucked, and so they had
since become the standard steps for that song... except they're not used
here. We're back to the crappy Ultramix steps. I don't know why.
------------------------
8F. NEMESIS – D.J. SETUP
------------------------
BPM: 164
Length: 2:07
Genre: Techno
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 102 4 0
BASIC 4 205 4 91
DIFFICULT 6 309 13 48
EXPERT 7 335 52 75
EXPERT NOTES: What the hell were they smoking when they decided this was a
seven-footer? It most certainly isn't! The first half is especially hard, as
it's packed with tons of gallops and sixteenth clusters. Oh, and one of those
clusters opens with a jump. Yikes. That's the kind of thing that would be hard
even for a nine-footer! The second half is considerably easier, settling down
to only gallops and freeze-packed streams.
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: beatmania IIDX 6th Style
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix (Song Pack 3)
About The Artist: DJ SETUP is Takayuki Ishikawa, more commonly known as dj
TAKA. One of the most popular Bemani musicians, perhaps even moreso than
Naoki, Taka has historically primarily composed for the IIDX series, though he
has also shown up in other series, including pop'n music, and recently he even
composed a brand new song, "Freeway Shuffle", exclusively for DDR; sure, we've
previously gotten some of his stuff as crossovers, but that one's all ours!
Miscellany: This was one of the first songs in DDR history to be over two
minutes long.
--------------------------------------
8G. potpourri d'orange – Orange Lounge
--------------------------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Apia, Moldig in Quest Mode
BPM: 169-175
Length: 1:34
Genre: French Bossa
(Though it's a really minor tempo change and isn't probably even worth finding,
I'd say it's a safe bet that it changes as we segue from "MONDO STREET" into
"MOBO*MOGA".)
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 84 2 3
BASIC 3 154 4 10
DIFFICULT 5 197 8 43
EXPERT 8 283 19 35
EXPERT NOTES: The worst that the majority of this song gets is streams of
varying lengths, mostly short, occasionally ending in a double step. But on
the various drumrolls throughout the song, you'll end up stepping sixteenths;
this is at its worst right at the end, where the rather complicated drum
patterns have a good chance of throwing you off.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: GuitarFreaks 8th Mix / DrumMania 8th Mix
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix 3
About The Artist: Orange Lounge is Tomosuke Funaki, a Bemani musician with the
distinction of having worked in the most different Bemani series of any Konami
Original artist. His work covers a wide variety of genres; Orange Lounge is a
pseudonym used exclusively for his collaborations with Shizue Tokui in the
"French Bossa" genre.
-------------------
8H. Senses – JT.1UP
-------------------
BPM: 120
Length: 1:43
Genre: Trance
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 65 1 2
BASIC 3 125 1 0
DIFFICULT 4 151 13 20
EXPERT 6 200 25 14
EXPERT NOTES: Easy, even for a six footer. Lots of little three-note mini-
streams throughout, all of them extremely easy. The only parts that are even
remotely tough are the string of six consecutive quarter jumps about two-
thirds of the way through, and the nine-note stream that closes out the chart,
and even those are nice and simple. Definitely should've been a five, IMO.
It's even easier than "Ragganinja".
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: DDR Ultramix 4
American Appearances: DDR Universe
About The Artist: All I know about this guy is that he was apparently an
employee of Konami of Hawaii. That's all I've got.
Miscellany: No, I don't know why they had to revive this for the second game
in a row.
-----------------------------
8I. Spin the Disc – good-cool
-----------------------------
UNLOCK: Capp regional championship in Quest Mode
BPM: 130
Length: 1:32
Genre: House
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 69 5 0
BASIC 2 70 5 15
DIFFICULT 5 191 17 4
EXPERT 8 292 9 13
EXPERT NOTES: This was an easy enough eight-footer anyway, and it only seems
easier next to a lot of these insane Universe-series eight-footers-that-
should-probably-be-rated-nine. Sixteenths are surprisingly rare and follow the
music well, so all that's really worrying here is the considerable length of
the two streams near the end – the first one's 72 steps, and the second is 65.
-----
Lyrics:
Someday, somehow, somewhere
We're gonna have magic in the air
Someday, somehow, somewhere
We're gonna have magic in the a-a-a-air
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: beatmania IIDX 5th Style
DDR Debut: DDRMAX: DDR 7th Mix (JP Arcade)
American Appearances: DDRMAX, DDRMAX2, DDR Universe 3 (Song Pack 13)
About The Artist: good-cool is Tatsuya Furukawa, a Bemani artist specializing
in R&B and house.
----------------------------
8J. What Is Love? - TOMOSUKE
----------------------------
UNLOCK: Session offer in Recon, Ruby in Quest Mode
BPM: 130
Length: 1:24
Genre: House
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 83 6 0
BASIC 3 127 7 0
DIFFICULT 5 171 21 0
EXPERT 6 229 29 0
EXPERT STEPS: Nice and easy. Very easy, in fact. There are absolutely no
crossovers in the streams here, not even in that fairly longish one in the
middle. No jumps in streams... yeah, THIS is a six footer. Not "Akiba
Drift"... >_>
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: beatmania 7th Mix
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix (Song Pack 4)
About The Artist: See "potpourri d'orange" for info on Tomosuke Funaki.
+---------------------+
|9. DOWNLOADABLE SONGS|
+---------------------+
The theme of the downloadable content this time, based on the first ten songs
(of course, that's assuming that there's even gonna be more songs... there
might not be) seems to be reviving old material from the Ultramixes. That's
right, nothing new here. Not even new Oni charts for any of these old songs.
-----------------------------
9A. BATTLE BREAKS – DJ TAKAWO
----[DL01]-------------------
BPM: 112
Length: 1:46
Genre: V.R.D.J. Skills
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 79 7 0
BASIC 3 161 7 38
DIFFICULT 5 186 7 70
EXPERT 7 239 18 75
EXPERT NOTES: Like so many other early Ultramix song pack debuts, this one's a
slow mess packed with a truly excessive amount of freezes. Aside from the
freeze trickery, the rather odd steps tend to follow the lyrics, whacked out
as they may be, or the various other odd noises throughout this song. Weird.
-----
Lyrics:
Baddest DJ on two turntables
Word up!
Baddest DJ on two turntables
Baddest D-DJ
Baddest, D, J, two turntables
Say turn it up!
Lemme hear you say
Say turn it up!
Say turn it up!
Say turn it up!
Baddest baddest, D, J
Hey
Hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Baddest DJ
Baddest DJ
Baddest, DJ, J, on, on two turntables
Thank you, thank you...
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: beatmania Append 5th Mix (JP PS1)
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix (Song Pack 3)
About The Artist: DJ TAKAWO is a Bemani artist who has done quite a few obscure
Konami original tunes, but I can't seem to find any real info on him.
-----------------------------
9B. Catch it! - TOTAL SCIENCE
----[DL02]-------------------
BPM: 173
Length: 1:26
Genre: Drum and Bass
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 109 14 0
BASIC 3 177 24 4
DIFFICULT 6 211 46 21
EXPERT 8 311 30 16
EXPERT NOTES: These steps follow this rather hectic tune pretty closely, though
there's only a hint of sixteenths (in pseudo-triplets, gallops, and three-note
jackhammers), as the steps mostly stick to tricky fast-paced streams with
crossovers.
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: beatmania 6th Mix
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix 2
About The Artist: Total Science is Jason "Quiff" Greenlaugh and Paul "Spinback"
Smith, who formed their group in 1987 and have become somewhat well-known in
the UK DnB scene. Konami commissioned them, and several other British groups,
to compose songs for beatmania 6th Mix, which was themed around the UK
underground music scene, thus setting the precedent for the Ultramixes' and
Universes' modern-day use of conscripted tunes.
-------------------------
9C. DYNAMITE RAVE – NAOKI
----[DL03]---------------
BPM: 150
Length: 1:35
Genre: Speed Rave
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 101 31 0
BASIC 5 188 53 0
DIFFICULT 7 269 38 0
EXPERT 9 398 19 0
ONI 9 362 42 7
DIFFICULT NOTES: It's a tame seven-footer, but a seven-footer nonetheless.
Quite a few short streams about here, but what puts it over the six-footer
level are all the jumps. Granted, there's not as many as on Basic, but
they're used much more maliciously, sometimes popping up in streams...
sometimes they'll even string three jumps together in a stream!
EXPERT NOTES: Ah, here's a classic cata. And it's still challenging in this day
and age, too. It's a textbook example of what makes a good nine-footer: long
streams, jumps in some of the shorter ones, sixteenth clusters, and some chaos
in the beginning, as gallops in the streams switch you off- and on-beat, which
can be tricky. By the way, watch out, the first step of one of the sixteenth
clusters in this song is a jump...
ONI NOTES: Fairly similar to the Expert steps; it seems less like a whole new
Oni chart and more like a reinterpretation of the Expert steps, with less
chaos (the whole beginning part that switched from on- to off-beat and back
again has been completely replaced with one big long stream) but more voltage
and air. Which one's harder is a matter of personal taste, really.
-----
Lyrics:
One, two, three, four
Dynamite Rave
Come on everybody
(Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go)
And get on the floor, yeah
Techno, rave
It's time to make a stand
And pave the way
Some might say
Let it go
Stay with the flow
Stay on beat
Move your feet
On concrete
Or on the dance floor
You want more then I'll give you more
If it's too hardcore
Let me know
I'll stop the show
Then bring it back
To be exact
At twelve o'clock
Rock the spot
It's too damn hot
They told me so
Dynamite Rave
It's on the down low
Use your inner glow
To make a move
Show and prove
The man with the lisp
Sounds so crisp
When you can see me
On TV
On the radio
Hear me blow
I don't wanna give up
We're gonna have a party
Have a really great time
Yeah yeah!
Just feel the heat
Listen to the music and feel that beat
C'mon, get up, c'mon, c'mon
Let me hear ya, let me hear ya
Jump, jump
Do your thing
This be the bomb
Try to sing
Narrator king
Spread your wings
Make your head ring
To this song
All night long
Jack your body
To this party
Feel the pain
When you strain
Don't refrain
Please don't stop
Until you drop
I don't wanna give up
We're gonna have a party
Have a really great time
Yeah yeah!
Just feel the heat
Listen to the music and feel that beat, yeah!
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: DDR 3rd Mix (JP Arcade)
American Appearances: DDR USA, DDR Konamix, DDR Ultramix (SP 3), DDR Extreme 2
About The Artist: See "Dead End" for info on Naoki Maeda, the man of a million
pseudonyms.
Miscellany: The "Down Bird SOTA Mix" of this song is in DDRMAX, the "super euro
version" is in SuperNOVA, and the "B4 ZA BEAT MIX" challenge remix is in
Extreme 2. A long version of this song was playable exclusively in DDR 5th
Mix, which has yet to appear on an American version and probably never will,
since Long Versions are a thing of the past, unless they edit it down, "HOT
LIMIT" style...
--------------------------
9D. GRADIUSIC CYBER – TAKA
----[DL04]----------------
BPM: 140-165
Length: 1:43
Genre: Digi-Rock
(I have no idea where this tempo change occurs; historically, this song
scrolled at a steady 160 BPM, so either they changed that for no apparent
reason, or it displays the wrong BPM... though the more I play this, I do
sense a slight slowdown right at the end...)
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 105 3 0
BASIC 7 235 5 0
DIFFICULT 8 298 23 0
EXPERT 9 334 54 0
BASIC NOTES: A seven-footer on Basic? Seems weird, but bear in mind that this
was the closest thing that Club Mix had to a boss song; it's not much
different than, say, FAXX's Basic chart being rated nine feet. This has some
pretty tough parts, including streams with crossovers and a couple sixteenth-
note double-taps, and some mind-numbingly simple parts; Club Mix was
notoriously awful at balancing its stepcharts like that...
DIFFICULT NOTES: Quite a bit harder than on Basic. There's tons of double-taps,
especially in the beginning, and watch out for a long stream filled to the
brim with crossovers about halfway through. The sixteenth-note double-taps are
held over from the Basic chart, so watch for those too.
EXPERT NOTES: One of the oldest nine-footers in existence, it's pretty middle-
of-the-road by modern standards. There's some fairly long streams with
crossovers, and quite a few jumps that manage to find their way into streams.
There's even a stream near the beginning whose second half is nothing but air!
The sixteenth double-taps have been turned into more mundane gallops, which
are also a somewhat common sight here. Watch out for the tricky pattern of
sixteenths right at the end!
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: beatmania IIDX
DDR Debut: DDR Club Mix
About The Artist: See "NEMESIS" for into on the ever-popular DJ TAKA.
Miscellany: This song heavily samples sound effects from the classic shooter
"Gradius", hence the name. This is actually the "Another" version of the song;
the original, which has the same steps as this but sounds different, hasn't
appeared on a US mix yet, though the "AMD G5 MIX" can be found in DDRMAX. This
song's Doubles Expert chart is currently the only ten-footer in this game.
Just like with the Contra remix, this song features an animal head (in this
case, some dog with huge-ass teeth) instead of, you know, something even
remotely related to the game in question.
-------------------------------
9E. Himawari – Riyu from BeForU
----[DL05]---------------------
BPM: 185
Length: 1:43
Genre: J-Happy Hardcore
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 2 120 8 0
BASIC 2 156 15 8
DIFFICULT 5 276 15 9
EXPERT 7 370 51 2
EXPERT NOTES: This song really comes across to me as "BREAK DOWN Lite", both
musically and stepchart-wise. Whereas "BREAK DOWN" features long, tricky
streams at high speed, the streams here are shorter and simpler. There are a
few original parts here, such as when the steps go offbeat, and a brief series
of triplets, though.
-----
Lyrics:
(They're in Japanese, and I don't speak Japanese, so I'm no help here...)
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: GuitarFreaks 10th Mix/DrumMania 9th Mix
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix 3
About The Artist: BeForU are a J-Pop group created and produced by Naoki Maeda,
hence their heavy presence in DDR. Their lineup has shifted over the years,
but Riyu Kosaka has been one of the ever-presents, also releasing some solo
work (such as this song) on the side.
----------------------------------------
9F. jelly kiss – Togo Project feat. Sana
----[DL06]------------------------------
BPM: 135
Length: 1:55
Genre: A.O.R. (Adult-Oriented Rock)
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 93 1 0
BASIC 2 140 1 14
DIFFICULT 4 156 48 29
EXPERT 5 212 42 31
EXPERT NOTES: Mostly easy steps with a few tricks in store. Quite a few offbeat
steps about here, plus a dash of pseudo-triplets and gallops, and a decent
amount of multi-taps, but none of those elements used in particularly
malicious ways.
-----
Lyrics:
(Again, they're in Japanese... I don't speak Japanese... sorry.)
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: beatmania IIDX 6th Style (JP PS2)
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix 2 (Song Pack 9)
About The Artist: See "Higher Ground" for info on Togo. Sanae Shintani is the
vocalist here, and a frequent Togo collaborator.
Miscellany: The "Midihead's SMAK mix" of this song, which is notable because it
sounds virtually nothing like the original (really, it's more like a totally
different song that just happens to share the same vocals) is in Ultramix 3.
--------------------------------------------------
9G. Love This Feelin' (ZONK Remix) – Akira Yamaoka
----[DL07]----------------------------------------
BPM: 94
Length: 1:33
Genre: Electronica
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 46 0 0
BASIC 2 72 1 3
DIFFICULT 4 162 6 8
EXPERT 6 199 6 11
EXPERT NOTES: Less a remix of the original, more a complete reinterpretation
(and a rather awesome one at that) that's lacking in a few key areas, like
speed... and difficulty. The only reason this isn't a five is because there
are a few sixteenths thrown in, but not nearly enough to be challenging at
this speed.
-----
Lyrics:
-----
Song Type: Konami Original Remix
Bemani Debut: DDR Ultramix 3
About The Artist: ZONK, whose website calls them "trip hop rockers", consist
of Dave L (aka OR-IF-IS, who has contributed a few songs to DDR himself),
McFiendish (the hot female vocalist), Uncle Bergie, and DJ Red5. Akira Yamaoka
is a well-known video game composer, probably best known for his work on
Konami's "Silent Hill" series, though he also makes regular contributions to
the beatmania IIDX series.
Miscellany: This is a remix of the original "LOVE THIS FEELIN'" which hasn't
actually appeared in the DDR series yet, though we did get a rather grating
rock remix by Chang Ma, which can be found in DDRMAX.
----------------------
9H. Moment 40 – Moshic
----[DL08]------------
BPM: 132
Length: 1:33
Genre: Progressive House
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 83 1 0
BASIC 3 116 14 9
DIFFICULT 5 182 17 44
EXPERT 7 269 31 13
EXPERT NOTES: Nothing too outstanding about these steps. The streams can get
long but there's not a lot of crossovers. There are also a few sixteenths
that come in fairly predictable locales, given that most people should be
somewhat familiar with the source material.
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: DDR Ultramix 3
About The Artist: Moshic is Mo Shic Shlomi, a northern Israeli DJ.
Miscellany: This song is based on Mozart's "Symphony No. 40 in G minor".
-------------------------------------------------------
9I. Put Your Faith In Me (Saturday Night Mix) - UZI-LAY
----[DL09]---------------------------------------------
BPM: 120
Length: 1:32
Genre: Jazz Funk
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 74 1 0
BASIC 3 132 3 6
DIFFICULT 5 147 16 11
EXPERT 6 207 16 14
EXPERT NOTES: Well, what's there to say? It's "Put Your Faith In Me", a song
with an obnoxious tendency to remain virtually the same across its many
remixes. The streams are a little longer than in the older mixes, but they're
still simple and free of crossovers, and the only remotely difficult thing
about it is that several streams end with a jump. And even that's not hard.
-----
Lyrics:
Put your faith-faith-faith-faith-faith
F-F-F-Faith, faith, faith...
Put your faith in me and I'll show ya
(Listen to my heart, it's cryin' out for...)
You bring the reason to doubt it all
Put your faith in me and I'll show ya
(I just wanna drive you crazy!)
You bring the reason to doubt it all
Causin' much mayhem, droppin' drama
Radical rebel with the need to bomb ya
Fake MC dare not hang 'em higher
The mic is mine, time to pay the piper
Crime and rhyme goin' on as I kick them
You and the beat hold trait as the victim
Maniac, as I cut the balances
Supreme, with the war and challenges
Graceful
Put your faith-faith-faith-faith-faith
Put your, put your faith-faith-faith-faith...
Born and raised in Chicago, Cook County
Mic is the omen raisin' hell like Damien
Push through your chest like the creature in "Alien"
Prey, like a phantom on the loose
Hold still while I get the noose
I got your brain in my scope
The plan that I hold is so dope you can't cope
Deadly
Put your faith in me and I'll show ya
(Listen to my heart, it's cryin' out for...)
You bring the reason to doubt it all
Put your faith in me and I'll show ya
(I just wanna drive you crazy!)
You bring the reason to doubt it all
Put your faith-faith-faith-faith...
-----
Song Type: Konami Original
Bemani Debut: Dance ManiaX
DDR Debut: DDR Ultramix
American Appearances: DDR SuperNOVA
About The Artist: UZI-LAY is a Naoki pseudonym used exclusively for "Put Your
Faith In Me" and its various remixes.
Miscellany: The original PYFIM can be found in DDR USA or, somewhat more
recently, DDRMAX2. The "Jazzy Groove" version is currently only found in the
former of those two games. The "Steve Porter Mix", the only version of the
song to offer something different (namely, a slight challenge), was in the
first DDR Universe.
----------------------
9J. TOE JAM – Big Idea
----[DL10]------------
BPM: 111-171
Length: 1:57
Genre: Country Techno
(This song starts at 111 BPM, jumps up to 132 once the beat gets going, and
leaps to 160 when the percussion kicks into full gear. The jump to 171 must
come right at the end because I'm not seeing it.)
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 2 111 7 0
BASIC 4 209 8 25
DIFFICULT 6 303 29 19
EXPERT 9 426 3 16
EXPERT NOTES: Well, it's not as hard as its sequel's Oni chart, but it's still
a pretty tough stepchart. When the song's slow, you'll be stepping a lot of
sixteenths following the banjo, but as it speeds up, things start to slip back
into the realm of straight streams, though still with occasional sixteenths
following the banjo and fiddle.
-----
Song Type: Conscripted Song
Bemani Debut: DDR Ultramix 2
About The Artist: Big Idea is a Utah-based production studio founded by Chuck
E. Meyers. They've worked on many different gaming projects in years past, and
have contributed quite a few songs in a diverse variety of styles to the
Xbox DDR scene.
Miscellany: Japanese DDR songs crossing over to beatmania aren't exactly
uncommon, but brand new Ultramix material doing the same is, so it's notable
that this song did that very thing, appearing in beatmania IIDX Happy Sky AC.
A sequel-slash-remix of this song, "Return of the Toe Jam", is in DDR
Universe. And yes, the new background for this song is just as confusing to me
as it is to you. I guess you could say that, well, gun duels are a big part of
Old West culture, and the paintball is a modern recreational version of gun
battles, so the paint-splattered wall sort of symbolically represents that
this is a more modern techno take on old western music... but that's really
stretching it, isn't it?
+-----------------+
|10. POWER COURSES|
+-----------------+
Power Courses are, basically, mini "nonstop megamixes" of several different
songs. You can find them by entering Party Mode, then selecting Power. This
apparently is Universe's version of the PS2/Arcade games' Nonstop/Oni Modes.
It's a cool idea, though I hope Universe 3 takes the idea further. It's been in
three games now and they still haven't really expanded on the idea yet.
The first four mixes are available by default. The fifth must be unlocked by
completing Quest Mode.
-------------------------------
10A. Funky House Mix – DJ Diode
-------------------------------
BPM: 130
Contains:
What Is Love? - TOMOSUKE
Lily Funk – Konception
Spin The Disc – good-cool
Rhythm Is Rhythm – oo39.com
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 275 48 0
BASIC 3 451 73 21
DIFFICULT 6 716 84 21
EXPERT 8 947 91 41
EXPERT NOTES: Unlike the Power Mixes in previous DDR's, the songs here tend to
maintain a single, stable BPM, which does take a little unpredictability out
of the occasion. Note that "Lily Funk" and "Spin the Disc" are both missing
their hardest parts, their ends – "Lily Funk" with all the insanity on the
scratches gone and "Spin the Disc" sans those two really long streams.
------------------------------
10B. Progressive Mix – DJ Kale
------------------------------
BPM: 136
Contains:
Akiba Drift – Ko Kimura
Breathe The Air – Bill Hamel with Spacebar
Better Than Before – Drew Campbell
Somebody In Da House – Steve Porter
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 318 26 0
BASIC 3 438 31 32
DIFFICULT 6 847 78 40
EXPERT 7 1121 71 20
EXPERT NOTES: There's not much worth pointing out here that I didn't point out
in the individual sections for each song, other than the fact that the
constant BPM means that a few of these songs are played at a slightly faster
pace than normal.
---------------------------------
10C. Faster Harder Mix – DJ Diode
---------------------------------
BPM: 130-175
Contains:
ON THE JAZZ – Jonny Dynamite!
COSMIC COWGIRL – Toshio Sakurai
NEMESIS – D.J.SETUP
I Wanna Be Your Star (Speedy Mix) – Melody & Mezzo
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 325 31 0
BASIC 3 496 43 100
DIFFICULT 6 881 61 52
EXPERT 8 1027 173 116
EXPERT NOTES: Weird, "ON THE JAZZ" doesn't appear anywhere in this game except
this mix. And it's not a very significant addition, it's just a simple seven
with quite a few pseudo-triplets. Note that this mix only contains the easier
second half of "NEMESIS", leaving out the tough-as-nails first part. The main
theme of this mix is that it gets faster with each new song, so watch out.
-------------------------
10D. Global Mix – DJ Kale
-------------------------
BPM: 175
Contains:
on voit la mer – Togo Project feat. Tomoko Kataoka
Balalaika, Carried With The Wind (Jondi & Spesh Mix) – Julie Ann Frost
MATSURI (J-SUMMER MIX) – RE-VENGE
Emi's Song – Blu Mar Ten
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 1 373 27 0
BASIC 4 484 28 35
DIFFICULT 6 884 71 111
EXPERT 7 1089 54 95
EXPERT NOTES: Weird, this song features one of those weird freeze-colored
jumps that aren't actually a freeze, just like the one in "Summer Girl", in
the transition between "on voit la mer" and "Balalaika". "Balalaika" itself
is quite easy, aside from a little sixteenth action later on.
----------------------------
10E. Aggro Mix – DJ Catzilla
----------------------------
UNLOCK: National dance championship battle in Quest Mode
BPM: 180
Contains:
Unborn – Gein
Disabled The Flaw – D-Crew
Dead End – N&S
Elfadiciell – oo39.com
Diff - Steps - Jumps - Freezes
BEGINNER 2 358 38 0
BASIC 4 593 64 22
DIFFICULT 6 946 63 21
EXPERT 9 1259 96 55
EXPERT NOTES: Given that there aren't really any ten-footers in Universe 2,
this is just about as close as we can get to a boss medley here. Four of the
hardest songs in the game, together at last! Note that "Disabled The Flaw" is
significantly faster than usual, and "Dead End" is significantly slower.
+----------------------------------------------+
|11. THE NEW AND (SLIGHTLY) IMPROVED QUEST MODE|
+----------------------------------------------+
(This is mostly an edited copy-and-paste job of my old Universe Quest Mode
guide. But really, how different are they?)
Welcome to Quest Mode! It's the "Story Mode," if you will, of DDR Universe 2.
The basic idea is that you're an up-and-coming dancer making his or her way up
through the standings, from dinky little provincial competitions up through
the national championships! Someday you'll dominate this entire fictional
archipelago! From where you start, beat the simple challenge there, and the
adjacent provinces will now be available for you to travel to. Lather, rinse,
repeat until you've won a challenge in all the provinces! That's the basic
goal.
This time, you get to sort of customize your own character. The options are
pretty limited, but there is a decent variety of outfits available, and it's
still a cool little feature for them to add.
---------------------------------------
11A. FIVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF CHALLENGES
---------------------------------------
Wanna know what kind of crap you'll have to do here? Here are the five types
of challenges that form the core of Quest Mode!
FANBASE QUOTA: You're given a certain number of points to reach in one song.
Each step gives you a certain number of points that depends on step rating,
how many movie clips you own (and if they're even playing in the background),
and whether you own the song or not.
COMBO (REGULAR): A fairly straightforward challenge, to reach a designated
number of combos.
FREEZE COMBO: Only Freeze Arrows count here. It doesn't matter what you score
on the step initially, as long as you get the O.K. at the end.
JUMP COMBO: Obviously, get a combo of the designated number of double steps.
DANCE BATTLE: Some random character challenges you to a dance battle! To win,
you have to completely take over your foe's lifebar. Get rid of all their
hideous blue and replace it with your delicious redness! Once you completely
take the lifebar over, it starts flashing rainbow colors and you've won! Like
with fanbase quota challenges, step rating, movie clips, and song clips affect
your performance... but be wary, sometimes your opponent might own some songs
and movies too! (On the song select screen, you can tell that your opponent
owns a song if there's an upside-down music note icon beside it.)
------------------------------------------------------
11B. SONG AND MOVIE CLIPS, AND OTHER WAYS TO SUCK LESS
------------------------------------------------------
Unlike DDR Universe, purchasing song and movie clips isn't random. On the map
screen, you can hit X to enter the Shop. You can buy stuff on your own time now
instead of waiting for this crap to randomly pop up! Yeah, baby! Note that each
island has a different selection of stuff; you'll have to visit them all to buy
everything! (There's a list of what's sold where in section 11E, if you're
curious.)
MOVIE CLIPS: When a clip that you own plays in the background of a song, you'll
enter "Fever Mode." The fever bar above your avatar lights up to signify this,
and while that clip plays, the amount of fanbase you recieve/the amount of
your opponent's lifebar that you take away increases.
MUSIC CLIPS: When you own a song, you'll gain sort of a "Fever-lite Mode." The
boost won't be as much as in Fever Mode, but it will last for the entirety of
the song.
-------------------
11C. SESSION OFFERS
-------------------
"What are session offers?" Why, thanks for asking! Basically, sometimes an
envelope will pop up in a province you've already cleared, and you'll be
notified of a session offer there. Basically, they're just Fanbase Quota
challenges, but they quote is typically set a lot higher than in regular
Fanbase challenges. Of course, you'll also get more prize money for clearing
them, so... it might be worth it. Some of them are set pretty high, so you
might not be able to clear them on Basic... but it's nowhere near the insane
requirements that Universe managed to come up with. You should do okay if you
stick to songs you own.
But wait, there's more! Session offers in certain locales will reward you with
new songs! And here's another improvement over Universe – they're not such a
random appearance anymore. The game seems to tend to spawn session offers that
will unlock a song over ones that won't most of the time. That means no
entering and exiting the mode in desperate hope that the final elusive session
offer will spawn – just keep playing and the game will spoonfeed them to you!
Still, it could be useful to know what is unlocked where, so I've provided a
handy little table for your convenience. Because I'm just that generous. And
bored.
LOCATION | UNLOCK
-----------------+-------------------
Cadonia: Bibi | Orange Sky
Cadonia: Rab | Breathe The Air
Capp: Bagania| Disabled The Flaw
Capp: Tomommo|Space Space Shooter
Harowa: Bonolu | Elfadiciell
Harowa: Ofa | Anthema
Manarina: Sasube | Emi's Song
Manarina: Taka | on voit la mer
Moldig: Apia |potpourri d'orange
Moldig: Istar | Mochi Crunch
Ruby: Dempasa| Synergy
Ruby: Recon | What Is Love?
------------------
11D. CHAMPIONSHIPS
------------------
Winning championships is the other way to unlock songs. To start, you'll unlock
each regional championship upon conquering each province in that region.
After you win all the regional championships, you'll unlock the national
championship! And after you beat that, you're pretty much done, there's no
second series of championships to unlock another song like in Universe.
Just like session offers are beefed-up Fanbase Quota challenges, championships
are little more than harder Dance Battles. Your opponent usually owns a fairly
large chunk of the songlist, and quite a few movie clips, just to make things
that much more hellish for you. Uh... yay? (If you're against an opponent who
owns many more movie clips than you... it might be wise to be a sneaky bastard
and disable background movies. Take away their advantage! Muahahaha!)
Once again, here's a table because... uh... just because!
CHAMPIONSHIP | UNLOCK
------------------+----------------------
Cadonia Regionals|Contract [Breach Mix]
Capp Regionals| Spin the Disc
Harowa Regionals| Ragganinja
Manarina Regionals|MATSURI (J-SUMMER MIX)
Moldig Regionals| Rhythm Is Rhythm
Ruby Regionals| Tactical
Nat'l Championship| Unborn
---------------------
11E. SHOP INVENTORIES
---------------------
One of the best changes to Quest Mode is the fact that you're no longer offered
song clips and stuff randomly, but actually get to buy it on your own time at a
shop! It's great to have that element of randomness out of the way, but still,
certain items are only sold on certain islands. Howie (ZukinMan, of the
GameFAQs forums) was kind enough to provide me with a list of what each shop
sells, and what everything costs, so full credit goes to him for this.
(Song clips marked with an asterisk aren't available for purchase until after
you actually unlock that song.)
HAROWA ISLAND
-------------
Song Clips (2000 each): Male Outfits: Female Outfits:
Akiba Drift B-Ball – 3000 Active Beachwear - 5000
Anthema* Big Kahuna – 3000 Carmine - 3000
Anytime Soon Bouncer – 7000 Citron Separates - 3000
Breathing More Casual – 3000 Cowgirl – 7000
COSMIC COWGIRL Feminine Reggae – 5000 Flapper - 5000
Dead End Glitters Glitz – 10000 Flutter Blouse - 7000
Don't You Love Me Grease Monkey – 3000 Frilly Dress - 3000
Dorset Perception Island Heat – 3000 Rasta - 5000
Elfadiciell* Patchwork – 5000 Sporty - 3000
EternuS Skater Boy – 3000 Street - 3000
Fire Thug Life – 5000 Street Reggae - 10000
I Know You Got Soul Urban Cowboy – 7000 Summer Island – 3000
Is It Any Wonder? Wild Savanna – 5000
Let The Beat Hit 'Em
Love In Motion
Makes Me Cry
NEMESIS
Not Me (Extended Mix)
Ragganinja*
Rockit
Senses
Somebody In Da House
Steppin' Out
Take Me Out
The Way You Move
Until Forever
Walk Like An Egyptian
Yoru Funk
CADONIA ISLAND
--------------
Song Clips (2000 each): Male Outfits: Female Outfits:
Akiba Drift B-Ball – 3000 Carmine – 7000
Always Big Kahuna – 3000 Chinese Dress – 7000
Apache Casual – 3000 Citron Separates - 3000
Breathe The Air* Feminine Reggae – 5000 Emerald Blazers
Contract [Breach Mix]* Grease Monkey – 5000 Scarf - 10000
COSMIC COWGIRL Homeboy – 5000 Flapper - 5000
Dead End Island Heat – 3000 Fly Girl – 7000
Don't You Love Me Retro Thrills – 5000 Frilly Dress - 3000
Dorset Perception Rock Star – 7000 Rasta - 5000
Entry of the Gladiators Skater Boy – 3000 Sporty - 3000
Fire Stripes – 10000 Street - 3000
Handle Your Business Thug Life – 5000 Summer Island - 3000
I Know You Got Soul Urban Life – 7000 Tai-Chi - 5000
I Wanna Be Your Star
In Different Things
Let The Beat Hit 'Em
Musika Atomika
NEMESIS
Orange Sky*
Rockit
Rock The Show
Safety Dance
Senses
So Fine
Steppin' Out
Summer Girl
Sunshine In London
Take Me Out
Walk Like An Egyptian
MOLDIG ISLAND
-------------
Song Clips (2000 each): Male Outfits: Female Outfits:
Always B-Ball – 3000 Active Beachwear – 5000
Apache Big Kahuna – 3000 Carmine – 3000
Arrivals and Departures Casual – 3000 Casual – 5000
Contra (Medley Mix) Easy Rider – 5000 Chinese Dress – 7000
COSMIC COWGIRL Grease Monkey – 3000 Citron Separates – 3000
Dead End Island Heat – 3000 Exotic – 10000
Do It Right Latin Passion – 5000 Fly Girl – 7000
Fire Patchwork – 5000 Frilly Dress – 3000
Get Up Give Up Move On! Retro Thrills – 5000 Purple Tunic – 5000
He's The Greatest Dancer Rock Star – 7000 Sporty – 3000
Hey! Skater Boy – 3000 Street – 3000
Higher Ground Urban Life – 7000 Summer Island – 3000
I Wanna Be Your Star Utility – 10000
I Wish I Could Be
Beautiful
Jungle Boogie
Let The Beat Hit 'Em
Love Don't Let Me Go
Mochi Crunch*
Moving Higher
NEMESIS
potpourri d'orange*
Rhythm Is Rhythm*
Rock The Show
Safety Dance
Senses
So Fine
Sunshine In London
The Tide
Unborn*
Walk Like An Egyptian
RUBY ISLAND
-----------
Song Clips (2000 each): Male Outfits: Female Outfits:
Always B-Ball – 3000 Carmine – 3000
Breathing More Big Kahuna – 3000 Citron Separates – 3000
Contra (Medley Mix) Casual – 3000 Cowgirl – 7000
COSMIC COWGIRL Easy Rider – 5000 Exotic – 10000
Dead End Feminine Reggae – 5000 Fly Girl – 7000
Do It Right Grease Monkey – 3000 Frilly Dress – 3000
Dorset Perception Homeboy – 5000 Purple Tunic – 5000
Fire Island Heat – 3000 Rasta – 5000
Get Up Give Up Move On! Skater Boy – 3000 Sporty – 3000
Hey! Urban Cowboy – 7000 Street – 3000
Higher Ground Urban Life – 7000 Summer Island – 3000
I Know You Got Soul Utility – 10000 Tai-Chi – 5000
I Wish I Could Be Wild Savanna - 5000
Beautiful
Is It Any Wonder?
Let The Beat Hit 'Em
Makes Me Cry
NEMESIS
Rockit
Rock The Show
Senses
Somebody In Da House
Sunshine In London
Synergy*
Tactical*
The Tide
The Way You Move
Walk Like An Egyptian
What Is Love?*
Yoru Funk
MANARINA ISLAND
---------------
Song Clips (2000 each): Male Outfits: Female Outfits:
Anytime Soon B-Ball – 3000 Carmine – 3000
Arrivals And Departures Big Kahuna – 3000 Casual – 5000
Better Than Before Bouncer – 7000 Citron Separates – 3000
Breathing More Casual – 3000 Cowgirl – 7000
Dead End Homeboy – 5000 Flapper – 5000
Don't You Love Me Island Heat – 3000 Flutter Blouse – 7000
Emi's Song* Latin Passion – 7000 Frilly Dress – 3000
Fire Skater Boy – 3000 Sporty – 3000
Handle Your Business Stripes – 10000 Street – 3000
He's The Greatest Dancer Thug Life – 5000 Summer Island – 3000
Is It Any Wonder? Urban Cowboy – 7000 Tai-Chi – 5000
Jungle Boogie Wild Savanna – 5000
Let The Beat Hit 'Em
Lily Funk
Love Don't Let Me Go
Love In Motion
MATSURI (J-SUMMER MIX)*
Moving Higher
Musika Atomika
NEMESIS
Not Me (Extended Mix)
on voit la mer*
Senses
Somebody In Da House
Steppin' Out
Take Me Out
The Way You Move
Walk Like An Egyptian
CAPP ISLAND
-----------
Song Clips (2000 each): Male Outfits: Female Outfits:
Anytime Soon B-Ball – 3000 Active Beachwear – 5000
Apache Big Kahuna – 3000 Biker Diva – 15000
Better Than Before Bouncer – 7000 Carmine – 3000
COSMIC COWGIRL Casual – 3000 Casual – 5000
Dead End Chic Tux – 15000 Chinese Dress – 7000
Disabled The Flaw* Easy Rider – 5000 Citron Separates – 3000
EternuS Glitters Glitz – 10000 Flutter Blouse – 7000
Fire Grease Monkey – 3000 Frilly Dress – 3000
He's The Greatest Dancer Island Heat – 3000 Purple Tunic – 5000
Hey! Latin Passion – 5000 Sporty – 3000
I Wanna Be Your Star Patchwork – 5000 Street – 3000
I Wish I Could Be Retro Thrills – 5000 Street Reggae - 10000
Beautiful Rock Star – 7000 Summer Island – 3000
In Different Things Skater Boy – 3000
Jungle Boogie
Let The Beat Hit 'Em
Lily Funk
Love Don't Let Me Go
Love In Motion
NEMESIS
Not Me (Extended Mix)
Safety Dance
Senses
So Fine
Space Space Shooter*
Spin the Disc*
Summer Girl
The Tide
Until Forever
Walk Like An Egyptian
+------------------+
|12. CHALLENGE MODE|
+------------------+
Ah, Challenge Mode. It's been with the Ultramix series since the beginning, but
did anybody care? Well... not really, there was no reason to. But then Universe
came along and made it the key to ten of the game's Achievements, and suddenly
it was quite the big deal to all sorts of gamers who care waaaayyyy too much
about an arbitrary number to show the world, "Look at me! I have no life!" Even
though virtually nobody will claim them all, I mean, some of those challenges
on Apocalyptic are BEYOND INSANE.
How does it work? Simple. You're given a song, and a few specific requirements
that you must fulfill to accomplish. Like clearing a song with all Perfects or
playing a song on 0.5x Flat while having to step on only sixteenth notes,
apparently depending on how sadistic the developers were feeling on that
particular day.
(And I should also mention, to answer a stupid question that I'll inevitably
receive... the numbers beside "Start" and "End" refer to the beginning and
ending measures of the portion of the song you'll be playing.)
===========
12A. SIMPLE
===========
----------------------
SIMPLE 1 – Do It Right
----------------------
START: 7
END: 23
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) Do not step on arrows with BOO timing.
----------------------------
SIMPLE 2 – Don't You Love Me
----------------------------
START: 1
END: 28
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) Step on all arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing. One misstep is allowed.
---------------
SIMPLE 3 – Hey!
---------------
START: 17
END: 33
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
MODIFIERS: Music is slowed
RULES:
1) Get a full combo of all the arrows. A full combo is stepping on all
arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing.
------------------------
SIMPLE 4 – Moving Higher
------------------------
START: 53
END: 71
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) Do not step on any Up or Down arrows. Step on all other arrows with
PERFECT or GREAT timing. If you misstep, the challenge will end
immediately.
-------------------------
SIMPLE 5 – Musika Atomika
-------------------------
START: 14
END: 30
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) The dance gauge will not replenish during play.
-------------------------
SIMPLE 6 – Love In Motion
-------------------------
START: 1
END: 58
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) Do not step on two arrows at the same time. Step on all other arrows with
PERFECT or GREAT timing. If you misstep, the challenge will end
immediately.
=============
12B. MODERATE
=============
-------------------
MODERATE 1 – Always
-------------------
START: 1
END: 17
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) Step on all arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing. One misstep is allowed.
-------------------------------
MODERATE 2 – Better Than Before
-------------------------------
START: 17
END: 33
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) Do not step on arrows of the same direction consecutively. Single steps
and double steps are different. For example, in the case of Up, Up
arrows, step on the first or second arrow, but not both arrows.
-------------------------
MODERATE 3 – Anytime Soon
-------------------------
START: 5
END: 37
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) Do not get more than a 10 combo. The goal is to get a 10 combo, then step
on the following arrow with a timing of GOOD, ALMOST, or BOO. If you get
higher than a 10 combo, the challenge will end immediately.
(If absolutely necessary, you can break the combo before you reach 10. If you
don't wanna messing up in a particularly tough series of steps, for example.
Also, keep in mind, jumps add 2 to your combo in Universe 2! So, if you've got
a combo of 9 and the next step is a jump... DON'T DO THAT JUMP!)
----------------------------------------
MODERATE 4 – I Wish I Could Be Beautiful
----------------------------------------
START: 21
END: 49
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 1.5x
RULES:
1) Clear this stage with your dance gauge full. *The dance gauge will blink
when it reaches maximum.
--------------------------
MODERATE 5 – Rock The Show
--------------------------
START: 1
END: 37
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) Get a full combo of all the arrows. A full combo is stepping on all
arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing.
--------------------------
MODERATE 6 – Until Forever
--------------------------
START: 1
END: 56
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
MODIFIERS: Boost arrows, Sudden arrows
RULES:
1) Get a full combo of all the arrows. A full combo is stepping on all
arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing.
(I'd like to take this opportunity to point out... JESUS FREAKIN' CHRIST
UNIVERSE 2 HAS A HARSH SUDDEN MODIFIER! The arrows seem to appear higher up
the screen than ever! And combining it with boost makes for a nice "f*** you"
to the newbies. Way to go, Konami... >_>)
=============
12C. ORDINARY
=============
---------------------------
ORDINARY 1 – Breathing More
---------------------------
START: 5
END: 37
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
RULES:
1) Do not get more than a 10 combo. The goal is to get a 10 combo, then step
on the following arrow with a timing of GOOD, ALMOST, or BOO. If you get
higher than a 10 combo, the challenge will end immediately.
---------------------
ORDINARY 2 – Dead End
---------------------
START: 1
END: 78
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) Do not step on arrows of the same direction consecutively. Single steps
and double steps are different. For example, in the case of Up, Up
arrows, step on the first or second arrow, but not both arrows.
(Another thing I should point out for these types of challenges... given a
series of more than two consecutive arrows, you're supposed to step on every
other arrow. Like, in a series of three, step on the first and third, but not
the second.)
------------------------
ORDINARY 3 – Elfadiciell
------------------------
START: 31
END: 42
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
MODIFIERS: Few poison arrows, Dance gauge will begin near empty
RULES:
1) Do not step on any poison arrows or you will lose some of your dance
gauge.
(In case you're especially dense, poison arrows are those darker, blackish
arrows that stand out from the otherwise bright, multicolored arrows you
usually find in the world of DDR.)
--------------------
ORDINARY 4 – NEMESIS
--------------------
START: 1
END: 34
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
MODIFIERS: Dark arrows
RULES:
1) Get more than 80% PERFECT.
(The Dark modifier hides the step zone... so you'll have to pay more attention
to the song itself to find the beat and know when to step.)
---------------------
ORDINARY 5 – The Tide
---------------------
START: 1
END: 34
DIFFICULTY: BASIC
RULES:
1) Do not step on any Up or Down arrows. Step on all other arrows with
PERFECT or GREAT timing. If you misstep, the challenge will end
immediately.
---------------------------
ORDINARY 6 – COSMIC COWGIRL
---------------------------
START: 1
END: 59
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
RULES:
1) Do not step on any 8th note arrows.
(Holy crap, I never realized just how many offbeat steps this song had! Do
yourself a favor. Turn on "Note". (Arrow options can be found under
"Graphics" in Options Mode.) Then, just step on the red arrows!)
=============
12D. SUPERIOR
=============
--------------------
SUPERIOR 1 – EternuS
--------------------
START: 40
END: 55
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Flat arrows
RULES:
1) Do not step on any quarter note arrows.
(There's so few non-quarters in this song that you could probably get away with
not hitting ANY arrows... or, if not, at least hitting just a couple. If it
helps, the only notes you can hit are the first notes of the gallops, and the
notes that pop up while you're holding down the first freeze.)
----------------------------
SUPERIOR 2 – Breathe The Air
----------------------------
START: 9
END: 41
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Some poison arrows, Dance gauge will begin near empty
RULES:
1) Do not step on any poison arrows or you will lose some of your dance
gauge.
2) Clear this stage with your dance gauge full. *The dance gauge will blink
when it reaches maximum.
---------------------
SUPERIOR 3 – Dead End
---------------------
START: 42
END: 78
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Boost arrows, Reverse arrows
RULES:
1) Do not step on arrows of the same direction consecutively. Single steps
and double steps are different. For example, in the case of Up, Up
arrows, step on the first or second arrow, but not both arrows.
---------------------------
SUPERIOR 4 – on voit la mer
---------------------------
START: 61
END: 71
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 1.5x, Hidden arrows, Dance gauge will begin near
empty
RULES:
1) Do not exceed 50% of the dance gauge. *Be sure to check the dance gauge
during play and misstep if you need to.
----------------------------------------------
SUPERIOR 5 – I Wanna Be Your Star (Speedy Mix)
----------------------------------------------
START: 25
END: 41
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
RULES:
1) Step on only 8th note arrows.
-----------------------------------------------------
SUPERIOR 6 – Let The Beat Hit 'Em (Classic R&B Style)
-----------------------------------------------------
START: 1
END: 38
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
RULES:
1) Get more than 85% PERFECT, and clear this stage with a full combo. Focus
on one arrow at a time.
==============
12E. MARVELOUS
==============
----------------------------
MARVELOUS 1 – Musika Atomika
----------------------------
START: 30
END: 58
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Dance gauge will begin near empty
RULES:
1) Do not exceed 25% of the dance gauge. *Be sure to check the dance gauge
during play and misstep if you need to.
------------------------------------------------------
MARVELOUS 2 – Space Space Shooter (Cusimo & Co. Remix)
------------------------------------------------------
START: 34
END: 62
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed 3x, Boost arrows, Dance gauge will begin near empty
RULES:
1) Do not allow the dance gauge to become empty.
(Now THAT'S a sudden leap in difficulty! Hard song with modifiers that make it
really hard to read? Good thing the only requirement is not to fail...)
---------------------------
MARVELOUS 3 – Moving Higher
---------------------------
START: 69
END: 75
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed 3x, Reverse arrows
RULES:
1) Get a full combo of all the arrows. A full combo is stepping on all
arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing.
-----------------------
MARVELOUS 4 – Lily Funk
-----------------------
START: 33
END: 51
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Many poison arrows
RULES:
1) Do not step on any poison arrows.
(Now they fail you if you hit any of them... and, wow, looks like they've been
breeding! But you can still tell the difference between black and flashing
pastel colors, I should hope...)
---------------------
MARVELOUS 5 – Synergy
---------------------
START: 21
END: 33
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
RULES:
1) Step on only 8th note arrows.
------------------------
MARVELOUS 6 – Orange Sky
------------------------
START: 1
END: 69
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Sudden arrows, Flat arrows, Dark arrows
RULES:
1) Get more than 90% PERFECT, and clear this stage with a full combo. Focus
on one arrow at a time.
(Flat arrows? That must be a mistake because that mod certainly isn't on for
me...)
Congrats! You're halfway to Challenge Mode supremacy! But things only get
harder from here...
------------
12F. GENUINE
------------
-------------------------
GENUINE 1 – What Is Love?
-------------------------
START: 1
END: 42
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Reverse arrows
RULES:
1) Do not step on two arrows at the same time. Step on all other arrows with
PERFECT or GREAT timing. If you misstep, the challenge will end
immediately.
----------------------
GENIUNE 2 – Emi's Song
----------------------
START: 34
END: 62
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 3x, Reverse arrows
RULES:
1) Get a full combo of all the arrows. A full combo is stepping on all
arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing.
----------------------------
GENUINE 3 – Rhythm Is Rhythm
----------------------------
START: 1
END: 47
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 3x
RULES:
1) Do not step on any Up or Down arrows. Step on all other arrows with
PERFECT or GREAT timing. If you misstep, the challenge will end
immediately.
(Seems a bit weird that they're only forcing you to ignore the Up and Down
arrows in all these types of challenges here. Where's the love... er, hate
for left and right?)
------------------
GENUINE 4 – Always
------------------
START: 37
END: 52
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 2x
RULES:
1) Clear this stage with 0 points. GOOD equals 0 points. *Be sure not to get
many BOO and focus on one arrow at a time.
(So, basically, the idea is to get a Good on every step... which is harder than
it sounds. Given the fact that you're playing 15 whole measures of this song,
it can actually be very hellish. It could help to head into Options and alter
the timing, so that perhaps stepping right on an arrow will earn you a Good.)
-------------------
GENUINE 5 – Anthema
-------------------
START: 41
END: 56
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
RULES:
1) Do not step on arrows of the same direction consecutively. Single steps
and double steps are different. For example, in the case of Up, Up
arrows, step on the first or second arrow, but not both arrows.
-----------------------
GENUINE 6 – Summer Girl
-----------------------
START: 1
END: 60
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
RULES:
1) Do not get more than a 10 combo. The goal is to get a 10 combo, then step
on the following arrow with a timing of GOOD, ALMOST, or BOO. If you get
higher than a 10 combo, the challenge will end immediately.
==============
12G. PARAMOUNT
==============
From here on out, crappy modifiers rule the day. They're piled on like you
wouldn't believe... good f***in' luck...
--------------------------
PARAMOUNT 1 – Mochi Crunch
--------------------------
START: 37
END: 62
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 2x, Many poison arrows
RULES:
1) Get a full combo of all the arrows. A full combo is stepping on all
arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing.
2) Do not step on any poison arrows.
(Get a full combo of all the arrows! But... don't step on the poison arrows?
Poison arrows are still arrows... bit of a contradiction there! Poison arrows
don't affect your combo, though, so... yeah, it still makes sense. It just
SOUNDS weird.)
---------------------------
PARAMOUNT 2 – Rock The Show
---------------------------
START: 1
END: 63
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Boost arrows, Hidden arrows, Mirror arrows, Reverse arrows
RULES:
1) Get more than 80% PERFECT.
(Jeez, they're really starting to pile on those modifiers! Well, all I can say
is... GET USED TO IT! :P Seriously, this will soon become the norm...)
-----------------------------------------------
PARAMOUNT 3 – Entry of the Gladiators (Kaz Mix)
-----------------------------------------------
START: 26
END: 60
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Dark arrows, Arrows are early by an 8th note
RULES:
1) Get a full combo of all the arrows. A full combo is stepping on all
arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing.
(Basically, all the arrows have been nudged up half a beat... which leads to a
frustratingly offbeat chart...)
----------------------------
PARAMOUNT 4 – on voit la mer
----------------------------
START: 53
END: 71
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Boost arrows, Hidden arrows, Reverse arrows
RULES:
1) Get more than 90% PERFECT.
---------------------
PARAMOUNT 5 – NEMESIS
---------------------
START: 9
END: 33
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 0.5x, Phantom arrows, Dark arrows
RULES:
1) Do not step on arrows of the same direction consecutively. Single steps
and double steps are different. For example, in the case of Up, Up
arrows, step on the first or second arrow, but not both arrows.
----------------------------
PARAMOUNT 6 – COSMIC COWGIRL
----------------------------
START: 1
END: 59
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 3x, Reverse arrows
RULES:
1) Get more than 85% PERFECT, and clear this stage with a full combo. Focus
on one arrow at a time.
---------------
12H. EXORBITANT
---------------
-----------------------------------
EXORBITANT 1 – Handle Your Business
-----------------------------------
START: 39
END: 48
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 0.5x, Left arrows, Flat arrows, Dance gauge will
begin near empty
RULES:
1) The dance gauge will not replenish during play.
2) Do not step on any quarter note arrows.
(This would be one of the most sadistic things ever if you had to play a bigger
portion of the song...)
------------------------
EXORBITANT 2 – Yoru Funk
------------------------
START: 27
END: 37
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 5x, Dark arrows, Reverse arrows, Music is slowed
RULES:
1) Step on all arrows with PERFECT timing.
(Yeesh. Even with the music slowed, arrows scrolling at 5x are very hard to
read... you know, all you get for clearing Challenge mode is a few
Achievement points. Is it really worth it?)
-------------------------
EXORBITANT 3 – Orange Sky
-------------------------
START: 17
END: 25
DIFFICULTY: ONI
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 2x, Boost arrows, Sudden arrows, Reverse arrows
RULES:
1) Get more than 95% PERFECT, and clear this stage with a full combo. Focus
on one arrow at a time.
----------------------
EXORBITANT 4 – NEMESIS
----------------------
START: 9
END: 33
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 0.5x, Phantom arrows, Dark arrows
RULES:
1) Get a full combo of all the arrows. A full combo is stepping on all
arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing.
(This is the same exact setup as Paramount 5, just with a different goal. If
you could handle that, this shouldn't be TOO much harder.)
----------------------------------
EXORBITANT 5 – Contra (Medley Mix)
----------------------------------
START: 1
END: 24
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 1.5x, Flat arrows
RULES:
1) Do not step on any 16th note arrows.
-----------------------------------------------
EXORBITANT 6 – Makes Me Cry (Drew Campbell Mix)
-----------------------------------------------
START: 1
END: 66
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Flat Arrows
RULES:
1) Do not step on any quarter note arrows.
=================
12I. CATASTROPHIC
=================
---------------------------------------
CATASTROPHIC 1 – MATSURI (J-SUMMER MIX)
---------------------------------------
START: 21
END: 68
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Hidden arrows, Left arrows, Flat arrows, Dance gauge will begin near
empty
RULES:
1) The dance gauge will not replenish during play.
2) Do not step on arrows of the same direction consecutively. Single steps
and double steps are different. For example, in the case of Up, Up
arrows, step on the first or second arrow, but not both arrows.
-----------------------------------
CATASTROPHIC 2 – potpourri d'orange
-----------------------------------
START: 36
END: 37
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
RULES:
1) Step on all arrows with GREAT timing.
(Yeah, it's only one measure, but it's still hard. Just like you'll usually
blow a Perfect Attack by getting a Great on a jackhammer... it's hard not to
get at least one Perfect over the course of these jackhammers... and then you
try and overcompensate and end up getting Goods instead. This isn't easy.)
-----------------------
CATASTROPHIC 3 – Senses
-----------------------
START: 41
END: 52
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
RULES:
1) The dance gauge will not replenish during play.
2) Clear this stage with 0 points. GOOD equals 0 points. *Be sure not to get
many BOO and focus on one arrow at a time.
(OMFG! Something challenging involving Senses? It's getting mighty chilly in
hell...)
------------------------
CATASTROPHIC 4 – Synergy
------------------------
START: 1
END: 58
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Hidden arrows, Dance gauge will begin near empty
RULES:
1) The number of GREAT, GOOD, and ALMOST should not exceed the number of
PERFECT during play. BOO is okay but if you get too many it's game over.
2) Clear this stage with less than 15% of the dance gauge full. The dance
gauge will not deplete easily unless you misstep with consecutive arrows.
3) Get more than 60 each of PERFECT, GREAT, and GOOD. *Try to get many good
in the beginning.
(Now THERE'S a tricky trio of requirements. You'll always have to have more
Perfects than anything else, so that helpful hint they have for the third
requirement is actually sort of ill-advised...)
---------------------------------------------------------
CATASTROPHIC 5 – Space Space Shooter (Cusimo & Co. Remix)
---------------------------------------------------------
START: 30
END: 81
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 3x, Mirror arrows, Dark arrows, Dance gauge will
begin near empty
RULES:
1) Do not exceed 25% of the dance gauge. *Be sure to check the dance gauge
during play and misstep if you need to.
------------------------
CATASTROPHIC 6 – EternuS
------------------------
START: 1
END: 55
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 1.5x, Reverse arrows, Dance gauge will begin near
empty
RULES:
1) The dance gauge will not replenish during play.
2) Do not step on arrows of the same direction consecutively. Single steps
and double steps are different. For example, in the case of Up, Up
arrows, step on the first or second arrow, but not both arrows.
================
12J. APOCALYPTIC
================
Here it is, the hardest challenges that Universe 2 has to offer! If you're
brave enough to actually tackle these challenges, prepare to tear your hair
out in frustration! And, uh, good f***ing luck!
---------------------------------
APOCALYPTIC 1 – Disabled the Flaw
---------------------------------
START: 30
END: 50
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 1.5x, Phantom arrows, Some poison arrows
RULES:
1) Do not get more than a 10 combo. The goal is to get a 10 combo, then step
on the following arrow with a timing of GOOD, ALMOST, or BOO. If you get
higher than a 10 combo, the challenge will end immediately.
2) Do not step on any poison arrows or you will lose some of your dance
gauge.
----------------------------------
APOCALYPTIC 2 – potpourri d'orange
----------------------------------
START: 65
END: 67
DIFFICULTY: DIFFICULT
MODIFIERS: Stealth arrows, Shuffle arrows, Dark arrows, Reverse arrows
RULES:
1) Step on all arrows with PERFECT timing.
(With Stealth and Shuffle on, it's all a matter of getting lucky... or CCRing
this and pounding all four directions. I've got no idea why they have Reverse
on. You can't actually see the arrows, so what difference does it make what
direction they scroll?)
---------------------------
APOCALYPTIC 3 – Summer Girl
---------------------------
START: 25
END: 33
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 8x, Stealth arrows
RULES:
1) Get a full combo of all the arrows. A full combo is stepping on all
arrows with PERFECT or GREAT timing.
(Likewise, the 8x speed mod makes no difference because you can't see the
arrows anyway, thanks to Stealth. Are they just putting these extra modifiers
there to intimidate idiots who don't realize that?)
-----------------------------
APOCALYPTIC 4 – Spin the Disc
-----------------------------
START: 17
END: 18
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Arrow speed is 2x
RULES:
1) Clear this stage with 0 points. GOOD equals 0 points. *Be sure not to get
many BOO and focus on one arrow at a time.
(Just like Catastrophic 2, it may just be one measure, but it's got
jackhammers! They're hard to get all the same step rating on, y'know.)
-----------------------
APOCALYPTIC 5 – EternuS
-----------------------
START: 1
END: 55
DIFFICULTY: EXPERT
MODIFIERS: Very few poison arrows
RULES:
1) Do not get more than a 10 combo. The goal is to get a 10 combo, then step
on the following arrow with a timing of GOOD, ALMOST, or BOO. If you get
higher than a 10 combo, the challenge will end immediately.
2) Do not step on arrows of the same direction consecutively. Single steps
and double steps are different. For example, in the case of Up, Up
arrows, step on the first or second arrow, but not both arrows.
3) Do not step on any poison arrows.
4) Get more than 80% PERFECT.
(The fact that requirements 1 and 2 force you to get Boos (or Almosts or Goods)
certainly complicates that quest for 80% Perfects. A lot. IMO, this is the
hardest challenge in the game!)
-------------------------------------------------
APOCALYPTIC 6 – Entry of the Gladiators (Kaz Mix)
-------------------------------------------------
START: 1
END: 60
DIFFICULTY: ONI
RULES:
1) Get more than 95% PERFECT and clear this stage with a full combo. Focus
on one arrow at a time.
(So very easy, for a final stage. No modifiers, no wacky requirements, just the
toughest nine-footer in the game, and a crapload of Perfects you've gotta get
on it. But even if it is the final stage, this is by no means a true boss
song, either difficulty-wise or sound-wise. Goofy clown music does not equal
intimidation...)
+---------------+
|13. OTHER MODES|
+---------------+
Aside from Game Mode and Quest Mode, perhaps you're wondering what all that
other stuff on the main menu is for. Well... wonder no more!
---------------
13A. PARTY MODE
---------------
This mode contains various "Party Games" to break up the monotony of basic DDR.
If you have no friends, CPU opponents are available on all the multiplayer
modes. The games in this mode include...
POWER: I already covered this above; test your endurance in what I like to call
"Nonstop Mini-Megamixes!"
SPEED: Choose a song, and step all the arrows as fast as possible, regardless
of rhythm.
ATTACK: A two-player mode sort of like the "Battle Mode" in recent PS2 mixes.
Build up an attack with multiple successful steps on a particular arrow: Down
is Attack, which lowers your opponent's step zone; Up is Recover, which raises
yours; Left is Virus, which counteracts your opponent's Attack or Recover
Combo; and Right is Firewall, which blocks your opponent's Viruses. It's not
as confusing as it sounds once you actually get into it.
BOMB: A mode for 2-4 players, sort of like a DDR version of Hot Potato. Get 5
combos to pass the bomb to someone else; you lose if you're holding the bomb
when the song ends, or if you take too long to get 5 combos.
SYNC: Cooperative mode for up to 4 players. The game ends if even one of you
misstep. You can apparently add CPU players here too, weird as that seems.
TRIPLE: Sort of like "12 Panels" mode, where stepcharts span three dance pads.
QUAD: I can't imagine anyone actually having the room for this, but it's like
Triple, with yet another added, for a terrifying grand total of four pads at
once...
POINT: Each player starts with 16 points. You lose a point if you get a lower
step rating than your opponent. The last player standing wins, or if there's
more than one player with points left at the end of the song, whoever has the
most points claims victory. For 2-4 players.
SCORE: 2-4 player competition to achieve the highest score on a song.
RELAY: Weird. Just weird. 2-4 players alternate steps on a song.
FREE: Freestyle Mode makes its triumphant return from Ultramix 3! Er...
unfortunately, it's the most useless mode ever. There's no set steps, you
just freestyle. Uh, isn't that something you could do without plopping down
sixty bucks for this game?
-----------------
13B. WORKOUT MODE
-----------------
Watch the calories burn as you dance, baby! DDR makes a pretty good workout,
really. Just input your weight, turn on "Workout Switch," and you'll know how
many calories you're supposedly burning no matter what mode you play!
--------------
13C. XBOX LIVE
--------------
Coming soon! Getting my 360 hooked up to the Internet is too much of a hassle
at the moment. I will someday though, I hope! Here, you can play against other
people who lack real-life friends every bit as much as you do, and view the
leaderboards, though contrary to the first Universe (as far as I know), you
CAN'T download new songs from here – you can only get them off the Xbox Live
Marketplace this time. (Thanks to ZukinMan for pointing that out.)
Oh, and remember, it's generally frowned to use the controller in online
matches! Stick with the pad!
------------------
13D. TRAINING MODE
------------------
Is there a song that's giving you trouble? Then come here to beat it at your
own pace! Unlike other modes of gameplay, you can set additional options.
For example, you can turn on a handclap (which claps whenever there's an
arrow, useful for understanding complicated arrow patterns), a metronome
(which indicates standard quarter beats), special "Timing" accuracy ratings
(which replace the standard "Perfect," "Great," and so on with "Just," if
you're right on, or "Early" and "Late" if you're not), and a foot guide
(which suggests what foot to use on which arrow). Also, you can change the
actual speed of the music here. 5 is the normal speed, but you can take it
clear down to 1. Songs with female vocals are entertaining to play on the
lowest speed setting... creepy!
--------------
13E. EDIT MODE
--------------
Create your own steps and background movies for songs! There's so many
possibilities... and a guide specifically for this would take up a lot of room.
If you're honestly serious about this, I'll trust that you can manage to read
the manual on this one. Given my rambling personality, if I started on this, it
would get ridiculously out-of-control... so you're on your own.
------------
13F. JUKEBOX
------------
Listen to the songs in the game without all that pesky dancing business! You
can listen to the songs in one of the default orders, or create your own
special playlist.
------------
13G. RECORDS
------------
Check your records! Not much too it... but I didn't realize until checking it
out just now to write this up that they keep separate records for songs played
with "All jump" or "All freeze" on. Interesting. Sort of. Not really.
------------
13H. OPTIONS
------------
Tweak various options to fit your style of play! They're divided into various
subcategories:
SOUND: Change the volume for music, announcer voice, and sound effects. You
can't turn the announcer off, sadly, but turning him down to 1 and having
everything else maxed out is the next best thing.
CONTROLS: Choose between various strange one-pad control solutions for Double
Mode (which the game calls "8 Panels" elsewhere...), turn on vibration (if
you're CCRing), disable the ABXY buttons on the dance pad, and turn on the
ability to use the control stick on the controller. (Hey, anything beats the
atrocious control pad!)
GRAPHICS: Turn off BG movies and dancers, adjust background brightness, make
the game show the time you've elapsed dancing, and try out some alternate
arrow color schemes.
GAME: Adjust step timing to account for lag, make the game let you play to
the end of a song even if the gauge runs out, change the default difficulty,
and change the game level (which determines how fast the gauge depletes).
DANCERS: Set the default dancers for each player.
SCREEN: Set the aspect ratio of music video clips, and switch the screen
type. (Squeeze stretches it out, so there's no true solution for folks like
me without widescreen TVs. Those bastards...)
AVATAR: Select a dancer to serve as the "avatar" for a given profile. This
overrides the defaults set on the "Dancers" screen.
CREDITS: View the credits. Duh.
+---------------+
|14. GLITCHINESS|
+---------------+
Thus far, I haven't found Universe 2 to be as glitchy as the original... but
I expect that this section will bloat up as time goes on...
- Universe 2 seems to have a tendency toward freezing while trying to load up
the results screen. It seems that the game still saves records for that
dance, so it's not as bad as it seems, but it's still a pain in the ass
having to reset all the time.
+--------------------------------------------+
|15. THE EXTREME HIGHS AND LOWS OF UNIVERSE 2|
+--------------------------------------------+
What is this section, you ask? Why, it's where I compile various useless lists
about DDR Universe 2, on topics such as the longest songs, or songs with the
most jumps, or other entirely useless crap like that!
TOP 5 FASTEST SONGS
-------------------
5. MATSURI (J-SUMMER MIX) / Space Space Shooter (C&C Remix) – 180 BPM
4. Himawari – 185 BPM
3. Dead End – 190 BPM
2. Hey! - 200 BPM
1. Walk Like An Egyptian – 208 BPM
TOP 5 SLOWEST SONGS
-------------------
5. Take Me Out – 105 BPM
4. Let The Beat Hit 'Em (Classic R&B Style) / Safety Dance – 102 BPM
3. Yoru Funk – 100 BPM
2. Handle Your Business – 95 BPM
1. Love This Feelin' (ZONK Remix) – 94 BPM
TOP 5 LONGEST SONGS
-------------------
5. Sunshine In London – 1:51
4. jelly kiss / So Fine – 1:55
3. TOE JAM – 1:57
2. Handle Your Business – 1:58
1. NEMESIS – 2:07
TOP 5 SHORTEST SONGS
--------------------
5. Let The Beat Hit 'Em – 1:27
4. Catch it! - 1:26
3. Yoru Funk – 1:25
2. What Is Love – 1:24
1. Disabled The Flaw – 1:10
TOP 5 SONGS WITH THE MOST STEPS ON EXPERT/ONI
---------------------------------------------
5. Mochi Crunch – 416 steps, 425 max combo
4. TOE JAM - 426 steps, 429 max combo
3. Orange Sky [ONI] – 439 steps, 460 max combo
2. Space Space Shooter (C&C Remix) – 439 steps, 466 max combo
1. Entry of the Gladiators (Kaz Mix) [ONI] – 466 steps, 480 max combo
TOP 5 SONGS WITH THE FEWEST STEPS ON EXPERT/ONI
-----------------------------------------------
5. Anytime Soon – 211 steps, 227 max combo
4. Put Your Faith In Me (Saturday Night Mix) – 207 steps, 223 max combo
3. Senses – 200 steps, 225 max combo
2. Love This Feelin' (ZONK Remix) – 199 steps, 205 max combo
1. Let The Beat Hit 'Em (Classic R&B Style) – 192 steps, 224 max combo
TOP 5 STEPCHARTS WITH THE MOST AIR
----------------------------------
5. DYNAMITE RAVE [BASIC] / Rhythm Is Rhythm [EXPERT] – 53 jumps
4. GRADIUSIC CYBER [EXPERT] – 54 jumps
3. The Tide [EXPERT] / The Way You Move [DIFFICULT] – 62 jumps
2. Entry of the Gladiators (Kaz Mix) [EXPERT] – 69 jumps
1. I Wanna Be Your Star (Speedy Mix) [EXPERT] – 80 jumps
TOP 5 STEPCHARTS WITH THE MOST FREEZES
--------------------------------------
5. COSMIC COWGIRL [BASIC] – 58 freezes
4. BATTLE BREAKS [DIFFICULT] – 70 freezes
3. BATTLE BREAKS [EXPERT] / NEMESIS [EXPERT] – 75 freezes
2. Is It Any Wonder? (Tall Paul Remix) – 80 freezes
1. NEMESIS [BASIC] – 91 freezes
+-------------------+
|16. VERSION HISTORY|
+-------------------+
Version 0.5 (12/13/07): The first release of this guide. It's not anywhere
close to being complete, but I'm going on vacation later so I wanted to get
something out now, since it'll be a few days before I can resume work on
this. I've got the "Licensed Songs, Part 1" and "Old Konami Originals" parts
all finished, and I'll fill in the rest as soon as possible. Along with
making a real walkthrough for the Quest Mode; I'm just relying on an edited
copy-and-paste-job of the one for the original for now...
Version 0.95 (12/26/07): I've added a LOT to this version. There's still a few
things missing, such as lyrics for most of the new songs, and 9/10 of the
Challenge Mode, but pretty much all the important stuff is here now!
Version 1.0 (1/6/08): A little bit of new crap for the new year! The Challenge
mode section is finished now, officially concluding everything that HAS to be
here. I also added lyrics for the new KO's, though they're just my (likely
incorrect) interpretations and shouldn't be taken as official. I've still got
two groups of songs that lack lyrics, but I think everything that's TRULY
important is in here now. Yeah, baby.
+--------------+
|17. LEGAL CRAP|
+--------------+
This FAQ is Copyright © 2007 Jesse "JesseTehSkox" Haun. You may not take this,
in whole or in part, and claim it as your own. Don't post this on your site
without express consent by me. You may not alter this in any way, shape, or
form, even so much as putting it in HTML format.
So far, these sites are the only ones allowed to post this FAQ:
www.gamefaqs.com
www.cheatcc.com
www.neoseeker.com
Any other websites who wish to post this FAQ, please ask me first. Email me
at crazyperson90@gmail.com, I'll look into it and get back to you as soon as
possible. If anyone finds this FAQ at a site not on the above list, please
let me know...
+--------------------+
|18. IN CONCLUSION...|
+--------------------+
Whew... that was a lot of writing! I hope it was worth it; I'm always far too
critical of my own work, people tell me, so you be the judge! I heart flattery
and constructive criticism. Random insults... meh, not so much. Hit me up on
crazyperson90@gmail.com, I'm eager to hear what people think of my first ever
FAQ!
Special thanks goes out to...
- CyricZ, who didn't help me out DIRECTLY, but his excellent DDR FAQs were a
huge help to me when I was first getting into DDR. He's a good guy... I
assume. :P Also, I styled this after his DDR guides, because I can't really
think of a better way to FAQ a DDR game. It just doesn't lend itself well to
traditional walkthroughs, y'know!
- Ben Harper (thePATH420), whose corrections (some of them, anyway) live on in
the current copy-and-paste job of my old Universe 1 Quest Mode walkthrough.
- Thanks to Starrodkirby86 for his info on Contra (Medley Mix)... which, while
not as detailed as what he had on "Castlevania (Freestylin' Mix)", is still a
helluva lot more than I know!
- Howie (ZukinMan... or Ballistic106 on YouTube), who pointed out that you
can't download songs through the "Xbox Live" mode, let me use his Power Mix
videos from YouTube to save me a little work in getting the step counts for
them, and most helpful of all, provided a list of what's sold in all the
Quest Mode shops.
- Keith E. Young, who is apparently a bigger Duran Duran fan than, you know,
than any human being should, for helping me out on exactly where the vocals
from "Fire" were taken from.
- TheSlickAnt, whose topic on the Universe 2 message boards about unlockable
song locations was incorporated into this FAQ (with permission, of course!)
- Wikipedia, which was a huge help in gathering information on some of these
artists. Sure, I had to suffer through the evils of Google searches on some
of the more obscure ones, but still, very helpful!
- Ray O'Malley, my best friend, for emotional support and stuff. Even if I
have been worried sick about him lately, which was a bit of a distraction...
- ...and you, the reader!
So, DDR Universe 2... it's both an improvement and a big step back from the
first Universe. On one hand, Quest Mode is a lot less tedious, and most of the
glitches are fixed. But on the other hand, there's absolutely no ten-footers
and very little Konami Original representation. There's a pretty good variety
of songs, but it does reek somewhat of a rushed game. It's not too bad, though.
*insert entirely off-topic "Dennis Kucinich for President" message here*
(Copyright 2007 Jesse Haun)