DanceEvolution Tips/Advice for Newcomers

So I started playing DanceEvolution Arcade for about three weeks and I already reached the point where I can pretty much clear any song on Master difficulty. Unfortunately, that's where I've reached my first plateau, as I have rarely been able to receive any grade above an A, AA if I am lucky on an easier song. I have almost never failed a single song, yet I never FCed a single song either (not even the tutorial songs lol). As a result, my passing scores are pretty much laughable (if this little ranking tournament is any indication) yet I haven't been able to improve on those scores. Any other players having a similar problem? Any veteran players willing to share some advice on getting full combos / anything higher than an A in this game (or camera-based dance games in general)?

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Well, I've never played DanceEvo, but I can imagine that if you actually know the dances, that would help out a ton. Look up videos on YouTube and follow along with them when you're not playing.

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Well, can you say for a fact that you're doing the routine accurately? Are there any specific routines/spots where your combos break and you're not sure why?

I've never played the arcade, so I try practicing at home with a mirror (screw the on-screen display; maybe the arcade is less laggy?). But there are still moments where I swear on my life I am doing it as closely as possible and not getting it (ex. Every Day, Every Night's turn-to-the-side-and-step-while-waving-your-arms at the beginning of the chorus kjshdkfjskdf that is not that hard what am I doing wrong). Other times it's really picky about the angle (ex: same song, very last move; think I had my hand too far forward and missed each time until I made the movement slower and closer to my side or something).

The only AAA I've got is on My Only Shining Star. I just have to be really sharp, right on time, move at all the right angles... I guess I never watch my perfects 'cause it's a miracle just to FC something, so maybe we don't have the same problem at all. ^^; Usually my knee is too far out and then I miss, or my arm is tilted and I miss... weird, off things from getting lazy, maybe.

But perhaps the best way to improve is to see yourself and the character at the same time, to see if you're too fast/ too slow/ missing something.

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I hate memorizing the dances themselves unless the moves are pretty simple, although I just hate memorizing in music games in general. Stealth difficulty could be an interesting exception though (very different from Stealth in DDR).

Yes, I remember that there are certain parts where I would always break combo and I'm not sure why; some of them involve moves that are facing away from the camera, but there are plenty of arm motions that I always get Boos on even if I think I'm doing them correctly. I seem have a tendency to react too late since some of the poses and markers just fly by too quickly. I guess it would be helpful to take videos of my performances; I should do that soon (assuming I get permission from the arcade managers first).

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I think for the moves where you follow the trails, the circle will glow stronger if you're following it correctly so I guess that's one visual cue for your timing.

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^That actually really helped so far (I can't believe I didn't notice it before)! Although, it doesn't really help when playing on Stealth.
I also recently heard that the best way to score is to try to follow the dance itself as closely as possible rather than to try to "aim" for the markers and react to them (makes sense). I guess these kind of games do rely on memorization more, especially on higher difficulties.

[I guess I should also take this time to update my first post in that I finally failed a song for the first time (Open Your Eyes on Stealth). I also learned that failing on the first song is not an immediate game over.]

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