DDR Beginner Days

Alright well more on a full story about my DDR beginnings:

I had just finished up Mario Adventure and I needed a new hobby. My friend DJ Bouche suggested I download Stepmania and some of the DDR packs. I did and started to play via keyboard and found the game pretty freaking fun. I didn't realize that Stepmania was DDR itself. I found out you could play with a pad, so I bought one and a PS2->USB converter only to find out the up + down arrows didn't work, so I remapped up/down/left/right to corner buttons and turned the pad 45 degrees. I did "ok".

But then one day in February of '04 (26th I believe) I decided to go to the mall. I felt nervous and shaky as I've seen the game in public before and I thought you had to be gay to play the game. I didn't want to make a fool of myself but I really wanted to experience the game the way it was meant. I went with $2 and proceeded. I remember feeling pumped by the volume of the music, the pumping beats and the huge collection of songs. I decided to choose B4U first. I was surprised how worn out I was so fast, but I was hooked. next I chose Dynamite Rave and felt even more tired. Finally I ended with Captain Jack (all light) and my legs really hurt, but I fought through the pain to play another round (same set). I had never felt so much pain in my legs! But it felt good. I was excited, I was hyped up.

Homework proceeded to wain as I anticipated the next time I'd get to go play at the arcade. I went on a Friday night... oh, my, god, it was packed. So many people waiting to play. I had to eventually ask someone when I could jump in. I played with someone and I accidentally chose nonstop and we both failed the course. Embarrassed, I fled the scene and went to the mall on the other side of town and waited 45 minutes to play one game. Those were good times. Sadly, the community faded, people played less. A big reason being that the arcades became less and less friendly towards regulars. One arcade became unmanned, another just became stuck up and started to let their machine go. There's a new disjointed set of players, but it'll never be the same as it was in 2004.

ddr beginner day ?

hmm... my DDR beginning started at last year. *am I too late ?*
in that time, the first song i've played is So Many Men at DDR 3rd Mix (at SSR), and luckily i got A (for once try).
i don't know is this magic or not, because this is my first time i've played expert mode (youknow, i'm usually got B or C for first try at expert), but I'm really happy to see it .

My beginner day started about 2 years ago. My sister showed me DDR Extreme, and we whored JANEJANA, AFRONOVA, and SUPER STAR (FROM NONSTOP MEGAMIX). I struggled to pass JANEJANA, then struggled to get A on it.

From there, eventually I went alone, trying other songs, trying doubles (it was Joint Premium) and failed miserably at JANEJANA and ECSTASY.

I stumbled upon StepMania before my first DDR day. But then I stumbled upon ZIv and downloaded simfiles. Inactive for 1 year, I decided to partake in the forums, 1 year ago.

Then it all went downhill, found SN2, then SN, then X. Then I tried a lot of times, lost my breath and had to sit down for 5 minutes just for passing MAX 300 (it was maybe 1 year ago). Now I got AA on MAX 300, and struggling to get AA on The legend of MAX.

Actually I encountered DDR in arcade looong ago. When I was still in elementary school. All I play was light songs (the only difficulty I tried was trick [yes it's still called trick], Bumble Bee) and I played rarely.

Then my sister got DDR 2nd MIX CS JP (this was when I was still in elementary) and then I got 3rd mix, etc etc. Jump back to the top of this post.

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First time I played DDR was in May 2001 (age 18), on DDR 5thMIX. What attracted me to the machine was DAM DARIRAM (KCP MIX) playing in demo mode. I first played that song and passed (forgot which grade), then played AFRONOVA PRIMEVAL, and failed. I was pretty much hooked, so whenever I was able to go to Chinatown, I played DDR (5thMIX, later MAX2) at least once. Early in 2003, I ended up injuring my legs playing football, which let me off DDR for about a year. In April 2004, I picked up MAX US and MAX2 US with no pad after a friend dragged me back to the machine. I regained my skills after a few months, but I still couldn't play at home because my floor's wooden and I'm a bit of a leadfoot. In 2007, I went back to Chinatown Fair after a 3-year hiatus (for varying reasons) with a few friends, and saw that I went back to where I left off (doing 6-footers and such). I've pretty much improved to doing 7's and some 8's since then. Unfortunately, I'm stuck there as I lack the stamina for some songs.

The first time I played DDR was in 2006 when my mom got it for me for christmas. I played Freckles . I was so excited but had no idea I could unlock songs until almost a year later beacuse I had no idea how to use stellar master mode. I was also stuck playing courses for a while because I tried to go to game mode and the menu was confusing so I didn't bother with it. I remeber I had a hard time playing Xepher as well. I thought it was so hard and I thought I was so cool beacuse I could play DoLL . Then we moved and I found out how to do stellar master mode and that I could unlock songs. When I unlocked the boss songs I was like , but I kept playing and finally began playing songs and boss songs. Then I got better and better until I could play a couple of songs. Then the down button on my pad broke and I learned how to play DualshockDualshockRevolution!. As easy as it looks it's actually pretty hard. It took me a while to even begin trying to play boss songs. My thumbs would ache but I always got better. Plus, it was good for teaching your eyes how to better understand the arrows. I am better at DDR with my fingers than I am with my feet. So I decide to google DDR for PC and stumbled upon stepmania. I have been playing stepmania since 2008. Also, take note that I was still a total DDR noob when all of this happened and in all this time of not having a pad I lost a lot of stamina and skills, but when I got DDR X2 last year that changed.... for a little while. Now I have DDR for PS3, but I live on the third floor in an apartment. So now I'm limited to mostly playing on dualshock and waiting for DLC so I have an excuse for playing on pad.

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I started in about october 2008, I believe. Maybe 2007. Probably 2008. Friend had DS SN1 at a party which I asked him to bring after he showed me SM on his laptop. It was awesome, I went home and got SM and then a week or so later had a dance mat off trademe that didn't work with my ps2 converter. So I was forced to wait for the DS fusion that I had ordered off ebay. (Since nowhere in NZ ever bloody sells DDR games beyond universe and hottest party, and even then they're rare)

A few months later I built my own homepad, loved the hell out of it. Still using it. (The design is in my sig link)
A few months after that, I played at the arcade on an old extreme for the first time. Yup. I built a homepad before I had ever played at the arcade. But then, I didn't ever/often go into the city outside of school trips, and I was on a school trip when I found the machine.

I then hosted a tournament at my school. Signed up 83 people to participate. 0 turned up. But it was fun, big audiences turned up ad I pulled people from the crowd to play.

And now I'm here. With every ps2 EU mix, a moderately large library on SM with a usb and ps2 control box (hardwired controller) for my homepad. And an attitude of 'damn I wish I was here earlier.' But then, DDR's not dead. Arcades (and some of their players) just suck nowadays.

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OMG, that same thing happened to me. I started playing in 2006 when my parents got me SuperNOVA1. I remember not unlocking anything until I played Stellar Master Mode.

I remember on Christmas morning I cried because I could not pass Since U Been Gone and then my mom jumped on and played Funkytown and it clicked. I got to on Christmas evening and I was hooked. In fact, my 5th DDR Birthday was on Christmas this year.

I'm really surprised at the level I've gotten to vs what I started out at. I remember watching the elite players and thinking there was NO way I would ever be able to be at their skill. Even now I think "there's no way I'll be AAing 10s", but really, it's a matter of time. Most people don't believe when they start out that everyone struggles when they begin and like with any other video game, you get better with practice.

-Okay, so it was December 2007 and I received Supernova 2 for Christmas. I liked the game because of the licenses first, and I thought that was the only thing that I could unlock. I couldn't wait for more Chris Brown and Gwen Stefani songs!!!....
-The first song I played in that game was And then We Kissed (I hate that song)
-I tried HMM and i gave up at Seduction (60 combos on that song was hell to me at the time)
-I kept playing the songs in standard mode over and over again and unlocked and bought more songs, then I played the game in difficulty order (that is when I learned about misrates ) .
6 Months later...
-I was on expert, and I looked up people that were good at DDR, like Dr. D, dj Sterf etc. I could pass Outer Limits at the time.
-Mat then Broke and I stopped playing for 4-5 months.
-Found out japan gotten Better versions
-New game, new mat, got better, pad broke...repeat
Currently
-I am having trouble with 16's,jumpy 15's and 16th streams, and it is because of the soft pad, any tips? (pad slides,& gets crumply)
-I've been watching Kon, Dr. D, and ddrray for timing, now I can pfc a couple of songs, and I can also pass Trim!

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@Maykithappen

try modding the pad? Taping it to the floor, or get a thick piece of wooden board and tape it there.

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Began playing DDR during the 2nd Mix era.

Apparently, when 3rd Mix came out, that was the only time I started playing on Maniac mode. (After two years)

I stopped for a while so I was on and off with DDR.

And then when DDRMAX2 USA came out, (after five years, I guess) that was the first time I've beaten 9 footers.

Four years after that, I finally beat Max 300 (in DDR Supernova 2 arcade)...

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Woww... my DDR story...

It started when I was in 5th grade. I first saw the game when my sister had a party, and one of her friends had brought it over. I snuck downstairs and watched them for a while, liking the music more than the game itself. Fast-forward a few months to Christmastime. I went to my cousins' house to discover they had the game. It was a copy of DDRMAX CS. My first song ever was BABY BABY GIMME YOUR LOVE . After that, I somehow managed to clear OVERBLAST!! and Sandstorm . Dark Black Forest seemed impossible to me, and lord help me when I tried CANDY* .

Fast-forward to Christmas one year later. I received DDR EXTREME CS and two foam pads. 321STARS was my goal and one of the hardest songs I could clear at that point. My favorite songs (on light) were 321STARS, MIRACLE, Move Your Feet, i feel..., and BIZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE. Soon after, I unlocked CAN'T STOP FALLIN' IN LOVE (Speed Mix) and thought I would never be able to clear it. After a few months of practice, I managed to clear that and TRIP MACHIEN Survivor on Light.

After that, I actively sought out the available games over the rest of my 6th Grade year. I acquired MAX CS, MAX2 CS, and Konamix in the span of a few months. Then I heard about the upcoming release of DDR EXTREME2. This was the pinnacle of my DDR experience. I had discovered Stepmania over the summer and loved that a bunch of the "oldies" would reappear on DDR EXTREME2. I remember immediately going to SPEED OVER BEETHOVEN upon getting DDR EXTREME2 and clearing it somehow. INSIDE YOUR HEART and IRRESISTIBLEMENT were favorites of mine at that point.

Once SuperNOVA came out a year later, I discovered a few other friends on my street had a growing interest in DDR. This started my burgeoning interest in the Community as a whole. Presently, I am focusing mostly on Stepmania and EXTREME2 / earlier mixes. I liked the older days of DDR, and hope that Konami comes up with something to create a similar feeling.

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Wow, reading this, I'm really new. Started playing at a Halloween laser-tag all nighter last October. At 23. Played EoTC light and passed first time. It was an Euro MIX, then passed I Will Survive (5) and Tubthumping.
Never played again til I met 2 tournament level players on April 1st this year. Met the rest of the Great Yarmouth crowd and haven't stopped since. Passed my first 7 and 8 that day, and got my first 9 a few weeks later.

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So, there was this TV Station that had a portion where they challenged contestants to play DDR songs. It was good, and I was delighted when my cousin got 2nd Remix and a dance mat. The first and second song I played was Dub-I-Dub and Boys, both of which I failed miserably. The first song I ever passed was Let Them Move and moved on to two footers and such like Boom Boom Dollar (though I at one point managed to get an A on Celebrate Nite on DS feat. True Kiss Destination). My first and last arcade experience at that time was on 3rd Mix where I chose the Smile.dk course, I failed before I could finish measly, ordinary Butterfly.

After that, my interest went down, but I still nevertheless had it in me (I would imagine that I was playing DDR when I step on tiles).

On my 1st year of college, I got introduced to Stepmania by Youtube, and now learned that DDR never really did fade away. After close to a year of ghosting (ghost-stepping?) to DDR songs in the privacy of my home, I played an arcade version (DDR X) on an arcade that now I go to occasionally and it felt great. I still go to that arcade (the machine's been upgraded to DDR X2).

For now, I play songs on Difficult because Expert leaves me exhausted, which causes me to miss steps.

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as my sig, i started to try this interesting dance simulation game back in "June 1999"
the version was "Dance Dance Revolution (INTERNET RANKING Ver.)"
after understanding those DEMO LOOPS, i tried those familiar license songs like:
HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MELLOW, THAT'S THE WAY (I LIKE IT), KUNG FU FIGHTING, etc..
the first ever song that i chosen was "HAVE YOU NEVER BEEN MELLOW" (under NORMAL MODE)
because of its SIMPLE foot rating (Lv.1)
2nd was "THAT'S THE WAY (I LIKE IT)"
final stage, i tried "butterfly" and i failed
the machine was set to 3 stages only and requires 3 tokens (Php 21.00 about $ 0.50)

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I don't recall ever hearing about Dance Dance Revolution before 2005. A leader of a Chrisitan group first mentioned it to me. I thought it just sounded like a game about dancing, which didn't sound interesting. But when I saw it in action (early May 2006), it looked neat. I finally got to try it about four months later on I believe EXTREME 2 for Playstation 2 when the aforementioned leader invited a bunch of students to his church to play (I think we had to switch to an Ultramix on the Xbox at some point). I was like the worst one -- I couldn't pass two-footers. I think like the next week I passed After the Game of Love on light with a D. The main reason I returned to the center was because I saw the others doing it, so I guess I thought that's what I was supposed to do. I wanted to try beginner, but I guess the leader wanted it set on light (I guess I didn't know the difficulty could be changed on the song selection screen). A couple months later, I got Dance Praise, the Christian version of Dance Dance Revolution. Playing on it for about 11 months took me from failing two-footers to making A's on three-footers, but did not prepare me for standard mode at all (even though I think I passed the toughest songs on Dance Praise). I didn't try arcade until July 26, 2008 -- a SuperNOVA cabinet. At that point, I had advanced to about the seven- or eight-foot level. I tried In The Groove for the first time ever about three days later on an In The Groove 2 dedicab. I started passing nines about the end of 2008, and I have pretty much been stuck there since except I can pass some 10's on In The Groove with the bar and speed modifiers (I played almost exclusively 1x no bar vivid -- 1x no bar metal hallway on In The Groove -- until late 2009). Dance gaming is one of my biggest hobbies.

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Around 10 years ago. I was a noob. A 5 years old kid.

I bought DDR 3rd mix for PS1 and played the song Butterfly (Upswing Mix) [That's my first DDR song ever]. Using a controller and I always fail, and I dunno what should I do to 'clear' the "game". I picked other song, easier song, I played songs like Silent Hill or Upside Down. I get better and better until I realize I can use Triangle, Square, X, and O to do arrow presses (The first time I play, I can never hit jumps because D-pad doesn't allow left right or up down).

At that moment, I also play at arcade, but very rarely. There are so many people waiting to play and I ended up leaving an arcade. I stll remember when I play, a random girl said "Hahaha, this kid is funny".

2001, 2002, I don't have a PS2 yet, I'm stuck with Konamix, 4th mix, and 5th mix. I played DDR on Controller A LOT. I can pass some maniac songs with controller.

2004 I bought PS2 and I got EXTREME, still playing on controller, and I always think that MAX 300 is impossible to play. LOL! Besides EXTREME, I also play EXTREME2 US, EXTREME US, and MAX2 US. They were great.

2005 I found In The Groove, and play it somewhat alot, I can only pass 9s, and I couldn't read above 200BPM

I lost interest in BEMANI game from 2006, especially since I found O2Jam. But I found StepMania in 2008. I downloaded a lot of packs from 1st mix to EXTREME, and remembering my child's days.. It's awesome. Mid 2008, I decided to play in the arcades. I don't start with Light anymore, I skipped to . Thanks to Rhythm Based games I play since 2005 (O2Jam, Guitar Hero, Beatmania, and SM).

Now, I can pass these difficult song, up to level 14 in X scale (and some 15s). If I played since early 2000s, I would be better than now. Sometimes I regret why I didn't play in pad so much these days.. But no use, it's already passed. Hahaha.

That's my long story. 10 years of DDR.

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Like the person above me, Butterfly Upswing was my first song too, though I was unaware I could use the dualshock for DDR

I started on DDR Extreme 2. I moved up to light in a few days and just kinda stayed there until about 4 months later (April 2006)

Then I got Max 2. Upon falling in love with Tsugaru, I wanted to pass the heavy chart on foot. At this point I could pass anything with the controller, but my stamina was rather... lacking.

I don't remember what made me decide to try something on heavy, but I just went for it and never went back to light. What about standard? I just kinda skipped it.

My first arcade visit with DDR happened in may of 2006. I saw it back in 2003 as well, but was too nervous to actually try it then. That day, I passed my first 9 before my first 8. It was Matsuri Japan. Not exactly a hard 9, but I'll take it. I didn't even realize it was a 9 until I brought the chart up on DDRFreak later that day. Triple Digit Greats FTW?

After that, I focused on my timing. I started playing ITG in late 2006, and that's what gave me the boost I needed to tackle 10s. I bought the ITG home version around Christmas, and passed my first 2 10 footers the day that I modded my softpad. They were My Favourite Game and PARANOiA Survivor.

With a few 10s out of the way, I decided to attempt to pass all of the ITG 10s. I did that in about 2 weeks, playing every day. I also passed VerTex. (note that I would never call VerTex a 12. I barely consider it an 11)

By mid 2007, I passed everything on the ITG home version but Pandy. In 2008, I started posting vids on my youtube account, and that motivated me to improve my timing. This has been the hardest part of ITG/DDR for me.

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Er, let's see...

Well, when I was like 5 I always liked to watch the people play DDR, I thought it was friggin awesome that they could move their feet so fast. I tried it once , but I have no idea when, and all I remember is that I failed the second song

BUT, it's okay, because when I was 8, for Christmas my dad got me DDRMAX2 and one of those 300$ metal champion pads(why he did this i'll never know, but I thank him for it).My first song was Break Down, and I passed it with a B I played DDR WAAAY too much for an 8 year-old, but after a month of Light, I tried to pass some songs on standard. I passed those with no problem, so I decided to try a Heavy song, Spin the Disc(my still favourite DDR song of all time). I didn't pass it the first time, but I did the second. I was so excited!

By the time I was 10 I got Extreme2 and I passed my first ten-footer, ParanoiaSurvivor. But it was pure luck. And from there... Well, I just got better. I remember my metal mat dying, and getting another one. I remember getting SuperNova and playing that nonstop for 2 months straight. I still don't have that damn Pizza Box stage

Found FlashFlashRevolution when I was 11, and I got hooked on it. But then it shut down forever and ever, so I searched around and found Stepmania, which was a much better alternative, though I miss FFR(R.I.P)Found ITG when I was 12, and that got me into really hard boss songs. Somewhere around this time I also discovered PUMP, but thats unrelated

Of the 3 DDR's within a 30 minute drive, 1 has been out of order for a year, one is gone half the time, and the other was downgraded from Supernova to Extreme. The nearest post-Extreme machine is a 2 and a half hour ride away. But I do fine with my extensive collection of PS2 home versions

EDIT: FFR is back up, I was just too lazy to check back every month.

I A'D PR 3 weeks ago, which to me is an accomplishment, so yeah. I think that about covers it. 6 years in the making, hopefully I can make it to 10

^ You do know FFR is back up, right?

Just thought I'd say that. ;)