DDR Tournaments

[Guest Sandman9000]

As the title says, I've entered a DDR tournament, and I could use some help. ::Glares at CED Ordonez::

 

To be fair, I haven't turned in the slip yet, but plan to do so. I also know NOTHING of the format, whether it is most perfects, freestyle, doubles, what difficulty level, NOTHING. All I know is that it's on a 5th mix machine, and there are at least 24 other people entered.

 

I can pass any basic song, save Drop Out, and am slowly working my way into Trick mode. 5-6 feet is my max, with 170 BPM my comfort level. It doesn't sound like much, but no one else I've seen at the arcade can do much better, save one guy who can do Trick to 7-8 foot Heavy.

 

As for freestyle, not much, aside from jumping off the pad and hopping over the bar during the break 2/3 through Japan; while it isn't much, a person of my sixe doing it is impressive.

 

So, any tips I can get at all, aside from practice until my feet bleed?

[Guest Nevermortal]

When in doubt....crack a fellow contestant with a light tube.

[Guest KoR Fungus]

You need to figure out the format in order to know what to practice. If the tournament's perfect attack, you'll obviously want to practice different things than if it's freestyle.

 

Ooh 5th mix. Play Hot Limit. Over and over and over. Because it's cool. Yeah.

[Guest CED Ordonez]

I really suggest finding out if it's a Perfect Attack or a Freestyle because, as KoR Fungus said, they really are two different beasts.

 

If it's a Perfect Attack tournament, you mainly have to practice getting your timing down on steps since things that break your combo hurt your score. Memorization is also highly recommended, especially if you know what songs are going to be used. ddrfreak.com is a pretty good site for some step charts if you really want to take this route.

 

If it's a Freestyle, you don't have to worry that much about your combo. However, it really kills you dead if you fail halfway through your routine, so again, memorization is recommended. In my opinion, this is the more difficult type of tournament because it's a lot more subjective and creativity is needed to succeed. You have to impress the judges and the crowd, so you'll have to be able show a little flash in your routine.

 

That's all I really can offer in advice. I can do alright in them (I'd say I'm a midcarder in regards to overall ability), but I'm nowhere near an uber-authority figure in the DDR tourney world.

[Guest razazteca]

If it is Freestyle, then you must practice a Dave Chapelle And1 Mix Tape routine!

[Guest TheBigCalbowski]

Definitely find out what format the tourney is. Who knows, there may be both PA and Freestyle. Whatever the format is, practice, practice, practice. Know the beat of the song and rhythm is a key.

 

Normally for PA, there's a qualifying round for everyone and then the top however many scores are entered into a seeded single elimination tournament.

 

Freestyle is all judges so just practice a routine over and over again till you perfect it. Try to look like you're dancing, look at the crowd more often than the screen. Stay away from knee drops, hand plants, jumping over the bar since those are over done.

 

I've only entered one tournament which was just heavy PA. I didn't make it past the qualifying round, but I had a fun day.

[Guest TheBigCalbowski]

One more tip. If there's Freestyle and you enter, absolutely, positively stay away from a Dynamite Rave routine. That song has been done so many times that everyone has the same generic routine.

[Guest Renegade]

Try attacking your opponent during the dance off.

[Guest Thoth]

Ced, dammit. Don't educate people unless I'm around.

 

Odds are, it's a PA tourney. Even given what you've told me, I'm pretty sure you're screwed unless you can start doing maniac. If there are any 7th or 8th mixes by you, or you have DDRMAX USA, play Oni mode over and over to get a feel for the timing of the perfects.

 

If it's a freestlye, you're gonna need several weeks to get a routine down. Don't do Luv To Me Maniac Little. If I'm judging a tourney (Which I have done), I automatically DQ people who do that. (Which I have done) Besides, it's overplayed.

 

5th Mix, eh? If it does turn out be Freestyle, which it won't... but if it is, do a song that no one will do, like The Twist. Or try Cafe, though 8-Ball did that best.

 

Sandman, where do you live? I'm assuming it isn't California. Anyway, you need to start learning Maniac ASAP.

[Guest Thoth]

And addendum. The song isn't called Japan. It's Matsuri Japan. And don't jump off the pad or barhop. Try to get some hip hop skillz, or try to ParaPara it. ParaPara rules.

[Guest Sandman9000]

Thanks for the advice everyone, even if I really didn't follow any of it.

 

It ended up having two different formats, one an odd-ruled score attack, and the second a poorly judged freestyle. I didn't win either, coming in the middle of the pack in score, and third in freestyle.

 

Only ten people, counting me, in it. Which sucks.

 

I'll post more later, maybe a big-ass write-up in general. But for now, I'll just say that I lived up to my reputation and introduced hardcore wrestling into a DDR tournament, in my usual foolish fashion.

[Guest TheBigCalbowski]

Just keep playing. You'll get better. Having a home version helps too.

[Guest C.H.U.D.]

Has anyone tried DDR for PS2?

[Guest KoR Fungus]

DDRMax USA is the best American mix out so far. It has a pretty solid, balanced batch of music, a lot of songs (71 I think), and a lot better hard stuff. It also runs at 60 FPS and has nice FMV backgrounds and the new interface, so that's all good. Much better than Konamix.

 

I don't really play it much anymore though. DWI and SM are so much better...

[Guest TheBigCalbowski]

I own every US version other than the original. DDR Max is the one I like best out of the ones I own. I can't wait for DDR Max 2 to come out.

[Guest El Luchadore Magnifico]

And addendum. The song isn't called Japan. It's Matsuri Japan. And don't jump off the pad or barhop. Try to get some hip hop skillz, or try to ParaPara it. ParaPara rules.

*waves arms wildly*

 

Good arm movement is the key to a good freestyle, even if you have no idea what you're doing. The judges probably won't catch on and give you high marks.