Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova
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2008-07-01T06:26:16Z
AeronPrometheus
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{{Otheruses4|the worldwide arcade and Japanese PlayStation 2 release|the North American PlayStation 2 release|Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova (North America)|the European PlayStation 2 release|Dancing Stage SuperNova (Europe)}}
{{Infobox VG
|width=264px
|title=Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova
|image=[[Image:Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova Japanese PlayStation 2 cover art.jpg|248px|Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova for the Japanese Playstation 2]]
|caption=Cover art for the Japanese PlayStation 2 port of Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova.
|picture format=[[NTSC-J]], [[NTSC]] & [[PAL]], horizontal
|developer=[[Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo]] & [[Konami Digital Entertainment]]
|publisher=KCET & KDE
|distributor=KCET, KDE & [[Betson Enterprises]] (North America)
|designer=KCET & KDE
|license=Proprietary
|series=[[Dance Dance Revolution]] & [[Bemani]]
|engine=SuperNova & SuperNova PlayStation
|released=
Arcade:<br>
{{Vgrelease|Europe|EU|April 28, 2006}}<br>
{{Vgrelease|Europe|EU|June 15, 2006}}<br>(re-release)<br>
{{Vgrelease|North America|U/C|May 15, 2006}}<br>
{{Vgrelease|North America|U/C|June 15, 2006}}<br>(re-release)<br>
{{Vgrelease|Japan|JP|July 12, 2006}}<br>
PlayStation 2:<br>
{{Vgrelease|Japan|JP|January 25, 2007}}
|genre=[[Music video game|Music]] & [[Exergaming|Exercise]]
|modes=[[Single-player]], [[Multiplayer video game|Multiplayer]] & [[Online game|Online play]]
|ratings=[[CERO]]: A (PlayStation 2)<br>
|platforms=[[Arcade game|Arcade]] & Sony [[PlayStation 2]]
|media=[[DVD-ROM]]
|input=
[[Dance pad|Pressure sensitive]] panels & Buttons (arcade)<br>
Dance pad & [[DualShock|PlayStation Controller]] (console)
|cabinet=Custom
|arcade system=[[Bemani PlayStation 2]]
|cpu=128 Bit [[Emotion Engine]]
|sound=SPU2 & CPU
|display=29" flat [[Cathode ray tube|CRT]] ([[Raster]], 740x480)
}}
'''Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova''' ('''Dancing Stage SuperNova''' in [[Europe]]) is an arcade game in the [[Dance Dance Revolution]] series of [[music video game]]s. It was produced by [[Konami]] and released through Betson Enterprises. The game was released in Europe on [[April 28]], [[2006]], followed shortly by the North American release on [[May 15]]. Unlike previous DDR arcade releases, the versions for [[Japan]], [[North America]] and [[Europe]] will have the same features and song list.
The Japanese version is its 9th traditional arcade release, and the first since [[Dance Dance Revolution Extreme]] in [[2002]]. The North American version is its third arcade release, and the first since [[Dance Dance Revolution USA]] in [[2000]]. The European version is its fifth arcade release, and the first since [[Dancing Stage Fusion]] in [[2004]].
The release contains 303 songs. Of those, 64 are completely new to DDR (including three Extra Stage songs and a One More Extra Stage), and a total of 57 songs are from home versions of DDR and are appearing on an arcade machine for the first time. Of the songs that are new to DDR, 19 are licensed. There are two sets of unlockable songs revealed on the section of the DDR SuperNova website labeled "Secret". The first set is accessed by choosing Expert Mode, and passing the final stage with an AA or better. These songs are Healing-D-Vision by DE-STRAD, Fascination MAXX by 100-200-400, and ''Fascination ~eternal love mix~'' by 2MB. The second set is unlocked by clearing any Secret Song (a song unlocked by the first method) in EXTRA STAGE. The song unlocked by this method is ''CHAOS'' by ''DE-SIRE retunes''.<ref>[http://www.konami.jp/bemani/ddr/na/am/sn/ DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
==Specifications==
The game was initially released in an updated cabinet with a new CPU core and a 32-inch high-definition CRT. The new dedicated cabinets are considerably less deep than their predecessors. An upgrade to current [[JAMMA]] DDR cabinets was made available in October 2006.
The CPU core is actually a modified [[PlayStation 2]] with a hard drive upgrade and modified graphics processor to permit the HD signal display. One of the criticisms about the arcade port of [[Dancing Stage Fusion]] was that it was essentially the home version game with only very slight modification played in an actual PS2. DDR SuperNova, however, is a whole new game made specifically for the arcade powered on a modified PS2. It has, however, been ported to a home version, though the home version and arcade versions have slightly different songlists (the main difference being different licensed songs for the arcade and home versions).
The game's user interface is inspired by [[Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2]], the Japanese counterpart [[Dance Dance Revolution Strike]] and its European counterpart, Dancing Stage MAX. The background of the selection screens rotate colors between red, blue and green, and has a wireframe motif. The three main difficulties of normal gameplay; Light, Standard and Heavy, were renamed to Basic, Difficult and Expert.
==Release==
The American version was released on [[May 15]], with the first confirmed sighting at [[Disneyland]] in [[Anaheim, California]] at the [[Tomorrowland]] Starcade. The Japanese version was delayed slightly so that the game software could be updated to fix the reported timing issues, and was later released with an extra song (the aforementioned remix of Flow) in late July 2006.
The game received a widespread US release at the end of June 2006, as final SuperNova machines started popping up throughout the country.
SuperNova began appearing in Timezone Amusement in the [[Philippines]] in August 2006. The said Amusement center has 11 Machines and one Japanese version of Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA that is equipped with e-AMUSEMENT slots.
==Gameplay==
{{See also|Gameplay of Dance Dance Revolution}}
Core gameplay in ''SuperNova'' did not change much from previous versions, although the scoring system received a major overhaul:
SuperNova's scoring system has been greatly simplified from prior DDR versions. As in ''In the Groove'' and the Challenge or "Oni" Mode in DDRMAX2 and DDR Extreme, all steps in the song are now valued equally; no longer will later steps in the song be worth more than earlier steps. All songs are worth a maximum of 10,000,000 points. Each Perfect step is worth 10M/n (where n is the number of steps plus three times of number of freezes in the song), and each Great is worth 10M/2n. Unlike DDRMAX through Extreme, double steps ("jumps") only add 1 to the combo counter instead of 2. Songs are also scored invisibly to the player by "Dance Points," which determine which letter grade is given to the player; each Perfect step is worth 2 Dance Points, a Great step is worth 1 Dance Point, and an OK on a Freeze Arrow is worth 2 Dance Points. Goods, Almosts, Boos, and NGs are worth 0 dance points; unlike DDRMAX through Extreme, they do not subtract from the Dance Point total. The maximum Dance Point score is therefore equal to double the number of steps plus two times of number of freezes in the song. Each individual song has its own high score, which is briefly displayed when the song is selected, but before it loads.
===Interface & graphics===
The screen refreshes at a full speed of 60 frames per second. Unlike previous recent games, only previous songs from recent home versions or crossovers from [[Beatmania IIDX]] contain [[full motion video]] backgrounds. New songs instead, contain live-rendered backgrounds with dancing characters for the first time in an arcade mix since [[Dance Dance Revolution 5th Mix]].
===Foot ranking===
Debuting in the original [[Dance Dance Revolution]], foot rankings have been the staple indicator for a song's difficulty. Originally on a scale of one to eight "feet," it has since then been expanded to a scale of one to ten, with ''flashing ten footers'' being used to indicate songs that are more difficult than can be displayed on the one to ten scale. SuperNOVA uses a mixed Difficulty Display which combines the Groove Radar, with the Foot Ranking display of that from [[Dance Dance Revolution 5th Mix]], which shows all available step chart and rankings, instead of displaying the rankings one at a time, ala the DDRMAX-generation of games. However, the Groove Radar only displays graphical representations of the currently selected difficulty for each player.
===Modifiers===
The options menu was redesigned on Supernova, and is still accessed by holding down the start button when picking a song. The "Solo" modifier was renamed to "Rainbow", and a new noteskin was added that resembles [[StepMania]]'s "Note" skin; it is functionally similar to "Rainbow", but the colors are more distinctive. (This noteskin was actually available on most previous home DDR games, through a setting on the options menu; for example, in DDRMAX, it can be accessed through the Graphic Options menu by switching the arrow display to "TYPE2".) Jumps can also be converted to single steps or removed entirely.
===Extra Stage===
If the player receives an AA or better grade (a score of 9,500,000 or higher, and thus 95% or more of the total Dance Points possible) on their final stage playing on Expert or Challenge difficulty, an Extra Stage is earned. Any song may be chosen for the Extra Stage, although depending on the game mode chosen at the beginning of the game, an additional song which is not normally available is added to the song list. The Extra Stage may only be played on Expert difficulty. The song modifiers are pre-set and may not be changed. Finally, the Extra Stage's life meter follows different rules; instead of starting half-full and (re)filling as the player hits steps accurately, the life meter starts completely filled, but cannot recover. Approximately five "Almost" and/or "Boo" steps will deplete the meter and fail the song.
If the starting game mode was Easy or Medium, the Extra Stage song is '''Healing-D-Vision''' by '''De-Strad''', a 10-foot difficulty song with a BPM of 180 which speeds up to 360 near the end. Note that this song was originally rated a "9" before the patch released in mid-September. If the starting game mode was Hard or All Music, the Extra Stage song is '''Fascination MAXX''' by '''100-200-400''', a flashing-10-foot difficulty song with a BPM which shifts between 100, 200, and 400. The sync patch for DDR SuperNOVA, released in mid-September of 2006 added another Extra Stage song, '''Fascination ~eternal love mix~''' by '''2MB'''. It is a remix of Fascination MAXX that also has a shifting BPM and stops.
Regardless of song, the forced modifiers are 1.5x, Rainbow, and Reverse.
===One More Extra Stage===
The 'One More Extra Stage', also known as the Encore Extra Stage, was introduced in DDRMAX and is always a fixed song to play, with a set of predetermined modifiers. One More Extra Stage uses a "Sudden Death" life bar; the player automatically fails if they get any Good, Almost, Boo, or NG steps. In SuperNova, it is obtained by passing '''Healing-D-Vision''' or getting at least an A grade on '''Fascination MAXX''' or '''Fascination ~eternal love mix~ '''during the first Extra Stage.
In SuperNOVA, the designated song for the One More Extra Stage is '''CHAOS''' by '''DE-SIRE retunes''', a mid-tempo to moderately fast song with an unusual rhythm and erratic stops in the beat -- at least 42 of them -- making it very difficult to follow. It is the first One More Extra Stage to have a foot rating of 10. The predetermined modifiers for '''CHAOS''' are actually none at all - the song must be played at the default settings all around.
===Game modes===
In addition to the four basic difficulty levels of Easy, Medium, Hard, and All Music, the following selections are available:
'''Tutorial Mode''' is significantly different than Extreme's Beginner Mode. A three-to-four minute tutorial about how to play the game is shown, giving players the opportunity to follow the announcer's instructions. Afterwards, one song is chosen. This time, the song selected in Beginner in normal gameplay does not show the background of a character on a DDR pad showing how to step. It is instead played like a normal Beginner Song.
'''Nonstop Mode''' allows the player to play one of several set courses without stopping. It is selectable when you are selecting the difficulty for the song. Its scoring is the same as a normal game, and is otherwise functionally identical to Extreme's Nonstop mode. The only difference is that in Extreme, the player was able to select a "Normal" or "Difficult" level for the course, whereas in Supernova, all courses have only one difficulty level.
'''Challenge Mode''', also referred to as '''Oni Mode''', formerly known as '''Challenging Mode''', requires you to complete a set course of songs, with difficulties set and, in some cases, different mods. Song play options are disabled in Oni Mode, and the player must play them all at normal scroll and whatever option(s) the machine deems is part of the course. Unlike '''Nonstop Mode''', you have to be perfect with your steps. The life bar is replaced with a battery. If you get a GOOD, ALMOST, BOO or NG up to four times in any one song, it fails you out and the game ends. Your score is derived from the dance point system, and is the number of possible dance points you earned. ALMOSTs and BOOs do not take away from your dance points. This mode also has changed in that the player's combo increases with Greats, rather than having them not affect the current combo. Also worth noting is that life recovery is much harder - only one life can be recovered every two songs.
'''Battle Mode''' is a competitive mode between two players. Each player must play on the same difficulty and is given a shuffled version of the stepchart. Creating combos can send one of many different attacks to the other player's side to make it more difficult for him to read his notes. Creating longer combos results in more damaging attacks. These attacks (especially the stronger ones) can include strange modifiers that cannot be selected under normal circumstances. The health bar is replaced by a balance meter on the top of the screen; whoever's side of the bar is longer at the end of the song wins.
==Home version==
3 home versions based on ''SuperNova'' were released in Japan, the United States, and in Europe for the [[PlayStation 2]]:
The Japanese home version was released on January 25, 2007 alongside the official soundtrack. The game itself is a direct arcade port featuring nearly all the new songs which debuted, and also console exclusives such as ''Soul Crash'', ''Baby's Tears (スカイガールズ・オプニングテーマ)'', and ''Silver Platform - I wanna get your heart -''.
{{Main|Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova (North America)}}
{{Main|Dancing Stage SuperNova (Europe)}}
The American and European home versions of ''SuperNova'' contained new songs from the Arcade version, along with other localized licensed tracks, such as [[Dance, Dance]] by [[Fall Out Boy]] and additional features carried over from previous home versions such as support for the [[EyeToy]] and online play.
==Songs==
Notable songs from this version include:
* '''Fascination MAXX''': Playable only as an Extra Stage or as a song in Challenge Mode, Fascination MAXX is extremely difficult, especially under the circumstances in which it must be played - the arrows scroll in reverse at 1.5x the normal speed, resulting in a blistering scroll speed of 600 BPM. Its main source of difficulty is at the end of the song, where the player is forced to hit 8th-note drills at 400 BPM. The minimum BPM for Fascination MAXX is 100.
* '''CHAOS''': Like bag, CHAOS is an unusual 10-footer. The difficulty of the song does not lie in speed or complexity of the arrows, but in the fact that there are 42 haphazardly-placed full stops. This song is only playable as either a One More Extra Stage or under Challenge Mode. No matter how the song is played, it is very difficult to pass due to the high likelihood of being thrown off by the stops.
* '''Fascination -eternal love mix-''': A remix of Fascination MAXX by 2MB, unlocked via e-Amusement in Japan and by the sync patch everywhere else. Its difficulty is comparable to Fascination MAXX. The maximum speed is 400 BPM and the minimum is 100. Though the difficulty is based more on complexity and technique rather than stamina, the song is still very hard. Its Challenge steps, however, are arguably the hardest steps of any DDR song, mainly due to its relentless streams of fast jumps.
* '''Healing-D-Vision''': Healing-D-Vision has a BPM range of 180-360. This 10-footer, though somewhat easier than the other "boss songs", is quite difficult, as there are series of jumps, gallops, and long streams throughout the song. Healing-D-Vision is notorious for its poor timing. Though the music follows a swing beat, the offbeat steps are 16th note, rather than 12th note, as is the standard with swing. The ending of its Challenge steps is a extremely difficult crossover, running at the 360bpm. The ending is known as to be impossible to pass due to the fact that in order to fullcombo the process, one must turn the foot over in a decimal of a second.
==Reception==
Prior to its announcement, it was believed that due to Konami closing their Arcade division (in the United States) in [[2001]] and the loss over United States distribution rights to the arcade games as a result of the Konami vs. Andamiro lawsuit, that the series was to be relegated to the home console market. New releases to arcades had been limited to modified versions of previous releases. ''[[Dancing Stage Fusion]]'', released in Europe in 2004, was little more than the [[Playstation 2|PS2]] version of the game in an arcade cabinet. New arcade releases had become popular [[April Fool's Day]] jokes on DDR fan websites; ''[[Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2]]'' started out as one, though it would later become an official North American home version game.
DDR SuperNova first became serious speculation when the [http://www.ddrfreak.com/ DDR Freak] website revealed a [[trademark]] [http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=76651950 application] filed by Konami in the [[United States Patent and Trademark Office]] on [[December 12]] [[2005]]. Konami officials that work with the site confirmed the new version shortly thereafter. A preview machine for the European version, purported to be 75% complete, premiered at the Amusement Trade Exhibition International (ATEI) in [[London]], [[England]] [[January 24]] [[2006]]. The next day, [[January 25]], Konami officially announced the North American version at their Gamers' Day in [[San Francisco, California]]. Its first location test occurred at the Boomers Arcade in [[Irvine, California]], on the weekend of [[January 28]] [[2006]].
Existence of DDR Supernova in Japan was finally confirmed when Konami announced that it would make an appearance at the All Nippon Amusement Machine Operators Union Expo in [[Tokyo]] on [[February 18]] [[2006]].
Complaints about songs being off-sync led Konami to release a patch for the game which fixed the sync issues. The patch was distributed over e-Amusement in Japan, and on a upgrade disc shipped to arcades. The patch disc also added two new songs which would later be unlocked via e-Amusement in Japan, ''Fascination ~eternal love mix~'', and ''Flow (True Style)''.
==Criticism==
In early builds of ''SuperNova'', experienced players noticed poor step detection and serious timing issues, as they are scoring lower on songs where they used to easily score a rank of ''AA'' on other versions. This complaint has been expressed mostly by North American and Japanese players.
At the Beta Test Location in Irvine, and then later again at the [[ASI]] game conference, experienced players noted sharply widened timing windows. Since this would dramatically decrease the overall difficulty of the game, this addition has drawn sharp criticism. Others simply argue that the majority of previous mixes were synced incorrectly (too early), and that SuperNOVA, with properly synced timing windows, only feels as if the windows are wider than before.
However, this might not be such a recent change, as the timing values have started to decrease shortly after the first Dance Dance Revolution game made specifically for the home market, ''[[Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix]]'', was released. This may also be a simple matter of perception, as the home versions have had wider timing windows than their corresponding arcade versions since 5th Mix and possibly earlier{{Fact|date=February 2007}}, and those who have gotten accustomed to the home versions' timing windows will most likely notice a difference in the arcade.
Later versions of the game after the beta brought a new surge of complaints, this time that the timing windows were too narrow. Players also noted that some songs seemed to have inconsistent syncing, and would be synched one time they were played, but off the next, or even synced at the beginning of the song and progressively more off at the end; additionally, some songs were noted to be consistently off. In mid-September 2006, Betson Enterprises sent out update discs to owners of the affected arcade games which fix most timing issues, as well as making two new songs available for play: ''Flow (True Style)'', briefly a Japanese exclusive song, and ''Fascination ~eternal love mix~''. However, even with this update, the syncing on some songs was still incorrect.
Upgrade kits for owners of existing Dance Dance Revolution machines are available through Betson Enterprises. The upgrade kits use the updated version of SuperNova.
Also, one of SuperNova's stated features is "linking with home versions", a feature which has been present in the series for a long time (though few arcades in America own DDR machines which have the hardware necessary to do so.) Recently, Betson Enterprises has announced that SuperNova will not support the linking feature, due to supply issues concerning hardware components. It should be noted, however, that nearly all pre-SuperNOVA cabinets in existence outside of Japan were designed with domestic mixes in mind and were never intended to utilize the link feature.
An additional criticism stems from players outside of Japan not being able to play any of the so-called "boss" songs (Fascination MAXX, CHAOS, Healing-D-Vision, and Fascination -eternal love mix-) outside of a Nonstop course, Challenge course, or Extra Stage. In Japan, following the conclusion of the global Internet ranking in mid-January of 2007, these songs were unlocked for normal gameplay through the [[e-Amusement]] network. A representative of Betson Enterprises was asked whether he knew anything about whether the boss songs would be unlocked for normal gameplay in the United States. His response:
"The reason why they have 4 "boss songs" is because of the E-Amuse software. Since the machines in the US do not have that capability, we are without the other songs."
Considering how additional content was unlocked through the release of a software update, it was speculated that Konami of Japan did not plan for this phase of the software lifecycle on a global scale.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.konami.jp/bemani/ddr/sn/ Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA] DDR SuperNOVA Gateway (Japan, America & Europe)
*[http://www.konami.com/gs/gameinfo.php?id=176 Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA] Konami US product page
{{Dance Dance Revolution games}}
[[Category:2006 video games]]
[[Category:2007 video games]]
[[Category:Arcade games]]
[[Category:Dance Dance Revolution games]]
[[Category:EyeToy games]]
[[Category:PlayStation 2 games]]
[[Category:PlayStation 2-only games]]
[[es:Dance Dance Revolution Super Nova]]
[[ru:Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA]]