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This page goes into detail about some of the different experiences I've had with DDRMax. It's also the repository for my high scores, so hopefully you won't mind a bit of self-promotion as well. 
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Ahh, yes. The first version of DDR that I played and one of my favorites too. DDRMax (USA) has a ton of great songs in it, ranging from the sublimely easy (Cutie Chaser!) to the extremely difficult (Max300). I recently managed to get a copy of the Japanese version of DDRMax (6th Mix) as well, so those songs are included here too (some really obscure - but good! - songs in there). Rather than ramble on any further here, I'm going to first post the table of my scores, followed by comments and reflection below.
DDRMax Singles Scores| Name | Score Points | Grade | Dance Points | Max Points | Percentage | Missing DP | Comments | 22 Dunk (Heavy) | 48,634,100 | AA | 360 | 370 | 97.3% | 10 | - | 5.1.1. (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 206 | 206 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #207!!!  |
Abyss (Heavy) | 49,950,600 | AA | 616 | 618 | 99.68% | 2 | SDG (2) | AM-3P (Heavy) | 80,000,000 | AAA | 488 | 488 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #80!!! (DDRMax2) |
Baby Baby Gimme Your Love (Heavy) | 60,000,000 | AAA | 326 | 326 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #92!!! |
Brilliant 2U Orchestra (Heavy) | 70,000,000 | AAA | 452 | 452 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #57!!! (DDR Extreme) |
Broken My Heart (Heavy) | 49,672,060 | AA | 716 | 720 | 99.44% | 4 | SDG (4) One of my best scores | Bye Bye Baby Balloon (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 792 | 792 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #216!!! |
Candy Star (Heavy) | 49,615,445 | AA | 823 | 828 | 99.40% | 5 | SDG (5) Luv Unlimited! | celebrate (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 520 | 520 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #210!!! |
Cow Girl (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 684 | 684 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #218!!! |
Cutie Chaser Morning Mix (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 302 | 302 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #13!!! |
Dark Black Forest (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 710 | 710 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #11!!! |
Deep In You (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 442 | 442 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #85!!! |
Dive (more deep style) (Heavy) | 49,852,640 | AA | 642 | 644 | 99.69% | 2 | SDG (2) | Do It Right (Heavy) | 49,846,280 | AA | 568 | 570 | 99.65% | 2 | SDG (2) | Do It Right 2Step Mix (Heavy) | 48,671,600 | AA | 665 | 674 | 98.7% | 9 | SDG (9) | Do You Remember Me (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 770 | 770 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #217!!! |
Drop the Bomb System SF (Heavy) | 70,000,000 | AAA | 616 | 616 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #72!!! (DDRMax2 Japan) |
Dynamite Rave SOTA Mix (Heavy) | 70,000,000 | AAA | 730 | 730 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #78!!! (DDRMax2 Japan) |
Ecstasy (Heavy) | 70,000,000 | AAA | 552 | 552 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #91!!! (DDR Extreme) |
Electro Tuned (Heavy) | 49,795,880 | AA | 692 | 698 | 99.14% | 6 | SDG (6) | era (Heavy) | 49,586,990 | AA | 708 | 712 | 99.44% | 4 | SDG (4) Fun | Exotic Ethnic (Heavy) | 49,395,535 | AA | 971 | 988 | 98.3% | 17 | Must... double... step! | Fantasy (Heavy) | 49,473,500 | AA | 874 | 880 | 99.32% | 6 | SDG (6) Tore this one up! | Firefly (Heavy) | 49,847,650 | AA | 827 | 830 | 99.64% | 3 | SDG (3) | Flash In the Night (Heavy) | 48,797,950 | AA | 873 | 898 | 97.2% | 25 | Obscure song, extremely hard | Follow Me (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 720 | 720 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #15!!! |
Gambol (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 302 | 302 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #208!!! |
Gentle Stress (Heavy) | 48,964,700 | AA | 571 | 586 | 97.4% | 15 | - | Get Me In Your Sight (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 568 | 568 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #214!!! |
Ghosts (Heavy) | 78,900,440 | AA | 724 | 732 | 98.9% | 8 | SDG (8) (DDRMax2) | Gradiusic Cyber (Heavy) | 49,037,000 | AA | 727 | 740 | 98.2% | 13 | - | Groove (Heavy) | 49,496,610 | AA | 521 | 528 | 98.7% | 7 | SDG (7) | Groove 2001 (Heavy) | 49,470,745 | AA | 507 | 512 | 99.02% | 5 | SDG (5) | Healing Vision (Heavy) | 79,190,400 | AA | 701 | 706 | 99.3% | 5 | SDG (5) | Healing Vision Angelic Mix (Heavy) | 49,907,765 | AA | 957 | 958 | 99.90% | 1 | SDG (1) Wanted It SO MUCH!!! | Highs Off U (Heavy) | 49,408,475 | AA | 638 | 644 | 99.07% | 6 | SDG (6) | Holic (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 626 | 626 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #87!!! |
I Like to Move It (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 638 | 638 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #83!!! |
I Was the One (Heavy) | 70,000,000 | AAA | 582 | 582 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #81!!! (DDRMax2) |
I'm For Real (Heavy) | 68,182,000 | AA | 695 | 716 | 97.1% | 21 | - | I'm In the Mood for Dancing (Heavy) | 49,621,520 | AA | 640 | 644 | 99.38% | 4 | SDG (4) | Insertion (Heavy) | 49,641,805 | AA | 743 | 748 | 99.33% | 5 | SDG (5) | Jam and Marmalade (Heavy) | 80,000,000 | AAA | 502 | 502 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #36!!! (DDRMax2) |
Justify My Love (Heavy) | 49,284,700 | AA | 869 | 876 | 99.2% | 7 | SDG (7) Another obscure but great song | Kind Lady (Heavy) | 70,000,000 | AAA | 678 | 678 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #4!!! |
Let's Groove (Heavy) | 59,760,060 | AA | 460 | 462 | 99.6% | 2 | SDG (2) VERY close! | Let's Talk It Over (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 386 | 386 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #202!!! |
Let the Beat Hit Em (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 370 | 370 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #86!!! |
Let the Beat Hit Em R&B (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 384 | 384 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #10!!! |
Logical Dash (Heavy) | 80,000,000 | AAA | 556 | 556 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #77!!! |
Look to the Sky System SF (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 574 | 574 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #206!!! |
Look to the Sky True Color (Heavy) | 70,000,000 | AAA | 622 | 622 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #25!!! (DDRMax2 Japan) |
Love Again Tonight (Heavy) | 49,845,770 | AA | 610 | 612 | 99.67% | 2 | SDG (2) | Love This Feelin' (Heavy) | 80,000,000 | AAA | 484 | 484 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #182!!! (DDR Extreme) |
Lovin' You (Heavy) | 79,476,200 | AA | 576 | 580 | 99.31% | 4 | SDG (4) (DDRMax2) | Matsuri Japan (Heavy) | 49,650,140 | AA | 886 | 894 | 99.11% | 8 | SDG (8) On fire when I got this | Max300 (Heavy) | 94,975,360 | A | 1001 | 1122 | 89.2% | 121 | Looking easier compared to other 10s | Midnite Blaze (Heavy) | 49,911,890 | AA | 665 | 666 | 99.85% | 1 | SDG (1) So close so many times! | Miracle (Heavy) | 49,637,560 | AA | 491 | 496 | 98.99% | 5 | SDG (5) | My Generation (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 506 | 506 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #2!!! |
My Summer Love (Heavy) | 90,000,000 | AAA | 520 | 520 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #40!!! (DDR Extreme) |
My Sweet Darlin' (Heavy) | 49,256,970 | AA | 682 | 688 | 99.15% | 6 | SDG (6) | Never Let You Down (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 532 | 532 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #204!!! |
Nori Nori Nori (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 526 | 526 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #219!!! |
On the Jazz (Heavy) | 49,492,400 | AA | 653 | 662 | 98.6% | 9 | SDG (9) | Ordinary World (Heavy) | 49,155,050 | AA | 743 | 754 | 98.5% | 11 | This song is very hard! | Orion Civilization Mix (Heavy) | 88,328,730 | AA | 781 | 796 | 98.1% | 15 | This used to be hard (DDR Extreme) | Overblast! (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 496 | 496 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #205!!! |
Paranoia Evolution (Heavy) | 80,000,000 | AAA | 750 | 750 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #192!!! |
Paranoia Max Dirty Mix (Heavy) | 49,762,835 | AA | 636 | 640 | 99.38% | 4 | SDG (4) Easy Paranoia | Peace Out (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 502 | 502 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #203!!! |
Remember You (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 394 | 394 | 100% | 0 |  "AAA" TWO HUNDRED!!! |
Rhythm and Police (Heavy) | 49,783,560 | AA | 835 | 840 | 99.40% | 5 | SDG (5) Double-Stepping Full Combo! | Rugged Ash (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 362 | 362 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #213!!! |
Sana Morette Ne Ente (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 588 | 588 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #102!!! |
Sandstorm (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 594 | 594 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #84!!! |
Secret Rendezvous (Heavy) | 70,000,000 | AAA | 546 | 546 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #27!!! (DDRMax2 Japan) |
Share My Love (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 456 | 456 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #211!!! |
Silent Hill (Heavy) | 70,000,000 | AAA | 530 | 530 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #95!!! |
So Deep (Heavy) | 87,391,080 | AA | 977 | 1002 | 97.5% | 25 | 2x Full combo, 25 Greats! | So In Love (Heavy) | 70,000,000 | AAA | 542 | 542 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #69!!! (DDRMax2 Japan) |
Sobakasu Freckles (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 694 | 694 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #14!!! |
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Heavy) | 49,433,615 | AA | 475 | 490 | 96.9% | 15 | Totally bizarre song | Spin the Disc (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 656 | 656 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #209!!! |
Stomp to my Beat (Heavy) | 49,226,565 | AA | 489 | 494 | 98.99% | 5 | SDG (5) | Synchronized Love (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 794 | 794 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #201!!! |
Take It To The Morning Light (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 566 | 566 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #215!!! |
Telephone Operator (Heavy) | 48,229,280 | AA | 600 | 618 | 97.1% | 18 | - | The Centre of the Heart (Heavy) | 49,110,300 | AA | 510 | 518 | 98.5% | 8 | SDG (8) | The Cube (Heavy) | 49,293,125 | AA | 556 | 564 | 98.6% | 8 | SDG (8) | The Shining Polaris (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 918 | 918 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #12!!! |
Trip Machine Climax (Heavy) | 90,000,000 | AAA | 684 | 684 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #195!!! |
true... (radio edit) (Heavy) | 49,019,870 | AA | 708 | 718 | 98.6% | 10 | - | true... (Trance Sunrise) (Heavy) | 49,417,920 | AA | 671 | 676 | 99.26% | 5 | SDG (5) | Twilight Zone (Heavy) | 49,027,570 | AA | 766 | 776 | 98.7% | 10 | Just missed it! | www.Blondegirl (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 518 | 518 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #16!!! |
Witch Doctor (Heavy) | 49,466,480 | AA | 873 | 886 | 98.5% | 13 | Woo! This song rocks! | You Leave Me Alone (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 668 | 668 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #212!!! |
Yozora No Muko (Heavy) | 49,851,260 | AA | 663 | 664 | 99.85% | 1 | SDG (1) Aaahhhh! 9-footer here! |
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Heavy Totals: 52 "AAA"s, 86 SDGs, 49 "AA"s, 1 "A"
Highest Song Score: Fantasy (Heavy) - 79,298,182 (49,473,500 + 29,824,682 bonus)
A couple notes about the table... All songs are Heavy unless listed otherwise; I am not keeping track of Light and Standard scores to avoid clutter (and going crazy). The scores for all songs in DDRMax have a maximum value of 50,000,000 (which can only be achieved with a "AAA"), and then a bonus is added onto that score after the song is complete (for simplicity's sake, I have not listed the bonuses for each song). Any score over 50,000,000 comes from playing the same song on a different version of DDR, most likely DDRMax2 or DDR Extreme. "SDG" is an abbreviation for "single-digit greats", meaning that the player was within 9 Dance Points or fewer of getting a "AAA". SDGs are essentially a level between "AA"s and "AAA"s, since the latter are so rare. I am also using the words "Almost" and "Miss" instead of the word "Boo" to avoid any confusion.
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I've started working on Doubles Mode recently, which meant going back to the very basics again. Time to re-learn everything, starting with my original DDR mix - DDRMax! These charts are really intended for my own benefit, keeping track of my best scores, but anyone is welcome to look at them. I can't imagine they're too interesting though...
This is very much still a work in progress, so ignore the rough edges.
DDRMax Doubles Scores| Name | Score Points | Grade | Dance Points | Max Points | Percentage | Missing DP | Comments | 22 Dunk (Heavy) | 48,898,000 | AA | 354 | 370 | 95.7% | 16 | - | 5.1.1 (Heavy) | 49,979,000 | AA | 167 | 168 | 99.40% | 1 | SDG (1) Black Flag | Abyss (Heavy) | 48,702,600 | AA | 579 | 618 | 93.7% | 39 | - | AM-3P (Heavy) | 48,658,400 | AA | 459 | 480 | 95.6% | 21 | - | Baby Baby Gimme Your Love (Hvy) | 48,961,565 | AA | 344 | 352 | 97.7% | 8 | SDG (8) | Brilliant2U Orchestra (Heavy) | 49,668,030 | AA | 470 | 472 | 99.58% | 2 | SDG (2) | Broken My Heart (Heavy) | 46,418,000 | A | 604 | 706 | 85.6% | 102 | - | celebrate (Heavy) | 46,220,575 | A | 463 | 524 | 88.4% | 61 | - | Cutie Chaser (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 172 | 172 | 100% | 0 | "AAA" #2!!! |
Dark Black Forest (Heavy) | 49,455,830 | AA | 558 | 566 | 98.9% | 8 | SDG (8) | Deep In You (Heavy) | 48,462,350 | AA | 423 | 444 | 95.3% | 21 | - | Do It Right 2Step Mix (Heavy) | 48,066,015 | AA | 475 | 498 | 95.4% | 23 | - | Drop the Bomb System SF (Heavy) | 48,596,980 | AA | 633 | 666 | 95.0% | 33 | - | Dynamite Rave SOTA Mix (Heavy) | 48,436,000 | AA | 690 | 702 | 98.3% | 12 | - | Ecstasy (Heavy) | 48,200,475 | A | 533 | 592 | 90.0% | 59 | Hard, Hard, Hard | Electro Tuned (Heavy) | 49,022,555 | AA | 570 | 610 | 93.4% | 40 | - | era (Heavy) | 49,032,950 | AA | 643 | 662 | 97.1% | 19 | Favorite Doubles song so far | exotic ethnic (Heavy) | 45,262,400 | A | 995 | 1184 | 84.0% | 189 | 109 Freezes! | Gambol (Heavy) | 48,671,450 | AA | 266 | 276 | 96.4% | 10 | - | Get Me In Your Sight (Heavy) | 48,682,910 | AA | 534 | 554 | 96.4% | 20 | - | Groove 2001 (Heavy) | 49,231,410 | AA | 506 | 512 | 98.8% | 6 | SDG (6) | Holic (Heavy) | 48,973,480 | AA | 660 | 672 | 98.2% | 12 | - | I Like to Move It (Heavy) | 48,753,425 | AA | 538 | 562 | 95.7% | 24 | - | I Was The One (Heavy) | 49,800,695 | AA | 550 | 554 | 99.28% | 4 | SDG (4) | I'm For Real (Heavy) | 48,758,395 | AA | 494 | 504 | 98.0% | 10 | Just missed it! | Insertion (Heavy) | 48,285,320 | AA | 594 | 632 | 94.0% | 38 | - | Jam & Marmalade (Heavy) | 49,322,680 | AA | 394 | 416 | 94.7% | 22 | 2 Great, 2 Miss | Kind Lady (Heavy) | 49,247,630 | AA | 510 | 516 | 98.8% | 6 | SDG (6) I AM getting better! | Let's Talk It Over (Heavy) | 50,000,000 | AAA | 406 | 406 | 100% | 0 | First Doubles "AAA"!!! |
Let the Beat Hit Em (Heavy) | 49,400,500 | AA | 391 | 402 | 97.3% | 11 | 1 Great, 1 Miss | Let the Beat Hit Em R&B (Heavy) | 49,146,125 | AA | 375 | 380 | 98.7% | 5 | SDG (5) | Logical Dash (Heavy) | 47,446,520 | AA | 440 | 468 | 94.0% | 28 | - | Look to the Sky System SF (Heavy) | 48,851,200 | AA | 542 | 556 | 97.5% | 14 | Full combo | Look to the Sky True Color (Heavy) | 49,353,375 | AA | 532 | 536 | 99.25% | 4 | SDG (4) | Love Again Tonight (Heavy) | 49,904,240 | AA | 560 | 562 | 99.64% | 2 | First Doubles "AA"! | Matsuri Japan (Heavy) | 48,110,270 | A | 644 | 698 | 92.3% | 54 | - | Midnite Blaze (Heavy) | 48,612,490 | AA | 629 | 668 | 94.2% | 39 | Love these steps! | My Generation (Heavy) | 49,648,265 | AA | 528 | 550 | 96% | 22 | 2 Great, 2 Miss | My Summer Love (Heavy) | 49,413,830 | AA | 484 | 488 | 99.18% | 4 | SDG (4) Not a 9-footer! | Never Let You Down (Heavy) | 48,458,720 | AA | 525 | 540 | 97.2% | 15 | - | Ordinary World (Heavy) | 47,272,055 | A | 539 | 614 | 87.8% | 75 | OMG this is HARD! | Orion Civilization Mix (Heavy) | 44,989,405 | A | 588 | 766 | 76.8% | 178 | OMG! Almost an "A" | Overblast! (Heavy) | 49,345,520 | AA | 387 | 392 | 98.7% | 5 | SDG (5) | Peace Out (Heavy) | 49,201,115 | AA | 389 | 394 | 98.7% | 5 | SDG (5) | Remember You (Heavy) | 48,724,880 | AA | 387 | 396 | 97.7% | 9 | SDG (9) | Rugged Ash (Heavy) | 49,306,770 | AA | 318 | 322 | 98.8% | 4 | SDG (4) Suprisingly easy | Sana Morette Ne Ente (Heavy) | 47,594,280 | A | 464 | 538 | 86.2% | 74 | Fun to play - but hard! | Sandstorm (Heavy) | 49,219,310 | AA | 597 | 608 | 98.2% | 11 | - | Secret Rendezvous (Heavy) | 48,807,100 | AA | 543 | 560 | 97.0% | 17 | - | Share My Love (Heavy) | 48,078,685 | AA | 430 | 454 | 94.7% | 24 | - | Silent Hill (Heavy) | 47,205,500 | A | 430 | 536 | 80.2% | 106 | Hate this song so much... | So In Love (Heavy) | 48,989,760 | AA | 509 | 516 | 98.6% | 7 | SDG (7) Easy | Spin the Disc (Heavy) | 48,511,895 | AA | 530 | 560 | 94.6% | 30 | Much better | Stomp to my Beat (Heavy) | 48,708,500 | AA | 377 | 402 | 93.8% | 25 | - | Synchronized Love (Heavy) | 47,600,060 | A | 626 | 770 | 81.3% | 144 | At least I can pass it now... | Take It To The Morning Light (Heavy) | 48,331,625 | AA | 500 | 528 | 94.7% | 28 | - | The Cube (Heavy) | 48,533,675 | AA | 623 | 646 | 96.4% | 23 | - | The Shining Polaris (Heavy) | 48,993,800 | AA | 634 | 648 | 97.8% | 14 | - | true... (Heavy) | 46,184,630 | A | 539 | 636 | 84.7% | 97 | - | You Leave Me Alone (Heavy) | 49,487,360 | AA | 550 | 556 | 98.9% | 6 | SDG (6) |
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Heavy Totals: 2 "AAA", 19 SDGs, 47 "AA"s, 11 "A"s
Highest Song Score: too early to determine at this point.
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This song is a fun 9-footer, one of the rare songs that I like to come from DDR 5th Mix. Broken My Heart moves along at a brisk 160bpm and throws a lot of different things at you: a sixteenth note pattern to start, a number of crossovers, lots of double steps in the middle of eighth note runs, and so on. It's not the easiest song, but I've always liked the music that went along with it. A good song to play. |
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Luv Unlimited! Definitely one of my favorite songs, Candy is a very fast (196bpm), very happy Japanese pop song which serves as the One More Extra Stage in this particular mix. It also happens to be the music that plays during the credits. The speed of this song makes it a fun 8-footer, even though it's packed with crossovers. You can spin in this song too, although that's tough to do. Playing this song makes me happy.
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Now this is another very cool song. Ecstasy is a rather easy 7-footer, but the steps are written to accompany the music beautifully, making it highly entertaining to play. There are also two stops in the music to make it more interesting, the first one being two measures long and the second one four measures in length (this is where my friend Chris says the song "stops forever"). Ecstasy was one of the first songs that I learned how to do on Heavy, and it's still one that I play frequently. I also like this version much better than the remixed Ecstasy in 7th Mix. |
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This song comes from all the way back in 4th Mix days, but it's still a good one. Era starts out with short streams of eighth notes (flying along at 180bpm), then gradually extends them longer and longer until a slowdown to 90bpm (half-tempo) occurs at the halfway point. The rhythm synchs with the music during the slow section, then the tempo goes back to 180bpm and the long eighth note runs return, capped off by a final one of 63 notes in a row. A great workout to warm up for a DDR session. |
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Exotic Ethnic is one of the hardest songs in DDRMax, a blazing 9-footer racing along at 190bpm and packed with difficult eighth note patterns. If it were just the speed, the song wouldn't be too hard, but the eighth notes can only be done easily through constant turning of the body. Since I stink at these kind of crossovers, this song is tough. If that's not enough, this song has about a million freeze notes in it. Still, I do like this song, and the background music has a neat Indian theme, making extensive use of sitar. What's not to like about that? |
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All I can say is WOW. This is a VERY hard piece of music, and I am inordinately proud of myself for being able to get a "AA" on it. Healing Vision Angelic Mix starts out at an amazingly slow 49bpm (!) as the initial arrow pair slowly scrolls up to the top of the screen. As soon as you hit the first note, the song immediately speeds up to 196bpm with no break whatsoever and launches into a series of difficult eighth note runs. If you aren't prepared, you're likely to fail out within the first 10 measures. The song keeps pounding run after run at the player (many with double steps mixed in) with no chance to rest, until about 3/4 of the way through the song there is a stop in the music - for 1 beat! - followed by a devastating run of 128 straight eighth notes into the end of the song. Brutal, just brutal. Only the very talented will be able to dominate this song. |
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Can you say "gallops?" This song is quite fast at 180bpm, and anyone who can't do gallops will quickly be out of this 9-footer. Matsuri is probably one of my best songs in all of the DDR games, simply because there is exactly 1 crossover in the entire piece (right at the end), and I am very good at locking into the tempo and getting all of the steps. Matsui has a LOT of notes; 447 according to its step chart, so it's a test of endurance in many ways. Many long runs of eighths and/or gallops here. Lots of fun for those reasons. |
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Out of the dozens of Paranoias, this is probably my favorite. Paranoia Evolution flies along at 200bpm the whole way and doesn't try to do anything real tricky, just firing run after run of eighth notes at the player. Many of them have double steps in them, and a lot start on off-beats too (fun). Although this is one of the hardest songs in DDRMax, for some reason it's only an 8-footer? OK, sure, but it's a tough one.
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Rhythm and Police is one of the most popular DDR songs of all time; apparently this was the theme song music to an obscure Japanese TV police show. In any case, this fast (170bpm) 9-footer has nothing but gallops and crossovers strung throughout its length, making it one of my worst songs in this mix. It has the distinction of being the last song in DDRMax that I got an "A" on, which should give you an indication of the difficulty. Love the background music for the song though, very upbeat and catchy. |
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Ahh, the most difficult and only 10-footer in DDRMax. In fact, Max300 was the first-ever 10-footer and is also the song for which the entire game is named. With that in mind, you know it has to be a doozy of a song. The actual steps in Max300 are pretty simple, nothing but a series of eighth note runs, but the speed is a whole different issue. 300bpm is freakin' FAST! No other song in this mix tops 200bpm, so Max300 is fully half again as fast as anything else. If the song were Max250, it would be pretty easy, but speed kills on this one. Even though some of the newer 10s are (significantly) more difficult, this will always remain a classic. Dedicated practice is the only way to beat this one. |
If you would like to listen a sample of these songs without having to buy the whole game, just click on this link to the Stepmania webpage and download and install their free software. Then click on this song package that I've prepared for you which has all the songs listed above in it (except Ecstasy, because the step synching is badly off). Unzip the file in the "Songs" folder of the StepMania directory, then simply run the program to get it to work. You can use your keyboard to play the songs, or change the options to "FailOff" and just listen to the songs with the handclap assist (F7). Enjoy!
The next page is pretty similar, only about DDRMax2.
