Dance Dance Revolution 3^rd Mix

NOTE: <, > and Select refer to the yellow and green selection buttons, while U, D, L and R refer to the arrows on the pad.

2^nd MIX MODE

To play the 2^nd Mix, press <<>> at the Title Screen.

STEP STEP REVOLUTION

In order to play 3^rd Mix songs at Maniac difficulty, press <<<>>><> at the Title Screen. This is one of the most hated features of 3^rd Mix, because once you're in Step Step Revolution, you can't play any songs on Basic or Trick songs (unless there's another code we don't know about). Note that for 4^th Mix Konami went back to using the Basic-Trick-Maniac method at the Song Selection screen. They realized that people were sick of having to do (correction…attempt!) three Maniac songs in a row and probably losing a lot of money that way.

GAME SELECT

At the title screen hold down < and > and press Select. You can now choose between Unison, Double, Versus, and Single.

DIFFICULTY

At the song selection screen, press D, D for Trick. Press U, U to switch back to Basic. Yes, that's right, no Maniac (see STEP STEP REVOLUTION)!

LITTLE MODE

To eliminate all quicksteps in a song, press L, D, R, D, L at the Song Selection screen. Repeat to go back to normal. This is good for practicing songs like Paranoia Rebirth with minimal drain on your stamina, as well as for performance play (I like putting Upside Down Trick on Little! Lots of very original spins, jumps and even a kick or two, a la Denise Austin!).

HIDDEN MODE

To make the arrows disappear halfway up the screen, press U, D, U, D at the Song Selection screen. Repeat this code once to select Sudden Mode, which makes the arrows appear about a third of the way up the screen. Repeat it twice to select Stealth Mode, which makes the arrows disappear completely (Ouch! Use in combination with Shuffle to challenge the biggest braggart in your DDR circle). Repeating it three times sets it back on normal mode.

DIRECTION

To turn the arrows 90' to the left so you can play the song facing left, press L, L, L, L, L, L, L, L at the Song Selection screen. To turn the arrows 90' to the right so you can play facing right, press R, R, R, R, R, R, R, R. Repeat either one to go back to normal. I suggest putting Player 1 on Right and Player 2 on Left for a face-to-face tournament in which neither player can look at the screen. Pure memorization and intimidation! Finally, the Mirror code is L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R and turns the arrows 180' so you can play facing away from the screen. It's a great way to show off your powers of memory!

SHUFFLE MODE

To mix up the arrows (but not the timing of rests), press U, D, L, R, D, U, R, L. Repeat to go back to normal.

FLAT MODE

I don't know why you'd want to do this, but it turns off the contrasting arrow coloring on quicksteps. Press L, L, L, R, R, R at the Song Selection screen.

VIVID MODE

Undoes Flat Mode. Press L, R, L, L, R, R, L, R at the Song Selection screen. This is on by default in the 3^rd and 2^nd Mix modes, but not in Step Step Revolution.

EDIT DATA

To check for Edit Data, highlight the song you want, then press and hold Select until the Edit Data screen pops up. (Someone told me that this was wrong and you actually hold down U as you pick the song. I did both at the same time and it worked for me. If someone could verify which code is correct I'd be grateful.) You can find Konami factory-installed edit data in only the 2^nd Mix songs. Personally I suggest trying the PF-PARAS edit data for Paranoia Max, they're a bit easier than the regular steps but still a lot of fun and good for performance play. I don't know how to enter Edit Mode, where you create your own Edit Data, but I don't think you can do that in the arcade version, only in the Playstation versions. Some 3^rd Mix machines have PSX memory card slots you can upload your own Edit Data from.

KARAOKE MODE

To turn off the lyrics during a song, press Select. Press again to turn them on. Lyrics are only available in 3^rd Mix songs.

Unlike the later mixes, song selection is simple in 3^rd Mix/3^rd Mix Plus. Cycle through the CD carousel until you find the song you want. They're arranged in groups according to difficulty order, from Simple to Genuine.

Xanadu-The Olivia Project (on Japanese version machines)

Upside Down-Coo Coo (on Korean and International version machines)

Get Up 'N' Dance-Freedom (on Japanese version machines)

Silent Hill-Thomas Howard

It Only Takes A Minute (Extended Remix)-Tavares

Upside Down-Coo Coo (on Japanese version machines)

So Many Men-Me & My

20, November (DDR Version)-NMR featuring DJ Nagureo

Let Them Move-NMR

Do It All Night

The Race-Captain Jack

Operator-Papaya

Holiday-Who's That Girl!

Keep On Movin'-NMR

Mr. Wonderful-Smile.dk

Wonderland (UKS Mix)-X-tream

Butterfly (Upswing Mix)-Smile.dk

Dam Dariram-Joga

In The Navy '99 (XXL Disaster Remix)-Captain Jack

La Senorita-Captain T.

Vol. 4-Raver's Choice

Rock Beat-Loud Force

Captain Jack (Grandale Remix)-Captain Jack

End of the Century-No. 9

Flashdance (What A Feeling)-Magika

Turn Me On (Heavenly Mix)

Follow The Sun (90 In The Shade Mix)-Triple J

Boom Boom Dollar (K.O.G. G3 Mix)-King Kong & D. Jungle Girls

Dynamite Rave-Naoki

Afronova-Re-venge

Dead End-N & S

Paranoia Rebirth 190'

Gentle Stress (AMD Mix)-Mr. Dog featuring DJ Swan (5 feet)

Luv To Me (AMD Mix)-DJ Kazu featuring Tiger Yamato (4 feet)

Jam Jam Reggae (AMD Swing Mix)-Rice. C featuring Jam Master '73 (2 feet)

Gradiusic Cyber (AMD G5 Mix)-BIG-O featuring TAKA (5 feet)

UPDATE: I found out! Naoki Maeda, apparently one of the geniuses behind Bemani, is the engineer who mixes most Konami Original songs. The AMD mixes are his personal versions of these songs. Most likely those artist names are of his own invention. I guess that's where Naoki got their name.

ANOTHER NOTE: It's hard to tell who the artist is in the case of Paranoia songs. The original Paranoia in 2^nd Mix was called simply "Paranoia" and the only other thing on the title banner was "180." The other mixes usually say "190" under the name (with the exception of Paranoia Evolution on 4^th Mix, and who knows about Paranoia Eternal on 5^th Mix?). I noticed that the number corresponds with the BPM of the song. If anyone else has info on this please email me.

STILL ANOTHER NOTE: This list is based on the 3^rd Mix machine at my local arcade, the international version. There are also two other versions, the original Japanese version and the Korean version. In case anyone needs to know, you can tell the original Japanese 3^rd Mix machine because it is the only version of 3^rd Mix with "Xanadu" by The Olivia Project ("Upside Down" has new basic mode steps which rank it at three feet). The Korean version features some Korean songs such as "Bu Dam" and "Ba Kkwo" (excuse the spelling) which are not on the other two machines but appear in 4^th Mix for some reason. As the Korean machines are rare in the US and it is very difficult to figure these songs out, they are not included in the above list. The international version features all of the Japanese version songs except for "Xanadu." An additional way to tell is that the original Japanese version is the only one with a Playstation memory card slot. Finally, Charmy wears silver tights in the Korean and international versions but not in the Japanese. Did I confuse you nice and good now? And I haven't even mentioned 3^rd Mix Plus…who knows what's on that? Anyone with more 3^rd Mix/3^rd Mix Plus version info is encouraged to email me.

ONE LAST NOTE: Choosing certain characters unlocks the hidden songs. Choosing Boldo/Tracy will unlock Gentle Stress. Choosing Kosento:03/Devil-Zukin will unlock Jam Jam Reggae. Choosing Astro/Charmy will unlock Gradiusic Cyber. Choosing Rage/Emi will unlock Luv To Me. The song is located in between "Xanadu"/"Upside Down" and "Paranoia Rebirth" on the Song Selection screen. I'm not sure how it works with the 2^nd Mix characters, but I'll find out.

These character descriptions and pictures are from Konami's website. I thought I'd mention that because I know better than to plagiarize. I have very closely preserved the exact wording, which actually contains a few grammatical errors I have left in simply because they're funny.

Boldo's real name is unknown. His name is based on the BOLDO font that he created when he was an artist. His hero is Afro.

Tracy is a cousin of Jannet. She likes animal print designs. This may be a result of her having the same blood as Jannet. Even though she wears boots with thick soles, she has great steps. She is disappointed because when she wears a miniskirt it looks like she is wearing a hotpants.

Konsento:03 is the latest of the KONSENT series. He became able to work much longer by equipping him with out power sources. The stabilization of electric power contributes to the improvement of his capacity. It is said that there is a character whose lower body is a caterpillar and looks like a tank. However it didn't get its turn this time. Cellular phones and CB radio make him malfunction.

Devil-Zukin is monster originated from the dark side mind of "Osyare-Zukin". Her cold-blooded skin is white and cold. Under certain conditions, she can flap her wings.

Astro is a costume player who likes techno music. Recently he is really into the cosmos, but he is misunderstanding it. He is very proud of his gun holster which he made by himself. He has been a costume player since he can remember, easily more than 20 years. Costume play is now part of his daily life.

Charmy is a cheerful American who found a congenial spirit in ASTRO and united with him. Although the originally concept was a space nurse, she has ended up the way she is through several changes in model. She is as proud of her body as she is of her costume.

Rage's real name is Reiji Ito. Part-time jobber. People call him Rage because of his short temper. He is the second son and is concerned about his future.

Emi's real name is EMI Toshiba. She is enrolled in the electrical department at a technological high school. Her parents run an electronics store. She is 17 years old with plenty of home electronics knowledge but poor computer skills.

NOTE: Devil-Zukin appears to have more than one name. This name is straight from Konami's website, and is probably the name used in the Japanese version. In the international version machine at my arcade, she is called "Dark-Zukin." Whatever. And for some reason Spell-Check is telling me to change "Zukin" to "Zuken." What’s a "Zuken?" Now that I've mentioned Spell-Check, I swear if it tells me to change "Konami" to "quondam" one more time…

ANOTHER NOTE: I'm not sure how this works, but I heard that in some versions of the game, Emi will appear without her hat 25% of the time as a random event. I have never seen this happen on my machine. I think it only happens in 4^th Mix, but just in case it ever happens in 3^rd, now you'll know.

ONE MORE NOTE: In the Korean and International versions of the game, Charmy wears silver tights that make her look like she's wearing aluminum foil. Just thought you might like to know.

SCORING

Scoring in the 3^rd Mix is based on this scale: E-D-C-B-A-S-SS-SSS. You are scored based on how many steps of each level you hit. The range of step levels is "Miss"-"Boo"-"Good"-"Great"-"Perfect." Any step that is Great or Perfect contributes to your hit combo. For example, if you hit four steps that are all either Great or Perfect, your combo will go up to four. Then if you hit a Good, Boo or miss the step, your combo ends and starts again next time you get a Great or Perfect. The highest combo you reached during the song, your Max Combo, is displayed at the stage result screen. You also receive a number score, but this is largely insignificant in the 3^rd Mix because it's based on the ratio of each type of step you hit to the number in the song, with a Max Score of 1,000,000,000. That way someone with an "A" on an easy song could score higher numerically than someone with a "B" on a hard song, even though they have less skill. It's best for comparing two people who do the same song at the same time on the same difficulty level and get the same letter score.

E-Too many misses to pass the song. You really did terribly and failed. "GAME OVER!!!"

D-Just barely passed. Several misses, plenty of Boos and Goods, low max combo. "Did you have breakfast today?!"

C-You were doing well at one point, but lost it somewhere in there. A handful of misses, mostly Goods and Greats. "Oh, you need to push yourself harder!!!"

B-You were really into it, had a couple mess-ups but you got mostly Perfects and Greats. At this level you can reasonably say you can pass the song. "Your dance was great! It's like sunshine on a cloudy day!!!"

A-Very low number of Goods and Boos, less than 5 misses usually, more Perfects than Greats. You did excellent, this is the point where you can start trying harder songs. "Whoa, you're a dance animal!!!"

S-All Perfects and Greats (mostly Greats), Max Combo extends through the entire song, number flashes at result screen. You really have this song down. "Everybody is cheering!!!"

SS-All Perfects and Greats (mostly Perfects), Max Combo extends through the entire song, number flashes at result screen. You had an exceptionally good run, you're playing below your skill level. "Fujiyama!!!" (Yes, he really does say that!)

SSS-All Perfects through the entire song, no Greats, Goods, Boos or Misses. Okay, you are really incredible, this NEVER happens. It's almost impossible! What, are you playing a song with just one step? (Take that, announcer!)

NONSTOP MODE

Unlike Soft and Medium mode, Nonstop Mode allows you to play a course of four songs straight through, without stopping between songs. This is the only way to get a score for Konami's Internet Ranking competitions. There are several different courses. You can also create your own. These lists aren't quite finished yet, but I'm gonna write down the courses I don't know next time I'm at the arcade.

RANKING #1

Holiday-Who’s That Girl! (Basic)

So Many Men-Me & My (Basic)

Rock Beat-Loud Force (Basic)

Dam Dariram-Joga (Basic)

RANKING #2

Silent Hill-Thomas Howard (Trick)

Keep On Movin'-NMR (Trick)

La Senorita-Captain T. (Trick)

Paranoia Rebirth 190' (Trick)

FAVORITE SONG

?

?

?

?

KONAMI ORIGINAL

?

?

?

?

SMILE.DK

Butterfly-Smile.dk (Trick)

Boys-Smile.dk (Trick)

Mr. Wonderful-Smile.dk (Trick)

Butterfly (Upswing Mix)-Smile.dk (Trick)

NOTE: This is the only way to play Butterfly and Boys without switching to 2^nd Mix mode.

ANOTHER NOTE: Is it just me or are these Trick versions of the 2^nd Mix songs different than the ones you'd get by just playing them in 2^nd Mix? Someone will have to check that…they seem different to me…

ROULETTE

Random song (Basic)

Random song (Basic)

Random song (Trick)

Random song (Trick)

NOTE: The machine seems to enjoy using simple songs like "Holiday" and "Silent Hill" for the Basic songs and then stuff like "Afronova" and "Boom Boom Dollar (KOG G3 Mix)" on Trick. Boy, can that get annoying. So don't count on getting consistent difficulties with Roulette Mode. As a matter of fact, I think that's the point…