Remember Your Original Intention -- Dance Dance Revolution (Part 2)

Back when I was in Japan, one of the English teachers at Shimizugaoka would occasionally teach me kotowaza -- Japanese proverbs. It's funny, the first one I really learned about was 袖振り合うも他生の縁 (sode furiau mo tashou no en) which essentially means "a chance encounter is preordained." The image is of sleeves brushing as two people pass by each other on a street -- this kotowaza argues that even the smallest interaction is the result of karma and connections from previous lives. I found this one in Murakami Haruki's Kafka on the Shore and Hiraga-sensei taught me more and more as the year went on. One of the phrases he taught me that's come up a lot recently is 初心忘るべからず (shoshin wasuru bekarazu) or "remember your original intention."

The soccer manga Whistle! thinks this kotowaza's important, too.

It became even more relevant as, last minute, I decided to bring my old PS1 copy of Dance Dance Revolution Konamix to our DDR session last night. DDR Konamix was my first home mix and my first true introduction to the game. While I got to play an occasional game at the arcade, Konamix was my first chance to really practice. I still remember when I first got the game: we were visiting my dad in Lexington and he took me out to the mall to try to find the game and a dance pad. We eventually came across a bundle with the game and a MadCatz Beat Pad. It certainly wasn't the best pad out there but it was a game changer for me, especially since I was starting out on the easiest difficulty. I immediately went back to his (second-floor) apartment and officially became hooked on the game and it ended up being my primary way to play until we got MAX2 on the PS2 a little while later. 

Understandably, playing Konamix for the first half of our session last night brought back a lot of buried memories. There were so many songs and stepcharts that I had played 15+ years ago but haven't really played since. Each iteration of DDR tends to have different tracklists so certain old, licensed, or unpopular songs get cycled out over time. However, the whole experience was even more memorable simply because Konamix is freaking hard! Seriously, there were songs that both of us could AA on a mix like Extreme but we were scoring consistent C/Ds for the same songs on Konamix! We were a little hesitant about the mix going into it, not because of the songlist or the older Playstation graphics, but because of one thing in particular: the lack of speed mods.

Speed Mods (image courtesy of Rhythmic Footsteps)

If you're not too familiar with rhythm games, the image above is a great visualization of what speed mods do. It doesn't necessarily change the actual steps or BPM of a song, it simply changes the scrolling speed for the arrows. This can be really beneficial if you're playing a song where many of the steps are placed close together because it can help you see the patterns and arrow progression. However, speed mods in DDR have historically been a point of contention as they didn't even exist in the game until DDRMAX came out in October 2001 (in Japanese arcades). That means the first 3 years (and 5 core mixes + expansions) were all played at the equivalent of x1 in the above gif. Once DDRMAX came out, all of the older songs available could be played with a number of speed mods. 

Some players argued that using speed mods was essentially a form of cheating. If you look at the difference between a song like Bag when played at x1 compared to it at x8 it's clear that there's a big difference in seeing and processing the arrows. Since the game was originally built and played for 3+ years without them, couldn't you argue that x1 is the way DDR is supposed to be played? When a song is purposefully designed with slow, dense arrows, is bumping up to x1.5 or x2 missing the point? Considering the topic, I decided to browse through some old DDR forums to see the general opinion from the time period.

Where I play, you won't get any respect if you use speed mods. You could AAA So Deep with 2x, but if someone AAs it on 1x they'll get more props(although, where I play, a AAA is nothing special anymore).
I'm pretty anti-them myself, but I've been playing since the old days of DDR where there was no such thing as speed mods. I think it's kind of cheating because the whole point of DDR is to know the beat of the songs, if you know the beat that the arrows go to then being able to read the arrows is not an issue. Just play the songs more and be better at them. Also, there's no way in hell you'll be able to play an oni course if you can't read 1x.
Using speed mods on Bag makes it substantially easier, I personally feel that the game should have made it impossible to speed that song. I don't care too much about it, but if you start talking to me and saying you can AA the song on 3x, I'll just shake my head at you. -- original_z, ddr.livejournal.com post comment on 12/27/04

One player living in Japan brought up the fact that Konami themselves allowed mods and that the tournament scene there happily welcomed them. The mention of the "bar" is referring to another much-disputed element of the game: the practice of holding the bar while playing, usually to increase balance and footspeed. Sometimes referred to as "bar raping," using the bar (which is built into the DDR arcade platform) was also seen as cheating by some DDR purists.

If they (speed mods) were "cheating", then why were speed mods allowed on *all* the general IR courses (not the oni courses) on the Max2 Internet Rankings? Konami doesn't seem to care, and neither do I. However, I still respect your opinion and will leave you to play however you want to play, and I will play how I want. Perhaps it is the environement in which I live. Speed mods/the bar are always allowed at all of the tournaments; noone cares *at all* if you use speed mods, I have only had 1 guy comment when I used the bar, but that was when he saw me :AAA Love Again Tonight (Heavy), and he kind of lost his care whether or not I used the bar on some songs or not; we sometimes play DDR together in Kamiooka (The Earth; the crappiest arcade in Kanagawa, but DDR is 100 yen...so it's not bad...it's no Muthos, though). -- seishinbyou, DDRFreak.com forum post on 6/14/03

However, as I was Googling around I happened to come across a post that was weirdly relevant to my Konamix experience from yesterday.

Heres a thought, if your good on 3x, then you jump to 1x and you do way horrible than when your on 3x, what would you do? play on 3x forever? or master 1x? for example, if your going to play Oni (challenge) you can only play on 1x and if you choose a course with mods then thats a different story.. but yeah, Oni requires 1x skills, it also makes your 1x skill better. once your good with 1x, then when you go back to 3x, it'll be no problem, you can play 1x 2x or 3x... for me, i challenge myself by playing something i havent mastered, like 1x. playing 3x is to easy, so thats why i switch from 1x and 3x... it makes it fun. -- NSX, PNWBemani.net forum post on 5/14/07

Playing the Konamix songs on x1 wasn't just frustrating because the arrows were moving slower -- it was frustrating because it shone light on one of my biggest DDR weaknesses. During the first few songs, it was clear that our morale was dropping -- especially considering that we were struggling to even finish songs! It makes sense, too, as I think I hadn't played a single song on x1 in the entire 4 months we've been playing (aside from Max 300 or similar songs that are super fast to begin with). Furthermore, I don't think I've actively gone out of my way to play a song on x1 exclusively since I moved from Konamix to the MAX series and beyond! Thinking back to my teenage days in Middlesboro, I faced the same problem. I was getting pretty good at playing DDR at the mall on their MAX2 machine, but as soon as I went across the street to Papa John's and tried to play Lupin the 3rd on their 4th Mix Plus cab, I'd struggle to pass. This weakness has been a fundamental part of my DDR playing from the very beginning and, in that sense, I can understand how speed mods have been sort of a crutch for me. It would be one thing if, like the above post points out, I could pass a song with and without speed mods, but when I can only do it one way...it's a problem -- or at least a sign of what I need to improve!

That said, as we kept playing, I found myself getting more and more motivated. We made it through some sets, unlocked some songs, and ultimately switched out to In the Groove which, by design, sees mods as a more integral part of the experience. Still, going from Konamix at x1 which forced me to flail, sweat, and struggle (mentally and physically) to songs at x2.5 on ITG felt like a good training regimen. I felt like I really exercised something, whether it was my eyes, legs, or whatever, I'm not really sure -- but I felt like I really worked. In order to be truly strong, I think you need to be able to confidently face anything that comes your way and yesterday really showed me how I'd been running away from x1 and thus pre-DDRMAX mixes from the very beginning. I had been so interested in improving and showing off my skills on difficult songs that I missed out on one of the foundational elements of the game. 

Our weapons of choice for yesterday's session.

I doubt that I'll move back to pre-MAX DDR exclusively or anything like that, but I'm going to push myself to play more of the older mixes as we continue our sessions. I've got copies of the original PS1 Dance Dance Revolution and Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix that I've never really played and one or two of the Japanese PS1 mixes that I've never tried out with a dance pad. I feel like this is a great opportunity to dig those out and give them a shot. Actually, I guess I don't even need to devote myself solely to the old games -- I'll try out x1 speed on the newer mixes, too! What's really important, I think, is getting back to that beginner's mindset. There's always a chance to improve and it's just a matter of finding those moments and opportunities. It's okay to face failure because it just shows that there's room to grow. Even though playing DDR Konamix felt like a kick in the stomach, I think it's pointing me in the right direction.

Regardless, I feel like I have a new goal... and hopefully that'll keep me motivated and working hard to get better and better, just like the old days.