Overview
Dance Dance Revolution is a music video game, the 14th installment of the Dance Dance Revolution series, and the sequel to Dance Dance Revolution X3 vs. 2ndMix.
Aside from aesthetic changes, the game also features various updates to both gameplay and interface. A new mode, called "TAG Play", is added. The mode is essentially the same as Versus Play, except that the game rewards the two players that hit arrows on both pads at the same time with "Synchro-Bonus" points. While the player's individual scores are unaffected, these points are tallied to form the "Team Score". Players do not need to select the same difficulties for this to work. In addition, "GOOD" judgment no longer breaks the player's combo, instead counting towards it, similar to Dance Dance Revolution. The full combo splash with GOOD is also colored blue and the results screen awards the player with blue circle with a simple "Full Combo" written on it. However, the game no longer has the selection of "Happy" and "Pro" modes and replaced on the 2014 edition by "Standard Mode" and "PASELI"; instead, the game features all songs selectable normally (without locked songs on STANDARD MODE). The continuous-based play Course Mode has also been removed.
The game's initial 2013 interface is mainly based on the Cover Flow design like the previous two games. Song selection is also being simplified to provide easier access for new players to browse, such as the separation of each player's Groove Radar and difficulty table. The game primarily features blue and pink colors (representing the traditional colors for Player 1 and 2) mixed with white abstract motifs. The 2014 update, released on May 12, 2014, significantly alters the interface. The song selection is brought downward and the left and right sides of the song's jacket store five tabs, containing difficulty selection, groove radar, scores, Yuniver Hills unlocks and Boss-On-Parade medals (or Replicant-D-Ignition Nitros). Selecting difficulty is now done after the player choose the song, although the game still allows the player to view the difficulties from the song select screen.
The game supports the "e-AMUSEMENT Participation" system also used by recent BEMANI games. In addition to delivering updated content and allowing players to save scores and other data, this system enables Konami to take a cut of the credits entered into each machine. Thus, the game requires connection to the e-AMUSEMENT service to boot, although the game continues to function if the service is interrupted after the game has booted. PASELI service, initially introduced in Dance Dance Revolution X2 is usable in the game. Players can use the e-money system to pay credits for the game instead of using coins. Using the PASELI also benefits the players, among them options to enable certain features that otherwise are not accessible to non-premium users. Starting on May 12, 2014, PASELI is also the only way to access Extra Stage. For connected e-Amuse machines outside of the Japan territory, the PASELI service is replaced with "Premium Mode". This allows players to access special gameplay events and features normally blocked behind the PASELI paywall. PREMIUM MODE can be accessed by adding more credits (set by the arcade operator) during the start of a game session.
