===================================
IV. Challenges Types===================================
There
are three types of Challenges in this game, the kind of challenge you
face is random (except for competition an special events). Also there
is no way to tell which type of challenge you will face in a particular
state. However the prize money offered will often clue you in to how
difficult a particular challenge will be.
---------------------------------
IV.A. [COMBO] Challenges---------------------------------
Combo
Challenges will often include an Icon with a business man who puts up
money to see you complete a specified number of consecutive steps. Once
you enter the Challenge you'll see a combo count-down at the top of the
screen, to the right of your characters icon. If you break your combo
you'll see an explosion on the screen and the count down will reset.
The status bar will fill as you increase your counter here as well Once
you meet the challenge goal the count down will stop and the status bar
will start flashing rainbow colors. At this point you can continue your
combo, quit, or just stop playing and wait for the song to end. Once
you've completed the challenge it doesn't matter what you do. If you
don't finish the combo in one song, you can immediately start a new
song and your combo will pickup where you left off. You can continue to
go song after song indefinitely, even after you've completed the goal.
There
are some different types of Combo Challenges too. Sometimes there will
be a [JUMP COMBO] or a [FREEZE COMBO] In these challenges the rules are
the same with one big exception. the only steps that count for or
against the combo are freeze (step and hold) or jump (two directions at
the same time) steps respectively. These challenges can be considerably
less demanding however you should pick songs that have a high rating
for "Freeze" or "Air" depending on what type of challenge it is. This
will help ensure that you have enough of the types of steps you'll
need. In these modes the rest of the buttons don't matter, you can
completely ignore them or you can step along if you're board. I like to
follow the song normally just to make sure I've got the timing down.
You'll see the normal combo meter build but the only one that matters
it the countdown at the top.
Playing on "Difficult" I like to
use "Don't Play Nice" by Verbalicious for the Jump Combos and
"BRIGHTNESS DARKNESS" by SPARKER for the Freeze Combos. Your tastes may
differ.
==
IV.A.1. Making Jump and Freeze Combos easier==
If
you can't find a good song here’s a little way to make it easier.
During Song selection hold the "A" button on the song you want and it
will bring up the arrow options, you can then change the song to all
jumps or all freezes. Every step in the song will be of this type
giving you lots of opportunity to get the combo down. Just be sure to
remember to change this back to normal the next time you pick a song as
it will stay however you set it... unless of course you like jumping or
freezing all the time.
---------------------------------
IV.B. [FANBASE] Challenges---------------------------------
Fanbase
challenges are some of the hardest challenges in the game. Basically
you'll have a set number of "fans" you need to earn to complete the
challenge, the difficultly comes in that these fans need to be earned
completely in one song. you can try as many times as you like but
unlike combo mode your status will be reset with each new song until
you lose (by quitting) or complete the challenge.
==
IV.B.1. Fanbase Scoring==
Fans
are earned with each step. Normally each completed (great or perfect)
step is worth 4 points. Combos mean absolutely nothing. You can improve
you points per step by purchasing items. If you've purchased a music
clip for the song you will get an extra 2 points per step whenever you
play it. if you've purchased a video clip you'll get an extra 2 points
per step whenever it's playing in the background, and if you've
purchased any backup dancers you'll get an extra 2 points per step for
each backup dancer you've hired in that state.
Completing most
of these challenges on the "Basic" difficulty can be impossible unless
you've got help from these bonus items. Since the fanbase resets after
each song, most songs simply wont have enough steps to complete the
challenge Even playing on "Difficult" will require some of these items
to complete challenges toward the end of this mode.
---------------------------------
IV.C. [DANCE RIVAL] Challenges---------------------------------
Dance
Rival Challenges are similar to Fanbase challenges but with some subtle
differences. In this mode you're competing for fanbase against a Rival
Dancer. You can't view the actual number of fans you've earned in this
mode, the only thing you have to go by is the meter. The goal is to get
a set amount of fans ahead of your rival. In other words you have a
moving target; so when you *** up your lead will diminish rather then
just stop. If that wasn't enough your rival also has access to bonuses
such as music and video clips which in some cases can put you at a
disadvantage such that even if you perfect combo a whole song you will
have finished with less of a lead then when you started, thankfully
though your rival cannot have backup dancers. Also unlike fanbase
challenges you can carry your progress from one song to the next
indefinitely until you lose (by quitting) or complete the challenge.
Just like the other challenge types, once you’re meter is full it is
locked in like that and you cannot lose.
Unlike other challenge
types Dance Rival challenges are a wager. You're required to put up the
prize money up front and if you lose your rival will take it, but if
you win you'll get your money back plus that of your rivals.
---------------------------------
IV.D. Special events---------------------------------
Special
Invitational Events appear on the map as Envelopes, these will always
be worth a good chunk of money, but they are also some of the most
difficult challenges in quest mode. The little number next to the
envelope represents how long the invitation will be available. If you
think of each challenge as a day Invitations will only last 3 days.
When the count reaches 0 it will no longer be available. Don't worry if
you pass up an Invitation, it is possible for them to appear again.
Special
events are always "Fanbase" type challenges though they are often much
more difficult. You are not required to compete in any Special events
but in addition to cash, special events in certain states will unlock
particular songs
==
IV.D.1. Unlockable Songs from Special Events==
Listed
in order of increasing difficulty. New York's special event has a
fanbase goal of 1960 with the other special events decreasingly lower
by about 100-150 fans:
Think Ya Better D - California "Special" Invitational
Cachaca - Washington "Special" Invitational
Healing Vision - Ontario "Special" Invitational
Koibito - Texas "Special" Invitational
Stop Violence! - Missouri "Special" Invitational
Treble, Bass, and Attitude - Illinois "Special" Invitational
Drivin - Florida "Special" Invitational
Love Me Do - New York "Special" Invitational
If
you need for a special invitation to appear in a particular state see
the section above on (Controlling the location of Competitions and
Special Events).
---------------------------------
IV.E. Competitions---------------------------------
Competitions
will appear once every state in a region is fully colored, they will be
marked by a crown icon. The location of the competitions is random.
Competitions are always "Dance Rival" Type challenges and like the
Special events they're much more difficult then the regular event
they're based on. Competition events will tell you the prize money
right up front and usually worth about as much as special events. Also
in addition to money all regional competitions and two of the national
competitions will unlock new songs.
==
IV.E.1. Unlockable Songs from Competitions==
Listed in order of increasing difficulty:
Bongo - Western Region Competition
Xenon - Canadian Region Competition
Return of the Toe Jam - Southern Region Competition
Tir Na n'0g - Northern Region Competition
My Only Shining Star - Eastern Region Competition
Maximizer - North American Competition (Silver)
Paranoia Evolution - Final Competition (Gold)
If
you need for a special invitation to appear in a particular state see
the section above on (Controlling the location of Competitions and
Special Events).
===================================
V. Gameplay UIs===================================
---------------------------------
V.A. The Dance Screen---------------------------------
The dance screen looks very similar to arcade mode but there are a few important differences.
Above
the arrows you'll see a HUD, This includes an icon of your dancers face
with a completion bar below it. To complete the challenge you'll need
to fill the bar. How you fill the bar changes slightly depending on the
challenge type (explained above in the " IV. Challenge Types" section).
Once the bar is completely filled you'll get a "cleared" message and
the bar will start flashing rainbow colors. At this point you can
completely blow off the challenge; the bar will never drop back down
once it is cleared. You can exit right away by holding down the back or
start buttons. Or you can wait until you complete the song. While it
might be nice to simply quit out once you've completed a challenge you
stand to make extra money if you score higher then required (at least
in Fanbase type challenges), so I'd recommend at least completing the
Song you're on.
In Dance Rival challenges you'll see a second
dancer icon that represents your rival. Above both of the icons there
is a red "Fever" icon. This will glow when you're in Fever mode.
Basically Fever mode happens whenever one of your purchased video clips
is playing in the background. There is nothing special you have to do
to trigger this it will happen automatically. Just be sure to play as
well as you can during fever mode for maximum points.
On
occasion you'll see your progress bar scrolling right with orange and
white lines. This means that you own the music clip for the song
playing in the background and are receiving bonus points with every
step. During Dance Rival challenges the empty space in the status bar
might scroll left with blue and white bars. This means that your Rival
owns the music clip for the current song and they are are receiving
bonus points with every step; which can be really bad for you.
Backup dancers will be shown in the background along with your own avatar. Rival Dancers do not appear in the background.
---------------------------------
V.B. Between Songs---------------------------------
Once
you've completed a song you'll get a "Cleared" or "Failed" screen. The
message displayed depends on whether or not you completed the challenge
on the preceding screen. If you see "Failed" do not fear though, you
can push the "A" button and play another song. In Dance Rival and Combo
modes the next song will have you picking up right where you left off
so you can finish your combo or gain on your rival. Fanbase mode
however will reset your status bar whenever you start a new song.
Unfortunately you cannot pick the next song, it will be randomly
chosen. However any arrow options you set in the song selection screen
before starting the challenge will remain set.
If you do nothing
during this screen you will automatically be taken to a new song
whether you've completed the challenge or not.
Pushing "B" will
end the challenge and take you to a results screen. When you exit the
results screen but before the map loads is when auto saving will occur.
---------------------------------
V.C. Quitting Challenges---------------------------------
The
only way to lose a challenge is to quit by going to the results screen
or holding back or start during a song. You can continue playing new
songs indefinitely whether you've met the challenge or not.
If
you can't bare to lose a challenge you can cheat by quitting to the
Dashboard. At any time push the "Guide" button and then the "Y" button
to exit back to the dashboard it will be as if you never even played
the challenge you're currently on. DO NOT do this while the game is
saving or you will corrupt your save. Even if you're on the results
screen, you can quit back to the dash as long as you do it BEFORE you
leave the results screen of the challenge.
---------------------------------
V.D. The Music Selection Screen---------------------------------
The
music selection screen is similar to the screen you're used to in
Arcade mode. Up and down change the difficulty, left and right select
the song. Holding A on a particular song will let you adjust the arrow
options. However you leave this screen will be exactly how it will
start when you pick your next song, this is important to remember
because if you change the arrow options they will stay changed.
An
important difference in the Music selection screen is once you've
purchased some Music clips you will have a small blue circle with a
note in it directly to the left of the song's title image. More
importantly is that when competing in a Dance Rival challenge the same
icon will appear upside-down and to the right of every song your rival
owns the music clip for. Unfortunately there is no way to tell which
songs you or your rival have video clips for.
===================================
VI. Purchased items===================================
When
you travel, each state you stop in (including your destination) is a
random chance to buy upgrades. You can think of this as leveling up
your dancer. There are three kind of things you can buy: Music Clips,
Video Clips, and Backup Dancers (how these can help you is covered
above in the IV. Challenges Types" section). Backup Dancers are only
good for the state you purchase them in, however Music and Video clips
are good anywhere. You should plan on buying whatever becomes availble
to you as you'll need as much help as you can get later on in this
mode. The top right box on the map will tell you how many Music clips
you've purchased as well as how many video clips you've purchased.
AFAIK you cannot unlock video clips for songs where a real music videos
play in the background (songs like "Feels Just Like It Should" or
"Everytime We Touch").
Music clips are good for the entire
song which makes them the best item to purchase. Backup dancers are
good for entire songs too but they are only good in the state where you
buy them, though you can have as many as 8 Backup Dancers in a state.
Video clips often work across multiple songs however they are only good
for a few seconds of each song they appear in. The power of Video clips
doesn't really help much until you have enough of them that your clips
are playing almost the entirety of most songs.
Contrary to the
Achievement discriptions, you cannot purchase new songs. New songs are
only unlocked after completing specific special events or competitions
(covered above in the Challenge Types section). Most unlocked songs,
however come with their associated music clip which is really nice
(though for some strange reasion "Stop Violence" doesn't).
===================================
VII. Final Thoughts===================================
This
game mode is a complete pain in the ***. I love DDR but the only reason
I played this mode is for the achievements. I only hope this guide
helps others out because I was completely lost when I started and had
to figure most of this stuff out on my own. Thanks to The Xbox.com
forums, while no one there helped directly many talked about
experiences and allowed me to solidify my own experiences and
suspecions into a confirmed truths.
If you find anything in here is innacurate please send me a PM or XBL message.
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