Play DDR on heavy mode

How I did it: A while back, I got DDRMAX2 for the PS2, and some cheap pads. I don't recommend learning to play for the first time at an arcade. You may feel like you might embarrass yourself. (I picked the "roulette" option for my very first DDR experience. I got "It's Rainin' Men.")

I started playing regularly. Daily, even. Played on Light Mode for a couple hours per day. In maybe a week, I pushed myself up to standard, where I had to learn triplets and 1/8th notes. Practice ensued.

A few more weeks go by, and I start inching my way into Heavy Mode. (The newer games now call this "Expert.") Crossovers! 1/32nd and the rare 1/64th notes! Notes never stop coming! More practice...

I've taken many breaks since then, back in 7th grade. My house burned down in 2004 (my 7th grade year), so I couldn't play for the entire 2 years that it took (serious, we had a really lame contractor) to rebuild. And then, I was so out of shape for DDR that I couldn't DO Heavy Mode any more. I couldn't. It hurt my calves. It hurt my lungs.

I got discouraged.

In 2008, I was reintroduced to exercise. My senior year of high school. Phys. Ed. The best class ever, by the way. I really applied myself. Our gym class motto was "We go haahd." (Hard... It's a Boston accent thing...) Sure, I was the biggest guy (I'm 6'3", 250 lbs), but goddamn, I had reflexes. I became known as the hardest kid to hit in dodgeball. I couldn't aim a ball for the life of me, but that's not important.

Anyway, I went to my local arcade with some friends. And it turned out that I saw one of my older friends, and two of his friends. We started meeting up and playing every Friday. I was in shape (relatively...) again, so I could handle Heavy Mode, just in small bursts, say, two, three songs before I needed a break. This wasn't so bad since there was four of us and we could take turns. Two people do three songs, then the other two do three. Fun stuff.

Lessons & tips: Find people to play with, preferably around your skill level, but it doesn't matter that much.

Find an arcade nearby where you can play. (Get a job to afford your brand new DDR addiction)

DO stretch AND warm up before you play harder songs. Do a couple Standards, or some easy Heavies.

Don't wear shoes on a soft pad.
DO wear shoes on a metal pad.

Don't put your feet in the middle, like the little characters on Beginner's Mode do. In fact, you can probably skip Beginner's Mode altogether if you have a good sense of rhythm. (I did)
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Note that arcades typically have harder settings in terms of arrow-to-step timing.

Resources: Red Octane Ignition pads (soft), and my local (kinda) arcade.

Oct 16, 10:36AM PDT | 0 comments | 2 cheers