DDR Hottest Party 2 Umbrella Expert PFC AAA, with hand markers ON.

[DeidaraCosplayer]

You're totally awesome at DDR! 8D

I have this game too, I was just wondering if there's any way to disable the Wii remote? So you just use the mat. I freaking HATE having to use the remote as well as dancing.

[jordan1650]

How'd you change that character's hair colour?!

[lulu4eva101]

Your great!

[lolybank]

i have a question i have the same game as you but i can't get marvelous or AAA only perfet or AA ( i play on basic and hard mode)

[darknight068]

Marvelous is turned on in options. AAA's are only achieved when you get nothing less than a perfect/marvelous on a song. In this case, there's no other requirements for one. With some others in this game, you have to have hands on and meet a certain score, OR you have to turn both hands and gimmicks on.

[lolybank]

@darknight068 thanks a lot^^

[ILoveLots19]

i just bought this for wii, and i cant like actually DANCE..like i cant press the arrows cuz it wont work..it only lets me use the wii controller and nunchuck to do it..idk wat to do..

[darknight068]

Make sure it's plugged in into the P1 GC controller slot. If it's plugged into the correct GC port and still not working, you've probably got a faulty mat. Return it for another one.

[ILoveLots19]

i showed my brother...and im like i guess its supposed to be this way then..and then he figures out how to use ur feet to actually dance..i was lik...o.o.  lol

[Riviet]

Just curious, but are you the 1% of people who post up DDR HP videos with hand markers on? xD

[darknight068]

More than likely.

[darknight068]

Still am, and would be if HP3 didn't remove them from Free Play.

[darknight068]

@darknight068 I take that back, there's always the Balance Board mode.

[rct2king]

u can turn off the hand motion thing by going to options and click on hand marker and turn it off. any way i just played like an hour ago and on this song i got a 222 combo

[lexi16149]

how do u turn and markers off??

[darknight068]

I guess you don't like Frances Maya's vocals too much eh knux? She did both Will and Confession, and probably Touchin. I wonder whatever happened to Tahirih Walker, does she still do vocals in Bemani? Last I've heard of her was Brillant RED and Happy Angel.

[KnuxSonic8]

Oh, and impressive run. ;)

Keep socking it to 'em. And by them, I mean the majority of people who think the Hand Marker scheme is wortheless... and, more importantly, to those that think they're so good because they use the Gamecube/Classic Controller/Wii Remote+Nunchuk. >_>

[darknight068]

With the first game I could sort of see where they were coming from since it wasn't really implemented all that much or well for that matter, but on here it literally makes the game work. It's really a fresh new approach to DDR and IMO with a couple modifications it can stay. I honestly wish the arcade ones took some of the risks this one did. Past Konami's horrible version of mines, there's really nothing new about it.

[darknight068]

Speaking of DDRX, of all the good HP1 and 2 songs they could've picked they chose Will and Loving You. That's not to say they're bad, but in Will's case you already have Flourish (which sounds oddly similar), and Loving You could've easily been Escape or Dreamin. Maybe, more HP1 and 2 songs are unlockable in the arcade DDRX, but from what I've seen so far I'm not counting on much out of it.

[KnuxSonic8]

Ah, so you've tried the arcade version of DDRX? How is it?

Will was not a good choice, imo. Didn't like it very much in HP1... along with many other KO's that sounded way too similar to one another.

[KnuxSonic8]

You got that right. It's great and it's certainly really enjoyable for those that actually put forth the effort to get it down properly.

What are your thoughts on this remix, BTW? There's a split opinion about this one, I'm finding.

[darknight068]

No, I haven't played the arcade DDRX. The only reason I know about those two picks is because the game was recently released in the arcade. I am interested in checking it out though. Playing Will shouldn't be too different, but Loving You is gonna be weird without hand markers, especially if they keep the chart exactly the same. Oh, and you do know why most of HP1's KO's sounded exactly the same right? It was my biggest criticism of the first game, too much of what I call Vanilla Naoki. lol

[darknight068]

Now that I think about, that's the one thing those two picks for X have in common too, NAOKI...

As for Umbrella, it's like I've stated before I think it's fine, maybe a couple vocal tweaks could be done but otherwise it's alright. The original song would've been slow as hell so I could see why they did this.

And at least they had a pretty good vocalist to do this too. Haley Hunt did a lot of R&B stuff prior so it made sense to get her. She did vocals for All Good Things as well.

[KnuxSonic8]

Yeah, I think it's pretty good. I like the change in direction. I dunno why people think it's so bad cause it's not. At least, in my opinion. There were some parts that could've been a bit better where it felt like a letup as far as the vocals were concerned but I like how the background music was remixed. Sounded more... techno-y I guess.

Yeah, while we're on the subject, thoughts on the All Good Things remix?

[KnuxSonic8]

So Naoki's to blame? Yeah, way too many of them sounded too much alike. There were quite a few of KO's I didn't like at all and I still don't play. Some songs like Confession, Will, Touchin' (horrible. Worst song in game, imo), Beautiful Inside, and Moving On. Most of those were the contenders I was referring to.

[darknight068]

I thought it was good. It's a bit more danceable and the vocals got a bit more punch to 'em too.

Oh damn, I liked Beautiful Inside, and Touchin grew on me, but the rest of them you listed I completely agree with. All the songs by U1 and The Reason was good. Little Steps was good. The remixed revivals were good, but that was it. Mario Mix had a better tracklist than the majority of the KO's on that game and it's not because it was Mario music remixed. Then again, that was all U1's game.

[KnuxSonic8]

All Good Things = Yeah it's good. It just wasn't what I expected... for the vocals that is. The background was well done. Could've been a tad better.

The Reason and Little Steps = Two of the best KO's. :D

Mario Mix was great. I got it off eBay last year. I still play it. It's better than I expected. I'm still hoping for a Sonic DDR... Badly. :P

Have you listened to CELEBRATE NIGHT from Furu Furu Party?

[darknight068]

The original Celebrate Night (or Nite as it was spelled prior) was probably the best song under the NMR label (Naoki). The remix is OK, but the vocals lost a lot of it's attitude. I'd still play it, but it would just make me wish they remastered the original. If they wanted to revive anything, why not Make A Jam even if Big Idea remixed it once already?

[darknight068]

I never heard the original. In fact, I didn't KNOW there was an original. It just sounded like a new KO. Oh well, I like the song. It's too bad we didn't get it for our song selection but that doesn't surprise me...

just like we didn't get Pluto the First & others... Thoughts on DDRHP3, if they were to make one (which I'm 100% sure they will)? What would you like to see? I'd like to see Online Play. That would make it a must-buy imo. And if they added DLC (c'mon!) then that'd REALLY be great.

[darknight068]

Last reply was from Knuxsonic8. My fault, accidentally deleted it when I went to reply.

Yeah, you'd think an online component would've been implemented by now especially since the Guitar Heroes do it, not to mention that Samba De Amigo (which I got yesterday) even has leaderboards and DLC. I could understand HP1 not having anything like that, but HP2 should've at least had a 2 to 4 player online mode at a minimum.

[darknight068]

At least, if Konami wants to keep the game somewhat competitive in the market they're gonna have to start doing something. RB2 went well beyond the call of duty, being loaded full of features on and offline, and there's no reason a HP3 couldn't at least go halfway there. An edit mode with Wii Connect 24 support would be killer. I honestly thought they would've done that by now knowing how many people have been asking for that along with speed modifiers. Eh, we'll see what happens...

[darknight068]

Oh, and as far as I'm concerned Pluto the First can stay in Japan, though I get the feeling we're gonna see all of those songs in some form down the road. That song had one of the most hacked up stepcharts I've ever seen, not to mention the fastest part of it is 440 bpm IIRC.

[KnuxSonic8]

Maybe in DLC form? :D

[KnuxSonic8]

Edit Mode, hm? Interesting. And it's not like they don't have experience with it on the Wii. Elebits FTW. ;)

[darknight068]

It's not like they don't have experience period. Every other introductory version of DDR on every console except the Nintendo ones have had edit and training mode. I guess with Mario Mix I could sorta understand, but HP1 there was no excuse. They didn't know if the first Ultramix would sell on X-Box either, yet they gave them the full nine anyway (other than framerate which to this day is still questionable) and then fixed things later.

[KnuxSonic8]

Indeed. HP2's Training Mode was a nice addition. It's very helpful/useful.

On that note, HP1 had no excuse for quite a few things. For example, they promised mini-games and "other activities" in the game (it even says it on the back of the box) but those are nowhere to be found... I wonder if they would've been like the Mario Mix ones cause I would've just skipped on them anyway...

[darknight068]

I do remember that, and no they weren't anywhere to be found. I wonder if any of those minigames were gonna be anything like the ones in DDR Extreme US?

[KnuxSonic8]

Would that have been a good thing?

Question: What other improvements COULD they make system-wise (e.g., modes) for HP3. I got some thoughts but I'd like to hear yours.

[KnuxSonic8]

Would that have been a.... good thing?

[darknight068]

If I'm not mistaken, most of DDR Mario Mix's minigames were very similar, if not EXACT copies of DDR Extreme US's with just shinier graphics and a new skin. If you didn't like Mario Mix's you wouldn't like them either. Konami tried to broaden the appeal of DDR long time ago with that release, but the fans panned the game so bad they NEVER did anything like it again until HP1 and 2. It's new stuff was OK, but my hatred stemmed from it having MANY of the same overplayed KO's from the arcades.

[KnuxSonic8]

Well HP2 was a big difference from HP1, admittedly. As far as I'm concerned, now, there's not much left to improve so not adding Online Play would tick me off to no end.

[darknight068]

Knowing Konami, be prepared to be pissed off. I've seen them do some really idiotic things with the series historically and in some ways these days are no exception.

[KnuxSonic8]

I see...

[darknight068]

You know it amazes me how many more views this has gotten than most of the other videos I have. I guess people really like Rihanna, not to say that I don't.

[darknight068]

Concerning future games though, if they do have another poll/what do you think kind of deal, I will add my 2 cents into the discussion concerning this series. They've got a pretty nice thing going here, but there are some things that NEED changing.

[KnuxSonic8]

Hmmm. You mean with the HP Series, you mean? Agreed.

[darknight068]

Yeah, I'm talking about the HP series. I wonder if the next Wii DDR is even being called HP though, with the exception of Ultramix and Universe, a name usually doesn't last for more than 2 games.

[KnuxSonic8]

Hmmm... I'm sure they won't change the name for this one. If they do, I'd be kinda upset. But as long as it's not something lame like Coldest Party, I'm good. XD

[KnuxSonic8]

I was thinking the same thing for weeks. :P

[darknight068]

Coldest Party. lol It would depend on how they marketed it. Could be "cool"!

[KnuxSonic8]

LOL. Friend always laughs when I joke about that. :P

Yeah, in *theory* anyway...

[DDRManiac999]

dang, you two have the longest conversations every

[KnuxSonic8]

Heh heh. Yeah I know. We love HP I guess. :P

[darknight068]

Keep in mind that motion plus is being released this year. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they opted for a twin remote setup to accommodate any new motion features they put in the game.

[KnuxSonic8]

Motion Plus support, huh? I didn't even think of them incorporating it partly because it works so well as it is. But I could see them doing it for sure. Twin Remote setup would be sweet and would harper back to Helix or Samba de Amigo. Either way, if they added that, plus Online plus Wii Speak support (latter being a bit of a stretch), it'll be gold.

[KnuxSonic8]

Yup, online play is a MUST. If not, I want a good/solid license set this time like HP1's. If they added DLC, that would be awesome!

So, what do you think?Think we should/can "motivate" them. ;) Reply! lol.

[darknight068]

I'm afraid Konami tends to do what they want to do, for better or worse from what I've seen with the US PS2 releases. They listen, every now and then, but usually ignore the rest of the time. I definitely don't see it being any different here. Afterall, it's like they got the Supernova and HP1 step writers to switch platforms with these recent releases.

[DDRManiac999]

what do think disney grooves is going to be like.

[darknight068]

Looks a little too much like HP1 for my liking. A lot of features HP2 added look to be completely gone, and a lot of the gimmicks have reverted back to the way they were originally in HP1. Hands are back to being one color instead of vivid. I've got a weird feeling that Konami is going to botch this up in some way shape or form. I'm still getting it and all, but I'm preparing for the worse.

[darknight068]

What did I tell ya. I expected the worst and that's almost EXACTLY what I got. *lol*

[Alicexhollywood]

omg i want to be that good :o

[darknight068]

You can get there, but it does take practice.

[Juvanke]

this game has only 50 songs. scuks!

[KnuxSonic8]

Nice way to write the game off so quickly before you've even played it. <_< Typical.

[WootTisMarkus]

hey DarkKnight!

I love your DDR videos :)

I cant wait to buy this next week :)

I have a question,

I don't understand how to use hand markers?

my cousin got this game for christmas and we needed to take them off because we didn't understand how to use them :\

[darknight068]

They work exactly the same as feet markers, all it requires is a decent flick of either the remote or nunchuk whenever the left or right hand marker hits the stepzone. For the hand freezes you shake them for it's entire duration.

[InsaneComedy]

I got this game for Christmas yesterday. And it's so awesome, that I just HAD to go on Youtube to scream to the world that THIS GAME IS TOTALLY SPECTACULAR!!!!!!!

[KnuxSonic8]

lol, yeah the game is awesome. The KO's are REALLY well done, wouldn't you say?

[lavendarkittes]

This is a stupid question, but on my HP2, there's no "marvelous." The highest is only perfect? Did you unlock it or something? Or is it only on expert

[darknight068]

You have to turn it on in the game settings of the option menu. Doing so will turn it on for all gameplay irregardless of difficulty, hands, gimmicks, or mode you play on.

[syu80]

is this game fun for all ages?

[darknight068]

I'd say it is, there's enough variance in the difficulties and music for anyone to be able to get into. It's very accessible.

[KnuxSonic8]

It sure is. I like how they got some easy Experts in here too because some people (friends/family) tried the easy Experts in HP1 and couldn't A them. They don't play on Expert but they tried anyway. I'm gonna get those same people to try the ones here. Some of them can be AA'd on first try.

[XRezor]

ooohhh for fucks sakes, omg

[darknight068]

Quick update: It's unrelated to this song, but I did finally AAA Tribulations. On the last FC perfect run I've done of it was only off by about 200,000 points.

[kamichamaichigo]

are there alot of normal techno songs like cartoon heroes and speed over beethoven on this one too?cuz i wanna get it.. but not if there arent many fast techno songs.. and theres not challenge mode?? !!!! T_T

[jadevegablack]

those songs aren't one there.all it has are techno songs no one has heard of and then crapy remixes like this song, but worse like You're the one that I want.But they do have some good songs.Just look up the song list on youtube, I just watched it

[darknight068]

I actually prefer the remix over the original in this case. The original would've been too slow, not to mention that it's not like Umbrella was a masterpiece of music to start with so it's not like it could get butchered that badly. With all things considered, I think Haley Hunt along with the sound producers of this song did a pretty admirable job. I've heard MUCH worse than this.

[HikozaruBl]

One question....are the gimmicks turned on?

[darknight068]

Gimmicks are off, you'd see the wild card and the foot missile if they were on. I'll play with those every once in a while too because they do add an extra layer of challenge, however I almost always put the scroll rate on 1x if I do. Changing the scroll rate does not change the rate at which the gimmicks show up which turn things into a confusing mess if you put a speed modifier on with some songs. I Ran is a good example of this.