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[yyr]

EDIT: The DDR finals are now over, but the links still work and you can watch the whole thing by skipping back. Plus, they'll be streaming other KAC games all weekend. If they put up separate video links to just watch the DDR, I'll post them here.

I sent a tip to Polygon about this and they published a summary:
http://www.polygon.com/2017/2/9/14561524/ddr-world-championships-watch-live-konami-arcade

But if you feel like hearing more about it, here's the whole story!

This weekend, the 6th annual Konami Arcade Championship Finals will take place in Japan at JAEPO (Japan Amusement Expo) 2017. Competitions will be held in 11 different Konami arcade games!

In 2016, Konami released a new arcade version of Dance Dance Revolution in North America for the first time in 6 years. The new game, DDR A, is available for play at all Round1 locations, and selected Dave & Buster's locations. But--for the first time ever in North America--the machines at these locations were connected to Konami's eAmusement network, allowing North American players to compete with others around the world. Following this development, Konami decided to open up this year's DDR competition to North America, as well as Japan and Asia.

The preliminaries ran from early December through mid-January. Players could register on Konami's Web site, then play two specific 3-song sets on any network-connected machine while logged in. After the preliminary period was over, the 2 players with the highest combined scores from each of 3 regions (North America, Japan, Asia), as well as one wild card, won all-expenses-paid trips to Japan for the finals.

The first player to represent North America, and the #1 seed, is Chris "iamchris4life" Chike (@chrs4lfe) of California. Chris has accomplished some unbelievable things in music gaming. He was the first in the world to earn a 100% score on a level 17 (out of 19) DDR song, the first in the world to earn a 100% score on literally EVERY song of In The Groove 2's very difficult Expert level, and, way back in 2008, the first in the world to hit 100% of the notes in Guitar Hero III's infamous "Through The Fire And Flames" on Expert difficulty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc_6vBbNW2A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe9JMg1-pFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5GpRJItqjw

The second player to represent North America in the finals is Jeff "fungah" Lloyd (@fungah_), also of California. An extremely skilled player of all sorts of music and arcade games, as well as the holder of several DDR world records, Jeff also helped raise over $20,000 for charity in two separate fundraisers by playing donors' DDR requests.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0YTiQ29dLI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg3tPEygAns

Here, Jeff describes the tournament format, and his thoughts on the Konami Arcade Championships.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CW9n6xcWgX0

Chris Chike (left) and Jeff Lloyd (right) simultaneously 100%ing a song =)

The third player from North America is Hudson "KAZE.573" Felker (@hudsonfelker) of Washington State. Despite being the wild card, Hudson's qualifying score was 4th overall, higher than 3 out of the 6 top finalists! He's extremely skilled, driven, and ready to compete.

https://twitter.com/hudsonfelker/status/819094540736860160

Awaiting these three players are two competitors from Japan, one from Korea, and one from Taiwan, making this a truly global tournament.

The competition will take place over the course of two rounds. The wild card, along with the second-place qualifiers from all 3 regions, will compete in Round 1. Out of these four competitors, the two with the higher qualifying scores may select a song. Then, all four must play both songs. Only the player with the highest combined score on both songs will win Round 1 and advance to the Final Round.

The Final Round pits the first-place qualifiers from all 3 regions against the winner of Round 1. The first-place qualifiers can each select a song. All four competitors will then play the 3 selected songs. The one player with the highest combined score will take the title!

HOW TO WATCH!

Konami will be streaming the event live. You can watch Round 1 on Friday night at 11:15pm Eastern, or 8:15pm Pacific, at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vlXeV49OUs

The Final Round will unfold on Saturday morning at 12:35am Eastern, or Friday night at 9:35pm Pacific, here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLY_w8xbYPM

The official page introducing the DDR Finals, including profiles of all seven competitors, is here: http://p.eagate.573.jp/game/kac6th/detail.html?id=ddr&group=final&lang=en

Also being streamed at the above two links are the Finals for other games in the Konami Arcade Championships, including beatmania IIDX, pop'n music, Sound Voltex, and many more. The full streaming schedule is here: http://p.eagate.573.jp/game/kac6th/final.html&lang=en

 

[Hedgey]

So excited for this! DDR is hype again!

Please remember to support BEMANI by visiting your local Round 1 or Dave and Busters =D

 

[gweemz]

I used to be so into DDR back in high school. Never bought a CF mat and am now kicking myself for not doing so. Will definitely give this a watch!

 

[Kenstar]

I used to be all about DDR until they replaced mine at the theater with a hydro thunder

Now I just shadow step in stepmania at home if I feel the need

 

[Secret Character]

The fact that iamchris4life recently got SDP (single digit Perfects) on Elemental Creation recently is just insane. The guy's timing and stamina is crazy.

 

[Mohasus]

I used to be so into DDR back in high school. Never bought a CF mat and am now kicking myself for not doing so. Will definitely give this a watch!

I always cry a little inside when I remember the GAFfer that found 4 CF for 5 bucks each.
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=454779

 

[Hispanicguy]

Oh snap, thanks for the heads up! Definitely will check this out.

 

[Khalifa Jayy]

Is that guy using his heels and toes simultaneously?!

What the hell?

 

[sixteen-bit]

Will tune in

 

[RomanceDawn]

I watched one of the videos where the guy just hangs on to the rail. Is it possible to actually go that fast without holding on to the rail? I love people who play this game with style and real dance moves, I just don't know if thats practical when you are trying to get such a high score.

 

[jotun?]

Stop leaning on the bar, noobs

 

[macklelol]

Really excited for this!

It's probably gonna be between Chris and FEFEMZ in the finals. Really all depends on how good Chris is on Paranoia Revolution Challenge lol.

 

[zephervack]

Legit tho, excited to see some DDR stuff, been recently playing Necrodancer with a DDR Pad, after almost 5 years of waiting I was able to find a Metal DDR Pad.

 

[Kenstar]

I watched one of the videos where the guy just hangs on to the rail. Is it possible to actually go that fast without holding on to the rail? I love people who play this game with style and real dance moves, I just don't know if thats practical when you are trying to get such a high score.

you burn waaay more energy properly stepping onto the pads with all your weight and shifting balance vs holding the bar and nicking the edges of the corners with your foot

Doesn't look as cool but cool doesn't get you high scores

 

[GamerJM]

I watch the ITG Bearpocalypse every year. How does the skill here compare to that? I stopped watching competitive DDR many years ago because it seemed like the ITG community was playing stuff with a much higher skill ceiling.

https://www.facebook.com/bearpocalypse/

Here's an example of what they play:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hwylKg6WuY

 

[yyr]

Stop leaning on the bar, noobs

It is impossible to play some of this stuff without the bar.

If you need proof...

...well, try it!

Is that guy using his heels and toes simultaneously?!

What the hell?

When they're going that fast, it kind of looks like it, doesn't it?!

It's probably gonna be between Chris and FEFEMZ in the finals.

I wouldn't count out Jeff. He's getting a song pick in round 1, so unless he's having an off-day, he's almost got one foot in the final round already...beyond that, you never know =)

Oh snap, thanks for the heads up! Definitely will check this out.

Really glad that you saw this

I watch the ITG Bearpocalypse every year. How does the skill here compare to that?

This is not DDR Extreme; there have been some disgusting charts added to the game since then. Check out things like Paranoia Revolution Challenge and Over The Period Challenge, you'll see what I mean really quickly.

That being said, I know that Bearpocalypse is all customs, but Chris was the first person to 100% ITG2 on Single Expert, so there's that. Honestly, IMO, ITG is one of the biggest reasons that Americans are so good at DDR now. It built our skills way beyond where DDR Extreme stopped, so by the time DDR got popular again, we were ready for it. =)

 

[macklelol]

I wouldn't count out Jeff. He's getting a song pick in round 1, so unless he's having an off-day, he's almost got one foot in the final round already...beyond that, you never know =)

Oh yeah, pretty much everyone there is very good at the game. Both of the Americans in the semifinals have a good shot of making it to the finals and potentially winning it all. Just feels like Chris and FEFEMZ are on another level though. It would be amazing if Jeff or Hudson managed to win though!

And yeah, 19s in DDR tend to be ridiculously technical. They don't really compare to high level ITG custom songs in terms of endurance, but they'll make you twist your body in many painful ways.

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

Definitely tuning in. I pulled a few small tourney wins in Arizona back in the day but bowed out around 2005. Very excited to see new stuff!

 

[WadeitOut]

I'd rather watch nothing.

Or finally watch Fargo. Or re-watch Twin Peaks. Or binge watch The Expanse again.

 

[yyr]

I'd rather watch nothing.

Thank you for your contribution to this thread

 

[tbm24]

I haven't heard about iamchris4life since I spent months trying to get up on the score hero ranks during GH3. Good times, glad to see he's still going all in on music games.

 

[Nomadic Sparks]

When is the Stream coming up?

 

[macklelol]

Fungah posted the selectable songs list on this twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/fungah_/status/830194493810827264

First 3 songs are new songs from DDR A. DDR A really needs some more hard songs lol.

 

[Hispanicguy]

Really glad that you saw this

I always click any thread that's rhythm game related lol

 

[5taquitos]

We 2001 now

I'll definitely have to check this out, it's been a long time.

 

[foxuzamaki]

DDR should have never died, it put u nerd baxk in shape

 

[cj_iwakura]

It is impossible to play some of this stuff without the bar.

If you need proof...

...well, try it!

Nonsense, most Pump players play stuff way harder than DDR's worst nightmares without bar.

That said, don't sleep on Kaze. He's a phenomenal player, and a rhythm game guru.


Also, I loathe DDR's 'hard' charts. They're just walls of arrows without much flow, and most of the songs are awful. In fact, most of Ace's OST is too. I used to love DDR, but every new mix is awful.
(To be fair, I'm not a fan of Prime 2 either.)

 

[5taquitos]

DDR should have never died, it put u nerd baxk in shape

Not gonna lie, I lost a lot of weight during my DDR days

 

[Jimrpg]

Are they allowed to hang onto the rails in official competition?

Also DDR is awesome, pretty sure dancing stage euromix was my first import ever. Then I had to get the mats from a webstore in Hong Kong, must have been back in 2000.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Are they allowed to hang onto the rails in official competition?

Also DDR is awesome, pretty sure dancing stage euromix was my first import ever. Then I had to get the mats from a webstore in Hong Kong, must have been back in 2000.

Usually, yes. Early Pump It Up tournaments banned the bar, though. It was pretty hardcore.

 

[Allforce]

I got some exclusive footage from the prelims

 

[Zafir]

I was always kind of sad dancing games went towards the way of motion controls/camera.

Do kind of miss the old days of dance mats.

 

[The Bankslammer]

KAC stream has started if anyone is interested in watching other stuff until DDR

schedule for today is mahjong fight club (on now), museca, popn, quiz magic academy, DDR, sound voltex

looking forward to pop'n so they can once again debut the only song anyone will care about in this version

 

[thatJohann]

I watch the ITG Bearpocalypse every year. How does the skill here compare to that? I stopped watching competitive DDR many years ago because it seemed like the ITG community was playing stuff with a much higher skill ceiling.

https://www.facebook.com/bearpocalypse/

Here's an example of what they play:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hwylKg6WuY

What. The. Eff. Is that fast forwarded or is the song that fast?

 

[pezzie]

Man I miss the DDR days. There used to be a bowling alley near me that had a 25 cent 5th mix machine. I used to go nearly every day to play.

I should look up some machines now and give it another whirl. Sounds like it could be fun again.

I never got good enough to do the 10 foots. I could only do a handful of 9s. Rhythm and Police was probably the best I could do, but man was I proud of that.

 

[disappeared]

I was always kind of sad dancing games went towards the way of motion controls/camera.

Do kind of miss the old days of dance mats.

Man, the good old days is right. I begged my local arcade to get a machine in, and when they finally did it was 3rd mix lol. I mean 3rd was all right but by that time 7th or 8th was out in larger cities. In high school I was the dumbest motherfucker who imported the playstation versions of 3rd and 5th and bought two mats and got my ass to work after school everyday. Even built a custom hardboard for it by getting a slab of 1/2 inch plywood and a sheet of vinyl to slip overtop the pad.

 

[yyr]

Here is the list of charts they can choose from:

Everything here is lv17 and up. By comparison, MAX300 on Expert is lv15.

If you're used to the old 1-10 difficulty scale: it was re-done back in X, expanded to a new 1-19 scale. What was a 10 back then is now 14-16. 9s back then are 13-14 now.

 

[disappeared]

One thing I never got good enough at was the songs where you could jump from p1 to p2's board. That shit was insane on Heavy stuff.

 

[Hispanicguy]

Here is the list of charts they can choose from...

Lmao, all the crazy shit. Nice.

One thing I never got good enough at was the songs where you could jump from p1 to p2's board. That shit was insane on Heavy stuff.

Doubles was/is so much fun.

I don't know many of the new charts on doubles but DDR Supernova and below, I had a ton of fun with.

 

[cj_iwakura]

KAC stream has started if anyone is interested in watching other stuff until DDR

schedule for today is mahjong fight club (on now), museca, popn, quiz magic academy, DDR, sound voltex

looking forward to pop'n so they can once again debut the only song anyone will care about in this version

No IIDX?

 

[djplaeskool]

High level MUSECA is nuts

 

[cj_iwakura]

High level MUSECA is nuts

I loved playing Museca when I was in Tokyo.


Wow, this mahjong game looks hype.

 

[The Bankslammer]

No IIDX?

tomorrow along with reflec, gfdm and jubeat

 

[cj_iwakura]

tomorrow along with reflec, gfdm and jubeat

I wouldn't be surprised if Kaze was in IIDX, he's a 14k'er.

 

[yyr]

One thing I never got good enough at was the songs where you could jump from p1 to p2's board. That shit was insane on Heavy stuff.

I argue that anyone can try Double, at least once they are at least playing Difficult/Standard on Single. Doing this actually helped me learn to do the crossovers properly on Single!

cj_iwakura, IIDX is tomorrow. I think it's last.

 

[disappeared]

I argue that anyone can try Double, at least once they are at least playing Difficult/Standard on Single. Doing this actually helped me learn to do the crossovers properly on Single!

cj_iwakura, IIDX is tomorrow. I think it's last.

Oh yeah Light and Medium crossover was all right but I nearly killed myself on just about anything on Heavy lol

I just realized I haven't played a DDR in almost ten years.

damn

 

[JHoNNy1OoO]

Watching MUSECA now and I wish they would overlay the freaking camera of the players into the game screen. I'd rather watch the guys actually playing.

 

[djplaeskool]

QMA HYPE

 

[twentytwo22]

Museca finals in 30 minutes on the main stream.

Here is the list of charts they can choose from:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C4VxesRUkAARINf.jpg
Everything here is lv17 and up. By comparison, MAX300 on Expert is lv15.

If you're used to the old 1-10 difficulty scale: it was re-done back in X, expanded to a new 1-19 scale. What was a 10 back then is now 14-16. 9s back then are 13-14 now.

Songs not eligible this year are Pluto the First CSP, Spanish Snowy Dance CSP, Revolution CSP, Idola CSP and Paranoia kskst ESP (the only missing 17-19s). Paranoia kskst doesn't exist on machines in the US due to copyright reasons. The others charts were very unlikely to be picked anyway.

 

[KanameYuuki]

There is no chance of DDR making a come back on consoles right? Or even the Dance Masters one.