Getting into DDR

peteloaf

peteloaf

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A friend of mine and I have decided that we want to try DDR - What's the cheapest and easiest way to start? Should we start with cheap pads or get decent right off the bat? PS2 or Xbox is the preferred system, but any system will do.
 
I suggest trying it out at an arcade or store first. Mario mix is the best newbie one but thats got a wait list of at least 3 weeks to a month if you order from Nintendo's 1800 #. Other then that it's iffy. There are a ton of them of varying quality. Right now i'm Guitar Hero though.
 
DDR Ultramix (Xbox) is PH, so it's only $20.
DDR MAX (PS2) is $29.

You can grab a cheapo $20 mat to start out, and a $10 multi-system adaptor if you want to use the mat on multiple consoles.

Or, grab a Konami bundle that has a game and their mat together. The Konami mats aren't too bad. (Better than a cheap...not as good as a metal...)

EDIT: If you are really serious about getting good (pro) then I would recommend skipping the cheap mats and going for metals. (I'll recommend Cobalt Fluxs, before somebody else does! Though I've never used one, everyone seems to love them...expensive though!)
 
You can build a nice pad out of a softpad, a slab of playwood and plastic hardwood floor covering. Cut the plywood to just a little bit bigger than the pad dimensions (2-3 inches more on each side), put the pad down, tape it down, then lay the plastic down. It'll make it feel a lot more like an arcade pad and extend the life of the pad quite a bit. It'll add about 25-30 bucks and about an hour or so of work, but it's worth it.

This is of course assuming you've already tried the game and liked it. If not, go to an arcade and try it out. If you need to find an arcade with DDR, go to ddrfreak.com
 
Just grab some "Ignition 2.0" pads, the ones with the dense 1" thick foam. The flat ones you get in the official bundles and those cheap ones you see in retail stores just slide around. It makes it very frustrating even on relatively light songs. Unless you are willing to tape them down to some plywood or even right on a hardwood floor, I wouldn't waste my time.

I can't vouch for the generic ones on Ebay (they seem to have a different kind of foam that is too soft) and RedOctane's are notorious for falling apart, but the ones from BuyNShop are great. I spent weeks researching and gathering reviews from websites and forums before buying from them. I have two of the BNS DX pads and they have lasted through 2 years of gameplay. They were $50 each when I ordered (I grabbed a 2 pad + game bundle for $120).
 
I think you can get the In the Groove bundle with 2 pads at BB for $30.

ITG is for PS2 and has a steeper learning curve than DDR. But the soft pads are excellent quality and the price can't be beat.
 
[quote name='whitereflection']I think you can get the In the Groove bundle with 2 pads at BB for $30.

ITG is for PS2 and has a steeper learning curve than DDR. But the soft pads are excellent quality and the price can't be beat.[/QUOTE]


I think this will be the route I try (if any of the Best Buys near me have them...)
 
Just get a NES, a powerpad, and track and field games. I guarantee you'll lose weight trying to beat cheetah.
 
Well folks, heres how it went down last night - I called a buddy of mine to tell him that I wanted to go out and get a cheap DDR setup to play, he says that it sounds cool and to come on over and we'll head out. By the time I left my house and got to his he'd already run out and bought me a pad (he still owed me an Xmas gift)! It's just a cheapy Madcatz, but hey a free pad is a free pad. So when I got there we ran out, grabbed a game (the second DDR for xbox) and then took turns playing for about 4 hours. I haven't had that much fun playing a video game in a very long time.

Now we've both decided that we need better pads, so does anybody know anything about the metal pads that Toys 'R Us sell? They had them for $100...
 
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