MAX (Dance Dance Revolution)
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The MAX series is a collection of several (at present 6) songs from the various releases of Dance Dance Revolution. All of them have been given the 10-foot difficulty rating and are considered the pinnacle of achievement to pass for the average DDR player.
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[edit] MAX300
Max 300 was released in Dance Dance Revolution MAX and was the first song to be given the 10-foot difficulty rating. However, DDRMAX did not have foot-ratings, and upon MAX2's release it was given the official rating. Running at 300 BPM, the Heavy steps are a combination of fast 8th notes, designed to drain the player's stamina. Passing the song requires much endurance and speed, as it is common to have as many as 10 notes in one second.
[edit] Song Info
- Title: MAX300
- NAOKI Alias: Ω
- Arcade Mix: Dance Dance Revolution MAX
- BPM: 300
- Beginner difficulty: 3 (DDR Extreme only)
- Basic/Light difficulty: 6
- Trick/Standard difficulty: 8
- Maniac/Heavy difficulty: 10
- Oni/Challenge difficulty: N/A
[edit] MAXX UNLIMITED
MaxX Unlimited was released in Dance Dance Revolution MAX2 as a continuation of the series created with Max 300 in the previous game. At 320 BPM, it is less focused on stamina and speed, and more focused on technique. The heavy steps require fast jumps, streams, and complex rhythms. Beginning at 300 BPM and slowing down as low as 47 BPM, it features a series of tempo changes designed to throw the player off rhythm, as well as a full stop similar to that of Max 300. After the stop, the song reaches 320 BPM. It is considered in the DDR community to be harder than Max 300, despite being less tiring.
[edit] Song Info
- Title: MAXX UNLIMITED
- NAOKI Alias: Z
- Arcade Mix: Dance Dance Revolution MAX2
- BPM: 48-320
- Beginner difficulty: 3 (DDR Extreme only)
- Basic/Light difficulty: 6
- Trick/Standard difficulty: 8
- Maniac/Heavy difficulty: 10
- Oni/Challenge difficulty: N/A
[edit] The legend of MAX
The Legend of Max was released in Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME and was one of the first songs to receive the "Flashing 10-footer" rating, the flashing property itself often associated with the song's difficulty relative to a "normal" 10 (when actually, it is meant to highlight the song's properties as a "boss" in that mix.) Some feel that it sounded less like the previous songs and more like the Paranoia series, though this is debatable as the trademark melody is still present. Featuring technically challenging runs and jumps, it is similar in difficulty to Maxx Unlimited. The song begins at 333 BPM and has a stop in the middle, like the others. There is a short period of 666 BPM in the middle of the freeze arrow, right before the stop.
[edit] Song Info
- Title: The legend of MAX
- NAOKI Alias: ZZ
- Arcade Mix: Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME
- BPM: 83-666
- Beginner difficulty: 3
- Basic/Light difficulty: 6
- Trick/Standard difficulty: 9
- Maniac/Heavy difficulty: 10
- Oni/Challenge difficulty: N/A
[edit] MAX.(period)
Released only in the Japanese home version of Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME, MAX. (period) was not written by Naoki Maeda as with the previous MAX's, but was created by 2MB (Yuichi Asami or "U1-Asami"). The song mostly runs at 300 BPM, except for a slow section in the middle running at 180 BPM (reminiscent of the original Paranoia) and the last several seconds which run at a blistering 600 BPM. The song does away with the "Max Full Stop" in its original form, though it does include a pause before the 180 BPM section. While not considered as difficult as the other MAX's technically[citation needed], the 600 BPM section is very difficult to read, and there are several fast "trills" (2 arrows hit in an alternating pattern) and jumps throughout the song.
[edit] Song Info
- Title: MAX. (period)
- Artist: 2MB
- Arcade Mix: None; Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME Japanese Home Version
- BPM: 150-600
- Beginner difficulty: 3
- Basic/Light difficulty: 9
- Trick/Standard difficulty: 9
- Maniac/Heavy difficulty: 10
- Oni/Challenge difficulty: 10
[edit] MAX 300 (Super-Max-Me Mix)
Released in the home version Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 2, this song again was not written by Naoki Maeda, but by a pair crediting themselves Jondi & Spesh. In spite of the title, this song is more of a remix of MaxX UNLIMITED than MAX300. Considered by some to be more difficult than any of the official MAX's, the song features dense, complex patterns of 8th notes and jumps, and various slow downs designed to throw the player off. Starting at 300, the steps briefly slow down to 140 BPM about 50 seconds into the song, offering a slight rest, but they quickly start up again with increased difficulty. The song then goes to 320. The ending part of the song includes several 1/8-note runs, including one lasting six measures (the longest in any official MAX).
[edit] Song Info
- Title: MAX 300 (Super-Max-Me Mix)
- Artist: Jondi & Spesh
- Arcade Mix: Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA; Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 2 Home Version: Dance Dance Revolution STR!KE (with new Challenge steps)
- BPM: 140-320
- Beginner difficulty: N/A
- Basic/Light difficulty: 9 (Rerated 6 on SuperNOVA)
- Trick/Standard difficulty: 9
- Maniac/Heavy difficulty: 10
- Oni/Challenge difficulty (DDR Strike/Supernova): 10 (tougher than the UM2 steps)
[edit] Fascination MAXX
From the newly announced Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA, this song is an extremely difficult remix of the MAX series. Steps are rated at 9/9/10/10 (light/standard/heavy/oni or basic/difficult/expert/challenge). The song is unlockable as an extra stage or through the game's Stellar Mode.
The BPM of the song alternates between 100, 200, and 400, as displayed in the artist's name.
The song starts off with a Healing Vision-esque beginning: It starts off very slow and then speeds up immediately after the first arrows hits the stationary arrow's outline, when it immediately jumps to a shocking 400 BPM. A brief variation on one of the Max themes (possibly originated from PARANOiA) is heard at this point. The song features a plethora of tempo changing in the beginning and has a lot of sudden song pauses near the end like those in PARANOiA -Respect-.
The song also features a long stream of gallops and has the traditional 'MAX-Stop'. Some players believe that the introduction of Fascination ~eternal love mix~ might suggest that Fascination could be a new, separate family of boss songs.
[edit] Song Info
- Title: Fascination MAXX
- Artist: 100-200-400
- Arcade Mix: Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA
- BPM: 100-400
- Beginner difficulty: 3
- Basic/Light difficulty: 9
- Trick/Standard difficulty: 9
- Maniac/Heavy difficulty: 10
- Oni/Challenge difficulty: 10
[edit] Other MAXes
"MAXIMIZER" (CLI-MAX S., Sota Fujimori), from the Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME US Home Version, is considered by some to be a part of the MAX series, while others contend it's related in name only. Some claim the song as a separate entity as the DDR Extreme information mentions no affiliation to the MAX series and it's music resembles no similarities to the MAX series.
[edit] Fan Creations
Featured as part of the Keyboard Collaborations collection are the songs MAX 450 and MAX 600, featuring identical stepcharts as MAX 300, sped up to 450 and 600BPM, respectively.
"MAX to the XXXimum" is the name of a MAX mix created by β (allegedly a Naoki Maeda pseudonym) that was intended for release in Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME. The common story states that due to its incredibly fast scroll speed (400 BPM), playtesters found it too difficult and the idea was scrapped, with the music being remixed into The legend of MAX. However, players discovered that "MAX to the XXXimum" was more than likely a fan-made remix, as it not only contained the telltale artifacts of time stretching but also contained parts of "MaxX Resurrexxion" by DM Ashura, another fan remix, starting at 1:00. It has been the basis of several unofficial versions, most notably by Taren. [1] "MAX to the XXXimum" may had actually been released as Fascination MaxX. Proof of this is that a significant section of this MAX series song is at a speed of 400BPM.
"MAXX All-Stars," features segments of the official MAX songs (MAX 300, MAXX Unlimited, Legend of MAX, MAX.(period)) intermingled with fan creations, including DM Ashura's "MAXX ResurreXXion," "neoMAX", and Neo-Kamek's "Drop Out 300," a mash-up of MAX 300 and Drop Out.
DM Ashura has also created a remix consisting of parts of previous MAX songs, "MAX Forever." K//Eternal created steps for "MAX Forever" that is in the Stepmania stepmix 1.0 contest. It consists of the main MAX theme as well as other parts by Naoki Maeda, such as Sakura, B4U, Maxx unlimited, Afronova, Trip Machine, Drop Out, and Paranoia. He also created NeoMAX, a Max song that is included on the massively popular online DDR simulator Flash Flash Revolution. Another song released on the DDR Forever project by DM Ashura is DeltaMAX.
"Max Infinity" was a medieval type song created by Dragon XVI. It contains the main MAX theme and adds other elements.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Bemanistyle, a source for unofficial Simfiles for Stepmania or Dance With Intensity, including many MAX remixes. Registration required to download
- DDRFreak, contains stepcharts to many of the MAX songs
- A guide to 10-footers; source of some information. (FAQ is "Level 10 Guide" on page.)
| Games from the Dance Dance Revolution series | |
|---|---|
| Japan / Asia: | 1stMIX - 2ndMIX - 3rdMIX - 4thMIX - 5thMIX - MAX (6thMIX) - MAX2 (7thMIX) - EXTREME - Best Hits - Extra Mix - Party Col. - FESTIVAL - Mario Mix - STR!KE - SuperNOVA - Universe |
| North America: | DDR - DDR USA - Konamix - MAX - MAX2 - Ultramix - EXTREME - Ultramix 2 - Extreme 2 - Ultramix 3 - SuperNOVA - Universe |
| Europe: | Dancing Stage EuroMIX - PARTY EDiTiON - Disney Mix - MegaMiX - Fever - Unleashed - Fusion - Unleashed 2 - Mario Mix - Max - Unleashed 3 |
| See also: | Dancing Stage - Disney versions - Game Boy versions - DDR Solo - List of DDR games |
| Related topics | |
| Notable songs: | MAX series - PARANOiA series |
| Notable artists: | BeForU - Takayuki Ishikawa - Naoki Maeda - Taku Sakakibara - List of Bemani musicians |
