Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party

Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party is the first of a series of Dance Dance Revolution games for the Nintendo Wii.

It can be best described as an arguably cursed amalgam between DDR SuperNOVA and DDR Mario Mix. In fact, it even uses the latter's engine.

Debug Menu#

Swapping the ddrmodeseldll.rel and ddrmodeseldll.str files with selmenuDll.rel and selmenuDll.str makes the game boot into a debug menu.

Other#

Sometimes, pressing - on the main debug menu will display a system font.

Alternatively, pressing + on the main debug menu will redirect to a series of options, which determines the selection parameters should any of the "DDR" functions in the first page, the "STG TEST" or the "SSQ TEST" functions be chosen.

PAGE 1#

PAGE 2#

Function	Present in US?	Present in JP?	Description
STG TEST	Yes	Yes	Loads the game's stages, as well as charts for the songs with the same ID.
DANCE VIEW	Yes	Yes	View a still frame of each of the characters' animations. Automatically plays the song 1, 2 Step upon entering. Controls: 1 / 2 - Change character Nunchuk Stick - Move camera Nunchuk Up / Down + C / Z - Zoom in/out Nunchuk Left / Right + C - Zoom in/out (faster) Nunchuk Left / Right + Z - Move camera left/right Nunchuk Up / Down + C + Z - Move camera up/down
Camera Test	Yes	Yes	A viewer for the camera animations. Controls: - / + - Change animation Nunchuk Stick - Move camera Nunchuk Up / Down + C / Z - Zoom in/out Nunchuk Left / Right + C - Zoom in/out (faster) Nunchuk Left / Right + Z - Move camera left/right Nunchuk Up / Down + C + Z - Move camera up/down
RESULT TEST	No	Yes	A viewer for the Groove Circuit mode messages.
MES TEST	Yes	Yes	A viewer for some of the system messages.

PAGE 3#

Unused Charts#

Challenge Charts#

While Hottest Party does not have playable Challenge charts, three songs have data for them: the license Finally, and the original songs will and Confession. While the former seems to be just a gimmickless version of the final Expert chart, the latter two are very early variations of their respective Expert charts, and also lack gimmicks.

Download will and Confession (challenge charts) File: DDRhp1-challenge.zip (4,60 MB) (info)

ssq.bin#

The file ssq.bin can only be found in the game's American release and contains early variations of the game's stepchart files. Notably, 42 of the game's 52 songs (including the alternate versions of tokyoEVOLVED) have notable differences between the early and final data.

Early Chart Data

Additional Charts#

After tokyoEVOLVED Ver.C's ID (52), there are eight different versions of the song Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now), each using different gimmicks, and having an additional intro section.

Variant 1

• Basic
  • Absolute Notes: 137
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Foot Confuser
  • Gimmick Notes: 29

Chart Data

• Difficult
  • Absolute Notes: 217
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Foot Confuser
  • Gimmick Notes: 44

Chart Data

• Expert
  • Absolute Notes: 363
  • Freeze Arrows: 13
  • Gimmick: N/A

Chart Data

• Beginner
  • Absolute Notes: 111
  • Freeze Arrows: 1
  • Gimmick: N/A

Chart Data

Variant 2
Its charts notably contain Hand Missiles in the Up and Down arrows, which never happens in any of the final charts.

• Basic
  • Absolute Notes: 142
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Hand Missile
  • Gimmick Notes: 52

Chart Data

• Difficult
  • Absolute Notes: 217
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Hand Missile
  • Gimmick Notes: 54

Chart Data

• Expert
  • Absolute Notes: 363
  • Freeze Arrows: 13
  • Gimmick: Hand Missile
  • Gimmick Notes: 53

Chart Data

• Beginner
  • Absolute Notes: 112
  • Freeze Arrows: 1
  • Gimmick: Hand Missile
  • Gimmick Notes: 53

Chart Data

Variant 3

• Basic
  • Absolute Notes: 137
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Screen Stomper
  • Gimmick Notes: 45

Chart Data

• Difficult
  • Absolute Notes: 217
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Screen Stomper
  • Gimmick Notes: 54

Chart Data

• Expert
  • Absolute Notes: 363
  • Freeze Arrows: 13
  • Gimmick: Screen Stomper
  • Gimmick Notes: 52

Chart Data

• Beginner
  • Absolute Notes: 111
  • Freeze Arrows: 1
  • Gimmick: Screen Stomper
  • Gimmick Notes: 49

Chart Data

Variant 4
The Basic chart is very similar, albeit not the same, to this video footage from when the game was first announced. Most charts also contain Hand Markers on the Up and Down arrows, which none of the final charts have.

• Basic
  • Absolute Notes: 137
  • Freeze Notes: 7
  • Gimmick: Hand Marker
  • Gimmick Notes: 24

Chart Data

• Difficult
  • Absolute Notes: 217
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Hand Marker
  • Gimmick Notes: 43

Chart Data

• Expert
  • Absolute Notes: 363
  • Freeze Arrows: 13
  • Gimmick: N/A

Chart Data

• Beginner
  • Absolute Notes: 111
  • Freeze Arrows: 1
  • Gimmick: Hand Marker
  • Gimmick Notes: 12

Chart Data

Variant 5

• Basic
  • Absolute Notes: 163 (counting a single overlapping note)
  • Freeze Notes: 7
  • Gimmick: Double Stomp
  • Gimmick Notes: 26

Chart Data

• Difficult
  • Absolute Notes: 169 (counting eight overlapping notes)
  • Freeze Notes: 7
  • Gimmick: Double Stomp
  • Gimmick Notes: 32

Chart Data

• Expert - same as Variant 1
• Beginner - same as Variant 1

Variant 6
These charts are structurally the same as Variant 2, though they use a different gimmick.

• Basic
  • Absolute Notes: 142
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Foot Missile
  • Gimmick Notes: 52

Chart Data

• Difficult
  • Absolute Notes: 217
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Foot Missile
  • Gimmick Notes: 54

Chart Data

• Expert
  • Absolute Notes: 363
  • Freeze Arrows: 13
  • Gimmick: Foot Missile
  • Gimmick Notes: 53

Chart Data

• Beginner
  • Absolute Notes: 112
  • Freeze Arrows: 1
  • Gimmick: Foot Missile
  • Gimmick Notes: 53

Chart Data

Variant 7
The Basic chart is structurally the same as Variants 2 and 6, albeit it uses another different gimmick.

• Basic
  • Absolute Notes: 90
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Foot Destructor (Yellow)
  • Gimmick Notes: 52

Chart Data

• Difficult - same as Variant 6.
• Expert - same as Variant 6.
• Beginner - same as Variant 6.

Variant 8
Much like Variant 7, the Basic chart is structurally the same as Variants 2 and 6.

• Basic
  • Absolute Notes: 90
  • Freeze Arrows: 7
  • Gimmick: Foot Destructor (Blue)
  • Gimmick Notes: 52

Chart Data

• Difficult - same as Variant 6.
• Expert - same as Variant 6.
• Beginner - same as Variant 6.

Unseen Foot/Hand Missile Behavior#

Watch on YouTubeFoot Missiles and Hand Missiles are gimmick notes that only appear in Battle Mode, in which two players compete for the highest score while playing the same difficulty.
When hitting these gimmick notes under normal conditions, they move towards the other player's side, except for when it is the last one in the chart, in which it shrinks until it disappears. Should they not be hit, however, the player's Dance Gauge is decreased significantly, and there's a chance the next Foot/Hand Missile that should appear is "skipped", likely to prevent more than two of these gimmicks from appearing at once.
However, through the game's debug menu, it is possible to play a song in Battle Mode with both players playing separate difficulties, in which these gimmicks display an unused behavior; they always shrink upon being hit, and they never "skip", even when not hitting such notes. As such, more than two Foot/Hand Missiles can appear at once.
The video on the side is a demonstration of this behavior on the song Beautiful Inside (Cube::Hard Mix), in which the Hand Missile gimmick is used.

Unused Graphics#

All of these take in consideration the folder data.

Early Warning Screen#

boot.bin contains graphics for Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix‍ '​s warning screen.

Minigame Mode#

ddrmodesel.bin contains graphic assets for a scrapped "Minigame" mode.

Image	Description
	Would be shown in the left side of the screen. The style shown here is much different from the other modes.
	A description, roughly translating to "Master the minigames!!".

Locked Default Stages#

ddrmodesel.bin also contains graphics indicating that the first 8 dance stages are locked, though this never happens as they are already available by default.

Other Mario Mix Leftovers#

win.bin contains many more leftover graphics from Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix.

Dialog

Button Prompts

Miscellaneous

Unused Music#

sound/stream/TESTMUSIC_32.brstm is an unused loop.

Unused Sounds#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Doublecheck and verify further

sound/ddr.brsar, the main sounds repository, contains many unused files within its filesystem.

Announcer#

GR/VOICE/ARCADE
These voice files wouldn't look out of place in an arcade installment or an arcade-like gamemode, though Hottest Party is not one and does not contain such a thing.

GR/VOICE/INSTRUCTION

GR/VOICE/GIMMICK

GR/VOICE/FREEZE/EXPLAIN

GR/VOICE/GAME/EXPLAIN

GR/VOICE/DECIDE

GR/VOICE/SELECT/STYLE

GR/VOICE/SELECT/PLAYER

GR/VOICE/SELECT/DIFFICULTY

GR/VOICE/CHAR

GR/VOICE/STAGE
Because Hottest Party does not have any sort of stage system, these go unused.

GR/VOICE/EMOTION

GR/VOICE/BATTLE/SELECT

GR/VOICE/GCM/STAGECOMPLETE
These are audibly placeholders.

GR/VOICE/RANDOM

GR/VOICE/TEST

Miscellaneous#

Found many times within the filesystem is a short beep.

Unused Text#

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Check other regions

The US and Japanese main.dol executables contain some unused text strings related to the Mario Party series, which was previously developed by Hudson Soft using the same engine.

The following offsets correspond to the US version.

These strings are referenced in a function at memory address 80043708 (US) and 8004337c (Japan).

Oddities#

The song Caught Up is the subject of two oddities.

The first oddity relates to the song's gimmicks. For each chart, there is an area reserved for a gimmick pool, labeled "CHAR", in which the gimmicks to be used are listed, in order to be called by the step direction area. The ID normally used for the Foot Missile gimmick is 03, though Caught Up's charts use the ID 0A. Behaviorally, there doesn't seem to be any differences between these two types; both are even used together in the song's Expert chart!

The second oddity also relates to the song's Expert chart. The right arrow in measure 16 and the left arrow in measure 20 are both coded as freeze arrows which end a beat after they start, though they appear as regular arrows instead. The reason for this is unknown.

Regional Differences#

Title Screen#

Europe	International

Save Banner#

Europe	International

Songlist#

Each version has exclusive songs, as listed below, with most of the Japan-exclusive songs later appearing in Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3 or the 2010 release.

Song Banner#

The song Gypsy woman received an updated banner in the game's Japanese release, which uses a different font. This was undone in the European release, however.

US/Europe	Japan

Courses#

Some of the game's Workout Program courses were slightly altered in order to accommodate the different songlist:

Gameplay#

The Hand Marker notes received an updated design in the game's Japanese release, which was also carried over to the European release.

US	Japan/Europe

Groove Circuit Mode#

There are also some changes done to Groove Circuit Mode when the game was released in Japan. Most of them relate to the songs being played, though there are also changes in the missions.

Initial Playthrough#

• VENUE HALLUMINATION's missions are much less strict in the Japanese version; instead of requiring the player to get less than 5 Boos, the three missions of this Venue require the player to get less than 25, 30 and 35 Boos, in this order.
• In VENUE ERU, the song played in the third mission is will rather than LOVE SHINE (Body Grooverz 2006 mix).
• In STARGAZE VENUE, a third song was added to the pool of songs available in the second mission: DOUBLE TORNARD.
• In VENUE U-MATIC, a third song was added to the pool of songs available in the second mission: TRUE♥LOVE (Clubstar's True Club Mix). In addition, the song will was changed to let it out.
• Also in VENUE U-MATIC, the third mission's song, which was originally let it out, was changed to LOVE SHINE (Body Grooverz 2006 mix).
• Much like VENUE HALLUMINATION, EV VENUE's missions are also much less strict in the Japanese version; instead of requiring the player to get less than 3 Boos, the three missions of this Venue require the player to get less than 20, 25 and 30 Boos, in this order.
• One of the songs available in the second mission of EV VENUE, B4U (The Acolyte mix), was changed to B4U (Rising Sun mix). Despite the different titles, both have the same charts.

Second Playthrough#

• VENUE TECTONIC's missions are much less strict in the Japanese version, requiring only 20 million points to pass its songs rather than 40 million points.
• As was the case with EV VENUE in the first playthrough, B4U (The Acolyte mix) was changed to B4U (Rising Sun mix) in the song pool for the second mission of VENUE TECTONIC.
• VENUE ERU's missions are much less strict in the Japanese version; instead of requiring the player to get less than 3 Boos, the three missions of this Venue require the player to get less than 15, 20 and 25 Boos, in this order.
• The song played in the third mission of VENUE ERU was changed from CANDY (UFO mix) to the new boss song Pluto the First; clearing this mission unlocks the song for regular play.
• Due to the song Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) not being available in the Japanese version, its slot in the song pool for the second mission of SYSTRONIX VENUE was changed to Call On Me.
• Due to the song Rhythm is a Dancer not being available in the Japanese version, some changes were done to VENUE U-MATIC; instead of playing Clocks in the venue's third mission, it is part of the song pool of the second mission, with CANDY (UFO mix) replacing it where it originally stood.
• EV VENUE's missions are much less strict in the Japanese version; instead of requiring the player to get no Boos, the three missions of this Venue require the player to get less than 10, 15 and 20 Boos, in this order.

Error Screen#

Whenever the game crashes, it will display a basic handler.

References#