Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

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Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by DAVE101 » Thu Dec 16, 2010 10:09 pm

There is no "Perfect Shoe" for dancing games some will work better than others but everyone has their own preference. It's noteworthy that footwear plays a tiny role for DDR or FA songs, but they become more important as the difficulty increases. In this topic I will discuss some of the more popular shoes in this culture, but first....

Why a special shoe for DDR?


A good dancing game shoe should help you do several things:
1) Move quickly
2) Feel where your feet are
3) Cheat hands
4) Not get caught on brackets
5) Get adequate traction
6) Make solid contact with the panel

To accomplish these the shoes should be light and have thin, flexible, flat soles; no huge arches and minimal tread. I will discuss these in more detail with each type of shoe listed below.

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Generic Running Shoe

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MSRP: $30+
Weight: ~11 oz

Pros: Running shoes are really comfortable, cheap, and somewhat light. They are a great dancing game shoes if you aren't crazy serious.
Cons: Unfortunately they have thick soles and high arches making it hard to cheat hands. The tread patterns are stupidly retarded and get caught up on brackets depending on your technique.

Asics in Action: 99% Vertex^2



Nike Free

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MSRP: $85
Weight: 7 oz
Pros: Frees are extremely light and extremely flexible. You can move fast and cheat hands with ease. These are by far the most commonly used dance shoe.
Cons: The soles are really cushioned taking away that "firm" pad feel.

Frees in Action: 99% Dragonforce Marathon


New Balance 790
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MSRP: $80
Weight: 7 0z

Pros: 790s are very similar to frees; very light and flexible. Mad Matt wears these shoes when he's double starring 17s.
Cons: These have some annoying tread since they are trail shoes. They are also discontinued.

790s in Action: Mad Matt Defies Physics


Puma Taper (Racing Flats)
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MSRP: $80
Weight: 6.5 oz

Pros: The lightest, most flexible, thin shoes you will find are Puma Tapers. The soles are flat and firm for good contact with the pads and optimum hand cheating. Some people claim it's like playing in socks. Tapers are arguably the best shoes for dancing games.
Cons: Discontinued

Tapers in Action: 67,000 step challenge


Skate Shoe
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MSRP: $40+
Weight: ~15 oz

Pros: Completely flat and solid out-sole. No weird tread, but these shoes have decent traction.
Cons: Skate shoes are usually heavy and pretty stiff.

Skate Shoes in Action: Summer Speedy Quad Star


Socks
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MSRP: $3
Weight: <1 oz

Pros: Socks don't hold anything back.
Cons: Just watch out for those brackets.

Sock fag in action: V ~Rasen Style~ World Record

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Now post your own favorite shoes!
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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by DAVE101 » Thu Dec 16, 2010 10:18 pm

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^I recently just bought my first shoe for exclusive dance game use. Puma lifts are 6 ounces flat, lighter than tapers. They are incredible all around, but the soles actually have no traction, so I need to go heavy on the windex when I play in 'em.
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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by chocobojoe » Sat Dec 18, 2010 1:00 am

I use skate shoes cause that's what I wear normally anyway. The weight doesn't bother me but I'm not a serious player either.

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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by SoDeepPolaris » Sat Dec 18, 2010 3:30 am

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Because they make me feel pretty.
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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by WhiteDragon » Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:49 am

DAVE101 wrote:Socks
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MSRP: $3
Weight: <1 oz

Pros: Socks don't hold anything back.
Cons: Just watch out for those brackets.Also, lack of traction when doing serious pad traversing
I used to play Pump in socks until I started moving into the harder nightmare charts. I just didn't have enough traction to move across the pads fast enough.

I actually went barefoot for awhile, until busting my toe open on a bracket. After that I bought a pair of first gen Nike Free 7.0's, which, aside from the tread needing to be constantly superglued back on, were amazing. I'm now using a pair of Nike Zoom Forevers that I picked up for $25.
Original Sin wrote:Besides, this is IndyDDR...honestly. What do you expect?

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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by Ho » Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:55 am

Has anyone (other than me) tried Vibram FiveFingers?
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The FiveFingers are designed to mimic being barefoot except with a sole to give you some traction and protect the bottom of your foot hazards like rocks...or corner brackets. :) Your toes are also free to work individually, which can actually do wonders for balance. At 5.6 oz., these are even lighter than Puma Tapers mentioned above and are basically as flexible as your foot.

Downside is that there is basically no padding. That's by design as they're supposed to make you use your feet and body the way they're built rather than trying to make up for bad form with cushioning. So no padding is not really a downside, but it will likely be an adjustment compared to virtually any other shoe.

I like these shoes a lot for those rare occasions when I want to play some tech charts. But since I am primarily a freestyler, I tend to prefer skate shoes. The weight really doesn't bother me and the flat bottoms and so-so traction work well to give me just enough slide to stay fluid and for stuff like toe spins.
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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by DAVE101 » Mon Dec 20, 2010 2:52 pm

Considering how most people (especially ITG players) prefer minimalist shoes, it's strange that I've never seen anyone play In Vibram FiveFingers.
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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by Ho » Mon Dec 20, 2010 3:38 pm

It's probably because they're not something that you can just pick up in any old department or shoe store. There are only five retailers in the Indianapolis area that carry them. If you're interested, more info here: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/indexNA.htm
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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by Merk » Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:03 pm

I have no idea how anyone could play in socks or barefoot. That shit just looks like it would hurt on anything remotely difficult.

Anyway, back in the day I played on some Adidas shoe that had these little nubs for grip that I must have bought back in like 2003. They were my standard everyday shoe and I never really invested in having separate shoes for DDR. In fact, I eventually wore the soles out so much that there's a giant hole in the right foot now. I still have them around somewhere and always joked that I'd get them bronzed someday.
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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by Ho » Wed Dec 22, 2010 9:42 am

I can't say I've ever really bought a shoe specifically for DDR. However, I often have DDR in mind while selecting shoes. My thought being how well I might be able to play in a particular pair of shoes but intending to use them for more general purpose as well.
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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by SoDeepPolaris » Wed Dec 22, 2010 2:34 pm

I own around 20 pairs of shoes.

One pair was purchased in mind for ITG. Puma Replicats, similar to Tapers but not "as" flexible.

I use my Converse style shoes for weight lifting though since the gym doesn't let me squat barefoot (jerks).
I really love CS:GO's 64 tick servers.

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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by Fluffyumpkins » Tue Jan 18, 2011 11:17 pm

I was getting caught up on some of these ITG threads, and this one really piqued my interest. I've been playing in clunky athletic running shoes for a while, but I've heard a ton about the Frees. Tonight I picked up a pair at Dick's to try out. Very light and comfortable.

I ended up making the purchase. Things started great. SDGs on 7s and 8s (which is actually good for me these days) so I was feeling pretty pumped. Then came the 10s...

I found that my feet were sliding forward or backward as I was playing. If I was doing a cross, my foot would scoot to the front of the shoe, and hitting with my heel ended up moving my foot back. The sides of the shoe remained snug. It was so distracting, I couldn't focus on the game. I usually wear a 11 or 11.5, so I decided to go for the 11 in the Frees. Does anyone else have this problem? Should I get my shoe a bit smaller? Does anyone wear insoles or inserts to prevent scooting around?

I want to suck less and AAA more.

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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by Merk » Wed Jan 19, 2011 1:30 am

Interesting. Would you be able to exchange 'em for a 10.5? I can see how that would be distracting, I need my shoes to grip my fatty feet as much as possible.

I don't think insoles would help and I really don't have a favorable opinion for insoles in general from what experience I've had playing in them. They give too much cushion such that my arrow stomps feel "mushy" if that makes any sense.
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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by Fluffyumpkins » Tue Feb 08, 2011 11:38 am

Merk wrote:Interesting. Would you be able to exchange 'em for a 10.5? I can see how that would be distracting, I need my shoes to grip my fatty feet as much as possible.

I don't think insoles would help and I really don't have a favorable opinion for insoles in general from what experience I've had playing in them. They give too much cushion such that my arrow stomps feel "mushy" if that makes any sense.
I did exchange 'em for a 10.5. That ended up making the difference. I played a bit last night, but my scores still haven't entered beast-mode. Much like many heroes in legend, I must unlock the power of these shoes.

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Re: Dance Game Shoes - An in-depth look

Post by Merk » Wed Feb 09, 2011 3:38 pm

DAVE101 wrote:
Tapers in Action: 67,000 step challenge
Jesus Christ.

Strongly considering getting back into DDR to burn my fat fucking ass but the shoes I have now suck ass. My feet are pretty sensitive so I'd like a good amount of cushion and traction. Are there any particularly good generic running shoes out there that you recommend?
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