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UK Cata Guide

by Tim Mannveille - ranma-tim@care2.com
Last updated 15/5/3 - html Version 0.5
 latest version always available at www.juggler.net/tim

   This guide assumes you have some basic knowledge of DDR. If you don't, first see the DDR Guide.

What is a cata?
   A song that is 9 feet in difficulty is classified as 'catastrophic', shortened to 'cata'. This guide brings together information about the catas that have been officially released in the UK. It should prove useful to people looking for a good cata to start with, for people who have done a few catas and want to know which are next, and for completists that have done most catas and want to know which they have missed. I've also included the only 'cata+' (i.e. 10 feet difficulty) song officially in the UK, Max 300.

What do people mean when they say they've 'done' a cata?
   What it actually takes to 'do' a cata depends on the person. At the lowest end, people might count 'doing' or 'getting' a cata as passing it with a keyboard or joypad, with modifications to make it easier, on a home version. At the most demanding end, some people are only satisfied that they have 'done' a cata if they have got all perfects on it at the arcade with no modifications, or perhaps a few modfications that make it harder. A happy medium would be to count only those catas that you have passed with your feet, with no modifications, at the default difficulty level, on either a home or arcade version (that's what I personally count, anyway).

Key to the Table
   Terms are coloured consistently so that it is easy to find where they crop up.
   A song is listed as 'Fast' if it has a BPM (Beats per Minute) of 170 or above.
   'Turns' are sequences of steps which are most easily done by turning to one side, such as RDLDRDL
   'Bunnies' are where you have to hit the same step repeatedly, very fast (like a rabbit does to warn its friends :).
   I say a song has 'Musical Beats' if there are quite a few steps that are neither on the beat nor exactly off it - they generally mean you have to listen to how the music goes to know exactly how to time them.
   'Slow' songs may not actually be slow - this just means that there are often a lot of arrows in a small space of time, making them difficult to read.
   'Gallops' are steps which have the same rhythm as skipping; 'tata, tata, tata, tata...'.
   A song is classed as 'Chaotic' if there are runs of steps which, if hit with alternating left and right feet, would cause you to turn away from the screen. It's often preferable to use the same foot for two steps in a row to avoid having to do this.
   Finally, a 'Pause' is noted where the arrows actually come to a complete halt at some point in the song.

   If any of the above is incorrect, or if you think I've misjudged a song, or if you have anything else to add, please e-mail me at ranma-tim@care2.com so I can improve this guide!

History and Credits
15/5/3 - v0.5: Created this guide, with lots of help from people on the forums at DDRUK, and Zell_KFF's MegaMix preview songlist. Thanks guys!

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