Fan Fiction ❯ The Dance Revolution ❯ Rage and Emi ( Prologue )

Tournament Indiscretion - Rage and Emi

September 19, 1999

As the rise of the new millennium, came to pass, the new raves of music Techno, House, Rap, and R&B took place, and a new form of dance was brought to attention. This dance came in the form of a video game. It became very popular with Asians, and now Europeans got their own version of it. Two were especially good at these games. Their names were Rage and Emi. Rage, a 16-year-old Japanese boy made these games very addictive. He was the all time master of the game. Emi, a 15-year-old Japanese girl, also made her impression on the dancing games. Together, they would create a sensation that would ultimately reach America and start an international world tournament with just a video game. This is the story of the game. This is the story of Rage and Emi, and the start of Dance Dance Revolution!

May 14th, 1998

"Hey, mom, I'm out of school, can I go to Konami and find a job?" asked Rage. He was a tall, brown haired Asian. He had to go to Konami to an interview. His mom let him. He left his apartment and started down the Japanese street. The cars flooded the streets at this time of day, even though the sun was out and the sky was blue. Below his apartments (and probably most everybody's apartments) was the shopping district. Toyota's and Mazda's and Nissans reaped the street and the walking population was at a max. Bicycles ran to and fro everywhere. Old people, young people, children were walking the streets. The smell of gasoline and fresh trees clashed together, as the sidewalks had plenty of planted trees.

Rage was excited. The sixteen-year old went to Emi's apartment to pick her up. She also had an interview. Both were pretty good break-dancers and were seen by Konami's video game director. Emi was 15 years old. She had a beret on and a blue sweatshirt and short shorts. She was very pretty and her beauty astounded Rage every time. They sprinted out of the apartment room, down the gray hall and through the metal stairs. Rage and Emi literally jumped out of the store as soon as they got to the door.

"Rage, you ready for this?" asked Emi as they ran towards the studios.

"Yeah, I'm ready," replied Rage.

"So what's this Dancing game that Hideo was talking about?"

"Well, they asked us to come by the studio. They said they needed break-dancers for the video feeds and they are already designing the games. They also told me that Bemani Games was into this. Remember Guitar Freaks? They're the same people!"

"Wow, this is big…"

They stopped at the gates of Konami Japan. The guard let them in and escorted them into the main building. It was huge! The office building was fashioned late 20th century. The building had around fourteen or fifteen floors. As they went inside the smell of new carpet had greeted them as well as the sight of new furniture and office equipment piled neatly into the room where a workforce was diligently working. They hopped on an elevator to the 4th floor where Hideo worked.

"Ahh, Rage and Emi, Bemani's counselor has been waiting. Follow me," said Hideo. They got to the lounge where the counselor was waiting. He was quite young, wore a nice suit with clean and neat shoes. His sunglasses covered his eyes, and his hair was slicked back. The room had full ceiling to floor windows and they could see the part of the business district from it. The room was a bit round like the building. There were a few couches set comfortably beside plants.

"So, these are the break-dancers?" asked the counselor.

"Yes, I hope they don't disappoint you,"

"They look like they'll do the trick, thank you Hideo," said the counselor, "If these two can break-dance well, then I'll sign the contract for your producing for the new games into the PlayStation game consoles."

"Thank you, you will not regret this!"

Rage and Emi were quite confused.

"What do you want us to do?" asked Rage.

"I want you to break dance to this piece of music composed by a friend of mine, Naoki. She is a very neat composer of a lot of techno, and she'd like to start her techno music career by putting her songs on our games. I hope you find her talent among the highest of quality."

"Well, put it on!" cried out Emi. She couldn't wait. She wanted to start.

The floors were of wood. Perfect for break dancing. The counselor smiled and went to the boom box centered in the middle of the room. He put in a disc and put it on play 14th track. Suddenly, a huge bass sound rocked the house. There were a few fretless guitar synths and quite a lot of alienic sounds. The beat was stable, and the music was very creative. Suddenly, Rage had this frantic rage for break dancing. He started creating what could only be called a dance of a lifetime. Twisting and twirling on the floor he had created a dance that could be called "Paranoia".

"That's it! That's what I'll call this piece… Paranoia!" said the happy counselor. Naoki had named it "Alien" and she reconsidered it after the counselor called her.

"Now, I want you to see if you can break dance using only your feet. Be creative."

"Oh, I can do that," said Emi. She started. Using both of her feet, she twirled around like a ballerina standing in one place, yet using her hands and feet to do the talking. One foot down, two feet down at the same time, rhythmic patterns, the works. Her hands and feet did the trick. The music this time was different.

"Wow, thank you, now I know this game will work. That was a piece by Sho-T called `Let's Groove!'" said the Counselor.

"Well, thanks. We're happy to break-dance in front of ya," said a sarcastic Rage.

"I thought we came here to preview a game…?" asked Emi.

"Well, actually, you were playing the game right where you danced!" said the counselor.

He led them to the back of the room where a pretty large arcade game stood. Except, this was no ordinary game. It didn't have buttons like "A" "B" "C" and "Guard" or a joystick like most other games had. It didn't have a gun or a wheel or anything. All it had was a pad with arrows that went up, down, left, and right. The screen was there, and there was a left and right button and a center rectangular button.

"What is this?!" cried out Rage, "This isn't a video game… is it?"

"Emi, Rage, let me introduce you to a game that uses only your skills as a dancer."

"What will you call it?" asked Emi.

"I don't know… haven't thought of it… yet."

The machine turned on. It went straight to the game mode. It didn't have a title, but there was a list of music. Rage was the first to try it out. He reluctantly stepped up on the boxy metallic pad with the arrows. He chose light mode and the first song. He chose Brilliant-2U. All the sudden, a beat of music came from the arcade speakers. He started the game. The music was beating, and there was a platform of arrows on the top of the screen. The background was a picture of a metal robotic tiger and blue behind it. All the sudden, arrows started coming from the top. It took awhile to realize that every time he stepped on an arrow, the corresponding arrow on the screen would jerk. And if he stepped on the arrow while the moving arrow was aligned with the platform, he would gain a point.

"This is incredible!" cried out Rage, "Where'd you get the idea for this?"

"A few of us saw you people and decided `what would that look like in a video game?' so, we found a couple break-dancers, made and designed a game at Bemani Studios and decided to let you couple try it out," said the counselor.

Rage kept playing. The arrows kept coming and he kept stepping. It felt like he was an idiot. But it was okay, because nobody saw.

"I would like to try," said Emi. She stepped up and chose a different song. This time, however, she chose My Summer Love. It was on light as well. She started playing, and soon she was having fun. They laughed at her mistakes and they cheered when she finished.

"Wow, you two are great! You two are just perfect. We here at Konami have also scheduled more interviews for this game. Are you available on July 3rd after school?"

"Yeah, sure, there isn't any school during summer…" said Emi.

"Oh, well, of course… I have arranged a trial tournament on that day, and I would like you two to participate."

"Wow, really? How are we supposed to practice?" asked Rage.

"I have already made twenty machines… You can take this one home. I'll arrange for one to be brought to your houses," said the counselor.

"Cool! I think this game will be a big success, counselor," said Emi.

"I hope so too… because believe it or not, Konami is going bankrupt, and Bemani is a supporter of this company," said the counselor.

"Is that why you wanted us to become test subjects?" asked Rage.

"Yes, you may win prizes at this tournament, and this tournament is our debut of the video game, so start practicing!"

"OHKAY!!!" cried out Emi and Rage.

This was the start of the Video game, Dance Dance Revolution! Be prepared, because this is the start of Tournament Indiscreet, the first and foremost of DDR as it is called today.