Playing with your fingers

Reading DDRfreak, I'm discovering that a TON of people use controllers when they play at home: either to make unlocking easier, or to help pass hard songs, or because they're lazy.

Anyone here do that? Personally, I think it's stupid and I don't understand the point of it. Not only that, but I actually think it's *more difficult* to play with my fingers. The Dual Shock joysticks get in the way.

I tried it once. It's too hard.

My first version of DDR was the Japanese Dreamcast version. I never had a pad, so I learned to play with the controller. Most of the songs weren't too hard, but some of the ones with eight-notes (or whatever those ones are where there's like 3 in-a-row... sorry, I'm not a true DDR geek yet!:)) I could never get higher than a "B" or "C". When the original PSOne version of DDR came out, I bought the bundled version with the pad and pretty much never looked back. On occasion I will play using the controller (as Den mentioned, to get more songs done to unlock stuff), but there really is no point in the game without the pad.

I also saw somewhere that there is a dance pad-style controller for your fingers. Anyone use that at all?

Ray P. (struggling through many of Extreme's harder songs)

My son uses the "finger" play on the computer to learn to "read" the steps. He says although his fingers can move faster than his feet, it gives him the advantage of memorizing the steps and makes it easier to pass on the step mode with the playstation game.

He's never used a controller to pass hard songs or to unlock others though.

I play on the comp. with assist tick on to learn rhythms. I can definitely move faster with my fingers than feet (Mostly thinking about Max 300 style songs). I don't use it to pass or to unlock, but just to learn.

I don't have a home version, but we have a 6th mix at my church. We have soft mats too, but i guess they don't feel like taking them out and putting them back every Sunday so yeah i play using my fingers. *shrugs* There's no memory cards either so if anyone wants to play Max300, we have to try and hit it on Roulette. lol yeah i know we're ghetto. =D

I use the pad to unlock songs only. If it comes to the courses, or missions, I don't use it.