History YMMV / InTheGroove

* OlderThanTheyThink: A lot of features commonly thought to be introduced in ''ITG'', such as different scroll perspectives and mines, actually first appeared in ''VideoGame/{{Stepmania}}'', which this game uses a fork of

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Opinions are divided on the issue of whether ''ITG'' is a ripoff of ''DDR'' or a worthy successor. Opinions are generally divided by which side of the Atlantic that someone falls on.

** "Konami will sue," you say? In 2017, Kyle Ward et al. released ''VideoGame/StepManiaX'', a SpiritualSuccessor, with the team having gone to Konami first to get the A-OK to make such a game. In other words, Konami will no longer sue.

* HarsherInHindsight: The "We're just getting started!" Splash in the original game. Only one more would be released.
* HilariousInHindsight: In the mid-noughties, Konami sued Roxor over this game's patent infringement on ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' as well as for the reuse of ''DDR'' cabs for ''ITG'', and acquired the rights to ''ITG'' (i.e. [[ScrewedByTheLawyers killed it]]). Then in 2020, famously former ''DDR'' sound director Naoki Maeda, as well as Paula Terry who is well-known for her vocal work for ''BEMANI'' songs, would [[https://youtu.be/4-1mvrUW4ts contribute]] songs to ''ITG''[='=]s SpiritualSuccessor, ''VideoGame/StepManiaX''. In other words, [[MyRealDaddy the faces]] of ''DDR'' are now providing songs to ''DDR''[='=]s competitor!

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The "KONAMI WILL SUE" meme became much, MUCH harsher ever since their ExecutiveMeddling from 2015 onwards drew a {{Hatedom}}.

** Determinator Single Expert 12. ''Seventeen arrows per second''. That's like an engine running at 1000 [=RPM=], [[{{Metaphorgotten}} except replace "engine" with "feet"]].

* AmericansHateTingle: You would expect that since it's the SpiritualLicensee to DDR and with much harder charts, it would catch on with top-tier Japanese players. It didn't; the physical games barely released in Japan, and most Japanese players prefer DDR and its chart style and music. The ITG scene is almost exclusively Western.
** Of course, this may have served to damage the Japanese fandom. Once ''DDR A'' was released in America, several Americans who had honed their skills on ITG and Stepmania ''officially'' became some of the greatest DDR players in the world.

* FanonDisContinuity: Every fanmade "game" =/= In The Groove.

* AmericansHateTingle: You would expect that since it's the SpiritualLicensee to DDR and with much harder charts, it would catch on with top-tier Japanese players. It didn't; most Japanese players prefer DDR and its chart style and music. The ITG scene is almost exclusively Western.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: The "KONAMI WILL SUE" meme became much, MUCH harsher ever since their ExecutiveMeddling from 2015 onwards drew the world's biggest {{Hatedom}}.

* ThatOneBoss: Where to begin?
** Any [=ZiGZaG=] song is definitely one.
** "Disconnected Disco" on Expert Double.

* TheyCopiedItSoItSucks: Opinions are divided on this issue.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QixDSEoxig0 800$ BOOM]] (In a tournament, both players appeared to have gotten a perfect score on "Liquid Moon" in the tournament's final round. But one player forgot to take his feet off the panels right at the end, hitting a row of mines and dropping his score. The "$800" refers to the difference in prize money, since he dropped from first place to fourth as a result of his score going down.)

* SugarWiki/FunnyMoments: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QixDSEoxig0 800$ BOOM]]

* MemeticMutation: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QixDSEoxig0 800$ BOOM]] (Both players get the same score on "Liquid Moon" in a tournament's final round, but one player accidentally hits a mine right at the end of the song. The "$800" refers to the difference in prize money.)
%%** KONAMI WILL SUE

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: For the longest time, it provided ''DDR'' players with what Konami wouldn't: extremely NintendoHard charts that pushed them to their limits. Nowadays, ''DDR'' features dozens of "boss" charts as well, which causes ''ITG'' to lose its charm for some players.

* FollowTheLeader: Both ways. ''In The Groove'' took the 4-arrow paradigm from [=DDR=] and ran with it, including new features like mines (which were already in ''{{VideoGame/Stepmania}})''. In DDR X, DDR added shock arrows, which are pretty much mines. However, shock arrows always cover all four panels, which one might argue is missing the point of mines in the first place. In DDR SuperNOVA, they also started introducing ITG-level boss songs, though this may be more because players had pretty much 100-percented the whole DDR series at that point.

* FollowTheLeader: Both ways. ''In The Groove'' took the 4-arrow paradigm from [=DDR=] and ran with it, including new features like mines (which were already in VideoGame/Stepmania). In DDR X, DDR added shock arrows, which are pretty much mines. However, shock arrows always cover all four panels, which one might argue is missing the point of mines in the first place. In DDR SuperNOVA, they also started introducing ITG-level boss songs, though this may be more because players had pretty much 100-percented the whole DDR series at that point.

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QixDSEoxig0 800$ BOOM]]

* FollowTheLeader: Both ways. ''In The Groove'' took the 4-arrow paradigm from [=DDR=] and ran with it, including new features like mines (which were already in Stepmania). In DDR X, DDR added shock arrows, which are pretty much mines. However, shock arrows always cover all four panels, which one might argue is missing the point of mines in the first place. In DDR SuperNOVA, they also started introducing ITG-level boss songs, though this may be more because players had pretty much 100-percented the whole DDR series at that point.

** "We Know What To Do" (which they neglected to mention is a very off-context remix of [[https://youtu.be/BsENOpKLSC4 the original]]) resembles "[[https://youtu.be/SA6zxC3lA3k?t=18m20s Crow Song]]", a popular StepMania song of the day.

* LoveItOrHateIt:
** ''ITG'' itself is ''DDR'' [-BUT BETTER!-] or TheyCopiedItSoItSucks and Roxor got what they deserved.
** ''Step [=ManiaX=]'' is either a continued refinement of the step-on-panels subgenre of {{Rhythm Game}}s, or Kyle Ward being a has-been with no creativity left.

* LoveItOrHateIt: ''Step [=ManiaX=]'' is either a continued refinement of the step-on-panels subgenre of {{Rhythm Game}}s, or Kyle Ward being a has-been with no creativity left.

* [[AmericansHateTingle Japanese Players Hate ITG]]: You would expect that since it's the SpiritualLicensee to DDR and with much harder charts, it would catch on with top-tier Japanese players. It didn't; most Japanese players prefer DDR and its chart style and music. The ITG scene is almost exclusively Western.
* MemeticMutation:
** KONAMI WILL SUE
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QixDSEoxig0 800$ BOOM]] (Both players get the same score on "Liquid Moon" in a tournament's final round, but one player accidentally hits a mine right at the end of the song. The "$800" refers to the difference in prize money.)

** Also, "We Know What To Do" (which they neglected to mention is a very off-context remix of [[https://youtu.be/BsENOpKLSC4 the original]]) resembles "[[https://youtu.be/SA6zxC3lA3k?t=18m20s Crow Song]]", a popular StepMania song of the day.

* ThatOneBoss: Where to begin? Of course, any [=ZiGZaG=] song is definitely one.
** There's also "Disconnected Disco" on Expert Double.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Try to find a competitive ''ITG'' player who plays any charts rated less than double digits.

* ItsEasySoItSucks: Every song under 10 blocks seems to suffer from this by the fanbase, despite a great deal of them actually being loads of fun. Due to the fanbase having a greater interest in such difficulty, most fan-made content in the style of ''ITG'' ends up being NintendoHard romps with only Expert charts.
* ItsHardSoItSucks: On the other hand, ITG's catering to the top-scoring crowd and abundance of NintendoHard charts, coupled with a large majority of ITG discussion being amongst higher-end players, means beginner players easily get intimidated from playing. The design of the Novice mode is probably slightly better than [=DDR's=] was at the time, but the Easy and Medium charts were oftentimes bland, at least in the first game.

* StopHavingFunGuys: Don't bother saying anything about the game if you can't clear double-digit songs. The ''ITG'' community, infamous for its elitism, is why many newbies are too scared to have any discussion about the game.

* ComplacentGamingSyndrome: Try to find a competitive ''ITG'' player who plays any charts rated less than doublee digits.