Dance Central 3 is the third game in the Dance Central series. It was revealed at E3 2012 at the Microsoft Conference & has been release on October 16 in the US,Canada & South America & October 19 everywhere else.
Contents
Gameplay
Gameplay has been the same with the past 2 Dance Central games where 1 player or 2 players mimic what the dancer is doing on the screen. Player(s) get points depending on how they did.
Many new features have been added to this game.
Crew Throwdown
In this mode,2-8 players go head to head aganist each other. After making this picture pose,they go head in head where it will pick a song and one of the 5 types of modes to play it in. Those modes are
Perform: Aligned with the Perform mode included in the game
Keep The Beat: A freestyle-esque mini-game where players stay in beat to the song for points.
Strike A Pose: A mini-game where players mimic the positions the characters are doing for points.
Characters
Venues
The game features six venues for the player to dance in. All except one are available from the start. Venues can be changed before the player starts a routine.
Name | Description |
---|---|
DCI HQ | The Dance Central Intelligence headquarters |
Free Skate | A roller skate arena |
Toprock Ave. | A city street in construction |
Invite Only | Taye and Li'l T's childhood house |
Studio 675 | The set for a music television show called "Dance Central Live" |
Crow's Nest | A large outside arena with a huge crow statue |
Story
The story in Dance Central 3 involves the player being an agent for Dance Central Intelligence whose mission is to time travel to different eras and learn dance crazes to combat against Dr. Tan, who plans to take over the corporation with his army and partner-in-crime Oblio.

Rasa and Lima introduce the player to time travel
The player starts off in an elevator taking them to Dance Central Intelligence after being invited to an "underground party". When the door opens, they meet with Rasa and Lima, with Rasa allowing them to dance to see their potential, and then ask them to dance again in order to become an agent for the corporation. Once becoming an agent, they explain the case they have on their hands: Operation Lockstep. A video, discovered by D-Coy, is produced on the monitor showing Dr. Tan, his army, and Oblio; in it Dr. Tan explains that he will soon rule Dance Central Intelligence and will permanently rule the art of dance forever.
Lima informs the player that while D-Coy was able to send them the footage, they have lost contact with them since. She also informs them that the team sent crews within the area out to different eras to learn crazes, and that they can be used against Dr. Tan. They start to send the player back to the 1970s where Lu$h Crew is, explaining the process of earning dance crazes and getting back to the present while doing so.

Disgusted with the atmosphere, Miss Aubrey pleads the player in taking her back to the present
At the Free Skate roller rink, Angel recognizes the player to be brought in by DCI, tells them about mastering the moves from the era, and enjoys his experience at the venue. Miss Aubrey on the other hand is not fond of the experience and begs the player to take them back. Once doing so, Miss Aubrey thanks them and asks for the nearest hair stylist, while Angel looks at the portal, sighs in disappoint, and walks away. Rasa and Lima in the meanwhile found info regarding Operation Lockstep taking over various locations, but are still unsure how it is happening. They send the player back into the time portal to the 1980s: the era Hi-Def was sent to learn moves.

Hi-Def mistakes the player for trying to battle them
Hi-Def appears at Toprock Ave and immediately think that the player is a challenger, battling them until Rasa, via Boomy, informs that they are here to take them back. Once informed, Glitch gets worried that if they leave, the area will get demolished for construction, but Mo insists to focus on priorities, and reminds him that he is only deflecting because he vomited while in the time portal. They then aid in helping the player out. Once the player takes them back, Glitch feels queasy, presumbly from vomiting again, and Mo insures him to brush it off and practice doing headspins somewhere, much to Glitch's disappointment. Meanwhile, Lima tells the player that Dr. Tan's army is occurring due to a mind control device affecting them. As a unit they were also able to track D-Coy down, but they find them under the same device used in Dr. Tan's army. Just then, an alert comes in stating that Dr. Tan is aiming for the corporation next, and Lima loads up an anlysis on the device right after. The anylsis takes a while to load, so in the meantime, Rasa sends the player to the era Flash4ward was sent to: the 1990s.

Flash4wrd shows off their move "The House Party", only for Lima to shut them down very quickly
When arriving in the 1990s, specifically at Taye and Li'l T's childhood home, Taye welcomes them in, with Li'l T stating that they were able to figure out the moves and later on came up with their own titlted "The House Party". When they do it, Lima, via Boomy, urges them to stop after reminding them to "respect the time continum". Once the player figures out the moves, they take them back during a time when Dance Central Intelligence is under emergency. Li'l T thinks that cleaning up the house would have stopped this, and consequently not get worried of what their parents will say, but Taye clearly states to her that she was not even born at the time to get a response. Rasa and Lima on the other hand are scrambling around at the state of the corporation, and eventually recieves a video message from Dr. Tan indicting how he will take them down, with Rasa shutting that thought down. Once the message is over, Lima rushes the player to go back into the time portal and take them to the 2000s era where Riptide Crew was sent.

Riptide Crew hears that the agency is under attack by Dr. Tan's army and works fast to get back to the present
During their time, Riptide Crew was busy being co-hosts for "Dance Central Live": a music television show set on Studio 678. When the player arrives, Emilia and Bodie inform them that they are focusing on the show and its following, but Lima, via Boomy, scolds them to come back. Later on, Rasa, via Boomy, alerts the crew that Dr. Tan has invaded Dance Central Intelligence, but gets cut off before finishing. Seeing the danger, Riptide Crew works fast to get back. When they do, it is empty. Bodie wonders where everyone is, but he and Emilia both get taken aback by mysterious figures before finding out.

DCI is now under Dr. Tan's control
At the main control center, the player finds Rasa and Lima unresponsive. Dr. Tan then issues another video. In this one, he tells the player that most of the crews were sent to prehistoric times and announces Rasa and Lima as part of his army via the mind control device. Just as the video is done, the anlysis of the device is complete and states the way to break it is through "swag". With the player's swag on point, they break the devices, letting Rasa and Lima free, and figuring out Dr. Tan's weakness. As a result, they send the player to Dr. Tan at the Crow's Nest to defeat him.

Dr. Tan's son, Oblio, is introduced
At the venue, Dr. Tan introduces the player to the venue, praises at his successful plan, and thanks/introduces Oblio, with a mind control device on and who reveals him to be his son, for assisting. He insures that the duo will be the end of the player's fate, but when they are able to break Oblio's mind control device, he realizes that his freedom of expression was violated and asks his father why he did it. Dr. Tan insures that he did it so that they could take over the world together, but Oblio does not buy it and tells the player to battle him in a freestyle in order to defeat him. Within the freestyle, which happens in the time portal, Dr. Tan starts to lose confidence in himself and eventually gets trapped in the nick of time.
Back at the headquarters, DCI congratulates the player for taking down Dr. Tan. They explain that they were able to bring the crews who were sent to prehistoric times back to the present and gives them their next mission of getting the party started, celebrating while doing so.

The Glitterati laughs at their potential future plans over the city
Elsewhere, The Gltiterati is looking over the city inside a skyscraper and notes Dance Central Intelligence's busy schedule. Jaryn suggests that their busy schedule is enough for them to do some own mischief. Kerith agrees, and the two edge closer to the window while laughing at their thoughts of creating their own nonsense.
Master Quests
Once the player completes the Story mode, Master Quests become available. It gives out all the songs each crew is defaulted for in Dance Central 3, and once the player earns all the stars within each quest, a QR Code image is released for players to scan and receive art of the crews, however this has since been unavailable. Scanning the codes redirect to the main site.
Songs
Dance Central 3 features a total of 46 songs, though you can add over 140 tracks to the game by purchasing downloadable content or importing the tracks from the first two games.
Song | Artist | Default Dancer | Skill Level |
---|---|---|---|
Better Off Alone | Alice Deejay | Angel | Warmup |
The Hustle | Van McCoy & The Soul City Symphony | Angel | Warmup |
starships | Nicki Minaj | Rasa | Simple |
Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) | Los Del Rio | Taye | Simple |
In Da Club | 50 Cent | Bodie | Simple |
(When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me | Sean Paul ft. Keyshia Cole | Glitch | Simple |
1, 2 Step | Ciara ft. Missy Elliott | Emilia | Simple |
Disco Inferno | The Trammps | Miss Aubrey | Moderate |
Boyfriend | Justin Bieber | Rasa | Moderate |
Turn The Beat Around | Vicki Sue Robinson | Angel | Moderate |
Cupid Shuffle | Cupid | Bodie | Moderate |
I Will Survive | Gloria Gaynor | Miss Aubrey | Moderate |
Firework | Katy Perry | Emilia | Moderate |
Ice Ice Baby | Vanilla Ice | Li'l T | Moderate |
You Got It (The Right Stuff) | New Kids On The Block | Mo | Moderate |
Boom Boom Pow | Black Eyed Peas | Li'l T | Moderate |
Da' Butt | E.U. | Mo | Moderate |
Stereo Love | Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina | Angel | Tough |
Let The Music Play | Shannon | Glitch | Tough |
Electric Boogie | Marcia Griffiths | Mo | Tough |
Mr. Saxobeat | Alexandra Stan | Lima | Tough |
Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg | TLC | Taye | Tough |
Everybody (Backstreet's Back) | Backstreet Boys | Li'l T | Tough |
Get Low | Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins | Bodie | Legit |
Samba de Janeiro | Bellini | Bodie | Legit |
Teach Me How To Dougie | Cali Swag District | Lima | Legit |
Calabria 2008 | Enur ft. Natasja | Emilia | Legit |
Y.M.C.A. | Village People | Angel | Legit |
Bass Down Low | Dev ft. The Cataracs | Rasa | Legit |
Wild Ones | Flo Rida | Mo | Legit |
Take Over Control | Afrojack ft. Eva Simons | Taye | Legit |
Beware Of The Boys (Mundian To Bach Ke) | Panjabi MC | Glitch | Legit |
Hello | Melvin Sloveig ft. Dragonette | Miss Aubrey | Legit |
I Am The Best | 2NE1 | Taye | Legit |
Scream | Usher | Rasa | Legit |
Ching A Ling | Missy Ellott | Miss Aubrey | Legit |
On The Floor | Jennifer Lopez ft Pitbull | Emilia | Legit |
Now That We Found Love | Heavy D & The Boys | Taye | Hardcore |
Around The World | Daft Punk | Mo | Hardcore |
Supersonic | J.J. Fad | Glitch | Hardcore |
Moves Like Jagger | Maroon 5 ft Christina Aguilera | Bodie | Hardcore |
Sexy And I Know It | LMFAO | Lima | Hardcore |
You Make Me Feel... | Cobra Starship ft. Sabi | Lima | Off The Hook |
Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) | Kelly Clarkson | Li'l T | Off The Hook |
OMG | Usher ft. will.i.am | Rasa | Off The Hook |
Downloadable Content
You can purchase even more tracks to add to your Dance Central 3 music library through the in-game Music Store or the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 240 MSP a song. All prior downloadable songs are available for use in Dance Central 3. Any content released on or after October 16, 2012 is only compatible with Dance Central 3.
Importing
Main Article: Imports
Dance Central 3 is able to import all songs from both Dance Central and Dance Central 2 for 400 Microsoft Points ($4.99 local currency) per disc. If a physical disc is used to perform the import function, the user will also need the unique code from each game's manual; however, if a Games on Demand version of Dance Central 2 is used, then no export code is required. Also, if the user has previously imported the original Dance Central, then the import function does not need to be performed again.
Since 2016, importing has since been disabled. Players who have not imported do not have the option to anymore, but if players have, they can still access them in the game.