Battle Mode saw its first light in Just Dance 4. It is a game feature that, just like the name implies, allows players to battle with friends or the computer (as an A.I.) when playing alone. The new feature was seen early in the Just Dance 4 announcement trailer. Battles ceased to return after Just Dance 2014.
In Just Dance 4, there are five different Battles. All of them have to be unlocked by collecting Mojo and spinning the Gift Wheel (except in the Wii U version of the game). There are five rounds: first verse, chorus, second verse, bridge, and final chorus. Each Battle has its own background, which changes color according to the song that is currently winning (for example, the background in Beauty And A Beat VS. Call Me Maybe is in shades of blue for the former song and in shades of pink for the latter).
An early version of Battle Mode was conceptualized through the unreleased routine Weapon of Choice, where both coaches represent the same song. The first round displays both backgrounds divided in half by a black vertical line; from the second round onwards, only one of the two backgrounds is displayed entirely, depending on which coach won the previous round. The routine only has four rounds, with the timer showing both minutes and seconds instead of just seconds. If only one person played, AI would not play the other coach.[1]
Battle Mode returned in Just Dance 2014. There are four battles in the game: one is available at start, whereas the other three have to be bought with Mojocoins. The background consists of a sort of cage with the word "VS" in the middle and a picture of the background from the song that is currently winning the round (for example, when Kiss You is winning in Kiss You VS. Pound The Alarm, a picture from the background of Kiss You is displayed). The number of rounds is either 3, 4 or 5 depending on how many victories both players have. When a song wins the final round, its coach eliminates the other dancer (for example, when Pound The Alarm wins in Kiss You VS. Pound The Alarm, the coach will push Kiss You into dust).
According to promotional content, Battle Mode in Just Dance 4 originally had six rounds instead of five, and Gold Moves were counted.
In terms of graphics, the main differences were the absence of the "HIT!" sign and the HP bar, as well as a different "(Song) Wins!" card.[citation needed]
The loss of HP in Just Dance 4 is much harsher than in Just Dance 2014.[citation needed]
This is proven because when someone modded the battle mode in 2014 with Super Bass VS. Love You Like A Love Song, the hits were harsher.[2]
In some Battles, the winner screen sometimes displays the wrong coach.[3]
In the Xbox 360 version, it doesn't tell you who starts the first round.
