Wanna get schooled by the world's hardest rhythm game franchise?
Bad: You can't cover all the bases in one game, honestly.
It took 9 long years but it’s finally here. Now or never it was time for Konami to formally introduce Beatmania to the mass American consumer. And boy what a way to introduce the father of the Bemani series to the American audience, this game covers the basics just right.
This isn’t the first ever Beatmania game to hit the US, but this is the most recognizable. About half a decade ago Konami released 3 HipHopMania (the name given to Beatmania for the US then) for the arcades to very little success.
After the ample success of Dance Dance Revolution, its time to introduce Beatmania again to a now much more sophisticated audience who is aware of the Bemani world outside Dance Dance Revolution.
Beatmania is a “dj” simulator that has the player pushing buttons on a special controller. There are seven keys on the controller, three black ones on the top and four white ones on the bottom. Along with the keys on the left or right side is the turntable apparatus (you can adjust the keypad to switch which side the turntable is). As rectangular notes scroll down the screen, you must press the corresponding key or “scratch” the turntable in tune to the music. The game is as far from what an actual dj does just as Dance Dance Revolution is for dancing but it’s a fun process nevertheless. The game is virtually unforgiving to the beginner at first and it takes time and patience along with tons of will and practice to pass say IIDX’s beginner difficulty. The first major obstacle for the player is getting a hang of the controller to the point that it becomes second nature. Everyone goes through this process; even the best players were terrible at one point. I find this both to be this game’s best and worst feature. Many have been turned off by the high learning curve that they just quit altogether. This is easily the hardest rhythm game released since last year’s sleeper hit Pump It Up Exceed. What makes the game hard is the note patterns presented. If you are not good at the button placement you are as good as dead in this game. This results in extreme frustration while playing even the easiest songs. Other musical games such as Dance Dance Revolution, In The Groove, Pop’n Music, DrumMania, or Taiko No Tatsujin are far more beginner friendly. So repeating myself all it takes is time, practice, perseverance, will, and commitment to get a hang of this game. But I guarantee this, once your good at, the game’s fun factor rises.
When you get up pass that initial threshold there is more challenge to be had. I love how this game presents so many steps of process to the player to reach perfection. If you can pass the entire beginner level on IIDX mode, the normal difficulty is next with new challenges for levels that have 4 stars and above. But since you finally have a grasp of things, you can take these on with pretty weak success at first.
The controller itself is of good quality, I heard its better than the Japanese IIDX controller and is less prone to sticking.
The music is divided into two games. If you add both games the total comes to 68 songs (counting the 10 or so songs that appear in both games). There is Beatmania mode featuring classic 5 key Beatmania songs along with a few new ones. I thought Beatmania mode was the weaker of the two. It lacked multiple difficulties and is not the place for beginners as the game mentions. You have essential Beatmania classics such as “Do you love me?,” “e-motion,” “Jam Jam Reggae,” “Manmachine Plays Jazz,” “Hunting for you,” and more. Unfortunately, beatmania's spirit of having the most awkward and irritating timing for a number of songs is still present. Good luck trying to get really good grades on "Love So Groovy" or the dreaded "Stop Violence." Players who only have played beatmania from this game will most likely hate the 5 key songs and will probably hate the series based on the ones here. If you're one of them, don't let your ignorance fool you. Trust me, 5 key beatmania got really awesome starting from 5th Mix and up. The music in the games such as 5th Mix, Gottamix 2, 6th, 7th, Core Remix, III series, Club Mix get extremely better. Wish they took those newer and better songs instead.
IIDX mode or 7 key has the majority with 41 songs. I like how Konami went with the club vibe for Beatmania. I thought the Japanese IIDX games and their anime mascots were out of context. More people are familiar with IIDX in the US and the IIDX mode in this game has many fan favorites. If you love Dance Dance Revolution and songs such as “Holic,” “V,” “Colors,” or “era (nostal mix)” you can now play these songs in their original IIDX format. I personally don’t like to play those songs in DDR but I appreciate finally playing them in their original format. I like the disco and house songs this game has. I love classic good-cool tracks such as “I was the one,” “Hitch Hiker,” and “Dancin’ into the night.” Sho-T is here with “Nothing ain’t stopping us now” and a kick ass cover of Britney’s “Toxic”.
After being told how IIDX has nice graphics and videos, I was kind of let down with this game. I guess IIDX looks good in the arcades but it looks bad on the PS2. The menus look alaised and generic along with the whole presentation. The videos themselves look decent but unlike Dance Dance Revolution, I can’t pay attention to them as much as I want to. Personally, I thought DDR Extreme 2 has better graphics.
Overall, this game was intended to introduce beginners to the Beatmania franchise. I’m sure vets at various message boards were disappointed with the game because they have played or own Japanese versions. But those people are never satisfied in the first place lol! As an introductory game this game hits all the marks right. I thought Konami did a better job at introducing this game than the first Dance Dance Revolution game for the PS back in 2001. Its got great songs and the same classic gameplay that makes Beatmania the second most popular rhythm game in Japan. Get on the dj stage and start showing of your skills!