DJ Max Korean series reviews
Posted: Sat May 30, 2009 7:58 pm
DJ Max Portable 1:
Pros: Faithful to the original DJ Max Online games right down to the songlist, background animations, and ratings.
Cons: Max % compensation in notes could come back to haunt people in newer games timingwise.
DJ Max Portable 1 International Edition:
Pros: Mostly the same as the Korean release, but also includes English and Japanese support.
Cons: Some videos and song lyrics are censored. Also, Dreadnought and Fever GJ were outright deleted.
DJ Max Portable 2:
Pros: Strong songlist all around, logical range of difficulty, and a wide range of notes, gears, and characters to use. Link Disc allows for all Portable 1 songs to played using the new fever system.
Cons: Massive grinding is required for unlocks. Suffers from a glitch where freestyle mode and image unlocks don't trigger for the final stage if Your Own Miracle is unlocked in regular gameplay. Also, there are some slowdowns in some songs when 3x and 4x fever is on. Also, Mission mode is too gimmicky for it's own good. Finally, link disc with Portable International doesn't allow for Fever GJ's OST unlock.
DJ Max Black Square:
Pros: Best songlist in the series to date. Background animations are now videos instead of being rendered by the engine itself which is both good and bad as while they are the best backgrounds to date, they are only 24 fps, but it is a small sacrifice that I don't mind. Instead of the level up system, unlocks mainly go off of number of songs played. Club Tour is 2 full seasons (Season 2 is available via Platinum Crew) and is mostly achievement based rather than gimmick based. 4bfx mode is a good way to learn how to utilize the left and right triggers in the game for newer players. Link Disc has several improvements, but from what I've seen it doesn't save scores in that mode. (I'll have to check and see if the Link Disc patch released in Platinum Crew fixes this.)
Cons: Several glitches, of note being 6b's regular mode only showing 2 songs for all 3 stages. Official patches are officially only available through platinum crew which requires a KSSN to join. Fever graphics are in front of and not behind the left and right notes which makes it hard to read unless the first patch is applied which makes it static. Also, some missions on Club Tour are insanely difficult!
DJ Max Clazziquai Edition:
Pros: Decent songlist and a brief tutorial on how to play the game in club tour mode. Also all songs can be played on Black Square with the link disc option which shows new notecharts for the songs.
Cons: Glitched as hell without platinum crew patch! (It was due to this that Black Square got delayed.) Only 3x fever in the beginning. Timing Window feels wider than black square. Framerate issues galore! Also, is there a point to doing a 2 button mode?
Pros: Faithful to the original DJ Max Online games right down to the songlist, background animations, and ratings.
Cons: Max % compensation in notes could come back to haunt people in newer games timingwise.
DJ Max Portable 1 International Edition:
Pros: Mostly the same as the Korean release, but also includes English and Japanese support.
Cons: Some videos and song lyrics are censored. Also, Dreadnought and Fever GJ were outright deleted.
DJ Max Portable 2:
Pros: Strong songlist all around, logical range of difficulty, and a wide range of notes, gears, and characters to use. Link Disc allows for all Portable 1 songs to played using the new fever system.
Cons: Massive grinding is required for unlocks. Suffers from a glitch where freestyle mode and image unlocks don't trigger for the final stage if Your Own Miracle is unlocked in regular gameplay. Also, there are some slowdowns in some songs when 3x and 4x fever is on. Also, Mission mode is too gimmicky for it's own good. Finally, link disc with Portable International doesn't allow for Fever GJ's OST unlock.
DJ Max Black Square:
Pros: Best songlist in the series to date. Background animations are now videos instead of being rendered by the engine itself which is both good and bad as while they are the best backgrounds to date, they are only 24 fps, but it is a small sacrifice that I don't mind. Instead of the level up system, unlocks mainly go off of number of songs played. Club Tour is 2 full seasons (Season 2 is available via Platinum Crew) and is mostly achievement based rather than gimmick based. 4bfx mode is a good way to learn how to utilize the left and right triggers in the game for newer players. Link Disc has several improvements, but from what I've seen it doesn't save scores in that mode. (I'll have to check and see if the Link Disc patch released in Platinum Crew fixes this.)
Cons: Several glitches, of note being 6b's regular mode only showing 2 songs for all 3 stages. Official patches are officially only available through platinum crew which requires a KSSN to join. Fever graphics are in front of and not behind the left and right notes which makes it hard to read unless the first patch is applied which makes it static. Also, some missions on Club Tour are insanely difficult!
DJ Max Clazziquai Edition:
Pros: Decent songlist and a brief tutorial on how to play the game in club tour mode. Also all songs can be played on Black Square with the link disc option which shows new notecharts for the songs.
Cons: Glitched as hell without platinum crew patch! (It was due to this that Black Square got delayed.) Only 3x fever in the beginning. Timing Window feels wider than black square. Framerate issues galore! Also, is there a point to doing a 2 button mode?