Beatmania US IS HERE!

beatmania, beatmaniaIIDX, beatmania III

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Post by Merk » Fri Mar 31, 2006 4:50 pm

No no, I would say that the US release of Beatmania is great for people to get adjusted to the game. Besides, unless you want to spend a lot of money importing games and modding a PS2 then you really have no other alternative. I'd say if you're curious then buy the domestic release and if you find yourself truly interested in the game then go ahead and import; you'll be getting a better controller anyway if you buy the US release.
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Post by sam » Fri Mar 31, 2006 7:25 pm

if you have a friend with a modded ps2 & iidx you can setup a exploit through your memory card to load games off a hard drive. you can play iidx off the hard drive BUT you can't play the videos. Gets around the modchip issue but no videos
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Post by MonMotha » Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:18 pm

I have no clue what you're talking about Sam. I run all of the old IIDXs off HD Loader (using the memory card hack, in fact), and everything works GREAT (videos included). If you're using downloaded copies, many of them have some (or all) the videos removed to make them smaller - that could be a problem.

The newer IIDXs will desync (9th style especially badly) when run on HD Loader. I've been told there are patches to HD Loader to fix this, but my solution has been to just use a Japanese PS2. This is similar to pop'n 11 and 12 (9 skips but recovers, 10 does not work at all, 7,8, and BH are fine).

I'm guessing the reason for the lackluster response to Beatmania US is that most people who have been commenting have played most or all of the JP IIDX releases. This means that they've seen all the interfaces (including the sexy, sexy 10th style interface) and all the songs (since they're all transplants from older JP beatmania titles) already, so the US software would give them pretty much nothing. If you've not played the game much, the US release is probably just fine (disclaimer: I've not played it yet), but realize that there's little they can do to get around the fact that the game is downright HARD (the US release does have significantly easier end grades, but timing and pass bar are apparently the same "OMG THAT'S HARD" as the Japanese IIDX releases).

Unless you're already into importing JP games, the US release is sure to be far cheaper (and easier to resell if you don't like it) than attempting to import the JP releases and a controller (and heck, the US controller is quite arguably better anyway). If you already have a hard drive/network adapter, I guess it's still a bit of a wash, but $55 for a game AND controller is actually a damn good deal, and legal, too (as opposed to HD loadering a downloaded copy of iIDX).
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Post by sam » Sat Apr 01, 2006 2:07 pm

i got direct copies of the games, the video skipping is normal monmotha...check http://list.ps2hd.com and search for beatmania

and it's $65 for the pack...i use a 7200rpm drive, i know 3 others that have video skipping issues as well.
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Post by MonMotha » Sun Apr 02, 2006 1:46 am

You said there were no videos. That's not what happens.

Actually, my videos don't skip that I've noticed (though I'll admit I'm normally playing the game). My notecharts skip (the audio plays normally). Depending on the version this can either cause the notechart to get way out of sync with the non-keysounded audio (especially vocals) or sometimes it'll sync back up (9th gets desynced, 6th syncs back up).

Either way, I find playing a real copy more enjoyable. And of course, my Japanese PS2 is so cute!

And I know Fry's definately has the bundle for $55 this weekend, though as to if they actually have any or not, I can't comment (I just saw it in their flyer on Friday).
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Post by sam » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:02 am

if you look closer next time you'll notice both actually skip..it has to do with how the system reads data..the game streams the movie and loads sounds as they're needed on the keys...the studdering is the hd loading the sounds in the middle of the game and desynching itself. if you turn the videos off this stops happening. I have the videos on the disc, I just went into options and turned movie brightness to off (turns off movies)
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Post by Amp Divorax » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:10 am

Ho wrote:
MonMotha wrote:
Ho wrote:As to why some songs would not have 5-key charts...I don't know. I thought everything in IIDX had 5-key charts, but I could be mistaken.
IIDX generates 5k charts by simpling autoplaying the 6th and 7th buttons of the 7k chart. This means that the 5k charts often make very little sense (portions of scales will get cut off, for example) and can frequently be harder than the L7 chart. They're easier to play on a dualshock, though...

On the arcade, 5 keys is actually a selectable option (just like random or high speed). I think this may have finally appeared on CS10.
Now that you mention it, I do recall that being the case on the JP releases. Given that fact, I can't say that I'd miss the 5-key option on non-native 5-key songs...not that I really ever play 5-key anyway.

But are you saying that on this US version they're simply not offering the "6/7 autoplay makes 5-key chart" option?
To clarify, 5 Key charts are in fact available for IIDX mode. To use them hit select while in the song selection menu and hit the key that invokes 5 key. The same thing was done in IIDX 10th style for it's arcade based mod selection menu. Also, given how the release is there are good and bad points. The bad point as mentioned is that the interface is a step backwards from 9th and 10th styles. A good point is that this has quite a few transplants from the JP version that haven't appeared in the 9th style based engine. I'll mention that I have seen my scores improve quite a bit overall on songs that appear on here and didn't appear on anything newer than 8th style. (Case in point being that my Mobo Moga scores have skyrocketed and I should have the Hyper/7K notechart AAAed as per the Japanese grading scale soon.)
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Post by Ho » Sun Apr 02, 2006 1:40 pm

I'd just like to comment that I had an opportunity to play on the US controller yesterday. I liked it quite a bit. It's quite an improvement over the JP original controller (not ASC).

Though at this point, I still haven't played the US game. I'm considering picking up the bundle just to have a spare controller--or a travel controller. It would be a heck of a lot easier to take tote around than the ASC. And at only $55 for the bundle...heck, that's cheaper than either a JP game or controller by itself! Quite a bit cheaper!
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Post by sam » Sun Apr 02, 2006 3:16 pm

the bundle is $65!!!
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Post by Ho » Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:42 am

Retail appears to be $65, though I've seen it lower in some places. Wal-Mart, for instance, lists it < $60. Other places online have had it for $55 or less (though admittedly, shipping often pushes it back up to the $60-65 mark).

However, my original point still stands. Even at $65 for the bundle, that's still less than you will usually pay for either an import game or controller by itself.

And also, I did get a chance to play the US game over the weekend. It was enjoyable. It has a decent song selection and plays quite well. The reskinning is butt ugly and uses flat textures and color palettes that I thought I had seen the last of in the 8-bit console era, but the gameplay itself is there intact. The letter grading is obviously a lot easier since I AAAed a song (something I've never done in a JP release) without really even trying. However, the pass/fail grading still seems to be the "beat-you-down-and-put-you-in-your-place" ego-stomp that I've come to expect from IIDX. :P

All-in-all, there's not much there for seasoned players, but I can see this release sparking a wider, more mainstream following for beatmania here in the US.
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Post by danc1005 » Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:52 am

Ho wrote:
All-in-all, there's not much there for seasoned players, but I can see this release sparking a wider, more mainstream following for beatmania here in the US.
So, for a nub like me, this would be a good buy?

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Post by Ho » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:59 am

Yes, I think it would make a good introduction to the series if you're interested in trying it out. If you find you get really into it, you can start importing the JP games, and you'd already have a controller that would work with them.
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Post by Amp Divorax » Tue Apr 04, 2006 3:50 am

It is a good intro for the series, but there are some things that got eliminated from the US version of the series. The lack of an autoplay option in free mode is annoying as hell, and the exclusion of the original 2 player mode (which was co-op styled rather than versus) is very disappointing. However, I would have newer players play this release before the JP releases due to how insanely hard the series gets as it progresses.
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Post by SoDeepPolaris » Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:26 am

I can do 6's and 7's on Happy Sky, and those are pretty much the end all difficulty of 4th style(what we have in Fort, ugh), and that's not even close to the difficulty of some of the anothers.

So yes, IIDX's Japan releases have a big jump in difficulty. But I still think I'm gonna get US just because I don't feel like modding right now.
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Post by MonMotha » Tue Apr 04, 2006 9:36 am

Do realize that Happy Sky re-rated everything on a scale out of (IIRC) 12. So a 7 on happy sky isn't a 7 star "rape me up the ass with a pineapple" that you might expect to find on an older version, and don't even get me started on flashing 7s/8 stars...

Of course, the old scale changed a bit, too, as time went on. Pretty much all the Bemani games have done this. An average 35 on pop'n music 12 is notably harder than the average 35 on pop'n 8. I'm pretty confident IIDX has done this as well. That said, there's supposedly a few songs on the newer IIDX versions that NOBODY has passed on 14k Another.

The US version apparently uses the Happy Sky rating system, rather than the old one. I've been told that at least Happy Sky is now rating anothers, too. Then again, most people interested in beatmania USA won't be playing another difficulty for a LONG time :)
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