Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

beatmania, beatmaniaIIDX, beatmania III

Moderator: Moderators

User avatar
Amp Divorax
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 2922
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:34 pm
Location: Near some arcade place that has the same initials as Drum and Bass

Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Amp Divorax » Wed Dec 17, 2008 8:56 am

Now that the game is out in the wild, I may as well do a complete review on this release.

First and foremost, anybody whose played IIDX before knows the drill. However, compared to prior games in the series this entry is definitely not for beginners. Something that everybody has seen in this series is that over time more difficult notecharts are developed, but this game goes farther than even it's arcade counterpart in some respects. In the case of the new songs from the arcade they reflect natural evolution as some 10s in this release are more difficult to clear than older 11s in the series. However, in this release it's obvious that Konami is hell bent on challenging even the best of players with 'Another+', a new mode featuring new notecharts for select songs. Upon first hearing this some people considered this to be a gimmick, but the difficulty of these notecharts reflects the decision to have this type of mode as with one 10, two 11, and all other songs in this mode being 12 this will add replay value for even some of the best players. Also, new another notecharts have been made for Gentle Stress and Bad Routine which like Rugged Ash serves as a logical extension of the hyper notecharts for the songs. The console premiere songs that are available at the start of the game are all consistently high quality and also reflect how much more difficult over time the series has become. While I personally approve of them increasing the difficulty of songs, I disapprove of the decision to make unlocks more difficult to obtain.

When it comes to revival songs, Konami revived 16 songs for this release, but in the cases of Switch, Rise'n Beauty, and the Another for Sweetest Savage decided to use new notecharts instead of what appears in the arcade. While some people will like this, I personally do not as it goes against the 7th Style CS survey Konami conducted that indicated that players wanted the releases to be more arcade based. In addition, the decision to revive Spica, Colors (Radio Edit), 1st Samurai, Debtty Daddy, and Innocent Walls is perplexing to me as they have all appeared in 9th Style or newer in the console series. The most important songlist tidbit that I should mention is the omission of I'm In Love Again (DJ Yoshitaka Remix) which has got to be the most perplexing thing I've ever seen since it's a Konami original song.

In terms of unlocks, some unlocks are the same as before, but in some important aspects unlocks have been drastically changed. Noteblasts still are unlockable via Dan Mode and frames are still unlocked by playing the matching songs in Extra Stage. However, BGM songs this time cannot be unlocked via playing the triggering song in Dan mode and Expert mode and the song must be played in Free Mode or Standard Mode. The biggest change though is that to unlock most hidden songs the player must be able to reach military splash and hard clear AA all military splash songs on one difficulty. For lesser players I can see songs like Do It! Do It! even on Normal will keep them from getting all unlocks either due to not being able to hard clear it or missing the AA barely. Also, this type of unlock requirement does feel tedious compared to prior releases.

Finally there are some issues concerning the notechart design for some songs. For some songs like Trip Machine Phoenix and Children's Sketchbook the decision was made to double the BPM to reach speeds of 320 and 280 bpm respectively. With that in mind some people feel that such a decision makes the notecharts feel cheap and ill conceived at best. Also, the appearence of Pluto and fffff (Known as Five Hammer to Pop'N Music players) as hidden songs is a polarizing decision as many IIDX players will argue that these songs don't feel right within IIDX as a whole. At the same time though the addition of Implantation as a hidden song will be a welcome addition given it's status as the boss song of 5 key Beatmania releases.

Overall, this release is not without it's flaws, but it is a very strong release overall for experienced players. For beginners though despite the redone tutorial mode this release may not be for them.
Last edited by Amp Divorax on Mon Dec 22, 2008 1:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Memorable 2016 quotes:
Ho wrote:You can break arcade games and I will fix YOU!

User avatar
Riot
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 5373
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2005 7:58 pm

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Riot » Wed Dec 17, 2008 11:18 am

I like fffff.
Image

User avatar
Merk
Lady Banned Son of Switzerland
Lady Banned Son of Switzerland
Posts: 8274
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:33 am
Location: Bloomington / Ft. Wayne
Contact:

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Merk » Wed Dec 17, 2008 4:38 pm

Yeah, this game is really God damn difficult, it reminds me a lot of the jump from Red to Happy Sky minus all the fun. All the BPM fuckery that goes on in the harder charts is more of nuisance than anything-- it feels like Konami wanted players to make more use out changing high speed mid-song. Random BPM changes are not fun and are rarely ever done well. A and Era do it really well, Icarus and 1st Samurai kinda sorta do it well, every other song with a BPM change is just no fun.

I'll have to play it more, but Troopers seems more like a chore than anything. The music is the weakest it has been in while and the charts definitely do not make up for it this time around. There seems to be a lot of potential in the large number of unlocks this game has so it may be a bit too early to see where this iteration a Beet will fit in in the series. Regardless, if you can get good at Troopers it will make the previous mixes seem like cake so hey, at least you'll become a better player.

And the main menu music managed somehow to be more annoying than Distorted's.
Image

User avatar
Riot
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 5373
Joined: Mon Feb 21, 2005 7:58 pm

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Riot » Wed Dec 17, 2008 5:19 pm

Merk wrote:Yeah, this game is really God damn difficult, it reminds me a lot of the jump from Red to Happy Sky minus all the fun. All the BPM fuckery that goes on in the harder charts is more of nuisance than anything-- it feels like Konami wanted players to make more use out changing high speed mid-song. Random BPM changes are not fun and are rarely ever done well. A and Era do it really well, Icarus and 1st Samurai kinda sorta do it well, every other song with a BPM change is just no fun.

I'll have to play it more, but Troopers seems more like a chore than anything. The music is the weakest it has been in while and the charts definitely do not make up for it this time around. There seems to be a lot of potential in the large number of unlocks this game has so it may be a bit too early to see where this iteration a Beet will fit in in the series. Regardless, if you can get good at Troopers it will make the previous mixes seem like cake so hey, at least you'll become a better player.

And the main menu music managed somehow to be more annoying than Distorted's.
I would rate this post B.
Image

User avatar
Fluffyumpkins
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 6592
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 1:53 pm

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Fluffyumpkins » Wed Dec 17, 2008 6:05 pm

Riot wrote:
Merk wrote:Yeah, this game is really God damn difficult, it reminds me a lot of the jump from Red to Happy Sky minus all the fun. All the BPM fuckery that goes on in the harder charts is more of nuisance than anything-- it feels like Konami wanted players to make more use out changing high speed mid-song. Random BPM changes are not fun and are rarely ever done well. A and Era do it really well, Icarus and 1st Samurai kinda sorta do it well, every other song with a BPM change is just no fun.

I'll have to play it more, but Troopers seems more like a chore than anything. The music is the weakest it has been in while and the charts definitely do not make up for it this time around. There seems to be a lot of potential in the large number of unlocks this game has so it may be a bit too early to see where this iteration a Beet will fit in in the series. Regardless, if you can get good at Troopers it will make the previous mixes seem like cake so hey, at least you'll become a better player.

And the main menu music managed somehow to be more annoying than Distorted's.
I would rate this post B.
I would rate this post, which rated that post B, B.

User avatar
Amp Divorax
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 2922
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:34 pm
Location: Near some arcade place that has the same initials as Drum and Bass

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Amp Divorax » Thu Dec 18, 2008 12:07 pm

Yea, the BPM changes are really ruthless and annoying in this release.

As it's been driving people nuts, here's how to unlock The Last Striker:
- Must have all other hidden songs unlocked. (If you have Vox Up, then you are ready to do this)
- In Free Mode, spell out F-O-R-E-V-E-R hitting the select button for each letter. Upon hitting select for the final letter the game will select The Last Striker to play. Regardless of pass or fail the song is now unlocked.
Memorable 2016 quotes:
Ho wrote:You can break arcade games and I will fix YOU!

ImuyumI
That guy in Kentucky that posts in an Indiana forum
That guy in Kentucky that posts in an Indiana forum
Posts: 393
Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2006 11:18 pm
Location: Lexington, KY

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by ImuyumI » Thu Dec 18, 2008 1:20 pm

I agree that this is a chore more than playing it for fun. I was hoping this might jolt my fun for Beatmania, but it really hasn't.

User avatar
Amp Divorax
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 2922
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:34 pm
Location: Near some arcade place that has the same initials as Drum and Bass

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Amp Divorax » Thu Dec 18, 2008 4:27 pm

Ok, I figured out that apparently in order to get medals I don't have to play through all the Military Splash songs in Standard. They mainly just have to be atleast hard clear AAs. I don't know though if beating the 5 Military Splash songs in Free Mode unlocks their respective skins though or not.

One thing I will mention is that I'm debating if I should start a brand new savefile just for this Saturday's marathon playthrough or use a fully unlocked savefile with no records entered in.
Memorable 2016 quotes:
Ho wrote:You can break arcade games and I will fix YOU!

User avatar
chocobojoe
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 2455
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 1:43 pm
Location: Fort Wayne

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by chocobojoe » Thu Dec 18, 2008 6:17 pm

Fluffyumpkins wrote:
Riot wrote:
Merk wrote:Yeah, this game is really God damn difficult, it reminds me a lot of the jump from Red to Happy Sky minus all the fun. All the BPM fuckery that goes on in the harder charts is more of nuisance than anything-- it feels like Konami wanted players to make more use out changing high speed mid-song. Random BPM changes are not fun and are rarely ever done well. A and Era do it really well, Icarus and 1st Samurai kinda sorta do it well, every other song with a BPM change is just no fun.

I'll have to play it more, but Troopers seems more like a chore than anything. The music is the weakest it has been in while and the charts definitely do not make up for it this time around. There seems to be a lot of potential in the large number of unlocks this game has so it may be a bit too early to see where this iteration a Beet will fit in in the series. Regardless, if you can get good at Troopers it will make the previous mixes seem like cake so hey, at least you'll become a better player.

And the main menu music managed somehow to be more annoying than Distorted's.
I would rate this post B.
I would rate this post, which rated that post B, B.
I would make a post stating my rating of a post so you could reply and explain that you rate my post which rates a post...dawg

User avatar
Amp Divorax
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 2922
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:34 pm
Location: Near some arcade place that has the same initials as Drum and Bass

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Amp Divorax » Sat Dec 27, 2008 11:48 pm

Ok, this is something I somehow didn't check until now and I can confirm this here and now.

The Background video for Satfinal has been edited due to ratings reasons.

Arcade Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJL8A3wToVc
Console Version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXTUevp3R2w (Make sure to pick the HD option)

I have to reinterate once more that KONAMI FEARS BOOBIES!!!!
Memorable 2016 quotes:
Ho wrote:You can break arcade games and I will fix YOU!

User avatar
lgolem
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 2888
Joined: Sun Mar 26, 2006 1:45 am
Location: Bloomington

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by lgolem » Sun Dec 28, 2008 2:40 am

Amp Divorax wrote:I have to reinterate once more that KONAMI FEARS BOOBIES!!!!
Now they look fake and don't jiggle as much...LAMEZORS!!!!!!!!!!

User avatar
Amp Divorax
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 2922
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:34 pm
Location: Near some arcade place that has the same initials as Drum and Bass

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Amp Divorax » Sun Dec 28, 2008 8:41 pm

Yea, apparently Konami can have Acty Aries in IIDX in her 2D form uncut, but the moment she became 3D they went all squeamish. Seriously, Pentavision should use this to their advantage since Konami decided to go lolsuit on them.
Memorable 2016 quotes:
Ho wrote:You can break arcade games and I will fix YOU!

User avatar
Amp Divorax
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 2922
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:34 pm
Location: Near some arcade place that has the same initials as Drum and Bass

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Amp Divorax » Fri Jan 02, 2009 4:17 am

Since I kinda forgot to mention it, this release does not have 480p capabilities and for that matter no IIDX release on the PStwo will most likely. The reason why this hasn't happened is cause when 9th style was made Konami changed the engine so instead of rendering graphics frame by frame (which was how everything up to that point was done and it showed on 8th Style cause it was possibly the lowest quality port of the entire series), it would render them on a field by field basis. (In other words, it renders every other line of resolution.) This is very noticible when using Xploder HDTV Loader due to the shimmering effect observed and also when comparing the console version with the arcade version.
Memorable 2016 quotes:
Ho wrote:You can break arcade games and I will fix YOU!

User avatar
Ho
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 5645
Joined: Fri Dec 31, 2004 10:26 am
Location: The Ho-House

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Ho » Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:54 am

This is perhaps slightly off-topic, but I figure I'll ask it here since your last comment was down this thought pattern...

Over the holiday I was involved in a discussion regarding the possibility of using a first generation PS3 (with EE for PS2 compatibility) to play IIDX releases and let it upscale the game to 480p for output over HDMI. Do you know of anyone who has done this? What was their result?

I have been playing IIDX on a Samsung LCD panel for the past couple weeks. AC looks great on it, but its upscale of 480i (even over component) for CS leaves a lot to be desired. My hope was that the PS3 would be able to do a better job of it.
Image

User avatar
Amp Divorax
Heavy
Heavy
Posts: 2922
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 3:34 pm
Location: Near some arcade place that has the same initials as Drum and Bass

Re: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers CS Review

Post by Amp Divorax » Fri Jan 02, 2009 2:20 pm

Ho wrote:This is perhaps slightly off-topic, but I figure I'll ask it here since your last comment was down this thought pattern...

Over the holiday I was involved in a discussion regarding the possibility of using a first generation PS3 (with EE for PS2 compatibility) to play IIDX releases and let it upscale the game to 480p for output over HDMI. Do you know of anyone who has done this? What was their result?

I have been playing IIDX on a Samsung LCD panel for the past couple weeks. AC looks great on it, but its upscale of 480i (even over component) for CS leaves a lot to be desired. My hope was that the PS3 would be able to do a better job of it.
Personally I wouldn't recommend one for a few reasons. While the PS3 is region free, it still enforces region locking in PSone and PStwo games so you'd either have to mod it or get a Japanese PS3. Also, there are some graphical issues with 3rd Style and 6th Style (I know it's enough for BMS to declare them not compatible) according to the backwards compability database on the Japanese PS3 website. As for it going to other resolutions, while the PS3 can upscale the games to higher resolutions I've found nothing concerning how it looks and plays on various resolutions. As for the controllers, currently I haven't seen any good PStwo to PS3 adapters (Which uses USB) so you would probably have to get the board's firmware modded your setup would work on the console. Overall, it would be a rather tedious task to set this up.
Memorable 2016 quotes:
Ho wrote:You can break arcade games and I will fix YOU!

Post Reply