Which PS2 Beatmania is best?

StompToYoBeat · Trick Member Joined: 07 Jan 2003 Location: Cumberland, VA

I recently came to purchase a Japanese PS2, and along with several DDR games, I am interested in picking up some Beatmania's. I noticed that Happy Sky has released and received excellent reviews. Could anyone recommend a particular mix to start? The extent of my IIDX exposure pretty much begins and ends with the US release (/sad).
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Difficulty: 8 to 10 footers
Location: Richmond area DDR scene

Accomplishments:
AA on Captain Jack
AA on Candy Unlimited
AA on So Deep
AA on Sakura
A on MAX 300 (320 combo)

Pop'n Usagi! · Trick Member Joined: 17 Nov 2002 Location: Your mum

6th style is arguably the best for beginners because it has drill mode, which trains you on all the specific note patterns and breaks you in very gently. No other IIDX game has it, and my gf who'd failed beginner mode on 9th style was clearing songs right after playing just a few lessons in drill mode. If you finish all the 40-something lessons (which have 3 parts each) you can basically clear most of the Light7 songs straight away, or at least play well enough to practise them.
9th, RED and Happy Sky have the best songlists imo, or 7th if you want lots of DDR transplants.
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Zonic · Posted: Sun Mar 25, 2007 9:32 am Post subject:

The US version!

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA! Red & Happy Sky.

Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

I was wondering the same thing. I can only clear up to a few of the level 6 songs in beatmania US. I like the songlist in RED (which I hear was a very difficult mix), but does Happy Sky have more songs I can practice on to improve my skills?

Tomo_kun · Trick Member Joined: 26 Oct 2003 Location: SE-WI.

IIDXRED has a great selection of music, and 9th style does too. If you are just starting out with IIDX, I wouldnt get anything before 9th style as the interface and graphics are hard to get used to. If you sit for an hour playing IIDXRED then put in your copy of 7thStyle, theres a noticeable difference.
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ã©ã¤ã¹ · Trick Member Joined: 26 May 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA

I'd pretty much have to agree with Pop N' Usagi. 6th style is the best for beginners. Each of them have their pros and cons.

Which style should I buy?

Every person has their own opinions about which style is the "best". Rather than point out a definitive list, I'll list the pros and cons of each style, and let you decide. It is easier, however, to get the newer styles.

beatmaniaIIDX 3rd Style

Total Songs: 80
Unique Songs: ~43

Pros

Huge songlist
Beginner friendly songs
Can be found cheap used
Actual music videos

Cons

Timing is bad on certain songs (gambol, overdoser).
No beginner's mode (but there are enough easy Light 7 songs that you can get away with it).
Interface is widely considered to be poor compared to later titles

beatmaniaIIDX 4th Style

Total Songs: 53
Unique Songs: 22

Pros

Good song selection, with few songs repeated on other styles.

Cons

Expensive to purchase.
Light 7 songlist is significantly harder than other styles.
No beginner mode.

beatmaniaIIDX 5th Style

Total Songs: 64
Unique Songs: 13

Pros

Has a beginner mode.

Cons

Slower hispeeds than found on other games.
Many complain about timing issues.
Lots of songs are repeated on later styles.

beatmaniaIIDX 6th Style

Total Songs: 69
Unique Songs: 20

Pros

Also has a beginner mode (covers all the songs in the game).
Lots of extras in the game. Tatsujin videos. Movie clip mode.
Added hispeed 4.
Decent balance between hard and easy songs.

Cons

Songlist is hit or miss for people.
Notecharts by this time were getting harder, and this style reflects it.

beatmaniaIIDX 7th Style

Total Songs: 90
Unique Songs: 25

Pros

Good beginner mode.
Decent balance between hard and easy songs.
Fairly easy to get now.

Cons

Only 2 unlockable songs (Murmur Twins and Abyss The Heaven's Remix) and the 2nd one is hard to unlock.
Some complain about the sound quality, and say the style has an "incomplete" or "rushed" feel to it.

beatmaniaIIDX 8th Style

Total Songs: 90
Unique Songs: 34

Pros

Easy to get.
New sort methods. Other info can be displayed while selecting the song.
Balance leans a little towards the harder side, but beginner's mode can cover for it.
Random+ is entertaining.

Cons

Beginner mode restricts you to a shorter playlist than all of the songs in the game.
Lack of regular record screen as from previous styles.
Scores achieved in Expert Mode do not get saved.

beatmaniaIIDX 9th Style

Total Songs: 87
Unique Songs: 55

Pros

New high-res graphics make the game extremely pretty.
Quite a few first-time repeats (songs that have not been repeated before, including a lot from 3rd and 4th Styles).
Lots of remixes of songs from previous styles.

Cons

Not many revival songs, only 19 total.
Lack of regular record screen as from previous styles.
Only one preview song (No.13 from 10th Style).

beatmaniaIIDX 10th Style

Total Songs: 88
Unique Songs: 58

Pros

Happy Sky-style Hi-Speed modifier allows for fine-grained mod control.
S-Random is more entertaining than Random+ - luckily, both are included.

Cons

Difficulty skews very high on 7-Key.
Lack of regular record screen as from previous styles.

beatmaniaIIDX 11 RED

Total Songs: 89
Unique Songs: 52

Pros

Displays in-game score graphs.
Can import up to 5 people's scores/data onto your memory card.
Hidden+ and Sudden+ from AC DistorteD are selectable mods.
Can change speed mods during a song.

Cons

No preview songs.

beatmania (American release)

Total Songs: 58
Unique Songs: 23

Pros

Easy to find
Comes with controller
Beginner friendly
Contains many 5Key songs, which have yet to appear in any of the IIDX CS releases
Ability to save replays of your performance

Cons

Grades are artificially inflated from Japanese and arcade releases
Some songs have changed notecharts
Total amount of songs is low compared to recent releases
Only 40 of the songs are actual IIDX 7Key songs
5Key songs only have one difficulty

beatmaniaIIDX 12 HAPPY SKY

Total Songs: 83
Unique Songs: 62

Pros

Displays in-game score graphs.
Can import up to 5 people's scores/data onto your memory card.
Hidden+ and Sudden+ from AC Happy Sky are selectable mods.
Can change speed mods and Hidden/Sudden+ settings during a song.
Detailed statistics tracking
Lots of unlockable interface items

Cons

No preview songs.

takened from http://vjarmy.com/wiki/index.php/CS_General_Info
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Cutriss wrote:

FLCL, God of Gods wrote:

Uh... so when do we get the porn forum?

If you can't find porn on the Internet, you're not trying.

Zonic · Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 2:29 am Post subject:

Yeah, Happy Sky had Dr. Love, whose Another was rated a 3 out of 12. WTF?! But here's how I see it:

If you're new, buy the US version (If you have a US PS2, you should've just modded it, only about $40) to both practice & get a good controller for a good & cheap price, THEN import once you've mastered them.....But not beginner, Normal=Light7, Hyper=7Key.

& I honestly don't care for preview songs. As long it has all the songs from the arcade & the e-Amusement songs (Concertino In Blue in DistorteD!!), I'm happy.

ColorOfSakura · Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 11:19 am Post subject:

Fred 00 · Trick Member Joined: 02 May 2005 Location: offline

This might be off topic:

I'm considering getting an IIDX OST, I don't know which to get, either 7th style or 8th style.

7th style has alot of familar songs for me, and Last Message's Engrish is funny

However, 8th style has alot of songs I've never heard before, and sound rather...weird

Which one would you recommend me getting?

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Opethian · Posted: Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:44 pm Post subject:

if you like eurobeat try 7th or 6th they have the most by far
i like RED and 8th alot for diversity
9th has alot of remixes
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flcl573 · Trick Member Joined: 03 Jun 2005 Location: Alachua, FL

I'd be fine with just Red and Happy Sky, but I don't play much.

Oh, and is there a guide to unlockables in all the styles?
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ã©ã¤ã¹ · Trick Member Joined: 26 May 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA

Zonic · Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2007 2:26 am Post subject:

Yeah, Happy Sky had more unlockables (selection music from 3rd style-RED & special remixes by artists, & 3 unlockable songs!)

ChilliumBromide · Trick Member Joined: 16 Jun 2006 Location: Beaverton, OR

Get Happy Sky. Period. I don't know if it's the best, per se, but it is, without a doubt, worth it.
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Weston · Trick Member Joined: 17 Feb 2003 Location: Minnesota

I bought RED, may get Happy Sky in the future, but will for sure get DistorteD when it's released. Now I just have to wait for it to get here... :(

mistercow_pnoy · Trick Member Joined: 17 May 2005

The US Beatmania was decent.

"Waits for the flames"

StompToYoBeat · Trick Member Joined: 07 Jan 2003 Location: Cumberland, VA

Heh, I liked a few of the songs, namely Virtual Insanity, Colors, and Era. Anywho, I will probably get Happy Sky because I hear it has a timing adjustment. I desperately need this function, because some of the songs on the US version seem off beat. It could also be my TVs timing

, but it was never a problem on any DDR mix so the ability to adjust timing is welcome. Are there any other mixes that support timing adjustments btw?
_________________

Difficulty: 8 to 10 footers
Location: Richmond area DDR scene

Accomplishments:
AA on Captain Jack
AA on Candy Unlimited
AA on So Deep
AA on Sakura
A on MAX 300 (320 combo)

Edible Bondage Tape · Trick Member Joined: 26 Jan 2002 Location: Kerri

CStarFlare · Maniac Member Joined: 24 Jan 2002

Zonic · Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 7:08 pm Post subject:

Right now on Play-Asia, you can get Happy Sky for only $50 (compared to, like, $63) until Thursday!