List of Bemani series
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Bemani (ビーマニ Bīmani?), is Konami's music video game division. Originally named the Games & Music Division, or simply G.M.D., it changed its name in honor of its first and most successful game, Beatmania, and expanded into other music-based games.
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[edit] Bemani video games
Since 1997, Konami has released many different series of music games under the Bemani brand. Each series has a unique way of playing the game and detaches players from the typical hand held controller of modern game systems by using their whole body to control the game. Dance Dance Revolution lets players dance with their feet, Beatmania gives players a DJ style mixing board complete with turntable, ParaParaParadise is controlled with the players hands and arm by setting off motion sensors during the dance routine, and GuitarFreak & DrumMania let players use simplified instruments to create music. Below are the Bemani series of video games in no particular order.
[edit] Beatmania
Modeled after nightclub DJs and mixing boards, Beatmania, known as Hip Hop Mania in North America and Beatstage in Korea, lets you "spin" the music with five activator keys and a turntable. The Beatmania series was the first Bemani game introduced and it's successor is still the most popular Bemani game in Japan. With dozens of releases in arcades and on video game platforms Beatmania set itself as a role model for future Bemani titles. The music featured in this series of games is still in use today in Beatmania IIDX and other Bemani games.
- See also: List of Beatmania games
Beatmania portal (Japanese)
[edit] Beatmania IIDX
Continuing the Beatmania series, Beatmania IIDX (Typically pronounced "Two Dee Ecks") was released in 1999. The rules of the game remain the same from beatmania with the addition of two more keys giving players seven total to play with including the turntable. "IIDX" stands for 2 Deluxe, "Beatmania 2 Deluxe", as Konami gave the series an entire internal and external makeover. The deluxe versions of the arcade machines were bulked up with larger displays, a platform for players to stand on and literally feel the bass of the music, and other amenities. As time went on Konami ceased production of the standard cabinet and went exclusively with the deluxe cabinet.
Beatmania IIDX has been released on the PlayStation 2 platform for home players and continues to this day with arcade and home releases worldwide. Including a release in North America, simply titled Beatmania.
- See also: List of Beatmania IIDX games
Beatmania IIDX portal (Japanese)
[edit] Beatmania III
Built off the Beatmania gameplay, Beatmania III added a foot pedal to the five keys and turntable used by players. The Beatmania III series was short lived with only a few releases and a series run of only two years, ending in 2002. Many songs from Beatmania III were ported to the IIDX series as well as other Bemani games.
- See also: List of Beatmania III games
Beatmania III portal (Japanese)
[edit] Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution, also known as Dancing Stage, was first produced in 1998. The game is played by stepping to music on a dance platform with pressure sensitive arrow pads. The game has changed little since its introduction but has come a long way in terms of musical selection and visual appearance. Dance Dance Revolution was originally an arcade title but games have been released on many different platforms including the Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox. Other versions have also appeared on portable handhelds, cellphones, and as standalone TV plug'n'play devices. The series in still very active with over one hundred releases to date.
- See also: List of Dance Dance Revolution games
[edit] Dance Dance Revolution Solo
An offshoot of the Dance Dance Revolution series, Dance Dance Revolution Solo added two additional arrows to the dance stage. The series saw two major releases and two complimentary releases before being canceled in 2001. Most of the music exclusive to Dance Dance Revolution Solo was reused in the main DDR series of games.
Dance Dance Revolution Solo portal (Japanese)
[edit] Dance Maniax
Controlled by two pairs of motion sensors that detect movement above them and below them, Dance Maniax, known as Dance Freaks in Korea, plays like Dance Dance Revolution for your hands. First released in 2000, Dance Maniax featured a song list from Konami's in-house artists and Toshiba EMI's Dancemania music label. The series ended after three major releases.
DanceManiaX Official site (Japanese)
DanceManiaX 2ndMIX Official site (Japanese)
DanceManaiX 2ndMIX append J PARADISE Official site (Japanese)
[edit] Pop'n Music
Released in 1998, Pop'n Music is like a simplified Beatmania. With larger, colorful buttons, no turntable, and easier note patterns, Pop'n Music presents players with a more childlike appearance. However Pop'n Music is viewed as every bit as difficult as Beatmania IIDX and has modes that use up to nine hand buttons at once. Pop'n Music is stylized with cute cartoony characters and a musical selection to match. The series continues to this day as one of the most popular Bemani games.
Pop'n Music portal (Japanese)
[edit] Pop'n Stage
Combining game elements from Dance Dance Revolution and Pop'n Music, Pop'n Stage takes the colorful buttons and lets players play the game on a stage with their feet. There was only one version of the game released.
Official site (Japanese)
[edit] GuitarFreaks & DrumMania
Also known as Gitado in Japan, the combined series of GuitarFreaks & DrumMania are games that use simplified instruments after their namesake. GuitarFreak uses a small, plastic guitar with three buttons known as "frets", a strum bar, and a motion sensor that players set off by pulling the neck of the guitar up and quickly down again. Despite the similarities, GuitarFreaks predates Guitar Hero by several years.
DrumMania lets players play a set of drums. Modeled after modern digital drum kits, DrumMania is played similarly to Beatmania. The player strikes the appropriate piece with the drumsticks on queue with the music and failure to do so causes the song to sound incorrect. Many American players will recognize the DrumMania setup from more recent games like Rock Band, which is unrelated to the Konami game.
Despite being separately released games that can be played independent of each other, Konami markets the GuitarFreaks & DrumMania series as a pair that can be linked for co-operative play in the arcades. The two series continue to be released to this day.
- See also: List of GuitarFreaks & DrumMania games
- See also: List of GuitarFreaks & DrumMania songs
GuitarFreak & DrumMania portal (Japanese)
[edit] Keyboardmania
A MIDI synthesizer game. Keyboardmania features a mini musical keyboard and players create the primarily piano based music by striking the keys to the note patterns on the screen. Keyboardmania saw only five major releases before being canceled but features exceptionally difficult and unique gameplay for the Bemani series of games. "Real Mode" actually requires players to know how to play the piano in order to easily pass the songs.
Keyboardmania can be linked with certain versions of the GuitarFreaks & DrumMania series.
Official site (Japanese)
[edit] ParaParaParadise
Built around the Para Para dance style made popular in Japan, ParaParaParadise recreates official dance moves within the game by setting off arrows on screen by using player's hand under a set of motion sensors. The music in the game centers around Eurobeat and features songs from Konami and Avex Trax. Only three version of the game were released as Para Para dancing fell out of mainstream popularity in Japan, and the series never saw light outside of the country beyond music game importers and localized Korean versions of the arcade machines.
[edit] Jubeat
Announced on December 22, 2007, Jubeat, pronounced you-beat, is the newest official Bemani title by Konami. The game is similar to Whack-a-mole, where players must tap the square-shaped touch screens when they light up. Currently the game is being publicly tested in Japan and will feature online play.
Official site (Japanese)
[edit] Bemani Pocket
Similar in style to Tamagotchi hand helds, the Bemani Pocket series released finger play versions of Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania, and ParaParaParadise.
[edit] Bemani artists
In addition to licensed music tracks, primarily from Toshiba EMI and Avex Trax, Konami employs a list of in-house artists to produce the music for its Bemani series. These artists often go by pseudonyms when credited with their songs. Some Bemani employees have broken off and become independent artists. The current list of artists under Konami's label are listed on the Bemani website.
Bemani Music Foundation (Japanese)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Konami website Official company site
- Bemani portal Official Japanese Konami music game portal (Japanese)
- DDR Online Community Official North American Konami music game portal
- Bemanistyle North American music video game fan site
- DDRFreak Dance Dance Revolution fan site
- GDAmania GuitarFreaks & DrumMania fan site
- BemaniTube Music and rhythm games video community
- BEMANI Wiki (Japanese)
- Wikia has a wiki on this subject: Konami
[edit] References
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