Bemani
Bemani (ビーマニ Bīmani, /biːˈmɑːni/) 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, most notably rhythm games such as Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Freaks, and Drum Mania.
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 GuitarFreaks & DrumMania let players use simplified instruments to create music. Below are the Bemani series of video games in no particular order.
Beatmania
Modeled after nightclub DJs and mixing boards, Beatmania, known as Hip Hop Mania in North America and Beatstage in Korea, allows the player to "spin" the music with five activator keys and a turntable. The Beatmania series was the first Bemani game introduced and its successor is still the most popular Bemani game in Japan. With numerous 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.
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 keys to play with along with 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 and PC platforms for home players and continues to this day with arcade and home releases worldwide, including a release in North America, simply titled Beatmania.
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.
Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution, known in Europe 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, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox. Other versions have also appeared on portable handhelds, cellphones, and as standalone TV plug'n'play devices. The series is still very active with over one hundred releases to date.
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 complementary 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 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.
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 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.
Guitar Freaks and Drum Mania
Also known as Gitadora in Japan, the combined series of Guitar Freaks & Drum Mania are games that use simplified instruments after their namesake. Guitar Freaks 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, Guitar Freaks predates Guitar Hero by several years.
Drum Mania lets players play a set of drums. Modeled after modern digital drum kits, the player strikes the appropriate piece with the drumsticks on cue with the music and failure to do so causes the song to sound incorrect. Many American players will recognize the Drum Mania setup from more recent games like Rock Band, which is unrelated to the Konami game.
Similar to the 5-key to 7-key upgrade from Beatmania to Beatmania IIDX, Guitar Freaks and Drum Mania received a major gameplay overhaul with the 2010 release of Guitar Freaks XG and Drum Mania XG, with a total of 5 frets and 9 drums respectively. While standard Guitar Freaks and Drum Mania games were originally being released alongside the XG games, the latter has now become the primary focus of the series, with the last standard series game being V8, released in 2011. The XG series was rebranded in 2013 as simply "GITADORA".
Despite being separately released games that can be played independent of each other, Konami markets the GITADORA 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.
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 three 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 multi-session linked with certain versions of the GuitarFreaks & DrumMania series.
Para Para Paradise
Built around the Para Para dance style made popular in Japan, Para Para Paradise 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.
Jubeat
Announced on December 22, 2007, Jubeat, (pronounced "you beat", title changed to UBeat and Jukebeat in the American test releases), is similar to Whac-A-Mole, where players must tap the square-shaped panels on a touch screen when they light up. It was released in Japan in July 2008. A localized version of the game for North America was announced the month after with tests held at an arcade in Southern California alongside Dance Dance Revolution X. After two separate testing phases Konami cancelled all plans to release the game in North American Arcades. Jubeat's arcade presence is localized in Japan and several East Asian countries. Free-to-Play adaptations for mobile were eventually released in 2010. Japan received Jubeat Plus, available on iOS and Android. International regions received a localized version called Jukebeat, available solely on iOS. While the apps may appear similar; Jukebeat's songlist is far more restricted and features different licences.
Bemani Pocket
Similar in style to Tamagotchi hand helds, the Bemani Pocket series released small, handheld versions of Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania, and ParaParaParadise intended to be played with one's fingers. Rarer Pop'n Music and GuitarFreaks variants were produced later on.
Reflec Beat
Reflec Beat was first released on November 4, 2010. Its gameplay is similar to air hockey, but Reflec Beat uses fingers. Players must touch circular symbols that match the color of their line moving to the player at the right time. It features a one-on-one matching system. Mobile adaptations for iOS were made in 2011, with Japan receiving "Reflec Beat Plus" and international regions receiving a localized version called "Reflec Beat +" in 2012. Like Jukebeat, Reflec Beat + contains a more restricted song list, with no licensed tracks at all.
Sound Voltex
Sound Voltex was first released on January 18, 2012. Its gameplay is inspired by beatmania, with four white buttons, two green buttons, and two knobs, one colored blue and the other colored red which required to be turned (similar to the turntables), giving the iconic "wooshing" sounds. Many of the songs are from Touhou Project and Vocaloid. Recently, it also has a contest, called "Sound Voltex Floor" in which players can submit their original songs and artworks to be featured in the game.
Dance Evolution ARCADE
A Kinect-based game is also considered a part of Bemani series, previously being exclusive to Xbox 360. It was released on March 27, 2012. Its gameplay is similar to the original game, in which players must follow the in-game character's movements by touching and drawing line on the air correspondingly with the movement.
ミライダガッキ FutureTomTom
ミライダガッキ FutureTomTom was first released on June 20, 2013. Its gameplay involves hitting drums to match the notes in the screen, akin to Taiko no Tatsujin. The game ceased receiving e-Amusement service on July 31, 2015, discontinuing most cabinets that require constant e-Amusement connection and effectively terminating support for the game.
BeatStream
Released on July 17, 2014 and discontinued on March 1, 2017, its gameplay involves hitting notes that come from eight directions to an octagonal judgment lines within a wide touch panel. The notes have several types: some need to be held down, and some need to be slid. Similar to Beatmania IIDX, the player starts with 30% clear gauge (represented by a ring in the middle of the screen) and have to obtain at least 70% by the end of the game to pass the stage. The music library features a good number of songs from Vocaloid and Touhou Project, like Sound Voltex, but BeatStream does have its fair share of original songs. e-Amusement support for BeatStream ends on August 31, 2017.
MÚSECA
First released on December 10, 2015 after 5 location tests, MÚSECA's gameplay involves a pedal and 5 spinners which can be pressed, held or rotated, depending on the note type. One of MÚSECA's most important aspects are the illustrations named Grafica. A Grafica gives the player GIFTs, which are in-game bonuses that are auto-triggered at some points of the charts, slightly modifying the chart lane's judgment line. GIFTs include Life Support, Score Gain, Play Risk, and Item Collect. Most Grafica characters have their own voices that play when they're triggered in-game.[1]
NOSTALGIA
NOSTALGIA (ノスタルジア Nosutarujia) was first released on March 1, 2017, available as an upgrade kit for BeatStream cabinets or as a new machine. The game serves as a spiritual successor to Keyboardmania, with its gameplay involving a keyboard-esque controller used to hit notes coming from the top of the screen. Unlike Keyboardmania though, you do not have to hit a specific key, just one in the note's general area. Only one row of keys is used as well; while the cabinet does have black keys, they are solely for decoration. The touchscreen used by BeatStream is reused to navigate the game's interface.
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 (now moved to Bemani Fan Site).
