Bemani

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Bemani (ビーマニ, biimani) is Konami's music video game division. Originally named the Games & Music Division, or simply g.m.d, it soon changed its name in honor of its first and most successful game, Beatmania, and expanded into other music-based games.

[edit] Bemani video games

Since 1997, Konami has continuously released new versions of several different games. Different mixes from the same series of games include different songs, settings, playmodes, and graphics. The naming system for a new game tends to follow the pattern of <game> Nth <version>, such as "Beatmania IIDX 3rd Style" or "Dance Dance Revolution 5th Mix"; exceptions such as "Pop'n Music 1" exist. Bemani video games feature unique hardware in comparison to traditional arcade games. Each game has its own form of control.

[edit] Listing

[edit] beatmania

Controlled by a large rubber spinner "turntable" and 5 keys, the beatmania series of started with the release of beatmania / beatstage / Hip Hop Mania in 1997 and ended with the release of beatmania: The Final in 2002. Beatmania is also known as Hip Hop Mania in the US and beatstage in the UK

1997 - beatmania/beatstage/Hip Hop Mania
1998 - beatmania 2nd Mix
1998 - beatmania 3rd Mix
1999 - beatmania 4th Mix
1999 - beatmania 5th Mix
1999 - beatmania/Beatstage/Hip Hop Mania Complete Mix
2000 - beatmania/Beatstage/Hip Hop Mania Complete Mix 2
2000 - beatmania feat. Dreams Come True
2000 - beatmania Club Mix
2000 - beatmania Core Remix
2001 - beatmania 6th Mix: The UK Underground Music
2002 - beatmania 7th Mix: Keepin' Evolution
2002 - beatmania: The Final

[edit] beatmania IIDX

Controlled by a large rubber spinner "turntable" and 7 keys, the beatmania IIDX series of started with the release of beatmania IIDX in 1999 and continues to the present; the latest release being beatmania IIDX 14: GOLD in 2007. In Beatmania IIDX, the goal is to hit the keys and spin the turntable to corresponds with the screen. To pass, you must have at least 80% of the gauge filled up. Beatmania IIDX is often shortened to just IIDX. The "DX" in the title stands for "Deluxe", as early IIDX machines originally came in 2 cabinet sizes. One was a standard structure and one, the deluxe design, was outfitted with a larger cabinet, and bigger screen, a better sound system, and a platform for the players to stand on. As popularity of the "IIDX" series soared, Konami ceased production of the smaller, standard cabinets, and all subsequent machines were build to the "Deluxe" specs. The most common pronunciation of "IIDX" is to pronounce it, "two dee ex".

1999 - beatmania IIDX
1999 - beatmania IIDX Substream
1999 - beatmania IIDX Club Version
1999 - beatmania IIDX 2nd Style
2000 - beatmania IIDX 3rd Style
2000 - beatmania IIDX 4th Style
2001 - beatmania IIDX 5th Style
2001 - beatmania IIDX 6th Style
2002 - beatmania IIDX 7th Style
2002 - beatmania IIDX 8th Style
2003 - beatmania IIDX 9th Style
2004 - beatmania IIDX 10th Style
2004 - beatmania IIDX 11: IIDX RED
2005 - beatmania IIDX 12: HAPPY SKY
2006 - beatmania IIDX 13: DistorteD
2007 - beatmania IIDX 14: GOLD

beatmania IIDX has been released on the Sony Playstation 2.

[edit] beatmania III

Controlled by a large rubber spinner "turntable", 5 keys, and a bass "effector" pedal, the beatmania III series began with the release of beatmania III in 2000 and ended with the release of beatmania III: The Final in 2002.

2000 - beatmania III
2000 - beatmania III Append 6th Mix
2000 - beatmania III Append 7th Mix
2000 - beatmania III Append Core Remix
2002 - beatmania III: The Final

[edit] Dance Dance Revolution/Dancing Stage

Dance Dance Revolution (known as Dancing Stage in Europe, frequently called "DDR" for short) was first produced in 1998 and continues to the present, with over 90 different versions accounted for. . The game is controlled by stepping on a pressure-sensitive dance pad, usually with four directional arrows, in time with the music. As the song goes on, colored arrows rise up from the bottom of the screen. It is the player's job to step on these arrows at the right time. The newest of these versions was released in the United States, Europe, and Japan on May 15, 2006 and has been named Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA (Dancing Stage SuperNOVA in Europe) and features over 300 songs. During the AOU 2007, an annoucement poster, that pertains that a new DDR is about to release in Summer 2007, Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA2

Arcade mixes released:

1998 - Dance Dance Revolution
1999 - Dance Dance Revolution 2ndMIX
1999 - Dance Dance Revolution Club Version (connectable with Beatmania IIDX Substream)
1999 - Dance Dance Revolution 3rdMIX
2000 - Dance Dance Revolution 3rdMIX Korean Version 1
2000 - Dance Dance Revolution 3rdMIX Korean Version 2
2000 - Dance Dance Revolution SOLO BASSMIX
2000 - Dance Dance Revolution 3rdMIX Plus
2000 - Dance Dance Revolution 4thMIX
2000 - Dance Dance Revolution SOLO 2000
2000 - Dance Dance Revolution 4thMIX Plus
2001 - Dance Dance Revolution 5thMIX
2001 - DDRMAX: Dance Dance Revolution 6thMIX
2002 - DDRMAX2: Dance Dance Revolution 7thMIX
2002 - Dance Dance Revolution EXTREME
2006 - Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA
2007 - Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA2

A more complete list can be found at List of Dance Dance Revolution games including home versions. Dance Dance Revolution has been released in home versions for the Sony PlayStation, Sony PlayStation 2, Sega Dreamcast, Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo N64, and Nintendo Game Boy. Dance Dance Revolution also released as two separate arcade games based on songs and characters from Disney, presumably used only in Disney Theme parks. A version is also available for cellular phones.

[edit] Dance Maniax

Controlled by two pairs of motion sensors (one for each player) that detect movement above and below, Dance Maniax was first released in 2000. Also called Dance Freaks in Korea, it features a number of songs from the Dancemania series.

2000 - Dance Maniax
2000 - Dance Freaks
2001 - Dance Maniax 2nd Mix
2001 - Dance Maniax 2nd Mix Append J-paradise

[edit] Pop'n Music

Controlled by 9 large buttons arranged much like Beatmania or IIDX keys, the Pop'n Music series began with the release of Pop'n Music in 1998 and continues to the present; the latest release being Pop'n Music 14 Fever! in 2006. Pop'n Music is usually shortened to just Pop'n. Pop'n Music's progression foregoes the "Nth Mix" arrangement scheme in favor of a more conventional Arabic number. Despite its colorful and cartoon like appearance, the higher end of the difficulty spectrum is quite challenging; one song in particular, Pop'n Music 11's "cowboy", is currently considered by some players to be the hardest song in all of the Bemani series.

1998 - Pop'n Music
1999 - Pop'n Music 2
1999 - Pop'n Music 3
2000 - Pop'n Music 4
2000 - Pop'n Music Animelo
2000 - Pop'n Music Mickey Tunes
2000 - Pop'n Music Mickey Tunes! (upgrade of Mickey Tunes)
2000 - Pop'n Music Animelo 2 Gou
2000 - Pop'n Music 5
2001 - Pop'n Music 6
2001 - Pop'n Music 7
2002 - Pop'n Music 8
2002 - Pop'n Music 9
2003 - Pop'n Music 10
2004 - Pop'n Music 11
2004 - Pop'n Music 12 Iroha
2005 - Pop'n Music 13 Carnival
2006 - Pop'n Music 14 Fever!
2007 - Pop'n Music 15 Adventure

[edit] Pop'n Stage

Pop'n Stage is similar to Pop'n Music but Pop'n Stage uses a dance pad similar to Pump It Up. However, you can only play in 6 button or 10 button mode. (6 button is without the 4 outermost corners, similar to half-doubles.)

1999 - Pop'n Stage
1999 - Pop'n Stage Ex

[edit] GuitarFreaks & DrumMania

Also known as the GitaDora series. GuitarFreaks is loosely based after its namesake instrument, using a guitar-shaped controller with three buttons and a plastic pick lever. DrumMania was released later, featuring Yamaha DTX components: three drum pads, a cymbal, a high hat, and a bass pedal. Compatible versions of the two may be linked together, allowing up to three players (up to two guitarists and one drummer) to simultaneously play the same song on each.

1998 - GuitarFreaks
July 1999 - GuitarFreaks 2ndMIX, DrumMania
March 2000 - GuitarFreaks 3rdMIX, DrumMania 2ndMIX
September 2000 - GuitarFreaks 4thMIX, DrumMania 3rdMIX
March 2001 - GuitarFreaks 5thMIX, DrumMania 4thMIX
September 2001 - GuitarFreaks 6thMIX, DrumMania 5thMIX
February 2002 - GuitarFreaks 7thMIX & DrumMania 6thMIX
August 2002 - GuitarFreaks 8thMIX & DrumMania 7thMIX
April 2003 - GuitarFreaks 9thMIX & DrumMania 8thMIX
October 2003 - GuitarFreaks 10thMIX & DrumMania 9thMIX
April 2004 - GuitarFreaks 11thMIX & DrumMania 10thMIX
February 2005 - GuitarFreaks V & DrumMania V
November 2005 - GuitarFreaks V2 & DrumMania V2
September 2006 - GuitarFreaks V3 & DrumMania V3
"Spring/Summer" 2007 - GuitarFreaks V4 & DrumMania V4

[edit] Toy's March

([1]) A two-player drumming , in which each player has only one snare and one cymbal. The ' cartoonish graphics may be targeted towards a younger audience, and the soundtrack features many themes from teenage anime, as well as popular J-Pop "anthems" by artists such as Judy and Mary and W. This was released in 2005, and has two versions to date.

Toy's March
Toy's March 2
- Toy's March website (in Japanese)

[edit] Dance 86.4 Funky Radio Station

Controlled by a three-panel dance platform, Dance 86.4 Funky Radio Station is a dance that targets young Japanese children with its anime, television, and J-Pop licensed songs. Currently only has one version, released in 2005.

[edit] Keyboardmania

As its name would imply, it uses a musical keyboard as an input device. Keyboardmania linked up for session mode between certain mixes of Guitarfreaks/Drummania. The cabinet featured two screens and two keyboards. There were 3 versions of the game.

Keyboardmania
Keyboardmania 2ndMIX
Keyboardmania 3rdMIX connectable with drummania 4thMIX/5thMIX and GUITARFREAKS 5thMIX/6thMIX

[edit] ParaParaParadise

Similar to Dance Maniax, this features five sensors that players wave their hands over while stepping from one foot to the other. This was created in response to the Para Para dance craze that was taking place in Japan at the time. The game ParaPara Paradise is also a spinoff of the Avexvideo series ParaParaParadise, featuring the ParaPara Allstars (PPA). The game had a set of arrows that went along with routines found in the video series, and routines were made by the Avex club Velfarre or the club TwinStar (Which is now closed). PPP 2ndMix featured a CG character behind the arrows to show you the routines. 1st-2nd mix machines in Japan also had a DVD cabinet, showing you the routine from the ParaParaParadise video series.

ParaParaParadise
ParaParaParadise 1.5MIX
ParaParaParadise 2ndMIX

[edit] Mambo A Go Go

Released in later 2001, Mambo A Go Go was a game in which the player controlled three different bongo-style drums. Each drum consisted of three sensors, for a total of nine sensors. In easier modes of the game, the three portioned sensors on a single drum were combined so that the drum may be hit in any of the three spots to register the note.

The songs playable in Mambo A Go Go fit the Latin American theme of the game and it's characters. Some of the songs featured included songs that would cross over into other Bemani titles such as Gamelan De Couple, and covers of popular songs such as La Bamba and Mambo no. 5

Only one version of Mambo A Go Go was ever released to arcades.

Mambo A Go Go website (in Japanese)

[edit] Karaoke Revolution

Cashing in on the popularity of Karaoke in Japan, this game requires players to sing along to songs and match both pitch and timing.

[edit] Bemani Pocket

One of the failed attempts of Konami on capitalizing in the market of portable entertainment. As the name implies, these are "scaled down" version of most Bemani (From DDR to ParaParaParadise)

[edit] Bemani artists

Depending on the game, the playlist for a Bemani release may have a large number of licensed, well-known tracks or consist largely of in-house music. Most Dance Dance Revolution games, for example, have Konami original music and licensed music, with the originals far outnumbering the licenses. The abundance of licensed tracks was due to a lucrative deal between the record label Toshiba EMI and Konami; in exchange for free advertisement for Toshiba EMI's Dancemania series of dance music albums, Konami was free to use any Dancemania-featured song they wished free of charge.

(It is worth noting that, likely as homage, Konami named one of its Dance Dance Revolution characters "Toshiba Emi". Emi remains one of the most popular DDR characters.)

Several different Konami artists are involved in the process of song creation for Bemani. They often use pseudonyms when signing their creations. Remixes and reuse of songs from other games are common in the Bemani scenario.

[edit] See also

List of Bemani musicians

[edit] External links

Konami official site
Bemanistyle.com Popular North American fansite
DDR Freak Dance Dance Revolution fansite
GDAmania Popular Drummania/Guitar Freaks fansite
BemaniTube.com Bemani and rhythmn games related video community
List of bemani simulator (computer-based Bemani games)
Metal Freaks, Flash bemani game
Metal Freaks Extreme, the sequel
Flash Beatmania demo
Weezer Jam Session, drum sim for Weezer songs
Gorillaz Groove session, DDR sim for Gorillaz song
Flash Dance Machine 2, Flash DDR sim

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Category: Bemani games