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1%%
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3%%
4%% When referring to Single charts, don't just say Normal/Light7, Hyper/7Keys, and Another; please append "Single" or "SP" to differentiate them from Double charts. Thank you!
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8%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16993114570.79336900
9%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
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11[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_8297.png]]
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13[[caption-width-right:350:A real-time dance music game hard and extreme. That's beatmania!! It's too cool!]]
14
15
16->''I can do it, so do it with me.\
17You are the DJ. Hit the key.\
18Do it! Scratch! Bend your brain!\
19Feel the beat! Let's do it again!''
20-->-- '''"Theme of Beatmania", DJ Hiro'''
21
22''beatmania'' is a popular RhythmGame developed by {{Creator/Konami}} as a part of their VideoGame/{{Bemani}} games. Considered by many to be one of the forerunners of the modern music game. Of course when they realized how popular the arcade version was, Konami would milk the genre for all its worth with spin-offs (involving [[VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution dance]], [[VideoGame/DrumMania drumming]], [[VideoGame/PopNmusic smacking colored buttons]], and [[VideoGame/{{jubeat}} slapping a grid of buttons]]), and an endless assortment of [[MissionPackSequel Mission Pack Sequels]] and [[ContinuityReboot reboots]].
23
24Originally described as being a "DJ simulator", the basic game is simple; players are armed with a piano-styled keyboard and turntable, and must press keys or scratch the turntable when notes cascade down the screen corresponding to them. This fills up a Groove Gauge; if the gauge finishes above a certain threshold, you pass, it's just that simple. But, when you look at harder songs though, it's also ''[[NintendoHard anything but]].'' While earlier versions primarily focused on hip-hop, house, and techno music, the latest installments have featured almost every single genre imaginable, ''especially'' [[ThatOneLevel hardcore electronica in various forms]].
25
26There have been three major incarnations of the game:
27* ''beatmania'' (or "5-key" beatmania), the original series. First released in 1997, lasting with new versions until "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin THE FINAL]]" in 2002, where the aging series (it used the ''exact same hardware'', and presumably the same engine, for its entire lifespan) was finally discontinued in favor of...
28* ''beatmania IIDX'', first released in 1999 as a spin-off, but becoming the primary series in 2002. Kept the same basic gameplay, but added two additional keys to the control array (for a total of 7), a fancier cabinet (with more lights, more effectors, a widescreen monitor, turntables on opposite ends, an LED marquee, and a bass platform), and a difficulty curve that keeps on getting worse every year. What'd you expect when it's now on its ''31st version''?!
29* ''beatmania III'', a failed attempt to [[VideoGameRemake remake the 5-key series using more modern hardware]], with higher quality graphics and sound, more effectors, more speakers, effector pedals (which could also be used in special charts), save data on floppy disks, and more. It didn't last long, however, only a few years (it did get its own "THE FINAL" as well).
30
31''beatmania IIDX'' is still popular in Japan, with releases in select other Asian countries such as South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, and still tops charts of highest-grossing arcade games in Japan, with no end to the series in sight.[[note]]Even the infamous Konami scandals of 2015 didn't slow it down much, as ''IIDX'' is an arcade game handled by Konami Amusement; most of the sabotaged properties were consumer-software series made by Konami Digital Entertainment). That said, the problems with Konami caught up with ''BEMANI'' in 2017 with the [[UncreditedRole "BEMANI Sound Team"]] controversy, but even that did not affect ''IIDX'' game production much, at least from what can be seen.[[/note]] Several North American versions were attempted a couple of times, including a [=PlayStation 2=] release as just ''beatmania'' (based on the ''9th Style'' engine, which featured 5-key and 7-key as separate modes rather than just a modifier) and a beta build of an English version of ''Gold'' that was location-tested for a brief period of time. An official American release of ''IIDX'' finally happened in 2020.
32
33Compare ''VideoGame/PopNMusic'' (basically a LighterAndSofter spinoff with large buttons), ''VideoGame/EZ2DJ'' (very similar concept, to the point where Konami sued the publisher), and ''VideoGame/{{DJMAX}}'' (another keysounded "DJ sim" game, made mainly for home platforms).
34----
35!!Game list:
36[[foldercontrol]]
37[[folder:Games in the "5-key" beatmania and beatmania III series:]]
38%% Under construction.
39All entries are arcade releases unless otherwise noted.
40* ''beatmania'' (1997)
41* ''beatmania 2ndMIX'' (1998)
42* ''beatmania 3rdMIX'' (1998)
43* ''beatmania completeMIX'' (1999)
44* ''beatmania 4thMIX'' (1999)
45* ''beatmania 5thMIX'' (1999)
46* ''beatmania [=ClubMix=]'' (2000)
47* ''beatmania CORE REMIX'' (2000)
48* ''beatmania featuring DREAMS COME TRUE'' (2000)
49* ''beatmania 6thMIX THE UK UNDERGROUND MUSIC'' (2001)
50* ''beatmania 7thMIX keepin' evolution'' (2002)
51* ''beatmania [[SeriesFinale THE FINAL]]'' (2002)
52[[/folder]]
53
54[[folder:Games in the beatmania IIDX series:]]
55[[AC:Arcade versions]]
56* ''beatmania IIDX'' (1999)
57** [[{{Retronym}} Retroactively referred to]] as ''1st Style'' in in-game interfaces (such as folder names).
58* ''beatmania IIDX substream'' (1999)
59** First and only version with link capability to ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution''.
60* ''beatmania IIDX 2nd style'' (1999)
61* ''beatmania IIDX 3rd style'' (2000; [=PS2=]: 2000)
62* ''beatmania IIDX 4th style'' (2000; [=PS2=]: 2001)
63* ''beatmania IIDX 5th style'' (2001; [=PS2=]: 2001, subtitled ''-new songs collection-'')
64* ''beatmania IIDX 6th style'' (2001; [=PS2=]: 2002, also subtitlted ''-new songs collection-'')
65* ''beatmania IIDX 7th style'' (2002; [=PS2=]: 2004)
66* ''beatmania IIDX 8th style'' (2002; [=PS2=]: 2004)
67* ''beatmania IIDX 9th style'' (2003; [=PS2=]: 2005)
68** First ''IIDX'' title to run on PC-based hardware. The transition is infamous for various glitches, including timing problems. Also the first game to support Konami's e-Amusement network.
69* ''beatmania IIDX 10th style'' (2004; [=PS2=]: 2005)
70* ''beatmania IIDX 11 [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming IIDX RED]]'' (2004; [=PS2=]: 2006)
71** Theme: Cores and the color red.
72* ''beatmania IIDX 12 HAPPY SKY'' (2005; [=PS2=]: 2006)
73** Theme: Skies.
74** First to feature the current difficulty system.
75* ''beatmania'' ([=PS2=]: 2006)
76** First and only ''beatmania IIDX'' game to be released outside of Asia.
77** Uses a heavily modified version of the ''9th style'' interface.
78** Features two modes: classic ''beatmania'' and ''beatmania IIDX''.
79* ''beatmania IIDX 13 [=DistorteD=]'' (2006; [=PS2=]: 2007)
80* ''beatmania IIDX 14 GOLD'' (2007; [=PS2=]: 2008)
81** Theme: Luxury nightclubs, precious metals
82* ''beatmania IIDX 15 DJ TROOPERS'' (2007; [=PS2=]: 2008)
83** Theme: Military.
84* ''beatmania IIDX 16 [[PrincessesPreferPink EMPRESS]]'' (2008; [=PS2=]: 2009, subtitled ''+ PREMIUM BEST'')
85** Theme: [[PrincessesPreferPink Royalty in pink]].
86** The [=PS2=] port is the last [=PS2=] ''IIDX'' port and the last home port for 6 years, and is on two discs: Disc 1 is the usual set of songs new as of ''EMPRESS'' and some revival songs, and Disc 2, ''PREMIUM BEST'', is a collection of revival songs throughout the entire series.
87* ''beatmania IIDX 17 SIRIUS'' (2009)
88** Theme: Space
89** First game to have crossover unlocks that require you to play other VideoGame/{{BEMANI}} games to unlock them on ''IIDX''.
90** Introduced charge notes (where you hold down a note and release at the end) and backscratch notes (where you turn the table one way and then the other at the end).
91* ''beatmania IIDX 18 Resort Anthem'' (2010)
92** Theme: [[BeachEpisode Tropical resorts]].
93* ''beatmania IIDX 19 Lincle'' (2011)
94** Introduced "STEP UP" mode, a new mode where you progress through different difficulty tiers.
95** First game to have song previews on the music selection menu.
96** Adds the new, stricter lifebar mode "EX HARD".
97* ''beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro'' (2012)
98** Theme: The colors red, yellow, and blue.
99** Runs on new hardware, with proper Platform/HighDefinition support.
100** The modifications window was revamped to include more options (accessed by pressing the VEFX button). In addition to the standard modifications, it allowed players to adjust the appearance of note judgments and score, as well as change the timing offset.
101** Allows Hi-Speed mode to be adjusted by 0.01 increments, instead of 0.50.
102** Its soundtrack is the first soundtrack in the series to be released internationally.
103** An AchievementSystem called Tran Medals was implemented for [=eAmusement=] members. It also unlocks songs.
104* ''beatmania IIDX 21 SPADA'' (2013)
105** Theme: Medieval, [[CoolSword Swords]].
106** First game to allow switching between single and double play before each stage (rather than just before selecting game mode).
107** Adds a Favorites folder.
108** Adds new harder "Leggendaria" versions of specific songs.
109** To further push Konami's digital currency system PASELI (which itself helps to dodge Japan's consumption tax hikes, and only being able to use 100-yen coin increments in arcade games), ''SPADA'' began to restrict certain features to higher-priced 120 yen credits that can only be obtained via PASELI -- particularly extra stages (which must be unlocked using "V-Discs", which are accumulated when a player starts a game with a PASELI credit).
110* ''beatmania IIDX 22 PENDUAL'' (2014)
111** Theme: Time and [[DualityMotif duality]].
112** The game features "present" and "future" phases, depending on the current day of the week. Each phase has its own interface, system music, and exclusive songs.
113* ''beatmania IIDX 23 copula'' (2015)
114** Theme: [[CoolTrain Trains]].
115** Introduces "Hell Charge" notes, which are like Charge Notes but will decrease your Groove Gauge as long as they are not held down.
116* ''beatmania IIDX 24 SINOBUZ'' (2016)
117** Theme: [[GratuitousNinja Ninjas]].
118** Depending on the day of the week, there are different interface color schemes and system music, as well as different bonuses or modes unlocked.
119** There are now "Black Tran Medals" that are intended to be more mysterious.
120* ''beatmania IIDX 25 CANNON BALLERS'' (2017)
121** Theme: [[CoolCar Racing]].
122** Runs on new hardware running Windows 7 Embedded.
123** Cameras that can be displayed within the UI for recording the player.
124** The daily bonuses are back, except now there's a "Time Hell" (no lifebar recovery) mode too on one day.
125** New VEFX presets are added.
126** Introduces Arena mode, an online versus multiplayer mode where you play against 3 other players.
127* ''beatmania IIDX 26 Rootage'' (2018)
128** Theme: Libraries, networks
129** QR codes can now be scanned with the cameras, allowing players to share playlists with other players.
130** Featured a strong focus on the history of the franchise.
131* ''beatmania IIDX 27 HEROIC VERSE'' (2019)
132** Theme: {{Toku}}
133** Adds a graph display akin to DDR's "Groove Radar" to display chart traits.
134** Adds the ability to switch between single and double mode from the music selection screen.
135** Beginner and Leggendaria are now shown on the difficulty menu (although the latter still requires V-Discs to access).
136** User-selected language options on sign-in, including English and Korean.
137** A new "Lightning" cabinet was released in December 2019; they have a new design reminiscent of the ''VideoGame/SoundVoltex'' cabinets with "wings" and LED lighting, use new Windows 10 [=IoT=]-based hardware, and feature a 120 Hz monitor, lighter keys and a turntable with adjustable resistance, and have a touchscreen in place of the sliders (which also offers features such as the aforementioned turntable settings). There are also songs and features exclusive to these cabinets, such as Eisei Dan (永世段位). In addition, cabinets shipping to [=Round1=] in the United States are loaded with the first-ever U.S.-specific build in series history (defaulting to English and having the extra stage accessible via coin mode like Asian versions).
138* ''beatmania IIDX 28 BISTROVER'' (2020)
139** Theme: Food, world travel.
140** Redesigned play and result screens for easier reading, i.e.: the total of judgement notes are now displayed in a pie graph.
141** Money score removed; the player's EX score is now displayed where the money score used to be.
142* ''beatmania IIDX 29 [=CastHour=]'' (2021)
143** Theme: Television broadcasting
144** Introduced a new type of backspin scratch, named multi spin scratch (aka MSS).
145* ''beatmania IIDX 30 RESIDENT'' (2022)
146** Theme: Nightclubs, DNA
147** Engine upgraded to run in [=1080p=] HD; due to file size constraints it was not deployed as an OTA update over e-AMUSEMENT, requiring a USB drive-based installer.
148** The bonuses from ''SINOBUZ'' have been replaced by day-specific Time Free, Time Free Plus, Time Hazard, and Time Hell modes.
149** Tran Medals have been largely replaced by unlockable profile badges.
150** Premium Free mode is now available outside of Japan.
151* ''beatmania IIDX 31 EPOLIS'' (2023) -- '''current arcade version'''
152** Theme: Late night radio/futuristic cities
153** New song folders: a player customized folder, "Beginner recommended" folder (removes the "All Beginner" folder), and a folder for songs that start with a number (e.g., "20XX")
154** Options H-RANDOM (prevents notes from stacking on top of each other) and EXPAND JUDGE (makes the timing window larger) were removed
155** Redesigned and expanded playfield customization options
156
157[[AC:Other consumer versions]]
158* ''beatmania IIDX INFINITAS'' (PC: 2015)
159** A PC version of ''IIDX''. Uses a monthly subscription model.
160* ''beatmania IIDX ULTIMATE MOBILE'' (Mobile, 2019)
161** Mobile port of ''IIDX'' that notably lacks keysounds. Free-to-play, but requires a subscription for full access.
162[[/folder]]
163-----
164!!The ''beatmania'' series provides examples of:
165
166[[folder:Tropes A-G]]
167* AchievementSystem: Tricoro introduced Tran Medals, rewards you get for doing certain things. While mostly cosmetic, you do need them to unlock some songs.
168* AkashicRecords: The "genre" for the song Almagest. It makes some sense, given the the title of the song, but still...
169* AllegedlyFreeGame: ''[[https://www.remywiki.com/CS_ULTIMATE_MOBILE ULTIMATE MOBILE]]'' is a free-to-play title, but like most other Japanese mobile games runs on a stamina system that replenishes over time. Several features are also locked behind a subscription payment, like infinite stamina, Hyper and Another charts, Training Mode, and access to the full song list.
170* AmbiguousGender: ''Lincle''[='=]s [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Lincle Kingdom]] brings us Rche, an angel who appears to be female, but sports a male symbol tattoo on their bellybutton. Furthermore, [[AllThereInTheManual supplementary material]] censor out references to Rche's gender.
171* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: Obviously for ''Initiation'' [=BGA=] (and even worse with the infamous catchphrase in the [=BGA=] '''FOR EVER''')
172* AnnouncerChatter:
173** In the 5-key series and early IIDX games, a rapper-like voice cheers you on when you insert coins or select a song.
174** Starting with ''IIDX RED'', a voice calls out the folder you open during the song select. Later versions let you choose other announcers, often Bemani vocalists like Kanako Hoshino and SUPER STAR MITSURU.
175** In ''tricoro'', a robotic female voice can be heard in the card entry, mode select, and result screens, instructing you to insert your e-Amusement pass and select a mode, as well as thanking you for playing at the end of every round.
176** ''SPADA'' has a very manly LargeHamAnnouncer.
177** ''Cannon Ballers'' goes further with additional announcer chatter in the menus and results screen. Specifically, it's Icchou Mori, who ''really'' hams it up like an on-track announcer.
178* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
179** The usual Assist modifiers ([=AUTO-SCRATCH=], [=5-KEYS=], and [=LEGACY NOTE=]) qualify as this.
180** In the console versions of ''8th Style'' and ''9th Style'', when applying the Hi-Speed modifier to songs with a very high tempo (most notably "Sakura" (300 and 320 BPM) and "PARANOIA survivor MAX" (290 BPM)), the speed multipliers will be reduced from their usual factors to avoid the issue of "one setting is too slow and the setting right after it is too fast."
181** ''tricoro'' added a timing adjust feature. While this may seem like a way for "precise but inaccurate" players to cheat, its main purpose is to allow players to adjust the timing if the screen feels laggy. In addition, an auto-adjustment feature was added, which is intended for a player to set it, play a song they're very familiar with, and the end result should be close to where the input-lag of the system is at.
182** ''[=PENDUAL=]'' introduced ''[=Expand-Judge=]'', which is essentially a solution for people who think IIDX's judgment timing windows are too strict by expanding those by four times, thus making it much easier to get a Perfect Great or Great.
183** The Assisted Easy gauge introduced in ''copula'' is also this, since it lowers the passing requirement to 60%.
184** If you don't input anything for about 5 seconds while playing a song, the game will automatically fail that song. There's a warning at a few seconds before this happens to input something to abort this. The reason for this feature is twofold:
185*** If someone abandons the machine, it turns it around quicker so the next player can get to it sooner.
186*** Unless you're using the Hard gauge which fails the song immediately upon depletion, the song will continue to play out until the end. If the player wants to throw in the towel on a song, this also gets them out of it sooner.
187** If you're adjusting the high speed value in a song with BPM changes, it'll show you the green number range for that song. Otherwise the green number shown is based on the current BPM value, which may not be what the song actually averages at.
188* TheArtifact:
189** Remember back in the day? When this game actually ''did'' primarily have hip-hop, and as such an actual justification for having scratching in its controls? Yet, it remains, even though most of the songs are now either hardcore electronica or pop. The IIDX series ''did'' start with mostly J-pop and R&B, but then began to diversify, to the point where on most songs, the turntable is just another trigger for sounds that aren't scratching. However, there are still aversions in the modern versions; Dj MASS Mad Izm* songs are [[ThatOneLevel notorious]] for containing a ''lot'' of legitimate scratching.
190** The various versions of the play interface have a six-digit score counter, usually out of 100,000 or 200,000 points. In the early versions of the series, the score shown there is used for high score tables and the like, but later versions, particularly that of ''IIDX'', instead favor using "EX Score", as EX Score is strictly based on accuracy while the larger-scale "money" score system is a bit more complicated than that, with the combo bonuses effectively rendering "money" score worthless from a competitive standpoint. Money score became effectively obsolete when ''IIDX'' retired local high score tables in favor of online rankings in ''Lincle'', yet it still appears on the gameplay HUD for the next nine versions, before finally being retired completely for ''BISTROVER'', with EX Score being renamed to simply Score to emphasize that it is the primary measure of performance.
191* ArtifactTitle:
192** Inverted for IIDX: the game was originally produced in two different styles of arcade cabinets, the now rare "standard" cabinet, and a "deluxe" cabinet. On the standard cabinet, the game was known as "beatmania II", but the Deluxe cabinets carried the title "beatmania IIDX" on its artwork and software instead. Later on, the standard cabinet was discontinued, leaving only the deluxe one. At this point, "beatmania IIDX" became the official name of the series. A few of the videos from older versions still contain references to "beatmania II" in them.
193** The Another difficulty was originally a MeaningfulName, as the difficulty indicated that there was [[TitleDrop another]] playable version of the song with extra and/or arranged keynotes, making the song sound different from the Light and Normal charts. Most examples of this that are still in the series can be found in the older versions' song folders.
194* AscendedGlitch:
195** The song "GAMBOL" was notorious for an infamous bug that gave it [[HitboxDissonance unusually small timing windows]]. It was fixed for the arcade version of Happy Sky; the Normal difficulty was the fixed version, and Hyper contained the glitched one. But then, Konami decided to troll players further on RED CS with a new [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giiNrvgclX4 Another]] chart... which makes it even ''worse.''
196** Even better, hidden codes on the home versions of DJ Troopers and Empress (spelling out "G-J-H" or "G-J-A" by highlighting songs starting with those letters, and pressing Select on each one) lets the player use those timing windows on ''any'' song.
197** In ''IIDX 10th style'', the single player 8th dan course mistakenly used [=Another7=] charts for all of its songs instead of the intended [=7Keys=], making it ''much'' harder -- it was on par with, if not harder than, that game's 10th dan course. In ''SINOBUZ'''s Classic Class mode, this course returned as the 8th dan, and did indeed retain the Another charts.
198* AscendedMeme:
199** Some ''Beatmania'' [=DJs=] themselves use the term "Nidera (弐寺)" instead of Two-D-X when talking about the IIDX series, and Ryu☆ described himself in the [[http://www.konami.jp/bemani/popn/music17/mc/song14/handz..html comments]] for ''Second Heaven'' as "That 'Somebody Scream!'guy" as a result of Misheard Lyrics.
200** In the Japanese community, "Somebody Scream!" was misheard as "Sanbai Ice cream!" (three ice creams) so much it became a meme. Konami acknowledged it by having one of the characters greet you with it when you log in with an e-Amusement pass in ''IIDX 30 RESIDENT''
201* AudioAdaptation: The [=ROOTS26S[uite]=] drama [=CDs=] centered around the DJ characters. Now fully integrated into the IIDX series with ''Rootage''.
202* TheBackwardsR: From ''IIDX 1st Style'' to ''IIDX 5th Style'', hitting a note with "GREAT" timing showed "GREДT" instead.
203* BeachEpisode: ''Resort Anthem'', ironically released shortly before the end of the summer season.
204* {{BFS}}: A common element in ''SPADA''[='=]s interface.
205* BlindIdiotTranslation: Sometimes happens with the LED marquee. For example, the ''Lincle'' song "Tostugeki! Glass no Kneeso Hime!" [[note]]Attack! The Princess of Glass knee socks! [[/note]] is displayed on the marquee as "RUSH! PRINCESS GLASS OVER-KNEE"
206* BoringButPractical: On a meta level, the EX Score system: 2 points for getting a Perfect Great, 1 point for a Great, and 0 points for anything below. [[{{Minimalism}} That's literally the entirety of EX Score rules.]] It doesn't look as flashy as games where [[PinballScoring scores end in the millions]], and there is no reward for maintaining a huge combo, but it gives a very good picture of the player's skill with a given chart. Converting this to a percentage is simple enough: just divide the EX Score by double the number of notes.
207* BossInMookClothing: In Resort Anthem, the song "灼熱Beach-Side Bunny" strangely inverts and then subverts this. While it's the One More Extra Stage song, if one listens to it without knowing that, they'd hear... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=attbUNnY5-8 this.]] Not too intimidating, is it? Tell that to the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkOG9ARfriM&feature=related 667 scratches.]] Of course, this is a Dj MASS Mad Izm* song, so it [[RunningGag always has a metric ton of scratching]].
208** Exaggerated with its sequel in ''copula'', with ''灼熱Pt.2 Long Train Running'' and its 848 scratches!
209** A milder example from the same game: While most Extra Stage songs are fast-paced songs with a sense of "hardcore"-ness, "ANTHEM LANDING", which serves as ''Resort Anthem''[='=]s Extra Stage, is a more modestly-paced and somewhat mellow Latin-esque track.
210** Go all the way back to 10th and you'll find the boss song "One More Lovely", it sounds like it came straight out of a DDR game, and even has "HAPPY" as its genre. Yet, it will definitely make an inexperienced player frown, especially at the end (of course)
211** All of Prim's output consists of peppy, CuteButCacophonic happy hardcore songs. Every last one of them also has an SPA difficulty of 12, usually intermediate 12s that you could feasibly find in a 10th-dan course.
212* BossRush:
213** Since the implementation of the extra stage systems (which typically contain the harder bonus songs of a style), there will always end up being an Expert mode course which contains said songs. Class mode also provides the infamous ''Kaiden'' course, which usually consists of the 4 hardest songs available on that particular game; since [=CANNON BALLERS=], the [=SP=] version contains 嘆きの樹 (Cardinal Gate OMES in [=DistorteD=]), 灼熱Beach Side Bunny (Resort Anthem's OMES), 卑弥呼 (Empress's hidden boss in the Empress Palace) and 冥 (Happy Sky's OMES, considered the toughest task in all of rhythm gaming).
214** ''tricoro''[='=]s Limit Burst song "Sol Cosine Job 2", requires that you do this to unlock it--specifically, play three songs that were One More Extra Stage songs on previous versions
215* BossSubtitles: When playing "MENDES" as a OMES, the LED marquee scrolls the message "Warning [=AREA15=] Enemy [[GratuitousEnglish Approrching]]!!"
216** "Sense 2007" on Gold did this too, but with the much less frightening "WELCOME TO BLACK ROOM... [[CatchPhrase IT'S PARTY TIME!!]]"
217** "Nageki no Ki" scrolled a whole bunch of words relating to grim subjects (DEATH GRIEVES DESTRUCTION MUTATION COLLAPSES SOLITUDE, etc.)
218* BossWarningSiren: In ''beatmania IIDX'', after unlocking an Extra Stage boss song, the music select BGM will be overriden by a short loop of the boss, or a new BGM altogether in ''beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro''. In some cases, the background will change accordingly. This only applies to bosses that are made available on the standard music select screen, not bosses accessed through a special "boss select" screen (e.g. ''beatmania IIDX 13 [=DistorteD=]''[='=]s Cardinal Gate or ''beatmania IIDX 16 EMPRESS''[='=]s Empress Place).
219* {{Bowdlerise}}:
220** Bikini result images were removed from the [=PS2=] port of ''EMPRESS'' to maintain the game's CERO A rating.
221** In Korean versions of ''IIDX'', "New Decade IIDX Edition" had its video removed because the "kakkoii" shots have backgrounds that bear a striking resemblence to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_Flag Rising Sun Flag]], a variant of the Japanese flag that is strongly associated with early 20th century Japanese imperialism.
222** The English mode renames Hell Charge Notes to "Special Charge Notes".
223* BulletHell: It almost feels like that sometimes ... except you have to ''hit'' all the bullets.
224** Parodied in the {{Retraux}} song "Tranoid", whose video involves a fictitious 1980's arcade game consisting of Tran dodging notes from the song's "Normal" chart.
225* ChallengeRun:
226** The Hard modifier, which starts your gauge at 100% and removes the requirement of ending with 80% or higher to clear the song, but it makes your gauge drop '''much''' faster with each missed note, and it fails you if your gauge hits zero at any point. This can actually make certain songs easier if their difficulty is concentrated at the [[LastNoteNightmare end of the song]]. If you're a good enough player to hold your own until the ending massacre, the fact that a Hard gauge removes the 80+% requirement can make songs easier to pass than on the regular bar. The EX-HARD modifier, introduced in IIDX 19: Lincle, makes the gauge drop even harsher.
227** WINDOW HOLD, which keeps the in-song HI-SPEED and SUDDEN+ controls active after hitting Start (instead of requiring you to hold it down). Because the keys and turntable respectively are used to configure those settings, you're supposed to play the song with them ''constantly changing on every note!'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OL2z8y51Vw See?]]
228* CompetitiveMultiplayer: After several installments of the series having only MetaMultiplayer, ''CANNON BALLERS'' introduced a live multiplayer game mode called "ARENA". Four players battle each other over the course of four songs, selected randomly from the players' selections (excluding those that got their pick already). Unlike most other games with networked multiplayer, ARENA is only available several months after each installment's launch, and only LAN matches with nearby ''IIDX'' cabinets is allowed, except during time-limited online multiplayer events.
229* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: If you are playing on Double Play, do not take any chart rating for a song earlier than ''HAPPY SKY'' seriously, as Double ratings for such songs reflect non-Battle 2-player[[note]]Battle is a modifier that makes both players use the same chart, rather than each side having its own chart[[/note]] play and not single-person double play. This often leads to weird things like how GOBBLE's (from ''4th Style CS'') Double Hyper chart was re-rated from being a 5 to a 12 when transplanted to the arcade in ''copula'' over a decade later.
230* ContinuityNod: ''Rootage''[='=]s Extra Stage event, ARC SCORE, contains a selection of new songs referencing the game's older styles, similar to ''SIRIUS'''s PARALLEL ROTATION. The current list is as follows:
231** ''8th style'': XENON II 〜TOMOYUKIの野望〜 / Tomoyuki no yabou (a sequel to the song ''xenon'')
232** ''GOLD'': 金野火織の金色提言 / Konno Hiori no konjiki teigen (the vocals contain several references and inside jokes to IIDX and its legacy, a small portion of ''GOLD RUSH'' is heard at the start, and ''GOLD'' was also the game where artist DJ TECHNORCH made his IIDX debut)
233** ''SIRIUS'': Red. by Jack Trance (a sequel to the song ''Red. by Full Metal Jacket'')
234** ''Lincle'': 抱きしめてモナムール / Dakishimete mon amour (the first song by Mayumi Morinaga as "Prim" and composed by L.E.D. appeared in ''Lincle'')
235** ''EMPRESS'': & Intelligence (it has samples from many other songs in ''EMPRESS'')
236** ''SPADA'': ONIGOROSHI ("Demon Killer" or "Killing Demons". Has faint hints of its respective style.)
237** ''3rd style'': COSMIC CYBER (a sequel to the song ''LEADING CYBER'')
238** ''HAPPY SKY'': GENE (samples and references to various songs in ''HAPPY SKY''; like the song Scripted Connection, it is one long mix split into each difficulty.)
239** ''Rootage'': GO OVER WITH GLARE -ROOTAGE 26- (It references all games' poster art in order, including promotional art from ''tricoro'' to ''Rootage'', where ''R∞tAge'' (the song) left off. It's also the first BGA completely made by GOLI since ''copula''.)
240* CopyProtection:
241** Unusually for an arcade game during its introduction, ''tricoro'' onwards has always-on DRM; it must be connected to an e-Amusement network or the game will refuse to start. (note the word "an") While unusual by international standards, this type of arrangement (where an arcade game must be connected to its developer's subscription-based online platform, often accompanied by a revenue-sharing and leasing requirement) has been increasingly common in Japan.
242** Subverted with ''CANNON BALLERS''. It originally refused to run when cameras weren't installed, but a later update allows the game to run without them.[[note]]This was probably done due to the fact that Korean releases didn't have cameras.[[/note]]
243** Konami lightened up on the DRM restrictions starting from ''Rootage'', allowing owners to buy an "offline kit" to enable the machine to operate without an e-Amusement network connection. This was especially useful for end-of-life cabinets that had their network support revoked.
244* CriticalAnnoyance:
245** A lot of older songs played special animations in the video on missed notes. This happened more in 5-key and early IIDX though, but a few select songs on recent versions have had miss animations (most noticeably Anisakis). Most either contained Engrish ("WRONG PLAY BAD BOYZ KICK YOUR ASS") or otherwise made little sense (what does a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdHGDpRnods&feature=relmfu salt shaker]] have to do with a cover of "Brazilian Rhyme"?[[note]]Apparently it's a reference to artist Satoru Shionoya's ''SALT'' series of albums, but that strays into ViewersAreGeniuses territory.[[/note]])
246** If you're on a "survival" gauge and you drop below 30%, the gauge starts flashing, often distractingly. On [[OneHitPointWonder HAZARD]] mode, the gauge starts at 100% but it ''flashes nonstop''.
247* DarkerAndEdgier: Soundtrack-wise, the first IIDX games were mainly house and R&B-oriented, whereas 3rd to 9th Style brought more electronica, eurobeat, and trance. However, as an effect of changes in what's popular in the worldwide EDM scene, hardcore music eventually became a lot more prominent in later styles and the softer music from the 5-key/early IIDX generation has generally been swept aside. That said, lighter music still comprises a sizable chunk of the soundtracks of each new style as well, albeit not the same kind of ligher music.
248** Most styles since ''RED'' are usually based around a specific theme, and sometimes that theme ends up resulting in this trope in terms of both soundtrack and aesthetic. Notable examples include ''RED'' (high energy music), ''DJ TROOPERS'' (military) and especially ''SPADA'' (swords and battle), all of which skew towards the darker or at least more aggressive side of the EDM spectrum.
249* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: "Spring Rain (lluvia de primavera)", when translated is "Spring Rain (Spring Rain)"
250** Or better yet, SUPER STAR 満-MITSURU- : 満 means Mitsuru.
251* DevelopersForesight: If you use Legacy Note on a chart with no Backspin Scratches or Charge Notes, which Legacy Note converts to standard notes, and clear the chart, the game will count your clear as a standard Clear rather than an Assist Clear.
252* DifficultyByRegion: The US version of beatmania reduced all of the grade requirements by 1/9 of the total possible EX Score. Meaning for example a AAA only takes 7/9 of the maximum EX Score rather than 8/9.
253* DistractedByTheSexy:
254** The original music video for "Last Message" in ''7th Style'' has a 3-second cleavage shot, which has caused many players to accidentally slip up at that point. The video was unfortunately removed when it was revived on Gold CS, as Konami was trying to [[ThinkOfTheCensors aim for the Japanese equivalent of an E rating]] (despite the fact that Last Message and its video was on 7th Style's home version already, and it seemed to have no effect on the rating)
255** Exaggerated in "Sense 2007". Remember the cleavage-baring lady who dances and sings in "Last Message"? In "Sense 2007", there are not only one, not two, but ''three'' ladies dancing provocatively while wearing form-fitting dress that bares their cleavage and legs. And their presence, unlike "Last Message", is [[FanserviceExtra completely unnecessary]], as the song is mainly an instrumental. Predictably, the video is removed in the [=PS2=] version.
256** Dai, a male dancer who [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kwv_vPIL4IQ always]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p_qs3P6nSw appears]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvARFJPd9GA on HHH songs]] (and then switched to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIV8HfFDA2U kors k]] on Tricoro) is either overly distracting, or [[WatchItForTheMeme flamboyantly awesome.]]
257** Super Star -Mitsuru- begs to differ in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMrmgQ_wDzs ''She Is My Wife'']]. It's impossible to ''not'' be distracted watching kors k, Ryu☆, Yoshitaka, and Sota Fujimori taking part in it.
258** The song ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUYiuNrvdWk Tostugeki! Glass no Kneeso Hime!]]'' shows off a princess, in what amounts to a bunch of see through versions of a maid outfit with cat ears. Makes sense, considering the song is about a princess trying to seduce a prince.
259** The song ''Expanded'' in IIDX CANNON BALLERS features belly dancers throughout the whole song. You'll have a really hard time concentrating on the notes.
260* DualityMotif: ''PENDUAL'' alternates between "present" and "future" phases, each with their own UI tweaks and exclusive songs.
261* DynamicDifficulty: Step Up mode gives you a limited pool of songs from a particular difficulty range. Clearing a stage will give you harder charts to pick from in the next stage, while failing will give you easier charts.
262* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
263** Playing older versions of ''IIDX'' can throw one for a loop due to the lower resolution, different charting style, older UI themes, less precise difficulty scale (with ANOTHER charts not having their own difficulty ratings), different kinds of music, and lack of game options (more discreet Hi-Speed options, no Sudden+, no [=eAMUSEMENT=] features such as scorekeeping and rivals). If you want to get even weirder, consider the original ''beatmania'' series, which employs a more street/hip-hop theme and timing windows comparable to "GAMBOL"'s HYPER charts.
264** DoublePlay gets a special mention; early ''beatmania'' games have a Double Play option but do not tweak the UI to acommodate, resulting in having to look at two different sides of the screen to play. Even though later games, as well as ''IIDX'', have a dedicated DP layout, many early Double Play charts were designed with two-player non-Battle[[note]]Battle being a modifier that makes both players play the same Single Play chart[[/note]] play in mind, resulting in charts that are awkward at best for one player and UnintentionallyUnwinnable at worst (such as Cheer Train (DPA)). Later ''IIDX'' games actually design Double Play charts with a single player in mind, so while the charts are still NintendoHard, they're a lot more ''fair''.
265** Before ''HAPPY SKY'', the difficulty scale was in flux, and Another charts were not given separate ratings from the Hyper charts. Even the difficulty names themselves were in flux. It wasn't until ''HAPPY SKY'' that the current 1-12 difficulty scale and Normal/Hyper/Another difficulty names were introduced and have remained to the present day (albeit Black Anothers and LEGGENDARIA have since been added as HarderThanHard difficulties).
266** Before ''6th style'', grades were not given out for individual songs - only overall grades for the set were given.
267* EasierThanEasy: ''copula'' adds the "Assisted Easy" gauge modifier below "Easy", which drops the Groove Gauge requirement for a clear from 80% to 60%.
268* EasyModeMockery: Clearing a song with the Easy gauge will mark the clear as an "Easy Clear" unless you've cleared it with more difficult conditions suck as a Normal Clear or Full Combo, and will give you less DJ Points for the song. There's also "Assist Clear" for using Assist modifiers such as Auto-Scratch, Assist Easy, and 5-Key, which awards even less DJ Points; additionally, Assist modifiers other than Assist Easy reduce the number of notes in the chart to play, lowering your potential EX score.[[note]]A particularly extreme example of Assist mods hurting your score is 灼熱Beach Side Bunny [[http://textage.cc/score/18/_shakunt.html?2AC00 on SP Another difficulty]]. Of its 1719 notes, 667 of them are scratches. If you use Auto-Scratch on this chart, your maximum EX score for it would be reduced from 3438 to 2104, about 62% of the maximum score without assist mods; even if you get all PGREAT hits you wouldn't even have enough points for an A rank![[/note]]
269** Playing with any ASSIST mods in ''beatmania IIDX INFINITAS'' will deny you bits, which allow you to unlock more song charts.
270* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The "Gambol Judgement Another" modifier added in DJ Troopers CS. Its effect is self-explanatory if you know the song it's referring to [[note]]"Gambol", by Slake, from the first version - a song notorious for its incredibly strict timing windows[[/note]] and will more likely than [[GameBreakingBug result in you failing any song you attempt it on.]]
271** No points for guessing how fast the song "250bpm" is.
272* ExcusePlot: ''IIDX'' games from ''Lincle'' onwards have story events that are generally just there to make unlock mechanisms look fancy.
273* FakeDifficulty: You need your life meter to be at 80% or above at the end of a song to pass. Guess how the people who make the notecharts fake the difficulty...
274** Sirius has hold notes and a related note for the turntable where you have to continuously spin it one direction for the duration of the hold note and then snap it back the other way at the very end of the note. Fittingly, TrueFinalBoss "Almagest" used them a lot.
275*** And now in ''copula'' we have '''Hell Charge Notes/Backspin Scratches''', and if you let go the note/turntable for a little moment, your life meter will decrease '''''fast'''''.
276** In ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'', "New Decade" relies on BPM gimmicks as one source of its difficulty. The song averts this trope in IIDX, where all of its charts are a constant 200 BPM.
277** A lot of the high speed boss songs (notably, the MAX series) start on a really low BPM. The purpose of this is to screw with the player's green number[[note]]The green number is a value for how long notes are visible for. If the high speed mode is set to basically a non-whole number, the game sets the high speed multiplier so the green number is consistent across songs based on the song's starting BPM[[/note]]. Meaning a player who wasn't paying attention is now treated to , for example, ''Fascination MAXX'' at '''8x speed'''
278* FanService: Getting good grades on songs will also put different character art backgrounds on the result screen. Some of this may indeed qualify. No wonder the console versions have gallery modes.
279* FlawlessVictory:
280** Clearing a chart with no Bads or Poors (that break combo; Poors that are caused by excessive key presses don't) results in a splash visual effect on the chart lanes with the text "FULL COMBO".
281** If you maintain a full combo up to the last few measures of "Happy Wedding", a special background overlay of Celica getting married will appear.
282* TheFourGods: Cardinal Gate, the [[PerfectRunFinalBoss Extra Stages]] from [=DistorteD=] (IIDX 13).
283** To be specific, the names of the four gods are aliases of popular Bemani artists. They are, as follows...
284*** Byakko = [[spoiler:Tatsuya Shimizu, AKA Tatsh]]
285*** Suzaku = [[spoiler:Yoshitaka Nishimura, AKA DJ YOSHITAKA]]
286*** Genbu = [[spoiler:Jun Wakita, AKA wac AKA Shounen Radio]]
287*** Seiryu = [[spoiler:Ryutaro Nakahara, AKA Ryu*, who is well known outside of Bemani]]
288*** Finally, there's a new 5th god known as Kinjishi, which means a combination of all 4 beasts. [[spoiler:It's Takayuki Ishikawa, aka dj TAKA, one of the most prolific and famous Bemani composers of all time, and was the music director for the Beatmania series itself, just as Naoki Maeda was the director for DDR.]]
289*** Only Suzaku, Seiryu and Genbu have reappeared in further installments so far.
290* GameBreakingBug:
291** The abrupt tempo changes in "SOFT LANDING ON THE BODY", which led to the term ''soflan'' being used as player jargon for sudden BPM changes and eventually becoming [[AscendedFanon an official term]], are [[https://remywiki.com/SOFT_LANDING_ON_THE_BODY#Trivia due to a bug that occured when the song changes time signature]] and which was never fixed.
292** 9th Style was the first Bemani game to use PC-based hardware, and it showed. Some songs had timing issues, the One More Extra Stage "Quasar" sometimes crashed the machine, playing "General Relativity" as the first song after a machine is booted triggers a hilarious bug which makes [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpUX-Dq7K78 getting anything but POOR impossible]] (Apparently, said song fell back on the timing windows of the previously played song. Since there wasn't a previously played song yet, it choked.), and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Gambol was still broken]].
293** ''10th Style''[='=]s Single 8th Dan courses are meant to have Hyper charts for all four stages, but ended up using the Another charts instead, resulting in a particularly gross example of NonIndicativeDifficulty.
294* GameplayAutomation: The Auto-Scratch modifier, which automatically hits turntable scratch notes for the player. However, doing so reduces the player's maximum score and [[EasyModeMockery marks the chart played with an Assist Clear]] status, and older versions of the game simply don't count scores achieved with it. For ''beatmania IIDX'' in particular, older versions also have mods to automate two of the leftmost or rightmost columns to simulate classic five-key ''beatmania'', which is marked as an Assist Clear as well.
295* GimmickLevel:
296** Songs by DJ Mass MAD Izm* are infamous for having extraordinary numbers of scratches; on these songs, how good the turntable is on your controller or arcade machine can mean a whole world of difference. "Shakunetsu Beach Side Bunny"'s Single Another chart is notorious in that over one-third of its notes are scratches, and "Shakunetsu Pt.2 Long Train Running" on Double Another has 848 scratches (out of 1732 notes), the most of any chart in the game! Some non-Izm songs, such as "Checking You Out" and "Plan 8", are also chock full of scratches.
297** Inverted with charts that don't have scratches, especially if it's a higher-level chart. Examples include "THE CUBE" on Single Another and all charts for "Dreamin' Sun" and "Waltz in G Minor No.17 'Valse du grand chien'." Just a stern warning: Just because it has no scratches doesn't mean it will be a walk in the park.
298* GoldFever: ''GOLD'', as the title implies. Its theme song, "GOLD RUSH", has DJ YOSHITAKA introducing himself as "Michael a la Mode" and then singing about [[TitleScream "IIDX GOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLDDDDDD!!"]] and [[MoneyFetish making money]].
299* GrandFinale: ''beatmania THE FINAL'' and ''beatmania III THE FINAL'', the only two Bemani games to explicitly be billed as final installments.
300* GratuitousEnglish: Many songs in English have this.
301** Stage Clear!! WE EXPECT YOU A NICE PLAY AGAIN
302** WRONG PLAY [-BAD BOYZ KICK YOUR ASS-]
303** Most of the English text in promotional materials or in-game also ends up like this. And don't even ''forget'' about that infamous "GXPERT" typo from RED.
304*** They didn't, cause Spada has "[[https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/2351933/1455167_10101978191340554_1401650366_n.jpg BRGINNER]]"
305** Songs sung or rapped by Paula Terry, Aaron G, and other such Western vocalists include fluent English.
306** Anisakis' miss screen reads "He set a foot wrong. However, it nothing but set a foot wrong. You set a foot wrong. It set a foot wrong so like him. The person commits an offense. However, do not set a foot wrong." Whatever that's supposed to mean....
307** Dellar points? And what the hell is a "Lincle" anyway? Same for Tricoro, which also has "Astran lights" as part of its Extra Stage system.
308** On launch, Cannon Ballers' gameplay screen had "SCORE DATA" (the graph display) typoed as "SCORE DATE" (although it's since been patched).
309*** And we can't forget about [[LadyMondegreen Michael in a boat]], now can we? In reality, he was played by an American, Michael Stillwind (from Konami's Hawaii studio), and voiced by DJ Yoshitaka. Stillwind was notably responsible for his work on the ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution'' Ultramix and Universe games, and for getting [=DM Ashura=] (who won a contest to get onto Universe 2, and then made some later contributions for Universe 3, which later crossed onto X2) a spot on Empress.
310* GratuitousGerman:
311** "Distress" is [[http://vjarmy.com/wiki/index.php/Distress#Lyrics sung in German]]. It helps that the remixing artist, [=TaQ=], was born in Germany.
312** The [[http://p.eagate.573.jp/game/2dx/19/p/newsong/s_todestrieb.html music production info for "Todestrieb"]] is written in German rather than Japanese.
313** The song title "Verflucht" means "cursed".
314* GratuitousItalian:
315** "Spada" is Italian for "sword", fittingly enough.
316** "Leggendaria" (as in the Spada✝leggendaria series of Extra Stage songs and the ✝[[HarderThanHard LEGGENDARIA]] difficulty) means "legendary".
317* GuideDangIt:
318** In versions of ''IIDX'' up until ''HAPPY SKY'', Another charts didn't get their own ratings, so you had to be prepared for anything from a mildly more difficult chart than the Hyper/7keys/14keys chart to something you would see on a 10th Dan course, unless you resorted to guides or chart databases; you were effectively risking your credit by playing Another charts, unless it was a console release. From ''HAPPY SKY'' onwards, Another charts have their own ratings.
319** How to sign up for the e-Amusement system. To sum up, first you purchase a card, then use the card on any e-Amusement compatible machine. From there you set up your name and PIN. Then if you want to do more than basic stat tracking, you have to go to Konami's website and register there, after a lengthy bit of link following. Which is purely in Japanese.
320** The option "Judgment Timing Adjust" allows you to set the timing via a number, but with no indication of what this number actually means other than a vague "If you see more 'FAST'/'SLOW', adjust the value +/-". It's a scaling value where 1.0 is 16.67ms (or basically 1/60th of a second).
321[[/folder]]
322
323[[folder:Tropes H-Q]]
324* HardModePerks:
325** Hard Clear and EX Hard Clear will award more DJ Points.
326** Hazard mode will kill your current stage on a combo break; however, it is also the only non-surcharge mode to guarantee four stages.
327* HarderThanHard:
328** Black Anothers. Dear God. The song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqkWIWbO14c&fmt=18 MENDES]] (pictured in the lead) ''completely'' redefines NintendoHard (with 2,626 notes. The average boss has 1800-2000).
329*** Black Anothers are slightly OlderThanTheyThink. The final two stages in Gold CS's Kaiden course, Vanessa and Kamaitachi, have special charts then exclusive to that course. When/If you get to these stages, you'll notice that where the difficulty should be shown, there is ''[[NothingIsScarier blank space]]''. Later console installments give them proper Black Another designations.
330*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbZqezK48ro&feature=related Here's a video of Mendes played on piano]].
331** Oh and then there's the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZONQZ6WCY28 Doubles Black Another version]] at 2603 notes.
332** Mendes Black Another has been FC'd on a Dual Shock controller ... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMUspR3mKtA&feature=related on half speed in training mode]]
333** Empress adds "Hazard"; One combo break and you're ''toast''. On the plus side, you still get to play all the stages on your credit even if you do fail.
334** Lincle added a new modifier, EX-HARD. This modifier increases the damage taken by the lifebar on misses to 18% at once. But just like the original HARD modifier, it removes the 80% passing requirement, but makes you fail the stage if it hits zero. If this isn't literally Harder than Hard, we don't know what is.
335** Tricoro revives the "LOW-SPEED" modifier dropped after 6th CS, by adding the ability to set HI-SPEED ''below'' 1.0x . Suddenly 灼熱Beach-Side Bunny on half-speed looks ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOOYhd7RkFU a lot worse.]]''
336** SPADA introduces the "†LEGGENDARIA" difficulty for the Spada†leggendaria series of boss songs, available in their own folder and only if you are using PASELI[[note]]Konami's digital arcade currency[[/note]] rather than coins to play the game. Comparable to Black Another in CS releases, ✝LEGGENDARIA charts have at least 1,900 notes; "Verflucht✝LEGGENDARIA" on Single Play in particular has '''2,401 notes''', the highest note count of any chart in the arcade ''IIDX'' series. ''HEROIC VERSE'' later made the LEGGENDARIA difficulty officially selectable - it shows up after the ANOTHER difficulty for applicable songs, usually in [[PurpleIsPowerful purple text]].
337* HaveANiceDeath: In ''SPADA'' onwards, if you fail in mid-song on a "survival"-type gauge, the result screen will have a box labeled "DEAD" that shows the exact note and measure where you died.
338* IdiosyncraticDifficultyLevels:
339** "BEGINNER". Usually restricted to levels 1-3, added in ''9th Style'' (or ''5th style'' for CS versions). From there up to ''beatmaniaIIDX 22: PENDUAL'', there was a separate mode that only had BEGINNER charts, and you couldn't save scores for those charts (until ''beatmaniaIIDX 27: HEROIC VERSE'', that is).
340** "[=LIGHT7=]" (up to ''beatmaniaIIDX 11: IIDX RED'') / "NORMAL" (''beatmaniaIIDX 12: HAPPY SKY'' onwards). For people just exiting from BEGINNER, or people wanting to play the songlist without restrictions. The difficulties range from 1-7 ([[NonIndicativeDifficulty with some exceptions]]).
341** "7KEYS" (up to ''IIDX RED'') / "HYPER" (''HAPPY SKY'' onwards). Intended for intermediate players with a difficulty range of 6-10.
342** "ANOTHER". The maximum difficulty, reserved for true experts with a difficulty range of 9-12 ([[NonIndicativeDifficulty prior to HAPPY SKY, ANOTHER charts were rated the same as its HYPER charts]]), although in older styles it was [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin another]] chart for the song to play alongside the HYPER (and there're songs that sound drastically different when playing on ANOTHER). As such, many songs in the older styles did not have an ANOTHER chart.
343** In ''beatmaniaIIDX 15: DJ TROOPERS'' ([=PS2=]), they introduced "KURO (BLACK) ANOTHER", which make the original ANOTHER charts look like [=NORMAL=]s by comparison. Some songs that are revived in later games have these charts added as ANOTHER charts (usually with a new set of charts for the previous difficulties of the revival), or as "LEGGENDARIA" charts, see below.
344** ''beatmaniaIIDX 21: SPADA'' introduces the "†[[GratuitousItalian LEGGENDARIA]]" difficulty, similar to "KURO ANOTHER". New "harder than ANOTHER" charts from ''PENDUAL'' onwards are labeled as '†' (note the lack of "LEGGENDARIA") difficulty.
345* InUniverseGameClock: In ''PENDUAL'', the game alternates between Present and Future phases every few days, and feautres a clock on the song select screen. During Present phases, the actual real-world date and time are displayed. During Future phases, the year instead reads 2222.
346* KonamiCode: The final crystal for ''PENDUAL''[='=]s CHRONO SEEKER event, among other things, requires you to input a variant of the Code on the song select screen: EFFECT → EFFECT → VEFX → VEFX → 1P START → 2P START → 1P START → 2P START → BLACK KEY → WHITE KEY
347* KyuAndDanRanks: Dan'inintei mode, a.k.a. Class Mode
348* LastNoteNightmare: Due to the 80% lifebar requirement for passing, a song with a ridiculous ending is practically a series trope on its own.
349** Although, [[AccidentalInnuendo it can be easier with HARD on]].[[note]]The HARD modifier swaps out the 80% life bar for a traditional lifebar where you only fail if you hit 0%. Thus, HARD actually makes songs with hard endings easier to clear as long as you can stay alive.[[/note]]
350** LOVE SO GROOVY ~SLEEP MIX~ fades out the song to complete silence for a good two seconds as a scratch note scrolls down at a slow 90BPM... then suddenly rushes up to 240BPM just before the scratch hits the target. If you don't know this, it's a guaranteed combo break. Also worth noting how there's no real rhythm to play out in your head to time it correctly.
351** "Atomic Age"'s old HYPER chart is a rather infamous offender of this. It only has 362 notes, yet is rated a 7 on the old difficulty scale and an 8 on the post-HS difficulty scale. For most of the song, one might think the song is rated way too high, until the end part comes and shows why the song is rated a 7/8.
352* LaterInstallmentWeirdness:
353** ''Rootage'' onwards features more normalized Hi-Speed settings.
354** ''HEROIC VERSE'' is the first game that can run at ''120 frames per second''.
355* LevelGrinding: One of ''Lincle''[='=]s unlock methods. ''tricoro''[='=]s Omega Attack event, a post-game board game, takes this to WTF levels; completing the first sector takes at least ''forty'' playthroughs. The less said about the second sector, the better.
356* LuckBasedMission: The Random modifier, which rearranges notes on a per-column basis. A good random order can make a chart easier, but sometimes it will just make the chart more difficult. Those trying to get better will use Random in order to learn awkward and difficult patterns. There is also S-Random, which rearranges notes on a per-''note'' basis,
357* MarathonLevel: Scripted Connection⇒ & Shade, both lasting about 6 minutes long. Both by the same artist to boot. You see, the part of the song you actually play is dependent on the difficulty, and the soundtracks have the full version as all three versions strung together. However, on the console version of Happy Sky (and beginning on Gold AC), all three versions of Scripted Connection have full sets of charts (the N-mix, H-mix, and A-mix respectively). The "long mix" of Scripted Connection is also a hidden track on Happy Sky CS, where it clocks in as the longest single song in the entire series.
358** Resort Anthem's extra stage, ANTHEM LANDING, also counts as this despite having no long version to play.
359** Tricoro has 仮想空間の旅人たち (Kasoukuukan no tabibitotachi) which does the same thing, except between the single and double versions.
360** Infinitas has "3y3s(Long ver.)" as an exclusive.
361* MercyMode:
362** If you are using a Groove Gauge in which a 0% is instant failure, any damage you take while your Groove Gauge is 30% or less will be halved.
363** In ''tricoro'', the requirements to unlock a LIMIT BURST song, other than playing a 3-stage set of songs from that song's game and qualifying for extra stage[[note]]on your last stage, all-Great combo a level 5 chart or lower, Full Combo a 6, finish a 7 with 100% gauge, or simply clear an 8 or higher[[/note]], are initially extremely harsh, but relax every week:
364*** Phase 1: You need your first three stages' difficulties to add up to 33[[note]]To put it in perspective, this means the average difficulty of your songs must be 11 or higher[[/note]] AND you need a Full Combo! And even then, only the Another chart will be available.
365*** Phase 2: You now only need to clear the three stages with an EX-Hard gauge. In addition, the Hyper chart becomes available, and requires a total difficulty of 27[[note]]average difficulty 9 or higher[[/note]] and a Hard gauge.
366*** Phase 3: Another only requires a Hard clear, Hyper only requires a standard clear. Normal finally becomes available; you need a total difficulty of at least 18[[note]]average difficulty 6 or higher[[/note]], and it will unlock as long as you clear your songs at all (even Assist Clear).
367*** Phase 4: Just clear all three stages (again, Assist Clear is OK).
368** If you fail a chart that is less than level 6 for your first stage, you'll still be allowed to advance to the next.
369** If you are playing on a machine that is connected to the official e-Amusement network, you can use PASELI (proprietary e-Amusement currency that you purchase with real money) to purchase a DJ Vip Pass, which is a pay-to-use Mercy Mode: you'll be guaranteed three stages even if you fail your first two.
370* MinigameCredits: [=DistorteD=]'s credits roll lets the player spin around the camera angle on the monotonous 3D backdrop soaring through the background with the turntable, it's not a "game" per say but still.
371** [=SIRIUS=]'s credits roll has a spinning disc in the background that can be manipulated with the turntables.
372** Subverted by Empress and Resort Anthem; while the credits are not a minigame, the ending themes became playable tracks ("THANK YOU FOR PLAYING" and "Everlasting Resort") as part of the final set of timed unlocks, with the credits roll as its background video. Both songs have been revived past their respective versions, and ''still'' have their respective credits roll attached to them.
373** The subversion is averted for "Vermillion" (Sirius ending theme, debuting on Resort Anthem) and "The Last Striker" (DJ Troopers ending theme, debuting on the Platform/PlayStation2 version), which got their own dedicated videos when they became playable tracks (although the latter is a ClipShow of generic videos).
374* {{Minimalism}}: The EX scoring system, used as the ''de facto'' standard scoring system of the game (rather than the out-of-100,000/200,000 "money" score displayed in the play interface). You simply get two points for a P-Great, one point for a Great, and zero points for everything else.
375* MissionPackSequel: ''beatmania'' and ''beatmania III'' respectively have 10 and 5 arcade releases each, and ''IIDX'' has over 29, each with different art/song themes. Not exactly CapcomSequelStagnation though, since every mix has new songs, new features, and often remove or bring back older songs.
376* MythologyGag: The video for [[http://youtu.be/g3dvBL3wegM "Illegal Function Call"]] in ''Tricoro'' is a tribute to the original 5-key series in abstract CGI sequences.
377** Capacity Gate's unlockable menu music on ''Resort Anthem'' is a remix of the ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution Extreme'' menu music.
378** The background video of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6vj6cTmXZY Starlight Dancehall]] from ''Copula'' features elements from the themes from every single IIDX game up to that point, in chronological order.
379** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4gPbNLXWiw "Beat Juggling Mix"]], the 4th BUZRA ARTS Extra Stage Unlock in ''SINOBUZ'', references DJ BATTLE from the original 5-key series in its genre, song, and video.
380** "PAYAPAYA BASS" is named after the 5-key song "Payapaya Bossa".
381* MusicalGameplay: The TropeCodifier for rhythm games with "keysounds" in which each and every note plays a small slice of the song. It's been a series staple since the original 1997 ''beatmania'', with the only notable exception to date being ''IIDX ULTIMATE MOBILE''.
382* NoFairCheating:
383** In early versions, scores achieved with the "Auto-Scratch" or "5 Keys" (in ''IIDX'' only) modifier don't get saved. This was changed starting in ''GOLD''; scores with such "Assist" mods will save, but will be marked with "Assist Clear" status. This is because while Assist mods will make songs easier to clear, they provide no benefit to your score as they deduct playable notes. This backfires on people who use the 5key modifier on classic beatmania songs in the console versions; using the modifier on them will load up the old 5key chart from beatmania, but will still count it as an Assist Clear.
384** Mods to make the game easier but not in the "Assist" category (such as H-RANDOM[[note]]same effect as S-Random, but reduces the likelihood of multiple notes in the same column[[/note]], REGUL-SPEED[[note]]normalizes scroll speed even across changes in track tempo[[/note]], and EXPAND-JUDGE[[note]]greatly expands the timing windows[[/note]]) will disqualify scores entirely.
385* NonIndicativeDifficulty: It can actually be easier to pass a song with a "Hard" groove gauge than the standard groove gauge in cases where most of the song is manageable but there is a difficulty increase at the end.
386* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: In its earlier form, ''beatmania'' was described as being a "DJ simulator" -- a description which made since given that all the songs were relatively simple hip-hop, house, and techno tracks with scratching and samples to trigger. Nowadays, besides tracks by a particular artist, the turntable is practically treated as an eighth button and isn't even used to produce scratching sounds, and the soundtrack has become heavilly diverse and electronica-oriented. Just beware if you pick modern ''IIDX'' songs by DJ Mass MAD Izm*, as those songs do have scratches like the good ol' days...[[GimmickLevel a metric asston of them]].
387* NumberedSequels: ''IIDX'' is notable for being the only active ''BEMANI'' game to still use numbers in its releases. Though the numbers are actually all lower than they should be by 1, due to ''substream'' existing as a non-numbered spinoff followed by ''2nd Style''. Thus, the current version ''[=CastHour=]'' is actually the 30th ''IIDX'' game.
388* OminousLatinChanting: Xepher, and perhaps ''any'' Zektbach song actually.
389* OneHitPointWonder: Hazard mode (or modifier in console releases). Any negative note judgments other than excess-key-induced [=POORs=] will result in a GameOver.
390* OptionalBoss: Beginning on Distorted, versions have featured new extra stage systems integrating with e-Amusement, where meeting certain conditions in-game unlocks additional boss songs in a themed area; usually only accessible on the Extra Stage, and always under themed aliases. Beating all the songs in the area will either lead to the TrueFinalBoss as the One More Extra Stage ... or just lead to yet ''another'' tier of boss songs.
391** On Resort Anthem, this changed a bit. There were still optional bosses, but instead of an Extra Stage system, they were now unlocked with "dellar points" earned in World Tour mode.
392** Lincle returns to the previous style with the Lincle Kingdom, the first three bosses involve playing sets with the EX-HARD modifier that are either of the same genre, from the same version, or by the same artist. This time, they were themed around the seven sins.
393** Tricoro has Legend Cross, which involves playing sets of songs from a single version to meet a goal that involves the number [[GoroawaseNumber 573]]) to unlock an "Astran light" for that style. Bosses unlock once certain pairs of lights are obtained; each boss so far is a mash-up of other songs from their corresponding mixes (i.e. "SYNC-ANTHEM" is a mash-up of Tatsh songs from RED and Resort Anthem; you need to get both of their lights to unlock it). Clearing one of the bosses nets you a crystal. Get them all and you unlock Thor's Hammer. AAA'ing that song will unlock the [=OMES=] for Tricoro, Plan 8. However, playing Plan 8 removes half of your crystals and relocks Thor's Hammer. After an update in December 2012, players can now buy Devil and Angel Cards with points to unlock the songs for standard play; Angel Cards are more expensive, but allow the song to be unlocked even if it wasn't beaten before.
394** And now in Tricoro we have ''another'' optional boss system, Omega Attack, a.k.a. ''Series/{{Blockbusters}}: IIDX Edition''. Playing the game earns CP, which can be used to buy weapons and upgrades to clear viruses off a map of hexagon tiles. While there are some other new songs and two CS exclusives among them too (i.e. "Tamayura" and "Reflection into the EDEN"), Sector A and Sector B both have one new boss-level song, "トリカゴノ鳳凰" and "Proof of the Existence". Unfortunately, the major flaw is that this system involves lots and lots of LevelGrinding.
395* PerfectRunFinalBoss: One More Extra Stages.
396* PermanentlyMissableContent:
397** ''tricoro''[='=]s color events have several songs crossovered from console IIDX games, all of which were originally gone permanently if you failed to unlock them during their respective events. This was changed in an update (on August 14, 2013, over 8 months after the first event ended) which allowed players to buy the unlocks using Dellar points, at 5K for Normal, 10K for Hyper, and 15K for Another. It requires tons of LevelGrinding, but they can once again be unlocked if you missed them the first time.
398** L.E.D. did this with [=HELL SCAPER=]'s audio file, which is why it'll never get an updated re-release and why [=DJ=] Technorch's remix was transplanted.
399* PlayerCharacter: Averted up until ''Lincle'', which gives the player a "Q-Pro" avatar that participates in storyline events and can be [[VirtualPaperDoll dressed up]].
400* PublicDomainSoundtrack: Not rampant, but many classics in the series ("V" and "Kakumei" especially) are indeed remixes of other classical pieces ("The Four Seasons: Winter" and the "Revolutionary Etude", respectively).
401* ProgressiveInstrumentation: In ''IIDX'' games from ''19'' to ''30'', when you start the game and go to the log-in screen, you're presented with a relatively mellow menu theme that adds more instruments upon getting to the mode select menu, and finally mixes the remaining instruments in when you get to the song select.
402[[/folder]]
403
404[[folder:Tropes R-Z]]
405* RankInflation:
406** The timing judgements are, in order of worst to best: Poor, Bad, Good, Great, and Perfect Great / Just Great (the last one being shown as just "GREAT" but in a flashing font).
407** Grades go from F to AAA. Similarly, in Class mode, you have the 7th through 1st ''kyu'' grades, then 1st through 10th ''dan'', ''Chuuden'' (introduced in ''copula''), and finally, ''kaiden''.
408* RapidFireTyping: Generally speaking, this is what harder level songs sound like. It helps that the default buttons on arcade cabinets have a very satisfying clack.
409** [[PlayingWithATrope Played with]] MoreDakka in the SPADA song ''miracle 5ympho X'' on Another. There's a section halfway in the song that drops a rapid fire bassline, complete with a visual on the BG movie of a girl shooting a machine gun. Given this section is a string of 1/16th note inputs and the song is at 210 BPM, this makes the trope metaphorically come to life.
410* RatedMForManly: ''SPADA'', which incorporates a medieval theme with lots of {{Cool Sword}}s, a manly LargeHamAnnouncer, and a lot of hardcore songs.
411* RecurringBoss: While dan course songs tend to scramble around with each new version, "THE SAFARI" in particular is notorious for consistently being the last stage of single-player 7th Dan, a position it's had since the introduction of the kyu/dan system on ''7th Style'' in 2002. "gigadelic" is also notorious for this in 8th Dan, where it's been the final stage in every version since the song was introduced in ''IIDX 11: RED'', with the sole exception of ''IIDX 15: DJ Troopers''. "冥" has also appeared as the final stage of every single-play [=Kaiden=] course since [=DistorteD=].
412* RecurringRiff: Every Suzaku song has a distorted guitar screech in it, appropriately dubbed by many fans as the ''Suzaku Scream''.
413* RecycledSoundtrack: Songs will often be continually "revived" (remaining alongside new songs on a newer version of the game, or appearing alongside older songs on console versions) quite a few versions, especially if they're fan favorites.
414** "V" is notorious for this. It debuted on 5th Style, and got revived on almost ''every'' console version after that until IIDX 10. Fans suspected Konami of "ruining the joke" that [[YouPutTheXInXY "you can't spell 'revival' without 'V'"]].
415** Then, Empress brought us "V2" ... which was nothing more than a cut of an extended version of V from dj TAKA's album "milestone".
416* RegionalBonus: Two arcade versions were released for China; the first was based on Resort Anthem, but the cabinet had some modifications (the equalizer sliders and song title display were removed, and the turntables are on the right for both players, much like the original 5-key games rather than at the ends of the deck), and the Chinese-language versions of songs from ''Dance Dance Revolution X2'' were also incorporated where applicable. There was a second Chinese version; although it is branded as ''Tricoro'' and contains most of its soundtrack, it is built on Lincle's engine and interface, and removed the Chinese vocal version songs.
417* RequiredSpinoffCrossover: Throughout practically every Bemani game actually, songs will often cross over from Beatmania to other games, or vice versa. Special mention goes to Kakumei, a collaboration between dj TAKA and Naoki (who were both the producers for their respective franchises at the time), which appeared as the One More Extra Stage on both IIDX 7th Style and [[VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution DDRMAX2]], both of which were the 7th main release in their respective series. At the same time, a version of "MAX 300" (which was the Extra Stage song on [=DDRMAX=], a first for the series) was also the main Extra Stage on 7th Style, it too being the first Extra Stage in the series.
418** A few other DDR boss songs have appeared since, including Sakura (Extreme extra stage, 8th Style extra stage), Paranoia Survivor Max (Extreme extra stage, 9th Style unlock), Fascination Maxx ([=SuperNOVA=] extra stage, as Gold OMES), Pluto ([=SuperNOVA 2=] extra stage, unlock on DJ Troopers CS), and Saber Wing (DDR X extra stage, beat unlock on Resort Anthem). While not a boss song, Sakura Storm (DDR Universe 3 and X2) also came up as an unlock on Resort Anthem.
419** The "Nadeshiko Rock" song from [[VideoGame/PopNMusic Pop'n]] practically crossed over to ''every'' active Bemani franchise, IIDX included, around Empress.
420*** And then there's DJ Yoshitaka's "FLOWER", which does the same, though it had to be retooled into a rock arrange for ''Guitar Freaks & Drummania''.
421** Then came the [=LincleLink=] and events for Resort Anthem and Lincle, whose point was to allow players to unlock songs from the latest Jubeat versions on IIDX and vice-versa by playing certain combinations of songs on both. Lincle also brought the "Append Travel" event, which brought more promotional Jubeat crossovers to other Bemani titles as well.
422** Tricoro's LIMIT BURST extra stages were (besides "Sol Cosine Job 2") all crossovers of boss songs from other Bemani titles, including "New Decade (''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution X2''), "neu" (from ''[[VideoGame/PopnMusic Pop'n Music Adventure]]''), "Hollywood Galaxy" from ''VideoGame/ReflecBeat'', "DAY DREAM" and "Timepiece Phase II" (from ''[[VideoGame/{{Gitadora}} DrumMania and GuitarFreaks]]''), and "JOMANDA" (from ''jubeat copious'')
423* ReReleaseSoundtrack: The cover of "Samba de Janeiro" in ''IIDX 13 [=DistorteD=]'' was not brought over to the [=PS2=] version. Although the covering artist, Lion MUSASHI aka dj TAKA, is an in-house musician at Creator/{{Konami}}, the original group behind the song, Bellini, isn't.
424* {{Retraux}}: The Parallel Rotation extra stage system in ''SIRIUS'', which echoes 5 of the previous 6 styles.
425* RobotDog: The mascot for ''SIRIUS'' is one.
426* {{Roguelike}}: The "Qprogue" event in ''SPADA''. After each play session, you play a minigame where you guide your Q-pro through maps to fight monsters and unlock new charts.
427* RuleOfFun: It's not really DJ simulation anymore. But does that really matter?
428* SeasonFinale: ''beatmania IIDX 16 EMPRESS + PREMIUM BEST'' serves as the final [=PS2=] ''IIDX'' game, and the last consumer-soft ''IIDX'' game for a good half-decade or so. To send off this line of games, this game features 198 songs spread across two discs.
429* SequelEscalation: The difficulty scale originally went from 1 to 7. Then came the 7+, which were later relabeled as 8. Then there were 8+s. Then Version 12 bumped it up to be out of ''12.''
430** But, TheComputerIsALyingBastard. Before Happy Sky introduced 9-12, the 7Keys/Hyper difficulty rating would be exactly the same as the Another difficulty rating. This caused hard songs to be mislabeled. One of the most JustForFun/{{egregious}} examples is "Mr. T (Take me higher)", rated a 10 on Another after Happy Sky, to be labeled as a ''4''. Even worse than that is "5.1.1.", which up to Happy Sky was rated a 1 on Normal and Hyper, but has a [[SurpriseDifficulty pretty]] [[ThatOneBoss brutal]] Another chart.
431* SeriesMascot: Tran, the [[HumanoidAliens Humanoid Alien]], who appears in several background videos. But, this hasn't stopped the individual versions from having their own mascots.
432** There's also the various (mostly female) [=DJs=] that go on the promotional art.
433* SevenDeadlySins: Lincle introduces a series of bosses named after the seven sins.
434** {{Greed}}: Mamonis, a man apparently made of shadows who attacks using money. AKA [[spoiler:kors k]]
435** {{Lust}}: Ashemu, a [[SuccubiAndIncubi succubus]] with knives. AKA [[spoiler:Asaki]]
436** {{Sloth}}: Bulluvegola, a set of stained-glass circles. AKA [[spoiler:96]]
437** [[VillainousGlutton Gluttony]]: Beridzebeth, some sort of pink mech with wings and a scythe. AKA [[spoiler: PRASTIK DANCEFLOOR]]
438** {{Pride}}: Rche, an [[spoiler:trap]] angel with four black wings. AKA [[spoiler: Tomosuke]]
439** [[GreenEyedMonster {{Envy}}]]: Levaslater, a mech that resembles a blue dragon. AKA [[spoiler: Ryu & Starving Trancer]]
440** {{Wrath}}: STN... another mech soldier [[spoiler: whose armor falls off in another boss song to reveal the true demon]]. AKA [[spoiler: Tatsh]]\
441\
442Additionally, there are two more songs that aren't any 7 sins, but related to them;
443** Apocalypse: Neulakyussra, a four-armed, three-headed being [[spoiler:and the true form of STN]], infused with the power of the seven sins. AKA [[spoiler:L.E.D.-G]]
444** Rebirth: [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Cuvelia/Cybele]], yet another mech (angel motif). [[spoiler:If you're doing good enough in the song, the armor will break to reveal a blue-haired girl with laser-swords floating around her.]] AKA [[spoiler:Taka]]
445* ParlorGames: Speaking of the Lincle bosses, STN's song is unlocked using a shiritori game by the first and last letters of the song titles, playing sets of songs that link together, including the last and first songs.
446* ScoringPoints:
447** The games had "money score" which is out of 200,000 points. To make a long, [[GuideDangIt complicated]] story short, it's mostly based on judgement and keeping a high enough combo.
448** "EX score", the standard used for the game's competitive elements, is simple: 2 points for a PGREAT, 1 point for a GREAT, and 0 points for anything below. Most ''IIDX'' games with score-based objectives use EX Score as the basis for those objectives, with only older games ever using money score.
449** Money score was done away with entirely in ''BISTROVER'', leaving EX scores as the only scores displayed.
450* SequelHook: 刃図羅, the final song of ''Sinobuz'', has a nod to ''Cannon Ballers'' in its video.
451* SequelNumberSnarl: Every numbered arcade game is actually the ''n''th plus one game in the series (''n'' being the number in the title), due to ''beatmania IIDX substream'' falling between ''1st Style'' and ''2nd Style''. As a result, ''beatmania IIDX '''25''' CANNON BALLERS''' is actually the ''26th'' arcade game.
452* ShoutOut:
453** A song in ''tricoro'' named [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o9TlCFApOQ Illegal Function Call]] makes innumerable shout outs to the 5-keys era in its music video.
454** The title of ''CANNON BALLERS'' refers to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannonball_Baker_Sea-To-Shining-Sea_Memorial_Trophy_Dash Cannonball Run]], an illegal cross-country motor race held in TheSeventies in the United States.
455** When the song ''Souhait Bleu'' came over from ''[[VideoGame/SoundVoltex Sound Voltex EXCEED GEAR]]'', it was given the genre "Alchemy Pop." This is likely a subtle nod to the ''VideoGame/AtelierSeries'', due to the overall composition sounding very similar to the music in those games.
456* SoundtrackDissonance: "Sasoribi"/"Scorpion Fire"/"Anti-Ares", "Ganymede" and "Bag" to name a few (the latter debuting in VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution first).
457* SpellMyNameWithAnS: A number of songs have multiple ways to read their names; "Shonen A"/"Kid A" ([[Music/{{Radiohead}} not that one]]), and "Gattai Sayo! Strong Jaeger!"/"The Strong Jaeger," just to name a few. This is primaraly a result of the cabinet's LED marquee: since it can only display English characters, songs with foreign titles will either be romanized, translated, or show something completely different on the marquee.
458* StandardSnippet[=/=]{{Sampling}}: A sampling-related conspiracy theory occurred in two particular styles: a stock sample of someone yelling "SOMEBODY SCREAM!" appeared in two different songs on Gold (Second Heaven and FIRE FIRE, but more famously in the former), followed by a sample of someone saying "1-2-3-4-5-6 do it!" appearing on ''three'' different songs on DJ Troopers ("Be OK", "Icarus", and the aptly titled "Do it!! Do it!!", which consisted almost ''entirely'' of that sample). Even more suspiciously was the fact that the last of those two were both [[OptionalBoss Military Splash songs.]]
459** SampledUp: (InUniverse) kors k's boss song on Lincle (fittingly, the one [[JustifiedTrope representing the sin of Greed]]) is pretty much a whole bunch of [=StripE=] and disconation songs thrown into a blender. No wonder its titled "[[MeaningfulName THE SAMPLING PARADISE]]"
460** "Schlagwerk" takes a couple lines from ''Film/BadBoys1995'': "Oh, this is bad." and "This is [[PrecisionFStrike fucked]] up!"
461* StatMeters: RED added a new stat display (typically shown on the other player's unused play field), which shows a series of bars comparing the player's current score to that of an optional rival or the high score.
462* StellarName: [[http://vjarmy.com/wiki/index.php/Jun_Wakita Jun Wakita's]] trademark. Among others, "Regulus", "Spica" and "Scorpion Fire" are all named after stars (SF is an allusion to Alpha Scorpii/Antares), "moon_child" and "Ganymede" refer to moons, and "Waltz of the Big Dogs" (the sequel to "Scorpion Fire") refers to the Canis Major constellation.
463** The game "Waltz" debuted in, SIRIUS, also qualifies and also refers to the same constellation.
464** Exaggerated with the song "To My Star" from Tricoro. The title has a star (obviously), it's a star-type song (the genre is STARPOP), it's sung by a star (Kanako ''Hoshi''no), it's about becoming a star (specifically, a pop singer), it has a cameo from a star (SUPER STAR 満-MITSURU-)...
465* StylisticSuck: According to the liner notes of the game's official soundtrack, "Salamander Beat Crush mix (CRASH MIX)" from ''beatmania CORE REMIX'' was produced the way it was to replicate the sound of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bemani_Pocket Bemani Pocket]] toy on a full-sized arcade machine. As such, it is deliberately mixed at an extremely low sample rate, evident even on the album recording, and comes replete with primitive beeps and robotic voices (if you can even make them out).
466* TagLine: Most games in the series have one, ranging from the simple ("It's party time!" from ''GOLD'') to the [[{{Engrish}} nonsensical]] ("Next Link Various Tunes Change the World [ TRI ] For The Future !!!" from ''tricoro'').
467* TakeThat: When Ryutaro Nakahara stopped using an asterisk and started to use a star for his Ryu☆ alias, his brother kept asking his "What's with that?" The song Be Quiet is his answer.
468* ThemeNaming: Since the 11th main installment of the ''IIDX'' series, every installment has had some sort of color theme to it, with a subtitle relating to the colors, such as "RED" ([[FunWithAcronyms Revolutionary Energetic Diversification]], primarily all dark red/black), "Happy Sky," (skies and clouds) "Gold," (black and gold with a luxury club motif), "DJ Troopers" (military and camouflage), "Empress" (pink and black with jewel motifs), "Sirius" (metallic silver and blue space-age), "Resort Anthem" (a BeachEpisode), "Lincle" (blue, orange, and white with some atom trails), "Tricoro" (mostly greyscale with red/blue/yellow accents, and lots of abstract 3D stuff), "Spada" (dark brown/silver/red, firey medieval. Even the grade letter graphics, which have barely changed since 9th Style, got changed from their traditional techno look to a more medieval font for this iteration), "Pendual" (white and purple with time motifs. It also switched between light "present" and dark "future" modes on a regular basis; both modes had 2 exclusive songs), "copula" (yellow/white/grey, futuristic subway trains), "Sinobuz" (Japan, ninja weapons. Aligned with the aforementioned cycle of daily bonuses, each day of the week had a specific color scheme for the song menu and different menu music), "Cannon Ballers" (White, red, and green with automotive motifs), "Rootage" (a "digital library" look with a lot of triangles, browns, and golds, with the gameplay frame having Ethernet jacks on it for good measure), "Heroic Verse" (purple and white with superhero[=/=]{{Tokusatsu}} motifs), "Bistrover" (mostly a bright, world travel and food motif), and "[=CastHour=]" (blue-grey and orange, primarily influenced by video game streaming).
469** Also, the Extra Stage songs often have some kind of theme to them. See TheFourGods above. Empress also has a set of regular One More Extra Stage songs with a sweets theme and an alternative Extra Stage called EMPRESS PLACE that centered around former "empresses" like Cleopatra and Marie Antionette.
470** Similarly, in ''15th Style: DJ TROOPERS'', there is a new version of Cardinal Gate called ''Military Splash'' that has 4 Bemani artists hiding their identities behind battle formation aliases.
471*** Lion = [[spoiler:dj TAKA]]
472*** Scorpion = [[spoiler:Toshiyuki Kakuta, aka L.E.D.]]
473*** Kraken = [[spoiler:Ryu*]]
474*** Eagle = [[spoiler:Kosuke Saito, aka kors k, who is also a well-known artist outside of Bemani]]
475*** Humanoid = [[spoiler:DJ Yoshitaka]]
476** In Sirius, the extra stage system was a series of [[NostalgiaLevel Nostalgia Levels]] based off versions 11 through 15. Each tier had two previously console exclusive tracks, a new remix of a song from that version, and a new song performed under an alias used by a boss song on that version. When played, the songs even used the matching interface skins from their respective versions.
477** On Lincle, the extra stage system returned to a more Cardinal Gate-esque system called "Lincle Kingdom", which was themed around the Seven Sins.
478** The Spada†leggendaria songs have the artists named after [[PublicDomainArtifact famous]] [[ArmsAndArmorThemeNaming swords]]. Before that there were some sword named songs in the series (Claiohm Solais and Ascalon). Another difference is that the artists so far are ether commission artists or recent additions to Bemani (and that most them have songs in VideoGame/SoundVoltex]]). The artists are:
479*** Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi [[spoiler: AKA [=REDALiCE=]]],the weapon of [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Susano-o]]
480*** Gram [[spoiler: AKA DJ Genki]], referring to [[Myth/NorseMythology Sigmund's sword]]
481*** Durandal [[spoiler: AKA DJ Noriken]], the blade of [[Literature/TheSongOfRoland Roland]]
482*** Caldabo[[{{Engrish}} r]]g [[spoiler: AKA USAO]], a misspelling of Caldabolg, a weapon from Myth/IrishMythology
483*** Falsion [[spoiler: AKA DJ Shimamura]], A corruption of the word Falchion, an European weapon. It could be a MythologyGag to a Konami shooter called "FALSION" or a ShoutOut to VideoGame/FireEmblem
484*** KUMOKIRI [[spoiler: AKA OSTER project of "Levan Polka" fame.]], Kumokiri is a sword from a Japanese epic poem in which it was used during the Genpei War
485* TitleDrop: "[[TitleScream IIDX GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLD!]]" The full version of the opening theme, "GOLD RUSH", also proceeds to name off ''every single IIDX game up to that point'' during the breakdown.
486** The song's follow-up, "[=B4U (BEMANI FOR YOU MIX)=]", does something similar. While the original already contained a DDR title drop, this one also rapidly names off other Bemani franchises.
487** ''2nd Style'' has a song called "Second Style", ''5th Style'' has a song called "IIDX", and ''Happy Sky'' (''IIDX 12'') has "Twelfth Style".
488*** ''HEROIC VERSE'' introduced "27th style".
489* UncommonTime: Many songs will do this, and the game takes care to display their measurement lines correctly.
490** "Holic" begins in 7/8, then becomes 7/4 and finally 4/4.
491** "100% minimoo-G" is one of the biggest offenders; if it ''has'' a time signature, it's so complex that [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale the game simply doesn't render measurement lines for it]]!
492* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: In the rather buggy ''9th Style'' release, "General Relativity" uses the timing windows of the last song played. But if it's the first song to be played after booting up the machine, it has ''no'' timing windows and [[GameBreakingBug as such every note is doomed to be hit as a POOR]], making the song impossible to clear or score on.
493* UniversalAdaptorCast: For example, [[http://vjarmy.com/wiki/index.php/Ereki Ereki]], WhiteHairBlackHeart has a villain-like demeanor in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vmzwfI52Ww TERRA'S videos]], but is simply a [[CameraFiend stalking photographer]] in songs like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzN-nqXJTS8 Love-Shine]]. This is just one example of very surprising dissonances with personalities in different videos.
494** Interestingly meta in the series' "canon" because every character has externally-established (typically through art books) backgrounds and in actuality are simply ''people who play IIDX.''
495* VariableMix
496** ''Tricoro'' onwards does this for the game's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ajvwUdMvcs menu themes]] (they used to cut in after a loading screen).
497* VideoGameDelegationPenalty: The series has options to automate certain lanes or note types, with the most prominent one being Auto-Scratch, and older versions of beatmania IIDX having the 5-Key option to automate two of the leftmost or rightmost lanes to simulate classic beatmania. All of these options do not give you points for auto-played notes and mark your run as an "Assist Clear" as opposed to standard "Clear" status, and earlier games simply don't record scores achieved with assist options.
498* WhamLine: For those who follow the Dan Inintei courses, one awaits the player at the end of ''Rootage''[='=]s Single Play 8th Dan Course to dethrone "gigadelic" as the final stage of SP 8th Dan after ten consecutive versions[[note]]it was also the SP 8th Dan final stage for four consecutive versions before being replaced by "Innocent Walls" for all of one version[[/note]]:
499--> DRUMSTEP \
500'''S!ck''' \
501Eagle
502* XtremeKoolLetterz: Miracle 5ympho X
503[[/folder]]
504----
505-> '''STAGE FAILED'''

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