beatmania IIDX controls consist two sets of seven keys on each player's side (only 5 keys on earier versions), along with a turntable on each. The turntable for the left player's side is to the left of the keys, while the one on the right player's side is to the right. beatmania IIDX is the most recognised verion of beatmania, although the most recent version of the game is IIDX13: DistorteD which was released in March 2006.

Each set of keys is arranged in a pattern of four white keys beneath three black keys. The black keys are offset from the white keys so that each pair of adjacent white keys has a black key above and in between them. This arrangement mimics the F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B keys on a musical keyboard, though beatmania keys, being about twice as long as they are wide, do not resemble piano keys.

Under the 16:9 wide display are the start button, the effector button, and effector sliders. The effector button and sliders control various sound volume levels within the game, and do not affect scoring or difficulty. The specific effector features available vary from version to version.

Originally, the game was named beatmania II. The beatmania II cabinet was similar to the beatmania cabinet, save for the presence of two extra keys (one white, one black) that form the familiar 7-key panel. Konami had planned to develop and release two different versions of arcade cabinets: a standard beatmania II cabinet, and a 'deluxe' cabinet with a 'DX' suffix on the end of the name, hence "IIDX". Konami scrapped the standard cabinet after the release of 2nd Style, but the 'DX' suffix stuck and has remained throughout the series.

Beatmania and its variants have a hardcore following in countries other than Japan. There are very few beatmania arcade machines in the United States, but the number is gradually increasing. In addition to its arcade versions, Konami produces home console versions for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation in Japan. Official or custom-made controllers for beatmania can range in price from under one hundred US dollars to several hundred US dollars. As with other beatmania games, players often compete and share high scores on message boards or other communities on the Internet.

The beatmania series features many different styles of songs, ranging from rave and trance music to J-Pop and classical. Some regular artists featured in Bemani games include dj TAKA, TaQ, Orange Lounge, Mr.T, Ryu, good-cool, and Osamu Kubota, among others.

Releases

As of 2005, there have been 13 arcade releases of Beatmania:

beatmania - 1997
beatmania 2ndMIX - 1997
beatmania 3rdMIX - 1998
beatmania completeMIX - 1999
beatmania 4thMIX: The Beat Goes On - 1999
beatmania 5thMIX: Time To Get Down - 1999
beatmania completeMIX2 - 2000
beatmania ClubMIX - 2000
beatmania CORE REMIX - 2000
beatmania featuring DREAMS COME TRUE - 2000
beatmania 6thMIX: The UK Underground - 2001
beatmania 7thMIX: Keepin' Evolution - 2002
beatmania THE FINAL - 2002

Home Versions

Although there are plenty of Japanese Home Releases, there is only one ever released in the U.S.

With the simple title of beatmania, it was released on Playstation 2 on March, 29 2006.

Game Modes

BEGINNER - Beginner makes easy note charts easily available to new players. The function of Beginner Mode varies greatly from version to version. In the home versions, Beginner gives an alternate note chart for nearly all songs, rated from 1-3. These alternative note charts are not available in the arcade.

STANDARD - Known as "Arcade Mode" at home, this is the standard play mode of three songs. Each song must be passed in order to play the next song. When a fixed condition is satisfied on the last song, you achieve an extra stage.

5KEYS - Disables the two keys farthest to the right on the controller and automatically plays the notes that correspond to those keys. This allows players to play a game that simulates the original beatmania. The functionality of 5-Keys mode varies from version to version.

EXPERT - Expert mode allows the player to play a set of songs, known as a course, without stopping. The gauge begins at 100% and does not refill between songs. If the gauge drops to 0%, the game is over. The gauge is the same as that used in Hard mode in normal play, but drops at a much slower rate.

CLASS / DAN / DANININTEI / Step Rank Recognition - Similar to Expert mode, though each course has four songs, and only the HI-SPEED option may be selected. In Double play mode, each course has three songs. The purpose of this mode is to allow IIDX players to compare their skill with each other, as each Dan course is designed to be significantly harder than the one beneath. Players can compare themselves based on the highest Dan course they are able to complete.

FREE - Practice mode. The player will never fail a song, but gets one song less than STANDARD mode. In CS versions, Free mode allows the player to play as many songs as he or she wants without stopping.

Modifications

There are alos many mods you can choose from to enhance your gaming experience. Auto Scratch makes the turntable play automatically, not requiring player input. High Speed makes the notes scroll at a higher speed. It is important to point out that the actual notes do not have to be pressed any more quickly; the scroll speed is simply increased and the notes become further apart. Most beatmania IIDX players use High Speed to make the notes easier to read. Easy makes the dance gauge not decrease as quickly and rises faster than usual. Hard makes the gauge function differently. It begins at 100%, and the song will immediately end if it reaches 0%. The gauge decreases very fast in this mode, usually as much as 10% for every missed note. Random temporarily alters the song's notechart. All the notes for each key are assigned to another key, picked at random. Mirror flips the note layout so, for example, all notes that would normally correspond to the left-hand key now correspond to the right-hand key, and so forth. Sudden makes the notes only visible when they enter the lower portion of the screen. The visible portion is approximately a third of the screen. Hidden makes the notes only visible in the upper portion of the screen (again, approximately a third of the screen). Sudden & Hidden is just Sudden and Hidden played together. If this is done, notes are only visible for a very short time in the middle of the screen. Lastly, there's 5 Key which just disables the two rightmost keys and any notes that would correspond to those keys are taken out.

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatmania

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