Beatmania
Beatmania (ビートマニア) (styled as beatmania) is a rhythm game unsurprisingly developed by Konami. It was everywhere at the time of the 90s, and is still everywhere, but it's kinda scarce to find them. Despite the fact that there are still machines that work in arcades around the world, the developers don't make new games anymore. It also has a very weird password system. You could play it on a computer, but there were no PC versions of this game.
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
So, basically, you're a DJ that has to use the keyboard and turntables that the machine provides you, so that you could have a genuine DJ experience. Most of the songs are by random Japanese artists no one has heard of, in which most of them are dabbling in the electronic music genre. There are 5 keyboard keys, and if there's a full bar you'll need to use the turntable to scratch so you could get a point. If you don't focus on the screen, you'll get lost most of the time. The more the audience is satisfied, the more you'll get paid, however, you don't actually spend money in the game.
There are several ways to play this game. In "Practice" mode, you'll go over a tutorial stage with the developers. "Normal" mode is where you get to pick the songs, however, instead of the order that you chose, it's all random, so you'll never know what you get. "Free" mode is another practice mode where you get to play every song in the game. The "Expert" and "Expert+" modes are for those who are very good at this game. As if you are still struggling, there's an "Easy" mode. However, that mode wasn't introduced until the third game.
Most of the machines consist of a screen with a keyboard and turntable. But let's be real, you'll never find one, unless you were born in the 90s.
If they don't make games anymore, then why am I seeing Beatmania machines everywhere?[edit | edit source]
You make a good point. There are actually spinoffs of the game. However, they're mostly modern, and it's now digital. Actually, scratch that. There are now 7 keys on the keyboard and the turntable still exists. Maybe you mistook these machines for Dance Dance Revolution ones. There are NO foot pads on Beatmania machines, just a heads up.