Celebrating over 25 years of the DJ simulator that spawned Konami's BEMANI franchise
Notable Versions
Arcade
completeMIX. A compilation of songs from the first 3 games. Localized as hiphopmania completeMIX.
completeMIX 2. A compilation of songs from 4thMIX and 5thMIX. Localized as hiphopmania completeMIX 2.
beatmania featuring DREAMS COME TRUE
7thMIX
THE FINAL. Considered the best game in the series.
PSone
ARCADE 2ndMIX + APPEND YebisuMIX
APPEND GOTTAMIX. A collection of songs previously unheard in the arcade games, along with samples from 4thMIX.
APPEND GOTTAMIX2
Best Hits
6thMIX + CORE REMIX
European Edit, also simply known as Beatmania. Basically a European counterpart of Best Hits.
Game Boy Line
Beatmania GB. Unlock hidden songs with the password UUDDLRLRBA.
GB 2 GatchaMix. Enhanced graphics on Super Game Boy (2), Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy Player. Unlock hidden songs with the password YEBISUSAMA.
GB GatchaMix 2. Not compatible with original Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, or Super Game Boy (2). Unlock hidden songs with the password MAXIMUM.
Other
Beatmania for North American PS2 consoles. Not bad, though it could be somewhat better.
Beatmania for WonderSwan. The graphics are greyscale and the song list is small, but the audio is closer to the arcade games' than the GB trilogy's attempts.
Konami attempted to upgrade the original series by creating a third one. The latter's cabinets have much better audio and graphics, along with pedals. Players can even save their progress with floppy disks!
Which Control Scheme?
A proper controller is more suitable if your fingers are too big for buttons mapped to a keyboard or keypad. The Japanese PSone games are bundled with controllers similar to the cabinets' ones, while European Edit is bundled with a controller that resembles the on-screen note indicator.
There are plenty of arcade sticks that can replicate the layout if you can't obtain an official controller. DualShock controllers become less comfortable on difficult notecharts. Beatmania IIDX's controllers, such as the one that the North American PS2's Beatmania is bundled with, are only officially supported in 6thMIX + CORE REMIX.
