[AC] StepManiaX produced by Kyle Ward

There is no avoiding an artist reminding you of himself. The bit of potential nostalgia is fun. This is a non-issue.

It's also hard to complain about them using music that was in DDR before. They're explicitly songs that DDR has removed, no longer playable, and ones that fans would likely actually want back. They're free game. This sort of reminds me of how people on team Guitar Hero and people on team Rock Band back in the day would bicker over whenever one franchise would have a new game come out but some songs on the soundtrack were in previous installments of the other franchise.

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The songs are fair game just like they were in ITG2. Quite frankly, if Konami kept all those songs around people (not necessarily you) would complain they rely too hard on nostalgia. You can’t please everyone.

And I asked about the jacket graphics a while back. I got a pretty cool explanation about how some of them are just tributes to the original art but some were actually artist request.

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my issue with these older monikers being reused is that these new songs sound radically different from what one would expect. when i see omega or factor-x being used and what i get is modern naoki meandering, i get just a little bit grumpy. and i enjoy me some modern naoki meandering. don't get me wrong. i just wish that he'd just use his name or some new monikers instead of constantly relying on his past to move units. you don't need to remind us of the past unless you just want us to be thinking/wanting the older stuff instead.
reminds me of when u1 reused the club spice alias back in ddr a and that song ended up being absolute dogwater that invoked nothing of the club spice name.

i don't mind the graphics looking like their ddr counterparts. it's difficult to imagine those songs without that kinda artwork regardless, and to get upset at the association just feels counterintuitive. i'd much rather have something familiar/something new and continue an amazing legacy than let the history be buried and rot away in the throes of time. it's clear konami has no interest in keeping the legacy alive so why get mad at smx for taking over the mantle?

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Yeah, I will say Naoki's new style sounds so different compared to the tunes of 20 to 25 years ago that he did that I wish he would ACTUALLY turn back the clock to some of those older sounds when reinvoking names or trying to do the "new" versions of songs like, I dunno, Healing Vision or Paranoia. Not everything can be a winner, though, and songs like Cyber-Kyoto (what I presume to be based on Sakura) or BU-44 (obviously B4U) clearly show he can still make bangers based on old classics

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Sengoku is such an amazing successor to Sakura too. I don't mind the jacket art reminding people of the songs they're nostalgia-baiting; that's kind of the point.

update™



Baila Bolero - Fun Fun
Be Alright - Red Parker
Set My Heart on Fire - Rocket Man
Total Nuclear Annihilation (SMX Remix) - Scott Danesi

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Ayooo


Happy holidays <3

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Jan 2025


Dreaming - Conro
Pilgrim 2000 - Scott Brown
When The Sun Goes Down - Ken Blast

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Feb 24th update


I Don't Wanna Fall (SMX Exit) - Jakka-B & Macks Wolf feat. Angel Lane
My Heart Is Ticking Like A Bomb - E-Rotic
Night In Tokyo - NMR
You Can Win - Luke

wait how did i miss that two non-Dancemania 80s licenses made it into SMX, was it a pain to step assuming they were live BPM?


would love to see similar moodboards for licenses formerly in BEMANI titles if possible as legal rights would permit and stuff

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Kyle really does spend a lot of time doing micro-edits to the audio to make them consistent. It's honestly pretty nuts, but I know of a few others that also had this done, Da Roots being another big one.

Sure thing on the boards! We haven't had really anything in a while, but I can dig through my old files to see what I have. It takes a little bit to make those but I'll see what I can do!

holy moly update time



Meant 2 Be (SMX Edit) - Thirst & Nuphory
No Rules - Foxela & Britt Lari
Polarised - Koven, Æon:mode, Blanke
Remember Me - Leslie Parrish

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Surprise


Halley's Comet (Zillionaire Remix) - Jenna Drey & Joe Bermudez
Over The Top - M-Project & Vau Boy
Rain Dance - MUZZ
Redshift - F.O.O.L

M-Project is always a good thing

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Ekstasis - d-complex
Falling in Love Again - Naoki feat. Paula Terry
Go! Rocky Joe - Maximum Power
In The Echo - Koven
Letting Go - Bensley & Voicians

June 30, 2025


Ori Ori - MAANTRA
Ping Pong - AronChupa & Little Sis Nora
Pure Ecstasy - M-Project
Running Ninja - Eurofunk
The Banana Song - SIPPY
Vegas (Red Note Mix) - NAOKI underground feat. BOBBY

July 11, 2025



Proper Rhythm (SMX Mix) - peak divide (from UNBEATABLE)

August 20, 2025



Boogie Shoes - AronChupa & Little Sis Nora
Calling - Donots
Strange Stubborn Proud - ELYXR Feat. Kurt Harland Larson
Why Me - Desire
Worn Out Tapes [Tally-Ho Version] (SMX Mix) - peak divide (from UNBEATABLE)

August 22, 2025



Bad Boy - E-Rotic
Every Time I Close My Eyes - Scott Brown & Gillian Tennant
Forever Now (SMX Mix) - peak divide (from UNBEATABLE)
Frontal Impact - Daniel
Revolution - Naoki

August 23, 2025



Bella Ciao (SMX Mix) - BEAUZ & XYSM
Let's Go! (This is It) (SMX Mix) - 2 The Limit
My X - Little Sis Nora
Sevillana Mirage - Re-venG
When I Lose Control - Desire

September 24, 2025



Daydream Therapy - Joe Bermudez feat. Dana Mckeon
Mm-Hmm - W3WAY
Singin' Every Nite (Obladì Obladai) - Paso vs. Maximus
Under The Moonlight - M-Project
Waiting - KUURO feat. Bianca

Good evening! I just got to our resort, and they have recently purchased a Stepmaniax cabinet. What do I need to know about this game before I go spend the day with the cabinet? Any tips or tricks, complicated to access mods? Is there a 4 arrow mode or do I need to worry about the center note? Are either modes charted better?

make sure to get the app, its very worth it and free - u get ranking, score uploads and edits - just gotta remember ur code (not cards n stuff)

app login is down on the bottom with the phone icon (above the language option) and just scan qr code once and ull sign in - then u can use ur code to quickly login rather than scanning every time

also my personal recommendation, after playing a few normal charts, have a try of team charts if ur with someone, its very chaotic fun

pretty much all the mods like speed n arrows n such are in the options, i dont think theres any hidden mods? there is the pad sensitivity one but thats just in the "more" bit of settings so pretty ez (cant remember what specifically the buttons called lol)

there isnt a dedicated mode for 4, i think a few charts have only 4 but would have to get used to 5 panels - if ur coming from ddr then itll take some getting used to from my experience but after some practice ull get used to it - however if u really want, u can do just 4 panels in edits from the app either finding one someone else made or making your own

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Thanks for the suggestions!

The game was absurdly fun. It gives Max era vibes. The middle note was pretty easy to adjust to outside of some tricky patterns (Bye Bye Baby Balloon Im looking at you).

Couples mode was awesome. We played it once then only played that moving forward. This resort isnt too far away, and its dirt cheap to play. I put 50 dollars on a card, it gave me 4000 credits. One game doubles premium is 99 credits.

Ill probably make a drive up here just to play. If you haven't tried it yet, you definately should!