Save Beatmania for me

I got a copy of Beatmania (US version) for father's day. I've always wanted to try the game, and now I have. Unfortunately I find the game incredibly, and infuriatingly difficult. Oh, and yes, the music is really pretty awful, which doesn't help. I suspect there's some good stuff on there, but there are only a handful of 1-star difficulty songs, and those are pretty much the only ones I don't fail on (mostly with C's, though I'm not exactly sure what my scores are as the scoring is presented confusingly), so I haven't been able to experience much of the music. I actually find the IIDX (7-key) version of the game easier than the Beatmania (5-key) version for a couple reasons. One is that the controller has 7 buttons and I find my hand getting out of position easily when trying to play the 5-key game, which leads to failing. Secondly the music selections are even more limited, and thus there are only about 3 or so songs that I can avoid failing on in 5-key mode.

So, I need basic help. I suspect that if I can just learn how to play the game properly I'll find it more fun. I need some basic tips on how you play it. For example, should I be trying to have a finger on every key all the time? That works to a point, but inevitable I end up with my fingers moving around anyway, and then I'm pretty much lost. Also, trying to keep fingers on all the keys makes "scratching" become a problem. I seem to do better if I try to keep my right hand on a few of the keys and my left hand on the scratch disc, and then have my right hand jump around to different keys, but that only works well for the easiest songs.

So, uh, help!

Pinky scratch! Use your pinky to turn the turntable.

That's about all I can help you with.

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I started kind of the same way. It does take a while to help get your fingering down, but just keep punching away at the level one's and two's. What I recommend is that you find song with a small amount of transitions between white keys and black keys, and play the heck out of it. That should help you get used to the movements. And for the turntable, it is a good idea to just use your pinky or your ring finger so you still have fingers to hit keys with.

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There are many play styles, but the most popular is keeping your fingers on the keys, or at least 5 of them, thne jsut move your pinky left to scratch, and return to the keys afterwords.

Also a tip that MAY help you would be to use a High-Speed Modifier, "HS1" in the Gameplay Options screen (accessed by pressing Start on the song selection)

This will generally improve your timing and should help you be able to do harder songs.

Way back when I started playing beatmania USA (I got it soon after it came out but I've been playing sims off and on for a few years before), I got hung up at around level 5 charts. Eventually I was ready to just sell the game and controller but I never got around to it. Now, two years later, I decided to get back to it. After following some tips I found on GameFAQs or something, I got better, yay.

Here's the big tip I learned: You have to use both hands. Generally, use your left hand for the first two keys and the turntable. Example: Many songs have you continuously tapping the 1st key for the bass drum or what have you. Use your left thumb for this. And again, you'll have to pinky-scratch with this technique. Experiment to see just how much - or how little - it takes to spin the turntable for it to register. But by no means should you lock yourself into just using your left hand for the keys I said, or just assigning a single finger to each key for that matter.. Sometimes you should have the flexibility to move around a bit more. Thanks to this I'm able to do most 6's and a 7 or two.

BTW Lucky find, I doubt many retailers are carrying beatmania anymore, new or used!

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Well i got the controller and BMUS bundle a few weeks ago, im starting to regret it, i have hooked up the controller to lunatic rave and all that, played some other official BMS, but i just like DDR more. Kinda wish i invested in an afterburner pad or something.

But yeah, pinky scratch, and use both hands. Find good positioning for both your hands nad go at it. Start off with the easy difficulty till you AA everything, then move on, best way to progress imo. Songs to play, well on BMUS Bad Boy Bass, Colors, and V. Maybe all the Taq songs to, but mostly Bad Boy Bass, i think the normal chart for it. Do play it a lot as it has a lot of those transitions between the black and white keys (as deliriousXD mentioned)

Idk, i have been playing it a lot since im without DDR, but i miss it and havent really been enjoying it. But do (when you can) mod your ps2 and import a japanese version, they are A LOT better from what ive heard.

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Don't bother with 5key/beatmania mode at first!!! Go straight to IIDX/7key mode, use auto-scratch/5k/easy mods while you're learning (stop using them as you get better! Learn to pinky scratch as all the people above said). Just keep playing, you'll see you'll get better in no time. But don't expect to become as good as those amazing youtube players soon, IIDX's learning curve is insane compared to any other mainstream music game.

Avoid the following songs in 5key mode for now:

love so groovy
e-motion
manmachine plays jazz
tribe groove
stop violence

Konami though it would be a good idea to include songs with fux'ored timing in what was meant to be a newbie-friendly mode.

Thanks everybody for the help! I hadn't realized that you could choose 5-key mode in IIDX, and then playing that with fingers on all the keys and my left pinky on the record made a big difference. I tried auto-scratch initially as well, but that didn't seem necessary, and it was less fun, so I turned that off. I can now complete all the 2-star songs (5-keys) in beginner mode. 3-star songs are still too hard, but that's OK. I know, it's not much to write home about, but the key thing is the game is getting to be fun now. Thanks!

Also, give us songs you like, so I can reccommend you a Japanese style.

I have a terrible time remembering track titles, but I'll try to make a note of the ones I like more and report back.

Incidentally, I didn't find the Beatmania bundle new. I bought a used copy off ebay, and for pretty cheap though offhand I can't remember the price (I actually bought it a few months ago, but had to wait until Father's Day to "receive" it.) The seller said they bought it for their kid and they didn't like it, so it was played one or two times at most and then put back in the box, and that appears to have been the case because everything looked pretty much untouched, other than the box getting dented from shipping. I did actually find a new copy at a local Gamestop several months ago, but I didn't pick it up right away which was, of course, a mistake - when I went back to buy it it was gone. No matter, though - the one I've got is more than good enough.

There will be a time where you will be interested to play Doubles, so I suggest to buy one as soon as you spot one at a local store.

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Quote: CoreyBlaze
Avoid the following songs in 5key mode for now: love so groovy e-motion manmachine plays jazz tribe groove stop violence Konami though it would be a good idea to include songs with fux'ored timing in what was meant to be a newbie-friendly mode.

I thought something was funny about them.

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Stop Violence is actually timed alright on the beatmania 3rd machine I play on, but on BMUS, it really is terrible.

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Get PS2 modded and then get either IIDX12 HAPPYSKY, IIDX13 DistorteD, or IIDX14 GOLD if you have the money.

I've already got the ability to play imports via HD Loader and a memory card exploit, so I'm set in that regard. I just need to decide if I like this game enough to justify the $70 or so it costs to import. Presuming that I do get an import, which of the currently available versions (I believe they are Red, Happy Sky, Distorted and Gold) would be best for a beginner?

Any besides RED. The other three are better for beginners and the RED rating system is still the old system I think. I started at GOLD AC so yeah -_-;;