[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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