Beatmania IIDX 16: Empress

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Beatmania IIDX 16: Empress
Beatmania IIDX Empress plus Premium Best cover art.png
Artwork for the PlayStation 2 release which includes the Premium Best disc with the game.
Developer(s) Konami Digital Entertainment
Publisher(s) Konami Digital Entertainment
Series Beatmania IIDX , Bemani
Platform(s) Arcade, PlayStation 2
ReleaseArcade
  • JP: November 19, 2008
PlayStation 2
  • JP: October 15, 2009
Genre(s) Music
Mode(s) Single-player & Multiplayer
Arcade system Konami Bemani PC Type 2

Beatmania IIDX 16: Empress is the 16th game in the Beatmania IIDX series of music video games. It was released in arcades by Konami on November 19, 2008 (11 months since the arcade release of Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers ). The game features over 50 new songs, some of which are unlocked over Konami's e-Amusement platform. The design of Empress's interface is based on a pink color scheme, dominated by sparkles, butterfly wings, and motifs of royalty and jewellery. A PlayStation 2 port for the game was released on October 15, 2009, in Japan. [1] [2]

Contents

Gameplay

Beatmania IIDX tasks the player with performing songs through a controller consisting of seven key buttons and a scratchable turntable. [3] Hitting the notes with strong timing increases the score and groove gauge bar, allowing the player to finish the stage. Failing to do so depletes the gauge until it is empty, abruptly ending the song. [4]

The core gameplay remains the same in Empress. A new hidden modifier called "ALL-SCRATCH" changes most of the notes into scratches. More tutorials have been added to the Tutorial mode from DJ Troopers. Many sound effects in the user interface have also been changed. A new mode that is introduced before DJ Troopers CS, "Hazard Mode", instantly fails the player if a combo is broken many times (effectively requiring a full combo in order to pass the stage). To access this mode, All the black buttons must be pushed (when highlighting Free mode in mode selection) to activate the Hazard mode.

The upgrade to Empress also comes with a new turntable design, which has been built to be easier to trigger, and also features a more textured surface.

e-Amusement

More advanced statistics can be accessed through e-Amusement's online components. Jewels can be collected for the Empress Place system using e-Amusement.[ citation needed ]

Empress Place

Empress Place is the Extra Stage system used by Empress. During regular play, players randomly accumulate colored jewels (the algorithm has not been disclosed). These jewels are used to unlock the 3 songs, each song representing a famous empress. The 3 songs are Kung-fu Empire by 飛燕流舞 (Consort Yang Yuhuan), Arabian Rave Night by dj MAX STEROID (Cleopatra), and Marie Antoinette by Marguerite du Pre {Marie Antoinette}. When all songs have been cleared with an AAA rating using te HARD option and the player is playing on ANOTHER, then the player would have the opportunity to play the One More Extra Stage, 卑弥呼 by 朱雀 VS 玄武 {Himiko}.

Music

New songs

GenreSongArtistTier
Hardcore "ALL I NEED YOUR LOVE"GUHROOVY fw. M-Project
Only One Eurobeat "ALL MY TURN -このターンに、オレの全てを賭ける-"SUPER STAR 満-MITSURU-
Dragon'Bass"アタック NO.3" (Attack No.3)IDEA NOTE
Reckless Rave"B4U (BEMANI FOR YOU MIX)"Remixed by DJ YOSHITAKA with Michael a la mode.
House "Bahram Attack -猫又Master Remix-"猫又Master feat. JUNE
Happy☆Jig"BRIDAL FESTIVAL !!!"S.S.D. with ななっち
Nostalish Requiem"CaptivAte2 ~覚醒~" e-lma
Buchiage Trance "Cyber Force -DJ Yoshitaka Remix-"Remixed by DJ YOSHITAKA.
Mega Mix"Flash Back 90's" kors k as Disconation
Dream Trance "Fly Above"Sōta Fujimori
Trance Core"Go Beyond!!" Ryu☆ Vs. SotaFrom DistorteD (CS).
House "HOUSE NATION" (HOUSE NATION feat. LISA) ravex House Nation licensed song.
Nu School Breaks"Just a Little Smile"Sōta FujimoriFrom Happy Sky (CS).
Hou-Rock"ハリツヤランデヴー" (Haritsuya Rendez-vous)Des-MASTERS
Morning Full On "HYPERION"L.E.D.
Techno Pop "I'm Screaming LOVE"Creative Life
Mixture"Jack"DesQFrom Pop'n Music 10.
Hardcore "JEWELLERY STORM"L.E.D.-G fw. Eriko Tanzawa
J-Dance Pop"まほろば" (Mahoroba)HHH+H
Trendy Techno"ミッドナイト堕天使" (Midnight Datenshi)Dr. Honda
Electro-Tech"Mind Mapping" Ryu☆
Eurobeat "Monkey Dance '09"Y&Co. Feat. DOMINO
Trance "MY FUTURE"PINK PONG
Tech-Breakbeats "naughty girl@Queen's Palace"DJ Mass MAD Izm*
Energetic Trance "neogenesis" DM Ashura
Dance Music of Sorrow"NΦ CRIME" *1C×F (Music Produced by NAOKI MAEDA)
House "Our Song" (Our Song (HOUSE NATION Edit)) Shinichi Osawa House Nation licensed song.
Psychedelic trance "PSYCHE PLANET-GT"Remixed by L.E.D.
E-Dance Pop"Punch Love ♥ 仮面"上野圭市(a.k.a. Baby Weapon, DJ SWAMI) feat. 星野奏子
Big beat "Queen's Tragedy"猫又Master+
撫子ロック (Nadeshiko Rock)"凛として咲く花の如く" (Rin to Shite Saku Hana no Gotoku)*2 紅色リトマス From Pop'n Music 15: Adventure.
Tech-Para "Secrets"good-cool ft. CHiCO
Candy Rave"smooooch ・∀・" kors k
Techno "SOLITON BEAM"L.E.D.From IIDX RED (CS).
Rage Against Empress"天空脳番長危機十六連打 " (Tenkuu Nou Banchou Kiki Juuroku Renda)D.J.SETUP
Iron Concerto"鉄甲乙女 -under the steel-" (Tekkou Otome -under the steel-)Seiya Murai
Only One Epilogue"THANK YOU FOR PLAYING"SUPER STAR 満-MITSURU-Ending Theme (credits BGA).
UK Hardcore "THE SHINING POLARIS (kors k mix)"Remixed by kors k.
House "thunder HOUSE NATION Remix"Remixed by Sunset In Ibiza (SII).Collaborated with "House Nation".
J-Trance"翼" (Tsubasa) 小林ゆう
Elemental Chant"Turii -Panta rhei-" Zektbach
Progressive"V2"TAKA
90's Rave"Y&Co. is dead or alive"Y&Co.
ポップス (Pops)"山岡晃の「クイズ!家事都合!」" (Yamaoka Akira no Quiz! Kajitsugou! / Akira Yamaoka) AKIRA YAMAOKA feat. 喜屋武ちあき
Only One Techno"You'll say "Now!""BLACK STAR 幸広-YUKIHIRO-
Psy Trance (Full On) "Programmed World" kors k as StripE Extra (ES).
Dance Speed"3y3s" 青龍 (Seiryuu)One More Extra.
Jumpstyle "BITTER CHOCOLATE STRIKER" L.E.D.-G Extra (OMES).
Happy Hardcore "Colorful Cookie" Lucky Vacuum Extra (OMES).
Hardcore "不沈艦CANDY" (Fuchinkan Candy)Risk JunkExtra (OMES).
Asian Jangle "Kung-fu Empire"飛燕流舞(猫叉Master)EP.
Arabic Hardcore"Arabian Rave Night"dj MAX STEROID(Sota Fujimori)EP.
宮廷円舞曲 (Court Waltz)"Marie Antoinette" Marguerite du Prê EP
Esoteric Speedcore "卑弥呼" (Himiko) 朱雀 (Suzaku) VS 玄武 (Genbu)EP OMES.
Regular SongUnlockFrom CSExtra StageEmpress Place

*1 NΦ CRIME had 2 versions in Empress.
*2 was originally only playable in Beginner mode. A patch over e-Amusement unlocked it for regular play.

Sources: [5] [6] [ unreliable source? ]

Home version

The home version was released on October 15, 2009. Unlike previous home versions, the home version of Beatmania IIDX 16: Empress contains two discs. The first one is the EMPRESS disc, which contains songs from the arcade version, home version-originals, and some revivals. The second, called PREMIUM BEST disc, contains the rest of the revivals which were selected from the whole Beatmania IIDX series games. Each disc contains 99 songs, adding the total to 198 songs. It was the final version of Beatmania IIDX to be released on the PlayStation 2.

CS-exclusive songs

GenreSongArtistTier
Trance"Back Into The Light -Feelings Won't Fade Vocal Mix-"Sota Fujimori
Electro"Electrogasm"Sota Fujimori
Hardcore"ERaSeR EnGinE DistorteD"L.E.D.-G VS GUHROOVY
Tech House"From Time To Time" sanodg
Drum'n'Bass"FLAG OF PEACE"GUHROOVY fw. NO+CHIN
BOSSA ELECTRO"Gymnopedie 009"Studio Bongo Mango feat. Junko Wada
Happy Hardcore"RIZING YOU UP"Ryu*
乙女ハウス (Maiden House)"Sunshine Hero"Kors K feat. Mari*Co.
Progressive"たまゆら"佐々木博史From Guitar Freaks 8th Mix / DrumMania 7th Mix.
Trance"Time to Empress"dj TAKA feat. wac & secret K
WORLD/ELECTRONICA"Tori-no-kimochi"猫叉Master+
New Age"ToyCube Pf.(RX-Ver.S.P.L.)" 高田雅史
Drum'n'Bass"Troposphere"kobo
Breakbeats Trance"Unicorn tail" DJ YOSHITAKA

Removals and revivals

35 songs were removed in total from Empress.[ citation needed ] Major removals include the remaining songs by Reo Nagumo, BeForU, and BeForU's members. Nagumo had left Konami in 2006, and BeForU had also recently signed into a new recording contract with Avex Group in the same year, officially severing their ties with Konami. However, their first single under Avex, Red Rocket Rising - which was also removed, appeared in Gold .[ citation needed ] Other removals include the DJ Yoshitaka remix of I'm In Love Again, which also would not appear in the console version of DJ Troopers . No reasons have been given for the removals.[ citation needed ]

On the contrary, many songs by Takehiko "Slake" Fujii have been revived. Make A Difference from Beatmania IIDX 9th Style had also been revived, and it had received new Hyper and Another charts. SOLITON BEAM had also received new charts.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>Beatmania</i> Video game series

Beatmania (ビートマニア) is a rhythm video game developed and distributed by Japanese game developer Konami and first released in December 1997. It contributed largely to the boom of music games in 1998, and the series expanded not only with arcade sequels, but also moved to home consoles and other portable devices, achieving a million unit sales. The Bemani line of music games from Konami is named after the series, was first adopted in the arcade release of Beatmania 3rdMix and kept ever since. The series came to an end with the last game being Beatmania The Final, released in 2002.

<i>beatmania IIDX</i> Video game series

Beatmania IIDX is a series of rhythm video games, that was first introduced by Konami in Japan on February 26, 1999. IIDX has since spawned 31 arcade releases and 14 console releases on the Sony PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to the beatmania game series, and part of the Bemani line of music games. A PC release titled beatmania IIDX INFINITAS has been released, beginning alpha testing in September 2015, and was heavily updated to a new version in 2020.

Bemani, stylized as BEMANI, is Konami's music video game division. Originally named the Games & Music Division (G.M.D.), it changed its name in honor of its first and most successful game, Beatmania, and expanded into other music-based games, most notably rhythm games such as Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Freaks, and Drum Mania.

e-Amusement

e-Amusement, stylized as e-amusement, is an online service operated by Konami, used primarily for online functionality on its arcade video games. The system is used primarily to save progress and unlockable content between games, participate in internet high score lists, access other exclusive features depending on the game, and access the Paseli digital currency service.

<i>Dance Dance Revolution Extreme</i> 2002 video game

Dance Dance Revolution Extreme is a music video game by Konami and is the eighth release in the main Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) series. It was released on December 25, 2002 for Japanese arcades, on October 9, 2003 for the Japanese PlayStation 2, and on September 21, 2004 for the North American PlayStation 2. This game is the ninth release in North America, but despite having the same name as its Japanese counterpart, its gameplay and soundtrack is significantly different and won the Video Music Awards in 2005 on MTV for Best Video Game Soundtrack.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 10th Style</i> 2004 video game

beatmania IIDX 10th Style is the tenth game in the beatmania IIDX series of music video games. It was released in arcades by Konami in early 2004.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 9th Style</i> 2003 video game

Beatmania IIDX 9th Style is the ninth game in the beatmania IIDX series of music video games. It was released in arcades by Konami in 2003. The game features over 50 new songs, some of which can be unlocked using Konami's e-Amusement platform – which made its official debut on 9th Style.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 8th Style</i> 2002 video game

beatmania IIDX 8th Style is a 2002 arcade game released by Konami. A PlayStation 2 version was released in 2004.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 7th Style</i> 2002 video game

beatmania IIDX 7th Style is the seventh game in the beatmania IIDX series of music video games. It was released in arcades by Konami in March 2002.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 6th Style</i> 2001 video game

Beatmania IIDX 6th Style is the sixth game in the beatmania IIDX series of music video games released in arcades by Konami in 2001 and features 40 new songs. 6th Style introduced new features such as letter grades and the new hard mode.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 5th Style</i> 2001 video game

beatmania IIDX 5th Style is the fifth game in the beatmania IIDX series of music video games. It was released in arcades by Konami in 2001. The game features 35 new songs, five of which are hidden. New features introduced in this version are auto-scratch, as well as two more Hi-Speed settings 5th Style's songlist featured the first songs that would later become "flashing 7s", here differentiated from regular 7s with a kanji meaning "forbidden".

<i>Beatmania IIDX 3rd Style</i> 2000 video game

beatmania IIDX 3rd Style is a music video game developed by Bemani and published by Konami, initially released as an arcade game in Japan on February 25, 2000, and subsequently ported to the PlayStation 2 on November 2. 3rd Style removed the 4-keys mode from previous installments and replaced it with the Light7 difficulty, giving most songs a fully separate, easier notechart. The game also introduced Free Mode and Extra Stage, and featured a new aesthetic.

beatmania IIDX substream is a 1999 music video game which had a different songlist and could be linked to a Dance Dance Revolution machine for simultaneous play. If either the Dance Dance Revolution player or IIDX player made mistakes, the other game became more difficult.

<i>Beatmania IIDX</i> (video game) 1999 music video game

Beatmania IIDX is an arcade music video game developed by Bemani and published by Konami. It was released in Japan on February 26, 1999. The objective is to perform songs using a controller with seven keys and a turntable. After the surprise success of Beatmania, Benami conceived IIDX to simulate an actual disc jockey (DJ) live performance. Its arcade cabinet contains a widescreen monitor, speakers, and eight spotlights. Bemani later developed several updated versions of IIDX to increased success. The game retrospectively received a positive reception from video game publications for its gameplay and increased difficulty. A sequel, Beatmania III, was released in 2000.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 17: Sirius</i> 2009 video game

Beatmania IIDX 17: Sirius is the 17th installment in Konami's Beatmania IIDX series of music video games. The main motif of Sirius's UI is astronomy, as the game is named after Sirius, known to be the brightest star in the night sky. Public location tests began on May 27, 2009, and the game itself was released on October 21, 2009.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 18 Resort Anthem</i> 2010 video game

Beatmania IIDX 18 Resort Anthem is a music video game in the Beatmania IIDX series of games by Konami. On April 19, 2010, Bemani fansite Zenius -I- Vanisher reported that Konami had announced the first location test for the newest game in the IIDX series. The location test ran from April 22 to April 26 at the Cat's Eye Machida (キャッツアイ町田) in Machida, Tokyo. Follow-up location tests ran in Chōfu, Tokyo and Kyoto from April 30 to May 6, in Nagoya and Sapporo from May 14 to May 20 and in Chiyoda, Tokyo from June 11 to June 12. The game was released on September 15, 2010 This Beatmania iteration's theme focuses heavily on a futuresque modern relaxation and tropical beach resort concert-like setting, with the interface making use of sleek mechanical components with simple whites and bright colors that are easy on the eyes.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 19: Lincle</i> 2011 video game

Beatmania IIDX 19: Lincle is the 19th installment of Beatmania IIDX series. The location test itself was announced on April 18, 2011. The location test was held first on Akihabara on April 20, 2011. Umeda's location test started on April 22, 2011, and both ended on April 25, 2011. Fukuoka and Nagoya had their location test started from April 28, 2011 until May 1, 2011. Kyoto and Sapporo's location test started on May 6, 2011 until May 8, 2011. It was released on September 15, 2011.

Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is a music video game, the 14th installment of the Dance Dance Revolution series, and the sequel to Dance Dance Revolution X3 vs. 2ndMix. The game was revealed by Konami on October 24, 2012. Public beta testing commenced on October 26, 2012. It was released in Japan on March 14 and 21, 2013 for dedicated cabinets and upgrade kits, respectively, and in Asia on March 21, 2013. A limited test release occurred at select locations in the United States, beginning on August 4, 2015.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 21: Spada</i> 2013 video game

Beatmania IIDX 21: Spada is a music video game and the 21st installment of Beatmania IIDX series of video games. The main motif of the game revolves around swords, as the title of the game, Spada is Italian for sword. The UI has a medieval fantasy theme and mainly features black, brown, and red colors. It was first announced on June 12, 2013. Location tests began in Akihabara on June 14, 2013 and ended on June 16, 2013. It was released on November 13, 2013.

<i>Beatmania IIDX 23: Copula</i> 2015 video game

Beatmania IIDX 23: Copula is the 23rd installment of the Beatmania IIDX series. The first location test was held at the Tokyo Lesiure Land #2 location in Akihabara, Japan from July 10 through 12th 2015. It was released on November 11, 2015. This is Last Beatmania Series made by Konami Digital Entertainment before Konami Amusement.

References

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