Pop'n Music 12: Iroha CS
 

So who else picked up Pop'n Music 12 for the PS2 this past week? I'm obviously a huge fan of the series, but I haven't been playing much in the past few months so it almost feels like starting over, albeit in the high 30's. It's almost like my wrists are out of shape! I can't go for longer than a set of four songs without having to take a break from it.

I also just got done blogging about the intense language barrier produced by Iroha. Previous editions of the game have always been thick on the Japanese, but this? I have never felt more white.

Discuss!

YES! Iroha is a great addition ^_^ b

I love the Japanese flavor they threw into everything about
this mix: The interface, bgm, and song selection, ect.

Learning a little Katakana wouldn't hurt! When i first played the
Ninja Hero bonus game for the first time, i was like "What the heck!?"

Great mix though, still am i stuck at 38's >,<''

Oh. I totally understood what was happening during the bonus game, but I do have a fun story about that. .

Every few rounds of the bonus game, a special card pops up that's brown and doesn't look anything like the others. So, typical guyjin me thinks this is a good thing. Mustering all the hand-eye coordination that I can, I nail my timing to get that card.

Guess what! It's ZERO points! And now you know. . never get the brown card :(

It is a great mix though. I unlocked Swing Kayo last night and I think it's now my favorite of the Murasaki songs. O-Edo Kayo in Pop'n 11 is (Was?) my favorite Pop'n song ever.

I have 8 and just ordered 9 and 10... when I'm done with (which means not done with... more like when they're fully unlocked) 9 and 10 I'm going to skip 11 and get 12... haha

I've played 11 at a friends house... doesn't seem as good as 12... so I'm hoping my favorites from 11 are left intact on 12...

Guh. I would have gotten 8 and 9, skipped 10 and got 11 and 12. Ten hardly has any decent songs and the unlock method is completely by random.

And DDR Megamix was a repeat in 11 anyways :X

good songs is a matter of opinion... and I liked 10s music better than most of what 11 has to offer... hehe... but not by much... besides

11 = $61
10 = $25

I'll wait for a price drop on 11...

Yes, LEARNING KATAKANA HELPS A BUNCH. I think most of the song genres and menu options are written in katakana, so you can sound those out. Once you get a feel for that, you'll be that much better off.

Okay, 12 - I played it for a bit the other day. I like the new interface a lot. I didn't play many songs, but I liked the new songs I did see a lot. I'm a Pop'n newbie though, so I'm stuck around LV 15 or so. T_T

I'm enjoying it so far. It seems like there any more songs on here than on 11 that I like. J-Rock Ø Hyper is particularly awesome.

And thank God they've returned to a simple unlock system as opposed to Gambler Z on 9, the crazy matching game on 10, or the flying around the world thing with 11 (which I never could figure out).

Personally, i loved PnM 10 ^_^ Especially Dark Marchen.

Something about the magical-ness of it all haha.
I also loved the interface while playing (it's darker than the other
pop'ns so i feel that i can concentrate on the notes better ala Beatmania).
But yea, the bonus matching game was KILLER >,<''

And about 12's Brown card~~~ SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME LOL!

How did unlocks work in 11? I'm still clueless on that one.

Before you begin your game, you pick a country to fly to. As you continue to play that country you rack up miles. You repeat this until you get a 100% rating in every country to unlock all the songs.

So, basically, you just keep playing and playing and playing. That and Iroha's method are definite improvements over Pop'n 9's dungeon game and Pop'n 10's completely random crap. Pop'n 10's unlock system is the entire reason why I skipped it. You could play it for years and never unlock everything.

use a cheat device ;) lol

I play Pop'n when I can, when people bring their PS2 versions with ASCs to the arcade I go to. I loved playing Pop'n 10 (full unlocked or so I was told), and it has some songs I really like on it, so I have a copy of that burned.

Now the question: How do I go about playing? XD The ASCs are REALLY expensive ($450+!!), and I don't have the money to drop for a Ransai or a Desktop Arcade. Is it worth it to get the cheap smaller KOC just to practice on, then get a Ransai when I have the money?

I learned on a small controller (~$30 US). The ASC is SO much different from the cheaper ones (being twice as big). So, if you get a smaller controller you'll know how to read the music but virtually none of the application strategies work for the ASC (again, because of the difference of size and distance between buttons).

I'm not sure about other folks, but dare I say it approaches the difference between playing DDR with the controller and on your feet.

Yea, the Official ASCs are just plain ol' pricey. I personally went
with a Desktop Arcade ASC and i've been playing on it for 2 years
and it works and feels great! If i remember correctly, it was
$200 + $25 for shipping.

My only complaint is the paint job i got. Looks kinda like a rush job *_*~
But i'm too lazy to paint it again myself ^_^''

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y15...as/Popnasc.jpg

Might as well play with a smaller KOC if you can get it. It's better than
nothing, right? But just don't get used to using your fingers too much
because Pop'n requires some major palm action too lol. You should know
that from playing with your buddies at the arcade.

I play on a small controller at home (Pop'n2) and I never have any troubling switching from the small controller to the arcade. Some people are just weird.

For as much as I love Pop'n, I don't love it enough to give someone $200+ dollars to shove some buttons in a block of wood for me.

Here's where my pride and joy rests:

http://www.idiotechnique.com/images/stuff3.jpg

Of course it was expensive, but I play on it enough to warrant the purchase I think. I tried playing on the smaller controller that one of my friends had and couldn't stand it, so I decided to splurge.. just a bit.

Well, the buttons themselves cost somewhere around $15-$30
(depending on how many you buy wholesale). I remember thinking
of ordering buttons and building one from a home-made guide...
but the lowest i saw (as of last year) was $26 a pop.

Multiply that by 9 and you maybe it's a little more than just
shoving some buttons in a block of wood.

Plus~ i don't know much about electronics (and i'm kind of lazy lol).

Nice controller Rawkus, I myself started with PnM10 LE w/ controller its not quite the AC experience but it works great.

Anyways, Iroha is a great addition to the CS series and I enjoyed the fair unlocking system and it's rewards for once. For now, Curus (Hyper) is my most played song. I'm not quite up to 38+ EX standards.

Right now, according to Pop'n 12, my most played songs are-

1) Swing-Kayo
2) Hip-Rock 3
3) Athletic Meet

Swing Kayo is sooooo good~

I have an ASC I built... it cost $95 for the buttons, about $10 for wood, $1 for a PS1 control...

So you'll spend about $106-$120 depending on what you already own to build your own control. Not bad at all...

I am currently playing 10.

Right now, Rakuga Holiday, Elegy, Russian and Seisyun Punk are my most played. I will be picking up 11 in a few weeks but haven't really bothered in awhile.

I play on a mini controller, it's quite fun. I wouldn't want to use the bigger ones but they removed the Pop'n from my local arcade so it doesn't really matter now anyway.

Wow! That sounds pretty cool Kuhazan!

Mind sharing some pics of your home built?

You're going to like Akumajo Dracula Medly.

I did, anyway.

Man I need a digital camera so I can take a picture of my home made ASC... haha Oh and I've almost fully unlocked Pop n Music 10... 5 hours not bad for 80%!!! of course I cheated with just pressing start on a course and rapidly mashing O but whatever... quicker than Gambler Z!!!