My take on beatmania IIDX RED's song list
So, I'm playing Siskel to Remy's Ebert here (Siskel was always cooler than Roper). I'll just dispense with the bullshit and get right on with my review. I'll quote what Remy said, and put in my own spin.
Click through to read, as it's quite long.
DJ Amuro / AA
For being in the same genre as A, this doesn't really evoke the same feeling as the predecesor did. There's the sort of snare roll in the middle I bitched about during one of my Dancemania Ex reviews. This is decent but sounds like a mutant child of A and something Sota would do, with the trance instrument jiggling all around. 60/100.
I couldn't agree with you more. It sounds like another dj TAKA classical meets trance mashup. On it's own, it's pretty decent, but it doesn't hold up as a successor to A anymore than "M" and V, and whatever the hell other letters dj TAKA throws out at us. (Yes, I know M was fake, it was a lame attempt at humor). The song seemed to end really suddenly, too. 60/100 (difference: 0)
Sota Fujimori / Andromeda
Speak of the devil. This actually doesn't sound like Sota; it's darker to start with. Doesn't really seem to be going anywhere though; no progression or even really a melody. It's not annoying me, however, so we'll put this right at the middle of the road with a 50/100.
It starts out like the Midnight Blaze trance mix from DDRMAX (US). I keep expecting to hear "MIDNIGHT BLAZE BRIGHTER THAN THE MOON AND STARS" to come blasting from the speakers. But, alas it doesn't. It just kind of meanders along until the halfway point when it starts getting kind of cool. Sota, Sota, Sota. How you have disappointed me. 50/100. (difference: 0)
Akira Yamaoka / Awakening
Evoking a lot of i feel... memories here, more of the same snare rolls from AA. Japanese lyrics, with a nice melodic trance refrain. Not memorable by any stretch, though. 52/100.
This once again proves AKIRA YAMAOKA CAN NOT DO A BAD SONG. Yes, it's typical Yamaoka style trance with female vocals, but that's not a bad thing. It works, and it's awesome. I really can't wait to hear a cleaned up OST version of this - I'd put money on it being even more awesome. I loved it. 90/100. (difference: +38)
DJ Simon / Back To The Dance Floor
The return of DJ Simon! And luckily, it has no trance elements unlike the last three songs. Sort of reminding me of Sweet Lab with a bit more kick to it, since it's got a small latin vibe. I would imagine the notes would be fun. 60/100.
I like it, because it kind of sounds like a chip tune with the minimalist samples and beats. I thought it was spiffy, but it felt kind of out of place as a IIDX song. It felt more like something from a Pop'n. All hail the return of the "I'm For Real" doingy sound! 60/100. (difference: 0)
Ryu / Be Quiet
The genre of "Hard Dance" is appropriate here; it's definitely not the happy hardcore we've come to expect from Ryu. It's heavy, it's frantic, and it's gooood. 75/100.
Ryu just keeps further honing his style with more and more awesome music. I'm a fan of all of his stuff (yes, even Starmine), and this is no exception. Hey, if Ryu wants to go all L.E.D on me, that's perfectly ok. This was very good. 80/100 (difference: +5)
Nao Nakamura / Believe...?
The beginning freaked me out, I thought this was going to be JS-16. It's more melodic than the stuffprevious to this, and it's almost good enough to make my typical playlist, but there's just something missing. 59/100.
I dug the hell out of this. It felt kind of empty, however. It could be the mixing used in the game cutting out a layer or two. In addition, it was too short! Just when I was getting into it, boom, it's over. This is one of those songs that I think could/would be much better on the OST. Give me a long version. 50/100 (difference: -9)
Sparker / Breath
More Rococo Tek is fine by me! A bit more majestic than Brightness Darkness was, it bounces along well. 70/100, largely because I'm a sucker for Sparker.
The first notes came out, and I was like "Brightness Darkness." Nothing wrong with that, BD is an absolutely amazing song. I like the synth-classical feel in this song. I like it because it uses the pieces of BD that worked really well without having to completely emulate it. 75/100. (difference: +5)
Dave & Nuage / Car Of Your Dreams
I'm not sure what the difference between "Eurobeat" and "Super Eurobeat" is, but this feels less eurobeat-y than other things I've seen labeled as Super Eurobeat. Different enough from the typical eurobeat formula (note: I'm not a fan of most eurobeat) to make me want to hear it again. 61/100.
This is defintely "Super." Super Eurobeat has the harder drumline and heavier synth while regular Eurobeat is more techno meets 80s synth pop (compare and contrast this song with Blame or I Was The One (80's (sic) Eurobeat)). Oh, this song? It was pretty good, if not somewhat formulaic SEB material giving me the sudden urge to want to play Initial D. Ah, I liked it well enough. 65/100. (difference: +4)
DJ Remo-con / Click Again
Oh my god. Cut'n'paste style beats like this are rapidly gaining respect from me, and this is unbelievably fantastic. Think Macho Gang, with more dancability. Bonus points for the old scratch sounds. 84/100.
DJ Remo-con can do no wrong, I say. This was too damn cool making up for the disappointing lack of any new Sampling Masters material in this IIDX. But, 84/100? That seems a bit much. I'll go for a respectable 75/100. (difference: -9)
DJ Yoshitaka feat.星野奏子 / D.A.N.C.E.!!
I'm nicking this one from Reo; if you've heard The Love Bug by m-flo and BoA, this is remarkably similar. Male and female back and forth vocals, female refrain, pop groove...it's a formula that stole my ear before, and it's doing it again here. 80/100.
You nailed that one right on the head. It almost sounded a bit TOO m-flo for me. It wasn't bad, but, eh, I'll have to go with a 75/100. (difference: -5)
platoniX (Eurance Style) / Don't Be Afraid My Self
It's the fastest J-Pop song Naoki has ever done. I'm digging the hook, and the piano runs are neat too. Probably one of the least annoying Naoki-with-female-vocals songs to date. 65/100.
Something about this song really rubbed me the wrong way. The piano part is great, but for the most part it felt kind of like a weird amalgamation of 一途な恋 and some other all-too-familiar Bemani elements. 60/100 (difference: -5)
Wall5 / EVO66
Wait, this sounds nothing like North! It's actually techno with some acid touches. This is amazingly cool and some what expected. 80/100.
I really liked this. Cool hook with the E-V-O-SIXTY-SIX and some great hard synth sounds and beats. Very well done. 85/100. (difference: +5)
Baby Weapon feat. Kajil / Fly Away To India
There's some other pop song that they've nicked part of the melody here from, but I can't recall what it is right now. The vocals are way too high for this to be an enjoyable Bolly-style track for me. I'll stick to Dr. Love and Nasty!, thanks. 40/100.
I think I was more annoyed just spending the whole time trying to figure out where the melody was ripped from. Other than that, I agree with everything you said. Including 40/100. (difference: 0)
DJ Killer / Genocide
Extra stage! I think calling this Drum'n'bass is a bit inaccurate, as this is way too dark for your typical DNB track. It's a decent bit of darkness, with some orchestral-ish melody (is that the trend in all the trance tracks on IIDX now?). Good enough for 60/100.
You say orchestral-ish melody like that's a bad thing. This seemed kind of like L.E.D on a bad day meets Sparker. I'll hold out hope that this will be better in the OST. I could hear some cool elements that seemed to be obscured by the upper layers of the song. Until then, 60/100. (difference: 0)
Teranoid feat. MC Natsack / Gigadelic
Oooh, darkcore ("nustyle gabba" my ass). It's an enjoyable track - and probably hell to play - but I'm not sure what I would do with this if it came on in a club or on my iPod. As such, I have to bump it off my playlists at 59/100.
This was a very well done track. And, I agree, very enjoyable. But, it seems like in anything other than moderation, it wouldn't be very fun to listen to. Much like any other hardcore-styled track. Excellent in moderation, not so much in heavy playlist rotation. 65/100 for me. (difference: +6)
Regina / Harmony
Yeeeup. It's eurobeat. Don't know what else to say, other than that maybe I want to throw up a fake para to it. For some reason it's feeling reminiscent of Fantasy (the 4th Style version), but maybe it's because I'm just not digging it. 44/100.
No, it's SUPER Eurobeat! *thwap* It definitely wasn't as good as Daisuke. But, I liked the vocals. I have hope that once again, the OST version will be better. In this case, bringing out the vocals from underneath the oppression of the SEB synthline. 60/100. (difference: +16)
Lia / Horizon
Anthem-style happy trance. It's a little dream-like, and works for me a lot better than the other trance we've seen. 66/100.
I liked this one a lot. Too bad the vocals were buried under 10 layers of happy hardcore, but, hey, it's pretty decent. 70/100 for now. (difference: +4)
新谷あきら / Injection Of Love
Sana gets all DIRTY, commanding us to touch her, lick her, and fuck her - who thought our poor Beatmania could become such a dirty game? (And who are we to deny her?) A infectuous bouncing melody and good instrumentation makes this one hot injection. 80/100.
.. and I thought Sana Morette ne Ente was bad. Oh, God, how I love Akira Yamaoka. This was amazing. 90/100. (difference: +10)
John Robinson / Kecak
More trance, with a slight tribal feel. Good rhythm, good feeling, good enough. 60/100.
It's like Max 150 meets Afronova. That's not a bad thing. 70/100. (difference: +10)
BeForU / Ki-Se-Ki (IIDX RED Edit)
I'm sorry, folks, I'm over Naoki's traditional euro/j-pop stuff, and by extension, I'm over BeForU. I don't care how many trance elements he throws in, or para-style offbeat notes, the thing stinks. It ends abruptly and I don't want to hear it again. 35/100.
So, this is the new BeForU? Now we have 6 vocalists who all sound the same. I'll give it a 60/100, just becuase I like the music. That's being generous, though. However, I didn't feel it to be quite the antichrist Remy did. (difference: +25)
DJ 19 / King Of Groove
Fairly generic and repititious techno, with a bit of tribal. This is one of those songs you'll be skipping over every time you play - not because it's bad, just because it doesn't stand out. 45/100.
Well said.. this fits well in the realm of "background music." 50/100. (difference: +5)
Orange Lounge / Les Filles Balancent
Hey, it's Orange Lounge! And they're back, with trumpets! A little too cutesy this time around, probably the worst of the five Orange Lounge songs as it just sounds like a hodge podge of the others; still, not horrible. 52/100.
I'm not one to piss on Tomosuke for sticking with the standard Orange Lounge formula. Not a stand-out track though. 50/100 (difference: -2)
Tetsuya Uchida / Listen To Yourself
Old school organ house crossed with a traditional japanese melody. I've been missing Symphonic Defoggers lately so this quasi-throwback doesn't hurt. 64/100.
Quite a strange amalgamation, indeed. I'm not quite sure what to think of it at this point. There's just something somewhat disturbing about a 1970s pre-disco style keyboard melody combined with Japanese woodwind instruments. It could grow on me. 60/100. (difference: -4)
good-cool feat. Raj Ramayya / Move Me
Ignoring the beginning, this is a solid, slow good-cool track. It's been a while since good-cool's done anything this slow...oh WAIT FAST ENDING. Good stuff, not typical good-cool at all, it's refreshing. 75/100.
It's certainly a-typical good-cool. I liked Denpasar better, but this was by no means bad. But, not great. 70/100. (difference: -5)
Matt Land / Night Flight To Tokyo
More eurobeat, with some interesting melody tweaks but a meh refrain. By this point, I'm Eurobeaten out. 45/100.
Since I'm not as anti-Eurobeat as Remy is, I'll have to disagree with his low rating. However, all of the Super Eurobeat songs in this go-around really are sounding almost exactly the same. Like, somebody spliced an Initial D soundtrack into the rest of this. 60/100. (difference: +15)
Q'Hey / On The Tube
This got lumped into the Minimal genre; I think Konami needs to learn what "minimal" actually is. Compared to the eurobeat, sure, it's minimal, I guess. This is making me recall some Pink Pong songs, and like most Beatmania players, I don't have the fondest Pink Pong memories. 48/100.
This is kind of cool. I think Konami stuck with the "minimal" tag because it's mostly percussion with some mild trancey elements thrown in for good measures (this is IIDX after all). I don't find anything particulary bad about this song. But, nothing particularly great. I'll go for a solid 65/100. (difference: +17)
N.A.R.D. feat. masayo / Perfectworld
Secret Tale II. That's all you need to know. 45/100.
Well said. 45/100. (difference: 0)
jun feat. Paula Terry / Raspberry Heart (English Version)
Am I the only one who thinks Paula Terry at the beginning sounds just a touch like one of the Wario Ware voices? COME ON, LET'S GO! In any case, she's not adding anything to 40/100.
For the love of God, why did they have to Engrishify one of my favorite jun songs? Paula Terry's vocals just *do not work* in this song. But, who knows, it may grow on me like Maria and Hyper Eurobeat (IIDX Style)) did. Then again, I'm a sick fuck. For now, though, 50/100. (difference: +10)
Tatsh & Naoki / Red Zone
Oh lord. Cross B4U, Dynamite Rave, and Drop The Bomb, and you get Red Zone. Here's why I hate Naoki, folks: Because we've had all these previous songs drilled into our head, the newer songs don't have anything that really sound distinctive because he can't come up with anything newer to do. Kiss of death: The vocalist says "Speed Rave" at least twice. 40/100.
Prophet of shitty eurobeat, indeed. Once the refrain came on I was about ready to shout, "JUMP JUMP JUMP D-D-R." Oh, Remy, you forgot to lump in D2R and Naoki's electric guitar playing. SPEED RAVE, SPEED RAVE, OHGODMAKEITSTOP. 40/100. (difference: 0)
Kohta / Resonate 1794
Whoever at Konami keeps putting years in the song titles need to get shot. This is more renaissance-y than AA, but what's with the plane taking off noises? 60/100.
I really don't know what to think of this. I mean, on the top I liked the renaissanceness of it, but the overlaid sound effects were really obnoxious. The second half was particularly awesome (despite the plane taking off noise). 70/100. (difference: +10)
DJ Tomo / Rok Da World
The guitar riff feels stolen from KMFDM, and the vocal sample feels stolen from Ferry Corsten. But it's not really a bad thing, it's just not a great thing. 55/100.
This was acceptable enough, if not slightly forgettable. 60/100. (difference: +5)
DJ Swan / Secret Of Love
Holy crap DJ Swan is back. This is a little less drum'n'bass than Gentle Stress was, but the melody is reminiscent enough. Not as good as I would hope (I was a huge Gentle Stress fan), but still good. 67/100.
I really liked this, more than Gentle Stress. The beginning was slightly meh. The middle to end part was awesome, and felt really rich with the great layers. It could have been wrapped up better in the end, though. I thought it was really good. 75/100. (difference: +8)
Y&Co. / Speedy Cat
True story: Y&Co wrote this about dj BTNS. He can already AAA it. Anyhow, Y&Co is very hit and miss, and after hitting with Daisuke, unfortunately they miss by a bit here. 44/100.
Nothing objectionable here, nor particularly memorable. Certainly not as good as Daisuke or most of the other Y&Co stuff. 50/100 (difference: +6)
Tatsh feat. K.Nayuki / Sphere
Another cross between trance-ish stuff and medieval music. If you slapped this, A, Resonate 1794, North, and No.13 in a course, I would not complain. Decent stuff, this. 63/100.
I loved it. I could spring for a long version. I could listen to this over and over again. 75/100 (difference: +12)
DJ Setup / Spiral Galaxy
Setup is channeling L.E.D. on this one, as I'm being reminded of Hyper Boundary Gate a bit. This is a good, fast moving sort of trance - looming, a little evil (really enjoying the string stabs), and fun to listen to. 70/100.
I can't mess with what Remy said. I'm in 100% agreement. 70/100 (difference: 0)
Slake / Texture
Another song that's going to divide the Bemani community in two. To those that dig Slake, they're going to find a funky shuffle-beat sleaze masterpiece. To those that can't stand him, this will be a choppily sampled mish-mash that they just don't understand. I find myself again back in the first group. 75/100.
Best genre ever: Death Disco. I absolutely loved this song. Then again, I guess I fall into the first group, too. 80/100. (difference: +5)
Twin AmadeuS / Wonder Bullfighter
When I saw this on the location test lists, after how nuts I went over Frozen Atmosphere, this became the song I was most curious about. I have not been disappointed; the string melody is still there, but this time there's scratching - and more pronounced drums. I get the feeling I'll like this even more on the OST, but for now, 80/100.
This is one bizarre song, for sure. But, I'm not a huge fan of Frozen Atmosphere, so maybe I just didn't get it. There were parts of it that I liked, other parts just felt like a mess. I can't in good conscious rate it as high as Remy. 60/100, I think will cover it. But, I agree that it'll be better in the OST. (difference: -20)
大桟橋 / ウッチーズ
The first half is a ballad. I cannot stand the first half. But right at the middle, it picks up, and turns actually pretty good. The bass line is reminiscent of Take On Me, and the vocals become substantially better with this behind it. So I'm torn on how to grade this, but I will cautiously go 60/100.
Had I not read your comments first, I'd probably hate the beginning, too. But knowing a fast part was coming up, I managed to enjoy the whole thing. Looks like your impression shaped mine to a respectable 80/100. I really dug the whole thing. (difference: +20)
Naoki feat. 星野奏子 / 太陽～T・A・I・Y・O～
Another Naoki trance-with-female-jpop-vocals. Oh and THERE'S the fucking Naoki trademarked do-Do-do-Do-DOO! Thank god, for a minute I almost didn't have a problem with this song! Songs like this make me wish DDR games were still being produced so Naoki would stop crapping up IIDX with them. 42/100.
I liked the downbeats and minor chords in this, even though the do-Do-do-Do-DOO did knock it down several notches. I mean, Jesus, how hard is it to do "euro" without pissing all over it with the dreaded do-Do-do-Do-DOO? If I just cancel that out, it becomes 60/100. (difference: +18)
Osamu Kubota / 惑
Osamu, Osamu, Osamu, what the fuck is this? There are portions in here I really dig, but there are also portions in here I'm just not understanding at all. I realize this is supposed to be "Asian Crossover", but what is it crossing from or to? Lush instruments makes for at least a 50/100.
I honestly feel this will be much better in OST form. In all it sounded really good, but some of the layering of the sounds seemed really bizarre, no doubt because it was what was being keyed in. I really liked the backing melody and percussion elements. I hold out hope. 60/100. (difference: +10)
So, in all, I rated 200 points higher than Remy did. Perhaps it was because I was more forgiving of the Eurobeat stuff. I think in all it looks like a pretty decent soundtrack. As usual, the quality ante keeps getting upped with each new IIDX release. I can't wait to hear the OST. It's hard to do objective reviews going simply by GST tracks, since so many factors including poor recording (this one was not one of the worst recordings, but lots of clipping due to over-amplification), or poor playing (which isn't anywhere near as bad here as it was when the 8th Style GST was circulating).
We'll just have to see where we converge and diverge when the OST comes out.
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Your blockquote is missing for the 'Sphere' review.
i like you alive. :( siskel was much cooler though.
Actually, I believe Super Eurobeat is used here to denote that the track came from avex. beatmania has had Eurobeat tracks before, but if it's an avex track and not a Konami original, then it gets Super Eurobeat as the genre.