Pop'n Music 8/PS2

[hideki]

*One question...my review was technically based as a review of Best Hits but since the only thing that differs is the price should I label this as being a review of best hits? Just let me know, thanks.


Pop'n Music 8/Playstation 2

After playing my first Pop'n Music game(10 CS) I was convinced that I needed something else. After asking for recommendations i was pointed in the direction of Pop'n Music 8's CS release. The Best Hit's version was available making it even more accessible(and cheap) so I didn't think there was anything to lose...

After getting the game and getting to play I was extremely impressed. There were slight differences when compared with the 10 CS game I had first played, but this aside it's first impression was great. The starting song list I had scrolled through wondering which of all these songs I should choose first, which last, which next or even which for future games. It seemed like the perfect game, and I was situated rather quickly with the unlock system and this CS pop'n music's new look.

The game's default song list is superb. Pop'n Music's soundtracks are always great so you can expect the usual variation in genre's present: Guitar Pop, Anime Covers, Techno, Pop, Rock, etc. There were very little bad songs on the song list and I was excited to try almost all of the songs that I encountered on the song list. The song list attracted me the most because of the amount of Bemani crossovers present. This makes Pop'n Music 8 CS easily accessible to anyone who is just getting into pop'n music with knowledge of songs from almost any of the bemani games(even keyboardmania songs make an appearance on the song list).Some of my personal favorites were Flower Pop(Marigold), Soft Rock Long(Homesick pt.2&3), and Anubis(Beyond the Bounds).

Expert Courses also shined in this game. Courses themes' were very clear on what they would have and contained the best fitting songs for each. Courses were plentiful and highly enjoyable not only for the variety of courses that existed, but for the song's contained in each one. It is the greatest feeling to play two of your favorite songs back to back, and if they both aren't in any expert course you can save your own course data based on the set of songs you chose(provided you got the EX stage in Challenge mode). This further expands the Endless possibilities of Expert mode. There are also a handful of better courses to unlock using the unlocks system, all with secret songs.

These songs aren't incredibly frustrating to unlock either: Pop'n Music 8 gives you a very decent and fair way of unlocking songs that is also fun. The unlock system is based on the character traveling on a map of Japan. After each game, you are given a roulette to choose numbers 1-6. The number you land on is how many steps your character takes on the map. Each "stop" on the map is a new unlock: song, omake(gift images), expert course, or a new character. As you progress and unlock songs by other methods(extra stage, etc.) at times your character will land on a spot and nothing will be unlocked. This problem mainly occurred at the end of the game, but you were still obligated to finish the last go around to get the final songs.

The games practice system for new player's was also a great feature. Instead of throwing someone into the mix, the practice mode allowed players to choice a limited song list and practice with one button at a time first, then progress to using all the buttons on the Pop'n Music controller. This method is fun and easy for new players to get used to the game.

Probably the only flaw I found with the game came from the character usage department. Most of the unlockable songs' characters aren't playable and the ones that are playable are usually unlocked via the unlock system. Since the secret songs made up a large part of the song list and included some very nice characters this was fairly disappointing.
The only other thing I disliked was the lack of speed mods. As I became more used to higher speeds, I found that even x4 was not enough for some songs. Though this may not be a peeve to everyone I wish there would have been more.

As a bonus you can unlock Omake, special gift pictures that are obtained after getting a certain number of points in challenge mode. The pictures are highly enjoyable and aren't necessarily something you try to unlock, making it a very fun "free" unlock almost every stage. There were also special movies among the Omake images from the Pop'n Music artist live.

At the end of the day Pop'n Music 8 CS is just hands down an amazing CS release. You get numerous songs from all genres and bemani series, well composed expert courses, a very accessible beginner's mode, and a whole lot of unlocks along the way. With all the amazing songs you will never get tired of playing the game after you unlock all the secrets or not. Pop'n Music 8 CS is a brilliant game and for the price of a Best Hits title(2,890yen=about $25) it's well worth it. Plus, if you don't want to look cheap the reversible cover has the original 8 CS art on one side. Highly recommended for the Pop'n Freak(who might have overlooked this release the first time) or the Pop'n Freak to be. Well deserving of a great rating:
9.5/10