Very quick GFDM PS2 question (read, respond, lock)

[stoyq]

I'm thinking of getting the CS version of GF/DM for my flip-top-modded PS2

Here are some questions I have:

1) Which should I buy? I've heard of Masterpiece Silver, and V2. Are there any others?
2) I'm looking to buy 1 DM controller and 1 GF controller (both non-AC-controller), how much will that be?
3) Is session possible? And how does it work? Drummania on left part of screen and GF on right part of the screen? How about if I want to have 1 DM and 2 GF players to session together? Do I need a controller expansion thing?

Thanks

[Miesteron]

I'll answer the best I can, here.

1) Aside from MPS and V2, there are also CS versions of V, GF4th/DM3rd, and GF3rd/DM2nd. MPS, V, and V2 are all still in production, but the latter two are much older and more difficult to track down.

There are also older, non-sessionable mixes, but I recommend sticking to the combo packages.

And of course, Masterpiece Gold will be coming out on March 8th.

As for which to buy, it's hard to recommend one or the other. If there are certain songs in the Session series you like, check out the official websites for each game from here and browse through the song lists. For a general recommendation though, V2 has more mainstream pop-rock music and is generally considered more accessable, while Silver is a great all-around mix of some of the best songs from the past few years. I'd lean more towards V2 to get you started, though.

2) Through Play-Asia, one GF controller and one DM controller will run you about $130 before shipping. Though, you'll have to wait for them to restock their GF controllers.

3) Session is possible in all recent mixes. You can choose from two screen types during Session play, one with the movie in the center (which causes the drum side to be squished quite a bit) and one without the movie, leaving all playing fields intact. And yes, if you want to have a three-player Session, you'll need a Multitap.

Hm.. that wasn't as brief a reply as I'd hoped.. oh well, hope that helps

[M4XX loves Under the Sky]

The one with the movie in the center is designed for widescreen TVs.
If you have a HDTV, it's pretty much essential to get MPS or V2, as they have timing adjust.
You can 3-player session without a multitap, but your DM controller will need to be a proper digital drum set, running MIDI into the USB ports. But, it's very worth it, as the offical DM controllers SUCK.

[Checky]

1) Go to Cosmo in Richmond
2) Buy Guitar Controller and Drum controller
3) Borrow games from me and makes copies of them
4) Tadaa!

[AdamW]

i concur that you do NOT want to get the konami / topway dm controller. theyr're utterly terrible. if you want confirmation you can come over and try mine (I only have dtxmania, no CS versions, but you'll get the idea). I noticed one of the van music stores had a sale on DTXplorer - $999...

[tawkumi906]

dont mean to hijack this thread but it doesnt justify making a new one. I just got into DM and i want to get a KOC to see if im really going to get into it before i shell money for a DTXPLORER.
1) is the konami one better than the topway?
2) also, it is possible to play 3 person session with a multi-tap?


thanks in advance

[M4XX loves Under the Sky]

1- In my experience... No.
Maybe the Konami controller lasts longer, but the dimensions/shock/pedal/etc are all so terrible that you'll get sick of touching it before the Topway one dies.
2- ...Yes. See the second post.

[tawkumi906]

oh i didnt read it all. i feel like an idiot. thank you

[DKW]

1. The only other PS2 game is the original Drummania (the last game before GF and DM were combined). Good luck finding it; it's out of print and apparently pretty limited. The first two GH games are for PSX.

Which to buy? Whichever's available. This is organic, baseline, everyone-does-this-at-some-point music, and the style of music and gameplay have been largely unchanged from the very beginning to now (certainly nothing between 3rd/2nd and now). I give a slight edge to V, but that's just my considerable musical tastes. V2 is also a good choice. I recommend Masterpiece Silver as your second or third game, and it skews more difficult than normal (not to mention that unpleasant roulette unlock system).

2. Don't know about the DM controller, but the standard guitar runs $70. Well worth it if you're thinking of getting every GF game; otherwise, I'd get a joystick and hope for the best.

3. You can have up to three players playing, and you can set one or more to auto. There are no high score charts for Session from V upwards, however (I can't remember if there are for 3rd/2nd and 4th/3rd).

Hope that helps, and welcome to the club. Trust me, once you really get into this thumpin', rockin', jammin', no-frills, no-BS, unpretentious Bemani franchise, you'll wonder how you ever did without.

[BobbyS]

I have to eventually buy more ASC controllers/Drum Sets. I think my next purchase is a $300 ION drumset simply so I can play session mode/play some DrumMania.

[Checky]

Originally Posted by tawkumi906

dont mean to hijack this thread but it doesnt justify making a new one. I just got into DM and i want to get a KOC to see if im really going to get into it before i shell money for a DTXPLORER.
1) is the konami one better than the topway?
2) also, it is possible to play 3 person session with a multi-tap?


thanks in advance

Make sure you try an arcade machine first before you shell out money for a DTXplorer/DTXpress etc. KOC is in no way comparable to a real electronic drumkit.

[stoyq]

Cool, thanks for the responses

Btw, checkrox, where is Cosmo in Richmond?

[AlphaConqerer]

I really don't think the Drummania KOC is that bad; I've even gotten used to the smaller pads and can do level 80 songs on them quite effectively now, even with the default bass pedal. I can even do some crossover occasionally (though I usually have to chicken grab). I don't think it's such a bad grab if you can find one for cheap; of course I found mine in Japan while I lived there so it was cheap for me, but...
Anyhow, it's not the same as a real drumset, and actually by the time I got to play on an actual arcade Drummania again I was handicapped a bit as my arms weren't used to having to extend as much. But I don't think the KOC is as bad as people say it is. And it is really responsive.

As for mix selection, I recommend V2. THe unlock system isn't a pain in the ass like MPS, and you do get some good songs on top of the j-pop main line. I found more of the songs in V2 to have fun level 50 sections with some more technical parts in areas to train on and mix it up.

Anyhow, you could wait til March and pre-order Masterpiece Gold. I'm certain that one will quickly become many players' favorite, though I'm not certain it will have easy songs to train on.

[AdamW]

i don't actually say the KOC (well, I have the topway one, but they're equally crappy) is bad because you _can't_ play well on it. I say it's bad because playing on it is just fundamentally not fun. For me, anyway. It feels cramped and annoying and generally more like work than entertainment...

[shin-arudo]

Originally Posted by M4XX loves Under the Sky

The one with the movie in the center is designed for widescreen TVs.
If you have a HDTV, it's pretty much essential to get MPS or V2, as they have timing adjust.
You can 3-player session without a multitap, but your DM controller will need to be a proper digital drum set, running MIDI into the USB ports. But, it's very worth it, as the offical DM controllers SUCK.

just a small correction information, i have DM KOC, DTXplorer, GF KOC and GF ASC. Even though you have a DTX and 2 GF controllers, you must use a multitap because if Drum controller recognized then GF 1 is located in port 2
so after all for multisession with 3 players we need a multitap, using a DM KOC either Digital Drum set such as DTX series.