a couplr newbie questions

-karu- · 06-03-2009, 11:15 AM

Hey guys im sorry, i know all of these questions were most likely asked before.
I just have a few questions that seem kind of dumb.. i used the search feature and found some stuff, but i couldn't find the rest.

1. is there a free/cheap way of making my ps2 play japanese games like pop'n?

2. is the konami made controller () good to use?

3. Im probably getting pop'n 9 (New Pop n Music 9 For Import PS2 - eBay (item 400050783821 end time Jun-18-09 14:02:20 PDT)) because it is only like 40 bucks.. is there something wrong about this version of the series? would someone perfer another one?

Thanks for all of your help and sorry if you have had to answer the same questions like 80 times already.

zorahk · 06-03-2009, 08:27 PM

Quote:

1. is there a free/cheap way of making my ps2 play japanese games like pop'n?

Not free, but cheap. Check out swap magic, and get a fliptop if you can because the slide card is annoying as hell and inconvenient. If you get tired of this, you can always buy an import ps2 later.

Quote:

2. is the konami made controller () good to use?

I would have to say no for all three of the controllers they make. The mini's are especially horrible, and the ASC they made is overpriced and inferior to third party products.
If you can swing it, I would recommend you get a DJ Dao controller over at bemaniasc.com because it is nearly indistinguishable from the arcade, and trust me, I play at the arcade a lot.

Quote:

3. Im probably getting pop'n 9 (New Pop n Music 9 For Import PS2 - eBay (item 400050783821 end time Jun-18-09 14:02:20 PDT)) because it is only like 40 bucks.. is there something wrong about this version of the series? would someone perfer another one?

There's nothing wrong with pop'n 9 at all, and in fact it has a great songlist. However, the unlock game is EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING if you are new to the series and do not know Japanese. In addition, it feels extremely dated compared to never versions of the game, and does not feature certain high speed and other mods added in later games.

Uno-kun · 06-03-2009, 09:00 PM

Swap Magic disks also come with a few "keys" to mod, but they're a pain to put in. However, this is better than opening your PS2 and voiding the warranty.

-karu- · 06-04-2009, 08:54 AM

Thanks for all the help! im glad you guys dont mind answering questions like other forums.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zorahk

Not free, but cheap. Check out swap magic, and get a fliptop if you can because the slide card is annoying as hell and inconvenient. If you get tired of this, you can always buy an import ps2 later.

If i use the swap magic with the slim, do i have to keep on using the disk over and over everytime i want to play a japanese game? or only once?

Quote:

Originally Posted by zorahk

I would have to say no for all three of the controllers they make. The mini's are especially horrible, and the ASC they made is overpriced and inferior to third party products.
If you can swing it, I would recommend you get a DJ Dao controller over at bemaniasc.com because it is nearly indistinguishable from the arcade, and trust me, I play at the arcade a lot.

I would rather not get a controller that is around 200 dollars if i havent even ever played the game yet.. there is a 60 dollar one made by konami, that a lot of people are telling me is bad. so im not sure what i should do about that.
what would you say is the best controller for someone that is just starting, never played before, and is a price that wont kill me if i dont like the game?

Quote:

Originally Posted by zorahk

There's nothing wrong with pop'n 9 at all, and in fact it has a great songlist. However, the unlock game is EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING if you are new to the series and do not know Japanese. In addition, it feels extremely dated compared to never versions of the game, and does not feature certain high speed and other mods added in later games.

I dont really know that much japanese but i can read some. Are you saying i cant change the speed of the how fast the buttons fall, or i cant make it go into really high speed? because in rhythm games i always change the speed of how fast the buttons(?) fall.

once again thanks for all of your help, and im sorry i keep asking questions i just really want to try this game, and no arcade around me has it. i saw it at an anime convention and i didn't want to try it because the people that were playing it were really good, and i never played before, so i didnt want to hold them up.

adonis_minus_20 · 06-04-2009, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -karu-

If i use the swap magic with the slim, do i have to keep on using the disk over and over everytime i want to play a japanese game? or only once?

Yeah, you have to use the swap magic each time for every game you play, i.e. if you want to switch games from say Popn 9 to Popn 10 or whatever, you would have to load swap magic again before switching to Popn 10. A bit of a pain but it works fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by -karu-

I would rather not get a controller that is around 200 dollars if i havent even ever played the game yet.. there is a 60 dollar one made by konami, that a lot of people are telling me is bad. so im not sure what i should do about that.
what would you say is the best controller for someone that is just starting, never played before, and is a price that wont kill me if i dont like the game?

Your best bet imo is to start with the mini controller made by Konami. It's not bad if you're just starting out and want to determine if you like the game enough to put out the big money for an ASC (Arcade Style Controller). The minicon will give you a good feeling of the gameplay and whether you like it or not and also give you the chance to learn how to read the note charts and start getting better at reading and playing hte game in general. If you like it enough and think you'll stick with it and have the money then you can go for an ASC. It will take a couple of weeks or so to acclimate yourself to the bigger controller and some techniques that you may have developed on the minicon won't work on the ASC. It's not that big of a deal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by -karu-

I dont really know that much japanese but i can read some. Are you saying i cant change the speed of the how fast the buttons fall, or i cant make it go into really high speed? because in rhythm games i always change the speed of how fast the buttons(?) fall.

I think the earlier Popn games went up to at least 4x, so I would say you'll be fine unless you want to read at really high speeds. I have trouble at anything close to or over 600 BPM.

Good luck!

-karu- · 06-04-2009, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adonis_minus_20

Good luck!

Thank you for everything guys.. im trading my fat ps2 for a slim one so i can use that disk instead of going inside my ps2.. every time i go inside stuff like my pc or anything really, im just really scared i might break something. and as for pop'n 9 i youtubed some songs.. and it seemed good, so if the speed can go up to 4 thats fine with me.. and the mini controller is probably what i will be getting for first time and as the time goes on ill be saving up for a asc.
thanks everyone!

zorahk · 06-04-2009, 11:34 AM

Pop'n 9 has high speed x2 x4 x6 and x8. No x3 or x5 which is a pain in the ass.

-karu- · 06-04-2009, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zorahk

Pop'n 9 has high speed x2 x4 x6 and x8. No x3 or x5 which is a pain in the ass.

DAMN!! >.> thanks lol i think im gonna get another version then because i was gonna try 3 at first and most people that i see playing use 5.... lame.. thanks lol. would anything above 9 have all of them?

Also for the swap magic flip top.. do i have to buy the other flip top or could i just like poke a whole in the lid so i can lift it open without hitting the eject button?

adonis_minus_20 · 06-04-2009, 11:43 AM

I highly recommend Popn 11, it has a great song list, I know it has 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x for speed mods.

-karu- · 06-04-2009, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adonis_minus_20

I highly recommend Popn 11, it has a great song list, I know it has 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x for speed mods.

ok cool thanks, i checked ebay and its only like 5 bucks more so ill be getting 11.. plus i checked youtube and it looked a little nicer for some reason. if it has a good song list i might aswell get it anyways.. but im still feeling weird about the whole modding a ps2 thing and i dont want to buy a japanese ps2.. i think the fat ps2 might be easier unless you use the modchip.. idk. and the controller will just have to do until i can raise enough money for an asc.

adonis_minus_20 · 06-04-2009, 01:36 PM

The fat PS2 is superior imo to the slim PS2. The laser is better and has a longer life, and is less prone to overheating. You could buy a fliptop case for your fat PS2 and swap magic discs and just stick with that.

zorahk · 06-04-2009, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by -karu-

DAMN!! >.> thanks lol i think im gonna get another version then because i was gonna try 3 at first and most people that i see playing use 5.... lame.. thanks lol. would anything above 9 have all of them?

Also for the swap magic flip top.. do i have to buy the other flip top or could i just like poke a whole in the lid so i can lift it open without hitting the eject button?

You don't seem to quite get how high speed works so I will explain.
It's not fixed. You won't end up always using 5. In fact, if anything, the most common speed as of pop'n 16 is 3.5.
But it depends on the song. You want to get the BPM to be around 600-700~ after multiplier so um depending on the song you will use a different speed. Some songs x6 is too slow and others x2 is even too fast.

-karu- · 06-04-2009, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adonis_minus_20

The fat PS2 is superior imo to the slim PS2. The laser is better and has a longer life, and is less prone to overheating. You could buy a fliptop case for your fat PS2 and swap magic discs and just stick with that.

ok, couldn't i just use the switch thing so that i manually take out the disc tray? i saw some people on youtube doing something like that.. i dont want to buy something that would cost more money when i can do it for cheaper.

Quote:

Originally Posted by zorahk

You don't seem to quite get how high speed works so I will explain.
It's not fixed. You won't end up always using 5. In fact, if anything, the most common speed as of pop'n 16 is 3.5.
But it depends on the song. You want to get the BPM to be around 600-700~ after multiplier so um depending on the song you will use a different speed. Some songs x6 is too slow and others x2 is even too fast.

i figured it would be like that after i made the post. i watched some youtube videos, and saw that the same person that posted the videos of him playing kept changing the speed to lower or faster. but now i get it more thanks. 600-700 seems like a high number, but i wouldn't know ive never really tried the game, just keep watching a bunch of videos. Thanks for explaining it better.

So i should be getting a
-pop'n controller(probably the mini konami one first because its my first time)
-pop'n 11 game
-ps2 swap magic
and il be good to go? it seemed more complicated before i talked to you guys about it all so thanks. its still gonna cost around 140 which is a lot, but il be saving up for a better controller and different versions of the game if i like it enough( i probably will since i love rhythm games).
Thanks guys you really helped me a lot! im really looking forward to this game!

zorahk · 06-04-2009, 10:58 PM

Well theoretically sometimes you will read as high as 750-800 if you can stomach it.

But it will take you a long time before you get good and need to do that. I have been playing 2 years and can only pass 40s. The difficulty system goes to 43.

-karu- · 06-04-2009, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zorahk

Well theoretically sometimes you will read as high as 750-800 if you can stomach it.

But it will take you a long time before you get good and need to do that. I have been playing 2 years and can only pass 40s. The difficulty system goes to 43.

o.o! well it looks really hard! god i need to find an arcade around me that has this game, but i'll look like an idiot playing it because i never tried it. when i play rhythm games i only play on higher speeds to spread the the chart out more. that number just seems ridiculous! well i guess ill never know until i actually try it..

what speed do you think i should start out on? like what range in bpm 600-700? or lower?