Minicon 1 or 2?

[kannazuki]

I've been looking around Yahoo!Japan Auctions for one of these and I'm noticing that there are two types of minicontrollers floating around - one transparent one that looks like this and one in white that looks like this.

I'm not exactly too sure on the differences between both controllers just from pics alone since I've only played pop'n in the arcade, but has anybody played on either one or both and noticed any differences between them?

And finally, which one would you recommend for someone who's not too experienced with pop'n?

[Eight]

I believe the later ones have rounded buttons or something. The original one (Mine's transparent green, as I believe they all are) has flatter buttons.

Mine responds just fine after years of play, though -- but I think a lot of people prefer the later version over the original.

Input?

[Brett]

MINI IS CHEATING!!!

[Kaykun[Stoked]]

Mini is cheating until you play the older games, lol. The ones that require throwin' bows.

[Eight]

I find the minis somewhat hard to use, actually... hitting more than two buttons at a time can get hard to do in some cases, and the darn thing slides about when you start playing harder songs. I start playing 35+ songs and I have to adjust the thing every once in a while to keep it under my hands.


...for patterns that would require elbows, though? Yeah, it's definitely easier to do. I'll admit that one.

[허드손]

Originally Posted by Kaykun[Stoked]

Mini is cheating until you play the older games, lol. The ones that require throwin' bows.

Assuming that using a mini is cheating to begin with (which I'm not saying it is), suggesting that it isn't cheating when you play the older games because of elbow hits really isn't helping your cause. Using a mini because elbows hits are significantly easier on a mini would, assuming that it is considered cheating, even MORE of a cheat device than on songs without elbows.

[Owen]

If I am not mistaken, lot of the charts with "elbow" hits were CS only and therefore were probably designed with the mini in mind seeing as the ASC wasn't released until around the time Pop'n made the jump to the PS2.

[Deca]

Mini isn't cheating, it's just not playing pop'n music at all. It's beatmania with two more keys.

That said, I used a mini for a year or so before I could afford my ASC. It beats playing on a dualshock (or dreamcast controller). If you just want to get into the series and have fun with the music while you're waiting to afford or just see if you want an ASC then there's no reason why you shouldn't grab a mini. Playing on anything at all is going to help you read better, and playing on an ASC is different enough that you don't need to worry too much about developing detrimental habits.

As far as which mini to get, definitely go with the 2. I've played on both, I have a 2 and a good friend of mine has a 1. My friend has had a LOT of problems over the years with his buttons sticking, while I haven't had any. Also I find it a bit easier to play on the 2 with it's domed buttons, and just feels better in general.

[Kaykun[Stoked]]

Totally not serious when contributing to CALF's post in sequence to his joke post.

[hideki]

The only pop'n controller I've owned is a mini con2. I got it back when I think it first came out with pop'n 10. There are no arcades around here that have pop'n music machines, but when I did go to Japan I played quite a bit. I wasn't too crippled from being a mini-player but I know there would be a few things that would take getting used to. This was, of course, a couple of years ago when I only had the mini con for a short time(say, 6months of "training"). By all means, get a mini2 but don't think that it'll propel you into the world of pop'n music when it comes to Arcade playing.

I agree that it feels a lot like IIDX, mainly with all the note combinations. I guess the minicon was easy to catch on to because in reality it was exactly like IIDX, just different charts(you can play IIDX with it too).

It's good you have an arcade near you(i presume), so you'll be able to get the flow of the charts at home with a mini-con and then apply them to an arcade machine. I just wonder if the transition would be awkward...

[cupcake]

mini-2 is great. I dont have time to dig it out very often, but it has its benefits.

- extremely light, responsive buttons
- small and portable
- "reasonably" quiet - very quiet compared to playing an ASC at full speed.

Doesn't necessarily train you for pop'n on a full-size controller, but it can help if you are disciplined and resist the urge to play it like a 9 key beatmania.

[blindrockerstylz2]

If its an official controller, wouldn't that void all "cheating" anyways?

and KayKun, Love the Lakai Fully Flared sig.

[Kaykun[Stoked]]

Hell yes. Koston all day, baby.

By the way, still for the minicon 2.

[blindrockerstylz2]

I want a Mike Mo sig.... :[

Yeah I have tried the minicon 2 and just having the buttons slightly raised probably makes a world of difference....thats my opinion though.