Keyboardmania II ~Keyboardmania 2nd Mix & 3rd Mix~ PS2 FAQ Version 1.0 Music/Keyboard simulation 1-2 players Accessories: USB Keyboard (either Konami's or a Yamaha compatible USB keyboard) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Copyright 2003 by JuneHa Kim/BakaOrochi All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction of this FAQ in any shape or form is prohibited. Come on, it's not like it's HARD to e-mail me if you want to use any part of this FAQ, is it? If you want to use ANYTHING, even codes or whatnot from this, CONTACT ME FIRST. This is my work, and not one bit of this is to be reproduced in any way, shape, or form. Copyright laws protect this FAQ. This is purely my own work, any other similarities to other FAQs are purely coincidental. I do respect all other copyrights and if I have inadvertently infringed on any, please contact me immediately so that I may remedy the problem. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- FAQ History: 1.0 10/4/03 -First release -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Contents: 1. What's the point of this FAQ? 2. What the heck is "Keyboardmania?" 2a. Why "Keyboardmania II"? 2b. Sequels, US versions, etc. 3. How to play 4. Modes of play 5. Frequently asked questions...well maybe not that frequent. 6. Can you give me some tips/secrets? 7. Songs in this version 8. Lyrics 9. Closing notes/Thanks/Contact Information -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 1. What's the point of this FAQ? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- In all honesty, I was playing and forgot how to get certain modes and songs, and looked online. Hey an FAQ! ...but I couldn't find what I needed. That's what this is for. Everything you need to know, and thensome. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 2. What the heck is "Keyboardmania?" -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- At this point, Konami has released a Dance simulation game, a DJ simulation game, a guitar simulation game, and a drum simulation game. Why not a keyboard simulation game? Keyboardmania (or "KBM" for short) brings the heart of the "Bemani" sound simulation series to the keyboard, and adds a large difficulty factor to it. Think "Beatmania" except with 24 keys, plus an effector wheel. People might think "I play piano, this game should be easy!" That's what Konami had in mind when they designed this game. IMHO, this is why KCEJ did NOT have this game read by simple sheet music; it would give pianists a natural advantage. Instead, now the game is read by reading bars. 24 keys sounds hard? It actually gets easier as you get used to the game. Believe it or not. It took me a day or two until I was able to start passing 1-2 star songs. While it's not as flashy as the other Bemani games, it's still quite as enjoyable, the tracks are done very well, and the music is quite excellent. If you enjoy the tracks on this game, Konami Music Entertainment released a CD full of longer versions of certain songs (additionally, each soundtrack has some of those long versions). 2a. Why "Keyboardmania II"? Because Konami killed the series after Keyboardmania 3rd Mix, this left anymore home versions (aka Consumer or CS) hanging in limbo. Players were now stuck with a keyboard, and a very-limited-songlist 1st Mix. Rather than making 2 separate mixes and have players pay for both, Konami made a bold (and very satisfying move for fans) to release both mixes in one DVD, and release it as the second KBM release for home. 2b. Sequels, US versions, etc. KBM 4th Mix was rumored in the works, then rumored to be released as a PS2 exclusive, but that was eventually quashed too. The only other Keyboardmania that currently exists is the version that Yamaha released under Konami's blessing for PC. It advertises of the ability to download songs as well. However, I do not know if the PS2 Keyboard works or what songs are currently on it, nor do I have any further information about this title (or how it works for that matter). -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3. How to play -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The main point of the game: Hit the corresponding key as the falling bar(s) line up with the red line on the bottom of the screen. If you see a flashing elongated bar, you must HOLD the key down until the end bar lines up with the red bar. If you release it too early or too late, it will be counted as a miss. If you see an arrow scroll down from the side of the screen, you must use your effector wheel. If the arrow points up and is blue, scroll (either left or right wheel) effector up when it hits the bottom red line. If the arrow is red and is pointing down, you must scroll the wheel downwards. You will only pass a song if your "life meter" is above 70%. If you miss too many keys, and your bar reaches below 0% (you CAN survive if you have EXACTLY 0%), your song will end early, with a "STAGE FAILED" message. This may change depending if you changed your settings. Rating: If you hit the key right on (give or take a few milliseconds), you'll get a GREAT! rating. If you hit the key on the red line, but not exact, you'll get a GOOD rating. Your combo will still be held. If you miss the key entirely, or miss a hold key, you'll get a MISS rating. That's all there is to it. Scoring: There are two things going on while you play. The maximum score you can get it 1000000 points (that's a million points for those not wanting to count the zeroes). This means you get 100% Perfects. If you get ALL perfects, you will be greeted with a "PERFECT PLAY" message. You will also notice there is a "COMBO METER", unless you changed the on-screen keyboard size (in which case, the Combo Meter will not be there). The bigger the combo you can hold out, the bigger your "Combo Bonus" will be at the end. Also, if you can hold a good combo/Great rating, you will be greeted with a "GOOD PLAY" or "GREAT PLAY" message. Judgement: At the end of your song, you get a letter grade for your performance. This is primarily based on how many GREATS you can score. Grades are as follows: SS-Perfect performance, nothing less than a "Great!" A-Excellent, several mistakes, good combo meter. B-Very good, enough to get by. A decent combo meter. C-Average. Low combo number. D-Bad, Very low combo number. E-Pretty much means you've either failed, or didn't hit a lot of the keys. F-Well, either you played a song you're REALLY bad in, or you just messed around. As in, barely played the song. G-Well...you didn't play the song. At all. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 4. Modes of play -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- There are several modes to choose from. Light This is for beginners just starting out. Instead of the full 24 keys, you will only play the left 12 keys. In game mode, you will NOT fail your first song on this mode, regardless if you drop below 70% or if your meter hits 0%. You can switch between Light and Light+ by hitting any white key on the keyboard during song selection. Light+ You will use the full 24 key keyboard, however songs will be MUCH easier than on REAL mode. Most crazy sequences will be shortened to just one key press. You can switch between Light and Light+ by hitting any white key on the keyboard during song selection. Real This is the difficult mode. Every key that you hear, you will be playing as you hear it. Scales, runs, everything. There's a reason why it's called "Real" mode. Certain chords however will be simplified into one key. You can switch between Light+ and Real by hitting any white key on the keyboard during song selection. Double You'll need two keyboards to play this mode. Unlike VERSUS mode, this mode is meant for one player only. That's right, 48 keys Keyboardmania. And no, nothing will happen if two players play double mode. Pressure This is your survival course. However, unlike most other Bemani games, your life gauge will NOT recover at all, whatsoever. Not even 1% between songs. Worst of all, your bar will not go down any easier; every miss will still take off percentage off your bar, no exceptions. Each miss takes off about 2%, so you have about 50 misses total. Thankfully, you can choose your difficulty for these courses. ANOTHER This is NOT a selectable play mode, as only 4 songs have this option. This will make songs more difficult by adding more keys to play. In some cases, you will have to play the full chords, in others like Carreza, you will have to do EVERY key press (so the song which was hard just became a WHOLE LOT harder). You can only access the Anothers of these songs by playing in REAL mode, then hitting the far left black keys (a tone will play, and the "REAL MODE" banner will change to "ANOTHER"). See Section 6 for which songs have Anothers. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 5. Frequently asked questions...well maybe not that frequent. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Q: Can I use my PS2 USB keyboard for my computer? A: Only if you can find the appropriate drivers. No, I do not have them. Q: Can I use my PS2 USB keyboard for *insert peripheral here* A: Try it out yourself. If it does not recognize it, you will have to find drivers. Q: Will there be any more KBM mixes coming out? A: Mostly likely not. Q: Why not? A: Pffft. Go ask Konami of Japan. Probably because it wasn't popular enough. Q: Is this game sessionable/super-sessionable with Guitar Freaks and/or DrumMania? A: No. Only the arcade version is. Keyboardmania II contains NO features or unlockable features that allows for any kind of sessioning, even though most of the session/super-session songs are there. Q: Will the next GF/DM (GitaDora) mix have sessioning/super-sessioning with KBM? A: Who knows? GF5/DM4 CS is LONG overdue, so no one knows if KCEJ has left the CS versions or not. Q: Who's the psycho rabbit and the green thing with the HUGE mouth? A: The rabbit's name is Usao. The green bear (yes, it's a bear)'s name is Hikki. Often times either is referred to as "Usao-kun" and "Hikki-kun." Q: Is the secret track "Gymnopedie" on KBMII? A: No. Q: Are there any other secret tracks? A: Only the ones mentioned below in section 6. Q: Is there a way to change the interface to Keyboardmania 2nd Mix style? A: KBM 1st Mix is basically the same as 2nd Mix's anyway. Otherwise, no. Q: Is there anyway to make the movie screen bigger? A: Nope. Your best bet is to use the background movie option in the Options menu. Q: Can I turn off a modifier in the middle of a game? A: Not that I know of, the only controllable modifier is speed. Q: Is there a longer version of Akumajo Dracula Medley? A: Unfortunately, none that I know of, not even in the Battle Selections or Perfect Selections or soundtracks. Q: Where's Presto from? A: Beatmania IIDX 3rd Style. Q: How many long versions exist in Keyboardmania? A: Only two are playable: Mighty Guy (1st Mix), Ma-Ssa-Ra (3rd Mix). The others that exist but are NOT in the game include: Cycletron, Heaven's Gate, Shiritori, Armajiro, Pink Rose, Henry Henry, Ma-ssa-ra, Mighty Guy, and etc. You will want to find either the original soundtracks for each mix, or just buy the "Keyboardmania Full-Sized Collection" soundtrack. Q: Why don't some songs have music videoes? A: For the majority, a very few number of songs do not have movies. Some of those are the Session/Super-Session songs from the arcade, so they weren't given music videoes. Those songs were playable along side Guitar Freaks 5th Mix and DrumMania 4th Mix (GF 6th and DM 5th was the only other combo mix that were sessionable with KBM). Those songs are: Monkey Magic Cosmic Cowgirl Mr. Moon Three Worms Depend on Me (New version) Dear My Friend Cassandra Classic Party 3 (Extra stage on GF5/DM4) The Least 100 Sec. (Encore stage on GF5/DM4) Shiritori was the only other sessionable/super-sessionable song, which is on KBM 1st Mix CS. Vitalize is also sessionable/super-sessionable, and is the only song with a movie otherwise. Q: Some of these songs are IMPOSSIBLE? Can ANYONE pass these? A: I saw a video of a very talented Japanese Beatmania player "DJ LISU" pass The Least 100 Sec. Real, all one handed, with a VERY good score. Yes, it's very possible. Q: Are there sheet music (or scores) for some of these songs? A: Although they're not too easy to find, they are available, made by fans. keyboardmania.org is a good starting place. Q: How can I hook up a Yamaha keyboard for KBM II? A: You will first off need a MIDI-->USB adaptor from Yamaha (they're rather pricy, I don't know if Radio Shack sells one, or if it's compatible). You may have to check your manual if your keyboard will be recognized by the PS2. I would strongly suggest sticking to the Konami PS2 keyboard (you can find them for less than $60 standalone). Q: Does a 3rd party/Yamaha keyboard work with Keyboardmania 1st Mix? A: No, because 1st Mix CS does NOT have USB keyboard support. Q: Can you tell me where else these songs are in? A: Ride on the Light can be found on Beatmania IIDX 6th Style (as a remixed version). Pink Rose can be found on Pop n' Music 7 (AC), Pop n' Music 5 (CS), and DDR Extreme. Presto can be found on Beatmania IIDX 3rd Style. Cassandra can be also found on Pop n' Music 8 The Least 100 Sec. can be also found on DDR Extreme and Beatmania The Final Frozen Ray can be found on Beatmania IIDX 6th Style and DDR Extreme. Ma-Ssa-Ra can be found on Pop n' Music 8 Q: Why does Monkey Magic and Dear My Friend have no artist listing? A: Because they are Guitar Freaks/DrumMania cover tracks. The artists listed in section 7 are the cover artists. Monkey Magic is originally performed by Godeigo. Dear My Friend is originally performed by Every Little Thing. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 6. Can you give me some tips/secrets? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Choosing 3rd Mix versions Some songs have altered versions. You can distinguish the versions by looking at the font of the song name. Italicized means the normal version, the regular font means it's the 3rd Mix version. The 3rd Mix version generally isn't any different, but the hold keys may not be there, or very minor changes are made to the keys. To get these versions, you must play the following songs 3 times in a row in one game: Ride on the Light Vitalize Sabre Dance Memories They will be playable in the next game after the first song (they will be at the very bottom of the list with a "(3rd)" designation). Hidden songs Two songs are "extra" tracks and you will need to fulfill certain requirements to unlock them during game mode. "Fur Elise" (ERISU NO TAMENI) can only be unlocked by passing your first song with at least an A. March of the Toy Soldiers can only be unlocked by passing your first song with at least a C. Long versions Only Ma-ssa-ra has a long version, and is naturally unlocked under 3rd Mix. Accessing Anothers Only 4 songs have an Another version. See Section 4 as to what "Anothers" are. You MUST be in "REAL MODE" to select the Anothers. Highlight one of the following songs, then hit the farthest left black keys at the same time (you will hear a tone, and "REAL MODE" banner will change into "ANOTHER." This banner will change back once you either hit the black keys again or change to another song): Pink Rose Illegally Sane Smoky Town Carreza Hidden Pressure course Well, it's not hidden, but it's only available in REAL mode. Just switch the difficulty over to Real when in choosing a course, and scroll down passed course 6. It's called the "Dokkiri" course. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 7. Songs in this version -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -=-From Keyboardmania 2nd Mix-=- 1. Mr.T - Ride on the Light Genre: Fusion BPM: 160 Difficulty: 3 2. A.Khachaturian - Sabre Dance Genre: Fight BPM: 185 Difficulty: 4 3. Naya~n - Memories Genre: Dramatic BPM: 80 Difficulty: 2 4. Sparker - Motion Genre: Electronica BPM: 160 Difficulty: 4 5. V.C.O. - Steam and Dream Genre: Eu-Tech BPM: 135 Difficulty: 2 6. Kukeikakurabu (Rectangle Wave Club) - Akumajo Dracula Medley Genre: K-Classics BPM: 124 Difficulty: 5 7. Osama Kubota - Presto Genre: Piano Ambient BPM: 135 Difficulty: 6 8. N.P.B. - Journey to the Wonderland Genre: Polka Dots BPM: 130 Difficulty: 3 9. III - Inspector N. Genre: Dandy BPM: 125 Difficulty: 1 10. Univers 6 - Snow Afternoon Genre: EZ Listenin' BPM: 122 Difficulty: 1 11. Simon - Manhattan Sports Club Genre: Turban BPM: 178 Difficulty: 5 12. World Sequence - Beyond the Ocean Genre: Asian BPM: 120 Difficulty: 3 13. The Rabbits - Usao-Kun Genre: Kids BPM: 140 Difficulty: 3 14. Natural Bear - Ma-ssa-ra Genre: Lite Pop BPM: 164 Difficulty: 2 15. Saki - Hear My Love Song Genre: Power BPM: 120 Difficulty: 3 16. Ryo & Q-Mex5 - Regret Genre: Hammer BPM: 132 Difficulty: 5 17. Sphinx - Vitalize Genre: PWM BPM: 138 Difficulty: 4 18. Nahjee & Hata - Heaven's Gate Genre: Brilliant BPM: 152 Difficulty: 4 19. Hiroyuki Namba - Cycletron Genre: Fingering BPM: 176 Difficulty: 6 20. Hiroyuki Namba - Onion Ring Genre: 60's BPM: 132 Difficulty: 5 21. Nahjee - Sun Beam Genre: Hyper Latin BPM: 125 Difficulty: 4 -=-From Keyboardmania 3rd Mix-=- 22. Natural Bear - Massara Long Version Genre: Lite Pop BPM: 164 Difficulty: 2 23. Kiyommy + Seiya - Pink Rose Genre: Heart BPM: 145 Difficulty: (Light) 3 (Real/Another) 4 24. Magic Project - New Century Generation Genre: Spark BPM: 131 Difficulty: 3 25. Nahjee - Show Them the Way Genre: Relax BPM: 115 Difficulty: (Light) 2 (Real) 3 26. Nahjee - Labyrinth Genre: Cool BPM: 154 Difficulty: 1 27. Tatsuya Nishiwaki - Illegally Sane Genre: Dangerous BPM: 131 Difficulty: (Light/Real/Another) 4 28. Q.U.A.D. - Smoky Town Genre: Quartet BPM: 189 Difficulty: (Light/Real/Another) 4 29. Tatsuya Nishiwaki - Threshold Label Genre: Chaos BPM: 184 Difficulty: 6 30. Mr.T - To The 44883 Genre: Walky BPM: 100 Difficulty: 4 31. Shinji Hosoe (REMIX) - EE-AL-K Genre: Far East BPM: 120 Difficulty: 3 32. Shinji Hosoe (REMIX) - Sensation -from Salamander 2- Genre: K-Generation BPM: 200 Difficulty: 4 33. DJ Taka - Frozen Ray Genre: Trance BPM: 156 Difficulty: 5 34. Q-Mex - Citta' Del Sole Genre: Vivace BPM: 140 Difficulty: 4 35. Simon - KlungKlung 1655 Genre: Gamelan BPM: 180 Difficulty: 5 36. Seiya Murai - Limitation Genre: Theme BPM: 150 Difficulty: 5 37. J.S. Mech - Q no tameno SONATA Genre: Noble BPM: 147 Difficulty: 6 38. Q-Mex - Blessing Genre: Sanctity BPM: 72 Difficulty: 1 39. Osama Kubota - Carezza Genre: Swing BPM: 128 Difficulty: (Light/Real/Another) 6 40. Naya~n - Midori no Kaze Genre: Cure BPM: 72 Difficulty: 2 -=-Session/super-session songs from Guitar Freaks/DrumMania-=- 41. Gary Adkins - Monkey Magic Genre: J-Pop BPM: 116 Difficulty: 4 42. Maki - Dear My Friend Genre: J-Pop BPM: 133 Difficulty: 2 43. Sasaki Hirofumi - The Least 100 Sec. Genre: Progressive BPM: 264 Difficulty: 6 44. Hideyuki Ono - Classic Party 3 Genre: Classic Medley BPM: ??? (~152-->~76-->~152-->~176-->~120-->~186-->~240-->~100) Difficulty: 5 45. Annetai Maji SKA Bukudan - Cassandra Genre: Ska BPM: 190 Difficulty: 3 46. Jimmy Weckl - Three Worms Genre: New York Funk BPM: 140 Difficulty: 6 47. Julie Ann Frost - Mr. Moon Genre: Dance Pops BPM: 150 Difficulty: 5 48. Thomas Howard with AMSD Band - Depend on Me Genre: Pops BPM: 129 Difficulty: 4 49. Toshio Sakurai - Cosmic Cowgirl Genre: Rock BPM: 145 Difficulty: 3 -=-Hidden tracks-=- 50. Ludwig Von Beethoven - ERIZE NO TAMENI (Fur Elise) Genre: Classic BPM: ??? (~130) Difficulty: 5 51. Leon Jessel - March of the Toy Soldiers Genre: Classic BPM: 125 Difficulty: 4 -=-3rd Mix changed tracks-=- *All these songs have the same difficulty and BPM as their 2nd Mix counterpart* 52. Ride on the Light (3rd) 53. Sabre Dance (3rd) 54. Vitalize (3rd) 55. Memories (3rd) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 8. Lyrics -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- I transliterated Pink Rose a long time ago, so this was easy to get. Plus it's still my favorite song =P The rest are pending for now. Pink Rose -Kiyommy + Seiya NAKANAIDE Hontoono kodokumo shiranai Mada awai hanabirani Namidano tsubu kakaetamama Ah, sawaranaide Atataka nasonotewa Watashi no subete kuruwasu Ne, yurusanaide Kitsuzuchio osaete Hohoenderu anataga iru Mou, karaenaine Ochiteku tokino amai katori Kurikae sutabini hidokunaru DAKISHIMETE Imadake suki datta furishite Datta hitotsunakenara Zenbu zenbu iranai BLOOMIN' LIKE A ROSE Hontoono kodokumo shiranai Mada awai hanabirani Namidano tsubu kakaetamama -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 9. Closing notes/Thanks/Contact Information -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Thanks to... Konami for making such a kick arse game Copyrights...(every game I mentioned thus far, just to be safe) Beatmania, Keyboardmania, Guitar Freaks, and Dance Dance Revolution are trademarks of Konami and the Bemani development team. PlayStation 2 is trademark and copyright of Sony Entertainment. ~~~ Before e-mailing me... Know that I don't read or respond to the following types of e-mails: -Begging for codes -Asking for the GameShark/Enhancer/whatever bypass code -How to modify a PlayStation -How to pirate games -How to unlock *your favorite song here* -Unlocking codes -Where to find MP3s or the songs -Spam -Viruses -Flames/Rants/Raves -Personal stories about how DDR changed their life -Stupid crap that's already been explained in the FAQ, but you're too lazy to read -CODES, PLEASE STOP ASKING ME FOR THEM -Other such stupidity You can e-mail me at BakaOrochi at bemanistyle dot com If you'd like to reuse this FAQ in ANYWAY, SHAPE OR FORM, YOU MUST contact me FIRST! So please save yourself the legal trouble. I won't bite your head off or anything =E -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- This FAQ can be located http://www.geocities.com/bo_iidx or http://www.gamefaqs.com