Update: August 6, 2009
«©NCSX» The last Pop'n Music game for the Playstation 2 was released two summers ago in 2007. NCS is fairly certain that Pop'n Music 14 Fever was the series' swansong on the PS2 since the console is ancient and software sales have been dwindling for years. It's unclear however if Konami will make the PS3 the console of choice for canonical Bemani releases but until that's sorted out, a new Pop'n Music reaches the Japanese consumer market this week. Not for the Xbox 360 nor the PS3 however. This one's exclusively for the Wii where rhythm-loving gamers will wag the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to hit the onscreen cues. The basic gist of Pop'n Music is pastel-colored Beatmania. Cues rain down the screen and a corresponding button must be slapped when each cue reaches the baseline below.
The Wii rendition of Pop'n Music features a little over 40 songs that are included on the game disc but additional songs may be downloaded for a small fee. That's Konami's way of milking the Bemani faithful just a little bit more after the initial sale. An assemblage of familiar characters and a four-player mode dubbed "Score March" allows party people to play the game together like a musical gang. Product SKU: RI025-J1
Alternate SKU: RVL-P-R83J
JAN Code: 4988602146714
Japanese Product Name: ポップンミュージック
Publisher: Konami
Compatibility: Nintendo Wii (Japan-Only)
Website: http://www.konami.jp/bemani/popn/ View the back cover and screenshots on the main NCSX website. Region Lock-out
Please note Japanese Wii games will not boot on USA or European Wii consoles due to the inherent region-lockout on Japanese Wii game discs. A Freeloader (and a Wii with 3.2U firmware) is required to play Japanese Wii games.
NCS Game Notes
» Pop'n Music Wii is played with a combination of the Nunchuk and Wii Remote. A short training exercise at the outset of the game teaches games how to hold the controllers and how to wave them left and right to trigger the arrow cues on screen. For example, to trigger the left-pointing arrow, wave the Nunchuk to the left. To trigger the downwards facing arrow on the left side of the screen, wave the Nunchuk downwards. When trying to hit the down arrow with the Nunchuk however, we found that jutting it downwards would often trigger the left-pointing arrow. After the training stint, a short Pop'n Music game will commence where you're to hit the cues to the best of your ability. » A total of 14 characters may be selected at the outset of the game including the sisters Mimi and Nyami. » The presentation of Wii Pop'n Music is radically different from the Arcade and PS2 versions. Instead of a backdrop where cues rain downwards, you'll see your chosen character larger than life on screen in front of buttons. As the cues drop in front of the character, his/her hands roam and smack the buttons in time to your gesticulations. The cues are as follows: Left Side of Screen (Nunchuk Cues)
Left Arrow
Down Arrow
Right Arrow Right Side of Screen (Remote Cues)
Left Arrow
Down Arrow
Right Arrow The Right Arrow from the left side of the screen and the Left Arrow from the right side of the screen share the same cue bubble located in the center of the screen. » Whereas the canonical Pop'n Music games are precise and demanding, the Wii rendition of Pop'n is more forgiving due to the nature of the cue triggers. The Remote and Nunchuk are simply not as precise as hitting a certain button. That also explains why there's only six cues as opposed to the nine cues of Pop'n 14. » Songs include "High School Love," "Shanghai Honey," "Rhapsody in Blue," "Little Rock Overture,""Linda Linda," "Last Train," "Orion," "Shugo Chara!'s 1st ED," "Butterfly," "We are the Champ," "My Wings," "Macross Frontier 3rd OP," and "PingXPongXDash" from a song list of 40 tracks that we perused this morning. Please note that the version of "Butterfly" included in Pop'n Wii is not the classic Bemani song from Smile.DK. » Konami is charging 100 Wii Points for each pair of Pop'n Music songs as follows: Pops
J-GARAGE POP / Miracle Moon
SHY POP / ネガイゴト / 肥塚良彦 Modern
MODERNISM / 電波の暮らし
浪速っ子ブギ / こなもん屋人情歌 Ethnic
TABLA'N BASS / ナタラディーン
CONTEMPORARY NATION 3 / Echoes Additional tracks will also be available but please note that the DLC is stored on the Wii's internal memory and cannot be transferred to an SD card. A limitation that Konami specifies is that only five pairs of songs may be downloaded to the Wii's internal memory. This document is ©NCSX 2009. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.
|
