''beatmania IIDX 3rd Style'' is a

music video game A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs. Music video games may take a ...

developed by

Bemani , stylized as BEMANI, is Konami's music video game division. Originally named the Games & Music Division (G.M.D.), it changed its name in honor of its first and most successful game, ''Beatmania'', and expanded into other music-based games, mos ...

and published by

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casi ...

, initially released as an arcade game in Japan on February 25, 2000, and subsequently ported to the PlayStation 2 on November 2. ''3rd Style'' removed the 4-keys mode from previous installments and replaced it with the Light7 difficulty, giving most songs a fully separate, easier notechart. The game also introduced Free Mode and Extra Stage, and featured a new aesthetic.

Gameplay

''Beatmania IIDX'' tasks the player with performing songs through a controller consisting of seven key buttons and a scratchable

turntable A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

. Hitting the notes with strong timing increases the score and groove gauge bar, allowing the player to finish the stage. Failing to do so depletes the gauge until it is empty, abruptly ending the song. ''3rd Style'' removed the 4-keys mode from previous installments and replaced it with the Light7 difficulty, giving most songs a fully separate, easier notechart. The game also introduced Free Mode and Extra Stage, and featured a new rave-themed aesthetic.

Development and release

Bemani developed several updates to ''Beatmania IIDX'' after its release. Konami decided to link '' Beatmania IIDX Club Version'' (later '' Substream'') cabinets with '' Dance Dance Revolution 2ndMix'' machines for simultaneous play, leading to increased success. In late 1999, the publisher hired artist Goli to design graphics and characters for '' Beatmania IIDX 2nd Style''. Featuring a new visual theme and song selection influenced by

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

and

rave music A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...

, ''3rd Style'' was released as an arcade title on February 25, 2000.

Home version

''3rd Style'' was the first ''Beatmania'' game to receive a PlayStation 2 port, which was published on November 2. This version includes various songs from the first three styles, though some remain arcade-exclusive.

References

2000 video games Arcade video games PlayStation 2 games Beatmania games Japan-exclusive video games Multiplayer and single-player video games Video games developed in Japan Video games produced by Hideo Kojima Video games scored by Naoki Maeda {{Music-videogame-stub