Pop'n music CS General Info

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Which mix should I buy?

Every person has their own opinions about which Pop'n Music mix is the "best". Rather than point out a definitive list, I'll list the pros and cons of each one, and let you decide. It is easier, however, to get the newer mixes.

Pop'n Music

Total Songs: 19
Unique Songs: 0

Pros

• Available on two different systems.
• Worth a look to see how much the series has progressed.

Cons

• Only 19 songs, all of which have been repeated in later games.
• Only three songs have more than one chart, and all of them are hidden.
• No Records mode.
• Incredibly dated graphics/interface.
• Bad loading times on the PlayStation version.

Pop'n Music 2

Total Songs: 46
Unique Songs: 4

Pros

• Available on two different systems.
• Much bigger songlist than the first game.
• Introduces many of the characters still seen in the series today
• Difficulty level has been amped, and a very few amount of songs even had a second chart

Cons

• Most of these songs were repeated in later games.
• Outdated graphics, bad timing, bad loading times still.
• Still only one difficulty level for most songs.

Pop'n Music 3 Append

Total Songs: 44
Unique Songs: 7

Pros

• Available on two different systems.
• Introduces several key Pop'n Music artists, such as Q-Mex, Atsushi Shindo, and Katoaka Tsugumi.
• More songs have second charts than the previous game.
• Older songs have new Hyper charts to play.

Cons

• Outdated graphics, bad timing, bad loading times still.
• Almost half of the song list can also be played in Pop'n Music 2.
• Old charts with new Hyper charts have only them, and not their original chart as well.
• One of two Pop'n "append disc" games - requires owning Pop'n Music 1, 2, 5, or 6 to play it.
• Three new licenses from the AC version are absent from this one.
• Hard to find.

Pop'n Music 4 Append

Total Songs: 41
Unique Songs: 8

Pros

• Available on two different systems.
• Hyper difficulty added to new AC songs: a first.
• Almost all of the songs are new to the game.
• Several of the arcade originals have never been revived.
• Two of the licenses missing from Pop'n Music 3 Append are restored.

Cons

• Very few unlocks, most of them remixes.
• One of two Pop'n "append disc" games - requires owning Pop'n Music 1, 2, 5, or 6 to play it.
• Backdrops blend into the entire background, including the playing field of the songs.

Pop'n Music 5

Total Songs: 64
Unique Songs: 8

Pros

• EX difficulty added.
• Contains many preview songs for the next Pop'n Music game.
• Contains 15 brand-new songs for the CS release, a standard followed in nearly every game since.
• Much improved graphics and interface.
• Features Hi-Speed 3 and 4 from Pop'n Music 6 AC

Cons

• Hard to find and expensive.
• Many of the arcade originals were recycled in later games.
• Unlocking system requires ridiculous requirements.

Pop'n Music 6

Total Songs: 104
Unique Songs: 13

Pros

• Biggest songlist of the PS games, bigger than some of the PS2 games.
• All the new AC/CS songs have Hyper difficulty as the minimum difficulty level: a first.
• Introduces the first "modern" looking in-game interface, featuring lanes separated by color for the first time.
• Contains (nearly) the entire Pop'n Stage track list as a bonus.

Cons

• Hard to find and expensive.
• Long loading times for selecting your song in Arcade mode, and the game no longer tells you the BPM of a song before playing it.
• Graphic quality is diminished greatly from the arcade version, with animation on par with the first games
• Songs exclusive to Expert Mode only have one chart, even if they originally had more than one.
• Several modes from the AC version were cut out, most noticeably Battle Mode.
• All but 2 of the licenses are missing from the AC version.

Pop'n Music 7

Total Songs: 97
Unique Songs: 29

Pros

• Difficulty level is higher than previous game, with many more EXs than the last 2 games.
• Lots of new AC and CS songs.
• Part of the PS2 Best Hits line, making it inexpensive to purchase new.

Cons

• Increasingly harder to find new.
• Unlocking system is said to be very annoying.
• Songlist is hit or miss for people.
• Interface is often criticized as being difficult to navigate through.
• Many of the new songs were repeated in the next game.

Pop'n Music Best Hits

Total Songs: 54
Unique Songs: 8

Pros

• Contains many songs that haven't been revived since their appearance in this game.
• Many of the songs and charts are available from the get-go.
• Contains missing licenses from Pop'n Music 6.

Cons

• Hard to find and expensive.
• Small songlist compared to other PlayStation 2 and even PlayStation Pop'n Music titles.
• Only 5 new songs, 3 of them remixes.
• Many of these songs can already be played in Pop'n Music 6 and Pop'n Music 7.

Pop'n Music 8

Total Songs: 104
Unique Songs: 52

Pros

• Big, varied songlist.
• Contains many Bemani crossovers.
• Many of the songs have not repeated to this day.
• Part of the PS2 Best Hits line, making it inexpensive to purchase new.

Cons

• Very few revivals.
• Live songs said to have weird timing issues.
• Interface is cumbersome to navigate through.

Pop'n Music 9

Total Songs: 111
Unique Songs: 56

Pros

• Big, varied song list.
• Good balance between easy and difficult songs.
• Much less cumbersome interface than 8.
• Contains 4 e'mall songs and 3 preview songs from Pop'n 10.
• Introduces Hi-Speed 6.
• Only CS Pop'n game to date to contain Hi-Speed 8.
• Only CS Pop'n game to contain Long Version songs.
• Part of the PS2 Best Hits line, making it inexpensive to purchase new.

Cons

• Long, confusing unlocking system.
• Timing is somewhat off/strict on some songs.
• Much slower speed mods than previous (and later) games.

Pop'n Music 10

Total Songs: 103
Unique Songs: 50

Pros

• Upped difficulty from previous games.
• You no longer have to play songs in Arcade mode to play them in Free mode, nor do you have to unlock all the songs' EX charts manually.
• Interface is more polished than earlier games.
• Part of the PS2 Best Hits line, making it inexpensive to purchase new.

Cons

• Long, frustrating, annoying unlocking system.
• Timing is incredibly strict/off.
• Most of the hidden songs were repeated in the next game.

Pop'n Music 11

Total Songs: 113
Unique Songs: 49

Pros

• First game with Hi-Speed 5.
• Big, varied songlist.
• Only Pop'n CS game with URA notecharts.

Cons

• Expensive to purchase (not part of the PS2 Best Hits line).
• URA charts are hit or miss with players.
• Takes 9 and a half hours to unlock everything through time unlock, the longest in the series.

Pop'n Music 12 Iroha

Total Songs: 102
Unique Songs: 69

Pros

• Varied songlist.
• Easy, fun unlocking system.
• Pop'n Request songs.

Cons

• Three songs require data from other PlayStation 2 Bemani games to save permanently.
• Many of the songs were later repeated in the next game.
• Older songs have awkward timing.

Pop'n Music 13 Carnival

Total Songs: 114
Unique Songs: 70

Pros

• Super Challenge mode added to gameplay.
• Fast unlocking system.
• Pop'n Request songs.
• Lots of songs, many of them brand-new to the game.

Cons

• Lots of repeats from the previous game.
• Mini-game very frustrating to complete, and is required to play one of the songs outside of Marathon Mode.

Pop'n Music 14 FEVER!

Total Songs: 112
Unique Songs: 95

Pros

• Lots of brand new songs.
• Contains all the ee'mall 1st avenue songs (save one).
• New mini-games to play (and don't require you to play it to unlock songs).
• Updated records section now tracks cools, greats, goods, and bads you get in a song in addition to score and max combo.
• Contains .5 speed-mods from Pop'n Music 15 Adventure.
• Fast, easy unlocking system (if you know Japanese).
• New Jukebox mode lets you to listen to songs in the game without playing them or autoplaying them in Training Mode.

Cons

• Timing is considered too lax by some, making it easy to score on songs.
• Only 4 revivals (ee'mall songs aside).
• Many of the ee'mall songs have no EX charts.
• No Marathon Mode.
• No Internet Ranking.
• No Omake section.

Pop'n Music Portable

Total Songs: 82
Unique Songs: 61

Pros

• Contains most of the songs from Pop'n Music 15 Adventure.
• First accurate portable Pop'n Music game, containing most of the original charts for new and old songs alike.
• 5-button expanded on with [H] charts. 7-button returns for the first time since Pop'n Music 6, which also has a [H] chart.
• First Pop'n CS game with skins, a jukebox, and character bios.
• Can be linked to Pop'n Music 18 Sengoku Retsuden to play the new CS songs on.
• Brand-new, clean, easy-to-follow interface.
• 7 new songs, two of them brand-new licenses.

Cons

• Loading times are long, even moreso than the early PlayStation Pop'n Music games.
• Only 82 songs, which is the smallest songlist in a traditional CS Pop'n game since Pop'n Music 5.
• Uncomfortable control scheme due to the game being on the PSP (though you can change the settings).
• Lane slightly smaller and harder to read to fit on the PSP's monitor.
• Some songs' charts were modified for the game to play better on the PSP.