Pop'n music Glossary

A list of terms/modes in pop'n music. English name listed to the left, with the Japanese name to the right if applicable.

BPM

First Game

pop'n music 4

Beats per minute. This determines the scrolling rate for the notes in a song. In pop'n music games 4, 5, and 7, they were displayed alongside songs on the song select screen. (6 does not list the BPM of the songs anywhere in the game, and the first two games listed do not display BPM in-song.) Starting with pop'n music 8, the BPM of a song is listed during the loading screen of a song before play. From pop'n music 7 onwards it's always displayed during the song.

Challenge Mode

First Game: pop'n music 5

An arcade mode where you can gather points determined by the difficulty level of the song (i.e. a level 13 song cleared will earn you 13 points), as well as using mods called ojamas. Netting points was also the only way in the earlier pop'n music arcade games with Challenge Mode that let you play EX charts (via EXtra Stage). From pop'n musics 5 through 7, ojamas had to be set after you chose a song. (A maximum of two can be set.) Starting with pop'n music 8, though, ojamas are set after choosing a song. (This was also the first game to let you set a permanent ojama through the song, worth 1.5 times the usual amount.) Getting a certain amount of points unlocks the EXtra Stage or a special pic, though never both in the same round.

Cho Challenge (超CHALLENGEモード)

pop'n music 13 カーニバル

An arcade mode that plays similar to Challenge Mode, but has Cools on the entire game. Certain ojamas can only be used in this mode, and the point requirements for EXtra Stage are much, much higher.

Combo

First Game: pop'n music 3

How many Goods/Greats/Cools you have going before you get a Bad or miss a note. From pop'n musics 3 through 6, the combo was displayed in the top center of the screen. Starting with pop'n music 7, though, they are directly displayed above the border line of the individual note hit. Starting with pop'n music 9, the combo slowly fades out after a note is hit, instead of disappearing like in earlier games when no notes are hit.

Cool

First Game: pop'n music 6

A note that registers more accurate than a Great. First introduced in courses, but later spon off into its own mode in pop'n music 13 カーニバル called "超CHALLENGEモード". Cools can also be played in Free Mode in pop'n music 14 FEVER! CS; scores with/without Cools are stored separately.

Courses

First Game: pop'n music 6

Courses are an arcade mode of play where you play four pre-determined songs back to back on a single bar. The bar barely increases during play, and barely fills up between songs. An empty bar results in your imeediate disqualifcation, though you can still enter your name if you got a high enough score on the rankings. In the CS songs from 6 through 8, certain songs can only be played in Game/Free Mode by playing them through courses.

Prior to courses, there was a mode in pop'n music 3 which allowed you to play through three songs back-to-back with Hyper notecharts. This mode was never used again after that game, due to Hyper charts being added to the core game the following installment.

EXtra (Stage)

First Game: pop'n music 5

EX is the name given to the fourth (and highest) highest difficulty level in the game. The EX stage is rewarded for passing three songs without fail, as well as ranking a certain amount of points in Challenge Mode. Songs in this category tend to be much harder than their Hyper counterparts, typically ranging from Levels 25 to 43 (maximum). This mode was originally named because EX charts could be played in the arcade games for the EX stage. However, starting with pop'n music 8, they could be played in the arcade on any level after being unlocked. To unlock an EX chart in the most recent arcade games, you have to clear the EX chart, get a high score (?) on the Hyper, and full combo the Normal chart.

Note that until pop'n music 17 THE MOVIE, not every song introduced had an EX chart. Also, over the years older pop'n songs prior to the EX chart's introduction have been given EX charts.

Full Combo

First Game: n/a

Every note hit in a song was either a Good, Great, or (depending on the mode) Cool, with no additional missed notes. Starting with pop'n music 13 カーニバル, a message will display with "NO BAD!" for those who get a full combo in a song.

Good

First Game: pop'n music

A note that barely hits the lane. A Good is only worth 20% the amount a Great is without Cools on. Unlike in beatmaniaIIDX, a Good will not stop your combo.

Great

First Game: pop'n music

You hit the note perfectly/near perfectly, resulting in 100% possible score for that note without Cools on.

Hi-Speed

First Game: ?

The rate a song's notes scroll - the higher the mod, the faster it descends. Originally only double speed was available, but was upgraded in pop'n music 6 with 3X and 4X, and in pop'n music 9 with the originally hidden 6X. (5X was eventually introduced in pop'n music 11, where it was also adddition. In addition, pop'n music 9 CS has 8X, the only game to ever have that speed mod.) Starting with pop'n music 15 ADVENTURE, the speed mods also come in fractions of 0.5 up to 6X.

Note that ojamas in Challenge Mode set to a certain speed mod are also compounded into the speed mod. For example, using a 2X ojama and turning on Hi-Speed 3 will result in a scrolling rate of 6X. Be careful!

Hyper

First Game: pop'n music PS/DC

A level of difficulty higher than Normal, but less than EX. Songs in this level range between 10 to the high 30's. (The highest to date is Concertare, a 42.) Originally a CS exclusive level of play - Hyper charts weren't introduced in the arcade until pop'n music 3, and only playable in Hyper mode (a course consisting of Hyper-only notecharts). Hyper notecharts became available for normal arcade play in pop'n music 4. Since pop'n music 6, all new AC/CS songs (except for a few licenses in pop'n music 10) have Hyper charts.

Over the years some older songs have been given Hyper charts as well.

Level

First Game: pop'n music

Name given to the difficulty of a song. The lowest ranked song is a 3 (Monde des songe), and the highest 43.

Net Taisen Mode (NET対戦)

First Game: pop'n music 12 いろは

An arcade mode where you play against two other players online, challenging each other for the highest scores in a song. Certain ojamas can be unlocked for play in this mode depending on your performance. In the PS2 installments, Taisen Mode is only playable against two CPU opponents, as the PS2 pop'n music games cannot go online. This mode is absent currently from pop'n music 19 TUNE STREET.

Normal

First Game: pop'n music

Occasionally known as 9-Button / 9-Line, it is the lowest level default chart that uses all 9 buttons. Difficulty levels range from 3 (Monde des songe) up to 30 (夜間行). All songs in pop'n music have a Normal chart.