Censorship in BEMANI

BEMANI is notoriously notable for its censorship when the arcade games are ported to console or overseas, specifically South Korea and the Americas.

This list is here to point out various BEMANI-related things, such as songs or jackets, that were changed over-time to circumvent it or to keep the demographic for general audience.

The list is under construction.

beatmania IIDX

beatmania IIDX 14 GOLD CS

• The videos for Last Message and Sense 2007 were removed and both songs were replaced with the 6th RAVE generic video. Last Message was edited likely due to its shot of Meg's cleavage, while Sense 2007's video featured multiple skimpy-dressed women in its videos. Both videos got axed to keep IIDX GOLD's A-rating with Japan's Computer Entertainment Rating Organization Video Game Rating System (CERO) rating scheme.
  • Curiously, Last Message had earlier appeared with its video in 7th style CS, despite the game also getting a CERO rating.

beatmania IIDX 15 DJ TROOPERS CS

• satfinal's overlays, which featured Acty Aries, had the jiggling of the breasts removed to keep the game's A rating.

beatmania IIDX 16 EMPRESS + PREMIUM BEST

• The ARCHIVE MODE, which features artworks from past beatmania IIDX games, excludes the bikini images from 5th style CS through 9th style CS to keep the game's A rating.

South Korean versions

• Korean versions of beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro beyond removed the videos for Click Again and New Decade IIDX Edition, replacing then with the generic videos for tricoro CYBER and 7th TECHNO respectively. This is due to both videos featuring images of the Rising Sun Flag, which is de-facto banned in South Korea.
• Similarly, FAKE TIME's overlays are also removed, due to the IIDX characters dressed up as yakuza members.

BeatStream

• 回レ！雪月花's video was edited in BeatStream, with Takahashi-san (タカハシサン) added in the video to cover the shot of a naked bust scene halfway through the song.
  • In the DanceDanceRevolution series, it was circumvented by blocking that shot with another background shot.

DanceDanceRevolution

DanceDanceRevolution CS (America)

• 20,NOVEMBER (D.D.R. VERSION)'s animation was modified, replacing the female silhouette and the text "I made a sign to him with my eyes" with gun shooting animations and the text "She's the killer queen of a gun" respectively.

DanceDanceRevolution 3rdMIX VER.KOREA

• OH NICK PLEASE NOT SO QUICK's CD and background were censored, adding pants to the man who previously only wore underwear. This also carried over to its its sequel.
• CHARMY was edited to include stockings. The stockings would stay on her in all future appearances of her from 4thMIX beyond, though.

DanceDaceRevolution KONAMIX

• CUTIE CHASER's background was modified by changing the blood color to pink, and removing the bullet holes and pistol in the cop dog's hand in the background to preserve an E rating with the United States' ESRB rating system.
  • Curiously, the modified background was carried forward to the arcade releases in DanceDanceRevolution EXTREME.
• The vocal samples for THE EARTH LIGHT were removed.
• AFTER THE GAME, an instrumental version of AFTER THE GAME OF LOVE, is used on this game, due to suggestive content of the original song's lyrics.

DDRMAX -DanceDanceRevolution-

• Like with the original CUTIE CHASER in KONAMIX, CUTIE CHASER(MORNING MIX)'s background also censored/removed the bullet holes, red blood, and pistol. Its modified background was also used when the song made its arcade debut in DanceDanceRevolution EXTREME, and the song's Japanese PS2 debut in DDRMAX2 JP CS.

DanceDanceRevolution ULTRAMIX / Dancing Stage Unleashed

• The background for TRIP MACHINE～luv mix～ was edited by changing the word "mammy" to "mommy", due to negative connotations with the Mammy stereotype, an American historical stereotype depicting black women working in white families.
  • Despite this censor, its original background was retained in future DanceDanceRevolution series, including its jacket since DanceDanceRevolution X2.
    • Curiously, TRIP MACHINE～luv mix～'s background was left uncensored back in KONAMIX and Dancing Stage PARTY EDiTiON.

DanceDanceRevolution ULTRAMIX3

• Alphabet Aerobics's lyrics censor the first two words in the song's N verse, due to using an offensive slang term for African Americans.
• Giudecca was given different vocal soundbites, likely due to the original soundbites sounding too much like swearing.
• Hey Mama uses a clean edit of the song.

DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA CS (Japan)

• Scenes from the OVA SKY GIRLS were heavily edited in the video for Baby's Tears (スカイガールズ オープニングテーマ). Any shots of the girls' behinds were removed and replaced with alternate video clips.

DanceDanceRevolution SuperNOVA2 CS (Japan) / DanceDanceRevolution X CS (America)

• Trust -DanceDanceRevolution mix-'s was heavily edited in these console releases:
  • In SuperNOVA2 CS (Japan), all the shots featuring Yoko's breasts were replaced by zoom-ins to her face. This was also done in X CS (America).
  • X CS (America) also edits an additional scene with Kamina, from a shot with blood to a shot of him in shades.

DanceDanceRevolution X CS (Japan)

• 零 - ZERO -'s video was edited, removing two shots of blood from the original beatmania IIDX video. This edit also carried over to the North Aemrican PlayStation 2 DanceDanceRevolution X2 home release.

DanceDanceRevolution X2

• New Decade's video was removed from the Korean arcade releases of the series due to showing the Rising Sun Flag.
  • In DanceDanceRevolution A, the purple variant of the Replicant D-action stage is used, though the monitor displays become black for the song's entirety.
  • From DanceDanceRevolution A20 onwards, the BOOM DARK dance stage is used instead without any visible monitor displays.

DanceDanceRevolution (2010)

• The jackets for three songs, dreaming can make a wish come true, New York EVOLVED, and Until the End were all edited: the first due to nudity, the second replaces a skeleton with a picture of a woman's eyes, and the final edited to remove human skulls' eyes and noses from its jacket.
  • The modified New York EVOLVED jacket would later be used in the arcade series beginning with X3 VS 2ndMIX, while the other two songs use their uncensored jackets from the PlayStation 3 release.

DanceDanceRevolution Classroom Edition

• So What and Walk Like An Egyptian's lyrics were modified by using a different cut from the original release, as well as censoring the word "drink" in both songs.

DANCERUSH STARDOM

• The woman in ATRAX's jacket was removed in the South Korean version, due to her posture resembling bondage (BDSM).
  • Its jacket is uncensored in the Korean releases of jubeat festo, though.

MÚSECA

MÚSECA 1+1/2

• ネトゲ廃人シュプレヒコール's jacket censors Miku giving the middle finger by covering her hand with a black bar.
  • The uncensored jacket can be seen in SEGA's Project DIVA games.

SOUND VOLTEX

South Korean versions

In an update on December 28th, 2017, many of the songs debuted after HEAVENLY HAVEN were censored and replaced with a generic jacket credited to -, in accordance with Korea's Game Rating and Administration Committee (GRAC). Between July 24th and August 9th, 2018, songs added after the November 16th, 2017 update were temporarily unplayable, also due to GRAC. Sngs added after July 24th 2018 update were added on August 23th, 2018. This song spread to other BEMANI games as well censoring jackets for content.

A full list of the songs below that had their jackets removed (including songs released after HEAVENLY HAVEN):

• Apocrypha
• Aurora (Latinized Style)
• Awakening
• Call of the World
• Candy Star
• Chocolate Planet
• Cy-Bird
• dreamin' of u
• ECHIDNA
• Fáfnir
• GERBERA-For Finalists-
• Ghost Trigger
• Gorgetech
• Grand-Guignol
• Heavenly Adventure
• HEAVENLY SMILE
• iLLness LiLin
• Justitia Gladius
• Legendary Road
• NEON LOVE♥POTION!!!
• Nexta
• OZONE
• PROVOES*PROPOSE ≪êl fine≫
• Reverenced Flower
• rhythmology study
• Sailing Force
• SO FLY ME TO YOU
• Spirit of the Beast
• ULTiMATE INFLATiON
• Vigor
• デュアルメモリ
• 準備運動
• 壊Rave*it!! 壊Rave*it!!
• まじかる生主@りすなちゃん
• 胸の中で誰かが
• ナナイロライト
• オニユリ
• 獅子奮迅
• セイレーン ～悲壮の竪琴～
• 私とあなたのMYOURENJI☆

The following songs are not censored in SOUND VOLTEX, but are in other BEMANI games, due to their crossovering after GRAC stepped in:

• Lord=Crossight
• Prayer
• Preserved Valkyria
• Xibercannon
• VeRtrageS
• 乙女繚乱 舞い咲き誇れ

SOUND VOLTEX EXCEED GEAR

• The soundbite from the original video during the middle of 777 was changed from "Motherfucker" to "Are you ready?".