AC General Info

This information is correct for more recent arcade versions, but may be different depending on the specific version of your arcade machine. For the most part, this information is geared around recent arcade versions such as IIDX RED.

The Basics

The beatmaniaIIDX arcade experience is relatively similar to playing at home, in most respects. There are a few key differences, however, that you will likely notice:

1. The presence of a number of sliders on a control panel below the screen
2. The presence of "EFFECT ON/OFF" (subsequently referred to as EFFECT) and "VEFX CHANGE" (subsequently referred to as VEFX) buttons to the left of the sliders
3. A bass-shaker platform for you to stand on

Other minor differences such as a widescreen display and a nine-speaker setup are present, too, but aren't as important to this guide.

Getting Started

To start a game, you'll obviously want to insert some coins. Typically, singles play takes one credit, doubles play takes two credits, and two-player play takes one credit per player.

Once you have inserted your coins, you can press the VEFX button (NOT the Start button) to bring up the Options menu. If you want to play Battle or Double, you need to select it at this time, before you press the Start button to begin the game.

Additionally, you can set the other game options here as well (high speed, random, autoscratch, etc.) to save yourself some time when picking your first song, but it's not necessary.

Selecting a Mode

Rather self-explanatory. Once you pick your desired play type (single, double, battle, or 2P non-battle), you are presented with the Mode Select screen. You can pick from a variety of modes:

• Beginner Mode
  • 3 songs maximum.
  • The groove gauge never falls when you perform poorly.
  • Easier note charts are available.
• LIGHT7/LIGHT14 Mode
  • LIGHT7/LIGHT14 charts are shown by default.
  • You are allowed to continue on even if you fail your first song (so you get at least two stages).
  • You can play 7KEYS/14KEYS note charts by holding down the VEFX button when you select the song.
• 7KEYS/14KEYS Mode
  • Normal gameplay mode
  • You can play LIGHT7/LIGHT14 note charts by holding down the EFFECT button when you select the song.
  • You can play ANOTHER(7)/ANOTHER(14) note charts by holding down the VEFX button when you select the song (if the song has an Another notechart; if not, you will be given the 7KEYS/14KEYS notechart).
• EXPERT Mode
  • Pick from a selection of five-song Expert courses.
  • See if you can last all the way to the end! You lose if your life bar reaches zero at any point (it should be noted that the Expert groove gauge falls slower than a normal one).
  • Holding the following buttons while selecting a course perform the following actions:
    • EFFECT
      • Internet Ranking course: 7KEYS/14KEYS songs become LIGHT7/LIGHT14, ANOTHER(7)/ANOTHER(14) songs become 7KEYS/14KEYS
      • Ranking course: All songs become LIGHT7/LIGHT14
      • Original course: All songs become LIGHT7/LIGHT14
    • VEFX
      • Internet Ranking course: Allows you to play the course's corresponding "backside" course
      • Ranking course: All songs become ANOTHER(7)/ANOTHER(14) (if present)
      • Original course: All songs become ANOTHER(7)/ANOTHER(14) (if present)
    • EFFECT + VEFX
      • Internet ranking course: Allows you to play the course's corresponding "backside" course, but all 7KEYS/14KEYS songs become LIGHT7/LIGHT14, ANOTHER(7)/ANOTHER(14) songs become 7KEYS/14KEYS
      • Ranking course: All songs become LIGHT7/LIGHT14
      • Original course: All songs become LIGHT7/LIGHT14
• CLASS Mode
  • Play preset four-song courses (with an Expert gauge) to see what level of player you are
  • Courses are organized by difficulty, from 7-kyu (the easiest) through 10-dan (the hardest)
  • No options are selectable except for HI-SPEED settings
• FREE Mode
  • Two songs total, extra stage is not possible to obtain
  • All unlocked songs are selectable for each stage
  • You get to play both stages even if you fail

Selecting a Song

Just like playing at home, with a few differences:

1. You cannot freely toggle between LIGHT7/LIGHT14, 7KEYS/14KEYS, and ANOTHER(7)/ANOTHER(14).
2. To play a song at a harder level than you currently have selected (that is, to play 7KEYS/14KEYS songs during LIGHT7/LIGHT14 mode or to play ANOTHER(7)/ANOTHER(14) songs during 7KEYS/14KEYS mode), hold the VEFX button down as you select the song.
3. To play a song at an easier level than you currently have selected (that is, to play LIGHT7/LIGHT14 songs during 7KEYS/14KEYS mode), hold down the EFFECT button as you select your song.
4. Just like Arcade mode at home, not all songs are available during each stage. Only easy songs are available at first, then the harder songs begin to become available during subsequent stages.
5. To choose gameplay options, hold down your Start button (1P Start for left side, 2P Start for right side). The options menu will stay up as long as you keep the button held down.
6. If you're browsing a sorting category (style, alphabet, etc.), you can close the current category and return to the master list by pressing the VEFX and EFFECT buttons simultaneously.

Effector Usage

To use the effector in the arcade, there are a few different things that you have to understand.

• The EFFECT button
  • Press the EFFECT button to switch between the effector and "EQ ONLY" mode.
• The VEFX slider
  • Move the VEFX slider up and down to select your desired effector. In IIDX RED through DistorteD, the effector settings are (from top to bottom on the slider):
    • ECHO 5
    • ECHO 4
    • ECHO 3
    • ECHO 2
    • ECHO 1
    • REVERB 1
    • REVERB 2
    • REVERB 3
• The EQ sliders
  • Just like on a stereo, you can adjust the relative volumes of low- and high-frequency sounds by moving the low-EQ and hi-EQ sliders.
• The Filter slider
  • According to Konami, the Filter slider functions as an adjustable lowpass filter. Moving the slider down will cut out some of the low-frequency sounds, while putting the slider at max ensures that you hear everything the machine's sound system can throw at you.
• The Play Volume slider
  • Self-explanatory. Adjusts the overall sound volume.

Gameplay

Things are more or less the same as at home. The main differences are that to change your current effector, simply move the VEFX slider, and that if you recieve more than 50 Poors in a row without pressing any keys, you get an automatic GAME OVER. So don't give up, even if it looks impossible!

Secrets

Extra Stage

For information on how to obtain each style's special Extra Stage song, consult the corresponding arcade style's IIDXicon page.

Judge Mode

In 10th style and later, you can bring up a small display that shows a running total of all of your note counts (PGREAT, GREAT, GOOD, BAD, POOR) at the bottom of the video display. To do so, at the title screen (before you press Start), hold the EFFECT button and press the following button sequence:

• 7, 6, 9, 8

Random+

In IIDX RED, to enable the RANDOM+ option, hold the EFFECT button and perform the following button sequence at the title screen:

• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Expert View

In IIDX RED, to view the first three songs in an Expert course, go to the Expert course selection screen, hold the Start button, and press the following button sequence:

• 2, 2, 1, 1, 3, 5, 3, 5, 7, 6 (for 1P side)
• 9, 9, 8, 8, 10, 12, 10, 12, 14, 13 (for 2P side)

When you do this, however, since you're holding down the Start button, your play options will be changed! Be sure to verify that you're using the options that you want to before you select a course!