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 game 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.

In the case of pop'n music portable 2's DLC content, songs from there will count against mixes that had the song originally unique in it.

pop'n music CS

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 the next game, as well as other games.
Only three songs have more than one chart, and you must unlock all the songs in the game to play them.
No Records mode.
Incredibly dated graphics/interface.
Bad loading times on the PlayStation version.

pop'n music 2 CS

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

Almost all of the songs were repeated in later games.
Outdated graphics, bad loading times still.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.
More songs have second charts than the previous game.
Older songs have new Hyper charts to play.

Cons

Outdated graphics, bad loading times still.
Almost half of the song list can also be played in pop'n music 2 CS.
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 are restored in this game.

Cons

Very few unlocks, most of them remixes. (And only one is a CS song.)
One of two pop'n "append disc" games - requires owning pop'n music 1, 2, 5, or 6 to play it.

pop'n music 5 CS

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.
All but 3 of the arcade songs have been in later games.
Unlocking system has ridiculous requirements.

pop'n music 6 CS

Total Songs: 104
Unique Songs: 12

Pros

Biggest songlist of the PS games, bigger than some of the PS2 games.
All the new AC/CS songs (not counting pop'n stage 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 songlist 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 arcade version were cut out, most noticeably Battle Mode and RGB Mode.
All but 2 of the licenses are missing from the arcade version.

pop'n music 7 CS

Total Songs: 97
Unique Songs: 28

Pros

Difficulty level is higher than previous games, with many more EX's 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.
Unlike pop'n music 6 CS, all songs are playable in every mode.

Cons

Increasingly harder to find new.
Two missing licenses.
Songlist is hit or miss for some.
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.
Only PS2 appearance of many older pop'n music characters for play.

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 CS and pop'n music 7 CS.

pop'n music 8 CS

Total Songs: 104
Unique Songs: 47

Pros

Big, varied songlist.
Contains many Bemani crossovers.
Many of the songs have not repeated to this day.
EX charts can be played in Arcade Mode on any stage, a first in the series.
Part of the PS2 Best Hits line, making it inexpensive to purchase new.

Cons

Two missing licenses.
Live songs said to have weird timing issues.
Cumbersome interface.

pop'n music 9 CS

Total Songs: 111
Unique Songs: 55

Pros

Big, varied song list.
Good balance between easy and difficult songs.
Much less cumbersome interface than 8.
Contains 4 ee'MALL songs and 3 preview songs from pop'n music 10.
A record 22 new CS songs, more than any other installment in the series. (Not counting Long Versions or earlier CS songs.)
First CS pop'n title with Hi-Speed 6.
Only appearance of Hi-Speed 8.
Only CS pop'n title 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 the rest of the series.

pop'n music 10 CS

Total Songs: 103
Unique Songs: 46

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

Three missing songs from the arcade version.
Long, frustrating, annoying unlocking system.
Timing is incredibly strict/off.

pop'n music 11 CS

Total Songs: 113
Unique Songs: 44

Pros

First game with Hi-Speed 5.
Big, varied songlist.
Only CS pop'n title 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 1/2 hours to unlock everything through time unlock, the longest in the series.

pop'n music 12 いろは CS

Total Songs: 102
Unique Songs: 66

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 カーニバル CS

Total Songs: 114
Unique Songs: 62

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! CS

Total Songs: 112
Unique Songs: 88

Pros

Lots of brand new songs.
Contains all the ee'MALL 1st avenue songs (save one).
New mini-games to play (not required to play it to unlock songs).
Updated records section now tracks Cools, Greats, Goods, and Bads you got 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 / 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 non-CS/BEMANI crossovers 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 CS, which also has a [H] chart.
First pop'n music CS game with skins, a jukebox, and character bios.
Can be linked to pop'n music 18 せんごく列伝 to play a couple of 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.
Cools cannot be turned off, regardless of mode.
Adventure Mode requires you to play [5] charts the entire way through.
No Training Mode, and with it no way to autoplay songs.

pop'n music portable 2

Total Songs: 86 (146 with all DLC packs)
Unique Songs: 68 (80 with DLC)

Pros

Contains almost all of the songs from pop'n music 16 PARTY♪.
Loading times vastly improved from pop'n music portable, and you can download the game from PlayStation Store for even faster loading.
First non-Wii pop'n music title with DLC.
You can now autoplay songs, unlike in the first portable.
Party Mode doesn't force you to play 5-Button charts the entire time like Adventure Mode did.
Brand new charts for many pop'n music songs.
4 previews of later pop'n music arcade titles in-game, and several more for DLC.

Cons

Three songs from PARTY♪ are only available as DLC, making the songlist incomplete unless you buy them.
Cools still cannot be turned off, regardless of mode.
No licenses or ee'MALL songs.
Party Mode is longer than Adventure Mode.