Your Favourite Konami titles / memories

[JazzFunk]

I always loved THIS from the first Silent Hill...I don't think it was on the CD OST I bought for some reason but it's my fave tune out the game:

[Dogg Thang]

Yeah it's funny the choices they made for the first Silent Hill OST. They went for the creepiest industrial noise type tracks for the most part, the types you're barely ever going to put on for a bit of a listen, and left out most of the more listenable tracks. Even the Lisa moment music which was included was just a snippet. They took the exact opposite approach for the SH2 OST and it is still one of my favourite CDs to this day.

[JazzFunk]

^Yeah, it wasn't just me then? I bought the CD purely for that one track...and it wasn't even on, and it occurs during a pivotal part of the game!

Think I sold that CD for silly money on eBay back in the day though, made like ?30+ profit off a fiver so I can't dis it too bad.

[ozzzy189]

Anyone remember jackal? That was a great arcade game.

[buster_broon]

just had a wee play on time pilot and green beret, still awesome to this day

[Asura]

I had completely forgotten about the bemani games. Was big into Dance Dance Revolution for a while. Had a great dance mat and wasn't too shabby either. That was back on the PS1 and I didn't keep it up on the PS2. Or maybe I did slightly but not for long - I have a vague recollection of owning a couple of PS2 games but I think the issue is that my DDR games were from Japan and the ones they released over here were stinky.

Biggest problem for DDR in the UK, for me, was the lack of quality mats. I really think with better marketing, Konami could've seen similar success in the UK to the likes of the recent Street Fighter high-quality arcade-sticks craze. I personally found anything less than the arcade machines worthless - the vinyl mats worked but it wasn't satisfying to play. The only metal ones I ever saw in shops were quite flimsy; OK for kids with rich parents but no good for adults.

If they'd made something with the build quality of the Tournament Edition Arcade Stick or the Wii Balance Board, I probably would've gotten into DDR. I liked what I played. Then again, maybe the cost would've been prohibitive - I mean it must be difficult to sell a device that can reliably take someone between 70-120kgs jumping up and down on it.

[Dogg Thang]

I ordered my mats from the US if I remember correctly. Or Japan. Not sure. They weren't metal but had strong foam inserts and were very well structured for what they were. I have no idea what I did with them. I don't seem to have them any more and I don't quite know why. They might turn up in a box sometime after I'm dead and nobody will have a clue what they are.

[fuse]

Konami did make their own 'Arcadestyle' controllers for DDR, which were essentially a 1P version of the arcade pads. However, they were ridiculously expensive, limited, and nigh-on impossible to get your hands on. You could get get third party metal pads that were semi-decent (still not great), but you're right in saying they were still majorly cost prohibitive.

Bemani remains a big part of my love for Konami - IIDX in particular.

Then there's Castlevania, Metal Gear, Gradius... sigh

[Dogg Thang]

Did the bemani thing die out when they went to PS3 or was it that I just lost touch with it? There were so many PS1 releases back in the day.

[Darwock]

As far as GF/DM is concerned, they never made it out of the PS2 generation (although they were still being released after the PS3 was in circulation. The controllers never were updated to be USB compatible, and controller adapters introduce too much input latency for Bemani even though early PS3s could play the Ps2 titles.

It seems like Beatmania IIDX should have continued into the PS3 gen though? They were always the strongest supported titles in the Bemani library. I don't follow that.

The genre still exists in the arcades, although Guitar Freaks is now five buttons and a pedal, Drummania now has two pedals and two cymbals. The latest Bemani machines I have seen everywhere is Ju-beat, which is a bit more like pop n'music but the controller is the screen. A home version seems impossible.

[Dogg Thang]

It's a shame because it is probably something I'd get back into, especially now that I have kids. Maybe it will have a resurgence...

[Cepp]

Konami did make their own 'Arcadestyle' controllers for DDR, which were essentially a 1P version of the arcade pads. However, they were ridiculously expensive, limited, and nigh-on impossible to get your hands on. You could get get third party metal pads that were semi-decent (still not great), but you're right in saying they were still majorly cost prohibitive.

Bemani remains a big part of my love for Konami - IIDX in particular.

Yes, the Konami mats aren't the easiest to find and probably cost a small fortune these days. I just got a mat from precisiondancepads which i'm very happy with but shipping alone was $150. Not cheap but it beats spending ?1 a go on a cab.

[fuse]

As far as GF/DM is concerned, they never made it out of the PS2 generation (although they were still being released after the PS3 was in circulation. The controllers never were updated to be USB compatible, and controller adapters introduce too much input latency for Bemani even though early PS3s could play the Ps2 titles.

It seems like Beatmania IIDX should have continued into the PS3 gen though? They were always the strongest supported titles in the Bemani library. I don't follow that.

The genre still exists in the arcades, although Guitar Freaks is now five buttons and a pedal, Drummania now has two pedals and two cymbals. The latest Bemani machines I have seen everywhere is Ju-beat, which is a bit more like pop n'music but the controller is the screen. A home version seems impossible.

There's recently been a PC beta for IIDX Infinitas, a new title and the first home version since Empress for the PS2.

Since JuBeat we've also had SoundVoltex DX, and both have third party home controllers despite there being no official *cough* home games. JuBeat is very good on the iPad, though!

[Darwock]

Oh, jeez... How did I miss that ju-beat was part of their shift to mobile gaming. Aargh. I feel dirty for bringing it up.

[Kit]

MGS is the obvious one and the laugh that was playing Pro Evo 2 with my mate.

I loved Silent Hill but they've basically sonic'd' it - I'd say it's probably 60% **** games to 40% good at this point.