pop'n stage (ポップンステージ Poppun Suteeji?) is a 1999 Japanese music/rhythm video game, developed by Konami and Bemani. It was the first spin-off entry in the Pop'n Music series.
Gameplay
Pop'n Stage is a dancing game, similar in gameplay to DanceDanceRevolution or Pump It Up. Like in those titles, the goal of the game is to correctly time steps on the dance pad to when their corresponding symbols reach the step zone at the top of the screen. The game offers two control schemes: 6-Switches, designed for one or two players, or 10-Switches, designed for two players.
The game offers three difficulty modes by default. NORMAL (BEGINNER in the original release) is the easiest difficulty, offering three stages to play. Mimi and Nyami are the default characters for this mode.
ANOTHER (NORMAL in the original release) similarly offers three stages to play, though stepcharts are more complex and certain songs are exclusive to this difficulty. Judy is the default character for this mode.
HARD is the course mode of the game, offering a set list of four songs to play through. The difficulty is similar to that of ANOTHER, but with the presence of ojama. Bomber is the default character for this mode.
MANIAC is a hidden fourth difficulty, selectable in pop'n stage ex by pressing both blue switches while ANOTHER is highlighted. It is the hardest difficulty in the game and is unique in that its 10-Switches charts are designed for one player. All opponent characters in this mode use color palettes of black and red or blue, similar to RAVE GIRL or HOUSE GIRL. Like with ANOTHER, Judy is the default character for this mode.
pop'n stage ex
On December 20th, 1999, an updated version of pop'n stage, titled pop'n stage ex, was released. This revision of the game featured an overhaul to the difficulty system, renaming BEGINNER and NORMAL to NORMAL and ANOTHER respectively, adding the hidden MANIAC difficulty, and changing the difficulty scale of 0.5 to 8.0 in increments of 0.5, to a scale of 1 to 20 in increments of 1.
Seven new songs were added in this version of the game, with four being crossovers from pop'n music 3 and one being added from pop'n music 2. Additionally, two hidden courses were added to HARD mode: POP'N, consisting entirely of new songs, and SPECIAL, consisting of two of the new songs, and two songs from the original release of pop'n stage.
This game introduces one new character, being INUCHIYO, who is used for nearly every new song in the game. The step zone, as well as four of the five colors of Pop-kuns got redesigned in this version of the game, with the step zone being closer in design to the button layout seen in traditional pop'n music gameplay, and the Pop-kuns becoming triangular and pointing in alternating directions.
Music List
| Genre | Song | Artist | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Original | |||
| Euro Dance ユーロダンス "Yuuro Dansu" |
|
Super Wink "fut" Ryo Arshe | Dia & INUCHIYO |
| Scat スキャット "Sukatto" |
|
Q-Mex | INUCHIYO |
| New-Commer ニューカマー "Nyuu-Kamaa" |
(un-Balance)
|
佐藤千晶 | Kate & INUCHIYO |
| Super Euro スーパーユーロ "Suupaa Yuuro" |
|
Lala Moore | INUCHIYO |
| Powerfolk パワーフォーク "Pawaafooku" |
|
新堂敦士 | Ash & INUCHIYO |
| Punk パンク "Panku" |
|
Little Bitch.K2 | Donna & INUCHIYO |
| Stage 1 | |||
| Tropical トロピカル "Toropikaru" |
|
Sana meets Togo PAPA | TROPPiE |
| 80's Pop 80's ポップ "80's Poppu" |
|
1000 RIVER featuring Masato Ishida | DICK |
| Girly ガーリー "Gaarii" |
|
SAORI | Margaret |
| J-Tekno J-テクノ "J-Tekuno" |
|
act-deft | SHOLLKEE |
| J-Dance J-ダンス "J-Dansu" |
|
Ma-You | JUDY |
| Samba サンバ "Sanba" |
|
Marilia&Kaorin | NAWOMI |
| Folky フォーキー "Fookii" |
|
馬場一嘉 | SHOLLKEE |
| Stage 2 | |||
| Funk ファンク "Fanku" |
|
Benji | milly |
| Spy スパイ "Supai" |
|
ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACKS | Secret D |
| Cool Dance クール ダンス "Kuuru Dansu" |
(full moon)
|
Naomi "fut" Ryo Asakawa | Judy |
| Kung-Fu カンフー "Kanfuu" |
|
Re Mongkoh | DRAGON |
| Masara マサラ "Masara" |
|
TABAN KING | KARLI |
| Girls Pop ガールズポップ "Gaarusu Poppu" |
|
Three Berry Icecream | YURI*chan |
| Stage 3 | |||
| House ハウス "Hausu" |
|
Julliane&Edison | Mimi & Nyami |
| Spanish スパニッシュ "Supanisshu" |
|
TRAVIESO | ROMA |
| Musical ミュージカル "Myuujikaru" |
|
ナヤ～ン & his orchestra | HOTARU |
| Ska Core スカコア "Suka Koa" |
|
CATAPILA | FAT BOY |
| Anime Heroine アニメヒロイン "Anime Heroin" |
|
a.s.a. | SPACE@MACO |
| Jodler ヨーデル "Yooderu" |
|
DJ SIMON | CLARA |
| Special Stage | |||
| Reggae レゲエ "Regee" |
|
jammaster' 73 | THE★MOCKEY |
| Heavy Metal ヘヴィメタ "Hebii Metaru" |
|
AD/DA | BOMBER |
Trivia
- Pop'n Stage is the first title in the pop'n music series to be released exclusively in arcades.
- The Pop'n Stage series is also the first BEMANI series to have been discontinued, receiving no further entries after pop'n stage ex.
Gallery
Promo
