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Are You Ready Come on! It's Party Time!
step into the ring; IIDX enters its bling era. though the series had evolved into a bastion of capital-h Hard Dance throughout its run, Gold pulls the cheese back in. we're talking old-school rave shit, with gaudy pitch-shifted samples, hoots and hollers, and fat kicks. from the opening shot of your 24 karat gold-plated arena comes an infectious chant from Michael a la mode: "Make it make it money!". elsewhere the artists dip into their goofy side: see dj yoshitaka's ghostbusters remix complete with his own vocal stylings, or kors k's supersaw-laden FIRE FIRE, a veritable pop trance anthem. perhaps the most telling is that this game's VIP ROOM boss song deviates from the usual hardcore, drum 'n bass, and RENAISSANCE to give us a pseudo-remix/sequel of 3rd Style's Sense in Sense 2007, replete with late '80s orchestra stabs yet punctuated by a mid-song shift to dance floor R&B. perhaps the most eclectic entry out of the named styles on ps2.
this is also the first title I've gotten some serious 10* clears on! my DistorteD review was somehow from a year ago? and it makes it painfully clear how steep the difficulty curve is; I had rocketed up to 8* in just three months of regular play and then took the next year basically just to get a handle on 9*. much of it has to do with simply reading the charts more quickly, as the density of later charts (especially once you hit 10*) becomes egregious to the point that lower scroll speeds make the appearance muddled. unfortuantely, while I have ~6 10* clears on this disc, I haven't quite been able to replicate that amount on my other discs... but all things with time. one of the best ways to learn the more unorthodox chords of 10/11/12* is to start playing lower difficulties on random, and I've admittedly been too reluctant up to now to do so. also just like DistorteD CS this release got some lovely home-exclusive collaborations, this time pairing old-school beatmania and DDR composers with IIDX mainstays.
favorite tracks (not including those already linked):
Sota Fujimori - ANDROMEDA II (PSYCHEDELIC SYNTH TRANCE)
Sota Fujimori feat.cyborg AKEMI - Cyber Force (CYBORG TRANCE)
Auridy - Dreaming Sweetness (SCOUSE HOUSE)
DJ YOSHITAKA-G feat.Michael a la mode (RECKLESS RAVE)
kors k - heaven above (FILTER HOUSE)
DJ TECHNORCH fw. GUHROOVY - KAMAITACHI (FREEFORM HARDCORE)
L.E.D. - LASER CRUSTER (NU-SKOOL BREAKS)
Ryu☆ - Second Heaven (HANDZ UP)
dj TAKA - snow storm (TRANCE)
dj REMO-CON vs. dj TAKA - GOLDEN CROSS (TECHNO)
The Plastic Ambition(jun & DJ YOSHITAKA) - Guilt & Love (SHINING RAVE)
SLEDLAKE (SLAKE & L.E.D.) - SEQUENCE CAT (TECHNO)
SADA & SOTA - The Story Begins (EPIC TRANCE)
NAOKI & Ryu☆ fw.さちまゆ - Treasure×Star (DANCE POP SPEED)
step into the ring; IIDX enters its bling era. though the series had evolved into a bastion of capital-h Hard Dance throughout its run, Gold pulls the cheese back in. we're talking old-school rave shit, with gaudy pitch-shifted samples, hoots and hollers, and fat kicks. from the opening shot of your 24 karat gold-plated arena comes an infectious chant from Michael a la mode: "Make it make it money!". elsewhere the artists dip into their goofy side: see dj yoshitaka's ghostbusters remix complete with his own vocal stylings, or kors k's supersaw-laden FIRE FIRE, a veritable pop trance anthem. perhaps the most telling is that this game's VIP ROOM boss song deviates from the usual hardcore, drum 'n bass, and RENAISSANCE to give us a pseudo-remix/sequel of 3rd Style's Sense in Sense 2007, replete with late '80s orchestra stabs yet punctuated by a mid-song shift to dance floor R&B. perhaps the most eclectic entry out of the named styles on ps2.
this is also the first title I've gotten some serious 10* clears on! my DistorteD review was somehow from a year ago? and it makes it painfully clear how steep the difficulty curve is; I had rocketed up to 8* in just three months of regular play and then took the next year basically just to get a handle on 9*. much of it has to do with simply reading the charts more quickly, as the density of later charts (especially once you hit 10*) becomes egregious to the point that lower scroll speeds make the appearance muddled. unfortuantely, while I have ~6 10* clears on this disc, I haven't quite been able to replicate that amount on my other discs... but all things with time. one of the best ways to learn the more unorthodox chords of 10/11/12* is to start playing lower difficulties on random, and I've admittedly been too reluctant up to now to do so. also just like DistorteD CS this release got some lovely home-exclusive collaborations, this time pairing old-school beatmania and DDR composers with IIDX mainstays.
favorite tracks (not including those already linked):
Sota Fujimori - ANDROMEDA II (PSYCHEDELIC SYNTH TRANCE)
Sota Fujimori feat.cyborg AKEMI - Cyber Force (CYBORG TRANCE)
Auridy - Dreaming Sweetness (SCOUSE HOUSE)
DJ YOSHITAKA-G feat.Michael a la mode (RECKLESS RAVE)
kors k - heaven above (FILTER HOUSE)
DJ TECHNORCH fw. GUHROOVY - KAMAITACHI (FREEFORM HARDCORE)
L.E.D. - LASER CRUSTER (NU-SKOOL BREAKS)
Ryu☆ - Second Heaven (HANDZ UP)
dj TAKA - snow storm (TRANCE)
dj REMO-CON vs. dj TAKA - GOLDEN CROSS (TECHNO)
The Plastic Ambition(jun & DJ YOSHITAKA) - Guilt & Love (SHINING RAVE)
SLEDLAKE (SLAKE & L.E.D.) - SEQUENCE CAT (TECHNO)
SADA & SOTA - The Story Begins (EPIC TRANCE)
NAOKI & Ryu☆ fw.さちまゆ - Treasure×Star (DANCE POP SPEED)
1st Style.
substream.
2nd Style.
3rd Style.
4th Style.
5th Style.
6th Style.
7th Style.
8th Style.
9th Style.
10th Style .
IIDX RED.
Happy Sky.
DistorteD.
IIDX GOOOOOOOOOOOLD!
substream.
2nd Style.
3rd Style.
4th Style.
5th Style.
6th Style.
7th Style.
8th Style.
9th Style.
10th Style .
IIDX RED.
Happy Sky.
DistorteD.
IIDX GOOOOOOOOOOOLD!