Getting Started FAQ
Table of contents
What hi-speed setting should I be using?
Like with IIDX, you should usually pick whatever’s most comfortable for you. However, unlike with IIDX, if you really want, you can choose to play without hi-speed. Many players at the upper end do so for the sake of challenge (‘no-option’ plays), or for scoring purposes that will come in later.
For the most part, however, you’re likely fine sticking with hi-speed 1 or 2. 3 is a viable option to use, but it is quite fast, and can often be too fast in songs with a high enough BPM, or other determining factors.
How does difficulty work?
Charts in beatmania are rated from ☆1 (easiest) to ☆9 (hardest). That’s mostly about it.
A song can have multiple charts:
- Normal
- Hard
- Another
Not every song, especially in earlier games, will have all three: most usually will have Normal and Hard.
For the most part, Hard will be harder than Normal, and Another will be harder than Hard. Some songs & charts may breach this by virtue of having a unique kind of charting style, but that’s only especially noticeable once you start playing some of the harder charts.
The ☆ rating will usually be the deciding factor in difficulty (with rare exceptions): a Normal ☆4 would be harder than a Hard ☆3, because ☆4 is greater than ☆3.