Pop’n Music

pop’n music is the first title in Konami’s long-running rhythm game series, and the second Bemani series after the original beatmania. Very similar to its sister game beatmania, pop’n music ditches the turntable and keyboard in favor of nine large candy-colored buttons, but otherwise plays much the same. Notes scroll toward the bottom of the screen, and the player must tap the correct buttons in time with the music to play along. Play well, and the “groove meter” increases, but play poorly and it will drop. If the groove meter is high enough at the end of the song, the player can move on to the next song.

This first release includes all of the music from the original arcade release, along with several new original tracks. There is also the standard arcade mode, along with a training mode and a beginner’s mode that only uses 5 or 7 of the 9 buttons.