Beatmania IIDX 14: Gold

Beatmania IIDX tasks the player with performing songs through a controller consisting of seven key buttons and a scratchable turntable.[1] Hitting the notes with strong timing increases the score and groove gauge bar, allowing the player to finish the stage. Failing to do so depletes the gauge until it is empty, abruptly ending the song.[2]

The core gameplay remains the same in Gold. A new hidden modifier, "REGUL-SPEED", locks the BPM of a song to a constant 150, but scores achieved with it turned on are not recorded. In addition, a new song folder was added, Assist Clear, for songs which were cleared using the 5-Key or Auto Scratch modifiers. Gold also utilizes less strict timing windows than previous arcade releases, utilizing more CS-like timings. Also, the ability for 2 players to play on separate difficulties was added.

A new e-Amusement feature added to Gold are "GP", points earned during songs which can unlock secret songs such as console exclusives and revival songs from previous styles.

If the player gets three AA's on any difficulty (without use of the Random or Mirror modifiers) and the levels for all the songs add up to either 20 for Hyper or 30 for Another, the player is awarded a chance to play the extra stage, Vanessa by 朱雀 (Suzaku). The stage is played on Hard mode, which removes the 80% Groove Gauge requirement, but the player will fail if it drops down to 0%. If the stage is cleared, the player gets to play One More Extra Stage, Fascination MAXX, a crossover from the then-recently released Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova.

The home version of Beatmania IIDX 14: Gold for the PlayStation 2 was released on May 29, 2008. The console version includes new songs such as 6 collaborations with IIDX regulars, 6 unlockable songs, revivals of older songs from earlier IIDX versions and from the original 5-key Beatmania series, for a total of 96 songs.

Two songs from the Kaiden course in Class mode, Vanessa and Kamaitachi, feature new Another charts only playable in the course, which are more difficult than their original charts. As with other recent PS2 styles, the game also contains unlockable interface items, such as different menu music, category announcers, additional lane covers for the Sudden+ modifier, and discs for the turntable icon in gameplay.

The original videos of Last Message and Sense 2007 (which are infamous for containing scenes of sexually provocative imagery, were replaced with generic videos on Gold CS due to stricter age certification processes by the CERO and a desire to keep the game A-rated, although Last Message's video was included on the console version of 7th Style (which does not have a CERO rating). On the contrast, 星をこの手に now has a dedicated video, and Metallic Mind now has overlays featuring Hihumi, the mascot of the game.

Some pre-order bundles for the game also included the "Beatnation Summit" DVD, the artwork book "Puzzle - Maya Takamura's Pieces", and L.E.D's album, Denjin K.

Gold was the first version of Beatmania IIDX to have a dedicated English build for the North American market. As with other music video games, Japanese IIDX machines have been imported by some arcades, but are still considered rare. This is not the first time a Beatmania IIDX game has been released in North America though, as a Beatmania game based on 9th Style, featuring songs from IIDX, and the original Beatmania games, were released for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. These did not have an arcade counterpart.

The build was first seen at a location test at Brunswick Zone Naperville in Naperville, Illinois. Most of the instructions in the interface were translated into English, though Dan mode was untranslated, and song titles were not translated or romanized (although the LED marquee does show titles in a romanized format on all styles by default).[3] The English build of IIDX Gold was never released.

• Official home page (in Japanese)
• IIDX Gateway (in Japanese)
• RemyWiki