In any country, the start of a New Year is a time to reflect upon the past and to make goals and plans for the future. In the English-speaking world, we have “New Year’s Resolutions” but in Japan they have 新年の目標 (shinnen no mokuhyou).

How did you do last year? What are your goals for the new year?

A look back…

Nihonshock started in August of last year, so it isn’t quite half a year old yet, but I’m very happy that the site has started to mature and come to life. Everyone who has something to say seems to like the site and its content, and I love the warm and fuzzy feeling i get from looking at my Google analytics and seeing that people are arriving here and finding exactly the information they wanted.

Those of you who have been visiting for a while know that the site recently got a pretty thorough graphical overhaul (see pics below). I felt that the old scheme was uncoordinated, loud, and felt very packed-in because of the high contrast. The new paint job gives things room to breathe, cuts back the red, and improves the overall page flow.

It’s hard to believe that a year ago I was so clueless about web design that I didn’t know the difference between a Class and an ID (it’s true!), and now I’m hand-crafting date sprites and optimizing my template’s php code. It just goes to show just how much a person accomplish in a year.

A look forward…

Notice how in the old version, nihonshock’s tag line was a blog for Japanophiles but in the new version was changed to language & stuff? Well, when I came up with the original tag line, back before I had written a single post, I wasn’t really sure what sort of content there was going to be on nihonshock or what people wanted to see.

30 posts later, nihonshock’s content has a clear direction and personality, hence the new, more descriptive tag. So basically, I’m going to run with this “language & stuff” theme this year and see where it goes!

My first major project this year (other than clearing FFXIII) is to update the cheat sheet. Whereas the old one was composed in Microsoft Word, I’m redoing it from the ground up in Adobe Illustrator. The finished product will be easier to read, contain more complete and better organized information and will also correct a few mistakes that were found on the first version. Also, I’ll be getting professional prints… but more on that later. (Some of you may have already realized that I have a tendency to fall behind schedule, but I’m currently shooting for a mid-January release.)

Hopefully by the time spring rolls around (mmm… spring rolls…), I’ll have implemented my second major idea, which is some kind of weekly content. I haven’t decided what the content will be yet (except that it will almost certainly be language-related), just that I want to include something that will keep the site fresh, since my real posts are kind of sporadic.

Also heading into spring, I’ll be working on guest posts for some other Japan-related blogs around the net. Feel free to contact me if you have a blog somewhere and you’d like me to write something for you!

In the summer you’ll probably start to see more interactivity at nihonshock. This would include polls, contests, games and other things like that.

I am really looking forward to my first full year of improving and expanding nihonshock.

Also on the drawing board…

In order of likelihood (more to less):

• more cheat sheets
• a nihonshock mascot
• video posts
• a travel section
• a Japan bookmarks section
• a Q&A section (for Japanese learners)

On a personal note…

My new year’s resolutions are…

• Speak perfect, natural Japanese!!! (my top goal for 6-7 years running, actually)
• Get a good camera and learn the basics of photography
• Read more books, in both Japanese and English
• Get an S on Evans EXT (Jubeat), become a Y3
• Make more money, spend less
• Start waking up earlier (6:30am would be awesome)
• Stop picking at my fingernails… (….no, bad Lloyd! I said stop!!!)

What is Jubeat?

Jubeat ( [ユビート] pronounced “you + beet” and spelled “UBeat” outside of Asia, by the way), is a music/rhythm game from Konami. Music games in Japan are hugely popular, consuming up to a third of total game center space and frequently requiring players to wait in line for their favorite game. Many around the world have heard of and perhaps even seen one of these games, Dance Dance Revolution (DDR), at your local game center (even though most game centers outside of Japan are decidedly dull in comparison). In addition to DDR, in Japan there are also music games that utilize a guitar, drums, a Japanese taiko, and a DJ pad. Jubeat’s closest relative is “pop’n music“, and it’s no coincidence that the elite players of both games are basically the same people.

Jubeat machines, photo from Wikipedia (JP)

The idea of all Konami’s music games before Jubeat centered around watching notes fall from the top to the bottom of a screen like a waterfall, and timing your button pushes to the instant the notes hit the bottom. The better your timing and the fewer missed notes, the higher your score. Thus the most defining feature of Jubeat is that the waterfall is gone. Now the buttons themselves tell you when to press. As you play through a song, the screen behind the button will animate so that you know the note is coming, and it’s your job to touch them in time with the music. Think of “whack-a-mole”. It takes a couple plays to get used to, but it’s much more intuitive than the waterfall style games so the learning curve is very easy.

How do you play?

The best way to explain is by example, so here is a video of me playing Shining Star, the difficulty is 8/10 (but this is a relatively easy L8 song)

The rating system (based on points) are as follows, so you have some idea how well I did… (= very good, but not super)

• E :  less than 500,000
• D :  500,000-699,999
• C : 700,000-799,999
• B : 800,000-849,999
• A : 850,000-899,999
• S : 900,000-949,999
• SS : 950,000-979,999
• SSS : 980,000-999,999
• EXC : 1,000,000 points

And another video of me playing a Level 10 song, just for kicks.

Why should I play?

Other than the fact that this game is the most awesome game in existence? Well, there are a number of reasons. First of all, it’s really good for your left-right brain coordination, your reflexes, your perception and your concentration ability.

It’s also not that expensive. Well, actually it depends where you are… around Nagoya, where I live, all the machines are 100 yen (= about $1 US) for a credit, which lets you play either 3 or 4 songs, which is 10 minutes about. So you would basically have to spend all day at this game to go over $30. And for most people your brain and fingers will be tired by around $20. However, depending on the game center, one credit might cost 200 yen (machines in the Tokyo area especially are this way). Personally, I’m usually pretty satisfied after 5 credits, unless I’m on fire and then I want to keep playing. But even if you go all out, it’s a lot cheaper than a night on the town.

There’s an element of exercise involved too. Not quite like DDR where you’re moving your whole body, but on faster songs that require lots of arm motion, you will find your blood pumping faster at the end. I’ve even broken into a light sweat on some of the harder songs (usually when I play two in a row).

And there’s always ego. If you take the time to get really good at this game, you can impress a lot of people. Take a look at these videos by the Japanese jubeat masters and tell me they’re not superhuman…

• IN THE NAME OF LOVE EXT EXCELLENT – Player KYOUSUKE
• Y.S-Y playing Evans Extreme with Stealth Marker *
• HO4.KT-Y　Russian　Snowy　Dance(EXT)

* : Evans is the hardest song in Jubeat, and the stealth marker means you can’t see the notes coming (you have to have the song memorized)… I have had the personal honor of being beaten by YS-Y in random online matchings on two separate occasions.

How do you get really, really good?

Basically, you just have to play a lot. A whole lot. Think 1500 credits or more. If you grew up playing the piano or are very good at other music games, that will speed your learning up substantially, but you still need to play play play. Unfortunately I am neither a piano player or music game veteran, so I’m currently stalling in the “very good” skill area, trying my best to cross over into excellency…

Learn multiple markers (marker = the design/pattern of the buttons that shows you when to touch). I personally started out playing with the shutters marker (see KYOUSUKE’s video above) because they were easy to see, but for the last 8 months or so I’ve been using the flower marker, because it’s easier to isolate the sequence. The bars marker is another favorite among top players (very good for timing), but personally I just don’t like the upward motion inherent in the marker. Each marker puts different requirements on your brain, so while you’ll definitely find that you have a particular favorite marker that you do better with, be sure to round out your training.

Finally, learn to use your thumbs. It’s important to train your thumbs as much as you can. For beginners, it’s easy to forget or ignore them because they give you the least tactile feedback and are being used in a much less natural way than your other fingers. However, you really need super thumb skills on harder songs: they let you simultaneously hit non-adjacent notes, they save you time and arm power on faster sequences (you don’t have to move your arms as much as if you re-use your index finger), and using your thumb to hit a button keeps more of your hand further from the center of the board and therefore keeps your hands and arms from obstructing your field of vision somewhat.

Okay, that’s enough rambling about Jubeat for today… time for me to go to the game center!

Here are some relevant links for anyone interested:

• My Jubeat Page (see my original Jubeat and new Jubeat ripples badges/rankings)
• My Jubeat Scores (Japanese)
• Jubeat wiki (Japanese)
• UBeat on Wikipedia (EN)
• Jubeat on Wikipedia (JP)
• Youbeat (homebrew Jubeat project for PC/Win) (English & Japanese)

Let me know if you’re in Nagoya and want to try a local play (one-on-one match)!