[2022-09-13] StepManiaX

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An arcade not far from the area has a dance game called StepManiaX,
or SMX for short. The game involves stepping on a dancing stage with
up, down, left and right panels similar to DanceDance Revolution, but
it also features a center panel, bringing the total number of inputs
per side to five.

On the surface, SMX sounds like a cheap ripoff of DDR, as many dance
games were in the 2000s. The creative team behind the game, however,
have no intention to be exploitative: they have been avid rhythm game
fans for decades and developed the game in an effort to improve on
the groundwork laid out by arcade machines like DDR and Pump It Up.

I tried the game for the first time about four months ago while hang-
ing out at the arcade with a large group of friends, some of whom are
extremely good at SMX. The inclusion of a center panel really threw
me off, as did a slightly-late timing window, with led to rather low
scores. I was frankly embarrassed, and I quickly wrote off the game
as a confusing experience, scurrying back to PIU.

About three weeks ago, I decided to give SMX another try, this time
on my own. I could now concentrate entirely on the game and not have
to worry about what others might think of my skills. The center
button was still sometimes confusing, but I picked up on the intri-
cacies of the movement pretty quickly, and I found myself greatly
enjoying the game.

The biggest strength to SMX is its charting. DDR and PIU are notor-
ious for having charts that are not conducive to crossovers, espe-
cially DDR's early charts. Playing them requires moving one leg
rapidly to hit adjacent notes, which is difficult to do quickly.
SMX's charts are carefully constructed from bottom to top to be very
fluid while still offering challenging crossovers and twisting body
movements, which keeps the charts difficult while still being natural
to move through and very fun to play.

I find now that I'm really starting to love SMX. Had I not purchased
a PIU cabinet many years ago, and if I didn't own a dance game now,
SMX would probably be at the top of my list.

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[Last updated: 2022-09-13]