Beatmania IIDX 22: Pendual is a music video game and the 22nd installment of the Beatmania IIDX series of video game, a part of the long-running Bemani series. The theme of the game revolves around the concept of time with the theme split between the present and the future; Pendual itself is a portmanteau of "pendulum" and "dual". The UI mainly features white to symbolize the present and purple to symbolize the future. It was first announced during the BEMANI Namahōsō event on June 4, 2014, with location testing held from June 13 to 15, 2014. It was released on September 17, 2014.
Gameplay[]
Beatmania IIDX tasks the player with performing songs through a controller consisting of seven key buttons and a scratchable turntable. 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.
Beatmania IIDX 22: Pendual retains the core gameplay introduced in the first game. Players are required to hit notes that fall from the top of the screen at the hit zone using keys or turntables which are required to be scratched. Hitting the notes correctly will fill up the Groove Meter, while failure to do so drains it. Players must attain at least 80% of the meter at the end of the song to pass. Two gameplay variations introduced in Beatmania IIDX 17: Sirius: Charge Note (notes required to be held) and Backspin Scratch (spin the turntable at one direction and spin it at the opposite direction at the end) are retained. The player now has a choice to display their EX-Score instead of a combo during gameplay. Two new options were introduced—An Expand-Judge option, which increases the timing of the "Great" judgment, but the player's score and rank are rendered invalid; and Rotational-Random option, which shifts the hit notes to the left and right depending on the setting. Pendual features a new theme system which cycles the theme of the game throughout one to five days: the "Present Phase" features mainly whites in the UI with the in-game clock displaying the year as 2014 (or 2015), while the "Future Phase" features purples with the in-game clock displaying the year as 2222. Each theme has their own features, including songs. Throughout December 22, 2014 to October 28, 2015, players can now freely change the Time-Phases by Paseli through a purchasable item, "Time Hourglass". Expert Mode, a mode that plays through a course consisting of four (previously five) songs without stopping, has been revived by an update on February 14, 2015.