After the somewhat frightening disappointment felt by some after seeing the thing they're calling Pop'n Music on the Wii, this might be a ray of sunshine for rhythm game fans. According to a magazine scan spooted on Siliconera, Pop'n is set to find its next home on the PSP, complete with 9-button mode and the look it's become loved for.
You can check out the scan in the gallery below, and you'll see that this version retains the game's traditional visuals and interface. It's heartening to know that we'll be able to choose from 3, 5, 7 or 9-button mode, but it makes my head hurt trying to figure out how 9 buttons are going to work on what is effectively a 10-button handheld. There's bound to be some asymmetry there that will throw some people off.
Still, it was made to work beautifully in the case of the DJ Max Portable games, and rhythm titles are often my go-to genre for plane rides and long trips. Whatever the case, it has to be better than the Game Boy Color version, which I can personally guarantee you is the worst version of Pop'n you will ever play.
Would you guys be willing to give this a shot on PSP if it comes stateside?
Contest:
1:00 AM on 09.30.2009
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1: L
2: Left
3: Up
4: Down
5: Right/Square
6: Triangle
7: X
8: Circle
9: R
I think that's how it goes. It's been a long time I played on a Dual Shock.
That config seems alright as long as you don't do random or S-random where you encounter a situation where you need to push 3 and 4 at the same time.
I would have to imagine that the d-pad is for the left four buttons, and face buttons are for the right four, and the triggers both work for the middle. That's how I'd set it up, anyway.