By Andy Castro
April 27th, 2016 brought a wonderful surprise to Round 1 players early in the afternoon with the release of CROSSxBEATS REV: SUNRISE updating across all machines. The update should be treated as a new version of the game, with many changes made to the songlist, UI, and even two new mascots! On the day of release, music game circles on social media sites were excitedly posting about the release, and to tell us more about SUNRISE, I interviewed two very serious NorCal Crossbeats players: Oliver Wing (RI74TA) and Matthew Bulotano (すぴりっとすねぁ).
When asked about initial impressions, Oliver was pleased overall with SUNRISE. “It’s good!” he exclaimed, “They didn’t ruin anything. I like the new songs and charts a lot!” While Matthew admits that he preferred the more “elegant” theme behind the original CROSSxBEATS REV, he praised the songlist for including “a lot more bangers and lots of hard bass.” They both noted that the biggest change comes from the tweaks to the user interface. Oliver explained that with SUNRISE, “menus are generally easier to navigate, and the biggest improvement is the option to add a contracting circle to the dot targets during gameplay.” Both Oliver and Matthew compared the concept to Ouendan, and both agree that it makes the game easier to read while also making the game much more accessible for new players. The game also adds a rival system, which has been praised by the CROSSxBEATS community. “There was no real way to look up anything aside from top 10 song scores before, so rivals are a #bless,” explains Oliver, “Honestly, it’s my favorite added feature.”
A new feature has a ring close around the note to help with timing!
Great for players who can’t adjust to the default arrows.
While Oliver did state that SUNRISE didn’t “ruin anything” from the previous version, there will still some criticisms that have been left unaddressed. For Matthew, he felt the game could use more variety in songs. “There are still a lot of songs from the original crossbeats iOS version that aren’t ported over yet,” he stated, “and they are fantastic songs with fantastic charts, so I’d like to see those reach SUNRISE as soon as possible.” Oliver has accepted that arcade CROSSxBEATS and the mobile version as “almost two separate games in terms of songlist,” but still feels that changes can further be made to both the user interface and the hardware of the actual machines.
Oliver explained what he think could be made better, stating, “We still need an internationalized interface!! I think the overseas community was pretty diligent in prodding NAOKI and the cbREV staff when they asked for feedback, but a lot of the help text and menus are still in Japanese. Fortunately, the game doesn’t have complex missions or strategy, so it’s possible to get by without. I would also like to see a cabinet hardware revision, to replace the delicate headphone jacks.” While he notes that the UI is still easier than before, he does make a point about those headphone jacks, which have been regularly malfunctioning across all cabinets.
Oliver really crosses those beats!
When asked if SUNRISE will draw in new players, the two had different responses. While Matthew agrees that the “easier-to-read notes” will draw in some new people, the game itself “still doesn’t offer too much more to attract new players.” Oliver, however, was much more optimistic about the game, saying that a lot of people at Round 1 were “turned off by how hard it was to read and understand charts,” and that the new gameplay mechanic is already drawing in those who originally shrugged off the game. “Already I’ve heard new players mention it as the most important upgrade.” He also says the new songlist should be able to get people interested in playing the game more and more, and praised the new licenses that have been brought into SUNRISE.
If you are one of the people who originally didn’t enjoy CROSSxBEATS REV for its user interface and gameplay, it is definitely a good idea to give SUNRISE a try and see how much the game has grown over a single game update. Be sure to buy a BANAPASS from the Round 1 card counter, and set your account to “海外” (overseas) to make use of that new rivals system! As a final comment from Oliver, he asks that while the option to return to mode select without having to log back in at the end of a game session is cool, “don’t abuse it if someone is waiting their turn! It’s very rude!!”
“Also, please play Strayer.”
