What is Bemani?

Bemani is a video game. It is a dance. It is an individual competitive sport.

In a Bemani game, players stand on a special dance pad on the floor. The pad has arrows on it, and it can detect when players step on the arrows.

The pad is connected to a video game console, usually a PlayStation, the same way a gamepad or joystick would be. The game uses the console to play music, to which players must dance.

The game displays arrows on the screen, which scroll upwards. When the moving arrows hit the silver (unmoving) arrows, the player is supposed to step on the appropriate arrow on the dance pad. The game measures the player's accuracy and timing, and rates the dancing based on that.

The most famous Bemani game is Dance Dance Revolution from Konami. This is the game we play at BBR meetings. For more information on Bemani, we recommend the web site www.ddrfreak.com.