Beatmania II DX 16 - Empress + Premium Best (Japan / Premium Best Disc)
PlayStation 2
💿💿💿
🇯🇵
Reviewed in 2009
80
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✪ Reviewed on January 20, 2023
72
The final PS2 IIDX entry, including Premium Best content. Closes the series with an anthology selection of the franchise's best tracks. The ultimate reference for fans seeking the most complete IIDX experience on PS2.
Your verdict
Category
Rhythm2 players3+
Description
The final entry in the series on PS2, released in 2009. Empress shipped with a bonus Premium Best disc compiling standout tracks from the previous PS2 editions, making the package a genuine farewell to a decade of IIDX on the console.
Beatmania II DX 16 - Empress + Premium Best review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
A temple of the DJ rhythm game, the Konami selection piles up techno, trance, jungle and house in an electronic deluge of wild richness. Mixing and scratching to the beat turns every game into a demanding club set. This teeming sonic diversity, a pioneer of the genre, forged the identity of a whole keys-and-turntable culture.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Reading a scrolling score of notes, hammering the seven keys and scratching the turntable at just the right instant induces a precision trance where every successfully played track calls for the next. Earning a better rank and unlocking titles sustains a tangible sense of progress. The expert difficulty and the dedicated controller put people off, but this dialogue between hand and rhythm keeps a rare intensity.
Difficulty
"Punishing"
On seven keys and a turntable to scratch, reading the charts becomes a high-level sport: notes pour down at a wild density and the slightest timing slip breaks the combo. Stamina, coordination and sight-reading come first, where mere memorization no longer suffices. Harsh for the newcomer yet endlessly rewarding, it remains a benchmark of rhythmic rigor for the devoted.
Lifespan
"Massive"
By bringing together a wide selection and a series best-of, this entry swells an already immense setlist. Between discovering tracks, climbing the difficulty and chasing scores, the content feels inexhaustible. That musical abundance, paired with a high technical ceiling, guarantees a longevity that satisfies even the most dedicated players.
Technical info
💾3,8 GB📅15/10/2009
Published by Konami
Beatmania II DX 16 - Empress + Premium Best (PS2) price, value & rarity
The Premium Best disc of Beatmania II DX 16, an anthology gathering a selection of landmark tracks from the IIDX franchise across its versions. Sold alongside the Empress disc, it existed only within this final PS2 entry and amounted to a commemorative gift for the faithful. Desirability rests on its worth as a retrospective compilation and on its role as the twin piece needed to present the edition complete.
Is Beatmania II DX 16 - Empress + Premium Best still worth playing in 2026?
A rhythm game from Konami, Beatmania II DX 16 - Empress + Premium Best gathers this entry of the DJ arcade series and a compilation of selected tracks, where you combine seven keys and a scratch turntable to perform a vast electronic soundtrack enriched with the saga's best titles. The generosity of this double content, the richness of the music selection and the depth of the system appeal to fans of sharp rhythm games. The high demand and the dependence on the dedicated controller target a knowledgeable audience. For a fan of demanding rhythm games or of the series, the title keeps a preserved energy and generosity, in a dated edition.
