Let's start with the rhythm game cabinets:
From left to right:
beatmania IIDX: Bought in a lot from an arcade that was downsizing their rhythm games. The official Konami CRT is still going strong and looks great. Has hardware to run 9th Style-latest versions. There's a bass shaker stage that comes with the cab, but I don't leave it installed because my wife didn't like how much it crowded our path to the door. Shout outs to my wife for that being the only thing she's asked of me regarding the cabs, she's super supportive of my hobby!
Planned repairs/upgrades: Replacement IO (for more sensitive turntable input), replace turntable dishes with new ones, get both turntables spinning better (especially P2), maybe install turntable grips, get top neons working again, get the key LEDs which don’t light to light again (hopefully just a simple wiring bypass), replace top spotlights, replace video splitter with one that doesn’t suck, upgrade eAmusement readers with WavePass parts, replace pleather on wrist rest, get new plexiglass made for the control panel, do something about the missing screenprinting on the metal plates on the control panel.
What I like: The rectangular Sanwa buttons feel and sound great, and the turntable is a really fun mechanic that's super satisfying to try to play well. The music (mostly electronic) has had a huge range of styles and polish throughout the years, so playing something old or new can still feel fresh. There's a lot of meta to clearing and scoring in songs on it which I enjoy (ie, the supposedly harder life bar mode might actually be easier to clear a song with). I'm currently learning Double mode (playing both P1 and P2 sides simultaneously for 14 keys + 2 turntables charts) which has regressed me to newb status again.
Jubeat: Bought in that same lot. Upgraded to latest PCB to run current mixes. The rubber sensors were basically all crumbled apart when I got it, but a friend of mine had a spare set from his home controller and let me have them for my cab. Nice guy!
Planned repairs/upgrades: Run new cable to use DVI with its LCD, install headphone jack, wire power the upper and lower LEDs, replace rear cube acrylic with mirrored acrylic (it's the Korean version cabinet which lacks the mirror! lame!), and clean the damn screen yet again
What I like: Jubeat is pretty simple to play; there's a grid of clear square buttons over the LCD, the buttons light up, and you touch what you see, unlike most other rhythm games where you look at a screen and blindly touch controls somewhere else. The timing windows are generous so you can easily get high scores and feel really cool! (there's a mode to play with tighter timing windows too). A lot of the patterns have you sliding across a row or column, which are really fun to do. The music has a wide variety of genres represented. There are a lot of licenses and crossovers from other BEMANI games, so as a newcomer you can often find a song you're familiar with, which makes learning the game a lot easier.
Dance Dance Revolution: Bought from a friend of mine who had an extra cabinet. It's the Korean version which comes with a shit monitor, which died before I bought it. I found an Irish market 29" Sony SCART TV locally in California and wired it up as its monitor. I have a PC I use for Stepmania, and System 573 hardware for DDR 1st-Extreme. I also installed this upgrade called BrightWhite, which emulates the PSX memory card slots for the older games, but lets you "log in" with an eAmusement card, and saves your scores in the cloud. I just recently installed all new sensors, modded them for more sensitivity, and installed LEDs in the pads which look great.
Planned repairs/upgrades: Install Trisync CRT, install flatter screws and install countersink brackets in the pads, rig up actual eAmusement card readers, install new monitor glass (from a Japanese cab, so shiny), replace burned-out lamp in one of the top spotlights, weld P2 bar, get P2 Right arrow lights working
What I like: DDR is iconic and a lot of people know it, which is nice as a starting point when I talk to people about my cabs. I primarily play Doubles (no-bar) which is kind of an OK workout. The music is fun and cheesy and well-suited for shamelessly dancing around to play. There's a lot of muscle memory that develops as you play, and it can be really satisfying learning patterns and hitting them skillfully as you progress in your skills. Also, I feel like getting Full Combos and high scores are especially satisfying in DDR.
Pop'n Music: Bought in that same lot. Running the hardware for Pop'n 15 and up. It came with this really awful monitor: 25" (it's supposed to be 29"), severely burned-in from Puzzle Fighter's attract mode, blurry, and magnetization issues messing up the colors on the side. It was actually playable since Pop'n only really requires that the center look good enough to read, which it kinda was. Now it has a decent 29" Sanwa 31khz monitor. As a nice bonus, the buttons were replaced with brand new Sanwa buttons about a year before I bought the cab, so they're in great shape.
Planned repairs/upgrades: Integrate eAmusement card reader into How To Play area above controls, undo some wiring jank the previous owners did, replace plexiglass in front of monitor with actual glass
What I like: The buttons are big and tactile, they're a lot of fun to press. Since the controls are so spread-out, you can use your forearms and even elbows to hit buttons. The game's music is sort of like IIDX meets Jubeat, in that it's an old series with old songs still in it, with a lot of licenses and contemporary music. Whenever I listen to Pop'n OSTs, I wonder why I don't listen to them more often.
beatmania: AKA "5keys", the predecessor to beatmania IIDX. Bought for just $50. Other than a busted motherboard, it worked fine. It’s running beatmania THE FINAL which was the last in the series, of course. This was Konami's first rhythm game, and it's still revered among diehards. I actually hosted a 5keys enthusiasts meetup a few months ago which had a pretty big attendance. I thoroughly cleaned the controls and control panel in preparation for the meetup, so things are shiny and the turntables spin really well. (You can see my cat on it in the photo, she's wearing the cone of shame)
Planned repairs/upgrades: Get better condition plexiglass for the control panel, redo the video splitter since the one I wired myself is jank, drill small hole in door for video cable to pass through, get the top neons working (a transformer or relay is bad)
What I like: This could be a whole post on its own but I'll try to be brief. The game was really experimental for the team developing it, and they learned as they went along. Songs and charts went from quirky and jank to refined and cool over the game's 5-year span. Most of the songs are really cool and have their own distinct vibe from all of the other BEMANI games. The difficulty is sort of all over the place, ranging from simple <100 note ambient songs to some real weird and nasty stuff (hi, re-roots!). Double mode is really busted, since the charts were designed for 2 players to play cooperatively, and later made its own mode with no adjustment to the charts at all. If you don't mind failing a whole lot it's a lot of fun going through the double charts and running into difficult jank left and right.
DJ Max Technika: Bought as part of that same lot. I'm running Technika 3, which is the last game for it. Technika 3's support ended several years ago, but enthusiasts revived it with a new server, which they serve upgrades through.
Planned repairs/upgrades: Image the HDD to a SSD, replace CMOS battery and get this waking-on-power like it should, touch up headphone jacks since they're scratchy, drill small hole in door for video cable to pass through
What I like: This is the first touch rhythm game and it did things pretty differently than those that came later. As a result, playing this feels pretty fresh versus something like Reflec Beat, Beatstream, CrossxBeats, etc. DJ Max is a series that goes back to 2004 or something with a PC version, so sort of like 5keys, the songs range from weird and simplistic to polished and cool. The lifebar on this game is pretty harsh, so if you're up for a challenge and want to grind stuff a lot this is a good game to stick yourself in front of for an hour or two. Also, I love how the new server has revived the game; just like when it was officially supported, your scores are saved and you get to play new songs every few months.