KeyboardMania 3rdMIX

KeyboardMania 3rdMIX
Developer: Konami AMD Publisher: Konami Platform: Arcade (Konami FireBeat) Released in JP: March 15, 2001 This game has a hidden developer message. This game has hidden developer credits. This game has hidden development-related text. This game has unused graphics. This game has debugging material.

The last of the KeyboardMania arcade games. It supported connection with GuitarFreaks 5thMIX & drummania 4thMIX, allowing several songs to be played together.

For it was indeed an uncanny jam session.

Unused Graphic

M_00.GCZ, found in the folder MOVIE, is a placeholder graphic which consists of frames from the movie of the song Presto on a negative scale, alongside several floating text lines reading "なんちゃって" [Just kidding].

(Source: tikal.)

Debug Display

A simple debugging display on the right side of the screen can be toggled on by enabling the second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth DIP switches.

(Source: WindyFairy)

Development-Related Text

Hidden Comments

Some of the game's .MSQ files, located in the folder MOVIE and used to control the songs' background animations, contain comments, as noted below.
Fukuda, mentioned in the first and last comments, is Atsushi Fukuda, who is credited under Programming.

File	Message	Translated
M_00.MSQ	# 福田が作ったダミーサンプル． # フリーモードはこんなかんじ？ # 2000/12/11	# Dummy sample made by Fukuda # Is this what Free Mode looks like? # 2000/12/11
M_03.MSQ	# 14.6/sec
M_06.MSQ	# こうじゃないかな	# I think it goes like this
M_11.MSQ	# 14.55/sec
M_16.MSQ	# 14.56f/sec
M_19.MSQ	# 14.6/sec
M_23.MSQ	# 14.6f/sec
M_27.MSQ	# 14.56f/sec
M_29.MSQ	# 14.55f/sec
M_69.MSQ	# 福田が作ったダミーサンプル． # プレッシャーモードはこんなかんじ？ # 2000/12/11 #<SS_?> #0,0,15,-1 #<SS_?> #2000,0,15,-1	# Dummy sample made by Fukuda # Is this what Pressure Mode looks like? # 2000/12/11 #<SS_?> #0,0,15,-1 #<SS_?> #2000,0,15,-1

(Source: tikal.)

Security Switch

The last of the game's security switches, which is present in offset 0x8FB54 of a decompressed FIREBEAT.EXE, when read backwards, reveals a colorful message from a programmer. So much for kindness, huh.

!uoykcuf

(Source: tikal.)

Programmer Credit

Nearby, at offset 0x8FB9C, is a set of strings which contain a developer credit.

MoDe:MaNuFaC/PRoGRaMeD BY USR01979(HaJiMe SaiTo)
MoDe:SeRViCe/PRoGRaMeD BY USR01979(HaJiMe SaiTo)
MoDe:EVeNT  /PRoGRaMeD BY USR01979(HaJiMe SaiTo)
MoDe:OVeRSea/PRoGRaMeD BY USR01979(HaJiMe SaiTo)
MoDe:NoChkHd/PRoGRaMeD BY USR01979(HaJiMe SaiTo)
MoDe:Rental2/PRoGRaMeD BY USR01979(HaJiMe SaiTo)
MoDe:DuMMY03/PRoGRaMeD BY USR01979(HaJiMe SaiTo)
MoDe:DuMMY04/PRoGRaMeD BY USR01979(HaJiMe SaiTo)

Burn Date

A burn date can be found in the title of the game's main program ISO:

VOL_20010212132711