June 7th, 2025 - GITADORA GALAXY WAVE, IIDX 32
aaaand we're back! how was the break! not very long! yeah,,, the final was super late and i had to spend all day up until 5 P.M. studying for it, so once it finally ended at like 9 P.M., i just waddled around full of starvation and cloudy post-exam brain until i got myself a sweet treat and took the long, long light rail route back home . but rather than just going straight home while beating myself up over the test, i decided to stay at one of my designated stops and get a little bit of celebration gaming in before it became 21+ only at midnight... and that certain stop was Round 1!!!
i hadn't been to Round 1 for a very long while (at least a month), so revisiting it was a nostalgia trip for sure (even if not the longest) . but!!! there was actually one other reason i wanted to visit Round 1 now, and that was the wonderful, mystical, beautiful introduction... of the GITADORA ARENA MODEL!!!
LOOK AT IT!!! IT'S BEAUTIFUL!!! and now it's MINE for the gaming!!! so setting down my backpack and trying to figure out the controls on this thing (it's . honestly REALLY hard lmfao), i played a few songs and had a ball of a time! ...granted, it wasn't without its issues . keysound sync felt really off, and i felt there was a lot more input lag than on the old white cabs that used to live on this surface . more over, the drums just didn't feel as satisfying to hit, and i couldn't tell when i was and wasn't hitting them. the extra flair and freshness of the new cab is nice, but combined with the lack of 120hz support and the current 2-credit standard play debacle, this does kinda feel like a downgrade and disappointment of a model . wonder if any others feel the same across both here and asia...
(update: just checked the account and wow, everyone HATES this model . even the japanese side!!! really depressing to see such a fun game go down like this, but i guess it is on them for dropping such a shite first impression i guess...)
so yeah, the cab did indeed suck so much that i ended up playing iidx for the rest of the mini-session . but somehow, i seriously locked in during said session and got some really impressive scores, both sightreads and upscores (and rival challenges teehee) across the board!! even almost cleared my next lv.11, only to tragically lose it at the ending stairs... ueueue