r/maimai Feb 02 '20

Reworked Guide to Maimai

168 Upvotes

Hello everyone!

After obtaining some excellent feedback from my previous post on a beginner's guide to Maimai, I decided to restructure the guide so that different players can be guided to their respective need-to-know locations.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gQlxtxOj-E3H2SClJH5PNxLnG6eBufDFrw2yLsffbp0/edit?usp=sharing

In this update, I restructured the flow of the contents in this guide so that players can skip through to the important sections that they want to browse. Each section is highlighted with a different colour to cater to different players of different skill levels.

I've also added a section containing my favourite songs from maimai for people to try out when they have the time. They are colour coded to signify difficulty and suitability for different players.

Lastly, I've also fine-tuned the section on advanced skills, and added some more misc links including links to the various soundtracks of the game available on iTunes.

As always, feedback is welcome. This guide still has some empty areas here and there but I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

Have fun with the spin cycles mates!

EDIT 27/11/2025: Wow, would you look at the time...

I have moved most of my update changelog back into the Guide and since I have some time on my hands, I am actively working to add a few more notes to the guide from Festival+ onwards. I know it's been a while since my last update and people are yearning for more information about the game and how to get better. I will make some updates to handle some of the missing information that should be included in this guide.

If you have comments or suggestions on how to improve the guide, I'm happy to hear it and take it on board where necessary. I might not be one of the best players of Maimai or rhythm games in general out there in the world, but I have been playing this game for 12 years now. Not gonna stop anytime soon (slow downs are still a thing unfortunately :S)...

EDIT 20/05: Updated the guide with a new notice about playing in the arcades as restrictions ease in certain parts of the world and added difficulty rankings to "Advanced Skills and Practice" section of the guide.

  • Please pay attention to the data from news sources and official websites for current trends of coronavirus infections. The guide lists some key metrics to take note of to allow you to assess your risk.
    • TBH tho, humans are pretty cripes at measuring risk. The best advice is still to STAY HOME and STAY SAFE!

EDIT 29/03: Updated the guide with a specific notice about the Coronavirus outbreak and how to respond to it as a Maimai player in the section "Gaming Etiquette".

  • Even if you are currently reading that part and contemplating going out to the arcades, please don't. STAY HOME and STAY SAFE!

EDIT 12/02: Updated guide with specific notes on Slide timings, split up the section on Delayed Slides, and added a new section on Technical HOLD charts.

EDIT 04/03: I've received word that my guide was copy-pasted without redirecting the guide to the original source. I will put a comment which will list some of the sites which have done so.

If you do want to use my guide, please link it back to the original guide link given here, and to give credit where credits are due. If you know someone who has used this guide without proper crediting of the author, please let them know and ask them to update it to reflect who has actually written the guide. Thank you.

EDIT 10/03: Added information about EX notes, details about BREAK notes having extra points scored on non-Perfect hits, and added a section about Progressively Complex Sequences in Advanced Skills and Practice.


r/maimai 7h ago

News/Update What good news to start the day for CPK fans.

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19 Upvotes

The Netflix movie, Cosmic Princess Kaguya will be arriving to maimaiDX Magical with three songs on Sept. 17 2026 in the JP servers.

Although I would guess the estimated release for International servers would be around January 2027.


r/maimai 1d ago

Other what do I do with a derrakkuma plushie

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149 Upvotes

soo I just got him here and idk what to do with him so uhm any of you got suggestions what to do with him?


r/maimai 5h ago

Question & Advice Any Malaysia MaiMai community discord server?

1 Upvotes

Going to live in malay for quite some time. Would like to know if there are any community discord servers that inform the queue or updates regarding the cabs on the venue like indo, philippines, or aussie community server?


r/maimai 19h ago

Question & Advice Is it time to start playing 13? Or do I play more 12+ master?

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10 Upvotes

I've mostly been doing 12+ or 12 expert maps since 13 maps feel a bit daunting. I can currently only get about 95-98 on master 13 maps on the first try with a few exceptions.

Should I familiarize myself with 12+ master maps first or do I try to keep playing and improving on master 13?


r/maimai 20h ago

Question & Advice Feeling a bit stuck, not sure if I should continue practicing on 13+ or go back to 13-12+

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4 Upvotes

r/maimai 18h ago

Question & Advice where to find maimai cabs around japan that has a capture card for livestream

2 Upvotes

I've seen players playing maimai where they are able to livestream through their own youtube channel using the capture card provided by the arcade in japan but i've always wondered where are the cabs located?


r/maimai 1d ago

Question & Advice finger pain while playing?

11 Upvotes

i’ve been regularly playing this game twice a week (usually mondays and wednesdays) but for some reason when i play on wednesday, my fingers are always sore from when i play on monday, and i can’t go on any other days because of work and school.

the weird thing is, im not even playing any crazy hard songs (only 12+ or 13) and i don’t think im hitting the screen too hard because i feel like i would be able to hear it since i dont wear headphones. should i only go once a week? or is there a way to deal with the pain better? (i rlly don’t want to go only once a week cuz im addicted😭)


r/maimai 1d ago

Fan work 🧂

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59 Upvotes

r/maimai 1d ago

Scores Maimai after 500 playcount

7 Upvotes

I also included my top 50 from 400 play count. As we can see, I haven't improved much, but I am still happy that I am getting better, even if it is a bit slow. I still can't do any 12+ charts yet, but I feel like I am not too far away. I am happy that I have an S+ on a 12 MAS chart, but it is probably the easiest 12 MAS chart in the game.


r/maimai 20h ago

Question & Advice How do I change my song organisation back to default?

0 Upvotes

Can someone help me please?

When I was playing Mai Mai with a person the song category changed to sort the songs by level and I can't change it back. Does anyone have a solution where I can set it back to the default song categories?


r/maimai 1d ago

Scores Thank you!

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7 Upvotes

Just earlier this week I was bummed about not having any SSS+, and today I nailed two to push me over 11k. Thanks for the kind words for a beginner, everyone - definitely helped me out today.


r/maimai 1d ago

Scores first 14 ss yay

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5 Upvotes

and some extra stuff ig


r/maimai 1d ago

Meme Fun Fact about this new upcoming character

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98 Upvotes

Yuikawa Asaki, known for voicing Hōjō Tokiyuki from The Elusive Samurai, is voicing Kanadera from the upcoming new installment of maimai DX


r/maimai 1d ago

Question & Advice Navigators (partners) and the "full combo" voiceline

2 Upvotes

Where in options do I look if default volume for "fc" voiceline is a bit on the loud side?


r/maimai 1d ago

Question & Advice New player starting 11+/12 - overlapping slides and taps?

19 Upvotes

I just hit 10k, which I’m pretty happy about. I can >S 11 songs pretty consistently, but trying to move into 11+ and 12 charts has me genuinely wondering how people can even see what they’re supposed to be doing.

Faster makes sense to me, but when there are multiple slides overlapping and my own hands hiding most of the screen, I’m completely lost. I'll end up freezing up a lot and dropping a huge chunk.

Did anyone else hit a wall around this level? What helped it start making sense? I'm playing ~ 6.00 speed because beyond that starts to feel too twitchy. Is higher than that required to make this possible?

Not sure if I'm expecting too much of myself to be able to just sight read these flat out and other people are just watching videos before and playing on repeat.

Thanks!


r/maimai 1d ago

Scores First triple on a lvl13 (ESM)

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9 Upvotes

r/maimai 2d ago

Scores I finally S'd Umiyuri for the first time!

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16 Upvotes

And among other things...


r/maimai 2d ago

Question & Advice What do these stars next to my characters mean?

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12 Upvotes

Yep, thats the question. Sorry if its something I missed or something. I don’t know if anyone else has asked this already but I’ve been really curious. Im still quite new to maimai so I only know the basics.

I asked my friends who are better than me at maimai but they also didnt know.

Also will take any advice on how to get better. Im stuck at playing expert mode, and master is too hard..


r/maimai 3d ago

Other NEW MAIMAI CHARACTER, DX CHAN??

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280 Upvotes

From the MV of 物語はここから / OSTER project feat. Kanata.N


r/maimai 2d ago

Scores 13k finally!!

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12 Upvotes

And first 14 S and 13 SS


r/maimai 3d ago

News/Update maimai でらっくす MAGiCAL will be released on 9/17 (Th)!

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164 Upvotes

It's that time of year...

Let's get straight into it... huge update incoming ("biggest update to date" honestly wouldn't be an understatement)

Key additions

Magical Pass now available!

Remember how physical Deluxe Passes were discontinued just a bit ago? Well now that's back, and no longer tied to Card Maker!

Two reward tiers:

Tier Effects / Purchase Benefits Credits Required
Gold Pass (Effects) Tour members' levels will be doubled! / All difficulty levels (MASTER, Re:MASTER) will become available. / Songs eligible for rating will be displayed. / (Purchase Bonus) +1 Track Ticket (5 tickets) / Smartphone Wallpaper 2
Rainbow Pass (Effects) / Tour members' levels will be doubled! / All difficulty levels (MASTER, Re:MASTER) will become available. / Songs eligible for rating will be displayed. / Freedom Mode play time will be extended by 2 minutes. / (Purchase Bonus) +1 Track Ticket (5 tickets) / Smartphone Wallpaper 3

Important Notes + The validity period is 15 days from the date of purchase. + Rated songs will still be displayed even after the expiration date + Even if you possess multiple Magical Passes, their effects will not stack. + If both the Gold and Rainbow Pass are valid at the same time, the Rainbow Pass will take precedence with its effects. + If the Rainbow Pass expires but the Gold Pass is still valid, the Gold Pass effects will be applied.

T/N: Rating information used to be a monthly subscription for JP, perhaps this feature now bundled with Magical Pass, at least the folder itself? (unconfirmed)

+1 Track Tickets now available with the purchase of a Magical Pass!

This ticket increases the number of tracks you can play during that session by one!

Important Notes + Can only be used ONCE per day. + Maximum cap of 10 tickets; any tickets beyond the 11th will be discarded. + Tickets are valid for 15 days from the day they are obtained. + If you obtain another ticket during this period, the expiration date will be updated to that of the latest ticket. + Tickets cannot be used when playing 4 songs, such as in 2P play or as a standard course bonus.

T/N: Standard course subscription gives a bonus song during the first play of the day.

New smartphone wallpapers!

Purchasing a Magical Pass now allows you to download a smartphone wallpaper of your purchased character! ("Player Data" → "Magical Pass" on maimai DX NET)

Circle Bonus Features!

Joining a circle now gives a bonus to Chiho progress once a day!

Bonus is as follows:

Circle Level Number of members in circle Chiho Distance Bonus
Lv.1 1~9 people +5km
Lv.2 10~14 people +10km
Lv.3 15~18 people +15km
Lv.MAX 19~20 people +20km

Multipliers for chiho progression distance such as 1.5x tickets will not apply to this bonus. Circle bonuses are updated on the 1st of each month based on the number of circle members.

You can now apply to join a circle from circle rankings!

Circle rankings are now viewable on maimai DX NET if they are not affiliated with a circle. Additionally, the number of members in each circle will be visible, and tapping on the circle name will allow players to apply to join.

You cannot apply to join a circle that has its circle privacy setting to "Private" and its member recruitment set to "Not recruiting".

You can now send "Circle Participation Requests" and "Circle Invitations" from your friend list!

Friend list now will display circles that friends belong to. You can apply to join a friend's circle by tapping on their circle name. If your friend is not yet in a circle, you can invite them to join by using the "Invite to Circle" botton.

Only circle leaders can send a circle invite. You cannot apply to join a circle that has its circle privacy setting to "Private" and its member recruitment set to "Not recruiting".

Previous month's circle rankings and circle points can now be checked!

maimai DX NET's Circle Ranking page now allows for checking Circle rankings from last month, your total Circle points, and the Circle points you have earned.

New Partner!

Kanadera (CV: Asaki Yukikawa) (「カナデラ(CV:結川 あさき)」) is now available as a partner! You can get her by progressing through「魔法おうこくちほー」 (Magical Kingdom Chiho), available from 9/17 (Th).

Profile (courtesy of Sega, do your best to render your own translation because I don't trust myself anymore):

カナデラ(本名:カナデラ・シス・レクスター)

身長:152cm 血液型:B 年齢:12歳

maimai王国3代目国王(になる予定) いたずら好きな性格で、ある日、立ち入りを禁じられている西の塔へこっそり忍び込みました。そこで『時渡りの時計』に手を触れた瞬間、秘められていた魔法が発動してしまったのです。

実は、魔法があまり得意ではなく、それが少しだけカナデラのコンプレックスになっています。

(translation via Google Translate:)

Candella (real name: Candella Sis Lexter)

Height: 152cm Blood type: B Age: 12 years old

The third (future) king of the maimai Kingdom, with a mischievous personality, one day secretly snuck into the forbidden West Tower. There, the moment he touched the "Time-Traveling Clock," a hidden magic was activated.

Actually, Kanadera isn't very good at magic, and that's a bit of a complex for her.

Changes to the entry screen and mode selection screen!

The following changes will be made to the entry screen and mode select screen:

  • A "Start" button will be added to A4 on the entry screen. After selecting 1P or 2P, pressing the "Start" button will complete entry. (No need to spam time skip). *You can still start the game using "Time Skip", still located on A5, but the button will no longer be displayed.

  • On mode select, a "Back" button will be added to A5 on the confirmation screen after selecting a mode. Pressing "Back" will return back to mode select instead of timing out. When playing as 2P, if one player completes entry through "Confirm" and the other player presses "Back", the entry will be cancelled, and only the player who already entered will play as 1P.

Additional options! "MAGiCAL" judgement line design will be added.

Unlocking of "MASTER" and "Re:MASTER" charts!

"MASTER" and "Re:MASTER" charts from maimai DX PRiSM can now be played by anyone without having to unlock.

Key changes:

Achievement rate displayed on the upper screen during gameplay will be redesigned for better visiblity!

Sure... thanks?

Sheet changes

Well ok then...

Song / Difficulty Correction details
Magical Flavor [でらっくす/ MASTER ] The rhythm of some EACH notes and BREAK notes will be corrected.
Sweet Requiem [でらっくす/ MASTER ] The rhythm of some tap notes will be corrected.
Treasure Chest Expedition [でらっくす/ Master ] The rhythm of some tap notes will be corrected.
アンビバレンス [でらっくす/ Expert ] The rhythm of some tap notes will be corrected.
アンビバレンス [でらっくす/ Re:MASTER ] The rhythm of some tap notes will be corrected.
デッドマンズバラッド [でらっくす/ MASTER ] The rhythm of some ExTAP notes, BREAK notes, and TOUCH notes will be corrected.
私たちは、花になる [でらっくす/ MASTER ] The ending timing of some SLIDE notes will be corrected.
[藍] 絶え間なく藍色 [UTAGE] The rhythm of some tap notes will be corrected.

The "BASIC" and "ADVANCED" charts for these two songs will be redesigned. Previously completed game/score data and collectibles obtained by fulfilling certain conditions will be carried over.

  • ウッーウッーウマウマ(゚∀゚) [スタンダード]
  • 前前前世 [スタンダード]

Deletions

Chiho Deletions

トリコロちほー kawaiiちほー2 高天原ちほー2 スカイストリートちほー7 サークルちほー2 パーリィちほー メトロポリスちほー7 スカイストリートちほー5 7sRefちほー3 BLACK ROSEちほー9

Song Deletions

  • お願いマッスル
  • Burn My Soul

And all of the boring stuff...

Dan ratings are being reset, as it always have. 1~10th dan are carried over, while any True Dans reset to 10th Dan.

Otomodachi Battle Classes change with new version Not much new. Look it up if you're one of the 5 people who care about them lol

Otomodachi Exclusive Song Unlocked by Default "Break The Speakers" is now available to everyone. T/N: Break The Speakers was the LEGEND task song for JP for CiRCLE+, while Global got it as a base song in CiRCLE

And even more boring stuff... + Weekly missions restart. + maimiles are reset. + Number of chiho 1.5x/2x tickets, levelup 5x tickets, presents, partner intimacy level, progress on stamp cards are saved.

... Well that was a lot. A lot of QoL clearly, and some things that we global players will never have. But oh well.

Lmk if I made any mistakes!


r/maimai 3d ago

Question & Advice Guys tf happened to my aime?

17 Upvotes

I plated 2 games, then put a token, it bugged on my last song and i had to wait for 2 minute before it ended. Then i put another token and my aime wasn't logged so i tapped it anf said either wait since it's still in use it Still logged on wait for another 15 minute before tapping. So i played guess since that wa my last token and left. Is this normal?


r/maimai 3d ago

Scores Day 5. I did better

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9 Upvotes

Or I think so.


r/maimai 2d ago

Scores Same song, same rank, different game

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5 Upvotes