Beat of The War

First appearing in Pump it Up: The Premiere 3, "Beat of The War" is one of those BanYa tracks that aged well: it survived version after version and is still present in PHOENIX. Its sound leans hard into metal, taking its motif from Megadeth's "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due," a nod that carries over into its follow-up, "Beat of the War 2." One quirk worth noting: its BPM was never printed on the original eyecatch, so for years the song's info displayed the BPM as "???." Only from Pro and Prime 2 onward was the official 140-to-202 range documented in-game.

The Single difficulty spread is broad. The Normal chart started life as an S3 and was bumped to S6 in PHOENIX. The old Hard chart, which sat around S9 to S11, was removed in PHOENIX. The Crazy chart began near S15 and settled at S16. On top of that sit an S18 and an S21, both introduced in Prime 2's 2.05 patch, which significantly raised the song's ceiling for advanced players.

On the Double side, the Nightmare chart arrived in Exceed 2 as a D19 and climbed to D20 in PHOENIX. The headline chart is the D24, added alongside the S21 in Prime 2's 2.05 patch (originally rated D23). Because it inherits the S21's layout, its late stretch ramps up the burst (run) sections and demands tighter stamina management; the freeze section is also spread across the Double panel, which makes it harder still. Even so, players seasoned on the D19 tend not to find it brutal. PHOENIX ultimately raised it to D24. The old Freestyle chart, a D12-D13, was removed in PHOENIX.