PRIME

Tatsh, a prolific composer for Japanese rhythm games, made PRIME his first solo contribution to Pump It Up. The song premiered in Pump It Up 2015 PRIME JAPANESE EDITION from version 1.06.0 and was added to Pump It Up 2015 PRIME from 1.15.0; it remains in PHOENIX. Thanks to a cross-franchise collaboration, PRIME also appeared in EZ2AC: NIGHT TRAVELER, where it became the first song by a BEMANI-rooted artist to enter that series. Tatsh later released a reworked version titled PRIME -PureEURO Style- on his personal album REDRAVE.

The background animation is by LeeAN. Its restless camera work can be distracting during play, so many players recommend turning on BGA DARK; the second half in particular is poorly regarded visually. From level 18 onward, in both Single and Double, fake notes with no judgment shoot up the screen, and the Double charts pile on an extra flash effect for good measure.

The charts (levels per PHOENIX, stepmaker NIMGO) span Single S4/S7/S11/S16/S18/S21 and Double D13/D16/D18/D21. The lower charts make a friendly introduction to stairs, though watch for a high-angle twist that pops up out of nowhere. S18 sits around upper-mid: its closing stretch brings a siderun, and the high BPM can wreck the break-on of players new to the level. S21 is the payoff of the finishing burst: it opens easy, but after a note-fishing fakeout the difficulty climbs, and following a freeze a siderun erupts that is costly to choke. It was once top-end at level 20 and was bumped to 21 in XX. D21 is a tougher reworking of D18, packed with high-angle twists.