i wouldnt say they did add I kicks because they were forced to do so. i think its a pragmatic gameplay tuning that enhances gameplay experience for beginners. for me - a total noob - missing I kicks were the worst thing in tgm and tap, that frequently killed me. so i appreciate the additon of I kicks and dont get affected (yet) by the increased game speeds later in master mode (or the INSANE speed in the tgm3 death mode - thats totally unplayable for me) p.s. just finished my first 500 in heboris ti-ars 20g G1
EASY ends at 200.. but I'd argue that that mode can be fairly complicated aswell. Take a look at MOM's videos for example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElSDouKw_7s Also, I don't buy the argument that they added kicks to make the game easier when in fact they made the game harder overall.
They most likely added 3 piece preview and hold because Mr. Rogers said so. They then increased overall difficulty to make up for that, by hugely ramping up the speed curve. THEN they most likely added in the new kicks to make the game more fair. WIth the brutal speed increase at the higher levels, the new kicks are all but REQUIRED to survive. Beginner mode (Tamaya trial) was put in to give a mode that beginner players can actually complete, but still allow for expert competition (combo attack). I can, of course, consistently clear beginner modes, including the credit roll in Heboris. The TGM games are not tune dfor beginners. They are tuned for expert play, while still remaining accessible to beginners (at least the newer ones).
