djmax (respect v) has been a really fun game and i've had an interest in the fictional couple crushing terrorist group. here's a little lore explanation.
so, there's six main NB Rangers songs that affect lore, a song before which isn't an NB Ranger song,but is imporant, and a few spin offs that don't count for much
in order of story and release, the main series consists of:
- Envy Mask (Creatune, Mario Bolden)
- NB Ranger (M2U)
- NB Rangers -Returns- (NieN)
- NB POWER (NieN)
- DARK ENVY (Telescope by Sugardonut)
- NB Ranger -Virgin Force- (NieN)
- NB RANGERS - 운명의 Destiny / Destiny of Destiny (NieN)
for a bit of background, there are 5 members of the NB Rangers, each described with their respective colors. (NB Red, NB Black, NB Yellow, NB Blue, NB Green) they don't actually hate relationships, they're just incredibly jealous of those who have them. this leads to their group name being a play on the word envy. envy can sound like enby, which can be shortened down to their letters NB. the members change slightly over time, which will be covered when its important. they also have superpowers, but it doesn't seem to come into play in the later songs.
the story begins with Envy Mask, which depicts a purple-skinned alien creature who absolutely hates relationships and goes out of his way to break people up. not much happens in the BGA for the song, but Jeonjemul (the alien) will come back later.
now for NB Ranger, this is where we're introduced to the members of the NB Rangers, who are all employees (former or otherwise) of pentavision/neowiz. NB Red is Urbatronic Chopsticks, a composer. NB Black is Kalos. NB Green is Z_B, a motion photographer who makes BGAs for the DJMax series. NB Blue is Simpsons. NB Yellow is Hongshikh. these names are revealed in the DARK ENVY BGA. the BGA for this song depicts the NB Rangers in their civilian appearances, which is ever only shown once after in the DARK ENVY BGA.
in NB Rangers -Returns-, the NB Rangers are back to their initial shenanagans of breaking up couples, until NBG Pink (not an official name, NBG meaning NB Girl) appears. the NB Rangers fall head over heels, fighting for her affection. eventually NB Red gets a bouquet of flowers, and begins to hand them to the NB Girl. suddenly, the remaining Rangers waste no time in spotting this, and delivering a 4-foot kick straight to NB Red's balls. according to my speculation, this led to the retirement of Urbatronix Chopsticks, bringing on another ranger to take his place.
NB POWER isn't too incredibly important, this is right around when they stop using their powers. they're seen fighting anti-NB rangers (another made-up mame) and their Perfect Love Machine. Jeonjemul (alien from Envy Mask) also comes back and is seen directing the NB Rangers, alongside NBG Pink. it's one of the funnier BGAs as NB Red tries to reach the PLM by farting up to it, alongside using his ass to beat up the anti-Rangers.
DARK ENVY is not technically a DJMax song. it's actually the song Telescope by Sugardonut, which is a korean pop-punk band. this song is where most of the personal lore such as names comes from. back in NB Rangers -Returns-, the original NB Red retired. another NB Red came in after, who was Xeon. in DARK ENVY, which is presented in a comic book at the beginning and end, Xeon found a girlfriend. this is a problem because it's the exact antithesis of what an NB Ranger stands for. this leads NB Black to search for NB Red, who he finds after 150 days of searching and training from Urbatronic Chopsticks, the original NB Red. he confronts NB Red, who takes him down with a charged up shot of weird heart magic. with this, the other NB Rangers come in and start beating on NB Red together. his girlfriend finds this weird, and she breaks up with him, bringing back NB Red. the BGA ends with showing them lines together with their names, then the comic book closing.
in NB Rangers -Virgin Force-, it's revealed that there is only one NB Ranger left, who is actually none of the rangers from DARK ENVY. it's a new NB Red named revol21c, who is apparently another (former as of now) employee at neowiz. the BGA depicts him lamenting over the other Rangers who got married (revealed in the hidden BGA), before gaining the courage to continue couple-busting due to their memory. this, in the process, gets him beat up. getting up from the ass beating, he is greeted by a woman, and starts to fantasize delusionally over the life he could have with her. right as he's about to get pulled in, the spirits of the other NB Rangers snap him out of it, leading him to shoot a large weapon at her. she becomes a giant, then NB Red uses the spirits of the NB Rangers to summon a large mech, the Envy Titan. the BGA ends off with NB Red standing in front of the Envy Titan. unimportant, but the ending woahs share similarities with the ones from NB POWER.
NB RANGERS - 운명의 Destiny / Destiny of Destiny is a direct follow-up to Virgin Force. it begins with NB Red looking out over the city, where the woman is still a giant and playing around with children. suddenly, a large alien ship appears with a good-looking blue skinned alien with blond hair inside of it appears, who tries to court the woman. NB Red, tweaking out, summons the Envy Titan. the woman and the alien start running around, destroying parts of the city. they stop at Neowiz HQ, where NB Red arrives and uses the Envy Titan to destroy Neowiz HQ. NB Red and the alien begin to brawl, with NB Red quickly getting his ass kicked. He quickly recovers, and upgrades the Envy Titan to the Envy Titan -The Broken Heart-. he starts to inflict massive damage on the alien, getting ready to land the finishing blow. suddenly, the woman jumps in front of the alien and forces NB Red to destroy the Envy Titan through a self-destruct button.
this isn't the last time we see the envy titan, nor is it the last time we see NB Red. in the VEX 3 song Daydream, both NB Red in the Envy Titan and the woman appear, and the Envy Titan -The Broken Heart- appears in the BGA for Glory MAX -나의 최대치로 너와 함께할게 - / -I will be with you to my maximum-. NB Red himself also appears in the BGAs for glory day and BlackCat (with NB Red seemingly having his costume switched to black, not to be confused for NB Black). the BGA for Boom! also features the Envy Titan, and all main NB Ranger members but NB Black. these are only a few songs they appear in, and it's not meant to be a comprehensive list.