These, from most accurate to least, are: PERFECT!!, PERFECT, EARLY, LATE, and MISS. Each note judged has multiple "windows" that it can be categorized into. When these scrolling arrows reach the end, the player must step on the corresponding arrows on the dance stage, and the player is given a judgement for their accuracy of the input. During normal gameplay, arrows scroll upwards from the bottom of the screen towards the end of the play area, towards a set of receptor markers on the sides of the arrow lanes. The core gameplay involves players stepping on the panel with their feet to correspond with the scrolling arrows (or "Notes") on-screen once they reach the end of beat lines (horizontal bars that move up the screen). Players can also customize modifiers adjust to their preferred style, such as changing the visual appearance of patterns, how fast patterns appear, background brightness, etc. Players can select between seven different difficulty levels that affect how many inputs are active and the difficulty of patterns displayed. StepManiaX uses five identically sized inputs, arranged similarly to a Directional Pad - Up, Down, Left, Right, and the inclusion of Center. Similar to other stepping or dance-based games, StepManiaX uses a "stage" that the user stands on with certain areas being pressure-sensitive buttons, or "panels".
SMX Gameplay, showing holds, pits, early perfects, and so forth.