Play merrily NEO is a vocal remix of Play merrily, a track that originated in the mobile GROOVE COASTER game. Composed and arranged by Shohei Tsuchiya of ZUNTATA, TAITO's legendary in-house sound team, the song features English vocals performed by Aimee Blackschleger, credited here as Aimee B. Its lyrics tell a playful, self-referential story: a bored protagonist stumbles upon a music game app called Groove Coaster and finds their monochrome world transformed into a neon-lit, rhythm-driven adventure, complete with direct calls to "Come On! Groove Coaster" and "Now Play! Groove Coaster." The track was imported into maimai from GROOVE COASTER 2 HEAVENLY FESTIVAL, a TAITO arcade rhythm game, and joined maimai DX BUDDiES on its launch date of September 14, 2023, in Japanese and Asian versions. The Chinese release followed more than a year later, arriving on December 4, 2024, as part of 舞萌DX 2024. Categorized under GAME & VARIETY and driven by a steady 180 BPM, the song appears across four DX difficulties. The MASTER chart, designed by はっぴー (Happy), carries a 12+ difficulty rating and features a notable 71 Touch notes within its 739-note total, a high Touch density for a chart of its tier, giving it a distinctive feel among BUDDiES-era songs in its category.