Some disclaimers:
~Because I have limited access to a pad, some of this will be judged with
a keyboard and me "shadowing" some patterns to check if my feet would get
caught up. If that cheapens my reviews, then that's our unfortunate reality
~Some songs did not have the best offsync. This happens because we all sync
our games to our own monitors and having it be off by .010th of a second is
normal. No scores where reduced because of this, and if I mention sync issues
then please be assured I attempted to adjust this viable beforehand
~I tried to be fair and consistant with my ratings. Not all of these where played
at the same time / in the same frame of mind. I did check previous scores to
determin placements and I did end up adjusting some previous scores to be consistant,
but if it seems like I was too hard or too easy on a file compared to a different
one, it's probably because Stepmania at 1AM hits differently, y'all.
~Posting this first draft without checking for format or spelling errors because
of time restraints. Can edit this later.....oh spoilers don't work here? well fuck me
[Spoiler=BAAM]
BAAM
I love guilty pleasure pop and Korea is good on delivering that--I never get
tired of seeing a K-Pop track in a music game and this is no different.
THE PRESENTATION - Banner and background have this nice old-school comic book
vibe you use to see in the official mixes, and the inclusion of a video is
awesome. I am really jealous that Chmurek got the filesize down to 50MB as
I personally had to cut mine. It helps give the song it's own idenity that isn't
tied to the chart being X or Y. [5/5] here especially because of the video.
THE HEAVY CHART - Not overstepped, not understepped, I love the use of crossovers
and spins and feel pad files traditionally have been really hesitant to use them.
[Note from future self: These will be featured in plenty of files haha]
[so many files]
this is the exact kind of chart I would use a slower speed mod on and just play
no-bar back in the day for the fun of it. Flows with the song nicely. Possibly
overrated at an 8, but I can see the crossovers just edging it out (And it's not
like Konami was any good determining between 6s, 7s and 8s themselves haha)
I'll give high marks [9/10] for this; I don't realistically know how it could be
better unless we went full ITG here.
THE STANDARD CHART - I appriciate Chmurek putting jumps on most of the BAAMs in
the song, because otherwise this chart would be horribly generic. There was a
stretch where it just seemed a little too bare. I wonder if freezes would have
helped here, but I regonized that Chmurek was trying to keep freezes to one certain
part of the song for effect. I'm being a little too nitpicky though; I can
testify that people who play at this skill level and lower don't think much about
patterns the way some of us do. As long as the chart is on sync and doesn't trip
the player up, it's good. [8/10] no serious complaints.
TOTAL SCORE: 22 out of a possible 25
[/Spoiler]
-------
[Spoiler=Be With You]
Be With You
I've never heard this song before but damn it feels nostalgic to me. This is the
kind of music I'd unironically jam to in the car on my way to the beach.
THE PRESENTATION - Simple design that fits the retro vibe of the music. Nothing
much to comment on but it works and looks sharp on my screen so it gets a solid
[4/5] here. I appriciate that the jacket is a unique design and not a resized
banner or background. It's a shame my SKU doesn't use them.
THE HEAVY CHART - Oh boy was there a crossover revival and I just didn't hear
about it? The patterns actually tripped me up the first time I attempted them
but was much easier to properly do after you kind of know what's what. I'm a
little torn because on one hand the patterns are involved enough but on the
other, I kind of wish we had gotten 16th busts throughout this. The absence of
an Oni chart here can't be held against this one, but I still can't help but
feel parts of this could have gone just a little further. Still, Great song
and great use of the freezes to really force the crossovers for a satisfying
stage so I'll give it a high [9/10]
THE STANDARD CHART - I appriciate that the chart gives the players crossovers
in a safer enviroment, but the pattern yields to having more jumps about a third
of the way in. I don't really think all the jumps have business here, but it's
not really weighing down the file or anything. I think [7/10] is probably the
default "That was good" score, and I do think this was good.
This sim also has Double Charts but I have no real way to properly test/comment
on those. Just thought I'll mention that it's neat they where included.
TOTAL SCORE: 20/25
[/spoiler]
-----
[spoiler=Booty Me Down]
Booty Me Down
In an alternate universe where American censorship doesn't presuade Konami to shy
away from E-Rotic as their main act, Booty Me Down premiers on DDRMAX US and is
the reason every kid buys one of those shit DDR ION Metal pads on eBay for 150 bucks.
The Beatmania IIDX team learns of this more adult song selection and never censors
the Last Message video in an effort to still compete.
THE PRESENTATION - Jesus Christ that women's neck is as big as her head. also LMAO
this background is next level not what Konami would have in their games ever. I love it.
It's slightly low rezed like Lar made these or something (tsk tsk) but I'll be the last
person to deduct points for that. Point up for a unique jacket cover, but point down
for the jacket playing it safe---shoulda stuck with the weirdly drawn girl and the
booty to keep selling the vibe. [4/5]
THE HEAVY CHART - Dawg this shit is great. I'm a little on the heavy side so jumps are
always going to tire me out but these simple patterns make it more fun and less "throw
that weight around booiii" like other patterns can be. Gallops are fun and work, the
16ths are fun and keep this from feeling understepped---this just works. Reminds me of
what 4th Mix and DDRMAX would do with their charts, Fusion-Ha'd together to make some
sort of weird combonation of Love to Me and Yozora No Muko. Not entirely sure what
even could be done different for DDR stye charts, let alone if it'll even be better.
[10/10]
THE STANDARD CHART - This chart doesn't come together like the Heavy one did. Simplified
patterns like 4->3->jump->repeat clash with the half pad spins that come after it, and I
swear there's an unintentional spin right before the 100th note that tripped me up 3 times
in a row. It comes off like there wasn't really a mission for this chart beforehand which
works fine for most low level charts but since we are trying to judge 30 something files
total, we're gonna have to get picky sometimes. It's still synced, and it doesn't have
anything that makes it worth steering clear of, so [6/10] seems fair.
TOTAL POINTS: 20/25
[/spoiler]
-----
[spoiler=Count What You Have Now]
Count What You Have Now
This is another bop of a song choice and I'm happy to see some City Pop in here.
Actual DDR was pretty sparse on the genre (I can't think of a single song that really
fit the label) and this wasn't widely picked for SM back when I was active, so good
choice for a song that's a little different but still feels like it fits right in.....
...the slowdown at the end got me however and that causes The Big Sad(tm)
THE PRESENTATION - Hello Kettle, it's me the Pot; that banner looks jagged as they come.
Granted, I don't think that should determine if a file is good but I want to judge fairly
here, so it has to be mentioned. The CDTITLE is a little big for my theme, but I won't knock
points off for it---at least you have one, and I appriciate that. The artwork is very
80s inspired retrofit and works, but doesn't really speak to me. [3/5]
THE HEAVY CHART - There's a lot to like but I feel this chart is plagued but slight over-
stepping and awkward patterns. It's tought to really comment without going through the song
almost measure by measure but I feel there are several unintentional spins (clearest example
is at the end) and a few crossovers don't safely lead the player back (around the 130 to 140
combo mark). If I had to go uber sn00b and nitpick, I'd also say that I think the ending
8th note stream is slightly overstepped for what we hear. This is almost an excellent chart,
it's already damn good for someone claiming to be new to the hobby (I certainly did not make
something this fun in my first Best-Mix, and I had been charting keyboard for years prior)
and I think after this contest ThreeFish should give this some tweakin'---a few arrows swapped
around and this'll be a classic. Until then, [6/10].
THE STANDARD CHART - This is not a 5, actually this is a hair's breath from a proper HEAVY
chart. It's good stuff though, and even though it almost ventures into Karaoke steps, it
manages to avoid it and come back to what a Standard chart should ideally be. Reminds me
of the non-Boss songs from SuperNOVA 2, which is good. There is no rule that states that
a certain chart has to adhare to a difficulty range, so I won't dock points for any
preconceived notion that this is a little hard for the difficulty. As such, [7/10] seems
fair.
TOTAL SCORE: 16/20
[/spoiler]
--------
[spoiler=Fly on the Wings of Love]
Fly on the Wings of Love
Oh wow, I actually do remember this song--although I don't think it was this particular mix.
It was neat to read it's history in the readme as well.
THE PRESENTATION - The purple lettering blends in the banner in this weird way that doesn't
really work and makes it hard to read. The background is much better but with no other flourishes
in the presentation I feel a [3/5] is fair.
THE HEAVY CHART - This chart doesn't seem super focused; I'm not sure if we're following the
vocals or the flute or just the 8th notes at any time but it's simple enough to not get <too> lost.
I swear some of these 16ths should be 8ths; at around the 135 combo (the first verse) there's
this 16th that made me break combo twice and I had to really look for it on the third run.
I just wasn't feeling this one the way I was some of the others and feel it could use another
pass in the editor. [6/10]
THE ONI CHART - This one feels way better, even though I'm way too out of practice to really
nail some of these sections on foot. I'm reminded of the 9s that DDRMAX2 and EXTREME had,
which is a very good thing. Slight karaoke steps but personally it felt needed for the
varity and idenity of the chart so I'm considering it a plus. Easy [8/10]
TOTAL SCORE: 17/25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Hallucination XXX]
Hallucination XX
Ah, the hardcore [proper genre noun here i guess] song, a stable of music games through
all ages. I find these are more fun in games like IIDX then dance games, but the community
loves them for a good reason: they absolutely get your blood pumping
THE PRESENTATION - Uses the cute girl aesthetic that works, especially sense I'm certain
it's from CrossxBeats. According to the ReadMe, the background is the cover art of the
album which explains the unrelated text. It works in concept (I mean it's the album's artwork
which normally relates to the song somehow) but here it feels kinda lazy, like "take this
png and now slap some black bars and the title in there". The ReadMe is very detailed for
the file and probably the best one so far. The inclusion of an alternate gimmick version
is nice, but I won't be judging that as it would probably just compel me to give a lower
score for being too ITG for a DDR Stepfile Tournament Although I have no doubt I'll
be switching to them exclusively after the fact, but I can't award more points for thier
inclusion now. [3/5]
THE HEAVY CHART - This was exactly the kind of chart I expected when I heard the song,
which I suppose is a solid plus for the sake of the tournament. These crossovers are
getting cheated to hell though, as I'm not near quick enough to want to do them properly.
I have a bias against 9s like this, as even in my prime stamina was the one area I
wasn't as good as my peers and this chart is a very straightforward, SuperNOVA style
stamina run, but I won't dock points for it here as it's very onbrand for a Pre-X Mix.
I kind of have to talk myself up to giving it an [8/10], but I think if it was a song
that I enjoyed as much as some of the others I would justify an 8, so I'll remove my
bias and give it here on the grounds that this song benefits from this chart and vice
versa, regardless on how I feel about either.
THE STANDARD CHART - This is kind of a retrend of what I said above, except the chart
is very obviously just toned down from the heavy one. [7/10] is my defacto score for
a chart that I like alright/think works fine so I'll award that here. Nothing wrong
or out of place, and the ending is much more fun without the AFRONOVA jumps.
As per the rules, the Edit chart was omitted from judging.
TOTAL POINTS: 18/25
[/spoiler]
[Spoiler=Itsuko]
Itsuko
This song sounds like the weirder sound of Drum and Bass the later Beatmania 5keys
and early IIDXs would have, and I'm pretty ok with it.
THE PRESENTATION - The artwork comes off as really generic which I feel bad for
saying because it seems to be an homage to theartist's other works....but you
could of told me it was an homage to ITG Customs from 2009 and it'll still work. It
doesn't make me <not> want to play it, so I'll still give it a [3/5]. Blue is my favorite
color, after all.
THE HEAVY CHART - This chart is old school, perhaps slightly too old school; the patterns
sometimes seem a little sporadic and I'm not entirely sure if every one of these crossovers
were intentional or not. The spin at the end clearly was intentional, but not sure if it
really fits? This comes off as a chart that would be in 4th or 5th and everyone would just
double-step their asses off, which does have it's own charm. Freeze steps modernize it
to a degree, but this could of probably worked without them and been a pre-Max chart.
16ths are fun, and the chart isn't so fast you can't handle what it's throwing out there.
I think I would have stepped this very diffrently, but also think it's good for what it
wanted to be so [7/10]. The repeating steps almost made me lower the score, but it's very
onbrand for the era being emulated.
THE STANDARD CHART - Tad more then I expected for the Standard chart. Other then more
doable crossovers this is your tried and true chart to a song. Hard enough to had been
an easier Heavy, so if the 16ths are too much you can get your kicks here. Not much to
really comment on here so [7/10]
TOTAL SCORE: 17/25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Mirror Prism]
Mirror Prism
Sega Sound Team called and told us to stop stealing their retro racing jams.
THE PRESENTATION - Not a lot of varied artwork, has a bit of a 4th Mix vibe to it except
4th Mix would have chosen a worse shade and tried rendering it out in like 10 pixels.
With the sound of the song, I wish the graphics where rendered with Blast Processing but
that's a personal nit pick. This ReadMe is now the current nicest ReadMe, and as an aside:
I actually do remember that file, Spark XD [3/5]
THE HEAVY CHART - I appriciate that we have a file that's trying to use freezes creatively,
but I don't think this works. I'm not sure what's happening half the time and I swear it looks
like the file wants me to like 180 at parts. Early crossovers go nowhere, and at the 100 combo
marker the freeze pattern is either demanding too much from my overweight butt or just isn't
thought out as well as it should be. It's a shame because I like the ideas at play here: Freezes
with crossovers and maybe a spin here and there suits this very well but this chart doesn't
pull it together like it should. It's sync well, it isn't a train wreck, but it does seem a
little sloppy. [5/10]
THE STANDARD CHART - This one wasn't near as bad until whatever that spin was at around 170-ish
combo marker and then it got hella awkward hella fast. Think the same critisms apply here as
above but this is slightly better. [6/10]
TILT SCORE - [+1] Dude COMMISSIONED a new song for this contest. That's awesome. Tell your bud I
loved it.
TOTAL SCORE 15/25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Oops! I did it Again]
Oops! I did it Again (Bootleg)
I'm glad to see the general air around Brittney Spears change back to something more positive. I
can't say I was ever a huge fan (I only know the singles and can't say I like every one of them)
but for a hot minute people were just laying on the hate for no real reason. Well ok, she was
really bad at PR but still, it was a litte much and I'm glad nostalgia is letting us enjoy her work
again. This remix was done by the stepartist, so we have a unique situation where the step artist
had a say in every aspect of the file.
THE PRESENTATION - The background videos sell the presentation and makes this fee like an official
CS Exclusive from like Max or Max2, and it put a hardcore smile on my face. I thought "all that's
missing is the DDR Dancers and this'll be exactly as Konami would have done it" right as the DDR
dancers started to pop up in the background. Banner/BG/Jacket/etc are simple and safe, but very
onbrand and with the video pulling on my nostalgia, they don't have to be anything complicated.
Is [5/5] too generous? Perhaps. Am I giving it that score anyway? Ya bet.
THE HEAVY CHART - My only complaint here is that I feel the repeating patterns at the very beginning
probably could of been something else, but otherwise this is exactly the kind of chart you'd
hope would be with a song like this if you picked it on a machine. Fun crossovers, a few easy
16th trills for flavor, freezes and jumps in all the right spots. Solid [8/10].
THE STANDARD CHART - Unlike some of the previous songs, this feels like what a standard chart should:
mostly 4ths with some 8th burst, and jumps to highlight certain beats. If BAAM's Standard is an 8,
then this also gets [8/10] with no further questions.
TILT: [+1] It's lame to award a point because a song tugs at your nostalgia but....That's what I'm going to
do. The style of remix, the backgrounds, the actual steps---it just works. Max and Max 2 CS mixes where
the hotness when I first started DDR seriously and Britney Spears was very popular and omnipotent when I
was still young and impressionable; even if I don't go out of my way to play those mixes or listen
to her songs they still leave a positive emotion with me. If this base score ties with any of my
other reviews I probably edge this one out, so an extra point seems appropriate here.
TOTAL SCORE: 22/25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=QUAKE]
QUAKE
Not gonna lie, if this is a remix from the games it's been way too long since I've heard
the originals to pick up on it.
THE PRESENTATION - I love the ReadMe's flavor, and I love having the background videos.
I'm getting really jealous that everyone but me found a way to get their videos in
their files without going over the filesize limit. I read the ReadMe first, so when I
saw that it had a video I was half expecting QUAKE Gameplay and that didn't happen.
The vdeos are nothing but positive, though. Come to think of it, the banner doesn't
use the Quake logo/font either....is it, not suppose to remind me of the game? Aw well
Medal of Honor Underground was more my jam. [4/5]
THE HEAVY CHART - "Chaos" 16ths and triplets make this a pretty fun experience that
makes me wish I had the knees of a younger man. It's actually really fun on keyboard
even though I can't give more points for that for this contest. The speed up was hype
tho and I like that while the first half was single, melody driven notes the last part
after the speed increase was much more stamina and jump focus. [8/10]
THE STANDARD CHART - Like the Heavy Chart, but easier. Perhaps a little too hard for
Standard but I already commited to not lowering scores for that. Nothing really to
say. [7/10]
TOTAL: 19/25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=sore wa hanabi no youna koi]
Sore Wa Hanabi no Youna Koi
Alphabetically (using Hepburn Romanization), this should be next on the songwheel, but
the romanization of the title was added so it defaults to the very bottom of the page
instead.
Allow me to use this space and be a little mean (in a non-serious, non-angry way) in a
response to the ReadMe.
It is absolutely fair to let the song choice affect your score.
I try not to. I'm pretty sure I had to admit a previous song deserved a higher score then I
really wanted to give it because the song is objectively fine and the chart fit well, but not
all songs are created equal and not all songs are suited for music games. If I submitted the
(admittedly extreme example) first 3 bars of I Love Beijing Tiananmen on loop like it's heard
in Hong Kong '97 The SNES...game..?...then I expect to get roasted for that pick. Absolutely
no one owes it to me try and look past something that has no business being here. Obviously, I
don't think Hanani no Youna koi is that bad. I don't think it's bad. I kinda like it if I'm
being honest, but preemptively trying to swat away criticism of the song choice just feels....
...not fair? Like ok clearly if someone gives really low scores across the board just because
they didn't like the genre that'll be overly shitty, but the music is kind of a big part of
the files. If a song that just doesn't connect appear in the contest then it deserves the
criticism of not connecting. Konami had to carefully pick songs and deal with the backlash of
covering Lips of an Angel: I don't see how anyone here should somehow be immunued to that.
Anyway, I don't think this is going to really be an issue in this bracket.
THE PRESENTATION - Another file with a background video--I'm extremely pleased to keep finding
these, as they where kinda rare back in the heyday (well, so was bandwidth). The animation
reminds me of the old Touhou flash animations and I thought the karaoke parody was pretty funny.
Was kind of hard to enjoy the video doing gameplay, but that's the sign of a good video.
Banner/BG/Jacket all use the same image but again, the video gives the file character so that
isn't an issue. Easy [4/5], was tempted to lower it to a 3 because a transliteration wasn't added
but I think that's probably not what's being asked about in this category. Plus, the official
games never had that feature so it's shitty to demand it here too.
THE HEAVY CHART - This is about what you'd expect when you hear the song's demo: 8th notes.
lots of 8th note streams. It's fun and reminds me of the 7s and 8s that where in
SuperNOVAs 1, 2 and DDRX. I feel like there's a bit of double stepping required for this though,
which is sorta accurate to the faster DDR song experience but still unfortunate and best
avoided. I don't think this is the worst offender though, so I'll give it a [7/10]
THE ONI CHART - Oh shit, yeah I'm in no shape to do this. On Keyboard and looking at the
chart in editor it looks fine, this was the exact type of stuff I would avoid at the arcade
around a crowd of bystanders. Composition wise, this is much tigter then the Heavy chart;
doublestepping seems to be less of an issue here and every notable part of the song is
represented holy shit that word has a lot of Es. Anyway this would of been a tournament
stable had it been in an offcial mix 10 years ago. [8/10]
TOTAL SCORE: 19/25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Sunshine Remix]
Sunshine
If there's a 10 minute version of this song I need that shit in my Jammin' playlist now.
THE PRESENTATION - I grew up on the beach, so I appriciate the vibe this is going for.
Nothing too fancy; the graphics know what they're about and do just that. [3/5] standard score.
THE HEAVY CHART - First half felt very DDR Extreme which, looking at the ReadMe, makes total sense.
In theory I'd love the crossover section with the 16ths, but damn I'd be tired out by then
and have to cheat XD I want to give props that this has a proper crossover SECTION so that if
the player trips up, they know the pattern will happen again and anticipate it. This is
much better then just throwing a crossover or two in and then moving on IMHO, although sometimes
the song kinda forces the issue. I'm glad this one didn't, and the step artist seized the day.
The ending pushes what a 9 can do on DDR Extreme, but there's a place for that here.
If you liked So Deep and Irresissiblement then you'll probably dig this. Tad much for my feet tho.
[8/10]
THE STANDARD CHART - This is gonna out how old I am but I am way more likely to return to this
chart before the Heavy one. This is what would have been the Heavy in the older DDRs---has a very
DDRMAX License Chart feel to it. I'd probably make this Heavy and make the other one the Oni chart
if it were my call, but that's too nitpicky to affect the score. [8/10]
TOTAL SCORE: 19/25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Umbrella Beach]
Umbrella Beach
FILE DOES NOT CONTAIN A README AS REQUIRED BY THE RULES
However, as I am unsure how to reflect this in the scores, so I won't be docking any points.
ReadMe's are overrated anyway
Owl City always seemed ripe to be featured alongside the BEMANI artist, a shame that never became
a thing either officially or in the Stepmania community.
THE PRESENTATION - I was not expecting to see The Flying Dog background in such high quality
Jesus Christ I had to end the song and restart. Like Oops!..., this is hitting my nostalgia pretty
hard. Very good editing/timing on this. Banner isn't cropped from background but very consistant.
Every choice feels like what Konami would have done for Max 2/ Extreme. [5/5]
THE HEAVY CHART - As early as the 28th step, we got what seems to be mandatory double-stepping. It's
a consistant issue along with maybe too many crossover for the song/difficulty that this is trying
to be. I think this probably needed more time to smooth it out and switch a few of the notes around.
[6/10] because I think this is slightly better then Mirror Prism (the slower pace and lack of any real
voltage certainly makes it less of an issue) but not by much.
THE STANDARD CHART - There's not much to really say here. No issues, no fanfare. [7/10] is the score
for charts that do the job and do it well enough.
TOTAL SCORE: 18/25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Up n Down]
Up n Down
I don't really know Charlie XCX's discog or whatever, but if this is what she normally sounds like
then I'm a little surprised that this stuff hasn't worked it's way into more music games.
I won't pretend like I'll ever listen to this outside of Stepmania, but it's pretty fun sounding
and that goes a long way sometimes. Anyway, shout outs to a fellow BEST-MIX 5 contestent that went
misunderstood---Our files wheren't <that> bad T-T
THE PRESENTATION - I am running out of ways to say that the file does contain the requirments and
that gets you a shinny [3/5]. They admittedly look pretty generic but not so much that I would
consider lowering the base score.
THE HEAVY CHART - Will-i-Am thinks that we can't complain about double stepping on heavy.
Will-i-Am is very, very wrong
Except that isn't really a big issue with this chart. It happens but not near as bad as some of the
other songs. This is another chart that tries to use freezes to spice it up and I think it's working
as the step artist intended it to work. There are a few nitpicks (that first 16th jump feels weird
even on the replays) but te big issue is that the difficulty isn't consistant: The first part feels
somehow understepped, then we have the crossover with freezes and those are challenging but then the
16th trills start poppin' off and the chart is no longer playing with the logic that it started off
with. I much rather it either crank it up to a high 9 all the way or tone it down to an 8 instead,
leaving the crossovers as the main challenge. I can absolutely sympathize here as I'm constantly making
the last part of my files way harder then the rest of it; I think Konami was guilty of this too.
This realistically is probably a high 6, but I'll go ahead and give it a [7/10] because I think part
of me not feeling this is just that I don't have the body for charts like these anymore (it's why I
play IIDX now lol) although I do think this could have benefitted from another pass or two.
THE STANDARD CHART - These patterns are a little much for a 6-footer, but I guess they ain't offensive.
Was that a spin at the end? I kind of messed it up and I don't really wanna go back and check. Ok I
checked anyway and no, just kinda weird double stepping. I probably like this just as much as I do
the Heavy chart but I'm more inclined to not cut it as much slack because of it not being a 6,
so [6/10]
TOTAL SCORE: 16/25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=The Best Song in the Bracket]
Who The Hell Are You?
This shit has been my jam for years and if that bias makes you think my score isn't pure then
so be it. It's a dirty, filthy score that's been getting down to the tune of Madison Avenue.
Also this is a good cut of the song and as someone who also had to edit their entry, I see you
*Raises Fist in Brotherhood*
There will be a point for the TILT category, it will be for this reason. You have been warned
THE PRESENTATION - How in the blue blazes do people keep getting the movie file so small? I swear
my video was like 100 MBs on it's own. Song uses a cut of the actual music video and that's awesome
in itself, and the banner/bg/jacket ain't just different crop jobs of the same image so that's neat.
The video flashes a lot. I'm in no danger of getting a seizer but this might call for a warning all
the same? The original video had the flashes but I don't remember them being this bad.
Might just be overthinking it, especially since you can darken the movies in newer Stepmanias and
turn them off if it absolutely came to it. [4/5]
THE HEAVY CHART - Take notes folks: This is how you make a song that evolves around crossovers and
make it casual fun. This would have been played to death when I was at the arcade as a kid because
I just find this sort of thing fun. Add just a dash of gallops for flavor and *chef's kiss* we got
what ever license song strived to be in the early 2000s: Easy, fun, ideal for warming up or cooling
off after a long session. What I don't really understand is the repeating notes of three that happen
several times. I don't know what else to put there to still keep it a 7 but I feel...wait that's an 8?
That is no 8. That's way too easy for an 8 when crossovers are that consistant. Speaking of 8s, [8/10].
It's probably gonna be my favorite file in this bracket, but the only other 9 I have of writing this
particular review is BAAM! and I think BAAM!'s chart just sells the song so much better and is better
composed overall, so I can't really justify giving it higher then an 8.
THE STANDARD CHART - This is probably a 4 and not a 5. Nothing really special here, probably
could have been a litte adventurous with the patterns. Almost rated this a 6 but it doesn't
deserve to be in the same category as the other 6s so it can have a very optimistic [7/10] standard
"did the job" score.
TILT - +1 because when I was a little girl my momma sat me down and told me
told me all abou the world
TOTAL SCORE: 19/25
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=World Coming Down]
World Coming Down
It's past midnight as I write this. I think I forgot to eat and I have one last song left before I pretend I
rested enough for work tomorrow. I highlight this song, hear the demo, see the BPMs, look at the difficulty,
and realize there is no way I am about to enjoy myself. Alright lets get this over with...
THE PRESENTATION - A set of Banner/Background/Jacket filling out the requirment. Not near as generic as some
of these have been but still probably a [3/5]
THE HEAVT CHART - This was not near as bad as I thought it would be. I feel parts of the slowdown are kinda
like arrow salad and don't really follow as closely as I'd like though but that may be on me. I kinda wish
this wasn't set to 222 BPM as I feel the song isn't actually going that fast, but I get a step artist can
play with speeds for effects, I just wouldn't make this particular call. This is a really easy 10; I feel
some of the 9 where a harder challenge physical where the speed changes is what's making this a pain.
[7/10]
THE ONI CHART - See this was what I was dreading, lol
The only complaint I'll present here is that the mini jacks are not welcomed by me. They also don't seem to
have like a tangible logic to them--I couldn't figure out how to predict them or why they where there. The first
one set a expectation for the opening 8 or so bars but then it didn't repeat with the rest of the pattern so
I wondered if it was a mistake. I feel the rest of the file answered for me.
This is clearly meant to be one of the boss songs, and that means it's gotta be tough and for the most part
I think this earns it's 10-footer rating. Those minijacks tho, I don't like'em. It's really the only
sin that this chart has objectively though. [7/10]
TOTAL SCORE: 17/25
[/spoiler]
Overall as a pack this is very good stuff--way more positives then negatives. Assuming the base, default,
"inoffensively average" score would be 3+7+7=17/25, most of these score above average so that's awesome.
I assume, since this is a discussion thread that we are allowed to discuss and debate these reviews and possibly amend them before
the deadline? If so, give me feedback on these reviews and I will happily engage anyone on them. After sleep
and work
and more sleep.
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2021 2:41 pm
had some very fun parts. I tried challenge also, but it was a bit over complicated, I think you tried to do too much with it.
). Below are my scores and random thoughts. This pack is shaping up to become absolutely amazing as the quality here is astounding. Great work, everybody!