BRACKET 1 - PUBLIC REVIEW

BLueSS · by **BLueSS** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:44 pm

This thread is ONLY for Private Reviews (PR). Any Discussion must go in the Bracket 1 Discussion thread (even if it's Public Review discussion).

RULES FOR PUBLIC REVIEW
1) ALL files in the bracket must be reviewed.
2) ALL scores must have explanations descriptive enough so anyone can see why the score was given.

You may choose to do a public review of
1) Just Heavy
Scores will be out of /25
- /20 for Heavy
- /5 for Presentation

or

2) All the charts. If you do all the charts, your PR will be worth twice as much as a PR that only judged heavy.
Scores will be out of /25
- /5 for Light
- /5 for Standard
- /10 for Heavy
- /5 for Presentation

All the PRs will be averaged together and weighted the same as an additional judge.
If the # of PRs becomes 3x the # of official judges, then the PR score will be weighted at two additional judges.

TheBaldOneMpls · by **TheBaldOneMpls** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 8:06 am

1) If we're not reviewing all at once, would it be OK to post the reviews we've completed, then edit the post as we go until all 16 are done? Or do you want us to wait until all reviews are done?

2) If our song is in the pack, how should we handle it? Review it? Skip it, but review the rest of the pack? Not review that pack?

Super_Ray · by **Super_Ray** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 8:32 am

TheBaldOneMpls wrote:1) If we're not reviewing all at once, would it be OK to post the reviews we've completed, then edit the post as we go until all 16 are done? Or do you want us to wait until all reviews are done?

2) If our song is in the pack, how should we handle it? Review it? Skip it, but review the rest of the pack? Not review that pack?

1. people have done that ion past tournaments and it worked out okay.

2. you can probably review the rest of the pack and skip it. that's how it worked in past tournaments.

TheBaldOneMpls · by **TheBaldOneMpls** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 9:17 am

ALL SONGS ARE REVIEWED. If you want me to go into further detail, PM me and I'd be more than happy to discuss it with you.

Songs were played in Stepmania 3.9 with the default theme in alternating alphabetical order (Song #1, #16, #2, #15, etc...).

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ANJELIER

Light: 2.00/5 - I was on the fence about the old 8th steps in the beginning, but I definately disagree with 16th steps in a light chart. Especially for a 2.
Standard: 4.50/5 - I feel like it's closer to a 5 than a 4, but other than that, I enjoyed it. I loved the patterns you used and thought they were well-developed.
Heavy: 7.00/10 - I'm not a big fan of freeze-spins, but I think they fit here. I felt that there were a couple of places early on where you had steps that didn't fit (the one-footed 16th pattern felt like they were trying to match music that wasn't there), but for the most part, I enjoyed the patterns. Not perfect, but enjoyable. It certainly wasn't 6-foot, though.
Presentation: 4.25/5 - That challenge chart is NOT a 7, but except for trying to tap out 3 16ths on one foot, it's the best-designed chart of the file. Again, though, it didn't have that "WOW" factor for me. The graphics are great and the background changes are superb, but the still shots of the people feel very out of place. The song doesn't sound like "DDR material" when you first hear it, but once you hear it, it fits beautifully. It stays with you and is pretty darn fun.

Overall: 17.75/25 - There's a lot of good work here, but some debatable step choices and questionable foot ratings keep this from being better than it could have been.

---

BACK 2 BACK

Light: 4.50/5 - The steps worked with the song, felt appropriate, and were fun.
Standard: 4.50/5 - If I have to nitpick something, it's that a couple of the freezes felt a little out of place. But other than that, the steps just flat out worked.
Heavy: 9.75/10 - The double stomps in the beginning were perfect. The freeze arrows worked well. This stepset is ridiculously good.
Presentation: 4.75/5 - The challenge set didn't WOW me as much as the others did, but it's still pretty darn fun. The beginner set is flawless. The graphics look amazing. The lack of something like BG changes or a video keep this from getting a 5, but there's very little I can find fault with here.

Overall: 23.50/25 - This song may set the bar for everyone else.

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BARBIE GIRL

Light: 3.75/5 - I'm still not a big fan of 8th steps in light, but I think they were implemented much better here than in Angelier. The pattern worked well.
Standard: 4.50/5 - This chart jumped out to me as extremely well-done. The empty space in the final "Come on Barbie, Let's go party" section keeps this from being a 5.
Heavy: 8.25/10 - This chart didn't jump out and "WOW" me, but it was very well done. It feels like a chart that you'd find for a licensed song in Extreme 2, and I mean that in the best way possible.
Presentation: 4.50/5 - I don't like the 32nd runs or the quads in challenge, but I did like the use and placement of the mines. Beginner is almost too easy, which is odd to say. The background is OK, but the banner is great. Adding the music video really helped you out - it works for some songs, but not others. This is definitely a song where it works.

Overall: 21.00/25 - This is a song where nothing was great, but everything was very good. I thought the song wasn't cut short enough, but the steps certainly make up for it.

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BATTLE FUNKASTIC
(Full disclosure: This is my entry. No review.)

---

COME BACK TO ME (Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Club Remix)

Light: 3.75/5 - A lot of stream for a light chart, but other than that, well-designed.
Standard: 3.50/5 - A lot of stream here as well. The first half of the chart felt a bit generic, but it did get some personality at the end.
Heavy: 8.75/10 - Generic-ness is not an issue here. I thought that you used the gallops extremely well. This was easily the strongest chart of the three.
Presentation: 4.25/5 - You didn't do a whole lot here, but the things you did do, you did well. The graphics look sharp and appropriate, and a nice beginner chart rounds out the package.

Overall: 20.25/25 - Light and standard (especially standard) keep this from being a top-rated file, but it's certainly playable and enjoyable.

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KACHOUFUUSETSU

Light: 3.75/5 - The song feels like it should be hard, and the steps reflect that well. There were a couple of spots I didn't agree with (the 8th run at almost 200 BPM) which keep this score from being higher.
Standard: 4.50/5 - This chart just flat-out feels right.
Heavy: 9.25/10 - This chart is hard, no doubt about it, but it doesn't feel BS-hard. This is a challenge that's not only passible, but enjoyable to try and pass. This chart was a great effort here.
Presentation: 4.50/5 - There's not a whole lot of extras here, but the nice beginner file and the polished graphics really make this file shine.

Overall: 22.00/25 - The name is hard to say and the song is hard to beat, but it's the type of hard you enjoy trying to beat.

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KOKORO NO TAMAGO (Shugo Chara!)

Light: 3.25/5 - There's nothing wrong with these steps, but not a whole lot jumps out at me. It might just be me, but with only 96 notes, the chart feels kind of spacious... and not in a good way.
Standard: 3.75/5 - This held my interest much more than light did. It started out kind of generic, but got much better about 35-40 seconds in.
Heavy: 8.50/10 - Now this is what I'm talking about! The steps here fit the song well and do a much better job of keeping a player's attention than either light or standard.
Presentation: 4.00/5 - The good news is that, like Super Driver, you avoided the "Random Anime Castshot" with your graphics and stuck with an image that works on its own. The bad news is that Super Driver did it better. The video is a nice addition as well. Beginner steps were, unsurprisingly, sparce.

Overall: 19.50/25 - Less-than-stellar light and standard steps dig a hole that the much-more-interesting heavy steps get out of.

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LIKE THIS

Light: 3.75/5 - Your readme is wrong. Light isn't awesome, but it's still pretty good. There's a lot going on in the song, and light feels appropriate for all of those things.
Standard: 4.25/5 - Again, you do a good job of putting good steps in the right places and emphasising the right things in the song.
Heavy: 9.00/10 - I love this stepchart. It gets a little goofy during ODB/Big Baby Jesus/Whatever he called himself at the time's part, but the rest of it is executed beautifully.
Presentation: 2.25/5 - Challenge was a little more keyboard-like than pad-like, but beginner works well. The reason your score is so low here... the cut in the song leading into the Metallica/Lil Mama part throws the song slightly off-beat. I have to mark you down somewhere for it. Admittedly-bad graphics don't help you either.

Overall: 19.25/25 - If the sync was perfect, this would be a serious contender. As is, it's an interesting song choice that, for the most part, pays off.

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LOST

Light: 4.50/5 - The steps really struck me as well-thought-out and well-executed. A very nice effort here.
Standard: 4.75/5 - I was impressed by these steps. I really liked the step-jump jump-step patterns in the middle.
Heavy: 8.50/10 - This reminds me of a Sorrow song, but much more technically demanding. I didn't love it, but I thought it was done pretty darn well.
Presentation: 4.75/5 - The graphics don't look great, but I love using the BG changes to tell a story. The sun setting while you're in the forest really, really told a compelling story throughout the song. I didn't like how you handled the slowdown in beginner, but it's certainly not anything you should lose sleep over.

Overall: 21.50/25 - Looking at the graphics, I didn't think this would impress me. I am glad that I was proven wrong.

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LUNATIC EYES (Invisible Full Moon)

Light: 2.5/5 - Those ridiculously long freezes felt very out of place. Combine that with the 8th steps and you've got some serious issues in light.
Standard: 3.75/5 - Still a few spots that don't make as much sense to me as I'd like, but it's much better than light.
Heavy: 7.25/10 - I enjoyed the beginning of the steps, as I thought they went with the song. I enjoyed the end of the steps, as I thought they were fun while still challenging. I absolutely hated that murderous run of 12ths in the middle. It felt out of place with everything else in the steps.
Presentation: 2.5/5 - The song is cut very poorly, especially with the sudden jump-in at the beginning. The BG looks good, but the banner is extremely hard to read. While it's nice that you added beginner steps, there's no place for 8th steps in beginner. And not that I'm deducting anything for this, but you apparantly wrote your ReadMe file a month into the future.

Overall: 16.00/25 - There are good step choices in this file, but there are just as many bad ones.

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MY BOY

Light: 4.50/5 - Outside those steps on the off-beat towards the end, I was absolutely thrilled with this set. Perfectly designed.
Standard: 4.50/5 - Another well-designed, well-executed stepset. Perhaps too many steps, but that's more of a personal preference than anything else.
Heavy: 9.25/10 - These steps are both fun and challenging. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, but it's done very well here. The best set among all the ~200 BPM songs this bracket.
Presentation: 4.50/5 - The video works well with the song, and different colored lyrics for each singer was a very nice touch. The BG works, but it just seems a little out of place either before or after the video. I can't hold it against you, but either beginner or challenge steps (or both) would've been nice.

Overall: 22.75/25 - This file is full of high-energy fun. A very nice stepset.

---

RELEASE ME

Light: 3.50/5 - Much like "Come Back To Me," there's a lot of stream here for a light. But the pattern works well here.
Standard: 4.25/5 - This was pretty darn fun. I think the patterns you used were well-planned.
Heavy: 9.00/10 - If you were deciding between this chart and the challenge chart, you made the right choice. You use some interesting patterns here, and you use them very well.
Presentation: 4.75/5 - I can't give you full points for a 7-foot challenge step when you have a 7-foot heavy, but everything else is great. The video works well, the lyrics are well-synced, and the graphics look incredibly sharp.

Overall: 21.00/25 - A nice mix of patterns make this a very well-executed simfile.

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S.P.A.M.

Light: 3.50/5 - The steps here aren't amazing, but they get the job done.
Standard: 3.50/5 - There were a couple patterns I really liked, but nothing I really loved. Overall, a solid chart.
Heavy: 7.25/10 - Here's where the length of the song works against you. There's nothing bad here at all, but nothing that really made it worth being a full two minutes. There is a good deal to like here, though, especially the ending.
Presentation: 2.75/5 - I take it you don't like Utada too much... but what does she, or Carl Winslow have to do with anything? The BG animations are too random to be straight-funny, but not random enough to be random-funny. Same with the background image. I get what you were going for... but I just don't think it worked here. The beginner steps, outside of one left-right, work well. Plus, the song does appear to fall a hair off-sync in the middle, but it does re-sync by the end.

Overall: 17.00/25 - Even though the song itself drags a little, the steps are solid through and through. There are plenty of people who will love your animation... but I'm just not one of them.

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SON OF SUN

Light: 3.50/5 - There were a couple of spots where I though the steps were too hard for light (especially the triple stomp), but overall I thought it was fairly well done.
Standard: 4.25/5 - Hard, but interesting. This feels like a great set for a "boss" song.
Heavy: 8.75/10 - This is a great chart for those who love crossovers. I'm not the biggest fan of them, but I feel they worked well here. I think it's a fun chart that really completes the "boss song" feel of the file.
Presentation: 4.75/5 - The beginner chart felt appropriate and solid. The graphics were great and the video was a nice touch. It really pulled everything together.

Overall: 21.25/25 - This wasn't my favorite file in this group, but it's close. A well done entry all-around.

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SUPER DRIVER
(Full disclosure: Super Driver was my original song choice before neothe0ne asked [and I allowed him] to claim it.)

Light: 3.00/5 - That was pretty hard for a 5. I thought the patterns went well with the song, just not necessarily in a light stepset. In quite a few places (notably the chorus) it's almost identical to your standard set.
Standard: 4.25/5 - These steps felt appropriate for a 7, and it was very well-designed, balancing challenge and fun. If I can fault anything, it's that the steps are more or less non-stop the entire song without giving the player a chance to recover.
Heavy: 7.25/10- This would make a great challenge set. I didn't like the 16th runs here, especially since the song doesn't really lend itself to being as difficult as you made it. But on the other hand, the parts outside of those 16ths were well-designed.
Presentation: 4.25/5 - One of my biggest pet peeves with anime songs is that the graphics are usually a random cast-shot that has nothing to do with the song. The pic you used works by itself and as a nod to Haruhi, so I give you points for that. The lyrics were a nice touch as well. But why doesn't the banner have a subtitle when the song wheel doesn't? And except for the intro and the very end, the beginner steps felt very generic, like they could go for any song.

Overall: 18.75/25 - If you're a fan of the difficulty, you'll enjoy this file. But neo, if you release this song seven more times with minor changes, I will have to injure you.
---

YOU CAN'T BEAT AIRMAN

Light: 3.25/5 - The steps didn't feel too difficult for a 5-footer, but they felt too difficult for a 5-foot light. I wasn't a big fan of the jumpfreeze-steps at 200 BPM. That said, I think the rest of the steps were solid.
Standard: 4.00/5 - This set is a little harder than I would've made it, but it's still appropriate for the rating. The patterns make a lot of sense here.
Heavy: 9.00/10 - Very fitting steps. They felt challenging without being ridiculously frustrating, and ultimately pretty fun. Nice work here.
Presentation: 3.75/5 - The beginner steps were probably a little too much for a true beginner, but again, felt appropriate for the difficulty of the song. If this were going to an actual DDR game, I think you could create a new beginner chart and bump everything else up a level. The graphics are OK, but not as good as some of the others in the group. There's certainly nothing wrong with the presentation, but there's not a whole lot that stands out.

Overall: 20.00/25 - Hard but rewarding steps make this a very, very good file. There's just not enough "WOW" here to put it over the top.

Rob00996 · by **Rob00996** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:15 pm

I guess I'll start in reverse alphabetical order. If you get a low score, don't worry. I will play most of these songs again and more than likely raise your score if the simfile grows on me.

You Can't Beat Airman

Light - 3.5/5

Wow, this is a little too hard for a 5 footer. I liked the use of freezes for the most part (for example, the freezes in bar 41 just feel right, but the freezes in places such as bar 16 may cause some confusing doublestepping/turning). Still a solid stepchart.

Standard - 5/5

I really enjoyed this stepfile. I could not find anything wrong here.

Heavy - 8.5/10

The steps were pretty good here as well, but I would have liked to see a more 8th note runs throughout the song, such as the beginning of the song and the chorus.

Presentation 4/5

Nothing wrong here, but the graphics did not really stand out for me. The only extras I can find was a beginner chart.

Overall 21/25

Super Driver

Light 4/5

The steps were great. In places such as bars 26-29, where the snare is played more, you could have mixed the streams up by having steps such as (RURURURU) in place of some of the steps to switch things up a little bit.

Standard 4/5

Good job with the standard steps as well. In bars 62-68, you could have added some small 8th note triplet, or perhaps quintuplet, patterns see as the drums are at their busiest during that part of the song.

Heavy 8/10

Man, this is challenging for a DDR 9 footer. I really did not like the use of 16th notes in this stepchart, especially when the tempo is 200 BPM. I would have liked to see parts such as bars 26-29 to have more jumps, but 8th note stream steps during bars 62-68, minus the 16th notes, was perfect.

Presentation 4.5/5
The graphics was really well made. I'm glad you added the video to this simfile as well.

Overall 20.5/25

S.P.A.M.

Light 3/5

There could have been a little more step activity going on during bars 11-15 and even more step activity should be going on during bars 27-40 instead of having those really long freezes. I really liked your use of double stepping/spinning throughout the stepchart.

Standard 3.5/5

There is not really much to say with this stepchart. The steps are alright, but some of the patterns tend to get repetitive such as bars 27-40.

Heavy 7.5/10

The steps were really solid. The double stepping fit with the song, but bars 27-40 could have had more diverse steps.

Presentation 3.5/5

The background and banner were okay for me. I liked the effort you made with the animation, even though some of the animations like the sushi gave me a headache.

Overall 17.5/25

Son of Sun

Light 4.5/5

Wow! This is a really fun light chart. My only gripe is that this chart probably should have been a 6 footer.

Standard 5/5

Now this is quite a fun stepchart. I can't find anything wrong here. Really good use of freezes as well.

Heavy 9.5/10

Another great stepchart. I would have liked to see more Afronova style jumps during the chants starting in bar 69, but great job!

Presentation 4.5/5

Good job with the background, banner, video, and beginner steps.

Overall 23.5/25

Release Me

Light 4.5/5

A very nice light stepchart. I think it fit the song pretty well.

Standard 4.5/5

Another fine stepchart here. Great use of building up the song with 16th notes.

Heavy 10/10

Now that's what I call an amazing 7 footer. I enjoyed this stepchart alot. There was a great amount of diversity in the step patterns.

Presentation 5/5

Good job on the banner and background. I liked that you added challenge steps, and a video to the simfile.

Overall 24/25

My Boy

Light 2/5

Meh. I found these steps to be very repetitive. You had the chance to add more streams and 8th notes throughout the song. This is also too easy for a 5 footer.

Standard 3.5/5

Much Better. Although the steps didn't really stand out in this chart, I did enjoy the use of 8th note triplets in bars 36-39 and the steps in the chorus.

Heavy 8.5/10

These steps are also really good. The step patterns were pretty well made in this stepchart.

Presentation 4.5/5

In the banner, the text of the artist was good, but the text of the song title feels slapped on, same problem with the background. It feels when the video is not faded in from the background also. I do like the use of an animated banner and the addition of doubles steps.

Overall 18.5/25

Lunatic Eyes

Light .5/5

I'm very sorry, but I just didn't like this stepchart at all. This step chart had a case of the blue arrow syndrome. Some of the long freezes in the simfile could have been replaced the some regular steps, especially the unnecessary long freeze in bars 29-32. Also be sure to use more diverse steps as well.

Standard 1.5/5

I don't know, I just could not get into this stepchart either. The steps seemed to be repetitive for the most part.

Heavy 2.5/10

The beginning appeared to be alot like the beginning of the standard chart, try changing the step patterns up more for each difficulty. I did not enjoy the steps that continued during the fadeout.

Presentation 2/5

Banner and Background had some slightly ugly text.

Overall 6.5/25

Lost

Light 4/5

Not Bad. The steps were great throughout the song, but you could have mixed the step patterns up a bit throughout bars 18-25.

Standard 4.5/5

Good stuff here. I liked almost all of your patterns throughout the song. Those 8th note (Step-Step-Jump), like the ones found in bar 26, probably
could have been simplified a bit, (for example, by putting in regular 8th note triplets or a 4th note followed by a 4th note jump.

Heavy 8.5/10

Another good stepchart here. I liked how you kept things interesting with your use of 16th notes, but some of the 16th note turns, like the ones found in bar 17, I didn't like as much.

Presentation 3.5/5

The banner and background were not really anything special. I liked how you had background changes throughout the song though.

Overall 20.5/25

Like This

Light 3.5/5

The stepfile was just good for me. There could have been a few more jumps added throughout the stepchart, especially when the vocalist starts shouting "Hey!" repeatedly.

Standard 3.5/5

Solid steps here as well. You probably might want to make the steps a little harder in the end of the song during the metallica part.

Heavy 8.5/10

These steps were pretty good. My favorite part about these steps was the great amount of variety. There seemed to be an out of place step or two during the rickroll intro and I wasn't too much of a fan of the steps during the metallica part.

Presentation 2.5/5

I was not too pleased with the graphics here, and the edit of the song seems to be slightly off sync in parts as well. I do like your implementation of beginner and challenge steps.

Overall 18/25

Kokoro No Tamago

Light 3/5

The steps felt slightly repetitive throughout the first half of the song. Thankfully, when the chorus kicks in, the steps start becoming more fun.
Be sure to add more varied step patterns in the first half of the song.

Standard 3/5

Hmmm. These steps would almost seem fitting for light mode. There was still some repetitive patterns throughout the song. Perhaps add a few more jumps and 8th note runs to keep things interesting. I do like the 16th note jump at the end.

Heavy 8.5/10

These steps were alot better. My one gripe here is that bars 11-17 probably could have not used such a stream-heavy run, seeing that is one of the "slow parts" of the song.

Presentation 4.5/5

Banner reminds of one of your simfiles for Otakus Dream 5th Mix (Not Deducting for that). The banner and background were really good, and I'm glad that you used the video and added beginner steps.

Overall 19/25

KACHOUFUUSETSU

Light 5/5

I thought this was an excellent light chart. There was not anything wrong here.

Standard 5/5

Wow! Challenging and fun! Good Job!

Heavy 9/10

Hooray! A GOOD boss simfile! I really like most of your steps throughout the song. My only problem here is the freeze jumps throughout bars 9-22 were confusing to me.

Presenation 5/5

Great graphics here. Good job with adding doubles and beginner steps.

Overall 24/25

Come Back To Me

Light 4/5

Good use of streams here. I'm not sure if I agree with the freezes in bars 43-44.

Standard 4.5/5

Another great stepchart. I also like the use of streams here and but I still am not sure if I agree with the freezes at the very beginning

Heavy 9/10

A great stepchart indeed. A great 7 footer stepchart.

Presentation 4.5/5

I really like the graphics in this simfile. Beginner steps are also nice as well.

Overall 22/25

Battle Funkastic

Light 4/5

Not a bad step chart at all. I like how the steps build up nicely, but nothing else really stood out to me in this stepchart.

Standard 3.5/5

A solid stepchart. Some of the jump freezes (like bars 28, 32, 36, and 40)
could have had some more steps in of the long freezes. Places like bars 48-52 could have had some 8th notes or jumps here and there in place of having all 4th notes. I do enjoy the ending steps though.

Heavy 7.5/10

These steps were pretty fun. I did not really like the freezes and steps at the beginning and I do not think the 16th note triplets found in bars 17-18 fit well (because I could barely hear the bass drum that you were trying to follow the patterns to)

Presentation 4/5

The Banner and Background look good. There was not really any extras that I could find except for a beginner stepchart.

Overall 19/25

Barbie Girl

Light 3.5/5

Solid Stepchart. There was not anything really special about it, but it got the job done for a 3 footer.

Standard 5/5

A much better stepchart. Nothing wrong here.

Heavy 9/10

Great chart as well. Nothing too wrong here. The 16th note quintuplet pair, found in bar 35, would have fitted in better if it was just a 16th triplet.

Presentation 4/5
Good banner, decent background. I liked that you added beginner, challenge, and double steps, and the video to the song. The song edit felt a little too long for me, and it bothered me that you steps at the very end, where the BPM shifts back to 130, for heavy, but not for standard and light.

Overall 21.5/25

Back 2 Back

Light 5/5

Very fun steps. Nice work!

Standard 5/5

Amazing stepchart! Great use of freezes throughout the simfile.

Heavy 10/10

Another awesome stepchart. The step patterns fit the music perfectly

Presentation 4.5/5

Well made background and banner, and good job adding a challenge and beginner mode.

Overall 24.5/25

Anjelier

Light 3/5

Hmmm. This seems for like a 3 footer to me, especially with the use of 8th and 16th notes. Everything else seemed alright to me.

Standard 4/5

That's a better stepchart. This stepchart feels more like a 5 footer to me. I liked this slightly better than light.

Heavy 6.5/10

Now this defintely feels like an 7-8 footer, especially with those annoying spin freezes. I really didn't think the spin freezes should have been used as much as they were in the stepchart.

Presentation 5/5

Great banner and background. I also appreciate the effort you made with the animations.

Overall 18.5/25

jammitch! · by **jammitch!** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:58 am

EDIT: Scores completed, although subject to change.

The entire video public review:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VJu285y ... playnext=1

There were some camera issues in the first half, so if your song got cut off (Kachoufuusetsu and Like This were the worst) I can re-record, although I'm not sure I want to do Kachoufuusetsu on feet again.

The comments on the video are being made on the very first play, so they are spontaneous and pretty unfiltered. Please don't take anything too personally, as I tried to 1) be constructive 2) point out something positive about each file 3) be entertaining.

The numbers are a bit harsh compared to the usual, but you'll see Standard runs the full scale and Heavy comes pretty close. A 7 on heavy is roughly "something I'd play again". All of the files are technically competent, so there weren't any really low scores, but there's no point in rating everything on an 8 to 10 scale.

The following ratings are incomplete, tentative and subject to change. Any text here supersedes anything in the video, but the video is still the primary source.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VJu285y104
Anjelier - D A N T . - 11 / 25
Light - 3 / 5
I worry about that sixteenth on light a little bit. Blues are tricky enough on light, especially in a "2" (closer to a 3, really). My other concern is the double taps. Beyond that, it's pretty average.
Standard - 1 / 5
Heavy - 3 / 10
Presentation - 4 / 5
- Good art
- Decent BGA
- Challenge - 6 / 10
Some of the freeze bits still had me in not-good positions, say, facing backwards on DL with a jump to UL coming. And the triple-tap sixteenth is never something I'd recommend. The runs in this are a lot better than in Heavy though. It's still an 8 or a 9 rather than a 7.
- Partial blue arrow syndrome to support a gimmick (somewhat OK)
Other:
I think your rant on romaji is a bit misguided. It's not a mangling of two languages, it's a transliteration - a system that uses symbols in the Latin alphabet to represent sounds in another language. It's perfectly valid Japanese, used when the audience would not be familiar with Japanese characters. It goes the other way too - English phrases in katakana. Plus, as far as I'm aware the Japanese type in romaji and have software convert that to kanji and kana. Secondly, Stepmania uses bitmapped fonts for skinning and has out-of-the-box support for relatively few kanji, limited to those requested by the community, mostly for artist and song names. Odds are one will be missing for all but very simple lyrics.

Back 2 Back - jammitch!
My entry - not reviewed

Barbie Girl - LK4D4 - 21 / 25
Light - 3 / 5
Those eighths (and the eighth freezes) might be tricky for a light player. Beyond that, I got a pretty average vibe from this.
Standard - 5 / 5
Heavy - 8 / 10
Presentation - 5 / 5
- Good banner
- Average BG
- Music video
- Lyrics
- Beginner
- Challenge - 7/10
Played on SM 3.9, so I may have missed some of the gimmicks.
Very ITG. Probably too much so. This chart needs a more consistent difficulty flow throughout; it starts with quarter notes and then throws 32nds at you, and goes everywhere in between the rest of the way. I also didn't really like the sixteenth runs that all lead with the same foot - it's a very unbalanced feel. This is probably a 10 a la My Favourite Game (aka My Favourite 10), although I think this needs more consistent flow to get there.
- Readme could use more actual simfile info

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ydmJlgzYzY
Battle Funkastic - TheBaldOneMpls - 19 / 25
Light - 5 / 5
Really fun for a light - very well played. I liked the use of jumps.
Standard - 3 / 5
Heavy - 7 / 10
Presentation - 4 / 5
- Average banner
- Good BG
- Beginner

Come Back To Me (Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Club Remix) - #Infinity - 21 / 25
Light - 4.5 / 5
Much like the heavy, it opens a bit slow, but picks up as the song goes on.
Standard - 4 / 5
Heavy - 8.5 / 10
Presentation - 4 / 5
- Good banner
- Mostly good BG, but some aliasing issues
- Beginner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cI1cdSQ0Fk
Kachoufuusetsu - Spork! - 18 / 25
Light - 3 / 5
I thought the left-to-right jumps at the outset were a bit much for light. The end used the jumps better. I also didn't think the pseudo-gallops worked here. I did like the little eighth burst in the middle, as it was isolated, as well as the slow crosses, appropriate for a 6.
Standard - 3 / 5
A little too much Maxx Unlimited in the air here. I could also have done without that spin - a Standard player won't be able to prewind it. Beyond that, decent enough.
Heavy - 7 / 10
My comments from the video still apply.

Presentation - 5 / 5
- Good graphics
- Beginner
- 3x Doubles

Kokoro no Tamago - Lisek - 18 / 25
Light - 4 / 5
The fadeout still hurts a bit. This is definitely a 2, although a solid 2.
Standard - 3 / 5
Heavy - 7 / 10
Presentation - 4 / 5
- Average graphics
- Beginner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJOKcB7ZiOU
Like This - Valex - 20 / 25
Light - 3 / 5
I can't really think of much to say for this one, besides it just felt like going through the motions. Nothing stood out either way, but I was somewhat bored playing it.
Standard - 5 / 5
Heavy - 9 / 10
Presentation - 3 / 5
- Average graphics
- Beginner
- Challenge - 7.5 / 10
In a rare case of overrating, this is probably a 9, maybe a 10, but not an 11. I liked the beginning, but I couldn't grok the crossovers in the middle with the freezes. They're definitely crossovers, but they face backwards so long that I get lost. It's hard to dock you for that. What's less hard to dock you for is the end. Not the 24th note runs, but the steps in between them, which seem to have random snaps. If they are in the music, I'm way too busy at that point to actually hear them. It'd be better to go with something more consistent and simpler there.
- Bad cut - as noted elsewhere, the second half of the song does get off sync. I docked 1 point from presentation for this, as I still rather liked the rest of the file.

Lost - xlivesforever - 15 / 25
Light - 4 / 5
Watch the D-L-UL patterns on mid-level light charts - that's relatively fast for a beginner to move their feet. Otherwise, decent, but could probably use a few gaps for variety.
Standard - 3 / 5
Heavy - 5 / 10
Presentation - 3 / 5
- Average graphics
- BG animations
- Beginner
- NO README

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYz38MgynFs
Lunatic Eyes (Invisible Full Moon) - Hiro Konobu - 15 / 25
Light - 3 / 5
This has blue arrow syndrome, but the other charts don't appear to on a glance. I'll have to take another look and see what's really up with it. It's a technical concern, but a real one. Besides that, one way or another, the offbeats (especially repeated) may be tricky at this level. Nothing else really stood out.
Standard - 2 / 5
Heavy - 7 / 10
Presentation - 3 / 5
- Graphics have aliasing issues
- Beginner

MY BOY - Zounder - 22 / 25
Light - 4 / 5
This is a bit heavy on the jumps, especially on the intro and outro. The other point of concern was the four repeated eighth notes, which didn't feel quite right. Otherwise, it was pretty good.
Standard - 5 / 5
Heavy - 8 / 10
Presentation - 5 / 5
- Average graphics
- Animated banner
- Music video
- Lyrics
- 1x Doubles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKRLtQpYpfg
RELEASE ME - JukuGuy - 20 / 25
Light - 4 / 5
Solid. Nothing to complain about, but didn't jump out at me as awesome.
Standard - 3 / 5
Heavy - 8 / 10
Presentation - 5 / 5
- Good graphics
- Music video
- Lyrics
- Beginner
- Challenge - 8.5 / 10
I liked this one. I have nothing negative to say, except maybe that I'd like there to be a bit more challenge to it relative to the heavy and the song. It might be an 8 with the crossovers, but the step count is low enough that maybe not. Either way, it's close, so no biggie.

S.P.A.M. - Super_Ray - 17.5 / 25
Light - 4 / 5
Solid. Nothing to complain about, but didn't jump out at me as awesome.
Standard - 3 / 5
Heavy - 7 / 10
Presentation - 3.5 / 5
- "Thematic" BG and BN
- Random BG animations (and how!)
- Beginner

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBmqx0s9src
Son of Sun - Akira - 16 / 25
Light - 3 / 5
That jack has to go. Beyond that, it could use fewer jumps at this speed (as it is, it's a 6). At the end, it would be better to go with the 8th notes on the Go's a la R&P Light. It also has the dreaded short freezes.
Standard - 2 / 5
I don't think the jacks are appropriate for Standard at this speed. For the most part, the short runs were okay, but there was way too much air here. Transitioning to those end crossovers wasn't the easiest thing either, and they weren't anywhere else in the song to prepare. That's gonna be tough for a Standard player.
Heavy - 7 / 10
Presentation - 4 / 5
- Good graphics
- Beginner

Super Driver - neothe0ne - 18 / 25
Light - 5 / 5
This was awesome. Good use of eighths, jumps and runs. Makes me sad that I disliked the heavy so much.
Standard - 4 / 5
Heavy - 5 / 10
Presentation - 4 / 5
- Good graphics
- Anime opening
- ZOMG romaji lyrics
- Beginner

You Can't Beat Airman - Leticia - 18 / 25
Light - 3 / 5
I didn't really like the 8 slow jumps at the beginning and end. Some of the eighths (towards the beginning) were more appropriate than others (towards the end, especially the pseudo-gallops). And while it's plenty slow enough to double step, there's definitely some leading towards advanced crossovers here, which isn't something a light player will pick up on or be able to learn from.
Standard - 3 / 5
Heavy - 8 / 10
Presentation - 4 / 5
- Decent graphics, although the blur is a bit hard on the eyes
- Beginner

Fun with stats:
Average score: 17.967
Deviation: 2.86

JukuGuy · by **JukuGuy** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 10:07 am

To jammitch! : Mmkay, the thing about what you (or one of your party members) had said about how it all went to become all twisty towards the half-end point; That part was just an idea to keep the chart more interesting and rather a unique touch to the chart. It was a way for me to step out of my comfort zone just by showing that not all files can be paced directly straight to the screen, and that I do actually take risks on my sims. Okay, I may not be as good as to putting on depth of how charts are being presented, but hopefully the message I'm trying to give will come across.

BTW, I 100% completely agree with everyone that your sim, hands down, was the best out of this bracket. So good luck to you, and sooner or later I will post on my review. I'm really enjoying this bracket, and its great to see that the sims I've played so far aren't as bad to be honest.

Super_Ray · by **Super_Ray** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 6:42 pm

Here's my review, so far. Right now, I'm just doing heavy, but I may go back and do light and standard. I'll try and finish this by the end of the week...

Anjelier
HEAVY- 15/20
This was okay in some parts. You did good with following the rhytms in the song.
The only part that felt wierd, as far as rhytjms were concerned were the off beat
16ths in the beginning. The other beef I have with this chart include the sloppy
freeze arrows. They make a file look kinda amateurish. They're not as bad as
the stuff in the early Ultramix song packs, but still, try and tidy them up a bit.
Other than that, it's not bad.

PRESENTATION- 2.5/5
The bg animations are cool, but the challenge chart was kinda messy and
the blue note syndrome is really annoying. I hated seeing it in the later DDR mixes.

TOTAL- 17.5/25

back2back
HEAVY- 19.5/20
This was really nicely stepped. I don't know what else to comment on. The rythms
are nearly perfect and the patterning is pretty fun and interesting.

PRESENTATION- 4.5/5
The challenge chart is nicely done and the graphics are great. I'm not really sure how
to comment on the couples chart, since I'm not familar enough with that mode, but
I think your other forms of presentation (synching, graphics, and the challenge chart)
are enough to warrant a good score.

TOTAL- 24/25

Barbie Girl
HEAVY- 17/20
Not bad at all. You managed a good variety of rhythms and patterning, despite
the really long song cut. I'd probably play this chart again.

PRESENTATION- 3/5
Your graphics are nice and the video and lyrics are cool, too, but the song cut
was awfully long and the challenge charty is rediculous. I did actually like your
steps that followed the drum rolls, but the other uses of 16ths, especially the
jump pattern involving 16ths were kinda excessive and the hand plants were
akward.

TOTAL- 20/25

BATTLE FUNKTASTIC

HEAVY- 16.5/20
This was a decent stapchart. I liked most of it, but some parts felt kind of random
and I wasn't feeling those 16th triplets early on in the chart.

PRESENTATION- 3.5/5
The graphics are okay and definitely tie into the song. I like your font choice,
but the text in the banner is kinda jagged. I do like the bg, however.

TOTAL- 20/25

Come Back To Me

HEAVY- 16/20
These were solid, but not really exciting. They reminded me of something
from DDR SuperNova 2.

PRESENTATION- 5/5
The graphics are lovely. I also appreciate the short cut of the song. That was a
perfect length for a DDR style cut.

TOTAL- 21/25

Kachoufuusetsu

HEAVY- 18/20
THis is a really challenging chart and you managed to accomplish this without it being
stupidly hard. It has just enough mustard on it to make it a fun song to try and pass or
improve on, rather than being something gimmicky with things like 50 million step jumps
or constant bpm shifts that make no sense to inflate the difficulty.

PRESENTATION- 5/5
The graphics are really lovely and inclusion of doubles is always cool.

TOTAL- 23/25

Kokoro No Tamago
HEAVY- 15.5/20
These wre kinda generic, but they worked okay. I think you could've been a little more
creative in some areas where you just used 8th stream, but there's no abundance of
annoying step placement or anything, so it should still be a good chart for most to play.

PRESENTATION- 3.5/5
The graphics are kind of generic, but you gets creds here for including a nice
quality background video.

TOTAL- 19/25

LIKE THIS

HEAVY- 15/20
These were okay. They worked with the song decently, but they weren't particularly
thrilling. Some of the off beat 16ths used during the ODB rap part felt kinda wierd.
They worked okay overall, but could've used a little more juice here and there.

PRESENTATION- 4/5
The graphics are kinda bland, but your challenge chart is spicy! Your 16th usage
works well, given the nature of the song and the 24th rolls following the guitar at
the end were pretty cool. This would be a fun challenge chart to try and master.
It's definitetly not an 11, tho.

TOTAL- 19/25

lost

HEAVY- 15.5/20
This was a decent chart, but some of the step placement felt kinda sloppy, especially
in parts where you used the 16th burts early on. Everything else was okay, but the chart felt
like it needed a tad more variety on the whole.

PRESENTATION- 3.5/5
The graphics are okay and the changing bg images are kinda cool. They do
go along with the song.

TOTAL- 19/25

Lunatic Eyes

HEAVY- 12/20
These felt really sloppy and generic. There was alot of just generic 8th note streams
and I think you could've done a little better in that section with the really long freeze arrows.
Also, the steps go way past the fade-out.

PRESENTATION- 2/5
The bg and banner feature jaggedy text over some anime image. Aside from that,
there's blue arrow syndrome throughout the file, which really makes the files look
amateurish and the song cut sounded like you knifed in and faded out. Sorry to give
a low score, but this file needs improvement.

TOTAL- 14/25

MY BOY

HEAVY- 18.5/20
These were really nicely done. They suited the song pretty well and had a nice flow to them.
There's really not much here to find fault with at all.

PRESENTATION- 4.5/5
The text on the video banner looks kinda jaggedy, but other than that, everything else
is prety nicely done. Top notch package, overall.

TOTAL- 23/25

Release Me

HEAVY- 16/20
These were okay. They worked pretty well with the song, but nothing really stood out to me.
Nothing about these really bothered me, either.

PRESENTATION- 4.5/5
This was a nice package of presentation. The garphics look pretty nice and including the
video and the lyrics is always cool, too. A nice overall package.

TOTAL- 20.5/25
S.P.A.M

My gift to you

Son of Sun

HEAVY- 18/20
This was a pretty cool chart. I like the exotic ethnic/Afronova tribute factor here
as it definitely fits the theme of the song. The steps are challenging and given
the menacing sound to the song, I think they fit it nicely.

PRESENTATION- 5/5
Your graphics are awesome and the inclusion of a bg video is, too.

TOTAL- 23/25

Super Driver

HEAVY- 13.5/20
I thought the difficulty of these steps didn't really suit the song too well and a few parts
just seemed to be mindless 8th stream. Also, the placement of the 16th streams felt a bit
akward.

PRESENTATION- 4.5/5
I'm not feeling the title/artist text (perticularly the bevels used in them). Everything else
is nice, and you included a hq bg video.

TOTAL- 18/25

You Can't Beat Airman

HEAVY- 18/20
This was a pretty solid stepchart. I particularly liked the way you stepped the intro and
the outro.

PRESENTATION- 2.5/5
The blur on the bg and banner looks pretty ugly. The pictures don't even look
like they were that bad to begin with, so why bother blurring them?

TOTAL- 20.5/25

My top 4...
1. back2back
t-2. Kachoufuusetsu
t-2. My Boy
t-2. Son of Sun

Valex · by **Valex** » Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:03 pm

Here's what I have to say so far;

Angelier

Heavy: 10/20

I appreciate the idea into this, but my fingers kept on getting mixed up around each other and I honestly had no idea how to even spin that if I wanted to
The thing with spins is that they take your body away from the screen, which makes it kind of difficult to play, so yeah

Presentation: 3.5/5

Good banner/background, challenge, BG videos, but the blue arrow syndrome in the beginning had no business being there; you could have just gotten rid of the stop :-/

Overall: 13.5/25

Back 2 Back

Heavy: 19/20

The only thing I disliked about this is the fact that there seemed to be a lot of unnecessary dead space without arrows or anything; just adding one little quarter note arrow would have made those sections more fun instead of just standing around awkardly
Other than that this is amazing and I wanna play it on a pad :-(

Presentation: 5/5

Good graphics, full set of difficulties, couples chart that is supposed to be godly

Overall: 24/25

Barbie Girl (Um, really?)

Heavy: 18.5/20

Overall solid, I didn't like the beginning of the second verse, it seemed unnecessarily empty, just a bunch of freeze notes and quarter notes for no real reason, and those clusters of sixteenth notes would have been better being a cluster of three notes and then an eighth note, it would have went with the music better
I will probably never play this on a pad though, because I like feeling manly (my loss)

Presentation: 4.75/5

Good banner; background was a little lacking but you see it for like 2 seconds so it's OK, BG video, full set of difficulties, funny readme, "interesting" song choice

Overall: 23.25/25

Battle Funkastic

Heavy: 18/20

There were a lot of parts where you seemed to step the rhythms in the background, and that made the file a bit awkward at points, and there were some freezes that had no business being there, but this file was so ridiculously fun that I'll give you lots of points anyway

Presentation: 4.5/10

Solid graphics, but why there they anime styled? And beginner was there too

Overall: 22.5/10

Come Back to Me (Tony Moran & Warren Rigg Club Mix)

Heavy: 16/20

First half almost put me to sleep honestly, it was technically good but not really mindblowing or anything; it got more fun on some of the crossover runs near the end but it wasn't a very exciting file

Presentation: 5/5

Nice graphics, beginner

Overall: 21/25

Kachoufusetsu (I did that without looking at the name yeah I know it's wrong)

Heavy: 15/20

I could have done without a lot of those freezes; a lot of them after the freezejumps in the beginning seemed awkward and hard to time, and the ones at the end were just lolcrazy; and I don't think I'll ever figure out how to do the crossover run of doom in the middle

Presentation: 5/5

Nice graphics, beginner, doubles

Overall: 20/25

Kokoro no Tamago

Heavy: 15.5/20

I don't see what the point of overloading the verses with STREAMSTREAMSTREAMS were, it made those parts repetitive and monotonous and similar adjectives. And I think it's pretty silly to have parts in the end, which is the quietest part of the song. The rest is fine.

Presentation: 5/5

Beginner, video, banner looks nice and it's nice to see that the background isn't just text overlayed over the cast of whatever anime this is

Overall: 20/25

Like This

Best thing to happen to simfiles ever.

Lost

Heavy: 14/20

Were the crossovers really necessary? You already had a perfectly fine gimmick with the chaos, so there was no need to add crossovers, it just makes it annoying.

Presentation: 4.5/5

Nice banner and nice graphic changes, but no readme, which was a rule IIRC (If it isn't I'll give you back the points)
On a side note, I really like this song

Overall: 18.5/25

Lunatic Eyes (Invisible Full Moon)

Heavy: 13/20

Some parts in there looked like they would be a hassle to not doublestep, mostly after that 12th run that seemed kind of out of place.

Presentation: 2/5

Why the low score? I'll tell you why; BLUE ARROW SYNDROME. Simply syncing this an eight note later would have gotten you a much higher score here.

Overall: 15/25

MY BOY (Another Buono! file? I sure wish I knew or cared who they were! Even though I actually liked this song much better than the other one by them)

Heavy: 19.5/20

There were a few parts where it could have calmed down on the step density, but overall it looked really fun and was one of my favorite charts so far.

Presentation 5/5

Animated banner/video, lyrics file

Overall: 24.5/5

Release Me

Heavy: 18.5/20

Hey look, chaos that goes to nothing! Hey look... oh wait I can't find anything else to criticize fuck

Presentation: 5/5

Full set of difficulties, BG video, lyrics, etc. I give so much 5s in this category

Overall: 23.5/25

S.P.A.M.

Heavy: 16/20

Very uneven; half of it was boring and unnecessarily easily; especially the end and the chorus, which I hated (there were plenty of rhythms you could have followed, but you just decided to just do boring freeze stuff) And then the rest of it was streamy. Eh?

Presentation: 3.5/5

I liked the videos, but the banner and background were really dumb. Goodbye points.

Overall: 19.5/25

Son of Sun

Heavy: 19.5/20

I really want to criticize you for this but I'd need something to criticize you for, so that's not happening :-(

It's not mindblowing, but it's close, so enjoy your score!

Presentation: 4.5/5

Good graphics, beginner

Overall: 24/25

Super Driver

Heavy: 17/20

I would have rated you much higher if you didn't use those 16ths; 16ths at 200 BPM is too fast in pretty much every case if you're not making an ITG-style Expert chart, and you weren't
Otherwise, there was a bit too much of "just put lots of 8th streams here" syndrome, but at least it was done well

Presentation: 4.5/5

Graphics were pretty lackluster (just text over the generic anime hero) but there was a video and lyrics and beginner and etc.

Overall: 21.5/5

You Can't Beat Airman (Well, I can)

Heavy: 18/20

Woo for generic karaoke steps! Good, but not very original

Presentation: 4/5

Cool graphics (though I don't know if the song ACTUALLY has anything to do with Megaman) and beginner, but no readme

Overall: 22/25

Spork! · by **Spork!** » Tue Aug 04, 2009 7:06 pm

LK4D4 · by **LK4D4** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 4:44 pm

I judged all sims on SM3.9+redux, theme CyberiaStyle5, CobaltFlux pads (currently 1.75 years old).

And remember; DS = DoubleStepping, CO = CrossOver

Anjelier
EAS(2): (3.5) More like a 3-footer. Too much movement for a 2 to handle. It was good.
MED(4): (3.5) That didn't feel like a 4-footer, at all. You have way too many 16th notes, and the ability to do crossovers (during holds) should not occur until at least the 5-footer range.
HAR(6): (6.5) Was not impressed with the turns that forced into DS. Same as other charts, it's harder than you labeled it. Maybe an 8, more like a 7-footer.
PRE: (4.75) The song levels would make better sense if you started on BEG and went to HEA. Very awesome background graphics.
Notes: Starts on 8th Note, there a stop, and continues on 4th note beats.
Total: 18.25

Back 2 Back
EAS(4): (4.5) Very nice chart. Wasn't perfect since most of the same movements occured (tap-tap-jump).
MED(5): (4.5) I enjoyed this chart. You actually get to spin, but when you do it's not necessarily going to be the arrow you expect every time. Enjoyed the holds that forced a quick DS.
HAR(7): (9.75) Awesome chart! Movement was well planned and thought over. Very good CO's and Jumps.
PRE: (4.75) Simple and clean BG. Simple and slightly clean Banner. Full set of Singles charts.
Notes:
Total: 23.5

Battle Funkastic
EAS(3): (3.5) It was meh~. Nothing really stood out, and movement between some beats didn't coincide with the music.
MED(5): (3.75) Good, but nothing really exciting done other than that one instance of a CO.
HAR(8): (6.5) Wasn't ~all~ bad, but I would suggest staying with the musical qualities in the higher levels, especially when the song has more beats than the vocals carry. Felt inconsistent, mainly due to vocals and an occasional music focus.
PRE: (4) You said in your ‘readme’, “lyrics timed with..” but there are no lyrics. Banner looks; hard/sharp text with smooth-looking under not so appealing (in my taste). BG was okay.
Notes:
Total: 17.75

COME BACK TO ME
EAS(3): (4.75) Quite excellent.
MED(5): (4.75) Damn well done!
HAR(7): (9) Some inconsistency, yet overall it was an excellent chart.
PRE: (5) Very nice DDR-style BG and Banner.
Notes:
Total: 23.5

Kuchoujuusetsu
EAS(6): (3.75) It had good movement, but with all the jumps and CO’s (at that speed) it doesn’t really qualify for a 6-footer; more like an 8. That was the only downfall. The Groove Radar also shows it as quite a difficult challenge.
MED(8): (3.75) Same comments as EAS, yet this should be somewhere in the hard 9's or easy 10's. Movement was nice, but not wonderfully great.
HAR(10): (6) Way too wrong to do a sim, and at labeling a 10. I can pass 11's, and I could not pass this. You placed way too many Jumps between streams (sometimes 8th notes) which kunfuzzled the hell out of me as to why that was placed there. And then later, during the tweets of the flute, you started with Jumps and ended with Jumps while arrows between. Movement was also not my most favorite, especially with those 16th note streams (and the Jumps). Now, I could be more lenient at placing this score as a 6.75, if, and only if, you said this chart was the older style DDR level hitting a max of 10, but then you would be under scrutiny for the other 2 charts.
PRE: (4.75) BG looked odd having that shadow across the screen. Banner has good feel. Doubles charts. No cdtitle.
Notes: The song provides the opportunity for the Stop, but it’s too difficult to recover at the position placed; should have used more gap. I would also like to increase your score just enough so I can see you eat a kitten, but that would be biased.
Total: 18.25

Kokoro no Tomago
EAS(3): (4) A little boring. Movement was okay, but more variety would have been good. There was a lot of L-R movement, and the only Jumps were placed at the end. I was wondering, during the entire song, “were there Jumps in this sim?” So yeah, it was okay.
MED(5): (4.25) Lack of Jumps, and this song would have really appreciated some Holds. Movement was better than the previous chart. I think you missed an 8th note hit somewhere in the middle of the song. But this had good potential and you executed it well.
HAR(8): (8) Ending was too soft for the many Jumps in a row as close as they were. Very streamy; could have used a break. I had slight problems with one set of 16th note hits (the last part before the refrain).
PRE: (4.25) BG Video, nice Banner if only for the girl; text not so much.
Notes: Horray; I miss you, Lisek!
Total: 20.5

Like This
EAS(3): (4.25) It was okay, probably an easy 4-footer, but I won’t bitch too much about it. Good use of Jumps and Holds. Although, for a couple Holds, I thought more of the 4-footer because of the quick DS movement, and later we have that CO, which wasn’t really a problem, but it’s placement got in the way of enjoyment.
MED(5): (4.25) Could have definitely used more Holds. Good movement and I had a good time going with the beat during the first half of the song. There was slight inconsistency which popped the score down slightly.
HAR(7): (7.25) Inconsistency through most of the sim. I can sense a majority went with vocals, but compliance was not perfect. Not fully feeling the enjoyment with the triplets. Movement was not better than the other 2 charts; most of this was walking. Needs more Jumps.
PRE: (3.75) BG is mediocre. Font used... not my favorite to look at in this instance. Full set of Singles charts. No cdtitle.
Notes:
Total: 19.5

Lost
EAS(4): (4) Very good ending jump position after the previous note location. Beginning should have used less notes, as the song tempo doesn’t really begin until a little later (ie; the bass). It was a good chart at that. Some DS, but not too terrible.
MED(6): (3.25) This was not as exciting as expected. There was not indication towards when the BPM change occurred. Movement wise, it was lacking. Mostly walking stances, little (if any, I don’t remember) double-taps, plenty of (inconsistent) streams, and Jumps made this a higher difficulty than what the level shoots for. I think a 7-footer is more like it. Oh yeah, the beginning had the same problem with “too many arrows while the tempo was picking up”, same as EAS.
HAR(9): (6.5) Beginning, this time, was better since it was slower with hold to accompany. Lots of CO’s during the first half of the song (quite literally). I think you misplaced the notes (or used wrong notes for that matter) on those 16th hits to exemplify the techno high’s of the song. Movement was a bit faulty in several areas, where I would have enjoyed more stationary movement during those “techno highs” (as I call them), and the gallops later were nicely done; went well with the song. And, again, the BPM change threw me off, especially when it was a CO!
PRE: (4) BG visuals were nice, and made up for the (should I say “bad”?) charts. Banner was..... okay; perhaps a shadow or thin border around the font next time. No cdtitle.
Notes:
Total: 17.75

Lunatic Eyes
EAS(3): (3) Starts early; cut. I was seeing myself in a left-looking stance quite often in this chart. The addition of “8th notes” was not something to have at this level. Several instances of DS (most often than not after a Hold). Movement was mediocre, slightly inconsistent, but more so did not stay in tempo (see big Holds during middle of chart).
MED(7): (3.75) Starts early; cut. Many DS locations. Very streamy. Movement a little better, but not thee best. This would probably be more of an 8-footer.
HAR(9): (3) I’ll say this before I begin; “Groove Radar is really high for a 9-footer.” Starts early; cut. The 12th notes were fun, but could have used more attention. Many DS within this chart. Other movement areas, like the middle with the holds, were a good break, but didn’t match the rhythm of the song. Ending was okay, but more holds should have been used since the song is leading off.
PRE: (4) Good BG. I am puking while admiring the Banner. Light and Dark does not go well with “Invisible”, and font looks choppy (I have the same problem when resizing using the wrong program). No cdtitle.
Notes: Your gap is wrong (should be doing 4th notes).
Total: 13.75

MY BOY
EAS(5): (4) Slightly impressed, but not too totally when nearing the end. Halfway through the steps seemed inconsistent from measure to measure. Slight movement problems, more with Jumps being boring near the middle of the song.
MED(7): (4.25) You should have kept the 8th note Taps (before that obvious gap in music later in the song) consistent with only Taps, since the beats don’t really change with what you’re stepping. Some movement problems, and I would have really loved to see more CO’s in this chart; “only 1 CO?!” is what I thought. Consistency was better, but not the best. Still slightly better than expected.
HAR(9): (4.5) Good use of CO’s, yet would have enjoyed more. Some inconsistency with that fact, too. During the refrain I would have also liked a nice steady 8th note stream, with a small gap every other measure, yet you went with stream, then switched to a couple simple 4th note beats and small shots of streams (rhythm lacking). Some advice would be to incorporate some Holds in that area. And while I’m on the mention of Holds, they were very nice. I really enjoyed the ending kind with multiple DS strategies, because they matched nicely with the music’s beat. I remember hearing, from the YouTube review, that your beginning (and ending) holds could be a bit longer. In my thinking, “possibly”, but not required; 16th note longer sure, but any more and it would, more often than not, lead to unfavorable stepping since you would be rushing to the next Hold note. Middle could have used either more Jumps or Tap-Jumps between measures 52-55. Ending CO/BW was very fun. Good job on this.
PRE: (5) Very nice BG Video and Banner. Banner is also perfectly synced with preview music. Lyrics. One Doubles chart.
Notes:
Total: 17.75

RELEASE ME
EAS(3): (4.75) Nearly perfect. One or two discrepancies, like your early Holds which seem to force me to CO. Holds with Taps were very nice (and appropriate), but the corner Holds were too much difficulty for what (I believe) a 3-footer could handle in this instance. Possibly a 4-footer.
MED(6): (4.25) Could have been better with those 16th note uses. Way too many CO’s, and I found several places that just forced me to DS when I’m sure you meant otherwise. It was better than I expected.
HAR(7): (8.25) Yeah, that was much better with your 16ths. Early there were some 16th notes that didn’t feel like they belong with this level, yet felt really good. Still too many CO’s for this level, and they would be pretty difficult a chart for a 7-footer. I’m thinking 8-footer.
PRE: (5) Excellent gap and use of the Stop. Might have used an extra beat’s worth of time, since you don’t really get much musical properties when you start your arrows in all 3 charts. Lyrics. You must have been the only person, other than myself, that placed a cdtitle that doesn’t target the sim-artist but rather the song-artist or genre. Full set of Singles charts.
Notes:
Total: 22.25

S.P.A.M.
EAS(4): (3.5) Jumps near the beginning were NOT appropriate. And then the music and tempo stayed pretty constant and you kept with that. Several parts with Holds that were not favorable. Good DS strategy. Probably a 5-footer.
MED(6): (3.25) Good spin at the end! All else was not completely likable. The Holds with alternating taps (U-hold, taps L-R-L-R-L-R, and a R-Hold, U-D-U-D-U-D) were TOO difficult for this level. It at least became more tollerable for a couple seconds when you did easier Holds with accompanying taps closer together. Jump stream not liked. This felt like an 8-footer, maybe a hard 7.
HAR(8): (7) Again, the spin was a good addition. Too much advanced movements near the end and in other areas (DS was evident, but some seemed intentional). You did okay, just okay.
PRE: (4) Video looked random, but more “Spam”-like. It was okay. BG picture not so pretty.
Notes: I never realized you could do that with pictures... *remembering*. This sim feels like many other examples in the past. I’m trying to think of the word that describes the properties of what was placed in this. I think the word I’m looking for is..... junk e-mail? (yes, I tried to make a joke)
Total: 17.75

Son of Sun
EAS(5): (2.75) WAY too many Jumps, and Jumps during a stream (even though the stream was all 4th notes) is NOT the way to label a 5-footer; try raising this to a heavy 6- or 7-footer. Not liking the 8th Jumps either. Movement was not my most favorable. That “Jack” (the 3 arrows in a row with 8th note differences) is not acceptable for a 5-footer.
MED(8): (3.5) Same exact comments as EAS, but my reference would be 9-footers. Better made than EAS.
HAR(9): (8.5) Holy carp that’s streamy. Very fun, if not for the jumps at the end of a short stream. I really liked the variety you placed in making this chart, especially the part midway in the song that didn’t really fit musically (Jumps and Holds during a quieter portion) but it actually did. Could be a 10-footer because of the BPM, but not taking off points for it.
PRE: (4.5) Banner is good. BG picture sets a good mood. No cdtitle.
Notes: Before I began I saw the Groove Radar on each chart and wondered what hell I was about to get myself into.
Total: 19.25

Super Driver
EAS(5): (4) I don’t know if the jumps were really appropriate the way presented in the first portion (way too many in a row). Seemed okay later. There wasn’t much interesting about this chart that wow’d me. Could have used some double taps or holds or something other than just walking around. Jump at end seems out of place. It was a good chart.
MED(7): (4.25) A bit better. Again, could have used something to really bring out the potential. I had 2 parts that didn’t really fit with the movements or rhythm, first near the beginning (within 15 seconds of start) and somewhere 2/3rds later, where a gallop effect didn’t respond well to the music (to me, anyway). This chart could have used more “bounce” effect in the steps, but it was nice the way you made it.
HAR(9): (6.25) WAY too much stream for this chart level. The 16ths were highly inappropriate. Many many CO’s, which fit, but too much variation in the song to deem “fun”. More like an 11-footer, if going ITG standards for chart leveling.
PRE: (5) BG Video nice. Very nice Banner and BG pics. Lyrics.
Notes:
Total: 19.5

You Can't Beat Airman
EAS(5): (3.75) I had slight troubles understanding the uses, much less agreeing, to some of the 8th note gallops. Movement was okay, although scored less when a hard turn appeared (mainly by the gallop) and too much in Jumps (sometimes during stream). Beginning was very CO oriented, so after I realized you meant to do DS it turned out more fun. So yeah, cut down the Jumps and rethink some of your gallops. Probably a 6-footer.
MED(7): (3.75) This felt good.... so you’re probably wondering about the slightly below average score. I had some movement problems (use of gallops), later in the song there was your CO that inevitably was a backwards walking stance, as I see it (not good for 7's). Other small troubles with inconsistencies. Ending didn’t seem right with the tap-jump. Overall, yes, it felt good, or rather average, just small reasons that pushed the score down.
HAR(9): (8.75) This was really enjoyable. Many CO’s which fit the mood, quick tap-jumps that had good rhythm, consistent. Beginning and ending still didn’t impress with how you executed the patterns. Still a great chart.
PRE: (3.75) BG picture is blurry with clean text; didn’t seem to fit. I should also note the (blurry) characters are over the diagonal portion where the (clean) text occurs. Banner is nice, BG not so much.
Notes:
Total: 20

Hainaut · by **Hainaut** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 7:02 pm

Okay, here are my reviews for the first bracket. I reviewed only Heavy because I don't really have the time or interest to play through Light and Standard on every file. I unfortunately won't be able to review the second bracket, as I'll be going off to a running camp for the entire time the public reviews are open for it.

ANGELIER:
Steps - 8/20: I liked certain parts of this, but overall it felt like this chart was poorly-planned out and executed. There were way too many freeze spins here that force you to rotate your body away from the screen, which is pretty much a no-no in any situation, and I generally ended up preferring to just release my foot before the freeze is over instead. Other parts were okay, but did not have particularly spectacular placement and did not come together very solidly, sadly.
Presentation - 4.5/5: Graphics are a little weak, but not terrible. Challenge steps have fewer freeze-spins, but also some problems of their own, namely the long streams that take their place, which really don't feel like they have any direction and don't fit the song at all. The bg video adds a slight touch, but really isn't much more than just a few official DDR clips combined with some random still images.
Final Score: (12.5/25)

BACK 2 BACK:
Steps - 19/20: Not really anything to complain about technically. Everything seems to fit into place quite solidly and follows a clear, concise direction all the way through. I don't really think this is quite the most exciting chart ever, as it seems to get a little predictable after a while due to its repetition and lack of real surprises, but it still has great progression and works very effectively on-whole.
Presentation - 5/5: Nothing technically wrong. Challenge might actually be an improvement over Heavy, since it adds a few new patterns such as some 16ths and step-jumps to mix in with the usual drift of streams and occasional freezes. Beautiful graphics.
Final Score: (24/25)

BARBIE GIRL:
Steps - 15.5/20: I sort of like this, mainly because its simplicity reminds me a lot of the older DDR games. Some areas just feel very sparse and generic, with note patterns that seem like they could be used in the same way in almost any other song, and cause me to lose some of my attention. It still has an adequate variation of step patterns and has a relatively smooth structure, so it's nonetheless pretty decent.
Presentation - 4.5/5: The title font in the banner isn't exactly what I would've used, but it still looks good overall. The song cut is a bit too long in my opinion, as I think it would've worked a lot better had you cut out the second verse and moved on directly to the first "come on Barbie, let's go party" phrase instead, but the bg video is a nice addition. I don't know why this doesn't have a constant bpm; maybe you should've tried a bit harder to figure out what it was or perhaps looked for a cutting error that threw the song off-sync?
Final Score: (20/25)

BATTLE FUNKASTIC:
Steps - 13.5/20: Seems a lot streamier than your average stepchart. I like the creativity that you tried to implement here, but the steps did seem to drag a bit because there weren't very many breaks. Some okay ideas overall, but more variation is needed to make them stand out more.
Presentation - 3/5: The mp3 is plagued by poor sound quality, and while the graphics have the right idea in-mind, the text is pretty aliased in the banner, while a bit too plain in the bg.
Final Score: (16.5/25)

KACHOUFUUSETSU:
Steps - 9.5/20: While it's no surprise that this wants to pass as a boss chart, I can't help but feel that most of it feels rather forced. Your frequent use of 16th drills and 8th-pattern step-jumps would probably be okay at a lower bpm, but not here. 199 bpm is pretty darn fast, and it requires so much footspeed to precisely hit all the arrows that the challenge is roughly close to the most difficult charts in the game, and even with a song like this, it feels way overdone and just isn't very fun. Don't get me wrong, for there are plenty of 10-foot stepcharts that I actually quite love, such as Max 300 and Rock Out's First Kiss (Brazilan Mix), but in this case it feels like you hardly stop for any breaks and just stay constantly very difficult without making the steps fun at the same time.
Presentation - 5/5: Great graphics, and nothing technically wrong.
Final Score: (14.5/25)

KOKORO NO TAMAGO:
Steps - 16/20: This isn't really anything groundbreaking, as the song itself offeres little in the way of exciting steps, but I do still quite enjoy this chart's smooth, solid constrcuction and nice flow. The streams are a bit generic, but they have logical placement and integrate well into the song. A few slightly-more-interesting step patterns add some nice variety to break up the long, continuous streams.
Presentation - 4/5: Graphics are decent, but the bg is not a .png image and therefore doesn't follow the contest rules. The bg video is a nice addition.
Final Score: (20/25)

LIKE THIS:
Steps - 8/20: This stepchart doesn't really grab me. The song is just a long mess of samples from various hip hop songs, so there isn't much you can do structure this smoothly, but either way, I still find most of your patterns to be extremely predictable and generally very boring after a while, as there isn't really much going on here aside from generally following the lyrics rather closely all the way through.
Presentation - 3/5 - Mediocre graphics, as well as some sync issues hurt this score. The Challenge steps are just way overly-experimental and really not for me at all.
Final Score: (11/25)

LOST:
Steps - 6/20: This chart just seems to drag on and on without stopping for a break. Your overuse of 16ths, oversized 8th streams, and overadundance of crossover patterns make this frantic to play and leave it with basically no stand-out sections. The step placement isn't messy, at least, but I can't say that I'd really ever want to play this again.
Presentation - 2.5/5: The graphics really aren't very good. The bg changes are an okay boost, but they still feel quite random and out-of-place. The lack of a readme shows little effort and also does not follow the rules, so I'm gonna have to deduct even more here.
Final Score: (8.5/25)

LUNATIC EYES (INVISIBLE FULL MOON):
Steps - 9/20: Some okay placement, but not really a whole lot more than just following the obvious melody all the way through. What were you thinking when following that ridiculous stream of 12th notes at 174.9 bpm, especially as it doesn't even feel appropriate given the nature of the rest of the chart?
Presentation - 3/5: Poorly-beveled and aliased text in the banner. The cut has a bad fade-in and a fairly abrupt ending, plus the steps continue well-into the fadeout, which is not a good thing.
Final Score: (12/25)

MY BOY:
Steps - 18.5/20: A very fun and varied stepchart overall. Not every step pattern really stood out, but it was still a strong effort.
Presentation - 5/5: Banner text is a little plain, but the emphasis is more on the bg video and animated banner, so it's not really a big deal.
Final Score: (23.5/25)

RELEASE ME:
Steps - 14/20: This chart was fun, but nothing particularly remarkable. The steps had a lot of good ideas, but I still got the impression that their execution could've been a little more refined.
Presentation - 5/5: I really like that banner a lot. Like Heavy, Challenge is decent but not amazing. It follows the song a little differently, but it still feels like it was just put together quickly without being well-envisioned beforehand.
Final Score: (19/25)

S.P.A.M:
Steps - 17/20: This was overall pretty well made, with steps that flowed smoothly and enough variation to keep things interesting. A few transitions seemed awkward to me, but it was still fun.
Presentation - 5/5: I want to rate this zero for mocking the artist of my entry, but I'll hold back my bias for now. Good graphics and no relevant issues give it a 5, even though the bg video is a little ridiculous.
Final Score: (22/25)

SON OF SUN:
Steps - 14.5/20: The steps here are really clean and well planned-out (you seem to have improved a lot with this lately, btw), but really could've been toned down a bit, as there were so many crossovers integrated into the long streams that it quickly became more difficult than it was fun. Some of the jackhammers that lead into step-jumps were really awkward imo, especially as this song plays at a very fast 200 bpm. Although the song itself calls for at least somewhat of a challenge, I still think it needn't be quite as forced as you created it to be, and some easier sections would've added some nice variety admist all of the stamina-draining note patterns everywhere else.
Presentation - 5/5: Graphics are quite nice, and the bg video adds a great touch.
Final Score: (19.5/25)

SUPER DRIVER:
Steps - 9/20: Placement was not an issue here, but once again, I really don't find it necessary to boost the intensity level so high, even with a fast-paced, energetic song. This chart had some potential, but once again the excessive amount of unnecessary challenge caused it to just feel like a very constant, speedy file without any notable standout sections.
Presentation - 5/5: Nice graphics, plus a bg video and some lyrics.
Final Score: (14/25)

YOU CAN'T BEAT AIRMAN:
Steps - 15/20: I really liked this as it started, but once the vocals came in, I started to lose attention a bit, as I felt like you could've been more creative than just largely following the vocals, and as a result, most of the note patterns did not stand out. It was still a well-made stepchart, but not particularly the most exciting one.
Presentation - 4.5/5: The graphics are okay, but the text is a little plain, and I'm not really a big fan of the thick blur in the backdrop.
Final Score: (19.5/25)

FINAL STANDINGS:

1. Back 2 Back (24/25)
2. My Boy (23.5/5)
3. S.P.A.M (22/25)
4 (tie). Barbie Girl (20/25)
4 (tie). Kokoro No Tamago (20/25)
6 (tie). Son of Son (19.5/25)
6 (tie). You Can't Beat Airman (19.5/25)
8. Release Me (19/25)
9. Battle Funktastic (16.5/25)
10. Kachoufuusetsu (14.5/25)
11. Super Driver (14/25)
12. Angelier (12.5/25)
13. Lunatic Eyes (Invisible Full Moon) (12/25)
14. Like This (11/25)
15. Lost (8.5/25)

Juub005 · by **Juub005** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 8:53 pm

I'll post my ratings here when I'm done with all the charts. I will probably only have time to review heavy. As many of you know I generally write at length for some reason and, well, that takes time. So far, going in alphabetical order, I've done everything up to but not including Release Me except for Kachoufuusetsu. My favorites so far are Anjelier, Barbie Girl, and My Boy, probably.

The Period · by **The Period** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 10:39 am

Hi,
I'm here to review all the files
Sort by "Come Back BM4" to "Something Interesting" files

Note: Will be edited to add image links for the scoring reasons

Scoring Criteria:
DDR taste:
No Fault (everything is OK)
Level 5 fault (where is your DDR sense?)
Joint Use of symmetry and spins:
No fault (less than 60%, more than 20%)
Level 1 fault (less than 20%)
Level 2 fault (no use of symmetry - more than 60%)
Arrows (this is DDR taste related)
Fun might add points
Crossover use (related to DDR taste)
Music choice never affect your score.

1.- Lunatic Moon (11/25)
Comments after playing:
-Touhou shouldn't be stepped
DDR Taste: Failed
Click Here to see the reason
Comment:
If the song is something like "So Deep" or "Summer in Love", might be ok but this is not the case, DDR feeling failed in that part. Not thought nor funny use of freezes here, just used to fit the song without another purpose.

2.- Lost (13/25)
Comments after playing:
-The song itself has ITG smelling.
DDR taste: Chaos doesn't allow you to win
Reason Example
Comment:
Nice song, but it smelled KaW, a lot of chaos-crossover combo use made it more like a ITG approach steps (example), DDR felling doesn't work becasue of that. Timing is OK and BGA is nice, so there's no other reason to less points.

3.- Like This (15/25)
Comments after playing:
-I had a bad timing or it's kinda unsynced?
DDR taste: Nice taste but there are some arrows that doesn't feel good (this, and this), we've noticed your vocal stepping approach, but I think you should keep stepping the music.
The unsync seems obvious after measure 54, I guess that was beacuse of the music cut.

4.- Kokoro no Tamago (16/25)
Comments after playing:
-Another anime song w/ predictive chart.
DDR taste:
In the reason, those blue arrows (where I put mines) makes your file amateurish, when a heavy chart starts, it shouldn't have that kind of nonstop run. Very predictable chart but it has a little fun.

5.- Barbie Girl (16/25)
Comments after playing:
-First time I see the song vid!
DDR Taste:
The starting steps doesn't feel ok for a pro heavy chart also there are some steps that doesn't fit with the song for example on measure 52.
The worst thing with your song happen in its double chart, that was the "messiest" (reason 1, 2)chart I've seen on SM, not finishing, at some point of this double my SM broke down, tried again twice and broke down.

6.- Super Driver (16/25)
Comments after the last 3 stepped bass:
-What's the purpose?
DDR taste:
I forgive you the following:
- Put that the song is a Suzumiya Haruhi op: Makes your file ameteurish, does the Gurren Lagann song on SuperNova2 said "(Gurren Laggan Best Soundtrack)" or something like that?
- Too challenging to be non boss: The song is absolutely not a boss but it's hard as hell, there are steps that doesn't feel well, for example this, and this, and also this is not a DDR heavy.
- Last 3 stepped bass:
as jammitch! and Spork!, I! absolutely believe that that last 3 stepped bass doesn't fit with DDR style, that was the worst thing that makes your file the most amateur.
Why I forgive you all this (Yes, I forgive you, if not, your file will be second in my list) that's because your file before that 3-step epic fail was funny as hell.

7.- S.P.A.M (18/25)
Comments after playing:
-Well, this was kinda repetitive
DDR taste:
I don't liked the song at all, but it's well stepped, nice symmetry used, by now I'm not so pro to notice your sync effort so I couldn't call you a hero, your file is not bad, nice bg scripting, if this is number 7 is because of the music, but you have a nice score.
Even if the cover was like this, you should have made a better bg for sm, so I will less you a point for that.

8.- Anjelier (XD/25)
(twistiest song of the bracket, not reviewed)
Learning log:
-Never trust on SM's predicted meter.
-Never use Maximun Integer to asign footer number.
-Avoid Blue Arrow Syndrome (at least I learned what it is)
-I must learn how to make an accurate cut or improve my timing.

.
.
.

Will be Continued.

Next Chapter:
We´ll be able to realize some mistaken positioned arrows on Release Me and My Boy and also an epic fail on the last song double chart!!

JukuGuy · by **JukuGuy** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 12:31 pm

Now bare with me as I'm not as expressive when I critique about step charts. Sure.. These are just thoughts notioning how I see things are and what I've had problems with them. Mostly, I'm judging on how comfortable I would dance to these sims (I'm sure most of you are, obviously). At times, I will also talk about some ideas I would like to comprehend to these sims. But mainly overall, everyone has done a great effort to this bracket, so I'm glad.

Anjelier
========
Light - 2.5/5
+ Nothing really to grasp on, other than saying it's pretty much average overall.
- Yeah a 2, I don't think so.
- There's not that much creativity on the steps, so that leaves another mark behind for me.

Standard - 3/5
+ Slightly better than light because I felt as if you were more engaged to add some spice to the chart than light.
- Awkward positionings.
- To me, it's fine if you double-step a single chart, just as long as you don't try to do it over and over again.

Heavy - 5.5/10
+ Nicely paced along with the rhythm.
+ At times the placing of the steps work, particularly the beginning.
- The downfall begins once those crazy freezes went out of nowhere.
- Weird freeze spins. AKA, facement.

Presentation - 4.5/5
+ Massive Read-Me.
+ Neatly stroked graphics.
+ Beginner.
+ Included random BGA.
Note: So I assume this song is about mothers, and it's cool to see how you presented random pictures of mothers to really capture what this song is about.

OVERALL TOTAL : 15.5/25 = 62%

Back 2 Back
===========
Light - 4/5
+ Simple, yet effective steps matched to the song.
- I just only needed some more pizzaz to these steps.

Standard - 5/5
+ Wow, I haven't played such a fun standard chart in ages.
+ I really love how those steps apprehended to the lyrics.

Heavy - 9.75/10
+ Solid steps, strong placement.
- The only thing I would love to see is a bit of variety, but let's consider the steps already fit for what it is worth with the song.

Presentation - 4.5/5
+ Clear graphics, very professional. I love how the font matches the title of the song.
+ Challenge, couple, AAAND.. beginner.

OVERALL TOTAL : 23.25/25 = 93%

Barbie Girl
===========
Light - 3/5
- Starts to get lazy after on I felt.
- 8ths, nonono.

Standard - 4/5
+ Very fun.
- Inconsistent patterns, but it's no biggie.

Heavy - 7.25/10
+ Wide range of different patterns the whole way through.
- The steps were a bit overline repetitiveness at times.
- Would've love to see some bits of moderate paced steps during the chorus (ie. a slight mix of karaoke patterns mixed with whatever steps but more simplified), rather than keeping the rhythm up with some crossovers and streams just so it fits what a definite 7-footer could be. **Please remember these are just only my personal opinions**

Presentation - 4.75/5
+ Music video.
+ Alternative steps.
+ Lyrics.
- Graphics needs a little more work.
Note: I would've loved it more if you kept the mp3 in a more shorter-length.

OVERALL TOTAL : 19/25 = 76%

BATTLE FUNKASTIC
================
Light - 5/5

Standard - 3.75/5
+ Nice transitions between how the karaoke steps swifted along with those other patterns you made.
- Too many breaks.

Heavy - 7.5/10
+ I do like the fact this chart has some sort of relativity from the SuperNOVA version, which is cool.
- Needs more breakthrough IMO.

Presentation - 3/5
- Graphics seem a bit too sharp for me. If I had a chance to remask the entire thing, I would just leave it as it is and just add a bit of stroke on all of the fonts based on the banner itself.
+ I think those fonts were some sort of inspiration to anime fonts, so that's a plus suiting how it's a certain theme.

OVERALL TOTAL : 19.25/25 = 77%

Come Back To Me (Remix)
=======================
Light - 3.5/5
+ Good effort.
- Some great ideas, but I wasn't too convinced enough to enjoy them rather.

Standard - 4.5/5
+ Seems pretty fun. Especially how those jumps are throwed there.
+ The ending strangely reminds me of 'Look to the Sky' with those cross jumps and that familiar sound effect..

Heavy - 8/10
+ Polished steps.
+ Lots of different placing postitions, which I'd love to see.
- Nothing stellar, but it's solid.

Presentation - 3.75/5
+ Clean, nicely presented detailed graphics.
+ Extra CD-Title.

OVERALL TOTAL : 19.75/25 = 79%

Kachoufuusetsu
==============
Light - 4/5
+ Decent.

Standard - 4.75/5
+ Great quality of steps.

Heavy - 9/10
+ Surprisingly, I found this an excellent boss chart that can really test how well you can do on jumps, streams, chaos, and freezes all clamped together given with a doze of extreme BPM.
+ If this were an actual DDR boss song added with this chart, I would definitely play this occasionally (and most likely I won't play any boss levels on any DDR console, except for On The Break haha).
- There were so many tricky streams that I can't even notice if they were on point or not.

Presentation - 4.75/5
+ Lovely graphics, very Wipeout reminiscent (main one).
+ Added a ton more, which are all really great.
+ Doubles.

OVERALL TOTAL : 22.5/25 = 90%

Kokoro no Tamago (Shugo Chara!)
===============================
Light - 4.75/5
- Not feeling those jumps near the ending.

Standard - 3.5/5
+ Good.
- The only thing that bugged me was the refrain before the chorus. Those steps felt like they should be changed into 16ths (the one where it double taps)

Heavy - 6.25/10
- The beginning needs some more thump into them and not just playing safe by using those inexcusable streams.
+ Once the beginning went away, it progressively started to get better with those 16th notes jumped in to break the streams.
- Then it started to get dull.. Again, during the chorus as you consistently used those RDLD related patterns.
+/- This sim particularly was a rollercoaster for me; it went from bad to good then bad to good. But in the end, I felt as if the chart was above average and nothing else.

Presentation - 4/5
+ All requirements included.
+ Music Video.
- It would've been more fine if those graphics were more colorful, since anime has always been... Colorful. (Maybe except for those vampire ones..)

OVERALL TOTAL : 18.50/25 = 74%

Like This
=========
Light - 2/5
- Feels rushed. You didn't quite executed those steps.

Standard - 3/5
+ Steps suited well along with the song.
- I didn't like the 'body movin' part where you included those jumps. They just didn't felt right.
- It wasn't that exciting, but fairly good.

Heavy - 8/10
+ It feels really similar to the wonderous 'Pump Up The Volume,' (with the vocal samples, the karaoke steps, blahbalhblah) but more longer.. -_-
+ Unique arrangements, especially the chaos steps were executed here nicely.
- The chorus structure needs a bit more work in terms of placing because after I played this, well I really didn't remember what exactly happened and that's the problem. There needs to be some sort of spark that will convince me to raise the score up to par with the better sims if you would've worked better with that part. But the steps I enjoyed overall and they're really good.

Presentation - 2.5/5
- Your graphics fell flat; not to be a total brute, this wasn't the worst graphics appeared in this pack.
+ The only reason why these graphics were fair was that you chose a background that is so dark, that is doesn't need any more adjustments to show its rough spots, simply because there aren't any. Also, you chose a font that effects the mood of the image. (Clubland font(?) + rave = theme) So good for you wise guy.

OVERALL TOTAL : 15.5/25 = 62%

Lost
====
Light - 2/5
- A lot of repetitive moments. Steps could've been polished more.

Standard - 4.5/5
+ It was very dynamic, strong, and had great substance to those steps.
- You could've just added a sign to let me know if there was a slow part coming. Nothing large though.

Heavy - 6/10
+ The beginning part was a highlight simply because there were no interruptions, while it just felt like everything was on point.
- I didn't see any concept, and instead I just saw sepeate concepts in different areas of the song.
- If you were going to add those 16th notes that force you to step on them then stop afterwards, I'd suggest to keep the momentum and go full out with more 16th notes if gaps will appear everytime.

Presentation - 2.75/5
- No Read-me.
+ Different images.
- More work onto main graphics.

OVERALL TOTAL : 15/25 = 60%

Lunatic Eyes (Invisible Full Moon)
==================================
Light - 1/5
- There's a lot to complain about here. I'm just not in a good mood to talk about them all.

Standard - 2.5/5
+ Again, there were no errors consisting bad placing.
- Look below 3rd point.
- Look below last point.
- If you are going to add those long streams, I'd suggest to take action and use those other parts to add more steps into them just so the pacing of the chart will become a lot more better.

Heavy - 3/10
+ Good positions.. most of the time.
- Oh gee those 24ths went out of nowhere..
- Did not enjoy the first half at all. The fade in was just a bad move, and made everything worse for me already.
- Those ending streams throwed me off.
- Not only that, you continued stepping on till the fade out started to come in, which I do not appreciate at all.

Presentation - 2/5
- Crippled looking graphics.
+ I give you effort for at least including the basic graphics, and a nice toned picture of an anime bunny.

OVERALL TOTAL : 8.5/25 = 34%

MY BOY
======
Light - 4/5
+ Great, just not outstanding.

Standard - 3/5
+ Nice concept.
- The steps just feel somewhat dull for me. Maybe because I feel like fast thumping songs like these are meant to be hard, but I understand why this chart isn't because of its difficulty.

Heavy - 9.5/10
+ Wow, I didn't expect that. Well, sort of .. Since Hello! files obviously seems to manage to do fine over the course of me playing them.
- Maybe some more jumps would've excited me more, but I dunno. The chart seems fine to me.

Presentation - 4.75/5
+ The ONLY animated banner. (Which trust me, takes a lot of time to do while using on my computer :S)
+ Descriptive Read-Me
+ Doubles.
+ Music Video
- 'My Boy' needs a better looking font (or at least needs to be sized up a bit), but I know you were trying to aim for those typical stylish Hello! graphics.

OVERALL TOTAL : 21.25/25 = 85%

RELEASE ME
==========
My precious..

S.P.A.M.
========
Light - 3/5
+ Good concept, well suited steps.
- I'm not a fan of spins..

Standard - 2.5/5
- Meh.

Heavy - 8/10
- Spins, argghh.
+ Since I felt like you've worked hard on this chart, I am genuinely going to say it was very good. It's very straightforward.. Yeah.

Presentation - 4.75/5
+ Because you've worked yourself with those moving graphics.
+ Added DDR movies.
+ Lots of background images.
- Killer graphics.

OVERALL TOTAL : 18.25/25 = 73%

Son Of Sun
===========
Light - 4.5/5
+ Love it.

Standard - 5/5
+ Very DDR orientated. Nicely done.

Heavy - 8.5/10
+ This really works great if it was an official DDR chart. It could even fancy the crap out of crossover psycho Arrabiattaa (or whatever the heck you spell it).
+ It focused on one main thing, which were the crossovers. This shows a great sign to me because I like how I know what to expect in a certain file.
- Insanely repetitive, but I understand why it is.

Presentation - 4.5/5
+ Music video
+ Alt. Graphics.
+ Squeaky clean gfx.

OVERALL TOTAL : 22.5/25 = 90%

Super Driver
============
Light - 4/5
+ Neat.

Standard - 3/5
+ Plesant.
- Needs more "umph" into the steps.

Heavy - 6.75/10
+ Bars 1 to 25 were great (excluding those chaos steps because... they went out of nowhere)
- It went good until I felt you started to get lazy afterwards by altering streams with crazy161616161616ths.

Presentation - 4.75/5
+ Simple graphics, yet it works.
+ Music video
+ Longest read-me ever. I know its descriptive, so I don't need to know if those facts were false,

OVERALL TOTAL : 18.5/25 = 74%

You Can't Beat Airman
=====================
Light - 4.5/5
+ Great. Even the 8ths gathered along well with the chart.
- You should've changed Bar 62 something else other than a long freeze while the song is still hyped and still going.

Standard - 4/5
+ Solid.
- Those freezes weren't really helping how great it could be. Maybe it'll work better if you used more jumps, and less of those.

Heavy - 9.25/10
+ Everything was on point. Glad there weren't any errors.

Presentation - 2.5/5
- Stylize those graphics more.
+ Everything included, except read-me.

OVERALL TOTAL : 20.25/25 = 81%

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