ZIv's Summer Contest 2011

I was afraid of that

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To be honest I was just looking for ANY ESC2011 song that sounded 'happy'. Which surprisingly this year there was a bit of a drought for that sort of thing. Still, though.

Oh yeah, and before I forget:

1 - Quarternary Game (+5)
2 - Air Crash [another] (+4)
3 - Cheap Shop (+3)
4 - He Has No Face (+2)
5 - The Weekend I (+1)

Simfile Totals

Quaternary Game - 22
The Justice Ray Part.3 - 18
Primal Eyes - 17
Rotterdam Nation '94 - 16
Special Stage (JP Version) - 16
existens - 15
Paper Engine (Outer Space) - 15
Air Crash [another] - 13
Cheap Shop - 9
State of Emergency - 7
EXEC_CUTYPUMP/. - 7
Battle! VS. Team Plasma - 7
Wolverine NES Title Theme - 6
The Weekend - 6
Digi-Boy - 5
DRAWCIA SOUL - 5
Battle I - 4
He Has No Face - 3
Ultimate Ninja 4 Opening Theme - 2
Diamond Dust Zone Act 1 - 1
This Is My Destiny -1

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My entries for this week:


[TECHNO POP] concon / S-C-U
2 4 7 8 -


[HAPPY POP] HAPPY TOYBOYS (Speed Mix) / SPEEDMASTER feat. JENNY ROM
2 4 7 9 -


[POP NA PUNK] ヒツゼンでしょ! (Happy Man Japanese Version) / あーたん
2 3 6 8 -

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1. Quaternary Game [+5]
2. Primal Eyes [+4]
3. Paper Engine [+3]
4. Rotterdam Nation '94 [+2]
5. The Weekend [+1]

Simfile Totals

Quaternary Game - 27
Primal Eyes - 21
The Justice Ray Part.3 - 18
Rotterdam Nation '94 - 18
Paper Engine (Outer Space) - 18
Special Stage (JP Version) - 16
existens - 15
Air Crash [another] - 13
Cheap Shop - 9
State of Emergency - 7
EXEC_CUTYPUMP/. - 7
Battle! VS. Team Plasma - 7
Wolverine NES Title Theme - 6
The Weekend - 7
Digi-Boy - 5
DRAWCIA SOUL - 5
Battle I - 4
He Has No Face - 3
Ultimate Ninja 4 Opening Theme - 2
Diamond Dust Zone Act 1 - 1
This Is My Destiny -1

[J-POWER POP]
ROTTARA ROTTARA - Buono!
176 BPM
1 4 5 8

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Don't think I'm gonna have an entry this week... I've got one more week until my students are out of school finally. I'll see if I can play the files and send in my ratings later tonight.

[J-Pop] Computer City / Perfume
131 BPM
1 2 4 6

Easy to pass, difficult to master. A song as happy as a maid-girl in Akiba.

Before anyone asks :

5pm EST
10pm GMT

Week 4 is Pandy's theme!

I've been too sick to make a file or even vote this week. I probably won't be able to do anything for Week 4 either, unless my condition drastically changes. I'll desperately try and play through all of Week 2 on a pad, so I can get my votes in before the deadline. Two songs stand heads-and-shoulders above the rest for me so far, but it wouldn't be fair to vote, unless I play every single entry first ^^;

1. Rotterdam Nation '94 [+5]
2. Existenz [+4]
3. Waluigi Pinball [+3]
2. Battle vs Team Plasma [+2]
1. Battle 1 [+1]


Totals :
Quaternary Game - 27
Rotterdam Nation '94 - 23
Primal Eyes - 21
existens - 19
The Justice Ray Part.3 - 18
Paper Engine (Outer Space) - 18
Special Stage (JP Version) - 16
Air Crash [another] - 13
Battle! VS. Team Plasma - 9
Cheap Shop - 9
State of Emergency - 7
EXEC_CUTYPUMP/. - 7
Wolverine NES Title Theme - 6
The Weekend - 7
Battle I - 5
Digi-Boy - 5
DRAWCIA SOUL - 5
He Has No Face - 3
Waluigi Pinball - 3
Ultimate Ninja 4 Opening Theme - 2
Diamond Dust Zone Act 1 - 1
This Is My Destiny -1

Special Stage +5
Primal Eyes +4
Waluigi Pinball +3
Existens +2
Battle vs Team Plasma +1

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My votes:

existens +5
Quaternary Game +4
Primal Eyes +3
Rotterdam Nation '94 +2
Paper Nation +1

Totals :
1. Quaternary Game - 31
2. Primal Eyes - 28
3. existens - 26
4. Rotterdam Nation '94 - 25
5. Special Stage (JP Version) - 21
6. Paper Engine (Outer Space) - 19
7. The Justice Ray Part.3 - 18
8. Air Crash [another] - 13
9. Battle! VS. Team Plasma - 10
10. Cheap Shop - 9
11. State of Emergency - 7
11. EXEC_CUTYPUMP/. - 7
11. The Weekend - 7
12. Wolverine NES Title Theme - 6
12. Waluigi Pinball - 6
13. Battle I - 5
13. Digi-Boy - 5
13. DRAWCIA SOUL - 5
14. He Has No Face - 3
15. Ultimate Ninja 4 Opening Theme - 2
16. Diamond Dust Zone Act 1 - 1
16. This Is My Destiny -1

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Voting for Video Game week is up. Here's your winners.

1st:

done by Telperion

2nd:

done by Oni-91

3rd:

done by DMAxel

Voting for HAPPY songs can begin.

Next theme is Retro Week: Do a song from the 80s or 90s.

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80s and 90s!? In one fun-size week!?

<3

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DAMN IT I FORGOT TO VOTE

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My personal review type things:


My votes:
5 - ヒツゼンでしょ! (Happy Man Japanese Version)
4 - マトリョシカ (Rap version)
3 - EH, EH (NOTHING ELSE I CAN SAY)
2 - ドキドキ妄想空回りシンドローム (ドキ・カラ)
1 - STOP

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Im back from FAU so I really apologize not being to participate in the Happy week and even more sorry about not voting. Ill pick up where I left off and go on if thats okay. Im sorry D:

It's not like you had to participate every week.

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I'm using a numerical system next week. These reviews got monotonous after a while -_-

Bloomin' Feeling: I'm not going to say much about the heavy because it felt auto-genned. The rhythms didn't fit and the patterns were...odd. Why did you emphasize the back and forth steps so much? I mean mixed up a bit they fit the song, but you used them pretty badly. The challenge is basically the Heavy with more jumps. Overall this was a bizarre chart. It's competent, but it's not much else. (5/10)

Boku No Taiyou: THIS is how you do an easy chart. It's appropriate to the song, it's interesting, it's rhythmically varied, and most importantly it's FUN. Every easy chart last week missed this mark imo and it's refreshing to see a chart that accomplishes what an easy chart should accomplish. Kudos. (10/10)

Caroban: I liked the simplicity of the chart. It was a lot of fun, and the steps fit very well. It's not the best chart around, but I can definitely see this chart in a real DDR game, which is a big plus in my opinion. Great work (9/10)

Computer City: Oh come on. This chart is definitely a 5, and a boring 5, at that. There are no jumps, no real interesting patterns, and no variety in the charting. This is just...bland. This would be a great standard chart, but as a heavy this is really weak. (4/10)

Concon: I kinda disagree with a few of your jumps. he ones leading into streams were definitely out of place. Other than that though, this was a pretty impeccable chart. I really loved your crossovers, and the patterns were very interesting, especially towards the end. (9/10)

Dokidoki Mousou Sora Mawari Syndrome: This was pretty damn close to perfect. I didn't agree with a couple of the patterns, and the double jumps at the end were a little forced, but outside of that very nice. I especially liked the "zigzag" patterns that pooped up from time to time. Those fit the song perfectly. (9/10)

Doop: The Heavy chart got a little repetitive, byt that problem lies more in the song than your charting. Still, you could have definitely mixed things up a bit more. The Challenge suffered from the same repetition problems, in addition to a few awkward gallop transitions and sixteenth notes into jumps, which are never fun, even at this tempo. This is definitely a decent chart though, and I enjoyed playing it a lot. (8/10)

Eating Crow: Wow. I'd accuse you of abusing stops and tempo changes but they fit so well. The steps were amazing too. They were perfect for the style of the song and fit its difficulty well. Nothing felt over or understepped. It was consistent and smooth, which I really liked. and god, the craftsmanship on those stops was amazing . (10/10)

Eh Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say): This song is repetitive, but it's definitely fun. The steps are consistent, the patterns are crafted well, and although the streams get a little old by the end they represent the song well. The only thing keeping me from giving this a 10 is the repetition, but otherwise this was an awesome chart. (9/10)

Flying High: The steps themselves weren't bad, per se. However, they don't really do anything interesting. They flowed well and well well-crafted, but they were pretty unmemorable. However, the song was kickass (7/10)

Happy Man (Japanese Version): This was another mostly-spot on chart marred by a few unfortunate step placements. Honestly I could copy-paste the same review here over and over again and it would fit (9/10)

Happy Toyboys (Speed Remix): There were some doublesteps, but honestly outside of that this chart was so spot-on I didn't really care. I got a huge MAX/EXTREME era vibe from this, and as that was probably the golden age of DDR charting that's a really good thing (10/10)

Hyadain No Kakataka Kataomoi-C: Heh, I really liked this one. The only thing that threw me off were the slowdown and the speedup (and the pattern that started the slowdown was a real slap in the face to anyone who didn't expect it). However, outside of that this was pretty phenomenal. (9/10)

I Love You Bibeh: The Heavy was good for a 6, but it was definitely undercharted. If this was in an actual DDR game I'd let this pass because it is a slow and easy song, but for a simfile contest I feel like you should have at least bumped it up to a 7. The challenge, on the other hand, was not only unnecessary but overcharted. You abused jumps, and many of the sixteenths really didn't fit. This song was never meant to have a "9" chart, and you forced it into one to compensate for the 6, which could have easily been avoided. (7/10)

Kimi Ga Iru: I love the song, and the Heavy chart was great. The only thing keeping me from calling it perfect are the three note eighth note streams. They're a little overused, and considering that the most fun parts of the stepchart are the quarter note jumps/freezes and the syncopated rhythms I would have preferred that those were used a little more. The same goes for the Challenge. Other than that though, this was a very finely made chart (9/10)

Korubushka (Ryu Remix): The only thing keeping me from giving this a 9-10 are a few awkward turns, especially in the "back and forth" section in the middle where you're practically facing backwards by the end. Outside of thoat, great work. (8/10)

Late: The Heavy is pretty good. I though the patterns for the streams were a little bland, but outside of that the chart flowed fine and was pretty fun to play. The challenge chart was pretty mediocre imo. It didn't do anything interesting, and was really nothing more than a stamina drainer, plus I didn't think the jump abuse was appropriate. This felt like it belonged in In The Groove. Take that as you will. (7/10)

Laughing Lunatics: What I liked about this one was that you didn't step anything that didn't fit outsude of the context of the song. I was expecting this chart to be overstepped, and I was greatly suprised. Yes, the chart is hard, but nothing is ridiculous, and most importantly there's nothing in the chart that isn't represented in the song. Everything fit perfectly, and I appreciate that. (10/10)

Matryoshka (Rap Version): The Heavy was sloppy in a way I can't explain. I think it's because you tried to do too much with too fast of a tempo, and the chart suffered as a result, especially at the end. The challenge is even worse in this respect, which is a shame, because I can see what you were going for. It's a well crafted chart, but unfortunately it doesn't work too well. (7/10)

Melody of Life: The beginning suffered from the same problem as Flying High - the steps were kinda bland. However, the second half is much more interesting and is definitely worth an extra point. I really liked what you did with those gallops and how you used taps effectively. (8/10)

My Sweet Darlin': This chart does nothing wrong per se, but I'm reluctant to give it more than an 8, simply because it didn't grab me. I don't know why, but...it just didn't. Sorry. (8/10)

Only Girl (In the World): The Heavy had the potential to be a decent chart, and it worked well rhythmically - it reminded me a bit of In the Heat of the Night. However, the seemingly random steps ruin the chart for me. The Challenge was repetitive. You used the same pattern over and over again, even when it didn't fit. And the steps are awkward as all hell. Constant doublestepping does not make for a fun chart guys -_-. (5/10)

Rottara Rottara: *Insert every review I've written for a J-Pop fast 8/9 chart here*. THis was the last song I played in this set. Cut me some slack here (9/10)

Wizzy: everything I said about My Sweet Darlin' applies here. This chart does nothing wrong, but it does nothing to grab me either. The gallops were a nice touch though. (8/10)

Wonderful Days: There were a lot of things about this chart I didn't like - the back-and-forth steps, the crossover abuse, the offbeat gallop section, the repetition. But the jumps in the middle really killed your score. What is this, Unreal? Unless you plan on making a 10 footer, try to be reasonable . (6/10)

You Gotta Share (Spaghetti Western Mix): This was awesome. Not only was the song absolutely amazing (and danceable), but the steps were great. They reminded me a bit of Red Zone, but much less sloppy. The Challenge chart was perfect and clean, just like a challenge chart should be, and the crossovers were really a nice touch (I never thought I'd say this about a challenge chart ). Overall, nice work. (10/10)

Votes:
+5 Eating Crow
+4 You Gotta Share (Spaghetti Western Mix)
+3 Laughing Lunatics
+2 Boku No Taiyou
+1 Happy Toyboys (Speed Remix)

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I'm also on hiatus, but I hope You Gotta Share wins, because the steps are actually amazing.

I highly recommend playing the 9s of you gotta share over playing the 12.

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