ZIv Contest 2025 -FIFTEEN YEARS OF ZIv SIMFILE CONTESTS-

Good question! Prominently within the background/production of the track is prominent enough.

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Word—

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Someone to Call My Lover / Janet Jackson
BPM: 128
Genre: 2-Step
DDR X ratings: 1/3/6/10
Classic DDR ratings: 1/2/5/7

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👀



Amphitryon - Gentle Stick
3
6
10
15

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Karl with a K - phase -O- dawn

Classic: 1 / 4 / 6 / 8
X: 1 / 5 / 9 / 11

It truly has been a while since I promoted any of my original music with the Zenius (or even for that matter a Zenius-adjacent) community, hasn't it?

Fulfills the second condition of the theme btw. Some piano near the beginning and plenty of orchestra to go around toward the end.

Also here's an opportunity to shamelessly advertise what I composed this for! phase -O- dawn is a track that will be appearing in Solar Beat, Pound Studios's upcoming 4 key vertical scrolling rhythm game with a dual partner mechanic. While not much about the game is exactly public, I can confirm that there will be a sick story, music from many artists (including a few big ones!), and more! I can't wait for this game to be released for everyone to enjoy!

Also shoutout to arazym for this amazing artwork to go with the music!

Here's the full version of the track btw, cutting this to <2:30 was...quite the task lol



Check out Pound Studios on Youtube and Bluesky for updates on the game!

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I added you and Nezemarth to the category.

I will be extending the deadline for submitting simfiles by 24 hours, in case any new entrants want to upload their files. While you can play the files, please don't post your votes until 24 hours after the original deadline.

Promo time!


So fresh off the line, the OST version of this song isn't even out yet, so this song uses audio straight from the video source! Anyways, the piano is prominent enough that the song should qualify for this week's theme.

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le votes:
+3 - Amphitryon
+2 - Someone To Call My Lover
+1 - Phase -o- Dawn

le totes:
Amphitryon (Marukomuru) - 3
Someone To Call My Lover (chewi) - 2
phase -O- dawn (Karl with a K) - 1

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My votes:
phase -O- dawn (Karl with a K) - +3
The Cursing Song (Nezemarth) - +2
Only One (DDRDAIKENKAI) - +1

The totes:
phase -O- dawn (Karl with a K) - 4
Amphitryon (Marukomuru) - 3
The Cursing Song (Nezemarth) - 2
Someone To Call My Lover (chewi) - 2
Only One (DDRDAIKENKAI) - 1

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Votes:
The Cursing Song (Nezemarth) +3
Only One (DDRDAIKENKAI) +2
Amphitryon (Marukomuru) +1

Totes:
The Cursing Song (Nezemarth) - 5
Amphitryon (Marukomuru) - 4
phase -O- dawn (Karl with a K) - 4
Only One (DDRDAIKENKAI) - 3
Someone To Call My Lover (chewi) - 2

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Someone To Call My Lover: +3
The Cursing Song: +2
Only One: +1


Totals:
The Cursing Song (Nezemarth) - 7
Someone To Call My Lover (chewi) - 5
Amphitryon (Marukomuru) - 4
Only One (DDRDAIKENKAI) - 4
phase -O- dawn (Karl with a K) - 4

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Alright, I have my votes ready to give!

+3 Amphityron - Nice use of SM5 gimmicks! I think this could have used with a chart between the current and chart, but I still enjoyed to chart as is.
+2 Someone to Call My Lover- Pretty nice, straightforward chart.
+1 Only One=- Nice song and nice chart, though nothing too noteworthy to point out.
HM phase -O- dawn - Kudos for the original song choice, but there's definitely more potential for a more engaging chart- the patterns for the bulk of the song are pretty boring relative to their chart level. The chart freeze arrow patterns, though fun, seem more fitting in a chart, and the chart would likewise be more fitting for an easier chart. I do like the sudden difficulty spike motif in the charts.

Totals:
The Cursing Song (Nezemarth) - 7
Someone To Call My Lover (chewi) - 7
Amphitryon (Marukomuru) - 7
Only One (DDRDAIKENKAI) - 5
phase -O- dawn (Karl with a K) - 4

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So... what do we do about a 3-way tie? XD

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No idea, but I don't really wanna choose a theme

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Could it be the end of this contest...?

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Hello! Sorry for the delay! There will be a new theme announced on Monday. I have been figuring out what to do in the event of a 3 way tie and I have it figured out now, but it will take more time to set up. So consider this a one week break until Monday!

So, any updates on the new theme...?

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Sorry for the delay, stay tuned for an announcement!