[Jezendar]

OMG! It's another review!

Random note: I must say, I was surprised by the sheer quantity of Light stepcharts in this pack that contained 8th notes; people don't seem to make these old-school style charts very often. I was also quite pleased by the fact that most of these charts still felt like Light charts and not misplaced Standards.

But enough of that. On to the review:

Bad Boy Bass!! (dj REMO-CON mix) - Y&Co
- created by Uiru

Graphics: 1.25 / 2
- Banner: .55 / 1
A bit bland, and pretty hazy. The 'dj REMO-CON mix' segment is hard to make out.
- Background: .70 / 1
Still a bit bland and hazy, but overall an improvement over the banner.
Music: 1.80 / 2
- Song Selection / File Quality: 1.00 / 1
This song is certainly steppable, and I have no complaints about its quality.
- Edit Quality: .80 / 1
The file feels a bit too long. It drags a bit, particularly at both the start and the end.
Stepcharts: 1.70 / 6
In the interest of not mentioning this in every chart review, I will mention here that the first arrow consistently corresponds to the first note of the music. This is bad because the player has no chance to pick up the song's rhythm before hitting the first arrow, and also because DWI, unlike SM, does not correct for this. Thus a DWI player would need to hit the first arrow the instant the file started.
- Light/Easy: .20 / 1
This feels much more like a Standard chart than a Light one. While 8th arrows can work in Light, the 8th streams present here go beyond even the 8th's present in the early DDR Light charts. The 16th's, on the other hand, really don't belong in this difficulty at all. The 8th note jumps that constantly appeared with that particular sound weren't very entertaining. For Light they shouldn't have been present at all; for Standard the simpler ones might work, or a single arrow stream or jackhammer could have been used.
- Standard/Normal: .50 / 2
Continuing this file's apparent theme, this chart feels more like a Heavy chart than a Standard. The jumps on that particular sound have returned, quite often buried in the middle of long streams. Sometimes they work, such as the stream near the end that only used LR doubles, but often they were just onerous. Although this jump idea could easily be present in Heavy, it's too difficult for Standard. As for the 16th's, the ones that are separate from nearby arrows (effectively a '3/16th' stream) are easily doable in Standard, but the full 16th streams should be reserved for Heavy/Challenge.
- Heavy/Hard: 1.00 / 3
You really like putting jumps to that sound, don't you? As mentioned above, those jumps are appropriate for Heavy, but they're still not overly fun; the jump-containing stream mentioned above is still the only one of these patterns that I've really found enjoyable. On several occasions, these jumps are immediately followed by a 16th, because you tried to follow both that sound and the lyrics. This should have been avoided, as the result is effectively a 16th jackhammer, which is particularly onerous at any difficulty. The 16th streams during the quiet part near the beginning don't really fit; I can see what they connect to, but this lull in the music should have contained a similar lull in the chart.

Main Total: 4.75 / 10

Extras/Penalties:
CDTitle: 1.00 / (-1 to 2)
An okay looking step artist icon. It's a bit on the big side, but I don't think it's quite big enough to be penalized.
Readme Extras: 2.50 / (-5 to 4)
All required info, and a good deal of info on the stepcharts. By the way, you spelt your name 'uitu' at the bottom.
Extra Charts:
- Beginner Chart: -1.95 / (-2 to 3)
Quite simply this is not a Beginner chart; not by a long shot. A Beginner chart should be mostly, if not entirely, half-note arrows or larger. Adjacent quarter note arrows, when present, should use one button only, and should rarely go beyond three consecutive arrows. This chart is primarily a single quarter note stream that constantly shifts between all four buttons; I would rate this as a 4 to 5 foot Light chart, or a 4 foot Standard chart. In all honesty, the only reason I did not give this the full -2 penalty is because you at least did not use 8th or smaller arrows.
- Challenge Chart: -3.00 / (-5 to 15)
The first 75% of the chart feels pretty much the same as the Heavy chart, and exhibits all of the same problems. As for the final quarter, the 11 arrow 16th streams work pretty well, but the massive 16th run at the end is just over the top. The two 16th jackhammers contained within that stream, and the 16th's-into-doubles pattern that followed it just don't work.

Total from Extras/Penalties: -0.95


Blow Me Away - Breaking Benjamin
- created by SpyHunter89

Graphics: 2.00 / 2
- Banner: 1.00 / 1
Very nice looking, and easy to read.
- Background: 1.00 / 1
Follows the same nice theme as the banner, but obviously not the same image.
Music: 2.00 / 2
- Song Selection / File Quality: 1.00 / 1
I see no problems here. The song sounds good and has a number of rhythms to step.
- Edit Quality: 1.00 / 1
And I see none here, either. No cut errors, and it's just the right length.
Stepcharts: 5.55 / 6
- Light/Easy: .90 / 1
It feels a bit underrated, but my only real problem with it is the 8th crossover about half way through, as that is a bit too difficult for Light mode. Other than that, I liked this chart. It reminds me of the Light chart for Radical Faith, which is the chart I used to learn how to time 8th's.
- Standard/Normal: 1.85 / 2
This one also feels a bit underrated, due to the presence of the long 8th stream, the many crossovers, and the spin near the beginning. That seems to be the only issue, however.
- Heavy/Hard: 2.80 / 3
Well connected to the music, with a nice mix of karaoke and non-karaoke steps. The only issue is at Measure 37. The pattern leading up to this puts the player's left foot on the up arrow, resulting in the player needing to put es right foot on the 16th left arrow just after the double. The pattern, however, is clearly not intended to be a crossover, resulting in a bit on awkwardness at this part. One way to fix this problem would be to simply reverse the two arrows before the double (D-U, instead of U-D); this small change would put the player's right foot on the up arrow, instead of es left.

Main Total: 9.55 / 10
To quote your readme: "Here's hoping that this entry finally hits the sweet spot." It certainly did in my case.

Extras/Penalties:
CDTitle: 1.50 / (-1 to 2)
Very nice looking step artist icon.
Animations and/or Movies: 8.00 / (-5 to 15)
Generic, but decent quality, DDR animations that fit reasonably well with the song.
Readme Extras: 2.50 / (-5 to 4)
Some info about the charts, and a wealth of info about other things.
Extra Charts:
- Beginner Chart: 2.50 / (-2 to 3)
Good chart with decent connection to the music.
- Challenge Chart: 14.50 / (-5 to 15)
I'll admit that I wasn't sure if this song could actually support a 9 foot chart, but this chart showed me very clearly that it can. Nicely patterned, and well connected to the music.
Incorrect Difficulty: 0 / (0 or -2 per chart)
Although I did mention that Light and Standard felt underrated, the differance is not large enough to warrant any penalties.

Total from Extras/Penalties: 29.00


Celebrate Nite (Around The World Arrangement) - N.M.R feat. ATC
- created by Sakura_Guy

Graphics: .40 / 2
- Banner: .25 / 1
Not very nice looking, and the words are a bit hard to make out.
- Background: .15 / 1
Even less nice looking. It looks like you took a smaller checkerboard image and just randomly pasted it onto the background until the canvas was covered, rather than trying to keep the pattern consistent. Using such a pattern in the first place wasn't a wise idea anyways, as staring at this screen can literally make your eyes hurt. And it's kinda hard to watch the arrows if your not staring at the screen...
Music: 1.75 / 2
- Song Selection / File Quality: .75 / 1
Of the two songs used in the mash-up, one would easily work in DDR and the other is in DDR. So, not surprisingly, the mash-up is easily steppable. The mash-up itself, however, doesn't sound entirely clean, and some of the lyrics are difficult to hear.
- Edit Quality: 1.00 / 1
I located and listened to the full version of this song to see how this edit compates to the original. As I'm sure you're expecting to hear, I quickly discovered that this 'edit' is the full song. So I can't blame you for the starting fade in, which makes it sound like we're joining a simfile already in progress.
Stepcharts: 2.05 / 6
- Light/Easy: .25 / 1
This is much harder than a 2; its easily a 4, possibly a 5. This chart is highly repetitive; about two-thirds of it is just one long spinning stream. I'd expect some spins in a song whose title includes the words "Around the World", but this is severely overkill.
- Standard/Normal: .65 / 2
The repetitive feeling is still present, with large portions of the chart following the same basic rhythm over and over again. There's also very little connection between the steps and the music.
- Heavy/Hard: 1.15 / 3
This isn't as repetitive as the other two charts, but there is still some repetition in here, particularly during the beginning. The lack of connection between the steps and the music is still present, with the chart seeming to shift between 8th stream and 4th freeze stream seemingly at random. Finally the hand that occurs about halfway through feels more like an error than an intentional hand.

Main Total: 4.20 / 10

Extras/Penalties:
Readme Extras: 0.00 / (-5 to 4)
It has a little bit of info beyond the required stuff, but it also has a number of spelling errors, and very little capitalization.
Low Quality Music or Music outside of length restrictions: -4.00 / (0 to -8)
Bit rate is 112kbps.
Incorrect Difficulty: -2.00 / (0 or -2 per chart)
Problem Chart(s) - Light (2 vs. 4/5)

Total from Extras/Penalties: -6.00


Doctor Pressure - Mylo vs. Miami Sound Machine
- created by Jesterline

Graphics: 2.00 / 2
- Banner: 1.00 / 1
Simple, yet distinctive. Very nice looking as well.
- Background: 1.00 / 1
Ditto.
Music: 1.80 / 2
- Song Selection / File Quality: 1.00 / 1
Easily steppable, and no quality issues.
- Edit Quality: .80 / 1
I would have used the fadeout of the lyrics as the end of the file; you can't really tell that the instrumentation doesn't actually fade out there until after the lyrics are gone.
Stepcharts: 5.65 / 6
- Light/Easy: .90 / 1
Another Radical Faith-esque chart, although this one is definately easier than Radical Faith. I found the jump stream in the middle to be a bit dull, but overall this was a nice enjoyable chart.
- Standard/Normal: 1.90 / 2
Well patterned, and well connected to the music.
- Heavy/Hard: 2.85 / 3
See above.

Main Total: 9.45 / 10

Extras/Penalties:
CDTitle: 1.50 / (-1 to 2)
Having the song name for a cd title is a bit odd. But your readme states that the song was released as a single, and cd singles are typically named after the songs they contain, so it all makes sense.
Readme Extras: 2.75 / (-5 to 4)
Good amount of info beyond the required material.
Extra Charts:
- Beginner Chart: 2.50 / (-2 to 3)
Nicely connected to the music. Placing that double on the singer's squeal was a bit odd, but it's not a significant problem.

Total from Extras/Penalties: 6.75


Harder Better Faster Stronger - Daft Punk
- created by Ben Speirs

Graphics: 1.55 / 2
- Banner: .75 / 1
It's okay looking, but part of the title gets clipped by Stepmania's default theme, due to the image's incorrect size ratio.
- Background: .80 / 1
The color used for the title doesn't stand out very well, and actually blends into the background image in some places. Thankfully, it doesn't blend in enough to become difficult to read.
Music: 1.65 / 2
- Song Selection / File Quality: 1.00 / 1
The song sounds fine, and is quite steppable.
- Edit Quality: .65 / 1
The edit is much too long. The song is repetitive overall, and the length of the edit makes this repetitiveness a real problem.
Stepcharts: 3.05 / 6
- Light/Easy: .50 / 1
The long one button streams appear too frequently; they worked at first, but got boring after a while. The freeze pattern was nice.
- Standard/Normal: 1.15 / 2
Some interesting patterns are used here, but much like the one button streams in Light, the go on for too long and get boring. There's also a bit of double-tapping during the second half.
- Heavy/Hard: 1.40 / 3
Patterns as a whole are not as interesting as they were in Standard, and, as before, they get less entertaining as they repeat. The 16th's don't seem to connect to anything, or to serve any real purpose other than having 16th's in the chart.

Main Total: 6.25 / 10

Extras/Penalties:
CDTitle: .50 / (-1 to 2)
Decent looking, but just a bit too big.
Lyrics: 3.25 / (-2 to 5)
There are a few errors in the timing. As a side note, I think this song's simplistic and repetitive lyrics don't really need a lyrics file anyways.
Readme Extras: 2.25 / (-5 to 4)
Good amount of extra info, but the long lines of spaces in the middle of many sentences are really strange looking.
Extra Charts:
- Beginner Chart: .50 / (-2 to 3)
Most of it is just a half note stream. It's a bit boring and doesn't connect to the music very well overall.
- Challenge Chart: -2.75 / (-5 to 15)
The first two 8th streams were fun, and the gallops were okay. But other than that, I didn't find much enjoyment in this chart. I don't hear any 16th notes in the music, so I don't understand why the chart has so many 16th arrows in it. It also has a number of double-taps.
Improper Banner Formatting: -2.00 / (0, -2, -4, or -6)
Improper proportions.
Improper Background Formatting: -2.00 / (0, -2, -4, or -6)
Improper proportions again.

Total from Extras/Penalties: -0.25


Ichirin no Hana ~Huge Hollow Mix~ - High and Mighty Color
- created by Zeh

Graphics: 1.85 / 2
- Banner: .90 / 1
Although they're placed on the flower, the white letters aren't very noticable due to the image's white backdrop.
- Background: .95 / 1
The flower's odd combination of natural and mechanical parts seems to fit very well with this song's overall oddity. However, the flower's backdrop overlaps the edge of the title.
Music: 1.90 / 2
- Song Selection / File Quality: .90 / 1
What a strange song. I like it, actually, but some parts of it would be difficult to step, because it is difficult (for me, at least) to keep time during these parts due to the lack of a strong beat. The part used for the select screen sample would be an example of this.
- Edit Quality: 1.00 / 1
The BPM gimmicks are in full force in this simfile, but they work pretty well, overall.
Stepcharts: 5.10 / 6
In the interest of not mentioning this in every chart review, I feel that the last freeze on Light would make a comfortable end point for this song, but the charts consistantly have arrows beyond this point.
- Light/Easy: .85 / 1
Only two issues; the 8th note step-step-jump pattern is a bit too much for Light mode, and I didn't overly enjoy the jump-only pattern near the end.
- Standard/Normal: 1.55 / 2
Some parts don't connect very well to the music, such as the two arrow 8th streams near the beginning. Also, as with Light, I didn't enjoy the jump-only pattern near the end.
- Heavy/Hard: 2.70 / 3
Some parts ar a bit awkward, but this is pretty good, overall.

Main Total: 8.85 / 10

Extras/Penalties:
CDTitle: 1.50 / (-1 to 2)
Cute looking step artist logo.
Lyrics: 4.50 / (-2 to 5)
Doesn't cover the full set of lyrics, but (so far as I can tell) the parts that aren't covered are just gibberish anyways.
Readme Extras: .50 / (-5 to 4)
A tiny bit of extra information.
Extra Charts:
- Beginner Chart: -.90 / (-2 to 3)
There are several quarter note streams that involve more than one button.
- Challenge Chart: -2.00 / (-5 to 15)
Not nearly as much fun as Heavy was. The 16th jackhammer near the beginning and the three arrow 32nd pattern near the end (both at 200BPM) were bad ideas, as were the arrows during the shifts between 100 and 400 BPM and during the later slowdown. The many 200BPM 16th streams were unnecessary, as the music wasn't going fast enough to support such a pattern.
- Other Extra Charts: / (-3 to 10 per chart)
Though I do play it on occasion, I don't know nearly enough about Pump It Up to try and judge Pump charts.
BPM Hiding/ Other Tricks: -3.00 / (-3 per trick)
Edit's BPM range is 100-400, not 100-200. I must admit, though, that I would have ignored that if you had avoided putting anything other than a freeze during the section that shifts between 100 and 400.

Total from Extras/Penalties: .60