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6 May 2018
Project Loved: Week of May 6th
Project Loved: Week of May 6th
Another Sunday marks another Project Loved voting on the horizon! Come and vote for your favourite beatmaps nominated from all four game modes!
Hello and welcome to the first Project Loved showcase of May 2018! This week contains several exciting picks for every game mode, and has something for both new and old players!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Project Loved or how the new system works, each mode has "captains" who pick a selection of your submissions to be put up for vote every two weeks. These chosen selections are each given their own community poll, and any beatmaps with an approval rating above 75% for osu!standard and osu!taiko or 80% for osu!catch and osu!mania are moved into the Loved category after a week's time. Beatmaps that are Loved have leaderboards, but do not award performance points (much like Qualified maps).
If you'd like to vote for any of the beatmaps in this week's selection, just click the map's header image and it'll lead you to the poll!
If you'd like to help out and submit beatmaps you love to be considered for the Loved category, please use this submission form!
Unfortunately, there won't be any videos this week; our regular video producer has been busy with school and exams. There will be videos next time, we promise!
Navigation
osu!
MY FIRST STORY - Fukagyaku Replace by Moway, toybot, Saut, pkhg and Aka
written by Kaifin
With a staggering 791 favourites, Moway's Fukagyaku Replace is insanely popular, and it's easy to see why. The mapset is incredibly clean, featuring an easily rankable spread of difficulties by several notable mappers and a top difficulty which has been featured in too many tournaments to count. Hopefully this beloved map can finally receive the scoreboard it deserves through Loved!
JerryC - Canon Rock by momo1101 et al.
written by Kaifin
Canon Rock is a mapset hosted by mania mapper momo1101 that features high quality difficulties for all 4 modes. It's clear that a tremendous amount of work has gone into this mapset based on the thread, and the 200 people who have favorited the map are a testament to the appeal of the map. With a full spread for standard including a notable extra by the mapper previously known as Fort, you're sure to find some enjoyment here, no matter your skill level!
Foreground Eclipse - You May Not Want To Hear This But by GoldenWolf and Xakyrie
written by Toy
Hailing from the 2103/2014 era, this 5* map has distance snap written all over it. Though GoldenWolf now may be known for some higher starred Demetori marathons, this set remains highly popular with 215 favorites despite being a little rougher around the edges compared to his current productions. Though the three-diff set may seem somewhat standard in today's mapping meta, its place in the Loved category would be fair considering its permanence within the community, even sneaking its way into some recent tournament mappools.
Dschinghis Khan - Moskau by RemmyX25 et al.
written by Toy
Quite possibly the "old map set to end old map sets", this MASSIVE collaboration by RemmyX25 from 2009 features some of the most prolific names from that mapping era. Those familiar with maps predating 2010 will recognize names such as Hitoshirenu Shourai, Larto, Starrodkirby86 and so many more! It truly is an authentic experience for anyone who hails by the older mapping style.
Hatsuki Yura - Shoujo to Ougonryuu no Monogatari by Lortus
written by Toy
Once again, a map that has can possibly attribute a part of its popularity to top player livestreams, Lortus's Shoujo to Ougonryuu no Monogatari has a quite infamous slider velocity change that has been known to break combos as featured in a popular clip from Azer's channel. Since then, the map has amassed nearly 200 favorites since 2015 and has been used in tournament mappools to further bolster its track record. The large jumps fully encapture the booming sounds within the song and make for an experience that feel truly rewarding when hit perfectly.
Maid-chan (CV: Horie Yui) - Maid-chan yori. by Shirasaka Koume
written by Toy
The biggest anime plot twist of 2018 arrived in the form of well-versed tournament player and mapper Shirasaka Koume openly admitted to also be the owner of the now restricted account Roll_Pan. The once faceless graveyard mapper can now be properly credited for their extremely popular mapsets, with Maid-chan yori being among them. The single difficulty GD from Koume has become somewhat of a cult classic, garnering 170+ favorites since 2015 and achieving widespread popularity among players and tournament mappoolers alike.
OSTER project - Capriccio of My Mind by Snow Note
written by Toy
Welcoming back a mapper already familiar with the Loved category, Snow Note still has a trick or two up their sleeve with Capriccio of My Mind. The 78 favorites don't do the map justice to its overarching popularity as a mapset, being one of the most popular stream maps from 2013. Recently it's seen a resurgance in popularity after being featured in a few popular tournament mappools. This map is truly as classic as a map can get.
Dollscythe - Flashes (Extended) by Skystar, Vert and yf_bmp
written by Kaifin
Flashes is a masterful map by the master himself, Skystar. The top diff was the winner of Pending Cup 4, a very highly regarded Chinese mapping contest, and it's incredibly clear why: the crisp, inventive patterns and genius use of 2B elements put this map in a league of its own. If you've never seen this mapset before, I implore you to check it out because you're definitely missing out!
Camelia feat. nanahira - Bassdrop freaks by fanzhen0019
written by Kaifin
fanzhen0019's Bassdrop Freaks may be one of the most influential technical maps of all time. The map is beautifully crafted, featuring tightly connected patterns, challenging rhythms and beautiful designs while remaining incredibly fun to play. Crank up your volume (because the mp3 is VERY quiet) and enjoy this flawless classic!
Prim - Koisuru*Uchuu Sensou!! (Ryu* Remix) by DoKito and OnosakiHito
written by Kaifin
DoKito is a mapper who has been active for a long time, and Koisuru*Uchu Sensou is one of his well known classics. The map features winding streams that are sure to still pose a threat to the players of today, as well as plenty of classic symmetry-based patterning. val0108 said it best in the thread of this map 6 years ago: "awesome really.big big fun".
osu!taiko
Yooh - MariannE (NotTaiko Edit) by Gezoda, Mew104 and katacheh
written by Gezoda
MariannE sounds like a familiar name in the Loved section, right? Well, yes. This is a fast-paced challenge that will require focus at all times. It's a collaboration between Gezoda, Mew104 and katacheh, each providing their own gimmicks! Now known as Yukiko's Challenge, this thing will either make you yell in triangles, or just label every mod that ever shows up as banned/illegal. To those who are coming for the full combo, we hope you still remembered that this isn't Taiko anymore!
Minamotoya feat. Kuroa* - Hana Kagerou by K-2 and KamizonoShinobu
written by Gezoda
If you liked KHAMEN BREAK, you will love Hana Kagerou so much that you will replay it. Made by Ni-Sokkususu (now known as K-2), and with a difficulty made by KamizonoShinobu, this set uses a variety of hitsounds to enhance the high-quality mapping provided. Ranging from traditional Japanese instruments to more western kick drums, and without forgetting the infamous banging noise from SOUND VOLTEX, this beatmap is a delight to the ears!
Remixed by DJ Command - Mermaid girl -AKIBA KOUBOU MIX- by Langmaor
written by Gezoda
Mermaid Girl is a map from the olden times where osu!taiko mapsets weren't even rankable, and it's a time capsule itself! This is a relic of the distant past, telling us how mapping was, and how it evolved to be what we know today. It is really difficult to realize that without giving it a try, so go play it as soon as you can!
USAO - Night sky by Mel et al.
written by Gezoda
Stop everything and look at the night sky outside! Isn't it very starry? Because this is what this map is. This set of four difficulties made by DarkVortex, Nishizumi and jomnhnk is something you should not miss for any reason, because every diff is two minutes of pure fun set to a fantastic song by USAO! The views of each mapper make this set a great experience to anyone touching it, and the starry night sky's stars will end up in your eyes after playing the map!
t+pazolite & COMP - Sayonara Matane by tasuke912
written by Backfire
Sayonara Matane is simply a beautiful map. An incredibly polished map that combines 1/4 and 1/6 extremely seamlessly, this is one of the few 1/6 heavy maps that never feels forced, and consistently feels satisfying once you learn how to play it. The epic combination of t+pazolite and COMP feels really organic as well; hopefully this map exposes the community to this amazing song mapped by tasuke912!
Kurokotei - Lusamine in a Perfect World by Sayaka-
written by Backfire
Ya' know, music producers in the Taiko Community are few and far between, but boy are we lucky to have Sayaka-. This map was most recently featured in TWC 2018 as the semi-finals tiebreaker, and the players could easily tell you, this map is a doozy of difficulty. Featuring tons of different timings, snaps and exotic patterns, this original song and map by Sayaka- truly deserves to be loved.
BlackY - B(Camellia's"BlAst-Off"Remix) by yea
written by Backfire
Last but not least, we have B. Yes, that is really the title of the song; B. However, don't let the underwhelming title fool you, B is most certainly an overwhelm to the senses. At 280BPM and filled to the brim with difficult patterns, this is one of yea's most exciting maps yet. This one is for the players who really want to test their speed and streaming ability!
osu!catch
Ocelot - YUKARI by Hareimu
written by Deif
YUKARI is brought by one of our former Beatmap Nominators Hareimu. It's a single difficulty beatmap rated over 9 stars, but don't be fooled by its high star rating, since the intuitive way most of the hyperdashes flow makes it accessible for most of our experienced players. Its mixture of oriental music with some touches of dubstep/drumstep and the high snapped jumps make this beatmap a quite interesting alternative to the meta patterns we're used to see in most Overdose-like difficulties.
Mamonis - The Sampling Paradise by Tenshichan
written by JBHyperion
Tenshichan's Sampling Paradise bears some similarities to one of my previous picks, Pizza Rolls, in that there's a vast array of musical diversity to enjoy throughout. However, what say you if this round's pick offered up three times more drain and an even more variety in patterns and flow? From snapping, fast-paced hooks to calmer, slider-focused melody sections, this is a beatmap that perfectly treads the line between challenging and fair, nostalgic yet clean---there's really certainly something for everyone on offer here for most players. Do I have everybody's attention now?
PRASTIK DANCEFLOOR - Session 1 -Genesis- by Drafura
written by SartNYAN OwO xD
PLASTIK DANCEFLOOR is a typical Drafura map pattern-wise, but has the unusual AR of 10 with a circle size of 3, which very little of Drafura's maps have. For its time back in 2013, this map was actually quite modern and tough for the majority of players, but with today's playerbase this is quite accessible. This map can also be very enjoyable with HardRock due to the fact that it only really changes the circle size. PLASTIK DANCEFLOOR has some fun snapping between streams and also some fancy left-rights which feel very satisfying to hit.
dors k(uro) - dreeeeam by -Plus-, Hunter Howl and Vulkin
written by SartNYAN OwO xD
dreeeeam is a spread from -Plus- with contribution from various mappers which makes for an extremely clean set of maps with various difficulties fitted for all sorts of players at any skill level. Overall, the maps are frankly quite generic without any sort of special tinkering to them. They are, however, all very polished and still fun to play, hence why the map has been used in various tournaments throughout its lifetime. If you have a heart filled with determination for -Plus- and his great works, then consider voting!
ICE - L by ZHSteven
written by Tenshichan
When you read ZHSteven, you know it is going to be hard in some way. His map for L specifically is unique in its own way. Old-style left-right patterns paired with CS5 is not what you see everyday, especially not with this length. The difficulty name Hand - Breaking isn't there just for show; due to the unusual movements and left-rights, it drains your stamina over the time, making it really hard to consistently hit these patterns in the later part of the map. The fact that a lot of the distances are really tight doesn't help either. Getting close to an FC would already be considered amazing given how much of a challenge this map is.
osu!mania
Between The Buried and Me - Telos by Phil
written by Shoegazer
The catalyst for XeoStyle's full-album project, The Parallax II: Future Sequence, we are nominating Phil's progressive metal epic, Telos. If you enjoyed XeoStyle's 1-hour marathon but wanted a more compact version of it, this chart will be right up your alley.
The Telos chart in XeoStyle's marathon is actually a toned down version of this chart (this was done to prevent the chart from skewing the difficulty curve of the marathon too much). Phil's unfettered chart is aggressive and compelling, but pensive and meticulous in many other sections. Blisteringly fast trills, fast-paced jumpgluts, long shrill jumpstreams, solemn slow PR'd sections, those are a few things that you will find in this progressive epic. In my eyes, while Phil's chart might not be quite as ambitious as XeoStyle's full album marathon, the chart itself encompasses what is required for a progressive marathon chart to be considered memorable. That memorability is what makes it stand out from other marathon charts, and it is what makes this chart a viable nominee for the Loved section.
9mm Parabellum Bullet - Punishment by Valedict
written by Shoegazer
If you were to ask me for the absolute most frenzied and aggressive chart that I can think of, it would be Valedict's chart for Punishment. To call it intense is an understatement; the song itself is among 9mm Parabellum Bullet's most adrenaline-filled (who has multiple other frenzied songs to their name), and Valedict's approach to this chart encompasses the frenzied nature of the track with a sense of grittiness that is practically irreplicable with a cleaner approach.
The chart starts by kicking your face in with cutthroat 1/6 bursts at 212BPM, and the pace of the chart does not let up from there. The pace is even accelerated in some sections with long patches of super dense jumpstream and continuous 1/5 to 1/6 streaming. The chart ends with a continuous 1/6 stream with fast and messy polyrhythms, which captures the grittiness of the song beautifully.
Like Valedict's other Loved charts, while this may not be Valedict's most technically sound chart, it is one of his most memorable. There are not many songs that are as intense as Punishment that are charted for osu!mania, and Valedict did a fantastic job in capturing that level of intensity that Punishment provides. It most certainly helps that the chart itself is excellent and is already played in competitive circles as well.
Soleily - Renatus by Fullerene-, LordRaika, arcwinolivirus and Kamikaze
written by Shoegazer and Kamikaze
Greatly overlooked due to its notable reserve, Fullerene's chart for Renatus is one of Fullerene's best charts. It doesn't quite have the same panache as his other Loved charts such as dreamless wanderer or PEACE BREAKER, but the 4K mapset shows a command of the fundamentals that is practically never seen in both the Loved section and the Ranked section. The 4K Insane difficulty is also a chart that is played in several competitive circles today.
The top two difficulties for the 4K mapset are about as conventional as you can get; it has standard layering, good use of PR, tasteful (but subtle) SV usage, and the structure of the chart follows a track that is catchy and progressive. Like mentioned earlier, what makes the 4K mapset stand out is the command of the fundamentals. The patterning in the highest two difficulties are excellent - it is very musically relevant with strong use of repetition and similar patterning and excellent use of pitch relevance.
The 7K mapset, mapped by LordRaika are charted with some creative and fun ideas like 1/4 LN streams to the synths, it has (similarly to the 4K mapset) tasteful and simplistic SV usage and pretty complex layering in higher difficulties where you can clearly see the difficulty progression throughout. Mixing the LN style and streams with some dense buildups, tricky bursts, finger independence heavy patterning and even a section of inverse in the break. It's a very nicely mixed package which doesn't get boring.
Danny Baranowsky - The Battle of Lil' Slugger (Ch 1 Boss Extended Cut) (250bpm) by Staiain and samurai7694
written by Kamikaze
Up next we have a classic chart from the hands of the resident speed demon viking Staiain and legendary American StepMania player samurai7694, and it is a hard one.
Starting out fairly tame, the chart slowly introduces what it's going to be about with short bursts of 250BPM streams and then a longer 375BPM stream which is the meat of the chart. It's fairly lenient patterning for singlestreams but clocking at whooping 375BPM and runs of semi-dense jumpstream at 250BPM for the most part. The speed factor is why this chart has been very popular both on SM and osu!mania for a very long time, and as such, I think it deserves its spot in the Loved category!
RADWIMPS - Zen Zen Zense by Niima and LostCool
written by aitor98
Niima has been actively mapping osu!mania charts for a considerable amount of years, and we're going to talk about one of them called Zen Zen Zense by RADWIMPS. With 70 favourites, this map features Long Notes in its entirety, as well as two different keymodes (4 keys and 7 keys), having such as shields, inverse chordstreams, extremely irregular and fast Long Note chordstreams, and way more that you will find out when you play it.
Even though the Overall Difficulty is set at 0, the patterns are really unfriendly. Definitely something worth enough for Loved.
Saiya - Remote Control by Arzenvald
written by Kamikaze
And now we are presenting a work by a man who goes by many nicknames, ajeemaniz, ExUsagi, Miyamoto Usagi and nowadays known as Arzenvald. A 9K work to that. Here's a song known to pretty much anyone who's played or heard of osu!, Saiya's Remote Control.
This mapset was designed to be beginner-friendly, which shows at lowest difficulties which might as well serve as a tutorial for 9K newcomers from other gamemodes and such, the structure is very clear and basic which makes it great at fulfilling it's role. There are a total of five difficulties in this set, all with respectable differences and gradually getting harder, but not very hard, making it a great mapset to learn how to read 9K, training of finger independence and overall skill, which can be a stepping stone to becoming a legend!
osu!mania 7K Dan Course - Insane Level (Regular) by Jinjin
written by aitor98
This time, the set we are going to talk about is made entirely to test the player's skill level accurately. Jinjin created this set that goes by the name of osu!mania 7K Dan Course - Insane Level (Regular) to help people see how good they are at certain patterns, specially jacks, mixed patterns, speed and stamina (this set has been recently updated to be more up to date with today's standards). You actually need to achieve an accuracy of 96% or above to be able to move on to the next level, and so on.
In this set there are only four courses that go from 0 to 3, but there are up to fourteen courses (the last three are extra levels) that become way more difficult the further you advance. If you want more information you can always check this post for further information.
From everyone on the Project Loved team, we hope you enjoy this week's selection, and look forward to the next! The winning beatmaps will hit the beatmap listing sometime next week and will be announced via the osugame twitter.
If you have any suggestions for beatmaps to be added to the Loved category, please submit them using the Google form!
—clayton
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