Project Loved: Week of March 24th

Project Loved returns for another round! Give all of these maps a try and cast your vote for whether or not they should enter the Loved beatmap category!

Welcome back to Project Loved! Every two weeks, we pick out a few beatmaps from each game mode that will get their shot at making it into the Loved category. From the maps we selected, you can now vote whether or not you want them to be Loved! Click on each map's header image in this post to be taken to its voting thread.

In case you don't read the end of this post, be sure to submit suggestions for beatmaps to be added to Loved using the Google form! All of the nominated beatmaps are chosen from submissions on this form, which you can view in the corresponding Google sheet. For osu!mania, please use this Google form and this Google sheet instead.

Navigation

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• osu!taiko
• osu!catch
• osu!mania

osu!

osu! Loved candidates were chosen by DigitalHypno, -Roxas, BeasttrollMC, Bubbleman and waywern2012!

Nekomata Master+ - squall by RLC
190 BPM, 2:05 | 5.83★
written by BeasttrollMC

RLC is a name solidified in history, especially after the success of his map for Infected Mushroom's "The Pretender", but what's been seemingly lost in the process are many of his other maps that are also really fun and interesting to play. Joining us is one such example of this, RLC's take on Nekomata Master+'s "squall": a map almost forgotten to time, this is resurfacing today to participate in this week's round of Project Loved! It features movement that isn't for your average joe, with some patterns focusing a lot on vertical symmetry. Even some of the best players may struggle with catching the sliderends on this map. Experience what the era of 2013 mapping was like, and don't forget to vote for its place in Project Loved!

Araki - Chiisana Koi no Uta (Synth Rock Cover) by Shishou and RVMathew
220 BPM, 3:42 | 1.41★ – 8.31★
written by BeasttrollMC

Its 300+ favorites don't lie: especially among top players, this map has been extremely popular for its song and difficulty, with its highest star rating being over 8.3. But don't let this fact scare you away; this mapset by Shishou features eight total difficulties making a full spread, so any player of any skill range can take a stab at this song. Each difficulty starts off relatively easy for its star rating, but don't be fooled: they unleash their true forms in the final chorus, where the song takes a sudden surge in intensity. The top difficulties take this opportunity to incorporate high-spacing jumps and 240 BPM streams, so be sure to stay on your toes!

S3RL - Catchit (Radio Edit) by HML
175 BPM, 3:19 | 5.86★, 6.76★
written by DigitalHypno

A new S3RL song has made its way to the gates of the Loved category! Fittingly named "Catchit", it's a catchy 175 BPM song mapped with a consistent and jumpy style. If 175 BPM is too slow for you, try the "NC" difficulty of the song that speeds things up to 210 BPM! If you've been fixing for a new S3RL map to satisfy your daily dose, check this one out and come back to drop your vote!

Morgan Page - Fight For You (Culture Code Remix) by PantyDev
140 BPM, 3:42 | 6.49★
written by DigitalHypno

PantyDev's map of Culture Code's "Fight For You" remix takes this catchy dubstep song and expresses its motion with all the 1/3 jump bursts you could ever ask for. At around six and a half stars, this map is great for testing your aim consistency with frequent tap-jump patterns. Sounds like the type of map you've been looking for? Take it for a spin!

t+pazolite with Kabocha - Elder Dragon Legend by Voli
210 BPM, 3:26 | 6.73★
written by -Roxas

Who doesn't love some t+pazolite? Voli's "t+pazolite with Kabocha - Elder Dragon Legend" is definitely a map not to be overlooked. With the map exceeding 100 favorites, you know it's gonna be good and worth a play! Its star rating reaches 6.7 and it consists of fast 210 BPM jumps accompanied by 210 BPM streams, so this is a true test of your mechanical skill. Will you be able to take on the beast that is this map?

Various Artists - Arphimigon Collection Three by Arphimigon
308 BPM, 3:10 | 5.22★ – 9.02★
written by -Roxas

Arphimigon's collection of maps here includes songs like Little Einsteins, Poinsettia and a theme from sonic the hedgehog (...sort of). The collection starts off at a low 5.2 stars, but as you work through through it, the difficulty spikes and ends with a whopping 9 stars! In addition, each map itself contains its own little attractions like hard jumps, fast streams, slider spam and cutstreams, so be sure to give each one a shot.

Within Temptation - In The Middle Of The Night (Speed Up Ver.) by Sakura no Hana
240 BPM, 4:08 | 8.12★
written by waywern2012

This high-difficulty 240 BPM map will surely test your aiming skills! It's made by Sakura no Hana, and it's a hard one. Although the difficulty is 8.12 stars, it is quite comfortable most of the time. At some times it gets quite spaced with the jumps while maintaining a good flow. The only thing left to do is practice your aim and tap away! Rocking in at around 100 favorites, this map is valued by the community. Just don't play this in the middle of the night! You might wake somebody up!

Ocelot - TSUBAKI by kiddly et al.
160 BPM, 3:01 | 1.89★ – 6.80★
written by Bubbleman

TSUBAKI is a song made infamous by the Hollow Wings set, but if you can't stand the technicality and gimmicks put forward by it, then this is the set for you. A full spread with a good difficulty curve, every map is a joy to play and represents the song well whilst still being approachable for those less tech-inclined. The song's innate quirks are well expressed in the mapping without the use of gimmicks, and Skystar's difficulty really begins to push your mechanics. Whatever you decide to try, kiddly's set has a challenge for everyone inside. Give it a go!

xi - Akasha by Midge
185 BPM, 4:15 | 6.97★
written by Bubbleman

Midge, in my opinion, is one of the most criminally ignored mappers within osu!, full stop. He has a multitude of simply incredible maps, such as his take on Mazare Party and this, xi's Akasha. With a song you all will know but have never quite experienced before like this, Midge takes you through the ebb and flow of the lead instrument as it twists and winds its way along the notes on the stave, using techniques such as cut and accelerating streams to respond brilliantly to the pitches and rhythms of the song. Never played a Midge map? Do yourself a favour and try this one. You won't regret it.

osu!taiko

osu!taiko Loved candidates were chosen by -Kazu-, iceOC, jyake and nyanmi-1828!

SEVENTH SISTERS - SEVENTH HAVEN (Mtell Remix) by Shallty et al.
175 BPM, 2:14 | 5.11★ – 7.84★
written by -Kazu-

SEVENTH HAVEN stands out for me as a mapper due to how a group of six different mappers can have a completely different view of mapping and make difficulties that really feel like they have nothing to do with each other when it comes to patterning decisions. This is truly a gem that shows the craftsmanship of these great Japanese mappers.

Camellia feat. Nanahira - Shakunetsu Candle Master Tomoshii by KinomiCandy
250 BPM, 4:17 | 5.41★
written by jyake

Following Moji-Code, we have another map by KinomiCandy. If you're a frequent multiplayer player, you might recognize this map, as it is quite popular there. If you're looking to improve your speed while having fun, definitely check this one out! The patterns are very true to the music while staying very comfortable throughout the map, not sacrificing any playability. Very nice work by KinomiCandy!

RoughSketch feat. DD "Nakata" Metal - Booths of Fighters (Camellia's "Barrage of Flurries" Remix) by Nwolf
81 BPM, 5:05 | 8.47★
written by iceOC

This year's osu!taiko World Cup season is coming soon. This week, I decided to pick the Tiebreaker of last year's TWC. This excellent map offers many challenges—difficult patterns, complex 1/6 and 1/8, streams, finishers and many gimmicks—all packed within five minutes, keeping the player entertained.

Sakuzyo - Lie by komasy
95 BPM, 2:26 | 1.09★ – 6.04★
written by nyanmi-1828

Congratulations to komasy for #1 in Taiko Japanese Beatmap Contest #10! This excellent map, created by komasy, is so good. It almost blows away their previous maps—yes, like they were nothing. The art of "elegant spacing" is something so outstanding that mappers, including komasy, may never be able to replicate it. This map offers such a free, rich experience—I highly recommend giving this map a try!

osu!catch

osu!catch Loved candidates were chosen by Sartan, Ascendance, Tenshichan and Wesley!

Various Artists - CapTurelip.LiPPS by Furely
154 BPM, 4:14 | 8.22★
written by Wesley

Furely: who doesn't know this mapper? They are known for creating a fair amount of gimmicky maps like AVALON, JuJutsushi Gachi ver., IKUSUGI TRAP and so on. The map CapTurelip.LiPPS, on the other hand, isn't too gimmicky. It has several cool stream patterns and some form of zigzags which fits the music perfectly. With the circle size being only 3, it could be a fun challenge to try and get a nice combo going with HardRock enabled!

Nanahoshi Kangengakudan - Meikaruza (inst) by Badis
300 BPM, 3:38 | 6.83★, 6.83★, 6.83★
written by Tenshichan

Badis is known for being a mapper with a somewhat unconventional mapping style, which makes most of his maps something you usually don't see often. His map of the jazzy song Meikaruza is not an exception. It has a lot of fast-paced patterns mostly consisting of wiggles and snappy direction changes. However, sometimes hyperdashes are used, creating a few patterns you need to be very accurate and precise to catch. The map has a break in the middle of the map, which makes it less taxing for your hands and gives you a moment to relax. The mapset also comes with three versions of the same map which only differ in their AR, giving the player an opportunity to choose an AR they are more comfortable with. All in all, this is a very fun and exciting map. Enjoy the jazz!

osu!mania

osu!mania Loved candidates were chosen by Shoegazer, Lenfried-, Pope Gadget and Toaph Daddy!

DJ Myosuke & Noizenecio - Architecture by Mat
300 BPM, 4:05 | 4K 8.02★

Back in 2015, Architecture was one of the hardest popular 4K charts in the game. The chart is relentless: a barrage of 150 BPM 1/4 jumpgluts and handgluts, many long 300 BPM 1/4 jumptrills, and a ridiculously difficult burst and jumptrill section halfway through the chart. At the time, getting a 98% or higher would've been a manifest sign that you were one of the best players in the game.

Fast forward to 2019, and we see players trying to attain 99%s or even FCs on this chart. The chart is also, despite being 4 years old, still a common benchmark for many players of many skill levels. It's certainly not easy to sustain a chart's popularity for many years, but Architecture seems to be able to do it. That popularity and competitive viability is more than sufficient for a nomination for the Loved section.

USAO - Dynamite (Extended Mix) by Azubeur
200 BPM, 3:56 | 4K 5.22★

If you are looking to have a load of fun and combine it with an exciting song full of build up and satisfying drops, then Dynamite is certainly the chart for you. Azubeur comes in with his first nomination using a very dump-based style, utilizing a rather bouncy style, using bursts to accentuate the most intense of the wub sounds as well as continuous jumpstream patterns through the kiais to maintain a sense of flow in play to match the excitement that the music brings in these sections, while toning down the bursts, especially in difficulty, when the wub sounds remain calmer. These qualities have lead to the chart gaining significant popularity for its massive fun factor, only seeming to grow over the years that it has been around, and gives it plenty of basis to earn a Loved nomination.

Feryquitous feat. Sennzai - Rhuzerv by Abraxos
191 BPM, 3:34 | 4K 4.42★, 4K 4.50★

If I had to describe Rhuzerv with one word, it would be "meticulous". Abraxos stands out as a charter for his combination of scrupulous attention to detail in a song and his unorthodox pattern use (e.g. difficult LN releases, generous use of explicit minijacks, more motion-focused patterning). You would be hard-pressed to find a charter who captures details in a song more unconventionally yet effective than Abraxos. There are two difficulties in this mapset, but Better Demons of Our Nature is just a cut of the other difficulty (Better Angels of Our Nature). I would recommend the latter difficulty. The chart itself is a heavily LN-focused technical hybrid: it has fast bursts, LNs of varying lengths and releases, grace notes and gallops, and a lot of minijacks. The chart is also accompanied with a relatively high OD for a LN chart: 8.2.

As aforementioned, Rhuzerv stands out due to its meticulousness: Pitch relevance is tactfully used in this chart (pay attention to the synth in the intro and in certain later sections of the chart), minijacks are used to emphasise more salient sounds (a daring but effective accentuation), bursts and grace notes for harsher buzz noises, occasional repetition, chord allocation, and varying LN lengths based on the sounds that Abraxos is trying to capture. That list that I made isn't exhaustive—there are way many idiosyncrasies in this chart to write in a single write-up.

The main point is this: the chart overall is very detailed and dynamic, and the details in the chart give the details of the track a life of their own. The chart also doesn't seem to border on excess in any capacity; a very tactful ear would be able to identify what a certain short LN, burst or type of double goes to without much problem. It most certainly helps that the chart is an unique and enjoyable experience for players as well. If you like LN release-oriented charts and technical charts, this chart is perfect for you.

DJ Sharpnel - Back to the gate by pporse and bbu2
191 BPM, 5:19 | 7K 6.12★

Primarily known for its appearance in the Semifinals in the osu!mania 7K World Cup 2016 and as a major stepping stone to chordstreaming and stamina practice, Back to the gate is one of pporse's more well known and loved map overall.

Coming in at 190.65 BPM, the map comes in with relatively simple chordstreaming which mostly consists of triples. The chart occasionally spices things up with pattern repetition on intentional chordtrill usages and some comfy bursting. In contrast to conventional BMS style mapping approaches, this chart also present some LN usages and a general lack of brackets up until the final section. While the song clocks in at 5 minutes, some breaks are provided. Overall, this map is a great map to pick up for anyone around the Dan 5 - 6 skill range.

3L - Endless night by Fiea
148 BPM, 4:49 | 7K 6.44★

We have a new face for Project Loved and that would be Fiea and their map, Endless night. Filling in as the LN pick for this round, this map primarily has the O2Jam approach to charting. At 148 BPM, the chart gives a lot of visual flair with swapping between 1/4 and 1/8 LN lengths in its generally brackety chordstreams. The chart also presents some degree of short term inversions and a very generous amount of shields and reverse shields. What sets this slightly apart from general O2Jam mapping conventions is that the difficulty throughout the chart is generally very consistent. The OD 5 is also something to watch out for, in contrast to the conventional usage of OD 0.

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 Loved beatmap listing sometime next week and will be announced via @osugame on Twitter.

In addition to all of the Loved captains that choose the maps and write the descriptions, make sure to thank Toy, Noffy, ThatsNotAName, huu and Ephemeral for their miscellaneous help in managing Project Loved.

If you have any suggestions for beatmaps to be added to the Loved category, please submit them using the Google form! You can view the current submissions on the corresponding Google sheet. For osu!mania, please use this Google form and this Google sheet instead.

—clayton