Project Loved: Week of June 23rd

Welcome back to Project Loved, the in-forum game-show where YOU get to decide which maps make the cut!

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.

Still playing a bit of catch-up, but we'll soon be back on track with scheduled bi-weekly releases!

In case you don't read to 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

• osu!standard
• osu!taiko
• osu!catch
• osu!mania

osu!standard

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

kors k - Ultra Hardcore (P*Light Remix) by Kardshark
170 BPM, 4:32 | 5.37★, 6.45★
description written by DigitalHypno

kors k and P*Light are already familiar artist names within the osu! community, but what happens when you put the two together? Tied together with the wonderful mapping skills of Kardshark, we get this two-difficulty mapset that puts your technical stream skill to the test. Cut streams, slider streams, wiggle streams, and everything in between—the top difficulty truly has it all, while the lower difficulty is a bit tamer in technical difficulty. Balanced out at a consistent 170 BPM, this mapset is one of the best out there for training your technical stream skill.

slythe - cyber imagination by Mismagius
174 BPM, 2:14 | 6.01★
description written by DigitalHypno

You wake up one morning feeling lost and confused. You check your phone—the year is 21XX. With no recollection of how you got here, you look around to find yourself surrounded by squares. Squares are definitely a familiar shape to you, but something about the squares around you feel... off. These twisted, sideways squares are a result of the unique and well-executed gimmick of Mismagius's map of cyber imagination. With difficulty settings of CS5 and AR8, it's hard to tell if we're back in the past for far in the future. Regardless, if you're looking for a map that gives an interesting "twist" on the maps you're used to, you definitely won't want to pass up on this one!

Cartoons - Witch Doctor by Mara and DTM9 Nowa
136 BPM, 2:53 | 7.40★, 7.41★
description written by waywern2012

Do you want to do magic? This song will give you the magic words. Mara's Witch Doctor offers a TAG4 difficulty and a 7 star difficulty from DTM9 Nowa which offer different ways of playing the map. Both are pretty hard if you do play them solo. Nowa's difficulty offers high spaced jumps on half beats and some calmer parts in the intersections as well as high slider velocity at main parts of the song. The TAG4 difficulty by Mara offers a fairly normal map with unexpected TAG4 mapping styles added in there. Overall, this map is a solid quality map with a friendly happy song.

There's been a small group of people helping keep TAG4 alive and relevant in this current day and age, so big shoutout to Mara for all the work he's done to keep the spirit of TAG alive and healthy!

Masa - Onigumo to Kitsune no Shishi to by Yales
240 BPM, 4:11 | 6.75★
The [Kiwin] and [Ha-N] difficulties are not being nominated for Loved.
description written by waywern2012

A spooky song from Masa-P and mapped by Yales makes a very amusing map to say the least! This map packs in at 6.75 stars and comes with a variety of jumps and patterns. Some parts, as well as the song are pretty similar to a previously Loved map Kitsune no Yomeiri. You could say this is an easier version of the other one keeping the same 240 BPM pace. The map maintains its difficulty throughout the map making the player play consistently. Don't let the ending kicksliders make you sliderbreak! It also has some well chosen hitsounds for the song. The jumps aren't too big but they're still jumps. Give them a go!

RIP SLYME - Super Shooter by galvenize et al.
180 BPM, 4:41 | 4.84★, 5.07★
description written by Bubbleman

Another galvenize set to grace the voting, this time a set featuring two AR8 difficulties instead of the usual AR9. Super Shooter progresses in stages, slowly building up in BPM until it reaches its climax, and this constant change means a wide variance in mapping style to fit. Alongside galv's map sits a collab between many known names of the past mapping scene—both maps are significantly different, and provide their own challenges to those who would attempt them. Try them both out, see which you prefer!

Camellia - K.Y.A.F.A. (Kill You All Fucking Asshole) by DeRandom Otaku, SnowNiNo_ and Shmiklak
220 BPM, 3:54 | 1.98★ – 6.41★
description written by Bubbleman

A staple of multiplayer lobbies from years past, DeRandom Otaku's map of K.Y.A.F.A. never quite made it to the ranked section. Interest in the set waned as people moved onto other newer challenges, but the map still remains a firm favourite for many, as the set boasts over 150 favourites. Other difficulties were added after the map's initial release, and are all highly polished and very playable, so regardless of skill level this set is one you can enjoy. Give it a shot!

KISIDA KYODAN & THE AKEBOSI ROCKETS - EGOISTIC HERO by Nattu
214 BPM, 3:21 | 6.57★
description written by fartownik

KISIDA KYODAN & THE AKEBOSI ROCKETS strikes again! This time around it's a very recent entry compared to the last rounds' with a 180 degree turn in style. Nattu never fails to deliver with this kind of song, proving once again he's one of the best "unranked" mappers out there. The map is great, the song is a banger, that's all you need to know to try this one out!

Mofu@ - Soitogeta Android e by Natsuki Nanaka, KantoKun and P A N
190 BPM, 4:16 | 2.12★, 3.52★, 3.84★, 5.06★
description written by fartownik

Artificial voice screaming has never been so pleasant! Soitogeta Android e by Natsuki Nanaka is a simple and relaxing mapset featuring 4 difficulties covering most of the skill range for everyone to enjoy. Have a break from all that difficult stuff and immerse yourself into this cute song accompanied by a charming storyboard.

xi - FREEDOM DiVE by lahphnya
222 BPM, 4:17 | 7.24★, 9.39★
description written by BeasttrollMC

FREEDOM DiVE is a song that is very well known in the community for both its fame and intensity that makes it a popular choice among various rhythm games. With a song like this, it's no surprise that stamina and speed will be the biggest hurdles for players but this mapset will push them to the extreme. Featuring a top difficulty of 9.39 stars with insanely spaced streams, and a more comfortable Extra difficulty of 7.24 stars, this mapset arguably holds the hardest playable version of this song catering only to the best of the best. Of course, to the average Joe, it doesn't hurt to try right?

Camellia - GALAXY BURST by Zaiten and AtHeoN
201 BPM, 3:56 | 7.19★, 7.33★, 7.64★
description written by BeasttrollMC

GALAXY BURST a mapset that may not be too well known among most casual players but many experienced players will see this as a treat today. This mapset originally was submitted with two difficulties, "creation." and "cessation." however it later gained a third guest difficulty from AtHeoN as "atheon's terminus." With all three difficulties leveling around the 7 star range, it's extremely easy to underestimate just how hard this mapset is. We're talking spaced cutstreams, zig-zag patterns, and extreme slider velocity changes. Not exactly the most welcoming sight, but man is it a blast to play.

osu!taiko

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

Nasty Maid Grinder - Necromancer by Stefan
145 BPM, 3:06 | 5.68★
description written by -Kazu-

We're pretty sure Stefan wasn't even aware of how great of a map he just made: Necromancer is quite the catchy song and along with his simple, effective mapping it became one of the most fun maps to play both for those that enjoy streamy maps and are just entering the 1/6 meta, and veterans who are for sure going to set great scores with the Double Time mod. Truly a hidden gem, so make sure to try it out!

Camellia - CLOUDY WITH INTERMITTENT RAIN by Alchyr
264 BPM, 4:23 | 7.65★
description written by jyake

Recently, Alchyr has been getting some light as a mapper, and what better map to pick than Camellia - CLOUDY WITH INTERMITTENT RAIN. Despite the rather speedy BPM, Alchyr managed to map this song to be very technical while not being dense resulting in an experience similar to tech maps at a slower tempo (though this map is at 264 BPM!). There aren't many like this one!

LeaF - ATHAZA by vzk
280 BPM, 2:25 | 1.47★ – 7.12★
description written by nyanmi-1828

If you're a multiplayer regular, I bet you've seen the name "vzk" at least once. So for this week's pick, I'm nominating his very first map, ATHAZA. Though this set is mapped using simple patterns, it's loved by the community as a stamina map including long streams and 1/6. It's also a full mapset, so if the top difficulties are too challenging, you can start at the easier ones.

マルチプレイをいつもしているプレイヤーなら、"vzk"という名前を一度は見たことがあるでしょう！今回のpickでは、そんな彼が最初に手掛けた譜面である、ATHAZAをnominateします。この譜面は、とても叩きやすいパターンで構成されていますが、長いストリームや1/6が含まれる体力譜面として、人々から愛されています。また、上位譜面をクリアできない人も、比較的低い難易度から挑めるよう、full mapsetが揃えられています。

UNDEAD CORPORATION - Flowering Night Fever by Ekoro
290 BPM, 3:52 | 7.58★, 8.24★
description written by nyanmi-1828

Note: This map was originally picked in Project Loved: Week of May 5th, but Ekoro wanted more time to update the set, so we removed it from that round's voting. There's also a 2019 version added as another difficulty now!

This week, we have a high-BPM map that even the best may stumble at. This map, which offers many streams at 290 BPM, whittles at the player's stamina without giving any time to recover, making speed and stamina very crucial. Many players choose this map in multiplayer and set passing it as their goal. I think all of these aspects make this map one of Ekoro's masterpieces.

上位勢も唸る、高BPM譜面が今週のpickに登場です！BPM290のストリームを叩き続けるこの譜面は、プレイヤーに休憩も許すことなく、体力を削り続けていきます。。。そう、この譜面をプレイするあなたに必要なのは、"体力"と"連打のスピード"でしょう。プレイヤーたちには、マルチやクリア目標としてこの譜面が良く使われています。それもあり、この譜面はEkoroの太鼓譜面の代表作の一つと言えます。

osu!catch

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

Momo Meshi - aoyama blue by Jervis
226 BPM, 1:01 | 5.94★
description written by Yumeno Himiko

As one of the top catch players, Jervis also gave mapping a try. The map aoyama blue contains a lot of old patterns and edge dashes, which are rarely seen in modern maps. The jumpy patterns along with the streams match the song as well, however, you need to watch out for the spinners since there are tricky notes following after! This is an old-style map, don't miss it!

eFeL - Broken Hearts by ExGon
100 BPM, 3:42 | 10.56★
description written by Tenshichan

ExGon is known for his bizarre mapping, and this map is no exception. In fact, I would argue that this is one of the most bizarre maps out there. Let's start with the most obvious gimmick: CS10. While it should never be recommended to use such a high CS, in this case, it works really well. The song is very calm and the AR is set to 0, which makes aiming for the fruits doable while still having room for correction. But it is not just the CS—the HP drain is also set to 10 which makes misses very unforgiving. Especially at the end of the map when the song picks up the pace and fruits occur during spinners, a lot of players will fail. There are also stacked fruits throughout the map which also drain the HP significantly when missed. The map is a difficult reading and precision challenge, so it won't be FCd easily. Although the whole idea sounds ridiculous at first—it is a really fun map, so make sure to give it a try!

osu!mania

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

Shiraishi - Shin Sennen Joou by Zyph
160 BPM, 2:33 | [4K] 4.70★

A fairly popular chart made back in 2016, Zyph's Shin Sennen Joou is a jack-oriented challenge both for lower-level players and sharpshooters. The chart starts off with light 1/4 handstreams, to handstreams with hidden 1/4 minijacks, to handstreams with more frequent minijacks, to 1/3 (pitch relevant!) moderately dense chordjacking. Zyph's rendition of Shin Sennen Joou might be more straight-forward than other popular renditions of this song, but its linearity is what makes this such a compelling chart to play for many. Fancy an accuracy challenge or a rough jack-ridden endeavour? This chart is for you.

hyi - you can recover by Valedict
198 BPM, 2:14 | [4K] 3.87★, [4K] 4.21★, [4K] 4.51★, [4K] 4.81★, [4K] 5.11★

you can recover is a jumpstream chart with varying levels of density. There are places where the jumpstream alternates between having a double every 1/2 and a double every 1/1, and there are other occasions in the jumpstream where 2/3rds of the jumpstream are doubles. There are also a few straightforward breaks in between jumpstreams with light LN use for certain sounds, which nicely complement the simplicity of the chart. The chart, from a playing perspective, is a pleasant linear accuracy challenge. There are also rates (from 1.1x to 1.4x) for players who want a less precision-focused challenge as well.

From a charting standpoint, the chart has what you would expect from stringent charting (chord allocation, specific patterns being used for specific sets of percussion), but there is also a holistic freeform layering approach to the chart that gives the chart a sense of progression that fits surprisingly well with the song's very own progression. There is one particular repeated section in the song that was layered in two different ways; both of which fit extremely well given what came before those two sections. The combination of you can recover being a fun and gratifying accuracy challenge as well as an intriguing chart structure makes this mapset one that both charters and players shouldn't pass on.

Nekomata Master - Scars of Fauna by Raveille
165 BPM, 1:58 | [4K] 4.61★

A new contender from the osu!mania World Cup 2018 is Scars of Fauna, a smooth, fun, and satisfying LN experience made for anyone with an interest in long notes and complicated release timings. The chart utilizes different densities of LN to represent different sections of the music, as well as in some cases even just different sounds, most notably in the chorus where inverse is used as a peak in the buildup of sounds that the song has to offer making that particular section very satisfying to play. Layered with this satisfaction are the difficult releases strewn throughout which serve to keep players on their toes for the whole duration of the chart—definitely succeeding in that department. Overall, Scars of Fauna is simply a dynamic, satisfying, and fun arrangement of long notes worthy of this nomination to the Loved section.

M2U - Promise by Jinjin
200 BPM, 2:27 | [7K] 0.92★, [7K] 1.44★, [7K] 2.35★, [7K] 5.29★

It's been some time since we got a non-O2-oriented LN chart for Loved and for this round, we have Jinjin's Promise. Drawing inspiration from fun elements of O2Jam charting, Jinjin manages to combine a plethora of LN styles ranging from column specific LN groupings, inverses, stylistic reverse shielding, up to 1/4 LN chording at a later section. While not solely restricted to common LN themes, the rice does alternate between bracketing and 1/2 chordtrilling at 200 BPM to chordmashing at the same bpm. Even with the inclusion of patterns that may raise some concerned eyebrows for some just by looks, all these elements come to play in a fashion that's very casual and easy to handle, marking this map as a must play for anyone starting to enter into mid-tier LNing.

Nitro Fun & Hyper Potions - Checkpoint by Kawawa
140 BPM, 3:00 | [7K] 4.80★

Kawawa makes a comeback to Project Loved with yet another rice-oriented chart. Very comfy in nature, Checkpoint is known primarily for being an introductory chart for faster stream patterns which some may call "delay" patterns. While not quite up there in terms of speed, Checkpoint presents very simple but fluid patterning presenting dense 1/4 chordstreaming and chordtrilling with some occasional bracketing followed by 1/8 comfy streaming at 140 BPM. Serving as quite a strong example on how simple charts can be very fun, Checkpoint has earned it place for nomination this round.

From everyone on the Project Loved team, we hope you enjoyed this week's selection, and are looking 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 Noffy, 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.

—Toy