Embrace's FS23 Round 2 Doubles Reviews

Embrace's FS23 Round 2 Doubles Reviews

I don't have hi-speed internet for the time being, hence the change in format.



Ancient Scapes (forcednature)

BDP 9: 9.0
Clean modern DDR chart with lots of fun cross-pad movement and a solid difficulty curve. The patterning that has the player partially turned in certain sections is consistent, just not that interesting. Same goes for the interpretive rhythms: the rhythmic choices shift from time to time in a way that isn't wrong per sé but just seems a bit aimless.

DDP 13: 9.5
I almost wanted to say this should be the EDP and your EDP should be the CDP. Like with Shamshir, this song gets to be rather repetitive, but here you take more creative liberties with rhythm and pattern variation, and to good effect.

EDP 16: 9.5
Excellent difficulty curve with a good tradeoff of movement flourishes with a tight rhythmic consistency. I think it is thoroughly reasonable as a no-bar chart throughout, which is impressive in its own right given the difficulty.






Automatic Lover (Braeden)

BDP 6: 7.5
The 8ths are a highlight, and the marching patterning is used well, too. A lot of it faces left, including the crossovers which are always RDLDR. The crossovers also don't appear at all from the second chorus to the end.

DDP 9: 9.0
Pretty fun, great rhythmic layering. This having less of an emphasis on movement is certainly not a bad thing, but it can still be monotonous from time to time.

EDP 13: 9.0
Double-check the intro for left-facing bias and an unmarked double step in m10, but other than that this chart is really lovely. Center crossovers and strides are used well, and while I enjoy the literal charting as always, I am glad to see other charting ideas take priority. The more stationary patterning is better here than your Round 1 charts. Really good!






BELLYDANCING (t7r)

BDP 5: 9.5
Not much to say, cohesive and fun use of freezes and cross-pad transitions. The in-place/center sections are also fun, in somewhat of a DANCERUSH way. Yeah I don't think the last 8th note makes sense as a rhythmic choice.

DDP 8: 9.5
Really fun doublestep usage: at this difficulty rating it's rather unusual patterning, so it was great to see the concept develop intuitively throughout the chart. The 8th freezes are also cool in the musical relevance they have to the song. Yeah I don't think the last 8th note makes sense as a movement choice.

EDP 13: 9.5
Excellent pattern variation with lots of well-paced, high-movement patterning. A few particulars: the doublestep patterning is quite fun, especially in how it builds on the awesome stuff in the DDP. I liked the LRLR quick crosses generally, but some of them seem out of place. Yeah I don't actually have a problem with the last 8th note but comedy comes in threes.





Campfire Medley (Venomothim)

General comment: I think the the three-beat freezes should all be two beats, even though the vocal note in m16 is a little more than two beats.

BDP 5: 9.5
General comments: Really good balanced Basic chart. Repetition as a charting element plays out best in this chart.
I've Been Working on the Railroad: Good. Love the spin at the end as a tonal shift.
She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain When She Comes: The jackhammer and jump accents are both so good. I wanted this section to turn more.
Yankee Doodle: The cross-pad transitions are almost too difficult, but situationally they end up being just right (and also quite freestylable).

DDP 8: 9.5
General comments: All of Yankee Doodle might be closer to a 9.
I've Been Working on the Railroad: Not much you can do at this difficulty but both the connected and disconnected freezes feel like the right choice.
She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain When She Comes: Amazing pattern composition, great fun to play.
Yankee Doodle: BDP comments apply here. The freeze section is kind of unexpected but also fun!

EDP 11: 9.0
General comments: Cohesiveness between the three sections is best in this chart.
I've Been Working on the Railroad: Quite expressive movement but I don't think it's overcharted.
She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain When She Comes: The start of m35 is an unusual point. There are a few interesting options to resolve the flow but it's not clear what you had in mind.
Yankee Doodle: The outro may be too difficult but I won't deny that everything in this section is a lot of fun.





Cheer Train (Pandemonium X)

General comments: The "hmMMMmmm" freezes are outright sending me every single time.

BDP 6: 8.0
Not bad. The more repetitive use of cross-pad transitions is the right choice for this chart, setting up the "stand by to win" jumps well. However, it does make the chart kind of one-note.

DDP 12: 9.0
I really like what this chart is doing both at the pattern level and the section level. It's making a lot of really unconventional choices but doing so cohesively. The only section that really feels lazy is the quarter note jump sequence starting at m33. Still fun.

EDP 15: 8.0
Fun but messy. The difficulty drops off unusually sharply at m17. Even though the synth arpeggio doesn't return in the second half, including another more note-dense section with layered rhythms still would have made more sense. The jumps are a lot of fun and very replayable, but I wanted to see more corner and off-center jumps.

Wow!





Dschingis Khan (Venomothim)

BDP 7: 9.0
Very fun and freestylable. This does a great job at taking elements from the DDP and EDP and scaling them down to a more manageable (but still spicy) level. There is somewhat of a right-facing bias but it's more a function of which patterns you've chosen to face right.

DDP 11: 9.0
The only pattern I think is out of place is at b92 where the player ends the freeze sequence in a crossover but then immediately has to uncross to hit the next jump (or stay in a crossover, which would also be weird). Everything else is good fun and I especially like the 4th-note cross-pad transitions with freezes and wide steps. This chart is the best of the three at achieving the kind of 'perfect imperfection' I think you're going for.

EDP 14: 8.0
Yeah I have to state my bias and say that while I can't pull off some of the jumps and wide transitions, I think they are presented cohesively. While the difficulty has good variation, it's still going to be too singularly difficult to be fun for many people looking for that quirky experience.





Hard Landing (MuineliM)

BDP 7: 10
Great freestyle potential with this chart. It is even mindful of little things like sometimes letting the player "clap-clap" with their hands instead of having notes to hit, or striking several poses in quick succession in m18-19 and m50-51. Cross-pad movement is also quite fun and nicely varied. Great job with this.

DDP 11: 8.5
Good arrangement of cross-pad transitions and wide steps. Measure 49 has an ambiguous step if the player doesn't cross over to hit the jump at b197. I kind of wanted there to be jackhammers on the "clap-clap"s but that's more of a personal preference.

EDP 15: 9.5
Fun! The patterning is varied nicely and arranged consistently. The turning in 16th note phrases is challenging but never gets prohibitively difficult. The only note I really have is that the 16ths in m46-47 shouldn't have freeze arrows.






HIGH (Pandemonium X)

BDP 8: 9.0
Really cool 8ths/rhythms-focused chart that isn't afraid to pare down the complexity at times. At this difficulty level, freeze arrows starting on a non-quarter note are going to be much more difficult to read though it still depends on the context. The jackhammers starting at m53 are great fun, but they are all hit with the left foot.

DDP 12: 9.0
Good use of cross-pad transitions that don't over-determine the difficulty curve. The staircases are a cool motif but they all face right. The jackhammers at m53 are now all on the right foot.

EDP 14: 7.5
Pretty fun, but this has a handful of balancing issues. Measure 16 is an unusual difficulty spike. All of the staircase cross-pad transitions are right-facing and right-moving. There is also a doublestep error with the end of m52 facing the player backwards into the freeze.





Howling (Extraordiberry)

BDP 8: 9.5
Not much to say, fun and freestylable chart with good pattern variety. Limiting the complexity of the patterns used is quite effective here.

DDP 12: 9.0
Clean chart with good contrast between sections. The movement is expressive and counterbalanced well by jackhammers. Not stepping every 8th note works well for this chart. The understepping of the 12th note phrases, however, I thought was take-it-or-leave-it and could just as well have been 8th notes.

EDP 15: 10
Wow wow wow. The energy during the 'anthem' vocal sections is so good. I loved the motif based on 16th triangles and I also thought the interpretive rhythms shaped around those were perfect. The gradual understepping starting at m28 was also a nice subtlety.





Matt Silver (Extraordiberry)

BDP 8: 8.0
The chart seems kind of disconnected from the song. Since your other charts are quite hard-hitting at a 13 and a 16, a 9 or 10 that can more closely step the 16th rhythms wouldn't be unwarranted. Good use of transitions and a solid chart overall.

DDP 13: 9.0
Really fun, a less intense but still hard-hitting chart. The gallops are a highlight among the many pad transitions that get-you-to-the-o-ther-side. Double check the flow at b143. Freeze arrows starting on the offbeat 16th are going to be rather confusing at this difficulty.

EDP 16: 9.0
Lots of really cool ideas, especially with low-movement patterning. The chart has an intense 'industrial' feel to it, but because it's not brutal, the more intricate patterning is a lot of fun to play. The last 8 measures could definitely be more difficult. Right now that section's at our below the difficulty of Bang Pad EDP, which I realize is a very unhelpful rating comparison. I have to give a shout-out to the crossover at b161.75 which is so silly but perfect.





Ookina koe de (Ben Speirs)

BDP 5: 9.0
Fun, expressive chart. The difficulty feels like a weird middle ground where either a more pared down 4/5 or a more rhythmically accurate 6/7 would make more sense. The freezes do serve as a great guiding tool for the chorus' cross-pad transitions, but there are too many of them overall I think.

DDP 9: 9.5
Really lovely use of interpretive rhythms, which along with the freeze patterning give this chart an especially strong, uh, interpretation. The choice of when to use more stationary patterning or more cross-pad movement always feels right. Not much to say, clean chart!

EDP 12: 9.5
Excellent rhythmic layering that gives this chart a 'free-flowing' vibe. The use of complex turning contributes to this vibe as well, though I wanted to see more of it in the second half. The jumps are quite fun.





Shamshir (forcednature)

BDP 9: 9.5
Crisp rhythm choices and fun cross-pad transitions. There is a perfect balance between freestylable moments and patterning that anchors the player with more standard flow. My only note is that there are a lot of side-facing transitions, some of which don't seem like the wrong choice per sé but gentler patterning at those points would be just as effective.

DDP 12: 9.0
Really solid stuff, the movement is so much fun and feels so cool to play. Rhythmically though, it does tune you in to the song's repetitiveness.

EDP 16: 9.5
This chart is really polished and conveys a compelling 'no-nonsense' mood. Lots of fun one-off expressions keep the chart from losing steam. I thought you could have stepped the swing drum fills fully and it wouldn't have been too difficult. On the other hand, I thought the freeze patterns at e.g. m37 were unnecessary.





thats not true (DreamElectroRETUNED) (KAYSTAR)

General comment: I thought both of your Round 2 entries generally took the perfect amount of inspiration from DDR while still having a unique point of view.

BDP 8: 9.0
Good movement-first patterning. I never know what to say about certain types of patterning in doubles when a new doubles player could be playing up to a 9 or up to a 16 in singles. For this chart, the are quite a lot of freeze arrows connected to the next note, but their implementation makes sense. All in all this is quite a complex chart, but very reasonable and approachable.

DDP 11: 9.5
Good choices with movement/complexity variation with the uncross at m16 a definite highlight. This strikes a good balance between more complex patterning that pulls the player's attention toward a highlight in the song and more laid-back patterning that gives the player some creative liberties with freestyling. I think there should be a P2 left arrow at beat 212.0.

EDP 14: 9.5
The song mixing is getting in your way a little bit in this difficulty. The more intricate rhythms are definitely audible, but depending on the sound setup it could sound like the player is contradicting what's brought more forward in the mix. Still, this chart is very well-constructed and makes great use of the kind of musicality/pitch relevance you see in a lot of talkion charts. The pattern shaping lets you include a wide variety of patterns in an intuitive way. It all culminates in the awesome moment starting at m69 that's kind of like an inside-out travolta.




TOKYO CALLING (Ben Speirs)

BDP 7: 9.5
The chart matches the energy of the song quite well. Impressive use of jackhammers, especially the 8th jackhammers: it's an indulgence but not overly repetitive. The marching section is also quite fun.

DDP 10: 8.5
Not really a fan of the freeze usage where in many instances the freeze note seems like it ought to be shorter or not a freeze at all. The marching section is pretty cool, though.

EDP 13: 9.0
This is my favorite chart rhythmically, in the way it perfectly accents the song's drumbeat and complements it in different ways. It does feel a bit too frantic for a bit too long. The center crossovers in the marching section are interesting, but they turn rather sharply.

CDP 12: 7.5
Well I did say go full Dragonforce last round and this certainly goes full kaiju. It's just really really wild all of the time. Most of this is doable, possibly excluding the spins that also include a wide step. It's very stamina-intensive though and could use a good deal more difficulty shaping.





w.i.s.h. (world inside sleeping heads) (KAYSTAR)

BDP 6: 9.0
I like the freeze arrow use in this chart: it suits the difficulty level and lets the player enjoy big half-note freezes you almost never see in Expert charts. The 8ths are also fun, though they are rather excessive when layered with crossovers and jackhammers. I also wish (the verb, not the song, or the song, or the song, or the song, or the song) the slowdown were stepped differently, as it has kind of a generic feel.

DDP 9: 9.5
The freeze patterning is very sophisticated for this difficulty level, but in context it works great as one of the chart's main features. The pacing is quite good, with the more challenging patterns charted with good discretion. The chart 'breathes' well.

EDP 12: 10
This is not what I'd consider a gentle chart, but it matches the gentle vibe of the song perfectly. It's got a lot of fun moments in easier sections, especially the slowdown where the movement is perfect and not weirdly over- or under-done. Very memorable.





Wafuu in the youfuu (t7r)

BDP 6: 9.5
This better achieves what you were going for in I Want That where you get a taste of all kinds of cool and interesting patterning. Nothing is an unusual difficulty spike or detracts from the chart's overall cohesiveness. One note: across all charts, the freeze in m49 should only be a half note, but it's most egregious in this chart.

DDP 10: 9.5
I'm kind of blown away by this. Great rhythm and movement pairings, and the way you deal with 16th rhythms is stellar. The ending is amazing, though I do think it is too proportionally difficult.

EDP 13: 10
My only note is that the movement is so wild that the rating ends up being close to a 14, but. I mean.





Wish (Karl with a K)

BDP 7: 9.0
This has the same issue as Fortunae Funk where the difficulty and tempo make stepping the polyrhythms difficult. That said, it's not as much of a problem here and keeping it low-movement is ultimately a good choice. Good integration of cross-pad transitions and center crossovers. The difficulty rating is closer to a 9, which I only point out since it's so close in difficulty to the DDP.

DDP 10: 9.0
Good, the non-polyrhythmic rhythms in this chart are my favorite of the four. The chart is decently chill and it's consistent in delivering that more chill experience. Well, mostly. The section starting at m94 is quite complex compared to the rest of the chart, though it is fun to play. I wouldn't say cater to players who have 'a doubles X-scale 10 level of understanding of doubles-specific patterning', whatever that means, but just try to be mindful of player experience approaching this chart from different skill levels.

EDP 13: 9.0
This chart best matches the vibe that the composition is giving. It kind of evokes skiing with some good variation between quick cross-pad transitions and gentler drifts. The freeze usage is also amazing and contributes well to the overall movement profile. My notes on the DDP at m94 apply here as well, and for me, it's not as fun at this difficulty, sadly. Measure 98 is much more effective at being 'icing on the cake'.

CDP 17: 8.0
There is a lot to like about this chart and I especially think the tougher sections are stepped very mindfully with the no-bar palette. The understepping however is quite strange, mostly because it generally happens in calmer sections where a closer stepping of the rhythms wouldn't have much of an effect on the difficulty. Messy, but fun.





Wish (MuineliM)

BDP 6: 10
Basically perfect. I love the emphasis on off-center patterning which is balanced well by the cross-pad transitions later on. The difficulty curve is just right and it's always following what's fun in the moment. The steering wheel patterns in the chorus are especially fun.

DDP 9: 8.5
Not bad. There are a lot of moments that don't quite feel like the right choice, sometimes rhythmically and other times pattern-wise. One example is during the verse when you have syncopated 8th notes followed by just 4th notes. It's justified by the song's rhythms and by the introduction of crossovers, but it's still unusual. There are also several sharp turns that feel clunky, so the difficulty curve is somewhat unbalanced.

EDP 12: 9.5
Really lovely movement composition, good use of cross-pad transitions and off-center patterning. The post-choruses are very effective with low-movement, jackhammer-based patterning. The only complaint I have is with the unmarked doublesteps in m20 and m22: they are easy enough to remember but still seem out of place.