France vs United States · Round of 16

I like the theming going here! <--- this was me not expecting what would happen later on LOL 02:09:295 (1,1,1,1,1) - this is crazy 01:50:226 (1) - you guys need to tell me what this means because I might be stupid but i don't understand HAHA (unless this is just a spell chant) 02:50:111 - this whole section is amazing, with 03:01:595 (1) - being a fantastic finisher (as well as the party and end sliders LOL) Ok you guys won me over, the theming in this entry is amazing shot this straight up on top to one of my favs!!! an sb on this to show the fights would really be the cherry on top Only critique I have is the fact that some of the hs may feel a bit much for the song, despite understanding your choices (01:11:145 - as an example), but I am so impressed

Fire patterning overall, some ideas really stuck out to me (01:10:716 (1) - this is epic). I also really enjoyed your rendition of the slow part at 01:11:145 -, didnt see anyone tackle it like this which is quite refreshing . Same thing for 01:39:983 - 02:03:641 (1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,1,2,3) - I LOVE how this flows and follows the song. 02:09:295 (1) - is also so good 03:01:982 (1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1) - kind of a jumpscare but i see the pont of the pattern lol Honestly dont have much to say at all, this is so good! I'm having so much trouble choosing a favourite here T_T

This was certainly the most memorable entry of this round for me. I had to step away for a few days after my initial look at the maps, and this entry was the one I was most looking forward to seeing again. I love the overall theme of the map, and I appreciate how many aspects play a part to bring the idea home (imagery, hitsounding, combo coloring). Each section has its own identity, with the earlier sections introducing the classes and the later sections resolving the plot. I felt that the end of the boss fight section was a tad overwhelming with every single slider trying to do something; the sliders with the messages in them are a bit visually noisy. I do wonder how much value the hidden messages in the sliders actually add to the map when they can't be enjoyed during gameplay, but I think they were great nonetheless. (My favorite is the draining HP bar.)

This entry has some super neat and interesting patterns (I really like all of the geometric patterning) but also some sections that don't seem to be trying anything special, so it feels like there are two clashing styles here. I think not mapping the intro was a huge missed opportunity to do something artistic, or even in the other sections with longer, slower sliders. It's a bit of a shame that this entry was in this matchup because I think it could have fared better against a different entry.

what a great concept, honestly this entry pulls it off so well and i cant believe this is a collab with how cohesive it feels, i especially love how you incoporate longer sliders like 00:56:186 (1) - and how the ending at 02:49:982 (1) - is the best version of this song out of all the entries as it actually caps the whole map off with an evolved version of the concept rather than just being basic 1-2-3 patterning. The outro 03:02:369 (1) - to the end is also so endearing

This map is interesting in that it clearly has some good ideas, but while 00:38:366 (1) - to 00:44:986 (1) - this section pulls it off well, 00:44:986 (1) - to 00:50:586 (1) - this section feels like it drops the ball a lot on the expertise. The part 01:11:145 (1) - to 01:18:852 (1) - is my favourite section and i wish that this entry did more with this idea, 02:00:872 (1) - this part is also very well done and the way it caps off with 02:09:295 (1) - is really cool, the ending feels okay but i wish that it did more as compared to the other entry this one falls a bit flat on the creativity side

The map of all elements that also turns into a RPG game. So clever and well done, I love this so much. The whole map is cohesive and shows great mapping skills. I sincerely have nothing bad to say about this one. I took the time to count it: If we asume that our hero had 100000 HP at the beginning, before the 99999 DAMAGE they end up with 56000HP, they'd be fairly ok if not for the final boss to have a secret trigger to make the battle unwinnable. The elements help on associating this to a game, the hitsounds help too, I was sure you'd do something interesting on the sliders too because everything moves towards one vision. Then the rest of the map aligns to the same idea and we end up with a high-skilled map that has a lot of layers of meanings.

A good map by itself, but doesn't come near the production level of its opponent. That first section caught my eyes though, the movement structure (00:40:124 (1,2,3,4,5,6,1,2,3,4) - ) is built around something no one has done so far, but this hasn't been kept taken care of throughout the map it seems as it deviates into different things later on.

What a delightful theme to give this map--between the old-school RPG-style hitsounds, the vaguely-phallic arrow/sword/wand sliders, the absolutely killer dragon head sliderart, and the fantastic use of repeating placement in the closing section, this really does feel like I'm playing a classic RPG. Brilliantly unorthodox, beautifully executed. It's going to take something VERY strong in a future round for this not to be my favorite map of the tournament. I dislike how this map handles the rhythm of 00:31:745 - , but the vision for the rest of the map more than makes up for it. A word of warning, though - proofread your submissions for incorrectly snapped objects like 00:32:710 (1) - and other basic mistakes. In later rounds with closer competition, it is small and highly visible errors like this that can cost you the round.

I'm genuinely gutted to have to vote against this one. My second favorite map of Kaerezu no Chi in the round and it just so happens to be up against my favorite. This is the only map in the entire round to handle the rhythm complexities of 00:31:745 - effectively. Where it lags behind other entries in visual design, its gameplay design, use of momentum, playfield usage, and well-executed reading challenges make this map stand out regardless. Unfortunately, this early exit is just one of the tragic realities of the clash system.

At first I thought the theming was too much, but the more I looked at the map and focused on what's actually happening the more I came to terms with it. Theming does not do enough most the time to solo carry the entire map, but in a matchup where both maps in my opinion are of similar quality had the theme been put aside, it does help. I will say that while red nodes in the map spelling stuff out is kinda a cool idea, it has little to do with how the map plays and does not visually give the player any idea of what it says often either. Now, even though patterns like 02:06:064 (1,2,3) - 02:50:111 (1,2) - dont provide anything readable at a glance, it's not like the red nodes anyhow impair the visuals of the map in those sections, making it fine. Where the theming does help, it's when the main drop of the song is probably the hardest to map interestingly section. Most entries struggles to deliver something interesting for 2:38 and especially 2:50, but thanks to the theme built throughout the map, it feels more engaging in this entry. Overall, while maps are generally close, artistry this time around helped to push it over the line, making it my pick

The map is fine, it has its own visual style and is consistent with it. The map would have been usually quite even with the opposing entry. However, on this specific song, this map suffers fate similar to most other entries - dealing with musically "boring" sections. 2:37 is actually quite great and I think does well, but 02:49:982 like a lot of others falls into 1-2-3 without much extra substance. In this particular matchup, other entry thanks to the theme they introduced managed to make this section more engaging through means other than movement or rhythm. Overall, a decent entry, but ends up weaker in the main drop.

i am astonished at how you managed to put in a whole adventure story in the map without compromising on other aspects like rhythm and proper emphasis; this is so fun; 02:00:427 (1) - crab

01:39:983 - this whole part is pretty cool with its slidershape changes, 02:37:595 - here the way synths' changes are represented is really nice, overall a good take on the song with decent execution but sadly doesnt show anything more outstanding than the other entry