Mika - Lollipop by Rolled

A fascinating entry in the Rolled canon which somehow inspired me to write a formal review.

This is a map so full of whimsy and contains charming patterns with inspired slider shapes which are not often pulled off well in a 2008 map. Often slider shapes are, well, in the first place difficult to create, but also incredibly difficult to incorporate properly. The slidershapes here keep the map fresh and engaging throughout.

The note positioning and rhythm choices feel very iNiS-inpsired, especially on the Normal. Rolled's ahead-of-his-time ideas about how to make a map difficult really begin to take ahold in the Hard diff, though. I believe this map could be the progenitor to some more advanced concepts later applied by James.

The beatmap skin is very charming, although the hitsounding is questionable throughout everything.

I believe this is a 2008 map that is "minorly" worth checking out. Is it even in the top 10 maps of 2008? No, not at all. But if you're an old map head like me, I feel like this map represents a turning point for Rolled. It feel very polished, complete and cohesive, and the song just lends itself well to being a memorable map during year completion.

I played with a -20 offset, which is another point against it, but heck, we're used to that in 2008.