Hanatan - Sasa Bune by ShiauKe

Maybe its just my preferences as a player/playstyle and i can certainly understand how these patterns work with rotation flow or whatever but it doesnt change the fact that when im playing it it feels like im just playing the same pattern and spacing for 5 minutes straight.

00:27:942 the contrast in these slow parts is really weak im pretty sure it even gets easier when the percussion comes in later. 01:00:156 the intensity really steps up here but its hard not to when the song is doing what its doing. The kiais end up being slightly more intense? but only really thanks to like a few spaced triples

Anyway i think the problem mostly comes down to its overreliance on these subtle stacking/angle/rotation techniques (these are good!) but i feel like it forgoes so many considerably more obvious and impactful ways of emphasising the song.

I understand what deca is saying and that the way the spacing is handled is to enable the stuff it does or whatever. But i really dont find myself enjoying a map when im playing the same spacing in a mellow slow part as i am on a peak vocal of a chorus with density extremely similar to the parts sorrunding it.

This all mostly applies until the final kiai where it does try to attempt to seperate itself somewhat with some unique cool patterning and gameplay but it still feels scared to really do anything outside of the difficulty ceiling that was established about 30 seconds into the map.

Just a few more things i suppose.
04:39:689 (7,8,1,2,3,1,2) - I can very much see the intention here but i mean the due to the spacing decrease the the speed is actually quite similar throughout.
02:50:264 (3,4,5,6,7,1) - This is great sure but its literally just one pattern that isnt reinforced at all. Its placed a few more times around the map in random spots that dont really have any connection. It doesnt feel that interesting and espesically not when its done without any consistency.
03:19:239 this stuff with the repeat sliders is cool actually the entire section here is pretty good. Shame when the song peaks it does the most insane nothing pattern ever 03:28:273 (1,2,1,2,3,1,2,3,4,5,1,2) -.

I think thats really all it comes down to? If it was more consistent and better/more obvious at establishing its ideas maybe it works? The map certainly doesnt try to do anything at all with the difficulty curve doesnt do anything with gameplay outside of "feel" its just mostly the same thing over and over for 5 minutes. I think if ur gonna try and do something like this you have to execute it better. (eg. 01:23:678 (4,5,6) - this is great on the vocal 01:24:359 (1,2,3) - the nerfed rhythm here in comparison is a great with the lowered vocal 01:25:893 (1,2,3,4,5) - and it all culminates in this pretty cool low spacing linear all according to vocal pitch before spinning back up here 01:27:939 (1,2,3,4) -. Its cool! But then it comes to a pattern like 01:35:268 (1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3) - or 01:41:745 (1,2,3,4,5,6) - where you have these incredible peaks in the song that are completely unrepresented with any sort of spacing or density.)

Thank you for explaining what you like about the map though, my opinion of it is slightly higher now, even if that doesnt change my rating. Theres also a lot more i could go over to reinforce and expand upon my opinion/add nuance but im too bad at seriously typing words on my screen and at that point it would veer pretty off course from anything specific about the map itself. Also im lazy

to add to what deca was saying i noticed a lot of deliberate flow changes to aid with emphasis as well. most of the map follows "forward slider flow" where objects after sliders are placed in the general direction its facing e.g 01:22:996 (2,3,4) (if you are an avalonite this is the "pointer" it's actually why visuals and movement are very interlinked). This is what gives the map this very "smooth" quality/texture - and as a consequence when this flow is disrupted it creates greater emphasis.

the most extreme disruptions are when objects directly reverse the direction, and it's exactly this that the map uses in intense moments like at the ends of choruses 2 and 3 03:15:830 (3,4,5,1,2,3) 04:40:882 (1,2,3,4,5,6,1,2,3) and also halfway through each chorus 01:34:927 (4,1,2,3), 03:00:831 (5,1,2,3), 04:26:224 (5,6,7,8,1,2,3). Theres also instances of this in other parts of the choruses but more notably in the last 1/4 of them, i suspect to build more energy/emphasise the repeating vocals 01:44:131 (4,1,2,3,4,1), 01:45:836 (4,5,1), 01:47:540 (7,8,9,1), 03:13:785 (1,2,3), 04:35:940 (2,1,2,1).

There's also instances outside of the choruses like in build-ups before them 01:11:406 (7,1,2,3), 02:45:491 (6,1,2,3), 03:34:238 (3,4). These ones at the bridge section realy stood out to me 03:56:055 (1,2,3,4), 03:58:101 (1,2,3,4), 04:04:237 (1,2,3,4), 04:06:282 (1,2,3,4) - since they are done on the repeating vocals *like* the ones in the choruses and are accompanied with these 1/1 gap stacks 03:55:715 (6,1), 03:57:078 (4,5), 03:59:123 (4,5), 04:03:896 (3,1), 04:05:259 (4,5) creating this really awesome 1 2 1 2 structure (this was what really sold me that the mapper was definitely deliberate with it, even if not COMPLETELY consistent).

The other thing which i feel is relevant are the more elementary flow changes (reversing circle direction, backing up on itself etc.) which are used alongside or in place of the aforementioned. For instance in chorus 1 01:49:244 (1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3) - where a whole circle is made at 01:49:244 (1,2,3,4,5) and then broken by reversing the direction at 01:50:608 (1,2,3). Some more instances which I won't bother with elaborating as they are pretty self-explanatory are 00:59:134 (4,5,6,7,1), 03:10:376 (8,9,10,1), 04:29:122 (2,3,4,5,1,2,3) etc etc.

oh also shoutout this pattern 04:24:690 (2,1,2,3,4) - it does what i mentioned and it also has a funny rhythm which somehow works. thanks for reading again

I felt the complete opposite as enryotoki's comment, so I wanted to write a review

Most maps don't really care much about utilizing cursor velocity/momentum as a mechanic beyond a loose understanding of "spacing" correlating to intensity. I think this map is precisely the opposite in that it's so careful about creating a "smooth" experience that every slight deviation, which would be an afterthought in nearly every other map, has some effect

02:50:264 (3,4,5,6,7,1) is my favorite pattern in the map. The entry into this reverse slider uses spaced 1/4 for smooth and consistent movement, but the exit is stacked to create a brief pause for the vocal emphasis

01:49:074 (6,1) - Full stops are usually used on 1/1s because mappers aren't careful enough with managing this sort of thing for anything more subtle but when the rest of the map is silky smooth (because cursor speed is uniform) this thing can be used on 1/2s

Cursor velocity variation is done very sparingly in order to not disrupt the smoothness of the map. Things like this 04:39:689 (7,8,1,2,3,1,2) are obviously cursor velocity gimmicks (wow! going in a circle slowly and then quickly afterwards for swelling intensity) but I agree that the variation is extremely muted--although I think that works in this map's favor

The choices made are definitely not consistent or maybe even deliberate, but the experience is still fantastic