Finished playing through everything and have written down all my thoughts for every single file! Note that these aren't really reviews and are more of things that I really enjoyed about each file, because in reality, I loved playing every single one of these files. Seeing the different styles of step artists that come together and show off their work is just so cool for me to see. Its one of the reasons why I started to step in the first place. That being said, prepare your anuses!
Please note if you want actual reviews, let me know, and I'll dive into detail what I think about each file.
Adularia- What I really like about this file is that the patterns flow so well with the holds to me, even if the holds from time may be placed weird. It’s a very smooth file for such an energetic one. And I loved playing through it all. Well done!
Anything- This really kept my attention the entire way through. What I liked a lot was how well the transitions between meters were held, and how smooth they were. It made the overall playing experience much more enjoyable for me. Really comfortable throughout the entire time, although with that section in the end with the layering in of the mines felt a little out of place, its still a really fun file overall.
Ataxia 11- Wow this was another fun one. The constant and driving beat made mostly everything (besides the one difficulty spike closer to the beginning) feel really nice. What I really like is how well you were able to have the certain sounds blend in perfectly with how you were layering the file. It felt really good on the hands. Well done.
Atropos- This was the first file I played by you, and holy cow I loved it. The transitions between 16ths, 24ths, and so on felt really good. Mini jacks were placed perfectly to feel like butter as you were playing. And the driving patterns just made it fun all the way through. Really nice job.
Between sanity and insanity- This was fun too! I really like how smooth the jumps felt throughout the entire file, and even though the mines felt a little out of place, it didn’t deteriorate the overall fun value I got from this. Nice job!
Bob’s Tango- Classic Ferrari. Everything was very simple, but effective. The mini jacks and jacks just felt very nice to hit, and everything flowed so smooth, even if the song is a bit weird. Love that you’re still stepping. It brings back memories of some of your older files.
Botines- Really chill song, and very fun steps. I do think in certain sections it’s a bit overwhelming in the layering and doesn’t reflect what the song is portraying, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed playing and chilling to it. Really nice.
Chirality- If you want to find a fine example of a dodge ball file done right, then look no further. This is one of the best dodge ball files I’ve played in a very long time. Everything felt so good. The mines felt super good to dodge and not out of place at all. The steps really reflected the overall feel of the song, and its just plain awesome. Really nice job, and good to see files from you still
Dash do Cinderella- Really nice and simple. Felt great to play. Not much else to say about it. Really liked jamming to it.
Elemental Creation- This one felt super nice. For an intense song, this felt super comfortable to play, especially that final stream at the end. Felt super clean, especially that middle section where the time increases dramatically. Well done.
Emil/Sacrifice- This one was rather chill and interesting. It had a very nice and rhythmic beginning and end and a really super chill and nice middle section. Although not consistent in difficulty, I feel that it gives the pack more variety than just having the same thing over and over again. A very nice addition to the pack.
Flyers- Really nice and simple song. Felt great to play. Not too much to say about it. Very straightforward and to the point, and I like it.
Gemini- Really chill song. Super smooth and really nice to just warm up and get yourself in the mood to play some Stepmania. Really liked it.
Go Forth!- This one was fun because of the variation it has throughout. It started out with some rather difficult jump jacks to take out attention right away, and then it chills out for awhile into this really groovy song, making it a very unique and enjoyable experience. Very nice.
Ground theme and Underground theme- This was a lot of fun! Reminded me of a file way back in the first light chancellors pack that I can’t put my tongue on what the name was, regardless, this was fun to play from the beginning to the end. Really nice job!
Haelequin- This was a very fun experience. The bursts felt great on the hands, and the overall transitions from 16ths to 24ths felt really nice to hit despite the tempo. Very well put together start to finish, and it was a really nice play overall.
Ham Jam- Another good dodge ball file, although for a song I wouldn’t consider to be a traditional dodge ball song. Very well put together, although some of the bursts felt a little funky at times, most of them felt great to hit, and it was very nice placement on the mines.
Heterochromia Iridis- Lol. What even is this. Good scoring file though. Just why tho lol.
Hui, Pizda, Govno!- Same as above. Not much to say besides good for scoring.
Imprinting- Really like the overall layering on this, even though some of the holds throughout felt a little strange with the layering perceived, it still felt great to play and feel like a electronic orchestral musician while playing. Nice job!
Infinite of Nuclear Vision- This was a kind of hard one. I really do like the use of jump mini jacks and how smooth they went with the 32nd bursts to add a unique difficulty that gives the file variation aside from the fast beat and dense layering. Really nice job giving it some variation.
Judgement v2- What I like a lot about this file is that the unique use of holds to demonstrate the different instruments that come in and out of the texture, varying their length to emphasize the difference. I think that’s really cool and makes this simple file more unique and more appealing to look at. Nice!
TRICKL4SH 420- This was awesome. Really well stepped, masterfully placed mines, and the accentuation of the different sounds through the color change of the note was really well placed, making this an overall super enjoyable and super fun play. Well done Kommi. As always expected from you.
Kissing the Shadows- This was my file. I really liked what I did with this file because I was known back in my early years (2008-2009 ish) to abuse the hell out of syncing the solos, almost to a point where it was literally impossible to be able to play them comfortably, hence the term Baq12 syndrome was born. In recent years, Ive been able to veer away from that, and with multiple breaks from stepping, I was able to conclude that stepping the solo at 150% accuracy was dumb, so I toned it down to 100% accuracy. And I think this file shows that progress has been continuing to be made. It’s a fun play for anyone I would think.
Luna Clock- To be perfectly honest, I don’t mind resteps, well as long as there was a good period of time apart from each restep, and I think this one deserved to be restepped. This is hard to be able to show some sort of variation compared to the likings of Zaghurim’s chart (which is actually one of my favorite files ever), but I really enjoyed the variation that you showed and what sounds you were trying to accent through the steps. It really made it a very unique experience and a really enjoyable play through of this. Props to you Scylaax!
Luvatorrrrrrrry!- Yep. Loved it. The mini jacks were just a lot of fun, and the overall feel of the entire file was just so good. I really enjoyed playing this, and will definitely play this a lot!
Magic- This was another really awesome file from you Gundam. Really well placed mines, great accentuations in the color note changes, the small bursts felt super good on the hands and it was just a wild ride throughout. Well done.
Magical Sound Shower- The transitions from 16ths to 24ths to 32nds just felt absolutely smooth. The DOS like song gave me some nostalgic feelings from growing up and playing DOS games on my computer, and this just brings me back. Really enjoyed playing this. Everything felt so great to hit.
Mario Pain Melody- Really cute song, and a nice feeling file. Really nice job handling the swing patterns and transitioning between that and the straight 16th note feel. Steps fit the song really well, and just made my morning much better waking up with only two hours of sleep!
Miko- The song preview fooled me curse you heh. Couldn’t play it very well running on two hours of sleep, but what I could play of, it was super fun and well crafted. A very nice balance of difficulty throughout, despite certain sections being much harder than others, it is still an absolute joy ride to play.
Neko Neko Reimu B- Really nice and straightforward song. Steps felt great, and always a relief to have at least one IOSYS song in a pack, well for me its typical to see one. Really nice job.
Nightmare- I keep seeing resteps of this song a lot too. It’s a good restep, but if I had to list one complaint about this, is that the 12th jump jacks that come out of nowhere near the end break the flow of the song immensely. It was really really good until that point and I got a little sad. The file was still great overall though, just a minor complaint on my part.
Niji no Kakera- I love having variation in difficulty in packs, and this was so refreshing to play. Really well stepped and layered, and for a really catchy and upbeat song. Really well done, especially from a step artist I’ve never heard of!
Opaque Air- Holy crap I remember this from Mystery Pack 2. And I remember how much I freaking loved this, now with some modern touches by you, this file just feels so good to play. The mines are well placed, the transitions from 16ths to 24ths to 32nds just kick ass, and I can’t stop grooving to this. Thank you for bringing this back Gundam. I loved this file back then, and I love it still.
Pictionary Title Music- Another really simple and easy, but super enjoyable file. Damn when did all these people that I don’t know of get so good at stepping so fast? It took me so long to get even remotely half decent…
Plain Asia PHQ mix- I honestly thought I was going to get the same thing with this song because this is restepped a bunch too, but I was taken by surprise how unique it was. A really nice change for such a good song. Really nice job.
Purple Haze- I took the time to play all three versions, and wow, I absolutely love the variation of interpretation of each version. Each chart was a unique adventure on its own, letting each one stand out in a unique way, whether it be through certain accents of what is being featured and how its layered and such. I loved every single chart from all of the artists who contributed to this file. Well done.
Ring- I only played challenge on this one, and for the most part, I freaking loved it, as I love most bmah files. The only thing that kind of bothered me was the long jacks near the beginning with the holds was just a tad bit odd and kind of stuck out too much from the rest of the difficulty of the file, but hell, I still can’t say it was fun doing it too. Just me being a nab. Really love the little rainbow work done near the end, just makes it pop even more. Well done.
Rotten Hersey and Chocolate- Its weird seeing this at a slow speed since its so fast paced, but it still doesn’t change the fact that this was super fun to play. Everything felt very justified in this, and the bursts felt really good to hit every time a group came up. Really nice job.
Scarlet Tempest- Another really fun file to play that felt great to the hands at first read. Will definitely be playing this again and again. Really well done.
Self Producer- Really nice job with the mine placement on this one. I felt it added a good enough difficulty to the file without making the placement too unfair for people who really hate mines. I think mines are good when they’re used right, and I feel they were well done in this. Nice job!
Session 1 -Genesis- - I really liked this one too. One of the best parts to me was the usage of the holds and the placement of the mines near the end of the file. To me, I thought that was absolute genius and just made the file extra special. Really nice job on this one.
Should you watch Boku no Piko- From an artist’s stand point, jaysus, this is some modern ass stepping mayne. Just got me in the Expressivemanias. One of those files you expect to appear at least once in a blue moon in a big pack.
Straight Oath- Really nice and simple file. Patterns we’re just superb and felt like butter on the fingers. Really enjoyed what you did here. Bravo.
Streaming Heart- For some reason, the mine usage in this kind of irritated me. I don’t know why, but it just did. Still loved the file, just the mines we’re irritating me on this one for whatever reason.
Sunset Caffe Terrace- This was so freaking awesome. I love electro swing, and this was just super freaking cool with how the instruments were emphasized. This was so much fun to play, oh my god. Love it!!!
Syncopatriarch- This was a lot of fun to play. The layering was absolutely splendid, with the bursts feeling amazingly good to hit when they arrived. The song was really freaking cool too, as expected of Blitz Lunar stuff. Really well done.
Title Screen- I really like this one for a few reasons. One, the layering was simple and easy to follow, making it fun to hit. Two, the mines were really well placed, so it gave it a little extra challenge for people. And three, the song was pretty darn catchy, so it compliments everything. Really nice job on this one.
Trickstarz- This file is addicting. Its really nice and simple, but just the replayability in the file itself is unheard of. I don’t know what drug you put in this file, but it’s rather addicting, and I will be whoring this file for awhile.
Unknown Soldier- Another one of my files. I am actually very proud of this one for a few reasons. One reason being I didn’t abuse the shit out of super syncing the solos, and I really focused on having a balanced difficulty throughout the entire file. While a few parts are a little streamy like, I feel that it is one of the reasons why this file just works. The slow section in the middle with the guitar really compliments the faster keyboard right afterword, and to me, it just meshes everything together nicely. One of my finer works that I made last year in college.
Violent Arcade- Really super fun and challenging file. I will definitely be playing this again just for scoring on this, and for a little endurance training for my forearms hue.
Yggdrasil- Not going to lie, I was thinking to myself that this would be a really intense dodge ball file, but what I got was a really pleasant surprise. What should really work the best as a dodge ball kind of file due to the genre kind of, it works super well with the usage of the holds as well as the usage of the color note changes to accentuate different sounds, which made the file super fun to play and gives it a ton of replayability, along with the mines that still give it that nice balance of challenge. Really liked what you did with this. Well done!
Yume Miru Mami Ni Koi wo Shite- Really fun. The 24th bursts felt super fun to hit and the layering was really nice. The usage of mines and holds were also really nice too, not overly excessive, and not very under used. It’s a nice balance of the two.
What are my thoughts overall? I loved this pack. While it may not be up on what may be considered to some of the older people as *quality files* like the files in ODIpack3, BUT, each file here to me had so much replay value, that I really didn't care about what would be considered quality. I found each file fun in its own unique way, and can't really put a list of favorites as of right now because I enjoyed each file so much. This pack itself proves that the Stepmania community is still alive and running, and it shows with the dedicated artists that have submitted their works to this pack. Thank you for making such an enjoyable pack for me, for I've decided to make a full return to stepping for the community, even during the school year which starts up again in a month. Expect quite a few files from me in the coming months!