Archive for the 'Flash Flash Revolution' Category
Twelve Days of FFRmas 2012 – Day 7
Just think, it was one week ago today when we as a community first embarked on our grand ol’ Twelve Days of FFRmas journey. It seems like such a long time ago now. Along the way we’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve blackflagged, booflagged, missflagged and yes, even avflagged, all in the name of providing the Holy Father Synthlight with a couple of hearty chuckles. Oh, speaking of which, that reminds me: I keep forgetting to mention that the whole reason as to why Synthlight never makes an appearance anymore is because he’s too busy sitting in this massive underground amphitheater/colosseum place that shows nothing but live footage of every single FFR game that gets played. And before you ask, the answer is no, I don’t know why he does it either. Somebody told me once but I honestly forget. I think it had something to do with summoning an ancient demon maybe? Oh well, it’s probably not important.
Milky Blue by YMCK (icontrolyourworld) – Brutal [84] / 4:26 / Purchased / Cutie 8-bit Pop
Remember how Twinkle of the Stars was the first YMCK file on FFR to not feature trills and 32nds galore? Well, feel free to scrap that notion for Milky Blue. If you’re familiar with cetaka’s Stepmania chart for the song then you should know fully well exactly what sort of finger straining, curse engendering and monitor smashing fun you’re in for. All of the brave souls who strive to have every single song on FFR either passed, full combo’d or AAA’d shouldn’t fret though for the jumpstream-saavy icontrolyourworld has made the FFR version of Milky Blue an enjoyable experience for all, even if it brings them to the brink of despair. You’ll want to have your pocket books ready as well, for claiming the rights to this chart will cost you exactly 4500 credits. If you think that a cheery 8-bit pop song juxtaposed with fast 32nd streams, polyrhythms, jumpstreams and a formidable length is something that you wish to experience for yourself, then by all means please do so! After all, that’s what the song is there for, right?
- plopadop and FFR Staff
Twelve Days of FFRmas 2012 – Day 6
If you happen to take a quick gander at a calendar today then you may experience jaw-dropping shock, immense relief or a fine juxtaposition of the two when you discover that there exists all but a single week-long stretch to separate those of us in the present moment from the fateful Christmas Day. By this point in time, the gift-related shenanigans have reached their climax: attempting to find a parking spot in virtually any mall across the globe will always amount to nothing more than an exercise in futility, and the endeavors put forth by children of all ages as they rummage through closets and crawlspaces alike in their never-ending search for hidden gifts have increased exponentially. If you need to take a break from either the impending feeling of doom that demonically looms over top of your head due to you having procrastinated your shopping, or the crippling anticipation that makes focusing on anything other than what you’re going to be receiving or giving to others nothing short of impossible, then feel free to play today’s release and try to get your mind out of the holiday gutter!
Kirlian Shores by The Flashbulb (DarkZtar) – Brutal [86] / 3:14 / Skill Token / Acoustic IDM
Much like our inevitable Renard release, having our Twelve Day of FFRmas event not include at least one song that had been released under one of the several aliases of acclaimed musician Benn Jordan would be as unthinkable as a DJ Sharpnel song that doesn’t incorporate samples, be them anime or otherwise, or a Synthlight file that’s legitimately on sync. Kirlian Shores is highly atmospheric pierce that features intense breakbeats in addition to a soothing soundscape, the likes of which serving as a perfect culmination between The Flashbulb’s earlier and later works. DarkZtar cuts no corners in his portrayal of the piece either; if the song features a fast burst of percussion then you better believe that you’re going to be dealing with a pattern that appropriately corresponds to the song’s intensity. Just make sure to keep in mind throughout the course of your sightreads that even if the song sounds as if it’s reached a relatively relaxing section that you shouldn’t lower your guard– after all, you never know when a rainbow-colored wall of notes is going to suddenly wash ashore. In order to unlock this file, you’ll need to full combo Kirlian Changes and achieve a score that features an identical number of perfects and boos. Good luck!
- plopadop and FFR Staff
Twelve Days of FFRmas 2012 – Day 5
As we move into the fifth day of our Twelve Days of FFRmas event I must admit that I’m finding myself at a bit of loss with respect to what I should be discussing. What do you guys and gals out there want to talk about? Pizza? Please share your pizza-related anecdotes and tidbits of wisdom in the comments section of this post and you will be handsomely rewarded…maybe.
When Penguins Fly by flashygoodness (0) – Master [75] / 1:06 / Misc / Comical Pop
When you take into consideration the fact that the average song length of flashygoodness’ three previous FFR files amounts to all but a measly zero minutes and forty-six seconds then it should come as no surprise whatsoever that playing today’s release, When Penguins Fly, isn’t going to require all that much of a time commitment on your end. Stepped by 0, this file marks the first time that a flashygoodness song has broken the one minute mark, even if it’s only by a scant amount. Much like Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me v2, don’t be fooled by the short length: 0 employs his usual penchants for all things difficult by forcing players to tackle extended jumpstream runs, fast 32nd triplets intermittent with 16th stream and lengthy 24th trills, all of which clocks in at an imposing 180 BPM. Even if you’re thinking something highly pessimistic along the lines of, “Even when penguins do fly I still won’t have AAA’d this song!” then you should still mosey on by the Misc section anyways and have some fun since, you know, that’s more or less the whole point of FFR.
- plopadop and FFR Staff
Twelve Days of FFRmas 2012 – Day 4
The fourth day of releases, while agreeable in the sense that you have a brand spankin’ new file to look forward to, also means that we’re already a third of the way through our Twelve Days of FFRmas event. Where does the time go? I asked around the FFR offices but only received the unfortunately lackluster and spiritually unfulfilling answers of “What the hell are you talking about?” and “How exactly did you get in here?” and “Dude, I’m going to call security in like two seconds if you don’t put my goddamn sandwich down right now.”
Twinkle Of The Stars by YMCK (kommisar) – Expert [68] / 2:05 / Dance 2 / Techno Pop
If our past experiences have taught us anything worthwhile, it’s that YMCK songs are often highly deceptive. Despite featuring cheerful vocals, jazzy instrumentation and an overall jubilant disposition, virtually every single file ranks near the high end of the difficulty spectrum. Twinkle of the Stars, brought to us by veteran stepartist and 8-bit aficionado kommisar, is no exception. The only major difference that sets aside this file aside from all others is the complete deficit of all and any trills. Yes, that’s right folks, Twinkle of the Stars is the very first YMCK file in FFR to not feature even a single trill! Whether this revelation has you crying tears of joy and immediately preparing to mail kommisar a congratulatory Puyo Pop related holiday gift in the mail or has you nefariously refusing to ever indulge yourself in the fabled Canadian dish of poutine for the rest of your life out of spite depends entirely on the individual. Irrespective of its lack of trills, Twinkle of the Stars still packs quite a punch that will surely keep you entertained and begging for more.
- plopadop and FFR Staff
Twelve Days of FFRmas 2012 – Day 3
We now encroach upon the third day of our Twelve Days of FFRmas event. Can you feel the excitement mounting? I know I can. Well, to be perfectly honest I can’t, since mounting excitement from complete strangers isn’t exactly something that I can physically experience, but at least my heart is in the right place…I think.
Heffalump Hardcore 2010 by JAKAZiD (_.Spitfire._) – Expert [69] / 2:04 / Dance 2 / Hardcore
Given the median age of FFR players, a decently-sized proportion of the key-smashing population should recognize that the Heffalump portion of this release’s song title relates to the Winnie the Pooh franchise. The Heffalumps, a type of elephant that’s known to steal honey, obtained notoriety from a musical number that appears in the animated film “Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day”, one that is often described as being trippy or surreal. Not so surprisingly, Heffalump Hardcore 2010 samples the aforementioned sequence quite extensively. Much unlike the generally blithe and easy-going nature that Pooh himself possesses, you should know fully well upon seeing the “hardcore” portion of the song title as well as _.Spitfire._’s name being listed as the stepartist that this file is going to be anything but laid back. The majority of the file is grape flavored, but upon reaching the final stretch it suddenly veers off-course and adopts an overwhelming cherry flavor. If you’re curious as to what this comparison exactly means, go and play the song and find out for yourself, you goofball!
- plopadop and FFR Staff
Twelve Days of FFRmas 2012 – Day 2
Now that the sun has set and risen again, the time for the second of our twelve releases has at long last come to fruition. I sincerely hope that you didn’t think that we were lying about putting on this event or expected us to lose interest after the initial release or something silly and totally un-FFRish like that!
Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me v2 by Kitsune^2 (Tidus810)
– Very Challenging [63] / 1:05 / Skill Token / Game Music
You do realize that the inclusion of at least one Renard song was inevitable, right? The second file of our event, lovingly forged by stepartist Tidus810, takes the original version of Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me that’s presently in-game and cranks up the difficulty tenfold. As opposed to kjwkjw’s rendition that’s comparatively less layered and much friendlier towards novice and intermediate players alike, version two features abundant polyrhythms and jumpstream runs as well as and the occasional minijack or two all thrown at you within the course of just over a minute. Sound interesting? Good! Unfortunately though, me mirroring the song title’s sentiments by telling you that Nothing’s Gonna Stop you from playing this chart would be giving you a free pass to refer to me as a stinking liar. In order to unlock this file and place it into your continually expanding skill token repertoire, you’ll have to pass Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me v1 first. Good luck!
- plopadop and FFR Staff
Twelve Days of FFRmas 2012 – Day 1
If you’ve happened to venture out from within the safety of your humble abode and gone toe-to-toe with mainstream society in the past few weeks then you’ve undoubtedly noticed a stark change in the landscape: multicolored lights thoughtfully adorn the exteriors of buildings, pine trees that are both legitimate biological specimens and uncannily-similar wads of plastic alike proudly stand in places where they hadn’t been before, there exists a frustrating inability to navigate through any given retail establishment without bumping into at least a couple dozen strangers, and songs that you’ve heard at least a thousand times before are eerily omnipresent no matter where you go. Regardless of which specific holiday you celebrate, be it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or even Festivus, the most anticipated season of a child’s year as well as the second most anticipated for retail outlets has befallen us once again. It should come as no surprise then that we here at FFR will be celebrating the holiday season in our own way as well! In addition to a variety of spon cons that may just happen to pop up over the course of the next little while, such as the already underway FFR Holiday Song contest, all of you lovely players out there will also be treated to a gift of twelve new files that will be released over the course of, you guessed it, twelve whole days. Whether you like it or not, the Twelve Days of FFRmas 2012 has officially begun!
Carol of the Bells by August Burns Red (yo man im awesome) – Expert [67] / 2:34 / Rock / Festive Metalcore
We commence our annual festivities with a notoriously familiar holiday song that has transcended genres through a variety of diverse artistic interpretations ever since its inception back in 1916. FFR’s rendition of Carol of the Bells, which is performed by metalcore band August Burns Red and marks yo man im awesome’s second in-game file, is considerably more fast paced and head-banging inducing than the other versions that you may be accustomed to, such as the one that’s portrayed in the infamous Ding Fries Are Done animation. The steps stay true to the song’s intense nature by featuring abundant jumps and hands as well as some relatively dense jumpstream runs, the patterns of which uncannily reminiscent of those that were prominent in the index-friendly files of yesteryear. If you wish to kick off your FFRmas journey on a high note then head on over to the Rock section and give this first of twelve files a try.
- plopadop and FFR Staff
FFR Holiday Song!
Four months ago (can you believe it?), resident musician midnghtraver came up with the clever idea to make a 32-measure instrumental for people to rap over, about the very broad yet controversial topic of pizza. Thinking that the idea would generate absolutely no steam, midnghtraver was proven wrong and found himself judging numerous submissions.
Enter FFR Holiday Song! The concept of the idea is being brought back, and you have the opportunity to be a bit more creative, as you are not forced to rap this time around. If you are seeking those elusive tokens, here’s your chance to obtain them while not being involved with stiff competition. Unlike many FFR events that offer tokens as prizes, this one has nothing to do with keysmashing, and everyone is on level ground. Here’s your chance to prove your lyrical prowess to the (FFR) world.
Details can be found in the official event thread here
-TC_Halogen and the FFR events team
P.S. Prochat ate some LSD, go check it out.
Songs of the Week (December 2nd, 2012)
After having begun the previous front page post with a discussion that essentially boiled down to an apology for having been a few days late, it now seems rather inappropriate to have done so given the fact that this update has reached the threshold of lateness wherein it warrants the need to encompass not only one but two week’s worth of releases within its depths. In attempting to conjure up any sort of idea as to how I should approach this update given that there are now thirteen releases that need to be accounted for, I found myself at a complete loss. Should I write a verbose depiction of all of the files that ends up accumulating a massive word count roughly equivalent to that of an academic essay, or should I simply take the cheap way out by writing a paragraph or two that references all of the releases at least once or twice throughout its course? At one point I had legitimately considered only taking into account this week’s releases and leaving the other ones to wither away in the background, but fortunately for them the sacred oath that I took atop the infamous Stepman Mountain on that thunderous summer night many centuries ago prevents me from doing so. It wasn’t until a few minutes ago when I was cowering under my desk out of fear of incurring the wrath of the Stepgods that it struck me: every song only needs seventeen syllables of description! Yes, that’s right folks, this week’s releases will be given a write-up in the form of a dignifying and at least partially relevant haiku!
Distortion Power by Drunk Optimus (Wayward Vagabound) – Guru [76] / 2:43 / Misc / Hard Breaks
Enjoyable Fruit by YouriX (Elite Ninja) – Very Difficult [48] / 1:47 / Funk / Nu Jazz
Just Hold On by zircon feat. Jillian Aversa (bmah) – Expert [64] / 3:22 / Dance 2 / Uplifting Trance
Punch You by Rainbowdragoneyes (Coolboyrulez0) – Master [74] / 1:17 / Dance 2 / Dance Speed
Ring Ring Bang by t+pazolite (SKG_Scintill) – Expert [65] / 2:45 / Purchased / Happy Hardcore
S by Y.W. (MarioNintendo) – Very Challenging [60] / 1:35 / Skill Token / Classical Remix
Calling by taqumi (bmah) – Tricky [33] / 2:03 / Dance / House
Lightning Strikes Again – Metal Squad by S.S.H. (kommisar) – Master [75] / 5:08 / Rock / Epic Rock
Mario Mix For Piano by Andreas Kuch (MarioNintendo) – Challenging [53] / 2:05 / Arcade / Piano Remix
New Fluttershy (MONSTER MIX) by Foozogz (megamon88) – Master [72] / 1:33 / Secret / Breakcore
Outer Space by Ronald Jenkees (Tidus810) – Expert [64] / 2:53 / Funk / Electronica
Ehhen Doyadosu? Tengujiman by MOSAIC.WAV (MrPopadopalis25) – Guru [79] / 1:45 / Dance 2 / J-pop
jelly by Choofers (Choofers) – Very Challenging [63] / 1:24 / Arcade / 8-bit
Distortion Power: Alcohol will help / you quell the pain in your hands / after playing this.
Enjoyable Fruit: Transcending genres / makes this file and fruit that much / more enjoyable.
Just Hold On: Do what the song says / and you will find an ending / worthy of surprise.
Punch You: Short song lengths mean zilch / when you’re hitting dense jumpstream / almost the whole time.
Ring Ring Bang: Who’s that at the door? / It’s Scin and t-paz and they / want to kick your ass.
S: Eight goods and thirteen / boos is how you unlock this / not pathetic file.
Calling: Just because the style / is called “house” doesn’t mean you / have to play indoors.
Lightning Strikes Again – Metal Squad: It’s a marathon / so make sure you empty your / bladder beforehand.
Mario Mix For Piano: Mario Mix by / MarioNintendo is / almost too fitting.
New Fluttershy (MONSTER MIX): The argument on / the forums shows that ponies / are touchy subjects.
Outer Space: Those fast stream runs / and rainbow notes will leave you / seeing some real stars.
Ehhen Doyadosu? Tengujiman: *** BAM BAM BAM *** (we wanted to express THIS !!)
jelly: A fitting tribute / for an arrow smasher who’s / no longer with us.
And that’s it! If you feel brave enough to navigate through the sprawling discussion about song choice and the like then head on over to the forums and give your opinion on either both weeks of releases or how many syllables you think THIS has, and if you don’t feel up to the former of the two challenges then you can always leave your thoughts in the comments section of this post as well. Normally I’d include a reminder right about here that the previous week’s veteran files are now available for public consumption, but since they’re already released I have absolutely no reason to…even though I just did. Oh well.
