レビュー

Notes:

- Groove Coaster has this signature mid-tempo long 16th circle streams usually seen in Tatsh songs, like Taiko no Tatsujin with just reds. Among the launch built-in songs, this is the only song. Such pattern is present throughout this song and the following tips applies universally.

- I've seen discussions from veteran arcade GC players saying that this chart is the best quality in the game and they would buy all DLCs if the quality matches this one. Personally I think the background animation is the best as well, combining signature wireframe looks with new techs that they added, like additive blending of soft light particles, modest use of image textures, and solid textured models that looks great like the yellow building window and lanterns or the mountain that looks great with distant-based red fog. Or even the trail renderer they used for the ghost soul thing.

- Wai Wai Party players, if you used to easily clear this sort of pattern and notice your accuracy became suddenly wack after trying this in FP for the first time, you are not alone! WWP's judgement programming is fundamentally flawed that it has some sort of quantization and you need to press a bit before. (To test this, try turn on "automatic hit sound playback" in options and try playing exactly to the hit sound in both WWP and FP. You'll notice that you can do so in FP, but in WWP you will get SLOW.) In short, the WWP game was helping you and you will rarely heard a shaky-sounding 16th streams you play there. Also you will slowly accommodate to the WWP's quirk that you no longer feel it, until you play FP. (Just like how many keysound game players like IIDX or DJMAX Respect will be used to the keystroke sound being earlier than response sound playback.)

- That flawed programming is the reason why when you use JUST modifier in WWP, sometimes you can get all misses as soon as you get the first GOOD in 16th streams and you cannot recover from no matter what you try to resync within the stream. It is because the quantization keeps deciding to magnets to notes in the back despite you want to hit perfect of a different note.

- Here in FP that they redid the judgement system to be without quantization, you can hear the drift-out in 16th streams if you are about to lose the Perfect+ judgement. The tip is getting used to noticing that and make micro adjustments along the way. In otherwords, practice telling the difference between "perfect" Perfect+ and "slow/fast" Perfect+, despite the game not telling you.

- 0:15 : The first stream is actually longer than most streams in the song. But you have this helping you: the camera is perfectly perpendicular like it's an inverted Taiko no Tatsujin! Use this opportunity to get into the groove and look at the avatar closely.

- The trick to not zone out while doing long stream is to try making your own "anchors". Perhaps you can pay attention every downbeat notes where kick drum strikes. Personally, I pay attention to each last note as well. You can see in the camera I press harder on every last note of the stream (they sings て "te" in the first 3 sets), so I can begin the next one accurately. You can go further and pay attention to the last 3 notes instead of just one. For the first stream it'd go to syllables まして (mashite), and then the next one it's かして (kashite). Of course it is the best if you can pay full attention to every notes but that's maybe unfeasible.

- 0:18 : The camera is still perpendicular, but rail is starting to get oscillating. But it's a good thing since each peak of the triangle rail is a downbeat. Actually it makes you play better than the first part where rail is a straight line.

- 0:22 : This is where I got the idea about paying attention to the last 3 notes from. It is because at the peak of this hill there are 3 notes. The following 1 - 3 note you can reset dominant hand to retain accuracy.

- 0:29 : Camera gets into inverse perspective. Position your fingers according to the arrow note's direction. Also there are inconsequential single hand arrow notes, due to they are assigned the color of their natural side.

- 0:43 : This is a tricky part. In my ~30 retries about half I got GREAT here. If you start with dominant hand, you'll be a bit weirded out when you finally hit the arrow it's on your non-dominant hand. It may not sound like much but it can definitely throw off your judgement on the next arrow where you are trying to use your dominant hand.

- The line that is poking out from the note is trying to tell you that's where the downbeat is (according to snare sound). I found that I do not need this help, but it might benefit you.

- 0:45 : The leading up from circle notes to square is slightly hard, but squares are all specials so you will always get Perfect+.

- 0:50 : Line up what button to use according to the arrow notes. (right, left, right, up) Note that I still start with my dominant hand (right) even when it's left. (Use the left button on the right side controller.)

- 0:57 : This is where dominant hand resetting will be very useful. Also that empty corner is begging for me to ad-lib, so I did. (Honestly I think removing scored ad-lib in FP is the right direction, perfect attacking players will still ad-lib in places like this in order to get better score, and now no one had to worry about the dreaded NO MISS when they are going for All Perfect.)

- 1:01 : This is again transition from circles into squares, but this time squares are not special, so they are judged for real.

- 1:03 : If you start with up with your dominant hand, the up arrow will line up so no worries.

- 1:07 : Camera spins while you do this 16th square stream so you need to do them by ear.

- 1:10 : Short break, but believe it or not you are so used to 16th stream at this point that break like this can throw you off! A dangerous note is like that circle before the dual up arrow, because it was preceded by a pause in beat that's felt unused to you until this point in song. Also there are some ad-libable pause you can try keeping the beat, I also did it in the clip.

- 1:16 : Aside from the first 16th stream at the beginning, this is a very nerve-wrecking one to not drift off since it is perspective and camera will spin while you do so. It's the ultimate test in performing 16th stream by ear. You can still look very close to your avatar and try to resync as each note hits it. The distance between notes will slowly increase as the camera spins so you can do that easier. Also one beat before this stream is ad-libable, I highly recommends doing it to go into the pattern.

- 1:21 : It is also very easy to get non Perfect+ on circle notes along this hill, due to unfamilliar spacing of notes.

- 1:23 : On the line note leading into chorus here, I hit "fast" Perfect+. Can you hear it? As I said, this never happened in Wai Wai Party due to quantized judgement but you can hear it in FP. I think this skill is important to not drift out inside the 16th stream. As soon as I noticed that, uh oh, better refocus before it affects my score.

- 1:24 : In the chorus, things might settle down a bit and you only need to pay attention to 3-note 16ths. However, the line note can make you lose the beat and get FAST/SLOW on the first of the 3 square notes on it. You can notice in the camera I shake the controller a bit on an empty beat while holding the line note to try not losing the beat. You can also press some button.

- 1:38 : This 2nd repeat of the chorus is slightly evil as the camera spins just before that up-down-up arrow reach you. So you need to read ahead then play by ear.

- 1:55 : Pay extra attention to your avatar on every circle notes along this circular line. It is easy to be inaccurate here. Just spam your dominant hand for each one to be sure about your timing, don't alternate hands.

- 1:59 : This dual up arrow note would have been very stressful because it was after song had no beats, and the rail has an extra trick. But fear not because it is special and you can be inaccurate all your want and still get Perfect+. Just make sure to resync back on the next dual circle arrow, which is also special.

- 2:00 : If you are worried about alternating hand (whatever your dominant hand is) and landed on the single hand circle note on wrong hand, just spam that side from the beginning. My dominant hand is right, so in this set I use the right side for everything.

- 2:03 : The next set has a blue note in the middle, but if I use the same tactics and spam left side I risk getting bad judgement due to left is my non-dominant hand. I made compromise by spamming my dominant hand right to the point where blue note is, then switch to spam the left side from that point.

- 2:14 : It's not over, the 16th stream comes back one last ride. It is easy to alternate on wrong button that's not compatible with the arrow that comes at the end and if you are not used to suddenly change buttons at the last moment you might be in trouble. In the video you see I was alternating on the left buttons, but the arrow is right, so I need to suddenly move to press right on the last one.) But luckily arrows there are specials, it can tolerate some shaky judgement without affecting your score. Just make sure you resync back if you think you got an "assisted" Perfect+ while your actual judge was lower.

- 2:21 : This is the last hard part, because circles immediately leads to dual up arrow and that is quite hard even though you are already alternating on both up buttons. The dual up arrow is special so you need not to worry about judgement there, but the real problem is that you tense up your hand in preparation so much you ended up messing the prior circle notes. (In addition to pressure if you still have golden score number until this point!) I had a few runs where that happened and well, it's a kind of horror that will haunts you in your next retries, haha.