Header Menu

Saturday, January 12, 2019

Song of the Week! 12 January 2019


2019's first song request leads us to a peculiar couple of songs from the PS Vita launch Taiko game... So peculiar, in fact, to the point of forming something greater than the single parts!

 Megamina Sekai I (女神な世界I)
Version
Allx4 (155)x6 (280)x7 (511)x8 (632)
 Taiko PS Vita, CD CC-8 (full version)
 168
 none
 megm1x


 Megamina Sekai II (女神な世界II)
Version
Allx4 (209)x6 (378)x7 (557)x8 (778)
 Taiko PS Vita, CD CC-8 (full version)
 168
 none
 megm2x


Among V Version's many Namco Original newcomers are a couple of songs that share the same naming root, seemingly distinguished from each other by a Roman numeral tacked at the end and their availablilty status in the game (one is a default track while the other is unlocked through the game's signature mode). Turns out they're more closely related to each other than just the name flair!

Megamina Sekai (lit. 'Goddess World'), in fact, is a 2-parter song that has been split for Taiko gameplay means as two distinguished tracks for the game. The whole piece stars the same artists cast for the lyrics set -Kami-wa/GIW (祇羽)-, composing/arrangement -Hisui (翡翠)- and Taiko notecharting duties, which were relegated to Kawagen Collagen (カワーゲン・コラーゲン). The female lead singer, on the other hand, changes between the song's two parts, with MS I starring Saori Terai (寺井沙織) of Taiko 3DS2 main theme Choujikuu Adventure fame and Yura Hatsuki (葉月ゆら) being featured for part II alongside some echoing lines from part I. With Clarice Disc/CITY CONNECTION's final album in 2018's Taiko no Tatsujin soundtrack project, both the Megamina Sekai tunes have been reunited, releasing the song's original cut at long last.

Megamina Sekai I's Oni mode notechart, with its many scrolling speed alterations and average note density shifts, packs in a lot of very dangerous cluster-based patterns to handle that is able to turn pale a lot of middle-tier 9* Oni charts, by comparison! The tricky engagement of multiple timing signatures, combined with the many different cluster combinations on display, makes it so to elevate the chart as one of the all-time hardest 8* Oni songs to full-combo... and this without engaging cheap difficulty spikes like stuffing a lot of notes into single sections a-la Funa Funa Funassyi!

As Megamina Sekai II starts where the first one ended, the beginning stanzas are also the same as in MS I. The bulk of this 8-star Oni's challenge degree, however, is of a different nature altogether: mainly 1/16 patterns with little to no scrolling alterations, a trend that is only subverted towards the very end for one last full combo scare. Nothing comparable to MS I Oni's average modus operandi, though!