Caprice of Otada

Caprice of Otada is built on Niccolo Paganini's Caprice No. 24, the last and most famous of his solo violin pieces, recast as an arcade-friendly arrangement. The fun lies in the title. 'Otada' is the nickname of one of the composers in Andamiro's 'Banya' team. As the story goes, he was such a clumsy typist that he was constantly blurting out 'Otada!' (roughly 'typo!') over his endless mistakes, and the nickname stuck. Worth clarifying: it has nothing to do with 'otaku.' A separate remix, Caprice of DJ Otada, also exists.

Since its NX2 debut the song steadily collected charts across versions. On the Single side, very approachable levels like S4 (added in Fiesta 1 Ver 1.10) and S6 (Fiesta EX Ver 1.50) sit alongside tougher options such as S8, S17, and S19 (the latter introduced in Prime 2 Ver 1.10). On Double the highlights are D11, D19, and especially D22. This Another Nightmare chart was rated 21 all the way through XX and was bumped to 22 in PHOENIX. It leans on awkward side placement, three-note clusters, low-speed passages, and sharp twists, all of which make it physically uncomfortable to read and clear.

Over the editions a handful of charts dropped off the official list. These include an S3 Normal, an S16 and an older S19 (the Another Hard and Another Crazy charts), and a D18 Another Freestyle. They are gone today but remain part of the song's history within the series.