hercules

"hercules" is an original composition by Abel that joined Pump It Up PHOENIX. It earned its spot the hard way: the track placed in Andamiro's music contest, and Andamiro then installed it as the boss song of the Ver 2.00.0 update, released on May 27, 2024. At 195 BPM, it quickly became one of the most talked-about challenges in that wave of content.

The BGA, produced by FuseBox, picks up directly from ULTIMATUM. FuseBox specifically clarified that the animation is a sequel to ULTIMATUM's BGA rather than to the song itself. Set in an unspecified future after ULTIMATUM, it adapts the Greek myth of Heracles: a new knight named Heracles battles the legion of Gigas to win the recognition of Queen Hera. The knight Gran from ULTIMATUM makes a cameo, granting Heracles power for the fight.

Every chart is the work of SPHAM. Single offers S14, S19, S22 and S24, while Double provides D15, D20, D24 and D26. The S14 and S19 are rated entry-to-low: aside from a distinctive long-note movement at the very start, there is little threat and a tame ending. The S22 is a double-step stream chart, calm until the mid-song checkpoint and then full of bizarre double-steps that are best mashed through rather than stepped cleanly. The S24 is a true ending-killer, easy until the 100-combo mark and then a barrage of dense double-steps, a hold-note section harder than the S22's, and a brief burst that finishes with a two-note "sewing machine" pattern. In Double, D26 spreads the S24 with weight shifts and full-double hold notes from the start, and its finale stands comfortably alongside the endings of level 27 charts.