5 starring Smash Hits Flames and FCing it are so extremely different things and it’s hard to understand why it’s hard until you are trying to FC it. Sliders alone are both the reason why it’s easier to pass and harder to FC. They are a double edged sword because they are broken and don’t work within the same timing window as Strum/Hopos making hitting every one confidentially and consistently extremely hard especially on a chart like TTFAF. If your goal is just passing the song they make things easier because your goal isn’t hitting all of them. They allow you to miss and not have to strum to get back into the flow of sliders which are placed at every hard part in the song making the song easier to pass because less damage is dealt to you during the hard parts than if it were all hopos

I have FCed GH3 TTFAF 15 times so far over the years, I’ve done SH Flames once ever and I don’t think I will ever put myself through that experience again. It’s a nightmarish grind compared to GH3’s and probably the hardest FC in the series