Lurker > Paratroopa1

Leonhart4 posted...

"Sonic isn't relevant" is an old man take

Still super popular among kids

Yeah Sonic is like, the third-MOST currently relevant character out of the Noble Nine (depending on where you rank Cloud/Sephiroth)

Knowledge of who the Noble Nine is is just sort of carved on my soul at some point, I think I'll still remember when I'm 80

Also I'm mildly startled at how obscure this knowledge is even among B8 regulars - it took me no time at all to name the nine and I'm surprised that my post is like, a spoiler for some reason. Kind of shakes me to my core a bit

Well, the Noble Nine was established in 2002, so it could really only be 80s/90s characters

I mean I ranked like everyone who's dead and shit and probably shouldn't have done that either but OH WELL

Mentally I always remember the Noble Nine like this:

The three Nintendo ones: Mario, Link, Samus
The three Square ones: Cloud, Sephiroth, Crono
the two blue ones: Mega Man, Sonic
And also: Snake

I could never make Snake work into the mnemonic but whatever

In my opinion, correct guesses should count, but it's moot because nobody without specific knowledge of GameFAQs Contests is ever going to have a chance at correctly guessing Crono

Most of the LvW cast is weird for this very reason, but I decided to rank everyone who appears in a trial and isn't from a Layton game - some of the characters in LvW feel like Layton characters but some of them feel like AA characters (Barnham, Darklaw, and Greyerl for instance) and I didn't want to leave them off

Oh, on second thought though, I left out Layton and Luke (felt weird to rank them) and every character in LvW who doesn't appear in a trial (some of which are on the original list)

What the fuck, I ranked 334 and thought I got pretty much all of them lol

I also need to input advance votes for the following matches: (that's a lie, I don't NEED to, but it's much much easier)

Journey to the Sky
Resonance of Ray
Title

Kaze no Ne
Loneliness of the Caged Bird
Title Screen

Georgette Me, Georgette You
Kiss me Sunlights
Sinful Syncopation

Taido
Central Park
Tokyo

.BLUE
Alight (Storm)
-(LYSINE)-

Twin Moon
Lost Forest
Silent Street (Battle)

Evil Nutsheels
Precipice
Did You See the Ocean?

Land of Flames, the Sky
Assault of Hexed Faith
Conquest

Crimson Gate (Long Version)
Eastern Temple
Florest

Crimson Gate is the sort of thing that I would have thought was cooler when I was a kid but now I just find it way too messy and erratic, like eh it could be cool but it never sticks to a groove instead opting for maximum jerking off, meh 4.5/10

I had high hopes for a song called FUCK ME but when the canned rap sample started I was like, aw, this isn't going to fuck me nearly as hard as I want 4/10

These songs about fucking me or not fucking me are not really as aggressive as I was hoping for 6/10

Eastern Temple is a gorgeously weird little tune, kind of reminds me of some of the more experimental pieces in ALBW 7.5/10

Florest is one of the better discoveries in bracket D and I almost considered retiring it, it's just such a fun piece 8/10

Ravevenge is nice but if this is the matchup that Rift actually ends up winning I'll be annoyed 7/10

Neural Divergence (Saturnian Version)
Shiva (Glacier Remix)
The Valkyrie

I don't have anything to say today, Valkyrie is an 8/10, everything else except Oyasumi is like a 6/10

My internet did come back so I can submit now

My internet died literally as I was sending the list. I am going to go walk the dogs and see if it comes back, please give me a grace period if it does not by the time I'm back

8

It's good, and BOY is it way better than Doki Doki Panic, people keep saying they're the same game but have no idea

Hope is the Thing With Feathers
Iclucian Dance
Tapha Niang

Skyway is the sort of thing that someone might assume that I, a Mega Man fan would like, before learning that I really detest the sound of these SNES guitars and I strongly dislike peoples' insistence on using them poorly when trying to make "MMX-style" music, just kind of a mess imo 3/10

No Honkai: Star Rail, it's birds. You're thinking of birds 4/10

Iclucian Dance is good enough that I don't feel bad that it's getting a bye 7.5/10

Yoda is uh... look I'm sure it's probably funny in context in the game or whatever, but it just seems like a really low effort shitpost, the joke doesn't work, sorry 0.5/10

Tapha Niang is good 7/10

Fort City is kinda meh 5/10

I haven't decided if I'll rank dead people or not. They'll basically ALL rank below all alive people, even the ones I don't like, so (shrug)

Dedf1sh posted...

Omg this makes me so happy because I've always associated your name with the Mario Tennis character (rather than any other iteration of the common Mario enemy).

Oh that's neat! I guess it kind of makes sense, Mario Tennis is probably the game where Paratroopa is most prominently featured as his own thing, he's a consistent element in Mario Tennis but not any other series

I liked playing Paratroopa in Mario Tennis. I added a '1' at the end because it was taken and I thought adding a 1 instead of my birthyear or 420 or whatever was clever. it was not that clever but now I'm stuck with it

thanks lol

Crap, I keep forgetting to do this and I forgot the deadline is midday, I might need another day to do this

EXODUS (Full ver.)
Love So (Radio Active Mix)
Darkazure

Most of this stuff is just kinda 5/10 or 6/10 zone (except Koukei that one is not so good), the only one I really have anything to say about is Darkazure, cool track, Sega CD stuff has been real interesting this contest 7.5/10

Yeah I could see some arguments for some early PS3/360 games or ones of a particular stock. Wii's the same way. Wii is kind of touching on the idea of being retro for me more just because we don't really do motion controls anymore

To me, the idea of "retro" is all about, like, a "lost" past that can't be returned to. The games that are considered retro games are that way because they were created in an era where games looked and sounded and felt a different way and when the whole set of rules were different, and they'll never really be made that kind of way ever again, except when people deliberately make something retro to try to reclaim that lost past.

To me, GC/PS2/Xbox games have hit the point at which they are retro - they have a specific flavor to them that no longer exists. Games don't generally look or sound or feel like they do anymore, even when given HD remasters (indeed, the fact that they receive HD remasters at all is a good indicator, though not a sure thing). They were created at a very different time that we can't go back to. They are not part of our cultural present, so they are retro.

I would not yet put most PS3/Xbox 360 into this category and I don't know when I would. Of course, I do come from a background of being a 90's kid so that influences my viewpoint somewhat - there are probably people that DO see these games as part of a 'lost past'. But I think these games tend to be fairly representative of modern standards. Someone might disagree since they lived through this era as a child and these games feel totally different to them, but I think they lack the vibe. Something like GTAV especially isn't retro - it's still very much part of the present and still will be after GTAVI's release. Minecraft isn't retro either, despite people mistaking it for such because it has blocky graphics and they played it as a child - it is still part of the present, though I imagine there are some fans that long for the times of Minecraft 1.0 or whatever, which might arguably be retro.

This is just one definition, but it's the way I see it. If it's something that we're mourning the loss of and trying to return to, it's retro. If it's still something that we're merely replicating and iterating on and have not 'lost', it's not retro.

Angel Gifts
Cycling
Artificial Desert

Angel Gifts is a marvelous little piece of work; that choir in the background from the results screen is just such an iconic Katamari Damacy sound and it hits so right when it comes in. Just such a nice, intricate little sculpture of a song. 8.5/10

This was mediocre. I'm making a note here: "Kind of mid." 5.5/10

A song like Cycling really tests how far I'm willing to go on rating a song. Is this song, like, particularly long or interesting or noteworthy? Not really. But I'll be damned if it doesn't put a smile on my face. It's just about perfect for what it's supposed to be. I'll take an iconic jingle over a 7 minute long rhythm game odyssey I don't remember any day of the week. 8/10

The Turks came really damn close to beating out Cycling for me, but again, I don't remember it without hearing it again and that was the test for me. Still very good 8/10

Artificial Desert is certainly designed to get my attention and it works 7.5/10

Call to Multiply is... well I like it more than I expected to 6/10

I personally don't consider anything modern to be 'retro' because there's something sort of inherent to the actual time period it was created that isn't easily retraced over, but which time period is actually 'retro' to me is a fuzzy line, especially for games that have been ongoing since their release

Yoga

Retro is a vibe and not a specific cutoff

I thought about it and I really think my ranking of chapters so far is 4 > 3 > 2 > 1, as stupid a ranking as that looks like

I mean, all four chapters are great, but I really loved chapter 3 and I feel like people are selling it short; it had my favorite gags so far and HANDS DOWN my two favorite boss fights so far, the fact that it had fewer side characters and plot developments is my only knock on it but like man, idk, I really thought it was peak (until chapter 4)

Green Scream (VAMPIRE SAVIOR) CAP-JAMS Ver.
A Muzzle Dancing in Hatred (Fire Tower)
Howling of the Crows

Cap-Jams was, indeed, a jam 8/10

Reach for my ass, immortal song 2/10

Muzzle Dancing in Hatred started out really cool but it wasn't quite as cool as I hoped for some reason. I dunno, it's still good 7/10

I did not find song.mp3 funny, I just found it asinine. sorry 0/10

Howling of the Crows is in exactly the same boat as Muzzle, I know I'm in for something nice when I see an oscilloscope view but it wasn't really as good as I was hoping, but it's still pretty nice 7/10

Normally I find an ironic love for Sonic music but man this ain't no Crush 40. I didn't like this at all 1/10

I wish Ralsei got a little more development in these two chapters but I'm ok with it

Man I think Susie and Noelle are cute and it's blindsiding me a bit that people have opinions about it

Temporal Rift
Panakeian Temple
Stow-on-Side

Temporal Rift is nice! Yep. It's nice. I got nothin', it's just nice 7/10

Burning Town is a song from previous Shantae games that I really like, and normally I like Kaufman's stuff, but I don't like this arrangement of it. It's too overproduced, too halting in its rhythms, it just never gets into a nice groove. I like the material it's based on but I just can't get behind this one entirely. If it was Pirate Curse's version I'd be on board. 6.5/10

Hey is that... yeah it is Jun Ishikawa! Well, I guess I'm sort of contractually obligated to vote for this. It's a sort of unassuming track, but I like it a lot. 8/10

I'm just thankful pray nightly is short. It's not bad, I just didn't need an extended cut of it like some of the other rhythm game tracks. 6/10

Stow-on-Side is gorgeous. Normally mainline Pokemon music is kinda hit or miss but I've never actually played Sword/Shield and I'm not familiar with the soundtrack at all. This is a hit. Instant smile on my face. 8.5/10

Slip Space is weird. Not bad weird, just weird. I don't really know what to make of it. 6/10

I was hoping for more Noelle out of these chapters! I know she can't really be a part of the current battle throuple that's going on but I'd like her to be a bigger part of the group. I'm guessing that one of the chapters will take place in a dark world version of her house though.

I was torn on it, but I decided to move on because I realized I don't even have chapter 1 clear data anyway. I'll just do a full run of the game when the whole thing comes out and clear the side stuff then

O Mai Padme H, part II
34N, 12E ...for Mad Space
Trees in the Depths of the Earth

Risk of Rain 2 thing is a quite good little prog metal thing, reminds me a little bit of Kataklysm in the Computer but I didn't find myself thinking about it as much later; I do like it though 8/10

Etrian Odyssey thing is an Etrian Odyssey thing, a solid crowdpleaser 7/10

I'm surprised by how much Sonic Adventure 2 thing is a bop, but Fumie Kumatani wrote it so I guess it makes sense 8/10

DJMax thing is fine, it's very ornate but nothing in it especially grabbed me but it was ok 6/10

Kirby Super Star thing is my nom, I'm absolutely scandalized that KSS music has barely ever been attempted in VGMC, I sought to rectify this in honor of Jun Ishikawa's soft retirement 9.5/10

Space Organ whatever thing is another thing that is just ok 6/10

Chapter 4 spoilers:

Wait, so was Gerson supposed to be the 'secret boss' of that chapter? I didn't even realize it was optional at first lol, I first-try'ed it but at some point I realized it was harder than a normal boss and was like, wait is this the secret boss?

MZero posted...

- The 3-1 comeback in 2016 is not impressive because the 2016 Warriors aren't a good team

Just to be clear, YOU'RE not the one saying this, right? That's a "by their logic" thing?

Chapter 3 end spoilers: Do I really have to fight Tenna again to take another crack at the secret boss? What's the deal with that?

My MK8 tracks list, now with tiers

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/b/bc42d103.jpg

Okay that's the list! Glad to have that out of the way, kinda just always wanted to do it and it was nice to have an outlet. Thanks for reading!

1. Yoshi's Island

It was too hard for me to imagine picking anything else, even over Big Blue. I love this track more than any other. SMW2 isn't even like, my favorite game of all time or anything, but goddamn this one just hits me right in the nostalgia gut. So much of the Mario's series sense of itself and its own history has been sanded off at the edges and made into a specific image that it's startling to see something from the much weirder era of Mario paid homage so thoroughly. Yoshi's Island is a delightful game that feels forgotten a lot and this track just serves it justice basically perfectly. Everything in this track makes me smile. It's got the seagulls! The fat birds that waddle around! The big blue guy that comes out of the water! If you can name ANY of these guys by name without looking it up, good job, you know SMW2 better than I do! I like how it does the Hyrule Circuit thing and has an element from the game in it, but I think the ? cloud and the shortcut track that appears is even cooler. I like that it's got kind of an element to it where you can hope someone else makes the path for you, or go for it yourself but open it for your rivals as well. The whole track is really well designed; without the theming I think it'd still rank pretty high, the lines all feel great and it has a good sense of climbing to the top of the track before flying back down and it's got obstacles that are interesting without being intrusive. But yeah the YI theming is obviously the selling point. It's even got special music at the start and end! It has Yoshi coins! They have a unique sound! So much love went into this one. The Booster Course DLC is a little bit uneven in how much effort they put into it; some of the tracks feel a lot more sloppy and not well designed. But they put their A team on this one and it shows. It is, narrowly, my favorite track in the game.

2. Big Blue

Uhh holy shit, it almost feels illegal how good Big Blue is. Mute City is cute and fun but this shit is real. This is my favorite *track* in the series, and #1 is only #1 by virtue of other factors (though you'd be surprised how close Cheese Land got, really). This is the only track in the game besides Mount Wario that really feels like it fully justifies the 3-segments design and I wouldn't have it any other way; this is just such a wild ride from start to finish, an absolute roller coaster of a track. The best part is easily the water slide portion, again, of course, because the pickup in speed you get on an already fast track is just exhilirating, and every turn in that portion is *just* wide enough for you to make it by reaction alone. It's perfect. It's a perfect homage to the feeling of F-Zero in just about every way, from the visuals to the music to the way it feels to play it. Goddamn that arrangement of the Big Blue theme is so good. Pretty much an auto-pick when it comes up in online play, only the other tracks in the top 5 could possibly dissuade me. Completely mindblowing that they made this track.

3. Cheese Land

I LOVE CHEESE LAND. You cannot stop me from loving CHEESE LAND. It's so fucking good. I love that it's made out of CHEESE. It's spiritually kind of like a desert themed track but way cooler. The little swiss-cheese potholes are extremely fun to make decisions about; do you go around? Drive through? Take a line that lets you trick off them without going off road? It's a little thematic touch that makes the track surprisingly unique. There isn't anything *crazy* going on in this track, I just kind of think every turn feels perfectly tuned and racing around this track feels FAST. It's like, perfectly designed and perfectly calibrated. And it has the best music in the game. There's something so fucking funny about taking the original theme and making an epic jazz ensemble out of it. It sounds great, it looks great, god Cheese Land fucking rules and I can't believe there's two tracks better than this. I can't believe two of my favorite tracks in this game are Super Circuit tracks, but for some reason the fact that they have to overhaul them so thoroughly makes them really good in the remakes.

4. Ribbon Road

Rainbow Road? No, this is Ribbon Road! Absolute banger of a track and an all-timer reclamation project. The original Ribbon Road? It's fine but completely unnotable. The remake? Basically the most unrecognizable retro track in the game, and that's a good thing. It plays like an original. The vague theming of giant presents in the background has been reimagined into a beautiful playroom set, kind of similar to Squeaky Clean Sprint in the whole miniaturization aspect and the way there's just tons of shit to see in the background here. The track just feels great; beautiful racing lines all over, creative shortcuts, and tricking off the wavy blue track is awesome. I love the Mechakoopas here, you so rarely see these guys and I don't even think they were in the original but they kind of remind me of 'older' Mario, like they're something that would be in SMK or SC that you don't see a lot anymore, and they work perfectly with the whole toy theme. The music arrangement's cool as hell too, sounds almost nothing like the original. Easy S-tier track, one of my top faves, underrated.

Also I just noticed that Music Park was my last remaining original 32 track (and Rainbow Road was my last of the original 16 MK8 tracks). Huh! Of the four left, 3 of them are Wii U DLC and one is Booster Course lol. God the original 16 DLC tracks are so fucking good