Lurker > loweffortmemes

Happy to see that 3 out of my 4 songs made it this far!

I was wondering when my first nomination was going to drop! Anyway, really happy to see that all of my nominations made it into the 80+ range.

Wow, Sakura no Uta retiring in this list and I'm not even a part of the team? Well, that's certainly an amazing outcome! Plenty of other great songs throughout this list too. I think this is now my favorite list of the three?? Certainly a strong contender.

I think I like Team Mycro's set of retirees more consistently than Team Azuarc's, but there's certainly something to be said about 3 of my 4 favorites bracket champions (Sky of Twilight, New World Order, and It Has to Be This Way) being on Team Azuarc's list...

Just gonna post a few comments I had.

Haste_2 posted...

Rewrite - Beyond the Darkness
Umineko Chiru - Proud Dust

I immediately thought "insta-support" when I saw these two songs lol. And it probably will be the case, in the end, that I support them.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

Chrono Cross - Radical Dreamers

Also a likely support. I'm a little surprised that this hasn't retired yet, to be honest! Granted, it looks like it did get to round 4 in VGMC9, so it was close there.

I could've sworn I had at least 5 songs planned originally, but I can only think of 4 that I knew I wanted to nominate. I guess I'll just throw in another song that I think might do well just to gauge your opinion.

Rewrite - Deep Forest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5cgX1Pxx-U

7th Dragon III Code: VFD - ChRNiClESeVeN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTJpnyH1CpM

Mahoutsukai no Yoru - Five
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nTGcpO2NsY

Utawarerumono - A Journey That Is Only Yours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juiem0L6oRE

Final Fantasy XIV - Equilibrium
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T1k-9UvdlU

I'm still not sure what "azuarc music" really sounds like, but I have a feeling that none of these songs count as that. Still, hopefully you'll see some potential in at least one of these songs for contest success!

Despite discovering some degree of overlap between the two of us, I still have no idea what your particular tastes are in music, so I'm just gonna nominate the first songs that come to mind that I really like and hope at least one of them does well.

Pokmon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald - Ever Grande City
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPWuD97ZkM0

Pokmon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum - Lake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOmznKTv74M

Pokmon Black & White - Lacunosa Town
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpQmvX7LYQY

Pokmon HeartGold & SoulSilver - Azalea Town
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSI3sjAl4tE

Chiru went 0-2 so that question arcs could win! Be prepared for a Chiru victory next year though if BOST6 happens ;)

But anyway, it's no secret to people who know me on discord that I love Umineko to death, so being able to nominate the list that brings it to victory makes me really happy! In general, I'm very pleased with the top 16 since the majority of games in there are soundtracks that I really like, which given the fact that it's been noted by others that my taste lines up pretty well with the board's isn't particularly surprising. Like other people have said, it's been a really fun contest and I got exposed to a lot of cool songs that I never heard before! Thank you for hosting this!

Umineko no Naku Koro ni - worldenddominator
Umineko no Naku Koro ni - goldenslaughterer
Umineko no Naku Koro ni - Hope

MATCH 1

It's a match like this that makes me really happy that grand finals rolled odds instead of evens. This kind of match is basically top-tier zts vs. top-tier All Phase Mix and it's much easier to decide here compared to if the #2 songs faced off. If it was evens, then this first match would be top-tier zts vs. favorite Blue Reflection song, which would really suck having to vote against one. Granted it does here too, but I don't feel like I need to beat my head against the table in order to decide, unlike a dreamenddischarger vs. Overdose match.

MATCH 2

Another fortunate match here, since as I said the last time it was up, goldenslaughterer's a bit on the weaker side of Umineko zts music for me, but so is DNF for Blue Reflection music. Once again, I fortunately feel that this is a relatively easy match for me to decide, but it easily could've been different if the order was chosen differently.

MATCH 3

Unfortunately, though, I don't go 3 for 3 on easy-to-decide matches. This one is really tough to decide, actually. These two songs feel pretty close to dead even for me, but I think I can actually make a decision here, as much as I had to think about it, so no abstention here. Hope is definitely a top-tier dai composition for me. I think I said this the previous time Hope showed up, but it doesn't suffer from feeling a bit boring to me like some other dai songs (Higanbana's music, I feel, is very guilty of this). I definitely enjoy soft, emotional piano compositions like this and Hope does a very good job at being that type of song, even if it isn't the best of what Umineko has to offer (I also enjoy Thanks for Being Born a lot, just to name a similar song from the game).

Albireo Lake is also really good, but I feel like I may be losing a lot of my initial interest in this song from when I first heard it. Not to say that I don't like it anymore, I very much do, but I guess it's something that wore off after enough repeated listens. I honestly could've voted for this on another day and I was expecting to today, but I feel just a little bit more into Hope today.

worldenddominator > goldenslaughterer = Sayonara (ALL PHASE MIX) > Hope > Albireo Lake > DNF FW15C (ALL PHASE MIX)

This is definitely a very "me" grand finals, so I'm very pleased to see it turn out this way! Super strong matches and songs all around with my lowest-rated song of the day, DNF, being probably an 8/10 for me. Couldn't ask for much more from a grand finale, honestly.

Pokmon Super Mystery Dungeon - Second Dark Matter Battle
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea - Flying Clouds, Drifting Haze

MATCH 1

C-R-O-W-N-E-D just isn't really my kind of song. Can't put into words why though.

Second Dark Matter Battle kinda feels like more of a Kirby song than the Kirby song here in some way (more like Second Dark Mind Battle am I right?). I mean, mostly no, but the melody from 0:36-1:02 kinda gives me that impression? Well, in any case, this song's definitely more my kind of thing so it's an easy vote here.

MATCH 2

Flying Clouds, Drifting Haze is definitely a strong contender for my favorite Atelier song. I just love the instrumentation and melody. I feel like this song has a nice and seamless transition from the really pretty strings and flute to the drums and electric guitar. Why did this lose to Emil ~ Karma in VGMC11 finals?? Emil ~ Sacrifice > Emil ~ Karma

Unfinished Battle is really nice too, but Flying Clouds, Drifting Haze is the clear vote here. If memory serves me right, I'd say I prefer several of the Xenoblade Chronicles songs in the setlist to Unfinished Battle, but it's still a good song.

Flying Clouds, Drifting Haze > Unfinished Battle = Second Dark Matter Battle > C-R-O-W-N-E-D

Blue Reflection - Sayonara (ALL PHASE MIX)
beatmania IIDX 24 SINOBUZ - ECHIDNA(EXTENDED MIX)

MATCH 1

Wow, rough match. Favorite VVVVVV song vs. favorite All Phase Mix. They're both really good songs, but I'm feeling Sayonara slightly more right now.

MATCH 2

Echidna feels like it puts a lot of different things that individually all make me think "hey, this is pretty nice!" And of course, my fondness of the piano shows up once again here when I say that the parts where the piano was present are probably my favorites in this song. But that brief part with the guitar was pretty cool too.

Hazy Moon is decent, but feels like it falls a bit flat compared to the other Tokyo Xanadu songs that have showed up previously. I guess this feels more like Gurumin if anything, which to me is a bit lackluster out of the Falcom games' music, so perhaps that explains a bit why this song feels not as good as the other songs from this game. I will say that the brief piano parts are very nice. Yay for more piano love. Anyway, I'd probably vote those other songs over Echidna but not this one, unfortunately.

Sayonara (ALL PHASE MIX) > Potential for Anything > ECHIDNA(EXTENDED MIX) > Hazy Moon

Blue Reflection - OVERDOSE
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ - Vesper Umbra

MATCH 1

Bunwaii Desert's a really good song, but it got the unfortunate matchup of being up against my favorite Blue Reflection song. Really easy pick here as my preference is strongly in favor of Overdose, but this still a really strong match for me overall. Something like Bunwaii Desert (8.5) vs. Overdose (9.5) in terms of overall score? This is just a gut reaction without any thought being put into it, but it still highlights the fact that I really like both songs.

MATCH 2

If my memory serves me correct, Land of Blooming Mushrooms has to be my favorite song I've heard from this setlist thus far. By a long shot too. Really nice and peaceful song. Very soothing melody. Definitely something that suits my tastes. I feel like the other songs from Tangledeep that have showed up didn't really fit my tastes all too much, by contrast.

Oof, I would've been happy voting for Land of Blooming Mushrooms, but it's up against dark melodic piano and violin from Vesper Umbra. Soft, peaceful music is definitely a potential weakness of mine, but so is melodic piano and violin lol. More close of a match, but kind of a similar deal to match 1 where one song is good, but the other's even better. This feels similar to how I felt about Melody of Aqua vs. Skyclad Observer back in VGMC13. Only I'd say that was definitely a stronger match.

OVERDOSE > Bunwaii Desert > Vesper Umbra > Land of Blooming Mushrooms

Really good day today!

Umineko no Naku Koro ni - worldenddominator
beatmania IIDX 24 SINOBUZ - DORNWALD ~Der Junge im Kfig~

MATCH 1

To me, worldenddominator's honestly the most quintessential song in Umineko's soundtrack. I feel like if you were to ask fans of this game what the most popular, defining, or well-liked songs in the game are, you'd get a lot of people giving this song as an answer for all 3 of those questions. That's pretty much why I felt that this song had to be in the #1 slot. As for the song itself, I love all the emotions it packs into this from dark and tense to calm, somber even. Definitely a shining example of zts at his best. Though, I think this is actually a close second for favorite zts Umineko song. I feel like I enjoy lastendconductor just a little bit more.

Piercing the Sky is also a very good representative from VVVVVV's soundtrack, but there's no way I vote against worldenddominator here. I'll show you this golden dream!!

Very strong match.

MATCH 2

Lake of Tears feels very tropical. Like this kind of composition just makes me feel like I'm at a beach resort or something. Really relaxing song that I like a lot!

I feel like I like this long version slightly less, but the main highlights of the song, the vocals and the piano harmonizing, are fortunately still very prominent, so my score for this wouldn't be lowered by that much. Pretty close match, but I'm feeling Dornwald more right now.

worldenddominator > Piercing the Sky > DORNWALD ~Der Junge im Kfig~ > Lake of Tears

Good songs today!

Caravan Stories - Demon Transformation
Blue Reflection - DNF FW15C (ALL PHASE MIX)

MATCH 1

Demon Transformation's pretty cool, but despite it being in the #1 slot for this list, I definitely prefer Raging Spirits and Bunwaii Desert to this. I like choirs, but I think they work best when I really like the melodies. Here, they're...okay. So I can't say that they suddenly don't work here, but it's not really what I want out of it either.

Not too invested in Aurora Area. Sounds fine, I guess, but other than that, it's not very interesting.

MATCH 2

DNF isn't my favorite All Phase Mix in the game, but it's still quite good! I'd say it doesn't do the usual Blue Reflection things (in other words, the whole piano DnB kinda stuff) as well as TIGAR or Sayonara, but I still happen to like that compositional aspect of this game's music in general, so it still gets good marks from me!

Mycro described pretty well the general feeling I get from Showdown Mountain, only I'm not as enthusiastic about the song as he is, unfortunately. It certainly is very "adventure" but I feel like it's not really what I prefer out of "adventure" songs. Don't know how to explain it. Decent song, though. The song name reminds me of Pokemon Showdown and makes me think that when I try to climb the ladder, I'm really just climbing up a big mountain.

DNF FW15C (ALL PHASE MIX) > Showdown Mountain = Demon Transformation > Aurora Area

Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea - Octopunch
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ - Soul to Burn

MATCH 1

I do like Fire Island Volcano a lot, but I like Octopunch just a little bit more, so I'm unfortunately gonna have to give this volcano an octopunch. Kinda close, I guess, but the decision's very clear for me. I think it's mainly that 0:32-0:47 is the big highlight of the song for me, but the rest of the song largely doesn't get me as excited, so Octopunch is just the better song overall.

MATCH 2

Very easy match here. There's some Monkey Ball songs I enjoy, but overall, I'm not the biggest fan of the game's music. Not that I think it's bad (I don't), but I feel like stuff like Space Colony is pretty representative of a lot of the songs I've heard from the Monkey Ball games before, and it's just not something that aligns all that well with my tastes. Can't really put into words why, though.

Soul to Burn is cool, hype rock music, and that's something that definitely aligns much better with my tastes.

Octopunch > Soul to Burn = Fire Island Volcano > Space Colony

Xenoblade Chronicles - Gaur Plains
Xenoblade Chronicles X - The key we've lost [Final Boss Theme]

MATCH 1

Under My Control really is a cool song. Probably the song that could make a match like this the closest. Still, though, Gaur Plains is also a fantastic song from the Xenoblade Chronicles setlist, so it's a very easy decision here.

MATCH 2

Earthen Labyrinth is a neat song, but I don't care too much for parts like 0:00-0:08. Feels a bit circus-y and I guess that doesn't interest me all that much. The rest of it is pretty cool though!

The key we've lost is a really hype song that I enjoy a lot. Really nice melody that feels very climactic. The only thing I don't really care for are the glitchy parts in the vocals towards the end. Another easy decision.

Gaur Plains > The key we've lost [Final Boss Theme] > Under My Control > Earthen Labyrinth

Blue Reflection - Sayonara (ALL PHASE MIX)
Hollow Knight - Nightmare King

MATCH 1

Sayonara is really good! I love that soft piano for the first 2 or so minutes. Much of the other two parts of this song (I assume it's 3 phases like TIGAR and DNF) is the usual DnB + violin and piano stuff that I like a lot about this game's music. I really enjoyed the brief cameo of Blue Reflection (song) as well, since that's another one of those soft piano songs that I enjoy a lot from this game. Probably my favorite of the All Phase Mixes, though it still doesn't beat Overdose for overall favorite song!

Positive Force is a really nice song as well. Wouldn't say it's my favorite song from VVVVVV (that would probably go to Potential for Anything), but it still has the usual melodic strength of other songs from this game that I like.

MATCH 2

Tough match 2, but not exactly for the best reasons. My reaction to Nightmare King is pretty much the exact opposite of Mycro. I love the dark melody and harmony throughout this song, but strongly dislike 1:30-2:12. Quakes has some nice melodic elements to it, but it feels drowned out by rhythm game noise. I'd say Nightmare King is slightly the preferred song here. If only that 1:30-2:12 part of Nighmare King weren't there, it would be a tad bit easier of a match. I think they're both decent songs here, so it's not like it's a match where I hate both songs, but it's more that these songs have potential, but just do something I don't particularly care for.

Sayonara (ALL PHASE MIX) > Positive Force > Nightmare King > Quakes

Funny enough, I was just thinking about what a Mycro Umineko set might look like. rhythm-changer and psy-chorus were givens. I actually thought that Endless Nine might've been a good pick for you, so I'm glad I got that right. I should've thought of Surrounding, but I nearly forgot about that track lol.

This is just kind of a knee-jerk response to this based off of what I remember from the setlists, but I'd say:

Winner's Bracket Final Four
Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Blue Reflection
VVVVVV
Caravan Stories

Loser's Bracket Final Four
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea
Xenoblade Chronicles
Pokmon Super Mystery Dungeon
Kirby's Return to Dream Land

I like Bunwaii Desert and Raging Spirits a lot, but I think VVVVVV has better songs overall. Blue Reflection and VVVVVV might be close if I compared the two lists more closely? It doesn't feel like it in my mind, but like I said, I didn't put a whole lot of thought into this. Loser's Bracket is pretty simple to rank for me, on the contrary.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni - dreamenddischarger
Murasaki Tsurugi - Speartip of Judgment
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ - My Blaze, My Truth

MATCH 1

Raging Spirits was a very noteworthy song from VGMC13. I really liked it a lot, and I still do! Very pretty melody with some great harmonizing going on. I said in the previous match Caravan Stories was in that Bunwaii Desert was my favorite song, but I almost forgot Raging Spirits existed lol. Despite that fact, Raging Spirits, I'd say, is actually my favorite song from the game that I've heard.

dreamenddischarger's just too strong of an opponent, unfortunately, as much as I'd like to vote for Raging Spirits. zts' Umineko stuff is just so good. Funny enough, I actually don't care all that much for his non-VGM trance stuff, but I consistently love the music he's put out for Umineko. Probably the closest I've been to voting against the Umineko song and likely will be the closest in this entire contest once it's over, though it's still a pretty easy choice here.

MATCH 2

Xenoblade Chronicles - Engage the Enemy
Pokmon Super Mystery Dungeon - Second Dark Matter Battle
Super Monkey Ball 2 - Monkey Race 2 Advanced Track

No time for writeups unfortunately. Second match is very close. Third match is too, but the songs aren't as good. I'd say Engage the Enemy is the best song up today and it seems quite a few people share that opinion lol.

Witch Hunt has a demo out of Ciconia if anyone wasn't aware and wants to check it out before the actual release.

https://witch-hunt.com/stage_cic.html

Spark the Electric Jester - Lunar Bass
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea - Stella ~ Part 2
Caligula - Suicide Prototype

MATCH 1

C-R-O-W-N-E-D just kinda makes me go "hey it's those Kirby motifs, neat!" but at the same time, it doesn't really suit my tastes all that much. Has a bit of an orchestra feel to it, but not the kind that's exciting to me.

From my RtVGM writeup of Lunar Bass: "Really nice song! The instrumentation's very good. I like the piano a lot and the rest of the instruments work really well with this song. The changes from a slower-paced piano to a more upbeat song work nicely here as well." I'll add onto this a bit by saying that it's easy for me to jam out to this song, which is definitely a good thing. Everything just flows really nicely as well, adding onto that last sentence. Probably deserves a better score than what I gave it in RtVGM now that I think about it. Will probably change that eventually.

MATCH 2

It seems the RNG gods are having a lot of fun at my expense with the matchups Shallie songs have been getting as of late. This is the second time in a row now that I've been faced with a ridiculously close match when it shows up. I mean, Silhouette of Thirst vs. You Will Know Our Names was a crazy good match too, but at least I had a clear choice there! Okay, enough of that now, onto the match!

Hartmann's Youkai Girl is a very iconic Touhou song and for good reason! It's just a really energetic and hype song. My favorite part's definitely the softer part from 1:14-2:00. Possibly my favorite Subterranean Animism song? There are quite a few good choices from that particular game, so it's hard to say.

This probably would've been more easily and quickly decided if it was Part 3, but when I originally had it in my list, quite a few people mentioned that they liked Part 2 more, so Part 2 is what I stuck with! While I really enjoy the energy from Part 3, Part 2 has a very pretty instrumentation that I like a lot as well. It's still a pretty tough decision to make just like Scorpio vs. XIO_PROCEED was, but I have a bit of a clearer preference in mind so no abstention from me this time. Sincere apologies to Hartmann's Youkai Girl though. It's super close, but Stella Part 2 just barely wins my vote here.

MATCH 3

Oh no, really good songs from my nomination's opponents twice in the same day! Yakou Mori is really good for the first 2 minutes or so, but gets a lot less good after that. I really enjoy 1:20-1:49! Feels like some kind of motivational music to play in the background alongside footage of people hiking and mountain climbing or something like that.

Okay, in hindsight, Suicide Prototype might have been a really bad inclusion to this list lol. Especially at the #4 slot instead of like #6 or something. I happen to like this song a lot, but it only recently dawned on me that this song is very not board 8. Possibly anti-b8 outside of Japanese vocals. Might be a thing the Siiva crowd likes more, but I know they're a bit averse to Japanese vocals, so that might turn a few of them away from this too. Yakou Mori feels like the more "board 8" song, so if Caligula goes down in this round because of that, you can blame me haha. I really should've put like Originality Incident in this spot instead, but way too late now oops! Well here's to hoping that enough people here like DnB to give this song a win. Anyway, as for the song itself, I don't actually have much to say about it. I just think it's a really cool song. I've fallen a bit out of favor with it though compared to when I nominated the list, so that only adds to my slight regret for including this song. I still think it's really good though so it's a clear vote for Suicide Prototype over Yakou Mori.

Stella ~ Part 2 > Hartmann's Youkai Girl = Suicide Prototype > Lunar Bass > Yakou Mori > C-R-O-W-N-E-D

Really good day today!

Xenoblade Chronicles - You Will Know Our Names
Drakengard 3 - Egregori
beatmania IIDX 24 SINOBUZ - Seaside Labyrinth (Long Version)

MATCH 1

This time, You Will Know Our Names is in a match where it doesn't hurt me to have to vote one song over the other! Such a great song.

Route 209 is definitely one of the better route themes in DPP. Very relaxing song, but unfortunately, You Will Know Our Names is just too good to pass up here.

MATCH 2

Gentle Slope Cave is the less good Pokemon song up today. Pretty sure this has showed up in BOST before so I might be repeating myself here, but it's a pretty fun, whimsical song to listen to, but outside of that, I don't find this song to be all that noteworthy.

Egregori is incredibly good and I'm very happy to see this show up again. No contest here with regards to deciding my vote.

MATCH 3

Seaside Labyrinth is really cool! It's like future funk that's actually done well. Great vibes and all around sounds really nice.

Okay I actually didn't know that Phantasy Star Online was developed by the team behind the Sonic series so I was wondering why there was a Sonic logo in the video lol. Anyway, Day Light's decent, but I don't find myself being too invested in this song.

Egregori = You Will Know Our Names > Seaside Labyrinth (Long Version) > Route 209 (Night) > Gentle Slope Cave > Day Light

Strong top 4 today!

Pokmon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum - Route 216 (Night)
Hollow Knight - City of Tears
Phantasy Star Online - Crossing3084

MATCH 1

Kinda surprised that this is the alt song! I feel like this is a very beloved song by Pokemon fans in general. Though, I guess it might be that b8'ers in particular might not necessarily be a fan of this? I have no clue whether or not that's likely lol. Anyway, the first 44 seconds of this is so nice. Very dreamy and calming. The rest of the song is really nice too, but I think I like that beginning part a bit more.

Dawn is some pretty good trance music, but Route 216's more my thing.

MATCH 2

City of Tears is really pretty! Another very calming and relaxing song. I feel like this song shares some similarities with that League of Legends song that was the last one to appear before it was eliminated, but I find City of Tears to be a lot better. Don't know what it is. If I had to guess, I'd say the instrumentation is different enough in a way that appeals much more to my tastes than the League song.

I was hoping for more metal, but instead, The Beginning just gives me horror cinematic music, which isn't really something I'm too enthusiastic about. Interesting song, but not something that I particularly want to listen to.

MATCH 3

Venom's the type of banger rhythm game music that I can get into quite a bit. Not much to say about it, though. It's the usual fast-paced rhythm game music and it's pretty good at what it does.

Boy, today's songs are giving us a pretty chill listening session, huh? I don't mind at all, though. There's definitely plenty of room in my music tastes for chill music. I really like those first 14 seconds a lot. There's just something about it that's really appealing. The rest of the song's pretty similar so I like it too. It feels like the kind of music that would play while in some kind of technologically advanced society. That might very well be the kind of setting the Phantasy Star series takes place in, so I guess that makes sense haha. Pretty close, but I'm more in the mood for Crossing3084 right now.

Crossing3804 > Venom > Route 216 (Night) = City of Tears > Dawn > The Beginning

Pokmon Super Mystery Dungeon - Fire Island Volcano
Drakengard 3 - Kuroi Uta - The Black Song
Murasaki Tsurugi - Fortune and Misfortune Come in Strange Clothes

MATCH 1

Don't care much for the boingy instrument in the beginning, but the rest of it is really cool! Reminds me a lot of some of the Ragnarok Online II stuff that's showed up in this contest. Really cool Celtic sound going on with the fast-paced violin playing and I'm very much a fan of songs with that kind of sound! 0:32-0:47 is probably my favorite part of this song.

I like the kind of soft piano and violin stuff going on in Rapal a lot. Pretty close match, but I like Fire Island Volcano a little bit more.

MATCH 2

Kuroi Uta's such a nice song! Really pretty instrumentation with great vocals. Hard to go wrong with that!

Hopes and Dreams is a nice song, albeit kinda overrated. Don't really have much to say about it.

MATCH 3

Route 42's not really anything special to me. Pokemon music is usually good to me, but a lot of times, it's just a pleasant listen and not really anything spectacular. Route 42 applies here.

Fortune and Misfortune is something that got a lot better to me the more I listened to it! And that was just in the first listen of it. Really cool song! I like the melody from 0:40-1:04 quite a bit, even if I'm not the biggest fan of the effects put on that guitar.

Kuroi Uta - The Black Song > Fire Island Volcano > Rapal > Fortune and Misfortune Come in Strange Clothes > Hopes and Dreams > Route 42

Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Hidra Heteromycin
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea - Octopunch
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Aria of the Soul

MATCH 1

Holy hell why is Hidra Heteromycin so good? This right now is my Ar nosurge flavor of the month, which means I regularly listen to this song a lot currently. The j-rock/metal style of this song is always much appreciated by me, but this song adds some extra things to it that is very much to my tastes to make this even better. Going chronologically, 0:10-0:34 is really great with the chanting and violin. The vocals from 1:31-2:42 are just amazing and one of the main highlights of this song for me. It's like Yuki Kajiura in Godsibb but even better. I love the melody, but I especially love the vocal harmonizing going on. The guitar solo starting at 3:05 is really nice too. Having the drums and guitar added back to that slower part at 4:15 is a nice touch as well. All-around incredible song that I'd probably vote for over at least 90% of the songs in this contest. Likely more than that, to be honest. Kinda wish I could go back in time to VGMC12 and cast a vote for Hidra Heteromycin for the finals match, as much as I like Sunshine Coastline. Really happy that this song was able to show up.

Not sure how most people feel about this Silver Will vs. the Super Arrange version, but I happen to like this version more. I actually like this song a lot. 0:04-0:15 is really nice with all the layered instruments coming together. The main violin melody is really nice as well. I think that when I first heard this song, I didn't like it as much as I do now, but it got better the more I listened to it. This would definitely be a strong contender in most matches, but Hidro Heteromycin is way too good to pass up here.

MATCH 2

You're My Number One is probably my favorite Sonic R song. I really like the melody in the vocals and it's just a nice, upbeat song to listen to.

Despite me putting it at #3, Octopunch might actually be one of the weaker Shallie songs in the list for me? I put it this high because to my memory, it performed well in VGMC in the past and people seem to like it a lot. I do like it a lot too, even if it's not as good as some other select songs from the game, so me saying it's one of the weaker ones doesn't actually mean all that much lol. It does mean that the match is surprisingly a bit close and perhaps the closest I've been to voting against my own nomination, but I still like Octopunch slightly more. I like the instrumentation a lot. It feels very..."Mediterranean" if I had to describe it in a word. I don't know, that's just the first word that comes to mind lol.

MATCH 3

While I think they're good, I can't say that I really like the original or Smash versions of Aria of the Soul. They're nice to listen to, but something about those two songs just holds them back for me. The guitar solo in the Smash version is pretty nice, though.

Cosmos Eternal's just not my kind of song. I liked the more indie rock sounding stuff that came from the previous songs that showed up from this game, but this one's just "10 minute long jazz fusion piece" and that's generally not the type of song I tend to enjoy.

Hidra Heteromycin > Octopunch = Silver Will > You're My Number One > Aria of the Soul > Cosmos Eternal

Really good top 4!

VVVVVV - Potential for Anything
Einhnder - Afterimage
Mekazoo - Sinful Syncopation

MATCH 1

Potential for Anything is one of my favorite VVVVVV songs besides Popular Potpourri. I really love those upward progression of notes starting at 0:16 that goes on throughout the whole song. The melody manages to be pretty decent on top of that, so that makes for a pretty good song!

Under My Control is pretty cool, but I feel like there's something off about many of the parts that I enjoy that make me not enjoy them as much. 0:39 I feel is the best example of that since I can actually put into words what it is. With this, I feel like it overstays its welcome. Like it just goes on for a bit too long. Probably would've liked that bit more if it was shorter.

Blue Reflection - OVERDOSE
Xenoblade Chronicles - Gaur Plains
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ - Believe It!!

MATCH 1

Vertex, where were you when it was this game vs. Ar nosurge?!? Probably blocked off from being able to be an opponent, but the point is that I wouldn't have had to vote against Color-Carrying Wind if it was against Vertex. Anyway, onto the actual match, Vertex, despite being higher up in the setlist, is actually the weaket song I've heard from this game so far. It's good, but it's just kinda "there" compared to the other songs.

I love Overdose a ton! For sure my favorite Blue Reflection song out of the ones I've listened to so far. Just a really great upbeat, happy song. These types of songs from Gust games are ones that I tend to really like.

MATCH 2

Umineko no Naku Koro ni - goldenslaughterer
NieR: Automata - Amusement Park (Dynamic - Vocals)
Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero? - Sweets Palace

MATCH 1

Funny enough, goldenslaughterer is probably my least favorite zts song in Umineko, but it's still really good to the point that it's the best song of the day without a doubt. I definitely prefer its Chiru counterpart, resurrected replayer, but like I said, I still really like goldenslaughterer. The trance buildup is cool and all, but the song really starts to get good for me once the strings hit at 1:12. The entire rest of the song from there on is just incredible. I just think it has a lot of things that I love about Umineko's soundtrack as a whole that I can't put into words too well. FL81 and rwlh described the dark and grim atmosphere of this song much better than I could have, so I'll pretty much second their comments on that and say that they're great at describing an aspect of this song that I think it does a great job at utilizing.

Really thankful that it rolled Lullaby of a Deserted Hell because I'd have a heart attack trying to decide between goldenslaughterer and Hartmann's Youkai Girl if it rolled that. I do actually like Lullaby of a Deserted Hell a lot, though. Interestingly enough, while I'm normally fine with the ZUNpets, I definitely prefer the parts of this song that don't have them. Maybe this is part of why some people were mentioning that this song is a good song for people who tend to not like Touhou music? Since I think they're used more sparingly than most Touhou songs, especially ones from the earlier Windows games. I think it's a pretty calming song with a nice melody, but I just love goldenslaughterer too much to vote for it here.

MATCH 2

Umemoto's not bad, but not particularly impressive either. Pretty inoffensive to me and easy to listen to, but it doesn't really stand out in any way.

Amusement Park isn't my preferred Nier Automata song, but I still like it quite a bit. I can still picture the machines throwing confetti in the air while this song plays in the background. Pretty easy match here, but my vote could've been different against a song like Every Day is Night.

MATCH 3

Don't really care much for Freezing Space except for that piano bit towards the end. That part's pretty neat, but the rest of it is fairly average.

Sweets Palace is definitely more my style. I wouldn't say that epic orchestra-esque sound is necessarily my thing, but in a song like this, it works out just fine.

Caravan Stories - Bunwaii Desert
Killer Instinct (2013) - I'm Back (to Rise)
LaTale - Coal Mine (Dotnuri ver.)

MATCH 1

Super tough match here because these are both really good songs. I just really love the instrumentation in both songs. Lilieze is really energetic with a really cool way of utilizing strings and the harpsichord. I can't exactly describe how but it manages to do all this in a way that I really enjoy. Bunwaii Desert is also really good. Gotta be my favorite song in the Caravan Stories setlist. Bunwaii Desert also has a really strong energy to it with a very adventurous sound that I enjoy. I think I slightly favor Bunwaii Desert here but man is this a strong match lol.

MATCH 2

Terraria Calamity - Servants of the Scourge
Undertale - Undertale
Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wir fliegen

MATCH 1

This match makes me feel nostalgic about VGMC13. Still can't wait for the next one! Anyway, I still like It's Not Over's somber piano and guitar, but Servants of the Scourge definitely brings more to the table for me.

MATCH 2

I'm forgetting at this point which songs have shown up and which songs haven't lol. I think Mirror Temple has? Anyway, Mirror Temple's nice and chill, but here, I like the coziness of Undertale (song) more. Also, I thought we were supposed to add (song) at the end of the vote form! Why do the rules say we can't add it now?!? Just a joke in case it wasn't obvious

MATCH 3

I mentioned this in the discord server the other day, but man Wir fliegen such a great song to be used as the alt! Just a really nice song from start to finish. Specific things about the song that I like the most would be the acoustic guitar from 0:14-0:27 where it's the most prominent as well as the chorus. 1:57-2:13 too, on the subject of the vocals.

REVENGE OF ARKANOID is interesting, but ultimately not my thing. Just don't particularly care much for this weird funky sound. I think in the right context, it can work for me, but not here.

Wir fliegen > Servants of the Scourge > It's Not Over > Undertale > Mirror Temple (Mirror Magic Mix) > REVENGE OF ARKANOID

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - Ancient Makes
Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea - Sweep ~ Part 3
Caligula - Sadistic Queen

MATCH 1

Ancient Makes is still pretty good! I still think Prelude Bedroom's decent too, but it doesn't really hold up to Ancient Makes in my eyes.

MATCH 2

In retrospect, putting Sweep at #6 might've been a bit of an odd decision. Seeing all the discussion on the kind of Gust stuff the board generally likes, it looks like this song is more reflective of the board's taste in Gust music than Silhouette of Thirst and Scorpio. Well, in any case, this is fortunately a Gust vs. Falcom match where it's an easy vote for one or the other. I just really like Sweep Part 3. Guess we'll see if The Strongest Foe really is a strong foe for Sweep!

MATCH 3

I've actually been listening to Sadistic Queen more often lately! My usual go-to songs from this game would be the ones I have in the 1-3 slots, but I definitely like Sadistic Queen a bit more than I did during the nomination phase! The chorus is super catchy. I feel like not a whole lot of people will share my opinion on this (maybe I'm wrong), but one thing I like about this song and other songs from this game is the way that Reina Ueda vocalizes the lyrics. Parts like 2:44-2:48 are the main focus of this. It's not that I generally like vocals that sound like this, it's just that the way her singing there gives off this impression of "hi, I'm crazy!" is honestly appealing to me. I don't know what it is. Of course, I think her regular singing voice is great too lol. She did a great job with the songs in this game!

Skyward Fire's pretty neat. I'm all for listening to chill 90's house music kind of stuff, but I guess I'd prefer this have a stronger melody or something. Or maybe just a little more upbeat/energetic. Still good, though!

Sweep ~ Part 3 > Sadistic Queen > Ancient Makes > Prelude Bedroom = The Strongest Foe > Skyward Fire

Looks like the video for Sadistic Queen was privated so here's another link for it

Aliens Go Home Run - City
Fire Emblem Fates - Lost in thoughts all alone (EN)
Xenoblade Chronicles X - Theme X

MATCH 1

Has City come up before? Feels like it has, but I'm not sure. Well in the event that it hasn't, I'll just say that it's a pretty neat song. Not really my style of music, but it's still a pleasant song to listen to.

Still don't care for Floro Sapiens Cavern much.

MATCH 2

Man both songs are really good here! Still really like Madness a lot. Probably would've been an easier vote for Lost in Thoughts All Alone if it were one of the other Einhander songs up, but this particular matchup is really close. I could probably go either way here, but my gut says Lost in Thoughts All Alone.

MATCH 3

Theme X is pretty good even if it isn't my preferred type of Xenoblade X song.

Captain NEO's kinda meh. Don't really feel too strongly about it one way or the other.

Lost in Thoughts All Alone > Madness > City = Theme X > Floro Sapiens Cavern > Captain NEO (Confusion Mix)

Spark the Electric Jester - Ultimate Final Boss
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana - A-to-Z
Tangledeep - Mirai the Heroine

Fairly easy matches except for match 1 sort of.

Chrono Cross - Drowning Valley
Thousand Memories - A Little Witch Struggles
Etrian Odyssey V - Town - Source of the Morning Glow's Smiling Face

MATCH 1

Celestial Resort is decent, but not all that great. Kind of a mish-mash of various EDM sounds that doesn't really result in anything particularly spectacular. Not bad though!

Drowning Valley is definitely more my thing. I really like this song. Very cool nature flute kind of song. The more darker parts add a very mysterious vibe to it that I like. Like you're going in search for something and you're dealing with the unknown of what might be there to stop you in your tracks. Or maybe the thing itself that your searching for is something foreboding.

Oops suddenly plans came up and now I won't have time to come back later to do the rest of the writeups so you guys only get this one for match 1 today. Sorry!

Granado Espada - Rhapsody
Terraria Calamity - Filthy Mind
Guilty Gear X - Bloodstained Lineage

MATCH 1

Splendid Form is a pretty interesting song. Very "computer-sounding" if that makes any sense. Not really the kind of song that falls into my specific tastes, but it sounds nice enough to be considered decent to good.

Granado Espada really does have such a diverse soundtrack. I feel like every song I've heard from this game so far is pretty different from any of the other ones. Maybe if I were to dig through the whole soundtrack, I'd find some sort of similarities between songs, but that's besides the point. I like hearing the piano in video game music, and Rhapsody does a good enough job at providing a decent piano melody for me to be interested in this song. Possibly unintentional but 1:33 sounds really close to Turkish March lol.

MATCH 2

Oh no it's "decrease your electronic device's aural output"! Just kidding, it's an actually legit song. I guess this song is where the intro to that video came from? Or possibly the other way around as an homage. This song's really cool! I especially like the fast-paced parts with the electric guitar. The DM DOKURO outro is slightly different in this video!

Don't have much to say about Aerial Walkways. Not bad. Not great either.

MATCH 3

Cry, For IDOLA The Holy feels like the type of JRPG music that I tend to dislike. I wouldn't exactly say I dislike this song, though, it's just not particularly interesting. Like there's stuff in it such as violins and choirs that I like in a lot of different songs, but here they're just not used in a way that I find exceptional.

At first, I felt like Bloodstained Lineage was more of the usual Guilty Gear music, but the more I listened to it, the more I liked it than the usual songs from this franchise. The dark sound this song has is really nice. The organ at 3:45 is a really cool touch to the song. Other than that, cool rock song just like many of the other songs this franchise has to offer.

Filthy Mind > Bloodstained Lineage > Rhapsody > Splendid Form > Aerial Walkways > Cry, For IDOLA The Holy

Scorpio
Keeper of Lust
Run

Hello and welcome again to last minute abridged writeups: Live from my college campus library edition.

MATCH 1

Ahhhh why do this two songs have to be this good! Gust vs. Falcom match where both songs are very much to my tastes. Slightly favoring Scorpio here but I really like Aoki Negai too.

MATCH 2

Spooky spooky spooky. Thats what Beasts as Black as Night sounds like, but unfortunately, its the kind of Falcom stuff thats significantly weaker to me. Wouldve been a lot easier if this was Scorpios opponent and Aoki Negai was here! Then I couldve voted for both songs.

Keeper of Lust is pretty good! Keeping the usual theme of Persona music being good to me.

MATCH 3

Run is much less tiring than the previous Dusk song. Intro is Intro. Please do not make this the vote to tie this match for the 3rd time in a row thank you.

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - Sophisticated Fight
Kirby: Triple Deluxe - Soul of Sectonia
Etrian Odyssey IV - Town - A Town Embraced by the Azure Sky

Been pretty busy lately so I don't really have a lot of time to think about stuff to write for full writeups so here are some more abridged versions of my thoughts.

MATCH 1

I believe last time, the song from Project S-11 was good enough to get past a lackluster opponent, in part because the Project S-11 song did some things that appealed to me. This time, though, Geil Glacier Park is more typical of the kind of stuff I don't really like about the music I've heard from this game thus far.

Sophisticated Fight is very good! I feel like with songs like this that NFUN tends to play for people often, I end up liking them more. Not that I ever disliked this song, but now this song feels a little more special? I don't really know, but what I do know is that Sophisticated Fight is a clear vote here.

MATCH 2

Close match. Both really fun songs to listen to, but Soul of Sectonia is the kind of Kirby song I actually like and I'm feeling it just a tad bit more.

MATCH 3

Another very close match. Beyond the Seven is a very inoffensive EDM song that's nice to listen to. I really like peaceful songs like A Town Embraced by the Azure Sky. I'd probably rate these two songs about equal, but I'm really in the mood for peaceful music today so I'm voting for this one.

Drakengard 3 - Antipurity
Chrono Trigger - Battle With Magus
Mega Man 5 - Gyro Man

MATCH 1

It's a good thing that the matchup with Antipurity is what it is, because Antipurity is definitely my least favorite song in the Drakengard 3 setlist. Like I enjoy this significantly less than many other songs from this game. Pretty much night and day between Antipurity and Egregori from the last match Drakengard 3 was in. Antipurity definitely gets better when the vocals come in, but overall, I'm not particularly enthusiastic about it. Similarly, Underworld doesn't really do anything that makes me feel any specific way about it. Just kinda blends in I guess without really doing anything noteworthy. Antipurity edges out here.

MATCH 2

Shudder is pretty cool, but not really as good as the other Einhander songs that have shown up. I find it slightly amusing that the rap sample this song uses has been used in other songs in video games too. Kinda makes me wonder where exactly the composers got it from. Maybe some old sound library or something?

This is kind of amusing to say, but I remember listening to Battle With Magus for the first time via a World of Warcraft video I watched like 10 years ago. Not sure what I thought at the time, but the fact that I remember something like that implies that I thought the song was really good. And it is really good! I don't actually have much to say about it, it's just a really cool battle theme.

MATCH 3

Pretty close match. Gyro Man is decent for Mega Man music. I like 0:27-0:43 in particular. Reflections of Violence isn't quite the kind of metal that I prefer. It has this slow and steady, but also repetitive rhythm that I don't really care much for in metal. I guess my ideal style of metal is very expressive and fast-paced if I had to describe it in words (more symphonic styles of black metal is a great example of this). I was initially feeling Reflections of Violence more, but the more I listened to it, the quicker I got tired of it. Gyro Man doesn't really suffer from that problem, even though I'd say I prefer metal to Mega Man music generally, so Gyro Man gets the vote in the end.

Battle With Magus > Shudder > Gyro Man > Antipurity > Reflections of Violence > Underworld

VVVVVV - Pressure Cooker
Fire Emblem Fates - Dusk Falls (Fire)
Aliens Go Home Run - Level Editor

Too tired to do full writeups, so here's the abridged version:

Pressure Cooker good. Better VVVVVV song than the last one for sure. Opponent not as good for PMD.

Mechanism Turned On too much Mycro for me. Dusk Fulls isn't as good as Road Taken or whatever it was, but it's decent.

Both songs are really good wow I wish I could vote for Eyes on Me but Level Editor was surprisingly good. Definitely a new favorite for me from this game's soundtrack.

Blue Reflection - TIGAR (ALL PHASE MIX)
Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia - Overcoming the Trials
Dusk - Twin Terrors

No time for writeups today, sorry!

DoDonPachi Daifukkatsu Black Label - Vertigo (Stage5)
Aliens Go Home Run - Stadium
Hollow Knight - Mantis Lords

MATCH 1

Oh god why. Why does this matchup have to happen? I really really don't want to to vote against the Ar nosurge song here, but I have to. Color-Carrying Wind is unfortunately to me the weakest song in the 1-6 slots. I do like it quite a bit, though. The marimba or whatever instrument that is gives a playful feel to the song. I feel like the melody falls flat a bit for me at times, like 0:11-0:21. Other parts like 1:53-2:08 are really good, though! I think in general, the parts where the violin is prominent are the best ones in this song.

Can't really explain why I like Vertigo as much as I do, it just has a fun melody to it I guess. Especially the part starting at 1:20. I really like that part. I think Color-Carrying Wind is the only song in the Ar nosurge setlist that I'd vote against in this matchup. I'd 100% vote XIO_PROCEED and EXPAJA I'd probably vote for too. The 1-3 slots would be an extremely easy vote for the Ar nosurge song as well, if they had the chance of being rolled in this match. I say I have to vote for Vertigo here, but I really don't want to see Color-Carrying Wind lose here since I want Ar nosurge to go far. Despite voting against Color-Carrying Wind, I feel like I'll be sadder if it does lose here haha. At least there's still losers bracket, though, if it does.

MATCH 2

Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism. - Last Remote
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana - Next Step Toward the Unknown
Gravity Rush - Discovery of Gravitation

MATCH 1

Dialga/Palkia Battle is a song that's mostly valuable to me for nostalgia reasons. As a standalone song, it's pretty decent, but not exceptionally good. I don't think Pokemon battle themes are the kind of songs that stick out to me personally from the series in the sense of liking them a lot musically. I think I'm more partial to route and town themes, generally speaking.

Once again, Touhou as a series generally has really good music to me. Last Remote is one song that I happen to like a lot. I think it's really good from start to finish, but 0:00-0:32 I think is the best part of the song.

MATCH 2

Next Step Towards the Unknown is pretty good, but a bit weak for Falcom music. Really like the guitar solo towards the middle of the song. I guess it's just not quite the style that I end up loving a lot from their games.

Janus beat me to the nico nico nii joke which means that I don't have to be the one to make it. Thanks for taking one for the team! I feel like this is a song that I should a like a lot during certain parts, but I'm fairly indifferent on it as a whole. Not sure what it is, I just didn't find myself getting all that interested in the song as I listened to it.

MATCH 3

Discovery of Gravitation's a really nice song! That soft piano intro is very nice, but I don't like that E note at 0:22. I think it makes a tritone with the backing piano so that's probably why. Tritones in this style of music, I imagine, are not things that would be well-received by me. I also don't like when that E on the violin comes in either. Not quite for the same reason, I just don't think it fits well. The rest of the song is really pretty! The instrumentation there is pretty nice.

Not really all that interested in Healthy Unicorn Girl. Guess it just doesn't really do anything to draw me in.

Last Remote > Discovery of Gravitation = Next Step Towards the Unknown > Battle! Dialga/Palkia > Neeko, the Curious Chameleon > Healthy Unicorn Girl

Umineko no Naku Koro ni - Umineko no Naku Koro ni (song)
NieR: Automata - City Ruins [Rays of Light] (Dynamic - Vocals)
Pokmon Gold and Silver - Azalea Town

MATCH 1

Aaaaa I love when Akiko Shikata goes heavy on the Celtic sound like this. The buildup with the chanting to that amazing flute part is just great. Of course, it's just as good when Akiko Shikata's actually singing that melody. The harmonizing of this starting at 3:29 is an especially nice touch to that as well. Speaking of chanting, the whole "BEATORICHE" part is also super good. Really the whole song is, but I guess I'm just highlighting the best of the best parts haha.

God I feel like One Who Gets in Our Way is gonna be such a tough opponent for Umineko the song. Maybe that's just because I really enjoy both songs, but I'm sure it will be regardless of that. The opening for this song is super cool. Really memorable and high-energy. The rest of the song has some really nice melody and harmonization with the strings going on too, so the whole thing's really cool! I'd be happy to vote for this song over many other songs in the contest, but I can't over the one it's up against now.

MATCH 2

City Ruins is one of my favorite Nier Automata songs! I only recently watched a Nier Automata playthrough out of curiosity maybe two months ago and I always looked forward to the parts when the player had to do something in the city just so I could hear this song. It's really peaceful but has a hint of wistfulness to it that really piques my interests. There's just such a nice melody coming from the piano and backing strings as well as the vocals. I also love the instrumentation for the piano melody that shows up in the Shade version with the guitar and the tambourine, but I digress. I also really like the vocal inflections of the singer from 1:26-1:54. That's one thing that I prefer to the Shade version.

Giving my liking of the Zakuzaku songs I've heard so far, I was really worried that this match was gonna be really tough. Fortunately, Natureends is a bit weaker compared to the songs I've heard from this game so far, so it's not really that tough. This song had a few unexpected things to throw at me though! First of all, it was an interesting surprise to find Romantic TP (A.K.A. the ZUNpet) in this song. I can't actually tell if it's a legit SD-90 being used or the knock-off THFont.sf2. The second surprise being the Banbards melody appearing in the song. I actually like Banbards a lot, so it would've been tough if City Ruins was against that song (though that would require Banbards actually being from Zakuzaku)! The rest of the song, though, isn't terribly intriguing. It's definitely good, but I don't think it's as noteworthy as the other songs that have appeared.

MATCH 3

Azalea Town is probably one of my favorite GSC songs? It's something that's great both in the original GBC chiptune style and the remastered version of HGSS which I can't exactly say about a lot of Pokemon songs. Just a nice feel-good tune that I like a lot.

Misunderstanding is pretty interesting, but not really as good as the other songs in this setlist. The guitar solo in the middle is pretty cool though!

Umineko no Naku Koro ni (song) > City Ruins [Rays of Light] (Dynamic - Vocals) = One Who Gets in Our Way > Azalea Town > Natureends > Misunderstanding

VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action - All Systems, Go!
Spark the Electric Jester - Flower Mountain Canyon
Hypnospace Outlaw - Formations (Basidia)

MATCH 1

All Systems Go is one of the better VA-11 HALL-A songs in my opinion so nice to see that this showed up today! Relaxing and also energetic at the same time! Seems contradictory to say that, I know, but it makes sense in the way I feel! Like the melody's pretty soothing but the beat is nice and energized. I guess an analogy I can give is driving really fast in a convertible down a scenic stretch of road with the roof down. The view is pretty and the wind flowing through your hair is relaxing (unless you're me and take the time to comb your hair the right way and don't like it when the wind messes it up), but at the same time, the drive's fast-paced and exciting. I suppose my favorite songs from this game are the really retro-sounding ones like this.

Aw another bad matchup for Laurarararara. I still like this song quite a bit, but All Systems Go is the clear choice in my mind. I think the same thing happened in VGMC when this showed up, this song facing a tough matchup against a better opponent. Ah yeah, looking at the thread title now and it was Full Base. That song was good. And also taken down from Youtube! A sad discovery that I had made one day when I felt like listening to it. Anyway, the thread is unfortunately not archived so I can't just copy/paste my writeup for that. I remember saying that it sounded like Disney music for a scene where people are running around, rushing to work on something important. I still agree with that and I can picture that exact scene in my mind as I listen to it. Probably more or less what I was thinking of the first time I listened to it too. It could've definitely been a vote for this song if it was a weaker VA-11 HALL-A song because they're definitely out there. I don't remember what was in the setlist though besides what had already showed up. Base of the Titans is one song that comes to mind that would be an easy matchup in Laurara's Dance's favor for me.

MATCH 2

Scarlet Forest is a neat song. Very playful in the way that Laurara's Dance is (though I'd vote for that over Scarlet Forest), though in a much more calming form. The inclusion of the Field of Hopes and Dreams motif towards the end of the song is something I like too.

Flower Mountain Canyon is really cool! I like the parts with the grittier synth lead the most! Feels very much like something from Madeon or a similar artist. Upbeat, happy, EDM-sounding music. I can definitely get into this song.

MATCH 3

There's something strangely alluring about Formations (Basidia). I can't really say that it's my kind of music, but I'm liking this song! It's like an interesting indie take on modern pop and EDM styles or something to that effect. There's occasionally some dissonant shifts in the chords and melody as well as in the bass notes that raise a big question mark over my head when I hear it, but the rest of it is cool enough that it's only a minor blemish.

Oh hey it's that vocal shout again. Sounds more fitting for this song since it's a lot more energetic than the last one that showed up. I don't know what to say about this other than that it sounds very Glacier. Pretty sure he was the one that nominated Undercover Cops too, so I guess that makes sense for it to sound that way haha. I like it. Sounds like some kind of 80's dance song or something like that which is an interesting sound to me that I can definitely get behind. I feel like I'd normally vote for something like this, but Formations (Basidia) is really capturing my interest today, so not this time.

All Systems, Go! = Flower Mountain Canyon > Laurara's Dance > Formations (Basidia) > Northern Barramundi > Scarlet Forest

REFLEC BEAT colette - Valanga
CrossCode - Escape Again
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Battle! (Zinnia)

MATCH 1

The Tiger Warrior is an interesting song. The throat singing kind of vocals are a unique touch to this song. Like Mycro said, this definitely feels like you're fighting in some kind of dojo. Probably not my preferred style of Mick Gordon songs, but it's still pretty cool.

Valanga feels like standard rhythm game stuff, but it has a cool melody to it and piano inclusions are always welcome for me, so I can definitely say that I prefer this kind of music to The Tiger Warrior. Really neat song!

MATCH 2

Not much to say about either song here. Both songs, funny enough, feel like CrossCode to me. Something about Hunter's Chance gives me that feeling. Escape Again's what I'm feeling more. Not a big fan of Hunter's Chance's dissonant parts.

MATCH 3

Battle! (Zinnia) is something that honestly surprised me as being from a Pokemon game originally. As someone that only played the games up to gen 5, I was dumbfounded when I first heard this. 0:56-1:23 is just so good. I think I prefer the original slightly more, but this arrangement's still really good.

Wow, The Battle of Little Slugger is significantly better than the last Super Meat Boy song that showed up. Pretty cool battle theme that's fairly engaging to me, melodically.

Battle! (Zinnia) > Valanga > The Battle of Little Slugger > Escape Again > The Tiger Warrior > Hunter's Chance

Thousand Memories - Vertex Cradle
Super Smash Bros. Melee - Menu 2
Mekazoo - Torrid Tumble

MATCH 1

Vertex Candle's really cool! Really powerful strings and brass coming together in a way that sounds super neat. Now this is a song that sounds adventurous in a way that I really enjoy!

YU-NO (song) is pretty calming, but it's kind of weak for the music box style. Granted, I think I tend to like music box arranges a little less than arrangements with the usual instruments, but this particular song kind of goes into "uninteresting" territory.

MATCH 2

Menu 2 is a nice and peaceful, and at times playful, arrangement of the Melee theme that we all know well. Not much to say about it other than I like it.

Stage 5 is pretty nice actually! It has that happy mood to it that I like about Kirby music. Close match, but I'm feeling Menu 2 a bit more.

MATCH 3

Another close match between two songs. I don't really feel that strongly about either song here. They're decent, but not particularly remarkable. Heaven has this neat set of piano chords in the background. Torrid Tumble sounds like a song that would play while you're going on a drive through some rugged terrain. Maybe some wildlife poking their heads out from the brush around you too. Torrid Tumble's probably more my thing? And it's what I'm preferring right now so that's where my vote goes to.

Vertex Cradle > Menu 2 > Stage 5 > Torrid Tumble > Heaven > YU-NO (song)

Middle 4 songs are all really close.