Lurker > dowolf

Clara's best eidolon is E6 by far, but 30% ATK up is absolutely nothing to slouch at.

Got Aventurine in 50 pulls myself. I'm at 3700 def, 135 spd right now when using TOTUM, since I'm stuck at S1 on it. I have no DEF% substats on my speed boots and my helm is somehow really bad, though, so hopefully RNG decides to be kind soon.

@loweffortmemes Your link for Before I Rise is, for whatever reason, missing a verse. (Which does play in game.) Would you be opposed to swapping to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O3mo_tF9Hk ?

+ Heaven Burns Red | Tower of Memories | https://youtu.be/QjOCe8tiyRY
+ Heaven Burns Red | Sailing Ship (Broken ver.) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDQc-pOQTiA
+ Arknights | Operation Wild Scales | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nULX5oKXPwE
+ Last Command | Judgment.exe | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRBsYy2IaCI
+ AFK Journey | Edge of the World | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_LA5jWhfls

yeah, SS is if you finish without entering the final cycle.

finally caught up

warcry is really freaking cool.

i wouldn't mind a shift to 192 if people felt strongly about wanting a smaller contest, but 128 is just not enough.

I'm indifferent on locks, and probably will continue to be until and unless people start making slates. There's some borderline stuff right now where you'll see e.g. people sounding out dozens of songs for the primary purpose of figuring out what people will support before the contest starts. The lock system definitely encourages and empowers that sort of strategy, and I kinda don't like it because like -- we all recognize the power of your early noms having more visibility, and this + locks sort of allows you to both cut the line and then not allow people to switch to things they discover later in the queue. But is it really a big deal? "eh." I'm probably just being Old Woman Yelling at Clouds atm.

As for more powerful supports, I'd previously proposed turning doubles into triples and setting the number of noms needed to lock to 8. That both reduces the number of songs that can get locked, while also allowing three people to get a song they love in the contest if they all triple it. I still really like that plan, but it's been a couple years since I first proposed it and it doesn't look like it's getting adopted >_>

i know i should be happy, but it womps to come this far and then lose two in quick succession >_>

I'm curious to know what you or others think of Judgement.exe vs. Piranha.exe (the track I gave in Secret Santa, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApL8EnBJItM). For... reasons.

Not the biggest fan of Expurgation. Just a mix of it feeling very "rhythm-y" and not liking Tricky's voice, I think.

Blank Fairy is fantastic in context and does its job perfectly and I don't think I want to listen to it outside of that context.

Voided I just have to be in the mood for, I think.

(though FWIW I don't put that much stock in being fully voiced. I tend to click to the next line before the voice acting finishes anyways. With that said, when my first gacha were Hoyoverse stuff and then HBR, discovering that those were very much the exceptions and not the rules in terms of voice acting in gacha was admittedly a surprise.)

KanzarisKelshen posted...

I don't feel like CGs are rare. I'm going over my screenshot folder and LB6 had something like thirty to forty at a quick glance. It's a fairly decent chunk. As for games with equivalent text amounts...I frankly cannot think of any. FGO story updates just dwarf anyone else's stuff. Lostbelt 6 was 600k words, for reference (to its detriment IMO cause it was too padded, but hey). Who else is pumping out even half that many story-relevant lines into their content updates?

Heaven Burns Red releases story at about the same rate (it took me about the same amount of time to get through HBR's C4A2 as it did LB6) and it's fully voiced, including for all events (which probably have more story content than an FGO event?). But it also has a Steam version so I don't have to care about file bloat.

As for CGs, LB6 was a very welcome change in that regard, but I don't know if there had been 30-40 in all of the Lost Belts to that point.

i still don't know how I feel about Pork.

rip tower of memories ;_; so close to a 9. you did good my friendo. It's such a left turn from much of HBR's music, but the Garden of Memories that the Tower's a part of is also a very mysterious thing that remains very unexplained to this day (WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE CAT) so it fits it to a T. I love the ratchet in the rhythm. I love the multiple layers that are doing their own things and pulling you in different directions. It just has this haunting beauty that makes me want to explore and learn more and smash my face against the bosses in hell-mode one more time.

Since this song isn't connected with plot or a specific character, I decided to use the team photo for 31B as the background. They're probably my favorite of the in-game teams. Aoi (the girl in the front) is probably my second favorite character (out of 48, and she's much better in gameplay than my favorite >_>), and the white tiger's name is Byakko and she is also a playable character and is so freaking adorable.

catching up:
black holes made me laugh. Surprise 8-bit remixes are fun.

Underworld Cherry Blossoms reminds me of "evil"/pre-purification Ookami songs. I like it a lot. The creepy laughter sells it.

FINE I'LL READ SAKURA NO UTA GOD. Also whoever decided to unleash a machine translation for a SCA-Ji work should be forced to read nothing but repeated machine translation nonsense for the rest of their life ffs. I can do a translation of the lyrics if people want but also sakura no uta is well known enough that there's probably decent lyrics already out there somewhere.

Spoilers for end of 2.1 MSQ

The Japanese version has Acheron/Yomi recite a tanka here, a form of poetry you can think of as a haiku with two extra 7-syllable lines at the end. I thought it was really cool, and didn't feel like the English quite hit the same literary note, as it were. So I'd like to share my own translation (doing 3-5-3-5-5 syllables because I think that "feels" more like a tanka "feels" in JP):

Rain of tears
Falling and swelling
The Sanzu
Barred from Yomi, to
Tokoyo return

Alternatively, using Greek equivalents to the Shinto aspects (since they did the same renaming Yomi to Acheron):

Rain of tears
Falling and swelling
River Styx
Barred from Hades, back
to Realm Eternal

Wrapped in Black so good. I love that Naganuma swears up and down that it's strictly an ode to coffee, and that he wasn't aware of the context of the Malcolm X speech he sampled from.

I was digging rave of nightmare, and then it did... things. I don't like thinking my PC is crashing >_> I actually think I would've liked Protocol quite a bit more if I didn't hear it right after the Mary track.

Always fun to re-encounter a VGMC classic. My tastes have drifted away from Kanno over the years, but I still have good memories of it. It feels like a great song to just jam with in a quartet of friends.

INTEND YOUR PUNS YOU COWARD. <3 I wish C64 Outrun had started with new stuff rather than just as a crunchy version of the arcade, though.

"Kusaru" is such an interesting choice of words. The subtitles translate it as "tired" (the "I'll sing without getting tired" line) but it's really more like "decay," either in a mental (e.g. depression) or physical (e.g. rotting, crumbling, weathering) way. Honestly "rotting" is the word that first comes to mind in English. I might have done "No matter how much they hate/flame me (depending on the verse), I won't fall apart. I'll still be here, singing." But maybe actually saying "I won't rot away" would be best.

> Outrage Craft Essence

Oh, that's where that comes from. Saw it in a couple videos for challenge quests and just assumed it was forever unavailable, which would've sucked given how useful it is in a game with very little active character swapping.

goodbye, what little RP I had.

Noreaster is so sweet. It feels like two lovers cuddling together on a porch late at night, the one nervous and spilling his heart out and the other consoling him and insisting everything's going to be okay.

Barbara is an honorary bee song.

I really don't like some of the sounds in Natal. Especially since I am at work and currently wearing earbuds. Owwwww

MacArrowny posted...

What did you like about Nayuta pre-6-5?

Edit: oh god I wish I'd realized what this post was about 5 seconds earlier

the secret is just to have zero memory of what any of the characters' names are in AA6.

kinetica is chill. Good chill.

why is my desert in japan??? These are just not desert sounds to me. They're almost Western-esque too, especially with the trumpets. Like something out of Wild Arms. And then we have some chanting. It's all cool and I don't mind it, but outside of the first 5 seconds this is not a "normal" desert theme and as an Arab-esque music aficionado I am kinda oddly disappointed.

Machbeats is incredibly not for me lol.

Kaisou is !!! The layers coming in and just not caring about each other and yet still somehow forming a cohesive whole is so cool. I just wish there were more than three layers, or that it were longer before looping, or something. It feels like there was so much potential here and it owns its 45 second loop but what if there were more.

I wish Theresa clicked for me. I don't know why it doesn't; it almost feels like it should but shrug.

I have no idea if the writing is worse in English, but I absolutely loved Nayuta's story. I was also coming off of CS4+Reverie+Kuro1 when I played it, though, and that's the nadir of Falcom's JP writing to be sure.

I should probably replay AA5 and AA6. My memory of those two games is much weaker than anything else in the series.

TOKAKU=ALMiRAJ is so many things at once. I really like things that are that way, even if I'm not a big fan of some of the things it is.

Similarly, whatever the heck Fake-Bangla is, I might like it? It appeals to me a bit less right now, but I can see it growing on me.

Spell Breaker is what orchestral stuff should sound like. Though it just makes me all the more mournful that PLvPW dropped the ball in so many ways. Love the trumpet + timpani hits.

Yeah, I'd looked into Aster a bit. I really, really wish it weren't gacha but c'est la vie.

Whoa. I had no idea Shimomura had something like Xion in her repetoire. I really like it. Is this supposed to be a crossover with KH?

I lived trying not to fall
Doing whatever it took to hide my weakness
Nerves, pain, loneliness,
It all fueled me at one time or another

When they pointed fingers and laughed
I stared at my shoes and walked here
I put up a brave smile no one could tear apart
While no one saw the nails I dug into my palm

I want to keep marching on
Whether I'm Chosen or not
Now it is time to make a choice

If once, just once
Along the path I feel like I'm being guided down
I catch my breath --
If in all the days I acted strong
Until the end times came
I left a fragment of myself --

I'd wanted to be someone kind
I'd just wanted to be right
Blind to how every brand of justice flouted comes with it a heart
You pointed your finger and said,
"How much is any of that worth?"
Chasing after armchair ideals,
Believing in hope

I never look back,
So I never want to change
No matter if I'm chosen
Now it is time to make a choice

If once, just once
Along the path I feel like I'm being rushed along
I catch my breath --
If all the days I fought to find purpose
Until the end times came
Mark by body with at least a scar --

I cry tears, my voice hoarse
For I have fled from surrender

Emotion rises in me, becomes a birthmark
The scabs from all the acting --
The life of trying clutch at thin threads --
A vexing path along which I struggle

If once, just once
Along the path I feel like I'm being guided down
I catch my breath --
If in all the days I acted strong
Until the end times came
I left a fragment of myself --

Give song

Give love

last moment is a bit too rhythmy for my tastes but it's still really good.

Majority Rules B is really cool. I like how authoritarian it feels in contradiction to its name; it really drives home what (I assume) this game is about.

options in the last song are:
1) Call out to her
2) Actually, forget it
3) Start dancing

The Last Page was wonderful. The animation was a delight too.

I was kinda oddly disappointed by evil drunk piano. I think it wasn't quite drunk enough. Plenty evil though.

wow Carpathians is super cool.

Also Mysterious People is so pretty and is giving me really happy flashbacks to tearing through that game all those years ago.

ooh, i like statistics. And he did Tintin and Turok, among a lot of others. Nice.

Genshin's in this weird spot where there's little power creep, no difficulty creep, and the battle system isn't a "toolbox"; in other words, you're not required to get a more diverse roster in order to clear endgame content. You can pull only for your favorites and still clear just about anything. So yes, Genshin does not have to give out as many free pulls as other games. You also don't need as many free pulls as in other games. Like yes, Heaven Burns Red gave out literally over 300 free pulls over the course of the first two months of the year. It's also a game where a good roster has probably 15-20 DPS's, 10-15 supports, and ~5 sustain characters for different content. (We actually desperately need some new interesting choices for Healers and Defenders I digress.) In Genshin, you only need 2-3 DPS and 10-12 total characters. Is Furina a really strong character? Yes. Is there any content I would have struggled with if I'd just skipped her? No.

The argument the GENSHIN HATES ITS PLAYERS promote is premised on every live service game being equal, and that's bizarre. If Genshin gave out 300 free pulls over two months, no one would ever spend money on it again because they'd be set forever, and, yes, Hoyoverse wants to make money. But given what the game asks of players, it's pretty easy to be FtP.

I was once doing audio tech for a speedrun of Blue Dragon, and to balance game audio we used Eternity. But -- to absolutely no one's surprise -- it turns out that Eternity is much louder than everything else in the game. The game audio obviously needed to be boosted, but I didn't want to blow anyone's eardrums when Eternity came on, so I made the call to not increase the game audio until the first boss fight. This took almost an hour. "whoops." Song itself is pretty cool, reminds me a little of Howl of the Departed from Lost Odyssey but it's not quite as interesting. Really cool though, i should try to hunt down the lyrics.

Lands Above the Clouds feels more like some of the Zeal background music than specifically Schalla's theme for me, but the influence is definitely there. I like it, but it kinda just makes me want to listen to Mitsuda again, which maybe isn't quite what it was going for.

I'm actually kinda surprised Rust dropped here; I thought it'd be more up your alley. Huh.

rwlh posted...

146/3499
@UF8
AQUARIUM - Cassiopeia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hPA5g8Nylo

Let's make a wish upon a pair of twinkling stars:
May we always be side by side, smiling at each other

When my heart grew scarred and the tears flowed
You kindly saddled up beside me
When my heart stood full and the smiles flowed
You as ever smiled beside me

The sky's still and always the same
A hope we share can never be broken

Let's make a wish upon a pair of twinkling stars
Because you will always shine by my side
I've held your hand and will never let go
So even once my eyelids droop, I know we'll meet again

Let's make a wish upon a pair of twinkling stars
Because you will always shine by my side
I've held your hand and will never let go
So even once my eyelids droop, I know we'll meet again

Even once my eyelids droop, I know we'll meet again

(i actually kind of want to go back to this at some point and see if I can't make it rhyme and somehow nail the really nice accented first sound in zutto and sotto (and then kitto at the end). Flipping between those two words ("forever" and "softly," respectively, then finally "surely") really adds to the song, makes it a constant spin between permanence and impermanence, and it is 12:30 at night and I can't brain well enough right now to figure out how to even translate sotto consistently throughout the song.)

Give me all your love is one of my favorites from TWEWY. Though I'm the weirdo with Emptiness and... as my favorite >_> It's just infectiously fun.

Out of place blows my mind a little I love it.

rwlh posted...

Six instead of five right now to bring us to the 7 tier. (Don't worry dowolf, I'll only post four tonight.)

<3

movement 3 is my fave :)

life is piano has a fantastic opening but then proceeds to have an UNACCEPTABLY LOW AMOUNT OF PIANO. well i mean there's a piano like constantly but it doesn't feel like it's in the limelight. I was expecting Wings of Piano and instead got EDM, is what I'm trying to say I guess.

NO BEFORE I RISE COME BACK! Also how have i still not done a lyrics video for this song i should get on that. The words really do give the song that extra oomph. Also you should listen to the acoustic version if I somehow haven't shoved it down your throat yet, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-P3qkHAogY

I like title drops.

At Tokione is really pretty. It definitely grabbed me today. Definitely feels like a song you have to be in the mood for, though.

8 Bit Maestro I am kinda the opposite, I prefer Early quite a bit over Late.

The very long name translates loosely to "How's a girl supposed to survive when she doesn't exist?" (Nukitashi, or "How's a flat-chested girl supposed to survive on porno island?", is a very weird game. It wasn't for me though, so I can't share much more about it >_>) I could do lyrics if people want? i dunno. I'm not that high on the song >_>

-hotdogturtle-- posted...

Not in terms of composition but by "TOTALLY attempting to be the kind of a badass song that might be suitable for a similar purpose".

i actually meant compositionally, like it's epic but in a very uplifting and growing way.

Shadow of a Dream reminds me a lot of Undertale final battle music. Just hits a lot of the same vibes. I think I might like it better than UT, even?

half-width katakana are evil. Just sayin'.

I confess the off-by-5 offset has bothered me repeatedly.

I don't know how I feel about Cetus. It's very understated, but I love creative percussion :) Would need to mull on this one.

oh wow i love irish taiko. It's so deliciously playful. I didn't mind the high notes at all? Shrug.

Wonder Eggs is definitely a thing. I also don't know how I feel about it, but I feel like it should be eligible. The "ride" is a light gun game, after all.

hang castle is up there for one of the best levels in any 3D sonic game, fight me.

pyresword posted...

I suspect this is not the case :(

I just hope that whatever Luocha has got going on is more interesting than what we've gotten so far.

nope.

we have escaped the hell that was 1.x Penacoly and good times are all that await. at least, until the Chinese government decides that the game needs to better Support Chinese Values and we get a nice sequence explaining how nobody is gay wink wink.

Casino Park might be my favorite casino zone. I wouldn't say the music's a big part of that, but also Heroes is a terribly underrated game in general.

wtf is zubo this song is insane and I love it.

ooh psycho is super cool. The moment when we get all the layers near the end of the loop is the payoff for me. Like that fiddle(?) just seals the song.

i agree completely with you on the intro to no time left to live, and I like the distorted vocals, but the first verse with its heartbeat drum and nothing else is close to a dealbreaker.

Quarterback is cool. I absolutely need to do a deep dive into FNF stuff at some point soon-ish my goodness.

HSR's space china arc is over and I want to forget it ever happened stop trying to drag me baaaaaack

i love Cinders and Ashes, but I'm not quite sure why I nommed it for you. It's such an Ace Combat song though I love it.

Execution is easily my favorite of the Sanabi pieces, even if I wish the rhythm didn't just start overpowering everything forever.

UshiromiyaEva posted...

Hmmm actually don't know if I'm gonna go with Battle isn't over or Dance! for Sparkle....

Harmony cones are too good.

For slow sparkle (i.e. DPS at 135, Sparkle at 134), DDD is actually worse than running no light cone at all, per Guoba. Ignoring her signature (which wins out by quite a bit), Planetary Rendezvous S5 >> Past and Future S5 > Battle Isn't Over S1, but there's no huge difference between them.

For fast sparkle (Sparkle at 160, DPS at base speed), Dance Dance Dance is not only best besides her signature, it's actually only 0.16% off of it.

Huh. To me the vocals in Kashika sound about equal with the backing, which is just where I like them. (I love Kashika >_>)

King's Bird, what a start. And middle. Early favorite for new discovery for me right here >_>

Maybe I'd get the Yakuza karaoke obsession if I ever played the games. Who knows.

honestly the fight against Vlov was itself awfully long. It makes sense that the song is long enough to match.

deathbound love is a wonderful localization of , i wish i'd come up with that >_>

Deathbound Love is a weird one. It does a lot of stuff I love, but the balance between the various parts feels off. Both the human and synth voices are so understated relative to the guitar and violin. I think it works with the human voice, but the synth being a countermelody is so weird because it stands out so much.

hi putt putt. you're a fun game. I don't remember this song at all >_>

i wish i didn't have an irrational hatred of christmas music sometimes <_<

honestly i think if i hadn't listened to All Stars like five hundred times since learning about it I'd enjoy this more. But there's definitely a big step down from All Stars to this. That said the breakdown starting around 1:00 is really fun and I like it a lot, even if I share your feeling on the throat singing.

ooh i didn't know BG3 has a musical number!

*squee*