Lurker > banshiryuu

1st: Sonic Mania - Flying Battery Zone Act 1
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 100/100 (9.2), Sonic Mania (1/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmo0bMoony8

Hello? Tee Lopes???? How the fuck???????? Flying Battery was already such an incredible theme, but Tee Lopes decided to rhythm game-ify it and make it even more of an absolute banger and jesus christ the quality of this remix absolutely fucking blowns my brains into orbit. Remember me saying I thought it was ironic that I liked that basically no FM was in the remix?? Well, this one uses EVEN LESS and doesn't even try to "fake it" considering it just straight up uses instruments like the trumpets in the second "pseudo-loop" which are INCREDIBLE by the way like. for real. And the parts that do still sound close to the original FM parts blend into the modern instrumentation so well it's. just fucking crazy. 0:26 SUBTLY ADDS THE EXTRA PERCUSSION CLAPS AND STUFF FROM THE SAME PART IN ACT 2 NOPE THATS ILLEGAL THATS TOO GOOD NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE it's not even fair anymore!!! and then the second pseudoloop also has the fucking crazy cool break parts with that electronic twanging at 0:44 and 0:50 fuck. This is like the perfect middle-ground between an "upgrade of the original" and a "remix" that literally not a single other song in the game nailed and it really shows how good getting that perfect middle-ground makes the final product. This song is absolutely insane, and since deciding positions/score for songs, this has actually risen so much that it's probably a Top 100 All-Time VGM for me. An absolute banger, through and through.

2nd: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Metallic Madness
Composer: Naofumi Hataya
Score: 98/100 (9.1), Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) (1/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eQ1wZWejlY

YES oh god YEEEES give me that 90s rave vibe injected straight into by arm like heroin all day and i will LIVE FOREVER. WOW!! 0:40 I AM IN THE COMPUTER BECOMING DATA DEEDOOTDODOEODOEOEODOT WHY IS THE ORGAN MELODY AT THE END SO PERFEC T ITS AN ORGAN????? This has so many things that just makes me fucking run on the walls and clip through and fly into the horizon and die like the fucking synth choices and the RAP and the ORGAAAAN and THE PIANO OSTINATO ORCH HIT OSTINATO GOING FOREVER AND EVER this song is very exciting!!! Ironically, this is one of the few Sonic CD JP songs where I really, really like the prototype "loop bridge" and of course there's no uploads that add it in (or uploads of the 2011 game version which does it PERFECTLY) when so many others add them in at the BEGINNING for NO REASON grrrrrrrrrrrrr anyway this song is super hot. Like. REALLY hot. And I love it a lot and listen to it on a pretty consistent basis because it is great music to pump you up so it's a mainstay in my gym playlist!! Absolute fucking banger.

I ended up not getting to this quite before VGMC came around, and most of my time not going towards real-life-turning-on-its-head-because-coronavirus has been going towards that lol

The last two will go up sometime soon though!!

3rd: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Metallic Madness "P" mix
Composer: Naofumi Hataya
Score: 95/100 (8.7), Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) (2/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziTN-VI_tEk

In the first and second revisions of this list (the current one being the fourth and final), this song was what I picked as my top song. It may not have grown on me quite as much as the two songs that follow, but god DAMN if this song isn't absolutely fucking amazing. This is the true potential of the RF5C164 chip in my eyes; it doesn't sound as "abiding by limitations" as other Past songs do, but rather it "creates its own sound by abusing the limitations" if that makes sense. There's just some really gnarly sounds in this, like the sweep at 0:12 and the echo-y almost vocal-like synth at the end of a loop at 1:00. And then BAM HELLO ORCH HITS like okay that's fuckin sick but then the song has the absolute audacity to throw you SICK ASS FUCK RAVE PIANO HOPPIN AROUND EVERYWHERE AFTER THE SICK GWOOON AT 0:13 LIKE A MADMAN like what???? theh ello???? you are perfect song???? this song's just so so so sick to listen to and I am glad everyone gets to enjoy it in all versions of the game!!1 yay!!!!!

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Flying Battery 1 - 1 Metallic Madness

Who will come out on top, Mania Flying Battery 1 or CD Metallic Madness Present???? The answer will be revealed.... tomorrow!

TheLegendOfRenegade genesis remixes are very good, I actually hadn't listened to this Tornado Man one before but I definitely see the similarities and I'm enjoying it quite a bit! I really like how they add in a melody-less loop and just lets you bask in the background FM glory. Trap Factory is probably my favorite remix I've heard from him; not just because it's one of my favorite Mega Man songs in general but god DAMN the edge on the FM in that song.

4th: Sonic & Knuckles - Flying Battery Zone Act 2
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 94/100 (8.7), Sonic & Knuckles (1/12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXchxWqLqyc

IT GETS EVEN BETTER WHAT!!! Pop Quiz "What if Flying Battery injected even more Maeda layering craziness and just went off the fucking walls?" A. Flying Battery Zone Act 2 B. Flying Battery Zone Act 2 C. Flying BaThis song is so good it's wild. Each instrument feels heavier than it did in the Act 1 song, so instead of a floaty song to air race to this is a dogfight happening above the beach where children are just chilling in the sun and mom is a big bass riff ostinato that pulls me down through the floor okay wait where am i going with this? UH OH PERFECT PERCUSSION ALERT 0:27 0:27 0:27 WEE WOO WEE WOO The DAC drums in this section are AB SO LUTE LY IN SANE i just want to clap along cause the loop end of this song is just what the fuck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e6-o3LFhQU
I highly, highly recommend this video to see just how each part in this song works together and sounds isolated, cause honestly each and every channel and part and instrument just owns so much. What a worthy top song in the series, a down-right banger.

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And just like that, the rest of Sonic & Knuckles goes down as well! What a great, great addition to an already strong OST, the whole package of S3 and S&K is definitely up there among soundtracks that I'll say are among "my favorites" for some time to come, and it's kinda baffling now that I think about to that I'm first coming to know of this myself in the year 2019/2020 and people here have been thinking that for up to 20 years at this point... dang haha. But yeah, amazing stuff and I'm really glad I finally buckled down and did this!

171st (29, 5.2): Mushroom Hill Zone Act 1
166th (43, 5.9): Mushroom Hill Zone Act 2
158th (48, 6.1): Sandopolis Zone Act 1
135th (58, 6.7): The Doomsday Zone
107th (61, 6.8): Death Egg Zone Act 1
73rd (64, 6.9): Lava Reef Zone Act 2
72nd (64, 6.9): Sandopolis Zone Act 2
70th (65, 7.0): Death Egg Zone Act 2
27th (74, 7.5): Sky Sanctuary Zone
14th (84, 8.0): Lava Reef Zone Act 1
5th (93, 8.6): Flying Battery Zone Act 1
4th (94, 8.7): Flying Battery Zone Act 2

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Two big hits in row, both original Flying Batteries go down and Metallic Madness now hold two of the top three spots!!

Flying Battery 1 - 2 Metallic Madness

5th: Sonic & Knuckles - Flying Battery Zone Act 1
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 93/100 (8.6), Sonic & Knuckles (2/12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T7hdIh-gtw

fmMMMMMMMMMMMMM IN MMY BONES why is this song so BANGER. First case in point: that fucking bass. Hot mama in a skillet that bass is just tasty as funk. It's licking at me with its sharp FM tongue and giving me the tingles constantly and I love it. Second case in point: this song is a fucking earworm. Every part of it. The main melody in literally every part, the bass, the background chords, literally every single part of this song sticks out as a "selling point" of the song and I've known it for like not that long at all and I probably know every single instrument and part by heart now? Nintendoesn't do what Genesits in my room and accidentally jams out to flying battery for two hours straight OOPS i love this song. thnak you for existing song very food

funny fact deoxysprime upload is the version in sonic 3 where the echo channel just gets more and more desynced and its VERY funny but VERY illegal oopsies

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Flying Battery 2 - 2 Metallic Madness

6th: Sonic Mania - Metallic Madness Zone Act 2
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 91/100 (8.5), Sonic Mania (2/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGUAp_xoi4o

Now THIS is what I wish Metallic Madness "B" mix was!! I know it's basically a remix-mashup of the normal mix and "B" mix but god damn the more fast-paced rave style mixed with Robotnik's rap madness from the "B" is just too good. WHAT IS THE S*XOPHONE AT 0:54 NO THAT IS TOO TASTY THIS IS NOT LEGAL man if this had like gabber in it or something, this would be straight out of a ridge racer game for real. This song gets bumped up a number of notches because it is the single only Mania remix that fools me into believing it's actually an original song. Sure there's obvious Metallic Madness bits in there, but there's also sections like pretty much all of 0:27 until 0:54 that is just its own thing. It's seriously more of an "original song heavily using Metallic Madness motifs" rather that a "remix of Metallic Madness" which is so cool. (Stardust Speedway Act 2 actually almost does it too despite that I ranked it much lower, but Metallic Madness Act 2 definitely ups the ante quite a bit) A true jam in every sense of the word!

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Flying Battery 3 - 2 Metallic Madness

Sonic Mania on its last legs!!

7th: Sonic Mania - Flying Battery Zone Act 2
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 90/100 (8.4), Sonic Mania (3/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7nB-wNDDpw

I'll save a lot of this writeup for when the original comes up, which is obviously higher up lol, but I'll touch on a few things the remix does that make me very happy. First off, the instrumentation of Mania Flying Battery is OFF THE CHARTS like I never ever ever thought I'd be saying "wow this FM song sounds really good without FM!" but like DAMN this song manages to still sound like FM even with literally one instrument from the original I think?? Like the lead right away at 0:02 is close but not quite, and then 0:14 is actually the original one but like the way it fakes it is so good. It sounds so clean while still having that edge that makes FM so crunchy and good and it's so strange to hear in a very wonderful way. I'm probably describing it like ass but yeah lmao

One other thing I like about the arrangement is how an actual different second loop is thrown into the mix, tossing in cool sections like the short minimal breakdowns at 0:58 and 1:04 with the quiet orch hit loop in there, and changing the lead up to a synth guitar thing. It's a really nice mixup thrown in that helps keep listening to it for a long, long time interesting... not that without it it would be any harder to listen to. Cause Flying Battery bangs hard. Nothing but praise for this song and it's my """worst Flying Battery"" which is a BAD TITLE even if correct cause it sounds SO NEGATIVE but yeah this is the flying battery on the bottom

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Flying Battery 3 - 3 Metallic Madness

8th: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - Angel Island Zone Act 2
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 89/100 (8.4), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1/17)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JHSUSwcUsw

If Chrome Gadget was Maeda layering creating beauty, Angel Island Act 2 is Maeda layering creating madness. What he (once again, probably. watch literally none of these end up being maeda lmao) did to Kashima-or-Sawada-or-whoever-the-fuck-composed-the-Act-1-who-knows's already extremely good masterpiece is incredible, to say the least. The CONSTANT switch between different voices and melodies really instills the panic of being in a forest literally burning down to the ground around you, and the bouncy nature of the song in general really helps support that feeling. And then those rolls come back at 0:43 YES I LOLVE THE ROLLS SO MUC H the rolly intro was my favorite part of Act 1 and now they're in the climax of the song augh. The part that I think gets me the most as far as voice swapping goes is definitely the part right after that at 0:56, just the way countermelody starts and it just starts layering itself on top of the melody over and over and then at 0:59 the both work against this other scale synth that comes in and THIS ALL HAPPENS IN FIVE FRIGGIN SECONDS. This song is so high-speed in all these artificial ways but thats SO COOL this song's so damn good guys for real. I hate that I love songs more than this because there is just so much cool stuff in this song. Incredibly good.

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And thus, the first of the four heavy, heavy hitters falls with two quick ones in a row, and four of the last five eliminations. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a great, great soundtrack, and together with the still-alive Sonic & Knuckles is definitely an OST to be remembered... so no surprise that it still gets the love that it does! And now I understand it all! This one's unique because of the extra composer wackiness with Michael Jackson's involvement and the beta songs and what-not... what a story behind this one. Hopefully someday we'll know the full story, but until then... I'll keep on listening!

132nd (58, 6.7): Launch Base Zone Act 2
131st (58, 6.7): Launch Base Zone Act 1
130th (58, 6.7): Endless Mine Zone
124th (59, 6.7): Balloon Park Zone
108th (60, 6.7): Desert Palace Zone
102nd (61, 6.8): Marble Garden Zone Act 1
101st (61, 6.8): Marble Garden Zone Act 2
88th (62, 6.8): Carnival Night Zone Act 2
65th (65, 7.0): Carnival Night Zone Act 1
57th (67, 7.1): Hydrocity Zone Act 1
37th (71, 7.3): Azure Lake Zone
31st (72, 7.3): Hydrocity Zone Act 2
28th (73, 7.4): Angel Island Zone Act 1
12th (85, 8.2): IceCap Zone Act 1
11th (85, 8.2): IceCap Zone Act 2
9th (87, 8.3): Chrome Gadget Zone
8th (89, 8.4): Angel Island Zone Act 2

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And now that we're in the top 7.... only two zones remain! Begin the battle of Flying Battery VS Metallic Madness!!!!

9th: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - Chrome Gadget Zone
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 87/100 (8.2), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2/17)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCx1n6BcRls

What a crime that a song as good as this was designated for a short two-player minigame stage. If this was played on a stage like Star Light Zone or even Stardust Speedway, hoooooo boy. What I love the most about Chrome Gadget is how deceptively simple it is, you got this very catchy but easily listenable flowing constant melody throughout the whole thing, but as you listen closer you can peel away at the different channels and look at how they interact in beautiful ways. I talked a little bit about Maeda (again, probably Maeda at least) layering in the Lave Reef writeups but here is one example where it just really shines. 0:41 is a short section that I like to look at when realizing Chrome Gadget does this kinda stuff in very, very subtle ways; the main focus goes rapidly from melody -> tertiary panned melody -> countermelody panned the other way -> it all combined again. The melody and countermelody swap back and forth for pretty much the entire song in a way that makes it hard to really follow which is which at certain points in time besides the fact that it's marked by which FM patch is being used for it. Beautiful but also a bop; the best of both worlds!

10th: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Chemical Plant Zone
Composer: Masato Nakamura
Score: 86/100 (8.2), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1/14)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrCgjGnlQRQ

Uhhhhh duhhhhhh this song is this high up are you kidding me? If you hate this song you're actually just lying for no reason you bad, bad person this song slaps, bangs, AND fucks like nothing else. Straight away that bass just DROPS right in at 0:05 like DUN DUNNNNN and slaps you right in the face with this heavy, full hot FM bass and oh my good god I just want it to slap me silly all day. Literally every patch in this song is just perfect and that melody is absolutely infectious to top it off like it's seriously! Not fair!!! 0:55 to loop is also just straight up cheating those pitch bends melt me and the modulation rising up as the loop approaches hot Mama,. I feel Illegal listening to this song it is too hot for this world. Incredibly tasty song and well deserving of the hype it gets.

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And thus Sonic the Hedgehog 2 makes its exit! Definitely the most varied OST I listened to in terms of my opinion, it had a number of huge stinkers but also a few absolute gems. I do appreciate the variety in it compared to Sonic 1; definitely a good package overall!

174th (0, 3.7): Death Egg Zone (Part1)
173rd (14, 4.4): Wing Fortress Zone
167th (41, 5.8): Sky Chase Zone
156th (51, 6.3): Casino Night Zone
153rd (53, 6.4): Hill Top Zone
147th (56, 6.5): Oil Ocean Zone
145th (57, 6.6): Casino Night Zone (2P)
71st (64, 6.9): Mystic Cave Zone
69th (65, 7.0): Emerald Hill Zone (2P)
64th (66, 7.0): Metropolis Zone
50th (68, 7.1): Aquatic Ruin Zone
34th (71, 7.3): Mystic Cave Zone (2P)
15th (83, 8.0): Emerald Hill Zone
10th (86, 8.2): Chemical Plant Zone

Hard Times is such a good song too for somehow completely different reasons than IceCap lmao

Aaaaanyway, can confirm that Top 10 will be underway tonight! Hoping to get through them all over the course of the next week, and I'm really excited to get to talk about pretty much all of them lol

Forget side bracket, we want regular bracket!!

What do you mean you can't see the future!?

11th: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - IceCap Zone Act 2
Composer: Brad Buxer
Score: 85/100 (8.2), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (3/17)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIPCjdYNpWg

Yeah, the difference finally is a positive for an MJ-affiliated Sonic 3 song. While for the other songs, the random channel muting and solos felt jumbled, awkward, and just shoehorned in to be different, this Act 2 version actually uses channel muting to absolutely stunning effect. The way it has "devolved" into something even more barren and desolate, and continues to devolve as the song goes on as at 1:23 the melody disappears and 1:30 the percussion and sweeps disappear, leaving just the constant back and forth scale echoing into nothingness jesus CHRIST WHY IS THIS SO GOOD. The separation of parts actually makes it easier to pick small things out about the song that I honestly completely block out the existence of in the Act 1, like the quick downward sweep that's most noteable at 0:47.

I actually use this song as I walk around campus in the negative temperatures with the snow crunching beneath my feet as a way to actually feel not awful about the fact that winter in Wisconsin is a thing that exists and I must deal with every day. It fits too perfectly and it makes me feel like real life has background music for a bit which... is not something that usually happens ever, this song is just too perfect at painting the exact picture that it wants to.

This song that continues to amaze me is all but over now.

12th: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - IceCap Zone Act 1
Composer: Brad Buxer
Score: 85/100 (8.2), Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (4/17)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKL0BtScEd8

Really had some hard times deciding what to do with this one and the Act 2 as far as placement goes. Despite being told not to do so, I did have to give it a second thought... and a third. But as far as overall composition and stuff goes, god DAMN that chord progression is so good. It's so somber in an oddly haunting sort of way, and given its noted similarities to songs like Who Is It and the bassline in sections of Smooth Criminal, which are both amazing 9.0+ songs (I can rank non-VGM too you know!!) it's no surprise that it grabs me so much. The background static staccato plinks and constant scale ostinato combined with those chilling sweeps paints the picture of a vast ice field with the sun shining brightly and reflecting off of the snow as far as the eye can see so vividly in my mind it's actually beyond insane.

This song is crazy good at what it sets out to do. However...

14th: Sonic & Knuckles - Lava Reef Zone Act 1
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 84/100 (8.0), Sonic & Knuckles (3/12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyNzyyxmAwM

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13th: Sonic Mania - Lava Reef Zone Act 1
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 84/100 (8.0), Sonic Mania (4/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoM9ML6RqTg

Doing another two-in-one ranking because honestly I can barely decide that I like the Mania version more than the original anyway and a lot of things I will say are composition based anyway so yeah!!!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the classic Maeda (probably) melody layering so much like god damn so much going on at any given moment that you can focus on, as it adds the melody on top of the intro ostinatos (PLURAL) at 0:07, and then adds in the countermelody at 0:23 without most of the other stuff ending and suddenly you have four things you can focus on at once and it all creates this ACTUAL SYMPHONY like holy god crap grilled cheese it's so much fun to listen to and pick apart augh. The extra little Mania bridge at 0:53 is also very cool and I like how such a small addition can still make an impact on the arrangement and feel so natural.

So what do each version have over each other? It all comes down to reverb, and I'm not even joking. The big slappy snare hits that echo into infinity in the Mania version are SO GOOD they have so much weight to them that each one punches you right in the face with the beat and it's so cool. But then the melody is ALSO big reverb hitty and I like it more when this nice melody is more buttery smooth so the FM version wins out there.

Insane song.

15th: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Emerald Hill Zone
Composer: Masato Nakamura
Score: 83/100 (8.0), Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2/14)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWdhufzxQRA

Oh hello there Green Hill Zone but on CRACK. I remember this song very fondly from Smash Bros. Brawl... but I thought it was the first stage song from Sonic 3 instead of 2 lmfao oops. (I also pictured this song playing in an area that I found out while doing this is actually Sky Sanctuary Zone so uhhhhhhh double oops) The sound quality in this song is absolutely off the fucking charts, every synth is just sharp enough to POP at you with every note, that bass is absolutely ripping it, and god DAMN the melody synth at 0:18 is smooth as silk like spread butter all over this song and watch it melt and eat it toast. Also did I mention the melody is absolutely kickass as well? Infectious to a ridiculous degree. Such a delight to listen to, and an amazing way to kick off a game. What I wouldn't give to make this song have Green Hill's glory!

16th: Sonic Mania - Chemical Plant Zone Act 1
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 81/100 (7.8), Sonic Mania (5/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGqmtzzXYqY

Yup, even this high up we have the good 'ol "basically just like the original" Mania arrangements. Chemical Plant is just straight up a great song no matter what, and this incredibly polished remix is no exception. Actually, I think it might be too polished and that's why it's lower! Something just feels a little off without that FM twang, which is pretty much completely gone in this version. Still super bangs though cause yea it's fuckin chemical plant lmfao

After two empty promises to come back.... well, now we are! Took me long enough lol

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17th: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Stardust Speedway "B" mix
Composer:
Score: 80/100 (7.8), Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) (4/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGp-BYU23wo

HUE HUE HUE HUE rave piano sex oh my god this is IT. THIS is THE Stardust Speedway!! ((ignore the prototype intro why must every yt upload of this song suuUUCK)) Honestly I feel like this should've been the present or just... "base" mix cause this is exactly what kind of song I envision when I think of the name "Stardust Speedway". Uptempo, easy flowing piano melody, choppy sampling with both the vocals and the sirens in the background and warbly supporting melodies (huehue) it's just so suave and posh and also EXCITING at the same time god it's just really, REALLY good and I now understand all the hype that goes into this song specifically. What a banger.

Hey, sorry for the silence! Life's been really busy suddenly lately and I haven't been in the best of moods, but now that I'm back home I should be back to this and we'll hit the ground running. Didn't expect that slump especially since the very next song is something I REEEEEEALLY want to talk about lmfao. But yeah, I'm not dead I swear!

18th: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Wacky Workbench "B" mix
Composer: Masafumi Ogata
Score: 79/100 (7.7), Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) (5/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ueb3eWdVYcI

Ah yes, it is my favorite area Dangerous Ostinato Factory Zone where the lava is rising higher and higher and HIGHER OH GOD THE DOOR IS CLOSING HURRY UP AND SLIDE UNDERNEATH THE DOOR also, this song is basically from Einhander. I love the fake voices trying to whisper things into my soul during the Einhander part a lot which also enhances just how Einhander that part really is okay can you tell I also really like the Einhander soundtrack? Einhander. Anyway, Sonic! The kind of fast, frantic super electronic stuff that makes me cuckoo for cocoa puffs every single time so yeah I like it a lot lol. A true jam!

19th: Sonic Mania - Prime Time - Studiopolis Zone Act 2
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 79/100 (7.7), Sonic Mania (6/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_gOgp1Rg2w

I'm just gonna pretend this shit is another Sonic CD song cause seriously it sounds straight outta Sonic CD if it were like actually a shmup or something. The faster Studiopolis motif made me realize HOW FUCKIN GOOD that melody is like hmmmmmmtmyum yes give me more of that heavy reverb snare this songs so GROOVIN. I almost wish Studiopolis was just straight up the first zone in the game because this song really drives home how new and unique of a game Mania actually is on top of being a massive love letter to long-time fans. music is so cool and good and aaaaaaa great song!!!

20th: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Palmtree Panic "B" mix
Composer: Naofumi Hataya
Score: 78/100 (7.7), Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) (6/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsc_EwdzeFU

Iiiiii Looooooooooooove Bad Future!! The stark contrast between the happy party Present/"G" mix and this one is like night and day but holy COW this song bangs. The chopped YAY samples, the rave piano against that absolutely aggressive bass, the most MIDI trumpet/sax/misc. brass thing I've ever heard at 1:01, literally every single sound in this makes me incredibly happy to be hearing it! Also one of the songs where I really love the prototype transition... even though I hate that the best upload of this song starts with it lol. The sneakers squeak beat is super sick. Song is just a straight banger and sometimes its the straightforward wall of hype that gets the job done the best. Great stuff!

Hello once again!! I am finally back home and ready to get cracking at the very top of this list! Schooltime starts in a little over two weeks for me and I wanna see if I can get that done by then, which should be totally doable if I don't completely spill the spaghetti everywhere.

First writeup of the top will be up sometime tonight!

EX15: Sonic Adventure - Crazy Robo ...Boss: E101R
Composer: Fumie Kumatani
Score: 97/100 (9.0), ~3rd place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK7dszd_j1c

Yeah I know this doesn't really have anything to do with the main points of this topic but I figured I'd throw this in here because up until this topic, this was my favorite Sonic song!! Absolutely incredible build in the intro and just explodes into an absolutely jazzy bop from start to end. It's actually crazy how many parts could be my "favorite part" but I can't even pick... the intro, the sound of the sax at 0:33 and later, the filters on the lead at 0:47 and 1:29, the solo at 1:43, just the sound design in general... god, it's just so good.

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EX16: Sonic Forces - Fist Bump
Composer: Tomoya Ohtani
Score: 74/100 (7.5), ~27th of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gc0169Ht48

I had to go with one of the vocal songs, and so I went with this one cause I think my opinion of it... might not be shared with too many people? I always see people joking about this song and I'm never really sure if that's just a byproduct of the game that it's in, but it is really good! The composition itself is pretty funny because of how many cliche chord progressions it has but then it also has bursts of beauty like the recurring pre-chorus (0:34 and elsewhere) which is REALLY COOL. I wouldn't say the vocals are great necessarily, since there's a lot more "pitched yelling" than actual singing sometimes I feel, but that's also kinda cool its own right so I can appreciate it a lot as well! Very good song!!

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EX17: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - Staff Roll
Composer: Brad Buxer, Michael Jackson
Score: 71/100 (7.3), ~34th place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8bNZboAPfc

I was wandering in the rain (Mask of life, feelin' insane)
Swift and sudden fall from grace (Sunny days seem far away)
Kremlin's shadow belittlin' me (Stalin's tomb won't let me be)
On and on and on it came (Wish the rain would just let me)

How does it feel, How does it feel
How does it feel, How does it feel

When you're alone and you're cold inside

....it's actually pretty crazy how nostalgic this song is for me now that I know its significance in relation to a song that I've heard since early childhood, way before I ever became the absolute VGM junkie that I am nowadays. I thought it was pretty damn cool on first listen, but on subsequent plays after getting knees-deep into the whole Sonic 3 & Jackson situation... it hits a bit differently now. A song very befitting of the role of a credits song, that's for sure!

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See you all in about a week for Top 20!!

EX12: Sonic 3D Blast (Genesis) - Rusty Ruin Zone Act 2
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda
Score: 79/100 (7.7), ~19th place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whawZhKPlks

The song design of this song is just downright eerie, in a way that is totally and completely fucking amazing. We'll get into more about what exactly about this song I love because a lot of (what I will assume are) Maeda's compositions do similar things, but multiple different voices doing different melodies entirely that slightly overlay each other in sort of an on-and-off pattern and then occasionally come together in harmony is ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. Right away in the beginning we have this with the main melody kinda of drawn out over the other ostinato melody, and then they come together in the scale at 0:16 and that's where you know WHOOOOA this song is gonna GO places. After that intro explosion, the song is pretty low-key up until the scaley flourishes begin again at 1:11 and let me tell you THESE are absolutely my favorite parts about the song in general. Even the bass does its impression of it at like 1:18 and then you get the beautiful little bursts in twos at like 1:28 and AUGH such a good song. Very lovely, very cool to listen to, really just great stuff.

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EX13: Sonic 3D Blast (Saturn) - Gene Gadget Zone Act 1
Composer: Richard Jacques
Score: 96/100 (8.8), ~3rd place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEIwqlXfUVs

HELLO???? EXCUSE ME i am absolutely SHOOK that no one made it explicitly clear to me that this game also had Sonic R rejects in it that are actually better than anything in Sonic R this is BEYOND HOT!! Definitely more of a repetitive song in the main melody but since when has that been a bad thing for me?? The answer is never it never has okay that's a lie it has before but NOT WHEN THE MELODY IS GOOD i mean okay. The other background stuff switches up enough where the fact the main melody is just on constant loop almost is forgivable already, but then the melody is an absolute earworm so it's like fixing a problem that didn't exist anyway so it just makes it a ton better instead and wow. Great, great song and while I'm not talking about it I really, really love the Act 2 as well!! But I definitely prefer Act 1. Absolutely a new favorite of mine.

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EX14: Sonic R - Living In the City
Composer: Richard Jacques
Score: 94/100 (8.7), ~4th place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdwnHWnB7fM

Okay I can't just say something is "better than anything in Sonic R" and then let that go by as if I think Sonic R is way below it but this is easily my favorite Sonic R song and it's baaaaaaaarely below Gene Gadget Act 1 but like yeah I love the Sonic R-style Richard Jacques compositions as a whole a lot lot lot and then you add vocals on top of it and oh no dangerous combination VERY DANGEROUS COMBINATION. PANASONIC BLU-RAY can't believe sonic r's ost is real tbh, still fucked up i had to vote for octopunch (a literal 10/10 song) against you're my number one and kill sonic r in bost5. ANYWAY Yeah this song's incredible. IN THE CIIITYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAH

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tomorrow's my last day home before i leave for magfest so we'll get one more batch of extra ranks in before the break!!

At least the one good FF3 DS track is the one to knock out Home Sweet Home, but considering I'd even vote it over the NES one... still a sad one to lose by 1.

Dalmasca Estersand over Aerith is a nice surprise though!

wow all of the tiebreakers went the wrong way :(

10/20, and with three in this list here makes 13/20.

Kinda sad maybe nobody else realized Bayonetta came out on January 5, 2010 but I expected it. If Mega Man 10 makes it through here all will be forgiven easily.

EX6: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Special Stage
Composer: Masafumi Ogata
Score: 70/100 (7.2), ~41st place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuzotd7eQvc

Some hot stuff, love the rave melody in the beginning a lot it's very ""Sonic CD"" or at least the things I like the most about my favorite things in Sonic CD!!! That being said, I do think 0:25~0:37 is actually my favorite part; I love the backing pad and that lead together like WAY too much, very very cool

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EX7: Sonic the Hedgehog - Drowning
Composer: Masato Nakamura
Score: 70/100 (7.2), ~41st place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3of4_hwvf7g

No, I'm not joking, this jingle actually fucking rules so much. I can't think of a single jingle or whatever that even comes close to instilling as much panic as this song does. Actually insane, how far the tempo knob gets turned up before your life finally expires feels like an eternity.... I wonder if that is actually how drowning feels. Aww now I'm sad thinking about this but still very effective and cool jingle!!

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EX8: Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Angel Island Zone
Composer: Jun Senoue
Score: 63/100 (6.9), ~77th place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVyLTBO7Ck0

Uhhhh yup it's Angel Island in Modern Senoue Sonic Style alright. I actually used to this song was from Sonic Adventure and this was the original being used in Smash; I did not know at all that this was actually a remix, let alone one of a classic Sonic song. Anyway uh... yeah this style doesn't lend itself well to Act 1 at all. But the Act 2 half of the song saves it quite a bit. Still lacking a lot, and since I haven't covered Act 2 I won't talk much about this one, but yeah it made me want a lot more from the remix that I did not get!

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EX9: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - Final Boss
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 65/100 (7.0), ~68th place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc-lK-psNy4

Good song, I can see why people go bonkers for this, but the instruments in this version just don't do it for me. Too aggressive to not be noticed, but not crazy enough to be unique and likeable, most of the leads are just... melodic noise. Not sure how to describe it. But yeah, it's still good. Like the melody at the end a lot!

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EX10: Sonic Generations (3DS) - Boss Battle: Big Arms
Composer: Alexander Makhlouf
Score: 80/100 (7.8), ~16th place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVQjrIcwyEg

Uhhhhhhhh holy shit? I was not expecting this song to be both techno and also rock when I went into it the first time, and maybe that's just my complete unfamiliarity with modern Sonic besides the two Adventures, but this owns a lot. When the main melody gets played on that synth and then goes into the solo at 1:45 HOOOOOOOO BOY that's a spicy spicy music!! The short original song getting fleshed out into this long, genuinely rocking battle track is actually bonkers. The break at 3:07 into that grungy guitar part is also beyond crazy. Great, great remix that really brings the potential out of the original.

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EX11: Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood - Nocturne
Composer: Steven Sim
Score: -41/100 (1.5), dead last place, easily
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrpglqYeQBc

So okay I had known about this absolute travesty of a meme song for AGES before this project, but it wasn't until I told my roommate about this project and he told me to listen to it closely that it clicked. And it took a while to click! Finally on like a third listen I realized what 0:45 was supposed to be and I flipped the fuck out. It's really hard not to hear it now in some parts but jesus christ this goddamn song. I love it so much, but also... it's fucking atrocious lol. I would love to find the redeeming qualities in its graceful horrendousness but alas I cannot find such things. So it can't be saved from an awful score.

Toxtricity posted...

I wouldn't be happy with 128...i think a lot of why i enjoyed the pool of the last vgmc was because of the stuff that was only able to be in because the pool was larger. I'd be willing to help with running if it meant we could continue to have 192-256 because i really don't want to regress back to 128 personally

Parroting both things here pretty much lol

EO3 End of Raging Waves is definitely my favorite, and actually despite how much I adore it I really don't like most arranges so I would support it much more than I did EO5 this year.

Same goes for like... most EO battle songs lol. Activation, Hoist the Sword, Each Justice (!!!), Destruction Begets Decay, Calling That Detestable Name, etc.

Simurgh is actually from CANNON BALLERS in what may be the most egregious case of "boss song that does not fit the style" in the history of IIDX

marry crismas

God damn I love this video. It's the archive-trudging informative stuff like this that I feel only I really like even when it's something I don't know anything about; and even better that I do know a bit about this specifically lol. Crazy times on both the RTA and TAS fronts...

Alright, first round of some extra stuff! This'll be mostly from the pool of games that I did use, but stuff outside of being used in zones

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EX1: Sonic CD (USA) - Little Planet
Composer: Spencer Nilsen, David Young
Score: 65/100 (7.0), ~68th place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIWlaO4hIOg

I really like Sonic Boom in general, but something about the instrumental here is really cool! I appreciate that they didn't even add in a lead to "replace" the vocals, and let it be just an instrumental. Especially the heavy impact of all the synth drums, I love those especially, but when the pad backing comes in at 0:52 is also really, really cool! Good solo to end it off as well!

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EX2: Sonic the Hedgehog - Boss
Composer: Masato Nakamura
Score: 22/100 (4.8), ~173rd place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCU5PTMy8Q0

BING BONG BING BONG BING BONG holy moley every single instrument in the song is piercing into my soul and pushing me into the ground and im sinking throug hteh floor beneath the sound, oh god the scrap brain low quality offbeat drum hits are here too oh god. this song drives me insane I can't imagine getting stuck on a boss cause I think I'd want to die irl instead of die to the boss. it hurts in ways i don't like :((

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EX3: Sonic & Knuckles - Bonus Stage: Magnetic Orbs
Composer: Jun Senoue
Score: 66/100 (7.0), ~62nd place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCYHo2ML2Xw

Okay not going to lie, a humongous part of my enjoyment of this is that bass. Jesus christ is that bass GOOD it bounces in the bottom of my stomach and off the walls of my body and makes me physically bounce every time I listen to it, it's just really, really fun to listen to!

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EX4: Sonic Mania - Hi-Spec Robo Go! - Hard Boiled Heavy Boss
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 97/100 (9.0), ~3rd place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uK6uFp7x_4

this song. is. RIDICULOUS. give me anything thats up tempo and jazzy and boss-like and it's very unlikely I find it less than stellar and I think song proves it to me lmfao. And then you add HEAVY VOCAL SAMPLING like hello tee lopes???? thank you??????? the bridge at 0:40 absolutely slaps theres so much going on for what is effectively supposed to be "downtime" and just holy what theres so much looooooool. every part of this song oozes fun and yeah its just an absolute bop in every sense

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EX5: Knuckles' Chaotix - Moonrise
Composer: Junko Shiratsu
Score: 69/100 (7.2), ~47th place of 174
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3R4tqOpVto

Uh huh 32X percussion-laden chill song ranking high who woulda thought after I mentioned loving those drums in like every previous Chaotix write up? This one's super duper short, but the loop works so well that I can listen to it for quite a long time and it never loses its charm.

I have quite a few "popular" songs on my almost-definitely-nom list that I would throw up here, but I'm also more interested in getting strength gauges so Rude Buster and The Betrayer are gonna go to the backburner lol. If you're looking for help, I may or may not have just run a contest and had a little too much fun running it myself... and may or may not be a little too eager to try my hand back at it at some point soon anyway. Just saying... ^^

Einhnder - Thermosphere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN5jGNNUFAk

Pause Ahead - Nihil Descent
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee8emqquuBw

beatmania IIDX 12 HAPPY SKY CS - Just a Little Smile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u79ShvGc_yg

Kishin Hishou Demonbane - Ambivalence of a Blood Battle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkCOp7tM2N8

MILLION GOD - Aquarius 4V8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAAoylvEu0c

21st: Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Quartz Quadrant "B" mix
Composer: Naofumi Hataya
Score: 78/100 (7.7), Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) (7/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ-6ChzHpds

YEEESS BAD FUTURE TIME BABY god all the vocal sampling in these things are seriously on another level; even just like the little "uhn"s in the beginning and stuff ORCH HITS AT 0:39 ARE MY LIFELINE okay just. every single sound in this thing is something i really like and this is definitely a song I like more for "picking apart and enjoying small bits at once" rather than the whole song if that makes any sense?? Like sometimes I'll only listen to the bass, or the bass and the soft guitar strumming in the background, or the melody and percussion or something. Stripping it down makes it even more fun to listen to and that's not a very common thing in music at all for me so it's cool to get to do that with this one. Really great song.

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Alright, we have now reached the Top 20!! Up until this point, these songs still have yet to appear:

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Emerald Hill Zone
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - Chemical Plant Zone
Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Palmtree Panic "B" mix
Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Wacky Workbench "B" mix
Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Stardust Speedway "B" mix
Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Metallic Madness
Sonic CD (JPN/PAL) - Metallic Madness "P" mix
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - Angel Island Zone Act 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - IceCap Zone Act 1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - IceCap Zone Act 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - Chrome Gadget Zone
Sonic & Knuckles - Flying Battery Zone Act 1
Sonic & Knuckles - Flying Battery Zone Act 2
Sonic & Knuckles - Lava Reef Zone Act 1
Sonic Mania - Chemical Plant Zone Act 1
Sonic Mania - Prime Time - Studiopolis Zone Act 2
Sonic Mania - Flying Battery Zone Act 1
Sonic Mania - Flying Battery Zone Act 2
Sonic Mania - Lava Reef Zone Act 1
Sonic Mania - Metallic Madness Zone Act 2

...But before we get to the Top 20, I wanted to take a little chill time a talk about some of the stuff I didn't rank but listened to, such as non-level themes, remixes in later games, some other tracks from the early Sonic days, etc. I have quite a few songs that I want to talk about but if there's anything you guys want me to comment on, I can definitely throw those in the mix and give a short write-up on it. Can't guarantee anything too crazy in-depth or anything, but I'll definitely do what I can.

I'll be busy with the holidays and then going to MAGFest, so the Top 20 will probably begin on the evening of Monday, January 6th. No guarantees, might be a day or two later, but we're in the final stretch and I have a lot I really want to say about what's left!!

22nd: Sonic Mania - Chemical Plant Zone Act 2
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 77/100 (7.6), Sonic Mania (7/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO5n6FUcwDA

Here we have a very funky remix of Chemical Plant, which in and of itself is an amazing composition (which should be pretty easy to guess I'd think by it not showing up, so I won't go into detail) and thus this remix had some big shoes to fill. And it succeeded in some areas... and fell in others. Basically, I don't think any part that can be immediately compared to the original is better or even equal at all. But all the added stuff is HOOOTTTT, the constant background wobble synth and sirens, the way the percussion mixes up quite often, and what's that at 1:00???? :eyes: Anyway kinda weird to be writing about negativity this high up but it's hard not to compare it to the original, but when I separate myself from that for a bit it's still incredibly, incredibly enjoyable. Big fan!!

23rd: Sonic Mania - Lights, Camera, Action! - Studiopolis Zone Act 1
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 76/100 (7.6), Sonic Mania (8/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMwM6hLEyeY

Okay so funny story, I actually do remember this song from VGMC13, but I didn't pay it much mind there over the course of the contest. Not sure why, I definitely liked it when I listened to it but was just kinda "oh yeah cool song nice." Uhhhhhh yeah cool song more like fuckin' banger??? It's like if Casino Night or Carnival Night took place in Las Vegas instead with all these suave lights and people in nice posh clothes strutting through a casino up to a poker table and cleaning everyone in one hand. It seriously makes me feel richer just listening to it why can't you actually give me money song?! If I had to pick one part of this song that makes me groove the most I'd actually be hard-pressed to choose between that absolutely tasty piano solo at 0:24 and the main chorus call-and-response between the digi trumpet and synth at 0:56. Both parts are just mmmmmmmm. It's kind of sad because looking back at VGMC13... I still wouldn't have voted for this over any of the three songs it faced!! (it had a bye, then beat Secret of Mana (2018) - Steel and Snare, Deemo - Rhuzerv, and Xenoblade 2 Torna - Battle!!/Torna) Oops... Very good song though, I'm definitely a much bigger fan now.

I'll take Bloodstained second! It's not the best Metroidvania by any stretch but it's better than even some of the good ones, that's for sure.

24th: Sonic the Hedgehog - Star Light Zone
Composer: Masato Nakamura
Score: 76/100 (7.6), Sonic the Hedgehog (1/7)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKawHpdyMSU

What an absolutely infectious uplifting tune. I found out recently that SEGA uses this song as music for their UFO Catchers in Japan, and that's somehow so fitting it's insane. This is borderline a much better victory song than it is a level theme for a platformer, but that's not a knock against it at all. I don't know much about the levels of Star Light Zone themselves, but even if they were the most rage-inducing piles of steaming garbage ever there's no way I could ever be mad with this playing in the background. Incredible song, I could listen to it for hours on end, and actually have done exactly that... even while I sleep, this song does the trick. Definitely deserving of its position atop the rest of the soundtrack here.

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As we near the end, it's no surprise we'll be seeing games dropping like flies now, and next up we have the big boy that started the ball rolling and allowed us to hear literally every single song in this ranking: Sonic the Hedgehog! As far as starts go, its honestly hot too shabby a soundtrack at all. Some really great stuff in there, and even the bottom of the selection at least is memorable in some way. No wonder people still really, really care about it to this day. As per the usual, here's the roundup:

172nd (24, 4.9): Final Zone
168th (37, 5.6): Labyrinth Zone
163rd (44, 5.9): Spring Yard Zone
123rd (59, 6.7): Scrap Brain Zone
56th (67, 7.1): Marble Zone
39th (71, 7.3): Green Hill Zone
24th (76, 7.6): Star Light Zone

wait shit macross f wasnt this decade was it? i totally forgot it might be like 2010 and i forgot but if its eligible lion better be so high up

edit: 2008 wow would not have guessed that early, feel like it newer than that. oh well

woooo glad to see Kokkoku; was probably my fav OP of the entire year last year let alone that season, but knowing its competition... yeah, I can see it being bested by those

dariusburst was released christmas 2009 are you kidding me aaaaa

25th: Knuckles' Chaotix - Speed of Sound (Speed Slider Zone)
Composer: Junko Shiratsu
Score: 75/100 (7.5), Knuckles' Chaotix (1/8)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtqLn6mld98

HOT DAMN THAT 32X PERCUSSION IS SO GOOOOD this song showcases it off soooo good, AND it's a downright bop on top of all that. From the intro you know that this is gonna get your blood pumping, then it hits you with its infectious melodies that won't get out of my head!! The melody starting at 0:42 is downright amazing, I love that part a lot and I like how the backing scales get progressively louder and more built upon as the part repeats for a second and third time. This song is just too damn cool, it's an absolute delight to listen to every single time!!

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It's that time of the ranking again; time to say goodbye to our dear friends on Team Chaotix and their game Knuckles' Chaotix. I was really impressed by this one; even if a few songs ranked a bit lower down, I thought overall that this game's selection was cool and I'm really intrigued to play the game and see the areas behind the songs! As per usual here's the overview of how everything did:

164th (43, 5.9): Take a Nap (Introduction Zone)
160th (46, 6.0): Labyrinth (Amazing Arena Zone (Lights Off))
143rd (57, 6.6): Seascape (Marina Madness Zone)
74th (64, 6.9): Midnight Greenhouse (Botanic Base Zone)
63rd (66, 7.0): Door Into Summer (Isolated Island Zone)
53rd (68, 7.1): Electoria (Techno Tower Zone)
52nd (68, 7.1): New Moon (Amazing Arena Zone (Lights On))
25th (75, 7.5): Speed of Sound (Speed Slider Zone)

Man theres so many openings I could list off that I hope appear... and then I realize Im not even sure if some of them were 2010 or later or if some were 2009 lol (Railgun, Working, Reborns last OP, etc.)

Definitely looking forward to seeing stuff I didnt know about too; I think so far only Little Busters and Caligula I really knew, though I know of Sakamoto

27th: Sonic & Knuckles - Sky Sanctuary Zone
Composer: Tatsuyuki Maeda, Sachio Ogawa, Masanori Hikichi
Score: 74/100 (7.5), Sonic & Knuckles (4/12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGFkLgTX5uo

How in the WORLD did Sky Chase and Wing Fortress go so wrong, and then Sky Sanctuary go so right?! This is THE quintessential "final journey through the clouds" song, it is absolutely breathtaking honestly how beautiful it is while also utilizing a rather harsh, consistently high timbre. I LOOOOVE the very high "vibrating" background synth as well it's like the slow sound of propellers or something, like time itself is being slowed mid-flight causing the fast whrrrrrrr to become this fast but identifiable beat and that's SOO COOOL what the heck????? You can feel the determination-filled struggle to fight on in the melody and in the chord progression and it's just... an overall powerful song. Really, really great stuff.

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26th: Sonic Manic - Hydrocity Zone Act 2
Composer: Tee Lopes
Score: 74/100 (7.5), Sonic Mania (9/28)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gLfTPSTwBQ

God here we have another Mania version that just makes this song sound so damn clean! The upgrade to "real" percussion makes the rhythm section pop out SOOO much it's actually insanity going back and forth and listening to how much it fills in space I didn't even really know was there in the original. The original leads are still fucking phenomenal in this version as well, which usually is where Mania songs tend to take a hit and feel really muddy, but the new backing stuff that's very, very, VERY far back there at like 0:23 compliment the leads VERY well. Yeah, this is definitely the go-to version for this song; very very good and while it's not at the top of the top like it seems to be for most people, I definitely appreciate it and actually listen to it quite a lot!!

cant grab links atm but just to list some

Pokemon Sword & Shield - Battle! (Bede)
Devil Engine - Jazzy NNYC (Stage 2)
Kingdom Heart III - Thermosphere
beatmania IIDX 26 Rootage - GENE
DanceDanceRevolution A20 - SMALLEST 3K-PERFECT NUMBER
Atelier Ryza - Grain Rain, Wheat Wind
Atelier Ryza - Look inside yourself. You are more than what you have become.
Katana Zero - V Limo (New Donk Shitty)
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - Luxurious Overture

shoutouts to the other ryza asano tracks too who woulda guessed i would love them all hmmmmm