LogFAQs > #937603655

Lanota - Frey's Philosophy
Ciel Nosurge - CLASS::CIEL_NOSURGE;
Baldr Force - Face of Fact

MATCH 1

Frey's Philosophy is more along the lines of what I wanted RE:UNION to sound like with the heavy focus on melodic piano lines. Speaking of which, the piano melody here is really good! 0:11-0:30 has this hint of sadness to it but it's also very upbeat with the rhythm. The addition of the vocals starting at 0:30 is a neat touch too. I like that the song adds all these additional layers to it in a way that's also pretty distinct from other rhythm game songs I know and like. Take, for example, certain a xi song like Niflheimr. It combines cool piano melodies with synth stuff to create a lot of different moving parts to the song. I see Frey's Philosophy in a similar way, but with things like violins instead of synths. Perhaps it might be more appealing to me this way, anyway! Like, 1:09-1:47 is so good with the violins harmonizing with the main piano melody. I didn't think I had enough room to support this in the beginning, but I managed to be able to throw this song a last-minute support during the end-game rush and I'm happy I was able to do so because it's a great song!

Theme of E-102 Gamma feels like such a Cathode song haha. It feels like you're in some jazz parlor in a futuristic robot city. It's a cool song and I like it, but Frey's Philosophy is just way too strong here.

MATCH 2

I have some mixed feelings about Moonstruck Blossom, but overall, I do like it. That piano intro from 0:00-0:20 is so good and by far my favorite part of the song. I just really wish I enjoyed the rest of the song as much! I don't really like that lead instrument at 0:21. I said this in my RtVGM writeup of this, but it reminds me of one of those rubber chicken toys that make noises when you squeeze them. The rest of the song is neat whimsical Kirby stuff that I've mentioned before makes up what I like about Kirby music. Definitely leagues above Miracle Matter and something I would say I like overall, but I also think it could be better.

Sadly, though, regardless of the good things Moonstruck Blossom does, it's up against Akiko Shikata goodness. CLASS::CIEL_NOSURGE; is such a cool song! This one plays up the world genre a ton. Probably more than many of her other songs, which is interesting to note. 0:33-0:50 just hits you like a freight train and illustrates so well what I like about Akiko Shikata's music. 0:50-0:59 is also a super cool part with how dark and mysterious it sounds. It's like you've angered the gods during that part. The only thing I don't like is the vocals during 2:41-3:25. Particularly the not-so-singing vocals. They're a little too weird for me. That's my only complaint for a song that's otherwise incredibly good, so it certainly doesn't overshadow all the good parts. Never have I been more excited to learn how to count!

MATCH 3

Seeing the Alchemist logo at the start of the video makes me sad because they went bankrupt a few years ago. If only I had a bunch of money to throw at them to keep them afloat! Anyway, Face of Fact is such a great song! I feel like it might not seem like the song I'd be so head over heels for, but I listen to this song so much haha. I have this as a finalist in my favorites bracket because it's that good. The sad thing is that I can't even explain that well why it is I like this song so much. The melody in the vocals is great, as you could probably expect me to say, but I guess it's also that there's different layers to this song that work very well together. For instance, the synth backing starting at 1:12. For whatever reason, it feels like slamming the gas pedal when that part comes up. And then there's 4:46 to the end with more vocal harmonizing! That part sounds so good! Might be my favorite part of the song? Hard to say because I love the whole thing lol. The piano outro is also worth noting.

Zenith is good Yasui stuff that I tend to like from him. Nice energetic, upbeat music. I guess I like this more than some other Yasui songs because it feels more conventional in a sense? Hard to explain, but take, for example, Massive X from Eschatos. It gets a lot of praise, but I'm pretty lukewarm about it. Just the chords/melody the song uses just feels too weird for me. Zenith, on the other hand, is more diatonic I guess? So, yeah, this is a pretty good song, but Face of Fact is just too strong.

Face of Fact > CLASS::CIEL_NOSURGE > Frey's Philosophy > Zenith > Moonstruck Blossom > Theme of E-102 Gamma

Another good day today! Not too surprising that so many of these days recently have been strong since Bracket B has so many favorites of mine. Of course, it helps when the ToC match is good too lol.