LogFAQs > #957160209

Id (Purpose)

I remember back in VGMC10 when- wait, no I don't! I wasn't on the board yet! Well, I did drop in to see what all the Undertale-Best Game Ever fuss was about, but it was during the VGMC offseason - ahem, what I MEANT to open with was: When this year's contest started, if I was given the choice to go straight to an Id (Purpose)-resurrectedreplayer finals instead of trying my luck with the bracket, I'd take the offer in a heartbeat! For the first time since I've participated in VGMC (that is, year 13), I came in with zero knowledge of my vote because both finalists were so good. More specifically, I was planning resurrectedreplayer, listened to the songs and gave a big swing to Id (Purpose), then cut the gap really close upon a relisten until finally sticking with Id.

To be clear, these songs are nowhere near my high tier VGMC picks. Endeavour is my favourite finalist of the last three years and Paradise (Stay Forever) is my favourite retiree this year. I like Don't speak her name! better than Id (Purpose) and was cheering for liberatedliberator over resurrectedreplayer in noms. But it's still the first finals where I wholeheartedly support both songs being here, and by an equal amount no less! Thinking about it, it even feels like a culmination of my time spent in this community, because Fire Emblem and Umineko music are two of my biggest discoveries from VGMC and BOST. My idea of FE before coming here was basically whatever was in Smash Bros. Brawl and I thought nothing of it. I started to reconsider after hearing that 3:28 section of Id in VGMC 13, but not enough to actively seek out more - it took Apex of the World (Rain) and Don't speak her name! in VGMC 14 for me to finally consider myself a FE fan. Umineko was the same kind of slow burn - I'd been into trance and techno before voting in BOST 5, but I clearly didn't "get" the zts epic tracks on my first few listens, and it was only after the finals vs. Blue Reflection that they finally started sticking in my head instead of being forgotten immediately after listening.

This final also gives me some hope for slower/low-energy songs to succeed in VGMC. I've been conditioned by Sunshine Coastline, Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE; and Endeavour to expect that only loud, exciting, triumphant songs are truly champion-worthy, and I still have a hard time letting go of the notion that Dreamy and Boisterous Holy Land would be the most "proper" champion this year. To tell the truth, I absolutely love slower songs that gradually build up with emotion - I don't actively maintain my VGM ranking sheet, but last I touched it The Black Song (International Version) was my #1 with a 9.7, a song I love just as much for its first half as its second half. My #2 and #3 are discolor (Umineko Chiru) and Corridors of Time, and my favourite VGMC 15 song was Besaid Island. I'd love for these kinds of songs to do better in future contests and am holding out hope that this year is at least a small step in that direction!

Finally, huge credit to both songs for the sheer longevity they've demonstrated by making the finals in freaking 2021. VGMC has been running for a long-ass time (to use the technical term), with many voters trickling out over the years only to be replaced by new ones, not to mention changes in individual tastes - I wouldn't be caught dead voting for half the songs I did in VGMC 13! Naturally, there are many past retirees (champions, even) that I would be impressed to see make it out of round 1 in this era, yet there also seem to be songs that magically keep appealing to audiences both old and new (I'm still processing the fact that Id won a contest on GamingForce of all things). In my research, I also learned just how insane Id's first few runs were - in year 8, it made round 4 and lost by 1 vote, just barely missing out on retirement. In year 9, it made round 4 AGAIN and lost by 1 to miss retirement AGAIN. In year 10, it made round 4, WHERE THE MATCH TIED, and Id lost the subsequent tiebreaker! If I was even the slightest fan of Id during those years, I'd keep cheering for it to retire too - though it'd probably have been more effective if it took a one-year break at some point, like Zero-Two.

After a 3-month wild ride, I'll say as usual that I've thoroughly enjoyed this silly contest on this relic of a website (forums in 2021???), and can't wait to do it again next year! (hey, at least we won't have to hear Id for the 25th time)

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-Abraham Lincoln