LogFAQs > #938082505

Megalovania
Lake
Chocolate Missile

-this track's presence bugs me in a few different ways. I think it's an unmitigated downgrade from undertale's version-- the modification of the bass and melody at 0:42 feel cornier than the original, the bass at 0:46 hits a note I think is worse than the original, the portamento slide at 0:54 feels worse. the arrangement makes the track feel more laboured at times, and the moments where it should have a sharper presence feel muddy (1:47-- if that guitar is riffing like that, maybe soften the accompaniment, dampen some of the higher frequencies relative to the lead? find a guitar patch with more body and presence? I dunno I'm no professional but that section feels kinda messy).
-but it's not just that-- why is this here? maybe instead of this downgraded facsimile of a retired track, nominated ostensibly to work around a system put into place to encourage new things in the contest to shine instead of retreading old favourites until the end of days, we could have had nilin the memory hunter. or duality! (or duality!!)
-ssbu megalovania walks onto the scene and sans comes to greet it. "my brother'd really like to see an unretired track... so, y'know, it'd really help me out... if you kept pretending to be one."
-Chou chou kou soku de mae sai soku!!! Speed star Kanade. hmm. hmmm.
-I don't think I can vote for speed star kanade in good faith. I don't particularly enjoy speed star kanade's brand of speedcore, I like undertale's take on megalovania some amount, and this remix doesn't damage it enough for me to dislike it outright. still, ssbu megalovania-- you're gonna have a bad time.

-lake. very pretty track! really like the relaxed 6/8 feel of the first part and the descending notes on the piano/harp synth; it evokes a sort of otherworldly calm and beauty. the section where it switches to a 3/3/2 beat pattern with faster percussion is cool in a different way, though it disrupts the calmer vibe of the track overall in a way I don't know if I really agree with. This section sort of resolves the track melodically, and that's nice, but I wish the percussion were a bit subtler.
-merciless savior. pretty neat track, with a buildup to the synth at 0:33 which is a very cool entrance. the violin paints a pretty interesting melody and works with the 10/8 rhythm here pretty nicely. suddenly ominous choral section gives sort of a 'boss is member of religious authority' vibe (which I think is something that shows up in other trails tracks). then there's an extended section where the violins riff on top of the main 8-chord progression. this is kinda neat but I think it overstays its welcome a bit, especially given it returns to this after revisiting the opening section.

-the other day (actually the bad end syndrome match day) I tried listening to chocolate missile from sort of a 'first time listening to this, let's be critical' mentality (as opposed to the actual state of having listened to this a great deal since I first ran into it). the vocals might not appeal, or the melody they follow (fitting in a surprisingly narrow vocal range). some of the different aesthetics the track adopts may come off as corny. a flow that feels scattershot rather than dynamic, unremarkable vocal prowess-- I can see the case against it.
-who am I kidding though-- I love this track. if you take just the melody line out of context, it's actually not that interesting, but the chords underneath transform it into something really cool, which I find pretty mesmerizing. I like how the song grows and shrinks in size and arrangement, and morphs. the stutter and glitch effects add neat aspects to the accompaniment, and express an aesthetic without dominating the track. it goes through this whirlwind of styles but I don't lose the thread connecting it all. it doesn't feel rushed to finish everything in two minutes, or adopt certain conventions for tracks picked for rhythm games that I find tired. I just enjoy this through and through.
-I heard monolith and immediately thought 'oh I definitely compared this to hybrid's Higher than a Skyscraper at one point'. it really does remind me of it! I think it lays out a pretty nice base feel, but my main objection to this track is that it sits on it a bit too much. some meaningful variance in the repeating chord progression would go a long way. there's a brief moment where it looks like it's going to do that (at 5:44)! but then it goes back to safety soon afterward. monolith feels somewhat, well, monolithic. even the brief callback to cloudscapes and speed doesn't shake it up in a way that really strikes me.