Board 8 > [BOST] Day 25: Ar nosurge v Einhander, ChrnoTrigg v Dandara, Caligula v Cadence

(+) Yeah! (+)

Greetings, and welcome to the Best OST Contest 5! In this contest, you and fellow video game soundtrack lovers will come together to once and for all answer the question "What is the best video game soundtrack? (For now.)"

Links:
Contest Bracket and Info - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sD964sXfa3trbXrr14mFKeEIA14cGM2RtHmW9TqGBmw
Discussion Thread - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77915805

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VOTING RULES

- Each match will be between the songs representing each game, not the game as a whole. Please remember to listen and vote with this in mind! Any votes referring to a game name rather than a song name will not be counted. You have been warned!
- Listen to both songs!! If one is your literal favorite song in the world and the other is something you hate with a passion, listen to them both!!
- No alts, no rallying, no begging for something to get more votes, etc., etc., you know the drill.
- If you change your mind and would like to swap your vote, you may do so. As soon as it is 24 hours since the match topic was started, you may not change your vote and new votes will not be counted.
- If you would like to vote in advance for matches you know you will miss, please let me know in the discussion topic.

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Main Bracket: Winners Round 2

Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::XIO_PROCEED;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hs_Zukzguc" data-time="

Einhnder - Earthlight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTSSiQd0ynE" data-time="

Main Bracket: Losers Round 1

Chrono Trigger - Wind Scene

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey7138P-jSw" data-time="

Dandara - Golden Menace

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ryNKPJMEZ4" data-time="

Snubs Bracket Match

Caligula - Cradle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-D8uUPXCeg" data-time="

Cadence of Hyrule - Kakariko Crypt (Combat)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IKbQAVgNZU" data-time="

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Vote Form:
Class::XIO_PROCEED; / Earthlight
Wind Scene / Golden Menace
Cradle / Kakariko Crypt (Combat)

Either CT or Dandara has to go out this round, huh...

Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::XIO_PROCEED; - man, how many vocal tracks does this game have?! Earthlight is good, as well.

Second match is tough... Dandara has so many elements it does perfectly in all of its music, even though this is weaker imo than the other Golden track last round. Wind Scene is one of my favorites from CT, contrary to the rep it had last round. Chrono Trigger - Wind Scene, it is.

Caligula - Cradle
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xio procede
golden menace
cradle
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Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Chrono Trigger - Wind Scene
Cadence of Hyrule - Kakariko Crypt (Combat)
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Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Wind Scene
Cradle

Pretty eh day, though at least XIO is pretty cool.
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Earthlight
Wind Scene
Kakariko Crypt (Combat)
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Earthlight
Wind Scene
Cradle

WB match is extremely extremely good

Golden Fortress was definitely my favourite of Dandara's lower set, not Menace. Wind Scene is probably my favourite of CT's set in general (albeit mainly because I'm super iffy on it and don't care for most of the popular picks all that much. Wind Scene's barely in my top 10). Still vaguely close but CT has the edge.

Cradle v good. Cadence is not my thing.

Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Golden Menace
Cradle

XIO_PROCEED owns a lot and is very awesome. Earthlight is the weakest of the entire Einhander set to me by far and only makes me kinda go "oh nice" so yeah this is extremely easy for me, unfortunately. Love both these sets overall to pieces so this one stings lol.

Whoa! Golden Menace has a lot of sounds that make me extremely interested in it, in the same way that Weight of a Doubt grabbed a hold of me and shook me till I liked the Dandara sound. This is definitely stronger than the first round song from Dandara, and edges out Yearnings of the Wind ever so slightly here. This is one good ass match right here!

Cradle owns a lot and is extremely extremely awesome SERIOUSLY SOME OF THE LINES ARE SUPER FIRE WTF "docchi ga hontou ga usokattekoto de kimi no koufuku wa kimerarenai, kimi no shinjitsu ga yurusarenainara kurutteiru no wa sekai da ne" WHO WROTE THIS THE WAY THOSE TWO SING AT THIS PART AAAAAAAA this is actually one of my favorite songs i first heard in 2018 period and i seriously jsut go crazy for it every time i hear it. what the hell is the breakdown from 2:36 to 2:50 jesus christ. kakariko is actually cool except inferior to both songs its ripping off oops

Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Wind Scene
Cradle

The more Gust songs I listen to, the more convinced I am that it's the absolute pinnacle of vocal VGM. I'm almost getting tired of how amazing it all is. Earthlight actually puts up a pretty strong fight this match, I really like the '90s smooth jazz instruments here.

Wind Scene is that really sappy emotional SNES tune that shows up in every top SNES music playlist on YouTube ever. It's certainly iconic/recognizable, I'll give it that. I was going into this match with high expectations for the Dandara track, but Golden Menace really let me down. This is very atmospheric, so it doesn't really get a chance to showcase much of the cool stuff that other things in this soundtrack get to do (though still enough to show off the superb sound direction). Sadly, this just isn't my thing, though I do respect what it's going for.

Wow, Cradle might just be the single most anime thing I've heard in BOST. But like, the kind of super weeb anime music I really love, as opposed to stuff like You Don't Have to be Cinderella (Tired Mix). Kakariko Crypt has some really cool parts to it, then some extra parts added in that I'm not crazy about.
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Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Wind Scene
Kakariko Crypt (Combat)

Earthlight
Wind Scene
Cradle

Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Golden Menace
Cradle
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Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Wind Scene
Cradle

Composed: Akiko Shikata
Arranged: Akiko Shikata
Lyrics: Akiko Shikata
Performed: Akiko Shikata

akiko shikata rulz ok

This is a real good day in general. Wind Scene is awesome (probably top 3 or 4 CT track), and both songs in the final match are fantastic. I don't like some of the vocals early on in Cradle, but once it gets more song-y I like it a ton. Cadence of Hyrule has a real bad setlist here in general, but Kakariko Crypt might be my favorite of the bunch.
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Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Golden Menace
Kakariko Crypt (Combat)
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Earthlight
Golden Menace
Kakariko Crypt (Combat)

Earthlight is a really cool chill track of like a semi-surreal worldly feel. The bright open setting the song shifts to at 2:00 works really well and the beat tones really remind me of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon hm am I reminded of that too much, hmm... Classxioproceed is a varied vocal song with some interesting elements like a semi-surreal feel of it's own, as well as some occasional digital vibes, but also some moody & other elements I particularly don't like. I guess with it's variety decently executed, I would say it is a good song, but it also isn't one I really want to listen to again that much.

Wind scene is a good kind of silly goofy calm while Golden Menache is a good kind of "overarching dark" song with some cool drums that kind of remind me of Super Smash Bros N64 Menu Ambience like at 1:41. Could really probably go either way on this match depending on moods or so.

Cradle has a cool kind of intense feel but with the more "typical" instrumentation led by the electric guitar + the vocals bring this song down basically to just "tolerable" to me. 1:06 is funny. 2:36 is so uncharacteristically good compared to the rest of the song wow jeez. I think maybe I was gearing up to disliking KakarikoCrypt knowing how much Mycro dislikes this soundtrack and we share some similarities but not here Sorry Mycro, though this is personally maybe one of the better songs I've heard from CadenceOfHyrule. I can get behind this sort of instrumentation especially with the sort of synthed bass, and I like a lot of the key-down-shifts it does about halfway through like 1:15, and also 1:02 but they keep shifting down a bit too far at that one.
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I'm sorry. I was so hungry for love
But I couldn't make it work out
I didn't want to destroy it
But you just had to laugh at me

When this world's so ugly
When I'm so ugly
When I've realized nobody wants me
I know who my enemy is: all of them

My hopes have turned to ash
What future can there be here?
Where the carefree beast of sin
Can act like he doesn't know that nameless hell?

There was one ray of hope,
But you stole it, toyed with it, threw it away
And that sunbeam I worked so hard to find?
You'll just find and defile it anyways

(Save me) I heard (Save me) your curses, your prayers
(Save me) You don't have to cry
I'll love you down to your core
So let's go, let's go

Hey, are you maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed?
Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared, right?
Come to me. You've been through so much sorrow
So let this dream be kind
Hey, want to see more? More? More? More? More? More?
Want to remain? Remain? Remain? Remain? Remain? Remain? Remain?
You're allowed to be happy
Welcome home to the cradle made for you

I'll do it for you, my love
I'll love you forever
Were we born to suffer?
Wouldn't you like to be rewarded too?

Which one's real and which one's false
Won't decide what brings you joy
If they won't accept your reality
Then maybe it's the world that's fucked up

(Save me) Every wish (Save me) ends in ruin
(Save me) But still I hope
It smarts, doesn't it? But you're smarter for it
So let's go, let's go, let's go

Hey, are you maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed?
Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared, right?
I hate that nothing you do ever gets rewarded
So let this dream be kind
Hey, want to see more? More? More? More? More? More?
Want to remain? Remain? Remain? Remain? Remain? Remain? Remain?
You don't have to put an end to happiness
Welcome home to the cradle made for you

(Maimed/scared a lot)

Hey, are you maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed? Maimed?
Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared? Scared, right?
It's all right. I'll never let you go again
Never let you wake again

Hey, you won't be maimed, or maimed, or maimed, or maimed anymore
Don't be afraid, or afraid, or afraid, or afraid anymore
Come to me. You've been through so much sorrow
So let this dream be kind
Hey, want to see more? More? More? More? More? More?
Want to remain? Remain? Remain? Remain? Remain? Remain? Remain?
You're allowed to be happy
Welcome home to the cradle made for you

...ahem.
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Earthlight
Wind Scene
Cradle

Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Wind Scene
Kakariko Crypt (Combat)
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Earthlight
Wind Scene
Kakariko Crypt (Combat)

Had pretty much the same reaction to today's vocal songs; I would hate it, think it was actually good, and then settle on it being just okay.
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No writeups today. You'll have to fill in the blanks yourself!

Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::XIO_PROCEED;: 6.
vs.
Einhnder - Earthlight: 5.

and

Chrono Trigger - Wind Scene: 9.5.
vs.
Dandara - Golden Menace: 7.5.

and

Caligula - Cradle: 9. After I really disliked Distorted Happiness so much (both versions), this was a wonderful surprise!
vs.
Cadence of Hyrule - Kakariko Crypt (Combat): 6.5.

Votes:
Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Wind Scene
Cradle

Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Wind Scene
Kakariko Crypt (Combat)

Earthlight
abstain
Cradle
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Earthlight
Wind Scene
Cradle

Einhnder - Earthlight
"And now your Local on the 8's..."
what a JAM. I am a sucker for apm/weatherscan music and this just felt SO right to listen to. Like, seriously, imagine some enthusiastic, yet tired looking weather man POINTING AT MAPS to this song. This has that mallsofty/production musicy kinda feel to it and I loved every second of it. I kinda fell off of the whole vaporwave/seapunk stuff after it started circulating into meme culture. after that it was suddenly cool and A E S T H E T I C to like this awesome music and not just like it because it was, well, GOOD. This song reminded me of the reasons I started delving into vaporwave and kinda took me back to discovering groups like ECO VIRTUAL and whitewoods and audi.

Dandara - Golden Menace
This song took awhile to grow on me. I don't particularly enjoy songs that have a very slow buildup, as high-energy, proggy, kpm stuff is typically what I go for. And then the industrial noises kicked in. And then the song just went full 0-100 awesome. Wind Scene was cute and extremely atmospheric and I really love it a lot but this just ramped up so much and did so much crazy stuff that I would have never expected from music. It was spellbinding and such a joy to listen to~

Caligula - Cradle
this song was absoultely the most MANI_C experience and I love love loved it! I didn't really know what to expect but gosh it exceeded all of my expectations. It did so much musically and the vocals were extremely good and insane (which is awesome in my book). I love music that is not afraid of going completely off the charts. It makes me wish I could make something that loose and free-flowing. It was completely inventive and such a fun listen, too! I can't say the same for Cadence of Hyrule, though. It had that fake-chiptune + epic guitar mix that just doesn't sit well with me. Cradle was much more fun, musically diverse, and memorable to me.
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Earthlight
Golden Menace
Cradle

super tough day everything is 7+
first match especially rough with a match of basically both 9s
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Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::XIO_PROCEED;
Chrono Trigger - Wind Scene
Caligula - Cradle

MATCH 1

Hooray! More Akiko Shikata! XIO_PROCEED is a really hype song. Parts like 0:46-1:00 as well as the "ORA ORA" parts are just super good. Yet another example of why I love this composer. The mixing on this video sounds different, though, compared to the one I usually listen to. Not sure if this one's more accurate because the other one sounds more "full" for lack of a better word.

Wasn't expecting this chill sound from Einhander after the previous round it was in, but this is pretty nice! Interesting chord changes. I like the marimba or whatever that's used as the lead instrument at times. Gives it this sort of jungle-y feeling that I think is pretty neat. XIO_PROCEED's too strong though.

MATCH 2

[To Be Continued]

Einhnder - Earthlight
Dandara - Golden Menace
The Caligula Effect - Cradle

Earthlight (and Einhnder on the whole) inspires me so much more than than [lesser hymnos song] even though I can always appreciate the inventiveness of AT's world-building. In its way, it feels like a sort of ground zero for artists like D-Vi and Garoad--especially the latter.

Round 2 features tracks that reflects the emotional weight of its respective stories. And while Wind Scene is still effective as ever, never has raw, focused hurt been more tactile than in the music of Dandara.

I could flip my lid about how I don't like DannyB and how his music is so gridded and lame but whatever holy shit Cradle is a trip and a jam and I'm so fucking confused. More


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