Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 34! SecretCave/FinalSmile, 2DistntSky/Tenement, AngelRain/MagusCnfrnt

(+) Yeah! (+)

Secret Cave
To The Distant Sky
Magus Confronted

i swear to god if to the distant sky loses by like 2 again i'm gonna fall over and die forever

From Toxtricity:

The Final Smile (Subarashiki Hibi)
Tenement of the Blue Spirit (Caravan Stories)
Magus Confronted (Chrono Trigger)

Secret cave is so epic and makes me feel so powerful..

The drums here remind me a lot of cool japanese math-rock/post-rock type stuff that i like that has very similar raw and echoy distant instrumentation/production. Its pretty neat. This match is pretty close!

Something i never noticed about to the distant sky until now - - the actual production feels very modern but the instrumentation is very 1987-1997, this would be an interesting anachronism if it werent explained by 2003

Caramel stories; when steve comes out to play; he wont be a little guy for you no more. He will treat you to a computer of numbers and friendship; the forest computer, all trees are like a network just like the internet. Even if it might be one of the more basic things u can do to be polymetric, i will always get a big k,ick out of things that are in-your-face groups of 5/16 in like a 1x3xx pettern on top of things that arent doing that

Accordion!!! Thats the instrument that originated in ar tonelico ii, and then they went back in time and gave it to the europeans

I always think im not going to vote for this but then :50-1:12 happens and then i am going to vote for it

From Haste_Deux:

Secret Cave
Tenement of the Blue Spirit
Magus Confronted

From hbthebattle:

Secret Cave but its way closer than i expected
To the Distant Sky
Angel Rain

Raiden V - Secret Cave
Caravan Stories - Tenement of the Blue Spirit
We Love Katamari - Angel Rain

Not too enthusiastic about anything today, but I would like to extend a special nod for To the Distant Sky. The point difference in that match is razor-thin. Today's hors d`oeuvres:

[8.5] Tenement of the Blue Spirit
[8.5] To the Distant Sky
[8.0] Angel Rain
[7.0] Secret Cave
[7.0] Magus Confronted
[6.5] The Final Smile

Secret Cave
Tenement of the Blue Spirit
Magus Confronted

8
7.7
6.5
8.5
8.4
9

The Final Smile
Tenement of the Blue Spirit
Angel Rain

The Final Smile
Tenement of the Blue Spirit
Angel Rain

--
Secret Cave [7.6]
The Final Smile [7.8]

There's something oddly Bastion/Hades-esque that I feel in this Raiden V track, most likely because of the style of guitar used here instead of the pure electric, shredding guitar that Unknown Pollution treats me with. It feels decent at the "Darren Korb" parts, but it doesn't impress me as much during the other parts of the song.

The Final Smile definitely does more with guitar here, and the vocals sound nice to listen to. I swear, I get huge "Sunny Day from Vib-Ribbon" vibes here, and it makes me want to hear the song go lighter and happier instead of the slight somber tone it exerts instead. As is, however, the guitar is winning me over here, and this'll get my vote for sure.

To The Distant Sky [7.7]
Tenement of the Blue Spirit [9.1]

To the Distant Sky sounds decent, I definitely like the softer parts in the song that don't go full upbeat for rhythm. The singer is fine here, but it's not a particularly strong voice in any way that I was hoping it'd be. I keep thinking it's a clone of Sky of Twilight from Atelier and I'm expecting Kanako Ito's voice to jump in at any second, and I'm left kinda disappointed.

From what I heard so far from the Caravan Stories library, Tenement is definitely one of my top favorites so far. The piano does a tremendous job in creating this mysterious, mystical atmosphere that makes me think "you're either so close to fulfilling a goal in this forest where you're bound to get lost in", or "you're desperately trying to run away from someone that wants to find you for something you're not ready for"; in any case, it invokes a feeling of breathless motion that gets me heavily invested any time I hear this. The drop at 1:05 is so delicious to me, and the buildup reaching to that point is such a pleasure to my ears. Solid song overall!

Angel Rain [8.7]
Magus Confronted [8.6]

This matchup makes me sad.

Angel Rain manages to use both the "soft and flowy" and "upbeat and happy" styles of music that Katamari is known for into one setting, and it just sounds so good all around. The transition between them sounds a bit messy, but it's still really great to listen to.

Battle with Magus is definitely one of the better songs in the Trigger soundtrack. I love the initial buildup, with the wind sound effect added as a nice flair to the anticipation right before the battle properly begins. It's dark and dramatic and delivers very well on its purpose, I can easily recall what this battle was like as the melody goes on.

I might barely prefer Katamari for now, but this is a matchup where I will happily take either or going into Round 2.

abstain
Tenement of the Blue Spirit
Magus Confronted

The Final Smile
Tenement of the Blue Spirit
Magus Confronted

Magus Blue Spirit Distant Sky > The Final Smile = Secret Cave > Angel Rain

Man, Angel Rain could be the best song of the day with a different vocalist. That breathiness just doesn't work for me at all, and brings what could be an 8+ just under a 7.

Secret Cave 5 Pulsing action with monstrously heavy instrumentation. There's a sense of danger and tension that undercuts the whole song. Not really my thing, I think it goes too hard and doesn't let anything breathe

The Final Smile 7 The vocals of this song are very good. They sing of someone saying goodbye to all their friends, like on a final ride through the sky on a shooting star or something. I think the parts with low fi bgm are more boring though.

To The Distant Sky 5.5 A tribal heartfelt call to the yonder world. I like when the synths come in during the second half. It gives the song a more modern feel to the more pure and traditional tone.

Tenement of the Blue Spirit 6 I feel this is the sort of song I'd need to hear a bunch for it to grow on me. Because listening to the looping, slowly evolving piano is boring and a little annoying. But idk maybe if I listened to this all the time, those parts that I think are repetitive and annoying might latch on to me and become strengths. That this song could be something I take solace in. There is some beauty in it, but it's just hidden too far for me to appreciate. Lol idk why I got so meta with this.

Angel Rain 7.5 Thank you Robin for loving this song and spreading your passion of it. It starts off with a very frenchy sound ? like an accordian or saxophone. I love how the vocalist, YOU, sounds like she is up close to the mic, almost whispering the lyrics into your soul. It's very enriching, yet calming. There's a certain tenderness about it. The part where the little rustling comes in at 1:20 is my favorite part. When the vocals take a break for the dnb to pick up in the second part, it's a little too strange a switch at first. The pulse pounding tone is a stark shift from the calming track up until that point, but it quickly settles into a nice groove. It's a really radical change but I dig it.

Magus Confronted 3.5 The pitch of the instrumentation is idk, too strong and dissonant for me. It just comes on very bluntly and lacks poise and nuance. I mean it's not a bad song, it's just without any ease in to the raw sounds. The distant sound of a wailing goat is also funny but not really.

The Final Smile
Tenement of the Blue Spirit
Angel Rain

vote change to
Caravan Stories - Tenement of the Blue Spirit

deleted the wrong song oops

Secret Cave
Distant Sky
totally not Dracula song from Chronovania :3 (Magus theme)

Secret Cave
Tenement of the Blue Spirit
Angel Rain

abstain
To The Distant Sky
Angel Rain

Secret Cave
Tenement of the Blue Spirit
Magus Confronted

The Final Smile
Tenement of the Blue Spirit
Magus Confronted

Pretty solid day also hi lol

match 2 was really tough for me ngl

Subarashiki Hibi - The Final Smile
SkyGunner - To The Distant Sky
Chrono Trigger - Magus Confronted

Secret Cave
To the Distant Sky
Angel Rain