Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 36! UnicornGirl/FFMQB2, Wicked Child/Contrattacco, BattleWDevil/Tachi

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to Video Game Music Contest 16, an annual celebration of the best of the best video game music according to the voters!

Important Links:
Bracket: https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=475935
Contest info sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_IU5iCFTM_4WEx8ZWKwznMz5v2tarCKh1Ag0mxIgAes
Contest discussion thread: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80027411
Main bracket playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3m7iohpL0xxfgkmGKvEyWfHvNZ53Kbn
Last years spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16XAaBMDuUnQ4c5AxQNL9ZhvD7VG5kQyrXWWZxnkrn-o
VGMC total stats sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K1XdLWiUKB2kX99qYBgnRbLU_sCz4dvZSByKKJHCT6o
Discord: https://discord.gg/WDvMS4a

Rules:
- Listen to both songs in a given match, at least through the loop time provided (to make sure you don't skip before you've heard the whole thing!)
- Please consider the loop point listed when judging the song; if a video loops one minute 5 times, don't treat it as if it's a repetitive 5 minute song
- If it's a match between your favorite song ever and a song you despise, still LISTEN TO BOTH! Votes can and will be disqualified if there is suspicion songs are not being listened to, and you may be discounted for the rest of the contest for repeat offenses.
- No alt accounts, no rallying or begging, etc., etc.... You only get one vote! Swapping votes is alright, just make clear that you've already made a vote and are swapping.
- Make clear what your voting options are! Please keep votes separate from any comments, and use the titles given in the topic post.
- Voting in all matches is not mandatory, feel free to skip matches you do not wish to vote in.
- Vote based on the links provided, and not other sources of audio. Links are specifically chosen for best quality and the like.
- Don't discuss vote tallies in this thread, or in other threads, as they may influence votes. Likewise, please refrain from looking at the running tally before voting.

Voting Period:
- Today's matches will last 24 hours from the time of posting, or 24 hours from 10pm Eastern, whichever is the later time.
- Please note this may mean that two topics will be active at the same time!
- If you anticipate being unable to vote in a given day, please send an absentee vote to @banshiryuu, or post your absentee vote in the discussion thread!

.

Match 1

Murasaki Tsurugi - Healthy Unicorn Girl
Composer: watson
Loop Point: 3:32
Genre: IFLEWALBEITIMPERFECTLYANDFIREDARROWSATTHESKYPILLARATHUNDERBOLTOFJUDGMENTFINALLYSTRUCKMESEVERALOFTHETHINGSWEBELIEVEDANDWERECONVINCEDFORTUNATELYITSEEMSISURVIVEDANDTHATSCARONMYHEAD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq9mBei8XVo

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - Battle 2
Composer: Ryuji Sasai
Loop Point: 0:49
Genre: RED CAP ASSAULT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUGDp39srk0

Match 2

Castlevania - Wicked Child
Composer: Kinuyo Yamashita
Loop Point: 1:07
Genre: HELL HYMN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byRbiPxNuA8

Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Composer: PEPOSOFT
Loop Point: 3:27
Genre: ELVEN ADVANCEMENT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY9t-finmRU <cite>banshiryuu posted [p:966317680] in [VGMC] Day... [t:80081595]...</cite> <quote> best battle!!! (pick whichever game you would like) Battle 1 Battle 2 Battle 3 Decisive Battle Decisive Battle II Miniboss Battle Boss Battle Battle to the Death Last Battle Battle!! Vote View Results best battle!!! (pick whichever game you would like) - Results (36 votes) Battle 1 2.78% (1 vote) 1 Battle 2 13.89% (5 votes) 5 Battle 3 2.78% (1 vote) 1 Decisive Battle 13.89% (5 votes) 5 Decisive Battle II 11.11% (4 votes) 4 Miniboss Battle 2.78% (1 vote) 1 Boss Battle 19.44% (7 votes) 7 Battle to the Death 5.56% (2 votes) 2 Last Battle 13.89% (5 votes) 5 Battle!! 13.89% (5 votes) 5 Show Voting Form function poll_vote() { var vote_option = $("input[name='poll_vote']:checked").val(); if(!vote_option) return; $.ajax({ type: 'POST', url: '/ajax/forum_poll_vote', data: { option: vote_option, board: '8', topic: '80081595', message: '0', key: 'e3927d69' }, success: function(response) { if(response.error) { alert(response.error); } else { $("#poll_vote").hide(); $("#poll_results").html(response.html).show(); } } }); } function view_results_legacy() { $("#poll_vote").hide(); $("#poll_results").show(); } function hide_results_legacy() { $("#poll_results").hide(); $("#poll_vote").show(); } Welcome to Video Game Music Contest 16, an annual celebration of the best of the best video game music according to the voters! Important Links: Bracket: https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=475935 Contest info sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_IU5iCFTM_4WEx8ZWKwznMz5v2tarCKh1Ag0mxIgAes Contest discussion thread: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80027411 Main bracket playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3m7iohpL0xxfgkmGKvEyWfHvNZ53Kbn Last years spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16XAaBMDuUnQ4c5AxQNL9ZhvD7VG5kQyrXWWZxnkrn-o VGMC total stats sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K1XdLWiUKB2kX99qYBgnRbLU_sCz4dvZSByKKJHCT6o Discord: https://discord.gg/WDvMS4a Rules: - Listen to both songs in a given match, at least through the loop time provided (to make sure you don't skip before you've heard the whole thing!) - Please consider the loop point listed when judging the song; if a video loops one minute 5 times, don't treat it as if it's a repetitive 5 minute song - If it's a match between your favorite song ever and a song you despise, still LISTEN TO BOTH! Votes can and will be disqualified if there is suspicion songs are not being listened to, and you may be discounted for the rest of the contest for repeat offenses. - No alt accounts, no rallying or begging, etc., etc.... You only get one vote! Swapping votes is alright, just make clear that you've already made a vote and are swapping. - Make clear what your voting options are! Please keep votes separate from any comments, and use the titles given in the topic post. - Voting in all matches is not mandatory, feel free to skip matches you do not wish to vote in. - Vote based on the links provided, and not other sources of audio. Links are specifically chosen for best quality and the like. - Don't discuss vote tallies in this thread, or in other threads, as they may influence votes. Likewise, please refrain from looking at the running tally before voting. Voting Period: - Today's matches will last 24 hours from the time of posting, or 24 hours from 10pm Eastern, whichever is the later time. - Please note this may mean that two topics will be active at the same time! - If you anticipate being unable to vote in a given day, please send an absentee vote to @banshiryuu, or post your absentee vote in the discussion thread! . Match 1 Murasaki Tsurugi - Healthy Unicorn Girl Composer: watson Loop Point: 3:32 Genre: IFLEWALBEITIMPERFECTLYANDFIREDARROWSATTHESKYPILLARATHUNDERBOLTOFJUDGMENTFINALLYSTRUCKMESEVERALOFTHETHINGSWEBELIEVEDANDWERECONVINCEDFORTUNATELYITSEEMSISURVIVEDANDTHATSCARONMYHEAD https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oq9mBei8XVo Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - Battle 2 Composer: Ryuji Sasai Loop Point: 0:49 Genre: RED CAP ASSAULT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUGDp39srk0 Match 2 Castlevania - Wicked Child Composer: Kinuyo Yamashita Loop Point: 1:07 Genre: HELL HYMN https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byRbiPxNuA8 Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - Contrattacco - Emotional Overload Composer: PEPOSOFT Loop Point: 3:27 Genre: ELVEN ADVANCEMENT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XY9t-finmRU</quote>

... Copied to Clipboard!

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

Horn
Counterattack
Sword

9
7.5
7
9.5
9
9.5

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco
Battle with the Devil

For what it's worth, Battle with the Devil just missed out on my top 20.

Battle 2 [7.5]
Unicorn Girl [8.5]
Contrattacco [6.5]
Wicked Child [6.5]
Battle with The Devil [9]
Tachi [8.5]

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Battle with the Devil

Oh nice, only one song over 4 minutes long! My ADHD loves today's lineup.

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Wicked Child
Tachi

Especially good about Battle 2 being under a minute to loop is that I'd all but decided that I wasn't voting for it before even hearing it. Healthy Unicorn Girl is amazing in a way that a SNES song would be hard-pressed to contend against. It was still very good, of course, but as I expected, it was outmatched.

Of course, my argument that the early-gen systems wouldn't be able to contend against some of the stuff the modern games can do was quickly undermined by Wicked Child easily outpacing Battle 2...and both of them even more easily outpacing Contrattacco - Emotional Overload, which was just bad.

Not good for my ADHD: Battle with the Devil's lengthy intro. Was really tempted to write it off early. It got its act together, but it was still kind of weak. Neotokyo, on the other hand, is still as strong a soundtrack as ever.

Healthy Unicorn Girl >> Wicked Child >> Tachi > Battle 2 >> Battle with the Devil >>>>>>>>> Contrattacco - Emotional Overload

Murasaki Tsurugi - Healthy Unicorn Girl
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Neotokyo - Tachi

extremely tough third

IFLEWALBEITIMPERFECTLYANDFIREDARROWSATTHESKYPILLARATHUNDERBOLTOFJUDGMENTFINALLY
STRUCKMESEVERALOFTHETHINGSWEBELIEVEDANDWERECONVINCEDFORTUNATELYITSEEMSISURVIVED
ANDTHATSCARONMYHEADELVENADVANCEMENTCELTICHELL

worth it

Battle 2
Wicked Child
Tachi

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

Battle 2
Wicked Child
Tachi

Battle 2
emotional overload because i am leaving home and going back to nimbyland
Atonement: Tsugunai -- Maou to no Tatakai

Battle 2
Wicked Child
Tachi

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Wicked Child
Battle with the Devil

Match 1: *Angry eyes* versus *Angry genre* seriously who decided the name of that one and I am confused about the context.
Match 2: My status as a Castlevania fan is known. I will acknowledge that I'm getting some weird vibes off of Contrattacco. Possibly an emotional overload. (Or an "I swear I've heard this somewhere else before, oh wait no it's just swapping familiar and unfamiliar songs every twenty seconds.) Sorry, WidePeepoSoft, but I gotta go with the classic here.
Match 3: Tachi has the right melancholy that usually hits me, but Battle with the Devil resonated a bit more to me.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - Battle 2
Castlevania - Wicked Child
Tsugunai: Atonement - Battle with the Devil

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

huh, Triple Support day for me

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

FYI Contrattacco doesn't actually loop until 6:15; there are some second loop changes (extra layers like the guitar melody at 3:40 and new synth line at 5:40, octave change at the 3:52 section, etc.) and there's a completely new section at 5:49. I doubt any of the extra material will actually make a difference in anyone's decision, but I bring it up for completeness

Contrattacco was quite possibly my favorite 2021 video game song. I'm absolutely in love with the melding of beautiful synth design and distortion, and compositionally stuff like 1:11 knocks me out of my seat

I remember not liking this Tsugunai track all that much in the past, but it's good actually! Not Neotokyo good, but still good!

Battle 2
Wicked Child
Battle with the Devil

Battle 2
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Battle with the Devil

Match 3 is very tough.

Battle 2
Wicked Child
Tachi

Good matches today, I think I could vote the other tracks as much, but gotta stick with what I like more.

Battle
Emotional
Tachi

Battle 2
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - Battle 2
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tsugunai: Atonement - Battle with the Devil

MATCH 1

Healthy Unicorn Girl is okay. I don't mind listening to it, but there isn't really anything about it that stands out to me.

Battle 2 is a pretty solid battle theme. Good melody and energy to it. Not the best, but nothing to complain about either.

MATCH 2

My feelings on Wicked Child are similar to my feelings on Healthy Unicorn Girl. With this match in particular, I'd take any of my favorite NES era Castlevania songs like Bloody Tears or Aquarius over Wicked Child's opponent. The melody in Wicked Child doesn't stand out to me very much, but I feel like I'd want the instruments to sound different as well. Like a different duty cycle or something. To give a comparison, I have a preference for how the instruments in the Famicom version of Castlevania 3 sound (though I understand that the addition of the VRC6 probably contributes significantly to that).

Emotional Overload isn't really all that special to me either. The guitar and strings are kinda cool, though I don't quite get what I'm hoping for out of them. Difficult match where I don't have strong feelings one way or the other.

MATCH 3

Battle With the Devil is some nice folky stuff. 0:43 especially is really good. Could do without the last 40 seconds or so before the loop point though. To me, there's not much going on during that part.

Tachi is a pretty decent listen throughout. Nothing amazing, but far from bad. Though I'm not a big fan of 2:21-2:47.

Battle with the Devil > Battle 2 > Tachi > Contrattacco - Emotional Overload > Wicked Child > Healthy Unicorn Girl

Kinda meh day today.

IFLEWALBEITIMPERFECTLYANDFIREDARROWSATTHE SKYPILLARATHUNDERBOLT OFJUDGMENTFINALLYSTRUCKMESEVERALOFTHETHINGS WEBELIEVEDANDWERECONVINCED_FORTUNATELYITSEEMSISURVIVED ANDTHATSCARONMYHEAD
Wicked Child
Tachi

Battle 2
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

Might change my mind on that third one. Kind of a rude match for R1.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - Battle 2
Castlevania - Wicked Child
Neotokyo - Tachi

Y'know I very nearly supported both of the songs in match 1. Battle 2 is ranked like #4 or #5 for me right now in terms of VGM (as in, all VGM)

Match 2 is also a banger

close 3rd match (what's this, a Neotokyo song I actually like??)

Battle 2
Wicked Child
Tachi

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Battle with the Devil

Just not in a chiptune mood today, even though I'd normally vote for Mystic Quest or Castlevania songs.

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Wicked Child
Tachi

Unicorn is a pretty healthy track! I don't love every segment but I think they all flow into each other nicely and the overall piece leaves me satisfied. I like the song more as it goes on.
Battle 2 is decent high energy fighting music, but there's not quite enough here.

Wicked Child isn't the Castlevania track I would've supported (RIP Mad Forest), but it is solid. :43 to the loop is the best part and keeps this from being forgettable.
Taco is probably doing more interesting stuff but I don't enjoy it as much, save for the part a minute in that starts calm and becomes obnoxiously intense (in a good way!). I'm glad it's here, but I'm not voting for it.

Devil Battle is fun, and not at all what I'd expect from the title! I think it loses steam in its second half though, the quiet part doesn't add much.
Yep, Tachi is still great. It is so very my kind of thing, and has the best vibes of the day. If I had to find a criticism for it, it's that the second big climactic part doesn't improve upon the first one.

Unicorn: 3.5/5
Battle: 3/5
Child: 3.5/5
Overload: 2.5/5
Devil: 3/5
Tachi: 4.5/5

Murasaki Tsurugi - Healthy Unicorn Girl
Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth - Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tsugunai: Atonement - Battle with the Devil

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Battle with the Devil

Pretty good day. I liked Contrattacco and Battle with the Devil a fair bit.

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Wicked Child
Tachi

1. PowerOne
2. You Were There
3. Scroll Stage
4. ???
5. Staff Roll (Super Mario 64)
6. Dreams in a Pie
7. Battle With Magus
8. Abstract Map
9. CHAMPION RITUAL
10. Passing Through the Forest
11. Battle With the Devil
12. The Final Smile
13. Frantic Aspic
14. Field (Late Night)
15. A CYBER'S WORLD?
16. ???
17. ???
18. Kusanagi Village
19. Tenement of the Blue Spirit
20. Calling
21. LIN NE KRO NE
22. Egg Reverie
23. Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
24. Angel's Rain
25. The Glittering City of Yusnaan
26. ???
27. Tachi
28. Sky Tower
29. Indignant Divinity
30. The Elephant's Foot of Obnoxious Music
31. Time Moves Slow
32. The Apex of the World (Rain)
33. Radical Dreamers ~Unstolen Jewel~
34. Interwoven Stories
35. ???
36. liberatedliberater
37. Blue Orb
38. Home Sweet Home
39. The Wretched Automatons
40. It's Dangerous to Go Alone
41. Move Me
42. Battle 2
43. xxxx/xx/xx (Remix)
44. Yggdrasil
45. stg_travel_2_3
46. ???
47. SaKuRa
48. The Rain Formerly Known as Purple
49. ???
50. Kaze no Ne

Lots of "me songs" today: Mystic Quest, NES chip, an intense and somewhat abrasive battle-esque theme, and two 9+s (which are sadly in the same match).

If I redid this list right now, Emotional Overload would go in between Blue Orb and Home Sweet Home.

I supported Tachi but Battle With the Devil is one of my favorite Mitsuda pieces. Really brutal match.

Votes:
Battle 2
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Battle with the Devil

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Battle with the Devil

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Battle with the Devil

HUG
CEC
BWD (& BWKFAST)

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Wicked Child
Battle with the Devil

Battle 2
Wicked Child
Battle with the Devil

Battle 2
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

Battle 2
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Battle with the Devil

I like some of the irregular rhythms in Healthy Unicorn Girl. The actual composition doesn't really interest me at all though. Just not my type of song.

Battle 2 isn't really my thing either, though I do like the melody decently. Good enough to beat its opponent at least.

Wicked Child is definitely one of my favorite NES chiptunes out there. Great melody and just a fun composition overall. It'll pretty easily get my vote in this match.

Contrattacco has a pretty messy mix, making it hard for me to really enjoy it. There are some pretty neat synths and ideas in here though. But the poor mix makes this a hard sell for me.

Battle With the Devil is definitely one of my favorite Mitsuda pieces. Really neat to make an intense celtic song like this. Great vocals, great use of the sampled uilleann pipes, really neat chords. Good mix as well. Pretty fantastic song overall.

Tachi is also pretty good. Tbh, this match feels a bit too strong on both sides to be a R1 match. I could see the winner of this match having a pretty good shot at retiring. Cool vocals and e-guitars in Tachi overall though. Nice percussion as well. The mixing could be a bit cleaner though, and this one is a bit on the repetitive side, though those are both minor gripes. Still a really good song, and I'd probably vote for it over pretty much everything else today that's not Battle With the Devil.

Very strong last match and pretty meh other matches. Wicked Child is good tho.

Votes:
Battle 2
Wicked Child
Battle With the Devil

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest - Battle 2
Castlevania - Wicked Child
Tsugunai: Atonement - Battle with the Devil

For various reasons I listened to HUG both last night and today, but I like it much less today for whatever reason. Battle 2 is good stuff.

Wicked Child is fun enough, though it isn't on the level of the truly classic CV songs. Contrattacco goes a few too many places. Still solid and interesting though.

Oh hey I figured Battle with the Devil was Mitsuda. Has a very CC sound to it. Tachi reminds me of Steins;Gate music.

Battle 2
Contrattacco
Battle with the Devil

Battle with the Devil > Tachi > Battle 2 > Contrattacco - Emotional Overload > Healthy Unicorn Girl > Wicked Child

Battle 2
Wicked Child
Battle with the Devil

Healthy Unicorn Girl is really good - has a lot of cool sounds and ideas but manages to not sound overly busy - but something about the FFMQ sound font just hits right when it comes to battle themes.
I suppose I'm just keeping it simple today. Contra taco has some cool bits but doesn't entirely feel like it knows what it wants to do. Wicked Child has a good drive and a nice melody and sometimes that's just all I want man
There was one Neotokyo song I quite liked a few years ago - Imbrium, I believe. This is not that. Very "atmosphere" match which is unfortunately not my thing.

Battle 2
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Battle with the Devil

Battle 2
Contrattacco - Emotional Overload
Tachi

7.6
8.5
8
8.3
7.8
9.5

Tachi is another one of those songs I forget is from a videogame. Neotokyo is just a really good album

Healthy Unicorn Girl
Wicked Child
Tachi