Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 46! Round 2! DrmsInPie/Laby5, FrestScret/Kobayashi, Mechonis/KazeNoNe

(+) 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!

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Match 1

Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream - Dreams in a Pie
Composer: Yoko Kanno
Loop Point: 4:18
Genre: SUPPER TIME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fFgIDLfbCk

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan - Labyrinth V - Forgo

Forgotten Capital
Imaginary Shopping District
Mechonis Field

I vote for Sleeping in the Cold Below (Long Version) (veeeeeeeever) in this poll

Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Kaze no Ne

Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Kaze no Ne

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan - Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - Kaze no Ne

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan - Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - Kaze no Ne

Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream - Dreams in a Pie
Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles - Kaze no Ne

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

Match 1: Nope, still not a fan of DiaP, and I REALLY don't appreciate getting it stuck in my head... again. Blergh. Forgotten Capital has some lovely melancholy going on with it, however, which helped cleanse the earworm.
Match 2: I'm sort of lukewarm on both of these, to be quite frank.
Match 3: Oh dear I like them both, though. What do I do? Metroid Prime #4507 opener, or Kaze no Notam of Wind? (The latter, I'm afraid. I'm more feeling the sweet guitar than the machinery)
(I still like the English version more, but only slightly.)

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

rough day. Very similar songs in the matches, except for Miss Kobayashi's.

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Gogogo left ear! Music has slightly less impact (lowering the volume, too, just to be safe), but it works well enough. Certain sounds at certain frequencies still sound off, though....

Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Kaze no Ne

I need to resolve the "music in my right ear (or both ears together) sounds like GARBAGE" problem before I refine the top part of my list, and who knows how long that will take so I'll post what I've got for my VGMC 16 rankings! The top quarter or so did get their ratings revised.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14GTleEyCvKnilLTbfW1O-aEMXQwjK9m_c2sGZir_1jU/edit?usp=sharing

Forgotten
Imaginary
Field

-
TANGLED MYSTIQUE
-

defying my ratings noticeably today but eh these were all like 8+es anyway and matches 1 and 3 obviously put me in a more chill mood

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Mechonis Field

Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Kaze no Ne

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Mechonis Field

Match 2 is tough. I'll be happy if Secret of the Forest wins instead, but definitely less happy.

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan - Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition - Mechonis Field

Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Kaze no Ne

close third match. a bit telling that the unifying theme with these votes is "not the atmospheric song"... truly feels like the moon without the stars......

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

The first match is really rough. I'm sorry, Koshiro-san, but Dreams in a Pie is both really sweet and really catchy.

Shopping District is fun! Secret of the Forest is one of the best tracks I've ever heard for setting an atmosphere, though, (and that bass-line!) My second-favorite from Chrono Trigger (after Corridors of Time).

Kaze no Ne deserves to move past this round, but Mechonis Field is such a sick track. It's got good progression without it being too noticable on repeat, and there are a handful of parts that really tug at me (I've mentioned the biggest one in a previous comment; not gonna hunt down the timestamp right now)

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Mechonis Field

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Imaginary Shopping District
Mechonis Field

Forest v Shopping is a wild clash of styles, and it happens to be the closest match for me! Forest takes a bit too long to get going and ISD kicks off with a bang, so that decides it.

I didn't start rating the tracks til day 2 last round, I'll add the rest today so I have a full set.

Dreams: 2.5/5
(Ghost): 3/5
Labyrinth: 4.5/5
(Heavens): 3.5/5
Secret: 3/5
(Name): 4.5/5

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Time for Round 2! My writeups from now on will focus more on the matchups rather than the individual songs, meaning they'll be shorter, but I'll still try to keep them up.

Dreams in a pie is still great. Maaya Sakamoto vocals, Chris Mosdell lyrics, and great string-writing are hard to beat, and Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital definitely doesn't come close to it. The buildup in the last portion of Dreams in a pie is really good, especially when the drums are introduced at 3:20. Labyrinth V is still pretty good, particularly in the bassline. Pretty easy vote for Dreams though.

I still think Chrono Trigger is one of Mitsuda's weaker soundtracks (hopefully this opinion doesn't get me killed), but Secret of the Forest is definitely one of the best from it. Such a great atmosphere and melody to it. Imaginary Shopping District has some good parts to it, particularly in the synths and the drop at 0:33, but it's a bit too chaotic overall for my taste. Another easy vote for Forest here.

Mechonis Field is still absolutely elite. Perfect blend of synths for me. I do wish the original version were nommed instead, but alas. This one is still great though. Kaze no Ne is really good too, but it certainly doesn't come close in this matchup. I appreciate the uilleann pipe solo in the middle quite a bit.

I like all 6 songs today, which is good. Labyrinth V and Imaginary Shopping District are a step below the rest though.

Votes:
Dreams in a pie
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

First two matches were super easy choices, but the third is a really tough one.

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Imaginary Shopping District
Kaze no Ne

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Mechonis Field

From what I remember, I did not vote for either Forgotten Capital or Kaze no Ne in round 1. I definitely like Capital more now than on my first listen, but Dreams in a Pie is one of the GOATs.

I'd be cool with Secret winning, to be honest. I definitely like it more on the level of "cool ambience to write/paint to" than like as a song that I personally find engaging, but I'd still take that over a good quarter of the field at least.

I remember the Kaze no Ne match to be a bit tough round one. I thought, oh man, I love Blizzard Bridge! I want both of these to go on! And then, of course Kaze runs straight into Mechonis Field, another song I consider to be one of the GOATs.

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream - Dreams in a Pie
Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest
Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition - Mechonis Field

Forgotten
Shopping
Field

Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Mechonis Field

New round, new voting gimmick! Not sure if I'll stick with this, but I'd like to give each match a score between 1 and 5 to correspond with how strongly I feel about my vote. The lower the ratings, the less I personally care about the match. Ratings could be affected by how much I like one song, how much I dislike one song, how far apart the songs are in my spreadsheet, things like that. I won't give specifics; you can read into the ratings however you like.

So..
Dreams/Labyrinth: 4
Secret/Shopping: 3
Mechonis/Kaze: 2

Votes:
Dreams in a Pie
Imaginary Shopping District
Kaze no Ne

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Sorry Kanno and sorry Basiscape. I'm going with the OGs

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest
Kaze no Ne

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field

Dreams in a Pie
Secret of the Forest
Mechonis Field