Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 23! feat. Colder, Freezing, Frozen, Winter, Ice Lake, and Icelands

(+) Yeah! (+)

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Another Winter
Valkyrie: The Power Beauties - Frozen Moonlight'
Hypnospace Outlaw - Colder Than the Rest

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Another Winter
Valkyrie: The Power Beauties - Frozen Moonlight
Pokmon Legends: Arceus - Alabaster Icelands 1

Another Winter
Frozen Moonlight
Colder Than the Rest

Freezing Temple
Wonder Panorama
Colder than the Rest

Another Winter
Frozen Moonlight
Alabaster Icelands 1

Another Winter
Wonder Panorama
Alabaster Icelands 1

go wonder panorama my beloved aaaa

From TunnelScene:

Another Winter (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)
Wonder Panorama (Mega Man ZX)
Colder Than the Rest (Hypnospace Outlaw)

do NOt acknowledge which famous jazz fusion group that spacey lead this starts with makes me think of DO not say that

I've always liked another winter and it seems so out of place with everything else I like. but it just works for me. the downward pitch bends always felt so powerful and spacey

I have a pretty intense relationship with megaman zx and zx advent. they just have a huge amount of world and gameplay elements that had some of the strongest impact on me of any game I've ever played. musically, it's on-paper not quite what I imagine a lot of people think my preferences to be. ie people think of me as gravitating toward the overtly dissonant and complex rather than melodic. while that is TRUE, I think my appreciation here is a great deal more than simply a fondness for a game i like. again it's easy to think "I used to like normal music but then I got into prog", butthis/is/ proggy. I got into prog later because it was the maximalist incarnation of the things I got into about"normal music" but its not like my preferences weren't informed by that more angular/mathematical inclination in the first place. like yeah this is just all 4/4 and like kinda stereotypical epic video game song melody that might not normally stand out to me. but tonally oh MAN it's actually doing a ton of my favorite things, just not super obvious about them. in kinda a mm5 way I suppose. chord changes asserted thru odd combinations of fourth/fifths stacks. and OH my god the angular guitar bit at :54 just straight up feels like "arch echo"(prog band) or something. a while ago chz asked me what song I could think of that I liked for the reasons least related to my tendency toward prog/math/weird/etc. and I said this one, since sure, i do like epic melody songs sometimes and this was my favorite i could think of to be straightforwardly that. but honestly I think i DO like this song for the same reason I like some E.G.G Groove Coaster track or Frantic Aspic. just the exact opposite end in terms of subtlety. and I actually do like subtlety. especially when it can help to convey an intense emotion or setting I dig. in this case, frozen lake in future robot world? it instinctively screams the loneliness of an aurora drenched icy space, and the whole angular slight hints of prog aspect AND dance music adjacency in itself both highlight the high-tech layer of it all. the timbres are all pretty shimmery too---especially in this crunched down quality. . . . . . I love crunched down quality when it sounds like this so much. and yeah it's melodically DESTINY you are going to save the world or something like that. that feels grand and all cool and stuff

FL81 stands for Fmsynth Liker 81

neat unexpected chord sequences that are my jam. I love mallet perc timbers. Jay Tholen's combination of influences is right up my alley. This bit didn't originally stand out to me since it's not at all that mysterious vibe I like most as the beginning, but I'm impressed by the saxophone and how it morphs between that and a much more synthetic timbre. Even the intro was like that tho with the mallets. not just an uncanny valley of a fake version of a real sound, but hearing this morphing ambiguous spectrum from real to fake. it's an incredibly neat sound! I just realized i should've pitted this one against the vending machine song..

the fakeness of game freak fusion is so charming. it winds up like chick corea elektric band but even more idiosyncratic

From NFUN:
oh jk he voted lmao

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Another Winter
Valkyrie: The Power Beauties - Frozen Moonlight
Pokmon Legends: Arceus - Alabaster Icelands 1

MATCH 1

I like the whistling-like sound in the beginning of Freezing Temple. Feels like the wind is blowing at you in a melodic tune, one that feels like you're flying in the air. Don't really like the synth at 0:44 though. Something about its timbre. But it sounds better when that whistling sound comes back in at 1:13. With that part, I also like the mallet-like instrument in the background. I think it harmonizes pretty nicely with the lead instrument.

Another Winter is always nice to hear. Couldn't quite go toe-to-toe with Frozen Grounds to win the 8-pack in my favorites bracket, but it's my second-favorite song there.

MATCH 2

Wonder Panorama's decent. Doesn't really stand out to me, but I don't have anything bad to say about it.

I don't really find Frozen Moonlight to be all that special either, but it's a little better than Wonder Panorama, at least to a noticeable degree, so it's good enough to get my vote here.

MATCH 3

Colder Than the Rest's robotic vocals are really abrasive to me here. Don't think the sound design of this game's really for me when it comes to this song in particular.

Alabaster Icelands 1 had a really cool ethereal feel to it. It's like you've just passed through a gateway into another world. Well, I guess that feeling's kind of lost when the intensity of the drums ramps up. Normally, I like more intense or prominent drums, but this is one instance where I think it doesn't work too well for me. I like it more when it's calmer and serene.

Another Winter > Freezing Temple > Alabaster Icelands 1 > Frozen Moonlight > Wonder Panorama > Colder Than the Rest

Freezing Temple
Wonder Panorama
Colder Than the Rest

Freezing Temple is a vibe and a half; one of the most nostalgic songs ever for me. Even if it gets beat out in the first round it still wins in my heart. I hate match 1 and everything it stands for

Freezing Temple >>> Wonder Panorama > Colder Than the Rest > Another Winter > Alabaster Icelands 1 > Frozen Moonlight

Another Winter
Frozen Moonlight
Alabaster Icelands 1

Freezing Temple is a decent song from Kirby, there's plenty of picks I'd rather have from the Return to Dream Land soundtrack.

Another Winter, another banger from Anamanaguchi!

Wonder Panorama is a real good track, the DS compression might hold it back a bit but I'm in love with enough of it to not hold that fact against it. DS synths are too good!

Frozen Moonlight is just a testament to how great PC-98 synths are, it's kinda hard to not pick for this matchup.

Colder Than the Rest is interesting, it's very much Daft Punk-esque in my ears and is more of a groove than I thought it would be.

Damn, this Arceus track is just going off like nobody's business, this is a pretty fun track!

Freezing Temple: Nice song. Not a huge stand out track, but it's really soothing to listen to. The primary synths are particularly nice.

Another Winter: Fun song, although I wish the melody were a bit stronger. Not much else to say on this one.

Wonder Panorama: This one's pretty cool. Definitely feels older, but in a good way. Lots of subtleties in the mix and the chord progressions are pretty neat. Good song.

Frozen Moonlight: There haven't been many FM songs that I've been a big fan of, and this one's no exception. Just feels pretty middling to me, not bad, not great either. It just kinda exists.

Colder Than the Rest: Probably my favorite song of the day. There's so much detail in this mix. The gradual buildup and the vocoded vocals are great. Very reminiscent of Daft Punk.

Alabaster Icelands 1: The slap bass in the background of this is pretty cool. And the rhythms when it picks up are cool as well. Probably the best song I've heard from PLA.

Not a great day, but everything was pretty decent.

Votes:
Freezing Temple
Wonder Panorama
Colder Than the Rest

Aurora Area (aka Freezing Temple but despite the official name being inferior, I'm still voting Kirby)
skip
Alabaster Icelands 1

Skipping match 2 because I like the melody of Frozen Moonlight better but enjoy the instrumentation of the Mega Man one more (the MM one does have one part that sounds vaguely similar to gusty garden for like 2 seconds though so I guess that's cool).

Another Winter
Frozen Moonlight
Colder Than the Rest

Kirby's Return to Dream Land - Freezing Temple-7 - Ethereal quiet brooding track that reminds you of old memories, both nostalgic and horrifying

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game - Another Winter -8.8 -
Last years notes: One of my favs. I just love how the guitars in the beginning repeat and build off each other in a blast of intensity and coolness. They come back again around the 1 minute part for a celebrational climax before smoothly looping to the beginning. The anamanaguchi weird sounds throughout also add a lot of pep and personality that make the whole thing fun and cute.
This year: While ill admit its a bit simple and headstrong, this is one of my favorites. It drives forward with the right amount of pep and enthusiasm while throwing in enough charming boops to keep it fresh and unique

Mega Man ZX - Wonder Panorama -6- Theres definitely that icy sound with the higher pitched legato notes. Theres a quieter midi ostinato beneath it though that I find more interesting than the main rhythm.

Valkyrie: The Power Beauties - Frozen Moonlight - 8.5- I forgot pc 98 songs can be this good. Old hardware be banging. I love the bass and the crunchiness of it.It has a lot of charm to it, even if it does sound a bit subdued due to old age. The last bit sounds like the main chorus from you give love a bad name does anyone else hear that?

Hypnospace Outlaw - Colder Than the Rest - 7- needs to jump to the beat drop sooner. Though hypnospace songs are known for being weird and non conforming. Im torn on how i feel about the repetition of the samples. They fit well with the harmonic movement of the instrumentation, though i dont know how much i can hear gotta drink it in The vocals deteriorating and crescendoing to the final climax is hype tho.

Pokmon Legends: Arceus - Alabaster Icelands 1 - 5- Has that lo fi funk like route 216 (that snow route) I feel the more battle oriented second half - with the bass and tension doesnt really fit in.

Freezing Temple
Abstain
Colder than the Rest

Freezing Temple
Wonder Panorama
Alabaster Icelands 1

match 3 by far best and closest