Board 8 > [VGMC] d90: Tournament of Champions 3 Finals - ELFERIA vs EXSPHERE

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to the finals for Tournament of Champions 3.

Links:
Contest info - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VNrPnFRI7nJ4PqFiURBW0NWqxvXiuasoq8Sn_O169ss/edit#gid=320804650
Bracket - http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=473292
Discussion and results thread - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/78714595
Bracket playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW9O9mntH1REnVI_W6yELaDP6Zac8b0Wq
ToC playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW9O9mntH1RE-TQMj19D0k5nm-0zeH12J

Rules:
- Listen to both songs.
- Obvious contest rules apply.
- Make your voting options clear.
- The match lasts 24 hours, or until 10 PM EDT, whichever is later.
- Do not post tallies or score updates.

Tournament of Champions final match

Beatmania IIDX 22 PENDUAL - Despair of ELFERIA
Video Game Music Contest 10 Champion

R1: d. The Heavy Black Smoke Blossoms 25-7
R2: d. Reflection (Mirror Night) 20-13
R3: d. Undertale 16-14
R4: d. Knight of a Foreign Country 22-11
R5: d. Luna Ascension EX 15-10
R6: d. Ricordando il Passato 15-12
R7: d. Megalovania across two days

ToC R2: d. Flash Frost 28-15
ToC R3: d. goldenslaughterer 31-13
ToC R4: d. Battle!! 19-18
ToC R5: d. Invitation Flower ~ Autumn (exact results TBD)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNmTgi43zuo

vs

Ar Nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;
Video Game Music Contest 13 Champion

R1: d. bob 31-13
R2: d. The Final Song 23-17
R3: d. Don't Turn It Off 28-15
R4: d. Escaping the Courtyard 27-17
R5: d. Dead Neon Hell City 30-13
R6: d. Invitation Flower ~ Autumn 28-16
R7: d. Battle!! 25-21
R8: d. Revenger 26-23

ToC R2: d. Face of Face 29-15
ToC R3: d. Skyclad Observer 24-17
ToC R4: d. Yesterday's Opponents, 27-15
ToC R5: d. Dark Legacy (exact results TBD)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BywGBJDXQ0c

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Easy vote form:
Despair of ELFERIA / Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;


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Ar nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

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Ar Nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

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Ar Nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

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Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

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Despair of ELFERIA

how many times have I voted for vgmc13 over not vgmc13 in this I wonder. Seemed like a lot I feel.

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Despair of ELFERIA

A true tournament of champions huh. Kinda "boring" but they're both really good so I'll take it.

Despair of ELFERIA

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Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;
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Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

I think Elferia is actually the tiniest of tiny bit better for most of their respective lengths, but that stretch from ~2:00-3:33 with the climax at around ~2:55 has me put Exsphere over regardless. It's so beautiful and was the vgm equivalent of a "Come to Jesus" moment for me when I heard that section for the first time ever.

So happy they repeat the first bit of that section at the end to remind me of why I love the song so much.

hbthebattle votes for:
Despair of ELFERIA

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Despair of ELFERIA

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Despair of ELFERIA

Just about amazing finals. Dark Legacy would've been better though. I voted for each song in all of their matches, except that I voted DL over Exsphere.
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Ar Nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;
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Ar nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

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Despair of ELFERIA

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Ar Nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

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Why does the poll include two 10s?

Ar nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE

QuelI->{
Cls(ih) {
XeEX[handi];

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Fuck. Like...... Fuck.

Mere days after I first joined the community on the first day of noms for VGMC12 after NFUN showed me about it (and proceeded to not even be the first person to nominate a mozell song which prompted me to actually squeal irl) I looked through past brackets and was absolutely floored that one of my favorite songs ever, let alone favorite IIDX songs, had won a contest. Over Megalovania no less!! But because of the retire system I would never get to show it my support. I've come to learn that the legitimacy of ELFERIA's victory is questioned because of vote rejection shenanigans, and that makes me kind of sad!! Unfortunately... it's up against something that I'd call a 10/10. EXSPHERE just oozes everything I want to hear from a song at once and it does it with style and edge and god damn the reason its a 10 is because it can make me feel EXACTLY what it wants me to feel and no matter what kind of mood I'm in, I will do as it tells me and I will love every single moment of it. ELFERIA is not something that necessarily does that, and so I can't quite call it a 10/10.... and yet, I think it still wins out here ever so slightly. Maybe it's because I have more of an affinity towards rhythm stuff the past month or so as I've been getting back into actually playing IIDX (sidenote I think I've mentioned this before but easy clear on ELFERIA's another chart may be my best clear in the game atm, i think its harder than SOLID STATE SQUAD [L] or HADES hard clears but that could get tangential quickly lmfao)

The reality is I like EXSPHERE more as a song that exists on paper. But in a head to head match, my mind can't get itself off of ELFERIA. Am I having an existential crisis right now about the shortcomings and failings of these song ratings and rankings that I love so much? No I'm not you're having a breakdown I CAN'T HEAR YOU ATELIER NEKOMATA CLOSING IN I CANT BREATHE this match just isn't fair man. i wish this was elferia vs flower so i could feel not bad about it

Despair of ELFERIA [2nd//5th] vs Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE; [1st//2nd]
[2nd//56th]

a very, very non-0 chance i wake up tomorrow, look at my vote and wonder what the fuck i'm on

Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

Despair
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Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

as much as this is definitely the one i'll more often come back to (the one I ranked #1 of the ToC), hits more sides of my taste in music at once, etc.........when elferia hits for me it hits harder than this one does I'd say. also sorta just want to see elferia win so that we are not repeating last year...and "rhythm game world music" is like exactly the thing i'm most in the mood for at the moment lol
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Despair of ELFERIA

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Despair of ELFERIA

Despair of ELFERIA


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Despair of ELFERIA

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Ar Nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;
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Despair of ELFERIA
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Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE

Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

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Despair of ELFERIA

Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

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Despair of ELFERIA

Super tough match that made me listen twice through, I love the context and story accompanying Exsphere it has such SACRED GRANDEUR befitting its run last year which was my first contest so it'll always be my "ancestral VGMC champion," but I'm ultimately going for the more cohesive energy that Elferia brings forgive me I will prepare myself to be sacrificed to the Hymmnos gods for this transgression

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Despair of ELFERIA

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Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

video game music! these are both good as gold
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Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE

Despair of ELFERIA

I don't normally write much with my votes, but I feel like I need to here. Especially since I know the votals at this point, and that the match might swing at this point on what the final voters choose.

I had a really hard time choosing for this match. These two songs are both well-respected in our community, won a tournament, made their way back to the finals, etc., but they represent two different ideas of what it means to be a song. Elferia might be progressive, but it's a listenable song. Exsphere is not. It's an intriguing song. It demands your attention and shows you everything artistically that music has to offer.

These are, of course, not exclusive definitions. Exsphere has some absolutely beautiful sections and there's nothing bland or pop radio about Elferia. However, the point is that they're difficult to vote on precisely because they have very different intent, and they are -- at least, according to the board -- the best we've had to offer over the last five years in each. Picking one to the exclusion of the other is not a condemnation. It is not hating on the loser. On any given day I think I could swing back and forth on these two, and I'm fine with either of these tracks winning at this point. One might argue that the conscientious choice, then, is to abstain. And maybe I should. But I've listened to both songs over the last 24 hours several times, thought about it during my breaks, and I've come to a conclusion.

Exsphere is the objectively better song, (in as much as one can make a statement like that,) but I prefer Elferia. Elferia's easier to get into my head when I'm not listening to it. It's a smoother, more coherent ride. It doesn't have a minute long stretch of demonic noises and female chanting. I understand entirely why Exsphere does the things it does, and it's beautiful in its chaos, but today I will be picking against it.

Despair of ELFERIA

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Ar Nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

As I said in the previous day's thread, this wasn't my ideal ToC finals match, but this is still an incredibly good finals with two 9+/10 songs against each other. Great winner no matter what. This ToC bracket in general had so many great songs. Hopefully the main bracket will give us even more great retirees!

Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

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hotdogturtle votes:
Despair of ELFERIA

for reference, hotdogturtle on discord:

Well since I probably won't get my computer back in the next 10 minutes, I'm officially asking if you can put me in for an Elferia vote. Up to you if you want to count this or not, but this is my attempt.

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Ar Nosurge - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;
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