Board 8 > DireKrow Ranks VGM (The Ranking)

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DireKrow Ranks VGM (The Ranking)

List of Nominations / Results Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1s7L_DYJyCO_vgap53f0umZEYVDV7TAC1uuxJrIDKY5I/edit#gid=11040017

A few weeks back I opened nominations, allowing people to submit up to 10 songs for me to rank from my favorite to least favorite. In the end, I got 303 nominations total, including a bunch off-site. After a lot of mulling things over, I've finished the ranking and have finally gotten around to posting this thread. Buckle up, because we're in for a wild ride.

Ranking for 303 was harder than I expected. It sounded easy, but I seriously put... probably 60+ hours into ranking these, in addition to listening to all of the songs in full multiple times. While I might be open to doing something like this again in future, I'd need to rethink my approach to avoid it taking so much time. On the bright side, my rigorous approach has left me with a ranking which I'm pretty satisfied with.

The ranking was mostly done based on how much I liked or enjoyed the song. It's completely subjective, so don't take it too personally if I dump on your favorite song or you lose a bunch of nominations early. Also I'm going to call out NFUN, who reverse nominated the same 10 songs that nominated for his ranking project. Needless to say, trying to have a better average rank then him probably isn't going to happen. What a cheater.

I'd like to apologize to you guys in particular. I said in the rules I would only accept songs made specially for the game, but a couple slipped by me from off-site. Sorry if you feel it's unfair!

I'll be trying to post several rankings up per day, time permitting. Feel free to discuss the songs or call my opinions bad as they come up.

Any predictions for songs in the Top 10?
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Hype!!
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tag
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happening

strangely i think ill end up rooting for FL81's noms more than my own lmfao

Tag
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Tag

The christening...

#303: Armored Core 2 - JoyBall
Nominator: MycroProcessor (10/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se5070AW4a4" data-time="

I've grown more tolerant of weird songs recently, but this one gives me a headache. There's no melody or consistent rhythm for me to latch on to, just nearly constant atonal noise. The voice going YEAH YEAH (?) is particularly grating.

Don't really have anything good to say. There's going to be some weird stuff that goes surprisingly well in this list, so look forward to that... but this one wasn't so fortunate.
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tag
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Hype/tag.

Also not last thank God.
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Also I'm rooting for anyone to beat NFUN's average but I doubt it's happening lmao
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MC_XD posted...

Any predictions for songs in the Top 10?

I can't predict for someone else's tastes, but looking over the list and ignoring my own noms...

DOTSBAW
EXEC_Z/.
Arab Rock
Nefertiti
Mount Vesuvius
Seymour Battle
Amusement Park (...NOT!)
Diving
Solstice
Chemical Plant Zone original
Queen in the Dark Knight

Actually, you know what. Forget it. Just copy-paste FL81's noms here. That's much simpler, and probably pretty damn close.
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pyresword posted...

Also I'm rooting for anyone to beat NFUN's average but I doubt it's happening lmao

Just because they were a repost of what Dire picked for NFUN's list doesn't mean they'll be his favorites...but yeah, while amusing at first, that wasn't exactly the most thought-out set of submissions.
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azuarc posted...

pyresword posted...

Also I'm rooting for anyone to beat NFUN's average but I doubt it's happening lmao

Just because they were a repost of what Dire picked for NFUN's list doesn't mean they'll be his favorites...but yeah, while amusing at first, that wasn't exactly the most thought-out set of submissions.

just nag dire to rank the top 10 songs from my topic
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NFUN posted...

just nag dire to rank the top 10 songs from my topic

Sure, whenever you actually manage to finish ranking 1000 songs and we find out what the top 10 are.

Yes, I got your joke.

Edit: never mind, I thought Dire was going to be the first poster.
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Tag.
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I was looking forward to the list though it kind of sucks already what songs will be at the top

handsomeboy2012 posted...

I was looking forward to the list though it kind of sucks already what songs will be at the top

He has confirmed that those are not the top 10 songs, for what it's worth.
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banshiryuu posted...

strangely i think ill end up rooting for FL81's noms more than my own lmfao

azuarc posted...

Actually, you know what. Forget it. Just copy-paste FL81's noms here. That's much simpler, and probably pretty damn close.

I feel like I'm being jinxed somehow
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Tag
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#302: Dreaming Mary - Dianthus Nardiformis
Nominator: Snake5555555555 (10/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr_Jtozpsw0" data-time="

Dunno how else to describe this except "amateurish". It sounds like the first song someone made, to the point that I find it distracting to listen to, in a bad way. Like how people cringe when someone plays a bad note on a piano in cartoons.
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#301: Rayman Origins - Sea of Serendipity ~ Lums of the Water
Nominator: Nameless2000 (10/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIGY62fZgN8" data-time="

Minions: The Song. Those vocals are seriously, terribly annoying. Especially 0:52-1:10. If you removed the vocals, the song would be 10x better. In fact, I kinda like the bass and piano, but the vocals are soooo grating, it can't be saved.

I actually used this in one of the VGM Quizzes on Reddit once, for some reason.
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i kinda liked the vocals for the first minute.

then they just kept going.
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#300: Double Dragon Neon - End Credits (Dare To Dream)
Nominator: Snerck (9/9)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzHO50sB2gs" data-time="

Never been a fan of songs with cheesy meta lyrics that try to be funny, like this, but it's compounded by me hating the nasally vocals. Like the previous song, the backing is decent, but the vocals completely ruin the song for me.

And yes, this doesn't bode well for a couple of other songs in particular.
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MC_XD posted...

And yes, this doesn't bode well for a couple of other songs in particular.

GG Fly High?
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GG Secrets

Sorry if I sound overly negative in my write-ups so far. The comments are mainly brief because I have so many to write / get through while doing other things + I'm posting them to twitter and discord which has character limits. But if anyone wants more detailed thoughts or wants me to say some stuff I actually like about the song, then just poke me here or elsewhere and I can elaborate when I get time.
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Oh wow I actually like #302. It sounds intentionally amateur-ish rather than actually amateur-ish to me, in a way that it sounds fine and also seems like it could be pretty cool in context. And I mean I'm definitely not going to nominate it for next VGMC or anything but I do think it's a pretty solid song.

#303 would be a lot better without the YEAH YEAH I think, but as is...eh.
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Alright, people were saying my write-ups a too short and too negative so now I'm worried about it. I need to go back and talk more about everything and try to make the write-ups a little longer. This will mean I'll be doing less per day and that my schedule will be considerably less consistent, though...

Following is some addendums:

#303: Armored Core 2 - JoyBall
I like songs with melodies, good or groovy beats, and usually don't like songs surprising me too much with strange rhythms, note choices, or songs which carelessly use voice samples. This song has no real melody or consistent rhythm, grating samples, and is overall hard to get "comfortable" with. It's for those reasons that I find it pretty unpleasant to listen to. It's also strange because even though the song goes out of its way to be unpredictable, the overall "sound" barely changes throughout the whole song, so it ends up being very samey and boring as well. I'd like it more if it had some new sections which changed it up a bit. I can't really point out a favourite part either because of this - every bit sounds basically the same. On the bright side, it seems like the composer set out to make a song with this kind of vibe very deliberately, so in that sense they were pretty successful.

#302: Dreaming Mary - Dianthus Nardiformis
Following from 303, the notes and rhythm strike me as a bit chaotic, which I don't like. Unlike with 303 though, it doesn't sound intentional, which is why I described it as sounding amateur. I'd also say it sounds boring, given that there is no significant changes in key (and what there is, just repeat), the drumbeat barely changes at all, and their attempts are syncopation are very clumsy. I'm generally not big on this vanilla MIDI soundfont, which is something which will come up again in later songs. On the other hand, the song sounds a little better in the 2nd half, when the extra piano line is added. It makes the sax sound a bit less out of place. The piano parts at 1:24 stand out as a decent way to liven things up, even if they don't quite stick the landing.

#301: Rayman Origins - Sea of Serendipity ~ Lums of the Water
I mentioned this on the discord, but really the only reason this song is so low is because I how much I hate the vocals. Aside from that, this song is actually alright, if not pretty decent. Plus, the vocals aren't all bad - they add a lot of color and intrigue, particularly given that it seems to be based on a real recording, so it doesn't rigidly stick to the beat. The fact there is multiple voices helps with that too. The part at 0:36-0:51 where the vocals aren't going quite as ham actually sounds kinda catchy and sets the mood really well. The chord change at 1:45 leading into the final "chorus" is just what the song needed at that point too, if you ask me. If I was more tolerable of it, I'd even go as far as to describe the song as "cute". Just... how did nobody listen to this and go "oh god this is painfully annoying"? Maybe the developers just thought it was that funny.

#300 End Credits (Dare To Dream)
The main thing I wanted to point out in the first write-up was that I don't like songs with "joke lyrics" much. Portal 1 & 2's credits songs gets a pass, but usually I find it, well... cringy. This song is one of those. The stuff like "Nice guitar solo! Play faster!" in particular is just annoying, really. But then in addition to the lyrics themselves, the singer went with this really nasally, put-on voice which is just really grating to listen to. Some parts are still okay though, like 3:08-3:23, and the overall energy and pace of the song is right up my alley. It's lively and makes you want to bop along to it, which is just perfect. It's a cute reward for beating the game I guess, but this kind of humor is lost on me.
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#299: Mario Cars 2: 64 - Sexy Beach (Underwater Adventure)
Nominator: JONALEON1 (10/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpoPSrSwGOo" data-time="

Theres lots I dislike about this. At the very start, I dont like the cowbell, the whistle or the kick sample, plus it sounds like the beat is tripping over itself. These things come back a lot throughout the first half of the song and dont really get better in that regard. The melodies at 0:28 on and 0:43 on (especially) just sound kind of ugly to me, though I appreciate the attempt. The part at 1:03-1:44 is actually pretty decent, but it lacks interest. Its easily the best part of the song for me. The entire latter 3 minutes of the songs is just weird. Its not unpleasant necessarily, but it is rather confusing.

Probably my least favorite thing about this though is just how the whole song seems to only exist as a joke, much like the game itself that its from. I mentioned I dont like joke lyrics, and I cant say I enjoy memes much either. The fact they just straight up used a recording from someones stream is silly, and the backing music in that part is unpleasant to boot. On the bright side, I find the listening experience to overall more tolerable than the previous songs, which is why it's higher.
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MC_XD posted...

Alright, people were saying my write-ups a too short and too negative so now I'm worried about it.

Don't be.

They were short, maybe, but only because you were trying to fit them into tweets. I wouldn't personally constrain yourself, because I'm a B8'er and I want to know your full thoughts, but if you've got a Twitter audience, too, then you need to keep them in mind. As for negative, we're talking about the bottom five songs! If there was a time to be negative, this would be it!
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For what it's worth, in a list with ~300 nominations, I wouldn't expect the bottom placements to have particularly long writeups. You can only write so much about a piece you have no interest in and there's no reason to try and force yourself into a long write-up when you have such a daunting task in front of you.

Just my two cents.
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Actually, I'd expect the middle of a list to have the shortest write-ups, since there tends to be both the least to complain about and the least to praise.
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Last one for a little while...

#298: Skullmonkeys - Little Bonus Room
Nominator: Raetsel_Lapin (10/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al0XOLM9FPw" data-time="

Most of the song is relaxing and not unpleasant to listen to, but I do think its so subdued that its completely boring. Im generally not into songs which are just a singer + a solo acoustic guitar to begin with, and this one goes further by trying to imitate simple childrens show lullabies and they clearly succeed, because it sure puts me to sleep. Really though, its not that bad musically, and they do a good job of emulating that style of music. The big problem is that again, its a joke song with lyrics that just annoy me. I could also really, really do without 1:02. The first time I went through it, I had forgotten that was there and had the music up loud enough that it almost blew my eardrums out. Thanks for nothing, song-writers. No-fun crow strikes again on this one, Im afraid.

That wraps up me complaining about joke songs, at least. Next is something a bit different.
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azuarc posted...

MC_XD posted...

Alright, people were saying my write-ups a too short and too negative so now I'm worried about it.

Don't be.

They were short, maybe, but only because you were trying to fit them into tweets. I wouldn't personally constrain yourself, because I'm a B8'er and I want to know your full thoughts, but if you've got a Twitter audience, too, then you need to keep them in mind. As for negative, we're talking about the bottom five songs! If there was a time to be negative, this would be it!

Yeah, usually the bottom of the list gets trashed. I didn't expect you to find even a little to praise about those songs.

I don't even know how I'd rate that song. Probably not high, but still above the complete fodder songs. It's kind of neat I guess.
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Little Bonus Room is great

I have no idea where I'm going to rank my Mario Cars 2 64 song
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Yeah, after song #300's ranking, I was pretty sure that was coming soon. Jokes are always risky (jokes with scare cords doubly so), but I like what I like and stand by all of my nominations.

...though judging by the comments, I kinda wish I'd nominated that one in NFUN's topic instead, but hey! None of my songs here were in absolute last place, so I'm taking it as a personal victory. </.<
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I already know all of Neverhood's OST so it's fine
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Well, looks like I survived day 1.
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I made a google doc with all the write-ups in it, to go along with the stats spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1O5pVBYQ6iRJn88QdFCl4ma_DjuoSPBq1h61OSSrtDoY/edit?usp=sharing
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#297: Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman - Unlosing Ranger's Theme, Normal Ver.
Nominator: JunerRich (10/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMrpRrLa66g" data-time="

As with a couple of the previous songs, my major gripe is with the vocals. They sound off tune to me, to an extent that makes it hard for me to listen to - like it's a drunk karaoke or something. That, and I was never a big fan of the whole pre-2000s campy shonen/sentai opening style in the first place. Always sounds super cheesy to me. Some particular things that bug me include the siren noises at the start and end, the repeated syllables (especially) and the apparent crowd of children during 0:43-0:56. Can't say I think much of the backing track throughout most of the song either, but there is some redeeming features. Particularly, I like the way the instruments reply to the vocal phrases during 0:17-0:43, and the guitar flourishes in the chorus. Unfortunately, this is still a vocal dominant song and I think the vocals suck, so I can't put it any higher than this.
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I have classes and such today which will get in the way of my posting, so have a two for one!

#296: Clock Tower: The First Fear - Cradle Under the Star
Nominator: Snake5555555555 (9/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jnq4jZjm7Dk" data-time="

This marks the end of the songs I thoroughly dislike. Now we're onto a few songs I don't have much to say about. This one is very, very simple - so much so that I can't justify placing it higher than this. It's a bit piercing to the ear, but still more enjoyable to me than the previous songs. This was actually placed a decent amount higher, and also lower, at various points in the project, so how I feel depends a bit on the mood. I kinda like the atmosphere it creates, but I just wish there was much more to it than there is.

#295: Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - Garage
Nominator: Snake5555555555 (8/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbEfrYENGlA" data-time="

Compared to the previous one, this is considerably more interesting and complex from a compositional standpoint. Unfortunately, it's not really much of a song at all, at least in the sense that I'm looking for when I'm listening to or rating music. Mostly just texture and atmosphere. For that reason I'm still thoroughly indifferent towards it, but I can appreciate the effort put into it much more than the last. I do much prefer this style of creating horror music, where the focus is on percussive sounds and electronic effects, with a string section providing back-up without being the focus. Binding of Isaac: Rebirth has songs in its soundtrack like this, as well, but fleshed out into something resembling more traditional music.
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MC_XD posted...

This marks the end of the songs I thoroughly dislike.

Aw yes still safe.

RIP Snake's noms though.
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pyresword posted...

MC_XD posted...

This marks the end of the songs I thoroughly dislike.

Aw yes still safe.

RIP Snake's noms though.

Bless Snake for not caring, or for being a pal and soaking up the bottom spots for us, but isn't this usually the case?
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It's all good, I just enjoy seeing what people have to say about my noms, good or bad.
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#294: Wizball - Title
Nominator: Azuarc (10/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFYzjU-C3mA" data-time="

This is certainly interesting, but I don't really enjoy listening to it that much. It's just so loud and obtrusive. For its time, this was probably a marvel, and I can appreciate that... but it makes for rough listening these days, in my opinion. The worst part for that is definitely the first section, from 0:00-1:02. After that, I start to like it a decent amount more. I want to draw attention to the fact that throughout the first half of the song, there's an arpeggio that plays pulses of four notes. I don't like it here, because the first note is very deep while the other three are more than an octave higher, which also means they're much louder. Consequently, it sounds like there is this constant pattern of 3 notes being played off-beat which really messes with my head. In the second half, the rhythm of the arpeggios is much better to my ear, but instead they're playing these vaguely dissonant clusters of notes over a bass sound which just sounds ever so slightly out of tune. It certainly creates this intense atmosphere - but it doesn't make for an entertaining song to just chill and listen to, at least for me.

Where I can really praise this song though is with its ability to create atmosphere. It genuinely sounds like the music for a fantastic adventure embarking into the great unknown, reminiscent of things like the first time a man was sent into space and Im not just saying that because of the visuals. I think the fact the song is split into distinct sections helps, as it feels like its telling a story. The song is just so different (in a mostly good way), and not at all what I expected from a C64 song, I just wish I enjoyed listening to it as much as I enjoy thinking about it.
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#293: Rise of the Tomb Raider - Soviet Facility
Nominator: Snake5555555555 (7/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwPx1P6zKNI" data-time="

Compared to #295, this has some more musical elements, which is always appreciated. Not enough to stop me from saying it's "still too atmospheric", though. I like the first and last third of the song more than the middle third. In the first part of the song especially, the cello (?) and swelling strings are nice to listen to and make me wish perhaps the song took it more in that direction, rather than becoming less melodic and more tense-cinematic-action-atmosphere later on. Still, overall I'm pretty dang indifferent - it doesn't speak to me in a way that makes me want to put this higher up.
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#292: Sonic CD - Palmtree Panic, Bad Future (JP/EU)
Nominator: SubName (10/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZibkzlVB7o" data-time="

This might be a controversial one, but I'm not a fan of this song overall. The drumline and bass never change, pretty much all of the voice and sound effects are annoying or hard on the ears (especially the voices at 0:15 and 0:43-0:56, and the sax-esque thing at 0:29-0:35). The song is clearly trying to be abrasive, and congratulations, it succeeded! This was actually 2nd last in the list at one point, but I moved it up because there's actually one part of this song I like, and that's 0:56-1:23. Yeah, that part is a bit plain, but honestly, I wish the rest of the song was more like it. It's a cool section that's not too far from something out of a techno track, and I'm pretty big into a lot of genres of EDM.

There is another Sonic CD song in the project, so better luck next time.
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#291: Life is Strange - The Storm
Nominator: Snake5555555555 (6/10)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RWik0yKLV0" data-time="

This one is actually even more atmospheric than the previous of Snake's nominations, but... I dunno, I kinda like it? I rated them against each other and this one certainly went above the other two for me. It reminds me a lot of Portal chamber themes, some of which are also pretty cool. Maybe I'm just a bit biased though, because I'm familiar with the context in which this song is used. It's interesting to me that a song like this represents a raging storm so well. I actually remembered and recognized it from when I played the game too, which is quite the accomplishment for a song like this. Still too lacking in substance for my tastes to go any higher.
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