Board 8 > FL81 ranks VGM (ranking phase)

(+) Yeah! (+)

#86 Blue Reflection - You're not a heroine, it's me
Nominator: dowolf (4/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUlPH5zKFpo" data-time="

This sounds familiar to me, but apparently VGMC 12 was the first year any songs from this game have been in a VGMC! As far as this soundtrack is concerned, it's perfectly okay but doesn't have a single song in it that actually impresses me (at least from what I've heard so far). This song, like the last one, has a bit of buildup but doesn't really do much with it (that's just a critique with these two, not applicable to the VGMC tracks). This track is considerably more lively than Qualia, but the melody feels kinda flat, then right when I think it's about to get somewhere it just ends out of the blue reflection
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I can definitely understand not liking it; I'm not really sure why I like it myself. All I know is, it feels like a big, giant, warm hug on a rainy day, and I like that.
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Tag

(Completely missed the nomination topic on this one)
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#85 Skies of Arcadia - Armada Battle
Nominator: Janus5k (3/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek4xtxzhbqo" data-time="

This one's alright. "Dramatic orchestral battle music!" is a personal favorite style of mine, but on the flipside I've been spoiled to all the really good themes, and this one doesn't hold up all that well in comparison (I dunno, would probably rather listen to something like the Bravely Default soundtrack or Final Fantasy). That is to say, this one is fairly generic, it has the horns and strings you'd expect to find in this kind of theme, but without much else to keep me hooked onto the song. It's enjoyable, but ultimately forgettable.
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#84 STELLIGHTS - Lucentear
Nominator: Prody Parrot (4/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QtNXUbbkLY" data-time="

Next up is another 2 minute long rhythm game track from Prody (Why are all of these 2 minutes long??) Anyways, as with the previous 2 minute long electronic music tracks, I feel this one is just too short to really leave much of a lasting impact. I can't say I've bought as much into the rhythm game music hype these last few years as the rest of B8 has, and while there have been some real top tier tracks, this one is solidly average by rhythm standards. It's cheerful and has a nice fast-paced beat going for it, so there's that.
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" (Why are all of these 2 minutes long??) "

Many classic rhythm games were originally arcade games. The 1:30-2:30 length was probably chosen because it was deemed the ideal length for a song to be to allow people to have fun while also keeping the queue moving / generating money at the arcade. That and some of the rhythm games are pretty demanding, especially things like DDR, so they're often a bit shorter than mainstream songs so that people don't tire out. It might also be tradition and expectation in the genre at this point, I dunno.
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#83 Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai - The Night's So Quiet, and Here I Am About to Go Crazy
Nominator: dowolf (3/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u1l6Vv0eJM" data-time="

I can't decide if I really like this one or if I feel completely indifferent towards. There's that nice slow piano, giving this a smooth jazz vibe, which is something I've always really liked. The backing guitar I wasn't too crazy about on first listen, but it fits with the mood of the song. Not a super exciting song, but overall this is nice, I could see this working as nighttime city background music.

I'm actually liking this one a bit more with each time I listen to it.
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#82 Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja 3 - Naruto and Kakashi
Nominator: UF8 (4/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R6kcQ4JUog" data-time="

This track reminds me of the other one from this series that's been in the VGMC a few times (Sasuke's theme), and while I prefer that one, this one is also pretty neat. Strong emotional string chords, add in some flute, you get this piece which all fits in nicely. This maybe gets a little repetitive at parts (maybe do some more with that piano idk), and I feel this isn't as good at doing what it does as some other tracks (Sasuke's theme), but overall it's a nice listen.
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#81 Ar nosurge - The Hourglass Doesn't Fall
Nominator: dowolf (3/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GayLctxa15U" data-time="

On my first listen to this I made it about 7 minutes in before I realized it's an hour-long extended version. Was there no better link anywhere?
Here we have yet another emotional piano VGM piece. I feel like a good chunk of the recent rankings have been in this same category, and truth be told, I feel about the same with this one as I did with the previous ones (the placements on this one and the last two are pretty interchangeable). I really like the relaxing sound on this one, but it's a repetitive track with not much at all going on. I love that part 3 minutes in though, so it gets Lucky #81 on my ranking.

Personal update: On Monday I'm seeing the doctor about my ears so I'll be able to hear better then, will have more motivation to continue at a faster pase. I also may have a schedule that won't leave me as busy.
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no, no there is not.

In my defense, I did make a note of that when I submitted!

Not really sure why this is the one I chose; Ar nosurge is one of the strongest OST's, and I'm usually in the mood for something more upbeat myself. Guess I was in a sad mood, especially when I look back at everything else I threw your way.
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I think some subset of b8vgm was talking about sad piano songs at the time and then you decided to nominate a bunch of them, if I remember.

(I remember this because shortly before I had commented that I only nominated one sad piano song because I was trying to nom stuff I thought would be more in line with FL81's tastes.)
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To be fair, I kinda did ask for it ;>_>
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oh right, you did.

so i picked the sad vn song from a gust game.

it all comes together
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And all five of my songs manage to survive the bottom third.

I almost said something yesterday, and decided I'd better not jinx it, but now the third is actually complete.
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All five of mine still alive also, though I'm not sure for how long.

Anyway just actually listened to the last two songs. Not a huge fan of the Naruto song relatively speaking. I feel like it doesn't have enough of a melody for the type of song it's trying to be, if that makes sense. The Ar Nosurge one is nice though. It sounds a lot like something that could work as an area theme for a Xenoblade level or something (which might be my favorite gaming OST so...).
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I have a sad VN song nom, think that's going soon.

#80 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Father and Son
Nominator: GavsEvans123 (3/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Pu92St5O0" data-time="

This is exactly the kind of sad music I'd expect from a World War II movie or a Medal of Honor game. Very "cinematic" sounding and has those basic four chords (MARIA chords), done in a powerful way. This one is short and never really deviates from its main melody; it's good but I feel like it could've done a whole lot more and ended up a bit higher on this list.
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#79 Knight Arms - One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue
Nominator: rwlh (3/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UiSixdSYdc" data-time="

In contrast with a number of my previous rankings, this one I actually initially had higher ranked but then lowered its standing a bit. This one has a lot of things I really like with it; that FM synth soundchip is one of my favorites. The thing that stands out most strongly about this song for me is just how similar this sounds to that one Dynamite Headdy song I've used previously in one of my guessing game lists (originally from Rate the VGMusic).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28LsDKNHE2s" data-time="
Anyways, the sound design on this is really cool, but I'm honestly not all the big on the melody (sounds like a really watered down version of that aforementioned other song). Overall it's pretty alright though.
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bumpo
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Wow, that song is seriously rad from 1:42 on.
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I did note that it got a lot better in the second half also.
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#78 Gungrave Overdose - Berserk
Nominator: MycroProcessor (4/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVsE5wDvxF0" data-time="

Very hectic song here, this song quite nicely captures the essence of what it feels like to be going through a panic attack. I do not mean that in a bad way! Crazy song, lots of weird sound effects too. It's really, really repetitive, to the point where it's detrimental to my enjoyment of this, but the second half of this throws in a really cool melody, so overall I like this! (As opposed to the earlier "repetitive" songs that did their thing and just kinda ended without any special sprinkles on top)
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#77 Street Fighter 5 - Zeku's Theme
Nominator: GavsEvans123 (2/5)
Link:

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

Man, I really love that pimpy flute they got going on in this song. This has a really funky, jazzy groove, and is something I'd probably put on during just some chill night drive through the city. Melodically this isn't anything special, doesn't sound that much different from any other smooth jazz I'd listen to (actually one of my favorite music genres!), but that flute definitely pulls this all together into something substantial.
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#76 Metal Gear Solid - Calling to the Night
Nominator: Anagram (2/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXkgn3QUA2w" data-time="

I was never really much a fan of this song at first, but over the years of playing SSBB this has grown on me a bit. As for its actual origin game, I have no clue what this song is about, but it has a '90s love song feel to it. This is one of those very much "not my style" kind of tracks, but whenever it plays I'm like "oh hey, it's this song, neat". Doesn't really have much of an emotional "impact" on me, but it's alright.
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77 is surprisingly good
76 is fairly placed I think
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note: calling to the night is from Portable Ops
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bump
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Damn, I'm down to just one song left.
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So am I. Which of us will drop first, I wonder?

almost 40 songs in and I've only lost 1 so im feelin alright now
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Problem is they might drop in quick succession

#75 Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning - Tonitrus
Nominator: dowolf (1/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wDzMBW4npw" data-time="

This song starts off with a really, really cool intro, going into this I was hoping this would be a top 30 pick. Then all of a sudden the anime intro vocals appear and sort of sour the overall feeling of the song. I love the instrumentation here, the melody is nice (especially the intro), but the singing feels really flat to me. This song is full of things I love and a few things I'm not too crazy about, which with how competitive this block of the rankings are, that isn't good enough.
This would work great as an instrumental track though.

And with that, I now accounce that our second player is ELIMINATED
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:(

I love Rita. She's done other intros in the series this game is part of, including Dorchadas, along with the intros to Little Busters.

Alas, this is probably what I deserve for seeing "thank goodness no one's nomming sad VN or gust stuff" and taking it as a dare >_>
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dowolf posted...

:(

I love Rita. She's done other intros in the series this game is part of, including Dorchadas, along with the intros to Little Busters.

Alas, this is probably what I deserve for seeing "thank goodness no one's nomming sad VN or gust stuff" and taking it as a dare >_>

Dorchadas was the first thing I thought of when listening to that actually

I guess it's just the vocals in this specific song I wasn't too fond of
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also here's the instrumental version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b711q8aQjuI&list=PLx5oxp7k5P1sxFRbKKERdnA3q1dVSPmjJ&index=16

Personally, I much prefer the vocals, but eh.
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RIP dowolf. I didn't even notice someone had already been eliminated. Guess I shouldn't be surprised it was Snake.
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#74 Super Robot Wars OGS - The Arrow of Destiny
Nominator: barreldragon88 (1/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmG-Y1Mwxv0" data-time="

Here's something I would've liked a whole lot more back during my early years here on B8. This track is fast, rockin', and all around high energy. The cheesy sounding horns playing throughout this rub me the wrong way a bit, they fit with the whole fighting robots setting, but it'd probably be better if they weren't the main focus (I have an irrational distate for trumpets, with a few notable exceptions)
All in all, I like this, but it's not as hype as many of the other SRW tracks I've heard.

Third player = ELIMINATED
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Taking my early exit
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And our second Falcom track is

#73 Zero no Kiseki Evolution - Demonic Drive
Nominator: xp1337 (2/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXxdy2sIKR4" data-time="

Also Demonic Drive! As I had previously stated in the B8 Discord chat, I didn't even realize this and the other one were actually the same song! They were nominated far enough apart from one another that I never really noticed they had the same name and put two-and-two together to realize "Hey, this is a remix of the other song in this list!" This version also sounds considerably different to the point where it basically is an entirely different song altogether. This one trades a lot of the "hard rock Ys" sound for the more "dramatic orchestral Trails" sound, which while I generally prefer the former, I feel it works better for this piece in particular (although on a particular day, I may prefer the other version depending on my mood). Anyways, this is kinda short, wish it had a conclusion to all that dramatic buildup, but it's still pretty cool sounding.
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=(

Yeah, I knew Demonic Drive Evo was away from the kind of Falcom I know you like, but it's also way better than the original IMO. Also was 99% sure Sacred Tyrannizer would be my highest ranked song but didn't think it'd be the last one standing quite this soon!
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#72 SOUND VOLTEX IV HEAVENLY HAVEN - Awakening
Nominator: Prody Parrot (3/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79Uz98c_4ME" data-time="

This song hits me like a truck, so many sounds everywhere AAAAAAAAA PANIC
I'M AWAKE AAAAAAAAA
Lots of chaos in this one, jumbled sounds everywhere, then at 1:11 into the song it switches to Scorpion Fire for whatever reason. This is a lot different from everything else nominated, and in its own way it's actually pretty cool. There's no actual clear, coherent "direction" in which this is trying to go, but then again that's the whole point!
I'm glad I get to know what it sounds like when someone plays a piano cover of dial-up modem sounds.
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Lol this post pretty much reads like a top 10 list of "things pyre hates in music". All that's missing is random talking sections in the middle of a song.

...the song itself is surprisingly less offensive than that might indicate, but I still don't think it's great.
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#71 Tales of Symphonia - Beat the Angel
Nominator: OrangeCrush980 (3/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlZ-M9mWxq0" data-time="

Here we have our standard Motoi Sakuraba track, most of which would be ranked somewhere around this area of my list (although there are some really, really good ones that'd be near the top!)
The horns, bells, and prog rock organ all add nice buildup to this dramatic track. This sounds good compositionally, but the sound mixing feels really off, like whoever was recording this in the studio didn't know what they were doing. Kind of a shame really, since this would sound pretty cool if played by a live orchestra or something.
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#70 Tokyo Xanadu eX+ - Sacred Tyrannizer
Nominator: xp1337 (1/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah4zVcjLjMM" data-time="

Lots of dramatic horns and strings! Very "dark" sounding, definitely sounds like some late game boss music. That little part starting at 1:53 in this song is my favorite part, violins are my favorite instrument and is one of the big reasons I like Falcom music so much! Otherwise the melody is pretty simple and to the point, no big surprises. All in all, I like this, this is good. Solid mid-tier Falcom.

Unfortunately for xp1337 however, this is ELIMINATION
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FL81 posted...

Unfortunately for xp1337 however, this is ELIMINATION

Impossible! *dissolves*
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Beat the Angel and Sacred Tyrannizer are both pretty good. Awakening kinda sucks.
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MC_XD posted...

Beat the Angel and Sacred Tyrannizer are both pretty good. Awakening kinda sucks.

These three in particular I did some recent shuffling around in my ranking list
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#69 A Hat in Time - You Are All Bad Guys
Nominator: pyresword (5/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb5TDZbERBQ" data-time="

This track seems to me like three different tracks in one. Starting off, the first part reminds me of Kirby music somehow (Nightmare theme maybe?) Short looping repetitive tune lasting over 2 minutes, not much to say here.
Middle part is the main meat of the track, and is easily the coolest part of this, nice rockin' guitar riff in there. Then it ends with the final phase HAPPY VICTORY MUSIC
This track is a bit too long for my tastes, with repetition seemingly used in place of buildup. Overall, I do like this quite a bit, but there are little things here and there that irk me. This could do with being shorter, or maybe even just each phase separately instead of just packed together in one song (this is kinda like Dancing Mad or Oil and Sweat)
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Yeah, that's actually multiple songs stuck together in the one track. The first section in particular feels pretty short in the game, but really drags in the OST with how long they loop it for.
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Damn. Seeing as I made it this far I was hoping I could survive until the halfway point.

Also, after that one avoided dropping in the first 10-20 songs I was not expecting that to be my first out. Had it pegged as sort of a "love it or hate it" song. (That's probably slightly too extreme a description, but you get the idea.) Especially not when I also have All or None as one of my noms, and sad vn songs have been dropping like flies >.>
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