Board 8 > FL81 ranks VGM (ranking phase)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Well I had a good run! Wasn't expecting Claire to be my highest-rated, though it's my 2nd fave of my noms.
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#103 Bloodborne - The First Hunter
Nominator: xp1337 (5/5)
Link:

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

Ah yes, here's a track I recognize. My roommate would always hog the TV downstairs just to play Bloodborne/Souls games for days on end >_>
This one's a really solemn track, and before reading the YouTube description my first impression on this was that it sounded like it would be main menu music <_<
At any rate, this is unmistakably Bloodborne/Dark Souls music. I prefer the more "intense" battle tracks, but this one is fine too. Not much else to say here, I imagine this would be better in the context of the story of the game, as sad strings usually are.
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oh, hey, this started.
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FL81 posted...

#103 Bloodborne - The First Hunter

;_;

This one's a really solemn track, and before reading the YouTube description my first impression on this was that it sounded like it would be main menu music <_<

Haha. Yeah, nope. >_>

Anyway, my favorite part is definitely the second half/"Phase 2" with the vocals. Really like the song overall though. I mean, it's definitely improved within the context of the story, but I love it standalone as well.
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Aw man. Sadstringsong.mp3 is one of my favorites.

(not sarcasm, I do really like the style and this song in particular)
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Coincidentally, this one was also right next to the previous one in order of nomination!
#102 Blue Reflection - Qualia
Nominator: xp1337 (4/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsOKTUHM5nQ" data-time="

Here we have a slow track with some easy piano and that distorted keyboard that reminds me of some of the more peaceful tracks from the Maple Story soundtrack. This one is pretty neat, but a bit too short for me to get a good read on what kind of feeling this track is trying to go for. It feels like it's incomplete; missing a couple things that could turn it into something special.
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FL81 posted...

more peaceful tracks from the Maple Story soundtrack

I think you mean RelaxStory
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woodman posted...

FL81 posted...

more peaceful tracks from the Maple Story soundtrack

I think you mean RelaxStory

this
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#101 I Expect You to Die - Credits
Nominator: Anagram (5/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0gzAcKkEho" data-time="

Ah, THIS song. This one is really, really cool sounding, with that classic "secret agent" style of music.
But...... One of my biggest qualms in VGM is cheesy humorous vocals with references that only work within the context of the game, but don't really work for listeners who aren't familiar with it (*ahem* Portal music). It makes me cringe a bit and kinda detracts from the enjoyment of the music as a whole (am I the only one who feels this way?) Still the vocal style itself is good, this is mostly just my nitpicky preferences getting in the way.

Also, is it just me or is this upload very quiet?
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#100 Pokmon Red/Blue/Yellow - Lavender Town
Nominator: Anagram (4/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sOadAaGiq4" data-time="

I'd like to start this writeup by thanking Anagram for choosing a link without that obnoxious reverb sound that's in most of the RBY uploads, totally kills the songs.
So apparently according to the YouTube description, this is from the original Japanese Red/Green games, although this doesn't sound any different to me from the version I know from my childhood (nostalgia points!). Compositionally, this song does what it set out to do really well. Here we have Lavender Town, a spooky cemetary town, and with it spooky haunted music with really jarring sounds to set the mood. However, those same jarring sounds make this a chore to listen to for a long time, and of all the RBY music, this one in particular seems to be posted online the most, so I've kinda lost my taste for Lavender Town's theme after hearing it a million times. I probably like (specifically) RBY's music more than anyone else on B8, but Lavender Town is not one of the better themes.

And this concludes our bottom 20!
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Two in a row for me, ouch.
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FL81 posted...

#102 Blue Reflection - Qualia

=(

Now I'm sad.
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Bumpp
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Busy week ahead of me, going to be a bit slow on getting the next rankings up :(
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#99 Final Fantasy XII - Seeking Power
Nominator: barreldragon88 (3/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wzU706vNlA" data-time="

I distinctly recognize this track despite having never listened to much of the FFXII soundtrack! VGMC or BOST perhaps? This one here sounds very much like loading screen music, the kind of track that would play in a game during the long PlayStation load times where it'll show you in-game hints and tricks while it loads up the next map (that's probably not what this actually is, but it would work well in that situation!)
This is one of those tracks with a lot of tension and buildup, but anticlimactically not really doing much with it (seriously, this is loading screen music)
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#98 Final Fantasy VIII - Waltz for the Moon
Nominator: tazzyboyishere (5/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFXZ618pU_0" data-time="

Yep, definitely waltz music. Waltz generally isn't my thing, and given that this is Final Fantasy there's probably some special story context behind this song that's lost on me (have only played the SNES games ). This one's pretty easy to listen to, and I think it's kinda cute reading all these YouTube comments and see people who want to play this song at their weddings.

Okay, so I guess the real reason why I have this ranked so low is that I can't listen to waltz VGM anymore without being reminded of this (I am sorry)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1pCxXrorKM" data-time="
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Pretty surprised you haven't played any PS1 FF games

Loading screen music? I beg to differ!

It really is not loading screen music
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I don't think there's any huge story significance behind Waltz for the Moon. If I'm remembering right, doesn't it only play (minor spoilers I guess) at the dance where Squall and Rinoa first meet and then nowhere else? I guess if you really like that scene and Squall/Rinoa in general than sure, but this doesn't strike me as a Whereabouts of Light sort of scenario where it is a motif that plays throughout the game at pivotal moments.

It's been some years since I've played FFVIII so I may just be wrong.
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#97 Baldur's Gate - Main Theme
Nominator: Anagram (3/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U88zyFLzIXQ" data-time="

DUN DUNNNNN DUN DUN
Very cinematic, sounds like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean or Lord of the Rings ;>_>
Starts out with an intense first half, leads into the slow mellow second half, then just kind of ends. I feel like this one could be a bit longer, maybe 5 minutes or so, as it is it sounds like a longer theme that was chopped shorter so that it could fit in as a game intro. I could've probably gotten away with ranking this one a few spots higher, meh. Not bad, but other VGM has pulled off better what this track was trying to do.
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Hearing that song does an amazing job of making me want to replay Baldur's Gate 2 for the millionth time.
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#96 Descent - A Big Problem
Nominator: MycroProcessor (5/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q34_1oDcx74" data-time="

Best way I could describe this is a cross between prog metal and bluesy rock. This one is all around pretty cool actually, lots of stuff going on here and all around weirdness, that keyboard is a nice little touch. A Big Problem (hehe) with this is that it falls into the same pitfall as a lot of prog metal in that it overstays its welcome. The first two minutes are really cool to listen to, but then leaving it playing for too long starts to tire me out, and I can only take so much of that underlying guitar riff.
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Darn, BG2 was my favorite.
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I don't even remember WftM in-game. I just played it in Theatrhythm and thought it was pretty great.
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#95 Chaos;Child - Silent Wind Bell
Nominator: xp1337 (3/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NizYLPhlw04" data-time="

Oh hi Kanako Itou song. I kinda lost all interest in the Science Adventure series after sitting through the atrocity that was Chaos;Head, so I know nothing about this entry, but the music has always been pretty good even when the story wasn't. Pretty standard anime ending music here (VN music actually, but same thing basically). Chill song, not really something I'd remember two minutes after listening to though. Could probably replace this with about any other anime/VN song and I don't think I'd notice. I'd rank most of the other Kanako Itou songs a lot higher.
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FL81 posted...

Very cinematic, sounds like something out of Pirates of the Caribbean or Lord of the Rings ;>_>

Just noticed this line, it's worth mentioning that BG2 predates both!
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this topic is a pit of suffering for me

=(
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Argh, I just realized I could've nominated Baba Yetu from Civ 5.
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did you watch the anime for Chaos;Head?

if so you screwed up and should try again with literally anything else.
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dowolf posted...

did you watch the anime for Chaos;Head?

if so you screwed up and should try again with literally anything else.

Yes

even the Umineko anime wasn't this bad
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#94 Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back - Rock It
Nominator: GavsEvans123 (4/5)
Link:

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

Ooh, more PS1 3D platformer music! This one reminds me of that Spyro track earlier, but this one is a lot more fun and memorable. It has that old cheesy PS1/N64 soundfont I love/hate, but this track really knows how to Rock It! The composition and sound design sound a bit amateurish, but not in a bad way, definitely fits for Crash Bandicoot. Strangely this track reminds me of RuneScape and those early Hunter training areas at low levels. ;>_>
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Yeah... The Chaos;Head anime is complete trash.

However, all the VN's are good. Steins;Gate in particular is 10/10 material in both VN and anime form.
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#93 MAIMAI PINK+ - Contrapasso paradiso
Nominator: Prody Parrot (5/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1weC0aGu1o" data-time="

HARDCORE FAST EDM WAH HAH HAH HA
This kinda sounds like it was remixed from an earlier (better) song then the artist just haphazardly threw in a bunch of dubstep/gabber elements into this. Mixed feelings on this one, we have a good melody going on buried in the background somewhere with a lot of loud sounds competing with each other to drown everything else out. Typical rhythm game music, and I can't really see this working anywhere else. I gotta be in the EDM mood to really get into this song.
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yep that's t+paz alright

banshiryuu posted...

yep that's t+paz alright

oh god that explains a lot
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#92 Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword - Main Theme
Nominator: barreldragon88 (2/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgL5b837YBY" data-time="

Oh hey, it's Fire Emblem (Melee)! Shame it's not the better half (Together We Ride) though. This is your standard RPG fanfare-type main theme, but it stands out for its recognition factor. This one is pretty fun to just hum along with the melody. The GBA soundfont doesn't really do this any favors, especially since the horns are such a central component to this song. FE certainly sounds better on the newer systems.
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FL81 posted...

The GBA soundfont doesn't really do this any favors, especially since the horns are such a central component to this song

Agreed.
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I liked Silent Wind Bell. It's nice and chill and calming.

I do agree in that it's not my favorite Kanako Itou song though.
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#91 Zero no Kiseki - Demonic Drive
Nominator: dowolf (5/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eSUfYLBpQI" data-time="

First Falcom track! This one starts out with a really dark sounding piano (kinda reminds me of Lost Odyssey - Dark Saint), then goes into that Ys guitar sound found in tracks like Desert of Despair. Cool sounding song overall, as is to be expected from Falcom, but the background piano gets a bit repetitive and the guitar never really gets as hype as I feel it'd be able to. I feel like I should like this song a lot more than I actually do, and this series is a fairly safe pick for getting a high ranking with me, especially since I like the hard rock TLoH tracks considerably more than anything else. This one doesn't really stand out much to me, other Falcom tracks have done what this is trying to do, but a lot better.
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Bottom 30 out of the way!

#90 TrackMania Valley - Extra Cologne
Nominator: MC_XD/DireKrow (6/6)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jhfmAceKgE" data-time="

The funky beat is what stands out most for this one, real groovy. The instruments/soundfont (whatever you call it) sounds a lot like those electronic indie Steam game soundtracks that have been popular in VGMC/BOST (Shatter and Frozen Synapse in particular are what this reminds me of), which sadly I'm actually not particularly fond of. Has a definitive "retro" feel to it and I wouldn't mind playing long racing game laps with this playing in the background.
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#89 Katamari Damacy - Katamari on the Rocks
Nominator: Janus5k (4/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMH49ieL4es" data-time="

Classic VGM piece right here, I'd be surprised if anyone here following this topic hasn't heard this song before. Katamari has always had really weird music, befitting of its weird nature as a game. As for how much I like it, I don't know, it's not really comparable to anything else. Katamari on the Rocks is fun, it's catchy, and I like it more than the other Katamari music, but it falls into a weirdness category well outside of my tastes.
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#88 Ever17 - Der Mond Das Meer
Nominator: Zyxyz0 (4/5)
Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg2Y-SIEWIw" data-time="

sadvnsong.mp3
So now we're starting to get into the mellow, melancholy songs I actually like, rather than just the "hey this is too boring for me" style songs. I like the overall feel to this one, not particularly better than any other sad piano VN song I've heard (this is basically Great Value Clannad). Most of the melody and instrumentation here is pretty inoffensive, very standard VN style. One thing that does set this apart from the others is that bass instrument playing in the background, a really cool touch IMO.

spreading these last entries over two nights, and still quadruple posting, I feel lonely, hellllp
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Oops, I'll post in the thread instead of on discord.

I really like Demonic Drive. I prefer the original to the evo version. Went out too early =p

I wasn't really sure which of my songs would go out first, but I'm a little surprised it was that one. At least I achieved my goal of avoiding the bottom 25%, barely.

Katamari on the Rocks is decent. It's also so well known that it gets referenced in CN cartoons :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdwlH4pAr0w" data-time="&start=543

I usually find sadvnsong.mp3 pretty unremarkable. This is no exception. I actually prefer all of 94-89 to 88.
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MC_XD posted...

I usually find sadvnsong.mp3 pretty unremarkable. This is no exception. I actually prefer all of 94-89 to 88.

I have a soft spot in my heart for sadvnsong.mp3

This one in particular doesn't stand out at all, but I wouldn't mind it playing in the background during a somber scene
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Booooo. Der Mond Das Meer so good, though it is much better in context for various spoiler-involved reasons.

I hope this doesn't mean my sadvnsong.mp3 from the same series is coming soon
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sanvnsong.mp3's are nice but I wouldn't really put them on a playlist or listen to them more than a few times.

I would make a playlist out of only sadvnsong.mp3's and put it on repeat tbh

Ok maybe not quite, but if that was like 1/2 of the songs I'd probably like that.
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Like I was saying on Discord, I was actually going to nom a different Crossbell track, but then I saw that Demonic Drive EVO had been nom'd and I wanted to set them against each other. Then it turned out FL didn't even realize they were both in here, since they were so different. Heh.
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#87 WATCH_DOGS 2 - Play N Go
Nominator: rwlh (4/5)
Link:

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

This one tiptoes the line between cool and obnoxious. This one has STRONG POWERFUL CHORDS, an uplifting melody, and really loud sounds. We have the same four chords repeating themselves throughout the song with a simple melody, but the key here is in the presentation, which itself is a mixed bag. I feel like they could've went a bit lighter on the sound sampling here, but overall this one is enjoyable.
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