Board 8 > [VGMC] R16 D2: Chloe (jubeat) vs Revenger (Crystar)

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to today's topic for Video Game Music Contest 13, a tournament of the best tracks from games, as decided upon by you, the voters.

Links:
Bracket - http://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=471679
Contest info - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17rEeB1_oYWgryWzIxOaZXw2a381gKGnMegjHCG_2OTQ
Discussion and results thread - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77672812
Bracket playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW9O9mntH1RF28glW72G6s_5M1e4kcSxR

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Rules:

- Listen to both of the songs. Links have conveniently been provided for both songs. Even if Song A is your favorite of all-time and Song B is from a series you hate... Listen. To. Both. (If I have suspicions your vote is not based on a fair and impartial preference, it will be disqualified.)
- Obvious contest rules apply (no alts, one vote per person, no rallying, etc.).
- Please make your voting options clear, rather than burying them in text.
- Each set of matches lasts 24 hours, even if the new one isnt up by then.
- Always vote on the versions of the song provided, not versions from different sources.
- If you know ahead of time that you're not going to be around and you want to vote in advance, post your choices in the discussion/bracket topic.
- Please do NOT post tallies/score updates in the middle of the match, as this has a tendency to directly influence matches.
- You don't have to vote in all the matches, but it'd be cool if you did!

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Today's match:

jubeat Prop - Chloe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3eZ5XaIVw4" data-time="

Crystar - Revenger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFCi2UonT4k" data-time="

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Easy vote form:
Chloe / Revenger

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Song lyric trivia: Huzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod / Ahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein! / Wo lost fron wah ney dov / Ahrk fin reyliik do jul / Voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein // Ahrk fin kel lost prodah / Do ved viing ko fin krah / Tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein! / Alduin, feyn do jun / Kruziik vokun staadnau / Voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein! // Nuz aan sul, fent alok / Fod fin vul dovah nok / Fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz! / Paaz Keizaal fen kos stin nol bein Alduin jot!
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Chloe
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Revenger

Chloe

Chloe

okay trdl23

Revenger

I wish Sayonara Heaven retired

Crystar - Revenger

Song Trivia: Skyrim - Dragonborn's Theme. Or I guess if you're being a jerk it might also technically be like Watch the Skies, which IIRC uses the same lyrics but is basically a higher tempo/battle version of theme.
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Chloe
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Chloe

nfun votes:
Chloe
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jubeat Prop - Chloe
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jubeat Prop - Chloe
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Revenger

Very cool match between two fun discoveries.
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jubeat Prop - Chloe
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Revenger

Didn't realize Crystar was that recent, it's not even released outside of Japan yet! That's what I call a prompt retirement.
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Jubeat Prop Chloe

Jubeat Prop Chloe
Im stylistically challenged, but this is a probably based on a European dance. Cant ever go wrong with 5/4 rhythms! Heres another piece where the harmonies change in unique ways under a simple melody. Honestly, based on the melody, the composer could have just used a I chord throughout, but instead closely related chords that use the tonic note, so thats cool. There isnt quite as much to this music as some of the other retirees, but the harmonies keep us very engaged here. Moving up the half-step in the last section is cool. As far as instruments, I LOOOOOVE those flute melodies... so energetic. and so rhythmic... and the super fast lines are so FUN, too. And.... I'd better mention something specific about the harmonies before posting, you know, for those music theorists to enjoy reading. My favorite harmonies are probably at 0:56, where it uses chords releated to tonic (key of G), utilizing E diminished and E-flat major, going back and forth between them! (before it finally ends on the predictable dominant at the end)

Favorite part: The energetic flute melodies! (the beginning, 0:42, and the ending)
Ranking: 7 out of 16

Crystar Revenger
Ah, yes, its that music where everyone says, A bunch of random stuff plays, and theres that one COOL section! Yeah, this is probably the most difficult music to follow among all the retirees, and yeah, being thick in texture, meandering a bit, and completely lacking in melodies in some sections make it a bit difficult to get a feeling of the form. (well, there probably ISNT much to the form) Difficult to comment on, too, though Mycro Im sure had a heyday talking about this one. The first section feels kinda weird, because it feels like it should be 5/4, but an extra beat is always added. (in reality its 6/4, of course) Im liking the mix of instruments. Guitar, low brass, violins, piano, and electronic sounds I cant identify combine. Low brass is used nicely for both effect and melody. Violins seems to mesh with the guitar nicely. Harmonically not super active, but thats ok. Well, except for the COOL section, of course. But after that, it kind of falls flat to me. As far as form goes, it feels like it starts going somewhere, but then at 0:26 it gets soft and starts meandering then a big cool forte comes out of nowhere. I really like those parallel 4ths and 5ths in the melody. The direction gets a little better after that I do like how 0:56 expands upon the idea previous section. After that it kind of falls flat to me, though, until the COOL section comes back again. As for the ending the soft guitar line (from 0:26) comes back again, but then it just suddenly cuts out, so whatever! (oh, wow, I just wrote more on this than other songs)

Favorite part: The COOL part! You all know what it is.
Ranking: 15 out of 16
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Crystar - Revenger

Weakest match of this round, meh.
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Chloe
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jubeat Prop - Chloe

Revenger
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Revenger

Chloe
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Revenger
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Revenger

Revenger
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Revenger
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Revenger
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Chloe

11. jubeat prop - Chloe (5.5) (for M4 Part II, Raging Spirits, Life Will Change)

vs.

6. Crystar - Revenger (7.5) (over Everythings Alright, Mystic Pendulum, ENDYMION, DNF)

Chloe feels hollow. It goes through the motions of being an interesting song, but I feel absolutely nothing when I listen to it - there's no emotional connection. I can't articulate why that is. I've yet to vote for it and I can't (hopefully) see that changing.

I've said this repeatedly, but nothing really happens for most of Revenger, but the parts where something does happen are so good. Chloe should take notes.

Vote:
Revenger

Revenger

Crystar - Revenger
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Revenger

REVENGER

sorry caps

slash not sorry caps

slash avenge.us_revenger
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Chloe

really like revenger tho so ill be happt if it wins

Revenger

Revenger would be a pretty reasonable winner if it came to that.
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Revenger
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Chloe
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Chloe

Chloe
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Chloe
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Revenger
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Crystar - Revenger

Match-up analysis:

A rather weak match if we compare it to yesterday's. Even then, having a select group of 16 songs really makes me go further and say: "Alright. We have these scenarios. Let's pay even more attention to these songs, since there's a reason they're so far into the contest". Also, it's fun; I can truly appreciate them more upon closer examination.

Chloe is a nice song and all, but it lacks an engaging factor. I don't know how to describe its particular tempo, but I'm gonna take a wild guess and say it's 5/5 (mostly composed by 2/5's and 3/5's; is this correct?). Either way, Chloe does a fine job at building a solid melody with a rather unusual tempo, which is already an accomplishment in itself. The instrumentation is great, and as a flute player myself, I can only imagine the hours of dedication for such a talented musician to make this song sound as good as it does (seriously, there are sections where you can clearly hear 16 different notes within a 1 whole-note space [which would be roughly 16 notes in a single second]; how on Earth does he/she do that?!)

But that's the problem. It can only sound "good", and not extraordinary. I'm gonna take another wild guess and say this is a Celtic composition. For an extraordinary song that shares this style, please refer to another retiree, DORCHADAS. However, as much as I admire its particular performance and harmony behind it, this is just a matter of taste since, as I also said yesterday, there's nothing "wrong" with this one, but that's just not enough.

As far as Revenger is concerned, the song engages you from the very beginning. It's like it's trying to tell a very dramatic story, beginning with a slight "scare" in the first half-second of the song as if some danger just showed up and you have to be prepared to face it, but proceeding with extreme stealth. The thing I love most about this song, superficially speaking, would be by far the bit starting at 0:41 and when it later shows up again in a more complete way (really, a song has to sound good in order to be good, righr?); however, the thing I admire the most, in comparison with Chloe, is the sense of passion behind it in every section of the song, of which it covers lots as well (for example, starting at 1:28, everything sounds like it's covering a very important situation in a lab or giant corporation; then it just goes on telling a story with every note and instrument for a good chunk of the song). I also really like how the song is never affraid to show itself how it is; it shows and performs beautiness here and there, throughout the entire composition, like a dancer that's not a single bit affraid of their performance, and thus it makes it stand out even more.

And if a song manages to not only sound good, but also convey you an emotion while making you imagine a story behind it, then it's art in its greatest expression.

Conveyed Emotions and Story Imagining (with a seemingly hungover guy in a mansion at 10:00 a.m. as its cover) >> Chlo Grace Moretz (a.k.a. not DORCHADAS)
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Chloe
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