Board 8 > Haste2 ranks all 180 VGMC Retirees.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm actually fond of Happiness of Marionette but system0 should absolutely be ahead of it.

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oh

there it is

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Not a fan of Rusty Ruin. It made me sad that it was the only Sonic retiree for a while, but VGMC hates Sonic music, unfortunately.

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VGMC would much rather have music thats interesting as opposed to, well, good. If we get lucky, something retires thats both, but the former takes precedence, at least nowadays.

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I'm just glad they eventually got past the "I'm pretending that judging music is somehow objective by saying I don't take context into consideration" phase. That was the worst.

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wow those are some comments

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NFUN posted...

wow those are some comments

If you're referring to trdl, he's not exactly wrong. It just depends on your definition of good vs interesting. If I made a scatter plot of the last few years' worth of retirees with the x-axis representing how good the songs are, and the y-axis representing how exotic their sound is, you'd find more songs in the upper-left than the bottom-right. (And more in the upper-right than either.)

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trdl23 posted...

VGMC would much rather have music thats interesting as opposed to, well, good.

i generally think interesting music IS good so i'm ok with this development

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Outside some really isolated cases like Crazy Bus* in VGMC...4? 5? I assume that people nominate songs they genuinely enjoy. So this good vs interesting thing means nothing to me. Sounds like cover for not liking a song and proclaiming the only reason other people can like it is because it's "interesting" not because they actually think it's good.

basically it's just being passive aggressive about songs someone doesn't like doing well

There are plenty of songs I don't care for in VGMC, including retirees, but I don't doubt the motivations of their voters. I may wonder how they like it because I find very little to like about it but I ascribe that down to personal taste in the end. I like to think I've mellowed out on this front and have basically shut down any shots at other songs except for my memetic avenger crusade against Poet and the Muse for beating SPHILIA in ToC2 (The "Incident") which is really just tongue-in-cheek these days.

*I know Mycro likes Crazy Bus but man you're not gonna tell me that position was held by enough people on the board to make VGMC on that rationale rather than "for the lolz".

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wait, does mycro actually LIKE crazy bus?

i know he voted for it because he liked it better than the super boring warcraft (?) song it was up against but i don't think he was like "wow this is awesome!" in his crazy bus writeup.

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plenty of people actually like it

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every piece of music will find its admirers, i guess!

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xp1337 posted...

basically it's just being passive aggressive about songs someone doesn't like doing well

It's not. Believe me, I can draw a distinction. If not right away, then at least with the distance of time. I don't especially love Torna Battle, for instance, but I recognize that it's a good song.

The claim I'm making is simply that the uniqueness of a song is a completely separate variable from its quality. Some songs are one, some are both, some are neither. But the central voting trends have definitely been straying from "safe" songs to "interesting" songs. Just look at the contrast in our last two champions if you have any doubt of that.

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azuarc posted...

It's not. Believe me, I can draw a distinction. If not right away, then at least with the distance of time. I don't especially love Torna Battle, for instance, but I recognize that it's a good song.

The claim I'm making is simply that the uniqueness of a song is a completely separate variable from its quality. Some songs are one, some are both, some are neither. But the central voting trends have definitely been straying from "safe" songs to "interesting" songs. Just look at the contrast in our last two champions if you have any doubt of that.

sure

your point is that people are aiming for "interesting and good" songs rather than "safe and good" songs. that's fair and I'd agree. It's certainly something I consider when considering nominating two songs I equally love. trdl's point is that people are aiming for "interesting" songs instead of "good" songs. it's being passive aggressive about songs someone doesn't like doing well

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I miss when a song like Umineko - Hope could hold the title of VGMC champion!

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PIayer_0 posted...

I miss when a song like Umineko - Hope could hold the title of VGMC champion!

Those were the days

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So that's where the crazybus joke came from. I don't do discord so there's a lot of things I'm ignorant about. But yeah, maybe I could potentially like Crazy Bus if it wasn't so homogenous! Ugh. And it got...17 votes? I'm guessing mostly joke votes.

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crazybus is super famous. i don't think the crazybus poll options are because of it being in the contest a decade ago

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the crazy bus options are a throwback to user crazyisgood, whose name somehow appeared as the 10th option on every poll back when they first became a thing on the forums

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I thought the user was crazybusisgood, not crazyisgood. Oh, well, my memory is not good. Are you saying that username didn't come from the fact that Crazy Bus was in VGMC?

117) Ar Tonelico II - Moon-Dwelling Demon
Series rank: 6 of 6
https://youtu.be/0jqSry2J7xs
Composer: Ken Nakagawa
Score: 7.8/10 (Great)
VGMC History: VGMC 2 (Lost R5 to Into the Wilderness)
Favorite Part: The Intro

This has to be the least Ar Tonelico sounding music of any its music. It sounds more like Sonic music to me in some ways. Still, I like this. Man, that intro! Those echoes and panning sounds! Those 4th/7ths! The synth pads, choirs, and bells! It then goes into a kind of funk like you might expect in a video game, still maintaining the bass and chords from before. The beat is fun, too. Those little horn crescendos such as at 0:35 - 0:36 are neat! The violin melodies plays relatively straight rhythms, which counterbalances the syncopated beat really nicely! The oboe parallels the violins meanwhile. I like how at 1:00 it combines the style of the intro with the style of the main material. But, yeah, that beat!

116) VVVVVV - "Pushing Onwards"
Series [Game] rank: 4 of 4
https://youtu.be/25m3Gk7mRQM?
Composer: Magnus "SoulEye" Plsson
Score: 7.8/10 (Great)
VGMC History: VGMC 4 (Lost R1), VGMC 5 (Lost R3), VGMC 7 (Lost R5 to Re-CODA)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/25m3Gk7mRQM?t=86

ARGH, why do these tracks all have to start with the letter P! This is why Im never ever able to keep track of their names! This one doesnt quite have the impressive blending of ideas that Positive Force has, and neither does it provide the good feels of Potential for Anything. It starts off kind of boring, but it does pick up later. I like 1:25 when it starts doing more really fun rhythmic use of chords, a catchy melody, and then another one! Then, finally the climax melody at 2:27 fills me with excitement! Same with the melodies from 3:08 and on! Aw, yeah. Then again, some of these melodies are used in some of the other tracks, so it lessens the impact somewhat. I didnt even know until directly comparing them that some of these themes are shared among the tracks in this game I thought they sounded familiar just because my memory was bad! Overall, this is, to me, the most boring of the four VVVVVVs, but it does have that unique chiptune blend of sounds and super catchy melodic fragments that ornament the main melody just like most others from the game (honestly, its hard to say exactly why it sounds so good), so I still like it a lot!

115) White Knight Chronicles 2 - The Battlefield Flower (Violin Version)
https://youtu.be/BP2oz6fSczM
Composer: Noriyasu Agematsu(?)
Score: 7.8/10 (Great)
VGMC History: VGMC 6 (Lost R6 to Sburban Jungle)
Favorite Part: That flute!!! Esp. at 3:18

It kicks off with a fantasy movie-like violin intro. Calm, but passionate, as if in a reverberating hall. But then. WHAMO! Epic! A full string section immediately starts handling the now-energized theme, highlighted at 0:57 where it plays one of those CATCHY slow-triplet phrase endings which, fortunately, get used a bunch throughout the track! I love all the sixteenth runs at the beginnings of those phrases the strings do! Great little flute additions make a HUGE difference, toothey complement the violin perfectly, and it does AWESOME sextuplet patterns things at 3:18, for example, and other times). 1:38 just makes me feel so GOOD with that Dorian note getting used! Another great moment is 2:27 love how it emphasizes that Dorian note! (AGAIN) 2:18 has some rhythm section breaks always a plus. At 3:29 strings do something new, including a neat bluesy descent blues used sparingly is cool. But man, I cant get enough of that flute!!!!


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Haste_2 posted...

I thought the user was crazybusisgood, not crazyisgood. Oh, well, my memory is not good. Are you saying that username didn't come from the fact that Crazy Bus was in VGMC?

no, it came from fucking crazy girls, obviously
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Okay, then. So the actual username was crazyisgood. The idea of crazybusisgood came along when somebody was thinking about doing "crazyisgood" tenth option for a VGMC poll, but then realized they could add a meaningful pun by changing it to "crazybusisgood". Apparently.

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it was a perfect match, really

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114) NieR - Shadowlord
Series rank: 4 of 5
https://youtu.be/PqXPW0oBKgg
Composer: ??? (but produced by Kelichi Okabe)
Score: 7.9/10 (Great)
VGMC History: VGMC 4 (Lost R5 to Moon over the Castle)
Favorite Part: All of it, really.

Reminds me of a certain FFIV remix based on the Dancing Calbrena... Both it and this are haunting throughout, with a calm start, then its upbeat at a faster tempo later. Atmosphere is great in both sections. I like the Gregorian Chant-type solo along with the really pure/dark vocal support, and the echoey church acoustics here. I really like the chimes and organ soft enough that its there for effect (starting at 1:08) The standard Nier drums join in the next section as the tempo picks up and the organ starts doing faster licks (awesome!). Compositionally speaking, its kind of boring, but the atmosphere keeps it from being boring!

113) The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening - Tal Tal Heights
Series rank: 3 of 4
https://youtu.be/hOo5yr76RJs
Composer: One of Minako Hamano, Kozue Ishikawa, Kazumi Totaka
Score: 7.9/10 (Great)
VGMC History: VGMC 1 (Lost R1), VGMC 2 (Lost R5 to MGS3 Theme)
Favorite Part: The intro

Ah, yes, the pinnacle of official The Legend of Zelda Theme-inspired music! (or so they say) I love the sense of urgency that the chords communicate at the start. Then comes a familiar fragment of the Zelda theme once, then a second time an octave up. Whoa. Then comes the same fragment now formally presented, but then the stuff after is completely new. Cool. In fact, it sounds radically different. But structurally it has some similarities to the original Zelda theme. The patterns at 0:19, for example! Rhythmically they're the same as in the Zelda themes, but instead of stepwise movement, it leaps to the 5th and then to the octave. Then the theme repeats at 0:26, but now it shifts to natural minor (it was mostly Dorian up until now, and the harmonies move this section toward its conclusion. And thats pretty all there is to this thing! Yep, I really like the development. Its short, but its on Game Boy, so. Yeah. But this little ditty is just so much more epic than the original Zelda theme! Oh, yeah, and those 16th note chord-outlining patterns provide excellent support for the melody! It makes a world of difference. When it changes key at 0:52, though. I wonder why theres no bass there? It makes it feel kind of bare bones.


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Shadowlord way too low

Might be top ten

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112) Mega Man 2 - Dr. Wily Stage 1
https://youtu.be/HFKtYCcMWT4
Series rank: 2 of 4
Composer: Takashi Tateishi
Score: 7.9/10 (Great)
VGMC History: VGMC 1 (Lost R5 to Invisible Full Moon)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/HFKtYCcMWT4?t=21

Here it is, the classic of all classics among NES music! The fast double punch articulations are lots o fun. Then when the first melody is finished you get this ridiculously awesome tag/response at the end (:08-:11), the way it naturally rolls off the melody. Its also the only part of the whole track to use that Dorian (natural 6) note, notably. For the second section, it moves from a traditional sound to more of a reverberating feel, and hey, it continues the offbeat idea from the start. We also hear computer sounds do those double punches like we heard at the start, but in the background. Awesome. Very tasteful. Also, bII is used to support the tonic note in the melody, which is cool... that sort of thing I don't think is done a lot in NES MM music. Anyway, it's without question my FAVORITE section of the whole thing! 0:32 adds countermelodies, which arent quite as impressive as other material. But the reverberating section comes back untouched right after, so YAY. The very last part brings us more of that offbeat idea to finish it off! Yeah, its nicely crafted, but its not really top tier NES Mega Man music to me just high tier. >_> Kinda funny how they all ended up with around the same rating. Sorry, ancient chiptunes...it's hard for you to score high.

111) Professor Layton and the Unwound Future - Theme of the Last Time Travel
https://youtu.be/U-W4iDW5o6Y
Composer: Tomohito Nishiura
Score: 7.9/10 (Great)
VGMC History: VGMC 3 (Lost R6 to Reset ~ Thank You)
Favorite Part: The last 45 seconds or so

Ah, yes, I love violin/cello stuff from Professor Layton! Cello + synth pad to start off! Then it moves to with a nice chamber string sound using REAL instruments to present the theme in its entirety. Sounds like late 19th century Europe. Dai Gyakuten Saiban (The Great Ace Attorney) has a lot of music like this, too. Beautiful lyrical stuff at the beginning, then we got a more percussive section at 0:41 with a wonderful combinatio of sounds (the legato-staccato succession works nicely) and cluster chords. I like when the accordion takes over to move the music forward. nice feels! I love 1:21 when it drops back down to thin string orchestration. At 1:41 you got a nice jazzy beat added seamlessly! I enjoy the simple, but effective violin patterns there, continued by the accordian. Im loving those solos, especially from 2:21 - 2:41, and then shortly after they all start going wild at once! Totally groovy at 3:01 piano stuff when the main melody comes back! All in all, its a kind of style and instrumentation that I LOVE, even though compositionally it could be better, I guess.


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110) Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal - Ratchet & Courtney Battle
https://youtu.be/szSgy6uTtNg
Composer: David Bergeaud
Score: 7.9/10 (Great)
VGMC History: VGMC 4 (Lost R5 to discolor)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/szSgy6uTtNg?t=78

Hey, we got PS2 platformer music on the list! I've never played any of them, though. Fun and exciting (what colorful vocabulary I have)! The unique instrumentation is what what make this shine. Man, this one is hard to talk about! It sounds like other music from Ratchet and Clank. EDM mixed with who knows what. Weird percussive sounds that get placed pretty randomly. Squeaks and creaks! The main synth melody is deep and intense. The almost gliss-like movement between notes give it STYLE! The low piano and the funky electric bass make it sound so full! any listens later, I FINALLY notice that piano chords are being played in the background during the main melody. they add a subtle hemiola to the mix.I enjoy 1:04 how this 16th-notes fill in the holes of the melody. Starting about 1:18, you start hearing dissonances all over the place in the background! Kind of cool, actually! In fact, I LOVE it! >_> Yeah, this track isnt that great in terms of note choices, but practically EVERY instrument used is meaningful for the overall atmosphere.I never get tired of it, honestly.


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I'm still kind of stunned a Ratchet & Clank song retired

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oh cool I never knew that was the R&C song that retir- what the heck is that 111 and 112

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Shadowlord and MM2 Wily too low.

Leonhart4 posted...

I'm still kind of stunned a Ratchet & Clank song retired

VGMC4 was full of surprises! I still feel that Kimera II's retirement was, accounting for the time, the most surprising retirement in VGMC. If it retired today I don't think anyone would bat an eye but back then that was way outside the norm.

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xp1337 posted...

I still feel that Kimera II's retirement was, accounting for the time, the most surprising retirement in VGMC. If it retired today I don't think anyone would bat an eye but back then that was way outside the norm.

Don't agree with that at all.
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109) Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Shin Onigashima
Series rank: 4 of 4
https://youtu.be/63qEt9OyoUw
Composer: Koji Kondo, Arranged by Masafumi Takada
Score: 7.9/10 (Great)
VGMC History: VGMC 2 (Lost R3), VGMC 3 (Lost R5 to Liberation of Gracemeria)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/63qEt9OyoUw?t=52

I didnt know the original composer of the Famicom game Shin Onigashima was Koji Kondo until recently. Love that beginning solo. It sounds so.Japanese, the way it ornaments it. Then it turns into punk metal or whatever it is (I dont know my styles). But the melody works SO well in this style! (if you want to hear the original.https://youtu.be/EW9HpNH1p-0) The first melodys harmonies are simple, but they really resonate with me. Another one of those ornaments at 0:23, aw yeah. In the second it takes some unexpected harmonic turns to move things forward. One difference is when everyone basically joins in to double the length of that ornament at 0:57, cool!!! Then you got an epic repetition (including that ORNAMENT!!!) three times (last time up the OCTAVE), and then you got this INSANE glissando thing. talk about intense! The following section I love it makes a nice contrast, and I like the slightly sad feeling it evokes. (the classical piano arpeggios also helps with the feeling) I love those chromatic triplets (such as at 1:27). Then at 1:35 that sadness gets energized so that it sounds almost tragic.

108) Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards - Zero-Two
https://youtu.be/BwpLSiplyYc
Composer: Jun Ishikawa
Score: Great (7.9/10)
VGMC History: VGMC 1 (Lost R2), VGMC 2 (Lost R4), VGMC 3 (LOst R1), VGMC 4 (Lost R4), VGMC 5 (lost R3), VGMC 6 (Lost R4), VGMC 8 (Lost R8 to Papilionnes)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/BwpLSiplyYc

Seven attempts, huh? Move over, Meaning of Birth! With the intro (falling stars?), obviously you can tell its leading to some dramatic music, but even then. The choirs and bass make for one quirky dark piece of music, for sure! Ive never heard anything quite like this in a Kirby game...well, any game, for that matter. The intro before the way it sounds like falling stars along with the light percussion. The slow melody moves the music forward without drawing too much attention to itself, keeping focus on the atmosphere. The melody keeps building, moving faster and ascending (for a loooooooooooong time), meanwhile flute, orchestra hits and chimes get added. Very nice. Overall, its so unique! But yeah, I especially like that long ascent. The only other thing Im gonna say is that theres some other excellent Kirby music that I hope can be added to the list of retirees.


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Don't like Zero-Two at all. Still can't believe it actually made a contest final.

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The internet age as ruined me

https://youtu.be/FzSR_TFMirs

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Funny video! Sounds like me when I try to sing high<i>!</i>

107) Cladun: This is an RPG - Slicing the Wind
https://youtu.be/0khERYusK3c
Composer: Yoh Ohyama
Score: 8.0/10 (Excellent)
VGMC History: VGMC 6 (Lost R5 to Solaris Phase 2)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/0khERYusK3c?t=142

Finally, weve hit the Excellent tier! Everything from here on out I have a great deal of respect for. Fun fiddlin folk dancin! I cant complain about that -- I almost always like it. Nice swing to it. The guitar accompaniment at the start (non-standard note choices in the chords...mmm, 4ths), and then the piano getting added at 0:17 - WOW! It fits in really well. Bagpipe-like instrument provides a nice buzz to the texture. Once the guitar goes electric at 0:34, though. I dont like it quite as much. At 1:09 the piano takes the lead, yay! Wonderful bounce to it, swinging hard! (in a non-jazzy way) Mmmm, underwater sound effects 1:28. At 2:02 we get some nice lyrical stuff on top to contrast with the piano stuff. 2:22 - goes back to calm waters, from which it gradually builds in intensity. I love the sustained synths in there! 2:54 has that , then you got some cool new violin impromptu solo there AW, YEAH. It ends calmly, rather than trying to create a super grand finale or something. Great note and cluster chord to end on, wooo.

106) Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation - Liberation of Gracemeria
Series rank: 1 of 3
ELIMINATED: Ace Combat series
https://youtu.be/YhdNjzX4waA
Composer: Keiki Kobayashi
Score: 8.0/10 (Excellent)
VGMC History: VGMC 2 (Lost R3), VGMC 3 (Lost R6 to Dire, Dire Docks)
Favorite Part: 0:00 - 2:41

Finally we get our second series elimination! This ones a bit hard to rate. It starts off with a bunch of patterns (from the low strings) that sound weird if you focus in on that. Somehow I think youre not supposed to listen to them very closely, haha. its best to listen to it all together. I enjoy the way it was written instead of the melody landing on the strong beats all the time, theyre delayed by a half beat. Somehow this makes the music more alive and tasteful. But yeah, sometimes composers do weird rhythms to draw attention away from the rhythm to create musical effects. Once the slow, graceful horns come in, its candy for my ears. From there, its pretty much a big crescendo...very neat. Starting about 1:27 we get these YUMMY brass harmonies omg omg omg! It culminates to this Fp <<<<<<< MASSIVE brass chords, and then a grand pause<i>!!!<i> Then the massive brass (+everybody else) chords again! From there its nice, but its a stereotypical new age chord progression that comes across as slightly cheesy, so I can kind of have mixed feelings about it. But okay, the majestic melody on top of the string/percussion patterns sounds good. That trumpet suddenly soaring at 3:41 is nice! (this game is about soaring, after all) Nice action movie sound effects @ 4:38, and its somehow refreshing to hear the previous theme when more subdued. Overall its good, but the first part is way better than the rest because of those great chords!!!!


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You can switch back to the old posting engine.

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105) Solatorobo: Red the Hunter - Re-CODA
https://youtu.be/R46437vIFv0
Composer: Chikayo Fukuda
Score: 8.0/10 (Excellent)
VGMC History: VGMC 6 (Lost R4), VGMC 7 (Lost R7 to EXEC_SPHILIA/.)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/R46437vIFv0?t=206

I know Ive heard music like this before. This is very pretty! Somber start. I enjoy slow, leaping melodies like what the piano does! Great chords, too. It lightens up a bit when the vocals start.the voice is impressively pure and floaty. Nice supporting vocal channels when they come in! The harmonic ostinato is a bit too familiar, but it still sounds very nice considering. The melody on top is great, though! Nice cello countermelody at 2:15. It becomes a bit TOO much like Pachelbels Canon in D at 2:39. At 3:26 we got a CHILL-inducing key change mmmm, suddenly theres all these flats, and we hear some less predictable stuff! But then it goes back to the home key too fast, aw. The piano comes back again to conclude kind of like at the beginning, but this time more consistent with the lighter feel of the main material. Overall, its not perfect, but its very emotional!

104) Umineko no Naku Koro ni 4 - dreamenddischarger
Series rank: 7 of 15
https://youtu.be/3vYAXZs8pFU
Composer: zts
Score: 8.0/10 (Excellent)
VGMC History: VGMC 3 (Lost R5 to Theme of the Last Time Travel)
Favorite Part: 1:14 - 2:11

What can I say? This music pretty describes Umineko music as a whole. That loud beat, though I wish it wasnt used for so long. But actually, it doesnt bother me as much as it used to! (the write-up was made like 4 months ago) Oh, well, I can still enjoy it, at least. The opening is fine... kind of a neutral groovy feeling that makes you wonder whats going to happen next. It transitions starting at 0:46 to a, um, transition section. This section is actually really engaging. The harp and piano in the background, the harmonies they make, as well as the crescendo makes it really nice. And then the OTHER main theme comes in at 1:14.That violin melody is really something! One of my favorite uses of violin in any Umineko music. The chord progression here is simply fantastic. The music is constantly evolving here. This section reminds me of how the russian classical composers love to create a melody that keeps going and going and going... 2:40 is the one part where I could do without, but it doesnt last long. I love it when a beat gets added right before moving to a new section such as at 3:20 with that percussive hit! The final section at 3:21 has some really nice instrumentation. The bell-like melody/chords and the strings blend nicely, as well as the light percussion. Nice lengthened dominant at the end of it, too. At 4:00, the material from the intro comes back. I just noticed a meter from the harp there. Cool.

103) Umineko No Naku Koro Ni Chiru 7 - The Executioner
Series rank: 6 of 15
https://youtu.be/eLuSj6tP5nA
Composer: zts
Score: 8.0/10 (Excellent)
VGMC History: VGMC 5 (Lost R1), VGMC 7 (Lost R8 to EXEC_SPHILIA/.)
Favorite Part: The intro

Oh, dear somebody is screwed Heres some typical Umineko music with an extra dosage of Halloween. Phantoms all over the place! This is a lot like goldenslaughterer. First off, I REALLY like that motif (C-F) ostinato thats used a lot in the first minute. Its so distinctly Umineko. Wow @ that those sound effects. If only I could describe them. Cool phantom-like shrieks and things. I dont know what it is about it, but it has this demonic vibe that I really like! The ghost chorus comes across as cheesy to me, though...what a shame, because theyre used too much. That cool motif comes back for a bit at about 1:40, so thats cool! Then we got kind of an organ-esque theme at 2:10, but slowed down. Nice extra beat at 2:40. I love how it winds down shortly after and then we got some funky rhythms, yay lots of dodging the beat by a 16th note. Makes a nice contrast. The rise to the climax starting about 3:10 is. Wow. Chilly winds blowing, and then theres that fast glissando at 3:22. Aw, yeah.


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102) Umineko no Naku Koro ni 2 - worldenddominator
Series rank: 5 of 15
https://youtu.be/fAKkw71ff3U
Composer: zts
Score: 8.0/10 (Excellent)
VGMC History: VGMC 3 (Lost R5 to Riches in Me)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/fAKkw71ff3U?t=175

Only four left, eh? The very beginning is lovely.. The harp starts off a cool 7/4 idea. Very pretty. Then it gets put on top of a 4/4 beat and the harp changes to a synth because, well, this is zts Umineko music, so it has to get loud, obviously! Wind chimes! The melody at 1:07 is okay, I guess I prefer the lengthy violin melodies in lastendconductor and some others. I like it more at 1:36 when it starts to put little tripletized ornaments onto the melody! Nice transition (1:59 - 2:01), and I almost always love Umineko use of harpsichord, such as in the following section! Now, 2:57 THIS is what Im talking about! (the echo effect at the start there is awesome, by the way!) The 7/4 idea comes back, but on top of other material in 4/4. Aw, yeah! Even more impressive is that the harmonies change throughout this section, too! This goes on until about 3:22. At 3:22 we get the final section. The 7/4 idea keeps going but switches to 4/4. Then theres a COOL dissonance at 3:33. Yeah, it ends on a really high note.

101) Mega Man X5 - X vs. Zero
Series rank: 1 of 4
ELIMINATED: Mega Man series
https://youtu.be/C3qYAvmiKRs
Composer: Naoto Tanaka, Naoya Kamisaka, Takuya Miyawaki
Score: 8.1/10 (Excellent)
VGMC History: VGMC 3 (Lost R5 to Diving)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/C3qYAvmiKRs?t=33

This is unmistakably Mega Man X, isnt it? This reminds me I need to play MMX5 sometime, as Ive only beaten the first four MMXs. (I have the MMX Collection on PS2) This doesnt sound like your standard rivalry fight its obviously a very climactic battle. But yeah, Zero's one of the coolest characters around, so he deserves music like this! It starts with a grindy bass line going up and down, emphasizing harmonic minor in a COOL way. Im liking the way the bass is presented after the pickup, reiterating the tonic note instead of just holding it. It adds a lot of energy! Then you got these BRIGHT bells doing a similar thing as the bass at 0:18 when the main melody begins. Great way to energize this first section. Also, What a great synth right there for part two! This is also where most of the non-triadic note choices are in this track. Moving between minor v and vi works really nice here! I especially enjoy the sixteenth note stepwise passages at 0:38 and 0:45, as well as the tasteful chromatic up to the leading tone at the end of the phrase! Stylish.


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umineko dropping like flies

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Too low for both

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RIP wed and ded

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time for some real doozies


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Those weren't the doozies?

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Actually, the main doozy is not quite yet, though #99 might be considered one? I dunno.

100) Terraria Calamity Mod - 1NF3S+@+!0N (Theme of Crabulon)
Series rank: 2 of 2
https://youtu.be/17IZjvr5c1I
Composer: DM Dokuro
Score: 8.1/10 (Excellent)
VGMC History: VGMC 13 (Lost R6 to New World Order)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/17IZjvr5c1I?t=113

Ive gotta say the opening chords are super fun. Those 16th-based syncopated rhythms.these are exactly the sort of thing that I LOVE. And they pump so much adrenaline. Castanets pretending to be clicking crab claws! Then you put on top of that a line thats SO ridiculously energetic that its almost trippy.... In the following contrasting section, I used to be really bothered by the gaps in the sound, but Im fine with it. The piano is soothing in a way reminds me of piano used in DKC. 1:53 we finally get the best part.it is flat out amazing. The electronic melody its so agile and adventurous! And then those seven last chordsyummy harmonies! the timing of those chords is absolutely PERFECT (dotted eight notes). so ridiculously tasteful!

99) Bravely Default - Serpent Eating the Ground
Series rank: 2 of 2
https://youtu.be/vHeuR_bC9GM
Composer: Revo
Score: 8.1/10 (Excellent)
VGMC History: VGMC 8 (Lost R6 to Zero-Two)
Favorite Part: https://youtu.be/OLBTIUzPpEQ?t=213

The name is a reference to the devil, huh? This is clearly inspired by One-Winged Angel in the early parts of the track, so the title makes some sense. Unfortunately, much of the material in the first half is LESS interesting than OWA, but it does have its moments. The inconsistency in quality makes this one difficult to rate. 0:37 is cool how the trumpets do an Fp<<<<, then the rest comes in on the off-beat! The guitars go WILD at 1:09... one, then two, then three, then four combined with the dark chromatic descent its INTENSE. The first half is overall decent. At 2:57 the music changes direction somewhat, no actually, a LOT. 3:33 - OH MAN the false ending there is SICK. The fast syncopation to the final note, and then the organ passes tripletized atonal patterns to the guitars, then everything drops out again SO GOOD. The piano then takes things from there doing more atonal wandering stuff in a calm, dreamy manner, also referring to the theme from the very beginning nice contrast! At 4:10 things start intensifying again, and tonality kind of gets wonky again I especially like the harmonies at 4:37-4:39 along with the two staccato notes at the end of that. We get somewhat of a folky medley next! Gotta love the violin (dorian!) and soprano saxophone (smooth jazz), and accordian (folk rock)! Definitely one of my favorite parts! Finally, we get one of the MAJOR themes of the game at 5:20, with HIGH ENERGY trumpets SCREAM it (Eric Miyashiro group!!!), and pretty much everything else is going wild, too. Even though this theme has an ending, Im guessing in-game it loops back to the beginning again at 5:58.


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Serpent is not good
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Haste_2 posted...

Actually, the main doozy is not quite yet, though #99 might be considered one?

for being too high?

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In total fairness while I do think ded and wed are both too low (and Executioner is probably too high) it's hard to really be incensed when you're still giving both of them 8s

Both of those are probably about right. Servants > Crab forever

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th3l3fty posted...

Serpent is not good

correct

It's great
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*looks at 105-102*

wtf

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rip crab
rip serpent

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