Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 23! RollMeIn v Seraph, Hellburst v Tonitrus, rythm-change v UpperCity

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to Video Game Music Contest 15, an annual celebration of the best of the best video game music according to the voters!

Important Links:
Bracket: https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=474630
Contest info sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16XAaBMDuUnQ4c5AxQNL9ZhvD7VG5kQyrXWWZxnkrn-o
Contest discussion thread: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/79443554
Main bracket playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3m7iohpL0xt7lOF1eB-H4NpAaF1yAnU
Compatibility sheet (courtesy of Haste!!): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iGYWo_ifr_p2uYpD_I6TwBQS2tm7zJtPCxYZfRJcG8I
Last years spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VNrPnFRI7nJ4PqFiURBW0NWqxvXiuasoq8Sn_O169ss
VGMC total stats sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K1XdLWiUKB2kX99qYBgnRbLU_sCz4dvZSByKKJHCT6o
Discord: https://discord.gg/WDvMS4a

Rules:
- Listen to both songs in a given match, at least through the loop time provided (to make sure you don't skip before you've heard the whole thing!)
- Please consider the loop point listed when judging the song; if a video loops one minute 5 times, don't treat it as if it's a repetitive 5 minute song
- If it's a match between your favorite song ever and a song you despise, still LISTEN TO BOTH! Votes can and will be disqualified if there is suspicion songs are not being listened to, and you may be discounted for the rest of the contest for repeat offenses.
- No alt accounts, no rallying or begging, etc., etc.... You only get one vote! Swapping votes is alright, just make clear that you've already made a vote and are swapping.
- Make clear what your voting options are! Please keep votes separate from any comments, and use the titles given in the topic post.
- Voting in all matches is not mandatory, feel free to skip matches you do not wish to vote in.
- Vote based on the links provided, and not other sources of audio. Links are specifically chosen for best quality and the like.
- Don't discuss vote tallies in this thread, or in other threads, as they may influence votes. Likewise, please refrain from looking at the running tally before voting.

Voting Period:
- Today's matches will last 24 hours from the time of posting, or 24 hours from 10pm Eastern, whichever is the later time.
- Please note this may mean that two topics will be active at the same time!
- If you anticipate being unable to vote in a given day, please send an absentee vote to @banshiryuu or @Toxtricity, or post your absentee vote in the discussion thread!

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Match 1

Katamari Damacy - Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Composer: Yui Asaka, Hideki Tobeta

Congrats to azuarc for winning the GotD Guru!

Seraph, the Traitor
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
Upper City

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Seraph, the Traitor
Casio Hellburst
Upper City

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In) (218th) vs Seraph, the Traitor (205th)
Casio Hellburst (46th) vs Tonitrus (14th)
rhythm-changer (76th) vs Upper City (183rd)

wtf second match i'm so mad who let this happen ((

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

Vocals good again today.

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Katamari Damacy - Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning - Tonitrus
Umineko no Naku Koro ni - rhythm-changer

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

Ahh rhythm-changer is such a treat for the ears! I think these rhythmically complex songs really click with me when they have simple parts that repeat independently but come together to make some very engaging interlaced patterns. It's like I'm in a room full of little machines all doing their own thing, but at any time I can listen for a specific part and go "oh cool, you're still there". Kinda the same idea as machine instruments like Marble Machine or the Animusic videos, but the parts are simple and distinct enough that I can pick them out without the need for visuals!

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Seraph, the Traitor
Casio Hellburst
Upper City

Monster Train - Seraph, the Traitor
Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning - Tonitrus
Umineko no Naku Koro ni - rhythm-changer
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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Casio Hellburst
Upper City

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Roll Me In
Casio Hellburst
Upper City

RIP Tonitrus. Tough break here.

Casio Hellburst [8.5]
Tonitrus [8]
Upper City [7]
rythym-changer [7]
Roll Me In [6.5]
Seraph the Traitor [4.5]

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
Upper City
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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Casio Hellburst
Upper City

Katamari - Delicious acoustic guitar with a... Latin rhythm? Lyrics and soft(!) saxophone that don't detract from the beat. I haven't much played katamari, but this tune is... delicious.
Also, I want papaya now. Wonder what that's about.
Monster Train - Ehhhh. It's not my thing, which is odd, since I very much like Lady Tears, piano, spooky choir, and the mood it's trying to convey.

Casio Mario - I have big respect for original composers for the ROMhack community, having wanted to get involved with it myself a bit (and was plotting to - at least the randomizer community - right before I got my full-time offer in the land of pre-COVID.) This song (nay, the entire soundtrack) does a LOT from a technical standpoint with the regular, emulated SNES sound chip, and it's all the more impressive for it.
Gahkthun - There's that accordion again. I swear, you get one of those out and the wind-instrument equivalent of a drum circle starts springing up. It does a bunch of really cool things (the accordion, the strings, the soft piano going with 'em) but it felt... almost a bit generic despite it? I don't know. I gotta give the props to Hellburst instead for this matchup.

Umineko - I'm a fan of the tone, and the higher-octave piano going on with the bells and the electronic beep-boops, but despite this, it doesn't actually seem to change it's rhythm all that terribly much? Good background music for sure.
Robots - Was suuuuuper not expecting a licensed game to have this cool of a soundtrack, especially on GBA. This also makes for good background music, but I think what's making me vote for this one over Umineko is the added focus on the drum.

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Roll me In
Tonitrus
Upper City

papayas :D

Seraph is good. Real good. But I think I'm more in the mood for whatever the hell roll me in has going on over drama confrontation

Doesn't do anything at all for me. It's like white noise somehow. I am absolutely baffled as to why

I like the Yoh Ohyama-ass opening. Rest is solid, if a bit forgettable. Comfort-food VGMC track

yet another song that doesn't click nearly much as it should. I mean it's still 8.something, just I'd expect it to be higher! Gonna wreck my nom but that's ok

I loved this game as a kid, and always remembered that it had a great soundtrack even if I couldn't recall at all what it was like. When I used a track from it in a guessing game a few years ago, only a few songs were on Youtube, and they were decennt (Ian Stocker good) if not revolutionary. Eventually he uploaded the whole thing and I stumbled into this. *This* is the song that made me think the OST was excellent when I was a kid. It isn't that it's nostalgic or that I now remember hearing this song (though I can dimly recall what the area it played in was like); no, I just heard this and *knew*. I love how opposite in sound my two GBA picks for this contest are. Who says the GBA has bad sound capabilities?


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Seraph, the Traitor
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In) (6.5 - 50th place) / Seraph, the Traitor (7.0^ - 42nd place)
Casio Hellburst (5.8 - 56th place) / Tonitrus (7.5 - 37th place)
rhythm-changer (9.7 - 3rd place) / Upper City (8.2^ - 20th place)


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Seraph, the Traitor
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

Roll Me In pretty boring stuff for a Katamari song. Nothing really going on there. Kinda oddly like it more the longer it goes for some reason though... Seraph has a fun Terraria Calamity-style feel to it. The progression isn't as good as a lot of those songs, but a lot of it is real great.

The start of Casio is kinda nice, but I don't like the way it feels overall much. Tonitrus is a lot of fun. I feel like I might've liked it better in the past? It's still good though.

rhythm-changer isn't generally the sort of thing I'd listen to on its own, but it's real cool in-game. Neat track with a good solving a mystery feel. Upper City's beginning is a bit annoying, but it gets better as it goes for some reason.

Seraph, the Traitor > Tonitrus > rhythm-changer > Upper City > Katamaritaino (Roll Me In) > Casio Hellburst
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Seraph, the Traitor
Casio Hellburst
rhythm-changer

So I was sort of surprised with how much I loved Seraph the Traitor here...Well most of it at least. So I'm not a big fan of the instrumentation soundscape it uses but that doesn't matter as I was really into the keys it was in & a lot of weird rhythm stuff it was doing! Except, 1:39 to 2:28 it kinda completely loses it's luster for me for some reason. It's sort of annoying because the rest of the song is so great!!!

Casio Hellburst is a type of song that I sort of like how excessively repetitive it is at times. There's something I really like with how "intensely bittersweet" things sort of sound around 1:16

Both real nice songs in match 3 but rhythm changer definitely gets my vote here

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Seraph, the Traitor
Tonitrus
Upper City

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

Seraph, the Traitor
Casio Hellburst
rhythm-changer

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
Upper City

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Casio Hellburst
Upper City

Not only is Roll Me In the best Katamari song, it's also the best song about papayas (I got nothing new or original to say that I haven't already said last year )

Seraph feels like it's trying to be Terraria Calamity Mod music (with maybe even a bit of Final Fantasy thrown in), but it falls short somewhere. I feel like I should like this more.

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OOF this is a match. Hey, this is the same guy that made the Super Mario World version of Nitroid World 5! Super big respect for getting this sound in a SNES game. I guess it overall just sounds cool.

Tonitrus I like more and more as time passes, and this is the song I definitely underranked the most during my first music ranking topic. Blueberry&Yogurt always makes amazing music and they have not disappointed me yet. I feel bad tossing it aside again (and going against my faves bracket at that), but Casio Hellburst just has that special feel about it y'know.

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rhythm-changer is neat (as is most Umineko music), not feeling this one as much as the other two xaki songs in the contest.

Upper City is absolutely nuts as to how they got a GBA to sound like this. I was going to nominate this myself, but someone else beat me to the punch (then I supported it anyways). Ian Stocker is an underrated legend.

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
Upper City

I guess I could comment on stuff. Also I totally forgot about posting my Bracket B revised rankings yesterday! Guess I'll do it now, after the comments.

Roll Me In is fine... not really my style, but the chords are nice and it's soft, so it's not offensive at all! Seraph didn't initially do much for me, but this last listen I'd bump up the rating a half point, maybe even a full point? It's really intense! And certain chords really hit home, like the way the chorus thickens the harmonies in a neat way at 0:28. Also, I really dig the soft section at about 2:30... the choice of sound for the melody is just perfect, and the delay echoes are perfect for that instrument. Casio Hellburst... I forgot what it sounds like already. Tonitrus is nice and dramatic, and I like the moments where the last offbeat of the measure gets emphasized. NFUN is right to call this a comfort-food track..

As for Rhythm-Changer - I nominated this in VGMC 14, but it failed to get in the bracket. For that reason I claim partial nomination-ownership for this track! (ZelRaat is the real nominator, though, xoxo) I honestly don't know many overtly polymetric tracks like this one, but Rhythm Changer's my favorite of that kind nonetheless! (Every last detail of xaki music is tasteful) I love what starts initially as a one-sixteenth-note displacement ends up turning into syncopation with other meters - (6*3)/8 vs. (5*3)/8 vs. (4*4)/8? sheesh. It's hard to hear that displacement afterwards as a result.... So many weird mathematical things going on than I wouldn't be able to connect unless I put it all down on paper. Initially it's very light bouncy electronic stuff, but then those STRING FIFTHS AND LOW PIANO come barging in (love the way they fall at the end)... an absolutely crazy juxtaposition that moves the rating at least .3 points! And the piano gets so fancy when it goes in 4/4... a fun way to finish out the loop. Upper City is chill...real chill, real calming. Reminds me of DKC2, honestly. I think it accomplishes what it's going for really nicely, with the way the scale gets altered through the chord changes... not just the 3rd alternating minor/major, but the 6th note doing something similar, too. Some really nice intervals underneath the sustained fifth note of the scale that's really nice, too. I'd raise it a bit from the 8.2 it's currently at. Very strong third match, indeed.

Bracket B Rankings [grouped by score---------------------9.x, 8.x. 7.x, etc.]
1) Gentle Slope Cave (Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon)
Ikou (Authority) (NieR Re[in]carnation)
EVENK (russell brand for doom ii)
Monolith Gate (Coded Soul)
You Were There (Ico)
Id (Purpose) (Fire Emblem Awakening)
To the Center of the Supervoid (Super Void
OPTICAL MODE (Aurora Memoria)
Stella -Part 2- (Atelier Shallie)
10) Now What? (The Sims)
Battle Field "N.Y. central" (Black Rock Shooter)
Exhaustion 3 (Drakengard 3)
Unrest - The End of the Raging Waves (EO3)
---------------------------------
sight of silence (Gurumin)
Jump (Niizuma wa Sailor Fuku)
Light (Kirby Air Ride)
Immanence (War of Brains)
QuelI->EX[cez]->{kranz}; (Ciel nosurge)
Dreamy and Boisterous Holy Land (TitS the 3rd)
20) Battle at Journey's End (Tressa) (Octopath)
Terminal March (Bastion)
Neuchatel (Mad Rat Dead)
Apex of the World (Rain) (Fire Emblem: 3 Houses)
Madness (Einhnder)
Onegonjou (Teito Hiten Daisakusen)
Toucan Tarsand (Beasts of Balance)
Full Steam Ahead (TLoZ: Spirit Tracks)
Bingo Highway (Sonic Heroes)
Navi Customizer (Mega Man Battle Network 3)
----------------------------------------
30) Stay Gold (Arknights)
Fortune Favours the Bold (Dicey Dungeons)
Narrow Sky - Finale (InnerSpace)
POINT OF NO RETURN (Eschatos)
The Bloody Rose (Trauma Team
t's Kill or Be Killed ~ Destroy Resort (NMH2)
The Fine Draw (Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend
Unknown Pollution (Raiden V)
Wheels of Aurelia (Wheels of Aurelia)
La Mer (Suikoden IV)
40) Fateful Confrontation (Trails in the Sky SC)
Children of the City (Library of Ruina)
Phantom (Kaze no Notam)
Return to Oblivion (Final Fantasy XIV)
Balance Slays the Demon (Alan Wake's AN)
Octopunch (Atelier Shallie)
The Undying Shores (Dead Cells: Fatal Falls
silentwindbell (Chaos;Child)
Tellur Town (Autumn) (Pokken)
Collapsing Rift (A Hat in Time: Seal the Deal)
50) Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke (Touhou 8)
-------------------------------------------------------
Beyond the Bounds (ZoE 2nd Runner)
GTR Attack! (Contra: Hard Corps)
Prairie4 (Theme of Alicianrone) (100% OJ)
The Best is Yet to Come (Metal Gear Solid)
A Long Fall (Final Fantasy XIV
Way of the Monk (WoW: Mists of Pandaria
Sogno di Volare (Civilization VI)
Brave New World (Namco X Capcom)
-----------------------------------------
08:16 Home (Haven)
60) Op. 13 (Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
BREADY STEADY GO (OMORI)
Subterranean (Earthworm Jim 2)
--------------------------------------------------
BWLAUTE BEIRRD (Nukitashi 2)
64) Dienos Advento (Tree of Savior)

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Casio Hellburst
rhythm-changer

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

seraph is kinda like rise up taken further still. cool song with ambitious moments marred by other parts that are not those moments. could've taken my vote if it held it together a bit more rather than becoming generic epic final boss theme. as is, papayas are just too strong.

they don't work now but i had two keyboards when i was a kid and they were both casios. i wonder if they're still as prominent these days, it's mostly just calculators i see people talking about nowadays. anyway song's cool even if my reaction to it is oddly subdued for some reason. grew on me more on the second loop, it really has a lot of stuff i like in it. too bad tonitrus also just clicked for me to a dramatic extent compared to last time

rhythm changer is a song that doesn't falsely advertise at least. doesn't engage me on an appreciation level overly much for a xaki song but it's one of the songs that i definitely much appreciate in the game for helping one think over stuff. speaking of, upper city is a song that almost seems like ace attorney investigation music (not investigations music) in some parts

40.Roll Me In
44.rhythm-changer
56.Tonitrus
68.Casio Hellburst
84.Seraph, the Traitor
88.Upper City
108.Rising Up
117.Chrono Trigger

also roll me in reminds me of this song lol
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qB-Lj1Dwjo

Seraph, the Traitor
Casio Hellburst
rhythm-changer

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

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Traitor
Hell
Rhythm
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Seraph, the Traitor
Tonitrus
Upper City

Seraph, the Traitor
Casio Hellburst
Upper City

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

Round 2 was mean. Really mean. I also feel sorry for the poor sap who nommed Robots. Maybe they felt a smidgen of hope once it made it to the bracket. That hope is probably gone now.

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Casio Hellburst
rhythm-changer

match 3. . . . thats a tough one

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Roll me in
Tonitrus
Rhythm-changer

match 3 closer than i expected, but my preference for live instruments breaks that one. other 2 are ez.
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Papaya Papaya Papa (Paya Paya Pa)
Casio Hellburst
rhythm-changer

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Casio Hellburst
rhythm-changer

Roll Me In, Casio Hellburst, rhythm-changer and Upper City in the same day is quite the musical overload! Love all of those songs. Even though Roll Me In is a 10 and Casio Hellburst is "only" a 9.5, I'm more invested in Hellburst today, as I feel like I'm the one who introduced it to the community. We'll see what happens!

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer
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Seraph, the Traitor
Tonitrus
Upper City

I greatly admire all six songs today. At least I'll be happy with whatever ends up winning.

R-Man posted...

Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

Round 2 was mean. Really mean. I also feel sorry for the poor sap who nommed Robots. Maybe they felt a smidgen of hope once it made it to the bracket. That hope is probably gone now.

no I never had hope. The Robots/Light/Navicust trilogy I knew were doomed

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Seraph, the Traitor
Tonitrus
rhythm-changer

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Katamaritaino (Roll Me In)
Casio Hellburst
Upper City

either casio hellburst grew on me, or its competition in the sd 2020 music contest was really really good, because i don't remember liking it this much.

Monster Train - Seraph, the Traitor
Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning - Tonitrus
Umineko no Naku Koro ni - rhythm-changer

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Seraph
Tonitrust
rhythm-changer

second match is hard.
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Monster Train - Seraph, the Traitor
Gahkthun of the Golden Lightning - Tonitrus
Umineko no Naku Koro ni - rhythm-changer
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