Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 31! ShackledWolves / Str.Theoc / Pursuit / LoveYou / Image / Targets!

(+) 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

I'm My Own Master Now
Pursuit
Image

dramatic fire emblem. despite myself, i got into the drums, and there's cool stuff around the song. probably the best FE song i've heard

this again

a slightly above average AA pursuit theme? still probably the best thing about AAI

I can't say how much I like this. I can say that it is an unequivocal bop

the best tatsh song in the contest

the worst <1m long song in the contest


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String Theocracy
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

The Shackled Wolves
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

I like String Theocracy a lot more than Children of the City, but I also like Shackled Wolves more than Apex of the World
umm actually
sorry deo


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String Theocracy
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
Targets!
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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
Targets!

The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
Targets!

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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

The Shackled Wolves (Rain) (152nd) vs String Theocracy (203rd)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly (33rd) vs Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix) (129th)
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0> (137th) vs Targets! (2nd)

oh hey the second of two 10/10s in the contest has appeared loooooool holy FUCK why is targets so insane. its 38 god damn fucking seconds and yet i can play it for hours upon hours and still be 100% into it, it goes through more developement in that short time and impacts me more than almost every single song in the entire field can like wow

The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
Targets!

Shackled Wolves good stuff. Good contest for FE music. String Theocracy a big step down from Children of the City.

Oh hey a pretty good Pursuit. I would vote this over some songs. Including its opponent, which I hate and would vote over very few songs.

Augh I hate this match. These two songs are so much better than any of the others in this bracket. ;_;

Targets > Image Material > who cares
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String Theocracy
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
Targets!

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String Theocracy
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
Targets!

shacled wolves starts off as something i'm not into but then flips that around like god damn. i hate that i'm forced to hold that first minute against it because mili is just too strong

god aai soundtracks are so good. i keep mistaking love you love you love remix for a rivals of aether remix instead

unlike yesterday this tatsh song is like 90% my shit... why did it have to get targets. why.

Write-in vote for the topic poll: Pac-Man - Eating The Fruit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttYQRqExRkg

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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

Good first match. I regret that I keep voting against Library of Ruina, because it is entertaining.

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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
REFLEC BEAT limelight - IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>
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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
Targets!

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Shackled
Love
Targets
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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

FE vs. Library - I'm torn here. The lyrics and swing melody are super great in Library, but I just really do not care for the singer performing. FE gets the vote for consistent enjoyability (that somehow avoids sounding Fire Emblemy to me) as a result.

AAI vs. MSF - MSF has some serious Sonic vibes going on, then swerves a bit into Goemon town music, and then it unacceptably slows down at 2:30 and tries to hit Doom Chords. The ending speed up is very cool, but, I dunno, it seems a bit distasteful to force it from such a jarring slowdown? I tried to give it a fair trial, but I had an objection. *Salary cutting noises.*

REFLEC vs. Melee - Smash fanboy though I am, that loop is just too short. If it had one more section, the song would be perfect, plus I'm righting a wrong for my extreme displeasure at Xepher (it also helps that I'm not associating a Tatsh song with a really bad night years ago, and it also also helps that the song itself, while extremely long, is also very cool throughout.)

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String Theocracy
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
Targets!

The Shackled Wolves (Rain) (8.4v - 17th place) / String Theocracy (8.2^ - 21st place)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly (8.1v - 23rd place) / Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix) (9.0v - 9th place)
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0> (6.5 - 51st place) / Targets! (7.8 - 32nd place)


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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
Targets!

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Shackled Wolves
Lying Coldly
Image -MATERIAL-

Fantastic all around day today.

Image -MATERIAL- [9.5]
Shackled Wolves [9]
Lying Coldly [9]
LYLYL remix [8]
Targets! [7.5]
String Theocracy [7.5]

The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

-(It's so weird tha tthis is by "rei kondo"h" because i'm always like "hiroki morishita did all the songs i like " and like, he dID but rei kondoh will randomly surprise me with one random song i like A LOt. tHis song actually reminds me a lot of NILIN lol, semi-conventional orchestral music with random electronic or glitchy effects, but those are not as prominent throughout. I like the base composition of this quite a bit more than nilin actually, but the overall effect doesn't strike me as much. this really kicks into gear around 1:14 where it starts to get the @_@ crazy chords!~!! sound design around 2:10 gets pretty ridiculosus and 2:21 evne more and theres cool breakbeats and THEN the 7/4 at 2:31 which is like "Yeah we're moving the buttons for you; no more cones, now it's the flowchart fancy pants lots of key chjanges and i like them. anyway uh, i obviously like this because i've just been wasting time playing this youtube video over and over again while i wait for the inside of the place that i live inside of to stop being 90f+ inside of it)-

-[like a clock work orange that's a funy lyric that is about the game. The artificialness of some cut up jazzy loop samples contrasting with a more full production fake jazz is pretty neat (actually that piano might be not cut up at all, but it stops itself abruptly in a way that feels very effectively like cutting off a sample which is still really cool). there's a neat really exact amount of drama derived from the chord changes that is really really nice...There's some cool dives into swung 3/4 which feels cool~! this borders between artifice and reality in so many ways at once, which fits the concept of freedom-nonfreedom pretty well imo. that artifice-reality blur enhanced between the lyrics, vocals, instrumentation, production, I may be under ranking this one by a lot, it's variable with mood and in a section of the ranking where a bunch is tied. jazz hahaha, you would think i hate jazz from how i vote in vgmc....if only you know...what i really t hink of jazz...]-

-{james}-

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-(ace attorney is the thing for the people who think they are so clever but they're nnever the truthful moron; i KNOW you are secretly planning to sell these stuff animals for 3:00 minutes and to make references to rpgs as a covert form of "social experiment" (bullying). haha I've got you in my tracks. Iwadare has cool pianos and indiv harmonies sometimes because they sound like NEWS STATION themes and i like things that sound like a NEWS STATION stock music where there is a news emergency here is the court room where we look at constant 17th (16ths; typoe sorry) notes on the computer sound like a "telegram". )-

-[jake code. I like fm synth, i LOVE (haha get it reference to song title) coda and jake kaufman as artists. i'm not sure i would ever go out of my way to listen to this specific track by either of them. I first perk my interest up strongly at 2:33 when that low harsh FM sound starts. suddenly gives the whole thing a cool new feel and atmosphere i think the fm sound design in this track is extremely good, and its the highlight of the track for me. The faster section at the end in particular with the FM bass alternating between slight variants of itself, just a really cool sound.]-

-{close}-

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-(which guitars are real and which ones are fake? you just have to guess. the groups of 3 beats but not actually going out of 4/4 into 1:28 is a cool over-the-barline feeling i like~! the big girls are so dramatic and that's good in my boks. the EXPLOSION at 4:28 is pretty cool. wow he's turning into a fvolcano. i like the "style" of this song but it doesn't melodically click with me enough for what i like on-paper to get me to rank this super high)-

-[i talk about how much i like ando harmonies a lot (and sakai has interesting harmonies too) ((i don't know if i could guess whether or not this is sakai or ando but i would lean sakai because i don't like it)) but they're used in a way that's maybe a bit too straightforward/predictable/happy in combination to me here. I LOVE the instrumentation, plastic-y 90s romplers forever...roland sound canvas is my friend : ) so yeah i like the chords and instrumentation, but not quite how they're used. the presence of soloistic elements on FAKE roland sound canvas SOUNDs is a thing i like though(eric)]-

-{i love the nostalgaic year of 8850}-

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The Shackled Wolves (72nd/184)
String Theocracy (105th/184)
Love You Love You Love (146th/184)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly (154th/184)
IMAGE -MATERIAL- (155th/184)
Targets! (179th/184)
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String Theocracy
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

SPREAD ME OPEN FOR DADDY okay apparently those aren't the words but it's not too far off...I had a Gamebop moment today where I thought I didn't like String Theocracy anymore but it was mostly because I was focusing too much on trying to parse the lyrics (it's not easy). I mentally tagged this song as "has potential" when I first heard it, and it wasn't until it came up in the VGM in 2020 list that I realized how damn catchy it was! *various dancing emojis* It would regularly get stuck in my head for a good few weeks after that.

I had attributed the weird vocals to an "anime thing" but Japanese singers seem to use a nasally/pinched voice while I've only heard the soft/breathy voice from Westerners like the Mili singer and LilyPichu? The vocals in Dango Daikazoku are pretty close though!

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String Theocracy
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
Targets!

The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

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String Theocracy
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

It's amazing how many epic orchestral music pieces that the Fire Emblem can churn out all the while being so incredibly consistent in having most of them be so boring. The little guitar at 2:04 is cool I guess, but this does not stand out at all.

String Theocracy absolutely has "anime thing" vocals as PIayer_0 has stated, but I really like Mili's music! This one is maybe my favorite this year?

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Y'know I only just now pieced together that the composer for Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly is the same guy who did the music for the Langrisser series. No wonder it's so good! This song is a real

I almost Love Love You Love You Love (Love), but there's something very small off about it that doesn't make it sound like "authentic" FM synth oldie goodness. Pretty good match overall though.

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IMAGE -MATERIAL- almost sounds like it was constructed specifically to have every element of music that I love. Parts of this even remind me of some of my favorite Japanese doujin music artists lol (the guitar in the intro sounds a lot like some of Demetori's music, and the strings at 1:28 remind me of Shoujo Byou). This is my favorite song in the bracket that I myself did not nominate (among songs I nominated this year, or other songs that made it in I had nominated in previous years).

I actually feel really bad voting against Break the Targets here, old VGM classic and the 2nd best song today. This is one of my favorite "short" songs, but my favorite of course is Meta Crystal (also from a Smash Bros. game!!)

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Library of Ruina - String Theocracy
Mighty Switch Force! - Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
REFLEC BEAT limelight - IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

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String Theocracy
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
Targets!

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String Theocracy
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
Targets!

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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
Targets!
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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

String Theocracy
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
Targets!

Shackled Dowolves
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

Is the last minute of Love You new to this mix? I don't remember it, but I really like it.
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String Theocracy
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

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Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
Super Smash Bros. Melee - Targets!

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String Theocracy
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
Targets!

The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

Shackled Wolves reminds me once again that I should listen to more FE music. It does have the drama and epicness, but it also does some really cool DnB-esque stuff towards the end. Me likey. I still can't get into the vocals, but String Theocracy has a very nice instrumental.

Pursuit is really neat. I couldn't get that much into Love You but it does bop.

IT'S SO GOOD. I love everything this does. Targets was a fun listen too.

String Theocracy
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
Targets!

I liked string theocracy when it first came out about a year ago but since then the charm has worn off. The song doesn't do much for me anymore, but I still end up coming back to it every once in a blue moon.

Targets and Image Material are both the same shade of "whatever its ok" but Targets is just a bit more enjoyable to listen to than Image. A close match for all the wrong reasons.

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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
Targets!

String Theocracy
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
REFLEC BEAT limelight - IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>
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String Theocracy
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

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Shackled Wolves
um actually
Image Material
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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

I supported this FE track, which is unusual for me to say. Three Houses too good. Its competitor is honestly pretty great on what I'd assume is paper; given the lyrics and style, it almost seems like it could be a Panic at the Disco song, which I adore. Unfortunately, the singer ruins it for me -- I can't stand breathy timbre except as a brief stylistic choice. The one who I assume is a backup singer at 1:17 is so much nicer, and I wish she were the one in the lead here!

Nothing beats the classic Pursuit, but this is a strong example. I should probably play AAI 1 and 2 at some point. I caught myself bobbing my head here, which is a good sign. Love You Love is perhaps the song I am most aggressively ambivalent on in this contest so far. Don't like it, don't hate it, it's just there.

I've made it clear throughout my entire VGMC history that I do not, as a rule, like rhythm game music. So much of it feels manufactured for bpm. I am so, so glad I gave IMAGE a chance here -- this is fantastic! Damn, I love this; definitely my song of the day and maybe of the week, even compared to my support earlier. I'm often not a fan of songs that whiplash between styles and moods so starkly, but here, it just works? I don't have the vocabulary to explain why. I hope this makes it far, and that more rhythm game music sounds like this in future contests! Oh, I didn't even talk about Targets, which is probably the best song you could make loop for 38 seconds. That's about the amount of time it takes for me to fail utterly at trying to complete the challenge as Yoshi. I can only pick one of these? Fine, I'll go with the one that made me write a paragraph about it. Meanie.

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rate this rhythm game song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeWIyU5eVQ4

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The Shackled Wolves (Rain)
Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)
IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

Library of Ruina - String Theocracy
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly
REFLEC BEAT limelight - IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>

MATCH 1

Shackled Wolves is pretty nice. Some good dramatic melodies interspersed throughout the song.

My eyes sure are buttered. String Theocracy was a really cool discovery this year! I really like all these bright sounds combined with this swing rhythm. My favorite part's the chorus. Super upbeat and that ending of the chorus when she says "theatrically" and "kill me thoroughly" is great melodically. I also can't get over how much I like Mili's voice at 1:16 haha. I honestly want the whole song to be sung with that voice. Jazz can be hit or miss at times, but I really like it here. I'll also throw in Akari Is Here as another similar jazzy song that I like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyneiz9FRMw

MATCH 2

Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly is really neat throughout. I like these dramatic piano melodies.

This match would be a lot closer if it was the original Love You Love You Love, but I don't like this remix as much. It still sounds nice, but I feel like this remix takes a lot of the energy that I like from the original song out of it and doesn't really make up for it. At the same time though, when the tempo speeds up at the end, I feel like it's too fast haha.

MATCH 3

Man what an absolute rollercoaster my experience with Image -Material- was. When I listened to this during my favorites bracket listens, I had the biggest grin on my face once 0:56 and 1:11 happened because I knew that early on that it was shaping up to be an incredible song. When I got to the chorus though, I actually remembered hearing it, which is when I discovered that I actually passed it in the nominations playlist when I was going through it! I was, and still am, stunned that I wasn't immediately hooked on this song when I listened to it then like I was when I listened to it when filling out the favorites bracket. I must have listened to this song on loop like 5 times in a row after listening to this song the second time around, it's just that good. The vocals at 0:22 are such a great way to build up to the heavier parts of the song. I was thinking to myself that it's what I want Nightwish to sound like haha. The strings at 1:28 are also incredible, as is the chorus at 3:17. Even those talking voices at 2:30, which sometimes I'm lukewarm on hearing in songs, sound completely fine here. Maybe it's that I like how the voices sound lol. Reminds me a little of Yukari Tamura. Basically, I love everything about this song and it's easily my favorite discovery in the contest. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that this is my #1 favorite song in the contest! Both of my favorite discoveries relating to this year's contest (Image -Material- being one and PSO2 - Dark to Light being the other) were because of NFUN, so thank you for that. I feel like "songs that have well-known beatmaps of them in osu" is starting to be a common thread linking a lot of really good songs. Off the top of my head, I've seen videos of this song, Sky of Twilight, and Sakura no Uta (albeit in a worse, sped up form) being played in osu. Not to mention, I recently found a really cool non-VGM song in the related videos section of Image -Material- during one of my listens (Angreifer by Unlucky Morpheus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz6nMsQPSJk) and what do you know, it also has an osu beatmap. Maybe I should start checking out more popular osu songs.

Targets is a fine song, but it's absolutely no contest here. At least I don't dislike Targets, but I still feel very strongly about this match haha.

IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0> >> String Theocracy > Pursuit ~ Lying Coldly > Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Shackled Wolves (Rain) > Targets! = Love You Love You Love (Good Morning Onee-san Mix)