Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 22! BreathForest/ChampRit, YWRON/SagaFro2Mdly, ParaBellum/DoUThink

(+) Yeah! (+)

Breath of Forest
You Will Recall Our Names
Para Bellum

Forest
Frontier
Para

I've decided on...

how do you think?

The Devil Game - CHAMPION RITUAL
Lord of Vermilion Arena - SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
Planet DOB - how do you think?

No close calls this time. Karma is a funny and fickle thing, and I suppose today it's manifested in how do you think(?) getting totally bodied by the competition. Para Bellum's great though and I'll always be down for MIDI rep in the bracket. Today's flock:

[9.5] how do you think?
[8.5] Para Bellum
[7.5] SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
[7.5] CHAMPION RITUAL
[6.5] Breath of Forest
[4.5] You Will Recall Our Names

Breath of Forest
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
how do you think?

Breath of Forest
Recall our names
how do you think

Breath of Forest
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
Para Bellum

will do ranking tomorrow im feeling a bit whoOA tonight but these are all easy matches lol

From Toxtricity:

Breath of Forest (Mad Rat Dead)
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit- (LoV Arena)
Para Bellum (Heartland)

This rat is so angry. Its weird how much of my taste lately centers around how well is it a balanced halfway point between electronic and natural, but thats just how it seems to be for me these days!

I dont think id ever guess that champion ritual sounds like it does by the end from the way it starts.

I LOVE how the transposy supersaw elements in the beginning sound like pso2 horita type stuff

Pretty close match here

Ive always liked stewboys composition style. I mostly know him from battleofthebits entries. this isnt really that similar to what i think of him as but its still pretty neat, lots of cool surprising developments throughout. Im glad im not the only one nominating doom wad music (tho in my case it was mostly the product of being seriously obsessed with zzzv as an artist specifically, and their only vgm being doom wad music at the time..which coincidentally worked out and wound up being my favorite stuff of theirs anyway)

Dnb is pretty cool; very close match.

Breath of Forest
\SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
how do you think?

RITUAL / 2 / Bell

Breath of Forest: Classic calligraphy springs into motion with graceful strokes to paint a beautiful landscape of mountain peaks densely covered in trees.

CHAMPION RITUAL: With practiced accuracy, the rogue stealthily crosses the web of traps, acrobatically avoiding every pitfall and spike.

You Will Recall Our Names: Encircled by hordes of growling enemies closing in, the heroes regroup and turn, back-to-back, to face their enemies.

SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-: Montagea bar erupts in dancing; a pirate brandishes her cutlass; a cat runs across rooftops; a team hatches a plan.

Para Bellum: A slowly rotating heart spins around to reveal an open void in its center, continuing to pulse despite its lack of life.

how do you think?: Ripples form in a basin filled with bioluminescent water, slowly creating waves that slightly spill over the lip of it.

Para >= how = SaGa > CHAMPION > Breath >>> Recall

no good vote story this time sad

Breath of Forest
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
Para Bellum

-I think basically everything today fits within a somewhat narrow band of enjoyment for me, though each for fairly different reasons; with more time/energy I could probably talk about each of these at some length! well, I can talk about half of them next round, I guess

Breath of Forest
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
Para Bellum

Para Bellum > how do you think? = Breath of Forest SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit- You Will Recall Our Names >>>> CHAMPION RITUAL

Breath of Forest
You Will Recall Our Names
how do you think?

Breath of Forest
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
how do you think?

--
Breath of Forest [9.4]
CHAMPION RITUAL [8.6]

It was in last year's VGMC (right before I would buy Mad Rat Dead and properly play it for the first time) where I heard Breath of Forest for the first time, and it has never left my head since. The entire song is a non-stop relay of infectious energy led by the flute, with the erhu showing up in parts and the drums/other instruments fulfilling their parts very well here. The way that the beginning starts off all unassuming and slow with the piano before the erhu and drums kick in and shift the song in high hear has GOT to be one of my favorite moments ever in video game music. This was the song that also got me hooked onto the soundtrack, so it's no doubt it'll get my vote here.

Last year also got me interested into the music from The Devil Game, and this song today is no exception. I've always liked the synths/steel drums I remember hearing from the songs I've listened to so far, and I do like the sense of buildup the songs here tend to have. I think a section or two feels like it goes on for longer than I should, but I still really enjoy the rest of the song to want it to do well.

You will Recall Our Names [7.7]
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit- [8.4]

It really is kinda hard to not compare this to the more popular You Will Know Our Names, which I think does what this song is trying to do better. As much as I adore rock orchestra, this isn't hitting me in the right way it seems.

The SaGa medley certainly starts off strong with the flute/piano/guitar combo accompanied with the right drums, but after that point my enjoyment fluctuates with how the other "phases" treat the main motif. I think the transitions are the weakest part for me here, which is a shame since I do think the main melodic parts do sound good on their own but I feel there's not enough cohesion to really bring everything together. Regardless, still a good showing from this overall.

Para Bellum [8]
how do you think? [8.7]

...Wow, I definitely wasn't expecting this sound from a DOOM mod of all things. This really surprised me with its use of synths and an aggressive rhythm. I can't help but think this is some sort of "Castlevania-meets-Actraiser" beta song that got lost in a project's files somewhere; this is certainly a cooler song than I was anticipating, I'm happy to have known this existed!

I am always here for the chillest vibes, and how do you think? does nothing but give me exactly what I wished for. The synths help add to that trippy atmosphere I'm digging; the vocals feel like they're taking a sound channel too much in a couple spots, but they mostly work very well in this song. Great stuff overall, I can easily call this one of my favorite discoveries for this contest.

Breath of Forest
You Will Recall Our Names
Para Bellum

Champion Ritual is actually pretty cool and would easily have my vote if "best segment of either song" was sufficient to get my vote. However there are large sections of the song I just don't like much.

Sad I can't vote for How Do You Think, but Para Bellum is too good. How Do You Think is probably my 2nd favorite today though. Really nice feel-good vocals.

Breath of Forest
You Will Recall Our Names
Para Bellum

--
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
Para Bellum

Mad Rat Dead - Breath of Forest
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - You Will Recall Our Names
Heartland - Para Bellum

please abstain me from the first match (breath of forest v champion ritual)

in some retrospect this is way closer than i thought. flips back and forth when i listen

Mad Rat Dead - Breath of Forest
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - You Will Recall Our Names
Planet DOB - how do you think?

Very solid (though I have notable qualms with both) and VERY close match 2, how do you feel is a cool pick, and also hi BoF please win this quadrant

BoFu > Ywr On > SF2M Aye -Lord of Vermillion E- > HD YT > CHA RIT(y) > PB (personal best?)

Breath of Forest
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
how do you think?

Mad Rat Dead - Breath of Forest
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - You Will Recall Our Names
Heartland - Para Bellum

MATCH 1

Breath of Forest is still good. The flute and the piano are the best parts of this song.

Champion Ritual's intro is really cool, but that's pretty much the peak of the song for me. Unfortunately, the rest of the song never matches or exceeds that intro. It picks up a bit at 2:19 when that backing synth comes in, but that's about it.

MATCH 2

You Will Recall Our Names has that great guitar and brass to it. Though I feel like I enjoy You Will Know Our Names from the first Xenoblade Chronicles more.

[To be finished]

You Will Recall Our Names > Breath of Forest > SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit- > CHAMPION RITUAL > Para Bellum > how do you think?

You Will Recall Our Names

Breath of Forest
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit-
Para Bellum

CHAMPION RITUAL
You Will Recall Our Names
Para Bellum

off the cuff reactions:
Breath of Forest 8
CHAMPION RITUAL 9
You Will Recall Our Names 7
SaGa Frontier 2 Medley A -LoV Edit- 6.5
Para Bellum 6
how do you think? 4