Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 26! CityTrial/AbstrctMap, Arceus4/TwilightOfGods, Nature/InHellWeLive

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to Video Game Music Contest 16, 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=475935
Contest info sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_IU5iCFTM_4WEx8ZWKwznMz5v2tarCKh1Ag0mxIgAes
Contest discussion thread: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80027411
Main bracket playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3m7iohpL0xxfgkmGKvEyWfHvNZ53Kbn
Last years spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16XAaBMDuUnQ4c5AxQNL9ZhvD7VG5kQyrXWWZxnkrn-o
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 post your absentee vote in the discussion thread!

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Match 1

Kirby Air Ride - City Trial ~ City
Composer: Shogo Sakai, Tadashi Ikegami, Jun Ishikawa
Loop Point: 2:04
Genre: SKYLINE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfPfwbTteNE

The 9th Annual Vanilla Level Desi

SKYLINE
MORTAL STRUGGLE
MILLENNIUM DUET

will mili win this time (no)

Abstract Map
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
Nature

Powerful lineup today, potentially my favorite pack of three from the entire contest

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

The 9th Annual Vanilla Level Design Contest - Abstract Map
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - Twilight of the Gods
Kaze no Notam - Nature

City Trial ~ City
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

Twilight of the Gods = In Hell We Live, Lament >> City Trial ~ City Abstract Map >> Nature >>>> Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4

Abstract Map
abstain
Nature

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

SKYLINE in hindsight i should've considered this as a genre for night birds
ANCIENT IDM
MILLENNIUM DUET

super strong day, easily in the running for my favourite r1 day

kirbry (blessed as always)
vapour tbh skyline would also fit this song too lmao
what the fuck gamefreak (thank you). it's disheartening knowing this is the kind of song that would never win a contest match but simply being here is a victory to me
i hope twilight of the gods doesn't choke within the first couple of rounds again because i really want to vote for it but it is in one of the absolute worst parts of the bracket for that within the first few rounds ;_; (also, good genre)
balloon game still godtier also i adore this genre pick too
secretly exploded when i first saw that mili collabed with myth & roid and still exploding now

City Trial ~ City
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

The 9th Annual Vanilla Level Design Contest - Abstract Map
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - Twilight of the Gods
Nature

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

- - - === (>^_^)> (Yes this is a City Trial Vote)
Fire Emblem: Oranges of Valencia
Game Over - Return of Gannangela (In Hell We Live, Lament)

Match 1: That Kirby song is just too nice and man is it a good day to be a Kirby fan. The Abstract Map song is adventurous, and I can appreciate it, but it ain't beating City Trial in my worldview today.

Match 2: To reuse a term from last year, Arceus is the musical equivalent of a panic attack and no thank you. If I want unsettling Pokemon music, I think my limitation for that is the Black/White Legendary battle theme (or maybe some of the weirder Ultra Beast things from Sun/Moon.) Echoes would've won by default, but also is very nice on its own merit.

And then we hit Match 3. Jesus Christ. Kaze no Notam was new to me last year, and Discovery was one of my favorite... discoveries of last year. This one is also really good and right up my alley, but on the flip side, you have Mili. I have been sort of vocal about my distaste for Mili's voice in the past year, and it's been sort of a constant that I would vote for songs a lot more if only she would pitch it a bit lower, but this right here is... Fucking hell. This is my favorite song in the contest so far. And this might be slightly colored by my playing LobCorp lately, but shit, now I want to finish it and eat the dessert that is Library of Ruina and now this just landed on my wishlist too so I can find out just what the hell is going on there through the music alone.

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

A E S T H E T I C on the SNES chip is something I didn't know I needed. The vocal samples are Another Life by Italo-disco band Kano, if anyone else was curious!

edit: wait I think the instrumental is entirely sampled from Another Life too lol

City Trial ~ City
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

Kirby Air Ride - City Trial ~ City
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia - Twilight of the Gods
Limbus Company - In Hell We Live, Lament

City Trial ~ City
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
In Hell We Live, Lament

CTC would have been more like a 7.5, but there's that moment at 1:20 when the tonality completely changes... I LOVE that part!

City Trial ~ City (8.0 - 34th place) / Abstract Map (1.5 - 64th place)
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4 (9.0 - 13th place) / Twilight of the Gods (6.2 - 57th place)
Nature (8.4v - 26th place (tie)) / In Hell We Live, Lament (8.4 - 26th place - (tie))

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

The first match is another one of those where a song is a clear winner but I still think of the loser with reasonable fondness. City Trial absolutely gets better the further along you go.

Full disclosure, if this was an "all phase mix" of Arceus, I honestly would have easily taken it over Twilight of the Gods. Part of why it is so fucking cool to me is the buildup. The eerie stillness making my skin crawl before the relentless fucking madness. The reality of being a ten year old child squaring up against the creator of the universe.

I remember listening to the nominations last year and behind blown away by this "Phantom" song from this balloon game and being overwhelmed by this sense of familiarity from a game I clearly haven't heard about before. I listened to the entire soundtrack. Multiple times since then, in fact. It is one of my go-tos! I'm happy to see another Kaze no Notam song in VGMC. Soooo dreamy.

City Trial ~ City
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
Nature

I wonder if City Trial ~ City is actually my favorite Hirokazu Ando* track in the contest. Still find the chords and synths from 1:20 to 1:57 to be really beautiful all these years later
(*: Not confirmed** to be Hirokazu Ando)
(**: It's Hirokazu Ando)

Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4 is my favorite track from what's currently my favorite soundtrack of this year! I like the part where the fabric of reality is shredded into ribbons of tesseracts

Picasso's Art
Dawning of the Bobs
In Heaven We Live, Rejoice

Kirby Air Ride - City Trial ~ City
Pokmon Legends: Arceus - Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
Limbus Company - In Hell We Live, Lament

In Hell We Live, Lament is a legit 10/10 song, and only missed out on my top 100 vgm list because it's too recent >_>

City Trial ~ City
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

City Trial ~ City
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

Match 1: I remember City Trial being better. Maybe I've been confusing it with the Smash remix... I think I'm fine with whoever wins. Abstract it's a great song as well!
Match 2: Oh, when did Pokmon Arceus became Pokmon Rumble? I do think a Echoes vote was kind of set in stone for me though, specially when putting the very best song ahead.
Match 3: Live Lament is quite the banger. But I do appreciate Kaze no Notam as much. Best of luck.
Very nice day all around, I was expecting it to be interesting :)

Abstract
Gods
Nature

City Trial ~ City
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

City Trial ~ City
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
Nature

City Trial ~ City
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

Battle Arceus feels like a cruel joke and I'm not okay with it.

The 9th Annual Vanilla Level Design Contest - Abstract Map
Pokmon Legends: Arceus - Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
Kaze no Notam - Nature

Abstract Map
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
In Hell We Live, Lament

City Trial ~ City both good but feelin like giving it to air ride
Twilight of the Gods pokemon track is cool but no way in hell its better
In Hell We Live, Lament Feels strange voting against Notam but here we go

City Trial is a fun song. Definitely not one of my favorite Kirby Air Ride songs, but it's still pretty nice. I particularly like the section at 1:01. This song would also benefit greatly from using actual instruments rather than samples, but that's a minor gripe.

Abstract Map is such a cool song. Just cool sounds throughout. The pseudo-vocals do a good job of keeping it sounding fresh and not letting the repetition of the main synth ostinato get stale. Pretty close match, but this one gets the edge.

Didn't expect absolute chaos to be in a Pokmon song. Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4 is pretty interesting, and I can see why some people might like it, but it's definitely not for me.

Twilight of the Gods basically gets the default vote. It's a pretty good song, though not nearly as good as some other good Fire Emblem themes in my opinion. It has a decent melody, and the choirs are pretty nice. I like the violin solo in the middle of the loop. I still haven't listened to the Echoes OST in full, so I'll have to do that at some point.

Kaze no Notam is such an interesting soundtrack. Very chill soundtrack, with some cool and unique production throughout. Nature is no exception. Cool synths in this.

The vocal mixing in In Hell We Live, Lament is kinda weird. They get hidden in the back of the mix, particularly when the instrumental is busy. It's a pretty neat song though, and this is gonna be a closer match than I expected. I think I'm still gonna go with Notam though.

Votes:
Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

Abstract Map
-----
Nature

City Trial [7]
Abstract Map [8]
Arceus 4th phase [5.5]
Twilight of the Gods [5.5]
Nature [9]
In Hell We Live, Lament [8.5]

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

Thank you Arceus for making me feel super anxious this morning. Just what I needed.

Abstract Map
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
Nature

1. PowerOne
2. You Were There
3. Scroll Stage
4. ???
5. Staff Roll (Super Mario 64)
6. Dreams in a Pie
7. ???
8. Abstract Map
9. CHAMPION RITUAL
10. Passing Through the Forest
11. ???
12. ???
13. ???
14. ???
15. A CYBER'S WORLD?
16. ???
17. ???
18. Kusanagi Village
19. ???
20. Calling
21. LIN NE KRO NE
22. Egg Reverie
23. Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
24. ???
25. The Glittering City of Yusnaan
26. ???
27. ???
28. Sky Tower
29. ???
30. The Elephant's Foot of Obnoxious Music
31. Time Moves Slow
32. The Apex of the World (Rain)
33. Radical Dreamers ~Unstolen Jewel~
34. Interwoven Stories
35. ???
36. ???
37. ???
38. Home Sweet Home
39. The Wretched Automatons
40. It's Dangerous to Go Alone
41. Move Me
42. ???
43. xxxx/xx/xx (Remix)
44. Yggdrasil
45. stg_travel_2_3
46. ???
47. SaKuRa
48. The Rain Formerly Known as Purple
49. ???
50. Kaze no Ne

Aww yeah, Abstract Map time! This song has been an absolute favorite of mine since I first heard it and I'm so happy it got in.

I also love Arceus's battle theme. Basically every phase is good. The first few are slow and menacing and then gradually build in intensity, but Phase 4 is just bananas, with full on glitchy goodness all over the place. I like Twilight of the Gods a lot too.

Votes:
Abstract Map
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
Nature

City Trial ~ City
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

City Trial ~ City
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

City Trial ~ City
In Hell We Live, Lament

City Trial
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

City Trial
Ragnarkkr (Twilight of the Gods)
Nature

Match 1 was very hard.

City Trial
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

I really like Phase 4 but, like, it's against Twilight of the Gods so I don't get to make myself feel cool by voting for it

Abstract Map
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
Nature

do not care IN THE SLIGHTEST about either song from m2, but both other rounds had some really good picks. Hadn't even realized abstract map had made it onto the tourney that's awesome

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

The bit at :53 in City Trial is good. Aside from that it is completely nondescript to me. Abstract Map is a jam! Really cool and relaxing without overstaying its welcome or adding too much.
I appreciate how Arceus remixes the original song, and there's something interesting to it, but I can't call it super enjoyable. Twilight of the Gods is easily my fav FE track in the contest (Echoes OST da best). I really like everything here, every single layer. My fav bit is probs around 1:40-1:46 when the backing reintroduces the main melody. So good!
I don't remember Nature from the bracket, but it's neat. Shame it is stuck in a division with a bunch of (personal) heavy hitters! I want to like Lament more than I actually do, but it's too messy. The 30 secs from 2:46 are good though.

City: 2.5/5
Abstract: 4/5
Arceus: 2.5/5
Twilight: 5/5
Nature: 3.5/5
Lament: 2.5/5

Abstract Map
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
Nature

Match 1 was surprisingly the closest for me, because I tend not to like SNES music, and Kirby is always a safe go-to. But in the end the vocal(?) sound in Abstract Map was what pushed it ahead for me (another thing that I never say).

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
In Hell We Live, Lament

Abstract Map
abstain
In Hell We Live, Lament

man this day is uninspiring. maybe it's just me

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

8
8.1
5.8
6.4
8.4
4.1

Abstract Map
Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
Nature

match two is predictably hard to parse; I get why phase 4 is specifically here but I think battle arceus is made more interesting by its progression to that state (and to some extent how it takes on the original theme)