Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 31! DarkPit/TeamTOS!, Confronter/Conviction, XenoArcadia/NightLTrees

(+) 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

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Composer: Motoi Sakuraba
Loop Point: 2:45
Genre: TRUTH MIRROR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jOMRs8qc6A

Bug Fables - Team, This One's Stronger!
Composer: Tristan Alric
Loop Point: 1:21
Genre: HEAVY DUTY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GC9p_dhetA

Match 2

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
Xeno Arcadia

TRUTH MIRROR
HARD TRUTH
,:()=()=

shit, the equation got fucked up

pneumatic
psychic
hylic

7.5
7.5
9.5
9
8
7.5

bugs have pneumatic legs!

why would you change red truth to hard truth gdi

HEAVY DUTY
LUTHER
WAYNE'S WORLD

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Higanbana no Saku Yoru Ni - Conviction Corridor
Hylics 2 - Xeno Arcadia

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
NightL

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Higanbana no Saku Yoru Ni - Conviction Corridor
Xenoblade Chronicles X - NightL

Team
Confront
Night

Team, This One's Stronger!
Conviction Corridor
NightL

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
NightL

Team, This One's Stronger!
Confronter
NightL

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
Xeno Arcadia

Team, This One's Stronger!
Confronter
Xeno Arcadia

Dark Pit [7.5]
TTOS [8]
Confronter [8]
Conviction Corridor [8]
Xeno Arcadia [6.5]
NightL [6]

Team, This One's Stronger!
Confronter
NightL

Chapter 6: Dark Pit (5.8 - 58th place) / Team, This One's Stronger! (8.3v - 27th place)
Confronter (8.5 - 20th place) / Conviction Corridor (7.8 - 39th place)
Xeno Arcadia (5.7 - 60th place) / NightL (8.4 - 22nd place)

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
NightL

I had actually forgot how hard Noctilum slaps. A bit sad I have to vote Xeno (Xeno Arcadia, not Xeno X) out, but may the best one win.

Chapter 6: Pittoo
(I lack) Conviction Corridor
LNoctilum Day&NightL

Not feeling very strongly about match 2 at all, they both give me a slight headache, but I can enjoy Conviction Corridor a bit more for what it does. In comparison, Noctilum is my personal favorite Xenoblade X track, even with the night end appended to it.

Match 1 is no contest. I do love me that guitar pluck and bar-band-at-night feel, and I mighta used Smash's remix every time I got thrown on a Skyworld level whenever I could help it.

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
NightL

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
abstain
NightL

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Higanbana no Saku Yoru Ni - Conviction Corridor
Hylics 2 - Xeno Arcadia

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Higanbana no Saku Yoru Ni - Conviction Corridor
Hylics 2 - Xeno Arcadia

Y'know, Dark Pit might just be the best Sakuraba song. Or at least, it's certainly in the running.

I love the dark chaotic thing Confronter is doing, which is why I feel like it gets SFF'd by Conviction Corridor (unless it wins, then it's the other way around), but I feel the latter does it in a much more cool way. CC is another top discovery this year.

Hylics music has such a unique vibe. XBX music sounds so much different from the normal XBC music that gets into VGMC, and I can't really pinpoint what the overall theme of it is supposed to be (also what is that title)

A Very Dark Pit
Convicted Coriander
forest knight

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
Xeno Arcadia

Solid day.

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
Xeno Arcadia

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
Xeno Arcadia

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
Xeno Arcadia

Oh hey, a match where I've actually played both games in question! That doesn't happen a lot (checking now, only twice in the whole of round 1 >_>). Dark Pit is a classic for good reason, the lead acoustic guitar is just incredibly solid from start to finish. I think the track is weaker when the focus isn't on either of the guitars, and I don't love the weird muffled thing that first comes in at :47, but it's still good throughout. Love the fakeout pause.
Stronger is ok but far from my favourite Bug Fables choice, I'd rather go for something like WASPS! or Spuder. Still it's nice to see the game represented here!

Yep, it's another PSO2 song. This one has fragments of something I'd enjoy scattered around, especially at the very start and at 1:36, but then it goes off doing something else. I continue to feel no attachment to this OST :(
Corridor has a great setup but just keeps dancing around it for 5 mins, I feel like it wastes the potential of its decent hook. But it still gets the vote!

Xeno v Xeno madness! Arcadia has that nice chill vibe I always like right from the start and a great backing beat, but it's when it kicks in at 1:30 that it ascends to another level. Really nice.
I never know what to expect from an XCX track, they always go on such bizarre journeys. This time it's the vocals that catch me completely off guard! I think they detract from the overall experience here- well the lyrical part does, but the chanting and wailing is kinda nice. There's some really neat segments in this (1:50-2:40, the last minute), but I don't think the mashed together feel of the track works as well as it does with some others in the OST.

Pit: 4.5/5
Stronger: 2.5/5
Confronter: 2/5
Corridor: 2.5/5
Xeno: 4/5
Night: 3/5

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
NightL

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
Xeno Arcadia

Dark
Confronter
Arcadia

Really not a fan of the Bug Fables 'soundfont' sadly

Team, This One's Stronger!
Conviction Corridor
Xeno Arcadia

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
Sawano nonsense

Dark Pit is one of Sakuraba's best compositions imo. Great acoustic/spanish guitars throughout. The crisp drumming is also particularly noteworthy. Great, memorable melody and just an all-around fantastic composition.

The MIDI instruments in Team, This One's Stronger! one are pretty unpleasant to listen to tbh. Melody is ok, and the rest is just unmemorable. Significantly weaker than Dark Pit.

The irregular rhythms in Confronter are pretty cool. Pretty interesting song overall, though it does feel awfully random at times. Not much else to say about it.

Conviction Corridor is incredibly boring. The beat overtakes the mix, and the rest doesn't do much around it, making it feel super repetitive. Definitely my least favorite of the day. Sorry to those that like it.

Xeno Arcadia is pretty cool with the funky bass and instrumentation in general. The chord progression at 1:30 is the highlight of this one. Really nice stuff. I do kinda wish it were mixed to be more bass-heavy though, considering the instruments used. Fun song overall, but it definitely won't stand a chance against NightL.

NightL (can be decoded to [Yakou Mori]. Night = , L = Light = , = = Forest, so Noctilucent Forest aka Noctilum) is definitely one of many of my favorites from the XCX OST. The tin whistle in the first half (day version) and the flute in the second half (night version) are what really stand out to me in this. The sampled vocals add a lot to the tribal feel of the piece as well. Excellent drums, e-guitars, and synths as well. Perfect theme for a massive jungle area. The second half is nearly as good with a really neat soundscape with the mallet percussion and bass in the background. Easy vote for this one.

Some really good songs and some really meh songs today.

Votes:
Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
NightL

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
abstain
NightL

Kid Icarus: Uprising - Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Higanbana no Saku Yoru Ni - Conviction Corridor
Xenoblade Chronicles X - NightL

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
NightL

I originally gave Confronter 253/256 place in this contest. Today I really liked it. The other two matches are also flips from my spreadsheet.

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
Xeno Arcadia

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
Xeno Arcadia

I enjoyed 5 out of 6 songs today, only disliking the last one. That said, Dark Pit over Team TOS! was still an easy choice. Confronter vs. Conviction Corridor, not so much; I'd say they were my two favorites today and they were pretty close, though Dark Pit wasn't far behind.

Dark Pit's a fun little flamenco (is that the term)? Team is alright battle music with bad instruments.

Confronter is a boring cacophony. CC is a lot of fun. Kinda like a fake zts song, heh.

Xeno is okay but not my thing. NightL is one of the better area songs in X, which is saying something.

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
NightL

Conviction Corridor > NightL > Chapter 6: Dark Pit > Team, This One's Stronger! > Xeno Arcadia > Confronter

Team, This One's Stronger!
Confronter
NightL

Team, This One's Stronger!
Conviction Corridor
Xeno Arcadia

I Can't Believe It's Not Zts!

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
Xeno Arcadia

Pretty decent day overall! I'd probably take the night half of, what Azuarc calls "Sawano nonsense" over the entirety of Xeno Arcadia, but the day half is just a little too overwhelming to my senses. Not the biggest fan of the Bug Fables sound either, but still solid.

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
NightL

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
NightL

Truth Mirror
Luther
Waynes World

--
Confronter
Xeno Arcadia

Team, This One's Stronger!
Conviction Corridor
NightL

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
NightL

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Conviction Corridor
Xeno Arcadia

Team, This One's Stronger!
Conviction Corridor
NightL

Sakuraba discovers the Spanish setting on his guitar vs. epic Saturday morning cartoon battle, kinda close
if M.ZAKKY tried to mimic Umineko any harder he would be M.xaki
trees

Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Confronter
NightL

not a whole lot to say today!