Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 38!

(+) 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!

.

Match 1

Lightfield - Shadoubt Shaps
Composer: Zanshin
Loop Point: 5:36
Genre: DARK IDM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFypko3_tS8x

Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner - Beyond the B

Shadoubt Shaps
Theme of D4
Take Control

oh no why did the topic go away noooooooooo....

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
Take Control

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
Take Control

I am #TeamYoru. Sorry Sailing fans.

Shadbout [6.5]
Bounds [8]
D4 [7]
Partners [6]
Yoru [8.5]
Control [9.5]

1. Turok 2:Seeds of Evil (GBC) - Scroll Stage
2. Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll
3. ???
4. ???
5. Warframe - Sleeping in the Cold Below
6. Heartland - Para Bellum
7. ???
8. Alto's Odyssey - An Endless Desert
9. Phantasy Star Online 2 - Yggdrasil
10. Shatter - Argon Refinery
11. The Caligula Effect 2 - xxxx/xx/xx (Remix)
12. Napple Tale - Dreams in a Pie
13. Control - Take Control
14. A.N.N.E - stg_travel_2_3
15. Deltarune Chapter 2 - A CYBER'S WORLD?
16. ???
17. GITADORA OverDrive - Jupiter Guns Novel ( Long Version)
18. ???
19. Lightning Returns - The Glittering City of Yusnaan
20. Mad Rat Dead - Breath of Forest

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
Yoru ~ Sailing

Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner - Beyond the Bounds
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles - Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Ragnarok Online II: The Gate of the World - Yoru ~ Sailing

Beyond the Bounds
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Take Control

banshiryuu posted...

oh no why did the topic go away noooooooooo....

It went off sailing beyond the bounds. As the contest host, you need to TAAAAAKE. CON-TROLLL!!

(This was not a vote post. That's right above this.)

ANUBIS
DARK DIMENSION
OPEN DREAMS

ye

Shadoubt Shaps
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Take Control

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
Yoru ~ Sailing

Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner - Beyond the Bounds
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die - Theme of D4

B2B
D4
YS

my message may not be in all uppercase

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
Yoru ~ Sailing

I was coming pretty much ready to vote Partners and then D4 turns out to be an excellent banger. Man, Match 2 is beyond hard, but I hope whoever wins it does great! Also, Beyond the Bounds it's great too :)

Shadoubt Shaps
Theme of D4
Yoru ~ Sailing

Lightfield - Shadoubt Shaps
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles - Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Ragnarok Online II: The Gate of the World - Yoru ~ Sailing

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
Yoru ~ Sailing

Theme of D4 > Partners - The game is afoot! > Beyond the Bounds = Yoru ~ Sailing > Take Control > Shadoubt Shaps

Brutal draw for the Match 2 contenders.

Beyond the Bounds
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Yoru ~ Sailing

Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner - Beyond the Bounds
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die - Theme of D4
Ragnarok Online II: The Gate of the World - Yoru ~ Sailing

Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner - Beyond the Bounds
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die - Theme of D4
Ragnarok Online II: The Gate of the World - Yoru ~ Sailing

Beyond the Bounds
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Yoru ~ Sailing

Shadoubt Shaps slaps! OK not really, I don't get this one. Bounds wins by default but I can't say I'm a fan of that one either >_>

Match 2 is much more up my alley. D4 is nice and jazzy! I like the piano and whatever instrument is making the main melody, and the backing is very soothing. Unfortunately it's up against maybe my fav song in bracket D. I didn't actually love Partners when I first heard it in noms, but I've found myself listening to it more and more since then. I don't consider myself a huge fan of AA music (it's fine but nothing amazing), but I get major Last Time Travel from Layton vibes here, which is a big positive from me! The tap in the background keeps the song grounded, and contrasted with the flowy strings and accordions it all just come together to make a beautiful piece. I love the little ringing bells.

I did sigh when I saw two 8 minute songs here in match 3 lol. Sailing improves as it goes on, I don't adore it but it has nice vibes and there's some solid parts here and there. Feels a little aimless tho. I like the guy's singing voice in Take Control but the song isn't for me, the 'Take Control' bits put me off. There's some nice instrumentation but by the end I was just waiting for it to be done. My fav Control song is Dark Disquiet but I guess that probably wasn't composed for the game :(

Shaps: 0.5/5
Bounds: 1.5/5
D4: 3.5/5
Partners: 5/5
Sailing: 2.5/5
Control: 2/5

Beyond the Bounds
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Take Control

Shadoubt Shaps
Theme of D4
Yoru ~ Sailing

Shadoubt Shaps
Theme of D4
Yoru ~ Sailing

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
Take Control

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
Yoru ~ Sailing

Shadoubt Shaps is definitely interesting. The soundscape and general structure is very unique and interesting, but I can't say that I really enjoy it. I can appreciate it for doing what it does though.

Beyond the Bounds has pretty nice instrumentation with the harp, strings, and percussion. The really quick and erratic nature of the main vocal line sounds super unnatural and not good. Maki Kimura is a good vocalist though, which is exemplified better in the slower vocal lines. But whoever wrote the main vocal line seems like they didn't take into account the fact that it was for a vocalist, and not for an instrument. The violin solo in the second half is quite good as well. It'll still get my vote regardless, despite my issues with it.

Theme of D4 is quite good with the acoustic guitar, piano, and sax parts in particular. Pretty nice melody too. Best part is the piano solo at 2:40. Very good song overall.

The tap dancing in Partners is the highlight of this song. Pretty good melody with the violin and accordion as well. Best part is the violin solo at 2:30. Really good performance there. Actually somewhat conflicted on what to vote for on this match. Both songs are quite excellent.

Yoru ~ Sailing is everything for me. First of all, Ilaria Graziano has one of the most beautiful voices I've heard, and she does an incredible job here. The tin whistle, piano, double bass, and the soft drums in the background of the Yoru half add a ton to the ambience of it. The section at 2:47 is really neat as well with the marimba part creating a mystical sense to the piece. The transition to the Sailing half is really seamless and perfect. I love the Sailing half almost as much as the Yoru half. Gorgeous celtic piece by Kanno. Great melody, and great instrumentation more than anything with the violins, winds, percussion, bass, strings and everything. 100% my favorite song of bracket D.

The transition from the peaceful Sailing to TAKE. CONTROL. is quite amusing. I think I like the second half of this one better than the first half when it takes a more ballad-like approach. The first half is good too, but the vocal line isn't really doing it for me. It doesn't feel like a cohesive melody to me. Definitely not the best Old Gods of Asgard song, but it's pretty good still.

Some very strong songs today.

Votes:
Beyond the Bounds
abstain until I listen to both songs again and can make a better decision on it
Yoru ~ Sailing

Shadoubt Shaps
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Yoru ~ Sailing

Beyond the Bounds

Beyond the Bounds
The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Take Control

Damn, never thought a castanet solo could be this good.

ZelRaat posted...

Damn, never thought a castanet solo could be this good.

The solos are tap dancing, not castanets. The castanets are in the background of most of the rest of the song.

Also, gonna lean towards Partners in match 2. I like the melody a bit more, and the instrumentation is more unique.

Vote:
Partners - Let's dance, my dear fellow!!

Shadoubt starts okay and then it just gets worse and worse I don't like it at all. BtB good as ever.

D4 doesn't really do much for me. Partners isn't thrilling either, but it's a little more interesting.

Yoru is quite nice. Sailing songs can be good. Take Control is amazing in-game, but I don't like it nearly as much on its own. Still good at least. Could go either way on this one.

Beyond the Bounds
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Yoru ~ Sailing

Beyond the Bounds > Yoru ~ Sailing > Take Control > Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!! > Theme of D4 > Shadoubt Shaps

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
abstain

Shadoubt Shaps
Theme of D4
Yoru ~ Sailing

Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner - Beyond the Bounds
The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles - Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Control - Take Control

y'know I had Yoru ~ Sailing making it to R3 in my faves bracket, but I really just like Take Control right now

Beyond the Bounds
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Yoru ~ Sailing

I am literally the only one here who is obsessed with all of these songs. Holy fuck I actually relistened to these songs multiple times.

Beyond the Bounds
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Take Control

I can sort of appreciate some of the rhythmic things in Shadoubt but yeah not my thing. Beyond the Bounds' dramatic gibberish is pretty goofy but it's fun.
oh my god I hate this match so much, both songs are great but when the main melody kicks in for Partners I can't resist
man Yoru ~ Sailing is such a calming and peaceful track, can certainly picture just slowly sailing on a tranquil ocean listening to it. definitely something I like a lot more than I expe- TAKE. CONTROL.

Shadoubt Shaps
Theme of D4
Take Control

match 2 sucks

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
Take Control

Beyond the Bounds
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Yoru ~ Sailing

Shadoubt Shaps
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Take Control

Match 1: no matter how much I listen to Beyond the Bounds, I just do not like it, and nothing of it ever clicks in my brain as "you like this part." I'm sorry! :|
Match 2: Theme of D4 is pretty cool, I'll confess, but I'm a sucker for the castanets in the Ace Attorney track.
Match 3: I really like Ragnarok Online music, for the most part, but Yoru just ain't it for me. Sailing would have won this one for me as a standalone, but meanwhile, I appreciate Take Control a whole lot more.

Beyond the Bounds
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Take Control

I think Take Control is fairly mediocre for Poets of the Fall, but still, great day.

Shadoubt Shaps
D4
Yoru

Shadoubt Shaps
--
--

Beyond the Bounds
Partners - The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!
Take Control

Beyond
Theme
Control

Beyond the Bounds
Theme of D4
Yoru ~ Sailing

Lightfield - Shadoubt Shaps
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die - Theme of D4
Ragnarok Online II: The Gate of the World - Yoru ~ Sailing

Everything today just grabs hold and does not let go. I gotta listen to Old Gods. Especially cruel to pair Shadoubt with the purest strain of B8core, but I'm glad to see it has its fans. Super varied bunch; all great for different reasons! Today's amenities:

[10] Shadoubt Shaps
[9.5] Beyond the Bounds
[9.0] Yoru ~ Sailing
[8.5] Take Control
[8.5] Theme of D4
[8.0] The game is afoot! Let's dance, my dear fellow!!