Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 43! TermVelocity/WirFliegen, Prophecy/FaceDeep, FinalSong/ChibiStaff

(+) 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

Sonic Colors - Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
Composer: Kenichi Tokoi
Loop Point: 2:13
Genre: KINETIC ESCAPE
https://youtu.be/IyFKFdTkzPg

Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wir fliegen
Composer: Hiroyuki Sawano
Loop Point: 4:55
Genre: OVERDRIVE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGUaVZN2ttw

Match 2

Secret of Mana (2018) - Prophecy
Composer: Hiroki Kikuta arr. Tsutomu Narita
Loop Point: 2:00
Genre: FLAMMIE FLIGHT
https://www.youtube.

KINETIC ESCAPE
FLAMMIE FLIGHT
BLACK SONG, WHITE SCALES

match 1 is gigantically evil, holy shit

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song

Terminal Velocity
Face of the Deep
The Final Song before PrimeSuite day kills you all

D4 is probably my favourite quadrant in the entire bracket.

Terminal Velocity [8.5]
Wir Fliegen [8.5]
Prophecy [8.5]
Face of the Deep [8.5]
Final Song [9]
Staff Roll [6]

Wir fliegen
Prophecy
The Final Song

Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wir fliegen
Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Void - The Face of the Deep
Drakengard 3 - The Final Song

Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wir fliegen
Secret of Mana (2018) - Prophecy
Drakengard 3 - The Final Song

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song

Terminal Velocity
Prophecy
The Final Song

Match 1: Wir fliegen, unfortunately, being one of the few non-shitposty Xenoblade Chronicles X songs I don't gel with. Terminal Velocity isn't my favorite from Sonic Colors, but it's very cool in its own right.
Match 2: I'm in the "SoM remade soundtrack is crap" camp, usually, but they did Prophecy extremely proud on this one. On the flip side... I like a lot of Risk of Rain music, but this ain't it for me for whatever reason.
Match 3: Not even a token chance to Chibi Robo can give it a chance against Final Song, which was one of the tenets behind "good lord I love Drakenier music"

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
The Face of the Deep
Staff Roll

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
The Face of the Deep
Staff Roll

These were all pretty close tbh

KINETIC ESCAPE
FLAMMIE FLIGHT
BLACK SONG, WHITE SCALES

great day, yet still the calm before the storm

still think it's unfortunate that the last minute of final song was supposed to facilitate the dialogue exchange at the end and basically all the decent enough links with the dialogue left there are gone now i think. still doesn't work as well for me without it there

Wir fliegen
Prophecy
The Final Song

terminal velocity
face of the deep
final song

Wir fliegen
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song

Yet another "match where one can win as much as the other" for Match 1. Prophecy and Face of the Deep are kind of close too. I'm not sure what's up with Staff Roll, it's like those "change the radio station" songs except there's nothing special to it. Final Song is pretty solid too.
I still haven't listened to Prime, gulp!

Wir fliegen

Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wir fliegen
Secret of Mana (2018) - Prophecy
Drakengard 3 - The Final Song

Those electronic distorted vocals on Wir fliegen are giving me very strong Re:Zero ending theme vibes.

Very proggy second match, both cool songs. SoM music I find myself liking more and more as the years pass. I feel a little bit bad voting against Face of the Deep because this is now my favorite Chris Christodoulou song. Like, this sounds nothing at all like other stuff I've heard from him in VGMC and there's some neat homage to Dream Theater in there.

why isn't The Final Song the final song

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
Prophecy
The Final Song

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
The Face of the Deep
Staff Roll

Terminal
Deep
Song

Wir fliegen
Prophecy
Staff Roll

Wir fliegen
Prophecy
The Final Song

Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wir fliegen
Secret of Mana (2018) - Prophecy
Drakengard 3 - The Final Song

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
Prophecy
Staff Roll

Wir fliegen
Prophecy
The Final Song

The Terminal Velocity
The Deep Face
The Final Song

Best track in the contest (The Face of the Deep) and the worst in the contest (Staff Roll) on the same day!

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
Prophecy
The Final Song

I've gone back and forth on Velocity whenever I've listened to it. Today I'm landing somewhere in the middle I think. The backing is nice and stands out more than the melody, but I also enjoy when it drops out lol. The best part is 1:52 to the loop, that's a cool way to reset the song.
Wir fliegen is bizarrely unchaotic for an XCX song. It's perfectly fine, I don't love the vocals but the chorus is alright and the overall feel is decent enough, I'm just a bit underwhelmed by the whole experience. I don't come to XCX for semi-generic anime songs!

Prophecy is good! It starts off as a pleasant foresty track, but then shifts into high gear and becomes a kickass action theme without losing its emotional base. Really solid.
Deep isn't hitting me the way Purple did. It's alright but feels like less than the sum of its parts, I'm not satisfied with the climax this time and the jazzy riffing feels a bit lacking in substance. Really like when the beat comes back at 3:52 though.

The first minute of Final Song is good, unfortunately that melody then disappears for several minutes and the rest of the song bores me.
I wish Staff Roll would let each bit breathe for at least a second or two >_> I can't get my hooks in to any one section and it's not put together in a way that I'd appreciate it as a whole.

Velocity: 3/5
fliegen: 2.5/5
Prophecy: 4/5
Deep: 2.5/5
Final: 1.5/5
Staff: 1/5

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
The Face of the Deep
Staff Roll

Terminal Velocity is definitely the weakest Sonic song in the contest. Some nice e-guitar, but the rest is pretty dull and repetitive. Not a fan of the main chromatic riff either. There are way better Sonic Colors songs out there.

Wir fliegen on the other hand is a massive banger. The synths and production are absolutely elite on this. Cyua's autotuned vocals are super great for this type of song as well (her natural voice is very good as well. See stuff like Vogel im Kfig or Grenzlinie). I love the panning in the guitar in the transition to the second half, then the drums are so good in the second half. Such a great and unique EDM song. Incredibly easy vote for this.

Prophecy is pretty good. Nice flute and synths here. My only criticism is that the composition doesn't go enough places, so it feels a bit on the repetitive side. Still a pretty enjoyable piece overall.

The Face of the Deep is definitely my favorite of the three Risk of Rain songs in the contest. Chris Christodoulou decided to go for a straight-up prog rock song on this one, which is pretty awesome. The inclusion of sax in here is pretty cool as well. And his production skills are on display here once again. Such a crisp mix. Best part is the reverberating sax solo leading to the drop at 3:53. Great composition.

The Final Song is pretty neat. Good Emi Evans vocals as usual, good percussion, and a pretty interesting progression in the composition. The tempo changes are especially intriguing. Very nice song overall.

Not a fan of the radio station changing style of Staff Roll. It makes it compositionally difficult to appreciate at any point. There are some interesting ideas here and there though. But definitely not enough to make up for its glaring weakness.

Pretty great day today tbh.

Votes:
Wir fliegen
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song

1. PowerOne
2. You Were There
3. Scroll Stage
4. Variations on a Ra Melody
5. Staff Roll (Super Mario 64)
6. Dreams in a Pie
7. Battle With Magus
8. Abstract Map
9. CHAMPION RITUAL
10. Passing Through the Forest
11. Battle With the Devil
12. The Final Smile
13. Frantic Aspic
14. Field (Late Night)
15. A CYBER'S WORLD?
16. Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
17. U.N. Owen Was Her?
18. Kusanagi Village
19. Tenement of the Blue Spirit
20. Calling
21. LIN NE KRO NE
22. Egg Reverie
23. Battle! (Arceus) ~ Phase 4
24. Angel's Rain
25. The Glittering City of Yusnaan
26. Prophecy
27. Tachi
28. Sky Tower
29. Indignant Divinity
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. The Final Song ~ Black Song, White Scales
36. liberatedliberater
37. Blue Orb
38. Home Sweet Home
39. The Wretched Automatons
40. It's Dangerous to Go Alone
41. Move Me
42. Battle 2
43. xxxx/xx/xx (Remix)
44. Yggdrasil
45. stg_travel_2_3
46. ???
47. SaKuRa
48. The Rain Formerly Known as Purple
49. NARWHAL
50. Kaze no Ne

Only one top 50 remains. I wonder what it could be...?

Come on Prophecy, I believe in you...

Votes:
Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
Prophecy
The Final Song

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
Prophecy
The Final Song

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
Prophecy
The Final Song

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song

I could flip on the second match.

Terminal Velocity (Act 1) (9.45 - 8th place) / Wir fliegen (7.2 - 52nd place)
Prophecy (8.75 - 26th place) / The Face of the Deep (8.63 - 28th place)
The Final Song (9.1 - 17th place) / Staff Roll (6.4^ - 57th place)

Wir fliegen
Prophecy
Staff Roll

Wir fliegen
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
Prophecy
The Final Song

Terminal Velocity isn't up there with the top tier new Sonic songs, sadly. 'Sokay tho. Wir fliegen isn't one of my favorite X songs either, and is also okay. Tough match...

Prophecy doesn't sound that much like an SoM song for some reason, but I mean that in a good way <_<. Face of the Deep is much worse than the other Risk of Rain songs in the contest.

Final Song really doesn't do it for me. Feels too random... And it's up against something even more random, but without the good parts. Blah.

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
Prophecy
The Final Song

Prophecy > Terminal Velocity (Act 1) > Wir fliegen > The Final Song > The Face of the Deep > Staff Roll

Wir fliegen
Prophecy
The Final Song

Xenoblade Chronicles X - Wir fliegen
-
Drakengard 3 - The Final Song

Switch to

Prophecy

Wir fliegen
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song

Pretty strong day. I used to be put off by how painfully slow the ending of The Final Song is but interpreting the music differently (as "whole notes" instead of "half notes") makes that not as bad? probably what it's supposed to be anyway. idk my brain is funny. anyway the rest of the song is really good and that means I can vote for it wheeeee

Wir fliegen
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song

Wir fliegen
Prophecy
The Final Song

Prophecy The Final Song = Wir fliegen > Terminal Velocity (Act 1) > The Face of the Deep = Staff Roll

Wir fliegen
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song

Call it a pet peeve, but I'm kind of bugged at how the German vocals in Wir fliegen feel like they aren't sung by a native speaker. It is just so difficult for me to ignore, especially because the composition is neat and the autotune effect is actually used in a way that enhances the song. I still like the song as a whole better than Terminal Velocity, which, while I do also like, kind of just feels like it is "just there" compared to what I'd consider standouts like ... basically any of the Planet Wisp tracks, really.

I don't really like voting against Prophecy, despite there being a clear winner to me. Prophecy is great, something I'd take over Wir fliegen and maybe even The Last Song. But The Face of the Deep is something that I absolutely needed in this contest. I love the moodiness and the wailing of the saxophone. I never really associate the sax with "dark" music, but this just hits so profoundly.

Speaking of dark music. I really enjoy the hollowness and sense of sorrow in the music of the Drakengard and Nier series. I love the little chimes and bells that sometimes crops up. Staff Roll meanwhile has a cool idea, but I don't really like the execution. It cycles quickly through little snippets of music I probably would love on their own. Too quickly for my tastes.

Wir fliegen
Prophecy
Staff Roll

Wir fliegen
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song

Wir fliegen
Prophecy
The Final Song

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
Prophecy
The Final Song

was not expecting to like Prophecy and The Final Song as much as I did

Terminal Velocity (Act 1)
The Face of the Deep
The Final Song