Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 92! Secret of the Forest v Passing Thru the Forest [Bracket A Finals]

(+) 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/80142029
Contest discussion thread, old: 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

Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest
Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda
Loop Point: 2:14
Genre: TANGLED MYSTIQUE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DUJWMEUAiI

Threads of Fate - Passing through the Forest
Composer: Junya Nakano
Loop Point: 1:46
Genre: DEWPRISM
https://youtu.be/xX4WQouaL7k

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Easy vote form:
Secret of the Forest / Passing through the Forest

Passing through

Secret of the Forest

i played chrono trigger on an emulator with fast forward so i had the game muted the whole time. i guess it was a good thing i did. this song sucks. really every song ive heard from that game is bad except corridors of time. why didnt people nominate that instead of this and battle with magus

junya nakano aka the third best composer on ffx. this song is ok though. its too repetitive which is what youd expect from nakano i guess but at least it sounds nice.

Forest, passing through the

Passing through the Forest

Passing through the Forest

Passing

Passing Through the Forest

Passing through the Forest
(Please win it all)

Passing through the Forest

Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest

Passing Through the Forest

Secret of the Forest

Passing through the Forest

Easy vote for me, go Passing!

Secret of

Secret of the Forest

Secret of the Forest

holy shit this is hard i love the forest actually

Secret

Threads of Fate - Passing Through the Forest

Everything was leading up to this. Everything. Today's run:

[4.EST] Passing Through the Forest
[4.EST] Secret of the Forest

https://youtu.be/lJHTuh5wXkU

Passing through the Forest

Passing through the Forest

Passing

Secret of the Forest

Secret

This was a toughie.

Passing through the Forest

secret of the forest

Secret of the forest

Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest

Secret of the Forest

Secret of the Forest

Difficult choice, they're both fine

Secret of the Forest

Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest

Secret of the Forest

Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest

A fittingly disappointing end to a disappointing division. Passing through the Forest, notably, the worst song coming from the strongest subdivision of all of them. Not a lot of songs I literally never have voted for get this far, if any, so it's got that going for it. Secret of the Forest I thought I really liked, then decided on later listens its just very ok. But that's enough to get a vote today.

Not gonna honour the forest thing really, because in any timeline i recognize BoF beats the winner next round.

So we're coming to the end.

I've never been a big fan of Secret of the Forest. It wouldn't even make my upper half of the Chrono Trigger soundtrack. (When are we getting in Mystery of the Past, huh???) I will say that listening to Secret of the Forest at least five or six times this contest has given me a new appreciation for its texture, that indiscernible musical aura that's the equivalent of "mouthfeel." Even without the context, I can easily feel myself exploring some uncharted territory. My favorite part is probably the beginning, those repeated four notes; they draw me in and anchor me into the rest of the song. But the song also conveys a profound sense of uncertainty and even danger. I'm unsure what's around the corner. Unlike its opponent, Secret of the Forest offers comfort tempered by the unknown. While Secret of the Forest is my least favorite song remaining, I certainly won't say no to more "retro" songs doing well in VGMC, especially SNES songs, arguably my favorite platform for music.

Passing Through the Forest is one of my favorite songs, VGM or otherwise. "Sublime" is a good way to put it. "Evocative." From the opening notes, which take you into this mysterious musical place, to the rest of the jaunty melody, this is a song that, like its opponent, conveys a sense of exploration. Unlike Secret of the Forest, however, Passing Through the Forest is all about comfort and happiness, embarking on a grand adventure full of heart. The intro conveys this powerful sense of waking up and seeing the world, and while there's a lot of mystery like in Secret of the Forest, I listen to Passing Through the Forest and I can't help but feel like things are going to be okay. The songs are both forest themes with incredible opening notes that recur throughout, but they couldn't be more different to me. Yasunori Mitsuda is an all-time favorite composer, sure, but Junya Nakano absolutely kills it on Passing Through the Forest. I nominated this song a few VGMCs ago and while I didn't support it this year (in fact, it went against one of my supports in round 1 (but I still voted for it)), I'm elated to see it do so well this year.

Passing Through the Forest

rwlh posted...

(When are we getting in... huh???)

one day Huh?!gang

Hbthebattle posted...

one day Huh?!gang

what happened to that best jingle tournament someone was gonna do, huh

Passing through the Forest

Secret of the Forest

Passing through the Forest

Passing through the Forest

Secret of the Forest

Passing through the Forest

Secret of the Forest

Passing through the Forest

Secret of the Forest

Secret of the Forest, easily. Though it's not like Passing Through is bad, Secret is one of those tracks that's legendary to me. It's so ingrained into my mind I can play the whole thing in my head without trying.

Personally, I would've loved to see this go up against What the Forest Taught Me from Secret of Mana.

Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest