Board 8 > You (yes, YOU!) rank all 16 VGMC winners

(+) Yeah! (+)

Collen posted...
<ranking>

ZaziGuado posted...

<ranking>

Thank you both!

1. Boku no Te no Naka no Rakuen | Papiliones

2. Threads of Fate | Forest of Journeys Begun (Passing Through the Forest)

3. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War | ZERO

4. Chrono Cross | Chrono Cross -Scars of Time-

5. Idola Phantasy Star Saga | Endeavour

6. beatmania IIDX 22 PENDUAL | Despair of Elferia (Long ver.)

7. Final Fantasy VIII | The Extreme

8. Umineko: When They Cry - Question Arcs | hope

9. Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star | Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

10. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA | SUNSHINE COASTLINE

11. Okami | Reset ~ ("Thank You" Version)

12. NieR | Emil / Karma

13. The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure Evolution | Seize the Truth!

14. Umineko: When They Cry - Answer Arcs | resurrectedreplayer

15. Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica | EXEC_SPHILIA/.

16. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | "Metal Gear Solid" Main Theme

Some thoughts:
- Weirdly enough, Scars of Time/Endeavor and Despair of Elferia/The Extreme are super close for me in rankings, same goes for Emil/Karma and Seize the Truth. Maybe they would swap depending on future listenings, but I'm confident enough that whatever is ranked higher in those pairings has the current edge.
- So far, I think the worst a champion has ever done has been decent by my scale! I might not be as psyched for the "Metal Gear Solid" theme or EXEC_SPHILIA/. compared to hearing the intro to Zero or Passing Through the Forest, but I still think there's a fair amount to like in those songs that prevent me labelling them as "unlikeable" in any way.
- Whatever won this last contest was gonna get a high ranking no matter what, I just wanted to see how it would compare to the others, heh.

Rankings submitted via pm

rwlh posted...

Although I will say that I'm happy to extend the deadline if folks want more time. Just let me know!

I'm going to try and finish before the deadline, but if I fail I'll let you know and you can decide if an extension is warranted. Thanks for suggesting the option!

Looks like it's not happening in time, sorry!

Disillusion posted...
<ranking>

Thank you!

sergiocornaga posted...

Looks like it's not happening in time, sorry!

Would it help if I extended it to the end of the day?

Up!

Last call!

mine will come tonight i promise

1. Idola Phantasy Star Saga - Endeavour
2. Boku no Te no Naka no Rakuen - Papiliones
3. Okami - Reset ~ ("Thank You" Version)
4. beatmania IIDX 22 PENDUAL - Despair of Elferia (Long ver.)
5. The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure Evolution - Seize the Truth!
6. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA - SUNSHINE COASTLINE
7. Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica - EXEC_SPHILIA/.
8. Chrono Cross - Chrono Cross -Scars of Time-
9. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty - "Metal Gear Solid" Main Theme
10. Umineko: When They Cry - Question Arcs - hope
11. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War - ZERO
12. Final Fantasy VIII - The Extreme
13. Umineko: When They Cry - Answer Arcs - resurrectedreplayer
14. NieR - Emil / Karma
15. Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;
16. Threads of Fate - Forest of Journeys Begun (Passing Through the Forest)

Every day I get more proof that I was absolutely spoiled with 14 as my first tournament, lol. But 2 through 6 was incredibly tough for me, could possibly be different on another day though I spent a lot of thought on it lmao
Overall pretty good winners on average, I'd probably say? Around half are 8s or higher for me, which is valid enough.

*Ranking the VGMC Champions (With Commentary)*

Warning: the following commentary are all my opinions. I tried to be nice, but if I came across as too harsh, let me know. I have some somewhat strong opinions on certain songs that may or may not be positive. I will be listing them off starting from my least favorite to my favorite to add a sense of suspense. This lists commentary is meant to be read from top to bottom.

Note: I normally do not rate songs as scores can change on a whim, and there is no strict rubric on how to rate songs besides this is how I feel about it at the moment. What made one rank a song a 7.6 as opposed to a 7.7 for instance other than I liked it less? However, I will make an exception and will proceed with ratings this time because I want to compare the average rating I gave to the champions to the average rating I will give to the runner-ups at a later time to see which group I like better. With that all being said, enjoy the commentary. Or dont.

16. VGMC 13 Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star | Class:: EXSPHERE_NOSURGE; Starting off with the bad luck number itself13. Im sorry to anyone who likes this song, but I genuinely dont hear the appeal. The singing is okay, but the instrumentation is completely annoying and obnoxious. Usually its the opposite for me; the singing is usually much worse than the instrumentation while the instrumentation is usually fantastic. Here, neither the singing nor instrumentation are particularly appealing to me. This is just an irritating song that is extremely hard for me to get through. I do not hate this song, but I strongly dislike it. Easily the worst of the champions by a long shot in my opinion. There are a few good aspects to the song, like the brief music box lullaby just before the 5 minute mark or especially how the lyrics (?) on screen look like a literal coding language, which is a unique aspect to this song that Ive never seen present in any other song before. Other than that though, this is a very disappointing winner in my eyes (or ears?). Again, please do not feel bad if you like this song! If you like this, all the more power to you. I am sure someone could argue this is a fantastic piece. I just don't hear what's so great about it personally. Rating: 3.1/10 (strongly dislike)

15. VGMC 7Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica | EXEC_SPHILIA\ --This song is significantly better than the last place one, but its still a very disappointing winner to me. The singing sounds like a more annoying version of Vocaloid singing, but at least the instrumentation is okay (the guitar solo before the 3 minute mark and again before the 5 minute mark is sick though!). The melody and guitar solos are probably the best parts about the song, and I have to wonder just how much more Id like it if it were purely instrumental (I would probably like it a lot more). Rating: 5/10 (neutral)

14. VGMC 14Idola Phantasy Star Saga | EndeavourThe singing is meh to me, but I love the use of strings in this song. Just like the 15th place, this has strong instrumentation with somewhat annoying singing. The singing is more tolerable in this one however. Also, to reference the lyrics (Never say never), this song is better than the Justin Bieber song of the same name at least, but neither are particularly that good. I suppose I do like this song slightly more than dislike it, but its still somewhat mediocre. Rating: 5.1/10 (positive neutral; borderline like)

13. VGMC 8 Boku no Te no Naka no Rakuen | Papiliones The singing actually is nice for once, and so is the instrumentation. The melody isnt that good though, especially starting at the two minute mark. The melody just doesnt do it for me, and Im not sure why. Overall, nice piece leading up to the two minute mark, and some nice string solos throughout, but most of the song after the two minute mark is somewhat annoying to me (except for the very last note. Nice ending). Pre-two minute mark is around an 8 rating while the rest of the song (except the ending) is around a 4.5. Since the song is around 4 minutes long, two minutes is around half the song. This means I like the first half and dislike the second half. (8+ 4.5)/2 = 6.25, rounds up to 6.3. Therefore, my rating is 6.3 (somewhat like)

12 . VGMC 12 YS VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA | SUNSHINE COASTLINEHa! The 12th winner at 12th place. How fitting. This really reminds of of Sonic music if Im being honest. I think its pretty catchy, and I especially like the strings at the beginning of the piece. It's not that remarkable, but it's still pretty good I guess. I dont have much else to say about it other than that. Mozart did the whole Lacrimosa thing better though. Rating: 7.9 (like it a decent amount)

11. VGMC 10beatmania IIDX 22 PENDUAL | Despair of Elferia (Long ver.)Usually songs with a strong beat lack a good melody, but not so in this case. I think the beat is incredibly catchy, and the melody is actually decent for once. This certainly isnt my style of music, but I can definitely hear the appeal. Far from the best that Ive heard, but still a great piece. This is the first song on this list so far that I actually am glad retired (though I'm not sure how to feel about it being literally the champion). This level in the list is where where the champions actually start getting pretty good in my opinion. Rating: 8.0 (like a lot)

10. VGMC 15Umineko: When They CryAnswer Arcs | resurrectedplayerOh, an Umineko retiree. How original, lol! Okay, light jabbing aside, this has a pretty catchy beat. What I absolutely ADORE is the harpsichord solo starting at 1:10 (well, at least it sounds like a harpsichord). The harpsichord fits with the gothic theming of the background photo (keep in mind I can only base it off the background picture since I dont know the story or context of the game itself). I dislike the part at 2:44 though since its just annoying noise that doesnt add anything to the piece except serve to be irritating at least to me. Aside from the occasional weird noises added to the piece, this is a very catchy pice with that harpsichord solo alone bringing the pieces overall score up at least 0.5 points haha (that all being said, I still think ID Purpose shouldve won. Oh well :/ ). Rating: 8.3 (like a lot)

9. VGMC 9The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure Evolution | Seize the Truth!Very catchy piece, great beat and instrumentation, and pretty decent melody too. This is nearly tied with vgmc 15, but I feel like what makes this one slightly better is that it doesnt have any annoying sounds in it. Its not mind-blowing amazing, but still pretty cool. Rating: 8.31 (like it a lot)normally I dont rate beyond the tenth place, but Im making an exception to show that I like this song a hairline better that resurrectedplayer

8. VGMC 4When They Cry - Question Arcs | hopeThis is a very beautiful piano piece. The irksome seagull cries at the end ruin it a little (yes, I know umineko is supposed to mean seagull, but that doesnt change the fact that I dont like those noises at the end) and prevent this piece from being A tier (9+), but its still great overall. Rating: 8.4 (like it a lot)

(end of part 1)

7. VGMC 5Final Fantasy VIII | The ExtremeWow, of course Uematsu composed a champion. Not my favorite Uematsu or Final Fantasy piece (those tend to be from FF6 like Terras Theme and Dancing Mad or FF7 like Aeriths Theme or One Winged Angel), but it is still a well-composed piece nonetheless. This has a very classic retro-ish JRPG sound to it, and it is distinctly Uematsu, which I find quite nostalgic-sounding (despite never playing FFVIII) and endearing. Rating: 8.5 (like it a lot)

6. VGMC 16Threads of Fate | Forest of Journeys Begun (Passing Through the Forest)Honestly, it was not until it retired that I had any expectation that this would win.
I have a bit of a weird history with this one as this single piece of music probably holds two records: the record for being the biggest drop AND the record for biggest jump in my liking a piece within only one listen after another. I liked it a pretty decent amount on the first listen, but I was very lukewarm to it on a second listen to the point. I then came close to loving it on the third listen for some reason, and thats about where my stance is on this piece at the moment. I am not sure why I had such a dramatic drop followed by sudden rise in my liking of this piece, but my guess as to why I almost disliked it on a second listen was because that second listen was during its matchup with Secret of the Forest from Chrono Trigger, which I like significantly better than this piece (I also supported Secret of the Forest). On top of that, it ended up beating that song (which is one of my favorite video game songs of all time from one of my favorite games of all time), which may have made me further my negative attitude toward this piece.
Why I ended up really liking it within the next listen following its Secret of the Forest matchup is still a mystery to even me, because its next matchup was against my own nomination (Aquatic Ambiance), which it evidently ended up beating. One would think that I would begin to like it less even more so after this incident, but no. While I still prefer the runner-up and am admittedly disappointed that one didn't win, I still ended up really liking this piece in the end.
Now, finally on to talking about what I like in the piece itself. I like the snare drum and clarinet solo (?), both of which vaguely remind me of marching band music (I was in band throughout middle and high school so theres some positive bias there). Every time I hear this piece, I always imagine a mini marching band marching through the forest playing this piece. Its pretty great overall even if I'm still kinda recovering from being salty over it beating my own nomination. Rating: 8.8 (like it a lot)

5. VGMC 2Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | Metal Gear Solid Main ThemeWow, just wow. I was not expecting to like this piece as much as I do. I am already familiar with the Metal Gear Solid Main Theme, but I had never heard this version of it until now. I gotta say, this does not disappoint. This is an extremely epic piece, and I find it hard think of any negative criticism to give it. While I would have preferred one of the other retirees, specifically Buoy Base from my beloved Super Mario Galaxy, to have taken the gold here, I cant say Im particularly disappointed with this winner because at least in a vacuum without considering its opponents, this is a well-deserving winner to me personally. Rating: 9.4 (love it)

4. VGMC 11NieR | Emil/Karma-Wait, hold up. Vocals in a video game song that I actually like?! On top of the vocals being good, I love the beat, I love it when the strings kick in and add so much more life to this already amazing song, I love nearly everything about this song. The only criticism I might give is that I wish it had a longer loop point. But thats it. Fantastic song. Rating: 9.45 (love it)Once again, another exception where I rate pass the tenths place because this and Metal Gear were nearly tied

3. VGMC 6Ace Combat Zero: The Balkan War | ZERO-ERROR 404 brain malfunction due to the being in awe of pure epic ness (get it? Because this pieces loop point is 4:04? Okay fine, I know Im terrible at making jokes. Never mind). This is easily my favorite discovery from this ranking the champions challenge. I love nearly every aspect of the instrumentation from the strings to the acoustic guitar. All the singingboth the soloist singer and the choir is also fantastic. I dont think Ive ever given a piece a higher rating on a first listen than this piece, which is quite the accomplishment.
Rating: 9.5 (love it)

2. VGMC 1Chrono Chross -Scars of Time-Ah yes, the classic that started it all. Even before joining the vgm community, this was already one of my favorite video game pieces of all time, so there might be a bit of nostalgia bias here admittedly. As a flute player, I absolutely adore the flute solo at the beginning in particular. This piece has an incredibly great melody and instrumentation. While I think this is a well-deserving winner, Id like to give a special shoutout to its final two opponents: Baba Yetu and Dreams of the Shore Bordering Another World (the latter of which funnily enough is also from Chrono Cross). All three were amazing pieces that equally deserved championship. Too bad there can only be one winner, but those two were very worthy opponents for this great piece and very much deserved to be top three. Rating: 9.6 (love it)

1. Okami | Rest ~ (Thank You Version)-Where do I even begin with this piece? How do I describe how I feel about one of my favorite video game songs, nay, one of my favorite *songs* of all time? Words cant quite describe it. Everything from the flute to the strings to every single instrument to the melody, is just.beyond phenomenal. Ethereal. Fitting for the great goddesss Amaterasu herself. This is the type of music that could move me to tears honestly. This honestly deserves to be praised as one of the greatest pieces of music mankind has ever composed (well, at least in my opinion lol). This piece is basically perfect in my eyes, but I am sure others have valid reasons for not liking it. Because of this, I have a rule where I cannot give a song a 10 unless every person who has heard this piece loves it as much as I do (which is basically impossible regardless of the piece). Therefore, the highest possible score I can give is a 9.9, which is a score I very rarely give out. And this is one of the few pieces on the planet which I feel deserves that score. I am happy to bestow the greatest possible score I could ever give a piece unto this song.
Rating: 9.9 (love it to death and beyond)

And thank you, reader, for taking the time to read my commentary.

Average Champion Rating: 7.8 (rounded to nearest tenth)

Can the runner-ups do better? Find out next time on VGMC Ball Z!

1. Umineko: When They Cry - Question Arcs | hope
2. Umineko: When They Cry - Answer Arcs | resurrectedreplayer
3. Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War | ZERO
4. Chrono Cross | Chrono Cross -Scars of Time
5. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | "Metal Gear Solid" Main Theme
6. NieR | Emil / Karma
7. Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica | EXEC_SPHILIA/.
8. Final Fantasy VIII | The Extreme
9. Okami | Reset ~ ("Thank You" Version)
10. Boku no Te no Naka no Rakuen | Papiliones
11. Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA | SUNSHINE COASTLINE
12. The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure Evolution | Seize the Truth!
13. beatmania IIDX 22 PENDUAL | Despair of Elferia (Long ver.)
14. Threads of Fate | Forest of Journeys Begun (Passing Through the Forest)
15. Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star | Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;
16. Idola Phantasy Star Saga | Endeavour

Okay, I made several typos in my commentary. Oof, I can't even fix it for some reason. The two most egregious typos I spotted were in two title names:

I put a \ instead of a / at the end of the vgmc 7 winner's name, and I put "rest" instead of "reset" for okami.

I will point out more typos later if I spot any. I should've copy-pasted the names, but I was typing this out in the notes section of my iPad, so it was actually more convenient for me to write out the names manually there than to copy-paste them funnily enough. I did this kinda last minute since I was so busy, so I didn't proofread my writing all that well! If you're posting these commentaries to any other website or making record of them, could you please fix these typos for me? Thank you. I will be pointing out more errors later in probably another comment if I find any.

I can't wait to see EXSPHERE at a final score of precisely 8.50 after everyone either rated it 1st or 16th with equal likelihood.

Rankings submitted after all!

Thank you to everyone who submitted! We have an amazing 51 rankings, wow!

I'll put up the reveal topic soon...!

Reveal topic is up, in case you've missed it (#16 has dropped already):
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80184036