Board 8 > You (yes, YOU!) ranked all 16 VGMC champions - here are the final rankings!

(+) Yeah! (+)

If youre just joining us or need a refresher, I made a topic three weeks ago asking everyone to rank the 16 winners of Board 8s annual Video Game Music Contest. And lo and behold, a lot of people came together and ranked them all, from 1 to 16. The turnout was great! There were a lot of people from the Board 8 vgm community, as well as folks from other vgm communities, and even a number of folks who I dont think regularly participate in VGMC, which was awesome to see. Thank you to everyone for your time and energy. I hope you enjoyed at least some of the music.

Here are some participation stats:

• 51 people ranked all 16 champs
• 12 of those people submitted full writeups for all 16 songs; these will be unveiled along with the rankings
• 2 additional people submitted writeups for a few songs

The 16 champs:
Champions playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9FyX-bNcVjO9fxILUtLlbiIPYhplGLAD

Individual links:
VGMC1:
Chrono Cross | Chrono Cross -Scars of Time-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40BZyMdDG4s

VGMC2:
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty | "Metal Gear Solid" Main Theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kZ5TiSl2d8

VGMC3:
Okami | Reset ~ ("Thank You" Version)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PybO_yUoQX4

VGMC4:
Umineko: When They Cry - Question Arcs | hope
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83AKXyvMSHA

VGMC5:
Final Fantasy VIII | The Extreme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DqPVakFkOw
(loop point: 4:09)

VGMC6:
Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War | ZERO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlSLCnbXMIE
(loop point: 4:04)

VGMC7:
Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica | EXEC_SPHILIA/.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shu99QPnfcA

VGMC8:
Boku no Te no Naka no Rakuen | Papiliones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M56BpH3lCDU

VGMC9:
The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure Evolution | Seize the Truth!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxXfJR-6ry0

VGMC10:
beatmania IIDX 22 PENDUAL | Despair of Elferia (Long ver.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNmTgi43zuo

VGMC11:
NieR | Emil / Karma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui-0igeqwJU
(loop point: 1:38)

VGMC12:
Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA | SUNSHINE COASTLINE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVvGYuOiJc
(loop point: 2:54)

VGMC13:
Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star | Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E6Ljowl_vk
(loop point: 5:57)

VGMC14:
Idola Phantasy Star Saga | Endeavour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74TocPKiNCs

VGMC15:
Umineko: When They Cry - Answer Arcs | resurrectedreplayer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpHcE-Oxzg0
(loop point: 4:16)

VGMC16:
Threads of Fate | Forest of Journeys Begun (Passing Through the Forest)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX4WQouaL7k
(loop point: 1:47)

-

Some additional, teaser-y ranking stats:

• The highest average ranking, out of 16, was 5.57. The lowest average ranking was 10.76.
• The lowest standard deviation was 3.68. The highest standard deviation was a whopping 5.94!
• Four songs did not get any last place votes.
• Only one song did not get any first place votes. Despite this, it did not place in the bottom quartile.
• Special thanks to NFUN for adding these stats to my rankings spreadsheet!

Finally, heres the full list of everyone who ranked. If you somehow dont see your name on here, let me know ASAP.

Andylt
azuarc
Chaeix
Collen
deo / banshiryuu
DireKrow
Disillusion
DoctorJimmy133
dowolf
DragonImps
Eddv
FL81
golden009
Haste_2
hb
Janus5k
JONA
KCF
Korji
lefty
loweffortmemes
Mac Arrowny
MargaretAnnMid
Max Galactica
Mega Mana
Mihark
NBIceman
NFUN
Pablo Smith
Place
Plasman
PIayer_0
Prince46
pyresword
R-Man
Raetsel_Lapin
Robazoid
rwlh
sergiocornaga
skulltrumpet
Snake5555555555
SSBM_Guy
tazzyboyishere
Team Rocket Elite
tgs2
TheArkOfTurus
UltimaterializerX
vaati000
Waveshine_2001
xxx521xxx
ZaziGuado

Ill gradually post the writeups so folks have time to discuss. Feel free to predict what you think will do well (or not do well!).

Thanks for celebrating a great contest and annual tradition in this community!

Tag!

rwlh posted...

The highest standard deviation was a whopping 5.94!

Shouldn't be hard to guess what this is.

Lessee, 8.5, plus or minus 5.94, is an average of about 2.5 at the top end and about 14.5 at the bottom end. Yup, checks out.

I guess I'll formally ask...what do you all think got last place?

Emil/Karma was my first reaction, but maybe I'm biased.

My last place prediction is probably Passing Through the Forest, but honestly I wouldn't really be surprised for most of the songs if they were the one to end up in last.

Last place pdix: EXEC_SPHILIA

rwlh posted...

Four songs did not get any last place votes.

Pdix: Scars of Time, SUNSHINE, Seize the Truth, and uh.... ZERO maybe?

rwlh posted...

Only one song did not get any first place votes. Despite this, it did not place in the bottom quartile.

Pdix: Seize the Truth

Results hype! I hope my favs do well!

azuarc posted...

Emil/Karma was my first reaction, but maybe I'm biased.

Same here. Passing Through the Forest was my last place vote but I think enough people like that one that it probably escaped the basement. Didn't see as many people going to bat for Emil/Karma when I glanced through some of the rankings.

NBIceman posted...

Same here. Passing Through the Forest was my last place vote but I think enough people like that one that it probably escaped the basement. Didn't see as many people going to bat for Emil/Karma when I glanced through some of the rankings.

or even during/after vgmc11

Considering my reaction to Passing Through the Forest compared to others during the contest and where I placed it in my rankings, I think the only way the song escapes a bottom 2 placement is if I like the VGMC champs on average significantly more than most other people. (Which is possible...my writeup for my #15 song was something to the effect of "this is good but not great")

rwlh posted...

I guess I'll formally ask...what do you all think got last place?

im going to bet on resurrectedreplayer

Yeah Im pretty sure Seize the Truth was the one to not get any 1st place votes lol

16. Umineko: When They Cry - Question Arcs | hope
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83AKXyvMSHA
VGMC4 winner

Total ranking score: 549
Average ranking: 10.76
Standard deviation: 4.68
First place votes: 2 (Chaeix, ZaziGuado)
Last place votes: 11 (deo, DragonImps, Haste, KCF, Prince46, sergio, skulltrumpet, Snake5, SSBM_Guy, Ulti, vaati000) (tied for most last place votes)
1st quartile votes: 8
2nd quartile votes: 7
3rd quartile votes: 13
4th quartile votes: 23

Haste (16/16): Ah, new age pretty piano music! (actually I dont know what to call it) My family loves this kind of stuff. That kind of music can be nice if Im in the right mood, but it all kind of sounds the same so I dont tend to seek out music like that. Anyway, my favorite part is the delicate beginning: the water-drop piano chords, growing synth pads, and what sounds like a mix of harpsichord and bells. The piano chords that mix I and IV (at various spots) are pretty nice. I think the main hook of the music is the two musical lines in counterpoint - one voice is mostly the melody, but the other adds bits of pieces of melody, as well. Pretty simple stuff, but it works.

vaati000 (16/16): I wish I could win GameFAQs Video Game Music Contests by typing "video game soft piano radio" into Spotify and posting the first four-chord diddling that shows up

Pablo Smith (14/16): 5.5/10
A few years back when RTVGM was still active I remember getting into a joke conversation about what ratio of Umineko music was actually good. About 1/3rd of all Umineko tracks are good. A majority of the tracks I wasn't huge on were songs like hope. I get it, you need these more emotional songs every now and then to set the mood for a scene but hope just doesn't do anything for me. It sounds nice and calming, and the seagulls are a nice touch too but that's it really. It it memorable? Yeah I guess, I definitely remember this being an Umineko song, but unlike other memorable Umineko songs I can't remember any impactful moments where this track plays. Maybe I'll remember an impactful moment where this song played in my dreams tonight.

rwlh (12/16): 8/10
#1038
tags: caw, caw

Hope is a lovely song. Soft but strong, calm but invigorating. Everyone loves a good piano piece, right?

dowolf (10/16): This song says "Come what may, we're going to find a way through it." There are days when I need to hear that. The seagulls/umineko crying at the very end is a brilliant touch.

loweffortmemes (10/16): As iconic as Hope is as a motif found all throughout Umineko's soundtrack, it's still a bit amusing to me that of all the Umineko songs that have gone on to retire, Hope is one of the two that became a champion. Not that I mind at all though! Hope is a great song that brings a calming and relaxing mood. Aside from really energetic songs like Final Answer, I think some of dai's best work is on these kinds of emotional (by this, I mean conveying emotion generally) piano tracks.

azuarc (9/16): I remember in the days where I ran Best OST, which is a double elimination contest, and Hope was seen as one of the big anchor songs for Umineko. And then it lost. TWICE. Umineko literally got eliminated because Hope wasn't good enough to compete with its competition. I could hardly say it's not a good song, because I can certainly appreciate a pretty piano song, and the music box-esque vibe carries the tune surprisingly well. Hope is great background music for chill listening, but it's hard to place it very high on a list where I'm actively listening, and also simultaneously waiting to get to the next track to evaluate that one, too. As such, I predict it's going to struggle to escape the bottom three even though there's nothing I dislike about it.

Hb (9/16): :). Thats it, thats my thoughts on this song. It just makes me smile. Please dont get last.

Janus (9/16): Not much to say about this song, but I've always had a soft spot for sadvnpiano.mp3

Waveshine (8/16): This 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)

Andylt (6/16): My first thoughts were 'oh sadpiano.mp3, cool I guess'. But the more I listen to this one the more I like it, it's an emotionally resonant piece that doesn't overreach or overcomplicate and there's really nothing to fault it for.

tazzyboyishere (6/16): This is a weird winner. Umineko has so many more complex and engaging songs, it just feels a little odd that the board settled on the mellow piano piece. I mean, its a really fucking good mellow piano piece but still. Wild to me that dreamenddischarger didnt win. Hope is great and dai is really good at creating pretty piano songs. Good representation of what he can offer for sure.

pyresword (3/16): Ok so I really feel the need to defend this song for whatever reason. Or at least explain why I personally love it as much as I do. Two things I believe about music are that music is about expressing something, and also that expressing an idea with something simple is more praiseworthy than expressing an idea with something complex. From that point of view I think this song is an absolute A+. The title is short and to-the-point but feels profound, and the composition of the piece seems almost perfectly fit to that idea. The harmonies are mournful and sad which gives the listener a sense of catharsis. In contrast, the driving rhythm of the piece makes it feels like it's never dwelling on the present and is always looking forward to the next melodic phrase. A lot of people probably associate this with low performance/recording quality, but I especially love how you can practically hear the pianist slamming their hands on the keys in the second half. Makes it feel very raw and emotionally charged. Anyways yes I love this song. Very straightforward and yet very compelling and effective.

Not surprising that it was a last place! I had it low too, but I never completed my rankings, but it wasn't the bottom for me.

this anti-piano bias will not stand!!!

As requested, here is a complete breakdown of everyones rankings for Hope:
1/16: Chaeix, ZaziGuado
2/16:
3/16: FL81, Mega Mana, pyresword
4/16: NBIceman, Raetsel, Team Rocket Elite
5/16: Mac Arrowny
6/16: Andylt, tazzy
7/16
8/16: Disillusion, MargaretAnnMid, TheArkOfTurus, Waveshine
9/16: azuarc, golden009, hb, Janus, Max Galactica
10/16: dowolf, loweffortmemes, Place, Plasman
11/16: Eddv, lefty, Robazoid
12/16: rwlh
13/16: DireKrow, Mihark, R-Man
14/16: JONA, Korji, Pablo Smith
15/16: Collen, DoctorJimmy, NFUN, p0, tgs2, xxx521xxx
16/16: deo, DragonImps, Haste, KCF, Prince46, sergio, skulltrumpet, Snake5, SSBM_Guy, Ulti, vaati000

bad taste zone

Chaeix posted...

bad taste zone

yeah but luckily we've gotten past nominating stuff like this so we're in the clear for future contests

damnit

tag

Boo.

NFUN posted...

we've gotten past nominating stuff like this

Speak for yourself!

even though i placed this song in last, i can't say that i hate it. it is still a certainly pleasant piece all things considered.

#15 but it's still a 7.5 (my #1 got 9.2). Pretty good but nothing special, I'd take it to R2-3 in VGMC 16

I am disappointed in the video game music community.

I didn't rank so I guess I don't have any place to complain but that seems a bit unfair to Hope, IMO.

we've done worse

It would probably still be in my bottom half of champions, but in the 9-12 quarter I think. Still on the right side of average (in terms of a 1-10 song rating).

Hope holds a special place in my heart, by virtue of it being the champion of the very first VGMC I participated in, and also because it and other songs from the Umineko soundtrack were really what got me to play through Umineko (to date it's still my all-time favorite visual novel). As for the song itself, I really love sad VN piano songs, and it just has an overall "pretty" sound to it, even if it is rather simple.

I actually voted against it in its championship round, but if that same match was held again today I'd vote Hope. Actually up until around a few years ago, I would've chosen Hope as my #1 pick, but my tastes have changed (a little) since.

yeah I said I wouldn't be doing writeups, but I think I can fit a few of them in as they are posted

andylt posted...

Pdix: Seize the Truth

Hbthebattle posted...

Yeah Im pretty sure Seize the Truth was the one to not get any 1st place votes lol

Yeah, who would do that?
>.>
<.<

One more for tonight!

15. NieR | Emil / Karma
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui-0igeqwJU
VGMC11 winner

Total ranking score: 522
Average ranking: 10.24
Standard deviation: 3.68 (smallest standard deviation)
First place votes: 1
Last place votes: 2

1/16: KCF
2/16:
3/16: tazzy
4/16: Mega Mana, Waveshine
5/16: pyresword
6/16: Chaeix, TheArkOfTurus, Ulti
7/16: Haste, MargaretAnnMid, Mihark, SSBM_Guy, xx521xx, ZaziGuado
8/16: golden009, Korji, Mac Arrowny
9/16: Andylt, Prince46
10/16: deo, DireKrow, Eddv, FL81, p0, Robazoid, skulltrumpet, Team Rocket Elite
11/16: Collen, Snake5
12/16: Disillusion, dowolf, loweffortmemes, Place, Raetsel, sergio
13/16: hb, lefty, Max Galactica
14/16: DoctorJimmy, Janus, NFUN, Plasman, R-Man, tgs2, vaati000
15/16: azuarc, DragonImps, NBIceman, rwlh
16/16: JONA, Pablo Smith

Pablo Smith (16/16): I got a tiny bit excited when I saw the game name because I thought it was Shadowlord for some reason. This isn't Shadowlord! The song can be summed it pretty well in two sentences. Bongos good, singing bad. Oh wait that was one sentence. Eh whatever, I can just make it two sentences when I wake up tomorrow morning.

azuarc (15/16): Ugh. This contest. This champion. This complete waste of a year. I *hosted* the contest and I forget that Emil/Karma won it. Even after I recall, I have to struggle to remember what it sounds like. It's just a random generic NieR song, and while I appreciate NieR from a distance, I certainly don't love anything from the original or from Automata. So while I don't dislike Emil/Karma, it simply doesn't do anything for me...which is funny, because a song with percussion this active should automatically engage me, notwithstanding the light, airy vocals layered on top.

rwlh (15/16): 7/10
#2192
tags: drumbeat, ethereal

My favorite part of Emil / Karma is probably the drumbeat that sounds like horse hooves. I love a good drumbeat, and this song has one of the best. The rest of it is good too but without that beat it probably falls below 7.

Janus (14/16): The vocals here don't really land for me, but those drums are cool.

hb (13/16): I mean I like it, but it doesnt do anything spectacular for me, and there are a lot of similar
stylistically NieR songs that do basically everything it does and more, so the weight of those
comparisons do drag it down.

dowolf (12/16): This is really good, but 8/10 good -- it doesn't catch anything inside me. It doesn't quite capture my emotions and take them where it wills. It's a beauty I observe from the outside, rather than from the inside. If that makes any sense.

loweffortmemes (12/16): Not a whole lot to say about Emil / Karma. While it's not the best Nier song, it's a solid song. Though, I have a very strong preference for Flying Clouds, Drifting Haze in VGMC11's championship, with it being one of my favorite songs from the whole Atelier series, a series that has a ton of music that I like a lot. Not to mention, goldenslaughterer vs. FCDH would have been the preferred finals match from me, and an insanely good one at that with two 9+/10 songs against each other.

Andylt (9/16): At first I was disappointed by this one, I usually like NieR music but this is deceptively simple. But there's something really haunting about this piece and it's stuck with me. I still wish there was more to it, but what's there is a pretty beautiful little package.

Haste (7/16): New Ranking: 8.7 (7th place)
Rank the Retirees: 8.5 (81st place)

The music has grown on me somewhat! I just love the NieR sound production that evokes mysterious, primitive civilizations. It really takes you to another world. This one gives you that feeling better than most other other NieR tracks, even if there are other Okabe tracks I like more,.. I just love those NieR (tribal) drums! No complaints there. I enjoy the subdued singing style. The piano arpeggios are really good. The music isnt overly active, but it doesnt need to be.

pyresword (5/16): This song has really grown on me with time. Pretty vocals, and the section from 1:02 to the end is very cathartic.

Waveshine (4/16): 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

tazzy (3/16): Apparently people are upset this won? Yall are weird. NieR has one of the best soundtracks and it only gets better as the years progress and nobody is able to imitate the sound and weight of the music appropriately. Emil / Karma isnt as good as some of the others like Shadowlord or Song of the Ancients, but damn is it powerful and emotionally gutpunching in all the right ways. Maybe you have to play NieR to enjoy it this much, and I would never ask that anyone put themselves through that.

low score, low deviation. as I've said for years

Emil / Karma was always a strange champion, IMO. Still probably top half of champions for me but then I have a more negative view of them as a whole than most I think lol.

Emil / Sacrifice the better variant imhotbqh

Even the people who rate this song highly like Shadowlord more, apparently. (To be clear, yes I am including myself in this...Shadowlord probably finishes in my #1 or #2 slot in this pool)

Sad to see this go but it's hard to get too bent out of shape about it.

The point when I realized that my taste in video game music is basically just Board 8 but 3 years ago was when Emil / Karma won the contest. When I first heard the NieR soundtrack, I was not at all impressed, but eventually it grew on me and E/K specifically really started to vibe with me (but only right before it ended up winning it all). So yeah, nowadays I'd place it pretty middle-of-the-field when it comes to VGMC champions. It's nice, and any style of music with unique ideas gets extra points from me. Cool drums, and I like the vocals too.

Huh, only a 10.24 to Hope's 10.76

Really really good song, but so many better picks in the original game let alone in the series lol. Should've been FCDH!!!!

I kept forgetting how much I love the percussion in this one and it kept flip flopping through my ratings. Rather solid, but man I can think of at least ten other songs from the series I'd rather as champion.

banshiryuu posted...

but so many better picks in the original game let alone in the series lol

I think by that time we had retired out a number of them lol. Definitely Shadowlord and SotA / Fate.

Also, at the time Nier was the only one in the series unless you're including Drakengard which I mean, fair.

Edit: Oh, okay, only those two. Thought Hills of Radiant Wind had retired somewhere along the line but I was right to only list the two I knew for sure had.

Outliers after #15:

https://pastebin.com/vyA6D0uL

There's four different methods used here:

• The sum of (the differences between your ranking and the song's final ranking)
• The sum of (the differences between your ranking and the song's average ranking by voters)
• The sqrt of (the sum of (the squared differences between your ranking and the song's final ranking))
• The sqrt of (the sum of (the squared differences between your ranking and the song's average ranking by voters))

The first method is the traditional one used for outliers in most contests and ranking threads on here. The current top and bottom of that is...

(Most different to final ranking)
1. Chaeix ... 24
2. Mega Mana ... 24
3. pyresword ... 23
4. ZaziGuado ... 23
5. tazzyboyishere ... 22
6. Waveshine_2001 ... 19
7. FL81 ... 18
8. Mac Arrowny ... 18
9. tgs2 ... 17
10. TheArkOfTurus ... 17
...
41. R-Man ... 4
42. rwlh ... 4
43. Snake5555555555 ... 4
44. JONA ... 3
45. Place ... 3
46. sergiocornaga ... 3
47. DoctorJimmy133 ... 2
48. NFUN ... 2
49. Team Rocket Elite ... 2
50. vaati000 ... 1
51. DragonImps ... 0
(Least different to final ranking)

Compatibilities after #15:

https://pastebin.com/fAYnjs0Y

^ This one is calculated simply by taking the differences in ranking for each song between you and the other person and adding them together

https://pastebin.com/yR5NNNu4

^ This one is calculated by taking the squared differences in ranking for each song between you and the other person, adding them together, then taking the sqrt of the result.

I probably won't post these after every ranking, but if you want to see yours at any time, just ping/dm me.

bold choice to post user deviations after the host specifically stated he didn't want them

NFUN posted...

bold choice to post user deviations after the host specifically stated he didn't want them

I told Dire it was probably fine if it was an unofficial thing.

^5 Janus

FL81 posted...

I realized that my taste in video game music is basically just Board 8 but 3 years ago

So you've just recently come around to liking EXSPHERE then?

azuarc posted...

^5 Janus

solidarity of the two people who thought Seize the Truth was a good champion

pyresword posted...

Even the people who rate this song highly like Shadowlord more, apparently. (To be clear, yes I am including myself in this...Shadowlord probably finishes in my #1 or #2 slot in this pool)

Sad to see this go but it's hard to get too bent out of shape about it.

same with resurrectedreplayer vs. dreamenddischarger and worldenddominator...

tbh I haven't listened to any of the nier osts overall yet, but I've also never heard a nier song that I don't like. So seeing Emil being so low on the list (great character btw) is sad.
inb4 all my top 5 ends up in the bottom half lol

azuarc posted...

So you've just recently come around to liking EXSPHERE then?

I actually have something to say about this, but I'll wait for it to appear in the ranking.

Up!

14. The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure Evolution | Seize the Truth!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxXfJR-6ry0
VGMC9 winner

Total ranking score: 502
Average ranking: 9.84
Standard deviation: 3.91
First place votes: 1
Last place votes: 1

1/16: azuarc
2/16:
3/16: hb, Mihark, ZaziGuado
4/16: xx521xx
5/16: Janus, Plasman
6/16: Eddv, Mega Mana, NBIceman, Prince46, Robazoid
7/16: Andylt, Pablo Smith
8/16: Collen, deo, FL81, pyresword, tgs2, Ulti
9/16: DireKrow, Haste, lefty, Team Rocket Elite, Waveshine
10/16: rwlh, tazzy
11/16: NFUN, Raetsel, TheArkOfTurus
12/16: Chaeix, DoctorJimmy, Korji, Mac Arrowny, vaati000
13/16: Disillusion, loweffortmemes, SSBM_Guy
14/16: DragonImps, golden009, MargaretAnnMid, Max Galactica, p0, sergio, Snake5
15/16: dowolf, JONA, KCF. Place, skulltrumpet
16/16: R-Man

dowolf (15/16): "This is fine, but it won?" is the general consensus for Seize the Truth. I agree with that.

loweffortmemes (13/16): Seize the Truth is pretty cool when listening to it, but I find it to be pretty forgettable, to the point that I can never remember exactly what it sounds like, even right after listening to it. There's certainly nothing bad about the song, but there are a lot of better Falcom songs out there.

rwlh (10/16): 8.5/10
#836
tags: rollicking, adventurous

On paper this doesnt seem like a champ I would like. However, I dont dislike all guitar-violin combo songs. Seize the Truth I actually find very refreshing. Its like biting into a big slice of orange cake, except the cake is Yukihiro Jindos head.

tazzy (10/16): Oh god, we hit the first song I couldnt remember the sound of. I feel like I shit on Falcom music a lot, though Ive reeled it in since back in these days. They make some damn good music, even if they all sound super similar, especially if you listen to any back-to-back. Seize the Truth isnt their best work, but its solid enough. The other Falcom champion is far superior and more of a proper representative of the highest quality to me.

Haste (9/16): New Ranking: 8.5 (9th place)
Rank the Retirees: 8.7 (64th place)

I dont care what anybody says. Seize the Truth! is iconic! Anyone remember when this faced AAI2s Pursuit ~ Wanting to to Find the Truth? I certainly remembered the Pursuit theme losing...getting TRIPLED, in fact. That was not a happy day for me, especially since it was, for a while, my all-time favorite Ace Attorney theme. I thought it was tripled by Magus Theme, but my memory was faulty. Magus Theme just happened to be in the adjacent match. These days I definitely prefer this over AAI2s Pursuit.

Good quasi-electronic orchestration. Piano/string synth sound good on the opening stuff with nice soft synths behind that sound like echoes (but not really echoes). This is one of those unusual times where I enjoy a simplistic beat, probably because I LOVE squashy snares (actually, maybe that's not even a snare...whatever!), and then at 0:22 everything drops out for pure electric guitar goodness! Talk about a classic melody among classic melodies! SO GOOD!!!! Octaves are good, and the violin hiding in there fills it out very well. I especially love when the section finishes on the IV-->V at 0:43, nice! The next section makes a good follow-up, and the violin duet works nicely for that purpose, and the synth strikes at the end of it fill me with excitement! Next, violin and guitar combine for a third conclusive section score yet another good melody! (its kind of a mesh of the first two sections!) Violins take the theme again after with cool percussive hits as backup at 1:44! Cool. After that, it's kind of a mixed reception from me. The repeats of the theme later aren't as cool on the violins, but its alright. The exception is at 2:07 where the piano expands its idea from the start, it works really well a capella with those delay echoes! The guitar solos got some virtuosity to it, fun stuff! Oh, yeah, and being an Evolution remake, I might as well mention the older version wow, its a lot different! It feels a lot rougher around the edges, and the energy is less. Darker, too.

Waveshine (9/16): 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 resurrectedreplayer

pyresword (8/16): This sure is a Trails battle theme. I do like the synthesizer they use at the beginning. Actually it's been a while since I've listened to the Evo version, but this does have the pretty violin that a lot of the Trails Evo songs use well. Think that places this above the original for sure.

Andylt (7/16): Note: the top 7 songs for me are all reasonably close to each other, this is a great group.
Truth hits the ground running with an excellent first 20 seconds. It then drops into something a little more standard for a minute, but picks up again when the little background wubs start coming in at 1:22. The string at 2:18 with the background slowly coming into focus is so cool. Is this really the basic battle theme? Badass.

Pablo Smith (7/16): Yeah, thats Trails of music alright. Not only that, its Trails of music that I'd rate higher than a 6, that's incredible. What to say about this track that doesn't apply to most Trails of music I've heard. I think that vague techno sound that shows up every now and then is a nice touch, it really makes me want to groove a bit when it comes up. For once, I actually enjoy the guitars for once, the little part at the end with them was solid. As always the violins are alright. For once, a Trails of song isn't putting me to sleep.

Janus (5/16): There's not much to the Canonically Worst VGMC Winner - it's really just a well put-together rock battle theme with a few catchy lines - but that's just fine by me.

hb (3/16): Please please PLEASE dont be last. Despite the circumstances behind its victory and
being a bog-standard Falcom song, its still super enjoyable to me. Jindos really the master of
combining violins and guitars in a super pleasing way, so this gets a high score from me.

azuarc (1/16): I know a lot of folks have at times called this the weakest champion, or are unhappy with this being 9's champion. I couldn't be happier. This was my nominee and I claim full responsibility for this song. While the self-professed Falcom fans were pushing tracks like Azure Arbitrator, I was loving the hell out of everything Seize the Truth does. Its energy, its instrumentation, its guitar solo, the way it has that KAH! sound in the percussion at select moments, it's all VERY me, circa 8 years ago. And, as you can see from my ranking, I haven't changed my opinion of it since.

Aw, I only ranked it 7th but I like Truth a lot. Surprised it's dropped so soon :(