Board 8 > [VGMC] Video Game Music Contest 17 - Bracket Discussion and Results Thread!!

(+) Yeah! (+)

holy shit

poor Satellite

I don't mind Specter but it feels like a straight up inferior version of the Layton that already retired so meh

Day 82 Results!

Frozen Grounds 26 v 34 Rainbow after snow
Back in Time 32 v 27 Sayonara (ALL PHASE MIX)

Congratulations to our C1 and C2 retirees!!!

beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
>R1: 32-24 Touhou 15.5: Antinomy of Common Flowers - Catastrophe in Bhava-agra ~ Wonderful Heaven
>>R2: 33-23 Tenchu: Stealth Assassins - Training Course
>>>R3: 32-23 Uncharted Waters - Portugal
>>>>R4: 34-26 Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2 - Frozen Grounds

Sonic R - Back in Time
>R1: 47-15 Advance Wars: Dual Strike - Sasha's Theme
>>R2: 33-25 Caravan Stories - Arlosa Mine
>>>R3: 35-20 Old World - Festival of Dionysus (Greece)
>>>>R4: 32-27 Blue Reflection - Sayonara (ALL PHASE MIX)

Day 83: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80526462

bad week for dowolf in vgmc.

great round 4 results so far

I think I've won all the r4 matches between "song I like" and "song I don't like", but I've lost most of the matches between "song I like" and "song I like more".

Guess I should call it a win overall.

Day 83 Results!

PowerOne 35 v 25 Astebreed ~ The Void
Rampage 25 v 34 Staff Roll

Congratulations to our C3 and C4 retirees!!!

Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne
>R1: 38-21 DraKoi - Divine Song of a Certain Dragon
>>R2: 41-18 MOTHER 3 - Battle Against The Masked Man
>>>R3: 30-26 The Caligula Effect 2 - Miss Conductor (Regret ver.)
>>>>R4: 35-25 Astebreed (PS4) - Astebreed ~ The Void

Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll
>R1: 35-28 Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course - Baking the Wondertart
>>R2: 38-21 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge - Panic In The Sky!
>>>R3: 32-30 Hatsune Miku -Project DIVA- Arcade version B - nATALIE
>>>>R4: 34-25 Nirvana Pilot Yume - Rampage

Day 84: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80527354

big wins for team structure

big wins for last year's A4

Welp.

The retirement rounds sure are a fun time to lose nine straight matches.

TheArkOfTurus posted...

The retirement rounds sure are a fun time to lose nine straight matches.

:(
Sorry to hear that. Losing tons in a row hurts. I know that feeling. Hopefully things will improve for you in the next few rounds or within the next vgmc. There's always next year! Not trying to be patronizing or anything but I genuinely feel bad seeing people sad about contests since I sure know that feeling. It's not fun. Best of luck to your future votes!

TheArkOfTurus posted...

The retirement rounds sure are a fun time to lose nine straight matches.

2-10 in retirement votes here, and one of them featured two songs I don't really care about

it's been a rough year

Technically 8-4 in retirement, but the 4 were the ones I cared about. So I guess I'm part of other people's problem when they're not being part of mine.

Day 84 Results!

Un Deux Trois 35 v 23 Song of Mourning: The Eternal Wind
An Empty Tome 24 v 35 Dancing Mad

Congratulations to our D1 and D2 retirees!!!

DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois
>R1: 34-22 Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers - Civilizations
>>R2: 27-27, 32-24 Fire Emblem: Three Houses - God Shattering Star (Rain)
>>>R3: 32-31 The Flintstones (SNES) - Unused Song 2
>>>>R4: 35-23 Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis - Song of Mourning: The Eternal Wind

Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad
>R1: 29-28 Missing-X-Link ~Ten no Yurikago, Togi no Hana~ - The Blue Sanctuary
>>R2: 32-30 Sleepwalker - City Centre (Construction Site)
>>>R3: 33-27 The World Ends with You - Calling
>>>>R4: 35-24 Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - An Empty Tome

Day 85: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80528162

Even though DM had close calls for the first two matches, it retiring still feels like a formality. Calling really should have gone against something else

Oh, man. I should have known that the idea of Song of Mourning being liked enough to retire was just wishful thinking.

i mean it's still going to lose next round (@dm)

Haste_2 posted...

Oh, man. I should have known that the idea of Song of Mourning being liked enough to retire was just wishful thinking.

I was really hoping it would Endeavour

barreldragon88 posted...

Even though DM had close calls for the first two matches, it retiring still feels like a formality. Calling really should have gone against something else

this, but with Blue Sanctuary. I definitely want to bring that back next year.

Day 85 Results!

Old L.A. 2040 26 v 28 Banbard (Piano Version)
Desert-Duo 22 v 31 To Far Away Times

Congratulations to our D3 and D4 retirees!!!

Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version)
>R1: 29-26 Planet DOB - sometimes i breathe
>>R2: 27-27, 32-24 Octopath Traveler - They Who Govern Reason
>>>R3: 30-27 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim - -{EDGE OF THE FUTURE}
>>>>R4: 28-26 Policenauts - Old L.A. 2040

Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
>R1: 39-18 Arcaea - Aegleseeker ("Afterworld" Full Version)
>>R2: 36-19 Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - The Grand Finale
>>>R3: 31-29 Pokmon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness - Dialga's Fight to the Finish!
>>>>R4: 31-22 [-Aka-] - Desert-Duo

Day 86: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80528989

At last, Round 4 is over! And we have our list of retirees for VGMC 17!!!

beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne
Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN
DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois
Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers
Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad
Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape
Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street
Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme
SimCity 4 - Epicentre
Sonic R - Back in Time
Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine?
Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert

Who will prevail and become our champion? The answer is but days away now....!!

I like a lot of the retirees but Aria Math and Mourning died and they were carrying my torches :(

NFUN posted...

I like a lot of the retirees but Aria Math and Mourning died and they were carrying my torches :(

I pictured this as the songs in the bracket were an angry mob and now they can't find their way in the dark or set fire to anything.

Are we doing rankings? Here's mine:

[10] Sonic R - Back in Time
[10] Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine?
[9.5] SimCity 4 - Epicentre
[9.5] Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - Electric Power Building
[9.0] Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN
[9.0] Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll
[8.5] The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert
[8.0] Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme
[7.5] beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
[7.5] Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street
[7.5] Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad
[7.5] Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape
[7.0] DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois
[6.5] Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version)
[6.5] Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
[5.5] Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers

Well, look at that! Interesting batch here, comprised mostly of stuff that I enjoyed. Pretty satisfied, though Old L.A. 2040 (another 10/10) falling short has got me down bad.

Alto's Odyssey - An Endless Desert
Alto's Odyssey: The Lost City - The Lost City
Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest
D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die - Theme of D4
Donkey Kong Country - Aquatic Ambiance
Kid Icarus: Uprising - Chapter 6: Dark Pit
Mad Rat Dead - Breath of Forest
Neotokyo - Tachi
Pokmon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX - Sky Tower
R4: Ridge Racer Type 4 - Move Me
Secret of Mana (2018) - Prophecy
Shatter - Argon Refinery
Threads of Fate - Passing through the Forest
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 - Mor Ardain ~ Roaming the Wastes
Xenoblade Chronicles X - THEMEX
YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of this World - Different World 1

I would take six of last year's retirees over any from this year. A weak field this year but nothing that I would rate poorly. Sunleth would be cutting it close though.

I like at least Dancing Mad, Sunleth, and Last Specter's Theme better than that entire list.

This is one of the best retiree groups we've ever had

Dancing Mad is the best song in our retiree list by far

Round 4 had potential, but uh...
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/3/AAUC3iAAEumn.png

whoops?
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/6/4/AAUC3iAAEumo.png

Awesome: Ragna Breakers, both Sonic Rs, Banbard, Moonlight Concert, Last Specter, 123

Great: NE Frost St, PowerOne, Sunleth, Epicentre, Rainbow

Decent: Staff Roll

Meh: Dancing Mad, SHININ QUEEN

Yuck: To Far Away Times

Overall really great, a much better crop than I felt like it would be considering CYFTS? was my only preferred retiree that actually made it. Really not feeling the 90s retirees not from Sonic R though. Kiiinda feels like some of these retirees got carried by the games they were in.

The VGMC Retirees playlists have been updated! The count is up to 244! Almost enough for a 256-song contest....

A-M: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtm-5nTauRmH9-omKRQf_FQI6GEE84aTu
N-Z: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtm-5nTauRmE4iHlAGmEBHXDf3Hs9T0zP

Hey, we have our first fully Sakimoto retiree in PowerOne! I'm pretty happy about that, except I prefer other Sakimoto music in Lost Forest and Edge of the Future, both of which lost opportunity for retirement in very close matches.... :(

Also, I'm getting kind of tired of iconic old classic games getting multiple retirees (Dancing Mad, To Fara Away Times, Staff Roll)... like, the music is good, but not THAT good! But I will note that Final Fantasy VI finally got something retired! It's a very popular soundtrack, so it's kind of surprising it took this long.

Chock another one up for Nekomata Master! He's up to four now, I think?

Sunleth Waterscape is our first post-Final Fantasy X retiree! (excluding spinoffs of older games like Crisis Core) The FFXIII games have excellent soundtracks, so I'm pretty happy about this one. I'm also happy that Hamauzu finally has a song on the list that's 100% his own.

Sonic R now has three retirees... how many games are there now with at least three reps....? Let's list them off:

Ar nosurge
Ar Tonelico II
Atelier Ayesha
Chrono Cross
Chrono Trigger
Donkey Kong Country
Final Fantasy X
NieR
Sonic R
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Terraria Calamity
Umineko When They Cry ~ Answer Arcs
Umineko When They Cry ~ Question Arcs
VVVVVV
Xenoblade Chronicles(?) - does the Definitive Edition count as being part of the first game?

That's fourteen or fifteen.

I wonder which single Umineko episodes have 3 retirees. Episode 1 does, and maybe 5 or 6 as well? Not sure which games Ricordando, Discolor, and Life are from.

About as decent as last year, but without any real standouts. I was really pulling for Lost Forest and Aria Math! Lots of positive and uplifting vibes in these songs. Lacking something edgy and aggressive though...I always like cheering for those songs in post-retirement rounds. Even a generic Falcom battle theme would've rounded things out nicely, but Dancing Mad phase 4 will have to do!

Nine of the sixteen R5'ers are "officially" in my top 100, so mathematically that works out pretty good for me since my overall win rate isn't that much over 50%. I'm listening with headphones this time... I kinda wish I had been using them in the contest matches, but whatever. Anyway, these are brand new scores, so it'll be interesting to compare them to the scores in my overall rankings.

AMAZING RETIREES:
Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine? (9.5)

EXCELLENT RETIREES:
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street (9.2)
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert (9.15)
Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad (9.1)
DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois (9.05)

GOOD RETIREES:
Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape (8.85)
beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow (8.8)
Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times (8.78)
Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne (8.75)
Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers (8.5)

DECENT RETIREES:
Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll (8.3)
Sonic R - Back in Time (8.1)
Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version) (8.0)

MEH RETIREES:
Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme (7.6)
SimCity 4 - Epicentre (7.5)

MEDIOCRE RETIREES:
Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN (6.8)

Overall, I like this group of winner more than last year's! Every time I hear the Latin section of Can You Feel the Sunshine I just want to EXPLODE. Also, I never knew just how great Un Deux Trois sounds with headphones. The whole sound of it really is an experience. =O (maybe I'm glad it beat Song of Mourning >_>) Also, I take back what I said about Dancing Mad being overrated....

beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN
DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois
Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers
Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape
Sonic R - Back in Time
Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine?
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert

I really like all of these - considerably better than the top half of last year's retiree field. Some songs that aren't really my thing (but still enjoy parts/aspects of) and a few that I simply Do Not Get but it feels like I have more to root for this year.

Sonic R finals let's go

Haste_2 posted...

The VGMC Retirees playlists have been updated! The count is up to 244! Almost enough for a 256-song contest....

Given that we'll probably have 16 new retirees next contest rather than 12, maybe this purely hypothetical contest could have the remaining slots filled with the 12 highest ranked non-retirees according to xstats across every past VGMC... could result in some pretty wild inclusions?

A clearly better option would be for me to choose a greatest hits of songs I nominated and got into the contest. You will all get to enjoy Banson's Aria, Riddick Dark Athena MIDI Credits, and Gnorman's Theme all over again.

I have made my opinions known enough already and I don't want to harp on it too much, but this is easily the worst set of retirees we've ever had

there is maybe one song I think would make a good winner (and it will probably lose its next match because that's just how this contest has gone)

MacArrowny posted...

Not sure which games Ricordando, Discolor, and Life are from.

8, 5, 6

used to be on the sheet but that info was lost in the name of standardization

1. Banbard (Piano Version)
2. Dancing Mad
3. Can You Feel the Sunshine?
4. PowerOne
5. The Last Specter's Theme
6. Back in Time
7. Un Deux Trois
8. Northeast Frost Street
9. Epicentre
10. Rainbow after snow
11. Moonlight Concert
12. Ragna Breakers
13. SHININ' QUEEN
14. Staff Roll
15. To Far Away Times
16. The Sunleth Waterscape

Pretty good retiree set considering how badly R3 went for me. Only the bottom two are songs I don't like much. The rest range from good to really great.

Great Songs (I will be happy if these win)
Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad
Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape
Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert

Good Songs
beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN
DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois
SimCity 4 - Epicentre
Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll

Pretty alright songs
Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street
Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme
Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers

Not Good Songs
Sonic R - Back in Time
Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine?

Better batch than I was expecting considering how much went wrong early in the retirement round.

Guess I can do this also

Great songs
Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad
Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street
Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme

Good songs and would be happy if they won
beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine?
Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert

Good songs but would be underwhelming winners
Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers

Okay songs
Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne
Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN
DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois
SimCity 4 - Epicentre
Sonic R - Back in Time

Not good songs
Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version)

1. Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad
2. The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert
3. SimCity 4 - Epicentre
4. Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme
5. Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version)
6. Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine?
7. Sonic R - Back in Time
8. Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN
9. Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street
10. DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois
11. Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape
12. beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
13. Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers
14. Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll
15. Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
16. Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne

untiered, but Ragna Breakers and up is all really good

Amazing songs
Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape
Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine?

Great songs
DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois
Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert
Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme
Sonic R - Back in Time

Good songs
Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers
Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll

OK songs
beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN
Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version)
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street
SimCity 4 - Epicentre

Bad songs
Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne

something like that

1. Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape
2. Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
3. Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN
4. DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois
5. Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne
6. Sonic R - Back in Time
7. Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version)
8. SimCity 4 - Epicentre
9. Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers
10. Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine?
11. Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme
12. Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street
13. Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll
14. beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
15. The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert
16. Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad

Rough gut rankings. With them all together like this it does make me feel better about the whole set.

answer to the question "would you feel good if these were the vgmc17 champion"

YES
Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne
Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN
Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version)
Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine?

Yes
beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape
Sonic R - Back in Time
Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll

Want to say no but it's grown on me
DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois

No
Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad
Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme
SimCity 4 - Epicentre
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert

NO
Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street

i do like all these songs tho lol

Never tried ranking the songs before, but I think my list would be something like this:

Can You Feel the Sunshine?
To Far Away Times
Ragna Breakers
Staff Roll
Back in Time
Banbard (Piano Version)
Northeast Frost Street
The Sunleth Waterscape
Un Deux Trois
Rainbow after snow
SHININ' QUEEN
PowerOne
Epicentre
Moonlight Concert
The Last Specter's Theme
Dancing Mad

Tier 1: Ragna Breakers, Rainbow after snow, Moonlight Concert, Northeast Frost Street, Back in Time, Can You Feel the Sunshine?, Un Deux Trois, To Far Away Times

Tier 2: SHININ' QUEEN, PowerOne, The Last Specter's Theme, Epicentre, Banbard (Piano Version), Staff Roll, Dancing Mad, The Sunleth Waterscape

Ragna Breakers is my highlight of the year, in round 1 it underwhelmed me but the more it went on the more its energy hooked me. Sonic R repeating its domination is amusing. Lowlight of the year: Final Fantasy. Scream and Civilizations got so robbed.

Sure I'll rank them and also be opinionated because why not, you can't stop me. Only my personal opinions contained within, I care not for your foolish 'objective' merits

Yay!

1. Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street (10)

Kirby's always been a close-second favorite vgm series for me (behind classic Mega Man) and Forgotten Land is my favorite ost of the decade so far. Funny that we get a Kirby retiree and it's not even one written by Ishikawa or Ando but I'm not complaining - this is a beautiful tune that fits the Kirby vibe perfectly with a soaring climax that threads the needle of not getting too sappy. Worth revisiting often, like the rest of this game.

2. Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad (9.5)

Probably the most overdue retiree in all of vgm. There is no One-Winged Angel without Dancing Mad. Probably the most ambitious piece of vgm yet written at the time of the game's release, I don't think anyone really had the idea to create an epic symphonic organ piece for a final boss theme until Uematsu did it here. The third movement is my favorite - it's just a really, really well composed fugue.

3. DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois (9.5)

Absolutely delightful, my favorite discovery in this year's bracket. A cut above all the other vocal tracks due partially to the performance which is cute without being cutesy, partially due to the composition which is immediately catchy and singable, and partially due to the absolutely sick rhythmic hook that's more creative than most vocal stuff in this contest. A gold standard other "cute songs sung by girls" songs should be trying to meet.

Cool

4. Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme (8.5)

It's Layton so you know exactly what you're going to get: it's time for the accordion player to bust out their accordion and get way into some SICK ACCORDION JAMS. Sometimes a sick accordion jam is just exactly what I want to hear.

5. Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll (7.5)

Probably wouldn't be here (on my list, or in the retirees at all) if it wasn't SM64, to be quite honest, but I've never believed in this being a pure meritocracy anyway. I've seen a lot of memes recreating music with a SM64 soundfont, which I don't really get because this game doesn't really sound that great, but this song still wins a lot of points for me for being instantly iconic and memorable. It's a jaunty little tune that perfectly closes out a great game.

6. Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne (7)

Pleasantly surprised to see this one retire just because this is probably the least melodic track in the bunch by a mile, and it's unusual to see slightly more environmental, vibes-based stuff go anywhere. PowerOne's neat. I feel like there should be more of a climax here to pay off the buildup but it's a minor complaint.

7. The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert (7)

It's growing on me. Maybe just because the characters in this game are REALLY CUTE? A well-deployed pan flute is a guilty pleasure. The uptempo waltz rhythm of this track gives it a little bit more energy than a lot of other vocal tracks and that goes a long way. I could see myself wanting to play this game due to the music.

Sure

8. Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times (6.5)

I'm mostly putting it this high out of respect for Chrono Trigger, one of the great masterpieces. To Far Away Times isn't the track I would have picked. It's a serviceable ending theme but it's not half as memorable as pretty much any other music in the game, just sort of a middling recapitulation of the game's other amazing themes. Gets a lot of leeway for me by association though because, yeah.

9. Sonic R - Back in Time (6)

Went into it expecting not to think much of it, ended up appreciating it as a minor guilty pleasure. I prefer it a fair bit over its counterpart for no particular reason given how similar they are - this one doesn't annoy me, Sunshine does.

10. Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape (6)

It's standard pop-ballad anime-opening fare, but it's Final Fantasy so they successfully class it up a little bit. Well constructed and high quality but nothing I'll remember or revisit.

11. Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers (6)

Pretty typical japanese pop-prog rock - an entertaing crowd pleaser, but more shallow than its flouishing guitar solos and brass sections imply. It's a crowd pleaser, but it's far from bootylicious.

12. Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN (5.5)

I feel like I should like this one more than I do, given that it's like the second or third oldest track out of the retirees, but I don't really "get it." It's pleasant, but sort of bland? I already don't remember it. I want to like it more than I actually do.

13. SimCity 4 - Epicentre (5)

That violin hook at the start is really cool and memorable - damn, they're going this hard in a SimCity song? - but then the whole thing kinda doesn't really build on that and just sorta futzes off in another direction entirely and never finds its feet. If I just listened to the first 30 seconds I'd be convinced it's cool as hell but based on the whole thing I'm not really sure why it's here. It's perfectly fine as ambient music for a SimCity game but difficult to sit through the entirety of.

Meh

14. beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow (4.5)

Doesn't do anything wrong but does absolutely nothing for me. Just another beatmania track in a sea of things that sound exactly the same as this.

15. Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine? (4)

I honestly have no idea why I don't really like this track much. Just find the main chorus sort of cloying in a strange way. The song is talking about sunshine but the melody sounds really 'dark' and it kinda throws me off. Can't say I'm a huge fan but I might be being sort of unfair towards it.

Boo

16. Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version) (1.5)

I wasn't sure if this was a joke when I first heard it or not. The bagpipe lead... really sounds like that? It sounds like a MIDI that they accidentally exported with the wrong instrument data. Aside from that, some serious MIDI disease in the composition; it's okay to NOT play a note, sometimes. I get that this is probably meant for a rhythm game so it's supposed to be a bit of a notestorm but that doesn't have to mean I have to like it. A really difficult listen.

pyresword posted...

Guess I can do this also

Great songs
Final Fantasy VI - Dancing Mad
Final Fantasy XIII - The Sunleth Waterscape
Kirby and the Forgotten Land - Northeast Frost Street
Professor Layton and the Last Specter - The Last Specter's Theme

Good songs and would be happy if they won
beatmania IIDX 20 tricoro / jubeat saucer - Rainbow after snow
Sonic R - Can You Feel the Sunshine?
Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll
The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince - Moonlight Concert

Good songs but would be underwhelming winners
Chrono Trigger - To Far Away Times
Destiny Child - Ragna Breakers

Okay songs
Breath of Fire V: Dragon Quarter - PowerOne
Cleopatra Fortune - SHININ' QUEEN
DEEMO II - Un Deux Trois
SimCity 4 - Epicentre
Sonic R - Back in Time

Not good songs
Iseki-jima to Nanatsu no Mahou - Banbard (Piano Version)

This is like almost my exact list if you switch Sunleth with Un Deux Trois and swap the two Sonic R songs. Amazing