Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 14! Tokyo/Subhuman Self, SHAKE/KoaFC, Banbard Chroma/LID Wandervogel

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to Video Game Music Contest 17, 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=477304
Contest info sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SAJKYJmYhccLvbf_H-5uSA7-eMwXfW8k1q74Qho1bLU
Contest discussion thread: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80433657
Main bracket playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3m7iohpL0wlcxj-kHQRU1yHo-kpMxGe
Last years spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_IU5iCFTM_4WEx8ZWKwznMz5v2tarCKh1Ag0mxIgAes
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!

.

Match 1

Shin Megami Tensei IV - Tokyo
Composer: Ryota Kozuka
Loop Point: 1:25
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDsDYCI3fyc

Guilty Gear -Strive- - Love the Subhuman Self
Composer: Daisuke Ishiwatari
Loop Point: 5:08
https://youtu.be

Shin Megami Tensei IV - Tokyo
Cladun: This is an RPG - Knight of a Foreign Country
ChainBeeT - Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

WHAT is this Banbard remix and WHY does it work so well jesus christ

very easy day, matches 1 and 3 for the right reason and match 2 for the wrong one (though KoaFC is good)

Tokyo
SHAKE YA BODY
Banbard (Chroma Remix

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

I would probably vote for the last 4 minutes of Shake Ya Body but the first 7 are just dragging on and on; Knight delivers consistently instead and it's very sweet as usual of Cladun.
Banbard is really damn awesome, winner material right here. And Tokyo is certainly ageless.
A pretty good day all around, feels good when I get to do a full review

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

GUILTY GEAR -STRIVE- - Love the Subhuman Self
Cladun: This is an RPG - Knight of a Foreign Country
LET IT DIE - LET IT DIEWandervogel

Love the Subhuman Self >> Knight of a Foreign Country > LET IT DIEWandervogel > Banbard (Chroma Remix) > Tokyo >> SHAKE YA BODY

For the record, everything but SHAKE YA BODY was an 8 or higher, and Love the Subhuman Self is my 5th favorite video game song ever. VERY good day.

Very tough day today and I can see myself easily voting for all but one of these, but I think today I've gotta go for:

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

Guilty Gear -Strive- - Love the Subhuman Self
Cladun: This is an RPG - Knight of a Foreign Country
Let It Die - LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

odd day

Tokyo
Foreign
Remix

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Tokyo
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Love the Subhuman Self
SHAKE YA BODY
LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

I wasn't really sure what to pick in match 3, but then 2:28-2:44 happened in LET IT DIE

Love the Subhuman Self
SHAKE YA BODY
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

< P0's Top 16 >
9.3 (1 left):
9.1 (1 left):
8.9 (0 left): Crocus
8.8 (1 left):
8.7 (0 left): Purna
8.4 (1 left): Journey To Candle Hill
8.3 (4 left):
8.2 (2 left): Nilah, the Joy Unbound / SHAKE YA BODY
8.1 (1 left):

HOUSE MUSIC MY BELOVED it makes so much sense to combine house with samba I wish I'd known about it earlier. My first thought when I heard this song was ENERGY by Disclosure (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwO6hyeNGlE) but I think Brazil house/electro-samba is a more accurate reference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwSKH_dBhg0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdulSq0V7fc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tR_VwUzTJ3o

gah it's so good thank you Brazil

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

Banbard sounding better now than during noms, but it's still not enough to change my vote here.

1. ???
2. Xenogears - One Who Bares Fangs at God
3. ???
4. ???
5. League of Legends - Nilah, The Joy Unbound
6. ???
7. ???
8. Mortal Kombat (Sega CD) - Techno Syndrome
9. Alto's Odyssey - A Moment of Tranquility
10. Spark the Electric Jester 3 - Utopia Shelter ~ In the Depths
11. ???
12. ???
13. Deus Ex - The Synapse - Ambient
14. ???
15. ???
16. ???
17. Legaia 2: Duel Saga - Lost Forest
18. ???
19. Chrono Trigger - Yearnings of the Wind
20. ???
21. ???
22. ???
23. ???
24. Cladun: This is an RPG - Knight of a Foreign Country
25. ???
26. ???
27. Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Apex of the World (Rain)
28. osu! - escape (through the looking - glass, and what alice found there)
29. Galactic Pinball - MOONMAN'S Fandango
30. ???

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

i am noteably not big at all on strive, but my GOD is subhuman self such a standout in that soundtrack. incredible song that i only get bigger on every single listen

From TunnelScene:

Tokyo (Shin Megami Tensei IV)
Knight of a Foreign Country (Cladun)
DIE~Wandervogel~ (Let It Die)

the piano chords and sound design about a minute in go Tokyo sell me on this one. I definitely prefer the moodier side of smt series music, which this, while only lightly--I'd certainly count as. it's beautiful honestly

edgy aggressive music is also good. honestly a close match. difficult to judge such contrasting music

although I like edm, sometimes I do have the raetsel-like reaction of finding it difficult to appreciate when dance music has nothing but the pulse to focus on. SOMEHOW I do NOT have that problem with this at all even tho it is quite sparse. even with a 11min runtime. lots of cool effects in here

I love asturias!!!!!!!!

mozell is so funny. I love glass he should collab with Philip glass

the grand and strong tough emotionsong

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Guilty Gear -Strive- - Love the Subhuman Self
Cladun: This is an RPG - Knight of a Foreign Country
ChainBeeT - Banbard (Chroma Remix)

an 11:36 length is one surefire way to bump indifference to disdain

Shin Megami Tensei IV - Tokyo
Lumines - SHAKE YA BODY
ChainBeeT - Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Megami
Kishi
Baado

good songs today. subhuman prob my least fav today and i'm just neutral at worst on it really, putting aside the fact that i don't like it (or the rest of strive) as much as classic gg soundtracks on average. lumines is aggressively latin in a surprisingly underrepresented way (for here) so i will say unlike most koafc voters that i would be very cool with it winning too. wandervogel is super good tbh, shame about its draw

Love the Subhuman Self
SHAKE YA BODY
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Love the Subhuman Self
SHAKE YA BODY
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

Tokyo: I think I like Tokyo more than any other SMTIV song I've heard (even if the mixing is still pretty bad). Nice melody, and the underlying ostinato is pretty cool. Good song.

Love the Subhuman Self: I've expressed my thoughts on this song plenty on the Supra server, but this is by far my least favorite song of the day. I don't like it when metal just assaults you with non-stop sixteenth note grunges and kicks, nor am I much a fan of the accompanying growls to AISHA's vocals. The piano ballad section at 4:04 is the only redeeming factor for me, and it's so unfortunately short.

SHAKE YA BODY: Maybe one day the people will understand the beauty of house music. I love slow burn songs like this. The super gradual buildup over the full 11:36 runtime is more than worth it to me, and it keeps my attention the whole time. Such great instrumentation with the Brazilian percussion combined with the piano, acoustic guitars, and vocal samples. Fantastic song.

Knight of a Foreign Country: This one's pretty cool too with its celtic rock vibes. Nice synths, violin, and melody. Good song.

Banbard (Chroma Remix): I do like the piano version of this more, but this version's pretty awesome too. Love the synths and piano in this one more than anything. Great rhythms and the Banbard composition by itself is great work by mozell, so it's hard to go wrong while remixing it.

LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~: I like the vocals in this one, although the main chorus phrase is repeated a few too many times. It's still a pretty good rock ballad all things considered.

I liked 5 of the 6 songs today, which is very good.

Votes:
Tokyo
SHAKE YA BODY
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Tokyo
SHAKE YA BODY
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

I also really like Love the Subhuman Self!

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

Tokyo
SHAKE YA BODY
LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

Tokyo is solid, but Subhuman Sold represents essentially all that I dislike about new GG music. Takes away the fun, cheesy melodies and replaces it with lame post-grunge sounding drivel. I DO NOT LIKE it

SHAKE YA BODY is so fucking cool. The way each element is slowly introduced and given time to marinate before eventually coalescing into this super groovy dance is awesome. When this shit hits in Lumines is the best since every spin or movement eeks out a "SHAKE" or "BODY". GOOD STUFF, though probably should've nominated a shorter mix but also fuck that. Shame that Knight also slaps so I can't be mad at everyone for voting for it.

This version of Banbard ain't it. I'd argue it is bad, but instead I'm just going to say it and not explain myself. Let It Die doesn't do much for me but it's a nice little bop

Love the Subhuman Self
SHAKE YA BODY
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

i am drinking coffee and it is about to rain. tokyo is a really good song for these moods. it just feels moody, dour, kind of bordering on hopeless. very fitting for smt, id think, and i don't even have to play the game to know this!!!

holy fuck subhuman self is still a banger. im not really a big fan of metal music, but i like how ggs does it??? i feel like the addition of vocals gives it a new layer and doesn't make the songs feel as "noisy" to me ...idk is good both of these are good. im happy with either.

i will be honest idk why there's such a stigma against long songs. i was a bit lukewarm during noms phase, but that was due to the pressure of getting through so many songs at once, as well as juggling my supports ... etc. i admit i was worried when the vocals kicked in, because while i don't mind long songs, sometimes (but not always) repetitive voices just get on my nerves. but no, this song is good. much more enjoyable without having like 100 other songs i have to listen to in like two days. it does lose me a little when the SHAKE YA BODYs come back, but it luckily doesn't overstay its welcome. not the biggest fan of the fake-out either, but for such a long song it isn't really a big deal. unlike tokyo this isn't coffee and rain music and im giggling at the contrast ngl

i have such a soft spot for celtic music. those strings and that rhythm ugh yes. i love how dark it sounds in places too? the intro just feels oppressive to me in a specific way. not as close match 2 but still good.

the last 40-50 seconds of this version of banbard is my favourite part. wish there was more of that, really. but besides that, like it's banbard, of course it's good. that's a no brainer really. wtf is a banbard, anyway?

the intro to wandervogel before the lyrics kick in are promising. and the vocals are a bit underwhelming to me in comparison oops. as seems to be the case with a lot of vocal tracks, this grows on me as i go along.

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Tokyo
Knight
Banbased

having almost the entire first minute be a loop of the same two beats was definitely a decision. i don't mind repetition too much and I like trance but come on. i'm going insane here please stop oh god. I look forward to reading dowolf's review of this. the only reason I'm still listening to this instead of taking the L and abstaining is that I need to be able to vote against it. I respect what it wanted to do, I don't respect being forced to listen to 11 minutes of a song that's maybe a minute of actual content looped

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Love the Subhuman Self
Knight of a Foreign Country
Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Awesome first match. I've been into Tokyo for a long time, and Subhuman Self is one of my favorite discoveries this contest. I could go either way, really.

Shake Ya Body is pretty enjoyable in-game, but it does nothing for me on its own. Too long and repetitive. KoaFC is vaguely annoying, but in a good way, if that makes sense.

Really love the opening to this Banbard. Wandervogel feels like fairly standard Jpop, but not in a bad way.

Tokyo = Love the Subhuman Self > Knight of a Foreign Country =Banbard (Chroma Remix) > Wandervogel > Shake Ya Body

Guilty Gear -Strive- - Love the Subhuman Self
Cladun: This is an RPG - Knight of a Foreign Country
ChainBeeT - Banbard (Chroma Remix)

Subby
Country
Banbardy

no time for monologues today might add some later we'll see. Last match very close, just feeling banbard today I guess.

Tokyo
Knight of a Foreign Country
LET IT DIE~Wandervogel~

The first section of Subhuman Self is by far the best, especially 1:01-16 with the guitar riffs punctuating the vocals. Not a fan of the added scream vocals or the instrumental section later, but whenever the main vocals are on its great.

I felt like I was losing my mind listening to SHAKE YA BODY, maybe there were some good parts in the second half, I dont want to think about it anymore.

Banbards synths are fun.

Voted Hungary. I would probably go with What Im Made of > Menu > Hungary > Main Theme. Maybe Menu first depending on my mood. Ranking songs is hard.