Advanced
I made it to the round 2 version. My reward was stickers I could print off at one of those stations they had at blockbuster 12 years ago.
I'll drop the 2nd bomb with one of the best pokemon music themes:
Pokemon Black/White - Route 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=465uaHc-r6A
Nameless Rocket Admin: Giovanni, Giovanni, please come back!
Gold: Hey. Stop that.
Nameless Rocket Admin: okay.
Actually if you play Heart Gold or Soul Silver and do the Celebi event [Spoiler for Pokemon Heartgold, click to show]you discover that Giovanni WAS going to come back because of that radio signal, but was only stopped because Gold was in two places at once due to Celebi Ex Machina and defeated Giovanni before he could respond to Archer's signal. [/spoiler] Therefore Archer's plan was actually too good, he was just foiled by absolute bullshit!
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"Because nothing says "level 80 dark elf warlock" like "radical 19th century feminist"!" -Ogordemir99 on World of Wollstonecraft
Liberal Arts Major
Rank | User | Average Score | Total Score | Number of Songs
1 [1] (+0) | xp.............. | 6.8800 (+0.2209) | 172.0 (+25.5).. | 25 (+3)
2 [2] (+0) | Epyon........ | 6.4000 (+0.4000) | 64.0 (+28.0).... | 10 (+4)
3 [3] (+0) | CG7........... | 5.8283 (+0.0591) | 577.0 (+352.0) | 99 (+60)
4 [4] (+0) | GameCobra | 5.5405 (+0.0000) | 205.0 (+0.0)... | 37 (+0)
5 [5] (+0) | Kodan........ | 5.2500 (+0.0000) | 10.5 (+0.0)..... | 2 (+0)
No leaderboard changes here. Only Epyon, CG7, and myself had any new songs since the last time, and all of us had our averages improve, although it was close for CG7. Epyon technically closed some of the distance between his average and mine - a result of him having less songs in total - in spite of the fact that my new additions average to an 8.5 and his averaged to a 7.0.
It was because Epyon had less songs than me (and especially CG7) that I personally thought he'd end up in first at the end, and by a bit, but I managed to keep a solid lead, and in fact, even had I had no new songs, my score from the previous leaderboard would have held up. [/spoiler]
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
This doesn't read as VG music to me. Oddly that works in its favor, though, because I have fairly different taste in video game music and "normal" music (at least I think I do), even though the distinction is entirely pointless. But yeah. I love the lyrics/vocals here. I think not being understandable actually works in its favor, too. Aside from that... I don't know. It just really works. There are a few parts I'm not crazy about, but even those compare favorably to a lot of the field, so...
EXEC_SPHILIA the best.
Rating: 9/10
too low
This starts out pretty mediocre, then a minute in it suddenly becomes like top of top tier... tier... for a while.
When I think of Here I Come, I don't even think of the other parts, it's all about that one section!
Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia - EXEC_RE=NATION/.
...Heh, this is like... the exact opposite of EXEC_SPHILIA. I feel like it's more my type of song (because this one actually does read as VG music, somehow)... And now I don't know which one to put ahead, because they're both about equally great, but in different categories. Or something.
EXEC_SPHILIA is almost certainly my favorite "faster" paced song.
EXEC_RE=NATION is unquestionably my favorite "slower" song.
I swear, I'm trying to think of bad things to say about this, but the only thing I can come up with is that the parts with the backup vocals are just slightly worse than the parts with only the lead vocalist. But then I worry that if they weren't there, the song would suffer without them, so I'm just going to throw up my heads and give this the same score as EXEC_SPHILIA.
>You say EXEC_SPHILIA/. has some parts you're not crazy about.
>You say EXEC_RE=NATION/. barely has anything you can do that for.
>Rated the same
ffffffffffff
Rating: 9/10
I'm crushed! I thought I had a legitimate shot at getting a 10/10 with EXEC_RE=NATION/. At the very least, I thought it would beat out all my other songs (and I think by extension every song you rated, because I think I hold the only 9.5 ratings you have)
...But Karma over RE=NATION?
Black Rose over RE=NATION?
...i just don't know what to think about that.
;_;
>_>
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
Okay, this is weird. This managed to grab my attention, which typically means it has entered the 6/10 zone as a worst case scenario. ...But then it proceeds to find ways to lose it later on (and pick it up a little later, and then lose it again.) So I really have to go with 5.5/10 here. ..I really wasn't expecting something like that to happen at all.
with one of the best pokemon music themes
...this is not an impressive assertion, tbqh.
Pokemon Black/White - Route 10
...Oh hey, this is so much better than practically all of the Pokemon songs I had to endure during the 253 song commentary project of mine. I mean, I'm not sure I'd take it over that one HG/SS Route Theme, and "so much better than practically all of the Pokemon songs..." is not saying very much here. I'm going to say 5.5/10, probably on the higher end of that though. 6/10 isn't impossible, but I feel it's unlikely.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
One of my favorites from Black/White, along with the credits music, Driftveil City, and... there might have been one more, but I'm blanking on it now.
Rating: 7/10
Actually if you play Heart Gold or Soul Silver and do the Celebi event
...
......
u serious, HGSS. That doesn't even make sense. <_<
>You say EXEC_SPHILIA/. has some parts you're not crazy about.
>You say EXEC_RE=NATION/. barely has anything you can do that for.
>Rated the same
ffffffffffff
Actually, it's practically the same for both. If I was really, really picky, I could find parts that are slightly less amazing. I just phrased it differently, and EXEC_SPHILIA probably has more parts like that, but again, I'm talking about being really, really picky. More so than I was for any other song.
I'm crushed! I thought I had a legitimate shot at getting a 10/10 with EXEC_RE=NATION/.
Nothing had a legitimate shot of getting 10/10, and that includes everything I posted. <_<
...But Karma over RE=NATION?
Black Rose over RE=NATION?
Karma was in the best position any song could POSSIBLY be in, being really good and also showing up way before I got bitter about this whole task. It probably has a slightly inflated score, but then, that's why I say these scores are arbitrary. >_>
Black Rose is just pro.
Okay, this is weird. This managed to grab my attention, which typically means it has entered the 6/10 zone as a worst case scenario. ...But then it proceeds to find ways to lose it later on (and pick it up a little later, and then lose it again.) So I really have to go with 5.5/10 here. ..I really wasn't expecting something like that to happen at all.
Yeah, Unwavering Resolve is kinda weird like that. It's another one where I like the beginning the most.
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbLQhzsJG0A
Fills your dreams, disturbs your slumber, / Lost your way, a fallen knight...
I love how this song basically spoils the entire plot of Final Fantasy X in its lyrics (if you can understand them, which is easier said than done). Other than that, this is one of those ones that doesn't read as VG music to me, and where that works to its advantage, although it's really not in line with my traditional taste in music either way. I do think it perfectly fits Jecht and/or Tidus' Zanarkand, and highlights the difference in culture between Spira and Tidus' Zanarkand. And makes me wish the game had spent more time at the latter, because I find it possibly more interesting than Spira. What I don't like about this song is that section at 1:26, because I pretty much never like sections like that in songs.
"wat language is this song?"
"English"
~possibly the best exchange between two YouTube commenters of all time
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
New Moderator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Wiu8nWMb04
I watched a Let's Play of Gitaroo Man some time ago. This was my favorite piece from it. As the name of the game suggests, the player's role is to play the guitar, so of course the guitar is really noticeable here. It'd be seen as out of place in most games, but in Gitaroo Man, it's definitely a climactic and good piece.
The Legendary Theme (Acoustic) - Gitaroo Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zacUcCCOoRw
This actually plays earlier in the game, but I am not sure which is the remix of the other... Either way, this is definitely calmer and fitting for the scene it appears in. I prefer the other version more, but both have their positive points for different reasons.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Liberal Arts Major
Oh man. Otherworld does have some quality parts in it. But then 1:26 happens and the song spirals so far downhill. Before that it might be 6/10. But after that... 5/10 overall, and I almost wonder if I'm being generous here.
The Legendary Theme - Gitaroo Man
Another song meets the vaunted 6/10 barrier. The Legendary Theme doesn't really do anything wrong except fail to really get my attention, so it's a rather high-end 5.5/10 song.
The Legendary Theme (Acoustic) - Gitaroo Man
Don't like this is as much as the last one, I could say it's a low-end 5.5/10, but in reality, I think it falls down to 5/10, if not lower. It doesn't do anything I find "bad" but it's just... not nearly as good.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWUq9mHgF5A&fmt=18
With Here I Come, I said that although it was my favorite Phase Theme, it was probably my second favorite battle theme in .hack//G.U.. This is the one that probably passes it, but I'm not always too consistent on this. Or in general sometimes - take Ar tonelico, EXEC_RE=NATION is probably my favorite AT1 Hymn now and second only to EXEC_SPHILIA, and at the time I think the write-up assumed EXEC_RE=NATION was my second favorite Ar tonelico I hymn (or that it was really close), and anyway...
Full Force is another "boss theme that doesn't sound like your standard boss theme" to me. I think it's "closer" to one than Here I Come was, but that's not saying too much - and really, a lot of .hack themes do similar things. In any event, I definitely like the change from what I'd typically expect. Full Force plays in a really hectic battle that I'm sure I'd appreciate more if my entire party wasn't either maxed out at Level 150, or really close to it, because I went in overlevelled and was never in danger. If/When I replay G.U. next I'll probably have to try to keep from doing that so I can have some more epic battles - it's not unprecedented for me, some of my most fondly remembered boss battles occurred when I went in totally underlevelled and engaged in hour+ long struggles against bosses, even if I ended up losing in the end because of it (See: Persona 3, Xenosaga III (Multiple Times)) Curiously, all the the highlights in this kind of thing happened in battles with excellent music. Though I wonder if it was the music is part of what made it more memorable for me and not really a coincidence after all. I really like the "vocal" effects in the song, both at the beginning when they aren't really "words" or sound like it, and then later around 0:38 and 0:51 when it sounds closer to actual words (but nothing I can make out, or even what language it is, if any.)
As for my favorite part. Hmm... This is actually pretty difficult, because there are 3 candidates. ...Which, honestly, can practically be rephrased as "Any given part of the song" the part that stands out the most from the rest of the song is, IMO, 1:06 - 1:21, but I don't know if that makes it my favorite. I think it's a beautiful section, but... I also love the part before it, which is roughly 0:36 - 1:06. But I also like the part before that which is basically 0:07 - 0:36. Really, if the song has any weak points, I might say it's the first seven seconds and almost attribute it to the song having to "start up." Because it doesn't really let up from there. If I had to pick one of those three sections, it'd basically be at random and just to have picked one, but let's say it's the 0:36 - 1:06 section for now.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
New Moderator
Editor
"Hear me, Dracula! I am the morning sun, come to vanquish this horrible night!"
Such a good scene.
I like the part from about thirty seconds in to a minute, and then some really bizarre noises enter the piece. I am willing to bet they add to the atmosphere, but without context they sound rather silly. I almost want to identify the one at a minute in as a loopy siren. I don
Liberal Arts Major
Rank | User | Average Score | Total Score | Number of Songs
1 [-] (+6) | Kodan.........| 8.5000 (+8.5000) | 8.5 (+8.5).......... | 1 (+1)
2 [1] (-1) | xp...............| 7.3913 (+0.3288) | 170.0 (+113.5)... | 23 (+15)
3 [2] (-1) | CG7............| 6.6875 (-0.2054) | 160.5 (+64.0).......| 24 (+10)
4 [3] (-1) | Epyon.........| 6.3750 (-0.1250) | 25.5 (+6.0)..........| 4 (+1)
5 [4] (-1) | Kenri...........| 5.4615 (-0.2971) | 213.0 (+46.0)..... | 39 (+10)
6 [5] (-1) | GameCobra | 4.7273 (-0.0727) | 52.0 (+4.0)..........| 11 (+1)
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Page 1 Total Average Score: 5.9571
Page 2 Total Average Score: 6.1724
Page 3 Total Average Score: 6.3684
Topic Total Average: 6.1716 (-.----)
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Well, Kodan appears on the leaderboard, and takes first place, aided enormously by the fact that he is only scored for Scars of Time at this point, giving him an average of 8.5. Other than that, there were no changes in the leaderboard placings relative to everyone who had been on it before.
However, everyone had their averages go down, with the exceptions of myself, and obviously Kodan. Special note here for Kenri, who had an average of only 4.6 for Page 3, however, in this case he was kind of "shielded" by having had the most songs, so while it brought his score down more than anyone, his average can't fall as fast. Problem is, that works in the reverse too, so it'll be harder to recover from. On the other side, excepting Kodan, who obviously had an 8.5 average for the page, the next highest was myself, who had an average of 7.5667 for Page 3, over a full point higher than the next closest Page 3 average (CG7 who had an average of 6.4)
Now, I have to think my score is going to start dropping from here in, because to keep it increasing the threshold I need to pass on each page keeps rising.
As for Page 3 itself, it was the highest ranking page yet, in spite of the fact that it lowered the average of most of the users on it. I also added an average for the entire topic so far, which amusingly enough is currently almost equal to the Page 2 average. [/spoiler]
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
This is actually really good. I think it would be even better with vocals, but well, vocals are such a mixed bag that I can't exactly deduct points for that or anything.
Rating: 7.5/10
The Legendary Theme (Acoustic) - Gitaroo Man
...I feel like I should like this more, but it moves at such a glacial pace that I just end up getting sort of bored. And then the whistling comes in, and I don't particularly care for it. It's another one that I think would benefit from lyrics.
Rating: 4/10
.hack//G.U. vol 3//Redemption - Full Force
This starts out distinctly "okay", and I was worried I'd have to give it a low score. Then the vocals kick in, and even though they're really subtle, they help the piece out tremendously. It stays quality from there until the end. Despite that, there have been quite a few songs posted that I've just liked more than it, though it still gets a really high score.
Rating: 8/10
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
Rating: 8/10
Well, I was expecting 8/10, so I can't really complain even though I think it's too low!
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlB-WvA4kBg&fmt=18
My second favorite Phase Theme from G.U., which occasionally overtakes Here I Come in my mind. While nothing in Location of Power beats Here I Come's best part, I feel like Location of Power doesn't have any weak parts on the same level as Here I Come's weaker sections. I was kind of surprised, and pleased, that this theme showed up so early, relatively, in the series. For a theme this good, I wouldn't have thought "first of the games" but hey, no complaints here!
This song does a whole lot of things I like, especially those vocal effects and those bells. Oh man, that's like easy mode to being a great song to me. There is a section where both of those kind of stop for a little, and I suppose that has to be the weakest part of the song for me, but pretty much every part of the song is so strong that it still does quite well even then, even if I probably prefer all the other parts to it.
Okay, favorite part, I'm going to say 0:42 - 1:15. Now in most songs, I'd probably consider that two different parts, with the dividing point being when the bells come in marking a new section, but for Location of Power I like both the "slow down" and then of course the bells, and since they happen back to back, I'm considering it one section for the whole "pick a favorite part" thing.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpT7pmNe0wM
The music in Kirby's Epic Yarn is almost all really chilled out, to a point of practical nonexistence. It works fairly well in-game, I think (a lot of people disagree), but it's not anywhere near as good as the normal Kirby series music.
Except this track.
This one hits a good mix of chilled out and catchy, which is nice, because it fits the levels where it plays. They're shoot-'em-up levels where you've transformed into a spaceship, and they're pretty much the easiest, most relaxing shoot-'em-up levels ever, in any game. Even easier than the rest of the game. But they're still shmups, so you want SOME kind of relatively fast-paced music. Overall, I just think it works really well - one of the few tracks in KEY that I'd say matches the soundtracks in older Kirby games.
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
Huh... You know, this isn't terrible, but I feel like at best this maintains "average" but there are parts that drop under that, so I'm going to call it at 4.5/10, but it is close to a 5/10, I guess. Maybe. Nothing remarkable in this song though, IMO. Kind of like this write-up.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
New Moderator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsvHQCTgHvg&feature=related
Great, it's one of 'those' pieces where you can't separate one from the other. There are two jetpack levels that are IN SPACE and these are the pieces for both. I only wanted one, but oh well. I'm not sure exactly where I stand on them, but they have an odd catchy feeling. I thought they were unique in how they turned out, so I decided to go with those. (As if any Crash game has a 'fantastic' soundtrack to pick from, lololol.)
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Liberal Arts Major
Huh. This started off not so good, then got a little better, enough to probably make a 4.5, although I really think other parts of this wanted me to lower that score again.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=774LdRLqWsM&fmt=18
I haven't actually played NieR yet, so this write-up is probably going to be shorter than the more recent ones I've done. I do plan on playing NieR soon, but I have a few other games higher than it in backlog before I do.
Anyway, Song of the Ancients / Fate is just an excellent song all around and instantly became one of my favorites when I first heard it. It really starts to pick up once the vocals start and pretty much doesn't let up from there. My favorite part is definitely when the vocals "restart" at 2:45 - 3:15, but pretty much every part with the vocals is just great.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
Really good. Very desperate-sounding, which I like. Again, really like the vocals. Ends up being a high 8.5 or low 9. I'd probably lean towards 9, but ehhh...
Rock It/Pack Attack - Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
...This is weird. It keeps me interested most of the time, but I can't say I ever particularly like it. It also sounds really cluttered at a few points; I'd definitely like it more if, especially around the middle, it was just a bit simpler. I'll go with 4/10.
NieR - Song of the Ancients / Fate
Another really good one that I would be happy to listen to. On the other hand, it doesn't hit me with the same impact a lot of the other songs with lyrics you've posted recently have. It's really hard for me to rate this; even more than with other music, I'm completely lost when trying to objectively rate songs with lyrics, and end up having to go with my gut a lot more. So, I think 7.5/10 here.
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
Current lowest scoring song: Screaming Target with 1.75
xp's current lowest scoring song: Disgaea Rhapsody with 5.0
Kenri's current lowest scoring song: Star Wolf Theme (Assault) with 2.5
Celtic's current lowest scoring song: Forest Temple with 3.0
GameCobra's current lowest scoring song: Screaming Target with 1.75
Epyon's current lowest scoring song: Dark World with 5.25
Current highest scoring song (min. 2 scores): TIE between Bloody Tears (Simon's Quest), Hikari, Simple and Clean, Promise (Reprise), and Awakening, all at 8.5
xp's current highest scoring song: TIE between Hikari, Simple and Clean, and Awakening, all at 8.5
Kenri's current highest scoring song: Bloody Tears (Simon's Quest) at 8.5
Celtic's current highest scoring song: Heartful Cry at 8.0
GameCobra's current highest scoring song: Waterfall at 7.5
Epyon's current highest scoring song: Promise (Reprise) at 8.5
The current game with the most songs posted is: TIE between Kingdom Hearts and Tales of Symphonia, both at 5
Excluding variations: Final Fantasy Tactics, at 3
The current series with the most songs posted is: Final Fantasy, at 10
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDVMfUFs_jo
Now here's something different. I know nothing about this game, never even heard of it before, and only know about this piece because I stumbled onto it while on YouTube. It's not amazing, but I think it's distinctly okay enough for me to post.
I'm not exactly sure why, but this always reminds me of the kind of thing you might hear a live band playing at a jazz club, which is a positive quality to have if that wasn't clear. On the negative side, it takes quite a while to get going, and can sound a bit busy at times. I really like that guitar though.
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"There's a pony in the shop, but don't buy it. It might do something unfortunate to you." ~from the first Summoner's Seal topic
Liberal Arts Major
Well, this song didn't really do anything special, IMO, but it also didn't do anything bad so let's go with 5.0. ...And I wish I could say more in some of these write-ups, really.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
New Moderator
[Spoiler for Posts 151-200, click to show]Lost Painting
Liberal Arts Major
Rank | User | Average Score | Total Score | Number of Songs
1 [2] (+1) | xp...............| 7.2903 (-0.1010) | 226.0 (+56.0)........ | 31 (+8)
2 [3] (+1) | CG7............| 6.7778 (+0.0903) | 244.0 (+83.5)........| 36 (+12)
3 [1] (-2) | Kodan..........| 6.6667 (-1.8333) | 20.0 (+11.5).......... | 3 (+2)
4 [4] (+0) | Epyon.........| 6.3333 (-0.0417) | 38.0 (+12.5)...........| 6 (+2)
5 [5] (+0) | Kenri...........| 5.4706 (+0.0090) | 279.0 (+66.0)....... | 51 (+12)
6 [6] (+0) | GameCobra | 4.7273 (+0.0000) | 52.0 (+0.0)............| 11 (+0)
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Page 1 Total Average Score: 5.9571
Page 2 Total Average Score: 6.1724
Page 3 Total Average Score: 6.3684
Page 4 Total Average Score: 6.3750
Topic Total Average Score: 6.2246 (+0.0531)
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I end up retaking the lead as Kodan's average drops somewhat sharply as more songs come in and they can't match Scars of Time. Kodan ends up dropping to 3rd, just behind CG7 who retakes second. This page negatively affected the averages of Kodan, Epyon, and myself and positively benefit CG7 and Kenri (albeit barely.) I end up with the highest average for Page 4 (7.0000) though CG7 came close to beating it (6.9583) in spite of me having a 3.0, which is tied with Kenri for the lowest single-song rating on Page 4, while CG7's personal single-song low on the page is a 5.5.
As for the page itself, to my great surprise, Page 4 is the highest rated page yet, just barely defeating Page 3, unsurprisingly this ends up bringing the overall rating for the topic up too. [/spoiler]
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
New Moderator
Liberal Arts Major
That isn't funny!
Sorry for anyone I offend, but it does not strike me as something I enjoy listening to.
*Glances down at Secret Base*
...This may actually be a compliment now that I think about it!
Secret Base
Liberal Arts Major
Editor