Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUjMb60l6hI&hd=1
Get ready for a ****in' vocals week, because I gotta show VGMotD how this **** is done.
So Blaze Up is one of my new favorite VG vocals songs. I actually debated posting this instead of Global network had already broken down, but at the time I was listening to that one a lot more. Now it's about 50/50; Blaze Up might even have the edge.
In any case, one thing I think I might have mentioned a couple times is that I really like swells in music. And I'm not even sure if that's the right term for what I'm talking about, but I'll point out an example: 44 seconds through 1:00 is the build up, and immediately after that is the actual swell. Blaze Up! does it more subtly than most, but also does it more often, which I appreciate; in a lot of songs I'm lucky to get one. >_>
Incidentally, if you like this song, Itou Kanako has done a lot of other songs in other VNs as well. And they're not as good! This is like a fluke or something.
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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
Get ready for a ****in' vocals week, because I gotta show VGMotD how this **** is done.
...Uh-oh.
Oh, hey, this is actually pretty great. Maybe this quest of yours won't be a total disaster after all! Well, it goes on a bit too long I guess, because by the end I didn't think it was as great as at first, but it's still pretty great. ...Man, that sentence turned out pretty awful, didn't it? I'll say 7.5, at first it was pushing 8.0, but I don't think I can justify 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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW93YFbawPU&hd=1
More Touhou, this happens to be one of my favorite stage themes that I've run across. I really like those not-quite-vocals-but-I'm-not-sure-what-to-call-them-otherwise. Aside from that, Ancient Temple never does anything that bothers me, none of the "cluttered" issues that Touhou has a tendency to occasionally run into. Blahblahblah, I like the effects, etc. Really, I'm rather predicable in these write-ups 90% of the time.
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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=_T5Rh_6wWO0&hd=1
Well, we were in Bulgaria a few songs ago, glorious Nippon yesterday, and today we're goin' to Ireland for the ED from MGS1. Apparently it plays at other points in the game and in MGS4 too, though. This song was another one introduced to me by the VGMC5, but unlike a lot of others that that contest introduced to me, I actually didn't like this one at first! Over the course of 3 or 4 rounds, it really grew on me... but by that point it was up against Yoru no Himawari, which is an amazing song, so "whoops".
Anyway, I absolutely love the way this song is sung and the accompanying instrumentation, because they don't match the name of the song at all, and I dig dissonance like that. The lyrics clear it up, if you can understand them (or read a translation, like I did) - the song is basically mourning days gone by while holding out hope for the future. It hits a lot of the right emotional notes to appeal to me, specifically. The big downside is that it takes about two full minutes to really get started, and at almost six minutes long it's not winning any awards for most effective use of time. But if you can ignore that - and if you couldn't, I wouldn't blame you, because I couldn't either at first! - you'll be left with a really good song.
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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
>You recall a moment from the past
"Maybe this quest of yours won't be a total disaster after all!"
...Whoops. 4.0.
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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=01Ohnhakw3w&hd=1
So this right here is a song that I think manages to pull off two different atmospheres off very well (though not at the same time). In the beginning it has a kind of "haunted" atmosphere to me, and then as the song progresses it begins to shift gears into something with more energy, and it pulls it off very well, IMO. So much so that I really can't pick a favorite section here. Normally that kind of vocals section at around 1:55 - 2:10 would be an easy choice, but the rest of the song beforehand is done so well overall that I don't think I can quite say it's a clear winner. The one weakness in the entire song is the end, where it really would have been better served just ending earlier instead of extending itself around a minute. Everything before that is so great that I can forgive it that though.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
"Maybe this quest of yours won't be a total disaster after all!"
...Whoops. 4.0.
I could post five straight 4/10 songs to round out the week and still beat VGMotD at the rate they're going. <_<
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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=u9zZus_1_ag&hd=1
But you can't save your sorrow...
Oh dear, Live and Learn. And double oh dear, because it's also the obligatory Sonic song. It'll be the only one this week, I promise!
So let's talk about this song. Way back on like... page 1 of topic 1, I mentioned that I had things to say about Live and Learn. Well, in school a while back, I actually had to give a presentation on basically whatever topic I chose as long as it related to music, and I picked VG music, and I focused on the Sonic series! (I am a nerd.) Live and Learn was my example of video game music not quite "getting" lyrics, and this is a recurring problem you'll find in just about every generation before this current one, and a lot in this current one too: the lyrics in VG songs with lyrics have **** all to do with the game in question, when they even mean anything at all. Live and Learn is a great example of a song whose lyrics sound okay but mean absolutely nothing. Let's listen!
There's a face searching far, so far and wide.
There's a place where you dream you'd never find.
Hold on to what if?
Hold on to what if?
"Well okay that sounds pretty decent I mean it's got some clever word choice and wait what the fuck is that even saying?"
Actually, the amusing interpretation, based on lyrics like "Live and learn! / Hanging on the edge of tomorrow, / Live and learn! / From the works of yesterday, / Live and learn! / If you beg or if you borrow, / Live and learn! / You may never find your way", is that the song is looking into the future and predicting the downfall of the Sonic franchise. Assuming Crush 40 were not actually clairvoyant, the other interpretation is that they just thought this would be a rockin' main theme for an equally rockin' game. I'm more inclined to believe that one, but then, I like this song and I like Sonic Adventure 2!
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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
Incorrect.
Sonic Adventure 2 - Live and Learn (Main Theme)
I have nothing against Live and Learn, but it's also not at the top tier of Sonic Adventure vocals or anything, IMO. 5.0.
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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=sz5-zGeW_eY&hd=1
This is kind of a weird situation. Metroid Prime's credits are very similar to the menu theme (well, at times at least, especially in the very beginning), which has already shown in this topic, but they're so much better that I have no idea why it was the Menu Theme that showed up and not this. Well, whatever. This is likely my favorite song from Metroid Prime, two parts in particular are among my favorites, 0:59 - 1:29 and then 1:42 - 2:12, those sections are what elevates this way above the Menu Theme for me.
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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=DYyznb6nsM8&hd=1
And now we're back in glorious Nippon. Technically I guess Live and Learn was Nippon too, but I don't think it qualified as glorious Nippon. ...****, and The Best is Yet to Come was Nippon also, if Live and Learn qualifies. Okay, well, I didn't plan that, but it's ****ing hard to find VG music with vocals from the rest of the world. Get with the game, other countries.
So I have absolutely no knowledge about the game this song is from, except that it's presumably a VN - GameFAQs has it listed as an adventure game, which VNs are generally a subset of - and that it apparently stars Bizarro!Flonne.
Papiliones itself is basically two songs in one, starting off slowly, then picking up speed. It tries to connect the two later but, no, it never really makes it happen for me. However, I'm the only one who seems to ever take exception with that kind of thing, so I really shouldn't have even drawn attention to it! Papiliones has also got some rather lengthy instrumentals in the middle and end of the song, which you might think I'd consider a negative until you realize that they aren't instrumentals at all! They've got some pretty cool background... chanting, almost, which is fairly unique and very appreciated.
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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
Well, I have been informed that I skipped this in error. Or maybe I didn't, but the point is that I heard it in the meantime, so no reason for me to not rate it now.
Butterfly is quite good! It's got moments that make me regret saying that, but mostly it's something I would happily listen to at any time. I don't see how it could possibly ever fit in any horror game, but whatever, I guess that's irrelevant here.
7.5/10
Koe - Fatal Frame III: The Tormented
This song has got some issues, though. That somewhat-obnoxious electric guitar solo is but one of them. It has some high points, definitely, especially the ending, but there are points where I just hate the way the song is being sung. Overall not a big fan of this, but it has enough high points to pull down an above average score.
5.5/10
Battle with the Devil - Tsugunai: Atonement
I have absolutely no idea what to make of this. It's a bunch of different elements that don't go together at all, and the gaps between them are bridged by sections of complete tedium. Not a fan!
3.5/10
Touhou Project: Undefined Fantastic Object - Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind
This is decidedly okay. It doesn't have any of the big problems that a lot of Touhou songs do... aside from being way too long, but whatever. The bigger issue is that it just never really stands out.
5/10
NieR - Gods Bound By Rules
Fails to make a big impression on me, but it's definitely good.
6/10
Metal Gear Solid 3 - Main Theme
I've never really liked MGS music (The Best is Yet to Come is an exception, and I didn't like that to begin with either), and this is... not an exception. I feel like it sort of doesn't know how to transition effectively between wildly divergent sections (trick question: the way to do this is to not have wildly divergent sections to start with), so it just decides to go quiet until you forget what you just heard. But even without that issue it just ranges from "ehhh" to "okay".
4/10
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga - Hari-Hara
Well, I'm okay with this. It's some pretty chilled out electric guitar, which is nice for a change. However, nothing else about it strikes me as... special or unusual, really. It's nice to listen to and that's about it.
6/10
Castlevania: The Adventure - Battle of the Holy
I have absolutely no idea why you'd single this out as an awesome Castlevania tune. It's pretty middle of the road. Luckily Castlevania's a pretty damn nice road. Six lanes, extra wide, carpool, the works.
6/10
Final Fantasy VII - Jenova Absolute
Not very good! In fact you listed two superior battle themes in your writeup. At least this isn't Still More Fighting, I guess.
4/10
Another Bound Neo - Trample Machine
stole my material that i stole from vgmotd 6/10
No but really, Trample Machine is very, very good. Probably the best track from Another Bound, and as I mentioned before, the game has a pretty good soundtrack. I absolutely love the piano in this piece, and... well, really, all of it, there isn't anything here I don't at least like.
8/10
Touhou Project: Perfect Cherry Blossom - Mystic Oriental Dream ~ Ancient Temple
I feel like I liked this a lot less the first time I heard it. Its still got some parts I really dislike, but it's decent most of the time. And thus continues the pattern of every decent Touhou song in the VGMC5 facing a superior opponent in R1, and thus getting screwed out of advancing.
5.5/10, probably a higher 5.5
World of Goo - Best of Times
Man, this is a tough piece to rate... There are times when I can see glimpses of greatness, but I feel like it never quite goes far enough, especially given that it's almost 4 minutes long. I wouldn't even qualify it as minimalism, because to me it's got less than the minimum required components to achieve the effect I think they're going for. The vocals come in and try to salvage it but then they disappear after a few seconds, and then, like you said, the ending kind of drags, though to me it doesn't drag any worse than the very beginning. This is hard to judge because it's so close to greatness but just ends up feeling incomplete.
5.5/10
Metroid Prime - Credits
Definitely good. Wouldn't really say it's better than the regular Menu theme though, because the latter part of the song - the part that isn't present in the Menu theme - is the weaker part by a good deal. But I think it's a wash, overall.
7/10
This is kind of a weird situation. Metroid Prime's credits are very similar to the menu theme (well, at times at least, especially in the very beginning), which has already shown in this topic, but they're so much better that I have no idea why it was the Menu Theme that showed up and not this.
That has a simple explanation: I honestly thought they were the same song. Had I known, I probably would have posted both at once.
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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
However, I'm the only one who seems to ever take exception with that kind of thing, so I really shouldn't have even drawn attention to it!
This statement makes no sense. You act like I'm not aware that songs do this and imply that if only I did I would start criticizing it. The reality is that I can notice when a song changes styles or whatever, I just usually don't see it as some kind of negative (and often as a positive, at least in this topic, where it seems rare I'm encountered with something that could justify its length with whatever style it starts with, the change of pace is welcomed and appreciated). Whereas if nearly any song does this, you start criticizing it as a horrible thing to have done. >_>
Anyway, this is all right, except for those parts in the instrumentals with the "cool background chanting" at times those are not credit to team, at best they are just inoffensive. 6.0.
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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=QTaEl9Y81ns&hd=1
***As a bit of a side note to begin with here, might want to not look at the video for the first 10 seconds or so, it mentions the boss's name (Technically after about 7 seconds it goes away, but may be best to err on the side of caution). Mind you, it won't mean anything to you unless you're familiar with the game/series, but...***
So, yeah, the other downside there is going to be a bit of sound quality, IMO, but oh well. I think the issue is that the boss name seems to be part of the official title, which I think is also the case with the Phase Themes (and Full Force) but I omitted them for spoiler purposes.
Anyway, Final Bout. This is the song used in the last phase of the final battle of the (main) game. Personally, I think it's a rather noticeable step down from Full Force, which played on the previous phase, but it's still not bad by any means. I actually don't have much to say here really, there are some vocal-ish effects there but they're not the highlight of the song for me by any measure, that would probably be the section at 1:23 - 1:30, as well things like at 1:12-1:14 with the strings.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
I am in fact not acting like that at all! That doesn't even resemble the way I was acting, am acting, or will ever act!
The reality is that I can notice when a song changes styles or whatever, I just usually don't see it as some kind of negative (and often as a positive, at least in this topic, where it seems rare I'm encountered with something that could justify its length with whatever style it starts with, the change of pace is welcomed and appreciated). Whereas if nearly any song does this, you start criticizing it as a horrible thing to have done. >_>
Well, at least I get to deduct twice as many points for that kind of thing now that I'm using your no-objectivity-ever rating system.
Besides, I don't see how you can act like I'm wrong for frequently criticizing songs for changing things up while in the same breath talking about how you often condemn songs for not doing it.
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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
Why else would you not want to call attention to it!
Well, at least I get to deduct twice as many points for that kind of thing now that I'm using your no-objectivity-ever rating system.
Outside some pretty exceptional cases, I'm not sure how you can rationally claim objectivity. In a broad sense you might be able to identify that one song required more technical skill than another, but... (I also mean that quite literally, I don't think I could pick that out very well!)
Besides, I don't see how you can act like I'm wrong for frequently criticizing songs for changing things up while in the same breath talking about how you often condemn songs for not doing it.
I don't condemn them for it! It just doesn't work out in their favor a lot! If a song keeps to a single thing and is really good at it, there's no problem. But if it's keeping to one thing and it's boring me, well then, a change is probably going to help it out so long as that change was an improvement! ...If it wasn't, then we have problems.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
Because in a venue where you receive ratings from other people, it's usually a bad move to point out your own flaws. Especially if there's a pretty good chance none of the judges will actually care about them. The basic argument is that even if it doesn't screw you over (in that the judge might agree with you and dock points when otherwise they wouldn't have noticed/cared - but this isn't what I thought would happen here), it shows a lack of confidence, and by pre-judging yourself, you're basically putting the judges in a place where they go, "okay, do you really need me here?"
Outside some pretty exceptional cases, I'm not sure how you can rationally claim objectivity. In a broad sense you might be able to identify that one song required more technical skill than another, but... (I also mean that quite literally, I don't think I could pick that out very well!)
Many people can approach a wide variety of topics in an objective manner! Or rather, attempt to, I don't think anybody can get 100% objective, because... well for one thing I'd argue that 100% objectivity doesn't even exist, but whatever. Point is, you can know what things are actual problems and what things can just problems to you, specifically, and in approaching something like this objectively, you try to ignore the latter. If you do that while rating something, it has the benefit of making your ratings actually useful to people who aren't you, or at least more useful than entirely subjective ratings. (And I'd argue that entirely objective ratings, if possible, would be just as bad; gotta strike a balance here.)
I don't condemn them for it! It just doesn't work out in their favor a lot! If a song keeps to a single thing and is really good at it, there's no problem. But if it's keeping to one thing and it's boring me, well then, a change is probably going to help it out so long as that change was an improvement! ...If it wasn't, then we have problems.
This is exactly like my viewpoint! The only thing we differ on is what we consider really good/boring/an improvement/etc! >_>
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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=2P6CZWQ3mkk&hd=1
And now we're heading to Croatia. Don't ask how I keep finding songs like this, ask why they're not way more plentiful. I honestly think that Hymmnos is one of the most represented languages in VG music, probably right behind Japanese, English, and Latin. What the hell, guys, seriously. Side note about that link: this is the version from a soundtrack, but as far as I can tell, all it really is is a longer version (not a remix), which is nice because the regular version ends sort of abruptly.
So Burning Sorrow. I really like the vocalist here, though I admit that could just be the languages she's singing in (I say languages because they snuck in some French too). Also really like the effect that the song creates by starting off with just the vocalist and only bringing in the instrumentation later. The instrumentation itself is also something I really like; it almost sounds sinister a lot of the time, which is such a nice reprieve when you've been listening to sickeningly sweet VG music all day (seriously why is like 90% of all VG music with vocals determined to give you cavities). Part that really sums up what I mean by sinister: 1:58 through 2:22. I think that part doesn't even exist in the regular version, which is yet another reason this version is superior!
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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
I am offended that you think my ratings would be anything but neutral and impartial!
...Seriously though, you think anything like that crosses my mind or even matters to me?
Point is, you can know what things are actual problems
...I can?
Vandal Hearts - Burning Sorrow (Ending) (Full ver.)
This is pretty good. Well, it starts off that way, my opinion on it begins to sour fairly quickly after that. 6.0, and it's almost lucky to hold onto even that much.
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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=AKy--iCDUNM&hd=1
A lot of jokes are made about Mass Destruction, but it, or at the very least, the FES version in particular is just way too catchy if you ask me. P3 FES's version blows the normal P3 version out of the water, IMO, but I kind of "forgot" that, because it only plays in The Answer rather than The Journey, and in line with "The Answer is really like 20-30 hours of grinding for 2 hours of payoff" thing, I've basically "forgotten" most of everything before that payoff, which includes this song! Anyway, Mass Destruction is the main battle theme for Persona 3, and this version is the main battle theme for The Answer in P3 FES. My favorite part of the song is the rap sections, followed closely by the instruments (particularly those during the rap section.) The female vocalist (and to a lesser extent the instruments there) bring this down, but not by a huge margin. Definitely wish it was all the rap though.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Advanced
Parasite Eve has some music that was no doubt original. Felt like something out of the Silent Hill series, but tried to stick with the Resident Evil style of things as well. the gameplay at the time was something i grew attached to because i' ma sucker for RPGs with guns. but Parasite Eve had some damn impressive music.
not only the one just linked, but the final chase scene theme. they rebirthed it in The 3rd Birthday in all it's glory:
Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday - Escape from UB
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Erdt1P9O84
This was the original, but take into effect: the original got faster as the monster got closer:
Parasite Eve: Escape from UB
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWCCyrtJl6E
Now i gone back also and played some other classics, but some fond memories recently have been Resident Evil 3's traditional horror themes. But the best one for extra critique i recall is the second theme of Raccoon City.
Resident Evil 3 - The City of Ruin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xljupu9ktf4&feature=related
And does anyone remember Ogre Battle? Who can forget your first step into the snowy lands!
Ogre Battle - White Storm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4CYBnusycE
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"But friends, i ask you. What is a GameCobra? From where does it come? Who are it's people?" - A Random Day on World of Warcraft
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aSEYiqW5lk&hd=1
If I could just convince the past...
Hey, we're in the good ol' US of A now! And not even Japan-occupied USA like with Live and Learn. Man, when's the last time we were here?
http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/1353/neverforgetk.png
Oh right.
Anyway, I like this song a lot! Well, most of it, anyway; really the main reasons I like this song are that the main vocalist is quite good and the lyrics are also pretty interesting. About halfway through the former basically disappears for some weird chorus thing that I'm not that fond of, and the lyrics also become a lot harder to discern. Luckily it's not that long of a section, but then it happens again later, and I just wish it wasn't there at all because the song drops in quality by like 3 full points every time it happens. But let's not focus on that! Let's focus on the good parts of this song!
Like I said, to me the star of the show here is the main vocalist, who comes really close to that "SINGING VELVET INTO MY EARS" effect I mentioned a while back. It might be the slight Southern twang in her voice, I dunno. The lyrics are also pretty interesting, being a mix of nostalgic longing for the past and repeated assertions about never going back. It's further obfuscated by lines about lying to oneself, "to help me sleep at night". I'd actually love to get into this in more detail, but it's like 2 AM, so I think I'll cut it there.
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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
I'm a bit conflicted on the very beginning, but thankfully it certainly gets better after that. I really like the parts where it's just the vocal effects and "minimal" other effects (though obviously they never stop completely.) The parts without the vocal effects are definitely not on the same level though IMO, so that has to force my rating down a bit. 5.0.
Parasite Eve: Escape from UB
This... is fairly tough. If only because of the short length. Obviously it doesn't have the vocal effects, which makes me a bit sad, however I think it does the non-vocal parts better. That said, it's just very short, but at the same time, if it went on for a while like that with no change that wouldn't be so good either. ...Really, I think this just hits the same "issue" a lot of atmospheric things tend to for me. Even if I absolutely adore them in context (See: Majora's Mask - Last Day) I'm "supposed" to be ignoring stuff like that in this topic, so there are casualties. Sorry! 3.0.
Resident Evil 3 - The City of Ruin
This is pretty good here. I should note I've basically mentally divided this into two "blocks" that alternate as the song goes on. The first half, with the vocal effects is great, I wish the whole song was that. The other part is a step down, but still not bad, and I do understand that it likely goes into the atmosphere and all that. Still, pretty good. 5.5.
Ogre Battle - White Storm
This starts out fairly good as well. Not as much of a fan of where it goes in the middle, if only for how long it seems to stay there in my mind, but that's not a killer or anything. Still a fairly good song overall! There's a lot of neat things in the background here and there that I wish were more prevalent, but what can you do? 5.5.
Gray Matter - Never Going Back There (Sam's Theme)
Not getting all this "hype" (Yeah, I know it's not really hype, but whatever) for this vocalist. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's most certainly not bad at all, but maybe I just read your write-up wrong because I thought you thought this was top-tier stuff! Really though, I think the vocalist is helped by the... guitar, is that? As well as the rest of the instruments that come in fairly quickly to play at the same time in the background. Yeah, that "chorus" thing isn't really a credit to the team here. It's not something that torpedoes the song or anything, but I'd prefer if it hadn't happened. Overall though, this just doesn't do anything for me really, I'm not even too sure why. I guess I'd say nothing strikes me as notably good or notably bad. The latter part is great, the former... not so much. Guess I'll just go right down the middle and say 5.0.
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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=aSDU0jmgOhI&hd=1
So, you might have heard I like FFXIII's soundtrack! Actually, I feel like I should backpedal on that a little. I still think it's probably the best FF one, but FFVIII and FFX aren't that far off or anything. FFXIII just has a good number of excellent songs (Snow's Theme, Born Anew, etc.) and that probably caused me to over-hype a bit. Blinded By Light is the main battle theme for FFXIII and I think it's my favorite in the series. Competition for that would be FFVII and FFX, but I think if you asked me enough times FFXIII ends up coming out ahead on average.
On to actually talking about the song itself, Blinded By Light is basically segmented into three parts for me. First is the build-up, second is the payoff - and the part of the song I like the most. Then finally, the last section after that before it loops back to the first. In general, I'd rate these sections 2 > 1 > 3. That second section is just so great though, and even the buildup as it approaches it really steps up IMO. Anyway, just for some reference here, my favorite section is 0:35 - 1:05, from there it's pretty easy to figure out what I mean by the other two sections.
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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=z5L5usLEKrc&hd=1
Hey topic. Did you know that it's much easier to listen to music... when you use both ears?
Sorry, raters. It looks like I can't let myself get low scores anymore.
Since when you under the impression I wasn't going to post Nokori Kaze?
SO THERE I WAS BEING KUBO TITE...
and so forth.
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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
[Spoiler for THE LIST, click to show].hack - 17
"Hello, world." - 3
7th Saga - 2
Ace Attorney - 7
AIR - 1
Aka - 1
Alisia Dragoon - 1
Alone in the Dark - 3
Animal Crossing - 1
Another Bound - 1
Aquaria - 1
Ar tonelico - 14
Arc Rise Fantasia - 1
Armored Core - 1
Azure Dream - 1
Balloon Fight - 1
Baten Kaitos - 2
Bioshock - 1
BlazBlue - 2
Bleach - 1
Blue Dragon - 1
Boku no Te no Naka no Rakuen - 1
Bomberman - 1
Breath of Fire - 3
Capcom Vs. Whatever - 3
Castlevania - 16
Cave Story - 1
Cheetahmen - 1
Chex Quest - 1
Chrono - 9
Civilization - 1
Clock Tower - 1
Combatribes - 2
Contact - 1
Contra - 1
Crash Bandicoot - 3
D Trilogy - 1
Darius - 1
Dark Cloud - 1
Dead or Alive - 3
Dear Esther - 1
Demon's Crest - 1
Dept Heaven - 4
Die Hard - 1
Digimon - 2
Disgaea - 10
Donkey Kong - 5
Doom - 2
Double Dragon - 2
Dragon Ball - 1
Dragon Quest - 4
Dragon's Lair - 1
Drakengard - 1
DuckTales - 1
Elebits - 5
Endless Ocean - 1
Epic Pinball - 1
Eternal Darkness - 1
Eternal Sonata - 1
Etrian Odyssey - 1
F-Zero - 2
Fatal Frame - 2
Final Fantasy - 46
Fire Emblem - 13
Flintstones - 1
Gitaroo Man - 2
Golden Sun - 4
Gray Matter - 1
Growlanser - 1
Guardian's Crusade - 1
Half-Life - 2
Half-Minute Hero - 1
Hang-On - 2
Harvest Moon - 1
Heretic - 4
Hotel Dusk - 2
Iji - 1
Infinite Undiscovery - 1
Infinity - 1
Intelligent Qube - 1
Iridion - 2
Jade Cocoon - 1
James Bond - 1
Jeanne d'Arc - 1
JESUS - 1
Jet Set - 1
Kagero - 1
Katamari - 1
Katawa Shoujo - 2
Kid Icarus - 1
King of Fighters - 1
King's Field - 1
Kingdom Hearts - 27
Kirby - 7
L.A. Noire - 1
La Pucelle - 1
Legaia - 1
Legend of Dragoon - 2
Legend of Zelda - 17
Live a Live - 1
Lost Child Infinia - 1
Lost Odyssey - 1
Lufia - 4
Lunar - 6
Magi Nation - 1
Mana Khemia - 1
Mario - 20
Mass Effect - 2
Master of Monsters - 1
Maximum Carnage - 1
Mega Man - 20
Megami Tensei (MegaTen) - 11
Metal Gear - 3
Meteos - 1
Metroid - 14
Monster Hunter - 1
MOTHER - 3
Mr. Gimmick! - 1
Muramasa - 1
Musashi - 1
Namco X Capcom - 2
Nanoha - 2
Nasuverse - 3
Neotokyo - 1
Neverhood - 1
NieR - 11
Nightmare on Elm Street - 1
Nintendo Wars - 1
No More Heroes - 2
Nostalgia - 1
Odin Sphere - 1
Ogre Battle - 2
Okami - 4
Ollie King - 1
Opoona - 1
Oregon Trail - 1
Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa nai - 1
Parasite Eve - 3
Persona - 15
Phantasy Star - 2
Phantom Brave - 1
Pikmin - 1
Planescape: Torment - 2
Pokemon - 17
Pop'n Music - 2
Portal - 2
Prince of Persia - 1
Professor Layton - 2
Prop Cycle - 1
Prototype - 1
Psychonauts - 1
Punch-Out!! - 1
Quest 64 - 2
Quest for Glory - 1
Radiant Historia - 1
Radiant Silvergun - 1
Ragnarok Online - 5
Red Dead - 1
Resident Evil - 2
Rogue Galaxy - 1
Romance of the Three Kingdoms (Rot3K) - 1
Rudora no Hihou - 1
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. - 3
SaGa - 5
Sands of Destruction - 1
Scott Pilgrim - 1
Scribblenauts - 1
Seiken Densetsu - 3
Sekien no Inganock - 1
Sengoku Basara - 1
Senko no Ronde - 1
Shadow Complex - 2
Shadow Hearts - 4
Shatter - 1
Shikkoku no Sharnoth - 2
Sigma Harmonics - 1
Silent Hill - 6
Skies of Arcadia - 3
Sonic - 18
Soul Calibur - 2
Spyro - 3
Super Robot Wars (SRW) - 3
Star Fox - 4
Star Ocean - 2
Street Fighter - 3
Suikoden - 3
Super Smash Bros. - 13
Sweet Home - 1
Tales - 23
Team ICO - 3
Tetris - 1
Theresia - 1
Threads of Fate - 1
Tony Hawk - 1
Top Gear Rally - 1
Total Annihilation - 1
Touhou - 22
Touhou Fanworks - 2
Trauma Center - 2
Tsugunai - 1
Turok - 1
The World Ends With You (TWEWY) - 5
Tyrian - 1
Ultima - 7
Unreal Tournament - 1
Vagrant Story - 1
Valis - 2
Valkyrie Profile - 7
Vandal Hearts - 1
Vapor Trail - 1
Vectorman - 1
Virtua Fighter - 1
VVVVVV - 3
Waterworld - 2
When They Cry - 5
White Knight Chronicles - 1
Wild ARMs - 3
Wolfenstein - 2
World of Goo - 1
X-Men - 1
Xeno- - 17
Yoshi - 1
You Have to Burn the Rope - 1
Ys - 4
Yu-Gi-Oh! - 1
YU-NO - 1
Yume Nikki - 1
Zone of the Enders - 3
Zwei!! - 3 [/spoiler]
My notes:
Final Fantasy is well in the lead with an astonishing/disgusting 46 tracks posted. I know it's popular and has a lot of good music, but really?
By comparison, Kingdom Hearts' second place with only 27 songs posted seems... well no, that's still pretty nuts. However, Kingdom Hearts - and surprise third place Tales with 23, and not-as-surprising fourth place Touhou with 22 - all benefit from a lot of different versions of the same songs having been posted. Simple and Clean variants alone account for 6 of KH's 27 tracks. Oh, and I should also note that Touhou's 22 doesn't even count the two songs that have been posted from Touhou fanworks.
Mario and Mega Man tie for 5th with 20 each, and perennial rival/fellow blue hero who fights an evil doctor Sonic is in 7th with 18.
.hack, Pokemon, Legend of Zelda, and the Xeno- series (comprised of Xenogears, Xenosaga, and Xenoblade... and honestly it's questionable whether I should even group these together) are tied for 8th at 17 songs each. As you can see, number of songs posted here is inherently tied to a series' popularity and critical acclaim.
Castlevania is in 12th with 16.
Persona is in 13th with 15, but you should note that it's kind of a sham. For ease of use, I broke Persona off from the main Megami Tensei series, without doing the same thing to stuff like Mario Kart or Mega Man X. Combined with MegaTen's 11 tracks, the series takes an easy 3rd.
Ar tonelico and Metroid tie for 14th, with 14 tracks apiece. You can blame and/or thank xp for the former and me for the latter, probably.
Fire Emblem and Super Smash Bros. tie for 16th with 13 tracks each, despite SSB having the advantage of being able to draw on music from virtually every series ever created.
NieR, despite not being a series at all, manages to take 18th, with 11 tracks posted. Actually, if you count it as part of the Drakengard series, it's rockets up to... 18th, with 12 tracks. But at least it's a series then, I guess? More of one, at least. Not counting Drakengard, NieR also ties with MegaTen (less Persona), which is, as stated, at 11.
Disgaea rounds out the top 20 with 10 tracks posted, and the Chrono series is right behind it with 9.
And after that, it's barely worth keeping track of anymore.
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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
This is pretty good, yes. Not as good as the write-up possibilities though. 7.0.
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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=hT8FhGDS5qE&hd=1
Not my favorite from Lufia II, but The Last Duel was already here, so I had to go with something else. Battle #3 is a pretty good battle theme, never really doing anything I don't like, and just maintaining a pretty high level of quality all throughout. My favorite section is the one at 1:16 - 1:37.
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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=bZWd_7Ud-Lc&hd=1
Is today Songs from VGMC5 Day? Because if so, I've actually got something decent to post!
...Yoru no Himawari is one of my favorite songs that that contest introduced me to (probably top 2), and almost certainly one of my top 10 songs in the entire contest. It lost to Love Song of a Certain Dragon, which also managed to take out The Moon from DuckTales, another of my top 10 songs in the contest. Goddamn Love Song of a Certain Dragon.
But enough of that. Yoru no Himawari doesn't do very much different from many of the other piano-centric pieces that have been posted in this topic, but it manages to rise above the rest just by doing what it does exceptionally. I have absolutely nothing negative to say about this piece except that it only stands out by virtue of being excellent, which, as far as problems go, is a good one to have. I also love that intro; for whatever reason, that's probably ended up being one of the most memorable intros in any piece of VG music for me, personally.
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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
...Yoru no Himawari is one of my favorite songs that that contest introduced me to (probably top 2), and almost certainly one of my top 10 songs in the entire contest.
"lol"
It lost to Love Song of a Certain Dragon, which also managed to take out The Moon from DuckTales, another of my top 10 songs in the contest. Goddamn Love Song of a Certain Dragon.
Love Song of a Certain Dragon deserved both those wins! Though I will admit it v Yoru no Himawari was very close. One of those matches where I could change if you asked me 10 minutes later.
All that said, Yoru no Himawari is good, yes. Not close to the best piano-centric song though. Life, for example, crushes it. Actually, Life might be the best in that category, but there's like 750 songs as of right now and I can't be bothered to remember them all off the top of my head, so I'm not sure. Let's say 7.0.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?