New Moderator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmJ4tbW6bmw&playnext=1&list=PL8C5A0D9ABEB94776
Now here's something weird. This played in the Japanese version and came first. But when this game was released as an English version, the music got symphonic upgrades. Strange but nice. This is good, but the new version is much nicer to me...
To a Vast World/Strange World ~ Marching Through the Fields (Symphonic) - Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg236zrHA40
Another result of my world map theme searching was this; I actually heard it before the original. This one sounds so beautiful. Odd that the English release got an updated soundtrack, but there you go. I prefer it to the original since it keeps everything and makes it sound better. 1:07-1:50 gets my love the most.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Liberal Arts Major
I am conflicted here. This doesn't do anything offensively wrong or anything, but the first adjective that would come to me if you asked about this is "boring" which is not a good sign. It just completely fails to grab my attention. I'll say 4.5 here, and I do wonder if I'm giving it a break to be honest.
To a Vast World/Strange World ~ Marching Through the Fields (Symphonic) - Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
You know, I think I liked the original more because this version feels like it tries so hard to be more "epic" and "boring" is still the word that comes to me first here, which is more egregious and embarrassing given how much more this tries. I'll give it a 4.0.
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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=yyx7dhcACZA&fmt=18
Wow, I think I've only posted two songs from this series. Not enough for a series with such good music! The problem is that after leading with Cornered 2002, there was no reason to post any other versions of Cornered (because 2002 is by far the best), and Cornered is the best/most memorable track in almost every game a version of it appears in.
Almost.
Apollo Justice is the one game where I'd say I actually prefer the Objection theme. Not only that, Apollo Justice has the best Objection theme in the whole series (Objection! 2009 is close and Layton's Objection theme is at least different, though). You know, I actually think that Apollo Justice (and especially Investigations) have much more consistently good music (that is, I'd rate a lot more tracks highly and around the same level) than the original trilogy (where a few tracks in each game are way above the others). I have trouble saying Apollo Justice and Investigations have better music, but more consistently good music, sure. That being said, you can probably look forward to and/or dread me posting some more music from this game in the future.
As for Objection! 2007, I'm not sure if it's my favorite track from the game, but it's definitely top 3 at least. It definitely captures the feeling of going on the offensive and possibly blowing a hole in an opponent's argument. Not as much as Cornered 2002, but well, this isn't a Cornered theme, so I guess that's to be expected.
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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
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qTys_j40zU&fmt=18
lol post-Genesis Sonic music-Hey, wait a second, this is actually awesome! All I really know about Sonic 2006 is that apparently it is... not a very good game. This, however, is a great song. I typically wouldn't expect something this "epic" from a Sonic game, but it's a welcome surprise.
I like most parts of the song, but for favorite part let's say 1:13 - 1:51.
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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=_raDt-CA96w
Well, here we go. I was saving this piece for a day where I had no time to look for something else, and that day came. This is my personal favorite track from Final Fantasy Tactics. It's a hard claim to make; as I've said before, FFT has a lot of wonderful pieces. But this one stuck with me in a way no other FFT piece managed to. It's such a pretty theme.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Editor
Well, this is definitely interesting. It's not one of my favorites, but I do like it. I'd normally hate some of the stuff this song does, and even here I'm not omg crazy about it, but I think it works adequately. 6.5/10
To a Vast World/Strange World ~ Marching Through the Fields - Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Eh, it really just sounds like a world map theme to me. There's nothing that really stands out to me about it. 5.5/10
To a Vast World/Strange World ~ Marching Through the Fields (Symphonic) - Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
I think this is more successful overall, but less successful as a world map theme. So I'll say 5.5/10 again.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 - Solaris Phase 2
Oh dear, Solaris Phase 2. This is even worse than I remember it being. Well, I'll say this much: the first 30 seconds are pretty decent. Then it becomes an instrumental version of His World for a while, and after that it would charitably be described as a complete mess. It really just doesn't work at all for me, on any level. I'll go with a 3/10 because those first thirty seconds are good, at least. Rest of the song is like a 1.5/10.
lol post-Genesis Sonic music-Hey, wait a second, this is actually awesome!
of all the post-genesis sonic music to post, you had to pick this thing
god
at least it's probably like... top 5 in Sonic 2006. That's something. Or it would be if Sonic 2006 didn't have awful music.
I typically wouldn't expect something this "epic" from a Sonic game, but it's a welcome surprise.
Well, Sonic 2006 is basically "Let's Try Waaaaaay Too Hard to be 'Epic': The Game", so it makes sense that its final boss would have a theme song that also tries way too hard!
Under the Stars - Final Fantasy Tactics
This is nice to listen to, at least. It never really grabs me and I'm not quite sure why, because it seems like something I'd like. I dunno. I mean, I do like it, but it's not my favorite by any means. 6/10
Well, here we go. I was saving this piece for a day where I had no time to look for something else, and that day came.
oh god, are you telling me you don't have any pre-prepared material? you literally find all the music you post on the day you post it?
...
this explains so much.
and here i thought i was bad off, only having like 20-30 songs held in reserve, when i'd prefer to have 50-75.
Edit: ahahahaha sometimes i amaze even myself with my inability to estimate. change that to "I thought I was bad off, only having like 80 songs held in reserve, when I'd prefer to have 200+".
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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=476siHQiW0k&fmt=18
Something else I've only stumbled onto through YouTube, and even then it was only because of the stupid name there that really stands out (for those wondering, the game apparently takes place on a space station named JESUS).
Chiptunes are a bit more hit and miss for me than other types of VG music, but this one is definitely a hit. It's one of those ones that I'm hard-pressed to quantify - it almost fits into the same "set" as Lost Courage/Tragic Resolution/et al, but just isn't quite similar enough for me to group it with them. That said, I do like it, especially after the first 10 seconds or so, because that opening is really not very good. Rest of the piece rocks, 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
New Moderator
...
this explains so much.
and here i thought i was bad off, only having like 20-30 songs held in reserve, when i'd prefer to have 50-75.
Yep. Each one I find the day I post it. I'm surprised by how many I've found that I've really liked, not that you guys seem to agree with that. XD
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
New Moderator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t8iOzbL-mY
FINALLY. I heard this piece years ago on Board 8 and downloaded the track from a link they provided. But its name was less than descriptive and I could not figure out where the heck it had come for. ...Mind you I'm not sure just HOW much I enjoy it, but I am such a sucker for horns that I've always wanted to know what it is. And now I know.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Liberal Arts Major
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUs8FEsDUZ4&fmt=18
I've probably only heard a handful of songs from Fate/Stay Night, but Emiya was the first, and has always been my favorite. It's another song where I just like most of the effects.
As for favorite part, let's say... 2:33 - 3:00.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
Kirby Air Ride - Dense Fog Today
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3EMKJnCMvU&fmt=18
A total atmosphere piece, and I'm not even sorry about it. I've played Kirby Air Ride quite a bit, but I really only found out about this piece when I was clicking on random KAR songs on YouTube to confirm my suspicions that any random piece would be better than Checker Knights. (Incidentally, I was correct about that.)
Dense Fog Today is just completely different from every other Kirby piece I can think of; it really feels more like a Metroid Prime piece or something, which I consider a good thing. Your mileage may vary. In fact, I think xp already said this was like a 5/10 song at best. Which reminds me, don't listen to all 4 minutes unless you really want to, seriously.
But yeah, I like this one a lot. There's not much to it outside of being atmospheric, but then, I don't think it needs to do anything else if it can pull off being atmospheric quite well. Which this can. Definitely works for being caught up in dense fog, in my opinion.
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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 explains so much.
No, it doesn't, because that's basically what I did until about two weeks ago.
But its name was less than descriptive and I could not figure out where the heck it had come for.
...I could have answered that question for you for about over a year. >_>
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Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney - Objection! 2007
I'm starting to become convinced there are approximately 2 good Phoenix Wright songs and the rest aren't and you guys are almost determined to make me listen to everything but those 2 (Actually, CG7 found one of the 2, but still). This... doesn't really ever go anywhere at any point in time. At least it's "okay" that whole time though. 4.0.
Under the Stars - Final Fantasy Tactics
Inferior FFT song alert! ...And given FFT's best song is probably Antipyretic, this means it could get ugly fairly quickly. Anyway, Under The Stars is at its "best" in the beginning, and then proceeds to get gradually worse until it feels like it's just mocking me with how much worse it has gotten since the beginning. ...It's better than Objection! 2007, but that is all the praise I think I'm willing to give it right now. 4.5.
JESUS: Kyoufu no Bio Monster - Main Theme
*Sigh*
I can't be very positive here either, especially since I think this was probably the worst of the 3 (so far). 3.5.
Agent Cruller's Sacred Hall - Psychonauts
See, this time I knew what to expect, and just knew from the beginning that this had Under The Stars as a ceiling pretty much. ...And I was right. 4.0.
Kirby Air Ride - Dense Fog Today
Well-
In fact, I think xp already said this was like a 5/10 song at best.
Did I? Well, since I said "at best" that is accurate, I suppose.
Anyway, my "favorite" part of this song is when every now and then I feel like it's actually about to turn into the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, because it almost makes me laugh. Otherwise, this is not really that good at all. 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=e-ju-zhe2YM&fmt=18
I had to pass over like 5 or 10 Xenosaga III songs because I'm unsure of whether or not they'd be considered borderline spoilers, but thankfully the music in Xenosaga III is so good that this is still great.
[Spoiler for Xenosaga III, click to show]If I recall correctly, this plays towards the end of Disc 1 when, on old Miltia, Virgil makes his stand in the church against the horde of berserk/zombie Realians in the defense of Febronia and the younger Shion, which turns into Virgil just getting beyond pissed after Febronia is overhwlemed by the horde. [/spoiler]
Unsurprisingly, I like most everything this song does, but my favorite is definitely the vocals. As for my favorite part overall it would be 1:53 - 2:09, which is again one of those sections where the other effects become more subdued while the vocals continue, plus, bells start up there, always a great thing!
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Advanced
A few that came at the top of my head that i could have a hard time forgetting:
Capcom Vs. SNK 2 : London : True Love Makin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jefU3owEAgM
Street Fighter 3 : Sean and Oro's theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG6eYpY5VMg&feature=related
Street Fighter 3 : Crowded Street
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETP7R5ORk6E
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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
New Moderator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiRcXHg7qh4
So I had never heard of this game until I randomly stumbled on this piece. I really like it though. Great vocals and some nice background music. I bet it'd pack a bigger punch if I heard it in context.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gBhihNzyd4&fmt=18
Do you ever listen to something and just instantly fall in love with it? That's what happened to me here after someone on Board 8 linked to this piece. Incidentally, I hope YouTube is right and this is actually from the AIR VN and not the anime, otherwise I'd look like a fool! And while we're on the topic of me looking like a fool, according to a YouTube comment, 夏影 is this thing's title, and Summer Lights is its subtitle, making its full title something like "Summer Shadows (Summer Lights)". Don't ask. I legitimately don't know. I only pretend to know a little Japanese.
This is the only song from AIR that I've heard, which usually means I wouldn't post it until listening to at least a decent portion of the soundtrack, but it's just so good. It's absolutely beautiful, slow, simple, a little bit sad - everything I want and then some. I'm not sure if it makes me think of summer, but it definitely captures a perfect feeling of half melancholy, half nostalgia, which I have to assume is the intent. So yeah, hopefully you'll like this as much as I do and thus justify my bending of my usual rules.
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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 do typically like vocals, but these seem a little less.. I'm not sure which word I'm looking for here. Focused? Purposeful? Nevertheless, I do think I'd like this more with the vocals than without them. I'll say... 4.5, but probably on the higher end of that. What's holding me back here is I look at what I gave Under the Stars, and I'm not sure I can say this is a tier above it.
Street Fighter 3 : Sean and Oro's theme
You know, at first I was thinking, "Hmm, I like this more than the other one" but I think this song goes on a bit too long. If it had decided to get out while it was ahead, it'd do a little better by me. As it is though, it ends up falling behind the last song. Going to say 4.0 here.
Street Fighter 3 : Crowded Street
And now for what I find to be a rather humorous inversion of the last write-up, I don't think I actually mind the length of this one too much, mostly because I feel this one is the best of the three and stays that way the whole time. Perhaps it would benefit from being shorter, but I don't think it makes much difference here. 5.0.
Further - Iji
Okay, I do like this a decent bit. As I have said many times, vocals are pretty much always a plus, and I do like some of the effects here. None the less, I feel there is definitely room for improvements on the vocals side, and there are definitely effects I don't particularly care for that could either be greatly improved or replaced entirely. Overall though it all works out to a net positive I feel. I'm going to say... 5.5, but on the higher end. For all that I was saying, I'm not sure it's able to clear "The Wall."
AIR - 夏影 -Summer Lights-
This though, can clear said aforementioned wall. This is pretty good. However, on the negative side, it doesn't really go anywhere exceptional. Thankfully it is quite good at what it does do though. I'll say 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=AiP27_rHp9g&fmt=18
So it's Friday and that means we're back at Ar tonelico II. Some good news and some bad news. The good news? This is the last time I think I'll run this loop. The bad news? This is the last time I think I'll run this loop.
Now all of the other Ar tonelico appearances here have been hymns, this one, however is not. Nonetheless, this is one of the very few, and maybe the only one non-hymn Ar tonelico song that can stand on equal footing with a lot of the hymns, and even win out over some. Now don't get me wrong, I'll stick take the very top-tier of hymns over this, but some of the ones further down are vulnerable here. Fun fact, this song is a big part of the reason why I got Ar tonelico and Ar tonelico II. I had always been interested in getting them because I thought they seemed like games I would enjoy, but I kept eventually deciding to get a different game instead. Once I heard this song, Ar tonelico basically locked down the top priority spot for me.
As for this song, it is single-handedly a good enough reason for why you should always pick Cloche's path in Ar tonelico II. You see, without going into too much detail, the song in the final dungeon of Phase 2 of Ar tonelico II is different depending on whether or not you pick Luca or Cloche's path. Let's just say that the version of this that plays in Luca's path is not even in the same league as this. Mind you, you should be on Cloche's path anyway because she's a much better character than Luca. As for endings and cosmosphere, The 3rd Reyvateil crushes Luca and Cloche so badly that even if somehow you thought Luca was a better character, it wouldn't matter in the end! So really you could say that the two different versions of Rustling Throb are a totally valid determinant for which path you should pick, and Cloche's version wins that comparison so badly. It overrides all the music in the dungeon too, so you have this playing the whole time! Now, I felt like Ar tonelico II really took off during Phase 2 and never really stopped, but this section of Phase 2 is just beyond the impossible awesome.
Now actually regarding the song itself, I think it's probably pretty clear by now if you've been noting what I like why I like this so much, it has vocals (and vocals I really like, which should not surprise anyone at this point- it being Ar tonelico and all), and all the different kind of effects I end up praising. It also conveys a feeling of intensity and "epic" to me that is just great.
Now, for favorite parts, this has actually become tougher over time, it used to be easily 0:56 - 1:06. But now? Now I'm not sure there's any part of this song I don't like! I honestly feel like every part of the song is pretty much timed out perfectly and transitions great.
...Another fun fact, I think the process of writing this write-up has caused me to like this song, and Ar tonelico II, even more than I did before.
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
New Moderator
Dear You - Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdY1t1utvrI&feature=related
I should make it clear that i have not played Higurashi. However, I have seen the first season of the anime. It was very good, to the point it made a big impact on me. Big enough that I wanted to star one of the game's pieces on my birthday.
Due to my lack of experience, I cannot be totally positive this is from Kai. My searching seems to say it is. Tvtropes claims this is the original version while Youtube comments say that each character has a version of the piece remixed. I will spare all of our sanity in rating by not posting all of these. I really do like this piece though. It has a beauty to it, and a calmness I would not normally think would come from Higurashi.
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"That was pretty interesting. But dropping a warship on me is cheating... Take it back!"-Id, Xenogears
Editor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPC4wXguSjs&fmt=18
Definitely the most popular track from Vectorman, and I obviously like it a lot if I'm posting it. I'm not sure if it's my favorite piece from the game, but it's definitely top two, and people in general seem to like it the most, so I figured... why not.
Vectorman is probably one of my favorite games from my childhood, even though I didn't beat it until a few years ago. And never beat the sequel. I actually used to say that Vectorman PS2 would be the game that would have caused me to buy a PS2, but thinking about it now, that was a ****ing stupid thing to say considering the multitude of other good games and the fact that I hadn't even beaten either of the Vectorman games I owned back when I said this.
But whatever. Back on topic: I don't have very many memories of this piece, even though it plays relatively early in the game (during Stage 3: Tidal Surge, which I feel like might be the actual name of this song, but it's generally known as "Ocean" and who am I to disagree with the internet?) My not having many memories of it is a combination of me just not paying attention to VG music until recently and me generally getting frustrated at Stage 2 and either game overing or just ragequitting.
I don't know about you, but I find it a little bit weird to associate a platformer with techno music. It actually works quite well here, though - Vectorman put a pretty big emphasis on music, and especially 80s music (the second boss is named Metalhead and there's an entire stage based around a disco).
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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, at the very least, this is probably the best song in Topic 2 so far - excluding myself. I like the vocals and everything else, and let's say... 7.0. Unfortunately, perhaps, I have heard one of those remixes before, my only knowledge of this song going in, and that remix is superior - quite a feat given that that version has no vocals! I mean, that doesn't affect this one's rating obviously, but yeah.
Vectorman - Ocean
You know, I really didn't have high expectations for this coming in, but I was pleasantly surprised here. This has some rather neat sections and effects. Of course, it seems to feel the need to balance this out with less good ones. Still, it all works out to a net positive I think. I'll say... 5.5, probably on the high end of 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=-WI7MYAC-wU&fmt=18
Perhaps you will recall a very long time ago in the previous topic, CG7 had EXEC_PURGER/.#Misha extracting. More recently, when I went through my "not-a-good-idea" project of trying to comment on all the songs I missed in the previous topic in a single day, I mentioned that though that version of EXEC_PURGER is good this one is better. So here it is. Essentially, in Ar tonelico you get to make a choice as to whether Aurica or Misha gets EXEC_PURGER. This isn't actually the choice that splits the game down its two different paths, though it does change a few events directly afterwords. One of which is which version of EXEC_PURGER you will be hearing during the game. Obviously this is the version you'll hear if you choose Aurica to get EXEC_PURGER.
At this point, explaining why I like an Ar tonelico hymn seems a bit redundant. I do feel like this one takes a different style than most of the others so far, which has its pros and cons, overall I still really like this song obviously.
Choosing a favorite part is a bit complex, but I'll say 3:40 - 4:14, where it builds up, complete with that static effect (Note the static effect is probably my least favorite part of this section, but it is still neat).
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xp1337: Don't you wish there was a spell-checker that told you when you a word out?
Editor
Hey, this is quite good! It sort of reminds me of Floater Land, actually. I'll go with 7/10 here, but it could probably get up to 7.5, honestly. Actually, what the hell, we'll say 7.5, why not.
Fate/Stay Night - Emiya
Eh, this is distinctly okay. It never really grabs my attention or does anything that would make me want to listen to it again, though. 5/10
Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra - We've Got to Believe in Something
Pretty good. Like you said, the vocals really help here. I'm actually not a big fan of the intro, before the vocals kick in. Let's say 7.5 here.
Capcom Vs. SNK 2 : London : True Love Makin
haha what the
I think this reminds me of TWEWY's soundtrack. Really catchy. Perhaps too catchy. I will go with yet another 7.5 because it starts getting a little repetitive after like two minutes.
Street Fighter 3 : Sean and Oro's theme
This is decent. It doesn't do much to stand out to me, but I like it enough for what it is. 5.5/10
Street Fighter 3 : Crowded Street
Hmm, I think I liked this more before it changed dramatically at like a minute in. It's not bad after that, but the first part is so much better. 5/10
Further - Iji
So I had never heard of this game until I randomly stumbled on this piece.
Iji's a free game that's like Super Metroid except broken up into levels, IIRC. I've been meaning to play it. Incidentally, I'm pretty sure this is the ending song, judging by YouTube comments, which means it's time to bail for fear of spoilers!
Ar tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica - Rustling Throb ~Cloche~
I don't know about this. There are parts I like, but overall I'm just not a big fan of it. That said, it's not bad, and I certainly don't mind listening to it or anything. 5.5/10, probably on the upper end of that.
Dear You - Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni Kai
See: Radical Dreamers, pretty much everything I said there applies here. I like the vocals a bit more, though. In fact, I just like the song in general a bit more, so I'll go with 5.5/10.
Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia - EXEC_PURGER/.#Aurica extracting
what the devil is this
Well, there are parts of this that are okay. That decision to have the chorus made up of hoarse smokers was questionable though. It kind of kills the whole song for me.
Like... 2/10.
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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=AEpIZURJuts&fmt=18
Another game I stumbled upon. I think I ended up being linked to a different track from this game on Board 8, and decided to check out the rest of the soundtrack, which is mostly mediocre but has a few good tracks. And this one is probably my favorite of the bunch.
There's really not a whole lot to this one, but I think it manages a good bit of emotion in what is there. Alisia Dragoon is like an action/platformer or something, but I could definitely see this song playing during a sad scene in an RPG or some such. I actually think it kind of reminds me of Tragic Resolution, though obviously, Tragic Resolution is a lot better, but what can ya do.
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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 don't you just kick me while i'm down-
what the devil is this
Well, there are parts of this that are okay. That decision to have the chorus made up of hoarse smokers was questionable though. It kind of kills the whole song for me.
Like... 2/10.
-...dammit.
Alisia Dragoon - Stage 1-3
Um, hmm... this definitely has some neat parts to it, but... it didn't feel like it went anywhere, and then it ended abruptly to me. Like, all of the sudden it stopped and I was like, "Wait, what? Really? That was the end?" Definitely a lot of lost potential here, going to have to say 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=SmD_JHks28E&fmt=18
I feel this is one of the more unique sounding Phase Themes, and I think it definitely works, even though this is definitely not my favorite Phase Theme (but that's not a big deal, given how much I like practically all of them). Like all Phase Themes you have the bells that I like so very much, which is always nice, along with a bunch of other effects that I also really enjoy. I do think Double Prayer has some relatively weak stretches in it, but they aren't bad or anything, just "less good" , and they don't dominate the piece or anything.
My favorite part is pretty easy to pick out, it's from 0:00 - 0:42. The section directly after that is the one I feel is weaker relative to the rest of the piece, but it's fairly short and then the piece is back to being great again.
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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=fXoZx4i7iSI&fmt=18
Yet another game I've never played. I was introduced to this one through Board 8's VG Music Contest 5 nominations topic, though this wasn't the track that was nominated, and then it didn't even get in anyway, so I feel justified posting it here. Incidentally, Iridion II actually has a pretty good soundtrack, and while this is my favorite of what I've heard, I might post my second favorite (which actually is the one that was nominated for the VGMC5) at a later date. Really, I only decided to post this one instead at the last second.
This track does a lot that I really like. I love how it starts off sounding really simple and, I dunno, I guess clean or crisp or something, but then, unlike a lot of songs I can think of, I don't like it any less when it adds more effects and "instruments". In fact, I think my favorite part of it is the contrast between the two styles and how they play off each other. My biggest problem is actually that it ends rather abruptly, but then, you can't do much about that when you're working with a song that's supposed to loop.
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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
In the very beginning, I felt this had some potential. I then watched as this piece then did everything in its power to not take advantage of that, and instead dig itself a deeper hole. I do like, I guess you'd call it the "base" part of the piece, that it starts with, but I am definitely not a fan of practically everything else this does. So I'm going to say 3.5 here, which may or may not be rather charitable.
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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=aFoggDuyn9w&fmt=18
This is a piece that first plays very early in G.U., in a cutscene at the end of what I'd consider the prologue/before the game really starts. It returns later in the game too, but it will be encountered very early on in what I consider one of my favorite cutscene battles overall - Haseo v Tri-Edge.
[Spoiler for .hack//G.U. Vol 1//Rebirth [Prologue, if you consider that spoilers], click to show]In spite of the absolute domination Tri-Edge puts on in that battle, I just love how it plays out. First there's the "WTF?" factor for anyone who has played IMOQ and sees that Tri-Edge looks like a really twisted version of Kite from IMOQ, but then you watch as Haseo, who has previously been depicted as someone you do not want to mess with, given his single-handed annihilation of the PKs earlier, as well as just some of the general information you hear about "The Terror of Death" and Tri-Edge just effortlessly repels him, blocking every single attack Haseo launches in an almost bored fashion before abruptly seeming to get more serious, flatout destroying Haseo's Scythe and then seeing him use Data Drain, totally wiping Haseo out (and dropping his level from 133 to 1 so the game can begin properly) [/spoiler]
Anyway, I like how this piece seems to blend the more "intense" parts that would probably be easier associated as a battle theme along with the much "softer" parts that sound, IMO, more sad and tragic than they do "battle theme." For reference, in case that's a bad description, I'd say that section is from 0:57 - 1:25, however I'd also say that blend is prevalent throughout the entire piece, but the contrast is made most clear during that section when they come the closest to "separating" out. I also really like that effect that you can hear in the very beginning of the piece in the first eight seconds or so that recurs throughout the piece here and there.
My favorite part of the piece is actually the part right after that where I feel the piece finds the best "balance" between the two major "themes" I feel are present, from 1:25 - 2:45.
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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=c1LAhY_uRnI&fmt=18
I'm actually surprised I haven't posted this yet. I'm pretty sure it's been on my list of songs to post since I started this topic series. Probably my second favorite song from SoA, though I can definitely see people preferring this to Blue Rogues' Theme, which is my personal favorite (and which I posted quite a while ago).
The SoA Main Theme is important to me because it's one of the few songs I actually did take note of and listen to before I really started paying attention to video game music. In fact, this was the one VG song I used to listen to while studying or doing homework! It probably managed to bridge that gap when so many other songs couldn't because it's very reminiscent of classical music, which I occasionally used to listen to while studying/doing homework. In any case, I think this is an absolutely beautiful song. It doesn't really stand out to me so much nowadays, and I really don't think it fits Skies of Arcadia very well, but I still enjoy it quite a lot.
For anyone who cares, here's a version that loops for 30 minutes, because I feel like the one and a half minute runtime of the original link is a bit too short. I obviously don't expect you to listen to this whole thing though, unless you want to for some reason. >_>
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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