Lurker > PIayer_0

Daredevil
The Wind Calls to Shevat Soaring Through the Sad Blue Sky
Mixed Melody (Stage 4)

TeamRocketElite posted...

Is that song in the StepMania list the one I think it is from VGMC?

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1518162268?t=23h45m50s

nice

cry

Heart of Concrete
Hoist the Sword With Pride in the Heart
Aquatic Ambiance

< P0's Top 16 >
9.1 (0 left): Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital / Im Back (to Rise!) / Apex of the World (Rain)
8.9 (1 left): The Best Is Yet To Come
8.8 (2 left):
8.7 (0 left): The Wind's Blooming Mountain
8.5 (0 left): Move Me
8.4 (0 left): To a New Journey
8.3 (0 left): Don't speak her name! / Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke / Another Winter
8.2 (1 left): Sanctuary-RI / Hoist the Sword with Pride in the Heart

Well, here goes my latest attempt to get more recognition for Etrian Odyssey in VGMC! My labyrinth themes died quickly in the preceding two years, so I went back to one of the battle themes. Actually, the Raging Waves trio had decent performances (R3, R4, R3) so maybe there's something there for the future! It was also important to me to highlight the wonderful arrangements in EMD - wasn't easy deciding which of Hoist the Sword, Chalky Woods, and Cherry Tree Bridge to nominate! I don't rate EMD Hoist the Sword as highly as EO5 Raging Waves, but it undoubtedly goes harder as a battle theme - make the screeching violins at 1:09-1:26 pierce right into my ears baby! It's both funny and amazing that comparable battle themes like Each Justice and End of Raging Winds got the orchestral treatment from EMD, and then there's this absolute banger, as the kids say. Genre: VALIANT CONFRONTATION

DoctorJimmy133 posted...

Any reason we're using the Hoist the Sword's Engrish title instead of the official "Raise Thy Sword in Pride" which means the exact same thing?

it sounds cooler

Seriously, some of the official names are pretty bad (cough Tumult - Beyond the Scorching Heat cough)

1/3 three days in a row aaaaaaaaa

Team, This One's Stronger!
Conviction Corridor
Xeno Arcadia

I Can't Believe It's Not Zts!

In the Blood
Break the Limit!
B.SYNAPSE

Sanctuary-WRYYYYYYY (wait was this why it got matched up against "Time")

Remember Me
The Durandal
Sanctuary-RI

Remember Me good synthwave, check out Everything by FM-84 for similar non-VGM vibes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYoWstToygA

< P0's Top 16 >
9.1 (0 left): Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital / Im Back (to Rise!) / Apex of the World (Rain)
8.9 (1 left): The Best Is Yet To Come
8.8 (2 left):
8.7 (0 left): The Wind's Blooming Mountain
8.5 (0 left): Move Me
8.4 (0 left): To a New Journey
8.3 (0 left): Don't speak her name! / Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke / Another Winter
8.2 (2 left): Sanctuary-RI

It's a good thing I heard this song recently in the Toxtricity Top 50 post-game, because I really thought nothing of it in last year's vgmgg 300! Needless to say, it's my favourite Sanctuary track and favourite minimalist-y song in this year. Still trying to figure out what makes it so special to me!

To The Heart [Vocal Version]
Jungle Joyride (Night)
Abstract Map

SYNTH POP without synths...what's next, HEAVY METAL without steel clanging noises?

Hmm okay, we'll try one more Aivi Tran song I guess.

Cryamore - CRYAMORE! (Main Theme) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT-E85KZmrQ

Another Winter
Tunnel Vision (HIROSHI WATANABE Remix)
Blue Orb

Blue Orb a rare song that sounds better on speakers than headphones >_<

< P0's Top 16 >
9.1 (0 left): Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital / Im Back (to Rise!) / Apex of the World (Rain)
8.9 (1 left): The Best Is Yet To Come
8.8 (2 left):
8.7 (0 left): The Wind's Blooming Mountain
8.5 (0 left): Move Me
8.4 (0 left): To a New Journey
8.3 (0 left): Don't speak her name! / Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke / Another Winter
8.2 (3 left):

Another Winter was really popular on YouTube when I was first getting into VGM! I remember not liking it much, especially because it would mess with my searches for Another Winter from Seiken Densetsu 3/Trials of Mana. I must've kept skipping it before the good parts, because 0:57 is one of the most uplifting melodies I've ever experienced! It sounds like running into the sunset with your friends anime OP-style, and always motivates me to go a little further when I'm out running IRL. No knocks against Neko Nabe either, considering I was a Bi voter!

< P0's Honourable Mentions In The 8.2 Tier That Barely Missed The Top 16 >
8.2: An Endless Desert / Times Moves Slow (Home) / Tunnel Vision (HIROSHI WATANABE Remix)

I'm still coming to terms with how much I love this song! I would describe the genre as "chill yet treacherous space vibes," with active percussion layers weaving in and out over ambient synth textures. rwlh asked about the song in Discord, so I gave it some more thought in terms of non-VGM - as far as I know, the structure of long songs with subtle layer changes is well-established in "progressive" electronic genres like progressive house and progressive trance. Though personally, I acquired a taste for it through synthwave - see some of my favourite Lazerhawk tracks like So Far Away https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmnp0xV2P3E and Interstellar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epgswsq4qXI. There's also The Field's minimal techno like They Won't See Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uamdRZLfxA0 ( @rwlh you used It's Up There in a list so you should know!). I would even make a cross-genre comparison to the indie hit Intro by The xx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFq6nnw7xg0.

In terms of the better-established EDM genres I mentioned, I had to do some research but there's Strobe by deadmau5 for prog house https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdW5McynGh8 and some prog trance song Xpander by Sasha https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRqPeKbYoGw from...1999, wow!

Abstract Map not losing? Arceus avoiding the doubling?? Mili winning by 1 after going 0/3 last year??? Crazy day

save us

Ikenfell - Forest of Secrets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn4HIR1BbjE

I'll be happy with a 6 :P

Abstract Map
Twilight of the Gods
Nature

A E S T H E T I C on the SNES chip is something I didn't know I needed. The vocal samples are Another Life by Italo-disco band Kano, if anyone else was curious!

edit: wait I think the instrumental is entirely sampled from Another Life too lol

FEHLT (DEEMO edition)
Move Me
A CYBER'S WORLD?

< P0's Top 16 >
9.1 (0 left): Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital / Im Back (to Rise!) / Apex of the World (Rain)
8.9 (1 left): The Best Is Yet To Come
8.8 (2 left):
8.7 (0 left): The Wind's Blooming Mountain
8.5 (0 left): Move Me
8.4 (0 left): To a New Journey
8.3 (1 left): Don't speak her name! / Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke
8.2 (3 left):

Very sad I don't get to vote for Combat Beneath the Waves today! I first heard Move Me in VGMC 14 and it's only grown on me since. It *sounds* aggressive but *feels* chill, perfect music for when I need to brainstorm or deeply focus on something. One of the few songs in my list without a strong melody that I regularly sing to myself. I might write more in later rounds. Genre: DRIFT & BOOST

Heracross!

The Spirit of the Mountain
Sky of Twilight
MAD LAST WORLD

The Best Is Yet To Come
Home Sweet Home
City of Tears

< P0's Top 16 >
9.1 (0 left): Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital / Im Back (to Rise!) / Apex of the World (Rain)
8.9 (1 left): The Best Is Yet To Come
8.8 (2 left):
8.7 (0 left): The Wind's Blooming Mountain
8.5 (1 left):
8.4 (0 left): To a New Journey
8.3 (1 left): Don't speak her name! / Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke
8.2 (3 left):

Yeeep, TBIYTC was one of the earliest discoveries to make me appreciate vocal-led songs in VGM, and still serves as a great reference point. Also, did not expect Home Sweet Home to be this good wow

There's no way Breath of Forest misses retirement after this!

Breath of Forest
You Will Recall Our Names
how do you think?

place why

Bunwaii Desert
Grass Ruins
Wretched Automatons

I hereby advance abstain for Coalescence vs. Rain Formerly Known as Purple

Coalescence
The Rain Formerly Known as Purple
Radical Dreamers

tfw you want each RoR song to win individually, but you also don't want both to win together...

To a New Journey
Sky Tower
ICO -You were there-

< P0's Top 16 >
9.1 (0 left): Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital / Im Back (to Rise!) / Apex of the World (Rain)
8.9 (2 left):
8.8 (2 left):
8.7 (0 left): The Wind's Blooming Mountain
8.5 (1 left):
8.4 (0 left): To a New Journey
8.3 (1 left): Don't speak her name! / Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke
8.2 (3 left):

When I become old and senile, one of the final songs to remain in my fading memory will surely be To a New Journey. SupraDarky chose it for his 100th upload on Dec. 31 2007, and I wasn't subscribed so I must've discovered it a year or two later. I wasn't even old enough to be a teenager, and it became one of the first VGM to make it onto my personal playlist (i.e. a bunch of pop songs I heard on the radio). The opening lines traded between the guitar, flute, and bassoon were a wonderful introduction to song structure, melody and counterpoint, and woodwind instruments. After all these years, I still feel the same joy listening to it as I did back then - the combined tone of the flute and violins at 1:51 is musical magic!

nice try hb you can't vote for a song twice

LAST CALL
Sleeping in the Cold Below
GATE OF STEINER

Not feeling confident about this all-vocals vote...

Woo, what a Heretic comeback!

Good early submit!

Heretic Frypan
THE CHASE ~Chase~ (Special Edition)
Shudder

Eastward was my (and SupraDarky's) favourite soundtrack of 2021! Joel Corelitz nailed that "basic waveforms with modern synths and effects" sound, which is one of my favourite things in VGM (Fez, Dustforce, Golden Ridge B-Side). I'm just happy Heretic Frypan made the bracket, there's so many good songs that I didn't feel confident nominating: Strange Quest, Twisted Justice, Industrial, Black Train, Iron Carbine, the list goes on. Best part is the cymbals from 1:36-1:49!

Interestingly, 5 songs today locked at #53 or earlier...and then there's Heretic Frypan at #175.

Faded Dream of a Psychomeddler
The Apex of the World (Rain)
Unknown Pollution

< P0's Top 16 >
9.1 (0 left): Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital / Im Back (to Rise!) / Apex of the World (Rain)
8.9 (2 left):
8.8 (2 left):
8.7 (0 left): The Wind's Blooming Mountain
8.5 (1 left):
8.4 (1 left):
8.3 (1 left): Don't speak her name! / Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke
8.2 (3 left):

Well, that was a pretty early top 3 reveal! But what could those 8.9s and 8.8s be?! ooo the suspense ooooo

Like Back to Rise, I won't say much about Apex since I already did so in R1 last year. Maybe if it makes round 3 or 4 I'll do a write-up? Of my top 3, it feels like the most "I like this VGM for VGM reasons" song - it has an important in-game context, can be actively listened to or used as background music, and incorporates a bunch of motifs from the rest of the OST. A good song to recommend to a VGM-curious friend! Shame that I have to sacrifice Hustle and Bustle (8.0) here.

Seashore War
Nocturne
Into the Woods!

Dang you Bracket B

Practice Makes Perfect
Interwoven Stories
Revenge

My genre for Interwoven Stories was GEOMETRIC BIRDSONG - it's all I hear from those woodwinds!

Swap Out (Regret) sums up my feelings on these results

THEMEX
Swap Out (Regret)
Bi (veeeeeeeever)

I have a pretty clear memory of how I got into stuff like Bi starting from 2018ish:

Random anime clips => FOE by IOSYS => Zombieland Saga => Love Live => Tsurupettan via Umineko => Japanese Goblin => Bi

Yuzo Koshiro of course!

Different World 1
Terra
46-:ri9

Sticking with the same tiebreaker vote this time

Supper Woods
Snow in Summer
I'm Back (to Rise!)

< P0's Top 16 >
9.1 (1 left): Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital / Im Back (to Rise!)
8.9 (2 left):
8.8 (2 left):
8.7 (0 left): The Wind's Blooming Mountain
8.5 (1 left):
8.4 (1 left):
8.3 (1 left): Don't speak her name! / Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke
8.2 (3 left):

Bracket A be wild, son! Back to Rise was my #1 last year at 9.2, and I still love it but 9.1 felt like it was more accurate. I'll just continue from where I left off in R1 last year and highlight the multiple rhymes in that legendary first verse. Not only do the vowel sounds have to match, but the general downbeats follow English word stress! I still can't get over how good it is:

I used to be the flashiest star
Chilling with cash and cars
But somewhere lost my passion's heart
Now at the Combo Gym, getting my back my art
With the fury inside you can't match my spark

So, pull up your guard before I shatter your chest
I got the instinct to do it in this battle of death
This is my time to rise you can't rattle my steps
I'm gonna win, and it don't matter who challenge me next

So, I can power through you with no risk
Leaving your soul twisted up in my closed fist
Take notice, I stand as the coldest
Baddest, erratic fighter you could face on a foes list

The knockout king to all my opponents
I'm taking every moment to win, baby I own it
Yeah, I start to zone in with flurries and combinations
And end you with haymakers, my skills are way greater => CUE HYPE-AS-HELL HOOK

Someplace far away, Id Purpose nods in approval

Mimic
Nuedori
46-:ri9

Flipped on the tiebreaker

WOW I completely missed the match 1 and 2 late comebacks, what a pleasant surprise

I Can See Into Forever
Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke
PowerOne

< P0's Top 16 >
9.1 (2 left): Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
8.9 (2 left):
8.8 (2 left):
8.7 (0 left): The Wind's Blooming Mountain
8.5 (1 left):
8.4 (1 left):
8.3 (1 left): Don't speak her name! / Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke
8.2 (3 left):

Of all the Touhous to become yearly returners, I'm glad we picked this one. REACH FOR THE MOON AND BECOME ETERNAL

Mystic Pendulum
Egg Reverie ~ Extra Boss Theme
Scroll Stage

Can we have MIERNO "IDOLA" in now

memoryfactory.lzh
Passing through the Forest
Southern Twilight ~ Dance on the Cape of Good Hope

Nice low-stress day where I'm not that invested. Let them fight!

rwlh are you ok

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin
The Glittering City of Yusnaan
Scroll Stage

Takin' a ride downtown~

WALKING FAST
FACES PASS AND I'M HOMEBOUND