Lurker > dowolf

KamikazePotato posted...

"Yes, I do agree that most games in the series have major flaws. You should play the Tellius duology. Those two are a cut above the rest."
"Oh, sure. How?"
"Easy! Just shell out hundreds of dollars for used copies, because Nintendo refuses to re-release the best games their entire company has ever made."

my biggest real-life fire emblem friend has never played Radiant Dawn. I keep offering to literally mail him my copy (we live very far apart these days, and keep not lining up our visits back home), but he refuses to take me up on it.

Torment: Tides of Numenara is... I gotta move that up my backlog. I backed it way back when, read and loved all the novelettes they released during the buildup, and then it came out at a time when I really couldn't dive 500% into a mega-RPG and I just haven't ever gotten back to it.

I agree that the first book is the weakest, but imo that just speaks to the strengths of the later volumes. Heck, it also might be my favorite book 1 of a "big" fantasy epic? So many start off on the wrong foot (a part of me loves how the Dark is Rising Sequence is named after the second book), and The Way of Kings absolutely does not.

Thorn posted...

Is it now canon that Tita and Agate are dating? Please tell me this is a translation error and Renne is just teasing Tita like usual and blowing Tita's mention that she and Agate agreed to go somewhere up into something it's not to mess with her.

I'm sorry, but the JP made it very clear IIRC that they're going out (or at the very least have mutual crushes).

But on a more general note, The postgame VNs -- especially Renne's and Elaine's -- saved the series for me. I was... very unhappy with Reverie's main plot, and was tempted to swear off the series in general after I finished it. But a few weeks later, the postgame came out, and the writing quality was... actually good again. Which it hadn't been in so long.

C > Lapis > Nadia > Swin is just wrong. You need at least five more greater thans between Nadia and Swin. Also I probably swap Lapis and C but >_>

TheManaSword posted...

Im not sure I love the fiendflame gimmick with these battles. I feel like theres been a few times the enemies jumped position without me being able to react.

I've enjoyed it myself. It's not much, but having an extra strategic element still makes it feel fresh. Plus I feel a sort of strange glee every time the game takes a step closer to becoming literally the Trails battle system.

VOTES
Those Who Continue to Resist Destiny
Distant Lightning
Destructive Disruption

The Most Generic Boss Theme Title is -- wait. I want to check the JP. . Yup that's The Most Generic Boss Theme Title for you. Maybe it's more "Those who would continue to resist even destiny" but eh. I digress. Thankfully the song isn't generic at all. Good ol' Go Shiina chanting over some really nice drums. And the french horn countermelody is never unappreciated. Warbler is -- okay low key a visual novel I've been reading lately has a running... not a running joke, because it's being much more weird/denpa than joking about it, but let's just say there are warblers everywhere. I'd say it's because "warbler" is a stupidly fun word to say (it's an English VN), but cardinals and bluejays and chickens also feature heavily in theme and/or WHY DOES KAIRI'S CHICKEN KEEP GROWING i digress. Again. It's a really solid Gust battle theme. I like Gust flutes. They're like ham flutes but better. I think I'm slightly in the mood for Shiina today but this is a super tough, both 9/10 or better match.

Higan! That's a word. It means literally "the distant shore," but you should think of it as "the other side" as in the afterlife. It could also mean "dearest wish" but look we all know it doesn't I don't have to justify this. It's written in katakana in this song, but there's another song on the track called "The True Shore" where it's translated as, well, shore, which is odd. ANYWAYS this song is kinda sweet. I like each of the individual parts, the chanting the rhythm and the flute, but I don't think they come together great. Distant lightning starts off cool, a neat piano rhythm into a thunderclap followed by Shikata Akiko-style chanting. Wait why do I say "go shiina" when I'm doing every other JP name in this post in Eastern order I'm weird. We then get a flute into a very normal Gust-style broad chorus, but I like broad choruses. I can think of a lot of stuff in a similar vein (The right spelling this time. Hah! Take that, English!) that I like more, especially from e.g. Ayesha, but even a lesser tune in a style I love is going to score well.

Mensch Theme doesn't really get there for me. It feels too... simple. Too orderly. Too normal. Like whatever drugs Go Shiina is normally on when he's composing, he got off of. That is kind of an uncomfortable metaphor and I apologize profusely for it. As for the other song... I super appreciate bringing in the Achiwa battle theme rep, because I think having selections show off an OST's diversity is a good thing. Unfortunately, those have generally been some of my less favorite pieces in Atelier. That said, the opening guitar riff here is really pretty. Ooh and then it falls away for some bagpipes? Okay that is spicy. His works often feel like they're "supposed" to have vocals, and this isn't an exception. I wonder if this one does. I would super listen to that. Folks should listen to vocal Nefertiti if they haven't. I think both of these are my least favorite of their sets, but I still enjoyed them. Happy day today.

i am low-key sad on a strange level that i'm not voting warbler. warble warble warble. I can't say that out loud because I am on lunch break in the office and people would think I am weird. Well they should think I'm weird ANYWAYS how is this an R2 match it's not fair.

VOTES
The Morn a Thousand Roses Brings
Winding Through Avidya
Keves Battle

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Brilliant Wings is really cool and fun. Sometimes, you can feel in a song how everyone involved in its production was just having the time of their lives; this is one of those times. There's just so much joy in the piece's soul. Unfortunately, it's up against one of my favorite "new discoveries" from Genshin, where "new" is in quotes because I've played way too much of that game and yet had never heard this song because I'd never really watched any of their trailers. Whoops? It's easily my favorite rendition of the Sumeru main theme/motif/whatever word I'm supposed to use, and that was already one my favorite themes. Dubstep with Persian instrumentation just works; what can I say?

Todokanu Kotoba -- nitpick time: this is "words that will never reach you." I'm saying them in the present, knowing they will be in vein. In vain? Yeah in vain. Spelling was a mistake. A simple ballad, but I'm a simpleton. Up against it is more Sumeru goodness, though. I dunno I just listen to that flute dancing up to the rafters on a ladder of strings and I'm in heaven. Then we shift into a chill Persian melody, the kind you might just hear in a random bar. Well, maybe not any real world bar THE POINT IS the bar in this paragraph is much better than any real world bar and I want to go there. Love the neat little countermelody in the final third; it really brings the piece home. And then everything drops away except that countermelody ooh now that is how you do an ending.

Battle Against Those Stupid Bats In Zelda Games starts off solid but unremarkable. It sounds like a Xenoblade battle theme. Which I am technically a sucker for I guess. Plus it's got my best friend HAM FLUTE! As the biggest HAM FLUTE fan on b8, thank you for giving me HAM FLUTE goodness. I think I slightly like Brilliant Words more than this but it's super solid. I uh really don't like No Turning Back. It just doesn't work for me. I don't really know why. Especially since I associate it with an area in Genshin that's super cool.

I can't believe you included two songs with the word "words" in their titles but neither has vocals I feel INCREDIBLY blue balled right now. (edit: okay i genuinely don't know how Brilliant Wings turned into Brilliant Words in my brain and I am forced to conclude that I am stupid.)

VOTES
Sword of the Surviving Guardian
Moonlight Canyon / Udyr, the Spirit Walker
The Wastes Where Life Began

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Swords of Revealing Light is cool! always good to find a new member of the 10% of Kirby stuff that I like :) I like Nilah but I like new things more.

Moonlight Canyon is interesting, feels like it's been lifted straight from Wild Arms 6. It feels oddly hollow to me, like it needs a little extra oomph in the chorus. Still, a fun song. Meanwhile, League defies all expectations by fielding a new song! Which is weird because Udyr is old. And I recall him getting a remake while I was playing. Of course I also recall Ryze getting like five hundred remakes while I was playing, until they eventually removed the soul of the character, and then I stopped playing League. I'd say I was happier for it, but this weekend happened so clearly i'm still a miserable pile of doo who deserves everything that happens to her in solo queue ANYWAYS unfortunately this is kind of the worst of the three League songs for me. Not enough really happens.

Desert Wastes, I could copy paste the comment from match 1. All it had to do was show up and not give me a headache and I would probably vote it over a repeat on principle. That I actually like the song makes me feel not-guilty about that, though. What can I say? I'm a sucker for desert themes.

...I commented during LoL's Round 1 that I was afraid they didn't have enough music to make a fresh set for round 2. This gives me the impression I was right. Which kinda sucks, not gonna lie.

+10 Snowfield of Bulrush: now that's a jazz piano.
+9 Spinel: Feels 90% like something out of deemo. And even the remaining 10% is still enjoyable.
+8 Ground Slider Concerto No.1 "Kazeuta". Broadly enjoyable, and does nothing I hate. Congrats, I guess.
+7 Malkuth: Super cool opening. And then it becomes Rhythm Game which is unfortunate. But if I just pretend the song doesn't have like 0:20->0:35 and maybe chilled out a bit in the back half and really just never did the 64th and 128th note chains GOD STOP DOING 128th NOTE CHAINS all they do is test physical dexterity; they're not fun to listen to!
+6 JUSTITIA: same as malkuth, really. It's great when it bothers to sound like music and not like a challenge.
+5 Grand Finale: was, in fact, a grand finale. The call and response work surprisingly well. oh and now we're going at double time. please tell me this isn't gonna be a b movie thing please tell me this isn't gonna be a b movie thing oh no. oh no. this was gonna get the top spot. YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE. okay final loop is spicy, i'll give it that.
+4 Tadahito's Melody: surprise sadvnpiano.mp3?! Just a person indeed. I stopped after 2 minutes; sue me.
+3 Halloween: Mixing's a bit off to me, but still enjoyable. Feels like an off-vocal Hyadain piece.
+2 Hexa Rhythm: Solid, I feel like I should like this more than I do. Shrug.
+1 Love Puzzle: I don't understand what it's trying to be, just a bizarre mixture of "sharp" sounds and "smooth" sounds, but it's mostly fine.

Honorable Mentions
Fire Volcano: japoeurobeat is fine, i guess.
World Box: Cute opening. Song's decent, but the bass overpowers everything my bob.
Environ: Shrug
Behind the song of stars: is fine.
Shuriken: sounds like a challenge. Some sounds I like though.

Dishonorable Mentions:
Fake Dorchadas: An insult to the original. I refuse to give this points on principle. That principle being that the original is a 10/10 and this isn't. It is not a very good principle, I will concede, since i do still like it more than several things I did give points to, but.
Tanaka: owww
Luna and Environ: what's the point? I actually realized i was a song short at the end, and it was because these two bled into each other.
Camellia: so many other mrd composers we could go with here. presumably. i don't really know.
moonlit sky: what sort of arse puts a 22 minute song among 20 songs that he's asking folks to listen to and rank? the first two minutes ain't good, and I don't see why I should give it that much more time. oh you only wanted me to listen to a random 4 minute segment. Yeahhhhh those timestamps don't work in a playlist. It's fine but not gonna win any points.

god i hate ranked choice voting so much. you people were supposed to realize its flaws after the supra contest that it's a mistake, not start using it everywhere. ranking 20 and you have to pick 10 is... yeah. I don't know why you looked at people not bothering to vote in snubs and 2.5x'd down.

VOTES
Kvaris Ancient Boss
Across the Starlight
Song of Mourning: The Eternal Wind

no idea how y'all expect me to update votes.

VOTES
-
Across the Starlight
Song of Mourning: The Eternal Wind

my brain is just not resolving either song in the first match into something enjoyable. maybe i'll be in a better mood tomorrow morning and that will help. i dunno.

special shout outs to far gone, which has given me a headache to boot.

Literally more QoL updates in the first six months of Star Rail than in over three years of Genshin. It's so weird.

VOTES
Indra
Life in the Base -morning-
Before I Rise (Acoustic Ver.)

I certainly like what Moon Wind Demon Legend (where did "hell" come from) brings to the table, even if I wish we'd gotten a more stylistically varied selection. That said, I don't think any of them rise to the level of astounding for me -- and, well. I started playing HBR solely because of the OST. To say I think it's "astounding" is perhaps an understatement.

Before I Rise

Let me plant a kiss on your neck
And breathe in your scent
That, or maybe just end it all

One sunny day after school
Bullets rained down
And so began the tragic season

The wind fell still
The windmills fell still
The bellows fell still
Sound fell still
My breath fell still
My heart fell still
And so, once everything has come to an end--

Please, be by my side
I love even this nightmare so much it drives me insane
Smile, if you can
To be together
For a billion lightyears --
That's all I ever wanted from you

Would it be so bad
If we cast it all aside
And frolicked like children?

I know! Tomorrow, I'll go to the beach
And bring all the toys I can
And maybe you can come too?

The wind blew
The windmills turned
The bellows blew
And then came a roar
I took a breath
I heard my heart thump
And so everything stirred to life

The dream lasted so long
I'd wanted to wake up sooner, to laugh it all away
So, turn this into one of those fairy tales
Where you hurry up and kiss me
Where you sweep me off my feet
Is that too much to ask, my prince?

My heart's so lonely
Love's banished from sight
No number could describe my feelings
And yet I tremble
And yet my pulse beats on
Like wreckage bobbing to the surface

Please, stay by my side
Yes, you: stay by my side
I don't care if it's a dream
Just keep acting like you never woke up
Don't disappear too
Stripping my memory of even your scent
And leaving me alone in the world --
Don't let that happen, Oh Lord!

despite having One Job(tm), I didn't do that one job, so have some lyrics disconnected from videos:

Indra

(The enemy -- they're here?)
Not yet. Keep your cool
(The sun -- it's rising!)
Not yet. Keep your cool
For now, let something warm in, keep it close

(The enemy -- they're here?)
Go forth; draw your sword

Everyone, one and all, wants to live
Thus do our hearts shatter
Thus do we hold our heads high

Someday, we'll chase the wind, far into the distance
Searching, each of us, for a precious treasure
I'll do it, I promise. Pinky swear me

In our eyes, the lightning of anger
At our backs,
A hand pushing us to the future

By hook or by crook, everything but the kitchen sink
Sometimes you still come up empty; don't be cried
You're led by the nose, going every which way
Scrambling for an escape

(The enemy -- did you see them?)
Not yet. Keep your cool
(The enemy -- they're coming!)
Not yet. Keep your cool
For now, find yourself a souvenir

(The enemy -- did you see them?)
Go forth; leave nothing on the table

To the ends of the universe; in that nook
Even an ant stands tall
Against a giant

From this too-blue sky
Let fall a red rain
Like an artist loosing her paints
Roll up your sleeves
And frantically give it your all

Something clings to me. Someone's blood and guts
Death marks the end
We but count the seconds

By hook or by crook, we're whittled down
We struggle and scream, on land sea and air
A spider's thread, enough for one person
Go down

By hook or by crook, everything but the kitchen sink
Sometimes hide, a bomb shelter
Their whims decide who lives and who dies
Show some backbone

VOTES
Fn Fantasy
Absolute Grip on Sanity
Boss (Lucoa)

i think i liked the first 20 seconds of finnish fantasy more than the song proper. Which isn't to say I dislike the song proper, it's solid -- that opening was just sick. I don't dislike Comfy Cutie, but it doesn't have a strong hook either.

Crisis Core I genuinely don't know how to feel about. Absolute Grip swaps the title of "cool intro" around from match 1. I kinda like it? It's so fearful, crawling and -- oh. I didn't expect a strong melody to come in. Wow. Huh. The first minute and now this feel so different, but I think I like them both? This definitely feels like a song that would grow on more listens. A surprise intricacy, but not an unwelcome one.

Lucko. Lucka? Luca herself. This is not a boss theme, I feel very strongly about that. This feels like a Suikoden war battle theme. Or any tactics game's battle theme. WITH A THERAMIN sold. Absolutely a song to hype forces going into war with. Stage select M is decent too.

Good songs from very different styles makes for interesting matches.

Thorn posted...

Yeah. Honestly, the typo and wrong or missing words situation is probably the worst of the Trails games but you can definitely see the frequency pick up towards the end of the game.

But the example I singled out in that post as probably the clearest instance related to the Final Dungeon:

NISA went with "Retributive Tower" as the official name for it. That's what's used in the voiced lines, mandatory story dialogue, the area title, etc. However, once you stray from that into the more optional/lesser seen stuff I'd wager you see "Reverse Babel" used more often. Some minor NPCs will refer to it as such, the story summary blurbs on the "Trails to Walk" route switch screen refer to it as such, I think the story summary itself does. Some NPCs still use Retributive Tower but the use of Reverse Babel is well past a one-off or something.

...god dammit nisa. i want to complain that "retributive tower" makes no sense, but honestly neither does "reverse babel" so >_>

Thorn posted...

Well, as I mentioned in one of the Finale write-ups, you can tell the translation and editing kind of went out to lunch later in the game so I suppose that doesn't surprise me!

And yeah, I haven't made any progress since then, sorry. >.< just haven't had the energy to play during my free time.

ugh, did that really happen again? I remember you could tell in CS3 the exact moment Hatsuu had to step away because things just sunk.

and i am also in the middle of a WoT book 4 reread i should pick up the pace or something >_>

Also BABY YAY CONGRATS! My sister was also a premie and had jaundice, it's nothing to worry about.

VOTES
Hibiki
Amulet of Enbarr
Bye Bye

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Memories of memories is no Memories of Lightwaves, that's for sure. Ooh I really like Hibiki's first like 5 seconds. Song reminds me of Sakura no Uta? It has a lot of speed, but it does so interestingly, which is to say there's also slow parts or the speed is a countermelody for a much-more-reasonably-tempoed melody. What I'm saying is, I like it. I do wish some of the pure instrumental bits were a little less gung ho but it's solid. I can't find lyrics for this which makes doing a TL harder but I might still do so, we'll see how I'm feeling later in the day / tomorrow morning.

Redwood Colonade is basically the exact same song as Memmem, but now there's a flute. I do like flutes, and the flute does good work here, but it also drives home how disappointing an opener Memmem was. And a slide whistle? Is that a slide whistle? I dunno it's cool tho. The heavy bass around 3:40 really works. Ember Amulet I like the opening of again, and ooh xylophone triplets are nice. And move straight into some Celtic jig? With tapdancing? Color me intrigued. And chanting in the second half? A true delight.

Ocean Glade is uh... Look "atmospheric exploration" pieces is just not my ideal. I think I like this more than Memmem, but this style of song is always going to struggle to win my vote. Meanwhile Bye Bye just comes in with a Japanese sound very different from popn's other selections, and a very different singer than the other vocal song. I'm not a big fan of her voice (and if I can't find lyrics for this I'm 100% not doing a TL by ear, her enunciation is really hard to understand IMO), but I do like that I feel like I'm getting a real sample of the OST. Also the guitar at the end is pretty sick.

VOTES
Journey to Candle Hill
At the Plaza
Remembrance ~ FM Mix

Wasn't really blown away by anything tonight.

VOTES
Timestopper Tactics
Let Me Out
Un Deux Trois

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Frosty forest is uh... I mean, it's a rhythm game song! In a rhythm game! But it's not what I love about Deemo, and is what I dislike about rhythm game music (namely, a predilection for speed over, well, other things). Timestopper starts off cool, then quickly shifts to what are interesting sounds over a fairly standard techno rhythm. I don't like fairly standard techno rhythms! But hey, I can appreciate everything except that rhythm quite a bit.

Yadorigi is fine I guess. Dunno what else to say. It was all right, but also I think forgettable. Let me out just isn't clicking wait no it is clicking i have been reclicked?! Yeah somehow warped space broken dream thing is hitting me i blame everything.

poor kitty doesn't deserve to be sunk :( Impact might actually be my favorite of corro's set, but 123 is too strong.

i realize this is my own fault for choosing/needing not to be a more active participant in set selection, but after the mili goodness that was the nom set, the lack of her (yes i realize that's the group name shh) is kinda disappointing. Like not super disappointing, 123 is fantastic and Yadorigi was enjoyable, but still >_>

In unrelated news, people who write 4,000 line tests for 2,000 line functions and expect other people to maintain their code can go fudge themselves.

VOTES
Base
Steel Works Sizzle
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Base is most assuredly not basic. It is simply and purely fun. It makes me want to hang out with whoever's base this is; I know I'd be in for a good time. Dodo's lair has an interesting intro, but sorta chills for ten seconds before unleashing the melody. And what a melody it is. I really like the countermelody here too, it just plays with the main melody in that great way a good countermelody does. That said, I do have one complaint: I think it needed to land into something broad after the fast section, rather than just looping. It makes the song feel incomplete.

"Inactivated Frozen" is a very strange title. Software cannot freeze if it's inactive? As for the song itself, I think the rhythm overpowers the actual melody in a way that's really unfortunate. I might have liked the song, otherwise. Sizzly is such a surfer song that it kinda urks me? But I still enjoy it more.

I refuse to vote in the third match and am frustrated this was the choice. I realize you thought you were clever. You were not.

aww man postgame spoiler talk time (2 days late whoops). I'd written more but then realized you still had stuff left so deleted half of it but!

Nitpicky, but what else do you expect from me: I really don't like how they translated the name of the "Grandmaster" daydream. "Look back to look forward" is just kinda wrong. The line in question is "Ushiro no shoumen, da_are?" which astute nerds will recognize as a line from Higurashi's opening theme -- but probably more relevantly, it's originally a line from Kagome Kagome, a children's song/game (similar to ring around the rosies). What exactly this line means is literally the subject of academic debate, but here it is almost certainly used to mean something like "Who is the puppetmaster holding the strings?" Which, of course, actually fits with the contents of the story.

VOTES
Boundless Myth - Normal Battle Edit -
Thunderous Roar
Memoria of 'He'

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I have forgotten the face of my father, clearly, if this is what I think he sounds like. It sounds almost self-obsessed, the way it sticks with one melody idea for so long. It's too much! The jazz improv stuff is interesting, but it's so hard for me to enjoy recorded improvization. I refuse to spell that word with an S. It feels like it's missing the point to me, you know? So much of it is about connecting with and jiving with the audience, so when you just did something in a recording studio and I am hearing it a year later, something is lost. Meanwhile we get chanting over a Yuki Kajiura-style violin? Ooh. Actually yeah, minus the fact that the singer doesn't sound like anyone Kajiura's worked with AFAIK, you could tell me this was composed by Kajiura and I'd believe you. And considering she's one of my favorite composers, that's high praise. Also I guess this is another lyrics day! (there's one on the wiki, but I don't like it so TIME TO MAKE MY OWN.)

I wish I were still ignorant of this song. wow that was mean of me. The starting rhythm is certainly interesting. But I feel like the song passed me by without ever leaving anything in my memory. The opening of Thunderous Roar is wonderfully foreboding, and then we shift to some really nice piano work over a cool techno melody. (THIS is how you do a fast piano, Silver Bullet!) And it keeps shifting! I like lots of ideas! God, what a cool piece. How was that only 2 minutes? I feel like I've heard hours of brilliance.

I don't mind the slow intro into a mournful... oboe? I think it's an oboe. And I don't mind repeating the melody up an octave. But now that's gone away, replaced with a vaguely atmospheric guitar, and I see almost three minutes have gone by and--and now we're repeating the oboe's melody with that guitar? And now we're going again with a bit of doubling? I love buildup in a song -- Electric Power Building, This Silence Is Mine, Yamiyo no Prologue: they're all some of my favorite songs for a reason -- but I find myself bored. A good buildup song layers something new on top, gets more interesting over time. But Lullaby never outperformed that initial oboe version. oh no it's a double lyrics day. I'm not as much of a fan of this song, it's very standard jpop, but hey I like standard jpop. But maybe i'll skip lyricizing this song, if I'm busy.

Gunvolt has consistently done more with less time. okay lyric time:

With a word do I act
With a word do I create
With a word do I destroy
With each sinking do I rise anew, for I am the Sun!

The Book of the Dead, set down in time immemorial
Commencing Heaven and Earth, guiding it,
Melting the distant, blurry boundary of the horizon: A mythic episode

Ra! Your demesne knoweth no limit
Ra! We offer prayer, that the sun riseth once more

Onward, I as ever lie down: a future unchanging
Our festivities, ever regular
Igniting flames the color of blood oozing dully from the corners of the mouth: A mythic episode

Ra! Your hands know no regret
Ra! Remain luminescent high above our head

stopping here for tonight because i don't feel like doing more, and also the normal battle edit ends here. Also in the process I found the full version and it looks like the wiki's lyrics are both official and machine translated. Why do I live in the worst timeline.

VOTES
Anarchy Rainbow
Panic in the Sky
Mall Meltdown

UTF, Dawn, you are fucking up badly please stop making seat-of-your-pants decisions because they are all wrong and obviously wrong and if you spent five seconds to consult with literally ANYONE they could tell you as much in so many words. Like thank god I already knew 5/6 of these going in.

i bitched about this in the discord, but: extend the match to the usual end time. That's the precedent for a reason.

VOTES
Blue Area
Green Area
ANEMONE (Original Mix)

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First match is ridiculous. Blue Area is bouncy fun zaniness and I am here for it. There's just so much creativity. But Nocturnal also absolutely nails what it's going for. The breakdown is so well done too; I love it when a song fills its runtime the way Nocturnal does. I'm going to give the edge to Blue, but god this is close.

Green is a clear step down from Blue, but it's still not bad. I like the syncopated rhythm on the scales, not quite sure how to describe it but it's cool. The bit at 1:00 is just neat. Silver bullet starts out with bullet-fast piano, which is weird because fancy pianos are made of ebony and ivory, not silver god what a silly song-namer you are. The song threatens to be more than just a show of piano dexterity at times, but it never gets there for me. Though the doubling with... whatever that is in the back half is a nice touch.

Boss Fight feels very megamany. I want to grab onto something, and the song just says "no." That's definitely not a bad thing in a boss fight, but it makes it hard for me to enjoy quite as much. WHY IS THERE A RANDOM GREEK LETTER IN A JAPANESE ARTIST'S NAME i don't approve of this. i'm going to be doing a translation of this aren't I. Ooh I like the instrumental bit after the intro. "iya nan da" with the instrumentals dropped off ooh that was nice.

Feels weird to go from a close match, to a blow out one way, to a blow out the other way, but here we are. "Here" being lyricland. Enjoy:

Amid the turning seasons
Sang out a tiny voice
Leaving behind
Doubt and regret

I knew,
Yet I made the wish.
This world, adorned by
Anemones

At twilight, the two of us gazed up at the sky
The stars twinkled; we were fragments

Two lost kids who kept looking back
I had to act, even if I couldn't change

Grief and nerves come out even,
I said in a glance: the usual signal

The secret code to open our hideout
A simple thing, to make me so happy

I want to make contact
And am close enough to reach
Am I just to run away again?
Hell no

Let be destroyed
The side of me that will never bloom
The sky begins to cry
As if to hide both hope and truth

I could just disappear
And this place would again wait
For the next season to come
Yet even so,
I want to stay radiant till the ending I imagined

I won't give up on the chance miracle
From the night the stars entwined, and so we walk

I reached a hand to the pale light
So we begin
From here to the future

Let it come true!
No matter how ugly, how weak
I screamed again and again
So I would never forget

Just take me away with you
This place would still be waiting
For the next season to come
Yet even so

Let be destroyed
The side of me that will never bloom
The sky begins to cry
As if to hide both hope and truth

A story without parallel:
Anemone

Beautiful.

VOTES
Linking with curious creature
Scooping Up Dreams
Piercing the Blue Sky

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Hayasame is -- first off, shout outs to bizarre readings of kanji. Okay I guess it's not that weird but "same" instead of "ame" keeps messing with my head. Especially because just showed up in a new HBR event and that's pronounced "shigure" which is just not a normal pronunciation of those kanji at all but i didn't know the phrase (sodeshigure) before and it's talking about when you wipe off your eyes and wind up with teardrops on your sleeve and it's such a pretty metaphor. Well that was a digression and a half. The song is a slightly-above-average Gust battle theme, but I like Gust battle themes so that still translates to happy Wolf. But Linking is super pretty. Wow. I love the foowahs (technical term [almost sounds like a pan flute but not quite, whatever that whistle-esque sound is]) in the background. It's just a gorgeous piece.

Scooping up dreams sounds like fun. This song sounds like fun. Ooh but it's actually a spooky dungeon? Love the horn countermelody, love the crescendo into the chorus, love the gust flute, what a "me" piece. The trumpet can gtfo though you do NOT belong. The ending of the chorus feels almost rushing? Strange. I wish it were at a slightly slower tempo. Solo Wanda is super nice too, but doesn't have a magic that makes me squee.

Drilling Through the Sad Blue Sky -- no i don't think the reference is intended but they do both use so you know what i'm rolling with this. I love this. Easily my favorite Sophie 2 battle theme. The chorus here is so good. It feels like regret, like heartbreak. And then you have the guitar and piano doing their call-and-response over a sick bass line and you get that tinge of hope and :) I like sad battle themes. That seems kinda weird now that I put it in text. I have decided the visiting man's name is Jackson. no this song is not cool enough to be Jackson. It's just way too minimalist for me.

VOTES
Stella Nursery
Pest Friends (Insect Hive)
Castle of Illusion

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Thermal Vent is cool but it was not written for me. Stella Nursery, on the hand, absolutely is. the french horn at 0:25 is to die for. I love the dynamic contrast so much. the song is just cool. Really the only downside is that it's only a minute long before the loop.

"Vote yes on A" ads: please stop reminding me of how awful California is ANYWAYS spiderfriendo is almost a very appropriate pick for Halloween but it is 13.5 hours late so zero credit, sorry. Reminds me of some Korean DOS stuff. This is a good thing. The Destined Resistance has an interesting start, but it's gonna need to have a strong chorus to win the match... And it doesn't quite get there. Destiny has been thwarted, I guess. Super close though.

Another person's treasure: am I another person? Debatable. But not for very long, because this is pretty comfortably my least favorite in the set. It does some mildly cool glissando schwang things, but the rhythm and the main melody feel like they clash each other super hard. Vaguely Christmassy. Castle of Illusions immediately gives me chanting and my brain is happy. The violin gives me instrumental anime OP impressions, which isn't ideal. Yeah this is 100% "supposed" to have words. But hey we get a ham flute! Would probably take either track in match 2 here, but I'm less agonized over this choice than I was that one.

i've been busy!

>_>

VOTES
Megalomania
Playing with Psychos
Irresistible Force

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I don't like Genshin's music very much, but Sumeru is probably the biggest exception, and 2022 covers Sumeru. Meanwhile, I broadly prefer the original Live a Live OST to the remixed one. Let's see what we got!

Thunderings of the Merciless is basically Thunderings of the Heartless which basically makes it a Kingdom Hearts track which makes this Yoko-on-Yoko violence. Sorry, but that's just logic. Megalomania has tremendous art. As for the song itself, it mostly keeps the original melody, but adds some interesting alternative verses. That said, the main melody feels a little much in this version. Like I wish it had been less prominent for some of the verses.

I refuse to believe that's actual German and not fake German. You cannot convince me otherwise. My German ancestors could come down from heaven and tell me they got it right and I would call them liars. Fischl is cool. This song does not do anything for the majority of its runtime. I don't understand it. We finally get the guitar around 2:40 and that's when it gets good but my feelings on the piece were largely shaped by those first few minutes. The ending is also a big ol' nothingburger. "Barf" feels like an uninspired remix of a SNES track. On the bright side, there's worse instruments to do your 1:1 arrangement with than a saxomophone. Oh there is a bit of a guitar here, cool. This is getting pretty solid. It also took a while to get going but I wasn't bored through the beginning segments so that's a plus.

Irresistable Force has a much better slow start than Germenschland. At the same time, it never fully resolves. I expect something in my big buildup songs! Iwata Akira really likes saxomophones. Which, again, respect. Also respect JP ordering for the names! though somehow Yoko Shimomura actually sounds more right to me, wtf brain you speak japanese what is wrong with you. Honestly you could copy/paste my thoughts on Psycholand here and they'd still apply, except we don't get anything that equals the introduction of the guitar and the shift to something more creative that we got in Pyscho.

0/3 sumeru makes me a sad wolf.

How the shops work differs depending on which mission (not the right word but forgive me) you're doing, but Screwellium is usually a place to acquire blessings. The first mission just gives you one for each curio you have, so I assume that's the one you're on and what happened to you. You should be able to check what blessings you have, though.

Hmm, maybe. I've generally tried not to look up the English VA's because I suspect I'm not gonna like it (case in point: i have Opinions(tm) on the Daybreak trailer). It's one of those things where, at best, it's going to equal the original, and at worst it will make me angry, so >_>

MacArrowny posted...

Some of the Daydreams are written by other authors than the main story author, which explains why they might not necessarily fit into canon.

that, uh, explains a lot. Specifically, that the writing quality in JP varies pretty wildly in them. Though it backs up something that I've felt again and again over the last few months, that Reverie is technically so much better written than Hajimari that it distorts/improves so much of the experience.

Case in point, Reverie making someone like Lloyd's character more is just bizarroland stuff to me >_>

Irish Fast Rock
Northern Wilds
Epic Inspirational

this is what we deserve for not supporting arknights, or something.

VOTES
Subterranean Sunrise
Renata Glasc, The Chem-Baroness
KSante, The Pride of Nazumah

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Subby Sun is an interesting meatball. It feels like a great song to explore a metroidvania to. The instrumentation and rhythm are really cool. This is growing on me! The last minute or so in particular is so cool. Nilah certainly lives up to its subtitle; it's such a wonderfully evocative song. I think the intro is a fair bit too long? But then we get into the bit at 1:00 and it's so cool. So yeah, I love it. But I do wish it were a bit tighter. It feels unfair to say that it would've won the match if it were 2:30 instead of 3:15, but it also feels unfair to say this is a round 1 matchup so.

Straight from Africa to the Middle Easterlies? Sure. I don't really have much to say about this. It's kind of a letdown after the last two tracks. It has a similar cool last-minute buildup as Subby Sun, but it doesn't land nearly as well. Ranoutof Glass is easily the weakest from the lollards, I guess I like it more? But I'd rather just vote for any of the other 4 tracks.

Fission feels derivative. I have heard this melody so many times. Given that I know e.g. The Rain Formally Known as Purple is a reference (shocker, I know), it's probably a reference to The Thing, but I can't pull up from my brainstem what The Thing is and it just bothers me. but that's fine because IT'S BACK TO AFRICA BABY wait is the subtitle implying he's a lion? is that racist? i don't care the drums are so cool (am i allowed to call them tribal drums? i feel like i'm not). Really this is just Nilah but better. And I like Nilah! It manages to be tighter, yet 45 seconds longer; it just has more ideas. The brass right at the end of the first section is so badass. The middle section is maybe a bit long, but then we get to 2:30 or so and it's so emotional. I have no idea if these are even actually lyrics, but I feel like I can hear prayers offered at the dawn. Then there's the final, glorious cheer. What a way to go out.

During noms, I knew I liked only a very select number of RL2 tracks, and I feared LoL didn't really have a full compliment of songs. I don't think either set here makes me disagree with those assumptions; in particular, I don't know a single other 2022 LoL song. But hey, if it wins, hopefully I'll be surprised.

VOTES
Dance of the Daring
Trick or Track (Temple Remix)
Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit

Pretty easy choices. I don't like 90% of Kirby music, though I do really like the chanting-esque parts of Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit. Meanwhile, Dance of the Daring blew me away in nominations. Keep Up doesn't quite match that, enough that it can't quite beat Kirby's strongest offering (though the drums at 1:30 are sick), but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't full-on cheering for Crossy Road Castle to take the win here.

List appears to be backwards.

Maria: I think as a culmination of the game, as a reprisal of some motifs that have been present throughout, it's fantastic. Without that context, I understand why some folks bounce off of it.

Sublimation: literally perfection.

Otherworld: Definitely an acquired taste, that style of vocals. I am a huge fan of the Black Mages version, though!

Daughter of the Dark God: if you can understand why I dislike this but adore The One They Call the Witch, please let me know. I would like to understand myself better >_>

DOUBLE
Arknights
Neptunia: Sisters vs. Sisters

enjoy your errors, Dawn.

Because I have no freaking clue why this is only being shared in the discord, current-ish standings:

48. Wavetale | 12/9

9. Tunic | 11/10

5. Genshin Impact | 11/10

49. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Burst Forth!! Choro-gon Breath | 11/9

52. Super Alloy Ranger | 11/8
86. Crossy Road Castle | 11/8

34. Deemo II | 10/10

12. League of Legends | 10/9
25. Rogue Legacy 2 | 10/9
62. Donut Dodo | 10/9

4. pop'n music UniLab | 10/8

19. LIVE A LIVE (2022) | 10/7
24. WoRMeR Deluxe | 10/7

26. Shovel Knight Dig | 10/6

13. Kirby and the Forgotten Land | 9/9

16. Dr. Kobushi's Labyrinthine Laboratory | 9/8
23. Sephonie | 9/8

6. Heaven Burns Red | 9/7
18. Splatoon 3 | 9/7
21. Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis | 9/7
22. beatmania IIDX 29 CastHour | 9/7
41. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 | 9/7
61. Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream | 9/7
63. Risk of Rain 2 | 9/7
81. TMNT: Shredder's Revenge | 9/7
84. Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 | 9/7

30. Harvestella | 9/6

14. corru.observer | 9/5

37. NeverAwake | 8/8
20. Rise of the Third Power | 8/7
35. Arcaea | 8/7
57. GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon | 8/7

DOUBLE:
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel

DOUBLE:
Wormer Deluxe
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream

genuinely unsure if i'll even use the rest i am kinda just getting increasingly frustrated right now.

SINGLE
Freedom Planet 2

SINGLE
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Burst Forth!! Choro-gon Breath
Megido 72
Donut Dodo
Risk of Rain 2
Spark the Electric Jester 3
Mist Train Girls ~From the Window of the Mist World~
TMNT: Shredder's Revenge
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
Azure Striker Gunvolt 3
Crossy Road Castle
Granblue Fantasy
NOSTALGIA Op.3

extra bonus thoughts
donut dodo was a welcome surprise
chris-chris kinda seems like a jerk but i mean he's good. I don't love once in a lullaby but there's tons of good stuff on that ost so i ain't worried about it.
i wanna wear the dress in the maimai vid and look that good in it (good luck me)
mist train girls is very uf8/10 but it works for me so yay
"the world according to girl" is an incredible title.
asg3 is borderline but i really liked the vocal song so whatever

well that completes the high-speed skimthrough i guess. i'll see you tonight when i guess i have to assign ten doubles scream

NOMINATION:
Eiyuden Chronicles: Rising | 2022 May 10

Samples:
Dungeon 1 (Great Forest) | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti2Qtal6gq4
Town 2 (Growing Town) | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxrs1MAc614
Dungeon 2 (Quarry) | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CwCJ3PmkX0
Dungeon 3 (Snowpeak) | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0TD7NzSBh4
Area Boss Battle | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1E91N2mz8
Dungeon 5 (Runebarrows) | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvBaefQtaI4
Town 3 (Final Town) | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDlRswg6M1M

i had a really sick joke here about how "eiyuden chronicles" means "hro chronicles chronicles" [sic] but then I lost it because i was dumb.

NOMINATION
Soul Hacker 2 | 2022 August 25

Samples:
Boss Battle | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amCd1ecjYZc
COMP Smith | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgL0B-KeHRw
Soul Matrix | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bmlG1wv4xM
Aion's Unwanted Future | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh7I7Q2ZqOs
Last Battle II | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNyT-31utag

On a separate note, I am tempted by the GoW Ragnorok nom, as that was on my potential list for d10 noms, but I find it very hard to support anything when there is no sample setlist provided either here or in the Discord. It'd be really cool if you did so!

SINGLE
Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel

did i really forget to support that? whoops.

NOMINATION
Neptunia: Sisters vs. Sisters | 2022 Apr 21

Samples:
Final Destruction! | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4EBcbd2QKQ
Last Dimension | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezn16CLTUD0
Fight for Victory | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfzPyDtt-Qc
ROM RAM's Theme | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-3e-A3YIcI

NOMINATE
Kuro no Kiseki II: Crimson Sin | 2022 September 29

Samples:
The Spiral of Time | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shje8kN8BMc
Gimmicks and Traps | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svqjEKmj08I
Line of Non-Negotiable | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzuShubN3ko
Liberation Front | - | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB-c9EpiFds