Lurker > kaonashi1

The version used in VGMC2 was definitely The Second Tower (Disc 2 Track 22 of the full OST), as in this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GeMyL2Ckg8

just do it I guess

The Knife - A Tooth For An Eye
[album: Shaking the Habitual]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcxlY9tLwSY

Run The Jewels - Sea Legs
[album: Run The Jewels]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbnhUVTTdHE

Laura Marling - Soothing
[album: Semper Femina]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCS4OTgaHeM

Owen Pallett - I Am Not Afraid
[album: In Conflict]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KNDXQUJ9BI

nominating "Final Fantasy" for a non-vgm topic HEH

(also considered bjork, st vincent, janelle monae, boards of canada, massive attack, several others)

opportune time to talk about this list, you know, a month after it's been posted

I enjoyed it a lot! Both the way the soundtracks were ranked in-game and across games, combined with the short-but-sweet writeups, gave a pretty clear picture of some of the things you enjoy (and don't enjoy) about VGM. I liked that you showcased your favourite track for each set and why, as well. The nominations were diverse and generally pretty interesting, too. Made for some good listening.

some other comments (as I'm re-listening to the first page of the topic):
-we're not super compatible according to vgmc voting, but I found myself agreeing with you on your selection for favourite track in each set pretty frequently!
-of the lowest-ranked sets, I actually very much liked Cultist Simulator's brooding melodies and vibe. June the 28th is a very pretty composition. This would have done decently well in my own hypothetical ranking!
-as you remarked, the diversity of FFXIV's soundtracks is really cool-- it's amazing how many different styles they hit. I briefly considered my own FFXIV setlist, but I'd have had to listen to a lot more FFXIV music to try to tailor a set I'd be really happy with.
-POP/STARS is totally catchy, yeah. I'm no big k-pop fan but I dig this quite a bit.
-that Playrooms track creeps me out-- the chainsaw sounds actually make me cringe. This will haunt me like 'I WILL EAT YOU' and it's all your fault
-Terminal Velocity kinda gave me Fighting EX Layer vibes, but it's actually by Kenichi Tokoi! (That's the guy that composed Endeavour.) Very fun track.

Endeavour

-(Isoleucine)-

Endeavour

Dungeon - Geofront 4

-(Isoleucine)-

Endeavour

-[Deoxyribose]-

Desire Below (Flow)

favourite part:
-yo-kai disco: the transition from the first part to the second part of the track (as in 0:28). that's a nifty little modulation! this track is brisk and driving and that's one section I feel it the most.
-desire below flow: there's a few sections I both like and find very striking-- 0:23, where the triplets come in followed by the nod to lost in thoughts, or the progression played by the organ at 2:09 (with the strange, swirly, filtered percussion). I think more than anything, though, I like the track's, er, flow, so the transitions between sections are also really cool, and of those it's the one at 0:59 I like the most. this whole track's vibe-- mysterious and urgent-- is really captured well in the section that follows.

Burning Force Medley
Dungeon - Geofront 4

favourite part:
-burning force medley: when the guitar solo starts. (not a lot of times you'll hear me say that!) basically this is where the track really picks it up a notch for me. that rhythmic shift at 1:21 is especially cool.
-second dark matter battle: I like the grandeur it exhibits at the beginning of the track and the last section before the loop, but there are also specific sections like the progression at 0:28 that jump out a bit as really neat moments.
-credits: the electric piano segments, with light glitch elements and... the weather. it still kinda surprises me how calming I find those sections.
-geofront 4: the amazingly disorienting 1:08. I don't think this works as well without much of the rest of the track letting me know what it sounds like with a structured beat. this way, it feels almost like a reveal.

-(Isoleucine)-
Rude Buster

favourite part:
-classroom: the 'sunset' section at 2:18! I've definitely mentioned this before. when a track seems to paint such a clear picture in my head (regardless of what context it was originally in!) I like that a lot.
-isoleucine: it's kinda hard to isolate one part of my enjoyment of this track, because a lot of it is in the way the sections flow into one another. the bridge section at 0:39 into the more upbeat reiteration of the theme is great! the more 'heroic' break at 1:44 is great! 2:24 into 2:50 into the BIG section at 3:01, great. 3:56 with that high 16ths synth, great. but these sections would lose some of their strength without the context of the others! that's the power of this track, I think-- it's such a cool, complete, evolving creation.

-every time I read 'rude buster' I mentally say it like I'm calling out a fighting move in an old anime. RUUUUUDO BUSTAAAAA

Endeavour
Moonstruck Blossom

favourite part:
-partizans: the thick hypersaw bass synth. starting from 0:54, it really kicks it into high gear and it has a blast for the rest of the track. 1:50 into the loop is also very nice, a cool-off before starting the determined final area feel all over again.
-endeavour: the WHOLE THING but no seriously I actually really like the shaylee sections. the piano chords into the introduction of the dramatic strings into the trumpets is just a really cool ramp-up, and 4:24 has some nice vocal chords (as opposed to vocal cords) with the percussion coming back in shortly after.
-moonstruck blossom: 0:08 to 0:41. just wonderful. what an intro.
-the filthy mind: probably the flute part at 0:48! I mentioned that in round 3 too, I think.

Rude Buster
GUERRANT-OFENZA-SUPRONT-UNNE

favourite part:
-rude buster: the opening chords. rude buster introduces itself from the get-go as a bouncy jam of a track and I love that energy about it.
-tigar: tough call-- like a lot of all phase mixes, I like the opening buildup (the first minute or so)-- it's neat and moodier than the rest of the track. but the really thick synth chords at 2:39 (and the leadup to them) are great as well. it's just a shorter segment. the section at 5:00 is also very nice, with the synth backing coming in for a sort of triumphal feel. this is the section I feel the most, probably.
-guerrant-ofenza-supront-unne: I've mentioned this before, I think-- it's the progression that starts at 1:26. the way the chords shift under a fairly melodic flute line is exactly the kind of thing I like.
-deoxyribose-- I dunno I really dig the buildup here too. I just like buildups, I guess! (okay a random thought that keeps coming up-- you know that section at 2:33 where the electric guitar basically holds for half a minute? I keep imagining the rap in einhander - shudder filling in that section. it's, like, kind of the same pace and feel!) otherwise, 4:19 feels like the best iteration of that part of the theme, paying off the softer section immediately previous.

The Wyrm's Jewelbox
Desire Below (Flow)

Akeldama
Dungeon - Geofront 4

Burning Force Medley
Second Dark Matter Battle

Classroom
-(Isoleucine)-