Lurker > PIayer_0

azuarc posted...

Who's willing to take a prop bet that Id Purpose loses in the finals by 1 or 2 votes?

Tell us what will happen in VGMC 16, oh mighty prognosticator! (protectedprognosticator?)

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-Abraham Lincoln

GOOD FlNALS

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-Abraham Lincoln

That's only the second match in over 30 days to hit 60 votes! 444/Colress in R2 had 60, and since then there's only been POINT OF NO RETURN/La Mer (R4) and this match. Yes that includes UP/Id, which only hit 57 in the final tiebreaker.

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-Abraham Lincoln

5 nomination dollars it happens in the semis

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-Abraham Lincoln

:salute: Waltz of Meditation Pt 2

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-Abraham Lincoln

That's gonna be a hell of a semifinal

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-Abraham Lincoln

Battle!!/Torna: stares, nods

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-Abraham Lincoln

DigiFamily
Paradise (Stay Forever)

Go my Paradise

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-Abraham Lincoln

Octopunch
Id (Purpose)

I have decided that Dreamboisterous doesn't quite beat Masquerade of Lies, but it's still a certified "bagner" to quote the entirety of NFUN's Trails/Evo writeup. I think it'd be a better "champion" even though I'm going Octopunch.

Go my Id!

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-Abraham Lincoln

PIayer_0 posted...

This actually seems like a fun thing to do with all the retirees, so maybe I'll just do that instead after the round's over...

I'm gonna do this now. I don't know how well it'll go, but let's try to represent this year's retirees using songs from the VGMC Hall of Champions. Maybe it'll hint at what kind of "champion's legacy" each of them would leave if they won the whole thing? For reference, the champions are: Scars of Time, Metal Gear Solid 2 Main Theme, Reset ~ Thank You Version, Hope, The Extreme, Zero, EXEC_SPHILIA/., Papiliones, Seize the Truth!, Despair of ELFERIA, Emil / Karma, Sunshine Coastline, Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;, and Endeavour. Also I listened to The Extreme for the first time ever for this.

Soaring Through Azure Sadness - Zero. Spanish guitar, soaring, Ace Combat, heroic final battle. Easy!
Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA; - The Exa Pico champs are tempting but sound way too different, Papiliones for the epic anime vocals against an orchestral backing.
Fogbeasts - Fuck, I am regretting this now...Emil / Karma, a song from a Japanese action RPG well-known for its music, winning around a time when the series was seeing a revival.
The Explosion - Seize the Truth!, an epic yet danceable RPG battle theme from a series with history on the board?
Dreamy and Boisterous Holy Land - Endeavour, triumphant "theme of the heroes" with BIG CHAMPION-WORTHY sound.
Octopunch - Sunshine Coastline, bright, happy, bouncy theme with electric guitar from a 3D JRPG.
Id (Purpose) - Emil (Karma) again because they share the Title (Subtitle) format...also Emil made round 4, round 3, round 3 before it finally became champion. Both songs fill NFUN with rage
POINT OF NO RETURN - ...Hope, which stands out among the champions for sticking to a very distinct instrumental genre. It also avenged some underperformances by its Umineko siblings from the year before.
Pioneer's Horizon - Uhhhhhh Papiliones again, very indie, huge underdog, ran into some close matches on its way to the championship.
DigiFamily - Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;, signals a major change in voter tastes, follows up on the success of another song from the preceding year.
Catabolism - Endeavour again, no one knows how it keeps winning, but it has some loyal fans and you can't help but sympathize with its underdog status!
Paradise (Stay Forever) - If only I could use Memories of You...Sunshine Coastline again, happy and uplifting, feels "radio-friendly," won the year after the game was released (if we use Ys 8's English release...)
resurrectedreplayer - Despair of ELFERIA, represents well-deserved recognition for a big-name Japanese electronic music composer.
Bahram Attack -Nekomata Master Remix- - Despair of ELFERIA. No comment.
Into Free -Dangan- - Seize the Truth! again, fun and catchy with strong earworm power, maybe a bit cheesy but it wins your heart anyway.
Living in the City - Oh god...uh...The Extreme, from a 199X console game with big nostalgia value, and a statement win for a series with a handful of previous retirees, one of which made semifinals?

Let's celebrate this year's retirees and I wish everyone a minimally-heartbreaking round 5 and onward!

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-Abraham Lincoln

Soaring Through Azure Sadness
Fogbeasts

Loving this year's retirees! Just the first three songs today would place among my top 5 retirees from last year. Go Soaring!

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-Abraham Lincoln

Pending official results, I think Bahram just put up another very impressive win margin! Incidentally, today was the day the VGMC 14 finals topic went up last year - truly a fateful day for the song called "Endeavour". Makes me wonder which of this year's retirees is the most Endeavour-like...CIEL_N_PROTECTA for the epic vocals, or maybe Dreamy/Boisterous for the subtle intro transitioning into a roaring display of triumph? This actually seems like a fun thing to do with all the retirees, so maybe I'll just do that instead after the round's over...

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-Abraham Lincoln

Into Free -Dangan-
Genesis Beyond the Beginning

Well, it finally happened - there's no song I can pick to talk about today that I didn't already pick in a previous round! I don't know what to do now. Still, it was fun seeing how long it took to get to a day like this - let's do the math on that!

Because we did 6 songs a day for the first three rounds, the numbers work out nicely - on average, I would've picked 256/6 songs in the first round, 1/2 of which made round 2, 1/2 of those making round 3, and 1/2 yet still making round 4. The number of round 4 songs that I originally picked in rounds 1, 2, and 3 would then be 256/6/2/2/2 + 128/6/2/2 + 64/6/2 which is just 16/3 + 16/3 + 16/3, exactly half of the round 4 pool! In reality, I ended up with 23/32 songs already talked about, which makes sense since I generally picked songs I liked and had to something to say on. Math!!!

In other news, I had never voted against either match 1 song before today. The tragedy of VGMC!

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-Abraham Lincoln

banshiryuu posted...

>R1: 28-32 Ys: Memories of Celceta - Ancient Land

So Ancient Land should've been here all along!


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-Abraham Lincoln

Wowee, Paradise really took a 12-3 run on that last spreadsheet update huh? The live count was stuck at "only" 18-23 for what felt like forever (ha...). Here are the round 4 win margins so far in hashtag form:

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^^Catabolism and Paradise

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-Abraham Lincoln

resurrectedreplayer
Danger (ARM version)
Pioneer's Horizon

Bahram Attack is a weird name for the song named Bahram Attack! Maybe the aliens are attacking us with dangerously hypnotic beats?! I admit this is a nice chill beat to admire the multicoloured skyline of Sydney to, but it usually just makes me miss Foregone Destruction...incidentally, the four non-tiebreaker songs are in descending order of strength today, though the gaps certainly aren't large!

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-Abraham Lincoln

Catabolism
Paradise (Stay Forever)

Calling must be a source of the famed "Persona vibes"! The energy level in this song feels a bit flat to me, especially when I've been conditioned by years of pop radio to expect an exciting "chorus" section. On the bright side, I don't mind the vocals and enjoy the sections where she sings "Calling" (yes, including the spoken interlude)

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-Abraham Lincoln

Id has tried to bear the full weight of our tiebreaker quota, but the future refused to change

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-Abraham Lincoln

Pioneer's Horizon
DigiFamily

Breath of Forest is...fine, I voted for it the last two rounds but was on the 21-45 side of Everlasting Love. It doesn't really excite me in the same way as Passion in Blue or Heartless Being, and I'm not a fan of the flute-y lead instrument. Piano and erhu-y instrument are good though, whatever happens in this match I'll at least be happy for the winning song's fanbase!

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-Abraham Lincoln

Id retires with a career to rival Someday the Dream Will End! Or even Zero-Two depending on how things go...

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-Abraham Lincoln

Id (Purpose)
La Mer

My imagined, ideal piece of VGM always tells some kind of musical story - a theme is established early on, developed throughout the song, and brought back at the end in its original form, maybe with some subtle changes added. It basically needs to follow the hero's journey in storytelling! La Mer executes this format really well, introducing the instruments and tonality first before establishing a proper theme 50 seconds in, and bringing it back for an amazing climactic ending! I love Time's Scar for a lot of the same reasons, though the instruments there are very much a step above. Huh, apparently both songs happen to play over an outdated-looking JRPG opening movie...

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-Abraham Lincoln

Dreamy and Boisterous Holy Land
Octopunch
Genesis Beyond the Beginning

...okay Sight of Silence is clearly growing on me, just a bit. That bass work is real impressive and sets a bouncy foundation for the higher instruments, with 2:21 being my favourite part because it's just like the minor-sounding section of certified #1 Gurumin song Samurai Drill!!! (even moreso with the lead-in at 2:33) I actually want to see this win since Octopunch would surely get its chance at making another run.

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-Abraham Lincoln

One Night in Neo Kobe City
Pressure Cooker

Uh oh, now that we're down to 2 matches a day I don't know if I can continue my streak of talking about a different song every day...it's only a matter of time before we hit a point where I've already picked all 4 songs before. I know I'm only at 3 out of 4 for today and tomorrow, but I'm forced to say things about songs I don't like oh no!

The Explosion definitely has a style I should like and does some nice modal things, but I'm baffled that it just keeps continuing to win? Losing Butterfly's Temptation especially hurt...I'm reminded of kao's comments on Tellur Town, something about milling around the tonic too much, in this case The Explosion just keeps coming back to that two-note riff and I quickly lose interest. The guitar is good in the brief moments it gets the spotlight though, you keep doing what you're doing!

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-Abraham Lincoln

Genesis Beyond the Beginning
Soaring Through Azure Sadness
Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;

G S C...*breaks down in tears*

Genesis is another good "comfort song" that I can finally vote for now! (rip Final Voyage and Legacy) It's got a hell of an intro and I love that almost-real sounding violin throughout the song, weirdly enough the choir doesn't do much to enhance the song as it normally would for me (it doesn't help when it's used in a way that makes me feel out of breath just listening to it)

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-Abraham Lincoln

This is the will of VGMC. Vivat Rex!

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-Abraham Lincoln

Into Free -Dangan-
Central Tower "Axis Pillar"
Eleganza

Dangan is so catchy it feels illegal! I'll always find the first half of each phrase in the chorus like "The WIND is pushing ME" and "TIME is running FREE" playing randomly in my head, with my one complaint being...I wish the vocals were even more growly than they already are! Every word needs to be sung with the same edge to it as DANGAAEAEAAAN yes thank you

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-Abraham Lincoln

Danger (ARM version)
Liber Ark
Id (Purpose)

The first half of 444 is really badass and I wish it did more to expand on that theme! Makes me think of an action movie montage where the hero team gears up with their impressive military weapons.

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-Abraham Lincoln

School is like a dungeon...for the soul...

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-Abraham Lincoln

Paradise (Stay Forever)
resurrectedreplayer
Speartip of Judgment

Context matters a lot to me when listening to video game songs, and I'll often read the YT comments to get a hint of where the music plays if it's not obvious from the title. With In the Doldrums, I think it just plays in the daily life/exploration scenes which didn't really enhance my enjoyment, so I've started pretending it's a dungeon theme because that's what it makes me imagine, and I'm magically able to enjoy it a lot more!

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-Abraham Lincoln

IMAGE -MATERIAL- <Version 0>
Id (Purpose)
The Battle Was Just "To Continue That Future"

Inserting a quiet section in the second half of a loud song is a great trope! I really like the way Masquerade of Lies does it, and Image Material's break is also decent besides making me jump in my seat when it ends...I do feel less exhausted after listening to it compared to Immanence, which constantly alternates between quiet and loud sections.

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-Abraham Lincoln

Not if Stellar Light has something to say about it

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-Abraham Lincoln

Breath of Forest
Catabolism
Mikazuchi

Mikazuchi has never felt terribly original in this field, but at this point in the bracket I really appreciate having a comfort song to cheer for. It may not be a song that gets me excited or makes me want to share it with someone, but you could play it for me regardless of the mood I'm in and I'd be able to have a good time! Butterfly's Temptation is gone but I still have a song to satisfy my craving for rhythmic chanting and impressive violin work!

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-Abraham Lincoln

I was here

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-Abraham Lincoln

Pioneer's Horizon
The Battle Was Just "To Continue That Future"
Id (Purpose)

Man, where were these Aurora Memoria songs last year?! I like Optical Mode a bit more than Classroom, and I like DigiFamily a lot more than Optical Mode! The dreamy synth voice really helps sell it for me, and the warm bass line at 0:36 feels comforting yet mysterious, it's the part of the song that I always remember. It just misses out on beating Dodonpachi here, but it gives me hope that there's a song hiding on the soundtrack that I'd really love!

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-Abraham Lincoln

Stella -Part 2-
La Mer
rhythm-changer

My only thought when hearing Stella for the first time was "How can there be an Atelier Shallie song this good that hasn't been in VGMC or otherwise brought up before?!?" - maybe people argued too much over which part number to use...that romantic solo violin just UGH carries the entire song for me, Shallie really is a top-tier Atelier soundtrack. This is probably my preferred B winner at this point, though it'd be a close match against Id.

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-Abraham Lincoln

I did it in this very thread (albeit retroactively)

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-Abraham Lincoln

banshiryuu posted...

what a b8 vote

this works for every vote permutation

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-Abraham Lincoln

Apex of the World (Rain)
Id (Purpose)
Immanence

Man I could not take Fateful Confrontation seriously in round 1 because of that percussion, all I heard was a revving motorcycle engine and some incessant gunshot noises. By round 2 I had already started to appreciate them more for their role, and realized how much I enjoy the simple but powerful melodies the other elements have to offer. Gotta love that one motif that's also in The Enforcers and Merciless Savior!

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-Abraham Lincoln

Unrest - The End of the Raging Waves
Dreamy and Boisterous Holy Land
Gentle Slope Cave

I'm still sad about Vengeful God going out early, but at least Raging Waves can carry on the EO3 torch for a little while! Not to mention it's succeeding that fateful year 13 run by the EO5 version, when I got totally hooked on cheering for VGMC songs like they're my home sports team! One thing I'll give this version is that 0:54 hits WAY harder than the remake ever could, it's hard not to start rocking out when a moment like that blasts your ear canals

Edit: Apparently I already picked Raging Waves as my song to talk about in round 1, fine then record BtB as the official song of the day because I like the instrumental (especially that intro!) and am sad I haven't been able to vote for it the last two rounds!

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-Abraham Lincoln

Glessing Way!
The Butterfly's Temptation
Pressure Cooker

It's easy to compare Fogbeasts to Battle!!/Torna by contest strength, but its style has always reminded me more of Battle!! from regular XC2. I could never nail down my feelings on this song because each section is so short with very abrupt transitions, plus some of them repeat so it gets very confusing where I am in the song! I think I can at least say it has some flashes of brilliance like 1:52/2:21/2:49, but the other parts just have too many things going on too quickly for my poor brain to process...

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-Abraham Lincoln

Heartless Being

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-Abraham Lincoln

(abstain for now)
Ryoshima Coast
Rose-Killing Carmilla

Damn it, I was totally banking on my pattern of liking CIEL more on each listen, but my feelings are actually regressing a bit toward their round 1 levels...either way, Heartless Being was the first MRD song I ever heard thanks to the preview list in Discord, and nothing else I've heard from the game has come close since! For some reason I do just fine with the wubs in this song and DNF (rip), it probably has something to do with having lighter melodies played on top because when dubstep songs do the BASS DROP and it becomes the entire focus, I tend to just lose interest. The wubs always feel like they play more of a rhythm role than melody or harmony - give me something nice in the mid-high range with it that I can sing along to, dang it!

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-Abraham Lincoln

linkage-alter
Soaring Through Azure Sadness
Cosmic Hero

Oh man, I can really get into National Park if I immerse myself in those distant memories of getting so damn excited for the chance to spot Scyther or Pinsir. One of my strongest nostalgia tracks from the game for sure, but it takes some effort from me to enjoy it to the fullest that I don't need for linkage-alter.

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-Abraham Lincoln

DNF FW15C (ALL PHASE MIX)

Did I vote in match 3 already? I forgot...

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-Abraham Lincoln

Eleganza
Legacy
DNF FW15C (ALL PHASE MIX)

Damn that riff at 0:16 of S-Rank is incredibly catchy, this match would look very different if the whole song just played around that! I also expect it to transition into Speartip of Judgment when it ends for some reason...

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-Abraham Lincoln

Cosmic Hero
Central Tower "Axis Pillar"
Dialgas Fight to the Finish!

Sunjammer is strangely catchy, not the kind of song I would normally like but I kept hearing it in my head and thinking it was Exercise Mode for a few days...it keeps me up at night wondering if I need to admit that I like it even more than I thought!

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-Abraham Lincoln

Last year, we had Dungeon - Geofront 4 26-13 Credits in round 2 of bracket D2...next Wavetapper will retire through the wildcard, right?

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-Abraham Lincoln

Dyed Gradient (Murago)
Into Free -Dangan-
FLIGHTLESS

The Calm part of Conquest was my favourite in round 1, but Ablaze felt really special today! When the violins jump the octave at 2:35 that right there is MMMMMMMMMM, made me think twice about picking Dangan

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-Abraham Lincoln

Danger (ARM version)
444
Wavetapper

Passion keeps making me recall Prinny - Dance With Me, which is super weird because I have no reason to remember that song...it lost in round 1 last year where I comfortably voted against it, and don't remember seeking it out again yet I still hear it in my head! I was even sure it was from year 13 before I checked! Maybe this will be my next obsession from hearing all these accordion songs - VGMC 13 made me appreciate rhythm music, 14 was Fire Emblem, and 15 will be tango???

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-Abraham Lincoln

In the Doldrums
Speartip of Judgment
A Beautiful Song

Huh, I guess now that Besaid and Give Me are out, Speartip is my preferred D1 retiree! I haven't listened to it enough to be able to recall it from memory, but I do remember liking how groovy and danceable it is. BWAA BWAA BWAA BWAA

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-Abraham Lincoln