Lurker > rwlh

Waveshine_2001 posted...

Also, why round 3 in VGMC?

Humor is in the specifics! (I don't actually know if it'll even get into the contest, but if it does, I suspect it will do well.)

280/5367
@Waveshine_2001
Pokemon Sword/Shield - Battle! Galarians Legendary Birds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDB5B__1Al8

This song is messy with a capital Mess. The mixing is all off and there are whole chunks that dont seem to fit together at all. But the second half is actually really cool! The flying effects (Pokemon cries?) are integrated better, and theres some nice fake guitar and percussion. If the first half were more like the second, this would be much higher.

279/5362
@MacArrowny
Sea of Stars - Guardian Gods: Horizons Unbound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEYBwRK2HXg

I guess this is a retro-inspired RPG so it makes sense to this sort of retro-inspired sound. I kind of wish they leaned in more with the influence though; these samples arent really doing it for me. I do like the fast drumbeat, fitting for what sounds like some sort of battle or boss theme.

278/5354
@MargaretAnnMid
Baldur's Gate 3 - Raphael Final Act
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMo7ugWudCA

Ooh, a villain song, nifty. From what I can glean from the song theres a main dude (Raphael?) but somebody else does half of the singing. I dont love Raphaels singing, its in that showtuney Broadway style that I generally can take or leave (Ill call it sing-speaking). The female singer has a more conventional style that resonates with me more. I bet this is killer in-game though!

277/5350
@Arti
Honkai: Star Rail - Wildfire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxlW79tDhCA

I will probably get a lot of shit for having this so low. But honestly its just not for me. It reminds me of #300, Breathing Underwater, in that feels like a typical modern pop/rock song, and I have a hard time with those. Its just likeI dunno, kind of there? The vocals are a big detriment for me, but couple them with this uninspiring instrumental and its likeI dunno, just not interesting to me. Its a perfectly fine song. Im sure I will come to like it less after repeated exposure when it gets to round 3 in VGMC.

276/5348
@OrangeCrush980
Yakuza 3 - Let's Produce a No.1 Hostess
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJQrlI1rqCE

Some 90s R&B b-side vibes here. Smooth groove, perfectly serviceable. Were at the point in the list where Im probably not going to have a lot to say about the songs for a while, so I apologize for that! Uh I like the piano in the back half, thats something.

Ohhh that makes sense. That didn't affect my opinion of the song (lyrics rarely do), it was more of a curiosity than anything.

Also re: earlier discussion, I love Late Goodbye.

4/10

285/5407
@pyresword
Honkai Impact 3rd - Rubia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIv5lFkBey0

I said to nominate The Sappy Vocal Ballad at your own risk. Well, this escaped the bottom 10, at least. Part of why I dislike this genre so much is they almost always follow this pattern: verse 1, chorus, verse 2 (now with drums!), chorus, bridge, then chorus with key change. I have nothing against predictable music inherently, but all of these songs just sound interchangeable to me. That said, theres a reason Rubia got a 4 and not a 2.5, and thats because the backing instrumentation is really quite lovely, and that made it more palatable for me. Also the vocalist is a nice singer.

284/5406
@Chaeix
Octogeddon - Didgeridoo I'm Comin' for You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8lVlofltec

This is a song. Its fairly inoffensive. It reminds me of the Full Metal Furies song back at #296, but livelier. (This one has an accordion!) This doesnt do much to stand out but it doesnt anything really egregious, so it goes in the 4/10 tier. Hooray!

283/5400
@GavsEvans123
NEO: The World Ends With You - The World is Yours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82s2uFWFR1E

Some okaywhat is this, nu-metal? Rap rock? Genres arent my specialty. I sometimes have trouble identifying what I would change in a song to make it better for me to listen to, but here I think I would add a different vocalist (maybe not even a rapper) for the chorus. This guys rapid-fire, somewhat growly rapping is effective, but less so when contrasted with the peppier chorus. Im sure Ishimoto is taking notes. But the end WHOS THE ENEMY WHOS THE ENEMY is very strong. This would probably be higher if I liked the genre more, whatever it may be, lol.

282/5384
@Bitto
NEO: The World Ends With You - bird in the hand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZlNbHKvHik

I swear I didnt put these together on purpose. I listened to them on different days! This song is fine but has some curiosities. What is with the lyrics? Every woman likes it rough, is that actually applicable to the game? Also the rap sounds like its mixed in from a totally different song lmao. I like the yeah yeah yeahs and the trumpets. This song is kind of a Frankenstein, overflowing with musical ideas, not all of which land! But its interesting to listen to.

281/5369
@MaxGalactica
Omori - Come and See
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCTYy4I54d8

Okay so what is the deal with the Omori soundtrack? Ive heard multiple songs from it and literally none of them have stood out in any way, Come and See included. Is this the ultimate contextual video game score? This song is basically acoustic guitar with some breathing, which is fine I guess but doesnt grab me at all. There is an undercurrent of sadness throughout that kind of intrigues me though.

undercurrent of sadness count: 1

dowolf posted...

I am honestly sick of Alan Wake 2 music right now. That's not fair but like they have a style and they stick with it and it's all that style and i'm just "oh hey time to listen to another thing that sounds like Herald of Darkness but probably not as good."

I was given three Alan Wake 2 songs. The other two are actually pretty different - not Old Gods of Asgard at all.

3.5/10

290/5493
@loweffortmemes
Sakura no Uta - Dear My Friend
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H04c1f48t4I

Shoegaze is a tough genre for me. I get overwhelmed a lot of the time with the wall of sound that covers me. I know I said I liked music that overwhelmed me, but shoegaze is more often than not overwhelming in an unpleasant way. I think its the guitars. At least thats the case in Dear My Friend, which would probably be a good hundred spots higher if not for that guitar. Ah, guitars. When will you learn?

289/5489
@TheArkOfTurus
SANABI - Great Escape
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0r2AF5iLbM

>_>

<_<

I like the beginning of this, with the big bass and EDM energybut then we have that synth again! Argh. Its frustrating because I want to like these songs. Great Escape was initially a 5.5. There are compelling ideas here. But that lead instrument spoils the whole package for me. Ah well. Maybe your other two songs will do better?

>____>

<____<

288/5481
kamakazikila
Fragile Dreams ~ Farewell Ruins of the Moon - Bother
https://youtu.be/3u64f09vRss

This strikes a difficult balance of intensity and sadness, like a weird storyline-heavy boss battle. Im reminded of Chrono Crosss People Seized With Fate. Bother does some neat things I like the sad piano and the progression between different ideas I just wasnt super into it. I get the sense that, like I said, its a fairly contextual song, and that its even more effective in-game, but theres a disconnect for me listening to it solo. Ah well.

287/5425
@Snake5555555555
Alan Wake 2 - Dark Ocean Summoning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5kb0nUoyqc

Can I just say I appreciate the restraint you all showed in not giving me 1) 15 Old Gods of Asgard songs and 2) Herald of Darkness specifically? The Old Gods songs arent really my favorite. Theyre just, like, 80s glam metal, which, hey, thats fine I guess but its not my favorite genre, and its a little baffling to me how they got so big (at least in this community). Dark Ocean Summoning is fine I guess. Its 80s glam metal. Thats basically all there is to say! (Oh also theres an evil laugh here. Maybe I should keep track of all the evil laughs)

286/5418
@MacArrowny
Turbo Overkill - Firestarter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz1NLqIjOMo

Firestarter has a lot of the same ideas and style as the SANABI songs, but the lead synth is much more tolerable to my ears. The problem with Firestarter is I feel like there just arent many of those ideas. Maybe its a problem I have with synthwave as a whole?

Wow, almost 50 posts and we're just leaving the bottom ten!

Always fascinating to see how many people like the bottom songs in a ranking, heh.

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

Woo, Name Entry officially not the worst vocal sample spamming song! ...Though now I'm curious how Trivial Pursuit's Credits theme compared to Ballz 3D's Title Theme since the spreadsheet didn't give scores (other than 9+).

...Okay, I know the answer is "not well", but as that song was my obscure and terrible barrage of arbitrary samples, I can't help but wonder.

I gave it a 6.5 but it's been a while.

That's it for tonight, feel free to poke around the bottom 10 if you want!

3/10

295/5600
@TheArkOfTurus
SANABI - Welcome to Mago City Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ot0HonQdGVM

Another SANABI drop. This time it feels less repetitive but the buzzing synth is still there, wreaking havoc on my brain. I slightly prefer this one to A Vindication Opportunity, so make of that what you will!

294/5579
@Waveshine_2001
Ballz 3D - Title Theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRPz-uG-qXM

Waveshine purposefully gave me several songs she thought of as bad VGM. How did this pan out for her? Stay tuned to find out! In lieu of a writeup, I will quote a comment on the video that I find very fitting: Grandpa just learned what samples are and hes gonna use them all! I mean, I love weird samples in music, but these samples arent doing the song any favors, especially coupled with a pretty bland backing track. Mission accomplished, Fox! (I think?)

293/5576
@NBIceman
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - Silent Howling
https://youtu.be/iLHZcFCq1hA?si=dAJENxcUDJbOJN5e

As soon as I put the thing about violins and guitars as something musical I like, I regretted it, because I had a feeling it would lead to a bunch of songs like Silent Howling, really intense guitar/violin combos, often with muddy, ominous chanting. In a way, Ive misled you, because I almost never like these kinds of songs! I am sorry. This is an objectively fine song, its just not for me.

292/5514
@Anagram
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations - Cross Examination ~ Allegro 2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34kcrWLbGGo

I had to replace the 30-minute extended link you gave me lol. This is some Ace Attorney ass music alright. It soundsoff. Like the notes are too high-pitched. Sort of unpleasant to listen to. Its tense, Ill give it that.

291/5505
@GavsEvans123
Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links - Paradox Theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JrUnsfcjcM

Im not a fan of the term overproduced but this feels like it fits the bill: a sort of over-the-top JRPG-ish boss theme. All the hallmarks are here: ominous strings, choir samples, a steady but serviceable drumbeat. This doesnt really bring anything new to the party. I dont inherently mind songs like that theres comfort in the familiar but this isnt comfortable. Paradox Theme is an old couch with a spring that juts into your hip.

I started doing a thing that I'm not sure I'll keep up with - in the Alphabetical and Nominator tabs of the sheet, my plan is to shade the eliminated songs in red, so you'll know at a glance what's already been eliminated. It's kind of a pain to do but it might make referencing the spreadsheet a bit easier.

Okay, let's kick things off with the bottom five.

2/10

300/5736
Xtlm
Rocket League - Breathing Underwater (Ether Remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4bQdVS8WHg

This is not music for me. It feels irritatingly safe, it sounds identical to lots of other songs Ive heard, and it just sort of goes on and on without doing anything that excites me. I like the percussion at 1:25 but thats not enough to save this from last place. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but somebody had to take the bottom spot.

299/5713
@tgs2
Epic Battle Fantasy V - Return of the Snow Queen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VJvyWZgPWY

I dont know a lot of music from this series but Ive had the same reaction to the scant few things Ive heard from it. It just sort of plods along and does mostly the same stuff for four and a half minutes. Why is there this weird record scratch effect, what purpose does it serve? The record scratch could have been something. I dont know. On a different day, this might have gotten last place.

2.5/10

298/5667
OrangeCrush980
Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition - Shall Never Surrender (Intro)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4dCMZdU9KA

This one I feel a little bad about. (Only a little!) There might be a compelling song in here, but listen to this link. Can you hear the song? Because I couldnt. The volume is so low as to be incomprehensible. I tried raising it to 100% and got nowhere. I tried looking for an alternate link, but all the other versions of this song I found seemed to be for different versions; this one clearly specifies Intro. So I might enjoy this, but likewhat am I supposed to do here? Make up a song? Always make sure to check your links before you nominate, friends!

297/5630
TheArkOfTurus
SANABI - A Vindication Opportunity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8Sw2euNhBI

TheArkOfTurus nominated five songs from the same soundtrack. Was this a wise choice on their part? Stay tuned to find out! This song, at least, wasnt the wisest choice for me. The main synth really grates on me with its buzzing effects. Maybe Im a hypocrite because I love the Commodore 64 soundchip and A Vindication Opportunity reminds me of that, but theres also the added problem of how the song repeats the same main melody in a way that I find unpleasant. I would react much more favorably if that synth were replaced by almost anything else.

296/5621
@Mihark
Full Metal Furies - Cronus
https://youtu.be/TddRCvU11z8

This song sounds like its being played underwater, at 0.5x speed. I dont really like the choice of instruments, and the melody isnt too hot. The 2.5s are a nexus of songs with minimal redeeming qualities for me, but I dont actively dislike them, so even though Im down on Cronus, it doesnt go any lower. (Plus its short, so theres that.)

hello~

About six weeks ago I took nominations for video game songs to rank. They had to be eligible for VGMC. They had to be new to my big VGM spreadsheet. Those were basically the only requirements.

You gave me 300 songs! Jesus Christ. Yet somehow I have emerged from this auditory hallucination richer, stronger, and more vitamin D deficient. Most importantly, I have the ranking!

To say that I was very pleased with this haul would be a massive understatement. When I ran a VGM ranking five years ago, the average ranking was around 5.1/10. 5 is average to me, so collectively you did slightly above average. By contrast, the average ranking for this ranking is 6.74. And the median is 7! That is ridiculous. Maybe it helped that I gave a list of some things I liked in music. Some of you clearly tried to follow that. Some of you clearly didnt. Some of you played it safe. Some of you took risks. Some of you nominated whatever shit you felt like giving me, which is always a valid strategy.

Some trends I noticed: there was a plentiful amount of industrial noises, unique percussion, and ticking clocks. There were no child vocals instead, several songs had what Id call little girl music where a grown woman tries to sing in a high-pitched cutesy way. I guess that counts? Maybe? There were a lot of evil variants on things: evil jazz, evil ambience, evil guitars, evil sax, evil sound effects. Several songs had prominent evil laughter. There were two separate Godzilla-themed songs. What are the odds of that?

Before we start, heres an explanation of my rating system. I rate on a scale of 0 to 10 in increments of .5. 5 is average. 0 actively causes me pain. 10 isnt perfect, but is really really damn good. The lowest score any song got was a 2 (two songs). The highest score any song got was a 10 (three songs!). Anything higher than a 7 is something I consider playlist worthy. 7.5+ I would consider for use in Discord VGM guessing games. 9+ is VGMC nomination or support. You may be seeing some of these songs come VGMC season!

For the actual ranking, I have a pretty good idea of a songs rating value when I listen to it. Ive gotten to the point, 5000+ ratings later, where I can normally tell a 7 from a 7.5 from an 8. Then I look for a range: at what point do I start liking the songs, on average, more than the song Im trying to place? I get less precise the lower I get, because I dont remember lower songs on the sheet all that well. Its not an exact science. If it was, Id never do it!

Each song in the ranking will have its rank number for this ranking alongside its overall spreadsheet rank (out of 5834). I might, when we get higher, start showing other adjacent songs on the sheet (so like, the immediate songs above and below), if anyone would be interested in that. Not sure if Ill do that or not.

Heres the spreadsheet where you can view all the dropped songs, plus all the placements and ratings before theyre filled in. You can also see a list of all 300 noms, both sorted alphabetically and by nominator.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HdQJbfqMqrZnEBNZyxyZAg3ZKWJ1_rvKyoCmFJhRAaY/edit#gid=0

I think thats it. As always, Ive tried to not be too negative, even within the bottom tiers. I appreciate everyone who took the time to give me songs, even if I ranked them last place.

Hope you have a great time in the topic!

Going to break from protocol today and just give four toppings I like.

Spinach
Mushrooms
Ricotta
Gorgonzola

Heh, glad you appreciated the Rockabye Baby nomination. I had to!

Seconding the following nominations:

• Disney songs
• Rappers
• Seinfeld episodes
• Cereal mascots (I can't remember if I nominated this >_>)
• Fictional robots (see above oops)

I still don't think Super Mario Bros. should be considered. Individual songs are not soundtracks!

n

Street Fighter II
Final Fantasy VII
Katamari Damacy
Minecraft

Super Mario Bros. doesn't belong here, imo. If this were video game songs then sure, absolutely. But to me soundtracks implies something larger, a musical collection that exceeds the sum of its parts. Having the most iconic piece of VGM doesn't mean you necessarily belong on a VGM soundtrack Mount Rushmore.

My choices are:

• Street Fighter II for being one of the first games to have stage/character themes and to have a lot of these themes still associated with the characters to this day. Some are more iconic than others, but they all add to a complete soundtrack package.
• Final Fantasy VII got onto the Final Fantasy Rushmore for One-Winged Angel, plus there are tons of other well-known themes. This is one of the games people commonly associate with music.
• Katamari Damacy is a cult classic that grew on prominence partially due to its quirky, standout soundtrack that covers a wide range of genres. (This is my weakest of the four. Open to changing!)
• Minecraft's music has become part of the soundtrack to an entire generation of gamers. People on this board might not be able to name one song from it, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be here.

Since I've given a bunch of retro Mario music so far, here's a modern song I like.

Paper Mario: The Origami King - Autumn Mountain Battle Theme
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cm4zNQD5gY

Mario Kart 64 - Staff Roll
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix7btMhM240

Mario Paint - Mysterious
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpyEAJDV700

If you notice similarity between this and EarthBound music, it's because there is some composer overlap. (Also Hip Tanaka composed the Dr. Mario song you didn't like but this is much different.)

Dr. Mario - Chill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXOZRsUXVuw

I wonder how many songs in this topic I would give above average ratings to. Thus far I count 1.

Weird pseudo nomination: Mean Rushmore. Something with only five possible options, we would vote for the one we want to exclude.

Casio Mario World's soundtrack other than Casio Hellburst is SNES-ized renditions of trippy, ambient non-vgm. Pretty neat!

Another song: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - Koopa (or Bowser if you really want):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_nCwZVX5qY

This is the final boss theme of one of the most difficult Mario hacks ever made.

Casio Mario World - Casio Hellburst
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AM2GopRUopo

Hmm, should I give you a super mainstream music pick or something weird from a romhack?

I'll start with something easy.

Super Mario 64 - Staff Roll
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI12BK9VC3U

nobody likes my Terra suggestion, huh

Oh hey, I think I nominated this one. First time actually participating.

My initial bad attempt:

Prelude
Terra
One-Winged Angel
Close in the Distance

• Prelude for arguably the most iconic theme in the series (I was thinking it doesn't really matter which one but you can pick the FF1 version if you want).
• Terra for an iconic character theme that might be the "biggest pick" from the SNES games.
• One-Winged Angel for being arguably the most iconic final boss theme in the series (see Final Fantasy Rushmore for more details) and to represent the PS1 era.
• Close in the Distance because I wanted a pick from FF14 to rep the newer games and from what I can tell it's the culmination of the FF14 story up to that point.

Take this Rushmore with a grain of salt, as I listen to a lot of VGM but don't play many games. Folks with actual firsthand experience with the series will probably have different takes!

EDIT: case in point, it's Prelude, not Prologue, lol

Nominate:
Sonic games

Or, for something more interesting (at least for me):
Sonic songs

Nominate:
Olympic sports (or maybe Olympic athletes would be better)

Nominate:
The Nameless One (Planescape: Torment)

sure