LogFAQs > #946372877

#64: Trails in the Sky - Leiston Fortress
hb: 6.9/4.9
dowolf: 8/8
Total: 7.45/6.45 (6.95)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=I9RYN4Os3qU
https://youtube.com/watch?v=cHPiGf8SymY

Another tense theme, but this one is a step up over its compatriots through its strong rhythms and pleasing soundfont. The Evo version's soundfont is for the most part significantly less enjoyable to listen to (though I do like the piano), which knocks it down quite a bit- its sorely missing something compared to the original, and its additions don't fill the gap enough for me to like it.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Evo bells are cool.

#63: Trails in the Sky SC - The Merciless Savior
azuarc: 5.2/4.6
NFUN: 10/8
Total: 7.6/6.3 (6.95)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=V1GhOzlGXQk
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vJO4oJ0Uce4

Gonna expect some pushback here, but I've never liked Merciless Savior. Nothing about it grabs me, and it goes on for way too goddamn long. Evo version has the decency to be a minute shorter, but the sound and percussion choices are a bit head-scratching, and it doesn't get any better down the stretch, with a lot of the original melodic lines ruined by the improvised solos of the violin and then opera singers that really don't fit within the track's envelope.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I'll remind you again that these assignments were completely random (and had I not blacklisted myself from Ao songs, I still would've gotten this). This is probably my third favorite Falcom song, and I'm glad I got this as the SC rep instead of Looking Up at the Sky because I have been avoiding hearing the Evo version of that for years, and I didn't want to stop now. The original of this is nothing short of a masterpiece. It's incredibly unique, has incredible energy, incredible emotion, and I'm still incredulous that it exists. It's dramatic, it has FEELS, it's the perfect sendoff to a JRPG of Sky's scale. I have no idea how it manages to pull it off in a style that most people would take as a proggy mess at first glance. I guess everything just comes together into a goulash of amazingness.

As for the Evo version... I love Jindo, but sometimes he leans too hard into his orchestral rock style of Ys Chronicles, which you'd think would be an incredible fit here. The beginning is pretty acceptable, but the main melody 30 seconds in feels like a step down. The original is a barely-contained mess. It's chaotic, but *tight*. This, over the next minute, gradually loses itself until it falls apart even more at 1:40. The electronic synth doesn't really feel appropriate, and the transition at 2:40 feels... uncomfortable? Thankfully, his operatic singers fit perfectly, and when he has a stronger melody and the Whereabouts of Hope motif as a firmer backing after this, Jindo manages to nail the second half, to the point where I'd begrudge I'm only not totally in love because of how much I like the original. As a whole, it's not transcendent like the original, but much of the evo arrangement at least does it some justice

azuarc just had to kill the Merciless Savior (and me) one last time

---

You shine, and make others shine just by being near them.