Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 82! THE MEX/Seashore War, Apex of the World/Argon Refinery

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to Video Game Music Contest 16, an annual celebration of the best of the best video game music according to the voters!

Important Links:
Bracket: https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=475935
Contest info sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_IU5iCFTM_4WEx8ZWKwznMz5v2tarCKh1Ag0mxIgAes
Contest discussion thread: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80027411
Main bracket playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3m7iohpL0xxfgkmGKvEyWfHvNZ53Kbn
Last years spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16XAaBMDuUnQ4c5AxQNL9ZhvD7VG5kQyrXWWZxnkrn-o
VGMC total stats sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K1XdLWiUKB2kX99qYBgnRbLU_sCz4dvZSByKKJHCT6o
Discord: https://discord.gg/WDvMS4a

Rules:
- Listen to both songs in a given match, at least through the loop time provided (to make sure you don't skip before you've heard the whole thing!)
- Please consider the loop point listed when judging the song; if a video loops one minute 5 times, don't treat it as if it's a repetitive 5 minute song
- If it's a match between your favorite song ever and a song you despise, still LISTEN TO BOTH! Votes can and will be disqualified if there is suspicion songs are not being listened to, and you may be discounted for the rest of the contest for repeat offenses.
- No alt accounts, no rallying or begging, etc., etc.... You only get one vote! Swapping votes is alright, just make clear that you've already made a vote and are swapping.
- Make clear what your voting options are! Please keep votes separate from any comments, and use the titles given in the topic post.
- Voting in all matches is not mandatory, feel free to skip matches you do not wish to vote in.
- Vote based on the links provided, and not other sources of audio. Links are specifically chosen for best quality and the like.
- Don't discuss vote tallies in this thread, or in other threads, as they may influence votes. Likewise, please refrain from looking at the running tally before voting.

Voting Period:
- Today's matches will last 24 hours from the time of posting, or 24 hours from 10pm Eastern, whichever is the later time.
- Please note this may mean that two topics will be active at the same time!
- If you anticipate being unable to vote in a given day, please send an absentee vote to @banshiryuu, or post your absentee vote in the discussion thread!

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Match 1

Xenoblade Chronicles X - THEMEX
Composer: Hiroyuki Sawano
Loop Point: 5:18
Genre: MSEYTMAPLHLOINCY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O59iwBYDYcw

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Seashore War
Composer: David Wise, Kenji Yamamoto, Daisuke Matsuoka, Minako Hamano, Shinji Ushiroda, Riyu Tamura
Loop Point: 3:07
Genre: PERUVIAN FLOE
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Boqy0Q-4c_M

Match 2

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Apex of the World (Rain)
Comp

Seashore War
The Apex of the World (Rain)

Apex my child

THEMEX
APEX

capEX

------
Argon Refinery

I'm going to need some time to think on match 1 so no vote on it for now. Dead even between two great songs.

THEMEX
The Apex of the World (Rain)

Xenoblade Chronicles X - MNN+@0 (Ma-non Ship Day) (Hiroyuki Sawano)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbvB7ks0MNo

Considered League of Legends - Light and Shadow here (which I used as an intermission in my 2019 VGM list; check that out if you're more in a mood for a big dramatic vocal song). I went with a track with a decidedly different flavour: this opens with a pretty tasty guitar and goes on a few different tangents from there. It's another one of those tracks that sets a cool feeling of place, one of somewhat exotic wonder, but also one I just like to bob my head to. Max is running a Sawano list on Supra discord in just over a week-- worth checking out if this kind of thing is your jam.

Tengami - Blossoms Falling (David Wise)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRxES-lUN3Y

I think Wise's strength is heavily in setting a sort of rhythmic atmosphere and ambiance-- it's no surprise that most of my preferred Wise tracks are DKC tracks that I think succeed at doing exactly that, while usually I'm less interested in Wise's more heavily melody-centric tunes. Blossoms Falling splits the difference a bit; this uses some nice sustained pads and synths, panned to the left and right to give it a somewhat wider, enveloping feel, while the drum and pluck bass synth give it its pulse. 1:37 hits a bit harder than it would otherwise because everything up to that point has felt either like an atmospheric effect or something with sharp attack and decay. It's a pretty decent payoff and it grows on me.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Tearing Through Heaven (Rain) (Hiroki Morishita)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kef24Po3pc0

Strongly considered a couple others, including Paths That Will Never Cross and Howling Gears. I used this in my 2019 VGM list; I knew I liked it but wondered at the time if it would stick with me. (It has.) This does a very specific thing that I have a huge soft spot for, which is when the melody is played by instruments of a higher register initially while accompanied by lower instruments, and then on the second iteration it switches-- lower instruments play the melody while higher instruments accompany. I love that! I dunno why. It just feels so dynamic to me. The breakbeat here just clicks for me; it injects just the right kind of urgent energy for me. 2:18 features those classic Morishita thick chords, just for good measure. It's such a fun track, and one I don't get tired of.

Zen Puzzle Garden - Mizuumi no Tera (Module)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NuG8ll4Bac

We end with a non-Shatter Module VGM composition-- there's not a huge amount of it out there. (Shatter - Aurora was considered here, but really if you enjoy Argon Refinery then I think a few different people would tell you to check out the whole Shatter soundtrack.) This has Module's fairly catchy electronic sensibilities but in a much more relaxed, contemplative form; this also grew on me as I listened to it. It feels a lot warmer than the very tech/computer world of Shatter, even if the individual elements don't feel dramatically so; I think it's the absence of the sharper edges of the Shatter synths that drive that home. I noticed that Module recently began to write music again after a long hiatus, which is very welcome news.

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

Seashore War
The Apex of the World (Rain)

Match 1 is tough! XCX and Tropical Freeze are both onto my top 10 soundtracks. However, I feel my bias for DK is stronger; and yet I'll be very happy to see either of them winning :)

Seashore War
The Apex of the World (Rain)

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

Xenoblade Chronicles X - THEMEX
Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Apex of the World (Rain)

THEMEX
6.85 (Rating) | 197/256 (Total Ranking) | 29/32 (R4 Ranking) | 14/16 (B1 Ranking)
Seashore War
7.45 (Rating) | 167/256 (Total Ranking) | 27/32 (R4 Ranking) | 9/16 (B1 Ranking)
The Apex of the World (Rain)
8.3 (Rating) | 102/256 (Total Ranking) | 17/32 (R4 Ranking) | 9/16 (B2 Ranking)
Argon Refinery
8.55 (Rating) | 67/256 (Total Ranking) | 12/32 (R4 Ranking) | 5/16 (B2 Ranking)

voats:
Seashore War
Argon Refinery

as you can probably tell comparing those seashore and apex rankings, b2 was a lot more stacked than b1 by a lot of personal metrics, though i would've voted sea of frozen crystals over all of b2... alas

THEMEX
The Apex of the World (Rain)

Seashore War
Argon Refinery

THEMEX
The Apex of the World (Rain)

THEMEX
The Apex of the World (Rain)

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

THE MEX
of the World (Rain)

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

Themex of the World
APEX

War
Refinery

Xenoblade Chronicles X - THEMEX
Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Apex of the World (Rain)

Xenoblade Chronicles X - THEMEX
Fire Emblem: Three Houses - The Apex of the World (Rain)

Seashore War
Argon Refinery

THEMEX
The Apex of the World (Rain)

THEMEX
The Apex of the World (Rain)

Seashore War
The Apex of the World (Rain)

Seashore War
Argon Refinery

Seashore War
The Apex of the World (Rain)

THEMEX
The Apex of the World (Rain)

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

abstain
Argon Refinery

Seashore War
Argon Refinery

18. THEMEX
26. Seashore War
5. The Apex of the World (Rain)
10. Argon Refinery

Votes:
THEMEX
The Apex of the World (Rain)

Seashore War
Argon Refinery

Now match 1 is a retirement match! Both are great, but Seashore is perfection. Argon is also terrific, Apex has grown on me somewhat but that one's no contest.

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

I could see flipping either of these matches. Solid R4 choices.

THEMEX
The Apex of the World (Rain)

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Seashore War
The Apex of the World (Rain)

Themex
Apex

Seashore
Argon

Xenoblade Chronicles X - THEMEX
Shatter - Argon Refinery

Seashore War
Argon Refinery

I didn't expect to vote this way in match 1. I'd happily let both these songs retire.

Meanwhile, I'd honestly die for Argon Refinery.

THEMEX
The Apex of the World (Rain)

THEMEX
Argon Refinery

Seashore War
The Apex of the World (Rain)