Board 8 > [BOST] Day 8: CT v S-11, Touhou 11 v Dandara, Murasaki Tsu v All Our Asias

(+) Yeah! (+)

Greetings, and welcome to the results and bracket/contest discussion topic for Best OST Contest 5! In this contest, you and fellow video game soundtrack lovers will come together to once and for all answer the question "What is the best video game soundtrack? (For now.)"

Links:
Contest Bracket and Info - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1sD964sXfa3trbXrr14mFKeEIA14cGM2RtHmW9TqGBmw
Discussion Thread - https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/77915805

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VOTING RULES

- Each match will be between the songs representing each game, not the game as a whole. Please remember to listen and vote with this in mind! Any votes referring to a game name rather than a song name will not be counted. You have been warned!
- Listen to both songs!! If one is your literal favorite song in the world and the other is something you hate with a passion, listen to them both!!
- No alts, no rallying, no begging for something to get more votes, etc., etc., you know the drill.
- If you change your mind and would like to swap your vote, you may do so. As soon as it is 24 hours since the match topic was started, you may not change your vote and new votes will not be counted.
- If you would like to vote in advance for matches you know you will miss, please let me know in the discussion topic.

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Main Bracket: Match 1

Chrono Trigger - Frog's Theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDhq9PTVON4" data-time="

Project S-11 - Planet Cephei

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of5hGJ3GNWI" data-time="

Main Bracket: Match 2

Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism. - Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12AHLzW4kks" data-time="

Dandara - Golden Fortress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGAgiZHCEX8" data-time="

Snubs Bracket Match

Murasaki Tsurugi - Flask of Loyalty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG8u1mwpCBg" data-time="

All Our Asias - Yuito and His Mother

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lscLlICPTX0" data-time="

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Vote Form:
Frog's Theme / Planet Cephei
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye / Golden Fortress
Flask of Loyalty / Yuito and His Mother

Planet Cephei
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask of Loyalty

Shmup day apologies to all non-shmups especially all our asias even though it's the least close match sadly

Planet Cephei
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Yuito and His Mother

Planet Cephei
RANKING SPOILER i guess? no values assigned but Golden Fortress
Yuito and His Mother, but this match is REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD,,,,,,

i hate bost

edit: i cant spell
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Frog
3rd Eye
Flask
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planet cephei
golden fortress
flassssssssssssssk of lol tea

why does the uploader of the not cephei song have the whirlpool galaxy as its avatar? also being on a planet of cephei would be fucking sick. do you know how big that star is?

golden fortress is very cool
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it'd also be dead but you know how these things go
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Frog's Theme
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask of Loyalty

I liked Project S-11 a lot but unfortunately it's out of its league in this match.

The piano in the Touhou song is pretty catchy. I also like Dandard but I'm giving the edge to Touhou here.

Feel bad for All Our Asias because I do like it and I'm guessing it will get killed here. The Murasaki song was surprisingly good though.
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Chrono Trigger - Frog's Theme
Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism. - Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Murasaki Tsurugi - Flask of Loyalty
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Chrono Trigger - Frog's Theme - 6.5/10
Better than I expected, nice and adventurous. Still nothing too special, but it's nice.

Project S-11 - Planet Cephei - 6/10
Also better than I expected in that I prefer this song over the other two S-11 songs I've heard so far. Still not exactly my kind of chiptune though, a bit too...dark? Idk if that's the right word but idk. Honestly I may have rated a few songs in the past couple of days too highly, I don't really find these two much worse than yesterday's songs if at all.

Vote for Frog's Theme

Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism. - Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye - 6.5/10
I'm always going to like Touhou music pretty much, just the style, instrumentation and energy always do it for me. That said, this is definitely on the low side in terms of Touhou music I've heard. Just kinda dark and is missing a lot of the nice melodies that usually accompany one, it's also surprisingly kinda on the slow-paced side too, more sorrowful than anything.

Dandara - Golden Fortress - 7/10
Wow, am I really going to vote against Touhou round 1? And this is a song I could kinda see myself disliking. I dunno, there are some parts where it gets a bit too dark and dissonant but a lot of it sounds nice for what it is and the fact that it pulls something like this off in a way I can enjoy it for the most part brings it up for me, it's a lot more interesting and unique.

One I may come back to in the morning but for now it's Golden Fortress

Murasaki Tsurugi - Flask of Loyalty - 8/10
This is super engaging throughout, wow. I was caught by the nice flutes in the start and was just expecting the peaceful beauty sorta traditional Japanese feel but then it became a real banger. My favourite song today for sure.

All Our Asias - Yuito and His Mother - 7/10
Really nice and peaceful, something that did turn out to stay that way throughout. I honestly did really enjoy this for what it was, honestly I feel this does just a good a job as Fez at what it's trying to do. People were saying this wasn't going to do well at all today, and I thought it was because this song wasn't good/popular and not because how good Flask of Loyalty is.

Alas, still voting for Flask of Loyalty

Planet Cephei
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask of Loyalty

Frog's Theme is one of those classic VGM pieces, that while decent isn't really anything to write home about. It's sort of like Imperial Army Theme, except it's not against something I actively dislike. The high-pitched instrument is kinda cool though. Planet Cephei is just a lot more cool, really liking that use of GBC percussion there.

Ah yes, Satori Maiden, for my ranking topic a while back this landed 11th place (out of 120). This one has a cool/dark/mysterious vibe to it, and an iconic melody that stands out in the sea of endless Touhou music. As for its opponent, I've said it before, but Wow, Dandara has a really cool sound design to it, and Golden Fortress is no exception. As this track goes on, it loses a bit of its impact and is a tad atmospheric for my tastes, but this is the closest match today.

And while we're on the topic of cool sound design, let's take a look at Flask of Loyalty. It starts out with that same cool Japanese instrument from my all-time favorite Touhou track Mystic Oriental Dream ~ Ancient Temple, then goes into this jamming jazz session. Like this is super cool! Actually probably my favorite track today! Yuito and His Mother unfortunately aren't doing anything for me. This sort of has a New Age feel to it, but also like it's just missing something important.
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Planet Cephei
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask of Loyalty

second match is really close as i feel bad about this vote but yeah

Actually i change my mind

Swap to Golden Fortress on the 2nd match

Whoops... I thought I voted, but I guess I didn't.

Planet Cephei - on paper this should sound like crap...so downbeat-focused and repetitive with very few harmonic ideas, but yet it somehow appeals to me, nonetheless.
Golden Fortress - by FAR my favorite music today.
Flask of Loyalty
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Frog's Theme
Golden Fortress
Yuito and His Mother
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Frog's Theme
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Yuito and His Mother
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Project S-11 - Planet Cephei
Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism. - Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Murasaki Tsurugi - Flask of Loyalty

MATCH 1

Frog's Theme just feels like your standard RPG music. Especially for games around the era of Chrono Trigger. Not bad, but not exactly exciting either. There are definitely better Chrono Trigger songs than this one, including many in the BOST setlist.

This is...actually pretty decent! I wasn't particularly enthused with Kenhull Badlands during VGMC13 and Ekans Desert, the only other song I knew from this game's soundtrack, wasn't that great in my eyes either, so I didn't think that I'd get much out of the soundtrack in general. Planet Cephei is a bit of a nice surprise, though! Granted, it's not amazing by any means, but it's markedly better than the other two aforementioned songs. I mainly say this because of 0:19-0:32. It's a pretty cool melody! Most of the song, though, kinda feels the same as those other songs, but those parts alone make this song much better than I anticipated. I didn't actually think I'd vote for Project S-11, but here we are. This too is the result of a pretty unlucky matchup. I haven't listened to the songs in the #4 and #6 slots of the list, but it's possible that I would've had the same lukewarm feelings about those songs. I think it's more so, though, the fact that it drew my least favorite Chrono Trigger song in the lower half of the list. Battle With Magus would without a doubt get my vote if it was up and Wind Scene would probably get it as well. I feel a little bad about voting against Chrono Trigger here, but I have to.

MATCH 2

Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye's a classic Touhou song in my eyes. Don't really have a lot to say about it. It's very Touhou and I like Touhou music a lot, so naturally, I like this song a lot. I guess I could say that it's a bit more of a spooky song than what I'd consider most Touhou songs to be, but I think it still retains a lot of the instrumentation that makes a Touhou song feel like Touhou. And, melodically, I think it does a good enough job to put it up to par with other Touhou songs that I like.

Golden Fortress has a pretty cool ambiance to it. I like the piano chords quite a bit. Satori's theme is my clear preference, though.

MATCH 3

Flask of Loyalty starts off with some nice and chill vibes, but I really start to like it when it goes into its energetic, jazzy stage. I like when jazzy songs sound like this. This song has some cool melodic lines that draw me in and I guess that's what primarily would get me interested in a song like this. Jazz isn't normally something I listen to or am generally attracted to, but I can definitely get behind stuff like this! I'm probably using the term "jazz" far too loosely here, though haha.

Yuito and His Mother is a very chill song that sounds pretty nice. It's another song that I'd consider to be very atmospheric, though. Too atmospheric for me to consider seeking out songs like this. But it does sound good. Unfortunately not good enough to outpace Flask of Loyalty.

Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye > Flask of Loyalty > Golden Fortress > Planet Cerphei > Yuito and His Mother > Frog's Theme

Planet Cephei
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask of Loyalty

Chrono Trigger - Frog's Theme: 7. A classic. Not my favorite song from this soundtrack, but it's very heroic and inspirational. Uses the CT trumpet samples to great effect.
vs.
Project S-11 - Planet Cephei: 9. The Project S-11 soundtrack is full of these amazing chiptune soundscapes that pop out and dance around like beepy fireflies. This song has that crunchy GBC percussion that I just adore in tracks like this. If this were remade with modern instruments it could easily be some sort of hard techno piece. Love it.

and

Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism. - Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye: 3.5. This isn't a Touhou song that makes me want to cover my ears or dunk my head in a bowl of horse feces, so that's a plus. The song is simply uninteresting to me. I don't feel attached to it at all. It just sort of happens and then it loops and then it ends. Which, hey, if that's the worst a Touhou does to me, I'm happy.
vs.
Dandara - Golden Fortress: 8. Dandara was my favorite new discovery from nominations. Such unique, atmospheric tracks that really transport me to another world. This song is piano-centric but has a great beat too.

and

Murasaki Tsurugi - Flask of Loyalty: 7.5. Ooh I like this. The melody is very strong, and so are the instruments. Ooh and there's a tempo change. The song evolves throughout to make a neat picture. Very cool.
vs.
All Our Asias - Yuito and His Mother: 8.5. This was my nom that almost wasn't in the Snubs Bracket, but I was convinced to put it in. All Our Asias is a very ambient/atmospheric soundtrack that conveys a number of emotions, from sadness and desolation to nostalgia to hope. This track opts for the sadness/desolation route. It's absorbing in a way that the best ambient tracks are: powerful, a little minimalist, but incredibly evocative. Even if this song doesn't win, I'm happy to have introduced some people to such a fascinating soundtrack.

Votes:
Planet Cephei
Golden Fortress
Yuito and His Mother

Planet Cephei
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask of Loyalty

Whenever I see the Dandara I can't help but see the man as Doctor Robotnik even though the mustache is clearly coming from the eyes. This has no impact on my vote I just wanted to point that out.
Golden Fortress & Yuito are decent songs as far as slow songs are considered for me but slow type songs can be an uphill battle for my vote
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Frog's Theme
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask of Loyalty

Was all prepared to vote Cephei after the first minute of the song, but it's way too fucking repetitive. Needed to be half as long at most.

Don't really care for either of the songs in match 2. Can give Satori the vote for having the courtesy to end in a more reasonable amount of time.

Opening of Flask sounds like an Okami song. Thankfully it doesn't sound like that for long; the rest of it is pretty good. Yuito is terrible. Maybe the worst song of the contest so far...?
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Frog's Theme
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask of Loyalty

Frog's Theme
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask Of Loyalty

would like to say that yuito and his mother is a type of song i usually don't listen to but i can appreciate. reminds me of the GONNeR or Baba Is You osts
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Planet Cephei
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask of Loyalty
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Frog's Theme
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Yuito and His Mother

Frog's Theme
Satori Maiden
Flask of Loyalty

Sorry, S-11. One of your decent tracks, but still beaten.
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Project S-11 - Planet Cephei
Dandara - Golden Fortress
All Our Asias - Yuito and His Mother

Not much of a contest today, though match 1 was a little tougher than expected. Chrono definitely holds up.
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Project S-11 - Planet Cephei
I love everything about Project S-11 and this track is no exception. I love how rich and full the sound is, I honestly never expected something so beautiful to come out of a Gameboy Color. Great stuff!

Dandara - Golden Fortress
Lovely instrumentation on this one-- what an eerie track to drive at night to. Not only is this song atmospheric, but it's also gorgeous!

All Our Asias - Yuito and His Mother
This song was very ambient and reminded me a lot of KPM stuff. I love chill stuff like this, especially when I'm driving (which I was when I listened to all of these)!~
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Planet Cephei
Golden Fortress
Flask of Loyalty

yuito being described as peaceful is weird it sounds haunting to me but idk.
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Frog's Theme
Satori Maiden ~ 3rd Eye
Flask of Loyalty

Not really feeling the songs up today, though I didn't hate any of the losers either.
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Planet Cephei
Golden Fortress
Yuito and His Mother

Frog's Theme has a pretty straightforward martial feel, which I guess reflects the character accurately. This isn't among my preferred Chrono Trigger tracks-- I enjoy more pensive, less strident selections from this soundtrack. This just marches straight down the middle-- it feels almost ingenuous in its approach.

S-11 continues its eternal battle against the soundchip it was written on. Planet Cephei repeats itself but the thing that repeats is pretty cool, and the way the repeating figure is transposed throughout the track is neat.

I remember when the Subterranean Animism soundtrack first came out and I raved about this track in particular-- I think it was my favourite pick from the soundtrack at the time. I'm not entirely sure what drew me to this in particular-- maybe it was the harmonic minor feel of this track, which felt like a bit of a contrast versus other Touhou tracks, giving it a darker feel. Maybe it was the harpsichord backing. Either way I was really into this at the time.

The thing that strikes me first about Golden Fortress is, well, the opening. The first two piano notes give way to an instrumental howl-- a wail of despair and pain. 'You shouldn't be here!' the music seems to shriek. That sliding, string/synth sound continues to shift in and out of focus throughout, like a ghost that haunts the piece as the piano explores the inner recesses of the golden fortress. One of the things I love most about Dandara music is that it allows me to imagine, and in vivid detail-- a crumbling ruin, an overgrown vista, or, in this case, a cold, forbidding citadel.

Flask of Loyalty is a pretty bouncy, catchy track. The highlight of the track for me is easily 1:04, which is really cool. Later on, when the keyboard lead kicks in, it takes on this almost Danganronpa vibe which, while fun, makes me wish it would go back to the other stuff. Still, this is a pretty enjoyable listen.

It would be nice to have a day without one of these 'close in my head' matches. Yuito and His Mother, with its muted synths and echoing percussion, aches with regret. It's a deeply mournful ambience, elegantly conveyed.