Board 8 > Board 8 Ranks Trails/Kiseki [{(-~-RANKINGS-~-)}]

(+) Yeah! (+)

I was not expecting that to be the first battle theme to go out, especially before any of the low-health themes
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#254: Trails in the Sky - We are the Capua Family!
player0: 3/3
Raetsel: 4.93/4.92
Total: 3.965/3.96 (3.9625)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vF3AZlq0Fyc
https://youtube.com/watch?v=CJ2WgIsXYiQ

A goofy march for the joke villains or something. The remake totally ruins the bounciness that makes it so fun, but it's a bit more interesting in the second half.
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Slightly monotonous and plodding, but not outright bad. It's fitting for some minor antagonist, someone that will annoy the player/heroes, but not be a credible threat. Which is fine--the song has its place and accomplishes what it needs to, but it's not interesting enough to be worth listening to on its own or bad enough to be worth complaining about.

First Ishibashi out

#253: Trails in the Sky - Pinch!!
Janus: 5/8.5
dowolf: 1.5/1
Total: 3.25/4.75 (4)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=uTM2TjwHeXM
https://youtube.com/watch?v=PsDJu7rd0JU

Never really gave this song an honest listen and I still wouldn't call it amazing, but I do like the jazzy feel and some of the drum fills. Kinda repetitive though.

ok I am not normally one to complain about double bass (and spoilers I still won't !!) but wow I did not expect it here haha. Much less actually jazzy and now sounds like some metal band's weird attempt at being jazzy. Kinda really dumb but... I also really like it, oops.
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why

Just barely got beaten by Crimson Stigma =/

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NFUN posted...

#254: Trails in the Sky - We are the Capua Family!

Ok now I'm really salty.

Crimson Stigma also pretty great
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kinda surprised to see Pinch this high. it's always felt very placeholder-y to me, not something I would ever listen to for more than 10 seconds given the choice, and I don't get the appeal of the Evo version at all but *shrug*.
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#252: Ao no Kiseki - Disquiet
player0: 3/3
Raetsel: 6.02/4
Total: 4.51/3.5 (4.005)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=aew7CKnr1D4
https://youtube.com/watch?v=P5NpiMWP30k

Basically the same tension ambience other than the remake's updated instruments. The remake is a bit better in the first half with the electric piano, but drops off once it switches to the regular piano.
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Atmospheric music. I like the idea of the song, but wish it were more ominous and stressful. Make me really feel the dread the characters are (presumably) experiencing. It never moves beyond 'mildly ominous background music' which is still above average for me, but it could have been more.

#251: Ao no Kiseki - Catastrophe
Raetsel: 4.2/5.21
Mycro: 3.4/3.3
Total: 3.8/4.255 (4.0275)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=WCP0a02oVdk
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9gw9JSVKEMc

Meh. Original song wants to be dramatic, but comes off completely forgettable and almost cartoon-ish. Evo is an imprveoment, but that's not really saying much.
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took me a while to decide my preferred version; I don't mind the choir but I think it's a bit stronger and easier to take seriously without it; some of the other instruments feel mixed better in the original too

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Pinch is fun!! I feel about the same on both versions though

dowolf posted...

As in, the song that you're upset over the super delayed attacks on brass instruments?

Or as in, you making a rip of the track with even more delayed attacks?

The first one!

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oh, forgot to say, we're in

Tier Bruh Moment:


(as of Disquiet)

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I'm retroactively glad that Raetsel helped Disquiet get a tier above Lord of Phantasma

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Wish I had gotten either Disquiet/Catastrophe over Phantasma.

Both are fun songs.

#250: Ao no Kiseki - Dark Throne
Janus: 3.5/3.5
Raetsel: 5.32/4.11
Total: 4.41/3.805 (4.1075)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5hbYOF6QLQA
https://youtube.com/watch?v=WbboBc7veR0

I'll be honest, I can't focus on this song - either version - at all. Feels like it plays during some big villainous reveal that you're supposed to be paying attention to instead.
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The original has a very strong intro that makes me expect a top-tier song, but then it never really goes anywhere. I'm waiting for some type of hook, or for the song to ramp up in intensity or pressure, and I'm just left disappointed. The Evo version's intro isn't nearly as strong, leaving the entire song rather unremarkable.

#249: Trails in the Sky SC - Welcome to Le-Locle
FL: 1.5/5.5
Raetsel: 5.09/4.6
Total: 3.295/5.05 (4.1725)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=r7novzzzfKs
https://youtube.com/watch?v=AGGWmooW8Yo

Wii Shop Music, but really repetitive and grating. Evo version actually sounds nice.
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If you were to look for 'most generic RPG town theme', I think you'd find the original version of this song. It does what it needs to, but that's it. The Evo version is tedious waiting music. It's the type of thing that plays over a "Technical Difficulties" screen or in the background as a robotic voice tells you that your phone call is very important to them. It is so bland and boring that...just...ugghh. It's not bad enough to be a bottom-tier song, but UGGHHH. [Second Thoughts: Wow, that was way too negative for the Evolution Version. It's still kinda dull, but not half as bad as I was making it out to be.[

Our first SC loss, and I can't think of a more deserving song to be the first eliminated. I think the only time I muted a Trails game was gambling to this theme in Ruan

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#248: Ao no Kiseki - Elie's Screaming Roller Coaster
pyre: 3.5/6.5
Mycro: 3.05/3.7
Total: 3.275/5.1 (4.1875)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=r7RS1YMJFck
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vJK2MNBvYrk

I don't know how to describe why but I've never cared for this song. I think it's an instrumentation thing but I don't really know. Though actually I think listening to the much better evo version clarifies things somewhat. The main problem is that the original sounds too goofy, and while "goofy" makes some sense for the context it plays in this just goes way too far with it and fails as a song as a result. (The most obvious example I think is the bouncy sound of the melody at the beginning.) The more sinister but still a tiny bit corny sound of the Evo version is a much much better sound.
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I like the metallic clanks in the original, but in every other way evo's version sounds more diverse and less fake; which is important because i'm really not a fan of the composition on this one. harmonized synths really help the evo version too

#247: Zero no Kiseki - Underground Kids
Raetsel: 6.04/5.33
Lea: 3/2.5
Total: 4.52/3.915 (4.2175)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=4TStkLtJK5Q
https://youtube.com/watch?v=sx6omEH4ilM

It's kinda neat, I like how it feels like I'm listening to the song on a low quality radio, definitely a fun effect. The Evo version leans a bit too far into though, like it's just a bit too low-fi.
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Is this even music? Why am I listening to it through a tin can phone?

Lea's never heard of lo-fi, it seems. ftr, you do listen to it over a low quality radio

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I don't remember the drums in Le Locle original starting at around 0:30 being grating when I played the game, but they're super annoying now. The beach guitar countermelody in the Evo's cool though!

I'm surprised to see Underground Kids do this well.
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A bit of an addendum on my Le Locle writeup

my impression when I first heard it was that it's just a worse version of this lmao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8rbRgThMps

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#246: Zero no Kiseki - IGNIS
tgs: 6/6.4
Mycro: 2/2.5
Total: 4/4.45 (4.225)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7OtFT9_R1Oo
https://youtube.com/watch?v=FgVfFziWnws

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SUT UP oh lol evo ver arranged by kamikura of ex-basiscape. tbh i can tell but it doesn't make me like this much more even if i prefer that version, but at least it sounds more alive and like an actual rock band; some of the solos are kinda neat

"SUT UP" - Smos

#245: Ao no Kiseki - Michelam Wonderland
player0: 6/8
Mycro: 1.4/1.5
Total: 3.7/4.75 (4.225)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=My65d903Y6Y
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QfuV1v7Hxys

A wonderfully uplifting summer festival-type song! It's got the perfect blend of childlike innocence with a healthy dose of minor chords thrown in. The remake feels a bit empty in the intro, but after that its updated instruments work wonders compared to the original, especially the accordion and piano! Out of everything I rated, this was the song that always stuck with me for being so uniquely catchy.
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i don't dislike this compositionally, but this is the type of happy bouncy shuffle jazz-adjacent thing that sounds egregiously stupid to me when it is "too fake", and both of these versions are way too fake sounding to me, was really hoping the evo version would be a fully live performance like some of these were, i'd likely place that much higher score (as in i'd actually like it), but shuffle/swing feel where "Every note is exactly the same volume/length" on so many layers, is hard for me to appreciate the unfitting mechanicalness of. still prefer the evo version for instrumentation slightly even if it's moderately more 'fake'.

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We live in a world in which Elie's Screaming Roller Coaster places higher than Dark Throne and I don't like it one bit.
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pyresword posted...

We live in a world in which Elie's Screaming Roller Coaster places higher than Dark Throne and I don't like it one bit.

your average for roller coaster was higher than the overall average for dark throne

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I feel so bad when I have nothing interesting enough to write about on songs I rate decently high enough outside of "It's fine/cool/fun/good" and leave blank. IGNIS was one of many that met that criteria. It was just a fun 2 minutes of guitar stuff that I liked somewhat.

pyresword posted...

We live in a world in which Elie's Screaming Roller Coaster places higher than Dark Throne and I don't like it one bit.

it's funny hearing you say this when you actually rated Elie's Screaming Roller Coaster notably more favorably than i did hahaha
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None of this matters because Dark Throne was underscored by more than a factor of 2.
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Those Le-Locle writeups are perfect

Whoops deo and I got Critical Situation placed a tier below Ignis

I listened to Michelam Evo way too many times the first few weeks after rating it! There were other songs I rated higher, but it's so rare for me to enjoy songs in that style that it was far and away my favourite discovery!

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https://vocaroo.com/17Tskb6o88XD

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#244: Zero no Kiseki - Armorica Village
pyre: 4.5/5.5
dowolf: 4/3
Total: 4.25/4.25 (4.25)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y4S23DuIVA8
https://youtube.com/watch?v=7ew8OjtFkYo

I don't like the area themes of Crossbell nearly as much as Liberl, with the exception of the St. Ursula theme which is not this one. This one is nice and calming but also somewhat boring, and it's definitely possible to make a rustic village theme that is more engaging. (See Rolent...for example.) However my immediate reaction to the Evo version is that I already like this more natural acoustic guitar sound somewhat more. It doesn't change the fact that the composition is just not that engaging, but it's certainly easier to get drawn in to the song overall.
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This definitely makes me feel like I'm on a farm. I do not especially want to be on a farm.

Eh, can't complain. Armorica is the worst CB town theme

#243: Trails in the Sky SC - Etude of the Ruin
player0: 4/4
dowolf: 5.5/3.5
Total: 4.75/3.75 (4.25)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zn7BCJ1-9Q0
https://youtube.com/watch?v=hXNd9ln_-_g

A short but fun listen of...basically a Bach toccata. In fact, a bit after 0:30 sounds just like that famous one.
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A wild organ attacks! COMMAND? I have no idea why Evo is so much less attractive to me here.

I hate how much sense it makes that the villain knows how to play an organ

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PIayer_0 posted...

https://vocaroo.com/17Tskb6o88XD

I love how I could tell what songs this was without even having heard the original

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#242: Zero no Kiseki - Water, Greenery and Blue Sky
player0: 2/4
dowolf: 4.5/6.5
Total: 3.25/5.25 (4.25)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=9zmpL-jY4Fo
https://youtube.com/watch?v=66vz-8LglDY

Songs like these make me empathize with people who hate happy town themes! Sometimes music just shoves too much happiness in your face and it feels like a dystopian future's brainwashing tape that says "SMILE LIKE THE WORLD IS WATCHING". The remake at least adds some good reverb and fun bongos, like a discount Octopath town theme.
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PUT THE FISHING ROD DOWN AND BACK AWAY. I like Evo's rhythm section.

Perhaps the worst field theme in Zero so two for two i guess

#241: Zero no Kiseki - Tomorrow the Wind to the Future Will Blow
Raetsel: 5.37/6.5
Mycro: 2.6/2.8
Total: 3.985/4.65 (4.3175)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=p6Xq-w7yn8w
https://youtube.com/watch?v=AQe_o3tQ8pQ

Both versions sound like they're going for an "old west saloon" type of sound, but only the Evo version fully nails it.
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another folky acoustic one that benefits from live instrumentation like in the evo version. unfortunately i don't like this incarnation of folk music as much as <WHOA THERE NELLY DID YOU JUST SPOIL A RANKING?> but at least it reminds me of deserts and i like deserts : )

This song belongs in Orre. I didn't like it much at first but it grew on me a lot and deserves better. Too bad Mycro got all of the folksy songs he hates

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oh, by the way, three songs of the last songs had the exact same rating. If you're curious as to how I decided upon tiebreakers, it's to do nothing and order them however the document decided to (alphabetical by song, i think)

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#242: Zero no Kiseki - Water, Greenery and Blue Sky

This one isn't surprising but :(

I really love this song a lot. It is so peaceful and uplifting. Probably my second favorite highway theme of the series behind Skies of a Strange Land.
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#240: Trails in the Sky SC - Obstructive Existence
Janus: 6.5/1
NFUN: 7.1/2.8
Total: 6.8/1.9 (4.35)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pHo86x7jLWM
https://youtube.com/watch?v=b9gtigSx0Yc

I feel like this would be pretty cool if the trumpet were less overbearing - has an otherwise pretty cool jazzy feel. The piano part right before the loop is probably the best part.

Well, the trumpet is less overbearing at least. This is kinda just a mess.
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The original is very stressful, I'm not gonna lie. That's the point, obviously, but I still have a mini heart attack whenever it starts. Otherwise, pretty good song. More interesting than FC's monster chest theme at least, and does the job of unnervingly hyping you well while still being decent to listen to

I laughed at this one too. God, in the original the trumpets seemed a little detuned but in this they just seem in completely the wrong key. It's way more dissonant than it should be. Jumping from the off-key trumpet to the squeaky trumpet to the even MORE outrageously off trumpet accompanied by BONGOs is just peak Singa. I hand the rest of the review to Umutsol: "Nothing hit me the way Obstructive Existence hit me though. That one is just a RIOT. It feels like the instruments are horribly depressed and want to escape from the whole soundtrack . But seriously, it makes me sad, but I still laugh. This song would be like 10 times better if the wind instruments didn't off themselves each note. that's my biggest problem. The trumpets go BRRRrrrrr.... Oh god, the section towards 1:40. I think Joshua heard this when <FC> he was talking to Weissman"

I honestly listen to Evo more, because it never fails to absolutely slay me. This is a song I had no idea how to rank, so I decided this feels about right... it still feels way too high, but points for being fucking hilarious, I guess

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For the record, Obstructive Existence has the dubious distinctions of being both the lowest ranking Evo song and having the biggest disparity of scores between versions. It's all uphill from here (hopefully)

#239: Ao no Kiseki - Aoki Shizuku
Raetsel: 6.101/4.51
dowolf: 4.5/2.5
Total: 5.3005/3.505 (4.40275)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=m8goHnqff98
https://youtube.com/watch?v=SRxLELXxjbg

The original song doesn't hit me as hard emotionally as I'd like, but I think I get what the artist was going for & I'll acknowledge it as a good song with a certain wistfulness. The Evo song isn't exactly bad, but feels rather hollow and soulless in comparison.
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Evo feels so messy here.

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NFUN posted...

#242: Zero no Kiseki - Water, Greenery and Blue Sky
player0: 2/4
dowolf: 4.5/6.5
Total: 3.25/5.25 (4.25)

BRUH
WHAT THE FUCK

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Honestly...I might rate the Evo version of Obstructive Existence higher than the original? The only part of it I don't like is that the clarinet player is getting way too aggressive with those pitch bends. The brass and rhythm parts are pretty good though imo.

NFUN posted...

Obstructive Existence has the dubious distinctions of being both the lowest ranking Evo song

Man I'm going to regret feeling generous enough to give a certain song 2 points aren't I?
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pyresword posted...

Honestly...I might rate the Evo version of Obstructive Existence higher than the original? The only part of it I don't like is that the clarinet player is getting way too aggressive with those pitch bends. The brass and rhythm parts are pretty good though imo.

see i read reviews like this and wonder if we're listening to the same music (which is a comment I stole from FL about him not understanding people hating motherfucking Feel Force)

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Well, I will say neither would get a particularly fantastic rating. As a guess I'd probably go either 5/5.5 or 5.5/5.5 or 5.5/5
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I might actually kinda like Obstructive Existence Evo more. It's close though.

As for WGBS: *points defensively at p0*!
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Geez, I didn't think some highway theme that I thought was a town theme would create such commotion

Obstructive Existence Evo is way better

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OE original is much better than Evo, but Evo is still good too. *shrug*

NFUN posted...

(which is a comment I stole from FL about him not understanding people hating motherfucking Feel Force)

ok so like, with all the hate I see Singa getting for his works, I was expecting it to be actively bad

but this is still like a 6.7

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FL81 posted...

ok so like, with all the hate I see Singa getting for his works, I was expecting it to be actively bad

but this is still like a 6.7

it's an uncoordinated disaster of a song. it doesn't actively sound horrible, but it's impossible to actually listen and pay attention to while still taking it at all seriously. It's little more than three minutes of playing random guitar notes in a given key, and is probably the least well-constructed song I've ever heard

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#238: Trails in the Sky - The Disappearing Star
Raetsel: 5.401/6.04
dowolf: 5/1.5
Total: 5.2005/3.77 (4.48525)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=S4lzjNdbUOQ
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QVbsDnRHdGo

Sad songs that feel like they were designed for sad childhood flashbacks about sadness. Evo version sounds sadder than the original, which gives it a slightly better score.
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I am aggressively indifferent towards music boxes. Except Evo music boxes. It takes something very clean and just spreads it out in this super weird way. Maybe that's what orgels sound like in real life I dunno but.

Didn't expect to see polarized opinions for this one

#237: Trails in the Sky - Black Orbment
pyre: 5/4
NFUN: 5.2/3.8
Total: 5.1/3.9 (4.5)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=d8wPYCb-5hg
https://youtube.com/watch?v=jzpAD1VKwc8

Nice tension-building song but it doesn't really stand out. Evo version sounds more like a haunted mansion theme which isn't really good in this case because it's a bit too corny. Also the organ held notes kind of dominate a bit too much.
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oh no spooky scary main motif

this sounds like what happens when i'm bored and messing around on a piano. good job holding down those pedals. the whole thing is kind of melodramatic and hamfisted... which was probably the intent, but it sounds worse and I can't take it seriously at all

I am pyre except slightly more PASSIONATE

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#236: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - The Way of the Heart
player0: 4/4
Mycro: 5.01/5
Total: 4.505/4.5 (4.5025)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZHGnEcwHQ80
https://youtube.com/watch?v=haa4vFPI8mk

We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of wedding music and video games...it's a pleasant enough track, but drags on a bit longer than it needs to. The remake does spice it up with some new instruments, but the general feel of the song remains the same.
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very neutral to this, original version is slightly punchier in a good way but if you showed me either individually and not side by side i wouldn't be able to name which is which

This is such a cool song in context, and so... underwhelming on it's own? This song at least has one of the weirdest in/out context juxtapositions

#235: Zero no Kiseki - Gazing at Your Back
Janus: 4.5/4
deo: 4.8/4.8
Total: 4.65/4.4 (4.525)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TT9ZgZ9qf7A
https://youtube.com/watch?v=y-EOQInQmN4

is this a song Randy wrote about Rixia ba-dum tiss

Slow, emotional xylophone(?) track. Not a lot to it but it's a nice reprise of Way of Life.

Ehhhh, those chords in the intro of the Evo are a little much. Feels like a lot more emphasis is placed on the backing instrument which makes it feel fuller but less emotionally resonant. The added part is nice.
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is this a song Randy wrote about Mireille ba-dum tiss

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#234: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - Uninvited Guests
hb: 4.3/5.4
dowolf: 5.5/3
Total: 4.9/4.2 (4.55)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=jfxc1kNt7Dk
https://youtube.com/watch?v=8Uony_aZViw

This song doesn't really interest me in any way beyond the chords at around 1:00 sounding PMD-ish. Other than that, the song doesn;t really do anything at all, so I struggle to care. The choir sounds and piano added by the Evo version might be a little silly, but they also give the song significantly more of its own identity and the added percussion helps too.
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horn in OG really makes the track. horn in evo just sounds off

#233: Zero no Kiseki - Paradise
Raetsel: 4.001/4.1
Mycro: 5.15/5.2
Total: 4.5755/4.65 (4.61275)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=oUvUIQ5QtKE
https://youtube.com/watch?v=2dkxfdfOpj4

There are short & simple songs that I like, but neither version of this song does anything for me. I'm sure the songs are fine in context, but "here's 30 seconds of mildly pleasant guitar" isn't exactly an award winning concept. They're just short, inoffensive blobs of genericness that fade into nothing before you have a chance to react. Original is slightly better.
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the original "sounds cooler" because it is 'fake' and has 'reverb' but that also results in a lack of subtlety, too much differentiation between individual notes to sound natural, not enough variants of volume/note length/etc, all these little tiny details make it sound unnatural. and sounding natural i find necesary for something like this, even if i think the 'timbre' of the original is cooler, getting someone real to play it was beneficial. I would say this is "too happy for me" but I have a thing for folk-y music and especially when it's organicly mixed meter with natural improvised sounding gaps like this. there's nothing i dislike about it but there's also not much there so i can't rate it too high. keep thinking i should bump the rating for these two way up though

I swear to god, I have a heart attack every time I see this track name before remembering the song

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man now i wish i'd given paradise a way higher score. like my actual enjoyment of the track is like "7/10" but it felt so wrong giving it that when it's so short. shortness/length rarely has an impact on my perception of a song, but it was like "do i REALLY like paradise more than this cool 3 minute battle theme that i never quiiite like as much at any moment of paradise but am obviously getting more out of it because there's more in it"

(btw paradise was the <WHOA THERE NELLY DID YOU JUST SPOIL A RANKING?> spoiler that nfun censored in the Tomorrow the Wind to the Future Will Blow writeup. I probably will have more censored parts of my writeups because i think i compared songs to other songs in the ranking a number of times)
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Toxtricity posted...

like my actual enjoyment of the track is like "7/10" but it felt so wrong giving it that when it's so short.

Best Jingle Contest, coming soon:tm: to a Board 8 near you!

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#232: Ao no Kiseki - A New Daily Life
player0: 5/6
dowolf: 5/2.5
Total: 5/4.25 (4.625)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=3eGNYk9nTlE
https://youtube.com/watch?v=8B4b6myB930

Daily Life...this sounds much more like a mellow night-time theme to me. In that sense, the remake finds its niche really nicely with the resonating echoes and deeper bass.
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Why is evo suddently so ominous? The melody still feels like it wants to be happy and it just isn't I'm confused. I don't remember it being like this playing Ao Evo maybe the upload's bad. Or my memory's bad. Certainly one of the two!

#231: Zero no Kiseki - Caught Between Major Powers
Raetsel: 3/5.5
dowolf: 4/6
Total: 3.5/5.75 (4.625)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qM2hW9zHsq4
https://youtube.com/watch?v=cUNKHqLY7S8

The original version almost put me to sleep. Evo version isn't amazing, but at least avoids being sleep-inducing. It sounds like a tactics meeting track, where everyone discusses their strategy for the next big battle--it implies that interesting things WILL happen, just not right now because we're just gonna talk about all the awesome stuff that's going to be happening after this cutscene.
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Live instruments help a lot here.

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#230: Ao no Kiseki - Conflicting Passions
Place: 3/3.5
dowolf: 5.5/6.5
Total: 4.25/5 (4.625)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=yTEA1HU7Wuc
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vrzR6NsWf2c

when i talk about the most standard, forgettable, 'driving' jrpg music formula, this is one of many examples i could pull from. i have a weird fixation about that-- the guitar followed by violin solo (or vice-versa) before the refrain. 0.5 difference is again a matter of preferring evo production in most cases. a sound that tends to fall in the 3-5 point window for me
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decent battle theme

#229: Zero no Kiseki - St. Ursula Medical College
Janus: 5.5/5
Lea: 4/4
Total: 4.75/4.5 (4.625)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=GfFLf_PcJYI
https://youtube.com/watch?v=97vdjhU04TA

Very relaxing song. Doesn't wow me but does its job.

A bit busier at times, which in this case probably runs to its detriment since it's not as calming.
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These really made no impression on me

I don't really care about it, but I'm sure somebody (pyre, probably) is upset

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#228: Ao no Kiseki - The All Knowing Ones
player0: 5/5
deo: 4.4/4.3
Total: 4.7/4.65 (4.675)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TdcE8Opw97w
https://youtube.com/watch?v=-zVVoMEUs48

Mysterious ambience as plot details are being revealed, it really gets going in the second half with some dramatic chord progressions. The remake has a lighter touch to it, but can't say it's any better worse.
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#227: Ao no Kiseki - And Yet Here We Are
Janus: 4/4.5
Mycro: 5.13/5.12
Total: 4.565/4.81 (4.6875)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=e3f7z8Fp6bk
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ab8oiqRe9a0

It's ORCHESTRAL and TRIUMPHANT and REPRISES THEMES wow I guess this must be an ending theme. I do like how it builds towards a massive refrain at the end.

Weird how Evos are usually longer than the original due to adding parts and then this is half the length. In this case that means getting to the climax sooner so I think that's fine, actually.
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i gave this pretty low score in my ranking topic; i like it a bit more now though. i don't mind the type of music it is, but this manifestation of the style does very little for me so i'm pretty neutral. some lightly emotional bits and slightly interesting things happen sometimes but i have to be digging for it, but at least i don't dislike anything about it. barely feel a difference but giving a slight nod to the original

Rip Crossbell

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NFUN posted...

I don't really care about it, but I'm sure somebody (pyre, probably) is upset

Yes :(

St. Ursula theme so good
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#226: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - I've Forgotten You
Lea: 5/6
Mycro: 5.02/2.9
Total: 5.01/4.45 (4.73)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QohzIEHmJZk
https://youtube.com/watch?v=inyWpwWRhfc

This made me laugh, though I would not listen to it for fun or enjoyment. I prefer the accordian(?) of the evo mode.
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in the evo version, i hear this as a "serious song failing to be serios because it is too funny'', the cartoon sounds are WAY more prominent in the original and makes the intent clearer so i can intake the music as the material it's intended to be taken in as. I prefer the evo version instrumentation-wise in some ways but that factor, prominence of the cartoon sounds, really changes the way i interpret this between versions "bad at being serious spooky evil" (evo) to "actually evil clown from cartoon evil land" (original). i suppose there's some issues i have with evo's instrumentation ( the uncanny "fake but not fake enough") but there are also issues i have with the original's instrumentation ("TOO fake") so that factor balances out i guess.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-H-r5Ccz_Q

#225: Trails in the Sky - In my Heart
Place: 4.5/4.5
Lea: 5/5
Total: 4.75/4.75 (4.75)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rgdfJxJZYV8
https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIHjsK--wKM

bought this music box for a buck fifty and it's got a ceramic mermaid on top for some reason. the molding on her face makes her look somewhat crosseyed. did i just listen to the same song twice?
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See above

Lea forgot that the overall rankings won't be in the same order that she rated in, though I guess it works here

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NFUN posted...

#226: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - I've Forgotten You

ima...

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wakare no toki...

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