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

(+) Yeah! (+)

your complaints were entirely in context of why it's not as good as the original in the specific mood the original goes for, not why it's deserving of a low score independent of the context you already have for the song

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#34: Zero no Kiseki - Fated Time
player0: 6/8
NFUN: 8/7.7
Total: 7/7.85 (7.425)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=4L8pMtFUomU
https://youtube.com/watch?v=34JHSBhARiQ

More epic cutscene music like Over a Thousand Nights, but this one actually has time to develop itself through different sections, and boy does the remake do it with gusto! The big orchestral sounds and synth effects make for some mind-blowing beat drops, it really feels like a complete song in a mere 2-minute package!
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The best of the play songs. The buildup leads to an actually really good payoff. Nice and simple

Got some moments. Not quite as good as the original

#33: Trails in the Sky - Rock on the Road
pyre: 7.5/6
tgs: 7.8/8.4
Total: 7.65/7.2 (7.425)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Y6IE5Q9e3Xc
https://youtube.com/watch?v=cR1nDYj0l9Y

Definitely a fan of this song. It's a fusion of Hollow Knight-esque nature sounds and exciting adventure woodwind sounds and it works really well. Evo version I don't think I like as much overall even though the part where the violin plays the melody might be the best part of either song. The backing instruments aren't aas good as the original though, and there's also some parts like the very beginning where the violin and guitar sound disastrously bad.
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1:14-1:51 in evo = <3 <3 <3 What a beautiful section of music! I can just relax in a quiet room with this blaring and forget all of my troubles for the day.

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i mean, i apologize for not having fancy words beyond "i like this thing" and "this thing feels like it wants to be like this thing I like, but then isn't."

wait.

no, i don't apologize for that. because that'd be silly.
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how about "i don't like this thing"

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#32: Trails in the Sky SC - I Swear...
tgs: 9.7/8.1
deo: 6.6/5.7
Total: 8.15/6.9 (7.525)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=sR6TFSqmyqw
https://youtube.com/watch?v=GVGouEOnKEo

While still sounding great in its own right, I am outright BAFFLED at how much worse the vocalist is here in the evo track. Seriously; the tiny bits of English sounds so awful in the Evo version by comparison what the fuck. She is being carried *hard* by the instrumentals instead of harmonizing with them to create such a powerful feeling song like the original.
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i like kanako kotera's voice sometimes, esp. in cold steel, but in both these songs it's pretty bad... especially the evo

literally how

#31: Trails in the Sky SC - Hamel
pyre: 9/7
Mycro: 7.57/6.75
Total: 8.285/6.875 (7.58)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=eCwgaK7dRz8
https://youtube.com/watch?v=B8u1mPyo3nY

Aw yes Hamel. One of my favorite tracks from the original OST. The xylophone at the beginnining and the background chords sound so serene. The added instruments at the end also provide a good emotional climax to the song. As for the Evo version...ugh. Thematically I can see why they made the melody sound like it does but musically it doesn't really work. The notes need to be more clearly enunciated or something.
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a lot of what makes this cool is the sounds of the original; so that's my preference, and i do think the instrumentation changes in the evo version are actively grating. HOWEVER the evo version is stiill "90s new age / chill emotion song in a vn" vibe that i enjoy so i am cool with it, just think it's a much worse implementation of that style

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I legit think 'I swear' is the best of the three endings after listening to the others so yeah.... I still like the other two a lot though.

tgs2 posted...

I legit think 'I swear' is the best of the three endings after listening to the others so yeah.... I still like the other two a lot though.

literally how

As my friend described, it's the final boss of SC. You save the world, escape from the collapse, have a happy ending... and then a new foe rears its head, and you have to survive five minutes of I Swear before you can see the epilogue

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I like I Swear but it is still my least favorite of the Sky ending themes.
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Hamel Evo sounds like a dying music box.

I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it's cool.
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#30: Trails in the Sky SC - Heartless Surprise Attack
Place: 7.5/7
Mycro: 8.4/7.55
Total: 7.95/7.275 (7.6125)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=RiVxfcV0Skc
https://youtube.com/watch?v=V79ROiTxLbE

WHAT i mean WHAT i mean holy hell this came out of WHAT nowhere. if this played in a vgmgg or something and i hadn't heard it before i would have been surprised to hear it was a trails thing. evo ver makes it pop a little less and the choir doesn't add much at all imo but it's still a solid number on the whole. evo reminding me of dariusburst on repeat listens? not even sure if that's an apt comparison?
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a lot of the appeal of this one to me is the instrumentation of the original (some of my favorite synth sounds in any falcom game i'm aware of are present in this track, especially the beginning), so the evo version gets knocked down a ton of points for that BUT i don't dislike what they turned it into, it's just no longer like "whoa I love SC music!!" anymore in the evo version, still has appeal of it's threads back to 90s/early 00s electronic sound design though and epic choir is fun.

This being the last SC battle theme is very unsurprising with this draw

#29: Trails in the Sky - Provincial City of Rolent
Raetsel: 7.07/8
tgs: 7.6/7.8
Total: 7.335/7.9 (7.6175)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=D92E-JzZjWg
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QHg5Wmo_nwo

This sounds like the perfect song for the first village you start in in an RPG and it's probably one of the best examples of it. Evo version loses something... I dunno what, but it just doesn't have the same heart the original track does. [Later: Suddenly I'm really in the mood for the Evo version of this song.]
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The violin in evo was a nice small touch on an already decent comfy song.

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#28: Ao no Kiseki - Unfathomed Force
azuarc: 7.5/8.2
deo: 7.3/7.5
Total: 7.4/7.85 (7.625)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=S9mL0PasBkw
https://youtube.com/watch?v=EceRuTBhTdA

Opening seconds are questionable, but the majority of the evo is an upgrade. The instruments are stronger and, most importantly, the performances are much more intense. This is one of those songs where I can see how someone would prefer the original, but that doesn't sit with my tastes at all. The driving drums, the electric guitars, and everything else that goes into the evo makes this a much more attention-grabbing (in a good way) piece.
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god damn that intro.... jindo arrangements really takes this higher for sure

#27: Zero no Kiseki - Killing Bear
Raetsel: 6.61/10
dowolf: 6.5/7.5
Total: 6.555/8.75 (7.6525)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=dFdc9ikSjtg
https://youtube.com/watch?v=iFNRAzg6j1U

Not sure why a song named "Bear" is so robotic, but okay. Original version seems like a heroic robot theme; Evo version is far more dramatic. Like the heroic robot has been pushed too far and is going on one last suicide mission to get revenge. "I didn't know you were capable of feeling like this," you say. "Neither did I," the robot replies as he loads the shotgun. ...wait, what were we talking about again? [Second Thoughts: There really aren't many pieces of VGM that I like more than the Evo Version of this song. I had it an 8.5 at first, but I think I'm going to upgrade the score to the full 10.]
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Feels like a gangster's theme. I like the guitar in OG. Evo is so much meaner and leans into itself more. OG reminds me of Yakuza; Evo reminds me of Persona (4, specifically). The octave jump right before the guitar solo was super hype, but then it just ended. The track did not feel like it wanted to end anytime soon.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG

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#26: Trails in the Sky SC - Central Tower "Axis-Piller"
Raetsel: 6.99/5.52
Mycro: 10/8.2
Total: 8.495/6.86 (7.6775)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ImEjyhUXzKM
https://youtube.com/watch?v=mJQes-l0Bxg

The original is a neat song, though I find it difficult to find anything to say about it other than "neat". Evo version is nice enough, but not as neat.
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no don't hurt my favorite falcom song : ( , i mean the evo version is honestly not horrible in isolation, but you can tell the arranger doesn't understand what the original is doing. ignores all the interesting harmonies of the original, unintentionally sounds far more dissonant than the original due to its interpretation of some of the parallel harmony stuff being the "wrong" half of the parallel. still successfully has cool polymeter and futuristic vibe at least, but i can't call it anything other than more amateur. more frustrating "in comparison" than in isolation i think. the original is one of my favorite pieces of music of all time! the original does nearly everything i love most in music (polymeter, weird chord progression loops, idm-ish percussion, evokes both nature and technology to my brain at once somehow (cool sounds), both edm-y and proggy at once somehow,etc) at once and i might say is even like in my top 10 favorite pieces of music ever. thank you wataru ishibashi. could go on in more detail about everything i love here, why i love its flow, and sound, might save that for late.

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well THERE IT IS. Central Tower "Axis-Piller", my 2nd favorite piece of music of all time (a big reveal, as i have not stated this to be the case anywhere yet. because of this topic haha). I could go on about it (and maybe will later if i get more time) but it'd all be stuff you'd expect me to say anyways and i kinda summarized it in the writeup. but it's just at near maximum level everything i want music to do at the same time and i am overjoyed that something like it exists. Thank you wataru ishibashi!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(i'm also grateful and surprised it managed to score and rank this high; but i see that that is pretty much entirely on me haha. giving out 10s have a lot more power than one would expect i guess!)
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wow wait the album really called it "Axis Piller". I never noticed that

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#25: Trails in the Sky the 3rd - Masquerade of Lies
player0: 9/7
NFUN: 9.5/5.3
Total: 9.25/6.15 (7.7)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MfJruaNzMaE
https://youtube.com/watch?v=r3sbBt-6Jf0

Holy shit, this battle theme just breaks down the door and blasts you in the face, it's a heart-pumping metal song with some heavy synth layers that really help round out the sound. The breakdown at 2:13 is also a really nice touch! The remake tries to make it into an orchestral song, which kinda works except it keeps the metal drumline so it just ends up stuck between two genres.
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*epic guitar shredding*

lolWHAT. this truly is masquerade of lies evoluted

This is a muddy mess and lacks almost all of the impact of the original, leaving nothing but poorly-mixed percussion, forgotten solos and just terrible sounding violin

#24: Zero no Kiseki - Crossing the Iron Bridge
Raetsel: 7.3/6.12
NFUN: 8.8/8.6
Total: 8.05/7.36 (7.705)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=g3igqS1Ttlk
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5lSvkOuLv-c

The original version makes me feel like a kid riding in the backseat of a car going somewhere new, with this mixture of sadness for moving & optimism about the adventure. It's an interesting feeling. The Evo version sounds more complex, but loses the impact as a result--it's more "grown up", which doesn't suit the song as well. Well, my interpretation of the song at any rate, which couldn't be further from anything that actually happens in game, but whatever.
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Ah, my favorite Zero route theme. I always want to describe this as "soft" and "warm". The opening is so welcoming. It's just a really really nice song

replaced "marimba" with piano 0/100 #sorrynotsorry

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Holy shit, Recluse Cube is gonna be the last remaining 3rd song at this rate

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The percussion in Masquerade of Lies Evo sounds like some bumping rave song

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Don't know the Evo version and can't listen to it until I get home, but OG Masquerade of Lies is so good.
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#23: Ao no Kiseki - Pomtto! -Counterstrike of Flower-Viewing Dumpling-
hb: 8.4/8
dowolf: 7/7.5
Total: 7.7/7.75 (7.725)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=p-47lG5UR-k
https://youtube.com/watch?v=qDsNm4WTXMA

This obviously feels nothing like most Trails songs soundfont-wise, but the compositional flair is still there to make a really energetic, enjoyable song. It's just plain fun. The Evo version has slightly weaker percussion and a less-crunchy soundfont which makes it weaker on the whole, but not by a significant amount
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Not a big fan of the loud percussion in Evo, but I still like it more overall?

#22: Trails in the Sky - The Byway of Departure
pyre: 9.5/8.5
NFUN: 6.2/6.8
Total: 7.85/7.65 (7.75)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=F7Lh7RlJVC0
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5cGRXcAQBx0

Aw yeah Byway of Departure is so good I don't care what anybody says. One of the things that always stood out to me about Sky FC even in comparison other Trails games is how alive it feels, and thart's much the same way I feel about this song. The flute part is lively and dynamic, and the oboe part that comes in at 0:17 just screams that it's time to go on an adventure. I love it. The Evo version is inferior but still great for all the same reasons, but the instrumentation change results in the song losing some of its edge.
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This is much nicer while listening to it closely. I never noticed those marimba things in the right ear before. Better, not exceptional

It's much harder to miss the marimbas this time. Other than the flute sounding weirdly low quality, I think this one is pretty much a straight improvement.

Sorry pyre. In my defense, judging by like the entire bottom tier of this ranking, if almost anybody else had gotten this they'd have rated it half of what I did

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pom

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i'd have given Byway of Departure like high 7 or 8 haha. very glad that at least one person who really loves it got it so it could get a chance to be this high!
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NFUN posted...

Sorry pyre. In my defense, judging by like the entire bottom tier of this ranking, if almost anybody else had gotten this they'd have rated it half of what I did

I was definitely expecting it earlier than this so I'll take it!
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Byway of Departure is probably a 7.5 or so from me? Not a favorite but I always liked it. It nails the "about to go on an adventure" feel so well.

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#21: Trails in the Sky - Wandering in the Darkness
hb: 8.8/8.8
dowolf: 6.5/7
Total: 7.65/7.9 (7.775)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=s-Z65J6Se-8
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Tqu38YMbgSw

A bouncing, jazzy rhythm makes this song both interesting and fun to listen to, and its switching of instruments as it loops makes it pretty endlessly relistenable. The Evo version sounds like it came out of Professor Layton, with all the stringy goodness that implies, and even though it weakens the original's percussion I end up liking it just as much if not more than the original.
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I think OG works better in game; Evo sounds like I'm at a jazz concert. But that's not a bad thing!

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ah yes, the theme that plays when going through the Rock Tunnel without HM05

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What would the VGM community do without NFUN?!

Oh, hey, I think I still have three left. If that's correct, that means three of mine are in the top twenty!

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The Byway of Departure is pushing *all the right buttons* for me like <REDACTED>. I could listen to that on replay for hours. I can also see myself matching Pyre's rating for the OG (or even going higher) if I am in the perfect mood for it like I was for <REDATCED> when finalizing my ratings.

I am less surprised about loving Masquerade of Lies given my ratings lol. I don't mind the evo genre clash, but it is a step down from the OG.

#20: Trails in the Sky SC - Liber-Ark
Raetsel: 6.41/6.05
Mycro: 9.9/8.8
Total: 8.155/7.425 (7.79)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=sta_Lb5sx64
https://youtube.com/watch?v=e5S6I8J9U-k

The original song feels like you are exploring some ancient ruins atop a snowy mountain. Nicely mysterious and intriguing. The Evo version is a nice enough song, but it loses all the ambiance and doesn't make me think of anything in particular.
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definitely prefer the original, but i don't actually see the evo version as much a downgrade here so much as "a different version", reminds me a lot of hiroki kikuta's "like joe hisaishi in the 80s/90s" arrangement style; but the original is much more unique and ethereal than evo could hope to be

liber ark for vgmc 15

#19: Trails in the Sky - Ancient Makes
hb: 7.9/5.8
tgs: 8.9/8.7
Total: 8.4/7.25 (7.825)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=6rIegfs7c3E
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pDQHLkVmLMU

By far one of the "proggier" songs in Trails, this one's synth runs and frantic pace are both cool, but when the main theme comes in is where this piece really sells itself. The Evo versions replaces the synths with heavy guitars and violins, which kinda don't sound as clean as the original- some parts just sound totally off-key, and the main theme coming in has less impact because it's using the same violin as the melody beforehand instead of switching to a new sound.
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Evo is slightly better sounding to my ears, but these two are the Soul/Soulless meme come to life. That violin kicking in at the 1:20 mark in the original elevates the song so much by adding a bunch of emotion to an already great battle theme. Evo is just using that violin throughout the whole track and the moment at 1:20 loses all of its "oomph". It is now merely more great violin instead of something special.

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On the Green Road OFFICIALLY takes the crown as the last field theme

also sorry about Ancient Makes guys, but evo is meh

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I think I was a bit too hard on Wandering in the Darkness. Should probably be more like 7/7.5? It definitely doesn't get into the 8 range for me, but it's fun.
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I love how Liber Ark plays with the Sora no Kiseki main melody by doubling the previous phrase raised up a fifth or whatever (someone with better ears can probably correct that >_>) instead of the "normal" next phrase at e.g.1:15. It always surprises me a little bit. NFUN's probably going to complain that I'm comparing "things" to "context" again but :P Evo feels so much more epic, which I think works better for where it plays in the game, but I'm not sure which one I like listening to outside of it more. Probably Evo I like epic things.
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#18: Ao no Kiseki - Descent of the God's Machine
Haste: 8.3/8.6
Raetsel: 6.47/8
Total: 7.385/8.3 (7.8425)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=nMtaOx_j17U
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zWCfHmh5bGs

The meter seems to vary so randomly for the first minute-- it bugs me because I try to find patterns in rhythms but I failed to find any here, haha. Sounds like it portrays a medieval battle or something... (Fire Emblem) I don't really have much to say on this one, but it's done nicely, even if it's not overly fancy and fairly predictable (but predictable IS NOT ALWAYS BAD) But the low piano stuff without fitting into any rhythmic mold at the start is very majestic!

EVO version: I really like the use of woodwinds rather than harp on those arpeggios at 1:42; likewise with the new low-pitched instruments at the start. 0:33 - the drums provide some rhythmic contrast that's not in the original, so that's a plus.
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Epic music that somehow gives me flashbacks to Chrono Trigger's Undersea Palace & Black Omen. It captures the feeling of a villain making some grand show of their power and the EPIC CONFLICTS that will soon ensue. The Evo version wins because it's...more. It's just more and I can think of no other adjectives I wish to use to describe it.

#17: Zero no Kiseki - Formidable Enemy
Janus: 8.5/8.5
deo: 7.1/7.3
Total: 7.8/7.9 (7.85)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=rkL5oCAG52o
https://youtube.com/watch?v=CivjIKXYPO4

Not really a whole lot to say about the original track - it's a fast, rocking mid-boss theme with good guitar lines and a lot of oomph.

Evo feels less dynamic - the attacks at the ends of some of the phrases fall flatter, probably because the drums don't line up as completely? The added parts (so mainly the solos) are pretty hype though. Not immediately sure which I prefer!
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Rip Formidable Enemy :(

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#16: Ao no Kiseki - The Azure Arbitrator
Lea: 9/9
deo: 7.9/6.1
Total: 8.45/7.55 (8)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=h8CmfRgxvVQ
https://youtube.com/watch?v=E4-eqVc_G0U

Ah, a spooky choir song. Not generally my cup of tea. For one thing, it is neither cup, nor tea. It's a song. Oh, wait, it's amping up. It was actually a spooky choir prelude. Okay, I'm getting into this tempo. I'm really getting into it! Alright, I take it back, I love this shit. This is epic. This bridge is pretty good too, I don't usually like those. Oh fuck this song is so long???? It keeps happening. The song pile doesn't stop from getting taller. Back to the ol' choir friend. I do love songs that pull out all the stops. Maybe THIS is the song you said was the best. Well, it's maybe a bit overly long and my mind is wandering but it's still good. I enjoyed that solo.

I didn't notice a notable difference in the evo version. Although I do love super epic songs, this one ended up being too long for my add brain so it misses the perfect score. I did really like it though.
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might make people mad with this one but yeah..... less choir and more metal no thanks!!

I am mad. ftr, this was the song I said was one of the best

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We have now entered:

Tier askdfjaslkdasjdfskdfsdffsdfkjsdlf


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Leanansidhe posted...

That is a hilarious tier and an outrageously low ranking for Azure Arbiter

Welcome to being dowolved

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lea listen to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm1CIYij3SY

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You all thought dowolf would kill the best final boss theme in the project, but it was him, deo

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p sure that was az, which we all expected deep down in our hearts

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Hey now I'd also have killed Azure Arbitrator if I'd gotten it and it would definitely have been worse than Deo's ranking.
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imagine what would happen if place+me got azure arbitator. you do not want to know
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##Vote: Lea

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who is "Vote: Lea" and why are we lynching them

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Toxtricity posted...

imagine what would happen if place+me got azure arbitator. you do not want to know

please do not scare me like this

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Look. Have I rolled scum in every single game for the past 12 months? Yes. But that means I have to be town. I'm due!
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Ooooh. Azure Arbitrator reminds me a tiny bit of Hidra Heteromycin, but that could just be me listening to the latter a lot lately and looking for flimsy connections.

I'm going through all the music I rated highly.... wow, I really did rate most of them too high. I must have been in an amazing mood when I rated them...or it may have just been that I was listening more closely to the music than normal and when that happens, I hear details I've never noticed and that ends up driving the ratings up. I'd drop most of them about a point now. Get Over The Barrier! -Roaring Version- EVO and Cry for Me I'd still rate at least an 8, I think.

NFUN posted...

#69: Ao no Kiseki - True Bonds
Haste: 8.8/8.8
dowolf: 5/5
Total: 6.9/6.9 (6.9)

Haha, wow. Funny how it ended up 6.9, and not only that, but both me and dowolf couldn't decide which version we liked more which is yet another weird coincidence.

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