Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 68! HrtlsBeing v PROTECTA, Rysohima v Fairfrozen, Carmilla v NeoKobe

(+) Yeah! (+)

Welcome to Video Game Music Contest 15, 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=474630
Contest info sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16XAaBMDuUnQ4c5AxQNL9ZhvD7VG5kQyrXWWZxnkrn-o
Contest discussion thread: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/79443554
Main bracket playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3m7iohpL0xt7lOF1eB-H4NpAaF1yAnU
Compatibility sheet (courtesy of Haste!!): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iGYWo_ifr_p2uYpD_I6TwBQS2tm7zJtPCxYZfRJcG8I
Last years spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VNrPnFRI7nJ4PqFiURBW0NWqxvXiuasoq8Sn_O169ss
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

Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
One Step From Eden - Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
Koumajou Densetsu II: Stranger's Requiem - Rose-Killing Carmilla

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Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Ryoshima Coast
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Ryoshima Coast
Rose-Killing Carmilla


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Heartless Being
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen
One Night in Neo Kobe City

.

Mad Rat Dead Heartless Being
Non-normalized rating: 7.5
Ranking: 13 of 16

In some ways, Im disappointed. Its Dangerous to Go Alone and Out of Tartarus are tracks I probably favor. Additionally, my top MRD song got eliminated a couple days ago. In that regard, Heartless Being is aptly named.

But taken on its own merits, HB is still a great song. Theres very little from MRD that hasnt proven to be at minimum above average, and HB is one of the chosen ones. Its going to face some difficult competition, but it has a very real shot at retiring, and I have absolutely no problem with that.

.

Ar nosurge Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Non-normalized rating: 8
Ranking: 8 of 16

I never know what Im going to get heading into a hymmnos track. Some are schizo and abrasive. Some are smooth and melodic to the point of boring. PROTECTA has a bold, strong sound despite the long tones and the casual feel of the instrumentation and vocals. It wont win over some of the people that loved the abruptness and unpredictability of EXSPHERE, but its a much easier song to listen to casually, while being dominant enough to demand not actually listening to it casually. Track 7 never had a chance, and Foregone Destruction clearly already knew what was coming. (That match was decided by one vote, but I couldnt not make the joke.)

.

Okami Ryoshima Coast
Non-normalized rating: 8
Ranking: 11 of 16

Ryoshima Coast/Plain is the quintessential Okami song. I know weve retired two songs that went to the finals, one of them winning, but if you ask me to think of what Okami sounds like, Im going to go to Ryoshima Coast first, so its a little bit of a surprise to me it hasnt fared better in the past. (I say this of a song thats been to the retirement round.)

Tonewise, relative to the rest of its game, RC reminds me a little of Hills of Radiant Wind. Not that the two actually sound alike, but without having played either Nier or Okami for more than an hour, I feel like they serve a similar function within the soundtrack. What it does, it does really well, but its also a tiny little pinch bland in that its going to appeal to who it appeals to, its going to fail to appeal to fans of the other song, and it probably squeaks out just enough of the divide to win. At least, thats how it went with Obstacle and Nekozamurai no Gyakushuu.

.

One Step From Eden Fairfrozen
Non-normalized rating: 8.5
Ranking: 6 of 16

And that might not be good enough to surpass Fairfrozen. The OSFE track did survive a tiebreaker against Weight of the World, but Nier tends to be strong here and that says a good bit. It won much more comfortably against Impossible Worlds and has enough spunk and energy to stand up to the rest of the competition in A2.

If you had me guess what game FF was from without knowing any better, my first answer would have been Crosscode. The electronic dance vibe really feels at home in that setting, and going off the video pic, Im going to guess OSFE isnt much different.

.

Koumajou Densetsu II Rose-Killing Carmilla
Non-normalized rating: 8
Ranking: 7 of 16

Professional Problem? What problem? Avian Animosity? Haters gonna hate. A night in Kobe? Pff, that scarlet sky is gonna be falling down. Or so fans of RKC hope. One of the early favorites for quite a few and projected to retire in quite a few favorites brackets, the song seems to take the good parts of Touhou music and toss the rest in favor of instrumentation that isnt a zunpet or a frantic piano. Personally, I like it, but not enough to vote against another song I also like. I think its going to siphon a ton of votes from its competitor each round until something can stand up to it.

.

Snatcher One Night in Neo Kobe City
Non-normalized rating: 8.5
Ranking: 5 of 16

A classic VGM lovers track that has only been seen once since VGMC7. There were murmurings that some of the supra crossovers favored jazz, which probably led to someone bringing this back, and so far its won both rounds easily, trouncing Suspenseful Third Day and almost doubling Dance of Dogs Howl. That certainly indicates some strength or some weak competition. Im going to assume both, but more of the former. Kobes got great saxophone action throughout and has a fantastic mix of laidback and attention-seeking.

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Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City
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Heartless Being
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

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Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

sorry camellia bad matchup :((

Heartless Being
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

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Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Ryoshima Coast
Rose-Killing Carmilla

---

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Ryoshima Coast
Rose-Killing Carmilla

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Heartless Being
Ryoshima Coast
Rose-Killing Carmilla

Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Okami - Ryoshima Coast
Koumajou Densetsu II: Stranger's Requiem - Rose-Killing Carmilla
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Heartless
Frozen
City
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Heartless Being [1/65] > Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA; [52/65]
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme [43/65] > Ryoshima Coast [54/65]
One Night in Neo Kobe City [45/65] > Rose-Killing Carmilla [65/65]

Feel very very strongly about the first match.

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Ryoshima Coast
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Match 1: MRD has grown on me during the competition. This one, unfortunately, has not. I am extremely not a fan of wubs, as I believe I have made clear. It worked in Neuchatel, but this really grates my cheese.

Okay, not that severely. Ciel, though, was pretty cool in it's own regard. I didn't vote for it last round as I liked its competition better, but it's still pretty nice.

Match 2: I literally bought my first flute because of Okami's soundtrack, and while I like Selicy's Theme too, there is no way I can vote for it over Ryoshima. Is the coast bland? Perhaps the "morning" theme that plays at the beginning, but the afternoon theme that is playing at the end is very much my style (and Okamiden's Ryoshima Plains has the best of both worlds, even if the game itself is ehhhhhhn.)

Match 3: As one of the "supra crossovers" I don't very much favor jazz, and Snatcher sounds to me more like a Warioware song than anything and I can't put it out of my mind. Koumajou Densetsu, though, is literally Castlevania with (more) anime things.
HOWEVER, I am sorry, but I am just not that big a fan of Rose-Killing Carmilla. Divine Shrine Maiden ripping off Divine Bloodlines riff is much more my speed. This sounds like it's trying to do NieR Automata things during the chants and something is just off with it for me. Snatcher's saxual content beats it for me.

Edit: whoops

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Protecta
Fairfrozen
KOBE

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Heartless Being
Ryoshima Coast
Rose-Killing Carmilla

Wait, an Exa Pico song made it to R3 this year? Amazing. (I kind of forgot about last round's match) Too bad I like the other one more, but it's fairly close. I love the second match because neither one seems like they'd be very strong but I love them both, and one of them has to win! The winner's probably going to be eaten up next round by the winner of the first match, though. Good music today, too... my 26th, 34th, 37th, and 54th favorites! (though today Fairfrozen doesn't sound worthy of 26th place to me....)

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Heartless
Selicy
Kobe
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Heartless Being
Ryoshima Coast
One Night in Neo Kobe City

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Protecta
Fairfrozen
Kobe City

Run this two weeks ago, and I would have said RKC for match 3.

Heartless Being
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
Rose-Killing Carmilla
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Heartless Being (35/64) / Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA; (13/64)
Ryoshima Coast (58/64) / Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme (27/64)
Rose-Killing Carmilla (17/64) / One Night in Neo Kobe City (9/64)

Don't feel like writing about songs today but holy god fuck that third match why is A3 real

(for the record Cosmic Hero entered my ranking at 19/64 so drop every song from yesterday down a spot loam)

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Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Okami - Ryoshima Coast
Snatcher (PC Engine CD) - One Night in Neo Kobe City

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(abstain for now)
Ryoshima Coast
Rose-Killing Carmilla

Damn it, I was totally banking on my pattern of liking CIEL more on each listen, but my feelings are actually regressing a bit toward their round 1 levels...either way, Heartless Being was the first MRD song I ever heard thanks to the preview list in Discord, and nothing else I've heard from the game has come close since! For some reason I do just fine with the wubs in this song and DNF (rip), it probably has something to do with having lighter melodies played on top because when dubstep songs do the BASS DROP and it becomes the entire focus, I tend to just lose interest. The wubs always feel like they play more of a rhythm role than melody or harmony - give me something nice in the mid-high range with it that I can sing along to, dang it!

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Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
Rose-Killing Carmilla

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Heartless Being
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
Rose-Killing Carmilla

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Class: / Fair / Killing
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ABSTAIN ABSTAIN ABSTAIN GODDAMMIT
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
Rose-Killing Carmilla

Really sad about missing a vote yesterday but other than that it was basically the best day of my life for reasons I won't go into. Sorry Kobe but the Murayama/Mitose combo is simply too good.

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
Rose-Killing Carmilla
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R-Man posted...

ABSTAIN ABSTAIN ABSTAIN GODDAMMIT
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
Rose-Killing Carmilla

Really sad about missing a vote yesterday but other than that it was basically the best day of my life for reasons I won't go into. Sorry Kobe but the Murayama/Mitose combo is simply too good.

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;

Incredibly close match, but Morrigans instrumentation and arrangement feels so much more deliberate and directed. I love how Heartless Being blends together all these different elements like Camellia's music usually does, but it's just a tiny bit less impeccably put together than his usual. Also the constant bass drop going on in the background started feeling off after repeated listens. Camellia wubs good, but in the right context.

That said I really had to start really nitpicking in order to choose which one I like more, and I feel like much of R3 is going to be the same.

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Ryoshima Coast
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
Rose-Killing Carmilla

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Heartless Being
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Ryoshima Coast
One Night in Neo Kobe City
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56. Mad Rat Dead - Heartless Being
I really like the beginning of this, with its emergency siren alert feel (I nominated Collapsing Rift for a reason!), but the rest of doesn't hold up for me. Dubsteppy elements are a hard sell for me, and these are a little too harsh. I do like the melody, particularly around 1:15.

Of the MRD songs in the contest, my preferences are:
Passion in Blue > Neuchatel > Breath of Forest > Heartless Being.

vs.

46. Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Before this started I was like "huh why is this only a 6, I remember liking this more." Then I realized I was thinking of the crayon song. Oops. Anyway, the rapid-fire vocals in the main chorus are neat, but I generally prefer the rest of it, the way the vocals soar above the heavy instrumentation. I'm not as much a fan of the heavy drumming - it's one of those things that once I notice, it's hard to flick off. Going back to that one staccato part that pops up throughout, it does give the song a nice bit of flair and almost makes things feel fun, which is an interesting counterpart to its intensity. (Note that I haven't looked at the lyrics to back that up.)

and

35. Okami - Ryoshima Coast
A good word to describe Ryoshima Coast is "majestic." The horns provide this regal backdrop that the rest stands atop. There are plenty of instruments I can't identify, but I can pick out a harp at the loop point that does a great job bringing me back to the main melody. When the second part comes in, with its methodical drumming, the song feels like it enters into a new phase while still retaining much of its original flavor. I have a lot of positive things to say about Ryoshima Coast, and yet it's only a 6.5 - this is because the song doesn't resonate too strongly with me emotionally. I can appreciate its craft, but it isn't something I find myself coming back to.

vs.

22. One Step From Eden - Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
Good, high energy EDM. This song has a lot of elements I enjoy: a terrific drumbeat, a memorable melody, new sections at 1:05 and 1:30 that enhance the song. It changes frequently and keeps me on my toes every time I listen to it its like a new experience. This was one of my favorite new discoveries from the contest Im pleased its gotten so far and will vote for it again today.

and

37. Koumajou Densetsu II: Stranger's Requiem - Rose-Killing Carmilla
Rose-Killing Carmilla might take the cake for biggest climb in my rankings since the contest started. While a 6.5 is okay, it started at like a 3. Some relistens later, it really clicked. Some days out of nowhere Ill get SCARLET SKYYYY IS FAAAALLING DOOOOWN in my head. I especially like the overall presentation, especially in moments in 2:00, where the singer holds a note and the other instruments rise to meet it. I also love when she gets extra breathy in the last half of the song (Im a sucker for breathy vocals). There are lots of little moments like that the song feels in balance.

vs.

2. Snatcher (PC Engine CD) - One Night in Neo Kobe City
Sheesh, how did this song get to be my number 2 left? Excluding Sad Blue Skies, there were fourteen songs I ranked higher than this, and now theyre all gone. It feels weird like, I love this song, I love how 90s it is and how fun it is to listen to that sax but if Sad Blue Skies goes down, it feels weird that this is my champion. There are certainly worse songs!

Votes:
Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Ryoshima Coast
One Night in Neo Kobe City

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Heartless Being
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Heartless Being
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Ryoshima Coast
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star - Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Okami - Ryoshima Coast
Snatcher (PC Engine CD) - One Night in Neo Kobe City
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Heartless Being
Ryoshima Coast
Rose-Killing Carmilla

I guess I'm not too bummed if PROTECTA wins, but I really like Heartless Being. Wish I could take either over match 2's winner, though.

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Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

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Heartless Being

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Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Fairfrozen: Selicy's Theme
One Night in Neo Kobe City

Class::CIEL_N_PROTECTA;
Ryoshima Coast
One Night in Neo Kobe City

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Heartless
Selicy's Theme
Carmilla

First match is heartless.
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