Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 1!! DreamsInPie v GShipPaint, Laby5 v Heavens/, DSHN v SecretOfForest

(+) Yeah! (+)

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

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

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

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

.

Match 1

Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream - Dreams in a Pie
Composer: Yoko Kanno
Loop Point: 4:23
Genre: SUPPER TIME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fFgIDLfbCk

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - Ghost Ship Painting
Composer: Keizo Nakamura
Loop Point: 2:22
Genre: ANACHRONISTIC IMAGE
https://youtu.be/60hZ58TZj9A

Match 2

Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan - Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Composer: Yuzo Koshiro
Loop Point: 3:01
Genre: RADIANT RUIN
https://www.youtube.com/watc

Fresco of a Phantom Frigate
Metropolis of Effulgent Neglect
Mystery of Mitsuda

8
8
9.5
7.5
7.5
8.5

Ghost Ship Painting
Heavens Divide
"Don't speak her name!"

match 2 is brutal

Dreams in a Pie
Heavens Divide
Secret of the Forest

ANACHRONISTIC IMAGE
RADIANT RUIN
RENEWAL

oops i'm going to get destroyed here
Still like Heavens Divide a lot but eo4 just... is really, really, good
4507 ties

SUPPER TIME
RADIANT RUIN
TANGLED MYSTIQUE (every time i read this one i think of tangledeep but that's fine)

7.9
7.4
8.3
7.5
6.75
7.75

great start to the best bracket

my rating system aims for 5 as a proper average (even if it totally isn't for this contest where everything is amazing) so even a 6.75 is "kind of amazing"

Dreams in a Pie
Heavens Divide
Secret of the Forest

Dreams In a Pie
Heavens Divide
Secret of the Forest

Dreams In a Pie [9.5]
Ghost Painting [6.5]
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital [7]
Heaven's Divide [8.5]
Don't Speak Her Name! [6.5]
Secret of the Forest [7]

Dreams
Capital
name!

Strings are the MVP today

I Ate My Dreams in a Pie
Heaven's Tiny Soul
Arboreal Easter Egg

Dreams in a / Forgotten / Forest

Dreams in a Pie: Yoko Kanno crafts a whimsical and fantastical waltz that sweeps you away to a world of soft fluffy clouds...

Ghost Ship Painting: An in-era soundset with brass chords and punchy drums is the perfect stage for this stealthy track.

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital: Jazzy, downtempo, and fully orchestrated along with a band, an overtaking melancholy.

Heavens Divide: A mournful, then powerful ballad helped as much by Donna Burke's vocals as it is by its instrumentation.

"Don't speak her name!": Epic ascending string chords tinge hearts that harden in battle, determined to push through.

Secret of the Forest: A hidden hideaway nestled in leaves, surrounded with a sense of mystery, and childlike wonder.

Forest = Forgotten > Don't > Dreams > Heaven = Painting
(though, very very close throughout)

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
"Don't speak her name!"

Ghost in the Ship
Maze in the Metropolis
Exalt's Gravitational Experiment

Dreams in a Pie
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
"Don't speak her name!"

Name (4) > Secret (4) > Labyrinth (3) > Painting (3) > Pie (3) > Divide (2)

Never got around to ever listening and making a bracket so we'll see if I vote regularly. Not too big on anything today, but nothing is too bad, though Heaven's Divide is fucking lame. Whether that's good or not will likely depend on my mood and this ain't the mood that benefits it right now. Actually, match 3 is pretty good. Both are the best songs today. There's so many better CT songs though. Don't speak her name is way better than id, holy shit id sucks. I will not remember Ghost Ship Painting or Labyrinth V tomorrow even though I voted for them. Editing this to mention Dreams in a Pie

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Ghost Ship Painting
Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Dreams in a Pie
Heavens Divide
Secret of the Forest

Ghost Painting
Heavens Divide
Secret of the Forest

Ghost Ship Painting
Heavens Divide
Secret of the Forest

soooooo i didnt do a ranking or rate things this year OOPS!! so insteeeeead i'm going to rank as we go let's see how this goes

also i get to vote for the best three songs today on day 1 blessed

(1st) Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - Heavens Divide
(2nd) Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - Ghost Ship Painting
(3rd) Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest
(4th) Fire Emblem Awakening - "Don't speak her name!"
(5th) Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan - Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
(6th) Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream - Dreams in a Pie

Dreams in a Pie
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
"Don't speak her name!"

Isquen posted...

Ghost in the Ship
Maze in the Metropolis
Exalt's Gravitational Experiment

okay the first two are skirting it but i straight up have no idea what the third one is supposed to be so i can't score match 3 for you with this lol (unless that's the point idk)

banshiryuu posted...

okay the first two are skirting it but i straight up have no idea what the third one is supposed to be so i can't score match 3 for you with this lol (unless that's the point idk)

it's an (EVIL) awakening reference

banshiryuu posted...

okay the first two are skirting it but i straight up have no idea what the third one is supposed to be so i can't score match 3 for you with this lol (unless that's the point idk)

Sorry <3

It's for Don't Speak Her Name.

Dreams in a Pie
Heavens Divide
"Don't speak her name!"

I think Yoko Kanno is much better at composing intricate instrumental music than she is at composing songs like pretty ballads, though Dreams in a Pie in particular is still fairly good. The harmonized parts are quite pretty. Ghost Ship Painting has some individual instrumental lines that are cool, but the arrangement as a whole doesn't quite seem to come together for me.

Forgotten Capital is pleasant but doesn't feel like it ever resolves itself, which is probably one of the most important criteria distinguishing "good" from "great" songs for me. I did like it somewhat more on this listen than I have in previous years, so that's something. While good, it doesn't stand a chance against Heavens Divide which has always been one of my favorite pieces of vgm. Really powerful and pretty vocals and I just love it.

these songs are both amazing how could you do this to me aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Heavens Divide > DSHN > Secret of the Forest > Dreams in a Pie > Forgotten Capital > Ghost Ship Painting

Really good day to start and honestly 3 of these I'd be content if they won the entire contest.

From Toxtricity:

Ghost Ship Painting (CV: Rondo of Blood)
Heavens Divide (MGS: Peace Walker)
Secret of the Forest (Chrono Trigger)

Hi! Im basically gone already and will only be more extremely gone soon BUT i still wanted to make comments, so hopefully deo can relay what i have to say throughout the contest! I hope you all enjoy the bracket i have helped make, and can have fun reading the dumb things that i have to say! ANYWAY Napple tale? Is that a game about a gigantic tourmaline column? I cant fathom that. This song feels almost as fluffy as klonoas ears

I am a long time fan of ghost ship painting. . . i am just a sucker for these plastic sounds (though to me, they are more like expensive gems with expensive as the key word)

YuzoKoshiro modern full-prod is interesting to me to think about as someone who comes from a background of originally getting into koshiro from streets of rage 3 and ys1-2 as arranged by ryo yonemitsu and fm sound module maniax - 4operators, because in those things, you can see what he was going for in terms of composition but under limitations(or arranged by someone else), but when he has no limitations? What does he sound like then? It sounds like i am at the most tense military meeting being held in very cushiony lounge chairs in a bowling alley built in 1989

Heavens divide always gets me because of the big epic key change being a manifestation of such that feels mildly weird but still big epic and i like dramatic vocal stuff because of disney. I never find stuff like this cheesy; it is just profound to my brain somehow pretty much always

Dont say that name!

I love chrono trigger music so much; yasunori mitsuda is one of the most famous musicians period to have the kinda composition style i am most attracted to in terms of like melody/chord interactions and stuffbesides maybe like pat mi mean, uh. Lyle mays. yeah.

From Aakadarrr:

Dreams in a Pie
Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Ghost
Forgotten
Name

Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream - Dreams in a Pie
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - Heavens Divide
Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest

I like the notion of ranking on the daily, so I'm gonna play that way, too:
[9.5] Heavens Divide
[8.5] Secret of the Forest
[8.0] Dreams in a Pie
[8.0] Ghost Ship Painting
[7.5] Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
[6.0] Don't speak her name!

Dreams in a Pie
Heavens Divide
Secret of the Forest

Off to a good start when I finished listening an hour ago and forgot to post my votes! Will have to get back into the habit of doing this nightly...

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Dreams in a Pie
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

not an amazing day to start off, although all of these songs are decent-to-good. dreams probably my favorite of this group?

Napple Tale: Arsia in Daydream - Dreams in a Pie
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - Heavens Divide
Fire Emblem Awakening - "Don't speak her name!"

dowolf posted...

I Ate My Dreams in a Pie
Heaven's Tiny Soul
Arboreal Easter Egg

missed this one as well but like isquen i have no idea what match 3 is voting for

JUST KIDDING i figured it out its secret of forest but please you guys these stretches are killing me lmao

Dreams in a Pie
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
"Don't speak her name!"

Yikes, I was correct thinking this matches were going to be very difficult! But that means it's been a great start.

Dreams in a Pie
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
"Don't speak her name!"

8.3
8.8
7.8
5.7
9.4
9.2

First match and I am already going to lose it

Dreams in a Pie
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
"Don't speak her name!"

Well, here we are! With every VGMC, I feel compelled to contribute something without having to rank/rate 256 songs...this time it's sharing my top 16 songs of the contest! Ive rated my favourites and tiered them accordingly; there are no distinctions within a tier. If I could hand-pick 16 retirees without regard for the bracket format, this would be it!

Disclaimer: I ranked these without having listened to everything, so it's possible some new discovery claims a spot later on!

Day 1 reveals two songs right away, what luck!

< P0's Top 16 >
9.1 (2 left): Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
8.9 (2 left):
8.8 (2 left):
8.7 (1 left):
8.5 (1 left):
8.4 (1 left):
8.3 (2 left): Don't speak her name!
8.2 (3 left):

YESSIR that Forgotten Capital of Radiant Ruin easily contends for my #1 song in the contest! I have lots to say about Koshiro's final dungeon of melancholy, but I spent too much energy on bracket hype to have those thoughts organized by today! No big deal, I can wait until it shows up again in round 2, right? RIGHT?!?

DSHN is the one getting the write-up today! Somehow, somewhere, this was the song that made me start truly appreciating orchestral-focused Fire Emblem music. Apparently in VGMC 13, I voted for DSHN and Id Purpose in all their matches, but I also remember finding them very forgettable (fun fact, they lost in R3 to 1NF3S+@+!0n and Servants of the Scourge, respectively). The following year, DSHN made an appearance again and awoke something within me - I voted for it against Mechalullaby, a song that nearly received one of my supports! Let's search the archives to see what I had to say:

(finally abstaining from the match following painful deliberation)

"wtf fire emblem music is good"

(3 hours later, voting DSHN)

"Super tough match, was about to vote Mechalullaby but DSHN ultimately impressed me after 3-4 listens (that's like 6-8 loops!)."

DSHN is now one of my main reference points for what I want out of orchestral VGM, and it also helped me appreciate Id Purpose more. In fact, I believe that made the difference in me voting Id over resurrectedreplayer, Fogbeasts, and yes, Unknown Pollution!

So, what do I want out of orchestral VGM? I feel the #1 factor is a solo instrument playing a strong melodic line - piano isn't my favourite for this, but it works in DSHN because it's contrasted well against the full orchestra. Have strings or winds play those piano lines instead, and I think the song would become forgettable to me. (is it obvious l don't listen to much classical music?)

The big thing DSHN specifically does well is providing such a sheer variety of sound - so many quiet sections alternating with loud sections, and so many instruments being highlighted! You have strings focus, piano focus, back to strings focus, brass focus, and even woodwinds get their little moments! I regularly forget where the loop point is, because the song just keeps throwing new section after new section at you and makes it all work.

Last thing I have to mention is the wonderful piano solo at 1:57. It's, well, nothing special, but it's my highlight of the song precisely because it's preceded by 1:34-1:54. The piano should indicate the start of a brand new section, yet it also feels like the intended climax to what we just heard from the brass! The, uh, mark tree or bar chimes (who thinks of these names?) are absolutely essential to making this transition work. Instead of the marching brass section finishing with a big cymbal crash and wall of sound, it's a very tender climax - think of the tough and rugged patriarchal character showing a moment of empathy.

I still have barely explored FE music outside of these contests, and I feel like there's so much I haven't experienced. FE fans, please keep nominating your favourites so I can discover more songs!

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
"Don't speak her name!"

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - Ghost Ship Painting
Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan - Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Chrono Trigger - Secret of the Forest

Dreams in a Pie is not the kind of music I imagine whenever I think of Yoko Kanno's works, but it's a cute song and pretty nice to listen to. GSP might not be my favorite RoB track, but the whole soundtrack is great at capturing that '90s PC-Engine sound that I wish stuck around longer in the VGM scene.

Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital is super chill, and I will re-iterate that I think Yuzo Koshiro can compose a song in any style he wanted and still make it sound amazing. This song makes me nostalgic for the smooth jazz radio station they used to have in my city then got rid of . Heavens Divide (and a lot of other MGS music) is just a bit too sappy for my tastes.

I'm kinda burnt out on FEA and Mitsuda's Chrono music anymore, but I'm feeling Secret of the Forest more today. Whenever I hear SotF, I always get it mixed up with the Zelda fountain theme.

Forgotten Capital is my favorite song from this bunch by a pretty wide margin, rest is decent.

Dreams in a Pie
Heavens Divide
"Don't speak her name!"

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

First match was actually surprisingly close for me. While I'm not typically a fan of most emotional vocal pieces with traditional instrumentation, Dreams in a Pie does kind of work for me better than most. I do really like the "bittersweet" kind of feel it has, and the singing is more "neutral" than the usual negative most singing is for me (still not positive though). I don't care for the strings parts however. "the story is over but sometimes it's under" that's a funny line too bad I'm not good at following along with vocals. Meanwhile with Ghost Ship Painting, I like the sort of cool atmosphere it starts painting with right out of the gate, though the rest of the song is just kinda "alright" for me. I dunno, kinda feels like something I should probably like more than I do, like those parts where it like raises the jazzy alarm in the middle, but it's still alright, nothing wrong with that.

Secret of the Forest is my favorite song today. I really like the mysterious feel it has, and all parts & sections work together real nicely around it.

Secret > Ghost > Dreams > Don't > Forget > Heaven

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital (though I would not mimd either song winning)
Secret of the Forest

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
"Don't speak her name!"

My first VGMC votes! Match 2 is the closest today. Heavens Divide is a very solid song, but Forgotten Capital is too chill (and more interesting imo!) not to vote for. I hope the stuff with Id last year doesn't colour people's perceptions of FEA music, I think Her Name is a much better track. Forest is decent but I don't think it particularly stands out, I'm starting to think I'm maybe not that big a fan of the CT soundtrack (with exceptions!).

Forgotten Capital and Her Name are my favs here, I agonised between them in my favs bracket for a long time but I hope they survive to meet each other.

Ghost Ship Painting
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Dreams in a Pie
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Yes, I am voting against my day 1 nomination for the very first match. Welcome to VGMC!

Dreams in a Pie
Heavens Divide
"Don't speak her name!"

Alright day. Heavens Divide is cheesy but I like it. Don't speak her name is as always reasonably good. First match meh.

Dreams in a Pie
Labyrinth V - Forgotten Capital
Secret of the Forest

Dreams in a Pie
Heavens Divide
"Don't speak her name!"