Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 3! GreatC v humanfigure, Dodo v Avarice, WindBloomMtn v Hi31337

(+) 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

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - The Great Sea
Composer: Kenta Nagata
Loop Point: 2:32
Genre: GRAND BLUE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFM0Ib0i4E

Chaos Field - human's figure
Composer: Kou Hayashi
Loop Point: 3:48
Genre: CHILL FACTORY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xnQ7TFn5zA

Match 2

Donut Dodo - Dodo's Lair
Composer: Sean Bialo (CosmicGem)
Loop Point: 1:16
Genre: EXTINCT CHIP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iz7DHXdMBjw

Death's Door - Avarice
Composer: David Fenn
Loop Point: 2:50
Genre: GREED REAPER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOYgn46rvEY

Match 3

Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland - The Wind's Blooming Mountain
Composer: Kazuki Yanagawa
Loop Poin

GRAND BLUE
EXTINCT CHIP
CELTIC BREEZE

yep.
sorry dire
sorry fern

The Great Sea
Avarice
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

CHILL FACTORY
EXTINCT CHIP
CELTIC BREEZE

7.75
8.5
7.15
3.8
8.65
8.65 (oh)

wish i could vote for GRAND BLUE and especially PHYSETER TECHNO

also a note that the loop point for human's figure is earlier than displayed (it's not really a smooth loop point either way though so just make sure to listen to at least 3 mins lol)

also avarice is really only 1:21 but has an outro, to those that may find it repetitive

human's figure
Avarice
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

Don't know why we didn't go with my Wind Waker suggestion. It's much more interesting than the boring Great Sea. human's figure barely wins out, though it's barely like a 3 or 4 out of 10 for me.

Dodo is actually pretty good on the other hand, if it was just slightly less chaotic it could be up there for me, like a 6 or 7 out of 10. But Avarice is just super super solid so I don't get to vote for the 2nd best song in this batch, woo.

Oh look, another Atelier song I don't like. This one had potential too but is way too chaotic for the sake of being chaotic and I hate that. Drops it down to like a 3 or 4 for me.

Hello on the other hand I just hate so uh yeah, guess I have to vote for Atelier.

human's figure
Dodo's Lair
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

Dodo's are cool.

The Great Sea [6.5]
human's figure [7.5]
Dodo's Lair [9]
Avarice [7]
The Wind's Blooming Mountain [7.5]
Hello 31337 [7.5]

The Great Sea
Avarice
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

Hello (5) > Sea (4) > Mountain (4) > Dodo (3) > Avarice (3) > Figure (3)

Good day. Hello 31337 is my favorite song listening up to where I'm at (3 quadrants of a), so, naturally, it will probably get flattened.

Vitruvian Man
Greed
Eleet

8
9.5
7.5
7.5
8.5
9.5

I got to listen to most of these at work, and I can confirm they're all pretty good at worst.

The Great Sea
Avarice
Hello 31337

I think I'm in more of a bombastic mood. Match 1, the second song didn't scratch that itch. Match 2 was the closest but it fell into the modern chiptune trap of "noise for the sake of it" with shifting octaves that docked it a few points, but Avarice surprised me as being nice throughout (if a little bit repetitious.)

Match 3, Ateleir just sounds like (insert knockoff MMO here and add occasional accordion) while Dariusburst, again, surprised me in a good way.

(I still prefer Catabolism, though.)

The Great Sea
Avarice
Hello 31337

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

Great Sea is probably one of my favorite renditions of the Hyrule theme. There's probably some nostalgia here but I really like the adventurous feel it has. The strings at the beginning are also great. Human's figure is fine but overall not really my style of music.

Dodo's Lair is a lot of fun. Very frantic with enough of a melodic component that it doesn't just sound like mess. Avarice is a neat mix of a pleasant and epic atmosphere, but it's probably a bit too repetitive to get the vote here.

Wind's Blooming Mountain has a lot of pretty nature-sounding instrumentation just as you would expect from an Atelier song. The melodic composition doesn't quite grab me the way some other Atelier songs do, but this is still solidly in "good" territory. I actually like Hello 31337 a lot more than I would have guessed. Very exciting song that always increases the tension while mixing things up just enough to not feel repetitive to me, which is the trap that a lot of songs like this fall into for me. There are a few individual vocal samples or whatever that I really don't like, but thankfully they are sparse enough that it remains a small issue

Hello 31337 > Great Sea > Dodo's Lair > Wind's Blooming Mountain > Avarice > human's figure

Human figure out math
Greed
...Hello.

last match hurts.

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

The Great Sea log
The Last Dodo is in Captivity
The 31337 is at Peace

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

The Great Sea is the one and only Wind Waker track I remember! (besides the title screen music) Oh, and I only know the ending theme and Dragoon Roost Island because of VGMC. But yeah, with all the sailing you do, nobody who's played the game could possibly forget The Great Sea!

I love the choice of instruments in Wind's Blooming Mountain way too much! The 7/4 really magniifes the liveliness, as opposed to the "meh" use of 7/4 elsewhere. >_>

The Great Sea (8.1 - 30th place) / human's figure (7.7 - 43rd place)
Dodo's Lair (6.8^ - 57th place) / Avarice (5.2 - 61st place)
The Wind's Blooming Mountain (8.6 - 14th place) / Hello 31337 (7.8^ - 40th place)

i hate rating music.

human's figure
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

Dodo's Lair and Hello 31337 are two of my favorite songs in Bracket A, although I've cooled on 31337 a bit since first listen; that being said, the part at 1:17 where the low synth melody kicks back in and overlaps with the "vocals" is still immaculate

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - The Great Sea
Donut Dodo - Dodo's Lair
Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland - The Wind's Blooming Mountain

human's figure
Dodo's Lair
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

human's figure
Avarice
Hello 31337

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker The Great Sea 6.5 Ahh the quintessential "let's go on a grand adventure" song.I love how the bass and percussion backing work in a way to constantly push the melody forward, so it sounds like you're exploring and going on an exciting journey. Idk if it's the key or certain notes, but there's an air of nostalgia as well. In the end, it's pretty vanilla, and doesn't hit me super hard, but it's a solid track.

Chaos Field human's figure 8 This is a cool track with a great beat. I like how the synth high notes feel like they're dancing and moving all over the place. It's very ethereal but in a modern sense. The parts that sound like drills/machinery are a little irritating but they add to the feel of the song so it's not overly distracting.

Donut Dodo - Dodo's Lair 5 One thing that this track has going for it: it's always moving. There's a lot of changes in the bit by bit melody. There's a lot of ideas that are combined together. It does feel somewhat connected through the bass beat, but idk. it's still a bit too chaotic and disjointed for me.

Death's Door Avarice 7 I love how this track repeats its motif with ever increasing intensity and instrumentation. The solid guitar core with the backing "aahhs" of the vocals make this feel quite epic. This makes me feel as if I were on a swashbuckling pirate ship that was also a huge sprawling dungeon with thunder and lighting crashing out around me due to the intense rock.

Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland The Wind's Blooming Mountain 5.5 Hello interesting soundfont. Furious, energetic woodwinds whip at you before receding back for the accordion (?) to fill the air. It sounds like a battle that would take place between a couple of rowdy french artisans. There's something a little dissonant about the sound of this that I don't like too much. I do like the general idea it was trying to present but it's too varied and all over the place. Very much a rough, unpolished gem.

Dariusburst - Hello 31337 7.5 The way the electronic beeps layer and pierce the air before echoing away is super cool. This would usually be what i'd call "noisecore" for lack of a better term, a genre i typically hate, but this one is light enough or has a semblance of a melody that I actually enjoy it, despite the crushed and pitchy sounds.

Human's
Dodo's
Mountain

Chaos Field - human's figure
Donut Dodo - Dodo's Lair
Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland - The Wind's Blooming Mountain

yep

human's figure
Avarice
Hello 31337

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

8.5
7.3
7.7
6
7.4
8.2

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

Not particularly hyped for any song here. Dodo's and Avarice are both really good though, wish I could vote both!

human's figure
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

human's figure
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

human's figure
Avarice
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

Decent day. Avarice was new and enjoyable.

human's figure
Avarice
Hello 31337

I never realised before this contest how bland I find Great Sea to be. I could see human fig growing on me but right now I'm not too bothered about either in that match oops. Dodo is pretty fun, but it doesn't stick with me. I really like where Avarice goes :)

Last match is the hardest, I enjoy both to an extent. I like the piano and accordion (or wtv it is) in Wind, but I don't think the main melody is as neat as the gentle build up. And it's a bit all over the place really, but still nice. Hello feels more cohesive I guess, but there are stretches of it that do nothing for me. Still, it's a chill tune and gets the vote.

Sea: 2/5
human: 2/5
Dodo: 3/5
Avarice: 4/5
Wind: 3/5
hello: 3/5

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

Chaos Field - human's figure
Donut Dodo - Dodo's Lair
Dariusburst - Hello 31337

The Great Sea
Avarice
Hello 31337

no thoughts because I am tired but these are all pretty close

human's figure
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

Dariusburst has much better tracks than Hello 31337 imo

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

The Great Sea is a classic. Good song that fits the "adventure" theme perfectly. The MIDI instruments don't bother me too much here, although the production in the HD version of the theme is better than this one (as it should be). There are better songs from Wind Waker, but this is a solid entry.

human's figure - phase 3 - has great production. Cool synths throughout. Unfortunately, it lacks any sort of motif, ostinato, or hook that captures my interest. So while it does have neat production, it's something I won't remember in the future, nor does it compel me to really return to it in the future (unless it moves on and I have to listen to it again in the next round, of course).

I can see why a lot of people like Dodo's Lair. It has a fun primary synth and rhythm. I'm not really feeling it personally, though, due to the melodies not sticking with me enough while being a chiptune.

I've liked the stuff I've heard from Death's Door, especially The Old Watchtowers. Avarice is pretty good combining rock and symphonic elements. There's not enough to the melody for me to really like it though. The loop is far too short as well. It'll however still get my vote in this match.

Wind's Blooming Mountain also lacks a particularly memorable melody for me to really enjoy it. Though I do enjoy the instrument choices here with the piano, bandoneon (?), and all.

Hmm, Hello 31337 is an interesting techno piece. Although I can't say that anything about it really caught my ear. It's just a whatever track for me. Nothing really offensive about it either, but I can't imagine myself actively seeking it out again.

Weakest day for me so far, but I didn't really hate any of the songs that showed up today.

Votes:
The Great Sea
Avarice
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

The Great Sea, I guess
Avarice, I guess
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

I honestly don't care who wins the first match, and the second is just painful. If someone is doing compatibility rankings, today will not be the least bit indicative of my preferences.

The Great Sea
Avarice
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

Yesterday I hinted at another match between an old favourite and a new one. I did not know it will come the literal next day. I genuinely love human's figure, but very few games in this world could mean more to me than Wind Waker.

I remember liking the Dodo less than I did today. Relistening is a good thing even though I still prefer Avarice ....

Match 3 is also pretty close!

human's figure
Avarice
Hello 31337

Nothing in the top 50 today (though Wind's Blooming Mountain is an 8), so there's no point in posting a bunch of question marks. Or is there??????

The Great Sea
Avarice
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

The Great Sea
Avarice
Hello 31337

human's figure
Dodo's Lair
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

Kinda sad how I like round 3's songs much more than anything else today.
Oh well, I'll start allowing myself to get attached in round 2!

human's figure
Avarice
Hello 31337

Always been a big fan of Great Sea. One of the best Zelda songs. human's figure is actually pretty cool too! A little repetitive, but very good.

Dodo's Lair is nice too. I like the part where it feels like a happy Disney song in the chorus(?). Avarice has maybe 30 seconds of solid content stretched out way too far.

Hello Atelier. This match is closer than I would've expected... Wind's Blooming is alright, but not really a high tier Atelier, while 31337 is pretty elite.

Nice to get 6 good songs once in a while. ^_^

The Great Sea
Dodo's Lair
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

The Great Sea > human's figure > Dodo's Lair > The Wind's Blooming Mountain > Hello 31337 > Avarice

Dodo's Lair

human's figure
Dodo's Lair
Hello 31337

Chaos Field - human's figure
Donut Dodo - Dodo's Lair
Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland - The Wind's Blooming Mountain