Board 8 > I rank 300 VGM (2024 edition) [ranking]

(+) Yeah! (+)

skulltrumpets posted...

now I moved onto 295-291. even more of a mixed bag for me. the ace attorney song is one I've always liked, even though it definitely could have been gifted a better ... soundfont? probably not the right word but I think y'all get what I'm saying. a little higher pitched in spots, yeah.

I was a minute into the ballz 3D song. I had my laugh. I chortled a good bit. It's bad but like in a funny way, you know? I thought, surely the song will end soon. But no, it was like four fucking minutes. I can't believe the one thing stopping me from enjoying the overly sampled porno music was the length.

I already told skull this on discord but that seems to be more a problem with the upload than the song itself. I found an upload of the Ballz song that is 2 mins. Curious how this will affect your opinion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn4hzm-pVP8

The awkward moment when the joke nomination you were aiming for last place with isn't your first one to drop.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwLCjZVEtpE

I like Dear My Friend.

rwlh posted...

I gave it a 6.5 but it's been a while.

Woohoo! I'm not entirely sure why I uploaded that song just for NFUN's ranking, but hearing that you didn't hate it at the time makes it feel strangely worthwhile.

wait, this already started?!! tag

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

I like Dear My Friend.

Woohoo! I'm not entirely sure why I uploaded that song just for NFUN's ranking, but hearing that you didn't hate it at the time makes it feel strangely worthwhile.

hey, I still remember it extremely well. That counts for something!

Well we've done it. We've found five songs I enjoy exponentially more than rwlh did. But Kama pls why did you nominate a song that had a full minute of dead air at the end >>

Surprised especially by Dear My Friend. I admit I've kind of trained myself to have middling expectations of Japanese vocals.

Waveshine_2001 posted...

I already told skull this on discord but that seems to be more a problem with the upload than the song itself. I found an upload of the Ballz song that is 2 mins. Curious how this will affect your opinion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn4hzm-pVP8

A bit better. Not sure how to judge, as I already know what the "joke" is.

NFUN posted...

hey, I still remember it extremely well. That counts for something!

It really does, considering how many songs there were. Thank you!

Dear my friend is really cool, and i'm kinda surprised it's not up rwlh's alley for the reasons lem shared? but i'm bad at this >_>

Fragile Dreams is cool but I wouldn't have expected that to do well.

I am honestly sick of Alan Wake 2 music right now. That's not fair but like they have a style and they stick with it and it's all that style and i'm just "oh hey time to listen to another thing that sounds like Herald of Darkness but probably not as good."

dear my friend is easily the best song so far

dowolf posted...

I am honestly sick of Alan Wake 2 music right now. That's not fair but like they have a style and they stick with it and it's all that style and i'm just "oh hey time to listen to another thing that sounds like Herald of Darkness but probably not as good."

I was given three Alan Wake 2 songs. The other two are actually pretty different - not Old Gods of Asgard at all.

Also, I wouldn't even put all the OGoA songs in the same category of Herald of Darkness. Most, sure, but not all.

Anger's Remorse is more low-key, and so is Poet and the Muse, which was what turned me onto their music :p

skulltrumpets posted...

Well we've done it. We've found five songs I enjoy exponentially more than rwlh did. But Kama pls why did you nominate a song that had a full minute of dead air at the end >>

Surprised especially by Dear My Friend. I admit I've kind of trained myself to have middling expectations of Japanese vocals.

A bit better. Not sure how to judge, as I already know what the "joke" is.

Fair enough. I personally don't mind the "extended joke" version, but half the entertainment is reading the comments anyways lol, and the longer version has funnier comments imo

oh wait i totally didnt actually tag this immediately LOL idk how i just didnt

anyway tag hype hype hype hype

rwlh posted...

I was given three Alan Wake 2 songs. The other two are actually pretty different - not Old Gods of Asgard at all.

well that's actually kinda exciting, i don't know if i've heard a single thing that isn't AsGARD.

skulltrumpets posted...

Anger's Remorse is more low-key, and so is Poet and the Muse, which was what turned me onto their music :p

oh don't get me wrong -- Poet and the Muse is fantastic (though I think of that more as a Poets of the Fall song, who I prefer more [edit i'm dumb and i knew there was overlap but i didn't think it was literally 100% the same people]). I just... I dunno. I think I've let myself get really bothered in recent days by the feeling that e.g. on Supra, people tried to submit the #1 song in a style, were told someone else beat them to the punch, so they just nommed their second favorite thing in that style. So as someone who's not the biggest fan of that particular style, I wind up wishing that they'd gone in an orthogonal direction instead.

and like obviously that's all speculation, for all i know i'm just insulting someone else's favorite song in the game and i'm completely being a jerk, but >_>

The Old Gods of Asgard songs do get a lot of the focus, but there's plenty of music in both Alan Wake games that they have no involvement in.

(also late goodbye is beautiful)

4/10

285/5407
@pyresword
Honkai Impact 3rd - Rubia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIv5lFkBey0

I said to nominate The Sappy Vocal Ballad at your own risk. Well, this escaped the bottom 10, at least. Part of why I dislike this genre so much is they almost always follow this pattern: verse 1, chorus, verse 2 (now with drums!), chorus, bridge, then chorus with key change. I have nothing against predictable music inherently, but all of these songs just sound interchangeable to me. That said, theres a reason Rubia got a 4 and not a 2.5, and thats because the backing instrumentation is really quite lovely, and that made it more palatable for me. Also the vocalist is a nice singer.

284/5406
@Chaeix
Octogeddon - Didgeridoo I'm Comin' for You
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8lVlofltec

This is a song. Its fairly inoffensive. It reminds me of the Full Metal Furies song back at #296, but livelier. (This one has an accordion!) This doesnt do much to stand out but it doesnt anything really egregious, so it goes in the 4/10 tier. Hooray!

283/5400
@GavsEvans123
NEO: The World Ends With You - The World is Yours
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82s2uFWFR1E

Some okaywhat is this, nu-metal? Rap rock? Genres arent my specialty. I sometimes have trouble identifying what I would change in a song to make it better for me to listen to, but here I think I would add a different vocalist (maybe not even a rapper) for the chorus. This guys rapid-fire, somewhat growly rapping is effective, but less so when contrasted with the peppier chorus. Im sure Ishimoto is taking notes. But the end WHOS THE ENEMY WHOS THE ENEMY is very strong. This would probably be higher if I liked the genre more, whatever it may be, lol.

282/5384
@Bitto
NEO: The World Ends With You - bird in the hand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZlNbHKvHik

I swear I didnt put these together on purpose. I listened to them on different days! This song is fine but has some curiosities. What is with the lyrics? Every woman likes it rough, is that actually applicable to the game? Also the rap sounds like its mixed in from a totally different song lmao. I like the yeah yeah yeahs and the trumpets. This song is kind of a Frankenstein, overflowing with musical ideas, not all of which land! But its interesting to listen to.

281/5369
@MaxGalactica
Omori - Come and See
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCTYy4I54d8

Okay so what is the deal with the Omori soundtrack? Ive heard multiple songs from it and literally none of them have stood out in any way, Come and See included. Is this the ultimate contextual video game score? This song is basically acoustic guitar with some breathing, which is fine I guess but doesnt grab me at all. There is an undercurrent of sadness throughout that kind of intrigues me though.

undercurrent of sadness count: 1

rwlh posted...

What is with the lyrics? Every woman likes it rough,

I feel obligated to point out here that the lyric (admittedly emphasized in a weird way) is "not every woman likes it rough" and that I think this portion of the lyrics are about trying to end a toxic relationship. (I also think the song is like 2 separate vocal songs/samples mashed together if the wiki is to be believed, so idk if it's fair to characterize the whole song that way) Not that this should really change your opinion because like personally I don't always pay much attention to lyrics at all, but yeah.

I did indeed avoid the bottom 10 so mission accomplished.

Ohhh that makes sense. That didn't affect my opinion of the song (lyrics rarely do), it was more of a curiosity than anything.

Also re: earlier discussion, I love Late Goodbye.

Come and See was probably the biggest risk I took in my noms. It is a very simple song, but I could also see the undercurrent of sadness connecting with you more than it did. Omori feels like a game whose soundtrack is affected by its context for most people, although context never affects my opinion of any song personally. There's also a massive variety in its soundtrack, so more than likely you just haven't found the songs that would resonate with you yet.

dowolf posted...

oh don't get me wrong -- Poet and the Muse is fantastic (though I think of that more as a Poets of the Fall song, who I prefer more [edit i'm dumb and i knew there was overlap but i didn't think it was literally 100% the same people]). I just... I dunno. I think I've let myself get really bothered in recent days by the feeling that e.g. on Supra, people tried to submit the #1 song in a style, were told someone else beat them to the punch, so they just nommed their second favorite thing in that style. So as someone who's not the biggest fan of that particular style, I wind up wishing that they'd gone in an orthogonal direction instead.

and like obviously that's all speculation, for all i know i'm just insulting someone else's favorite song in the game and i'm completely being a jerk, but >_>

Yeah I think that's fair to want variety. Idk if I've ever come across as hostile, but I guess I just get a little nettled by this kind of assumption when ... I don't feel like it applies to me at all? I dunno, I feel like it'd be good to approach this topic in good faith?? I think it's easier for stuff you don't like to stick out more than stuff you do sometimes. I think I'm just a little confused by this pushback personally haha, so I just proved my own case ig

Also Late Goodbye is really, really good. But this coming from me is unsurprising. :p

Bird in the hand is my favorite of the songs I nominated, so this isn't a good sign!

I feel like both TWEWY games are really good at creating a soundtrack for a modern city, more than any other game or media. I also feel like the rap, trumpets, and pop vocals in the beginning are Frankenstein-esque, but unlike you, I feel they all enhance each other.

Damn, and here I thought Firestarter had some good potential. Ah well, not for everyone.

I love bird in the hand personally (top 2 song on the soundtrack), but I'm also not surprised at all that rwlh rated it lowly.

i do think we could find a Mihoyo song rwlh would like, but yeah I can't say I'm surprised this wasn't it.

diggydoo reminds me of Serious Sam, in a good way. I kinda like it? also accordions are fun. The bit at like 1:40 is especially neato.

skulltrumpets posted...

Yeah I think that's fair to want variety. Idk if I've ever come across as hostile, but I guess I just get a little nettled by this kind of assumption when ... I don't feel like it applies to me at all? I dunno, I feel like it'd be good to approach this topic in good faith?? I think it's easier for stuff you don't like to stick out more than stuff you do sometimes. I think I'm just a little confused by this pushback personally haha, so I just proved my own case ig

Also Late Goodbye is really, really good. But this coming from me is unsurprising. :p

i'm sorry. i was definitely a bit of an asshole last night >_>

We used Fantasy Note from Honkai Impact 3rd for the vgmgg list where rwlh did collabs with everyone, so they exist! There's a reason I didn't suggest Rubia at that time though, yes...

I still have one more Mihoyo song to go so there's still hope!

pyresword posted...

I still have one more Mihoyo song to go so there's still hope!

same

im not really surprised at any of these yet lol

would not be surprised if one of mine goes out at about a 5

280/5367
@Waveshine_2001
Pokemon Sword/Shield - Battle! Galarians Legendary Birds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDB5B__1Al8

This song is messy with a capital Mess. The mixing is all off and there are whole chunks that dont seem to fit together at all. But the second half is actually really cool! The flying effects (Pokemon cries?) are integrated better, and theres some nice fake guitar and percussion. If the first half were more like the second, this would be much higher.

279/5362
@MacArrowny
Sea of Stars - Guardian Gods: Horizons Unbound
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEYBwRK2HXg

I guess this is a retro-inspired RPG so it makes sense to this sort of retro-inspired sound. I kind of wish they leaned in more with the influence though; these samples arent really doing it for me. I do like the fast drumbeat, fitting for what sounds like some sort of battle or boss theme.

278/5354
@MargaretAnnMid
Baldur's Gate 3 - Raphael Final Act
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMo7ugWudCA

Ooh, a villain song, nifty. From what I can glean from the song theres a main dude (Raphael?) but somebody else does half of the singing. I dont love Raphaels singing, its in that showtuney Broadway style that I generally can take or leave (Ill call it sing-speaking). The female singer has a more conventional style that resonates with me more. I bet this is killer in-game though!

277/5350
@Arti
Honkai: Star Rail - Wildfire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxlW79tDhCA

I will probably get a lot of shit for having this so low. But honestly its just not for me. It reminds me of #300, Breathing Underwater, in that feels like a typical modern pop/rock song, and I have a hard time with those. Its just likeI dunno, kind of there? The vocals are a big detriment for me, but couple them with this uninspiring instrumental and its likeI dunno, just not interesting to me. Its a perfectly fine song. Im sure I will come to like it less after repeated exposure when it gets to round 3 in VGMC.

276/5348
@OrangeCrush980
Yakuza 3 - Let's Produce a No.1 Hostess
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJQrlI1rqCE

Some 90s R&B b-side vibes here. Smooth groove, perfectly serviceable. Were at the point in the list where Im probably not going to have a lot to say about the songs for a while, so I apologize for that! Uh I like the piano in the back half, thats something.

Wildfire has never been that high on my list of HSR songs either to be honest.

It is also a song that's much better in-context I think. The lyrics and general tone of the song fit the boss fight very well and also the climax is timed to the boss's big attack which is very cool.

dowolf posted...

i'm sorry. i was definitely a bit of an asshole last night >_>

it's okay friend. i was more confused than upset for sure

now onto doing some react content:

i just listened to 285-281. i listened to rubia before as i'm slowly going through mihoyo stuff and it's decent! bird in the hand also has some highlights, but the flow of the rap doesn't sit well with me. "frankenstein" is a good description. come and see was such a treat though! shame you didn't like that one rwlh

Raphael is such a poseur I love him

rwlh posted...

280/5367
@Waveshine_2001
Pokemon Sword/Shield - Battle! Galarians Legendary Birds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDB5B__1Al8

This song is messy with a capital Mess. The mixing is all off and there are whole chunks that dont seem to fit together at all. But the second half is actually really cool! The flying effects (Pokemon cries?) are integrated better, and theres some nice fake guitar and percussion. If the first half were more like the second, this would be much higher.

You know, I was expecting another drop since I had a bunch of joke noms. What I wasn't expecting was this. I was fully confident the next drop would be within the next day or so but it would be Yoshi's New Island instead. To think you put the kazoo song over this is kind of funny.

rwlh posted...

@Arti
Honkai: Star Rail - Wildfire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxlW79tDhCA

I will probably get a lot of s*** for having this so low. But honestly its just not for me. It reminds me of #300, Breathing Underwater, in that feels like a typical modern pop/rock song, and I have a hard time with those. Its just likeI dunno, kind of there? The vocals are a big detriment for me, but couple them with this uninspiring instrumental and its likeI dunno, just not interesting to me. Its a perfectly fine song. Im sure I will come to like it less after repeated exposure when it gets to round 3 in VGMC.

I like how you mention VGMC as if Wildfire isn't killing it in another contest right now (yes, I know a lot of GameFaqs users don't know about our Supra 2023 contest but still). Also, why round 3 in VGMC? That feels oddly specific haha

Waveshine_2001 posted...

Also, why round 3 in VGMC?

Humor is in the specifics! (I don't actually know if it'll even get into the contest, but if it does, I suspect it will do well.)

Waveshine_2001 posted...

I like how you mention VGMC as if Wildfire isn't killing it in another contest right now

It won one round. That's hardly "killing it." If it beats the Naganuma track in R2, then sure.

pyresword posted...

Wildfire has never been that high on my list of HSR songs either to be honest.

It is also a song that's much better in-context I think. The lyrics and general tone of the song fit the boss fight very well and also the climax is timed to the boss's big attack which is very cool.

I've had it as my Astral Express song for months now

ooh i didn't know BG3 has a musical number!

*squee*

275/5344
@Not_an_Owl
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising - Deathbound Love
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67TwG6uvFcs

This is a weird one. There are these Friday Night Funkin-esque vocals throughout but then other parts of the song sound like theyre missing a vocal component. Its like the song doesnt want to commit to being vocal, non-vocal, or weird Vocaloid hybrid. I had a hard time getting into this for that reason.

274/5286
@GameBopAdv
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time - Back in Cartown (Ending)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKry2pKGodc

A soothing little ditty that presumably plays at the end of a 90s PC adventure. The muffled audio quality is charming, as with other Humongous soundtrack rips. I guess it accomplishes its goal?

4.5/10

273/5271
@paulg235
Battletoads (Arcade) - Christmas Grotto
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dhM-m43ems

Christmas Grotto has a lot of ATTITUDE. David Wise probably had a lot of fun with literally every Battletoads soundtrack, as theyre all brimming with this sort of cocky swagger. This song in particular has nice bass and drums. I dont love it, but I appreciate it for what it is.

272/5262
KecleonFan352
Friday Night Funkin' Lullaby - Death Toll
https://youtu.be/uN98dv98CZg

Not only am I a weirdo who likes FNF music, I more often than not like it for the vocals, not the beats. As a result, Death Toll doesnt do it for me. Boyfriend sounds really off, like hes swallowed some sort of throat poison (assuming this is even Boyfriend), and the opponent doesnt grab my interest either. This wont be the last FNF song on the ranking, so brace yourselves for more FNF goodness!

271/5207
@Chaeix
The Red Strings Club - The Red Strings Club
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GhSdqZi3NQ

This captures the feeling of being in a smoky jazz/lounge club pretty effectively, but to me the standout feature is the rain. I like rain effects in music. The rest of the song is fine but where is the raaaiiiinnn

Deathbound Love is a weird one. It does a lot of stuff I love, but the balance between the various parts feels off. Both the human and synth voices are so understated relative to the guitar and violin. I think it works with the human voice, but the synth being a countermelody is so weird because it stands out so much.

hi putt putt. you're a fun game. I don't remember this song at all >_>

i wish i didn't have an irrational hatred of christmas music sometimes <_<

honestly i think if i hadn't listened to All Stars like five hundred times since learning about it I'd enjoy this more. But there's definitely a big step down from All Stars to this. That said the breakdown starting around 1:00 is really fun and I like it a lot, even if I share your feeling on the throat singing.

ive tried typing this message like seven fucking times and i keep closing the window because im on my new phone im not used to yet actually fucking kill me pull the trigger

raphael's final act is delightful, and god do i love his voice. would be perfect for an audiobook! a very fun tune.

no.1 hostess was also fun, but it felt like it could have been more long? full?

edit: accidentally pressed send early oops. all ill say about the rest of 280-276 was that i thought they were fine. ngl i don't fully get the appeal of wildfire! maybe it would be cooler in context (though that usually doesn't matter to me)

rwlh posted...

Humor is in the specifics! (I don't actually know if it'll even get into the contest, but if it does, I suspect it will do well.)

Ah I suppose that makes sense! I could see it making it to r3, but it also feels like a song that could easily lose r1 depending on its opponent.

azuarc posted...

It won one round. That's hardly "killing it." If it beats the Naganuma track in R2, then sure.

To be fair, it didn't just beat one song. In order to win round 1, it had to beat two other songs. It beat two songs in round 1 by a fairly good number. It wasn't even that close of a match between the first and second place of that round.

Waveshine_2001 posted...

You know, I was expecting another drop since I had a bunch of joke noms. What I wasn't expecting was this. I was fully confident the next drop would be within the next day or so but it would be Yoshi's New Island instead. To think you put the kazoo song over this is kind of funny.

Just to make this clear for other people: I asked Waveshine to give me a bunch of "joke noms." She isn't being disrespectful or anything, haha.

rwlh posted...

Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising - Deathbound Love

This is a weird one. There are these Friday Night Funkin-esque vocals throughout but then other parts of the song sound like theyre missing a vocal component. Its like the song doesnt want to commit to being vocal, non-vocal, or weird Vocaloid hybrid. I had a hard time getting into this for that reason.

For character themes, the GBVS soundtrack primarily uses arranged, usually non-vocal versions of those character's songs from the Granblue Fantasy soundtrack. In this case, what you're listening to is an arrangement of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5tBdv2_h6s

So if you're hearing a void that you think ought to be filled with vocals, that's probably because there is!

270/5192
@tazzyboyishere
TamaTown V3 - Funky Loop
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuB4Y91szAY

This is charming! The tinny sound quality and funky composition lend it a certain whimsy. I dont love it but I respect what its doing.

I dont love it but count = 2

269/5174
@skulltrumpets
Bullet Bill 3 - Ghost House
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoQtA5AOKPw

It's funny, I never thought anything of this song compared to others from this soundtrack, and yet two separate people wanted to nominate it. It's fine I guess? I can't really put my finger on why I don't like it more - on paper it's got a lot of things I normally like. Maybe the execution is off somehow? It exists at the intersection of spooky and calm, and I do like the crackly effects. This is a weird early drop but it makes sense to me to have it this low.

5/10

268/5157
@Hbthebattle
Cassette Beasts - Arrow of Time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g3jBQvGJOk

When I think VGM rock, songs like Arrow of Time are the first to come to mind: mostly safe affairs with the occasional guitar solo. What I really like about this are the lyrics! Yes, I just said I dont normally pay attention to lyrics, but I do notice weird things like rhyme scheme and syllable accents, and there are some cool rhymes here. Also this uses the phrase entropic change which is a sort of badass thing to sing in a song.

267/5142
@xx521xx
Sonic Adventure 2 - Rumbling HWY ... for Mission Street
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGWrY9wywzU

A lot of Sonic music from this time period is very hit or miss for me. Jun Senoue loves these guitar samples that make my skin crawl, and theyre all over this song. This is only not in the very bottom because I really like the melody.

266/5122
@pyresword
Tsukihime: A Piece of Blue Glass Moon - Icefield Waltz (Vlov:IV)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkZAPxdrOQQ

I dont have any problems with long vgm normally, but I can have a very short attention span, so with a song like this, which clocks in at seven and a half minutes, I really need to be grabbed early on. Ive thought about Icefield Waltz a few times since I first listened to it. I think the issue here is theres too much stuff going on. I said this in an earlier writeup, but theres a fine balance between being overwhelmed intentionally (like through intentional composition and mixing and such) and just having too much stuff in the song. If you took out the singing this probably goes up like 30, maybe even 50 spots. The singing is fine on its own but in tandem its the element that pushes the song over for me. The rest is pretty fine!

Not_an_Owl posted...

For character themes, the GBVS soundtrack primarily uses arranged, usually non-vocal versions of those character's songs from the Granblue Fantasy soundtrack. In this case, what you're listening to is an arrangement of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5tBdv2_h6s

So if you're hearing a void that you think ought to be filled with vocals, that's probably because there is!

Wow yeah this sounds more "complete" than the GBVS version, interesting!