Board 8 > [VGMC] Video Game Music Contest 18 - Bracket Discussion and Results Thread!!

(+) Yeah! (+)

Important Links
Bracket: https://www.bracketmaker.com/tlist.cfm?tid=478494
Contest info sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HBxgL9woiCMFKNOPuN_qdxmzjStJXSpC3Ocalfsavdk
Main bracket playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT3m7iohpL0y-5OyCrkgprWtXARkEJzh_
Discord: https://discord.gg/7FVXqWj
Last years spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SAJKYJmYhccLvbf_H-5uSA7-eMwXfW8k1q74Qho1bLU
VGMC total stats sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K1XdLWiUKB2kX99qYBgnRbLU_sCz4dvZSByKKJHCT6o

How do I vote??
Every day we'll be posting three head-to-head matches for a total of six songs. It's as simple as listening completely through both songs in a given match, then posting your vote for your favorite! So long as you complete the very important "listen completely through" you can even just vote in a few matches. We'll be posting the loop points on all the songs in the topic so you know exactly how long you have to listen for to hear all of them. Voting will be up for a full 24 hours from the second the day's topic is posted, and closes after 24 hours on the dot. Be careful!! If the topic is posted early by some amount for some reason, then voting will end the next top of the hour after 24 hours have passed.

If you anticipate being away for a few days, feel free to post advance votes either here in this thread, or send them via DM to @banshiryuu !!

When're we starting!?
Round 1 will begin at 10pm Eastern (UTC-4) this upcoming Friday, May 10th. Pretty quick turnaround, I know!! But I think there's no real reason to dillydally, everyone just wants to get to the brutal VGMC action! Bracket predictions will be open until a little after the end of each brackets' round 1, as per usual!

VGMC START

Real and legitimate

there goes bracket

hooray! VGMC!

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/f/f4fdf4ec.jpg

white picket

posting to remember to fill out brackets

i did a subtitled video for before i rise (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uet0MiAFUSk), if folks are okay with swapping to it.

I like how RFTM and TBIYTC are dead center in the field.

Oh wow cool a bracket I'm so excited to look through it!

> 4th match is 14.3 Billion Years vs Aria Math

VGMC is suffering

ikr ... two of my 10/10 songs and its only four matches in ....

also if anyone has a song in JP that they want me to provide subs for before their match feel free to ask

I like the spread this year! I'm not going to have any "I'll Face Myself (Shadow Battle)" moments where my r1 nominations, supports, and supports-I-didn't-support square off until at least r3 (if they make it that far) save one matchup in bracket B.

Ok scuffed favorites brackets completed. Brackets A and C are definitely the strong ones for me here.

My personal retirees

Bracket A: Kaine/Salvation < Redeem the Future > 14.3 Billion Years > Aurora's Theme

Bracket B: Death by Glamour < Nuedori > Spiral of Erebos > Across Dimming Asterisms

Bracket C: The Merciless Savior < EXEC_FLIP_ARPHAGE/. > Release the Seal > Convergence

Bracket D: Unfathomed Force < Origami Castle > Tower Fierce > Colgera Battle

Surprisingly I think a few of these might have a chance.

The playlist has the wrong link for Let's Go, Mt. Corel!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjCqcLt91L8

This is the one it was updated to in the last topic.

Bracket A: Spring Wind Skylark < Rage > Alternative Root > Shop Demo
Bracket B: Before I Rise < Necrofantasia (Demetori) < Queen in the Dark Night > Battle! (Deoxys)
Bracket C: Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke < EXEC_ViiBaCi_MjiiRa/. > Snowfield > SKY HIGH
Bracket D: The Edge of the World < Unfathomed Force < Warcry > Light Velocity

still, Suna no Shiro is a very close second choice for best song in Bracket C

No dog in the fight but I'd suggest finding a better MK8 Start link. The loop into the beginning of the song followed by a 1s fade is really awkward

Day 1: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80766736

WE BEGIN!!!

Having now gone through the playlist, I have some suggested video link replacements to consider. It would be great if anyone who supported these songs (or just has an opinion) could chime in, I don't mind if people disagree but it would be good to see some other opinions.

Riven - Moiety Theme
Old link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eqetqwcWEo
New link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_fT1EOn6PA
Why? There isn't a huge difference here, but the current video is 480p and a topic upload exists that's available in most of the world. This video calls it "Moeity Theme" which appears to be the official track title, even though I think it's a typo, haha.

RoboCop 3 - Title Screen
Old link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z754_a_aAHA
New link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq-9-GcVM_o
Why? The current video sounds 'grainy', features some glitches, and ends abruptly. This upload is a hardware recording that eliminates the glitches and has a slower fade out.

VVVVVV - Predestined Fate
Old link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yv_lcgLFJmc
New link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NH0wfHHmvU
Why? The current video completely eliminates bass frequencies in the song. I booted up the game and confirmed it sounds closer to the new link I posted. This is an official topic upload and hopefully best reflects how it's supposed to sound, though I could see some people liking it less.

Xenoblade Chronicles - You Will Know Our Names
Old link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7yNyhLOIa4
New link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ3ZC8eHpv8
Why? Basically I just trust Max's uploads to be probably the best options available for Xenoblade. This one is a little quieter, which maybe makes it less susceptible to YouTube's distortion?

Xenoblade Chronicles X - CODENAMEZ
Old link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5w4bOYDNypc
New link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DfjXNZ3sMA
Why? See above. I'm not as invested in this as I am the others, especially if there are reasons for using the current upload that I'm unaware of.

One more suggestion:

Pokmon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time/Darkness - Memories Returned
Old link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7q4xQYFzAE
New link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OX6-MsL8AY
Why? I noticed we already replaced one link for this game. This one from the same channel sounds better to me too, though I guess it's all subjective.

considering i'm not sure ripping methods for pmd2 were even like, fully sussed out by the time the shinx uploads happened, i agree it's pretty fair to replace all of them with newer ones just for that reason alone

granted, i'm not really confident that goldenrod radio is necessarily the best option out there, but the shinx ones are almost certainly not as optimal as they could be nowadays

Did I miss the first match-ups? I'm new here...

no

The first match was posted today at the link in post #19. You have until 10 PM eastern to vote, which is about 8 hours from now.

What the...? Goldenrod Radio's uploads specify who actually composed and arranged each of these tracks for PMD2. Are those legit? They list both composition and arrangement, suggesting these are not mere guesses. (these were posted months ago... apparently I'm out of the loop) Now I have to predict each one before looking at those playlists organized by composer.... but I did notice Beach Cave's info, and I was apparently correct on my previous thinking that it was by Keisuke! And I noticed that Sakamoto was, as suspected, involved with Craggy Coast, though I didn't look at the details.

Haste_2 posted...

They list both composition and arrangement, suggesting these are not mere guesses

I looked into this, for the most part (Craggy Coast is confirmed), they are

Well, darn.

Day 1 Results!

New Battle!!! 39 v 26 FightFirstDeusExMachina_Dearest
Main Title 25 v 39 Awakening ~ Nrburgring Suite
Live & Learn ...Main Theme of "Sonic Adventure 2" 33 v 30 New Bodhum ~ New Bodhum -Aggressive Mix-

Day 2: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80767357

banshiryuu posted...

Day 1 Results!

New Battle!!! 39 v 26 FightFirstDeusExMachina_Dearest
Main Title 25 v 39 Awakening ~ Nrburgring Suite
Live & Learn ...Main Theme of "Sonic Adventure 2" 33 v 30 New Bodhum ~ New Bodhum -Aggressive Mix-

3/3 for me on day 1 woo!

New Battle!!! was one of my favorite discoveries from Supra's 2023 vgm contest so I'm happy to see it win here. I think it could be my second favorite from that contest tbh, only clearly beaten by Genshin Impact's Fontaine theme.

Main Theme and Suite were both pretty cool. On the Supra server, we were making a ton of Donk puns lol as well as some Suite puns too, so this match was a lot of fun to discuss. I'm happy for Suite to finally make a return and a solid win in, though. It's definitely a great song.

Bodhum is good, but I'm glad to see that Live and Learn finally got a win in. Even if it doesn't make it any farther, I'm happy for it to finally win something. Bodhum will hopefully have its day another time.

Here's yet another link swap suggestion, this time with a couple of videos I prepared myself. I noticed the intro of Paradise Killer - About That... seemed odd, and it turns out the reason for that is on the album it's on it's preceded by a 43-second long track that serves as an introduction to it, so I made a version that merges the two together. Not satisfied to leave it there, I looked into whether there was another option, and there is: there's also an instrumental version of the track on the album with a 'clean' intro, so I made another version that combines the first 7 seconds of that with the remainder of the vocal version. This was mostly for fun, so I don't mind if people ultimately just want to stick with the topic upload- even if it cuts in abruptly, it still has some cool noises. Original supporters, feel free to express your views (@azuarc @Fluttershy_Pony @slykirby @TheArkOfTurus @Waveshine_2001 )!

A) Original Topic Upload: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyCHXvC-wx8
B) Moonrise Rapture/About That... Combination: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cQkljMKBW8
C) "Instrumental" Intro Combination: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhhY7ceHaXc

Appreciate your effort here, and I'm willing to accept whatever the majority think is the optimal version of the song, but I prefer the original. Maybe I'm alone on this one because I don't notice the audio problems others have with songs, but (A) has qualities that (C) is missing. Cutting the synth at the beginning feels empty, and while I could see a case for wanting to leave out the sax sforzando on beat 1, it just declares the start of the song for me. After hearing the song a bunch now, the beginning doesn't even feel out of place to me any more.

sergiocornaga posted...

Here's yet another link swap suggestion, this time with a couple of videos I prepared myself. I noticed the intro of Paradise Killer - About That... seemed odd, and it turns out the reason for that is on the album it's on it's preceded by a 43-second long track that serves as an introduction to it, so I made a version that merges the two together. Not satisfied to leave it there, I looked into whether there was another option, and there is: there's also an instrumental version of the track on the album with a 'clean' intro, so I made another version that combines the first 7 seconds of that with the remainder of the vocal version. This was mostly for fun, so I don't mind if people ultimately just want to stick with the topic upload- even if it cuts in abruptly, it still has some cool noises. Original supporters, feel free to express your views (@azuarc @Fluttershy_Pony @slykirby @TheArkOfTurus @Waveshine_2001 )!

A) Original Topic Upload: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyCHXvC-wx8
B) Moonrise Rapture/About That... Combination: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cQkljMKBW8
C) "Instrumental" Intro Combination: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhhY7ceHaXc

B >= C > A tbh but idc much if we stick with A. A is the one that got second in Hindsight 2022 after all! It can still work.
Thank you for actually uploading the alternative versions. Appreciated.

I don't know if I'll have time to squeeze in listens to all three versions, but I'm sure I'll be happy with any of them. This is just a song I jumped on towards the end because I liked it more than most others that were getting traction, so it's not something I have a strong or personal attachment to. I'd definitely advise giving more weight to the other supporters opinion.

I very much appreciate your dedication in uploading all the different versions & inviting me to join the discussion though!

Didn't support so my hat isn't in the ring, but I never once thought for a second that the stuff in the intro was off! And I've listened to this since it came out.

Waveshine_2001 posted...

B >= C > A tbh but idc much if we stick with A. A is the one that got second in Hindsight 2022 after all! It can still work.
Thank you for actually uploading the alternative versions. Appreciated.

Pretty much where I'm at, too.

All right, so whats the verdict then?

Fluttershy_Pony posted...

I don't know if I'll have time to squeeze in listens to all three versions

they're all the same after the beginning

Waveshine_2001 posted...

All right, so whats the verdict then?

It sounds like it should just stay as-is, and I'm fine with that!

sergiocornaga posted...

It sounds like it should just stay as-is, and I'm fine with that!

if you don't mind, could you keep your uploads public please? If I ever want to come back to About That on my own time, honestly, I'd rather listen to the Moonrise Rapture intro with it.

Day 2 Results!

14.3 Billion Years 25 v 41 Aria Math
Declaration! Imperial Floral Assault Group 32 v 32 b10
T11 29 v 36 Duel VS Fortress Leader

Day 3: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80768028

Tiemageddon begins anew as soon as possible apparently!!!

Also, should say it here but all the links from Moiety to Memories Returned were updated! )b

At least 14.3 Billion Years didn't get blown out. Sakura Wars tying is also nice in that it's better than a loss, which is what looked like was going to happen when I checked a bit before the end.

First tie of the year. Everyone do a shot!

3 for 3 followed immediately by 0 for 3 (0.5 for 3?)

Day 3 Results!

Mutants over Broadway! 31 v 34 Rage
Moiety Theme 27 v 39 Wild Woods
About That... 42 v 25 Round

Day 4: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80768712

Alright so as the poll for today's match says, I'm looking to push the rollover time for new topics back an hour to 11pm Eastern time. I usually end work at 8pm Eastern and thought giving myself until 10pm would be plenty of time to get topics ready but that's definitely not going to be the case after all lol. So! Unless a lot of people are seriously against it, Day 5 will be 25 hours long and the later posting will begin with Day 6.

Also, tiebreaker tomorrow cause I totally forgot about it when posting today oopsie

The delay wouldn't impact me, but even if it did, you should really set whatever time works best for you anyway.

Day 4 Results!

FM04: Twin Moon 37 v 26 Funky Dealer
Burger King Futo Lettuce (Futo's Theme) 30 v 30 Burning, Churning Power Plant
Astral - Prison 18 v 43 Spring Wind Skylark

Day 5: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/80769336

*does a second shot*

Naganuma disrespect is disgusting

The better Naganuma song has yet to show up, so there's still hope left