Board 8 > [VGMC] Day 42! feat. The Mother of All VGMC

(+) Yeah! (+)

where is smiley?
The End of 1996 H.K.
Meta Knight's Revenge

I supported where is smiley?. I think the secret to this songs lovability is that the vocalist genuinely sounds like they could be a child. Even the part of me that recoils at the saccharine finds it hard to turn down a voice like that, you know? Similar to Un Deux Trois now that I think of it, and this song has the added advantage of livelier, catchier instrumentation.

I also supported The End of 1996 H.K. My last support in the bracket. Maybe the last song in the universe? Its of a piece with Shining Eyes, capturing outer spaces awesomeness, both in the sense of awe-inspiringly, unknowably vast and dangerous and really cool. There are many different sounds in this song and I like every single one, which is rare. If pressed, though, Id say my favorite is the simple sequence of 5 beeps thats there from beginning to end.

Here it is, the last villain song (except for Arknights - Unmask, which sadly didnt make it). Featuring the villain boasting about how cool she is and how the heroes are going down, this ones the most unambiguously villainous and cheesiest, and I love it for that. The feel my swagger verse is so delightfully smug, you can hear the smirk on her face at 0:58. The punchiness on the FOOLS in the chorus is really fun too... honestly, this is a very close match, and I seriously considered voting for I'm Better Than You, especially because lets be honest, its probably going to wind up with fewer votes than Poisoned Well. Speaking of which:

It feels intentional that there is a section in here that is 1. relatively brief, about 1 and a half minutes out of 21, 2. similar enough to the rest of the song such that you wouldnt necessarily notice it if you were skipping around, and 3. is... well, somehow words like climactic or satisfying seem wrong to use here, so I guess I could call it the fullest expression of the songs presented ideas or something like that. Yes, I am convinced that this section is meant to be a secret, so secret I need to spoil this so no one sees 15:02-16:36 by accident. I mean, thats one of the biggest appeals of these sandbox MMOs like Animyst, isnt it? Finding something in the game world that makes you think, even if just for a moment, I might be the only person whos ever found this. The thing is, when it comes to video games, that particular appeal has never meant much to me. I often prefer linear games that are upfront about showing me what their whole deal is. But VGMCs a whole different animal, and its not just the discovery of it that makes it special, its the sharing. When I see unlisted uploads like this, like T11, Keeper, Desert Dunes (Desert), theyre symbols of people being so passionate about what they love that they simply must share it with the rest of us in this little community we have here. Look, I love Meta Knights Revenge. Id vote it over most songs in this bracket. You know what else I love? You. Thats right, you reading this right now. <3

I know there was a poll before that I responded to with my preferred average song runtime, but I dont remember what it was. For VGMC19 specifically, it seems like the sweetspot is about 4 to 4 and a half minutes for me to still have the response I want this to be longer.

where is smiley?
The End of 1996 H.K.
Meta Knight's Revenge

where is smiley? > Meta Knight's Revenge > The End of 1996 H.K. > I'm Better Than You > Eleventh Hour > Poisoned Well

where is smiley?
The End of 1996 H.K.
Meta Knight's Revenge

Eleventh Hour
The End of 1996 H.K.
Meta Knight's Revenge

Wish I could vote for both match 1 songs.

where is smiley?
The End of 1996 H.K.
Meta Knight's Revenge

Eleventh Hour goes for this soft/mysterious feel with a leading piano and a playful xylophone/moody guitar, and I'm left intrigued by what this could be playing over in-game. It definitely sounds like I'd be piecing a mystery together while having this in the background - and it'd only make me feel more motivated to solve it faster!

Okay, smiley definitely has some Katamari vibes - very happy and carefree, with soft vocals and some bouncy trumpets to boot. I'm easily satisfied/put at ease with this, it's an easy "YES" in my book.

I do like the RCG style of pop, but I think I'm definitely more into RCG1's songs. The vocals feel just as good, but I'm not too attached to the melody and there's not much that's being offered synth-wise except for that one heavy bass and not really much else.

I can always go with some nice ZUNTATA, I'm definitely digging the combinations of noises and synths right off the start. With that guitar and synths combo - and that house rhythm/feel - it's almost like Ridge Racer-esque in a way, I'm just picturing myself speeding down a canyon highway at nighttime. This is a cooler vibe than I was expecting.

Poisoned Well is a very interesting piece of ambience, even if I'm a little thrown off by the gaps of silence within the first 9 minutes or so. Once it throws away the silence and goes full-blown ambient with all the clashing layers of synths, it does sound kinda cool. It can feel a little overwhelming at some points, but I'm mostly down for the "cave dwelling" vibe this is giving me.

Thank you, Noriyuki Iwadare, for making my days of Brawl even more enjoyable. This remix for Meta Knight's Revenge is easily top 5-10 from Brawl's soundtrack for me, with some great new instruments while still being faithful enough to the original KSS piece. It's cool, it's jazzy/funky, it's easily proof as the start of "really good/cool remixes for Smash" being a new staple for the franchise.

New Roommania - where is smiley?
River City Girls 2 - I'm Better Than You
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Meta Knight's Revenge

where is smiley?
The End of 1996 H.K.
Meta Knight's Revenge

eleventh hour is. fine! its totally fine. smiley is also just totally fine but i am in more of the bossa groove today so it wins today yay

river city girls is like two entire games full of songs that i am SO close to loving but there's usually something missing that puts it over the edge. normally i'd feel sad that that's what puts this song down against its competition but um oops nope end of 1996 hk is a long long time fav that will never cease to amaze me ITS HAS THE CLANKS THAT THEN REVERSE SAMPLE AND THEN BOUNCE BACK AND CLANG AGAIN THAT'S THE MOST GENIUS THING EVER anyway yeah this song rocks i love it and i will be rooting happily for it

ya'll, if you can't at least appreciate poisoned well for what it does (and, does well!) then idk there might actually be something incorrect with your thinking sorry! i never though silence in a song would be so loud, but here we are. anyway i don't actually care for it LOLOL but yeah I can understand the appeal. i listened to yawning crow after seeing rwlh rated it really high in his top vgm vgmgg and uh that's easily a 7.5+, probably higher so wink wink nudge nudge. anyway meta knights revenge is amazing OOPS so i cannot vote poisoned well.... like this is actually just like a siivagunner rip "what if meta knights revenge songs were in air ride instead of super star" and i live for this style of remix lol. also i love the originals anyway they're both honestly just sliiiiightly below this in my Big Ranking In My Mind because i like both being tied together seemlessly (havoc > boarding, just barely)

3. [9.9] - Gamera 2000 - The End of 1996 H.K.
7. [9.5] - Karous - you can't fxxk me
16. [8.9] - Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Meta Knight's Revenge
63. [7.8] - Hakidame ~TRASH~ - FUCK ME
123. [7.4] - GITADORA - Crimson Gate (Long Version)
126. [7.4] - Get Together - Florest
139. [7.4] - Rift of the NecroDancer - Ravevenge
142. [7.4] - River City Girls 2 - I'm Better Than You
148. [7.3] - The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom - Eastern Temple
187. [7.2] - New Roommania - where is smiley?
208. [6.9] - OneShot - Eleventh Hour
235. [6.4] - Animyst - Poisoned Well

From Haste_2:

where is smiley?
The End of 1996 H.K.
Poisoned Well

where is smiley?
The End of 1996 H.K.
Meta Knight's Revenge

Running late and low on motivation so once again short write ups commence.

Love the somber and moody atmosphere in this one. Wish it was a little more varied, but it's a good one for my chill playlist.

Banger. Tempted to support this one. Similar vibes to Katamari.

Catchy and fun. Lyrics are a little awkward in parts. If the actual composition was different I'd think it was actually annoying.

I love the clanging and the pounding in my ears. Thrilling song and one of the best discoveries this year.

My cheap ass earbuds broke this morning so the moments of silence made me paranoid at first. I'm currently Deltarune pilled, so I find myself thinking about Chapter 4 while listening to this one. There's a lot of hollow and empty spaces. I wish it was a bit shorter, at least cutting down those long pauses into shorter pauses but besides that I like it.

Yay more Kirby Super Star music. Yay more Jun Ishikawa and Noriyuki Iwadare.
When I think it's gonna turn into an Ace Attorney for two seconds is really cool. I think my favourite version is still the 8-bit Big Band's. Wow when's VGMC but it's just remixes and covers. Cool day.

[9] where is smiley?
[9] The End of 1996 H.K.
[8.5] Meta Knight's Revenge
[8] Eleventh Hour
[7.5] Poisoned Well
[7.5] I'm Better Than You

OneShot - Eleventh Hour
Gamera 2000 - The End of 1996 H.K.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Meta Knight's Revenge

New Roommania - where is smiley?
Gamera 2000 - The End of 1996 H.K.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Meta Knight's Revenge

MATCH 1

I really like the moodiness of Eleventh Hour. There's some great interplay between the guitar and the piano.

where is smiley is a really nice song. Kind of a softer j-pop. Not the best comparison, but Say It by Yorushika (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F64yFFnZfkI) comes to mind when I listen to this, even though they're stylistically different in a few notable ways. I guess it's because they share that soft, bright sound.

MATCH 2

I'm Better Than You is fine but not something I'd actively seek out.

The End of 1996 H.K. has a cool techno sound to it. 1:08-1:44 is a particularly cool and interesting part of the song.

MATCH 3

Poisoned Well is not my kind of song, but it's really interesting atmospherically.

Meta Knight's Revenge is pretty catchy. Maybe that's the nostalgia saying that though since I played a lot of Brawl when I was younger haha. 0:15-0:21 is my favorite part of the song.

where is smiley? > Eleventh Hour > Meta Knight's Revenge > The End of 1996 H.K. > I'm Better Than You > Poisoned Well