Author Topic: Rebirth of music tourney: nominations commentary repository (Read 4868 times)

DragonKnight Zero · « **on:** October 17, 2021, 05:10:53 AM »

Got words to say about your nominations? This is the place set up to leave them, whether they're selected or not. Because reading other's thoughts on their choices is fun. Or if you don't feel like waiting to put down your nominator commentary. Or whatever other reason motivates you.

For those who want a format to follow, one can go with Track name - Game - where used in game - commentary. Or use your own, I don't mind either way.

I won't ask for links; that sounds like more busywork. But you can include them if you really want to.

There may be unmarked spoilers ahead. Just putting this out there if that matters to you.

Veryslightlymad · « **Reply #1 on:** October 30, 2021, 01:21:31 AM »

Very well.

VSM's Entirely reasonable nominations over-explained:

REPEATABLE BATTLE MUSIC
Step Ahead from Trails of Cold Steel 3 (Loops at 2:02)
Step Ahead almost doesn't qualify as repeatable boss music, since it's played against a very specific subset of enemies, but there are enough of them that I felt like this was the best place to stick it. At any rate, Step Ahead plays when you're going against various arrangements of Ouroboros heavies. What I personally love about this music is that it's so chaotic which fits the sequences where it plays to a T. A recurring theme in CS3 is the player and Rean being completely frustrated and angered by never having information, especially compared to the antagonists. So the fights against the Enforcers (and some of the Stahlritter fights) are these wildly desperate confrontations made all the worse by the fact that your characters don't even know why they are happening.
Here's my extremely abstract take on the music: The Piano and Xylosynth represent Ouroboros, and the Violin and Guitar are Class VII. There's this obnoxious, taunting piano intro, perfect for a chaotic battle against someone playing with their food. In the early part of the piece after the intro, there's a guitar that joins in, but it's pulled in. It sounds reluctant. The Piano is still clearly in control, and guiding the piece. The Piano is answered by the Violin playing back the same notes it just heard. But while the Piano had a controlled, taunting quality, the violin is much more emotional and is allowed to linger on individual notes longer, instead of being played with stops. At about the 1 minute mark, the violin goes down this soft, introspective path, and while it's the active instrument that your mind pays attention to, if you listen closely, its being led down this path by the hammered instrument (pretty sure it's a xylosynth), the Xylosynth, like Ouroboros compared to class VII, like the name of the piece, is tauntingly a Step Ahead. At 1:20 though, we get to the emotional part of the piece. The Violin is sick of this shit and absolutely becomes the driving instrument of the piece from that point on. Not only is the intensity kicked up a notch, but the Xylosynth, followed quickly by the once-taunting Piano are now scrambling, just a step behind. It is a sudden reversal of the whole power dynamic that had been established just a few seconds ago. You can even hear the hammered instrument get staggered at about the 1:38 or 1:39 mark.

Spoiler analysis: And Cold Steel 3 is cut from a different cloth than Cold Steel 2. Unlike in Cold Steel 2 where even at the end of the game, you keep needing someone else to save your ass from Ouroboros, Class VII and Rean and their allies have grown tremendously. Yeah, sure, Ouroboros still pulls their "I was just holding back" nonsense, but unlike in CS2, here, it all rings hollow. Maybe they are still a Step Ahead of Class VII, but it's exactly that, and nothing more. A step. When you beat Ouroboros in CS3, even if they get back up, it feels like you might just have actually won in a way that the Infernal Castle fights never felt like. They're still insanely dangerous, deadly opponents, and yeah, they might be STRONGER than you, but they're not BETTER than you. And Class VII has something they don't have: Passion. And somehow, I feel all of that passion and growth is conveyed in this piece. It's only the third game of four, and we've still got a long way to go, but the conclusion that is drawn is this: Class VII is officially putting the manipulators and sadists on notice. A force greater than them has been building in its frustration for quite some time.

EDITIt's possible what I am hearing as a Xylosynth might very well actually be a Celeste.

DragonKnight Zero · « **Reply #2 on:** October 30, 2021, 03:23:50 AM »

A selection of some of my picks.

General battle music -

1. Sylpheed - Atelier Ayesha: Even before I was able to acquire the game to experience it for myself, I was getting into some of its tunes. This is one of the regular battle tunes though it manages to stick out from the other nomination choices by being suitable dance music. Really, this was played at a formal dance at a convention. (I may have had something to do with this, hehe.)

2. Let Ass Kick Together - Armed Police Batrider: One of the boss battle tracks. I chose this one solely because of the ridiculous Engrish title. Oh, I find the track has some fight energy going on but it's overshadowed to me by the title. Which is displayed in-game if the replays I've spectated are accurate.

3. Turtles in Time AC - boss battle: No deep story or weirdness behind this one; just happen to like it. Arcade version selected because of more robust sound hardware.

REJECTED NOM: Strikers 1999 - boss theme of stages 1 through 4: Why is generic shmup BGM so catchy? Rejected by me because I couldn't find a source which fully loops. Even though there is a decent chance of being able to hear it fully if trying for a Technical Bonus.

Unique zone -

1. Gradius 3 AC - stage 9 theme: For whatever inexplicable reason, I enjoy most of the sound direction in this game. Not so much the game itself because of how brutal and unfun it gets. This tune is from one of the arcade stages that didn't make it to SNES. Track is nice enough in isolation. However, I picked it because of its association with one of the most notorious segments in the game and even the SHMUP genre. The dread cube rush: where the Vic Viper must dodge over 100 crystal cubes, some of which will charge the ship at high speed. Mess up even once and it's back to the start of the stage. For some people, this tune will induce nightmares, mwa ha ha. I have played this game on PS2 where I pushed through the game with liberal use of the weapons code and this stage was a nasty wall.

2. Dragon Saber - stage 9 theme: I've never even played the game yet the music made an impression on me when I watched a superplay. Ominous atmosphere that I feel could also be used in a suitable Doom map. Good luck getting to hear it in-game; this one is another toughie where you are thrown back to a checkpoint upon dying. Which the game is not shy about doing to those who haven't learned it.

3. Doom Castle - FF Mystic Quest: This is one of those in the "heard it in a ROMhack/randomizer without ever having played the game where it's from" column. MQ's soundtrack is arguably its best feature. This one happened to come out on top of the possible options.

4. Touhou 15 - stage 6 theme: No way I'm typing out the title again. Another one where I haven't played the game but listened to parts of the soundtrack online. This got the nom nod because the start sounds similar to Stairway to Heaven and the music box in my head will mix and/or mash them up.
Those who have played or spectated the game may have noticed the music syncs up with the action in the game. This is routine by Touhou standards since sources say ZUN composes the music first before implementing gameplay. Aside form that trivia, the tune does evoke an image of desolation like the surface of the moon appears in real life.

Wild -

1. Aquarius - Atelier Shallie: Yet again, I haven't played the game where this originates from so couldn't tell you the context in which it's used. But saw this in the 'tube recs during the last music tourney and gave it a chance. Helps that it shares a name with a Castlevania 3 track. They sound nothing alike but both are good. Atelier music is quality in general and I've been consistently impressed by the Atelier Shallie tracks I've listened to.

2. FF10 - the Blitzball theme: Does anyone even need the link to recall this? If you've gone for Wakka's Sigil, this tune will have imprinted itself whether you want it or not. Unless you have extraordinary ability to forget things you dislike. Yes I am that evil to inflict this; music tourney seems to be an outlet to indulge that evil part of me.

3. Turbo Tunnel part 2 - Battletoads - the speedbike segment: Yes it's THAT level where many people simply gave up. Evil dragon knight strikes again. It's actually a neat tune, if you survive long enough for it to play all the way through. I considered nomming Rat Race given how that level is way more evil but opted to go for the one more are likely to have reached.

4. Raiden 2 - game over and name entry: I'm a fan of the soundtrack overall but chose to nom this particular one because it feels like I've heard a tune a lot like it in a non-video game context. Lizard brain thinks there is a BGM from The Little Mermaid that sounds similar but it's not to be trusted.

Hunter Sopko · « **Reply #3 on:** October 30, 2021, 04:02:48 AM »

Quote from: DragonKnight Zero on October 30, 2021, 03:23:50 AM

1. Aquarius - Atelier Shallie: Yet again, I haven't played the game where this originates from so couldn't tell you the context in which it's used.

It's a battle track, almost unique? Plays for one of the superbosses, probably more. I feel like for Dusk Trilogy if it's zodiac/myth named it's a clear sign it's a battle track.

Veryslightlymad · « **Reply #4 on:** October 30, 2021, 07:24:17 AM »

Garnet Sky from Various, credited to Street Fighter EX3 (Track does not loop in selected link, is actually 3:21 long)
Well, I have a bit less to say about this piece than I did Step Ahead, but I'll attempt to make an honest try of it. The main reason why I nominated this piece is that Street Fighter EX3 is not a good game. It was released in 2000, so over 20 years ago. I played it, probably more than it deserved, but still not all that much. There just wasn't enough going for it, and at the time, I didn't even have real opponents to play against me in fighters. I have no idea where my copy of this game is, I do not watch this game on the Internet. I do not play or have watched any of the other Akira games where Garnet Sky is used. This track is stuck in my head, over 20 years later. That has to mean something. This is the theme of, somehow, two characters, Cracker Jack and Blair Dame. I can't remember Blair's look or moveset at all, but Jack's actually lines up shockingly well with the beat of this track. He's got a throw where he puts his opponent down, steps on them, grinds his heel, and turns around which almost always lines up perfectly with the music if he lands it. In Street Fighter EX3, one thing that's notable is that, when you fight the last boss, rather than playing the last boss's music, the game will play the music of your character. And I think other fighters should have taken that approach, it gives a sense of it being your battle that other fighters haven't accomplished. I will give EX3 props for that, if nothing else.

As far as musically, what's going on... hmm. There's a bit. The fretless bass in here is pretty interesting. The piano sounds either really cheap or at least like something has seen a ton of use, but that sort of fits the atmosphere created. There's a damn accordion in here, accordions don't get enough respect. Around the 1 minute mark (and the 2:33 mark) is possibly the most triumphant movement in an individual fighting game character theme ever. I think that's the emotion that sticks with me the most. The piece lulls at points, but the hopeful part of the intro (remember, it plays your music against the end-boss) and the climax at about the 1 minute mark (reasonable for a round end a fighting game) have lodged into my brain forever. There's something about Garnet Sky, man. I thought maybe the theme played at the credits, where you beat guys up, but no, there seems to be a credits theme and not just the individual characters... so... I don't know. I can't remember. I can't remember enough of the game. It's been 20 years.

But I remember Garnet Sky
~
River Stage from Marvel vs Capcom 2 (Loop at :53)
People sometimes say that Marvel vs Capcom 2 has bad music. People are, by and large, stupid, boring, and unimaginative. You know what's none of those things? Marvel vs Capcom 2. Personally, I think the choice of jazz, and having a robust horns section is exactly the right feel for a fighting game. Particularly one that gives you a level of creative styling that MvC2 had at the time. Fuckin' fight me. Get your weak-sauce hard rock, heavy metal bullshit out of here. This here is the good stuff. The dumb lyrics somehow make it even better. Much like the menu select loop (wanna take you for a ride....) it will lodge its way in your brain and won't leave. The bassline is great. The horns are great. The River Stage is great. Marvel vs Capcom 2 is great.
Go cry somewhere else, just, before you do, you might wanna take caution because there's Nobody to dryyyyyyyy your eyes...

Thug Life (Brigands) from Battle Brothers (Track does not loop, is actually 5:12 long)
OK, the main reason why I nominated this track is that Battle Brothers has better music than it has any right to be, with a ton of orchestral arrangements that are several minutes long. Thug Life is probably my favorite, which is good, because it's almost certainly one of the ones the player is going to run into most often, as its one of the themes of petty brigands.

Battle Brothers is a tactical mercenary game, where you control, fittingly, a mercenary company. So instead of like, 3 or 4 guys against 1-6 enemies, you're taking maybe up to 12 guys and fighting, I dunno, I've hit north of 50. I wouldn't doubt this number can go higher. Usually fights are close to evenly matched, though. So about 8 on 10, something along those lines. When a fight starts, if one side isn't ambushed, the two of your forces line up in formation. It takes at least a turn, sometimes 2 to get to one another. So the slow fade-in that the track has going for it really matches the pace of the fight. Odds are a fight literally can't pick up until the music does, which is a good touch. The tension picks up at about :55, about when enemies might start really getting close to your guys, at about 1:12 is about right when you might be taking hits, or at least blows are exchanged. For the rest of this description, assume I'm talking about one of the everyday, small fights.

Right around 1:57? With the acoustic guitar that hearkens to the music that'd play before a shoot-out in a western? Well, that's roughly when things probably started to go very, very wrong for the brigands. Remember, someone usually dies in a shootout. Battle Brothers is not a kind game. If the text of every single character's biography is any indication, it's not a huge leap to think that, maybe brigands are just what becomes of these hungry, lost, cast-out, fighting-age men if they weren't taken on by a mercenary company like yours. At around 2:16, the music is now mournful. It's sad. If you stop and think about it for a second, it's actually sad. Unless it's early on in the game, you're better armed, you're certainly more skilled. But the brigands still line up, clash steel, and die. Enemies in Battle Brothers definitely retreat, but they make an honest go of it first, and the implication by the game's setting is, they have little choice. If not you, then some other mercenary company, or actual trained soldiers, will one day put them all down. The rest of the sound direction is... well, imagine men crying, groaning, panting, gurgling as they're hacked down. Life as a brigand, the Thug Life, if you would, is hard, unfair, and short.

Unique/Final Battle Music
Dancing Mad from Final Fantasy VI
Entire massive essays, and videos much longer than the combined four movements of this piece have been done already. There's very little that I can say about its genius that someone, somewhere, hasn't said better. Extracting the most out of a limited chipset, Dancing Mad is Nobuo Uematsu's magnum opus. Fucking fight me. You could, theoretically, take any of the four movements of this piece, and make a solid case for them being in this tournament. Afterall, Dancing Mad isn't 17:37 long. It's four looping movements of varying lengths. I'm not even going to try to timestamp the movements for loops. I'm only human. Only, only, human.
Movement 1 opens up with a reprise of an earlier track in Final Fantasy VI, "Catastrophe" which plays during the narrative introduction of the game, as well as when the floating continent. Only, where Catastrophe just sort of... ends and returns to loop, Movement 1 kicks into high gear briefly, actually making things a fight before returning to loop. '
For all that Kefka's Theme (his normal one) is perfect, Movement 2 could have easily been Kefka's theme and no one would have batted an eye. It's discordant, authoritarian, and then breaks into an agonized organ, almost asking how and where it all went wrong. Also worth note is what you fight in Phase 2. Phase 1 you fought what may as well be the Devil, but there's no sign of Kefka. Phase two... well, he seems to be there. One man among many. You came to battle expecting to fight a demon. Well, he didn't start out as a demon, and accordingly, you didn't fight him in phase one.
Movement 3 is largely just Toccata and Fugue. But it gets really interesting when the countermelody kicks in at 8:38. Wait a second that's... that's Kefka's music. Branding his own theme over the top of church music and a Pieta. One that seemingly depicts Kefka as Savior, as, like phase 2, he seems to be present.
Movement 4, after reprising the intro to the game itself (and might also be Also Sprach Zarathustra), tosses all the pseudo-religious garbage aside and kicks off with an actual, rock and roll fight. The fight. Appropriately, it's Kefka's own theme hammered out in a discordant fake reed organ instead of a fake pipe organ. It's layered over Fierce Battle/Battle to the Death (Aside---Battle to the Death is.... more adjacent to Kefka's theme than it first sounds... I lack the terminology to describe what I mean) before transitioning into The Decisive Battle. Now, a lot of analysis talks about how it breaks from the kickass rock-and-roll boss music to this mournful sad, falling, and comes to the conclusion that Kefka knows he's losing--and this is where I differ; he absolutely doesn't. He does not repent. Joke's on you, you pitiful rube. When the movement loops, we're fittingly treated with Kefka's trademark laugh. He hasn't come to terms with or learned a god damn thing, and never will. This fight is to the death. And your opponent truly believes he is God.

Blue Destination from Trails of Cold Steel 2 (Track essentially does not loop in selection)
This is a remix of The Decisive Collision from Trails of Cold Steel 1.
And yes, it plays in a few fights, but almost all of them are against the same guy. I'll talk about the two others toward the end of this analysis.
Blue Destination is somewhat weird for a boss theme. It's soft, harmonizing piano that gives way to mournful strings and.... ....90s europop techno? The hell? Boss themes, done correctly, should be about who you are fighting. And this is the boss theme of Crow. You're not fighting against some ancient pinnacle of skill, like with Unfathomed Force. You're fighting, essentially, your best friend from High School. And, despite his protests, one that still loves you, the way your character still loves him. One that may as well be a mirror to yourself. One you hope to win back to your side, against all odds. So there's optimistic techno dance music, but played over that is the sad piano and violin, which tell you the truth. These fleeting moments you have together are something you, perversely, want to hold onto for the rest of your life, the way you might not worry about the night ending on a dance floor.
Ironically, I've actually been drawn into a violent fight with my best friend from high school. That did not... go this way. It was jarring, scary, and wouldn't have any music played over it. However, I've recently probably, maybe definitely lost my adult best friend for reasons I have yet to learn about, much less understand, someone I want back in my life so desperately I'd fight anyone alive for it, even them. I hope no one here has to go through that, but... take my word for it. Blue Destination fits that mood just a little too well.
The other two times the track plays are When Rean begins to accept himself and unlocks his spirit unification ability and when you're playing as Lloyd and fighting Rean, who by no means wants to be there. So, it's absolutely the emotional theme of the game, I stand by my saying it is unique. Even if there's other enemies with stat blocks, there's exactly two people that are ever really fought against when this theme plays.

Silver Will from Trails in the Sky FC (and also Sky SC) (Track loops around 1:54)
In contrast, the person you're fighting at this point is arguably the world's greatest living swordsman, a war orphan who seeks to expose humanity to their own darkness, to, in his words, test humanity for their shortcomings. (OK, and you also fight Richard that one time in the first game, whatever.)
Loewe is... mnf. How do I put it. For the most part, he needs to win, to sharpen himself, to grow and overcome every conceivable obstacle, to put himself in a position to administer his so-called test to humanity. And once he gets there... he wants to lose. He's, after all this time, still broken over his loss. It's shaped his entire life. He's watched two different countries sweep the massacre at Hamel under the rug, conveniently forgetting about the tragedy. His tragedy. His challenge to humankind is ultimately nothing beyond a cry for attention, not just for himself, but for the victims of the world, which, with his knowledge, he knows to be basically everyone.
The strings motif in the first part starting around :17 tell their own story. They build hopefully upward until about :22, where they take a turn and come back down flat at :29. And this story repeats. A build like that could have easily gone to a triumphant place, but it didn't. It ends on a lower note. So after the lovely, sad origin the strings play out the first act, and after the answering piano at around :42, perhaps one of any number of challenges put to Loewe over his years on this path, we get to the strings again at :56. And they reach up with the same question over and over and over. It's played four times in succession, going up an octave, adding other instruments, desperate and yearning. This is a soul screaming to anyone that will listen: "If" and then "Why". "If" and then "Why" "IF"... but "WHY". This haunting, repeated question is as long as the other two acts combined.

Battle with Magus (Magus Confronted) from Chrono Trigger (Track loops at 1:18)
First and foremost, after Frog pulls the Masamune against Magus, the music kicks in. If you read slowly or out loud it is not difficult to time where the wind in the track blows to when Magus's cape billows, it is not difficult for the timing to sync up at :24 with when the battle begins. Chrono Trigger was made with such care that there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that, if the game were voice acted, this would be precise. At least in the Japanese version. Ah, what could have been.
You confront the crashing horror of facing something larger than yourself from that :24 mark I mentioned. A flute kicks in with a little bit of mystery at :37. At the :47 mark, the piece takes over into a triumphant horns section, before finally, the timpani that had been the background earlier completely takes over, and leads the horns through the reality of this confrontation. You are battling Magus, The greatest magician on the planet. This timpani and horns section demands respect. Here, the piece builds toward an end that coincidentally leads to...the track loop.

A worthy fight for a boss. Now let's explain why that's wrong.

You can fight Magus twice in Chrono Trigger, but more than that, this is considered Magus's theme music. This is shown that, if you get a Magus Doppel Doll from Norstein Bekkler, it plays this theme. So this isn't just a battle theme for Magus, like any other character in the game, it's Magus's whole Leitmotif. What was happening when you confronted Magus? Why, he was attempting to summon Lavos. To kill him. How would that look, if you're Magus, and you actually believe yourself capable of defeating Lavos?

You confront the crashing horror of facing something larger than yourself. A mysterious force. But Magus expects to win, and sees himself as a hero, ridding the world of this parasite god. And after the triumphant, heroic refrain comes the crashing of timpani drums. You fool, Lavos. Now, you are battling Magus, the greatest magician on the planet. And he demands respect.

It doesn't matter that Magus was potentially overestimating his abilities. This is the theme for confronting him. It is his theme of triumph, for all that he did lose to the party, and he'd almost certainly lose to Lavos. The final piece of evidence that I have for that being the case is this: There is, in fact, a fourth time this theme will play; if you take Magus to confront Zeal, his mother. His boss music, his triumph overrides the track that would normally play here. Showing the boss who is boss, so to speak. If nothing else, you gotta admit the dude has flair.

Cmdr_King · « **Reply #5 on:** October 30, 2021, 11:59:31 PM »

A lot of mine aren't really super deep, so I may skip a bunch.

Generic/Repeatable Battle Music
1. The Gun Barrel of Battle- Lost Odyssey
2. The Decisive Battle II- Octopath Traveller: I though about nomming this as specifically Tressa's variation, but decided that plays... twice at most and wasn't really in the spirit of the category. It adds a lot though, if you're unfamiliar with how Octopath handles boss music: https://youtu.be/2RyEJXDejoc
3. Eternity- Blue Dragon
4. Battle- Xenosaga Ep. 1: My theory is that, in fact, this song is really good, when you aren't hearing it loop twice 20 times per dungeon because there's no other music in most of the combat areas.

Unique/Final Battle Music
1. JENOVA Quickening – Final Fantasy VII Remake
2. Weight of the World (Prelude)- Final Fantasy XIV
3. Apex of the World- Fire Emblem: Three Houses: The only song of these four that isn't better just experienced blind. TECHNICALLY this plays in two different maps, but both of them are the final battle of their respective routes, so just once per playthrough.
4. The Final Song- Drakengard 3

Repeatable Zone/Dungeon and Overworld Music
1. To the End of the Journey of Glittering Stars- Baten Kaitos: I largely aimed for games released since the last music tournament (give or take), but this category is a tricky one so lots of old stuff that I thought never got its due back in the day.
2. Neverending Journey- Lost Odyssey: ESPECIALLY Neverending Journey.
3. Alluring Flower -Spring- Atelier Ayesha
4. Beneath the Mask- Persona 5: Persona 5 has a lot of good music, but I damn near forgot this one for the same reason its so good. It very much sneaks up on you, presenting at first as just a minimalist ambient instrumentation piece then oh, shit, this is the most *chill* vocal on the whole OST, and just carries such an absolute vibe of "stop, just enjoy the atmosphere a minute here". Which I think is the true mark of a good map theme.

Unique Zone/Dungeon Music
1. The One Who Will Save the Earth- Lufia: Curse of the Sinistrals
2. Scala ad Caelum- Kingdom Hearts III: I have no idea if folks are gonna like this or not, but I really wanted to put some KH3 in here but also a... looooot of KH3 music wholly depends on how it plays off the themes in earlier games and fuck, KH3 is hard to talk about with even casual fans.
3. Undertale- Undertale: Undertale.
4. Judgement Day- Final Fantasy VII

Town/Hub/Shop Music
1. Leftover Dreams of the Strong- Xenogears
2. Final Expense- Hades: I felt bad not nomming something from Hades, as with KH3, but a lot of it is very sneaky and understated (vocals aside) so this is what jumped out at me as something immediately recognizable and catchy.
3. Sunlight Rondo- Atelier Ayesha
4. A Vow of Unity- Tales of Vesperia

Tension/Crisis Music
1. A Mighty Enemy Appears!- Lost Odyssey
2. On the Verge of the Assault- Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
3. Tension- Persona 5: Persona 5 has like 6 fucking songs that work for this category, this is the one that I hit upon first skimming the OST for noms.
4. Hurry- Final Fantasy X

"The Power of Friendship!" Music
1. The Great Pursuit –The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo- The Great Ace Attorney: You will notice the use of the word "Pursuit".
2. Life Will Change (Instrumental)- Persona 5: the vocal version was a powerful option as well of course, but I think that works better in the context OF this version having played for the confrontation days before then, so I ultimately went with this one.
3. Cry for your Eternity- Trails in the Sky The 3rd: Look, at least one option had to be the pepped up instrumental version of the Opening theme.
4. Velvet’s Theme- Tales of Berseria: Can you tell what category I found easiest? If you said "the one with no old games', congrats!

Wild Card
1. Opening- Persona 2 Eternal Punishment
2. Burn- Tales of Berseria
3. Exceeding Love- Suikoden III
4. schwarzweiß- Atelier Iris 3: All of these are older, Burn aside, but hey, I decided to make my own category for OPs okay.

Veryslightlymad · « **Reply #6 on:** October 31, 2021, 08:13:49 AM »

Repeatable Zone/Dungeon and Overworld Music
Twilight Green Passage from Trails of Cold Steel 4 (Loops at 1:41)
Rather than read my description at all, just.... just do yourself a favor, use your highest audio-quality device, and listen to Twilight Green Passage.

Twilight Green Passage managed to grab my attention immediately with the way notes progress. Like, Within :02 (yes, two seconds) of hearing this piece for the first time, I set my controller down and paid attention. After repeating that intro sequence of notes, at the :06 - :11 mark, I said "I think I love this track"--- this is still the intro. All it did was add a little something extra to the first two. These three sequences are themselves (essentially) repeated taking us to about :23, which just a lovely little sequence of notes, but the harmonizing notes are played slightly softer, while the violin rises in volume, so the harmony feels like a whisper. At around :32, we get a very soft tease of some of the coming trills. :48 the faster section kicks in after an absolutely effortless, elegant 2 note bridge, giving us some playful, frolicking trills before being joined by the piano at 1:00. At 1:12 it takes another turn. At 1:35, it once again, without effort, adjusts pace, and prepares for the loop. It doesn't seem like an ending for the track, it doesn't feel like it should bridge into loop, (a true loop at that), given how the piece begins, but it does. I have no idea how. Every time it bridges, it's just effortless and natural and altogether very pleasant.

You might have noticed in my attempt to describe the piece, I just sort of clinically listed various times it changes pace or tone or instrumentation or even "I don't know what's changing here, because I lack the musical background to describe it". It certainly always feels outdoorsy, and somehow happens to run through a few different emotions, I personally get a sense of hopeful longing. I didn't really discuss this. The reason for this cold, clinical description is because, at every single posted time stamp, I fell more and more deeply in love with this beautiful, elegant, lovely piece. Just, please, give it a listen.

This plays in a minority of overland fields in Cold Steel 4. Just the right amount to leave us hoping we'll get to hear it during our next excursion.

Distant Thunder from Secret of Mana (Loop at 1:36)
Something about this always seemed to fit where it first came up in the game: the lush rain forest area outside of Gaia's Navel. I like it less as a town theme, where it's used outside of... uh... whatever the city is at the lofty mountains. This area, while by no means hard, is at least the first bit of the game maybe no longer holding your hand, and the music reflects that. It's not exactly threatening, per se, but it's definitely got a bit more of a "pay attention" quality to it. That, the danger you face isn't necessarily more than nature itself, which you shouldn't underestimate. Especially when the hornets are venomous and larger than an adult human man.

I love the relentlessly repeated 7 note harmony in the background. I love the stupid snare that almost seems like it doesn't fit. Is there a proper term for something is almost a trill, but the notes it uses aren't rendered clear? Because that's what the wind instrument is doing at :25, among other places. Making it almost purr, for a lack of a better description. The section between :28-:41 is my favorite, and is essentially a chorus, to be reprised later at 1:09. We get actual trills at around :41, and you can see the difference. Some of that is just the instrument used, but not all of it. If anything, the trill is directly contrasting the other instruments. There's a really interesting texture here that grips me. I would love to hear this piece arranged for harmonica and keyboard. :42 to 1:09 is a passable fake for a Blues Traveler solo.

Dungeon Theme from StarTropics (Track Loops at :41)
Ok, this is from a 30 year old game with primitive chiptune equipment and gets stuck in my head, all the way stuck, complete with both the melody and the killer bass harmony. I swear that bass-line is nearly note for note an old 80s song, but god damn if I remember which one. What's really "impressive" here is StarTropics had a couple of tracks that weren't coded correctly. One that had its harmony screwed up and will eventually desync itself, and another that just... doesn't play the bass at all. It's crazy to think how close this classic earworm came to being utter garbage.
Weirdly, StarTropics was never exported to Japan, and thus Nintendo has no interest in it, and that's a shame. Both games were among the very best that NES had to offer, and this devastatingly cool dungeon tune definitely had something to do with it.

Traveling with Friends from Dragon Quest 2 (Track Loops at :36)
To understand why I like this track so much, two things need to be understood. The first is the time that Dragon Warrior 2 was played in my life; I was really young, either 5 or 6 when my Mom bought this. I did not play it; I merely watched and paid attention to the story, which was the first actually kind of dark story that I really got to hear, in a way. I watched Dragon Warrior, sure, and remembered it, but the sequel kicks off with a castle town being attacked by devils, and the guards and king being overrun. So there's likely some imprinting going on with my memory of the game in general.

The other thing that needs to be understood is this is the second overworld music in the game. It only plays when you've assembled all three characters, and all three characters need to be alive. In the early game when you're traveling alone, or if someone has died, you instead hear this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PswoKohVx4Y
A Lonely Youth.

I guess there's a third thing: I have a female cousin just about my own age, my very first friend. The story of not knowing where your cousin was, and finding out that she was safe, told in the limitations of NES--limitations that coincidentally forced the game to be at a child's reading level--deeply resonated with a Kindergartner VSM.

So, to me, this tiny, happy tune has always been, and almost certainly will always be where my heart goes when I'm walking along with friends, feeling happy and safe. I've hummed this at DLCons.

Unique Zone/Dungeon Music
Spiral of Erebos from Trails of Cold Steel 3 (Track loops at 3:49)
Spiral of Erebos is also used during the second intro to the game. The "credits" sequence that teases the cast of characters. However, the intro cuts a measure.
This is the final dungeon music from Cold Steel 3. It begins playing during a patented ReanSpeech to the assembled Class VIIs. After three games, the heroes finally have a glimpse of what's going on, there's an actual plot to thwart here with a real achievable objective. The collected opposition is going to be fiercer than anything they've faced before, but they've each been training relentlessly for this day for two years. Unlike in the past, there is no one left to save them, this time, and they know it. And of course the stakes have to be even higher. The weighty intro, giving way to an uplifting, confident climb at :34 both matches the tone of the Class gathering their resolve, as well as helps serve as a great intro for these reasons. It gains more and more confidence and then slams you in the face, EARLY, at just :51 with the high point of the piece. The track, like the patented ReanSpeech does its job and gets you amped for your descent into this final pit.

There are two motifs hard at work on this piece. The first begins at 1:09. It's the lower of the two, evoking the feeling of pushing on in the face of struggle. They do a mostly piano version and a mostly guitar version which gives way to a second motif at 1:43, which builds upward until about 1:52 and then comes down to bridge back into the first motif again, this time in horns, at 2:00. And it's a little bit lower sounding, but it plays the two motifs right away, relatively straight. The horns are already finished by 2:36 which goes back on strings to the first motif. And it takes its time, both on lingering on individual notes, and advancing. In fact, it doubles up on the motif. Two of only the first motif, in strings. Wrapping up at 3:10

This is where the second intro, the credits, abruptly stopped and smashed the title page "The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III" So this is also where, if you remember the piece going into the final dungeon, you expect to go back into loop. >Sigh< What a good piece.

...But Spiral of Erebos isn't done yet. It has something to say that an intro couldn't. And it plays the first motif, the struggling one, again. With a heavier hand on the piano, with a faint, yet present vocal chant. And then AGAIN before a final, plunging two-note cadence from the vocal chant. FUCK.

Spoiler Analysis: So maybe, maybe the music has something subconsciously building as you climb down and down again. Why would a piece start so triumphant and let itself hit its climax so early, not ending until nearly three whole minutes later? Why does it seem to always decrease in pitch? And speed? Why is the second iteration of the motifs, the one with the horns, so short? Why does the second motif not play ever again? And oh god, why is there another measure?!

And it's a gorgeous composition in its own right, but it fits the game really well. In the Gral of Erebos, the Final Dungeon of Cold Steel 3, you're traveling downward, unlike the "end" of CS2, where you were traveling up in the Infernal Castle. And things get darker and heavier the deeper you get. Not only that, but the usual crew of enemy shit-kickers are all present like before, and as I mentioned, there's no one available to jump in and save Class VII. They have to face these nightmares on their own. And making matters worse, they're not just the bitter enemies that you made in the first couple of games, but among them are your trusted friends and loved ones and family. Rufus. Claire. Rutger and Crow somehow. Sharon. Even Millium. Poor, stupid, brave, brilliant Millium, keeping to form and figuring out the adversary's game just a little bit faster than anyone in Class VII did for the third straight game. Only this time, she figured it all out in time to actually change the outcome, didn't she just?

And with no one to save Class VII from these foes, the old Class VII re-enact The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree, hanging back to fight their opponents while others push on. Gaius, Laura, and Emma. Then Sara, Fie, and Alisa. Finally Machias, Jusis, and Elliot. All too soon it's down to just Rean and the children of New Class VII. To face.... whatever is waiting down there alone. So the story itself contributes to the building feeling, certainly. Traveling ever downward instead of up, sure. Hell, just the fact that there's still a fourth game. But the music contributes as much as anything else, and I stand by that. The twisting, repeating first motif of Spiral of Erebos. The triumphant, uplifting second motif being played only twice... first in soulful strings, but secondly in horns--uplifting, yes, but aren't they considered uplifting because horns is how you rallied a battered army? But back to the first motif, that damnedable, struggling motif. Again and again. And then two more, secret times, and utter finality of that vocal chant cadence before going into loop. Somewhere, all of these disparate pieces come together and crush you beneath the weight of the truth:

You've worked tirelessly for two years. You've all come together for this plunge into darkness. It is the end of the game. The stakes have never been higher. No one will come to save you.

And you are going to lose.

Spiral of Erebos is a work of genius.

SnowFire · « **Reply #7 on:** October 31, 2021, 08:22:34 AM »

Generic/Repeatable Battle Music
1. What Lies at the End - Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJzRSxGILQQ )
This is Alm's team's battle music in Chapter 4. It's super good and helps disguise some thin characterization by making you feel like this is a band of brothers you've suffered through a lot with, but you're almost there.
2. Battle at Journey's End - Octopath Traveler (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TchYbL41eYU )
Music for the fourth chapter bosses in Octopath Traveler. Awesome. It's kinda borderline between repeatable & final battle music, but based on Laggy's guidelines, I think it's closer to this - plays 8 times for unrelated bosses, and there's a final-er boss later.
3. Normal Battle - Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwED8gUbvYM )
Just what it says on the tin.
4. The Shackled Wolves (Rain) - Fire Emblem Three Houses ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRz3gZ2tJ9c )
The DLC for FE3H brought some strangely awesome tracks (Corridors of the Tempest is also super good, the music that plays for grinding Aux battles!). There's a lot of great music in 3H but some of the others are tied up in messy event / battle / etc., but this is just straight up the theme for the Ashen Wolves fighting it out. Lots of drama, fun times.

Unique/Final Battle Music
1. Twilight of the Gods - Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5YGxMjywSk )
Final boss in Echoes.
2. for you and for me - A Rose in the Twilight ( https://youtu.be/yOtS4msCntw?t=1766 ) (Sorry, couldn't find just this track, but timestamp in link should work)
This is the first boss theme in A Rose in the Twilight against a mysterious foe who might not even really be a foe. (There are only two bosses, scroll to the end of the soundtrack for the other one.) It's a nice moody & atmospheric soundtrack, but "specific place" themes are already overstuffed.
3. Your Contract Has Expired - A Hat in Time ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrzjCwHbwF0 )
This is the boss theme for Snatcher, an evil but also slightly goofy ghost-like thing bent on stealing souls via contracts. He's simultaneously threatening and silly, and the music makes fighting him awesome.
4. Spurred into Light, Drenched and Fallen - The Night Rises - Bravely Default 2 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuSD-ft_buo )
This is the music for the C5 final boss in BD2, and includes a notable remix of Wicked Flight from BD1. It's appropriate for how it's used in BD2, as well.

Repeatable Zone/Dungeon and Overworld Music
1. Land of Sorrow - Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdukGRFZUws )
This is the overworld music in C4 of Echoes. See "What Lies At The End", it does a fine job of selling, well, a land of sorrow.
2. Skies of a Strange Land - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSmJUB74bdM )
Overworld music in Trails of Cold Steel, most notably outside Celdic, the first non-Trista town you visit.
3. The Winter Breeze - I Am Setsuna ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKplG0Uppt4 )
Overworld music in IAS. IAS's soundtrack was a bit too laid back at times for its own good, but this was one of the better songs on it, probably the best.
4. Endless Battlefield - Adventures of Mana ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8jHkgzQbEc )
First overworld music in AoM, the remake of FFL1.

-
Unique Zone/Dungeon Music
This is like the most overstuffed category of the whole set, since lots of games only have specific music for each area these days, at least the ones with larger budgets!
1. The Whims of Fate - Persona 5 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58p--cGb8Rw )
The music that plays in a subconscious mind-casino. Note: the legal system should not be a rigged casino.
2. The Hunt - River City Girls ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br4PStzUQIA )
RCG had a shockingly good soundtrack. This plays in the mall which, like everything else in River City, is filled with people eager to brawl for no reason, but the general thrust is, well, the hunt - Our Heroines are trying to find / save their boyfriends, and if that means beating the snot out of everyone, so be it.
3. Orbital Elevator - Cyber-Shadow ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXhpeqw4Zks )
Cyber-Shadow has a pretty neat chiptuney soundtrack, but part of what makes it good makes it hard to use in a tournament - it'll have three variants of the same theme that advance as you progress through a level, and I couldn't find a version that combined them all sanely. Instead, I took this track, which is for the last area. Rather than going all heroic and exciting, this music is grim and determined. The bad guy is on top of a giant space elevator, and you have to climb to reach him, so that you can undertake one more grim task afterward. It's too late to stop now.
4. Phantasmal Blaze - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJhL-QZfZ9M )
Final dungeon music in ToCS2. It's so good, it might make you overlook how aggravating some of its plot points are.

Town/Hub/Shop Music
1. Rimedahl, the Snowbound Land - Bravely Default 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iq-Tgrsz09w)
I really liked this music. It's a snowy town of religious zealots. There's a cool organ version of this, too, that plays inside the church ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg8g6QjQA0Y ).
2. The Sound of Rainfall at the Academy - The Legend of Heroes - Trails of Cold Steel ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV_zh3Q7N14 )
Name says it all, right? Music that plays on rainy days.
3. Stolen Dreams, Lost Light - Octopath Traveler ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNLj5NIXqB4)
The fucked town music, pretty much. The towns this plays in are run by psychotic warlords executing everyone, or an evil religious cult, or a band of thieves that got their hands on a magic artifact, etc. It's pretty creepy, which is the point.
4. Tokyo Emergency - Persona 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al24_JVxQfU )
Emergency, we gotta chill in Tokyo RIGHT NOW

Tension/Crisis Music
1. Train Rush - A Hat in Time ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9zvAVH-tsw )
To win the bird movie awards, our new space alien actress must advance along a train that is busy exploding and/or shooting lava or disconnecting or other exciting horrible things. More realistic that way. Is this a snuff film or something?
2. Security Breach - A Hat in Time ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZNlMCKfDNk )
The B-side remix for the Seal the Deal challenge version of infiltrating Dead Bird Studios. What if Solid Snake tried to sneak into a birds-only production lot, except security was tripled and they shot homing missiles at intruders?
3. Ambidexterity - Virtue's Last Reward (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se81-O0te-E& )
A remix of Unary Game from 999, which wasn't actually that good, but the remix is definitely better. VLR plays it for the prisoner's dilemmas to amp up the tension.
4. Escaping a Foul Presence - Ori and the Will of the Wisps ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddhdi-kIr_c )
This is the escape music in the first escape I believe in Will of the Wisps. Which was way too easy, I beat it first try, but hey, still cool music at least.

"The Power of Friendship!" Music
1. Risking Everything, Here We Stand - The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6jFYCAvklc )
This category... I dunno. The description isn't actually that often The Power of Friendship, so I've gone with a mix. Anyway, this music plays toward the very very end of the game - after the final dungeon, actually. Shit has gone down, and a threat way, way beyond Our Heroes paygrade approaches. They decide to face it anyway, perhaps just to slow it down, but because it needs to be done. It includes a variant of "Atrocious Raid", which plays at the very start of the game and also at a climactic point 2/3 of the way through, so closing out with it provides some nice narrative connectivity.
2. The Invincible Rainbow Arrow - AI: The Somnium Files (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=272GrLpPSQo )
This one is just pure Power of Friendship, on the other hand.
3. Telepathy of the Beginning - Tokyo Xanadu ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BznUmL_DlT8 )
Gonna be honest, I didn't finish TX. I think this plays in the ending sequences? It's very Falcomy power of friendship, though.
4. A Vow Remembered - Fire Emblem Three Houses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUWU_A6hHsk
Going by Laggy's definition a bit more strictly. This is the music that plays before most final chapter maps in 3H to get you pumped for the final conflict. (I considered nom'ing FE Fates Revelation's battle prep music, which I find strangely neat, but I think it plays a little too often to qualify. It still fits the "epic things are happening" theme at least, and it is the back third of a FE Fates playthrough I guess?! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0w11nzDiiA for the curious.)

Wild Card
1. Reincarnation - Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbxxTh9xTTA&list=PLr5WFHzH3jwHJOpMs8CJeSvrq-Ngvknd2)
KOWASHITAI!
2. Die Anywhere Else - Night in the Woods ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2UUFFMGcgY )
Sierra nod.
3. Wit's End - Exit/Corners ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUdEGdZNBSo )
I dunno, I just played this one and it was cool. Maybe also valid for the Tension category? Final puzzle set music before the final showdown.
4. Susato Mikotoba: A New Bloom In The New World - The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0p9dnXRA5g )
Also doesn't really fit anywhere (character themes for a category at the next music tourney?!), but it's pretty awesome and helps makes Susato likable. She's your assistant in GAA and is easily the most competent assistant in the entire franchise, which is a pleasant change of pace from how often the assistant is too much the comic relief goofball.

Veryslightlymad · « **Reply #8 on:** October 31, 2021, 11:05:58 AM »

Black Dream from Chrono Trigger (Loop at 1:20)
Earlier, I played this for my 10 year old niece, who loved it. Apropos of nothing.

Would it surprise you to know this is my favorite track from Chrono Trigger, a game with a very, very good soundtrack? It has this mysterious wispy intro, something that takes full advantage of using a chip-synth, because I have no earthly idea how you would play that with instruments, and a vocal chant would't quite hit just right either, but is probably the best someone could get. I'm unfairly biased here, because I imported the official OST for an unreasonable amount of money, though I played the hell out of it. I say this biases me, because goddamn, on album, it pans the (harp?! it's synth) at :06 to :16 from ear to ear, which is just chilling in the best way. Obviously, you won't get that effect on a TV.

That first, ultra high note of the piano is a real attention grabber, like something just appears, hauntingly in space, all at once, giving way to trills (apparently I like trills. This tournament has taught me something about myself) and a rolling, purring bass. The way the track builds at :39 is incredibly simple, no-frills rock-and-roll kind of stuff, ultimately allowing the drums to take the lead at about 1:06, with the piano only lightly interrupting with a stray chord here and there.

All of what I, a person who has no understanding of how to play music, would assume were the difficult parts of this song are over in the first 40 seconds. It's honestly not very complex. It just... maximizes what it is to paint a picture of a deeply mysterious, ghostly, menacing place that just appeared one day. You will understand that from the music. You know how I know?

Paraphrasing, this is what my 10 year old niece thought when I played her the track. Well done, Mr. Mitsuda. You nailed it.

Flame Mammoth from Megaman X (Track "Loops" at :53)
Flame Mammoth is a banger. I always pictured this as an opening credits theme to a TV show. Intro kicks in, the three big chords hit as the title smashes the screen, lingering for a second or two, and then the cast is given credit at around :18 on.
One thing I love about this track that deserves its own mention, since it's fairly interesting for a video game track---it overlays loops. What I mean is, when the track goes into loop at :53, it's still holding the last note, and it holds this note for quite some time while the track spins up again. And something about this just.... keeps it banging. I remember a lot of tracks from Megaman X. I'm sure this isn't the most popular one (if I had to guess, I would assume Storm Eagle or Sting Chameleon or one of the boring intro levels takes it), but it's my favorite. Deal with it.

Marble Garden Zone (Act 1) from Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Loops around 1:00)
The Sega Genesis had one of the jankiest onboard sound chips ever. There's another piece I nommed that is a small miracle in not sounding like tinny, sci-fi garbage (although, I will say, for the Phantasy Star series, incidentally on Genesis, this is exactly the right sound, and it's cool and good) Sonic games tended to all have good music, but they all also embraced the jank. Marble Garden Zone tries to do something a bit different than a lot of the other Zones, where, instead of going in on the Sci-Fi feeling, or the cheerful adventure feeling that most Sonic tracks do, it tries to tap into something mysterious, lost, and emotional. And somehow, against all logic or reason, at least to my ear, it succeeds. When the primary instrument (I mean, some kind of plucked string instrument, but it's jank-synth) at :08, it has a workmanlike quality. We're briefly given a few notes of a kind we'd have when something is being built. Steel structures. Rail-roads. Muscles. It's a building piece. At :26 it, very matter of factly, almost whimsically, tells us no, until about :42, bit by bit, falling down, the accompanying instruments almost giggling at it.

And the music from :42 until the loop is indescribably emotional to me. The feeling of yearning for something that was lost long before you ever had a chance to find it. You know why I nominated this track? That part from :42 on, man, I get in a mood sometimes, and I can be out on a walk by myself, or I can see some abandoned building or some broken down piece of machinery or my own reflection on the side of a store or any other number of inexplicably sad things, that I can't fix and I whistle this portion of this piece. This small section of notes has perfectly captured an emotion that I barely have a word for, much less one that I can describe. How can you miss something that you never had? I'll fess up, I couldn't remember which zone in which game this was. I had to search for this one. I thought it was one of the stages in Sonic 2. God, it'd be perfect if this were played in a ruins of some kind. So I checked and oh, it was Marble Gardens. Beautiful. They nailed it.

Town/Hub/Shop Music
Rose Town from Super Mario RPG (Repeats at :27)
This came at the perfect time in my list. Some tracks are powerfully sad. Some tracks are mysterious. Some tracks are high-octane thrill rides. Rose Town is joyous. We need that in our lives from time to time. It's fun. I love how the little accompaniment that first kicks in at about :07 almost sounds like it's saying "wa-hoo!" I love how it almost tells an old timey big-band jazz story at about :16. This track is less than 30 seconds. That makes it shorter than quite a few NES tracks, let alone SNES, let alone late SNES. And yet, it's so insistently happy. I'll take these fleeting joyous moments over all the maudlin shit in the world.

This is one of my shorter descriptions, but make no mistake: Rose Town is one of the first two tracks I thought of when I saw the categories. It might have been the first.

Underneath the Rotting Pizza from Final Fantasy VII (Loop at 1:43)
(Speaking of maudlin shit)
If this played anywhere other than the Slums, I'd put it in the tension category. But because of what it is, and because it plays in the Slums, it's the perfect track for that town.

OK, first off, I love, love the heavy industrial sounds going on in here. Early on, it kicks off with these little "pay attention" cymbals. It's got the faintest few notes of an acoustic guitar from time to time. This could have easily fallen into the Tension category. Especially when the "Now I am haunting you" version of the FFVII leitmotif kicks in just before :30, and the drums and bass go full on heart-beat mode, before switching out of the heart-beat and using that cadence to close to the next portion of the piece. Here, it largely follows note for note what came before, to the point where you would be forgiven if you thought the track loop had already occurred, but it has not. I think that fake loop is one of the two main reasons why this is my favorite track from Final Fantasy VII, even above the various bangers. When we get back to where the FFVII leitmotif was in the first go through, (at about 1:19) we instead find we're no longer haunted by concept of a game setting, and instead, by an unknown, rising horror. The heart beat goes and it goes and it builds like before and then.....
Nothing. No cadence. Back into loop. That anticlimax is the other, larger, main reason why this is my favorite track from the game. You're driven ever forward with this desperate, tense, haunted music. The fake out loop even ended with a cadence, like you're living backward. It's hiding something. There's more to this track than what I'm hearing right? There's got to be something else. Someone's got to do something. Keep listening. Maybe I'll figure it out this time. It can't just drop off. That would be so.... so.....

Town Theme from The Legend of Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
Honestly, I probably just nommed this because of how often it gets stuck in my head. I can't even break it down. It's just indelibly burned into my mind. I was four when this came out in North America. Did you know Zelda 2 came out in Canada first? I'm not entirely sure why that happened, but my mom and aunt weren't going to wait, and they drove across the border and stuffed their cartridges under mine and my cousin's car seats to smuggle them through customs. Imprinting, man. This is just what towns sound like now. Thanks, Mom.
.........I wonder if my social anxiety is at all related to a long-suppressed fear of people spontaneously turning into bats.

Lively Town from Shining Force 2 (Loop at 1:38)
You know, when this contest started, I did not have four town themes. I had two, and I just... thumbed through basically everything I'd played. Towns, shops, hell, I tried menu select music to try to stretch. Without a thorough search, I might have forgotten this jewel of a piece.
The first thing is, this somehow has none of the usual Genesis Jank. It sounds... synthesized, yes, but in a reasonable facsimile of instruments. And more than just that, but arrangements of instruments. It only takes about 3 seconds to get into a motif for the piece, and what a lovely, cheerful little motif it is, with a nice little synthesized tuba and slide trumpet supplying the harmony bits. Actually, aside from the bell or triangle like ringing on the second trip through the motif, almost the entire piece feels like it's done with wind instruments. (There's this tinkling down plucked string instrument at about 1:13) Was that the secret to the Genesis all along? Could it have rendered really great sounds if anyone had bothered to compose for the right instruments? Guess it's all moot now. I like how on the second trip down the motif when it gets to the part that almost resembles a happy chorus, at the :59 mark, there's now a second instrument singing along with the first one, and they're just happy together.
We're briefly teased with something other than relentless optimism, as there's this shy trio of notes at 1:20 that get whistled right over-top of. Oh no! And after the cheerful whistling, it bumps unexpectedly into the sadness at 1:26. What's wrong friend? And they're told something sad. Let me think about what to do. Oh, I know just the thing. A quick, six note bridge, and then bam, right back into loop and the infectious optimism from the start of the track. Just keep moving. Yeah, that feels like townspeople music, in the best possible way.

I don't know how I'd describe it, musically, but the section from :28 to :38, both times it appears in the piece, is my favorite part. That's the bit that tells you this nameless townsperson won't let anything keep them down. What a delightful old find.

DragonKnight Zero · « **Reply #9 on:** November 01, 2021, 12:28:01 AM »

And the rest of mine; Only a few for now. I'll edit in more when I'm in less of a rush.

Unique battle:

1. Love Colored Magic - Touhou IaMP - Marisa day theme: Of course I'm going to throw in a theme from my favorite fictitious character. This is a remix of her theme from PC-98 when she was introduced as an enemy. More advanced sound capabilities (among other factors) lead to a peaceful mix that like how a cute, blond, girly-girl witch would spend a peaceful incident-free day relaxing.

2. Einhander - final boss theme: It was between this one and the second half of stage 6. I guess I could have nommed both but stuck to one and this won the coinflip. Einhander has some neat tunes. Being able to hear them all the way through is another matter since the game has one-hit kills and being sent back to a checkpoint. Most likely the fight will end before this track loops, win or lose.
There's more context to the fight than the average shmup though how much of it carries into the music I can't get a read on.

3. Losing the Inescapable Nightmare, an unending reality - Wild Arms 3 - Beatrice boss fight: Lots of good tunes in Wild Arms 3. Many of them succeed in sounding Wild West-ish too which didn't narrow down the choices much. I nommed this one specifically because it can't be logged into the in-game music test (as well as the final boss theme, among others) as it only plays past the last time the game can be saved.
Giving it a closer listen, yes it does evoke that sense of finality. This is a showdown with the being most responsible for the state of things on Filgaia. She's been manipulating events from behind the scenes both before and during the timeline of the game. And it's time to bring the nightmare the planet has been in to an end. Indeed it will be a nightmare if no one has sleep ward. Unlike the Necron ass-pull, she does make appearance throughout the game that the player probably didn't realize the first time through and various text shows signs of her influence that become noticeable on a replay.

Overworld tunes -

1. Fields of Time - Chrono Cross: Never played the game, heard it in a randomizer/ROMhack. Thought it was an interesting fan remix of Crono's theme when I heard it. Heh, I was half right at most. It is a remix but it was for a commercial game. No I don't know where it's truly used but it sounds overworldy and the randomizer placed it as an overworld track.

2. Xenogears - overworld theme: Remembered Stars of Tears first but that's not used anywhere during the game itself. So the instrumental mix of it is the next best thing.

Town/hub themes -

1. Atelier Ayesha - Ayesha's workshop: I wanted an Ayesha Altugle track and I had plenty of free slots in town hub nominations so here it is. This track just sounds nice; I don't really think too hard about it. But it does land the lonely and melancholy feels of her life prior to the events of the game. She's lost someone dear to her but life goes on. Hmm, considering transcribing the composer commentary in the Extras instead of my rambling.

2. Secret of Mana - Empire towns: A lot of the appeal for me does come from the context of when the tune is first encountered. The previous legs of the journey have been in Ice Country and the Kakkara desert. After so much extreme cold and extreme heat (not to mention Howlers with their insane hitboxes, enemies immune to physicals, and being set on fire by various foes), I was definitely ready for a change of scenery. Taking Cannon Travel to a new location and being greeted by this tune? Felt so refreshing seeing greenery again too. This theme is shared by all the towns under the Empire's banner.
Such an easygoing piece for the cruel Empire. But background info that gets somewhat lost in translation reveals that they weren't always warmongers and that pursuit of conquest started about 15 years ago. Isn't that right around when Thanatos joined the Emporer's advisor circle? Hmmm. Even setting aside the resistance, not all of the citizens share in the pursuit of conquest. And some have more... material aspirations, heh.

Tension -

Captain America and the Avengers AC - boss at low power: Nominating Captain America's theme from Marvel Super Heroes would be a natural move for me. But I have more fun pulling a bait and switch and remembered this game existed. So I still nom a Captain America theme. Game is hammy and campy and the voice acting and quotes are so ridiculously entertaining. The music in most boss battles will change to this when the boss is at low power and thus, close to defeat.
So why is this in the tension category? Because the pressure is likely to be on for the player to not lose when close to victory. Otherwise, 'America still needs your help" and the player is likely to feel like a chump coming so close only to croak.

Power of Friendship

1. Flight - Xenogears - various dramatic scenes: This is a piece that can trigger emotions in me. There's something about it that feels so uplifting. First shows up at some dramatic scenes in Shevat where Maria gets closure. Some may feel it doesn't quite fit the chu-ransformation scene which is when this track is first played in game. Well, Mitsuda (the composer) didn't like it there either, if my source is accurate.

2. Battle of Eight Beat - Disgaea - various scenes and battles: I find I associate this track most with a scene late in the game. The team is all together but there's a force field blocking their progress. They try to overcome it in groups and are all met with failure. Only when they combine their powers together do they overcome the plot obstacle. And the track keeps playing during the battle.
Disgaea being Disgaea, most music is multipurpose. The track first appears in one of Etna's episode previews where the context is far less heroic. It shows up in various dramatic scenes across the game and in a few battles too. (or in some cases, like the Prsim Rangers, where someone tries to be dramatic and fails miserably)
Of course, I could lead the audience into believing I have a weird silly reason for choosing this track. Wasn't on my mind at the time but this is the track playing during the fight with the Horse Wiener Zombie and is the first time the track is played during a battle.

3. The Earth - Lufia 1: Never played the game, heard it in a randomizer/ROMhack It just has that friendship intangible quality. Or because the randomizer replaced Searching For Friends with it so I categorized it as friendship and didn't think too hard about it.

Veryslightlymad · « **Reply #10 on:** November 01, 2021, 12:36:46 AM »

OK, I'm trying to learn music terminology somewhat on the fly, and since I can't edit my other posts for some reason and because I'm cripplingly pedantic, I'm compelled to state that I repeatedly have been using the word "harmony" incorrectly, when I should in most cases be calling the complimentary instruments a countermelody, as they almost always play a completely different sequence than the main instruments. Harmonies are apparently in harmony, which, yeah, fair play on the name there, I guess.

~~~
Tension/Crisis Music
The Enforcers from Trails in the Sky: SC (Loop at 1:25)
From the audience's perspective, this is a remix of an earlier tension track, Conspiracy. The Leitmotif is revisited here. Conspiracy plays, largely when you're not directly confronting the antagonists, and the parts that are done with the heavily distorted guitar in the Enforcers are first introduced to us in this lazy, snake charming (bassoon? guessing woodwinds is difficult) and orchestral chimes. Conspiracy is nearly as good of a track. When the force is actively confronted, um, fatefully I suppose, we're treated with a third take on the Leitmotif, Fateful Confrontation, which physically pained me to not nominate for this tournament, but I thought the same leitmotif used twice was a bit overkill and didn't. (I then would go on to break my own rule with Blue Destination and I'll Remember You)

If it helps with my story, here are the other two tracks for your pleasure:
Conspiracy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LaBi784zn0
And Fateful Confrontation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ok9bzDzaS0

So, before even getting into the piece itself, when looked at just as its place in this trio of takes on the Enforcers' leitmotif, we can see that it rests in an uncomfortable middle spot. Conspiracy is the threat in theory, something dangerous is there, and you don't know what it is. Fateful Confrontation is the threat fully realized, an actual battle against the impossible strength of the enforcers. And their titular theme, The Enforcers, then, is somehow resting on the very knife's edge. The enemy is there and you are witness to it, but it's not yet confronting you. So it somehow has the mystery and the hypothetical danger mixed with the realized, apparent menace. The Enforcers is one of the most menacing themes I've heard.
It opens with the mysterious bit played with a very... uh... buzzing instrument, or at least it's played in a buzzing way. It's meant to spike your adrenaline in the way that you'd respond to an angry bee, raising the hackles immediately. This is accompanied by the heart-beat trick being done with the percussion, to build that up further. (Sidenote: I simply adore that incredibly subtle drumroll at about :09... it's like gathering thunder before a huge crash. Seriously. Go back and listen for it. Genius.) All this does is build alarm before the real power of the threat reveals itself at :21. The distorted electric guitar tells us that its a sadistic force, it keeping with the extant motif tells us that it's an unknowable, mysterious one. And then finally, at 1:04, it goes all in on the malevolent, distorted sadism, (to the point where some of the held notes almost sound like the guitar burning) being accompanied by a harmonized vocal chant, to hammer home the twinned facts that not only is this nightmare you've come face to face with gleeful in its malevolence, but it is something far beyond your power. Not yet fighting you, but you're right there where one wrong move could lead to that disastrous outcome. And what most represents tension? It is the wire-thin line between an unknown danger and fighting for your life.

Only a Plank Between One and Perdition from Final Fantasy VIII (Loop at 1:10)
One thing this exercise has taught me: Basically FFVIII's entire OST is tension songs. It's a tense game. I could analyze why I went with this one more in depth, or some of what the piece is doing between sections, but really, it's all about the percussion and bass supplied by the piano. It does not need anything else to get its point across. And it makes this point emphatically at :44 when it drops the countermelody entirely and focuses on the bass-line, to be rapidly joined (About :55) by the percussion doing the heartbeat thing, but with the second heartbeat sound (>Shrug< that's what it's called) cut out, focusing only on the main beat, quite elevated indeed from a resting heart rate.
Also, the title is fantastic, but in a way that also cuts to the heart of what it's about.

Dragon Theme from Gemfire (Loop at 1:04)
So the Dragon Theme is, as it says on the tin, the theme that plays whenever the Dragon is in battle. This overrides all other battle music, including the other two special themes, for the Pastha (a water dragon that willingly fights for kind and gracious leaders) and the Wyvern (....a generic monster that inexplicably has its own theme). And, as the Dragon is the special unit for the game's primary antagonist, Eselred, you could make a fair argument that it belongs in the unique boss category, and hey, why not.
However, theoretically, you can go an entire game without encountering the dragon. Special units or "fifth" units as the game calls them, at least the six wizards and the dragon that are tied to the various jewels of the crown, Gemfire, have a cool down between uses. So if, say, Eselred is fighting someone else, there's a reasonable chance that you can attack while the dragon is resting inside the ruby at the head of the crown. But you'll almost certainly still hear this music, because it plays at a very different point in the game: Every single time someone attacks you, before you go to combat. While you're scrambling around making decisions on whether to fight or flee, and if flee, then to where, and if fight, then using what fifth unit, this will be playing in the background, with its threatening, driving rhythm. Prince Erin, Oswald is attacking us. From word go, it kicks off with a hammering pulse of tense notes. When its joined in harmony at about :20, it seems to underline the need for a correct decision. And when you've finally made all your decisions, and lets say you fight, it'll cut out, load the fight, and before the screen loads, it'll load the music for the fight. All of the fight music is excellent. But sometimes, when you're fighting one of Eselred's men, it'll cut the music, go to black, and before it comes back in, START PLAYING THE DRAGON THEME AGAIN which is pure despair given form. Instead of going from disaster music to showdown music or dueling music or lengthy siege music, the game sometimes decides to go from "possible disaster" to "actual disaster".

Let's talk about it for a second. The God. Damned. Dragon. Gemfire, tragically, is kind of an easy game. It can be beaten in five minutes, I believe. But let's say you're not exploiting RNG oddities and moving all your troops to the front lines and investing nothing in farming or disaster protection and so on, and you're playing the game like the developer intended, and sometimes you actually fight the Dragon. Gemfire is a very simple tactical game where, in battle, your troops are divided into five categories. Unit 1 is Cavalry, Units 2 and 4 are Heavy and Light Infantry (To differentiate them artistically. Mechanically, they are identical), and Unit 3 is archers. Your troops are divided by 4 and assigned evenly to the four units, with any excess going to Cavalry. The maximum number of troops you can have in a battle is 999, so one unit of 252 and three units of 249. Realistically, you're probably fighting with at most half those numbers, usually more like a third or fewer, depending on how late in the game it is. Units deal more damage by attacking the flanks and rear, and melee units are subjected to counter attacks, which are much more dangerous on frontal assaults. Units will also deal more or less damage based on the War Power score of their commander, and the war power score of the opposing commander. So a really good commander can get away with frontal charges against a terrible one. Additionally, you can deploy a "fifth" unit, which might consist of hired mercenaries or monsters, with a set number of troops, and sometimes they do ever so slightly more damage than their human counterparts. However, there are six gems that were cast across the country and found their way into the hands of various petty princes, and these house the six great wizards who sealed away the dragon, who resides in the ruby in Eselred's crown. Unlike all the other units, wizards and the dragon deal damage based off of their current strength, and instead of being counter attacked, will always lose a set percentage of their health, which ranges from 110 to 160. Their set damage dealt on an attack is still empowered by flanking or rear assaults, but it disregards war power entirely.

So why is the dragon so scary?

Well, it has 160 health, which matches the strongest of the six wizards. It only moves 2 spaces instead of 3, so 3 of the wizards are faster, but unlike the wizards, where some can attack at range 1 and others can attack at range 2, the dragon can attack at range 1 and range 2. In practice this means that of the 6 wizards, exactly one of them has the mobility and health to repeatedly force the dragon into losing exchanges. Otherwise, it will always trade flanks and frontal attacks in a pattern, or, against the melee wizards, it will repeatedly trade flanks. It also deals more damage than a wizard at equal health would, which means that an even trade with the dragon, even if you initiate and thus have an early HP advantage will not become even unless you initiated perfectly with the 160 strength wizard (Pluvius), or engage perfectly with the 150 strength wizard (Zendor), your unique, plot important, cheating BS unit is guaranteed to lose a solo fight against the dragon. You must bring your mortal troops to the confrontation. And unlike the wizards who fix themselves, raising an army is a lengthy investment in resources and time. And if the dragon smells blood, he'll go for it. It may be a tactical error, but you'll watch your men die in droves if it brings its horrible, horrible breath upon them. And should they attack it, the counter attack damage is devastating at high health, even if the leaders' war power is lopsided in your favor. It's a nightmare of an opponent that you must always take seriously, or you'll either lose or score an incredibly Pyrrhic victory. I would argue, rather than considering it a boss fight, not considering the tension of the pre-battle music, not considering the added tension and horror that comes from the pre-battle music cutting to the same dilemma music-- a tactical fight with the dragon on the field is, itself, the height of tension, as you must, at some point, make a decision to gamble with your precious troops. At any point, you could lose an entire unit in one cruel breath. When will you be ok with that potential sacrifice?

So back to the track itself, since you won't get to :39 during battle setup. And at :39 the music takes a turn where, the beat is still hammering away with the same intensity, although the percussion also acquires somewhat of a marching beat, and here, the melody changes from despair and tension to a rising, confident, hopeful sound. The first instrument sings its notes out, is joined again by a second, then a third, and then a fourth, in harmony, one for every mortal unit, singing together in this hopeful canon as it goes through this joyous sequence twice. And then is cut off at :58 by one harsh, high ringing note, a descending two note cadence and 9 note bridge back into loop, and right back to the initial tension and horror. You are fighting the fucking dragon.

Or had you forgotten?

Search ~ Core from Phoenix Wright, Ace Attorney: Justice for All (Loops somewhere around :50?)
Full disclaimer, I've never played these games. I can't convince my niece to play with me, and puzzle games like these don't feel right alone, given that they were what I always played with my Mom and sister growing up. So I instead just watched a no-commentary play-through, as I heard they were quite good. And you know what? Yeah, the first three games are excellent.

Spoiler Analysis: So I'm not completely sure that this track hits the same way that it would in a "real" play-through of the game, but as a refresher, before this became "just another tension track" in game 3, it was first used in one of the tensest moments of the second game, where Your client, Matt Engarde, reveals that, yes, he actually is the one who hired the assassin. An assassin who, by the way, has kidnapped Maya and will only release her unharmed on the condition that you make sure that Matt Engarde is found Not Guilty of Murder. A crime he's technically both guilty of and being framed for. So you're left with a choice of defend a man that you know is guilty, or perhaps kill your dear friend. And even though the player has already been warned this is the case, by de Killer and the cat door door being in Matt's apartment, Wright doesn't know for sure, though he was figuring it out. And the tension in the music still seems to work. (Just as a side note, unrelated to the track, I wanted to say that the little thing the game does--with the lights being turned off and taking an extra second to load the apartment screen, so you know that something big is up, but rather than anything right smash in the center of the screen, the reveal is the door placed subtly off to the side-- that's great. When that came up, I angrily declared "Son of a bitch!" So as cheesy as the series can be, it can absolutely make you invested in it.

So what interesting things are the track doing. Well, it has the buzzing that The Enforcers did, but after that, it has this nice, evil sounding bass that drives most of the tune. The buzzing isn't just limited to the intro, and is repeated late, and accordingly, the tension in this first scene doesn't exactly stop when the scene is over, it sets up yet more tension and fear. Like quite a few tense tracks, it also uses the percussion to take a heartbeat kind of rhythm, but while The Enforcers is a steady heartbeat that makes you aware of it, and while plank is just the first heart sound and played quite rapidly, Search ~ Core, while using the heartbeat trick with both the bass and percussion at points, nonetheless uses it much less frequently, to show a slow heartbeat, eventually trying to steady itself into a more stable rhythm around :44 and losing the second heartbeat sound in the process. Thus, a different mood is created. This is not "Something scary has made me keenly aware of my heartbeat" this is not "My heart is beating steadily and rapidly because of something scary" this is what your heart does when something causes your blood pressure to rapidly drop, as the bottom falls out of your stomach and you struggle to catch your breathing and get back to normal. Dread. This is that kind of tension.

Veryslightlymad · « **Reply #11 on:** November 01, 2021, 06:29:43 AM »

"The Power of Friendship!" Music
Intro (2 movements) from Megaman 2 (Second Movement loops at 1:16)
This might be cheating. I'm calling this two movements, but the reality is, these are two different tracks. You can skip the first part and jump straight to the second one, which does, by simply pressing Start.

I'm also not sure I need to talk about this one. It's clearly meant to be played together, and the title screen music is fairly hype, but it's the intro movie and the music that plays into the title music that makes it a "Power of Friendship" track. That's all I got. The video I used shows the bloody intro, so, the best thing you can do for context is just watch it.

Pressing Pursuit ~ Cornered - Variation from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Loops somewhere in the :34-:36 second range)
The most interesting questions raised about this track are why do I insist on using the variation instead of just the regular theme, and do I think that the cheesy extra sounds actually make the piece better?
Well, the answer to the second question is, "not really" but I do think this better fits the category of "Power of Friendship!" for all that the explicit instructions said it didn't need to be about the power of friendship. But this is the version that sticks with me, and while the regular version has its own "I'm gathering speed and building confidence" effect going on in its intro, by starting with the harsher notes just a bit earlier than the regular version, we get a different effect---that of a very sudden and unexpected boost to our confidence, possibly from an unforeseen direction. And that is reflected in gameplay. I'm sure the variation plays in a few different instances, but the one that stands out to my mind is the one that makes the series go from "I guess this does seem fairly fun and clever" to "Holy shit, I think this has potential to be great." That is to say, the Steel Samurai case.
Because, unlike the previous cases where Wright built up a head of steam and cornered his witness, as befitting the name of the piece, and befitting the regular theme starting with that rolling intro, in this case, Cornered is triggered by an objection from Edgeworth. Erm.... three distinct times. In succession. OK, so it takes a minute for his brain to catch up to his brain, but it's incredibly rewarding to see in the first and third times he tries. Because, by now, you've been trained like one of Pavlov's dogs to know that this music means you've got the bastard. So even though it has a couple of false starts, in that brief, shining second before that first false start, your heart is yelling "YES! GET HER ASS, EDGEWORTH" or maybe your mouth is saying it, because you live alone and ain't no one gonna complain about you reacting to media. "Power of Friendship!" music is supposed to be music meant to raise morale or get you hype for something epic, and regardless of variant, Cornered certainly does this. It's how you know you're oh-so-close to winning. But I give bonus points to literally showing the power of friendship, for what else would you call two good men working together from different sides to find the truth?
Musically, other than the sheer "get hype" driving beat this has going for it, one thing I like is how at :20 (in this variant) the music is almost repeated, but the tone is different and some subtle changes are made to the notes, but the shape of everything is the same. It's sort of, itself, reminiscent of how one of the lawyers would restate and rephrase what is said, before pointing out the key contradiction that buries the opposing case.
(FUN FACT! I was >< this close to making my commentary for this piece: "I was hoping to come up with a comment while nominating. ...I didn't.")

Ashita e no Kiseki from Trails of Cold Steel 4 (Track does not loop)
Musically, since this is a vocalized piece, I really can't comment on the music itself with the same degree, since I find vocals distracting, but I will point out a few parts that I like. First off, the pre-chorus at 1:07 (I don't know what you would call a part that you usually use as a lead-in to a chorus) which, even without understanding the language, you can tell it's slowing things down and taking a pleading, philosophical turn (They're actually... doing something like this. Basically saying "I get you're filled with hate, but don't let it swallow you up") and I do like how it slows down, howls, and cuts to the chorus at 1:31, which is bangin'. I don't always like listening to music in other languages but I do appreciate that having different structures sets them up for natural rhythms that English doesn't lend itself nearly as well to. Like, multi-syllabic matching (it wouldn't be rhyming because it's literally the same). Kuyashikute, kurushikute, kanashikute sounds pretty damn catchy and means something like "It's frustrating, painful, and sad". I don't think you could get that same rhythm expressed well in English. You'd have to turn everything into an adverb to get the ending to match. Anyhow, I'm also a sucker for anytime a hard rock song has the instruments drop out and the singer go over just the opening of the chorus before bringing the instruments back in (3:59). It's pretty common, but I'm a simple man of simple tastes.
So, what is this song about, and why is it a Power of Friendship! song?
It's about being so wrapped up in your pain, sorrow, and hatred that you lose sight of yourself and can't hear the pleading voices to come out. And then it's... largely voices pleading with you to come out.

SPOILER ANALYSIS: Cold Steel 3 does not have a happy ending. To put it mildly. I touched on this in the Spiral of Erebos analysis, but indeed, you lose in the end. Rean watches as one of his dearest friends is cut down in front of his eyes, completely loses control over himself, and goes berserk mode while inside Valimar and accidentally kinda sorta maybe kills the shit out of the thing the heroes were absolutely supposed to not by any means let someone kill, using the weapon that they definitely didn't want it killed with. The strain of this burns out Valimar's central processing core, sort of temporarily killing him, too, just for good measure. And Rean is captured by the enemy and remains in his largely mindless ogre/berserk state, that of being taken completely by the Curse of Erebonia.
And in the sequence of the game where you finally get to see Rean, you see him as basically this permanently enraged ogre self. Having broken his restraints, and having enough mind to act out one very specific goal: To get into the husk Valimar, take up the Sword of Worlds' end, and kill fucking everyone involved with that heartbreak.
Around this time, the two Class VIIs infiltrate where Rean is being held captive, even as he's in the midst of his own break out. The adults stay behind to fight powerful enemies, and send the students on to continue to find Rean, and they do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEbDAdlmFGA
Highlights of this include: Juna shocking everyone else by spinning up her gunbreakers. Juna is great. Being the first to come to the conclusion that, if they only way to break him out of it is to break him down, then yeah, maybe it's time to fight.
The lyrical portion of the song kicking in immediately after Rean turns his head and growls.
Ash's Dialogue in general. (Rean: You... stand in my way? Ash: You're damn right. I dunno how deep in shit you are, but we're gonna wade right in and pull you out. This ain't you. So hurry up and snap out of it!)
The way how when Altina pauses after saying "Instructor Rean" it clearly sings the English word "Regret"
And how the lyrics of the song really do reflect what's going on, and seem to be about the class shouting to Rean to come back, remember who he is.

I'm a sucker for any scene where someone shouts, the music cuts out entirely, and then when they start talking again, it spins up a battle track. Especially when it's a new or special one, and especially if the person making the decision is one of the good guys. Anyhow, I had it in the spoilers, but I'll post it outside too without context. One of the lines of dialogue during the scene this plays in is "I dunno how deep in shit you are, but we're gonna wade right in and pull you out." That's the power of friendship, if you ask me.

Burning Hearts, Burning ANGEL from Burning Rangers (Track does not loop)
This is the theme of Burning Rangers.

No really, that's it. It's super catchy, if you haven't yet, give it a listen.

Wild Card
The Smallest Church in Saint Saens (Limbic System Edition) from Disco Elysium (Track does not loop)
So wildcard was where I stuffed pieces that I felt deserved mention but it was difficult to immediately explain why. So I can't really address this one outside of spoilers. So...
SPOILER ANALYSIS: There's a sidequest in Disco Elysium that involves finding a tape of just a seriously sad song you can put into the Karaoke machine and let people really know just what's inside. So this would be the version that plays if you fail your Karaoke check. For reference, here's the successful version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-SdZM2xA1I
Incidentally, the VA/person singing in both songs is the same person.

What makes failure version so good and meaningful is, yeah, you went out there with all your courage, and you bombed. And everyone knows that you bombed.
Almost everyone. Your partner, Kim, loved it. And my avatar, your Conceptualization skill, can chime in and tell you that you accurately expressed what it feels to be a police officer. Little touches like these, so that even failure sometimes feels like a natural progression of the story, and you're not really tempted to re-load for a "better" outcome (hell, sometimes this is the better outcome) are part of what make Disco Elysium a masterpiece.

Now You're a Hero from You Have to Burn the Rope (Track... sort of... loops?)
You Have to Burn the Rope is barely a game. And, unfortunately, it was barely a Flash game. So if you want to play it, you have to download a different branded player, and I don't know enough about those to recommend playing. The point is, there's a big block-looking monster and.... you have to burn the rope. You have no weapons. You can grab a torch, get to a platform above the monster, set fire to the rope holding up a chandelier, and drop the chandelier on it. Takes about 20 seconds, is exactly what the name of the game tells you to do, roll "Credits". But it slowly fades out during the opening notes of this unreasonably celebratory song. The song probably took longer to make than the "game".
Now you're a hero! You managed to BEAT THE WHOLE DAMN GA--AME
It's a fantastic joke, one of the best things that was ever put on Kongregate.

I'll Remember You from Trails of Cold Steel 2 (Track does not loop)
Being a version of Blue Destination with lyrics, I don't have anything particularly new to say about I'll Remember You. I think the singer sounds pretty. The lyrics translate to something fairly pretty. It is, in my opinion, one of the most well done ending movies ever made. even if the game didn't actually end for several more hours >Shrug<

SPOILER ANALYSIS: Somewhat obviously, the following link contains spoilers. The nature of the spoilers is regarding the origin of one character and the fate of another character.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSfjo_QbOvU

I love Trails. I know not everyone here does, and I think there are quite a few very valid complaints or criticisms of the series. Even ones that I agree with! But what makes the series shine is its ability to make me feel when I see something as simple as a 50 mira coin. Or later in the series, how one or another character will make these small things feel so very important. Because it has meaning to them. Have you ever shared an inside symbol between yourself and someone else? It's a powerful thing. This emotional heaviness is missing from the vast majority of games. Anyone can make something heavy feel meaningful, it's breathing meaning into something otherwise mundane that really grips a heart.

Unknown From M.E. from Sonic Adventure (Track does not loop)
>_>
<_<
>AHEM<

Here I come! Rougher than the rest of them!
The best of them! Tougher than leather.
You can call me Knuckles. Unlike Sonic I don't chuckle.
I'd rather flex my muscles

I'm hard as nails. It ain't hard to tell
I'll break 'em down whether they solid or frail
Unlike the rest I'm independent since my first breath
first test, feel the right then the worst's left.

Born on an island iiiiiiiiiin the heavens
the blood of my ancestors FLOWS inside me
My duty is to save the flower
From evil Deteeerioraaaaaaaation

I will be the one to set your heart free true
Cleanse yourself of them evil spirits that's in you

Streaking lights. Loud sounds, and instinct
are the elements that keep me going
I am fighting my own mission
Nothings gonna stand in my way

I will be the one to set your heart free true
Cleanse yourself of them evil spirits that's in you

Won't be frightened, I'll stand up to all the pain and turmoil
Just believe in MY---self, won't rely on ooothers
Get this power to wipe out the havoc and anarchy
This is my pla~a~net! Gonna fight for
Myyyy destinyyyy

Here I come! Rougher than the rest of them!
The best of them! Tougher than leather.
You can call me Knuckles. Unlike Sonic I don't chuckle.
I'd rather flex my muscles

I'm hard as nails. It ain't hard to tell
I'll break 'em down whether they solid or frail
Unlike the rest I'm independent since my first breath
first test, feel the right then the worst's left.

I have no such things as weak spots
Don't approve of him but GOT to trust him
This alliance--- has a purpose
This partnership is oooonly temporaaary, yeah

IIII will be the on to set your heart free, true
Cleanse yourself of evil spirits that got in you!

Won't be frightened, I'll stand up to all the pain and turmoil
Just believe in MY-self, won't rely on others
Freedom will be waiting when serenity is restored
This is my pla~anet! I shall not sureeeendeeeer

>Absolutely Bitchin' Saxophone solo, because why the hell not, the drugs clearly kicked in a WHILE ago<

Won't be frightened, I'll stand up to all the pain and turmoil
Just believe in myself, won't rely on others
Get this power to wipe out the havoc and anarchy
This is my planet, gonna fight (aah)
Oh!

Won't be frightened, I'll stand up to all the pain and turmoil
Just believe in MY-self, won't rely on others
Freedom will be waiting when serenity is restored
This is my planet! I shall not sureeeen-----deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer

HEY!

Shall not surrender, nooo

Yeah!

Whooo-hooo!

The new porcupine on the block with the puffed chest
Out the wilderness with the ruggedness
Knock knock, it's Knuckles
The blow thrower.
Independent flow-er
Magical emerald holder.
Give you the coldest shoulder
My spike goes through boulders
That's why I stay a loner
I was born by myself. I don't need a posse
I get it on my myself
Adversaries get shelved.

>Sax finishes<

Phew.

Anyhow, that "succinctly" explains why Unknown from M.E. is great. Thanks to anyone who read all my analyses. Thanks to Laggy for hosting this tournament, things ain't even started yet, and I've had an absolute blast. VSM Out. >Mic drop<

NotMiki · « **Reply #12 on:** November 01, 2021, 11:24:43 PM »

Generic/Repeatable Battle Music
1. Night Walker (Linne’s Theme) - Under Night In-Birth (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRZEKRv4fyc)

Not much to say. it's a banger.

2. Demons – Fallen Ones – SaGa Scarlet Grace: Ambitions (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMdstmjUQQU)

Also a banger. gonna be a pattern in this category.

3. Believe It! – Tokyo Xanadu (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpzZYMMMkN4)

Tokyo Xanadu is kinda a mess of a game but check out this major boss theme! what a banger.

4. Setsuna – Evil Zone (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW4rq7SvulM)

Evil Zone is a game I have never played but it seems to directly channel the energy of 90s OVAs and I love that.

Unique/Final Battle Music
1. {EDGE OF THE FUTURE} – 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkgVPYoYGY8)

Final fight of 13 Sentinels. In-game it's different loops as the boss changes stages, culminating with the vocals coming in in the last phase, in a reflection of the plot. It's a great moment in a great game.

2. Maiden’s Capriccio – Touhou Luna Nights (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srqzk_rLUHo)

Love the just kitchen sink percussion in this, perfectly appropriate for its dramatically difficult in-game fight.

3. Lady Maria – Bloodborne (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mByDcrNSV0)

Love the little violin vibrato thing right at the beginning, gives you a shiver up the spine, perfectly appropriate for a chilling throwdown.

4. Last Battle ~ Asellus – SaGa Frontier (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3DD2vDWwOM)

This one requires a little explanation. What's so cool about it is that the intro uses motifs, mostly from Asellus' theme but also a little bit of Trick as well. In order, at 0:00 in Last Battle it uses a slowed-down arpeggio from 0:05 of Asellus' theme, then at 0:11 and again at 0:019 it uses Asellus' descending line from 0:00, then after a descending line it hits this little 3-note dip (1 down to augmented 7th up to 1) that is used all over the place in Trick, then finally at 0:28 slows down on this ascending line reminiscent of Trick at 0:51, except the Last Battle version accents every note instead of being smooth like the Trick version. Some real virtuosic shit. (And not the only place you see this kind of use of motif in the game - Shuzer's melodic line is reused in Battle 4's intro in a really cool way too.)

Repeatable Zone/Dungeon and Overworld Music
1. Deep Breath Deep Breath – Persona 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqcANoctDF4)

I always wanna sing along when this one comes on. Underappreciated IMO.

2. Behind the Circuit – Phantasy Star IV (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3YK0SqiWds)

PSIV sure has some bangers, eh?

3. Within the Giant – Final Fantasy 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3zDZ7MgU1E)

Another one I feel is perhaps overshadowed by other stuff in its game. It does this thing where the melody comes in and feels like it's starting in the middle of the piece, I guess from going 5-3-1 instead of first establishing itself by going 1-3-5. Gives it this feeling of you being just thrust into the middle of some mess and now you have to deal with it, which is quite appropriate considering where it's used in-game. (I feel the same way about Sailor Moon Stars' OP, it starts with the last three notes of a scale, 6-7-8.)

4. The Wind of Tsukigata – Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxg2iN3Ddw0)

Devil Summoner 2 does a surprisingly good job of unexpectedly depositing a goofy series into a realm of unsettling psychological horror, moving you to a rural town of dark secrets that is distinctly unwelcome to outsiders. And this is the town's theme. Love it.

Unique Zone/Dungeon Music
1. Valestein Castle – Ys: Oath in Felghana (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSzaK_ueHY4)

I've tried to keep away from high-profile picks but I just can't not include this one. Highly recommend also checking out the versions of it from older ports of Ys III (of which there are many and they all sound differently). Cuz it's some level of banger in all of them.

2. PowerOne – Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rFTA3VLY9M&list=PL0772E34775C81D9E&index=29)

I love the atmospheric noise in this that gives the impression of a slinky-like sound traveling across taut metal cables. Really gives it that sense of place.

3. Hesitantly Descending – Environmental Station Alpha (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYrhaNURgiE)

ESA music all has this kinda muffled sound to it that makes it more unsettling. Love it.

4. Apocalypse – Devil Summoner: Raido Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sny7bmI1l44)

Somehow ended up with 2 Devil Summoner 2 noms. Well this one I just love the sound of and frankly not sure too many people played the game this far so I wanted to give it some love.

Town/Hub/Shop Music
1. A Person’s Warmth – Wild Arms 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0IfR6VbZ8o)

Feel like this song has a lot of power in its simplicity. That's a tough trick to pull off.

2. How Long Will the Rain Last? – Breath of Fire IV (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQx1QwADjmc)

This one's really special in my opinion, just a perfect encapsulation of the angst that pervades the town and kinda the game. In places, especially 0:42, it feels like it's about to pull out of the gloom, and then it just doesn't do that.

3. Vivi’s Theme – Final Fantasy IX (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cTctWXAhw0)

It's like the musical version of getting up to hijinks on the edges of respectable society. I love how this kind of march-like instrumentation comes in a 1:15 then kinda veers away as it loops. Really sets the tone for the game.

4. Lowest Level Area – Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC1wdoTF1xw)

Just really dang pretty imo.

Tension/Crisis Music
1. Growing Poppies – We Know the Devil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VzBZAToizI)

Not sure I've heard anything quite capture the sense of anxiety and dread and wrongness lurking under the surface like this does.

2. Engage the Enemy – Xenoblade Chronicles (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi0M9SIaLb4)

Needs no explanation, I think.

3. The Red Wings – Final Fantasy 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yqAxdo4QDU)

I think this theme is the first thing I ever heard in a videogame that made me think about its music. Had to include it.

4. The Black Blood – Phantasy Star IV (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K90tPeGJNIk)

Love how this is used in-game. Hear this and you know you about to throw down.

"The Power of Friendship!" Music
1. Seaside Vacation – 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKdIhT3Feks)

This one's really special. It's written in the style of an 80s j-pop hit, and in the middle of the game when things are looking bleak, it's sung over mech combat in a Macross homage, quite the contrast between the tone of the song and the action around it. It plays again at the ending game during an emotional reunion, once peace is returning. It's really moving. Not a dry eye in the house. Can't recommend 13 Sentinels enough.

2. Melody in the Pocket – Tokyo 7th Sisters (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY9jG8T1h84)

A song that expresses the game's overriding theme that idols should be empowered to care for themselves and look out for one another.

3. Battle vs Lord Blazer – Wild Arms 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBuWNO1mxcI)

Needs no explanation, I imagine.

4. JUDGEMENT -審判- (Brother NISHIKI Edition) – Yakuza 0 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezk-IkngUsw)

*cough*

Wild Card
1. A Song Melting in the Moonlight Night – The Liar Princess and The Blind Prince
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyvYsE4cMMs)

I've been using a Liar Princess desktop theme for ps4 for the past year and a half and it plays this and sometimes I just like, get distracted by it and sit on the couch and listen to it instead of actually playing a game. That still happens even now sometimes so I am bringing it to you.

2. Happy Angel – Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBTao8gS52s)

There's nothing in DDR I love more than aggressively cheerful uptempo pop sings that kick your ass. And Happy Angel is top of that list. (Well Cartoon Heroes and Kimono Princess are harder but Happy Angel's the one I like the most.)

3. Forbidden Codex – Deemo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ow4tPyo5sU)

I just love it.

4. Dreamin Chuchu – Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Megamix (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdHRGH1Qv70)

About the sweetest song I know of, so I figured I'd share it.

The RPG Duelling League

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