seems this rumble's not over yet. so...

Birth of a God

Well, there's still a tie out there, though not the one I expected. I'll give it until tomorrow and resolve whichever remain tied with another coin toss.

Hate to do this to you Shad but... my votes are Metroid and Final Fantasy VII. :/

Don't think I made the most helpful vote, but I did make the most honest one.

It's all good. The flip came up Tails. That means Super Metroid: Upper Brinstar (4-4) and Final Fantasy VII: Birth of a God (5-4) advance.

Round 3, Fight 3 // Metroid Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Ice Valley (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4A6a3ovd5E), from Metroid Prime

vs.

Underwater Frigate (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2B3QqjJ284), from Metroid Prime

-------------------------------------------------------

Wait, wasn't this supposed to be the final round? I'll take Ice Valley.


Round 1, Fight 29 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

The Castle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqtGBR80NWw), from Final Fantasy VIII

vs.

Last Dungeon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJdmB4iZxH8), from Final Fantasy VI

-------------------------------------------------------

Last Dungeon

Underwater Frigate

Last Dungeon

The Castle

Underwater Frigate

i'm actually impressed that Birth of a God advanced, even though in my opinion, it wasn't as good as the other two final battle themes from the game, but still a good track nonetheless.

anyway, Last Dungeon.

Phendrana Drifts (Ice Valley) and Final Fantasy VI.

Ice Valley

The Castle

Ice Valley

The Castle

Ice Valley

The Castle

We've had a lot of ties lately. I'm going to opt to not hold things up this time and keep moving on, before people start losing interest with all the delays.

This time the flip came up Heads, which means a Final Fantasy VI track actually advances! For the supposed favorite Uematsu soundtrack of all time, FF6 has gotten off to the third worst start after FF10 and FF13. Go figure. (I actually think 10 is one of the most underrated in the bunch.)

Ah, and it looks like Underwater Frigate got knocked out. I guess there won't be any repeat winner from these rumbles. Metroid Prime: Ice Valley (5-2) and Final Fantasy VI: Last Dungeon (4-4) are moving on.

Round 3, Fight 4 // Metroid Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Kraid's Lair (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wHwJoxw4i4), from Metroid

vs.

Dark Samus on Norion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-i7Q9yJ5lk), from Metroid Prime 3

-------------------------------------------------------

Dark Samus on Norion deserves to have come as far as it has, but this one's an easy choice for me. Kraid's Lair.


Round 1, Fight 30 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Eternal Wind (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9xyV-Rz5Jk), from Final Fantasy III

vs.

Blue Fields (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNdGoENQNQ4), from Final Fantasy VIII

-------------------------------------------------------

The FF8 track is tempting, but I absolutely love that loop in Eternal Wind.

Kraid's Lair

Blue Fields

Kraid's Lair

Blue Fields

Kraid's Lair

Blue Fields

I hate to see Eternal Wind go, though. These are two favorites. The orchestral version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s6-uYCHNRI) of Blue Fields has been on my playlists for years and years. Can anyone tell me why I think of the Ghostbusters soundtrack every time I hear Eternal Wind? Is there a similar melody on there for Dana, maybe?

Kraid's Lair

Blue Fields

Metroid, Final Fantasy VIII.

Metroid: Kraid's Lair (8-0) and Final Fantasy VIII: Blue Fields (5-3) advance.

Well, we're moving on to the semi-finals of the Metroid rumble already. Here's a brief recap of how the four remaining contenders scored to get here:

Ice Valley from Metroid Prime
7-0, 7-0, 5-2, Overall: 19-2 (90.5%)

Kraid's Lair from Metroid
5-1, 5-2, 8-0, Overall: 18-3 (85.7%)

Data Selection from Metroid Prime
4-1, 4-2, 6-0, Overall: 14-3 (82.4%)

Upper Brinstar from Super Metroid
5-3, 5-2, 4-4, Overall: 14-9 (60.9%)


I thought it would make a lot of sense to fix the semi-finals in order to ensure an exciting final round match-up, but in the spirit of keeping it random to the end I decided to let rng decide. Random.org seemed to think two tight match-ups in the semis would be more interesting than one in the final. Enjoy:

Round 4, Fight 1 // Metroid Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Data Selection (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFGvDMfdH1o), from Metroid Prime

vs.

Upper Brinstar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsG3sw51yYI), from Super Metroid

-------------------------------------------------------

Upper Brinstar


Round 1, Fight 31 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Prologue (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEG-Tqm_djk), from Final Fantasy IV

vs.

Save Them! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7dk1qUeRn4), from Final Fantasy VI

-------------------------------------------------------

Save Them! is probably the stronger track, but the pure nostalgia of Prologue wins my vote.

Upper Brinstar

Prologue

Metroid Prime, Final Fantasy VI.

Prologue

Data Selection

Upper Brinstar

Save Them!

Upper Brinstar

Save Them!

Upper Brinstar

Prologue

It comes as a bit of a surprise to me, but Super Metroid: Upper Brinstar (5-2) advances to the final round of the Metroid rumble. Final Fantasy IV: Prologue (4-3) moves on as well.

The big match-up comes now. These two tracks are worlds apart in style, and dead even in quality:

Round 4, Fight 2 // Metroid Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Kraid's Lair (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wHwJoxw4i4), from Metroid

vs.

Ice Valley (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4A6a3ovd5E), from Metroid Prime

-------------------------------------------------------

I'm going to take Kraid's Lair.


Round 1, Fight 32 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

The Mines of Narshe (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fnTJ5SF2uM), from Final Fantasy VI

vs.

Mysteries Abound (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Iy1VeOcG4), from Final Fantasy XIII

-------------------------------------------------------

Final Fantasy XIII has had a rougher go in this tournament than it really deserves, but so be it. The Mines of Narshe

Kraid's Lair

Mines of Narshe

Ice Valley

Mysteries Abound - A track I actually liked from XIII.

Ice Valley

The Mines Of Narshe

Ice Valley

The Mines Of Narshe

Ice Valley

The Mines Of Narshe

Kraid's Lair

Mysteries Abound

Well Data Selection, we had a good run. Glad we snuck you in and you gave it everything you got. Thought you were the better finalist, but you certainly didn't lose to a chump of a Metroid song. RIP.

Tough choices this round, particularly Metroid AGAIN.

Metroid Prime, Final Fantasy XIII.

The time has come for the final Metroid showdown. With Metroid Prime: Ice Valley (5-3) beating out Kraid's Lair, there are only two contestants left. (Final Fantasy VI: Mines of Narshe (5-3) advanced in the Final Fantasy rumble, by the way.) On an interesting note, both of our finalists were composed by Kenji Yamamoto.

Also, while I have your attention, I posted it in the Rumble group forum (http://forums.ffshrine.org/groups/vgm-rumble-group-procrastination-station/), but to get a broader audience I'll ask here: What are your thoughts on having a chiptune rumble? That is: predominantly 8-bit music not featured in any video game.

FINAL MATCH // Metroid Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Upper Brinstar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsG3sw51yYI), from Super Metroid

vs.

Ice Valley (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4A6a3ovd5E), from Metroid Prime

-------------------------------------------------------

As much as Upper Brinstar has grown on my throughout this rumble--and I liked it to begin with--I'm going to have to take Ice Valley. It's been my favorite post-Metroid II track in this rumble all along.

What the heck, Ice Valley.

Hmm...I'm really surprised by this final. Both good tracks, but I would have guessed one of the four NES tracks or the Title Screen song from Super Metroid would make it through. I'd say that Upper Brinstar is closer to a signature track for the series, in my opinion.

Ice Valley

Ice Valley

Ice Valley

Jazz Jackrabbit - Title Theme - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnnFFEStA3c)

Happy Easter all!

I'll go with Metroid Prime.

We have a winner.

Metroid Prime: Ice Valley (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4A6a3ovd5E) gets a decisive 6-1 finish in the final round. That makes Ice Valley the 17th rumble winner and the second winner from Metroid Prime. (Underwater Frigate pulled it off in Rumble #3.)

The big question now is which rumble to start next. I think we should avoid having two 128-track rumbles running simultaneously and instead just guarantee that Zelda follows Final Fantasy. Here are the options currently available. Some will require a bit more work before they can be launched than others, but each has at least a rough draft going. (% is about how far along they are--could impact how much of a delay there is between Metroid and the next rumble.)

64-track
--------
Commodore 64 (50%)
Nintendo 64 (80%)

32-track
--------
Early PC (20%)
Game Boy (60%)
Tim Follin (100%)

16-track
--------
Motoi Sakuraba (90%)

I personally would prefer Tim Follin. Feel free to pick as many or few as you like and we'll see in a couple days which rumble has the most support. If you're bothered by the relative lack of diversity among these, by all means go make your own (http://forums.ffshrine.org/groups/vgm-rumble-group-procrastination-station/). The rumble group is perpetually short on new ideas and recommendations.

In the meantime:

Round 1, Fight 33 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Dancing Mad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbXVNKtmWnc), from Final Fantasy VI

vs.

Eternal Harvest (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OlkhKh0fwQ), from Final Fantasy IX

-------------------------------------------------------

Dancing Mad

Eternal Harvest

Dancing Mad

Tim Follin

Dancing Mad

Dancing Mad

I'd like do one of the 16- or 32-track rumbles (Early PC, Game Boy, Tim Follin, Motoi Sakuraba) with a slight preference for Follin or Sakuraba.

Dancing Mad

Dancing Mad

Final Fantasy VI: Dancing Mad (7-1) moves on as expected. I was hoping to kick off the Follin rumble with a brief history of his career, since I imagine most of you are fairly unfamiliar with him, but it's been a really busy week for me. Here's the next Final Fantasy fight in the meantime:

Round 1, Fight 34 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

The Forested Temple (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1VYCy3HW00), from Final Fantasy VII

vs.

The Fierce Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-_1732J39k), from Final Fantasy VI

-------------------------------------------------------

Brutal match-up here. The Fierce Battle was by far my favorite Uematsu song as a kid, but I think for the moment I'm going to have to side with The Forested Temple. This vote is very subject to change.

The Forested Temple

The Forested Temple

The Forested Temple

The Fierce Battle

The Fierce Battle

The Forested Temple

I can't say I have even heard of Follin so I'll choose Nintendo 64.

Final Fantasy VII.

I can't say I have even heard of Follin.

Really? He is one of the most important figures in the NES and pre-NES eras. He was also in the Composers Rumble.



Tim Follin
Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ODKKILZiYY&list=PL384C4C2C14F69485&feature=plpp_play_all), Bio (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Follin), Discography (http://vgmdb.net/artist/1301), Interview (http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=tim+follin+interview&oq=tim+follin+interview&aq=f&aqi=g-K1&aql=&gs_l=hp.3..0i30.17715.18587.14.18867.10.9.0.0.0.5. 248.1291.2j6j1.9.0...0.0.UOekvbQws5U&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=2e4edfb6fecd5b31&biw=1280&bih=878), Social (http://www.timfollin.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/)

Tim Follin is one of my favorite composers. This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G83jWTYDMMs) (made by someone else) sums up why. Nobody gave more effort on crap games than he did. Despite that, he had a long, unfortunate conclusion to his career in vgm, and all we can do now is recognize how he used his talents while he was in the industry. Interest in his work does seem to be climbing. Just in the last year, his Wikipedia page has grown to be about 10 times longer than it used to be. Pictionary!

Follin is a nice Choice... I remember trying to understand Solstice and suffer in a similar way as playing The Immortal. Only that Solstice was even worse at teaching you how to play the game. xD

Anyway, I'll vote for Follin or Sakuraba for the Next Rumble.

Cheers to Final Fantasy VII: The Forested Temple (6-2) for an unexpected win.

About this time a year ago I decided to try and piece together a pretty thorough history of early video game music. I thought the opening scene would be pretty direct: Koji Kondo would take the stage in 1985 with Super Mario Bros. and prove that game music could amount to more than hokey carnival jingles. Games like Final Fantasy, Mega Man, and Castlevania would capitalize on the new vision, and by the end of the 80s you would have a pretty diverse picture.

Well, it didn't quite pan out that way. I think the Nintendo tends to get all the credit because it was the first globally successful system with sound capabilities. (The Atari was in fact garbage incapable of much approaching music.) Game music as a genre was, however, pretty well established by the time Kondo came around. It centered not in Japan or the United States, but in Europe and especially England. What you found on systems like the Commodore 64 was not merely a recognition pre-dating Super Mario Bros that games could have amazing music, but a really active and competitive extension of the 1980s electronic music scene more generally. Where Kondo's Mario music was a fully integrated element of the audiovisual gaming experience (this, perhaps, was his more original and admirable contribution), the early European game composers tended to function more as independent musicians who let their creativity run wild and released singles in the form of title screen themes which had no connection with their relevant games whatsoever save shared packaging.

This was the tradition in which Tim Follin grew up. He got his first game composition job in 1985, when he was only 15. Hired by a company which dealt mainly with the ZX Spectrum 48K, he composed for a sound system which was already outdated when it was released back in 1982. Since he was not working with the much more advanced Commodore 64 SID soundchip, he was initially at quite a disadvantage compared to acclaimed game composers of the time like Rob Hubbard. He wasted no time catching up.

ZX Spectrum (1985-1987)

Follin's earliest works are arguably also his most innovative. ZX Spectrum 48K music is often described as "1-bit". It used an internal beeper with a single sound channel, and any appearance of multiple voices is an illusion created through careful programming. Follin was the first and arguably only musician to perfect this art, managing to generate wall-of-sound effects comparable to modern shoegaze and convert the Spectrum from a second-rate sound system into a really beautiful instrument. The sort of bombastic glitch beats he employed in songs like "Future Games" significantly predate artists like Aphex Twin who popularized them. (Granted later artists might have arrived at the same sounds independently.) Three Follin tracks from this era were selected for the rumble--Agent X, Future Games, and Chronos. A fourth Spectrum track, Agent X II, incorporates the much more up to date General Instrument AY-3-8910 sound chip that came equipped in the ZX Spectrum 128 model that began to emerge after 1985. You'll find in this song a transition away from glitch beats into more authentic drumming, while the bulk of the song is still 48K compatible.

Commodore 64 and Amiga (1987-1990)

If Follin quickly became top dog among ZX Spectrum composers, he had a great deal more competition on the Commodore 64. SID (sound interface device--the C64 soundchip) culture had already standardized a variety of programming techniques to generate the quintessential sounds associated with the genre. Follin's C64 tracks should not be understood as innovative in the same sense as his Spectrum works. They mark, rather, the more extensive development of his own unique musical style. An important thing to note for SID music is that a concept of intellectual property did not exist. It was entirely common for a composer to take someone else's work, expand upon it or present it in a new light, and submit it for use in a video game. Follin made one of his earliest marks on the C64 by boldly incorporating John William's Star Wars anthem into a spacey, hard hitting rendition of Harumi Fujita's martial Bionic Commando theme. It was immature in so far as it recklessly abandoned all connections the original track had with the game for which it was composed, but it was certainly a bold statement of Follin's confidence moving into a new musical medium. Follin would go on to score many original C64 soundtracks, solidifying his fantasy-oriented progressive rock style on the one hand, and his sort of funk-influenced rock jams on the other. The former arguably reached its creative peak on the Amiga 500--the C64's successor system--with Ghouls'n Ghosts and Gauntlet III.

NES (1990-1991)

Very few SID composers transitioned to Nintendo systems. The reasons for this were largely geographical; European game developers had a notoriously difficult time communicating with Japanese producers, and most went belly up with the temporary death of home computer gaming in the early 1990s. Software Creations, Follin's employer, was an exception to the rule. Arriving on a NES scene that developed in almost complete isolation from SID music, Follin brought a whole new world of sound to the table. Japanese developers tended to regard composition and sound programming as two separate jobs. For Follin, composing and programming were one and the same. He managed to unlock the NES by engaging the system directly and incorporating SID programming techniques. (The few other C64 composers who survived the transition--Neil Baldwin for instance--accomplished much the same.) Games such as Pictionary, Silver Surfer, Treasure Master, and Solstice merged Follin's developed prog and rock song writing with sound generation techniques never before heard on the system.

SNES (1992-1994)

The entire Follin family was involved in the video game industry at one point or another. Tim landed his first composition job thanks to his older brother Mike. Beginning in 1990, Tim began to compose with his brother Geoff. Geoff is credited alongside Tim in all of their SNES works, and while Tim's quintessential prog rock consistently stands out, it is difficult to say where one brother's contributions end and the other's begins. The SNES Follin discography ranges from brilliant to sub-par, with perhaps slightly more of the latter than the former. The two really put their heads together for Plok and Arcade's Revenge though, and these might be regarded as the two most well-rounded and complex compositions of Follin's career. The nearly four-minute long masterpiece that plays through the Spider-Man stage of Arcade's Revenge incorporates in some capacity nearly every fundamental characteristic of Follin's sound throughout the years, perfectly merging his fantasy/prog and funk/rock elements for the first and arguably last time. Plok, on the other hand, forgoes all rock and roll tendencies and pushes the Follin prog sound to a level not technologically possible on earlier systems.

Post-SNES

Tim Follin left Software Creations in 1993. The decision effectively ended his career. The first company he joined, Malibu Interactive, soon went belly up. At least three projects he became involved in were never released, and Follin composed fewer published works between 1995 and 2000 than in 1988 alone. He managed to acquire a few freelance composing jobs in the early 2000s, most notably Ecco the Dolphin: Defender of the Future and Starsky & Hutch. Both of these are so technologically and temporally displaced from his earlier works that his style is barely recognizable, and, due to multiple composers and a lack of specific details about individual tracks, it is hard to say which songs he actually composed. I have chosen to represent his later works with the obscure but much more authentically Follin soundtrack Future Tactics: The Uprising. Both the album credits and the musical style seem to confirm that Tim definitely wrote it. Follin announced in 2005 that his career as a video game composer was officially over, and although his website states that he is still willing to humor freelance composing jobs, he has not scored a game since his original retirement.


So without further ado, I present the Tim Follin rumble. I will make a note when a particular song is known to be a cover and link to the original upon which it is based.


Round 1, Fight 1 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Pictionary - Title Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJwh3erQlyE), for the Nintendo (1990)

vs.

Arcade's Revenge - Spider-Man (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqgCsdFaJlU), for the Super Nintendo (1992)

-------------------------------------------------------

Follin went for shock value on the Pictionary title theme, and he most certainly achieved it. Arcade's Revenge - Spider-Man is a much more complete song though.


Round 1, Fight 35 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Daughter of the Great Summoner (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMCsFew9Bpc), from Final Fantasy X

vs.

Airship (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCgL8WTdQp0), from Final Fantasy XI

-------------------------------------------------------

Daughter of the Great Summoner

Arcade's Revenge - Spider-Man

Airship

Pictionary

Airship

Interesting and extensive Information on Follin, Shad. Nicely Done.

Spider-Man

Airship

Pictionary

Airship

Well, that's why I participate in all the rumbles, even if it is a game/music I am not interested in. Because you might hear something that catches your fancy. Have to say, those two Follin tracks are pretty catchy!

I'll go with Pictionary. I can't say the two Final Fantasy selections are up to par however. Regrettably, Final Fantasy XI.

I think this might be the first of many close match-ups in the Follin rumble. I'll give it until tomorrow morning for a tie breaker before I flip a coin.

Heads won the toss. Arcade's Revenge: Spider-Man (3-3) and Final Fantasy XI: Airship (5-1) advance.

Next up is the one Follin sample I included for the ZX Spectrum 128. While Agent X II features the same quintessential distortion as Follin's other Spectrum works, it is far less subtle. Instead, he employed the new capabilities of an AY PSG to give it a slamming drum beat and made the main theme as loud, dirty, and sleazy as possible. It's definitely one of his best efforts in my opinion. Aside from the drumming, this song is still crammed into the ridiculously limited single-channel capacity of the original Spectrum 48K. And yes, it really is 5 minutes long. There's no loop in this video.

Round 1, Fight 2 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Agent X II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD5tGuutTZQ), for the ZX Spectrum 128 (1987)

vs.

Arcade's Revenge - Gambit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we6Hg-fFc5A), for the Super Nintendo (1992)

-------------------------------------------------------

Agent X II


Round 1, Fight 36 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Besaid Island (www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNRaXqbAuFE), from Final Fantasy X

vs.

The Decisive Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxKb48wvt60), from Final Fantasy VI

-------------------------------------------------------

It's a shame such great songs have to go head-to-head after the disappointing Fight 35 match-up. I'll side with The Decisive Battle by a hair.

Arcade's Revenge

The Decisive Battle

Agent X II

Besaid Island

Gambit

The Decisive Battle

The Decisive Battle

Besaid Island

Arcade's Revenge

The Decisive Battle

Gambit

The Decisive Battle

Arcade's Revenge: Gambit (4-2) and Final Fantasy VI: The Decisive Battle (6-2) advance.


Round 1, Fight 3 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Silver Surfer - Level 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGNSHNf-nlU), for the NES (1990)

vs.

Scumball (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YX_mW_lc5U), for the Commodore 64 (1988)

-------------------------------------------------------

Silver Surfer


Round 1, Fight 37 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Selbina (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtCs2LWOV1c), from Final Fantasy XI

vs.

Final Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOqyn5kdTCo0), from Final Fantasy III

-------------------------------------------------------

Final Battle

Scumball

Cloud of Darkness

Scumball

Cloud of Darkness

Scumball

Selbina

Silver Surfer, Final Fantasy XI

Silver Surfer

Final Battle

Silver Surfer

Selbina

Hah, for a little while there I was shocked. I had just assumed all along Silver Surfer would be a shoo-in to the semi-finals.

Silver Surfer (4-3) and Final Fantasy III: Cloud of Darkness (Final Battle) (4-3) advance.


Round 1, Fight 4 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Black Lamp - In-Game Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQFaUPA3He4), for the Commodore 64 (1988)

vs.

Solstice - Title Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypNPxwnppU0), for the NES (1990)

-------------------------------------------------------

Solstice


Round 1, Fight 38 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Will to Fight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3hN_8RW9So), from Final Fantasy XIII

vs.

Nalbina Fortress Underground Prison (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTu1lzfLolA), from Final Fantasy XII

-------------------------------------------------------

Will to Fight

Solstice

Nalbina Fotress Underground Prison

Black Lamp

Will to Fight

Solstice

Will to Fight - Boy, the FF one is tough. Nalbina has a better arrangement and instrumentation, but Will to Fight is a more satisfying piece of music to listen to outside of the game.

didnt realize this thread was here, and I must say, you guys have great taste in vgm :)

for this im gonna vote for solstice and nalbina.

Solstice

Nalbina Fotress Underground Prison

I don't know.

Will to Fight sounded like something out of Granado Espada or Ragnarok Online. A kind of song that SoundTemP team would compose. And the Vocals felt awkward for me.

We currently have a tie for Final Fantasy, if anyone hesitant to vote earlier would care to break it.

Nalbina, can't stand the other one.

Black Lamp, and Final Fantasy XII.

Solstice (5-2) and Final Fantasy XII: Nalbina Fortress Underground Prison (5-3) advance.


This next fight includes Future Games--one of Follin's very first and, I think, most innovative songs. It's a fragile build-up to explosion around the 2:06 mark, unleashing a frantic glitch-beat bombardment that substantially predates the popularizing of these techniques in electronic music scenes in the 90s.

Round 1, Fight 5 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Future Games (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orEXKOBIv_8), for the ZX Spectrum 48K (1986)

vs.

Equinox - Boss Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkTr5Lo09b0), for the SNES (1993)

-------------------------------------------------------

Future Games


Round 1, Fight 39 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Decisive Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjhXqgB1TMo), from Final Fantasy X

vs.

The Day Will Come (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85ZWZRHq51s), from Final Fantasy V

-------------------------------------------------------

I would be quite content if Decisive Battle won this rumble. Amazing stuff.

The Day Will Come

Future Games - This was the song that got me excited the ZX Spectrum might be some undiscovered land of buzzy, snarling, stop-start electronica. Then, after a month of listening to other music from it, I realized it was just Follin being some kind of mad scientist at manipulating the technology.

Decisive Battle

Equinox

Decisive Battle I'm also quite fond of the piano collections (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZMXBnW8NMs) version.

Equinox

Decisive Battle

Decisive Battle

Equinox, Final Fantasy X.

Equinox (3-2) and Final Fantasy X: Decisive Battle (6-1) advance.


Round 1, Fight 6 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU-ss4JXe2Q), for the Commodore 64 (1989)

vs.

Gauntlet III Title Screen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zD4KwiVwr0), for the Amiga 500 (1991)

-------------------------------------------------------

Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 5 for now. I might change that. I think this is one of the closest match-ups in the opening round.

Round 1, Fight 40 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friends (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7kKDZei4s4), from Final Fantasy V

vs.

Despair (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joxCId9SvAU), from Final Fantasy XI

-------------------------------------------------------

Dear Friends

Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 5

Despair

I feel like both of these are close match ups.

Gauntlet III

Despair

Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 5

Dear Friends

I feel like both of these are close match ups.

Gauntlet III

Dear Friends

Gauntlet III, Final Fantasy XI

Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 5 (4-3) and Final Fantasy V: Dear Friends (4-3) advance.


Round 1, Fight 7 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Treasure Master World 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmq1kknhhBA), for the NES (1991)

vs.

Puzznic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4WD1iPH9aQ), for the Amiga 500 (1990)

-------------------------------------------------------

Treasure Master World 4

Round 1, Fight 41 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Seeking Power (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wzU706vNlA), from Final Fantasy XII

vs.

Find Your Way (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn0T6Xh5VXY), from Final Fantasy VIII

-------------------------------------------------------

Find Your Way

Treasure Master, Final Fantasy VIII

Treasure Master

Find Your Way -

Treasure Master

Find Your Way

Puzznic

Seeking Power

Find Your Way

Puzznic

Seeking Power

Another hard match up, at least for the FF titles.

Treasure Master World 4 (5-2) and Final Fantasy VIII: Find Your Way (5-3) advance.


Next up is the first of a handful of cover/arrangement tracks not originally composed by Tim. The inclusion of such tracks is inevitable when we are dealing with the European 1980s vgm scene; developers were often tasked to replicate original music for home ports of arcade games, and reinventing these songs for the SID tended to involve a lot of creative license. Moreover, artists borrowed liberally from one another and from mainstream music with no concern for this "intellectual property" nonsense. In a number of cases covers and arrangements became famous in their own right. (Rob Hubbard was a real master at this.) The track which has since become the franchise theme for Bionic Commando has a bit of a bizarre history in its own right. After doing some research last summer I am absolutely convinced that Harumi Fujita composed it, however decades later staff at Capcom mistook Junko Tamiya's nearly identical NES arrangement for the original and credited her as original composer in the ost liner notes for all of the recent series installments. At any rate, I think for these tracks you should check out the original songs too and take the changes into consideration. Follin's Bionic Commando cover is a bit dubious in my opinion, but it remains one of his most famous works. A childish break from music-game continuity, or an epic tip of the hat to John Williams? You decide.


Round 1, Fight 8 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Bionic Commando Stage 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okwoIGDjoQI), for the Commodore 64 (1988)
Arrangement of original work by Harumi Fujita (Arcade, 1987) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuAy3s6Qly0)

vs.

ChesterField: Challenge to Dark Gor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIpQvG-Oiog), for the Commodore 64 (1988)
I couldn't find a video of this track alone. While the song appears to cut out abruptly around 1:45, it actually ends at about 1:40. In this video the last maybe one or two seconds is missing and then five random seconds of the song are repeated at the end. Do ignore that.

-------------------------------------------------------

ChesterField

Round 1, Fight 42 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Mystic Mysidia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwtdCcviYl4), from Final Fantasy IV

vs.

Breezy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB30RVWeuP8), from Final Fantasy VIII

-------------------------------------------------------

Mystic Mysidia

Mystic Mysidia

Bionic Commando

Breezy

Bionic Commando

Breezy

Mystic Mysidia

Bionic Commando

Chesterfield

Breezy!!!

Chesterfield

Breezy

Chester Field, Final Fantasy IV.

Normally I would post the next round sometime tomorrow, but because I got a late start this go-around and there happens to be a tie in the Final Fantasy rumble I'm going to postpone until the 4th or the next vote, whichever comes first.

Bionic Commando

Breezy

I suppose I hadn't taken into consideration the likelihood that another vote would bring up another tie. Ah well. Heads won the toss, so Chesterfied (4-4) and Final Fantasy VIII: Breezy (5-4) advance. This was Final Fantasy IV's first loss all rumble.


Round 1, Fight 9 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Future Tactics: The Uprising - Enemy Attack 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCCiDkFRuMw), for the Playstation 2 (2004)

vs.

Plok - Cotton Island (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpJjXnCrC_I), for the Super Nintendo (1993)

-------------------------------------------------------

Cotton Island

Round 1, Fight 43 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

To Zanarkand (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-0G_FI61a8), from Final Fantasy X

vs.

Kefka (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqtOWpNAs48), from Final Fantasy VI

-------------------------------------------------------

It's a tough call. To Zanarkand is beautiful, but at the end of the day I don't like it quite enough to vote against Final Fantasy VI's most iconic theme. Kefka

To Zanarkand

Future Tactics

Cotton Island

To Zanarkand

Future Tactics

Kefka

Plok - Cotton Island

Kefka

Future Tactics

Kefka

Yet another tie. Heads won this one, so Cotton Island (3-3) and Final Fantasy VI: Kefka (4-2) advance.

Two covers/arrangements in this Follin fight. The first is an (I think rather drastic) improvement to Kawamoto's original arcade piece. The second is a very loose cover of the main theme to Starsky & Hutch. (Note that Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 5 was Follin's original composition, not an arrangement.)


Round 1, Fight 10 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3a9IUBj8X0), for the Commodore 64 (1989)
Arrangement of original work by Tamayo Kawamoto (Arcade, 1988) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUR52KRqcq4)

vs.

Treasure Master Title Screen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUu6E-5lPTw), for the Nintendo (1991)
Based on original work by Tom Scott (1976) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1jrrupT8SE)

-------------------------------------------------------

Ghouls'n Ghosts

Round 1, Fight 44 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Main Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0dmXzqgkc4), from Final Fantasy IV

vs.

Crystal Cave (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MUphMWKuqw), from Final Fantasy III

-------------------------------------------------------

Main Theme

Crystal Cave

Treasure Master

Crystal Cave

Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 2

Main Theme from Final Fantasy IV

Ghosts

FFIV

Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 2

Main Theme from Final Fantasy IV

Treasure Master, Final Fantasy III.

Well, it's a tie yet again. Tails won this one, so Ghouls'n Ghosts (5-2) and Final Fantasy III: Crystal Cave (4-4) advance.


Round 1, Fight 11 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Gauntlet III - Character Select (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWlc8ig-fEI), for the Commodore 64 (1991)

vs.

Time Trax (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqyEbu8cmMg), for the Mega Drive (unreleased, circa 1994)

-------------------------------------------------------

Gauntlet III

Round 1, Fight 45 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Between Ordeals (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRWpGFKyYtY), from Final Fantasy X

vs.

The Silence Before the Storm (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVRve3qlE48), from Final Fantasy X

-------------------------------------------------------

Both are great, and FFX has been getting a pretty raw deal this rumble. I'll take The Silence Before the Storm.

Time Trax

The Silence Before the Storm

Time Trax

The Silence Before the Storm

Time Trax

Between Ordeals

Gauntlet

The Silence Before the Storm

Time Trax

Between Ordeals

Pretty shocked that Gauntlet III Character Select lost in the first round. I thought it was the fourth or fifth strongest song in the rumble.


Time Trax (4-2) and Final Fantasy X: The Silence Before the Storm (4-2) advance.


Round 1, Fight 12 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Plok - Venge Thicket (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8e5qTfy8cU), for the Super Nintendo (1993)

vs.

Arcade's Revenge - Title Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8Q0s95SRXM), for the Super Nintendo (Super Nintendo, 1992)

-------------------------------------------------------

Venge Thicket!!

Round 1, Fight 46 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Chateau d'Oraguille (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaTmeeQLFZ0), from Final Fantasy XI

vs.

On the Other Side of the Mountain (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQR6oko6YkE), from Final Fantasy VII

-------------------------------------------------------

Chateau d'Oraguille

Venge Thicket

On the Other Side of the Mountain

Venge Thicket

Chateau d'Oraguille

Arcade's Revenge, Final Fantasy XI.

Title Theme

On The Other Side Of The Mountain

Venge Thicket

Chateau d'Oraguille

Plok - Venge Thicket (4-2) and Final Fantasy XI: Chateau d'Oraguille (4-2) advance.


Round 1, Fight 13 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Plok - Akrillic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jbJSftFr20), for the Super Nintendo (1993)

vs.

Gauntlet III - Title Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHg14wwgtbY), for the Commodore 64 (1991)

-------------------------------------------------------

Akrillic

Round 1, Fight 46 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Track 27 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT1jA6IWa04), from Final Fantasy XIV

vs.

Ancient Castle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLxGFQqcfME), from Final Fantasy II

-------------------------------------------------------

Ancient Castle

Akrillic

Ancient Castle

Hmm...both of these contain what I'd consider typical characteristics of Follin compositions. He likes opening up with palindromic glissandos and fat bass like in Gauntlet III, and he likes throwing in lazyman's jazzy guitar solos (like 2:39 in Akrillic) at the end of his pieces. I'll go with Akrillic.

As for the other fight, this FFXIV track got coverage in the VGM Trivia thread quite a while back here (http://forums.ffshrine.org/f63/video-game-music-trivia-66197/3.html#post1615734). Nevertheless, I gotta go with Ancient Castle.

Ancient Castle

Gauntlet III

Ancient Castle

Gauntlet III

FF 14

Plok - Akrillic (3-2) and Final Fantasy II: Ancient Castle (5-1) advance.


Round 1, Fight 14 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Agent X II - Level 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaOjtFBWy4g), for the Commodore 64 (1987)

vs.

Ghouls'n Ghosts - Title Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgCLAXQow3w), for the Amiga 500 (1989)

-------------------------------------------------------

Ghouls'n Ghosts

Round 1, Fight 48 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNEdOk_w8Fg), from Final Fantasy III

vs.

Troian Beauty (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hXovY9nFXo), from Final Fantasy IV

-------------------------------------------------------

Troian Beauty

Agent X II

Battle

Ghouls n' Ghosts

Troian Beauty

Ghouls n' Ghosts

Troian Beauty

Battle

Agent X II, Final Fantasy IV.

Ghouls n' Ghosts

Troian Beauty

Ghouls'n Ghosts - Title Theme (4-2) and Final Fantasy IV: Troian Beauty (5-2) advance.


Round 1, Fight 15 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Pictionary - Drawing Game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8bVrwQxDXc), for the Nintendo (1990)

vs.

Chronos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-D24A_N4d4), for the ZX Spectrum 48K (1987)

-------------------------------------------------------

Chronos!!

Round 1, Fight 49 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

New Continent (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Gr6mezNjQ), from Final Fantasy VI

vs.

The Royal City of Rabanastre (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvW9KQ5vu8Y), from Final Fantasy XII

-------------------------------------------------------

New Continent

Pictionary, Final Fantasy XII.

Chronos

New Continent

Chronos

Rabanastre

Pictionary

Rabanastre

Pictionary

New Continent

Pictionary

Rabanastre

Pictionary - Drawing Game (4-3) and Final Fantasy XII: The Royal City of Rabanastre (4-3) advance.


Round 1, Fight 16 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Agent X (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOZ8rbmlWrk), for the ZX Spectrum 48K (1986)

vs.

Magic Johnson's Basketball (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-TfCSxYKP0), for the Commodore 64 (1990)

-------------------------------------------------------

I do like Magic Johnson's Basketball better between the two. Of the four ZX Spectrum tracks in this rumble, this is the only one I am inclined to vote against, and it's a pretty close call. However, in recognition that Magic Johnson's Basketball has already won, I'll vote Agent X. :P

Round 1, Fight 50 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Cursed Earth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-445ULSBqLk), from Final Fantasy V

vs.

Final Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oz9q6PXk3dI), from Final Fantasy IX

-------------------------------------------------------

Cursed Earth

Magic Johnson

Cursed Earth

Magic Johnson

Cursed Earth

Agent X

Final Battle

Final Battle

Final Battle

Magic Johnson's Basketball, Final Fantasy V.

Magic Johnson and Final Battle

Magic Johnson's Basketball (4-2) and Final Fantasy V: Cursed Earth (5-4) advance.


Round 2, Fight 1 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Plok - Cotton Island (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpJjXnCrC_I), for the Super Nintendo (1993)

vs.

Chester Field: Challenge to Dark Gor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIpQvG-Oiog), for the Commodore 64 (1988)

-------------------------------------------------------

Chester Field

Round 1, Fight 51 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

One-Winged Angel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7wJ8pE2qKU), from Final Fantasy VII

vs.

Clash on the Big Bridge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CMTXyExkeI), from Final Fantasy V

-------------------------------------------------------

Wow, brutal first round match-up. I'll take Clash on the Big Bridge. (By the way, anyone else ever notice that Uematsu blatantly borrowed from Closet Chronicles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ld3prHzbdY) by Kansas on this track?)

One-Winged Angel

Chester Field, Final Fantasy V.

Chester Field

One Winged Angel

Plok

Clash on the Big Bridge - Mostly for the Black Mages Arrangement.

Plok - Cotton Island

One-Winged Angel

Chester Field

One-Winged Angel


Edit (Off-topic): I heard a medley of the Metal Gear Solid themes that was pretty cool and wanted to share (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzMcXnoyXdg).

Clash on the Big Bridge

Also, I don't know if any of you use turntable, but you guys have great taste in VGM so come try out turntable.fm - Super Happy Fun Times Game Music (http://turntable.fm/super_happy_fun_times_game_music) --it's fun and I'm vidriera there.

Chester Field (5-2) and Final Fantasy V: Clash on the Big Bridge (5-4) advance.

Sorry about the long delay between posts. Over the past week I've moved half way across the state, lost my closest uncle to a heart attack, and found out my wife is pregnant. Crazy times.

Round 2, Fight 2 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Pictionary - Drawing Game (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8bVrwQxDXc), for the Nintendo (1990)

vs.

Plok - Akrillic (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jbJSftFr20), for the Super Nintendo (1993)

-------------------------------------------------------

Akrillic

Round 1, Fight 52 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Valley of the Fallen Star (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiJVNzQDdCY), from Final Fantasy VII

vs.

The Nightmare Begins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwBjCKWaO_0), from Final Fantasy VII

-------------------------------------------------------

The Nightmare Begins

sry about ur uncle, dood. no vote for me this time.

@jakob - i have enough music files for my own showdown although it was an appealing thought.

@Shad: No need to apologize. We all owe you a big Thank You for carrying the torch with the rumble, even through such busy times. I'm just sorry you have so much on your plate right now.

My votes are for Akrillic and The Nightmare Begins.

Akrillic

Valley Of The Fallen Star

No need to apologize Shad, hopefully things calm down for you.

Valley of the Fallen Star

Plok

Cosmo Canyon

Plok and Valley of the Fallen Star please.

Plok

Cosmo Canyon

Plok - Akrillic (6-0) and Final Fantasy VII: Valley of the Fallen Star (5-2) advance.

Round 2, Fight 3 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Solstice Title Screen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypNPxwnppU0), for the Nintendo (1990)

vs.

Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU-ss4JXe2Q), for the Commodore 64 (1989)

-------------------------------------------------------

Solstice

Round 1, Fight 53 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Frontier Village Dali (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKc-U80G9l0), from Final Fantasy IX

vs.

JENOVA Absolute (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yX4h8Agi7U), from Final Fantasy VII

-------------------------------------------------------

Frontier Village Dali

Ghouls n' Ghosts - Level 5

Frontier Village Dali

Ghouls n' Ghosts - Level 5

Frontier Village Dali

Jenova Absolute

Ghouls n' Ghosts

Jenova Absolute

Solstice

Dali

Solstice and JENOVA.

Solstice (4-3) and Final Fantasy IX: Frontier Village Dali (5-3) advance.

Round 2, Fight 4 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Treasure Master - World 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmq1kknhhBA), for the Nintendo (1991)

vs.

Arcade's Revenge - Gambit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we6Hg-fFc5A), for the Super Nintendo (1992)

-------------------------------------------------------

Treasure Master. Pretty interesting match-up here. More often than not, Follin reserved his best tunes for title, menu, and early level themes. Here you have perhaps the best prog and groove tracks respectively that he buried deeper into a game.

Round 1, Fight 54 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Vivi's Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_Pi7MC_6bE), from Final Fantasy IX

vs.

Liberi Fatali (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaoMcTfPXw4), from Final Fantasy VIII

-------------------------------------------------------

Vivi's Theme. I'm a sucker for the Final Fantasy IX soundtrack. I think the game in general was Square's last great idea, and Uematsu composed a soundtrack that suited it to perfection.

So I snuck a peak at Fight 55, and the next Final Fantasy match-up is going to be the oddest pairing that a random sort of 128 could have brought up--not necessarily in a good way, but it should be interesting.

Vivi's Theme

Arcade's Revenge

Liberi Fatali

Gambit

Vivi

Treasure Master - World 4

Liberi Fatali

Arcade's REvenge, Final Fantasy VIII.

Liberi Fatalli

Gambit

Arcade's Revenge - Gambit (4-2) and Final Fantasy VIII: Liberi Fatali (4-3) advance.

Round 2, Fight 5 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Plok - Venge Thicket (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8e5qTfy8cU), for the Super Nintendo (1993)

vs.

Arcade's Revenge - Spider-Man (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqgCsdFaJlU), for the Super Nintendo (1992)

-------------------------------------------------------

Arcade's Revenge - Spider-Man

Round 1, Fight 55 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Suteki da ne (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j5BKgGtjXQ), from Final Fantasy X

vs.

Eyes on Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qcW0oiLKHg), from Final Fantasy VIII

-------------------------------------------------------

I included the FF8-10 ballads because I felt they were a defining new feature of the Final Fantasy soundtrack in their day, but I always thought these two were especially horrible. (Memories of Life from FF9 is decent.) I certainly never expected any of them to advance. But here you have it. I'll take Suteki da ne because at least it's not in English.

Spider Man

Suteki da ne

Arcade's Revenge

Eyes on Me

Eyes On Me

Venge Thicket

Eyes on Me - Ughhhhh. "Suteki da ne" is atrocious. All that cloying, little girl's vocal quavering. Awful earworm chorus. And every time I listen to it, I wonder if the violin is in tune. Compared to that, the echoing woodblock and moronic lyrics of "Eyes on Me" seem pretty okay. But I've got no love for either. Whenever sang my song.

At least the strummed autoharp sound at the beginning of "Eyes on Me" is reminiscent of a much better song from the same soundtrack: "Martial Law" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjTw1Wcjzf8)

Lol at the match in FF Rumble...

Eyes on Me

Spider Man

Sounded like a pretty weak Final Fantasy battle this time. The Follin rumble was very strong.

Arcade's Revenge, Final Fantasy VIII.

Spider Man

Suteki da ne

Arcade's Revenge - Spider-Man (6-1) and Final Fantasy VIII: Eyes on Me (5-3) advance.

Round 2, Fight 6 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Magic Johnson's Basketball (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-TfCSxYKP0), for the Commodore 64 (1990)

vs.

Time Trax (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqyEbu8cmMg), for the Mega Drive (1994)

-------------------------------------------------------

Magic Johnson's Basketball

Round 1, Fight 56 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Theme of the Empire (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3vT3hp0U5w), from Final Fantasy XII

vs.

The Man with the Machine Gun (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jho-peCAKs), from Final Fantasy VIII

-------------------------------------------------------

I'm not in a good place to listen to these at the moment and I'm not nearly as familiar with them as I am with the Follin set, so I'll add my vote later.

Time Trax!

Theme of the Empire

Time Trax!

Theme of the Empire

The Man With The Machine Gun

Magic Johnson's Basketball

Man with the Machine Gun

Time Trax!

Theme of the Empire

Toughest choice in FF battle so far. Couldn't make up my mind for a few days ;P

Time Trax

Theme of the Empire

EDIT: JUST ARRIVED FROM DISTANT WORLDS PREMIERE IN LATINAMERICA.

EDIT: JUST ARRIVED FROM DISTANT WORLDS PREMIERE IN LATINAMERICA.

How was it???

EDIT: Videos (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=distant+worlds+buenos+aires&oq=distant+worlds+buenos+aires&gs_l=youtube.3..33i21.2427.7094.0.7189.31.22.2.7.9 .0.229.1949.10j10j1.21.0...0.0...1ac.1.11.youtube. V9t4FDk9b7I) are starting to go up.

Time Trax, Final Fantasy XII.

Time Trax (5-2) and Final Fantasy XII: Theme of the Empire (6-2) advance.

Round 2, Fight 7 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Ghouls'n Ghosts Title Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgCLAXQow3w), for the Amiga 500 (1989)

vs.

Equinox - Boss Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkTr5Lo09b0), for the Super Nintendo (1993)

-------------------------------------------------------

Ghouls'n Ghosts!!

Round 1, Fight 57 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Esper Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COG3R3Km-Zk), from Final Fantasy XII

vs.

Wild West (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ALrUk9GSaU), from Final Fantasy VI

-------------------------------------------------------

Esper Battle

Ghouls n' Ghosts Title Theme!

Wild West!

Ghouls n' Ghosts Title Theme!

Wild West!

Esper Battle

Ghouls and Ghosts

Ghosts N' Ghouls, Final Fantasy XII

For those interested in future rumbles, the Legend of Zelda rumble has finally been seeded to the best of my ability. I'll now begin the work of lining up the rumble on the bracket and correcting any inaccuracies I find during that process.

Cheers Link. I'm currently planning on starting off the Zelda rumble automatically at the conclusion of Final Fantasy.

Ghouls'n Ghosts - Amiga 500 Title (7-0) and Final Fantasy XII: Esper Battle (5-2) advance.

Round 2, Fight 8 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Silver Surfer - Level 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGNSHNf-nlU), for the Nintendo (1990)

vs.

Ghouls'n Ghosts Level 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3a9IUBj8X0), for the Commodore 64 (1989)
Arrangement of original work by Tamayo Kawamoto (Arcade, 1988) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUR52KRqcq4)

-------------------------------------------------------

Silver Surfer

Round 1, Fight 58 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

The Forgotten Capital (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE8-z8wW-c4), from Final Fantasy XII

vs.

Under Her Control (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKI8RFr0Ec8), from Final Fantasy VIII

-------------------------------------------------------

Under Her Control

Silver Surfer

Under Her Control

Silver Surfer

The Forgotten Capital

Ghouls'n Ghosts

The Forgotten Capital

Silver Surfer

Under Her Control

Silver Surfer

Under Her Control

This doesn't seem to be the thing any more, but I always liked to quote vote. Also, I've never thanked you ,Shad, for continuing the rumble. Thanks, and I think you're doing a wonderful job! Also, I had to vote for the track that was pure follin even though the arrangement was nice on gng.

Good to be back. And ditto--I am thankful on a daily basis that Shad is keeping the thread going.

EDIT: By the by, now seems like a good time to remind everyone we do have a Facebook Rumble group just in the case the Shrine ever goes down for an extended amount of time (PM me or topopoz for the link). Not only is it a good place for rumble conversation, but I also post vgm-related links when I can.

I'm just happy all of you keep participating. It wouldn't be much fun if there were only three or four of us.

We're taking off to my parents' vacation home for the holiday, so I won't be able to post the next fight for a day or two. I don't use Facebook, but good to know if I ever stop being stubborn about it. :)

Silver Surfer

The Forgotten Capital

Ghouls 'N Ghosts, Final Fantasy XII.

Good to hear it is after the Final Fantasy rumble - I've got a TON of song links to find!

Tails won the toss, so Silver Surfer - Level 1 (6-2) and Final Fantasy XII: The Forgotten Capital (4-4) advance.

Round 3, Fight 1 // Tim Follin Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

Ghouls'n Ghosts Title Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgCLAXQow3w), for the Amiga 500 (1989)

vs.

Arcade's Revenge - Gambit (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we6Hg-fFc5A), for the Super Nintendo (1992)

-------------------------------------------------------

Ghouls'n Ghosts!!

Round 1, Fight 59 // Final Fantasy Rumble

-------------------------------------------------------

The Final Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ-7Wk42aM0), from Final Fantasy IV

vs.

Phantom Train (www.youtube.com/watch?v=kck-jRkn5ts), from Final Fantasy VI

-------------------------------------------------------

Tough one. I think I'll take Phantom Train.

Ghouls n' Ghosts Title Theme

Phantom Train

The Final Battle