I totally agree - I'm interested in the sound track just based on that track.

I will begrudgingly pick the goblin track in the WoW runoff, though all options, including the winner of the last round, are so far behind the only track that lost (Outlands Alliance Base) that they really don't justify my vote.

Dustforce, Cataclysm

Elvish Piper Academy (3-2) and Kezan/Lost Isles 09 advance! Five fights remain in the WoW wild card phase. It'll be interesting to see if a track that lost the tie breaker in round 1 advances all the way.

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Round 1, Fight 3 // Arthur's Custom 16

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The Crypt (Rapp Scallion) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ5Hhw2fimo), from Monkey Island 2

vs.

Another Winter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wqv5wxKDSIo), from Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game

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The Crypt

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Wild Card Round 2 Fight 1 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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For the Alliance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESA4CMrP9zo), from Landfall

vs.

Stormlords on the March (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTEVPrA90I0), from Warlords of Draenor

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

Stormlords on the March

200 pages and 5000 replies. :o We've come a long way.

The Crypt (Rapp scalion)
For the Alliance

I stumbled upon "The Alliance March" when playing the WOW songs. Man, i'd vote for that one!

Can you believe it? To have sustained the thread this long...6+ years. That's a special thing. Crazy.

Why these two:
I know I'm not alone in saying that when it came time for me to work on my thesis for grad school, I started finding as many methods of procrastination as possible. One of them was to read about (http://www.amazon.com/Hardcoregaming101-net-Presents-Classic-Graphic-Adventures/dp/146095579X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443589602&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Guide+to+Classic+Graphic+Adventures) and play old adventure games, particularly LucasArts adventure games, that I'd never had access to as a kid. For the uninitiated, the library is incredible. Maniac Mansion, Day of the Tentacle, and the Sam & Max games all have their goofy, surrealist charms. And then there's The Dig. I could not believe I'd never heard of The Dig. It's fun, it's exciting, it's scary. And the soundtrack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8kBCO8x2JE) is one of the great PC soundtracks of the 90s. It is stupendous. It is a must listen. But of all LucasArts' games, I think The Secret of Monkey Island charmed me the most. It has so many stupid lines in it: "That�s the second biggest monkey head I�ve ever seen!" when he walks up to this (). Or all of the dialogue in the infamous swordfighting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whSrucazuLc) scenes (http://monkeyisland.wikia.com/wiki/Insult_Sword_Fighting) (some of which was written by the sci-fi author Orson Scott Card). But there's also an endearing and earnest sweetness in the love story that's a tribute to the character art (), dialogue, and Love Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqMLBFmNl-g). I chose The Crypt to represent all of this because it showcases Michael Land's skill for melody, mood, and layering, as well as his instinct for the unexpected. You do not, pretty much cannot, expect what comes a minute and a half into the song the first time you listen to it. And, for me, it is still so jarring, and so strangely affecting, that it has proven to be unforgettable. I love it. I don't know if others do. My wife just walked in the room as I was typing and said, "What the hell are they DOING in this song?" Whatever it is, I can't get enough.

Anamanaguchi, the band who composed the soundtrack for Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Video Game, is to video game music what Lisa Frank (https://www.google.com/search?q=lisa+frank&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIrr2Hw_-dyAIVWBmSCh1qxQSk&biw=1920&bih=922#tbm=isch&q=lisa+frank+trapper+keeper) was to Trapper Keeper art. There's a transfixing, intense exuberance to their work, a hyperreality modeled off the same plane of existence that gave us "Pizza Power!" and "I'm so excited! I'm so scared!" And this parody commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7Hoz2ZHYZM) accurately summarizes where you're headed if you try to live at that intensity level for any extended period of time. Anamanaguchi mills a sound that, for me, summons up all the weird, color-blocking power of that time and place (https://vimeo.com/29455771). More than the nostalgia factor, though, I think this song offers something special: it's rocking, heroic, a little sad, and catchy. It sorta reminds of the very tight, very dense Radiohead song "2+2=5, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qYEfndYVeg)" which led off an album in which they wanted to quickly capture the energy of their full-band live performances after a duo of albums that were created laboriously in bits and pieces in the studio. Probably the same could be attributed to the power of Anamanaguchi's work. It's electronic, but it has the verve of a live full-band performance. If you like this one, definitely check out the whole soundtrack (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QetHYUAGId8&index=8&list=PL1B2609BD77EF9088).

The Crypt

For the Alliance

Another Winter

Stormlords on the March

6 years with 200 pages and over 5000 replies! Insane!

And we soldier on!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Warlords of Draenor.

Off-topic: Yasunori Mitsuda is finally releasing a Chrono Trigger / Chrono Cross arrangement album, which he's been talking about doing for a decade. And the website (http://www.square-enix.co.jp/music/sem/page/harukanaru/) is now up with several samples. And...why? why? why? Ugh.

Ew, is the whole thing going to have singing? I lasted on that sample for about ten seconds before shaking my head and moving on.

The Crypt (3-2) and Stormlords on the March (3-2) advance!

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Round 1, Fight 4 // Arthur's Custom 16

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

Someone is Always Moving on the Surface (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf6vg4jMvhY), from Armored Core: For Answer

vs.

Lord of Vermillion 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4z52JIEf9M), from Lord of Vermillion 2

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

I'll have to give these another play when I'm less distracted, but Lord of Vermillion 2 gets the edge right now. Tough call.

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Wild Card Round 2 Fight 2 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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

Isle of Conquest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-YbfdLYFiU), from Call of the Crusade

vs.

The Argent Tournament (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYg5FK237qY), from Call of the Crusade

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

Speaking of tough calls, think I have to take Isle of Conquest in this one.

That is a lose lose matchup in the WoW rumble was far as I'm concerned.

Armored Core: For Answer, Isle of Conquest.

Lord of Vermillion 2

The Argent Tournament

Life's dumping on me right now. Some extemporaneous thoughts just to feel like I threw something out there...

Why these two:
The first time I heard Someone Is Always Moving on the Surface, it hit me like a short blast of wind. I got to the end and thought, "Too bad. They had something going there." But after listening to other stuff for a couple minutes, it kept nagging at me. So I listened again. Then I listened some more. And the next day, and then the next day. It's not what you'd expect from a game about massive Magitek suits blowing up world-destroying robot cities. A string of light, recursive piano notes floated above a chorus doesn't exactly suggest global warfare involving bioweapons manufacturers and mercenaries toting spaceship-breaching artillery contending for ownership of the last remaining human habitats suspended just above them. At first blush, this is the musical equivalent of a lemon meringue pie. But when the strings start tugging at the rhythm around the 1:00 minute mark, and then the chorus inverts the mix and starts a wrestling match with the piano, you do get, however abstractly, a reflection of the world of the story and also at that last strain, a sense that something significant is at stake. For me, it's a magical song that I used to open one of the mix CDs I made a friend.

And I closed that same mix CD with Lord of Vermillion 2. If Someone Is Always Moving on the Surface is a blast of wind, then this song is the musical equivalent of hypnagogia, the transitional state between consciousness and sleep, where things are watery but you're still vaguely aware of your surroundings. I really, really, really wish I had been able to find a video without that awful, audible clip at the beginning. But this will have to do, and hopefully you still get the sense of immersive beauty. Of all the years I've spent seeking out video game music, this has to be one of the greatest ones I found without the aid of a list or recommendation. I'd heard Nobuo Uematsu's soundtrack for the first Lord of Vermilion game�which just as an aside is an arcade game () controlled by collectible cards you place on a screen?�and thought it was a solid effort and knew when Hitoshi Sakimoto took over for the second one I should expect another solid effort. But wow. I seldom like vocal music in video games (not that I don't like vocal music, but for reasons that are specific to each example simply haven't heard much from a video game that moved me) but this is a huge exception. I don't have a clue what she's saying, but she's saying it sweet. The actor Wendell Pierce once said in an interview, in response to a question about music's power, that music brings clarity to desperation. I think that's true, but music also brings clarity to beauty. This is the kind of song where the world looks a little different afterwards.

Brutal choice.

Lord of Vermillion 2

The Argent Tournament

Off-topic: Pushing through some insomnia with A New World: Intimate Music from Final Fantasy (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpwxfwK9RQdkQzPlYgyv9AwbpqzXJX9J6) (by Nobuo Uematsu and Arnie Roth), which has turned out to be kinda great. Solid arrangements, interesting song choices, good performances. Well worth a listen.

Lord of Vermillion 2 (3-1) advances!

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Round 1, Fight 5 // Arthur's Custom 16

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

Subwoofer Lullaby (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpd85y_iTxY), from Minecraft

vs.

The Death Plains (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2FKUs5KwlA), from Darksiders II

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

I'll vote in a bit.

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Wild Card Round 2 Fight 3 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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

Kezan/Lost Isles 09 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D9UtRZ2Bec#t=156), from Cataclysm

vs.

Jaina's Ode to Theramore (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-vNMKBoiCM), from Landfall

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

I'll vote in a bit.

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

TIE-BREAKER: Wild Card Round 2 Fight 2 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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

Isle of Conquest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-YbfdLYFiU), from Call of the Crusade

vs.

The Argent Tournament (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYg5FK237qY), from Call of the Crusade

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

I'll take The Death Plains and Kezan/Lost Isles 09

I'll go with Subwoofer Lullaby for this one

And I'll stick with Kezan/Lost Isles 09

The Argent Tournament

The Death Plains

Jaina's Ode to Theramore


Thank you Arthur for the FF soundtrack! I love that they did pieces that aren't usually done.

No prob. :D Glad you liked it!

Why these two:
I am so, so far behind in playing contemporary video games. I know titles and franchises, and I catch speedruns of games I'm interested in a couple years after their release. But it has been ridiculously difficult�and this isn't exactly a unique story�to carve out time for video games in my thirties. If you only get an hour to an hour-and-a-half a night to relax after your spouse goes to sleep, it kinda limits how many directions you can focus your energies in, and trying frantically to keep up with multiple interests sorta undoes the whole point of relaxing in the first place. Because of that, I have never played Minecraft and only have a vague notion of what it is: antiquated graphics, sandbox game, my nieces play it. I don't know that I had conscious expectations for what the music was like, consequently, but whatever they were (maybe I was expecting chiptune music because of the graphics?), I was blown away by how pretty and calming and inviting C418 (https://c418.bandcamp.com/)'s soundtrack was. Though I still haven't played Minecraft, the music has become a nice ambient backdrop for when I'm reading. The soundtrack was also a nice little heads-up that there are still worlds of good music yet to explore at a time when I needed that reminder. I can remember back to when I first joined the Shrine, and there were numerous threads about how video game music isn't what it used to be, and composers are wholly focused on dynamic soundscapes instead of melody, and the art form is dead. Minecraft represents one out of many beautiful counterarguments.

Jesper Kyd seems to have flown under most people's radars for much of his career. There were certainly worthy contributions before Assassin's Creed (Sub-Terrania (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCPgPENPT7w) wouldn't be a bad place to start). But he has especially offered up some fantastic tracks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_phahUeCMHY) in the last few years. The Death Plains, I think, has a lot to offer, maybe deceptively so. The atmospheric patch, keyboard ostinato, and four-note progression on the bass are pretty basic components to get things started. But when you take that shift into the second section and get hit with a melody, counter-melody, and shift in the dynamics of the mix simultaneously, with what sounds like a doubled track of the keyboard with reverb added, sending it past your right ear into outer space, that's a pretty cool moment. Then the third section fades in this lithe guitar with the high frequencies cut out, stuttered by a tremolo effect, and it becomes a kind of partner to the keyboard. There's something unsettled about it, setting up the warm, gorgeous cello to talk back to the new melodic line. By the time you're at the two-minute mark, you've got a pretty sumptuous set of melodies, instruments, and dynamics to digest, which fade out at the end just as gracefully as they looped. This is not a piece by someone who is running out of ideas 37 soundtracks into his career.

The Death Plains

Kezan/Lost Isles 09

The Death Plains

Kezan/Lost Isles 09

Darksiders II, Cataclysm.

The Death Plains (5-1), Kezan/Lost Isles 09 (5-1), and The Argent Tournament (3-2) advance! We're on the final wild card round. The next two winners advance to round 4.

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Round 1, Fight 6 // Arthur's Custom 16

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

Street Fighting (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzOdR6YhI8I), from Adventures of Bayou Billy

vs.

Paper Dolls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwyQX-DQQ8A), from Digital: A Love Story

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

I'll vote in a bit.

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Wild Card Round 3 Fight 1 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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

Kezan/Lost Isles 09 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D9UtRZ2Bec#t=156), from Cataclysm

vs.

The Argent Tournament (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYg5FK237qY), from Call of the Crusade

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

I'll vote in a bit.

Adventures of Bayou Billy, Cataclysm.

Do you know where the third part in the argent tournament is played? it would be good to get a frame of reference.

---------- Post added at 08:23 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:14 PM ----------

Well time for voting...

Paper Dolls. my gut tells me that i could recommend this to friends, and its novel. it's nice the mix between the beginning and then the remainder of the track.

Kezan/Lost Isles09

Though I've gone for this the whole time, i have to say the first track only is my favourite. i could listen to that heaps.

Paper Dolls

The Argent Tournament

Why these two:
One of the first things I did when compiling my song list for this rumble was to check the NES rumble we did all the way back in 2010. Though I felt at the time my knowledge of the system's music was near comprehensive, I've since heard several additional, deserving (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU0GEcU63qw) NES soundtracks. Immediately, I noticed The Adventures of Bayou Billy wasn't included, and going through my notes, I saw that I excluded it because I didn't think it had enough legit songs to justify a spot. Still, the songs it does have (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTY3kBKgNug) are awesome, and "Street Fighting" is a perfect example of how one good one can carry a game. As a kid, when I rented Bayou Billy from the mom-and-pop video store down the street from my parents' house, I hated the game. Even with Game Genie, it was pointlessly, stupidly difficult. But I played the hell out of it because I liked the music so much. It's not just catchy. The way Hidenori Maezawa and company (with Atsushi Fujio taking responsibility for the arrangements) used sound effects at the end of the third section to create a punctuation mark is pretty clever. What continues to inspire me about that era's composers was the creativity they employed in the face of numerous limitations.

I love a song with a two-part structure if the composer can make it work (including this gem (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8566UtalG_o)). The ability to make something engaging with just one shift has always seemed to me to be exceptionally difficult to do. I've also been accused of being overly endeared to sad, dramatic music (https://youtu.be/Z4cVNZ4DPvA), so Paper Dolls is about as much in my wheelhouse as any song could be. To start with the sounds, I love the choices Matt Simmonds made. They're atmospheric and expressive, but still granular and nostalgia-inducing. I also love the surprise not just of the shift, but also of the countermelody around 1:15. This thing doesn't rise above the suspicion of being a straightforward house track until that moment, and when it does, the whole mood of the song changes wonderfully. The game itself has glowing reviews of its own, being hailed as one of the great love stories in video games. Hopefully, I'll get to play it one day.

Street Fighting

Kezan/Lost Isles 09

Well, I finally had a chance to listen. The next match-up might have to wait a day.

Paper Dolls
Kezan/Lost Isles 09

---------- Post added at 10:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 PM ----------

Also, awesome to hear some original material from you Arthur!

:D Thanks!

Paper Dolls

Kezan/Lost Isles 09

Nice stuff, Arthur :)

I'll be honest though, what I liked the most from this round was Gimmick! What a catchy soundtrack.

Not to bury the rumble in links, but here's a very sweet interview with Masashi Kageyama (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKevE-_U4g0&feature=youtu.be&t=10m25s), the composer of Gimmick!. And here's his Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/kagegon-1) page. If the man says he quit because he never received any feedback on his music, and then he says he'd be curious about what it's like to compose nowadays with so much more direct access to the fans, and then he creates a Soundcloud page...I think he'd like to hear from us.

Paper Dolls (4-2) and Kezan/Lost Isles 09 (5-1) advance!

Just a heads up, as my delays in updates might suggest, I've been pretty busy lately. If people want a composer rumble next, some selection input on the group page would be awesome. :)

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Round 1, Fight 7 // Arthur's Custom 16

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

Flea Pit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHLOEAn5JTo), from Plok

vs.

The Theme of Grandia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGiNEaNxOxo), from Grandia

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

I'll vote in a bit.

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

Wild Card Round 3 Fight 2 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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

Stormlords on the March (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTEVPrA90I0), from Warlords of Draenor

vs.

Outlands Horde Base (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd9JRYqzpqI#t=1m20s), from The Burning Crusade

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

I'll vote in a bit.

Flea Pit

Stormlords on the March - This one reminds me of Star Wars.

Why these two:
I've seen plenty of people call Plok! an underrated classic of the SNES. I don't see it in the gameplay, but the music qualifies. The Follin brothers, of whom Tim has the most name recognition, went nuts here. We've previously heard Beach (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ODKKILZiYY), Akrillic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jbJSftFr20), Cotton Island (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wfSAnC90Kw), Venge Thicket (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8e5qTfy8cU) (aka Plok's House), and the soundtrack as a whole compete in one rumble or another. But they haven't seen much success. I chose Flea Pit to represent the soundtrack here because of its previous lack of attention, because for years every video with it on YouTube had distorted audio, and because to my ears it's as good as the other songs on the soundtrack that have been previously featured. As with so much of Tim Follin's music, the seemingly primary effect is not the whole effect. Genres are mixed. Principles of composition are ignored. But it all feels right. You've got a slow introduction leading into a dramatic shift, like we've heard before. And that takes you into a trip-hop section. And then, what do you even call this, except "prog"? Whatever the label, the bigger point is that the drum fill into the second section is magical. And one could rightfully point to not just the music, but the technical ingenuity in creating the music as reason enough to appreciate the Follin Bros. work. Tim, the king of soundtracks for bad games (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G83jWTYDMMs), has been one of my favorites for a long time, and I'm happy to see searching his name today that he's finally got a new project (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/139513174/contradiction/description) up and running.

Let's get this out of the way: Grandia's theme is cheesy as hell. But it makes me laugh so much. It is so earnest and so packed with big gestures that the cumulative effect wears down my cynical side. The first time I ever heard it, I remember my immediate reaction was "They're starting their game with The Love Boat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmUlKPthrag) theme?" My wife popped her head in my office and asked "What IS that?" And then we started dancing. It's infectious. This would be an amazing song for a high school marching band to play. Wait for 3:02. I mean, can't you imagine a high school band director summoning that galloping drumbeat out of the earth, only for some high school kid wearing a beret to stand up and tear through the guitar solo? This is a song for parents to clap to. It is perfect for a school function. There are no rough edges here. Everything down to the big finish is lovably hokey. And I love it. It makes me smile. This is, by the way, not even close to the whole story for Grandia's soundtrack. In the same game, you've also got a lovely theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JABPyeq5kaQ) that would be right at home in a Hayao Miyazaki film, an excellent gamelan-driven town theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpwCOsg1yXU), a goofy number (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikiii7uGqTs) using sound effects for a port town, and far more. Noriyuki Iwadare can write. With the chosen track, he's just indulged a side of himself to a degree that makes me giddy.

The Theme of Grandia

Stormlords on the March - on the complete opposite end of the spectrum from my other vote (and, agreed, feels like Star Wars :D)

Plok, the Burning Crusade.

The Theme of Grandia was entertaining enough. I'll take that and Stormlords on the March.

Shad's actually updating on time? No way!

Stormlords on the March (3-1) advances. We're finally on to round 4, with 12 tracks remaining. The Burning Crusade and Mists of Pandaria have been eliminated! Cataclysm performed the strongest by far, with 5 of 14 tracks (36%) advancing to the quarterfinals. Vanilla WoW and Wrath of the Lich King both moved 3 songs ahead out of 12 (25%) and 19 (16%) respectively, while Warlords of Draenor managed 1 (10%). In each non-wildcard round, tracks were sorted by expansion and assigned a +1 group number, then paired randomly within their assigned group. In other words, most of the fights were between two different eras of WoW music and the results are a fairly accurate reflection of our collective expansion preference. I'm pretty happy to see that my personal favorite era in WoW pulled through on top. :)

Round 4 of World of Warcraft will function similar to the first wild card round. For each fight, pick your top two in order. The four survivors of Round 4 will advance to the semi-finals. (I apologize if this experimental method doesn't suit some of you. This approach effectively shortened the length of the rumble by something like four or five months without forcing us to limit the game to 64 tracks, so that's why I went with it.)

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

Round 1, Fight 8 // Arthur's Custom 16

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

You Are Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPQnhhUqtU), from Total Distortion

vs.

I'm Feeling Lovely (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L2YlYi6tOM), from Flight

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

I'm Feeling Lovely is pretty great, but I think I have to give the edge to one of the more imaginative tracks in vgm history: You Are Dead!

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

Round 4 Fight 1 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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

Pick Two In Order!

Enchanted Forest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r7iz-9v9bA), from World of Warcraft

Angrathar's Shadow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9LWT-tQFt0), from Wrath of the Lich King

Thaurissan's Reach (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ejk7iCQFVw), from Cataclysm

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

1. Angrathar's Shadow
2. Thaurissan's Reach

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

TIE-BREAKER: Round 1, Fight 7 // Arthur's Custom 16

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

Flea Pit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHLOEAn5JTo), from Plok

vs.

The Theme of Grandia (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGiNEaNxOxo), from Grandia

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

Hooray for free time and for subtracting four months from a rumble (!). And here we go for the final fight of my custom rumble's first round...

Why these two:
If I accomplish nothing else in this rumble, I want to introduce you to Total Distortion (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Distortion). Total Distortion is one of my favorite soundtracks. I've mentioned it repeatedly in threads. Yet no one seems to have heard of it. I don't know that there's a funnier soundtrack in vgm history, or a more comprehensively discouraging "Game Over" song. You gotta dig deep if you're going to recover from that and defeat the Guitar Warriors of the Distortion Dimension. Just give yourself 20 minutes to experience the head-shaking idiocy of "Kitty Cat," the meta-song "Saw It Off and Ship It," and the unbelievable catchiness of it all. Here's a good starting place: Hang Your Head (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXJTdpWjEYY), Saw It Off and Ship It (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw5T_hdexAI), Chunky Luv (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86FmAkUZebU), Child of Evil (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW3Ld6e_MmY), Kitty Cat (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLNywOc1Sn4), Heavy Disco (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EX0FoPeiSA), and My Name Is Edgar Death (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3ZubQXVyUw).

Flight is a launch game, a genre I'm particularly fond of when stressed from work, and a very good one. But it sets itself apart from others�like Toss the Turtle (http://www.kongregate.com/games/Foreverkul/toss-the-turtle), Knightmare Tower (http://www.kongregate.com/games/JuicyBeast/knightmare-tower), Into Space (http://www.kongregate.com/games/BarbarianGames/into-space-2), and Chuck the Sheep (http://www.kongregate.com/games/ArmorGames/chuck-the-sheep)�with this song by NewGrounds user Stackz989 (http://stackz989.newgrounds.com/audio/) (who is accompanied on the soundtrack by David Orr (https://www.youtube.com/user/DavidOrrMusic/videos), the wonderful composer for the Sonny series). You'll notice the looping sucks in the video (there were limited options on YouTube, but that's the case with so much unheralded vgm from flash games), so click here (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/559714) for the full effect. This has to be one of most pleasant songs I've ever heard.

You Are Dead

1. Enchanted Forest
2. Angrathar's Shadow

Total Distortion, 1. World of Warcraft, 2. Cataclysm

Just a heads up, as my delays in updates might suggest, I've been pretty busy lately. If people want a composer rumble next, some selection input on the group page would be awesome. :)

I just gave the Shimomura rumble a big ol' shove. Still needs more.

EDIT: Now at 15 soundtracks. Needs feedback and input.

You are Dead I wouldn't even be mad if this was what played as I enter the afterlife. This is great! I love it, I literally laughed out loud! I'm am totally sharing this with my brother! We share stupid fun songs like this with each other when we find them.

1. Thaurissan's Reach
2. Enchanted Forest This was a tough decision

Need more votes. :-\

I'll give it one more day for the tie breaker.

Alright well, I'll go ahead and switch my vote to Flea Pit rather than flip a coin. Update coming when I get a chance.

You Are Dead (4-0) and Flea Pit (3-1) advance! Enchanted Forest (5 points) defeats Thaurissan's Reach (4 points) and Angrathar's Shadow (3 points)!

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Round 2, Fight 1 // Arthur's Custom 16

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

Flea Pit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHLOEAn5JTo), from Plok

vs.

Luna Ascension (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp9eRncVbcY), from Tower of Heaven

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

This match-up is kind of ironic because Flea Pit is really tame by Follin standards while Luna Ascension sounds like just the sort of thing he might have composed back in the day.

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Round 4 Fight 2 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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Pick Two In Order!

Legends of Azeroth (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqsazZUbt9s), from World of Warcraft

Dalaran (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrUkZdtPohc), from Wrath of the Lich King

Kezan/Lost Isles 09 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D9UtRZ2Bec#t=156), from Cataclysm

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

1. Dalaran
2. Legends of Azeroth

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

Agreed about Follin.

Luna Ascension

1. Legends of Azeroth
2. Kezan/Lost Isles 09

*I think all three are worthy selections, though.

Luna Ascension

1. Legends of Azeroth

2. Dalaran

Plok, 1. World of Warcraft, 2. Wrath of the Lich King.

That log in music.... SO good.

Luna Ascension (3-1) advances! Legends of Azeroth (7 points) defeats Dalaran (4 points) and Kezan/Lost Isles 09 (1 point)!

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

Round 2, Fight 2 // Arthur's Custom 16

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The Crypt (Rapp Scallion) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ5Hhw2fimo), from Monkey Island 2

vs.

You Are Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPQnhhUqtU), from Total Distortion

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

I gave You Are Dead the edge in round 1, but its entertainment value doesn't trump the beautiful and creative twist that concludes The Crypt.

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Round 4 Fight 3 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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

Pick Two In Order!

Slaughtered Lamb (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZbXGkNPof0), from World of Warcraft

The Shattering (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADmPpY_oC2k), from Cataclysm

Air (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3-W8SbIl0Y), from Rage of the Firelands

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

1. Slaughtered Lamb always
2. More of a challenge here. The Shattering is a more 'complete' song, but I have to go with Air for its in-context appeal.

Idon'tknowIdon'tknowIdon'tknow. You Are Dead? This is already getting ridiculously difficult for me.

1. Slaughtered Lamb - Grown quite fond of this one
2. The Shattering

You Are Dead

1. The Shattering
2. Air

Total Distortion, 1. The Shattering, 2. Air.

You Are Dead (3-1) advances! The Shattering (5 points) defeats Slaughtered Lamb (4 points) and Air (3 points)!

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Round 2, Fight 3 // Arthur's Custom 16

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

Elvish Piper Academy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIKoLRV6lHA), from Dustforce

vs.

The Death Plains (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2FKUs5KwlA), from Darksiders II

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The Death Plains

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Round 4 Fight 4 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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Pick Two In Order!

Totems of the Grizzlemaw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGmIWA7LADk), from Wrath of the Lich King

Xaxas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLw5MX7bZqI), from Cataclysm

Stormlords on the March (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTEVPrA90I0), from Warlords of Draenor

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

As rng would have it, the final grouping of the quarterfinals is incredibly stacked. I didn't think I'd actually have to pause and think before giving Totems of the Grizzlemaw my top slot in its match, but I honestly wouldn't be disappointed to see any of these tracks go all the way. Amazing to think that Xaxas almost missed the cut during the creation stage, when I was sampling hundreds of songs and couldn't give my undivided attention to all of them. Stormlords on the March is an incredibly worthy selection to be the lone representative of Warlords of Draenor at this stage. WoD is the expansion that saved WoW, and its music definitely helped in transitioning this game back into its rightful spot at the top of MMORPGs.

I thought I'd be repping Grizzlemaw and Slaughtered Lamb through to the end, but screw it. Both of these competitors send shivers down my spine.

1. Xaxas
2. Stormlords on the March

and a belated Happy Halloween to all my friends in Rumble Land.

The Death Plains

1. Stormlords on the March
2. Xaxas

Honestly, I'd be happy to see any track in these two fights advance. :-\

The Death Plains

1. Stormlords on the March
2. Xaxas

I'm surprised to see Xaxas get so many votes - I feel it is the weakest of the three.

Darksiders II, 1. Wrath of the Lich King, 2. Warlords of Draenor.

The Death Plains (3-1) advances! Stormlords on the March (6 points) defeats Xaxas (4 points) and Totems of the Grizzlemaw (2 points)!

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Round 2, Fight 4 // Arthur's Custom 16

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Paper Dolls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwyQX-DQQ8A), from Digital: A Love Story

vs.

Lord of Vermillion 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4z52JIEf9M), from Lord of Vermillion 2

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

will vote later

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Semi-Finals Fight 1 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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

Legends of Azeroth (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqsazZUbt9s), from World of Warcraft

vs.

The Shattering (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADmPpY_oC2k), from Cataclysm

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

will vote later

Lord of Vermillion 2

Shattering

First match-up is cruel. Paper Dolls

The Shattering

Lord of Vermillion 2

Shattering

Lord of Vermillion

I..I don't know! I would not be disappointed if this was the final round. I think they are both equally worthy. I feel like The Shattering is a better more epic piece, but Legends of Azeroth is pretty freaking awesome too, plus Legends holds quite a bit of nostalgia as well, which is sometimes hard to separate from the piece. It seems that The Shattering is going to win, so I'm going to give at least one vote for Legends of Azeroth

Relevant: Warcraft movie trailer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rxoz13Bthc) released

Nice! Although I will have to say I was half expecting one of the to songs from the current battle to be in the trailer!

Weird thing about Legion is Blizzard announced it on the side like two months ago. It was the most anti-climatic BlizzCon ever.

Also going for the original tune here - a timeless WoW classic and probably the track that has played the longest for me as I played the game.

Paper Dolls, World of Warcraft.

Sorry I didn't warn you all ahead of time; we took a little vacation to Colonial Williamsburg for Veterans Day and all the data I need to update this is on a spreadsheet back on my desktop. I'll have the next matches up Thursday or Friday.

Hope you have fun!

We'll be waiting!

Lord of Vermillion 2 (3-2) and The Shattering (3-2) advance!

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Semi-Finals Fight 1 // Arthur's Custom 16

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

Luna Ascension (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp9eRncVbcY), from Tower of Heaven

vs.

You Are Dead (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pPQnhhUqtU), from Total Distortion

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

will vote later

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Semi-Finals Fight 2 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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

Stormlords on the March (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTEVPrA90I0), from Warlords of Draenor

vs.

Enchanted Forest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r7iz-9v9bA), from World of Warcraft

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

will vote later

Luna Ascension

Stormlords on the March

You are Dead

Stormlords on the March

Hope you enjoyed your vacation Shad.

I definitely think Stormlands on the March is a better musical piece, but it doesn't give me the same feeling that I got from Enchanted Forest when I was playing. For me when voting, that's about 1000x more important than musical quality. The feeling and tone the music sets is critical to video games. Because of that, I go vanilla.

Luna Ascension, World of Warcraft.

Luna Ascension

I think I could easily go either way in the WoW match-up depending on my mood, but right now I'm feeling in-game appeal, and that award goes to Enchanted Forest. It had a tremendous impact on the exploration experience in vanilla Wow, especially in the Ashenvale zone.

While we're waiting for a tiebreaker, I've been watching a playthrough of Undertale, a retro-RPG mostly in the style of Earthbound but with many other references to classic SNES RPGs. And right around the three-hour mark (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYoYpwBUkY8#t=02h56m41s), which the link will take you to, a recurring character in the form of a showboating killer robot re-enacts a scene you'll all recognize. It's strange. It's funny. And it kinda fits the mold of "You Are Dead," so I'm calling it relevant enough to post here. :D

Luna Ascension (3-1) advances!

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Semi-Finals Fight 2 // Arthur's Custom 16

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The Death Plains (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2FKUs5KwlA), from Darksiders II

vs.

Lord of Vermilion 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4z52JIEf9M), from Lord of Vermilion 2

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

Ouch. Lord of Vermilion? Maybe?

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

TIE-BREAKER: Semi-Finals Fight 2 // World of Warcraft Rumble

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

Stormlords on the March (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTEVPrA90I0), from Warlords of Draenor

vs.

Enchanted Forest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r7iz-9v9bA), from World of Warcraft

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

Lord of Vermilion 2 for me.

The Death Plains - easy peasy!

Have to agree with anima on this one. Darksiders II.

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Both rumbles are sitting on a tie breaker to move into the final. :o

Um... (http://www.nooooooooooooooo.com/)

I come to the rescue. (in other words, i'm back for good guys!)

---------- Post added at 07:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:38 PM ----------

Instant like on WoD track!

man.

Lord of Vermillion 2 creeps in for me.

Stormlords on the March

The enchanted forest is a good track though

#hero

I ended up grabbing both the Lord of Vermilion II and the Darksiders II soundtracks because of this round. Amazing stuff. Jesper Kyd might be the best composer I never paid attention to before. (But how would I know? oh ho!)

Grrreat! I'm glad you're digging them. It's too bad Jesper Kyd went against Nobuo Uematsu in Round 1 of the Composers Rumble. He didn't stand a chance (and only got one vote--from Smarty). By the by, Kyd recently posted some new stuff (https://soundcloud.com/jesperkyd/sets/warhammer-end-times-vermintide) to his Soundcloud.

i can definitely hear the warhammer influences here. i just imagine sitting down to a battlefield with your units and opposing forces.

This might be a first for us: two rumbles chancing to conclude on the same day!

Arthur's custom mix was a blast, and it definitely confirmed that this style of rumble is worth pursuing further. I was especially impressed by Lord of Vermillion II, Darksiders II, Tower of Heaven, and Monkey Island 2, and it just so happens two of those tracks made it to the final round. :)

The WoW mix was pretty near and dear to me. Considering just how long it's been around, I think I can safely say at this point that I've invested more hours into World of Warcraft than any other video game in the universe. My taste in tracks was strikingly reminiscent of my taste in expansions, and considering half of what made any given expansion fun for me was who I was playing with, it's safe to say there was a heavy dose of bias in my votes. But I can't help that. Vanilla WoW aside, Cataclysm and Warlords of Draenor are my two favorite expansions in this game (though I regretfully admit having never had an active account during The Burning Crusade), and they just so happen to be the two expansions represented in the final here. I certainly can't complain about that. The Shattering is a sprawling opus which served as the log-in screen theme for the entire Cataclysm expansion. If Xaxas introduced the player to Deathwing, this song delivered the broad view of the changes his madness brought to Azeroth. An image of Deathwing was obviously the most appropriate option there. Stormlords on the March is an Alliance-based theme, aimed to reflect their relentless charge across Draenor, beating back the Gul'dan's Iron Horde at every turn. One of the most unique aspects of Warlords of Draenor was that it transformed the player's role in the game. Where in the past you played the roll of a powerful soldier in Varian Wrynn or Thrall's army, in WoD you were the leader calling the shots and leading the push against Gul'dan, with your own private base of operations in Draenor. Since Stormlords is an Alliance theme, and I happen to be Alliance, I logged into the game and snapped an image that properly represented it: me, standing in front of my garrison headquarters. :)

Something that just dawned on me and is worth noting: one of our wild card tracks actually made it to the finals! I'm pretty happy about how I approached that, now that I see how it panned out. Stormlords on the March actually lost to a coin toss in the second round, but forged its way back into the fourth by defeating For the Alliance and Outland Horde Base in the wildcards.


Final // Arthur's Custom 16

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp9eRncVbcY) VS (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4z52JIEf9M)

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

Luna Ascension (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp9eRncVbcY), from Tower of Heaven

vs.

Lord of Vermilion 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4z52JIEf9M), from Lord of Vermilion 2

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


Final // World of Warcraft Rumble

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADmPpY_oC2k)

VS

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTEVPrA90I0)


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

The Shattering (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADmPpY_oC2k), from Cataclysm

vs.

Stormlords on the March (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTEVPrA90I0), from Warlords of Draenor

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

oh mi gosh those pictures are so cool :O

oops, for some reason, the first time i tried, it truncated my posts together, this time it separated them. here it is .

The whole experience of this has shown me that i have a very short attention span. That, and I am very flippant in musical choice. I went from one to another to one again.

That said I really appreciate your advice on your rumble, arthur. I would definitely share tower of heaven song with my friends so I'm going with that.

Shattering seems to totally blow the other song out of the water. Maybe it's length (you have a bunch of intertwining themes) or the fact that I researched it and found invincible and that it in fact had words that made sense. I'm definitely going with shattering for this round. To be honest, it sounds so audacious and dramatic.

I really appreciate you guys going before me in vgm.

.

Luna Ascension - Thank you Arthur, the custom mix has been a lot of fun! Lots of stuff I haven't heard before. I have to say I really enjoyed Darksiders II and Tower of Heaven.

Can I just vote for both and call it a day here? No? Shucks and darn. I love both of these. It is yet again hard to separate nostalgia from music, despite that, I'm going to go with The Shattering for this final round.

Lord of Vermilion 2

The Shattering

Lord of Vermilion 2 might have gotten my pick matched up song against song, but the Darksiders II soundtrack is easily the best thing I discovered thanks to Arthur's rumble. :)

I gave myself two extra days, and the amount of hemming and hawing I'm doing over my choices is getting ridiculous. Before I cast my vote...

1) I LOVE the visual layout of this final round. The pictures are great (and particularly getting to see your character :D), but also the horizontal versus vertical arrangement. Beautiful job.

2) I'm extremely glad people enjoyed the selections! Thanks to all of you for taking the ride. One of the primary joys of the rumble, for me, is discovering new music with you guys. It gives me great pleasure to know you all heard something you liked--and that you wanted to share with others.

3) Similarly, I want to thank Shad and Link for putting together the World of Warcraft rumble. Previously, I'd heard next to nothing from the series (having never played the game), so this has been a great and long-delayed chance to experience an important library of vgm.

4) I also think, as Shad mentioned when introducing the rumble, that the material allowed for a different kind of rumble with different criteria to weigh. And that made for a fun experience all on its own.

5) And the expansiveness of the selections led to an inventive and I think undeniably successful experiment with the wild card rounds.

6) And we got to see Shad play a wonderful rendition of one of the rumble's best selections. This was a pretty damn magical chapter in the rumble's history.

So having said all of that...

The argument's already been made that The Shattering is the more ambitious musical piece, and I agree. It gets my vote, too. But--to piggyback feral's comment--both tracks are awesome. Stormlords on the March is definitely going on one of my playlists for good.

As for choosing between the two tracks I felt should face off in the final even as I was making this rumble, I hate to do it, I hate it, but I have to choose Lord of Vermilion 2 by a hair, meaning we've got a tie and it's all up to Link, Smarty, Jessie, or anyone else who wants to take on the responsibility!

There is a missing link in this rumble conclusion...

Well um

I was asked to break a tiebreaker, but when I got here, I had no idea it was for a finals match. Pressure, but I did hear both songs, and I have to say the crown will go to........



LUNA ASCENSION

Cheers!

---------- Post added at 10:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:48 AM ----------

I'll update later today, but coming up:

Best of Yoko Shimomura

And you pick the second!

Here are our current options that are close enough to roll out soon:


Custom 16 (Shad)
Custom 16 (NARFNra)
FF13
Yoko Shimomura
C64
7th Gen

---------- Post added at 10:50 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:49 AM ----------

Akira Yamaoka well under way.

Thanks aces! And thanks Shad! Looking forward to the update later today. We started World of Warcraft on January 2 (Thread 66118)...We've come a long way.

(By the way, the Akira Yamaoka theme is now ready to roll.)

EDIT: Added some suggestions to the C64 thread as well.

I wouldn't mind 7th Gen, if it had things like type zero (though i've yet toplay it) that would be great to do a rumble for!

I wouldn't mind doing another custom 16

My top picks (in this order).

Custom 16 (Shad)
Yamaoka
C64

We have two winners!

Arthur's Custom 16 WINNER

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp9eRncVbcY)

Luna Ascension (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp9eRncVbcY), from Tower of Heaven

Path to victory:
R1: Mystic Ark - First Step Towards Adventure (4-1)
R2: Plok - Flea Pit (3-1)
R3: Total Distortion - You Are Dead (3-1)
R4: Lord of Vermilion 2 - Lord of Vermilion 2 (3-2)


World of Warcraft WINNER

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADmPpY_oC2k)

The Shattering (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADmPpY_oC2k), from Cataclysm

Path to victory:
R1: Warlords of Draenor - Wolf at the Gate (3-3)
R2: Burning Crusade - Outlands Alliance Base (3-1)
R3: Hour of Twilight - Thrall's Might (4-1)
R4.1: World of Warcraft - Slaughtered Lamb (5-4)
R4.2: Rage of the Firelands - Air (5-3)
R5: World of Warcraft - Legends of Azeroth (3-2)
R6: Warlords of Draenor - Stormlords on the March (4-0)

yahooo!!!!

I'll vote C64 or 7th Gen

---------- Post added at 07:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:47 PM ----------

So that's basically 2 votes for each of C64, 7th Gen, and the next Custom 16. I'll rng it tomorrow if Link or someone else doesn't show up to make the call.

Thanks to Shad for the victory stats. No one could say The Shattering had an easy path to 1st place. On another note...

Do we really want to swing for the fences with a career-spanning rumble evaluating entire soundtracks (Shimomura) and a generation-spanning rumble evaluating entire soundtracks (7th gen)? Since we've already got Shimomura lined up, I think it'd be nice to pair it with a rumble comprised of individual songs, preferably a short one.

Yeah, that's a lot of demand on everyone's ears. And with Link thoroughly missing we might have a pretty low turn-out as is. I can try and drum up some support in the downloads section for a C64 rumble or we can do the 16. Fwiw I randomed it when I made that first post and it spit out C64. I certainly don't mind either.

If we're going to avoid doing two full soundtracks at a time, then C64 is going to have its go pretty soon anyway because there aren't many single track options out there at the moment and those are all 16.

---------- Post added at 12:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:26 PM ----------

I can just go ahead and roll with Yoko Shimomura and my custom one tonight if everyone's cool with that.

Sounds good to me

I am listening to shimomura songs to get me in the mood :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbKS1qvukTY if anyone interested!

And now, I'm pleased to be kicking off the Yoko Shimomura rumble and my own personal Custom 16. I'm no expert on Shimomura, so I'll leave her for Arthur if he wants to provide some background and has the time for it. Cheers!

Round 1, Fight 1 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Radiant Historia for the Nintendo DS, 2010
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvI9LB4DpKw), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I82d6NBRFjA), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En1E4y3Zjd8), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITlaZJp0qAs), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emossz8J_kM)

vs.

Luminous Arc 2 for the Nintendo DS, 2008
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oePKvP7qvmI), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPCRkSXfT4w), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZnTQbXSKpE), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I93GapTg2Xw), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crPK_JVSKx0)

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

Two very different soundtracks for the same system. I'll take the subtle tranquility of Radiant Historia over Luminous Arc 2's more up-beat numbers.

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

Well, here we are. At the start of 2012, I had never heard of the vast majority of the 16 games represented in this rumble. But something sparked in me the will to go research the origins of video game music, and I followed through with it pretty extensively over that summer. I ended up tossing my assumptions thoroughly to the wind. I had accepted a common misconception that vgm was pretty dinky until technology on the SNES level rendered more robust composition possible--this entirely linear idea that said musicians first got the idea of vgm as a real possibility in their heads on the NES and C64 and didn't really flourish until the Super Nintendo. In fact, there is little if anything 'linear' about it.

Arcade systems were capable of producing sound beyond SNES quality by the mid-80s, and Taito's Zuntata sound team, lead by Hisayoshi Ogura, were orchestrating vgm for live performance while the average American was still jamming to Koji Kondo's catchy but entirely rudamentary NES jingles. Japanese computer gaming massively outpaced the west in sound quality, with the MSX and PC88 kicking it way above PC levels. Meanwhile, a competitive European scene which prioritized pushing simplistic technology to its limits dabbled in all sorts of experimental techniques with an impressive level of attention to aesthetic detail. (Japan seemed to pick up on this wave of inspiration with the Game Boy in the early 90s.)

You got to hear a lot of the chip era's better kept secrets in the Tim Follin and Game Boy rumbles. The upcoming Commodore 64 rumble will deliver quite a bit more. My idea in crafting this rumble centered on the unpleasant fact that Tim Follin's ZX Spectrum masterpieces got consistently sidelined for their technological limitations when faced against his more accessible works. I've revived my favorite of those tracks, but I still wanted to keep this largely new for all of you. When it came time to make cuts though, I consistently removed songs that felt like they had a wee bit too much of a technological advantage. You will probably have to choose between two songs that could be produced on your toaster at some point, though you might never know it to hear them. This rumble is about dismantling what you thought was possible in the 1980s, giving great melodies on old systems a chance among their contemporaries, and forcing aesthetic to be a focus. The novel ways in which composers used limitations to their advantage will hopefully shine through a bit here--though like with the Tim Follin rumble, I'm pretty confident on who the winner will be. I couldn't help but include it, and I doubt any of you have heard it before. :)

This is first and foremost an old vgm rumble. I found myself cutting a number of tracks that I loved because they were simply too advanced. Only three songs in this mix are from the 90s, and one of those is on a quintessentially 80s system. Enjoy.

The first match-up here is kind of fitting because both of these songs appeared in 1987. The difference between the two systems is staggering, whatever you make of how both artists handled their technological limitations. On the first, Hal Canon pushes through a gorgeous classical melody that is impressively complex for its day and system. On the second, you'll get to hear some of the best of what the PC-8801--a Japanese computer system fairly unknown to the west--was capable of. I tend to think of the PC88 as a smooth, clear soundsystem, contrasted to its grittier chief rival, the MSX2. Both had their merits.

Round 1, Fight 1 // Shad's Custom 16

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

Gauntlet - Stage 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkSD3pCyfP4), by Hal Canon (NES, 1987)

vs.

Shinra Banshou - The Universe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4hj4K1u6HA), by Nobuhito Koise (PC-88, 1987)

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

Shinra Banshou

Radiant Historia easily wins it for me this round. I keep meaning to play this game but never got it. Hearing the music makes me want to go out there and get it now! The music here really reminds me of a mix of great late 90's early 00's jrpgs, like a blend of FFIX and Chrono Cross. Does anyone know if this game is grindy? I'm not the biggest fan of grindy games...hence why I have yet to beat FFV.

While Gauntlet sounds like an 8-bit version of some classical piano piece I cannot place at the moment, Shinra Banshou - The Universe really impressed me with it's complexity and clarity.

lol... why did you have to go and make me like vgm more XD

Luminous Arc 2 gets my vote this round. I can't put my finger on why I like it more, but it puts me at ease.

Shinra Bashou - The Universe It was pretty evocative music for this experience. even though I've never seen the game before, it made me want to play it.

@Shad: Well said. I'm excited for the rumble. The biggest eye-opening moment for me in regards to the non-linear nature of vgm's evolution was when I first got into Amiga and X68000 music. Some of that stuff is amazing, and it was happening side by side with the NES and the beginnings of the SNES. I had the exact same epiphany as you.

@feral: The reviews (http://www.metacritic.com/game/ds/radiant-historia) make it sound good, but I couldn't find a quick answer to whether it gets grindy. I'd be interested in the answer if you can find out.

@PforPianist: That's the drug we deal, after all. :D

I'm in the middle of the typical last-week-of-the-semester craziness, so I'll say what I can while bleary-eyed. As usual with a soundtrack rumble, we're using 5 songs to suggest the experience of the entire soundtrack. That doesn't mean we are disregarding the other songs on the soundtrack, but the five tracks serve as a Cliff's Notes for those short on time and provide an opportunity for anyone familiar with other songs on the soundtrack to promote their favorites and encourage more votes for it. Having said all of that, the 5-track selections for each of the Shimomura competitors make a good case for each soundtrack's strengths, so this is a good early example of how it might be helpful to check out additional songs. Once I add in songs like The Edge of Green (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICvr93Bz1S4), Beyond the Wilderness (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cs10FU6-Qc), and Dreams Shadowed in a Cloud of Dust (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx8Ii29xazE), I've gotta give my vote to Radiant Historia.

As a sidenote, my research led me to believe a lot of fans consider battle songs Shimomura's bread and butter. She's got a lot of good ones (see: Super Mario RPG) and a lot of the selections are battle tracks. But just focusing on those would do a terrible disservice to her range of compositional strengths. You can't hang in the RPG world if you only do one thing well. She has absolutely earned her reputation as a legend of the industry, and I hope this rumble goes a way toward showing that. As a second sidenote, there are a couple tracks here that really show Uematsu's influence on Shimomura. Just as one example, "What's a Kopin?" sure sounds like a spiritual successor to the Moogle theme.

For Shad's rumble, I vote Shinra Banshou.

Final note (and off-topic): Norihiko Hibino decided to cover Secret of Mana's music on sax and piano (http://www.destructoid.com/prescription-for-sleep-lullabies-of-mana-is-a-beautiful-secret-of-mana-tribute-322929.phtml) (sample in link).

New recruit from the downloads section - reporting in!

My picks are Radiant Historia and Shinra Banshou, I'm probably late but I'd have voted for the C64 rumble as well. Let me know if you need any suggestions, I could easily contribute a few hundred tracks to this noble cause :)

Glad to have you! I try to post a new fight every 3 days fwiw.

---------- Post added at 10:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 AM ----------

We have a suggestions Group where we organize these at this link (http://forums.ffshrine.org/group.php?groupid=20). The C64 mix is full but I'd gladly drop a few tracks if you want to make some suggestions.

Welcome nx666!

Glad to have you! I try to post a new fight every 3 days fwiw.

---------- Post added at 10:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 AM ----------

We have a suggestions Group where we organize these at this link (http://forums.ffshrine.org/group.php?groupid=20). The C64 mix is full but I'd gladly drop a few tracks if you want to make some suggestions.

Ok thanks, it might take a day or two to find youtube links for all my suggestions though.

Off topic, but still related to vgm. It's colossal that shattering won in the wow rumble. There were songs that I heard that were far better than that one. To be honest, the jaina proudmore song was one that I remember, and the theme music to Mists of Pandaria. And some of the raid music was spectacular too, like nexramas or the raid to defeat deathwing. Though to be fair it was the first time i heard them, so still aren't too familiar with the whole collection of music (having not played for 10 years or so)

Radiant Historia (4-1) and Shinra Bansho (5-0) advance!

Round 1, Fight 2 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii, 2010
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGkPEDFRgng), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ3j12pF84o), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xJDwl46k98), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B5I3frNnnw), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKcQ-CQX-Ik)

vs.

Street Fighter II for the Arcade, 1991
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du6YLbTyGPw), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hjq95Rvmkw), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZCAzLI7YHM), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPXz0pnxF5I), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Y9N4otwiY)

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Xenoblade Chronicles

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Round 1, Fight 2 // Shad's Custom 16

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Yie Ar Kung-Fu (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OOm4CyFutQ), by Miki Higashino (NES, 1985)

vs.

Illusion City - Noises of the City (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=777ilYa99D4), by Tadahiro Nitta (MSX, 1991)

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April 1985, half a year before the first release of Super Mario Bros., Miki Higashino unleashed one of the catchiest melodies that the Famicom would ever know. It's a bit of an obscure gem in the west--the Nintendo Entertainment System as we know it didn't even exist yet--but it's been the subject of quite a few fan covers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBTiuZPdvNQ). (Yes, that is folk metal.) VGM had risen well beyond the level of glorified sound effects elsewhere in the world by 1985--Monty on the Run predates SMB too--but I've found little if anything from Japan that merits a second listen prior to this. Higashino definitely helped to usher in the Japanese game music scene, though she's far less recognized for it than Koji Kondo.

Illusion City is a cyberpunk RPG released by Microcabin, who are perhaps better known in the west for their sound team than for their games. Ryuji Sasai got his start in game composition there before being picked up by Square, but Illusion City was composed by Yukiharu Urita, Tadahiro Nitta, and Yasufumi Fukuda. I love cyberpunk-themed anything, and I think the team really nailed it on this one. You don't have to play the game to experience a grimy, futuristic city here. I came very close to using the ending theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usciFqY7oiw) instead of Noises of the City in this rumble, and had a pretty hard time selecting one song to showcase out of the mix in general.

This one is a really tough call for me. I figured I'd go with Yie Ar Kung-Fu when I first saw the match-ups random.org spit out, but I'm really feeling Illusion City right now.

Xenoblade Chronicles

Illusion City

Xenoblade and Illusion City for me


April 1985, half a year before the first release of Super Mario Bros., Miki Higashino unleashed one of the catchiest melodies that the Famicom would ever know. It's a bit of an obscure gem in the west--the Nintendo Entertainment System as we know it didn't even exist yet--but it's been the subject of quite a few fan covers (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBTiuZPdvNQ). (Yes, that is folk metal.) VGM had risen well beyond the level of glorified sound effects elsewhere in the world by 1985--Monty on the Run predates SMB too--[B]but I've found little if anything from Japan that merits a second listen prior to this. Higashino definitely helped to usher in the Japanese game music scene, though she's far less recognized for it than Koji Kondo.

Does Yie Ar Kung Fu really stand out that much? All these games here were released prior and that's pretty listenable music I think. And there were some fairly impressive/influential soundtracks later that year as well. Super Mario Bros. is hardly the crowning achievement of Japanese video game music from 1985.

Super Locomotive (Arcade) (https://youtu.be/lKhr66gNYvs?t=15) - December '82
Gyruss (Arcade) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNc7VdD-ink) - March '83
Tube Panic (Arcade) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-B7sC_tjcA) - January '84
Tower of Druaga (Arcade) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTCywoVdgGA) - June '84
Son Son (Arcade) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BXEmS_RdTU) - July '84 <-- almost like a template for the Yie Ar Kung Fu music
Metal Soldier Isaac II (Arcade) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h2ZYGGn7qI) - February '85
Twin Bee (Arcade) (https://youtu.be/FBLDwtI7pNM?t=126) - March '85
Soccer (NES) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPetckOl5is) - April '85
Thexder (PC-8801) (https://youtu.be/QVfRGsfnI_c?t=15) - April '85

<3 You are going to be pretty awesome to keep around. I've never heard of any of these except Thexder. Checking them all out now. Looks like I woefully neglected arcade systems in general.

---------- Post added at 10:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:30 AM ----------

Seems I've heard Tube Panic before and forgot it existed.

<3 You are going to be pretty awesome to keep around. I've never heard of any of these except Thexder. Checking them all out now. Looks like I woefully neglected arcade systems in general.

When I was young and more ambitious, I was working on a website about the history of game music. That project was eventually abandoned, but I had done a fair bit of research at that point. Always comes in handy in cases like this :)

Love the discussion, and thanks to Shad and nx666 for the additional links. Looking forward to checking out the ones I haven't heard. :D

Xenoblade Chronicles

Illusion City

My video game soundtrack playlists are getting longer. This is by no means a complaint!

Hmm well it goes without saying that xenoblade is the better soundtrack since I think it takes a lot of inspiration from some of my most precious final fantasy tracks (though the first one sounds like one from the Samurai X OAV) and i found myself saying "oh! doesn't that sound like [this] and [that]" im glad to hear them in this soundtrack. Plus i haven't played street fighter.

The hard one was the custom rumble. I would actually show both off to all my friends. I dont know if they'd like them, but I would :)

Illusion City because it has some rugged sound to it.

On an aside, glad I could make it! for some reason didn't check back here the last few days!

Falling asleep at my keyboard. I'll update tomorrow.

Looks like a rare double sweep. Xenoblade Chronicles (5-0) and Illusion City (5-0) advance!

Round 1, Fight 3 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Heroes of Mana for the DS, 2007
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpPC-JMAkpQ), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byo7QenKfFc), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk_YFvrNK2A), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln7zoLCI_Gc), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAb1cFBrNTA)

vs.

Front Mission for the SNES, 1995
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW0AAxoY-ck), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71h4kBwxP_E), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPHYPLsAmI4), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0WENEHN-OQ), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MHGcWMpahY)

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Leaning towards Front Mission right now, but I'm going to give both more time and might change that.

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Round 1, Fight 3 // Shad's Custom 16

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Forgotten Worlds - Title Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InUoJqWBXn4), by Tamayo Kawamoto, Yoshihiro Sakaguchi (SMD, 1989)

vs.

Alien Soldier - Flashback (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66AGS9_qk0k), by Norio Hanzawa (SMD, 1995)

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Tamayo Kawamoto is responsible for a number of arcade compositions which were hijacked on port and came to be well known through the artists who reinterpreted them rather than through the original. (Commando and Ghouls'n Ghosts, for instance.) Kawamoto very likely wrote Forgotten Worlds, while Yoshihiro Sakaguchi is credited as sound programmer and might have a lot to do with the port. At any rate, the Mega Drive variation of Forgotten Worlds is a fairly mirror image of the original (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7tP4yVY18w)--if you sync the two you'll barely notice that two separate tracks are playing--but the difference in tone on the Genesis gives the song, for me at least, a sort of creepy and sinister air that its parent product lacks. Too weird to be brilliant? You be the judge. I think the comparison is an interesting showcase of the SMD's qualities.

Alien Soldier was my favorite take-away from the Genesis rumble way back, and if I recall correctly it got pretty thoroughly blown off in the first round. Norio Hanzawa's twisted masterpiece deserves a second visit.

Two fairly eccentric Genesis tracks here. I think it's a nice coincidence that they ended up paired. I love them both, but Alien Soldier is an easy choice for me.

In the middle of final exams week over here. Hope everyone is doing well.

Front Mission

Alien Soldier

Front Mission

Alien Soldier

Heroes of Mana

Alien Soldier

Heroes of Mana
Alien Solider

To me, the heroes track is nice, but i prefer the legend of mana soundtrack.

My first vote usually sticks when I don't have time to give a proper listen, but this go around I think I'll swap it. Heroes of Mana.

I'll post the update in a few minutes.

Heroes of Mana (3-2) and Alien Soldier (3-2) advance!

Round 1, Fight 4 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Mario & Luigi: Dream Team for the 3DS, 2013
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAvZDSaQvTU), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSbYLOYKEkA), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4mztPN0xbQ), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-jMhOXPx1U), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXqDslZgymo)

vs.

Kingdom Hearts for the PS2, 2002
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g25QXnhVijQ), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krKM9ndvyjQ), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obWrJxyqLMQ), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU1-HXmTVSk), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ZXtLd46xQ)

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I never had the slightest interest in playing Kingdom Hearts, and that aversion may have carried over to its soundtrack. I was expecting something cartoonish and generally not up my alley, but instead this turned out to be a pretty impressive sampling of tracks. I still have to give the edge to Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, especially considering how much my kid perked up when it started playing, but I can't complain about either of these advancing.

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Round 1, Fight 4 // Shad's Custom 16

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Bombuzal - Title Screen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUs7bFWmy14), by Hiroyuki Masuno (SNES, 1990)

vs.

Ultima IV - Castle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDhLjzDKd34), by Kenneth W. Arnold (Apple II, 1985)

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Bombuzal (also known as Bomb Uzal and Kablooey) was created by Antony Crowther and David Bishop and released in 1988 for the Commodore 64, Atari ST, and Amiga. Crowther attempted to make his own music for the game on the C64 (and I think the Atari ST). The result was... let's just say he was half a decade behind the learning curve in that department. But for whatever reason, relatively unknown composer Ross Goodley had a go at the Amiga release. His original version (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-R-o5Qm204) isn't likely to score too many mentions in 'best of the Amiga' lists, but it did provide the template that Hiroyuki Masuno ran wild with when the game was ported to the SNES in 1990.

Tim Follin aside, Kenneth W. Arnold's work in the earlier instalments of the Ultima series might be my favorite discovery from those few months I spent digging deep into early vgm. Beginning with Ultima III: Exodus (1983), Arnold composed the first three Ultima games to feature music (their NES ports not included). His simple Renaissance melodies didn't add up to much through some mediums, but on the Apple II's distorted, bass-heavy Mockingboard sound card they reach an aesthetic appeal for me that's pretty hard to match. Something about the tone coupled with this style of music grants it a faux sence of antiquity for me that brings this medieval fantasy world to life more, perhaps, than authentic instrumentation possibly could. I'll be featuring two of these tracks, and my favorite between them has yet to come.

Bombuzal will probably win this match-up for all of the obvious reasons, but Ultima IV lies much closer to the essence of what I was aiming for in this compilation.

Kingdom Hearts - I haven't played Kingdom Hearts myself, but I've watched gameplay and gleaned tidbits here and there over the years. In addition to Smarty's listening suggestions above, I'd recommend Hand in Hand (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_57A5l5RkFQ), Deep Jungle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdg2djGp138), and Traverse Town (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmiWjG0N21w).

Ultima IV

Kingdom Hearts and Ultima IV for me.


Crowther attempted to make his own music for the game on the C64 (and I think the Atari ST). The result was... let's just say he was half a decade behind the learning curve in that department.

Anthony Crowther generally had a pretty good handle on the SID chip. He was also one of the early pioneers of multispeed drivers, which is arguably one of the bigger achievements of the C64 music scene.

R1D1 (1986) (https://youtu.be/-ChpWFNcuOk?t=12)
Zig Zag (1987) (https://youtu.be/R6Pe60D5v3o?t=5) <- early multispeed
Phobia (1989) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5oEBw_mpu0)

Kingdom Hearts
Ultima 4

Kingdom Hearts

Bombuzal

Kingdom Hearts (4-1) and Ultima IV (4-1) advance!

I'm a little pressed for time. I'll listen to these and check out nx666's links a bit later:

Round 1, Fight 5 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Legend of Mana for the PSX, 1999
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMKovBcgr1o), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJrF7760bps), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkuVw5EBUIE), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeLyxYUeGBY), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de1n8TRj91E)

vs.

Live a Live for the SNES, 1994
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBPHGKUNXtM), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90d9S-ZXL_E), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qke18Zi4cN8), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUI4J1L-BtE), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkzxwxVWJvo)

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will vote later

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Round 1, Fight 5 // Shad's Custom 16

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Ultima III - Town (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHn6I2fezqw), by Kenneth W. Arnold (Apple II, 1983)

vs.

Wizards and Warriors - Outside the Castle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5oBiP-1cik), by Dave Wise (NES, 1987)

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will vote later

Legend of Mana
Wizard's and Warriors

Legend of Mana - Brutal early match-up. Live A Live is great.

Wizards and Warriors - I've loved this song for years.

Sidenote: I read a bit about multispeed drivers. I understand conceptually what the process is, but not how it affects the sound. Could you explain or point me in the right direction, nx666? I also ran across some grumbling about comments Tim Follin made regarding C64 music, but no quotes of what Follin actually said. I didn't know there was a community of Follin haters out there (!).

Legend of Mana, but both are pretty good.

Ultima III - I've never been a huge fan of early David Wise


Sidenote: I read a bit about multispeed drivers. I understand conceptually what the process is, but not how it affects the sound. Could you explain or point me in the right direction, nx666? I also ran across some grumbling about comments Tim Follin made regarding C64 music, but no quotes of what Follin actually said. I didn't know there was a community of Follin haters out there (!).

Multispeed means calling the play routine of your music driver multiple times per frame. This allows you to do more frequent parameter updates, think of it as increasing the "resolution" of your sound. Multispeed routines can do some fairly interesting things in terms of sound design and usually have an overall "cleaner" sound. The drawback is that they also require more frame time - the most valuable resource back then - so they were not used very often in games. You can listen to a few multispeed tunes here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsvYKxOrdOc).

And here is some (fairly technical) discussion on this subject:
http://csdb.dk/forums/?roomid=14&topicid=30688&showallposts=1
http://csdb.dk/forums/?roomid=11&topicid=58416&showallposts=1
http://csdb.dk/forums/?roomid=14&topicid=98399&showallposts=1

Not sure what mean things Mr. Follin has said about the C64, my impression was always that he held that sound chip in fairly high regard, like in the interviews here (http://www.exotica.org.uk/wiki/Tim_Follin/Interview) or here (http://rga24.blogspot.de/2012/01/interview-with-tim-follin.html).

nevermind, wrong thread :)

Got it. Thanks! You can definitely hear the difference in the podcast video you linked.

Legend of Mana - This was seriously not a fair fight this round.

Ultima III

As if time wasn't an issue for me already, I just subbed into another game of Mafa. -_-

Live a Live
Ultima III -- I actually tabbed this out for guitar, slowed down about half the original speed. It's pretty foreboding.

Update coming in a bit

---------- Post added at 11:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:41 PM ----------

Legend of Mana (4-1) and Ultima III (3-2) advance!

Round 1, Fight 6 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep for the PSP, 2010
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9F0d5pd1Uk), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cN9qsUAXjdk), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtVWw7U3sFg), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuJIyQiXdeU), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfjEKGKz_zg)

vs.

Last Ranker for the PSP, 2010
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-M_I6u-FBI), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqEdjJYVixI), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaSXyAdfGtw), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1chynuf1zH8), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbs6-BnNdO8)

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will vote later

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Round 1, Fight 6 // Shad's Custom 16

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Darius - The Sea (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzIogZMp4_Y), by Hisayoshi Ogura (Arcade, 1986)

vs.

R-Type - Title Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_MCOF3yGA4), by Chris H�lsbeck (Amiga, 1989)

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will vote later

And good luck choosing between these two. >_>

I really apologize for the lack of commentary in my own custom rumble. The stars just really aren't aligning. I didn't even listen to the last batch of Shimomura tracks until an hour ago.

---------- Post added at 11:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:04 PM ----------

I suppose I don't need to wait to vote in the second one. I'm never not taking Darius here. But good luck R-Type. You, too, are awesome.

Last Ranker - Old man comment of the day: Growing up in the era I did, it is insane to me that both of these soundtracks are from portable games.

Darius - Both good, but Darius caught me by surprise. I wish I'd known it back when we were doing an Aquatic Themes rumble in the early days.

Sidenote: Commentary is great to have, but I appreciate the job you do regardless. :D How's Ollie doing?

Last Ranker

R-Type

Last Ranker - Pretty close call
R-Type - I like the Darius track in concept, but not execution

It's turning to christmas at our place recently, so I'm not able to be a part of the rumble. just letting you know. And I kinda like the christmas songs :awsm:

Found some time. Gosh this is a hard match up. i am partial to the Kingdom hearts music, and i think you get a certain theme rolling through those tracks, but my vote goes for Last Ranker this time

I feel like i could appreciate so much of these two tracks in your rumble Shad. They are so vastly different, that I could go for either.

Darius i can't say why, but i like this alot

Last Ranker (5-0) and Darius (3-2) advance!

Round 1, Fight 7 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Super Mario RPG for the SNES, 1996
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://youtu.be/RufrkrK37Kg), 2 (https://youtu.be/IrU05FqOzIw), 3 (https://youtu.be/aTObNtPZimQ), 4 (https://youtu.be/dKO78067rxQ), 5 (https://youtu.be/1qtWfsPKnF4)

vs.

Kingdom Hearts II for the PS2, 2005
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLnxD38kgKE), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uThw10HMnw), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHlYYlZwg2I), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOoxHOuPOFQ), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hakUtsydstE)

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will vote later

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Round 1, Fight 7 // Shad's Custom 16

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Future Games (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orEXKOBIv_8), by Tim Follin (ZX Spectrum, 1986)

vs.

Snatcher - Pleasure of Tension (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNrEkiDulWU), by Masahiro Ikariko (MSX, 1988)

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will vote later

---------- Post added at 10:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:50 PM ----------

I don't want to say Future Games is my favorite Tim Follin track. There are so many to choose from. But I think it might be his most innovate work. I'm not terribly well versed in electronic music, but it seems to me he's putting glitch beats to work here in a way that wouldn't be heard again until the 90s.

Snatcher is a game I've never played but had maintained an odd sort of fascination with. It's a cyberpunk graphic adventure novel that's been released on six different systems over the years, and every port has reworked the soundtrack in pretty distinct ways. The music in the later versions--especially the PSX release--is kind of terrible, but it's an interesting evolution. I'm pretty sure the songs were originally composed for the PC88, but the MSX version is the best by a large margin in my opinion. Konami seems to agree: they resurrected this version of the song for Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbJIazUR3sw) in 2014.

---------- Post added at 10:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:17 PM ----------

Super Mario RPG
Future Games

Super Mario RPG - I played through this again last month. Still tons of fun.

Snatcher - I like Future Games a lot, but this is an iconic track for me. My avatar for the first several years I was on the Shrine was Gillian Seed.

Kingdom Hearts II - by a hair's breadth, although Mario RPG is a much better game

Snatcher - I think the MSX, PC-88, and Sega CD soundtracks all have their moments. And it would have been much closer had you picked a different Follin beeper track, like Chronos or one of the Agent X games...

I think I'm going to have to go with Kingdom Hearts II

Snatcher

Happy holidays to everyone! Hope you're doing well. :D

Kingdom Hearts II

Happy holidays, guys.

Happy Holidays all!

I felt inclined to listen to both soundtracks WHOLE for this round. It seems like a good idea, since i have never heard super mario rpg, and Kingdom Hearts II has such varied themes in its arsenal. I'm currently upto track 45 (My paradise monstro town) and amazed at some of the variety in the songs so far. Its to be expected when Koji Kondo, Nobuo, and Yoko team up for a game soundtrack! (thank you OCremix) I particular liked "Lets play, Geno" and the mushroom theme

Happy Holidays! Game's back in action now. :)

Kingdom Hearts II (3-2) and Snatcher (3-1) advance!

Round 1, Fight 8 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Parasite Eve for the PSX, 1998
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ttCJmVpS-c), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnyOyiA7gbc), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=955gglmIMvY), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-rZINtPwzY), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQvwdUS8sfI)

vs.

Nemo for the Arcade, 1990
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCiKX7i0v24), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoQQ21LQ63A), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOnKjtS5TsA), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOTSpCRW6dU), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBA9HXcTKho)

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

will vote later

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Round 1, Fight 8 // Shad's Custom 16

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

Mother - Humoresque of a Little Dog (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNBEUbBslCU), by Hirokazu Tanaka (NES, 1989)

vs.

Crystal Hammer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8saW9rKpUw), by Karsten Obarski (Amiga, 1988)

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

You might be wondering what a cheesey little jingle like the shopping theme from Earthbound is doing in this rumble. Well, that's a good question... But I think I can safely say, for better or worse, that this tune has gotten stuck in my head more times than any other song from a video game.

Crystal Hammer, on the other hand, requires no justification, though I doubt many of you have heard of it.

Super Mario RPG suffers a first-round defeat in another rumble? :-(

Parasite Eve

Crystal Hammer

Parasite Eve

Crystal Hammer

Parasite Eve

Crystal Hammer

I'm starting to sense a pattern here...

I'll take Parasite Eve

Happy New Years!

Parasite Eve (4-0) and Crystal Hammer (4-0) advance!

Round 2, Fight 1 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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

Radiant Historia for the Nintendo DS, 2010
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvI9LB4DpKw), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I82d6NBRFjA), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En1E4y3Zjd8), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITlaZJp0qAs), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emossz8J_kM)

vs.

Heroes of Mana for the DS, 2007
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpPC-JMAkpQ), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Byo7QenKfFc), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wk_YFvrNK2A), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ln7zoLCI_Gc), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAb1cFBrNTA)


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

will vote later

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Round 2, Fight 1 // Shad's Custom 16

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

Ultima III - Town (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHn6I2fezqw), by Kenneth W. Arnold (Apple II, 1983)

vs.

Shinra Banshou - The Universe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4hj4K1u6HA), by Nobuhito Koise (PC-88, 1987)

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

Ultima III

Happy New Year!

Radiant Historia

Shinra Banshou

Radiant Historia - some of the tracks remind me of Chrono Cross. It makes me excited, because I just got it for the holidays!

Shinra Banshou

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and had a happy New Year! If you didn't, perhaps this will cheer you up some: it has been announced that Final Fantasy IX is finally getting an HD release on PC and mobile!

Radiant Historia, Shinra Banshou.

I would have voted for Stormlands for WoW probably.

Man it has been a busy month.

Link!

Glad to see you aren't dead. :P

Enjoy Chrono Cross, feral!

And welcome back, Link!

Radiant Historia

Shinra Banshou

Hey Link! Was worried about you, welcome back!

Artur, I actually got Radiant Historia for Christmas. Chrono Cross has been well played and loved by me years ago. The music seems similar, which makes me excited for RH.

Yeah, trust me... I was worried about me too! Hope you all had great holidays.

Haha. Sorry for misunderstanding, feral.

Link, I hope you're okay (!).

Sorry, it's been really hard for me to find time last few weeks.

Update incoming

---------- Post added at 07:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:12 PM ----------

Radiant Historia (5-0) and Shinra Bansho (4-1) advance!

Round 2, Fight 2 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Legend of Mana for the PSX, 1999
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMKovBcgr1o), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJrF7760bps), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkuVw5EBUIE), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeLyxYUeGBY), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de1n8TRj91E)

vs.

Parasite Eve for the PSX, 1998
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ttCJmVpS-c), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnyOyiA7gbc), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=955gglmIMvY), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-rZINtPwzY), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQvwdUS8sfI)


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will vote later

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Round 2, Fight 2 // Shad's Custom 16

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

Snatcher - Pleasure of Tension (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNrEkiDulWU), by Masahiro Ikariko (MSX, 1988)

vs.

Darius - The Sea (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzIogZMp4_Y), by Hisayoshi Ogura (Arcade, 1986)

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

Snatcher

Actually got some time to listen to these!

Legend of Mana

Legend of Mana

Snatcher

As much as I love Parasite Eve and it's music, I think I enjoy Legend of Mana soundtrack a bit more.

Darius

It's alright Arthur, I know I'm not the best in being clear in what I'm trying to say. Trying to read and understand me on the internet only makes it more ambiguous than in person.

Hope you're doing alright Link. Must of have a crazy holiday season if you were worried too!

Legend of Mana

Snatcher

Legend of Mana (4-0) and Snatcher (3-1) advance!

Round 2, Fight 3 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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

Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii, 2010
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGkPEDFRgng), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ3j12pF84o), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xJDwl46k98), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B5I3frNnnw), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKcQ-CQX-Ik)

vs.

Last Ranker for the PSP, 2010
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-M_I6u-FBI), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqEdjJYVixI), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaSXyAdfGtw), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1chynuf1zH8), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbs6-BnNdO8)

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will vote later

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Round 2, Fight 3 // Shad's Custom 16

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Alien Soldier - Flashback (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66AGS9_qk0k), by Norio Hanzawa (SMD, 1995)

vs.

Illusion City - Noises of the City (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=777ilYa99D4), by Tadahiro Nitta (MSX, 1991)

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

Alien Soldier

Last Ranker - Fans of Last Ranker should also check out The Town with an Exotic Fragrance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b92XyteK2Pg), La Valse Noire (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7tXL0NyvK8), and/or Crudelis et Magnificus (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBy8ZSwDeLI)

Alien Soldier

Last Ranker

Illusion City

Last Ranker

Illusion City

Need a tiebreaker in the custom rumble. :-\

In other news, David Orr—who composed the soundtracks for the Sonny game series—has been livestreaming the process of composing the Sonny 3 soundtrack. For those interested: his YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/user/DavidOrrMusic/videos). Interestingly, he's allowing the process to be collaborative and is experimenting with ideas fans submit to him. This sounds like a bad idea in a lot of ways, but so far it has gone okay.

Last Ranker (3-1) advances!

I might retire from being the leader of this for a few months after these two rumbles end. I've managed to maintain this game through vacations out of the country, deaths in the family, and moving to a new home three times, yet now when I have relatively little bogging me down I'm finding it really hard to come on and update. I don't know what gives; I just need a bit of a break I think.

Round 2, Fight 4 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Kingdom Hearts II for the PS2, 2005
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLnxD38kgKE), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uThw10HMnw), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHlYYlZwg2I), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOoxHOuPOFQ), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hakUtsydstE)

vs.

Kingdom Hearts for the PS2, 2002
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g25QXnhVijQ), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krKM9ndvyjQ), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obWrJxyqLMQ), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU1-HXmTVSk), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ZXtLd46xQ)

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will vote later

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Round 2, Fight 3 // Shad's Custom 16

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Crystal Hammer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8saW9rKpUw), by Karsten Obarski (Amiga, 1988)

vs.

Ultima IV - Castle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDhLjzDKd34), by Kenneth W. Arnold (Apple II, 1985)

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

Crystal Hammer

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

TIE-BREAKER: Round 2, Fight 3 // Shad's Custom 16

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

Alien Soldier - Flashback (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66AGS9_qk0k), by Norio Hanzawa (SMD, 1995)

vs.

Illusion City - Noises of the City (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=777ilYa99D4), by Tadahiro Nitta (MSX, 1991)

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

You do what you need to. I'm extremely appreciative of all you've done to keep it running. Not just three years (so far), but a great three years. :D

Kingdom Hearts - Just about an even split on this one. Dearly Beloved gives it the edge, but a lot of good battle music in KH II.

Crystal Hammer

Kingdom Hearts II

Crystal Hammer

Kingdom Hearts

Crystal Hammer

Shad, take and enjoy a break. I just want to thank you and let you know that I appreciate you keeping this going, especially through all that you've gone through.

I might retire from being the leader of this for a few months after these two rumbles end. I've managed to maintain this game through vacations out of the country, deaths in the family, and moving to a new home three times, yet now when I have relatively little bogging me down I'm finding it really hard to come on and update. I don't know what gives; I just need a bit of a break I think.


If there is still any interest in doing the C64 rumble then I could definitely take the lead on that one.

@nx666: I'd be interested.

I'd be interested as well.

Tails wins the toss, Kingdom Hearts (2-1) Illusion City (2-2) and Crystal Hammer (4-0) advance.

Round 3, Fight 1 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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

Kingdom Hearts for the PS2, 2002
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g25QXnhVijQ), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krKM9ndvyjQ), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obWrJxyqLMQ), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HU1-HXmTVSk), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5ZXtLd46xQ)

vs.

Legend of Mana for the PSX, 1999
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMKovBcgr1o), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJrF7760bps), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkuVw5EBUIE), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeLyxYUeGBY), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de1n8TRj91E)

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will vote later

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Round 3, Fight 1 // Shad's Custom 16

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

Shinra Banshou - The Universe (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4hj4K1u6HA), by Nobuhito Koise (PC-88, 1987)

vs.

Snatcher - Pleasure of Tension (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNrEkiDulWU), by Masahiro Ikariko (MSX, 1988)

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

Snatcher

Legend of Mana

Snatcher

Legend of Mana

Shinra Banshou

Legend of Mana

Snatcher

I actually listeeeeeeeeeeeeeened this time.

Legend of Mana

I'll update tonight.

Legend of Mana (4-0) and Snatcher (3-1) advance!

Round 3, Fight 2 // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Radiant Historia for the Nintendo DS, 2010
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvI9LB4DpKw), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I82d6NBRFjA), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En1E4y3Zjd8), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITlaZJp0qAs), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emossz8J_kM)

vs.

Last Ranker for the PSP, 2010
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-M_I6u-FBI), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqEdjJYVixI), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaSXyAdfGtw), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1chynuf1zH8), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbs6-BnNdO8)

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will vote later

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Round 3, Fight 2 // Shad's Custom 16

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

Illusion City - Noises of the City (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=777ilYa99D4), by Tadahiro Nitta (MSX, 1991)

vs.

Crystal Hammer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8saW9rKpUw), by Karsten Obarski (Amiga, 1988)

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

Crystal Hammer

Radiant Historia - Splitting hairs. Last Ranker was the biggest surprise for me when researching Shimomura (having never heard of it before). I'm glad it's gotten so far.

Illusion City - Two really good selections here, too.

Last Ranker

Crystal Hammer

Both are pretty close for me as well

Radiant Historia. This was a pretty close one for me. Both are really great soundtracks and I wouldn't be disappointed with either one going forward.

Illusion City

I'm so glad this is still going on! great! I will be posting my tops.

Man red lotus is cool. that is a great track.

There's almost an eastern vibe to last ranker

I love the techno like music, especially as I love the original star ocean soundtrack with its incredible cave music and battle themes. This track from Illusion City reminds me of that.

Radiant Historia for me the red lotus track is awesome
Crystal Hammer this is a stunning track i think.

Radiant Historia (3-1) and Crystal Hammer (3-2) advance!

FINAL MATCH // Yoko Shimomura Rumble

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Radiant Historia for the Nintendo DS, 2010
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvI9LB4DpKw), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I82d6NBRFjA), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En1E4y3Zjd8), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITlaZJp0qAs), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emossz8J_kM)

vs.

Legend of Mana for the PSX, 1999
Tracks to consider: 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMKovBcgr1o), 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJrF7760bps), 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkuVw5EBUIE), 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HeLyxYUeGBY), 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de1n8TRj91E)

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will vote later

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FINAL MATCH // Shad's Custom 16

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

Crystal Hammer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8saW9rKpUw), by Karsten Obarski (Amiga, 1988)

vs.

Snatcher - Pleasure of Tension (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNrEkiDulWU), by Masahiro Ikariko (MSX, 1988)

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

Crystal Hammer

Sorry this has been an intensely lame presentation compared to past rumbles I've run. Thanks for breaking the tie P!

Radiant Historia - Its heights surpass Legend of Mana's heights for me, but this is brutally close.

Snatcher - Production over the more developed melody here. Snatcher creates an ominous, urgent, sleazy mood in just a few seconds. Blade Runner is one of my favorite movies, so anything aping it this well gets my vote.

I'm going to listen to the whole soundtrack, seeing i probably won't do it justice if I dont. haha! and I haven't heard the whole radiant historia soundtrack. I get away with it being the final!

corr blimey 3 hours of listening to vgm

THe one Who Waits for Destiny and Blue Gloom have an interesting tone to them. I really appreciate the Legend of Mana soundtrack, having listened to most of it during play through. I was fascinated to hear something reminiscent of her later work with "The One who Waits for Destiny"

Legend of Mana im voting with my heart now. It's a hard toss up. if i was going to go on sheer tracks, Radiant would win, but I have too many times of hearing Legend of Mana behind me to not give it a shot this time

Snatcher Its interesting, this match up. both are really good old tracks. I'm surprised how digital they are. But snatcher takes it for me for the same reason as arthur.

Been a pleasure to rumble with you all

Ok, I went through and listened to both full OST's, because I couldn't decide. After listening to both, I have to say that it's still a really close match. It's a double edge sword for me that I can just listen to them without having played either game. So, no nostalgia to interfere, but at the same time, I can't say how well the music fit the games. Either way, I decided that I'm voting for Legend of Mana.

Crystal Hammer - Sorry for creating yet another tie

Legend of Mana

Crystal Hammer - That's almost a toss up, both are excellent tracks. Voting for Karsten Obarski with my heart

Legend of Mana (4-1) and Crystal Hammer (3-2) become the 26th and 27th Rumble winners!

Cheers! I'm done leading for a while. Sorry I kind of dropped out mid-way in that one. I think nx666 is taking over with the C64 rumble, dunno if we're going to do two at once as usual or not. I'll still be around to vote!

Thanks for all of your efforts, and thanks for the custom rumble selections! I enjoyed hearing some new stuff.

The C64 rumble is pretty much ready to go. I had to upload a few missing soundtracks to Youtube, but that's all done now.

If we don't have another rumble ready right now then we could also do the first round (2x32) in pairs (4x16).

Thanks for the music! i definitely have found plenty of new music!

To the best of my knowledge, these are the themes that are ready to go right now:
C64 songs
7th Gen soundtracks
Akira Yamaoka songs
David Wise songs

I'm up for all of them, but I'd vote for doing Yamaoka and C64 side by side as my first choice.

Yamaoka sounds great to do if we are going to do two still.

Donkey Kong vs Silent Hill hmmmm.... of note i saw Wizards and Warriors there too :)

Should we do C64 and Yamaoka then? I have no problem doing both of them, although there is probably not much I can say about the Yamaoka tracks. The C64 rumble will be seeded for the first round, should I just randomize the Yamaoka list?

Yeah, let's do both, with the Yamaoka tracks randomized. Typically we use this service (https://www.random.org/) to randomize the selections, but you can do it however you want! I can add commentary here and there for Yamaoka.

When I started putting together the final list for the C64 rumble, I ended up with over 200 tracks that somehow had to be cut down to 64. To make this a bit easier I worked with the following self-imposed rules:

- a maximum of 4 tracks per composer (sorry Rob)
- only 1 track per game (there is one exception, I think)
- no outright covers allowed, but there are some borderline cases that I left on the list
- I also removed all the Tim Follin tracks. He already had his own rumble so this wouldn't really add anything new at this point.

What we are left with is a good mix of Shad's original list, some classics that were missing, plus a few personal favorites. To ensure some variety throughout the rumble I seeded the first round, which basically means the two competing tracks will generally have some commonalities (e.g same composer, similar style).

And finally, since demo music was such a big part of the the C64 experience there is going to be a bonus demo track every round.

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Round 1, Fight 1 // Best of Akira Yamaoka

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Never Forgive Me, Never Forget Me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nmIn2CiW_4), from Silent Hill 3

vs.

Illusion in Me (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko0TMAPy_JU), from Silent Hill: Origins

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Round 1, Fight 1 // Commodore 64 Rumble

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

Monty on the Run - Main Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIA_0cvS2gQ), by Rob Hubbard (1985 Gremlin Graphics)

vs.

Chimera - Ending (https://youtu.be/0mbgIj6GGDg?t=219), by Rob Hubbard (1986 Firebird)

Rob Hubbard is often described the godfather of C64 music. Being at the forefront of the chiptune revolution of '85 he developed many of the techniques that became part of the typical SID sound. Most of his C64 soundtracks (more than 70) were written over a period of only two years, which is kinda crazy considering that he worked on music for other systems during that time as well. Chimera is a typical Hubbard Game Over/High Score tune. Monty on the Run is a game about escaping from the authorities, hence the dramatic 'chase scene' music. The opening of the track was inspired by this piece (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2eqX93umXo).

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Bonus Demo Track (don't vote for this):

Think Twice III (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0vFFiQ2rZM), by Jeroen Kimmel (Red) (1987 The Judges)

While music demos had been around for a while, an actual scene didn't form in Europe until '86/'87. This track was composed for an early demo by The Judges, one of the very first dedicated groups from that era.

My picks:
Never Forgive Me, Never Forget Me
Monty on the Run

I'm really glad the demo scene is getting represented here! That's a great idea. As for the Yamaoka tracks, these are typical in terms of their atmosphere and instrumentation—and in the case of "Illusion in Me," Mary Elizabeth McGlynn's vocals. We've previously complained about vocal tracks in video games, particularly ending tracks in RPGs, but I think Yamaoka's will prove to avoid many of the normal pitfalls. As with the music of Nine Inch Nails (one of my favorite bands), it's probably best not to listen too closely to the lyrics. Yamaoka, like Reznor, is masterful at sound design and production and has an industrial, melancholic bent that I find instantly compelling. This is a dude whose favorite movie is Suspiria and favorite composer is Angelo Badalamenti, if that helps you calibrate what you're getting into.

Illusion in Me

Monty on the Run

Awesome job guys! And a big thank you to nx666 to keeping this going. I like that you put limitations on your choices to give us more variety. I also like the idea of mixing seeding and randomizing, hopefully it pans out well!


As with the music of Nine Inch Nails (one of my favorite bands), it's probably best not to listen too closely to the lyrics.
I had a bit of a chuckle over this!

Illusion in Me

Monty on the Run

Illusion in Me

Monty on the Run

Sure is nice to not be in charge of updates for a change. Thanks for taking over!

Yes, thank you to nx666!

Results from the previous round: Illusion in Me (3-1) and Monty on the Run - Main Theme (4-0) advance!

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Round 1, Fight 2 // Best of Akira Yamaoka

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

Laura Plays The Piano (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6L9Cbs0m_U), from Silent Hill 2

vs.

Sickness Unto Foolish Death (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1icwgtZZYz0), from Silent Hill 3

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Round 1, Fight 2 // Commodore 64 Rumble

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

Cybernoid - Main Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kgzdAfz0AE), by Jeroen Tel (1988 Hewson)

vs.

Cybernoid II - Main Theme (https://youtu.be/3kgzdAfz0AE?t=404), by Jeroen Tel (1988 Hewson)

In this round we'll finally get an answer to the age-old question "What is the better Cybernoid soundtrack?" Both were scored by Jeroen Tel who was 16 years old when he composed the music for these games. A founding member of the Maniacs of Noise, he went on to be one of the most prolific C64 musicians of the late 80s/early 90s. Both tracks are over 6 minutes long and go through several 'movements'. Cybernoid 1 is a SID-ified rock song with long guitar solos, while Cybernoid 2 has more of an electronic feel to it.

Note: The video above plays the tracks back-to-back, Cybernoid 2 starts around 6:45.

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Bonus Demo Track (don't vote for this):

The Alibi (https://youtu.be/s5L7hL29MUs?t=10), by Thomas E. Petersen (Laxity) (1989 Maniacs of Noise)

A fairly well-known track by Laxity, another Maniacs of Noise member.

My Picks:
Laura Plays The Piano
Cybernoid

Sickness unto Foolish Death

Cybernoid

Laura plays the piano

Cybernoid

Laura Plays the Piano

Cybernoid II

Sorry I'm behind. I've been sick for several days.

Laura Plays The Piano

Cybernoid

Results from the previous round: Laura Plays The Piano (4-1) and Cybernoid - Main Theme (4-1) advance!

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Round 1, Fight 3 // Best of Akira Yamaoka

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

Elle Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAhazphEoXk), from Silent Hill: Homecoming

vs.

Suburban Nightmares (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efT4E7wOsW4), from Shadows of the Damned

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Round 1, Fight 3 // Commodore 64 Rumble

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Ocean Loader - Ocean Loader #2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fvi_SIQcOU), by Martin Galway (1986 Ocean)

vs.

Rambo: First Blood Part II - Loading Screen (https://youtu.be/6NmknHO0J4I?t=104), by Martin Galway (1986 Ocean)

Two tracks by Martin Galway, another one of the great early C64 composers. He is mostly known for his soaring anthems that use little to no percussion, a style heavily influenced by musicians like Jarre or Vangelis. Ocean Loader is the music that was played in many Ocean games while the program was loading from tape. Overall, there are five different versions, only the first two were composed by Galway. Rambo is a movie license that covers Jerry Goldsmith's score, however, the soundtrack is mostly known for this awesome loading music, a Galway original.
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Bonus Demo Track (don't vote for this):

The Mariner's Tale (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fkqmEgeAAE), by Anders Rodahl (Rage) (1991 Megastyle)

My Picks:
Elle Theme
Rambo

Suburban Nightmares

Ocean Loader

Suburban Nightmares

Rambo

Suburban Nightmares

Ocean Loader

Elle Theme

Rambo

Results from the previous round: Suburban Nightmares (3-2) and Rambo: First Blood Part II - Loading Screen (3-2) advance!

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Round 1, Fight 4 // Best of Akira Yamaoka

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Tender Sugar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMXmZok6gpE), from Silent Hill 4: The Room

vs.

Always On My Mind (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJtBXW4abRI), from Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

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Round 1, Fight 4 // Commodore 64 Rumble

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Fourth Protocol - Main Theme (https://youtu.be/JvuKzwkrYO8), by David Dunn (1985 Hutchison Computer Pub.)

vs.

Escape from Paradise - Main Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3CzujjHVAc), by David Dunn (1987 Anco Software)

David Dunn is a somewhat forgotten composer whose approach to game music was very different from that of his contemporaries. Fourth Protocol sounds like a classical piece and makes heavy use of filters in order to create pretty amazing dynamics. Not really your typical video game track, and pretty mind-blowing for something composed in 1985. Escape from Paradise is maybe a tad more conventional by comparison.

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Bonus Demo Track (don't vote for this):

The Super Larsson Bros (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tbCajRiF44), by Martin Evald (Radiantx) (2008 Horizon & Instinct)

Something from a more recent demo.

My Picks:
Tender Sugar
Fourth Protocol

Tender Sugar

Fourth Protocal

I don't know what to make of that...

Tender Sugar

Escape from Paradise

Always On My Mind
Fourth Protocol

Hoping to to add some commentary once I'm over this sickness and catch up with work.

Tender Sugar

Fourth Protocal

Results from the previous round: Tender Sugar (4-1) and Fourth Protocol - Main Theme (4-1) advance!

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Round 1, Fight 5 // Best of Akira Yamaoka

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Dearest (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVQT1EmqHRI), from Contra: Shattered Soldier

vs.

Tribal Curse (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLhi1ERKHJg), from Silent Hill: Origins

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Round 1, Fight 5 // Commodore 64 Rumble

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Tetris - Main Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ny743c32gPg), by Wally Beben (1988 Mirrorsoft)

vs.

Loopz - Tune A (https://youtu.be/I76ylXjKf10), by David Whittaker (1991 Audiogenic)


Today's round features two different approaches to music in puzzle games.

Mirrorsoft's computer ports of Tetris were much darker in tone than the later console versions. This is reflected in the music by Wally Beben, a hypnotic, brooding track with sampled guitars that lasts 25 minutes. Loopz is what I like to call "thinking" music, something that is perhaps more in line with other games of this genre.

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Bonus Demo Track (don't vote for this):

Slow, Slower (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PlYBSb8f3U), by Kay Tichelmann (Ragman) (1992 Comic Pirates)

Slow, Slower is very apt description of this track.

My Picks:
Dearest
Tetris

Dearest

Loopz

Tribal Curse

Tetris

I think i've had my ears opened today. thanks for the C64 tracks. haha. what a system!

Tribal Curse

Tetris

Tribal Curse

Tetris

I think i've had my ears opened today. thanks for the C64 tracks. haha. what a system!

Great! Glad you liked them :)

Dearest

Loopz

Results from the previous round: Dearest (3-2) and Tetris - Main Theme (3-2) advance!

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Round 1, Fight 6 // Best of Akira Yamaoka

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Killing Time (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgr-ZSZSSwA), from Silent Hill

vs.

Ordinary Vanity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGeUIQbtKt0), from Silent Hill 2

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Round 1, Fight 6 // Commodore 64 Rumble

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Bee 52 - Main Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moWLGp7VJDA), by Gerard Gourley (1992 Codemasters)

vs.

Tarzan Goes Ape! - Title Screen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeKm0eOMTjg), by Steve Barrett (1991 Codemasters)


Let's go with something more light-hearted this round.

Bee 52 and Tarzan Goes Ape! are two of the many platform games Codemasters put out in the early 90s. They all have similar soundtracks, consisting of catchy, upbeat tunes like these.

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Bonus Demo Track (don't vote for this):

Namnam Special (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9Racui9jJI#t=05h08m30s), by Johannes Bjerregaard (1988 Danish Music Company)


My Picks:
Ordinary Vanity
Bee 52 - Any song that uses bee buzzing as an instrument is going to get my vote.

Killing Time

Bee 52

I liked Namnam Special better than either C64 selection. :P

Killing Time

Bee 52

I liked Namnam Special better than either C64 selection. :P

Yeah, that's a great track. You can look forward to a whole round dedicated to Bjerregaard later in this rumble.

Killing Time

Tarzan goes Ape

Killing Time

Bee 52

Yet another Nine Inch Nails connection: a sample of slowed-down bees buzzing is used in the track "Eraser (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5KlwGB9A5I)."

Random note: Like many heavier 90s bands, I forgot NIN existed in the 2000s and didn't revisit them for over a decade. When I did, I naturally turned to Downward Spiral. It didn't (still doesn't) do all that much for me, so I lumped them into that meh category of bands I only used to like because I was an angsty teenager. I have been blowing them off for quite some time now.

Yesterday I randomly put on The Fragile, and it has forced me to recalibrate. Really great stuff.

Random note: Like many heavier 90s bands, I forgot NIN existed in the 2000s and didn't revisit them for over a decade. When I did, I naturally turned to Downward Spiral. It didn't (still doesn't) do all that much for me, so I lumped them into that meh category of bands I only used to like because I was an angsty teenager. I have been blowing them off for quite some time now.

Yesterday I randomly put on The Fragile, and it has forced me to recalibrate. Really great stuff.

I was pretty big into industrial (metal) in the 90s, but I never liked NIN all that much. Maybe they were too popular for my comfort :)

Ordinary Vanity

Tarzan

Results from the previous round: Killing Time (3-2) and Bee 52 - Main Theme (3-2) advance!

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Round 1, Fight 7 // Best of Akira Yamaoka

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Regards (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUeEbb0Muu4), from Silent Hill: Homecoming

vs.

Theme of Laura (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LB7LZZGpkw), from Silent Hill 2

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Round 1, Fight 7 // Commodore 64 Rumble

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Sly Spy: Secret Agent - Stage 9: Enemy Headquarter (https://youtu.be/9BLLNX_GsIw?t=958), by Geoff Follin (1989 Ocean)

vs.

Revolution - Aggressor Theme (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPyj1_rdKhM), by Martin Walker (1990 Future Publishing)

While I had to to ban Tim Follin from this rumble, brother Geoff does make an appearance. Sly Spy is a conversion of a Data East arcade soundtrack that features a few original compositions like this one. Aggressor Theme is very different from Martin Walker's usual style, to me this always sounded like a techno remix of a Tim Follin track.

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Bonus Demo Track (don't vote for this):

Amyloid (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9Racui9jJI#t=01h37m42s), by Marcel Donn� (Mad) (1987 Maniacs of Noise)

The title track of an unreleased game, also one of the first Maniacs of Noise productions.

My Picks:
Theme of Laura
Aggressor Theme

Theme of Laura

Sly Spy

Theme of Laura

Some of the silent hill tracks i have listened to couldn't play in my region. If you're having the same trouble there is a silent hill website with the tracks on it http://www.silenthillmemories.net/

Sly Spy