OST vs OST: Round 1, Week 4

[superaielman]

Shadow Hearts
What a weird yet awesome soundtrack.  There are a few misses, but I'll take that when doing something new and bizarre.

Much Hatred Still Rankles - This is the *heroic* kickass theme.  Unexpected, yet it still works.  I love it.
Imbroglio - Chimes.  What.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02G9qiMQbpk Much hatred still rankels
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DvpaKKLJjw Imbroglio

vs

Radiant Historia - The entire soundtrack is simply amazing and the fact that they were able to fit such high-quality music onto a DS Cart astounds me.
*The Edge of Green, the game's main boss battle theme simply inspires you with a sense of urgency and compels you to beat the snot out of that stupid bear with the MT move.
*An Earnest Desire of Grey, the game's final boss theme imparts a sense of longing, loss and yet still hope. It carries you from the hopelessness of the past and into a resounding future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHNXHWUHjmc The edge of green
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA8j0pB9mvQ  An earnest desire of grey

Dissidia 012
Cantata Moratis & God In Fire: This song, or these songs I should say, has a particularly interesting use in game. It's the music that plays when you're fighting Feral Chaos, who has so much HP that you will manage to get through the first song to hear the second. The fight is a slog, it takes forever and really wears on your patience. Then, suddenly, the music does this jarring swap from the chanting style of Cantata Moratis to the fast paced rock style of God In Fire, and it really works to suddenly give you that surge of energy to finish the fight.
DISSIDIA -Ending-: Possibly an odd choice, but I do like how it flows so smoothly between bits from the ending themes of all the games of the heroes. In game it's timed perfectly with the scene of that hero fading back to their original world, until finally leaving Warrior of Light alone at the end, and playing the FF1 part of the theme as he walks off into the distance. A very well thought out piece of music, especially as a crossover game's ending theme.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmo584truz8 Cantata Moratis & God in fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhfuS5vDrIc Ending theme
vs

Valkyrie Profile (Motoi Sakuraba)
Behaving Irrationally- This song basically is Valkyrie Profile's plot.  This is pretty well THE event music in this game, and no other song has quite the right mix of melancholy, sadness, and confusion to truly suit the game.

Turn Over a New Leaf- DIVINE ASSAULT!  NIBELUNG VALESTI!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmDMaUsSwoo Heaving Irrationally
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CycOwzh66JE Turn over a new leaf

Dawn of Mana
Rising Sun: Haven't played Dawn of Mana, but the soundtrack is amazing. I really like this variation of the Mana theme from Sword of Mana.
The Fool's Dance: Just a really really fun song overall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5uROuguNzQ Rising Sun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7beJUxkXkYo The Fool's dance

vs

Shantae: Risky's Revenge
Through the Trees - Such a relaxing piece of music. There's just something soothing about the way it's arranged. Listening to it always makes me feel at ease.
The Final Challenge - On the opposite end of the spectrum, The Final Challenge is an intense and exciting battle theme that has a real sense of urgency to it. These two tracks really show the range of the S:RR soundtrack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvXrax5QQhM Through the trees
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx2kHB0RIHc The final challenge

No More Heroes
Samurai Summer: No More Heroes has a lot of neat Techno tracks and this is probably the best of the bunch. Makes for an awesome boss fight in game.
Pleather for Breakfast: Another really sweet boss fight song which fits the fight perfectly. Aggressive and really catchy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AgmvzUuano  Samurai Summer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TX9o6uZnEs Pleather for breakfast

vs

Wild Arms 5 - Masato Kouda, Noriyasu Agematsu
Comments later, if I can think of something.....

Crossing Over the Sorrowful Land- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9bITd7IT0I

Seeking the Blue Sky (ver. YAKISOBA) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57NC_cj8GnI

Closes in a week.

Voting form:

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia
Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1
Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge
No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5

[Fudozukushi]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia
Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1
Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge
No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5

e; Listened to new tracks, votes once again stay the same.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia: I think the appropriate term here is "lol". Shadow Hearts struck me as having a weak soundtrack with few tracks doing much for me (whole series has this problem to some extent, but it certainly hits 1 hardest), while music is the best thing about Radiant Historia (and I like the game, so...).
Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1: Quite a fan of VP1's soundtrack by Sakuraba standards, particularly its dungeon themes such as The First Unison. The Dissidia tracks... hm. The first feels like something I should love, but neither the latin chanting nor the rock are really doing much for me today. Second is better (some of the remixes are eh, but some are really good), but it's hard to sell me on a track so long.
No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5

[Fenrir]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia: That RH battle theme is great too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCZk5t479fU&list=PLE169075E540F2C3B&index=17&feature=plpp_video
I like some of SH's dungeon themes like Convoyerbelt for killers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrfIFiVyg-g) but the whole OST doesn't really compare overall. That said, SH wins as far as names are concerned.
Edit: Whoops, wrong vote

Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1: Not too fond of Dissidia's. This is kinda like Super Smash Bros music: "Many tracks from various games of different sound qualities" -> "Guys what do we do" -> "ORCHESTRA ORCHESTRA"

Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge: Not a fan of Shantae's style. Dawn of Mana is one of the worst games I've ever played, and I've played bad games. It is so fucking godawful. That said, great soundtrack that nailed that Mana vibe perfectly, and fun/really weird remixes of themes from SD1/2/3/Legend of Mana.
http://www.youtube.com/user/RiceBallJunkie#p/c/2B59ECC93ECDDFF2/68/y0m-5Be2nF8 I believe this might be the music that plays against the final boss.

No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5: Will vote later if I get the time to do it.

[OblivionKnight]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia - ...uh.  Ok.  So, I happen to actually really like the SH soundtrack.  I love some of the dungeon themes such as Star Shape (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSTNe2yiNio) and Conveyorbelt for Killers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrfIFiVyg-g).  I like the battle themes a good bit, including Brain Hopper (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHEs9c9ziLY&feature=related) and Demon's Gig (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAwQ1Sqkq9A&feature=related).  The ending theme well enough (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8LvL_HRTI8).  I adore the fact that the sanity system has an effect on the music style in battle.  I love some of the more subdued themes such as Coffee With a Bullet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEQpGzhuvso&feature=related) and the town themes, such as C.I.T.Y. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk2GmykGvLE&feature=related), are equally catchy.  I'm not a huge fan of the Engrish names, but I like a lot of the music and think it does a decent job of setting up a somewhat "quirky, yet dangerous" air to the game. 

On the other hand, while SH does this well, RH does it extraordinarily well.  The instrumentation is spot on for pushing the air of "regret" that fills the game, which makes amazing sense considering both the story and the concept of time traveling itself.  It runs with this theme and goes all out.  The entire soundtrack is built around it, from Memories of the World (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QY79nb4eeuA&feature=related) to Shadows Dance in the Darkness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpqw8gwCcMA&feature=related) to Forever Proud (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yituCX4D2a8&feature=related) to the excellent final battle theme already linked.  The entire soundtrack plays this theme so well, and so, while I like SH's music and think it fits well, I don't think this is a fight at all.  The contest here is set to vote on the fit of the soundtrack to the game, the quality of its cohesion with the game, and overall function as a game soundtrack, and I don't think RH has much contest here, as it is damn near perfect at this.

Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1 - See Fenrir.  The Dissidia music is so eclectic it detracts from the soundtrack's overall cohesion.  This really isn't a fault of the game - it was made that way purposefully - but VP's soundtrack just demolishes Dissidia's at cohesion, where all the songs sound like they were composed by someone who knew what they were doing, not multiple different people who wanted to tell a different story with the music.

Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge - I...what?  Huh?  Honestly, Dawn of Mana has some great music, but...I think it's overall of worse quality than LoM, and there's a lot of dissonance in style that doesn't feel very fitting, honestly.  Also, the music is good but the game is a pile of shit, so the music doesn't fit the game at all!  Shantae is...decent enough.  I don't know much about the game, but a little research makes me think it wins here.  The songs, while of overall lower quality and with an 8-bit vibe to them, are oddly fitting and fairly decent listens.  Soundtrack feels overall more "genie-like", which fits the game better, so here it goes!

No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5 - Somewhat apathetic towards these.  I think WA5 is the second worst soundtrack of the series, though fits well with the game.  No More Heroes I know less about, but the soundtrack feels...pretty fitting from my research.  Feel these two are fairly equal, so...

[dude789]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia Not particularly close, SH music is mediocre on it's own, RH is really good.
Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1 I find most of Sakuraba's tracks to be really bad.
Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge Both are good.
No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5 This one's really tough. They're really different stylistically but I think WA5's consistent quality gives it an edge.

[Niu]

SH1- A close call. Both OSt does a good job at constructing the game's world.
Dissidia 012- I am truly impressed by Ishimoto's arrangement job here. FF1, 4, and 6's arrangement amazed me the most.
Dawn of Mana- This is one of those game where the game is so bad but the music is good enough to make you continue to play. It fits where it plays and has enough variety to carry the game. Especially Goblin's Beat, god, I would have never bothered with that stage if wasn't the track kept me there.

I'll add some more recommendation here:

Pack of Ice Wolves II - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jx52Lri8tC4
Goblin's Beat - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-XnN8ymXkc
Peak of Twilight - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2S9bl5v1Yw
Dark King - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFmTCu0A8P8
The Darkness Nova - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVAUzHKwON0
Irwin on Reflection - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o22RIlHF2M

WA5- Rooting for my nom here. Still can't think of a way to comment this. I really couldn't derive a coherent idea on how I feel about this OST.

[Talaysen]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia
Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1
Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge
No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5
- Not my nom but I'll put some extra tracks out there because it's a good soundtrack.

Mountain of No Return
Terrible-monster Attacking Crew!

[Lance]

I'll vote later. For now, here are some additional Shantae: Risky's Revenge tracks to consider:
She's Got Moves - Shantae's theme. Really catchy and upbeat.
File Select - Groovy track.
Burning Town - Lively town theme.
The Last Battle - Obligatory intense final battle music.
End Credits - You beat the game! Yay!

Fun fact -- The Shantae: RR soundtrack was composed entirely by Jake "virt" Kaufman, who is primarily known as a remix artist.

[VySaika]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia - This is no contest
Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1 - Oh god dammit. I love VP1's soundtrack, but I've gotta go with dissidia here. The point of nomming it was for the in game use, especially of the (admittedly few) original songs. Which I think it excells massively on. Soundtrack on it's own? Yeah, it's a bunch of remixes, which is a fair criticism(especially if you haven't played the game, or gotten far enough to hear God In Fire).
Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Both good, feeling the quirky a bit more atm.
No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5 - Also fairly easy. NMH music...prolly works beter in game, I'll grant. But I haven't played it. While WA5, music is one of the things it actually does well.

[superaielman]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia- SH1 has exactly zero tracks I remember as notable, and the ones selected are decent but not world beaters. The Edge of Green reminds me of a SoA track, which is a good thing. Mmm, sexy.
Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1- VP1 has some good out of battle tracks, but the in battle ones I hate.
Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge
No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5-  Some absoutely outstanding battle tracks help WA5 out. Sailor Persephone, goooooo!

[Random Consonant]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia - I actually feel confident enough in my knowledge of SH1's music to vote on this match.  It be not close.

[Pyro]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia: RH's soundtrack was a major reason it was one of the best games of the year.
Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1: Never played Duodecim, will look later.
Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge
No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5: Will look at NMH later.

[DjinnAndTonic]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia - I'm a big fan of how SH uses its music, whereas RH's OST is so short and repetitive that I can't vote for it on that front. Close match.
Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1 - Another close match! VP is one of my favorites, but I dig that remix of the FF6 themes.
Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Not a fan of Mana series music.
No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5 - NMH is hard to listen to... I keep forgetting I'm listening to it and leave to do something else.

[Lance]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia
Aside from a few great tracks here and there (such as Imbroglio and the confusingly titled "Shadow Hearts"), I'm not a big fan of SH's soundtrack. Radiant Historia is good enough to win here, methinks.

Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1
Dissidia music is pretty solid overall. Valkyrie Profile music is good, but I don't think it's Sakuraba's best.

Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge
Screw you, Hatbot. Both of these are excellent. Neither one should be losing in the first round.

No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5
The No More Heroes soundtrack is good stuff. I love We Are Finally Cowboys, No More No More Heroes, and even the woefully under-appreciated Pleather for Breakfast. As far as Wild Arms soundtracks go, WA5 is somewhere around the middle -- not bad, but not exceptional.

[superaielman]

I'm closing this round tomorrow. Get your votes in now!

[Sierra]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia: Eh, sure. I've played SH1 twice and the music hasn't left a great impression beyond bells.
Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1: Behave Irrationally = dagger in the heart.
Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge: Coinflip.
No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5: Second-best WA soundtrack is go.

[SnowFire]

Shadow Hearts vs Radiant Historia
Well, I love both of these and am happy with Radiant Historia winning too.  But as noted, Shadow Hearts is a really daring and weird soundtrack as far as I'm concerned, and does some crazy neat stuff.  Shadow Hearts Covenant is probably more generally popular because it's got more tracks like The Fate, Getsurenka, etc. that invoke epic fantasy, but Shadow Hearts 1 has more tracks that say "crazy insanity badasses" and are a bit unsettling.

Dissidia 012 vs Valkyrie Profile 1
Yeah, I like my orchestrated Final Fantasy (think most of the Distant Worlds arrangements are pretty good for example), but the Dissidia ending remix strangely didn't do anything for me.  Can't put a finger on why.  Cantata -> God of Fire also was kind of eh, but I'll grant that it sounds like it would work great in context.  (For all that I'd have wanted slightly better lyrics for God of Fire, meh.)

Dawn of Mana vs Shantae: Risky's Revenge
I don't know.  They're both pretty decent, despite having listened to several tracks in both.  Abstain.

No More Heroes vs Wild ARMs 5
Yeah, NMH doesn't really work for me.

Shadow Hearts ~ Radiant Historia
(DROP)
Wild Arms V ~ Dawn of Mana? ~ Shantae? ~ Valkyrie Profile
Dissidia 012?
No More Heroes?

[superaielman]

Radiant Historia 12, Shadow Hearts 3
Dissidia012 8, Valkyrie Profile 5
Dawn of Mana 6, Shantae's 5 (Kobreak)
Wild ARMs5 8, No More Heroes 3