Author Topic: OST vs OST: Round 1, Week 8 (Read 4484 times)

superaielman · « **on:** February 03, 2012, 02:07:05 AM »

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Artonelico II: Melody of Metafalica
EXEC_with.METHOD_METAFALICA/. - The ending theme. The way the vocals work together and how the song evolves is absolutely amazing.
Varna - The first battle theme. I was actually saddened when the normal battle theme changed, since the other ones aren't as good.
(Thought about putting Indra or Sky Port Girl here as well, but Varna seemed like a better idea.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHmBtQd4TC0 EXEC._with_method_METAFALICA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3eEjjQV_60 Varna

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Okami: The Sun Rises; if I have to explain why I'm nomming this song to represent the OST, I will cry. In addition to that, I'll just toss in Shinshu Fields going on a different end of the spectrum. More placid (instead of dramatic), and gives a better sense of a journey, it well represents the mood Okami has for music, let alone the game as a whole.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZxK58tPU4I The Sun Rises
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wif3MEdRaPA Shinshu fields
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Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
The Last Desperate Struggle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFXOJ1mkKtI): If people haven't noticed, I've been raving about Ghost Trick recently. It is an excellent game, and the music is a great part of that, strongly backing the gameplay, story, and concept. This song plays during, well, the last desperate struggle on the submarine, one of the harder and more stressful parts of the game. It does an amazing job of driving the end of the game as time runs out for everyone involved - the end is so close, and perseverance is vital. The song is also creative in that it remixes a lot of other pieces from the game into it, compiling the musical themes of fate changing and averting death you've heard throughout the game, to add that extra sense of urgency to the situation
Informing About the Parting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUGlC8WOQt0): So much of this game is mood music, but some of it, like this, still stands on its own. Especially when this plays near the end with all the revelations - since this game is really new, I'm going to not completely spoil it, but suffice to say, you are definitely informing several people about a really important parting. This song plays during the major revelations, and you can feel it in the music - like weight has lifted off everyone's shoulders. It's easing, peaceful, sort of like if someone were passing on into the next life. It does an amazing job of catching that feeling of "letting go", and that's exactly what it needs to do.

The Last Desperate Struggle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFXOJ1mkKtI)
Informing About the Parting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUGlC8WOQt0)

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No More Heroes 2

Philistine - superior vocals clearly
We Are Finally Cowboys - awesome theme for awesome playable henry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLw2VKtOFE0&feature=related Philistine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBWWumC4XBc We are finally cowboys

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Final Fantasy 13
Pretty much the best soundtrack Hamauzu's done, I think. They sure do repeat the main theme a lot, but good thing it's a solid theme with lots to do to it. For instance...

The Archylte Steppe - This is totally an overworld theme. If FF13 had an overworld. Which it didn't. But hey. Call it a stand-in for the relaxing, adventurey version of the theme.
Blinded by Light - Hey it's the same thing except now you can fight to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfu0XBf8kmk Blinded by Light
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aOrhl1O1nU Archylte Steppe

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Saga Frontier 2 - Masashi Hamauzu

Snow once said how Hamauzu is capable of pulling out a Piano Suite over 10 minutes and not losing pace at all. I'd say SF2's entire OST connected from beginning to the end without losing pace at all. One might argue that Hamauzu achieved this by overusing same two motiff over and over again. I'll admit this true, but I think this is more of a pro than a con. It sustain the general picture of the world at the same time really made the difference between each tracks stand out (aka, what represented the change of the history).

I'll point out Vorspiel that marks the beginning and Ovation that detonated the final arc of the game.

Vorspiel -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fifr8nwqwU&feature=related

Ovation -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A6rpzCqt90&feature=related
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Lufia 2

North Land/World Map/Overworld (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3lx-rxVrDg - Arranged Version off the Soundtrack CD here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3ZfS-ak01M): I think Lufia 2 was the first video game soundtrack I downloaded and listened to outside of the game. It impressed me a lot with the variety of instrumentation and overall excellent, fitting songs. The battle themes sound like battle themes...the town and character themes are fitting and memorable, and overall, just excellent use of music. I love having multiple themes for everything in a game, including an overworld, and I have to say, Lufia 2's overworld theme is my favourite. It sounds like an overworld, like there's a world to explore. It has an air of mystery, discovery, and evokes stepping out into the great unknown. It's also quite beautiful of a song overall - I particularly love the woodwind component of the song, and love how the percussion is kept to the back to supplement the main voice of the song. The instrumentation works and supports itself, instead of one section of instruments vying for control and dominating over another.
For the Saviour/One Who Saves the Earth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWkHqg5wPt4 - Arranged Version off the Soundtrack CD here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Er8vZJAVmI&feature=related): Now this was a hard choice between this song and the Sinistral Battle theme. But For the Saviour wins out here. It is epic - it captures beautifully the end of the world and the heroic actions the hero goes through to stop that from happening. Just perfect - the fact it's used for the "final battle" in Curse of the Sinistrals in the EX Game just makes it all the better. I'd explain more, but I think just listening to it is all the explanation it needs. Just perfect.

North Land/World Map/Overworld (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3lx-rxVrDg)
For the Saviour/One Who Saves the Earth (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWkHqg5wPt4)

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Heroes of Might & Magic II
My obligatory PC something pick. Opera singers for fantasy castle music? Uh sure. The fact that they were all catchy & good music even ignoring the singing helped.

Sorceress Castle - Nommed this in one of the old music tournies, so arguably should mix it up, but whatever.
Snow theme - Short but very flavorful location music, since HoMM2 had good music all around, not just the castle themes.

The Sorceress Castle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF4Eq9TwXOs
Snow theme- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYotuxLcA5s

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami
Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2
Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2
Lufia 2 vs Heroes of Might and Magic 2

superaielman · « **Reply #1 on:** February 03, 2012, 02:12:16 AM »

Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2
Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2= Saga 2's OST never really impressed me. FF13 had a ton of outstanding tracks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtP78GdJeHU -Blaze Edge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2CVzn-ymr8&feature=related Sunleth Waterscape

Lufia 2 vs Heroes of might and magic 2- Always had a weakness for L2 music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lExJLZbKmIk&feature=BFa&list=PL689AC3B979DEE6D0&lf=results_main Oooh, shiny DS version of the Sinsistrials theme.

OblivionKnight · « **Reply #2 on:** February 03, 2012, 03:53:23 AM »

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami - I don't know what it is, but I have not liked AT music. It has a heavy Indian theme to it, which isn't bad, but...I feel clashes with the style of the game. Okami's quite fitting with the whole game - art style, story, etc.

Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2 - Wow, I do not like either of these NMH 2 songs much at all (although Philistine makes me think, "Wok Wike, Egyptian", so that's kind of cool)! Granted, others are much, much better - Psycho Soldier (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFpUt1Ywcok&feature=related), Kill or Be Killed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-V8htEtAYI&feature=related) are pretty good. But here's something I'm noticing with the NMH and NMH 2 soundtracks - they lack variety. A lot. I mean, the songs themselves are decent enough in general (at least unique), but, while there may be variety in their styles, there's no variety in anything else - it's all fast techno-ish stuff that I've heard. The mood setting seems all...fast-paced. Which I'm sure works well in-game, and fits fine, but the soundtrack isn't as adaptable. Ghost Trick is far, far more adaptable. A couple other Ghost Trick songs to illustrate the external validity of the soundtrack: Missile - A Courageous Little Animal (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWd3JA6cpY0&feature=related); Epilogue - End of the Night (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYcbNnFz378&feature=related); Towards Nothingness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQZcVICLRmc&feature=related); Prologue - The Beginning of the Night (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVBDt3VRDfA&feature=related).

Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2 - Both games have a very orchestral-sounding OST. I think FF13 worked better in-game. Both are pretty good - SF2 is a huge step up from SF1 in quality, but not much of one in in-game fit.

Lufia 2 vs Heroes of might and magic 2 - Simple. Lufia 2 has amazing music, and HoMM2 is really background noise, albeit non-distracting noise.

Random Consonant · « **Reply #3 on:** February 03, 2012, 07:58:01 AM »

Lufia 2 vs Heroes of might and magic 2 - always been a fan of L2's soundtrack, though HoMM2's is alright for what it is.

dude789 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 03, 2012, 09:06:24 PM »

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami I really like a lot of Ar Tonelico 2's music, but Okami is so good at what it does.
Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2 I think there's a bit more variety to the music in the NMH series than OK is giving credit for. It's just that the stuff that it's best at is that fast paced techno. Also, despite the stylistic similarity, it works really well in game.
Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2: Sound quality is a huge factor in this.
Lufia 2 vs Heroes of might and magic 2

Dark Holy Elf · « **Reply #5 on:** February 03, 2012, 09:12:46 PM »

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami: I don't think any series has so utterly failed to impress me in music contests than Ar Tonelico. Just not my style at all. The Sun Rises is a great track, on the other hand.
Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2
Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2: Seems pretty straightforward.
Lufia 2 vs Heroes of might and magic 2: Oh man of all the weird things you guys hype Lufia 2 for, now it's music? It does have a pretty rockin' boss track at least, but I basically found all other tracks forgettable besides a bad world map track (which I see is one of the noms <.<). Too lazy to listen to its opposition and cast a vote, though.

SnowFire · « **Reply #6 on:** February 04, 2012, 02:44:39 AM »

Throwing out a few more Heroes II tracks, mostly the opera-y castle musics. Sadly the sound quality on some of the YouTube uploads is notably worse than in-game... huh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRzIU-XFXUw&feature=related - Warlock castle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g-qVAZ01Dw&feature=related - Necromancer castle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX1d9-P9s7I&feature=related - Wizard castle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seq6tPiUeH0&feature=related Knight castle, Price of Loyalty expansion. An arrangement of the main theme, although horrid sound quality on this upload.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og7iNOaEjqM Barbarian castle, Price of Loyalty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OOpglmeXOw Wizard castle, Price of Loyalty.

You know, this sound quality is just too terrible. Let me upload my (legit, I own the game!) rips.

SnowFire · « **Reply #7 on:** February 04, 2012, 02:59:22 AM »

For those that care, the full Heroes2 soundtrack in .mp3 form ripped directly from the game CDs since the Youtube video's sound quality is cruddy:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B3WZpz-xP-nLMjM1ZmEzNDktM2NmNy00M2U0LWE0MzEtNGU1MmRhOTI0MGU0

Mostly check out the castle musics, though the battle themes are good enough, and I picked the snow theme to show off that even the atmospheric stuff is quite good. Well, IMHO at least.

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami
Tricky. AT2 has some tracks I really, really like. But will have to listen to the whole soundtrack again, as at least in AT1's case a lot of it was rather underwhelming. Okami, eh. The Sun Rises is definitely great, and the sound quality is excellent, but it just doesn't seem as potentially awesome in general. Reserve the right to change my vote here.

Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2
Ghost Trick had a great soundtrack. Two more callouts -
4 Minutes Before Death - The main "investigate and solve the puzzle" theme of the game - a bit slow, but works quite well in context. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3C-FrmHn44&feature=related
4 Minutes Before Death ~ Variation - The shit just got real. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4X_DMcjYaI&feature=related

Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2
Funny that these two went against each other, as they're both variations on a theme.... but SF2 doesn't mix it up quite enough.

Lufia 2 vs Heroes of Might and Magic II
Yeah, I'm a HOMM2 fanboy anyway, but Lufia 2... I mean, the boss theme and Sinistral theme are fantastic, and the Overworld theme is also great, but it's kind of plain vanilla other than that. Okay, one of the dungeon themes I recall as being pretty catchy and getting me in the mood for puzzling too. So good soundtrack, but not quite a standout.

Dunefar · « **Reply #8 on:** February 04, 2012, 04:17:49 AM »

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami - Pass.
Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2 - Pass.
Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2 - Blinded By Light is the only good thing about FF13, so sure, it deserves a vote.
Lufia 2 vs Heroes of Might and Magic 2 - Total destruction.

Talaysen · « **Reply #9 on:** February 04, 2012, 06:47:48 PM »

Some other Ar tonelico II tracks:

Legend of Ar tonelico II ~The Second Tower~
Sunny
Sky Port Girl - First town theme.
Let's Go By My Pace - Luca's theme.
Hearts Aflutter ~Cloche~
Indra - Battle theme against the I.P.D.s.
Warmth

Hymmnos:
METHOD_IMPLANTA/.
‎EXEC_over.METHOD_SUBLIMATION/. ~ lamenza
EXEC_over.METHOD_SUBLIMATION/. ~ ee wassa sos yehar
EXEC_over.METHOD_SUBLIMATION/. ~ omness chs ciel sos infel - These three are the final boss musics, so they go together.
EXEC_SOL=FAGE/.
EXEC_VIENA/.
hartes ciel melenas walasye.
EXEC_SPHILIA/.

DjinnAndTonic · « **Reply #10 on:** February 05, 2012, 07:12:36 AM »

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami - Good match! While AT may not be for everyone, I've always felt it did an excellent job creating a unique sound, and it strikes a chord with me. There's a lot of really powerful tracks here that I find myself listening to over and over again. Okami, while good, feels a lot more like generic traditional Japanese music... and while that may be relatively unique for video games (depending on the audience), I feel AT2's sound is more instantly recognizable. Tough choice.

Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2

Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2 - FF13-2 took all the best parts of this soundtrack and decided to give us -more- of it. If nothing else, I like FF13 for its OST! SF2 is probably the better game, but the soundtrack isn't as gripping. Amusing that these two were paired up.

Lufia 2 vs Heroes of Might and Magic 2 - Sinistrals theme alone beats out HoM&M2 to me. Next week is a tougher match.

Talaysen · « **Reply #11 on:** February 05, 2012, 05:18:22 PM »

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami
Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2
Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2
Lufia 2 vs Heroes of Might and Magic 2

Pyro · « **Reply #12 on:** February 05, 2012, 05:24:06 PM »

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami: There are some tracks I really enjoy in AT2. Notably Sphilia and sublimation III.
Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2
Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2: FF13's soundtrack was highly enjoyable, managing to drive into your head and stay there a while...Rays of a new day... hum.
Lufia 2 vs Heroes of Might and Magic 2: The boss theme, Iris' theme, and The One Who Saves The World are all in my brain permanently. I can't go against that.

Niu · « **Reply #13 on:** February 06, 2012, 03:58:09 AM »

Okami - I love AT and all, but Okami still does its thing better.
Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2 - Don't know much about Ghost Trick to vote on it.
Saga Frontier 2 - Rooting for my nom.
Heroes of Might and Magic 2 - Wins by consistency. Lufia II's town and dungeon music really needs some work.

superaielman · « **Reply #14 on:** February 06, 2012, 04:33:57 AM »

Did you mean to vote for Okami over AT2, Niu?

Fudozukushi · « **Reply #15 on:** February 06, 2012, 05:43:35 AM »

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami: Okami music drags out far too long.
Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2: Philistine really, really requires you to play NMH/know about it, to appreciate it. Thankfully I fall into one of those categories.
Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2
Lufia 2 vs Heroes of Might and Magic 2

Lance · « **Reply #16 on:** February 08, 2012, 01:36:48 AM »

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami
Ar Tonelico music is weird. Sometimes it tries something different and succeeds with flying colors. Other times it's so bizarre and discordant that I just can't bring myself to enjoy it. Sometimes it pukes a bunch of sounds onto my lap and I hate it, but then I listen to it a couple times and realize that there is a method to the madness. It's a mixed bag, is what I'm trying to say. But it's a mixed bag that I like. Every new track is an adventure. Okami's soundtrack is enjoyable overall, but it's downright predictable compared to Ar Tonelico II. You can listen to a new Okami track and you kind of know what to expect. It's not bad by any means, but it leaves me craving more.

Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2
As far as the music goes, NMH2 was a big step down from NMH, in my opinion. Philistine, Dynamite Rocket, and Shoegazer watched the Stars are all good...but that's about it. It also doesn't help that about half of the entire soundtrack is comprised of 8-bit mini-game tracks that are all just short loops that get repetitive in a hurry. Ghost Trick, on the other hand, has some pretty good stuff. Just like the game itself, the soundtrack is very quirky. While I'm at it, I have to give a shout-out to Cabanela's Theme. So funky.

Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2
This one hurts. I'm playing through FF XIII fight now and I've been very impressed with the soundtrack. Will to Fight, for example, is an absolutely incredible piece of music. On the other side, SaGa Frontier 2 has some of my favorite battle themes of all time. If Feldschlacht I was a woman, I would make love it it every hour on the hour. Really tough choice. Another situation where neither one deserves a first-round loss. I'll use nostalgia as a tiebreaker and give my support to SaGa Frontier 2.

Lufia 2 vs Heroes of Might and Magic 2
And then we end things with a match that I don't really care about.

superaielman · « **Reply #17 on:** February 08, 2012, 05:40:10 PM »

Closing this tomorrow.

Sierra · « **Reply #18 on:** February 09, 2012, 12:42:58 AM »

Ar Tonelico II vs Okami: Why do you put your best music in the series I hate, Gust.
Ghost Trick vs No More Heroes 2: Huh, I actually liked these more than expected.
Final Fantasy 13 vs Saga Frontier 2: I guess.
Lufia 2 vs Heroes of Might and Magic 2: Sure.

Niu · « **Reply #19 on:** February 09, 2012, 05:23:28 AM »

Quote from: superaielman on February 06, 2012, 04:33:57 AM

Did you mean to vote for Okami over AT2, Niu?

Fixed

superaielman · « **Reply #20 on:** February 09, 2012, 02:23:57 PM »

AT2 7, Okami 4
Ghost Trick 4, NMH2 3
FF13 10, Saga2 3
Lufia2 9, Heroes of Might and magic2 3

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Author Topic: OST vs OST: Round 1, Week 8 (Read 4484 times)