Song of the Week - WEEK 168 Voting/WEEK 169 Nominating
 

Song of the Week. 150 Weeks and counting.
Week 168 Voting is closed.
Week 169 Nominating is restricted.

Results:
1). [20] Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
2). [18] Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01
3). [17] Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
4). [11/8.5] Vandal Hearts II ~Heaven's Gate~ Original Soundtrack - Warfare on a Constructions
5). [11/8] The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)
6). [7] Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme)
7). [5] Shining Force Neo ~Zetsubo to Kibo - Zetsubo to Kibo (Original Karaoke)
8). [1] Ioncross Freelancer: Total War (Game Audio) - Rochester Base Bar Music

Tracks:
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Ioncross Freelancer: Total War (Game Audio) - Rochester Base Bar Music
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Shining Force Neo ~Zetsubo to Kibo - Zetsubo to Kibo (Original Karaoke)
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme)
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)
Get the Flash Player to play this audio file: Vandal Hearts II ~Heaven's Gate~ Original Soundtrack - Warfare on a Constructions

Notes:
Please remember to upload your nominations to the SotW server! Uploaded noms mean a faster, smoother SotW experience for everyone.

Week 169 Nominating:
The Nominations Queue can be found here.
The rules for nominating can be found here.

Nomination:

Game: Silver Surfer
Track Title: Track 6
Track Number: 6 (duh)
Composers: Tim & Geoff Follin
Source: NSF from Zophar.net

Silver Surfer - Track 6.mp3

New Nomination!

Composer: Masaaki Uno
Album: Music from Yaksa & Arcus
Track Title: Origin of the Master's Roots
Disc: 1
Track Number: 23
Catalog Number: K30X-7709
Year: 1988
Source: K30X-7709: Music From Yaksa & Arcus - VGMdb

Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01 I knew that Concerto Gate had some Ito music, but this is the first I've heard of it. It's very much in line with Ito's battle tracks for Saga, though the piano is a nice addition to his usual sound. Not as good as Kikuta's contributions, but still quite nice.

Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2 Kind of tinny, and not really all that interesting. I can't see the appeal of this one; sorry, nominator.

Ioncross Freelancer: Total War (Game Audio) - Rochester Base Bar Music This has the neat tracker sound of some of Alex Brandon's best, but unfortunately it's missing the melodic hook, which is really a shame.

Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth A sweet little synthy treat with a decent melody and driving bass line. A little derivative, maybe, but enjoyable.

Shining Force Neo ~Zetsubo to Kibo - Zetsubo to Kibo (Original Karaoke) Nice enough sort of rock-style ballad. Starts off a little weak but gets better as it goes along.

Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme) Some nice dark synthy licks here, with only two real drawbacks--the melody could be a little better, and the SFX are a pain in the ass.

The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi) Not what I would have expected given the title. Not bad as far as laid-back acoustic licks go, but guitars can do so much more.

Vandal Hearts II ~Heaven's Gate~ Original Soundtrack - Warfare on a Constructions This song has a kooky vibe that I like a lot, and just enough of that underlying SRPG feel to appeal to that weakness as well. I wonder how much of the OST is like this?

The Point Spread
battle 01 - 2 pts.
Warfare on Grammatical Constructions - 2 pts.
Center of the Earth - 1 pt.
Mercenary-X - 1 pt.

Nomination
Composer: Winifred Phillips
Album Title: SimAnimals
Track Title: Forest Song (End Credits)
Disc Number: 1
Track Number: 19
Notes: This has now passed the three-month window, so I'm renominating it.

@orion_mk3:
I can't believe I missed this track by Ito! Like you said, this really a reminiscent of SAGA music (which is not a bad thing). And if what you said is true (there are more Ito's track and better music from Kikuta in Concerto Gate), I absolutely must check the music of this game! :D

Score:
- Battle 1 - 3 points
- Center of the earth - 2 points
- Warfare on a Constructions - 1 point

Nomination #17

Composer: SonicPicnic
Game Title: Toki Tori
Track Title: Forest Falls
Track Number: 2
Year: 2008
Additional Information: Super Happy Fun Banjo Bird Music =D

Time traveling/flying into the FTP yeah~

Decent week

<<3 Points>> Vandal Hearts II ~Heaven's Gate~ Original Soundtrack - Warfare on a Constructions
<<2 Points>> The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)
<<1 Points>> Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth

Quick votes. Wanted to give "Floor 1, 2" two points but "Warfare on a Constructions" was too good to pass-up (grammer issues aside).

(2 points) Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme)

(2 points) The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)

(1 point) Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2

(1 point) Vandal Hearts II ~Heaven's Gate~ Original Soundtrack - Warfare on a Constructions

Special mentions to Concerto Gate (particularly the piano bit).

3 Points: Shining Force Neo ~Zetsubo to Kibo - Zetsubo to Kibo (Original Karaoke)
1 Point: Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
1 Point: Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
1 Point: Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01

(2 points) Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01
(2 points) Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
(1 point) Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
(1 point) Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme)

2 points: Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01
2 points: The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)
1 point: Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
1 point: Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth

Kenji Ito has never been one to wow or impress me, and Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01 certainly doesn't change this. The blend of instrumentation is disjointed and lacks cohesion; as such, no real melody or drive sticks out or makes me want to keep listening. Sorry nom! let's just face it; Ito will never top "Endless Battlefield" :)

Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2 is a fairly average "dungeon" tune, and sadly its monotonousness far overshadow its ephemeral glimpses of creativity. Not much else to say, but I won't be downloading this one.

Ioncross Freelancer: Total War (Game Audio) - Rochester Base Bar Music has absolutely no melody or hook factor to speak of, but its serviceable in terms of atmosphere and mood. It definitely doesn't overstay its welcome in its appropriate 2 minute duration. Yeah, this one is OK in my books~

Ah, here's the week's Supersweep contribution. :333: Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth is really fun on the whole, surprising given my track record with Mr. Hosoe. Catchy, entertaining and with some adorable and nostalgic sound samples, this one is definitely one to download and consider for points.

CHEEEEEEESE AHOY!!! Shining Force Neo ~Zetsubo to Kibo - Zetsubo to Kibo (Original Karaoke) is a nice listen, with an (admittedly) infectious cheese factor and some awesome instrument samples. Melody on the whole is fairly strong, too. Yes, I do enjoy this cheese-fest. GUITAAARR FLOURISHHHH

O__O Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme) is about as typical a track as you can get, huh? It's got the dark, quasi-militaristic electronica down pat, but it doesn't use this very typical element very creatively. There's a nice sense of progression around the 1:30 mark, but overall this one makes for a particularly boring listen. (soz nomz~)

The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi) is an awfully...convoluted track, isn't it? ;_; It's good, however. Entertaining from start to finish, even though I can't remember too much about it (except the acoustic guitar and clapping combo!). INTENSE POINT CONSIDERATION

Haha Vandal Hearts II ~Heaven's Gate~ Original Soundtrack - Warfare on a Constructions doesn't know whether to sound like a Sakimoto town theme, a dramatic Uematsu theme or its own distinctive thing. The mishmash is amusing and fairly entertaining, and there's a nice, playful melody hovering around in there somewhere. Decent~

INTENSE POINTS (!)

2 points: Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
2 points: Shining Force Neo ~Zetsubo to Kibo - Zetsubo to Kibo (Original Karaoke)
1 point: The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)
1 point: Vandal Hearts II ~Heaven's Gate~ Original Soundtrack - Warfare on a Constructions
5th: Ioncross Freelancer: Total War (Game Audio) - Rochester Base Bar Music
6th: Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
7th: Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01
8th: Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme)

A fairly decent week overall. (too much Kenji Ito, though >=|)

sup Rimo?
1 Point - Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
2 Points - Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
2 Points - Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01
1 Point - Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme)

Alright, since it doesn't seem like "Winterbliss" is gonna make it, I"ll nominate one of the custom-made tracks from Castle Crashers.

Artist: Waterflame
Game Title: Castle Crashers
Track Title: Jumper
Year: 2008
Sources:
Castle Crashers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Castle Crashers
Jumper (will start streaming automatically)

I uploaded it to the FTP.

3 points: Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
1 point: Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
1 point: Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme)
1 point: Vandal Hearts II ~Heaven's Gate~ Original Soundtrack - Warfare on a Constructions

Nary a terrible song here, though I wish a couple tracks (Soldner, Ioncross) came harder at me melodically instead of working just on atmosphere. It would've been more compelling.

(3 points) Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01
(1 point) Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
(1 point) Vandal Hearts II ~Heaven's Gate~ Original Soundtrack - Warfare on a Constructions
(1 point) Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2

Here's a nom, I decided to go back to the same album my first nom came from a couple years back.

Artist: Hyakutaro Tsukumo
Album: Lost Technology ~ Thunder Force Sound Track
Track #: 15
Track Title: Steel of Destiny
Catalog Number: FNAG-0001
Source: FNAG-0001: Lost Technology ~ Thunder Force Sound Track - VGMdb

Will be voting this evening (~7) if this could be left open.

2 points - Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
1 point - Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
1 point - Ioncross Freelancer: Total War (Game Audio) - Rochester Base Bar Music
1 point - Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme)
1 point - The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)

3 points: Center of the Earth
1 point: Warfare on a Constructions
1 point: ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)
1 point: Floor 1, 2
Just missed: Mercenary-X (Main Theme)

I like short tunes as much as the next guy, but Rochester Base Bar Music has no business ending where it does.

I enjoyed the with the 1 pointers immensely this week. Warfare would've been a contender for more if 0:58 didn't remind me so much of the main melodic hook in the popular "America" from West Side Story.

Also I revisited Long-Horned Beetle (fantastic tune, can't believe I didn't give it 3 points) from a previous week due to ESAKA, that's gotta be worth something right

Much better than last week. Nothing spectacular, but all pretty much solid songs.

3 pts. - Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
2 pts. - Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
1 pt. - The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)
Close: Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01
Shining Force Neo ~Zetsubo to Kibo - Zetsubo to Kibo (Original Karaoke)

Rochester Base Bar Music was promising, but as some others have said, I would have liked to hear more of a melody.

EDIT: Changed my votes to 3, 2, 1 instead of 2, 1, 1, 1, 1.

battle 01 is my nomination, and I feel it's easily the best track this week. Not Ito's best work, and a bit short compared to other tracks, but has a good style and melody. The track has a lot of emotion and gets to the point in presenting it.

Floor 1, 2 doesn't impress me with the instrument usage, but it has some good melodic segments that caught my ear. I like it.

Rochester Base Bar Music is a few bars of notes repeated over and over with slight instrument variations. What else can I say?

Center of the Earth is not bad at all. It has cool instruments and a driving beat, but unfortunately, it doesn't leave an impression on me.

Before I even saw the title, I could tell that Zetsubo to Kibo (Original Karaoke) was in fact a karaoke version of a song. It's incomplete music; there's no lead instrument. I don't like listening to karaoke versions of songs for this simple reason. If the vocals were replaced with an instrument playing the full melody front and center, that would be perfectly fine, but karaoke versions are meant as backing tracks for karaoke singing, not as something to listen to. I'm passing on this.

Mercenary-X (Main Theme)... again, not bad, but just didn't capture my interest. I don't think this one had enough melody to it.

ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi) is lacking in melody, but it has a really interesting build-up, and I have to give it a point just for that.

Warfare on a Constructions has a nice lively feel to it, but it just doesn't hold my attention.

3 points - battle 01
2 points - Floor 1, 2
1 point - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)

I'll tally up votes in like 10 hours or so.

Additional Spam:
Voting is closed. Here are the results:
1). [20] Namco Game Sound Express VOL.04 Dragon Saber - Center of the Earth
2). [18] Concerto Gate Closed Beta BGM - battle 01
3). [17] Genmu no Tou to Tsurugi no Okite Original Soundtracks - Floor 1, 2
4). [11/8.5] Vandal Hearts II ~Heaven's Gate~ Original Soundtrack - Warfare on a Constructions
5). [11/8] The King of Fighters '98 Arrange Sound Trax - ESAKA (Kyo Kusanagi)
6). [7] Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer Original Video Game Soundtrack - Mercenary-X (Main Theme)
7). [5] Shining Force Neo ~Zetsubo to Kibo - Zetsubo to Kibo (Original Karaoke)
8). [1] Ioncross Freelancer: Total War (Game Audio) - Rochester Base Bar Music

Nominations are still open since this coming week is a BATTLE week.

Additional Spam:
Also, refresh my memory on this... Didn't we have some policy about nominating a track that was released within the past X months?

I think we all saw the winner coming, but it's a good 'un. Really surprised about 3rd place, though, and pleasantly surprised about 2nd.

EDIT:
In answer to your question, Kaleb, something has to be at least 3 months old before it can be nominated--long enough to make sure it's not the next big thing.

Thanks. Do you know if this on the Voting Phase rules page? If not, I'll need to add it.

You know, I could have sworn it was, but now that I look it's nowhere to be found. I remember us discussing it and coming to a decision, but I guess it never got written down!