[SotW] Song of the Week - WEEK 125 Voting/WEEK 126 Nominating

My feelings:

4)
Grandia II - NO
Grandia Xtreme - Reluctant YES
Panzer Dragoon - NO
Panzer Dragoon Zwei - YES
Parodius series - YES
Radiant Silvergun - HAHA NO
Shenmue - NO
Shenmue II - NO
Shining Force YES (But I'm the one who nominated the SFII arrangement, so I'm biased)
WarCraft II - YES

I'd say that any Sonic game from the Genesis/CD era is off-limits, excepting the totally quirky spin-offs. (Spinball, Mean Bean Machine, etc.) Sonic CD falls on the borderline of "too popular" for me. I'm personally sketchy with Sonic Advance tracks too; though they may be relatively unheard, the series is a flagship. But I pushed for the Rockman arrangement a bit ago, so I'd be a hypocrite if I put my foot down too firmly. So, for Sonic Advance tracks, I won't make a fuss if they're approved but let's not make them a habit, okay?

5) I'm fine with Rockman.EXE nominations.

6) Sonic and the Secret Rings is okay too, though again, let's not make Sonic/Rockman/Mario nominations a regular thing. If they happen too frequently, I'll be making some noise.

8) Though the circumstances are odd, I suppose this should count as a personal project. As long as it's unpublished in any other media, I'm okay with it. It's Tenpei Sato, not some demoscene weiner with a moronic nom de plume and only two quasi-professional credits under his belt - both assisting, naturally. When Sato is on, the man is mother-fucking-ON. I say we give it a chance.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

CAL ~ The Eternal Beautiful Girls - The Continent of Time: It's okay, I suppose. The melody is serviceable, though the sound quality is somewhat compressed. Too bad the "guitar" solo is pretty awful. There's an old-school air to this one that I suspect will earn it some votes.

Doki Doki Majo Shinpan! ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK - Forget not Tomorrow (Akuji Nishimura's Theme): The guitar driven tone of this track is enjoyable, though the meedly-meedly bits are pretty self-indulgent. The background layers were too subdued and deserved to share the foreground, if only for the sake of breaking up the guitar and providing some better pacing. I like this one but I wasn't blown away.

History Repeats Itself Abandoner Lostchild coupling soundtrack - Abandoner - Abandoner Main Title: Though the intro strikes a very interesting mood, the rest of the track did little to elevate or deviate from this mood. As a slow composition, it works but it felt too drawn-out in several places and that detracted from its charm. I think it would've benefitted from a bit of aggression at times.

R-Type Leo (Game Rip) - PARADISE PLANET (AREA1): This track is merely alright. The slightly dreamy mood is good but there's a very monotonous quality to it as well. I would've chosen less of a drone for the backing synths. And the drumkit isn't inspired at all. Rather forgettable track. Sorry.

Synaesthete OST - Tryptonaut: Kind of trancey, kind of cool. Kind of. The down-tempo nature is nice and I found the bagpipes-esque synths rather intriguing. It's not the kind of track that knocks you out the first time but I do believe it's a grower. In a month or so, I'll probably think this track is awesome.

Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 Original Soundtracks - Phantom of Blue: Ah, Yuzo Kushiro, whose style of sound I associate with so many video arcades circa 1999. The rapid pace of Kushiro's dance music often causes it to lose any distinctive qualities it might possess, instead becoming a blur of beats and synth sweeps. It's not the most offensive Kushiro piece in this vein but it's still a bit overpowered. Kushiro has some much nicer tracks to offer.

Within a Deep Forest (Game Rip) - Scales of Zordium: A bit bland, honestly. "Soft" and "tranquil" do not necessarily translate into "memorable."

Wizardry ~Dimguil~ Original Sound Track - Theme of Wizardry: Despite the Spanish influences, I didn't find this one particularly enthralling. "Nice" is an apt word, but that's also a word I'd use to describe the garbled artwork of a six year-old who tried his best. I think what bothered me was that the styles were too inconsistent. Mariachi? Western? Traditional orchestral? I didn't know what it was trying to be, and being all of them wasn't working. I dunno, it left me feeling pretty so-so.

I agree, this was a mediocre week.

3 Points: Synaesthete OST - Tryptonaut
2 Points: Doki Doki Majo Shinpan! ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK - Forget not Tomorrow (Akuji Nishimura's Theme)
1 Point: History Repeats Itself Abandoner Lostchild coupling soundtrack - Abandoner - Abandoner Main Title

The last point was really just a toss-away to whichever track I think had the most potential for a quality remix.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I didn't really expect this to win. Then again, I had absolutely no clue what would. It was a total crapshoot the whole week.

To be honest, I rather like it when the decision is made in the final moments. The suspense is enjoyable.

Congrats to the winners.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.