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Topic: The NintendoLife VGM Tournament: Farewell

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FriedSquid

1. Ace Combat: The Belkan War - Zero
2. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - Adventure's End
3. Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) - Solaris Phase 2
4. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Final Battle Against Ganon

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UGXwolf

Both this and the elimination round of the Water Theme bracket are so lopsided. XD One match-up that's even close between the eight present.

For reference, the score is currently:

7-1 (in favor of Zero)
7-1 (in favor of Adventure's End)
8-0 (in favor of His World)
5-3 (in favor of C-R-O-W-N-E-D)

Take that how you will. For the sake of reference, the elimination round for water theme was full of 5-1s and one 6-0 last time I checked.

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ThePirateCaptain

ThePirateCaptain

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8BitSamurai

1) Viewtiful Joe 2 - True Heroes
2) Sonic Unleashed - Perfect Dark Gaia
3) Bayonetta - The Greatest Jubilee
4) Donkey Kong '94 - Shodown at the Tower

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ClockworkMario

1) Viewtiful Joe 2 - True Heroes
2) Sonny 2 - Final Boss – I knew this was going to be a tough call right from the get-go. Dark Gaia is an incredible and varied piece, but Sonny just keeps you in its grasp the whole time, pumping you full of energy.
3) Super Meat Boy - Carmeaty Burana
4) Donkey Kong '94 - Showdown at the Tower – Not a fan of either, but my hatred of lyrics in VGM rears its head once more. Liberation Maiden isn't quite as terrible as the Sonic-songs – perhaps 'cause I've no idea what's being said – it's still enough to drop it behind Donkey Kong in my books.

Currently on the plate:
Mount and Blade: Warband – Napoleonic Wars
Chivalry
Super Mario 3D World – Finishing the last few levels.
Mario Kart 8

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Maelstrom

1) Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - Final Battle — Really nails the epic type of music without being high-energy.
2) Sonic Unleashed - Perfect Dark Gaia — It really is true. The worse the critical reception of a sonic game, the better it's soundtrack.
3) Bayonetta - The Greatest Jubilee
4) Liberation Maiden - Let's Continue the Story — This one is so weird, I love it.

edit: didn't try it, but now 3 out of 4 songs are tied.

Edited on by Maelstrom

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ThePirateCaptain

1. Viewtiful Joe 2 - True Heroes The thing that really kills the Partners in Time track for me is just how short it is.

2. Sonic Unleashed - Perfect Dark Gaia The guitar riff in Sonny 2 is fantastic, but it can't match the full orchestra in this song.

3. Bayonetta - The Greatest Jubilee This is a powerful song, perfectly suited for the final boss of the game.

4. Liberation Maiden - Let's Continue the Story Neither of these songs are fantastic, but I found the Donkey Kong theme to be rather boring.

ThePirateCaptain

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DreamyViridi

Gods, where have I been for these VGM Tourneys? Sorry about that, on occasion I just don't feel like voting... Anyway...

1) Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - Final Battle
2) Sonic Unleashed - Perfect Dark Gaia
3) Bayonetta - The Greatest Jubilee
4) Donkey Kong '94 - Showdown at the Tower

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UGXwolf

1) Viewtiful Joe 2 - True Heroes — This isn't even a hard one for me. I really loved the first bracket, last time around, and while "Final Battle" from Partners in Time is growing on me, it still just doesn't cut it. It's slow and rather boring. It has a very strong theme and build up with no pay off. It just feels like the biggest tease of a final boss theme ever. "True Heroes" may lack that build up, but the whole song is the pay off.

2) Sonny 2 - Final Encounter — This was such a hard one. It really was. To be completely honest, they both use instrumentation, composition, feel, and tempo that really suits me and this theme, so I just couldn't decide for the longest time. This is my new favorite bracket, so far. @___@ That said, I eventually picked Sonny 2 because the simplicity has a lonely feel to it that I really dig and I think it really feels right for a boss theme. For the record, I think that if everything had gone well, I'd have liked to see these two in the quarter finals. These may both make my top 8 for this tournament.

3) Bayonetta - The Greatest Jubilee — Funny how these are similar and yet not. They use the same style for the same purpose, yet achieve two very different feelings. In all honesty, I think I prefer the feel of Carmeaty Burana, but this is just such a better technical piece with so much power and full instrumentation to fulfill its purpose. The themes of triumph and tragedy are so deep in the composition that I feel it'd be a shame to vote for Super Meat Boy over Bayonetta on this one. There's just something so right about this piece that Meat Boy just couldn't achieve.

4) Donkey Kong '94 - Showdown at the Tower — I've said it before and I'll say it again, aside from the painfully limited instrumentation, I can't think of a single thing this piece does wrong. It'll be my "middle-of-the-road" thing. It only falls from "special" because of the weak limitations of the system is was on. When it goes up against a song I actually feel suits the theme of the contest, it probably won't stand much of a chance. Still, I love this song and will likely be listening to covers and remixes for quite some time.

Vote:
1) 4-3 (In favor of "True Heroes")
2) 4-3 (In favor of "Perfect Dark Gaia")
3) 6-1 (In favor of "The Greatest Jubilee")
4) 4-3 (In favor of "Showdown at the Tower")

Edited on by UGXwolf

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ThePirateCaptain
8BitSamurai

1) Okami - Rising Sun
2) Final Fantasy IV - Zeromus
3) Bravely Default - Serpent Eating Ground
4) Sonic Adventure 2 - Live and Learn

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UGXwolf

1. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - The Dark Lord Ganondorf — I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Rising Sun does not in any way sound like a final boss theme outside of context. The Dark Lord Ganondorf not only does, but does so overwhelmingly. There's no sense of struggle or desperation. Not even a sense of action in Rising Sun. It's simply not there. This piece could easily be a staff credits theme and it would be just as uplifting and empowering. It's the theme of a resolution, not a climax. "The Dark Lord Ganondorf" has a strong sense of hopelessness to it that really drives me to fight back with everything I've got, no matter how hopeless it may seem. It would be an absolute shame to see such a powerful piece drop out against such an ill fit when that same powerful piece took out what may have been an even more deserving piece, already. I've also noticed this strong inclination towards dropping pieces for being boring, but honestly, some of the best final boss themes, in or out of context, set an atmosphere and let the final boss, himself do the real heavy lifting. This piece has just enough power to be interesting on its own without overpowering the fight itself. I don't care how much you or I or anyone else liked Okami, there's no doubting from a technical standpoint that Twilight Princess should have this match on lock.

TL;DR: "Rising Sun" doesn't sound like a final boss. "The Dark Lord Ganondorf" can't sound like anything but a final boss. Victory goes to the more fitting theme.

2) Dust: An Elysian Tale — Still gives me shivers. Still some of my favorite instrumentation. Not a big enough competitor to warrant a huge explanation.

3) I REFUSE TO VOTE — As I said, before, until I've beaten Bravely Default, I won't listen to Serpent Eating the Earth. Musical spoilers, man. Musical spoilers.

4) Sonic Adventure 2: Battle - Live and Learn — Not any less cheesy than it was last time. Still a great climactic theme. Professor Layton just ain't doin' it for me, here.

A nifty calendar (Updated 9/13/15)
The UGXloggery ... really needs an update.

ClockworkMario

Aw man... Sonny lost already at this stage! At least it was against a worthy opponent. If anyone is interested here's some more music from the talented and youngish composer David Orr.

1) The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - The Dark Lord Ganondorf@UGXwolf does a great job rationalising this match-up and I agree with him.
2) Final Fantasy IV - Zeromus – Final Fantasy is one of those series I have no interest in and the music nominated from it has been pretty lackluster so far, but for some reason this works well for me. They can really do wonders with such limited hardware.
3) Bravely Default - Serpent Eating Ground – This is like a roller-coaster of a song, ups and downs; constantly swinging mood. This one has it all. Definitely among the top-5 in this tournament.
4) Professor Layton and the Specter's Call – I knew the Layton song wasn't going to get far but it's going to lose to that Sonic song. It's like a 80's Disney musical about a family running a dairy farm. It's that cheesy.

Edited on by ClockworkMario

Currently on the plate:
Mount and Blade: Warband – Napoleonic Wars
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Super Mario 3D World – Finishing the last few levels.
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Yoshi

It looks like I'm going to deal with @UGXwolf voting down Rising Sun as long as it stays in this competition. Jk, jk.

Anyways, I'm a little tight on time right now, so I only have two votes to cast. The other two are going to have to wait. I'll edit them in later.

1) Okami - Rising Sun
2) Dust: An Elysian Tale - Let's End This
3) Abstaining for the time being
4) Abstaining for the time being.

EDIT: Well, darn. I forgot to cast the final two votes. Oh well, it wouldn't changed things anyways.

Edited on by Yoshi

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Geonjaha

1) Okami - Rising Sun - Yes, the other track does sound more like a generic boss theme, but a boss theme can also be about hope and coming back from the brink of defeat. I haven't played the game, so I cant really tell the context - but that's what I get out of it. Games are different - you honestly have to have played them to see whether songs fit the context. I also weigh the suitability of the song to the theme against how good the song actually is. The Zelda one sounds a bit strange to me, and honestly is a bit off-putting, enough to probably distract me if I was actually playing the game.
2) Dust: An Elysian Tale - Lets End This - A close one, but I feel that this one is more gripping and is an overall slightly better piece.
3) Bravely Default - Serpent Eating Ground - I just realised how much this sounds like the Dalek theme from Doctor who. Anyway - epic piece, clear winner.
4) Sonic Adventure 2: Battle - Live and Learn - Yeah, I don't exactly like this song, but the Layton one is pretty damn bland this time around.

Geonjaha

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ThePirateCaptain
8BitSamurai

1) Ys 1+2 - Termination
2) Radiant Historia - An Earnest Desire for Grey
3) Persona 3 - The Battle for Everyone's Souls
4) Final Fantasy VII - One Winged Angel

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UGXwolf

1) Super Smash Bros Brawl - Master Hand — This is a tough one for all the wrong reasons. I find these two battling out negatives in my head. "Termination" doesn't sound final or even particularly intense. "Master Hand" does this pretty well, but I really can't stand when a game uses its theme so much in so many places. To Brawl's credit, it varies up the theme a lot, depending on where and how it's being used. On the flip-side, "Termination" is energetic and gets me pumped. "Master Hand" is pretty epic and builds up nicely to a great pay off. Now if only that build-up were a bit suspenseful, it'd make an insane final boss.

2) Radiant Historia - An Earnest Desire for Grey — Can't say either of these really pique my interest. Neither one really sound like the final note in the struggle, but "An Earnest Desire for Grey" has some very great themes running throughout. I think "Final Battle" suffers from trying to lead you in and not really doing an entirely great job of it. Something about "An Earnest Desire for Grey" makes me think of a more complex form of some of the battle music from Kingdom Hearts. I know I can't be the only one, here.

3) Yoshi's Island - Baby Bowser — My hands are tied on this vote. Yoshi's Island is where I picked up VGM. My opinions will naturally side with that game, as that's the game that shaped my opinions, in the first place. "Baby Bowser" will always be perfect to me, save the technical limitations which I know people have already worked around and performed this song live. It's such a great final boss theme, and despite its simplicity, it really conveys the point extremely well. That said, this match can go either way without much fuss from me, because "The Battle For Everyone's Souls" is an amazing final boss theme, too. Its composition, themes, instrumention, and overall feel are just so perfect. It's worth noting that I will likely vote the winner of this bracket all the way to the end (or until defeat, anyways), as to me, this should be the final bracket.

4) Cave Story - Final Battle — Let me be clear right off the bat. One-Winged Angel is overdone, overplayed, overhyped, and overscripted. Nothing about it isn't a turn off to me as a final boss theme. I love the full orchestra effect, but it doesn't lead up, lead in, or build up. It's a real waste of such good potential to start such a high profile piece off without any kind of build-up. The harsh tones do a good job of displaying some form of helplessness or desperation, but I feel like "Final Battle" from Cave Story does as good a job of that, if not better, and with far less to work with.

Edited on by UGXwolf

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The UGXloggery ... really needs an update.

Inkling

My picks:

Super Paper Mario - The Ultimate Show
Sonic Colours - Final Boss Phase 2

I will update this when Half Life 3 arrives. [Started 17/11/2015]

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