2017 NHC Winter Video Game Music Showdown (RESULTS!)

[Shaunbadia]

Bordering on a week late and requiring me to cut some submissions for the first time ever that I can recall. Round 1-A of the 2017 Winter Video Game Music Showdown starts here!

Here's a list of our competitors:
1. @Shaunbadia
2. @kupomog
3. @snowstormented
4. @Sam (DISQUALIFIED! FAILED TO SUBMIT TRACKS!)
5. @Miracle on 1010011010th Street
6. @Dobbie
7. @Smiling Politely
8. @its an ataeaf Christmas!
9. @DrDre
10. @Ryan Around The Christmas Tree
11. @airalba
12. @deadname
13. @O Tannenboon
14. @peyrin

ROUND 1-A!

Match #1
We Love Katamari - “Katamari on the Swing”
vs.
Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! - “La Costa Lotta”

Match #2
Putter Golf - “Title Screen”
vs.
Hollow Knight - “Crystal Peak”

Match #3
King's Quest - “Wade and Sea”
vs.
The Sea Will Claim Everything - “The Sea Will Claim Everything, Part II”

Match #4
Emil Chronicle Online - “Break Through the Parallel”
vs.
Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day - “Trash-O-Madness”

Match #5
Raw Recruit - “Title Screen”
vs.
The Neverhood - “Klaymen's Theme”

Match #6
Pokémon Stadium - “Mewtwo Battle”
vs.
Aka - “To The West”

Match #7
Major Magnet - “Across My World”
vs.
Rime - “The Song of the Sea”

Match #8
Fran Bow – “Driving”
vs.
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - “Tyrell Badd ~ The Truth Isn't Sweet”

Voting for this round ends in 3 days (Thursday, December 21st) at approximately 2:30 p.m, Eastern Time. Best of luck to you all!

[pilcrow]

1A playlist for your listening convenience

[Ryan]

1. We Love Katamari - “Katamari on the Swing”
2. Putter Golf - “Title Screen”
3. King's Quest - “Wade and Sea”
4. Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day - “Trash-O-Madness”
5. The Neverhood - “Klaymen's Theme”
6. Aka - “To The West”
7. Major Magnet - “Across My World”
8. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - “Tyrell Badd ~ The Truth Isn't Sweet”

[airalba]

Leisure Suit Larry
Putter Golf
The Sea Will Claim Everything
Rocko's Modern Life
Raw Recruit
Aka
Rime
Ace Attorney Investigations

[The Goode Family]

we love katamari
putter golf
king's quest
rocko's modern life
raw recruit
aka
major magnet
ace attorney

[pilcrow]

1. We Love Katamari - “Katamari on the Swing”
2. Hollow Knight - “Crystal Peak”
3. The Sea Will Claim Everything - “The Sea Will Claim Everything, Part II”
4. Emil Chronicle Online - “Break Through the Parallel”
5. The Neverhood - “Klaymen's Theme”
6. Aka - “To The West”
7. Rime - “The Song of the Sea”
8. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - “Tyrell Badd ~ The Truth Isn't Sweet”

1. Katamari's a banger and I'm a huge sucker for big band stuff so it already had a big advantage going in. Leisure Suit Larry sure is some chill music but seems like a weird pick for a VGM showdown. It probably would have won against some of the weaker songs in the round but against Katamari it's no contest.
2. Eh both are ok. Giving the slight edge to Hollow Knight if only because it's more fleshed-out.
3. Ahh both are nice pretty songs but I think the build on The Sea Will Claim Everything gives it the slight edge here. Fine with either one winning though, not like they're too different anyway.
4. Jeez Emil sure is a really busy song but there's a lot of cool stuff scattered throughout, even if it's really sloppy. Rocko is groovy but it doesn't have much to it outside of the bassline. Another tough match though.
5. lmao this one bit music has some really interesting tech behind it but why would you even put it in a VGM showdown where 8-bit songs are consistently destroyed. At least Neverhood is really fun so I don't have to feel remotely bad about giving it the default win here. Hope it goes far cause it definitely could have taken down a lot of this round's powerhouses.
6. Oh this sure is really standard Pokemon music?? Bit of a default win here but Hentai Game has a nice chill vibe to it. Percussion is a tad overwhelming but the piano + acoustic guitar + flute instrumentation more than makes up for it.
7. Major Magnet is a banger but Rime is pretty damn ethereal. I'm cool with either one moving on so I'll just toss the vote to Rime here
8. Yeah sorry that Fran Bow one was kind of a snoozer. There's barely anything on that track. Default win to Ace Attorney but it's pretty damn groovy anyway.

[Shaunbadia]

1. Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! - “La Costa Lotta”
2. Hollow Knight - “Crystal Peak”
3. King's Quest - “Wade and Sea”
4. Emil Chronicle Online - “Break Through the Parallel”
5. The Neverhood - “Klaymen's Theme”
6. Aka - “To The West”
7. Major Magnet - “Across My World”
8. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - “Tyrell Badd ~ The Truth Isn't Sweet”

[ArmCSA]

1. We Love Katamari

The Leisure Suit Larry song is nothing special. So I vote Katamari, even though I wasn't that big of a fan.

2. Putter Golf

I like Putter Golf more. The other song was kinda pleasant, but not much happened. I forgot about it when it ended.

3. King's Quest

At first, I actually thought both songs were the same song. So yeah, close match up. I flip a coin for this one.

4. Rocko's Modern Life

Not a matchup I really enjoyed. The first song was fun at first but it got very grating. Rocko song was pretty simple with some wacky sound effects. Would not care if either won because they were both not that good.

5. Raw Recruit

I like Raw Recruit. Some cool harsh sounding noises and nice drum sound. The other song was also pleasant but it is not something I haven't heard before, So I vote Raw Recruit.

6. Aka

Weird to vote for a Hentai, but the pokemon song was just a boring average pokemon song. The other song is not so exciting, but it is peaceful.

7. Major Magnet

The Major Magnet song was good and memorable. The Rime song was a very boring song. Not much to say.

8. Ace Attorney

I see this round is closing with boring songs. Ace Attorney song was fun, Fran Bow was really nothing... I was surprised when it ended because nothing had happened really.

[kupomog]

Match #1
We Love Katamari - “Katamari on the Swing”
Leisure Suit Larry track wasn't even bad, it just wasn't much of anything compared to what Katamari delivered. I enjoy loungey / bossa nova styled music generally. LSL track would fit right in on The Sims Latin radio stations. Katamari was so fun and full of energy, though. Katamari music usually is and this delivers. Can only understand like half the lyrics but it don't matter bc OK!! MISTAH SUNSHINE

Match #2
Putter Golf - “Title Screen”
Crystal Peak delivers some good imagery of atmosphere for me as it builds. However, it has to build up to get to a point where it really catches my eye. Putter Golf was short but I think I'm going with that one this matchup.

Match #3
The Sea Will Claim Everything - “The Sea Will Claim Everything, Part II”
I thought these were the same damn songs blending into each other wow. They're both so pretty.. I find this one sliiiiightly prettier. Really digging that piano.

Match #4
Emil Chronicle Online - “Break Through the Parallel”
Emil Chronicle is long but I enjoy the building of all the layers of (noisy) instruments. The beginning could stand to be shorter and less repetitive but I like how it ends with that wind down. Rocko is funky but it's mostly that pounding percussion and bassline thru the song. I'd like if it did a little more with itself.

Match #5
The Neverhood - “Klaymen's Theme”
The Z-Spectrum song would definitely benefit from...not being Z-Spectrum. I can hear a nice Follin composition somewhere beneath all that grinding metallic noise. Klaymen is nicely jazzy at least and definitely deserves to move on regardless of its competition.

Match #6
Aka - “To The West”
That is a crazy beat in the beginning of that Mewtwo Battle..couldn't quite find my footing in it until the very frantic melody came in later. That doesn't usually bother me though (after all, I submitted Buying Goods At Palmira last time lol) but this is truly some Pokemon battle music. To the west is a pleasant tune, sounds like journeying or travelling music in an RPG even though it's hentai. But as i said in Discord...some hentai OSTs are surprisingly lovely.

Match #7
Major Magnet - “Across My World”
Across My World is full of some sik energy wow. That beat is great, drives the song while the strings, sax, and other instruments layer around to make a wonderful dance-like song. Rime is pretty but really boring compared unfortunately.

Match #8
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - “Tyrell Badd ~ The Truth Isn't Sweet”
Driving is a nice tune but it has that unfortunate issue a few others in this round have had in that it is going up against something more interesting. And I'm trying not to be biased with my utter gay for Ace Attorney lately but that series just has some great themes and this continues the trend. I'm actually in the middle of playing this game now.

[RobynS]

1. We Love Katamari - “Katamari on the Swing”
2. Putter Golf - “Title Screen”
3. The Sea Will Claim Everything - “The Sea Will Claim Everything, Part II”
4. Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day - “Trash-O-Madness”
5. Raw Recruit - “Title Screen”
6. Aka - “To The West”
7. Major Magnet - “Across My World”
8. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - “Tyrell Badd ~ The Truth Isn't Sweet”

[The OSSist]

1. Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! - "La Costa Lotta"
2. Hollow Night - "Crystal Peak" (Not a fan of the first one)
3. The Sea Will Claim Everything - “The Sea Will Claim Everything, Part II”
4. Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day - “Trash-O-Madness”
5. The Neverhood - “Klaymen's Theme”
6. Pokémon Stadium - “Mewtwo Battle”
7. Major Magnet - “Across My World”
8. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - “Tyrell Badd ~ The Truth Isn't Sweet”

[AlphaOmega]

1. We Love Katamari - Katamari on the Swing

-Both songs are pretty catchy, but I lean towards Katamari slightly more because of it's loud, bombastic style, which makes it more fun to listen to for me. Still the Leisure Suit Larry song is good, even if it does sound like a remixed version of something you would probably hear in an elevator.

2. Hollow Knight - Crystal Peak

-Both songs are good, but I like the creepy, atmospheric vibe and tone of Hollow Knight more. Especially in the second half of the song.

3. The Sea Will Claim Everything - The Sea Will Claim Everything, Part II

-Both songs sound pretty similar, but I liked this one a little bit more. I think it's the piano that does it.

4. Emil Chronicle Online - Break Through the Parallel

-This was a hard one. On the one hand, Rocko was pretty catchy and fun to listen to, but I thought this song stood out more with it's beat and use of instruments. Definitely left more of an impact on me anyway.

5. The Neverhood - Klaymen's Theme

-There actually is a good song in Raw Recruit...unfortunately it's held back by the static noises of the ZX Spectrum's soundchip. It really doesn't help that it sounds like the song actually gets worse as it goes on (although that could be just my imagination). So Neverhood gets my vote.

6. Aka -To The West

-I actually liked the Pokémon Stadium song the more I heard it, but yeah, I think Aka's more soothing and melodic tone made it the better choice.

7. Major Magnet - Across the World

-Another tough one. Rime was a really good and amazing song...but I found the Major Magnet song to be the better one. I think the deep bass and excited tone makes it stand out more and I ended up enjoying it a bit more.

8. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - Tyrell Badd ~ The Truth Isn't Sweet

-Not even a contest, the other song is decent, but this song from AAI completely outmatches in every way. It's an incredible song in a game already filled with an amazing soundtrack. Gets my voice easily.

[Shaunbadia]

@Miracle on 1010011010th Street, @Smiling Politely, @Sam, @DrDre, @deadname, @O Tannenboon, @its an ataeaf Christmas! and @Dobbie.

Round ends in just a little under 15 hours.

[deadname]

We Love Katamari - “Katamari on the Swing”
Hollow Knight - “Crystal Peak”
The Sea Will Claim Everything - “The Sea Will Claim Everything, Part II”
Emil Chronicle Online - “Break Through the Parallel”
Raw Recruit - “Title Screen”
Aka - “To The West”
Major Magnet - “Across My World”
Fran Bow – “Driving”

[1010011010]

1. We Love Katamari - “Katamari on the Swing”
2. Putter Golf - “Title Screen”
3. The Sea Will Claim Everything - “The Sea Will Claim Everything, Part II”
4. Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day - “Trash-O-Madness”
5. The Neverhood – “Klaymen’s Theme”
6. Aka - “To The West” (yeah...sorry about this. Rushed through my picks and couldn't really think of anything good, but still should've chose better than genericPokemon, though it's not a bad song)
7. Major Magnet - “Across My World”
8. Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - “Tyrell Badd ~ The Truth Isn't Sweet”

[Smiling Politely]

1. Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! - “La Costa Lotta”
2. Hollow Knight - “Crystal Peak”
3. King's Quest - “Wade and Sea”
4. Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day - “Trash-O-Madness”
5. The Neverhood - “Klaymen's Theme”
6. Aka - “To The West”
7. Rime - “The Song of the Sea”
8. Fran Bow – “Driving”

[Shaunbadia]

Apologies for this being several hours late. Had kind of a full day and just got back to the house so let's get this out of the way so we can move on.

VOTING OVER FOR ROUND 1-A!

Results shortly.

[Shaunbadia]

RESULTS FOR ROUND 1-A!

Match #1
We Love Katamari - “Katamari on the Swing” (9)
vs.
Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! - “La Costa Lotta” (4)

Eliminated: Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! - “La Costa Lotta” (Nominated by @Shaunbadia)

Match #2
Putter Golf - “Title Screen” (7)
vs.
Hollow Knight - “Crystal Peak” (6)

Eliminated: Hollow Knight - “Crystal Peak” (Nominated by @deadname)

Match #3
King's Quest - “Wade and Sea” (5)
vs.
The Sea Will Claim Everything - “The Sea Will Claim Everything, Part II” (8)

Elimintated: King's Quest - “Wade and Sea” (Nominated by @Smiling Politely)

Match #4
Emil Chronicle Online - “Break Through the Parallel” (5)
vs.
Rocko's Modern Life: Spunky's Dangerous Day - “Trash-O-Madness” (8)

Eliminated: Emil Chronicle Online - “Break Through the Parallel” (Nominated by @kupomog)

Match #5
Raw Recruit - “Title Screen” (5)
vs.
The Neverhood - “Klaymen's Theme” (8)

Eliminated: Raw Recruit - “Title Screen” (Nominated by @its an ataeaf Christmas!)

Match #6
Pokémon Stadium - “Mewtwo Battle” (1)
vs.
Aka - “To The West” (12)

Eliminated: Pokémon Stadium - “Mewtwo Battle” (Nominated by @Miracle on 1010011010th Street)

Match #7
Major Magnet - “Across My World” (10)
vs.
Rime - “The Song of the Sea” (3)

Eliminated: Rime - “The Song of the Sea” (Nominated by @peyrin)

Match #8
Fran Bow – “Driving” (2)
vs.
Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - “Tyrell Badd ~ The Truth Isn't Sweet” (11)

Eliminated: Fran Bow – “Driving” (Nominated by @Smiling Politely)

Round 1-B will be up shortly.

[Shaunbadia]

ROUND 1-B!

Match #1
Tetris Party Deluxe - “8-Bit World”
vs.
High Seas Havoc - “Lonely Journey”

Match #2
Pac-Man Vs. - “Outer Space”
vs.
Burnout 2: Point of Impact - “Palm Bay Heights (A Photograph)”

Match #3
Kid Icarus: Uprising - “Lightning Chariot Base”
vs.
Muramasa: The Demon Blade - “Tacit Understanding”

Match #4
Knuckles' Chaotix - “Midnight Greenhouse”
vs.
Stardew Valley - “Dance of the Moonlight Jellies”

Match #5
Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball - “Main Theme”
vs.
Concerto Gate - “Selvaggio”

Match #6
Final Fantasy IX - “Crossing Those Hills”
vs.
Tooth and Tail - “Anthem of the Commonfolk”

Match #7
MediEvil - “Crypt & Graveyard”
vs.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land - "Eerie Area"

Match #8
Yo! Noid II: Enter the Void - “Plizzanet”
vs.
EarthBound - “Summer's Theme”

Voting for this round ends in 3 days (Sunday, December 24th) at approximately 10:20 p.m, Eastern Time.

[pilcrow]

eh Rime was my ultimate last minute pick and I honestly was only expecting it to squeak into round 2 at best so I'm not too bummed about the loss. Lost to a great track that could potentially steamroll its way to the finals too so no hard feelings. Now just don't knock out my ace in round 2 and we'll be good

[pilcrow]

ok enough salt from me here's 1B playlist

[airalba]

High Seas Havoc
Pac Man Vs.
Muramasa
Knuckles' Chaotix
Ken Griffey Jr
Final Fantasy IX
Kirby's Return to Dream Land
Yo! Noid II: Enter the Void

[ArmCSA]

1. Tetris

Both are decent. But I like Tetris more. High Seas Havoc was a good 16-bit tune though, just not a huge standout.

2. PacMan

Hard match, Burnout was good, but it might be a bit more simple and repetitive. I think Pacman is more interesting to listen.

3. Muramasa

Kid Icarus was not good. Too long and that obnoxious squealing sound was just terrible. Muramasa was not great either, but it's more of a "whatever" type of not great.

4. Knuckles Chaotix

Very good match here. The Knuckles Chaotix music is what sticks out to me, but the other song was really pleasant. I say both are good and give it after a coin flip to Chaotix.

5. Ken Griffey Jr.

Ken Griffey Jr. was a SNES jam of the highest degree, the other song was ok orchestral music. I wouldn't be mad if the other one won because there is much worse orchestral music. But Ken Griffey Jr was the better song.

6. Final Fantasy IX

The first song was good. Pleasant but had enough going on so it's not boring. The other track was kind of jumbled. Got the sense it wanted to achieve a mood, but it didn't.

7. Kirby

Medievel was so boring. Kirby was definitely a bit underwhelming given that it's Kirby and I thought it would be bouncier, but it's more interestnig than the other one. Coin toss weak match.

8. Yo Noid 2

The Yo Noid tune wasn't what I expect. But it can be a bit much with the constant winds. Earthbound track is ok but there are much better songs from that game.

[The Goode Family]

tetris
pacman
muramasa
stardew valley
ken griffey jr.
final fantasy ix
kirby's return to dream land
yo noid 2

[Ryan]

1. High Seas Havoc - “Lonely Journey”
2. Burnout 2: Point of Impact - “Palm Bay Heights (A Photograph)”
3. Muramasa: The Demon Blade - “Tacit Understanding”
4. Knuckles' Chaotix - “Midnight Greenhouse”
5. Concerto Gate - “Selvaggio” (THIS FUCKING MATCHUP )
6. Final Fantasy IX - “Crossing Those Hills”
7. Kirby's Return to Dream Land - "Eerie Area"
8. Yo! Noid II: Enter the Void - “Pizzanet”

[pilcrow]

1. High Seas Havoc - “Lonely Journey”
2. Burnout 2: Point of Impact - “Palm Bay Heights (A Photograph)”
3. Muramasa: The Demon Blade - “Tacit Understanding”
4. Stardew Valley - “Dance of the Moonlight Jellies”
5. Concerto Gate - “Selvaggio”
6. Final Fantasy IX - “Crossing Those Hills”
7. Kirby's Return to Dream Land - "Eerie Area"
8. Yo! Noid II: Enter the Void - “Pizzanet”

1. Eh the Tetris one is ok but kinda background music to me. Slight edge to High Seas Havoc for a catchier melody though tbh it doesn't do much for me either. Oh well.
2. Pac-Man is wild but it's also extremely not outer space music lol. No major complaints though. Burnout is pleasant and I'm a sucker for the jangle so I gotta give it the edge here.
3. Oh boy I sure love generic epic orchestral music done on a shitty synthesizer. Also lol at that dying sitar sound what the hell. Default win for Muramasa although it's got some pretty cool layers on top of its technical proficiency.
4. Hey this Sonic one is actually vibes, although the melody line gets a @Tad annoying after awhile. ahhh but Stardew Valley is nice and pretty. A bit samey but I guess you can't ask for much more out of BGM. Voting Stardew but both are good.
5. Ken Griffey Jr is a banger jeez. Goes all sorts of places with its main riff. Love the piano vibe and the French horns interacting on Concerto Gate though. A real shame one of these has to go so I guess I'll throw the vote to Concerto here. Really really close match though, hope whichever one wins goes deep.
6. Ahhh Final Fantasy is nice map music. All three layers here (strings, Bloops, main melody line) interact really well. Tooth and Tail is okay but it doesn't really build to anything. Kinda disappointing from Austin Wintory who has done some incredible slow build tracks (*cough* Abzu which yours truly submitted *cough*). FF wins here.
7. Medievil sounds like a lot of sound bits were thrown together to create the illusion of a vibe but it's all pretty clumsy. Kirby one is too busy but eh I guess it gets a reluctant vote here.
8. Yo! Noid is just plain fun, even if the synth line seems kind of all over the place. Earthbound is chill but pretty stagnant frankly - chat tells me there are much better Earthbound tracks and I think they're right.

[tyler]

tetris
pac man
muramasa
knuckles chaotix
concerto gate
ff ix
kirby
yo! noid

[Shaunbadia]

1. Tetris Party Deluxe - “8-Bit World”
2. Burnout 2: Point of Impact - “Palm Bay Heights (A Photograph)”
3. Muramasa: The Demon Blade - “Tacit Understanding”
4. Stardew Valley - “Dance of the Moonlight Jellies”
5. Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball - “Main Theme”
6. Final Fantasy IX - “Crossing Those Hills”
7. MediEvil - “Crypt & Graveyard”
8. Yo! Noid II: Enter the Void - “Plizzanet”

[RobynS]

1. Tetris Party Deluxe - “8-Bit World”
2. Pac-Man Vs. - “Outer Space”
3. Muramasa: The Demon Blade - “Tacit Understanding”
4. Knuckles' Chaotix - “Midnight Greenhouse”
5. Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball - “Main Theme”
6. Final Fantasy IX - “Crossing Those Hills”
7. MediEvil - “Crypt & Graveyard”
8. Yo! Noid II: Enter the Void - “Pizzanet”

[kupomog]

Ugh I wanted to write better comments but my head is ow

Match #1
Tetris Party Deluxe - “8-Bit World”
Neither of these are amazing but neither are bad either. A bit of a toss up.

Match #2
Pac-Man Vs. - “Outer Space”
lol yea it doesn't quite sound like Outer Space but I do like this Pac-Man track. Burnout not bad either, it's really chill driving music. Slap some shades on and go off at sunset.

Match #3
Muramasa: The Demon Blade - “Tacit Understanding”
Default win but I really like Tacit Understanding regardless. It feels try-hard but I love the pounding of the percussion and the tension in this, it sounds heroic. Plus Asiany woodwinds really get me.

Match #4
Stardew Valley - “Dance of the Moonlight Jellies”
I would hope a track named Dance of the Moonlight Jellies would be pretty and it was. Knuckles track sounds like some classic Sonic but I get a little tired of it after a bit.

Match #5
Concerto Gate - “Selvaggio”
FUCK.

Match #6
Final Fantasy IX - “Crossing Those Hills”
I'm biased. I don't know what else to say haha. I didn't nom this tho, despite being a kupomog. Just happens to be one of the best overworld themes of the whole series.

Match #7
Kirby's Return to Dream Land - "Eerie Area"
MediEvil is giving me Harry Potter vibes. Kirby music rarely lets me down.

Match #8
Yo! Noid II: Enter the Void - “Pizzanet”
The Earthbound track isn't terrible but there's definitely better and this Yo! Noid track really isn't too bad. Actually it reminds me of the Kirby track.