[B] First Round #11 ('Reset' vs. Diving)

Listen to both songs and select the one you prefer.

Download Links:

Okami - 'Reset'
Waterworld - Diving

Streaming:

'Reset': Get the Flash Player to play this audio file:
Diving: Get the Flash Player to play this audio file:

Both of these are new to me...and they're both good, but Diving is seriously groovy..

I've heard "Reset" was removed from the Okami Wii port and I do think the port staffs did a good job of omitting an out of place J-pop. That being said, I think this is rather a license problem.

Either way, Okami soundtrack has a couple of good tracks, but "Reset" is pretty weak, imo.

While I confess to some personal bias against J-pop/J-rock tracks in VGM (owing primarily to the fact that they sound so generic to me), "Diving" stands on its own merits as well, namely being surprisingly complex and "groovy" for a 16-bit era track. Seriously, I've heard more boring tracks on the PSWii60 than this.

"Reset" takes a dive.
"Diving" wins the gold in...uh...diving.

The Waterworld soundtrack is friggin' amazing, and though I think there are better songs from it to choose from (like Attack 1 or Mission Theme 1), Diving is nevertheless is really great piece.

Reset is also very good - though the Thank You Version is better - and as always, I'm a sucker for anything vaguely Asian-themed. Tough match, but I'll go with Diving.

'Diving' - This was a very pleasant surprise. This song had a nice, gradual development and a warm and inviting instrumentation that kept me interested for the entire piece. The best part for me was the big harmonic change-up after the drum break. Excellent nomination.

'Reset' - This one started out nice and despite my initial "oh shit, not again" reaction, the vocals didn't quite offend me right away. When the chorus came around, it was over though. All of the decent production ideas and tasteful arrangement mean little since they're all overshadowed by a hackneyed Japanese attempt to re-write "What's Love Got to Do With It" without the proper inspiration, chops, or, erm, originality. Also, the distorted guitars in the chorus piss me off and take so much away from the lovely folk sounds from the beginning. Overall, a big disappointment. I hope 'Diving' straps an anchor on this piece of crap and sends it to the depths.

Diving really reminds me of demoscene music from the late 80s/early 90s on the Amiga. And now that I looked at who composed it, it's small surprise, since the man did indeed come from the Amiga world (and C64 before that even). That would explain why the song sounds so fantastic. Lovely!

Reset isn't so bad either, the singing is nice and it's structured well, but Diving is in another league.

Originally Posted by surasshu

Diving really reminds me of demoscene music from the late 80s/early 90s on the Amiga. And now that I looked at who composed it, it's small surprise, since the man did indeed come from the Amiga world (and C64 before that even). That would explain why the song sounds so fantastic. Lovely!

Reset isn't so bad either, the singing is nice and it's structured well, but Diving is in another league.

You took the words right out of my fingers. As I listened to this, I knew it sounded familiar somehow. It bears a strong resemblance to some of the songs in my Aleksi Eeben (Heatbeat) music folder. Very cool and smooth.

It reminded me of Moongazer by Dr. Awesome/Bjorn Lynne, but now that I listen to it, it sounds almost nothing alike. Yay for distorted memories!

Oh wow, I just expected a vocal added to the instrumental version of Reset when I listened to this. I did not expect this at all. It's actually enjoyable. To a great extent, even. Wow, I'm impressed.

Too bad for it, I fell in love with Diving when it showed up in SotW. Absolutely incredible for a SNES tune, and I love SNES music, so that says a lot.

I professed my love for Diving in SotW, and my feelings have not changed. This is all rhythm, bass and love.

As for Reset, I liked the non-vocal version in the prelims better. This has little chance against a superior track.

Okami - 'Reset'
The vocal is okay, and the instrumentals are okay. I haven't really loved any of the other Okami tracks that have been put up, though, and they're definitely stronger than this.

Waterworld - Diving
A distinguished SotW alumnus. Goes down smooth and easy with a thick, sweet coat of demoscene frosting.

Dive!

"'Reset'" is nice and pretty and gentle and all that crap pleasant stuff, and makes for a solid enough listen, but it's lacking some sort of inherent strength to really make me interested. Some of the passages sound particularly passive, and I don't really like it when vocal tracks give me that impression. Otherwise, it's a nice piece.

"Diving" is before my SotW time, and wow am I annoyed that I missed voting for this beauty. This is 3 point stuff, no question. The smooth ambient pads, the groovy beats and the ear-catchingly good progressions make this one an absolute winner. Definitely glad to have heard this, I hope it goes very far.

"'Reset'" - 7/10
"Diving" - 9.5/10

: Waterworld - Diving
: Okami - 'Reset'

I wish people would nominate the tracks from Okami that I actually really like, but they'd all probably lose in the first round (then again Ushiwaka's Dance advanced to round 2 last year so there's hope!). Reset isn't really that bad, though. Certainly better than the instrumental version, anyway. I can get behind the first minute or so before the chorus hits more than the rest of it.

Unfortunate that Diving is legendary.

Reset is like two songs stuck together. One of them is fantastic, the other is merely decent. Verse is the former, chorus the latter. Duh. The little instrumental break before the return of the chorus with the fantastic song's instrumentation is great, because it takes the decent part and makes it awesome. Oh, but then the decent part comes back.

Diving is fucking awesome. 'nuff said.

Poor Reset! I like it quite a bit, but Diving is just... so good.

Heh, I keep hearing the MGS "mission failed" sample in Diving. Fun stuff.

I voted for Diving as well. Is this Waterworld game somehow related to the Kevin Costner movie?

Diving is easily one of the strongest tracks in this contest. Reset is standard j-pop that's trying to be emotional. Not a tough decision.