Round 5 (C)

Listen to the tracks and make your selection.

Download Links:

057 Suikoden V — Wind of Phantom (B)
082 Legend of Mana — Earth Painting (E)

I still don't think much of Earth Painting. It's far too repetitive and has little variety throughout. I'm surprised it's come this far. I guess it must've faced some very weak competition.

On the other hand, Wind of Phantom is quite uplifting. It's my kind of track.

Earth Painting wouldn't be my choice to represent Legend of Mana or Yoko Shimomura, but that doesn't mean it's a bad song. It's actually quite creative, with some lovely orchestration especially near the loop, and the rollicking feel it creates is excellent. If only LoM weren't such a train wreck of a game, Shimomura might have been able to score some of the subsequent games in the series.

Wind of Phantom has a nice opening, but doesn't really build on it, setting a lugubrious pace and adopting a rather loungy sound. The sitar's nice, as is its cousin the guitar, but the track is still pretty bland to me.

Earth Painting.

8/10 Suikoden V — Wind of Phantom
4.5/10 Legend of Mana — Earth Painting

Earth Painting has definitely grown and dropped on me throughout the entire contest at extreme levels. I admit it's a good Shimomura song; however, it lacks the uniqueness to separate the song from other really good tracks. Try listening to this song for five times in a row. It gets really oring after a while.

I personally feel there's a story behind Wind of Phantom. It's almost like an introduction to a dance scene, followed by an epic departure of a journey. This picture separates Wind of Phantom from many others, and makes it an excellent song.

No reason to turn against my #1 now...I think Wind of Phantom stands a good chance of winning now. It's the best "opening" theme I have on me and is one of the best self-contained themes remaining...Like Arch Slayer said, it sounds like its' telling a story (and heh, it really is, considering the whole elaborate opening for S5). So much stuff, all working so well together is a rarity.

No disrespect for World Painting, but I like WoP much more.

Damn, I was afraid of this pairing. I like both of these songs a lot. I perhaps would have voted for "Earth Painting" a week ago, but seeing as I just got Suikoden V three days ago, and after seeing the opening with all of the amazing visuals that accompany the song, I'll have to vote for "Wind of Phantom" here.

I really like both tracks (heck, not one single track I disliked in this round of 16 yet), but Wind of Phantom happens to be a bit more powerful and interesting. Earth Painting was fun while it lasted. Gonna vote for Wind of Phantom.

Bah...I like Earth Painting but it had no business beating out Magical Sound Shower. Phantom is also a bit better than the Mana piece here, and hopefully history won't repeat itself.

I give. I'm voting for Wind of Phantom. Just because I've had enough of Earth Painting and it has nothing new to offer this time around.

I'm curious how Wind of Phantom will do against Ace Combat Zero. (Assuming it will win now, hopefully)

Originally Posted by katchum

I'm curious how Wind of Phantom will do against Ace Combat Zero. (Assuming it will win now, hopefully)

If only Zero weren't gettin' the beatdown from ''IDOLA'' The Strange Fruits.

There is still that other Ace Combat song. I count that too, because... it's ace combat! (which means popular in a non-music way)

Originally Posted by katchum

There is still that other Ace Combat song. I count that too, because... it's ace combat! (which means popular in a non-music way)

Only 'that other Ace Combat song' is Unsung War which is hundreds of times better than the piece of shit Zero is.

Oh shit, is the 'C' Winner going against the 'D" winner?

Oy...Idola vs WoP is a nightmare of a match-up. I know what I'm picking, but reluctantly...

And Bobelo is in Bracket A to top it off...ugh!

Eh? So reseeding has stopped from this point onward?

If reseeding did stop, that's a bad match... I feel sections E-H really don't compare to C and D. I really was looking for IDOLA and Wind of Phantom to reach finals.

I could practically cut and paste my comment left on the unsung war matchup. If fact I think I wil.

Quote:

To me this is finally an easy matchup involving The Unsung War. It's getting to the point where we need to consider "Could this end up being the best VG song ever, or is it just cool" Ice Edge is just cool, The Unsung war could actually win.

Just replace every "Unsung War" with Wind of Phantom and "Ice Edge" with Earth Painting.

Eh, maybe it sort of helps that I'm not exactly a big fan of "Wind of Phantom". I've watched the intro cinematic with the song and heard it several times on BSC. But somehow it doesn't quite make me go "wow" or gawk in awe. It's a good song, I must admit and very easy on the ears. But I believe I've also not supported it on several occasions.

In any case, I'm more than surprised (and pleased) with "Earth Painting's" performance for the contest. Kind of a gamble on my part to stick with the song but it's a track that I can confidently say adds value to my listening experience.