[D] First Round #2 (Into the Thick of It vs. Area A (01))

Listen to both songs and select the one you prefer.

Download Links:

Seiken Densetsu 2 - Into the Thick of It
Shatterhand - Area A (01)

Streaming:

Into the Thick of It: Get the Flash Player to play this audio file:
Area A (01): Get the Flash Player to play this audio file:

Seiken Densetsu 2 - Into the Thick of It
I much prefer the alternate title "The Boy Aims for Wild Fields," which better captures the essence of the song. Regardless, this is one of the most brilliant songs on a brilliant OST, combining Kikuta's quirky instrumentation with an ethereal and moving sound. It's perfect for the, ah, wild fields that it plays in, and utterly dominates the first part of the game. There's an unabashed nostalgia attached to it as well, strengthening its formidable musical merits. I'm surprised it's never shown up in a contest before, actually.

Shatterhand - Area A (01)
Fantastic and involving chiptune that's seen rare BSC success. It masterfully works with limited technology to produce complex and involving melody, and is certainly in the upper tier of chiptunes that I've discovered through song contests.

This is a tough one, the toughest so far. I think that I will give the nod to the new guy, though.

Into the thick of it -
Super nostalgia points for this one. Nice texture and a pretty laid back melody. Excellent sounds chosen as well. The mood set by this track is beautiful.

Area A -
Holy driving sound, this thing completely annihilates the NES chip, and I know most of the DoD dudes would go nuts for a rock version of this source. Very strong melody and harmony, and some great rhythmic turns.

Very very tough battle here, and it's so close that even though i feel shitty doing it, I am flipping a coin. :-(

heads and 'Into the thick of it"

I walked into this one expecting Area A to easily beat the competition, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that "Into the Thick of It" was quite good. My vote goes thereto.

Into the Thick of It is a tough song for me... I recognize that it's good, but it's not my style at all. Area A, on the other hand, kicks major chiptuney ass.

Into the thick of it is a classic - brings back fond memories of the past. A tough one to beat for my No. 3, but there´s no way for me to abandon Area A

I simply do not like Secret of Mana, but I do remember that Into the Think of It really tried to persuade me to.

If it weren't for the nostalgia factor, I'd totally vote for Area A in a heartbeat. Shame it drew this pairing.

Edit: Looks like the nostalgia factor wasn't as strong as I thought. I expected a slaughter

Honestly, Secret of Mana music is a bit played out by now. Sakimoto is as Sakimoto does, and this track, though acceptible, doesn't do much to highlight Sakimoto's better range.

Area 01 has grown on me somewhat. I don't think it's the best chiptune in the contest but it's still a good representative of the field.

Originally Posted by :words: Overflow

Honestly, Secret of Mana music is a bit played out by now. Sakimoto is as Sakimoto does, and this track, though acceptible, doesn't do much to highlight Sakimoto's better range.

Not to nitpick, but the composer is actually Hiroki Kikuta, not Hitoshi Sakimoto.

Crash caught trying too hard?! Say it isn't so!

To be honest, the only memory "Into the Thick of It" conjures up for me... is running around grinding shit in Secret of Mana over and over again. Shatterhand's MASSIVE PYTHONS and VIOLENCE win the day.

Into the thick of It is a classic, and brings back oh so many warm memories of a visually adorable game . That said, i think Crash makes a good point that SOM music is pretty well out in the open at this point. I love the song, it's been on my playlist for years, and will continue to love it. But I gotta go with Shatterhand because it's something new, it's a chiptune, and it's AWESOME.

Originally Posted by :words: Overflow

Sakimoto is as Sakimoto does

Yeah, this Uematsu composed Area 01 track isn't much better, though.

I love Kikuta, but ITTOT is pretty bland. I was waiting for something to happen and it just...didn't. I think this track was remixed on SD3 with better results (but I could be mistaken).

Shatterhand, I didn't have to wait at all...I just kind of enjoyed the ride the whole way through.

While I like the SOM soundtrack, I have to admit that this song, while ethereally interesting to listen to, also feels insubstantial to the point of being forgettable. I think the main reason a lot of us know it is because you hear it for about 5 years at the start of the game. It gets DRILLED into your head.

This Shatterhand song, however, is one of the more impressive tracks that I've heard in the contest so far. It does a great job of pulling a really neat song out of the NES' hardware.

"Into the Thick of It" is a personal composer-favourite of mind. It's got an eerie outdoorsy, ethnic flavour to it, peppered by some truly unique instrumentation choices. As weird as it sounds on paper, it sounds transfixing in practice, with a captivating melody and a catchy rhythm backing everything up. <3

Hey, it's "Area A (01)"! *waves playfully* This one has grown on me since the prelims. I honestly can't say that much about it; despite being technical in sound, I can't help but feel it's an awfully simple piece of music. That's probably because it's got such a simple yet effective melodic hook. Props~

"Into the Thick of It" - 8.5/10
"Area A (01)" - 8/10

I love Kikuta's stuff, but this isn't the best version of this track on the OST. I mean, yes, he uses this theme throughout the game, so it's nice that it's introduced to you in such a nice way (love the repeated harpsichord figure), but the more energetic versions later on are more memorable. (Oh, but the bit at 1:29 is heaven).

Area A (01) is a really catchy piece of chiptuney goodness. But that's about it. Not that chiptuney goodness is a bad thing, but . . . I dunno. The bit from 1:29-the end of Into the Thick of It blows this away.

Sure, Into the Thick of It brings back all the nice memories, but as for this song, I dunno, there are so many better SoM songs, why this one?

Luckily enough for it, though, some idiot decided to nominate half his chiptune folder. So, totally unexpected, this is going to be a vote for the Secret of Mana song.

Into the Thick of It: I'm a big fan of the Secret of Mana soundtrack. Not my favorite, but the ethereal and airy feel of this piece is really nice. It's very relaxing and ultimately an ear pleaser.

Area A: I didn't really enjoy this as much as I do now in the preliminary round. It's definitely bubbly and catchy and does have a gripping melody.

Nostalgia played a factor in this vote. I wouldn't mind either advancing though.