[D] First Round #16 (Aqua Garden - Chase Mission vs. The Sea)

Listen to both songs and select the one you prefer.

Download Links:

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams - Aqua Garden - Chase Mission
Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color - The Sea

Streaming:

Aqua Garden - Chase Mission: Get the Flash Player to play this audio file:
The Sea: Get the Flash Player to play this audio file:

Aqua Garden-
Catchy and upbeat, with a great atmosphere. Total summer party music. I really enjoy this one.

The Sea-
Another good track with some great guitar and accordion.

Tough vote, but Aqua Garden is too fun.

I fuckin' love the soundtrack for NiGHTS 2, so nominating only one song from it was a bit maddening. Especially when you consider that each song has three distinct versions that are nevertheless very hard to order by most to least favorite. Anyway, my choice came down to this track because it's the first track you hear in the game IIRC, and it just really sets the mood for the game. The sheer amount of compositional effort put into each track (and in the whole soundtrack as well) is just amazing.

I didn't think much of The Sea when it started, but when it starts to build up at around 1:30, it's actually kinda neat. The second half of the track is a big change and is my favorite part of the song, with the accordion going at it. Pretty good stuff, but not on the same level as Aqua Garden in my opinion.

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams - Aqua Garden - Chase Mission
I tend to enjoy the darker NiGHTS tracks the most; while the more upbeat and pop stuff isn't bad, it just doesn't elicit as much of a reaction.

Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color - The Sea
I'm a huge fan of the sequel score by Y. StiM, but this year's contest has been quite the introduction to the prequel music. It's not as creative, but has a very interesting ethnic flair; this one has more than a touch of flamenco about it. I'm not super big on flamenco or acoustic Latin stylings, though. It does get better as it goes on and introduces some driving piano, though.

Aqua Garden - Chase Mission.

I heard Sea before so I voted for it, without thinking. Then I read the comments and was interested to listen to that other song, and wow, I wish I had voted for that song... I'm sorry, I hope you win: aqua garden.

Originally Posted by katchum

I heard Sea before so I voted for it, without thinking. Then I read the comments and was interested to listen to that other song, and wow, I wish I had voted for that song... I'm sorry, I hope you win: aqua garden.

Kill yourself.

Originally Posted by katchum

I heard Sea before so I voted for it, without thinking. Then I read the comments and was interested to listen to that other song, and wow, I wish I had voted for that song... I'm sorry, I hope you win: aqua garden.

For those times when a facepalm just isn't good enough:



"Aqua Garden - Chase Mission" is fun, light, fluffy and oh-so joyous. The summery instrumentation really paints a vivid scene and the typical NiGHTS melody is full of charisma and win. Not as good as "Crystal Choir", but still a fantastic little tune.

"The Sea" is also a pretty well-composed tune that I'm familiar with. The exotic flair of this one is rather intoxicating and the overall progression of the melody is very sophisticated and masterful. You can tell that there's a great deal of experience in this piece. I really like it, but I like NiGHTS better.

"Aqua Garden - Chase Mission" - 8.5/10
"The Sea" - 8/10

Man after listening to these tunes I feel like going to the beach.

Aqua Garden is fucking fantastic. Christ. Seriously? The Sea is also fantastic (been nominated before, but that's besides the point).

Fuck it. The Sea has an accordion. That's what's deciding my vote here.

A really strong matchup, if you couldn't tell from the other posts in this thread. I don't remember The Sea being Magic Pengel, but either way I know it and am pleased to find it's remarkably full of acoustic goodness. NiGHTS is pure bouncy fun but never slides into noxious confection.

Sea by a guitar string. I'll take either in most matchups.

I really liked "The Sea" when I first heard it on SotW. It develops wonderfully and is nicely layered at several spots.

"Aqua Garden" is a terrific track, too. Probably one of ther better nominations I've heard in the contest. Very fun-loving piece with an almost caribbean feel to it.

Very divided here and the best outcome would be if both tracks proceed. After some thought, I think I'll go with "The Sea". It's wins by a small margin for being a bit smoother.

: NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams - Aqua Garden - Chase Mission
: Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color - The Sea

Il mare is an old favorite. Sounds great, but it doesn't really have a memorable melody anywhere. Also, it sounds great, love that accordion and guitar action.

Aqua Garden has Tomoko Sasaki, so it's already three points up on its competition. Catchy melody, and wow, the second part of the loop starting at 1:25 is wonderful. And it doesn't even loop after that part, there's another section. Easy vote.