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Ken Hisuag

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Everything posted by Ken Hisuag

  1. I'm not sure why it never occurred to me to post this here in previous years. No matter, it's here now (for better or worse).
  2. Merry Christmas! I'm breaking my own rules today because I feel guilty for being unable to get this out earlier; it is done now. Kishida Kyoudan & The Akeboshi Rockets – Beautiful Diver Somebody I know. To get some of the more obvious things out of the way: This is a quality arrangement, and of a relatively rarer theme to boot. I only discovered this circle fairly recently, but I’ve been consistently impressed with the musical arrangement and instrumentation; it’s a rock style with elements of jazz, but arranged in the style of eastern pop. While not technically unusual, in this case it is done with uncommonly high-quality production, putting it on a level with GET IN THE RING or Liz Triangle. As for the vocals, they compliment (and are complimented) admirably by the arrangement, and are of similar standard. Now getting into the complications: It is important to me to locate the lyric translations for vocal songs when possible, to better understand the piece’s presentation. This can be both a benefit and a determent, depending on the song; in this case it was a bit of both. On my initial listening, I was put off by the abrupt ending, which seemed to mess-up the otherwise serviceable progression. However, this turns out to serve a thematic purpose in conjunction with the song, representing the unendingness of the situation being sung about. In this way, knowing the lyrics improved my perception of the arrangement. On the other hand, the tone of the lyrics seems at odds with that of the music. The song would depict an emotionally despairing situation, regretful acceptance of an equally unnecessary and unrelinquishable resentment. In context of the accompanying music, one might interpret the tone as apathetic, ultimately making light of the circumstances and downplaying their impact. However, I do not have the impression this was the intended inference, primarily both for the implications of the ending and for the style of the vocal performance. I perceive a bitterness in the song, a resentment directed inward against the singer’s own outwardly directed resentment, i.e.grudge against own grudge, aware of the hypocrisy but failing to discern a rectification. Regardless of the intended meaning, the conflict between the music and lyrics results in unnecessary confusion for the attentive listener. In conclusion, it’s a great arrangement, though it does not especially stand out to me yet (give it a couple more listens). 7.6/10 Boga – The Doll Maker of Bucuresti A zunish entry. It never occurred to me for a EoSD style remix to appear in a tournament; as such remixes go, this is a fairly good one. The nature of the soundfont makes it easy to mess up and make oppressively obnoxious, which this piece does not do; the sound substitutions were handled well, resulting in a very clean mix that is faithful both to the source piece and the replicated style. The biggest drawback is that it’s more of a cover than a rearrangement; there’s little to no creativity in its composition. There’s nothing technically problematic with this, and it’s still nice to listen to, but after the previous entry it seems a bit bland. That my initial perceptions of the piece are so influenced by outside factors is unfortunate, but difficult to ignore. Pleasant and professional sound, but not particularly interesting. 6/10 TATAMI STUGIWO – Dance of the Poisoned Candy Christmas crossover! I respect the timing of this, and considering the temptation of gimmicky alternatives this is a surprisingly well-arranged (and well-constructed) option. While the Sugar Plum Fairy sections are clearly defined from the remix proper, there is still clearly a guiding idea for their rectification that is accomplished fairly skillfully. For the imagination alone, this is my favorite piece thus far. The weakness in this arrangement is the unfortunately audio quality, made all the more apparent by the contrast between the remix sections and the much cleaner sounding clips. The virtual instruments simply can’t measure up to the professional orchestra recordings, which is a shame because the piece had otherwise accomplished the harder task of cleanly transitioning between the two in the arrangement itself. This may be a harder thing to overlook for some, but thankfully it’s not quite so bad that I can’t still appreciate it. Creative idea executed decently. 8/10
  3. When Game of the Year soundtrack nominations were announced, I was somewhat disappointed; I could think of several soundtracks that seemed deserving of the recognition that weren't included, and the only represented option that I'd heard something about before (in the context of its music) was Xenoblade Chronicles 3. However, I hadn't actually heard music from any of them, so I determined to make an effort toward familiarizing myself with some of them, as to be able to make a more informed assessment. To start with, I had to prioritize, because time was limited (I wanted to be done by year's end). I hadn't heard anything about Metal: Hellsinger or A Plague's Tale: Requiem (I hadn't even known they existed), but I did remember hearing about Innocence back when it released. In what may be irony, it was my extremely limited knowledge of that game that discouraged me from prioritizing the sequel's soundtrack; I'd considered the original's story to be rather pretentious, and I hadn't heard anything about its music, so I decided to forgo it entirely. Hellsinger, on the other hand, seemed a reasonably sized soundtrack to start with, compared to the much larger soundtracks of the other entries. Unfortunately, it turned out to be almost entirely screamo/death metal, which is basically the only music I don't listen to at all. It wasn't bad quality (I believe it to have been well composed), but I wouldn't have been able to do a proper feature for it. That left me with the three games I'd actually heard of. I planned to listen through them one at a time and do a feature for each, but for some reason I ended up listening to all three simultaneously with differing levels of engagement according to my initial perceptions. I had high hopes for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, both because I'd heard good things about it from other sources, and because of the association with Yasunori Mitsuda. However, I discovered it to be heavily reliant on leitmotifs, to the point that lack of familiarity with the accompanying story and preceding entries made it impossible to appreciate properly. Unfortunately for me, I lack that familiarity. I'd like to maybe return to this series some day, but it would require quite the time investment. Elden Ring was an unfortunate circumstance of faulty expectations. The first few tracks in the OST (I would presume the title theme, menu theme and possibly a prologue cutscene theme) are standard VGM, with limited progression but a discernible melody; this set my expectations for the rest of the soundtrack. Unfortunately, the rest of the album's first half was entirely area themes. I respect that, for a game about a dying world, the music for said world should be depressing in nature; however, I was still expecting something recognizable. The area themes lack melody entirely, and have extremely limited progression, occasionally straying into the realm of true ambience. While the second half of the soundtrack seemed more promising, the first half had exhausted my patience for the dark style of the music, and with time growing shorter I chose to give up on it. I have wanted to look into the Dark Souls soundtracks for a while, so hopefully I'll get to that next year. With all that, we come to the final nomination. I've mentioned before my high regard for the story of God of War (2018), and I was exciting for the release of Ragnarök. I did not, however, expect anything too noteworthy for its soundtrack. Similar with the previous two titles, I had limited familiarity with the foundational entries, in this case the original God of War trilogy, so while I respected and appreciated the soundtrack of (2018), I didn't find it especially memorable. My experience with Ragnarök, on the other hand, has impressed me greatly. While heavily reliant upon ambience (as one would expect), the game employs strong melody and progression in its music. More importantly, its utilization of its leitmotifs is masterful, limited enough to be kept track of, but strong enough to bring cohesiveness to the soundtrack. Of all five nominations, this was the soundtrack that I enjoyed listening to the most; it still wouldn't have been among my first choices, but I'm glad it was brought to my attention.
  4. Sick last week, but I'm back now. Bitawan - It's a Communist World! The audio quality of the source video was a little better than this turned out; my decision to use this piece was determined specifically upon the original sound. Kinukawa T - Treacherous Maiden ~ Judas Kiss The timing of this arrangement (as in its beat) is what attracted my attention. Nama Pan-ko - No Judgement The audio quality of this one might also be a bit less than ideal, but the arrangement itself should justify it.
  5. I'm better now, though still recovering, and with no less urgency in keeping up with things. I determined to feature Sonic Frontiers before the year ended, despite its late soundtrack release, and can now present my findings. This is an unexpectedly massive soundtrack; not content with area and activity themes, the composers arranged unique tracks for every "Cyber Space" challenge, and up to seven different "movements" for each island theme. Each main boss has a unique vocal track to accompany its fight, each miniboss type has a special theme, and then there's the cutscenes and special events! Styles range from reflective orchestral, intensive metal, and a variety of electronic genres, with an occasional one-off jazz piece thrown in. While I certainly enjoyed the wide selection, at some point I began to wonder if they hadn't overdone it a bit. The main area theme variations didn't tend to vary as much as I'd expect, usually peaking at about movement three. Cyber Space tracks were fun, but very few of them stand out as more than concept pieces. Overall, while I appreciate the effort gone to, I think they may have stretched themselves thinner than necessary, sacrificing memorability for quantity. That being said, quality was maintained, and the tracks that do manage to stand out do so powerfully. As usual, I struggled to appreciate the vocal tracks; while I'm Here is undoubtedly the focus track, I was surprised to find the more story-centric Dear Father at the end of the album; I'll include it here as a mark of my differing focus in regards to the comparison.
  6. I am here. Forgive me for my late response. BTW, make sure to make an announcement on Discord for the regulars that aren't on the site proper too often. Also, announcing the tournament through the chatbox seemed to have quite the positive effect last time, so consider that as well.
  7. I am sick, and it is most inconvenient. I was supposed to be here yesterday, and instead I'm here this evening, still struggling to think straight but unwilling to put this off any longer, because this month of all months I'm on a rather strict schedule. So, here is a feature for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. My previous experience with Pokemon music is limited, and the only two soundtracks I've listened through properly are Red & Blue and Sword & Shield. From my experience with the latter, I was aware that there were likely multiple composers for the project, and who did what isn't always readily available information. I say this because there's a lot of contrasting styles in this soundtrack, and it's difficult to characterize them beyond a few specific points. First of all, elements of Spanish folk are intended to be present, as pure the theme of the game. This is most obvious in area themes, where a variety of Spanish-associated instrumentation in utilized. That being said, the compositions themselves do not seem to me to be that heavily influenced stylistically. Secondly, many leitmotifs are present, and it is highly probably that different songs constructed around the same leitmotifs were composed by different people. Most of the time this is in direct relation to the aforementioned area themes, as each area has multiple variations. Thirdly, all the "Team Star" associated tracks stand out as being especially memorable. In contrast to the Spanish folk theme, these are arranged in rock and rave styles, with exemplary progress structures. While these were the highlight of the soundtrack for me, I believe I've made fair coverage in my selection, despite the absence of some otherwise entirely deserving tracks.
  8. I missed my deadline early this week; my intention had been to feature Elden Ring, but I'm having difficulty enjoying the soundtrack, so I decided to switch over to another game that I had similar feelings about but I knew had much better music. It may be obvious why I'm uncomfortable with Cult of the Lamb, but if it isn't I'll only say that I don't appreciate the "pun." Regardless . . . I was fully expecting this to be a GotY nomination even before giving it a proper listen, and it still surprises me that it didn't get that recognition (more on that in a later feature). Much of the soundtrack is dominated by disconcerting ambient backing, headed by unusual but cohesive instrumentation presenting strong melodies and progression. There seems an artificial folk present, by which I mean it has a folky sound without being familiar enough to me to pinpoint what specific kind of folk it is. Some of the more low-energy tracks remind me of puzzle games. Overall, it's a difficult soundtrack for me to properly analyze. At the very least, it is creatively unique, and memorable in its own right (i.e. apart from its context).
  9. Murasame Umbrella - Plastic Mind The sound could be perceived as a bit messy, but less in an audio-quality way and more in an "intentional" sense. What surprised me most about this discovery was finding out that maritumix was associated with a larger circle. Ink-Black Cherry Blossoms (Ink-dyed Sakura) - Maple Wise It's always a treat to find a creative arrangement of a less popular piece. DJ Abner - Forbidden Magic I've never heard anything from DJ Abner that wasn't zunish, but I'm not surprised to discover his musical skills are more diverse.
  10. I believe you are correct in saying that my references to the Bible do not serve as sufficient "proof" for my statements. "Proof" is typically a reference to evidences that convince; if you are not convinced, the evidences presented are not proof. The Scripture references serve as justification to my statements; that is, the why of what I believe. What I justify my statements by is determined by my worldview: the bias by which I reason and make decisions. I cannot expect anyone to accept my statements on this basis, anymore than anyone can expect me to accept their statements based upon their worldview. The goal is not acceptance (i.e. "proof"), but merely justification. It would be foolish of me to demand of someone else to use my worldview to justify their beliefs, which are a product of their own worldview. Additionally, it is important that I justify my statements so that those I am communicating to may understand the foundation of what I am asserting, and thus may answer (if they wish to do so) in accordance with it. Morality being objective means that people's subjective beliefs about good and evil can be correct or incorrect, and as such their actions are either wrong or right regardless of what they themselves think; that is a matter of definitions. What is "natural" is not necessarily reflective of what is moral; that is a matter of worldview. If you are interested in doing so, I wouldn't mind hearing about what you believe your worldview to be. I said months ago that I intended to reply to this, and in the meantime I've been quietly observing the existence of said stigma, formulating my considerations on the matter. The response is coming.
  11. Last minute post! Stygian Riverside - Dreamscope The majority of arrangements I found for this piece were zunish remasters; this rock remix stood out. R3 Music Box - Spiritual Heaven ~ Spiritual Heaven There were other options, but the music box seemed to fit this piece especially well. Komeiji Records - Romantic Children This one I feel a bit guilty for; the artist clarifies in the description that this is less of an arrangement and more of a transcription. Nonetheless, there is a unique sound to this piece, and I appreciate it.
  12. If this was agreed upon, I doubt this conversation would be happening in the first place. You can tell for the most part who is discussing from this point of view and who is assuming a degree of objectivity on the subject both by what they say and how they say it; up to this point, it just hasn't been as explicitly clarified. I fundamentally disagree with your statement as a denial of what "morality" means. As you stated it objectively (descriptive of reality, true for everyone), I will state my objection in the same way: morality is objective, transcending cultural standards and personal convictions.1 Our individual/collective understanding of the standard will vary, which is the subjective aspect to the discussion. As such, acknowledgement of the standard does not justify anyone to be excessively judgemental or condemning of other's adherence thereof, as each will have their own shortcomings.2
  13. I've already shared most of my favorite Thanksgiving songs here, so this year I'll share some classical autumn music instead. Doesn't get more classic than that! All are blessed, in little ways and big ways, and it is good to have time to reflect upon it and give thanks; I pray everyone has a happy Thanksgiving!
  14. Special Thanksgiving feature! I usually struggle to find something for this, but this year I found an entire EP of zunish compositions themed around autumn. I'm only posting one of the five tracks, specifically themed for the holiday itself. ProfPrac stated he composed in the style of Touhou 11; I find it odd he didn't go with 10 given the theme, but it works out alright.
  15. In an unusual case of personal inconvenience, the GotY soundtracks are all very large, and with the bustle of the upcoming holiday I haven't had much time to acquaint myself with them. Time grows short, but I will do what I can. Meanwhile, it's about time I got in my yearly Okami feature, as I proceed through another disc in the soundtrack for the third time. It's been over a year since the last one; the music isn't that much different, but as such it's still just as amazing! This time around there was one track that stood out to me as deviated a bit from the primarily "eastern" style that otherwise characterizes the collection, favoring a more "western" progression. Of course, it may be skewed perception on my part, so I won't point out which one it is; mayhap no one else will notice.
  16. zuikakup - Bizarre Romantic Story ~ Mystic Square I was hoping for something unique for this track, and I believe I found it. Though seemingly a bit slow, this arrangement make up for it with atmospheric progression that fits the melody perfectly. Frost Fragment - Dream Express (Bittersweet Piano ver.) While the original piece is relatively fast, I thought the melody would suit a more remorseful tone. This captured exactly what I was looking for. Paradise of Boundaries - Alternative Magic Formation ~ Magic Square (Arrangement - SA Style) Quality option for this one were scarce. A fair deal of what I found was zunish, so I decided to go with the best option from that.
  17. I've seen the Game Awards nominations for "Best Score and Music," and I guess I've got a lot of ground to cover because I haven't heard any of these soundtracks. In the meantime, another unofficial remix album was arranged for Crypt of the Necrodancer. I still love these projects for the stylistic twist each one presents, and I doubt that will ever change.
  18. After so much time, there is still ambiguity surrounding the identification of "odd" music. This is a one-man acappella performance; while this technique isn't too uncommon (noteworthy artist in the genre: Smooth McGroove), I believe it's slightly less common to be able to see all the parts, and certainly less common for it to be presented in such a performance style as this. Many parts correspond with the replication of a specific instrument, indicated both by the sound and the choreography. That it happens to be a remix from one of my favorite films doesn't hurt. (Also, epilepsy warning perhaps?)
  19. Yuuhei Satellite, feat. Shinra-Bansho & Shoujo Fractal - Connecting With You (Full Collaboration ver.) What a big project for such an obscure track! Weirdly enough, while I appreciate both Yuuhei Satellite and Shinra-Bansho, I haven't found their collabs to be all that extraordinary compared to their standard projects. They are unique, though; perhaps this is the natural product of rectifying their respective styles? Personally, I think there's a different explanation, but I'm not willing to go too deep with it. SilentBird - Arcadian Waltz Hi there, Gou! It's very fortunate that this exists, since I wasn't finding much for this piece otherwise. The original is rather chaotic in its energy, so this is a nice switch-up in comparison. AramiTama - Blooming Flower at the End of the World Here's something unique; it reminds me of another piece from some time ago. I describe it as "loud ambience." Does anyone else find it mildly unsettling?
  20. It should be obvious by my non-interaction with this thread that I have no worthwhile input on the subject, but I found this music video and recognized the name, so I thought I'd share it. Side note: I love the Scarlet Talks.
  21. I'd been looking forward to Mago's release for some time, due to the composer being NoteBlock, who is among my favorite artists in VGM. I put off doing a feature for it in expectation of a proper soundtrack release, but I also wanted to get it in before year's end, so I've decided I can put it off no longer. The game itself is a retro platformer, and as such has a [relatively] retro chiptune soundtrack. Other instruments are occasionally utilized, but the majority of music is pure chiptune, arranged in a variety of genres suiting the context. The composer's style is normally extremely energetic and jumpy, but this project is rather well balanced, from active but stable "overworld" themes to the more intense battle themes, plus event-oriented cutscene tracks and occasional mini-game tracks for an extra dash of variety. Overall, this was well worth the wait for me, and I will continue to await an album release.
  22. With the power of bonus hour, courtesy of daylight savings' end, I hope to make it to the end of the first modern era. Touhou 12 ~ Unidentified Fantastic Object There are some very iconic tracks early on in this entry, but they tend to be more reliant on simple, repetitive motifs; there's nothing wrong with this, but in this case I prefer some of the more complex pieces. Interdimensional Voyage of a Ghostly Passenger Ship remains one of the most unique stage themes in the series with its hybrid jazz integrated into ZUN's standard style (on that note, Heian Alien gets honorable mention). Alternatively, Emotional Skyscraper ~ Cosmic Mind is essentially a standard final boss theme; however, I consider this to be the successful capturing of the "elevated" tone that ZUN didn't quite manage in Catastrophe in Bhava-Agra. Byakuren is meant to be perceived as a somewhat elevated character, and this theme communicates the ideal mood for this perception. Touhou 12.3 Hisoutensoku ~ Unthinkable Natural Law In some estimations, the peak of Tasofro's productions (technically in conjunction with 12.5, which this acts as an optional expansion to). Whether that's true or not, it does have some significant musical contributions. I consider Did You See That Shadow? as the definitive menu track for the fighting games (though not my absolute favorite), properly conveying the spirit of the Touhou Project (complete with the Eastern Story motif) while retaining the style unique to the sub-series. More importantly, however, this release features my favorite Akiyama composition, Our Hisoutensoku (Full ver.). To me, this is peak Akiyama, leaning fully into his own styles and ultimately running away with them. It remains one of my favorite pieces in the series. Touhou 12.5 ~ Double Spoiler An easy one; Bell of Avici ~ Infinite Nightmare. Overall, this entry doesn't differ that much compared to its predecessor of 9.5, but somehow I appreciate this soundtrack a little bit more. The arrangements seem darker than usual, and I wonder if this wasn't a way for ZUN to make use of compositions he didn't feel fit well into his mainline titles. That's pure speculation, though. Oriental Sacred Place will be addressed later. Touhou 12.8 ~ Great Fairy Wars I dare say this is one of the most unique games in the series, being a spin-off title that remains individual in its mechanics to this day. Because it's a spin-off entry, I'll stick with a single track for it, but it is technically large enough to warrant better treatment, and I'm sure others would have no problem picking out more tracks once familiar with the full collection. For me, Great Fairy Wars ~ Fairy Wars is the standout piece; considering it's a final boss theme, it's unusually cheerful, but still maintains the necessary intensity for its function, and as such fits the situation perfectly. ZUN's Music Collection Vol. 5.5: Unknown Flower, Mesmerizing Journey Another EP with extremely limited option, although this being a short-notice situational release does somewhat justify it. I'm somewhat obligated to pick Unknown Flower, Mesmerizing Journey as the only original composition of the collection, but I'll also mention this version of Tomorrow Will be Special as a noteworthy arrangement. Touhou 13 ~ Ten Desires I've mentioned my appreciated for this game's stage themes in the past, and I'll further reinforce here that I'm not very fond of the boss themes. Aside from that, it may be worth mentioning a distinction between the standard versions of these tracks and their "spirit" variations, which are the same but with emphasis on the melody or accompaniment. There's also layered edits (dubbed "complete"), and while I don't believe these are official, they are usually my preferred option for listening. Regardless, my favorite tracks are Desire Drive (of course) and Let's Live in a Lonely Cemetery; the soundtrack as a whole excels in atmospheric melodies, and as far as I'm concerned these are the strongest. Honorable mention to Welcome to Youkai Temple, specifically the standard version as the spirit variant doesn't have the same pluckiness. Oriental Sacred Place My frustration with this collection is its heavy reliance on remixes, having only one original track out of eight total. Granted, these are some of the better examples of ZUN's remixing abilities; these tracks tend to differ more from their originals than music collection arrangements normally do (possibly had something to do with the context of composition, but that's too complicated a theory for right now). I still prefer a bit more balance/variety for these releases. While I'm not that fond of the original Magus Night, the subtle differences in this collection's version make it a bit more appealing to me. ZUN's Music Collection Vol. 6: Trojan Green Astroid There's quite a few unusual tracks in this album where I figure ZUN was experimenting with expansions of his customary style. The Barrier of Ame-no-torifune Shrine is practically a trip through space in musical form, and somehow scrapes the outer limits of standard Touhou sound while still remaining recognizable. On the other hand, Trojan Asteroid Jungle is a delightfully jumpy, jazzy, yet mysterious piece, and sets the standard for the music collection style going forward. ZUN's Music Collection Vol. 7: Neo-traditionalism of Japan For all intents and purposes, the second-half/continuation of volume six, featuring many of the same musical characteristics. I've always found these two especially hard to pick favorites from. Nonetheless, my official selections are Green Sanatorium and Winds of Agartha, both very different in energy yet somehow comparable in tone. Honorable mention to Led On by a Cow to Visit Zenkou Temple, the unrecognized experimental predecessor to fellow percussion-focused piece Primordial Beat. Touhou 13.5 ~ Hopeless Masquerade Imo, HM functions as the perfect crossroads between the "first" and "second" modern eras; it features a wide variety of cameos in homage the series' history and serves as a climax to the loosely-connected stories of 10-13, but also introduces a new gameplay system and artstyle for the fighting game series. This happens to be my favorite Akiyama arrangement collection (somewhat fitting, as it was also the last); something about the instrumentation and overall style feels free-er than usual. This Dull World's Unchanging Pessimism ~ Shinkirou Orchestra is my favorite menu theme for these spin-offs, not for any reason connected to its use, but simply because I love its melody and progression. For my second pick, there are several tempting options, but the one track I listen to most from them is the remix of Akutagawa Ryuunosuke's "Kappa" ~ Candid Friend. Honorable mention to Omiwa Legend and its accordion. WHY DO THESE TAKE SO LONG?! Can y'all tell I was rushing through the last several entries? So much for an extra hour of sleep.
  23. I begin to wonder if I'll finish the PC-98 era before year's end. I could of course calculate it out now, but there's no impact either way so . . . Meylan - Illusion of a Maid ~ Icemilk Magic A relatively short arrangement that nonetheless manages to make its point. Surprising variety in the instrumentation, specifically contrasting its piano intro and interlude with its chiptune hybrid sections; it contrasts well without breaking the flow. aKoidion - Cute Devil ~ Innocence Not your standard solo instrument cover, this is a detailed arrangement from a skilled accordion player. It's not a simple matter to make a single instrument cover sufficient range to make up for the lack of accompaniment, and while the accordion is one of the few instruments capable of multiple simultaneous layers, I still consider this quite a find. Alstroemeria Records - DAYS / BEAUTIFUL MOMENT Once again, I'm struggling to find remixes of this game's later tracks, aside from circles I'd previously utilized. I'm using this piece for Days because of the extra bit at the end, which I think adds a nice touch considering what the original piece is meant to be. To make up for that, here's a double-arrangement of Icemilk Magic and Cute Devil together: Lowlands Blossom - Dreamy and Illusionary Twin Moons Granted, this is more two separate remixes tacked together, rather than a proper combining of the themes.
  24. I was considering a feature for Hiveswap: Act 2, quite sure I'd featured the prequel at some point in the past. However, it isn't present in my records, and I can't seem to find it in the thread manually, so it may be I haven't actually showcased Hiveswap: Act 1 yet. If I have, then this will be redundant; but in case I haven't, this will ensure it's been taken care of. There's quite a bit of backstory to this game's existence, but I'll leave it to those interested to look into that. My investment, as usually, deals exclusively with the music. This soundtrack was jointly composed by James Roach and Toby Fox, and while it is rather small, it manages to establish a musical identity through its instrumentation and style. Many tracks are characterized by sounds I would describe as "cartoonally alien," but the arrangements themselves seem more focused on setting the mood, which I appreciate. Some pieces are unusually short, but the album release includes some bonus arrangements that expand upon them; I suspect the composers cared quite a bit about the project.
  25. Soro Buta-R - Creation It's actually someone from Liz Triangle, but as part of a collaboration project; as such, many characteristics of Liz Triangle arrangements are present. The atmosphere is strong, solemn and heavy with a sense of significance. There is little musical progression, as the weight and direction of the song are carried in the words, but it still builds upon itself slowly until reaching a climax. Trick Nostalgie - Faint Dream ~ Inanimate Dream I did look for other options, but the only other arrangement that held up to my expectations was from an earlier featured circle, and this is still my favorite remix of one of my favorite Touhou tracks. JynX not only captured the intensity of the original, he enhanced it, and for once the overwhelming business of his style fits right in. C-CLAYS - After Play For a suitable followup, we head over to the heavy electronic genres. I'm not a personally big fan of this kind of music, given its limited progression and reliance on repetition, but it's fun to listen to from time to time.
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