Song Contest XVI - Video Game Edition

The new Song Contest is up. This one is video game themed, so video game music plz.
[spoiler=How to Play]
This is the sixteenth Song Contest, so we all should know how to play. In case you're new or you forgot, here's what you do:

1. Pick a song that does not break any of the rules (see below).
2. Send a PM to me, Life Against Death, before the deadline Midnight EST, January 2nd, 2012.
3. Be sure to include the following in your PM:
   • Song name (preferably in "quotations")
   • Band/Artist name
   • An internet link to the song (Youtube, Grooveshark, etc.)
   • A 400x400 px picture featuring either the band/artist, the album the song is from, or the video game it appears on (game cover or screenshot from the game). I'll accept larger pictures as long as the dimensions are equal (500x500, 1200x1200, etc.), so I can easily resize it. No smaller pictures!
   • Your entry name. In this case, the video game your song originates from.
4. It would also be nice if you could keep your PMs organized.
5. Special Note! If the version you're entering isn't the version that appears in the video game, it would be nice if you'd let me know.

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=The Rules]
Special Video Game Themed Rules!

1. A song being entered must have either originated from a video game or is a cover, remix, re-record, etc. of a song originating from a video game.
2. Only one song per video game is allowed.
3. If the song being entered has a video on Youtube with more than 3,000,000 views, then it can't be entered. (Note: this excludes if said video is a different version.)
4. If the song or the original version of the song wasn't specifically made for a video game, then it can't be entered (even if it has been featured in a video game).
5. A song cannot exceed fifteen minutes. (Note: I'll be lenient if it's only by a few seconds.)
6. A song cannot be entered if it has been featured in Guitar Hero and/or Rock Band. (Note: this excludes if it has been released on Rock Band Network.)
7. A band/artist cannot be entered if it has been featured in Guitar Hero and/or Rock Band. (Note: this excludes if it has only had one song as DLC and/or have only had songs released on Rock Band Network.)
8. A band/artist entered in Song Contest XV cannot be entered. (See "Band/Artist Blacklist")
9. A song from a previous Song Contest cannot be entered. (See "Song Blacklist")

Any entries that break these rules will not be accepted, and the person will be sent a PM by me asking for a new entry. Also, these rules are always subject to change. If you have any complaints/suggestions, feel free to address them to me.
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Band/Artist Blacklist]
These are the bands/artists that were entered in Song Contest XV. They cannot be entered in this Song Contest.

• Amon Amarth
• AWOLNATION
• Cults
• The Devil's Blood
• Florence + the Machine
• The Heavy
• Mormon Tabernacle Choir
• nazz-can
• Paradise Lost
• Primal Scream
• Psychostick
• Quartered
• Sufjan Stevens
• Tame Impala
• TesseracT

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Song Blacklist]
For you convenience, this is a list of every song ever entered in Song Contest. These songs can no longer be submitted.

• Aerosmith - "Cry Me a River"
• Aerosmith - "Nobody's Fault"
• Affiance - "Call to the Warrior"
• Alien Ant Farm - "S.S. Recognize"
• The All-American Rejects - "Top of the World"
• Amberian Dawn - "He Sleeps In a Grove"
• Amon Amarth - "Embrace of the Endless Ocean"
• Amorphis - "My Sun"
• Anacrusis - "Still Black"
• Angra - "Awake From Darkness"
• Angra - "Wuthering Heights"
• Animals as Leaders - "Song of Solomon"
• The Answer - "Under the Sky"
• Anthrax - "Invisible"
• Anthrax - "Startin' Up a Posse"
• Anvil - "Mothra"
• Apollo 440 - "Yo! Future"
• Aquaelie - "Broken the Moon"
• Armor for Sleep - "Stay on the Ground"
• Artificial Fear - "Dark World Theme"
• Artist vs Poet - "Bad Romance"
• Atreyu - "You Give Love a Bad Name"
• Atlanta Rhythm Section - "Spooky"
• Authority Zero - "12:34"
• Authority Zero - "Mexican Radio"
• Autopilot Off - "Clockwork"
• Avenged Sevenfold - "A Little Piece of Heaven"
• Avenged Sevenfold - "Save Me"
• AWOLNATION - "Not Your Fault"
• B33J, Cerrax, Sixto Sounds, nonsensicalexis - "Wanderer on the Offensive"
• Basia Bulat - "Heart of My Own"
• Basshunter - "DotA"
• Beastie Boys - "Girls"
• Beat Crusaders - "Hit In the USA"
• Becoming the Archetype - "The Magnetic Sky"
• Between the Buried and Me - "Foam Born A: The Backtrack"
• The Black Keys - "These Days"
• Blasted Mechanism - "Blasted Empire"
• Blind Guardian - "Surfin' USA"
• Blink-182 - "Dammit"
• Blue Öyster Cult - "Astronomy"
• Blue Scholars - "No Rest for the Weary"
• Bobby 'Boris' Pickett and the Crypt-Kickers - "Monster Mash"
• Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band - "Turn the Page"
• Boston - "Foreplay/Long Time"
• Brad Paisley - "Cluster Pluck"
• Brocas Helm - "Hell's Whip"
• Bruce Springsteen - "Born to Run"
• Calabrese - "Your Ghost"
• Candlemass - "At the Gallows End"
• Captain Dan & the Scurvey Crew - "Ship 2 Ship"
• Celldweller - "Halloween"
• Celldweller - "Louder Than Words"
• Crippled Black Phoenix - "Bastonge Blues"
• Circus Maximus - "Sin"
• Citay - "Careful With That Hat"
• Cledus Judd - "I Love Nascar"
• The Confession - "Dance With the Devil"
• Crimson Glory - "Valhalla"
• The Crystal Method - "Born Too Slow"
• Cruel April - "Crushed"
• CSS - "Rat Is Dead"
• Cults - "Walk at Night"
• Cynic - "Nunc Stans"
• Cynic - "Space for This"
• Daft Punk - "Aerodynamic"
• David Lee Roth - "Yankee Rose"
• Deadmau5 - "Rope"
• Deadmau5 - "Strobe"
• Death From Abova 1979 - "Romantic Rights"
• The Decemberists - "This Is Why We Fight"
• The Devil's Blood - "Christ or Cocaine"
• The Devin Townsend Band - "Slow Me Down"
• Diablo Swing Orchestra - "Gunpowder Chant/Infralove"
• Die Prinzen - "Millionär"
• Disturbed - "The Night"
• DJ Okawari - "The Bonds"
• Dog Fashion Disco - "Desert Grave"
• Dream Theater - "Finally Free"
• Dream Theater - "On the Backs of Angels"
• Edenbridge - "Cheyenne Spirit"
• Eiko Shimamiya - "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni"
• Eminem - "Sing for the Moment"
• Ennio Morricone - "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"
• Epica - "Never Enough"
• Eyedea & Abilities - "Star Destroyer"
• Ezel Ash - "Flowering Night"
• Faith No More - "War Pigs"
• Fantomas - "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion"
• The Fireman - "Highway"
• Fixkes - "Ik zen van Stabroek"
• Florence + the Machine - "Only If for a Night"
• Flyleaf - "Chasm"
• Franz von Suppé - "Poet and Peasant Overture"
• Frijid Pink - "House of the Rising Sun"
• From Autumn to Ashes - "Autumn's Monologue"
• Funeral for a Friend - "Novella"
• Funkadelic/Infected Mushroom - "Maggot Brain/Heavyweight"
• Gallows - "The Vulture (Acts I and II)"
• Garth Brooks - "Ireland"
• The Gathering - "Liberty Bell"
• Gene Simmons - "Black Tongue"
• George Winston - "Sea"
• Gnarls Barkley - "Transformer"
• The Go! Team - "Titanic Vandalism"
• Golden Earring - "Back Home"
• Goldfinger - "My Everything"
• The Goo Goo Dolls - "Iris"
• Gorillaz - "Some Kind of Nature"
• The Gourds - "Gin and Juice"
• Gov't Mule - "Mr. High and Mighty"
• Guthrie Govan - "Waves"
• Halcali - "Roman Hikou"
• Happy Mondays - "Moving in With"
• Harry 'Haywire' McClintock - "The Big Rock Candy Mountain"
• The Heavy - "Cause for Alarm"
• Helloween - "Halloween"
• Heywood Banks - "Toast"
• Hirano Aya & Yuko Goto - "God Knows..."
• The Human Abstract - "Elegiac"
• Iced Earth - "Dracula"
• Idiot Pilot - "Red Museum"
• Infectious Grooves - "Therapy"
• Jeff Beck - "Hammerhead"
• Jet Black Stare - "Ready to Roll"
• Jimi Hendrix - "Third Stone From the Sun"
• Jon and Vangelis - "Back to School"
• Jonathan Faganello - "The Trooper"
• Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers - "Roadrunner"
• Kasabian - "Club Foot"
• Kate Nash - "Foundations"
• King Diamond - "Black Horsemen"
• Kings of Leon - "Black Thumbnail"
• Kiss - God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You"
• Kyuss - "100°"
• Ladytron - "Ghost"
• Late Night Alumni - "Empty Streets"
• Leaves' Eyes - "Krakevisa"
• Led Zeppelin - "Achilles Last Stand"
• The Living End - "How Do We Know?"
• Loquat - "Swingset Chain"
• Loudness - "Soldier of Fortune"
• Loveless - "Gensoumamire"
• Lynda Randle - "God of the Mountain"
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Tuesday's Gone"
• Machine Head - "Halo"
• Macklemore - "The Town"
• Manic Street Preachers - "Archives of Pain"
• Marilyn Manson - "This Is Halloween"
• Mark Knopfler - "Border Reiver"
• The Mars Volta - "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt"
• Mastodon - "The Czar"
• Matchbook Romance - "My Mannequin Can Dance"
• Megadeth - "The Scorpion"
• Mest - "Chance of a Lifetime"
• Metallica - "...And Justice for All"
• Metric - "Gold Guns Girls"
• Michael Jackson - "Ghosts"
• Michael Jackson/Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka - "Beat It/World's End Dancehall"
• Mormon Tabernacle Choir - "The Last Words of David"
• Mother Misery - "Fade Away"
• Mumford and Sons - "Awake My Soul"
• Muse - "Bliss"
• Muse - "Butterflies and Hurricanes"
• My Chemical Romance - "Welcome to the Black Parade"
• Nana Kitade - "Kibou no Kakera"
• Nana Kitade - "My Dear Maria"
• nazz-can - "Septette for the Dead Princess"
• Nekromantix - "Bloody Holiday"
• Ne Obliviscaris - "Forget Not"
• New York Funk Exchange - "Without You"
• Nightwish - "Ghost Love Score"
• Nightwish - "The Poet and the Pendulum"
• Nirvana - "Love Buzz"
• Obadiah Parker - "Idioteque"
• Oingo Boingo - "No One Lives Forever"
• Oingo Boingo - "Who Do You Want to Be"
• Overkill - "E.vil N.ever D.ies"
• Ozzy Osbourne - "Killer of Giants"
• Pagan's Mind - "Eyes of Fire"
• Pain of Salvation - "Sisters"
• Pantera - "The Great Southern Trendkill"
• Paradise Lost - "Enchantment"
• Peaches - "Fuck the Pain Away"
• Pentagram - "Call the Man"
• Pentagram - "Under My Thumb"
• Peter Griffin - "Fart Song"
• Phathom - "A New Escape"
• Power Tool - "Two Heads Are Better Than One"
• Primal Scream - "I'm Comin' Down"
• Psychostick - "We Ran Out of CD Space"
• Quartered - "Africa"
• Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody"
• Queens of the Stone Age - "In My Head"
• R.A.M.P. - "Single Lines"
• Rancid - "The Way I Feel"
• Redemption - "Suffocating Silence"
• Ren and Lin Kagamine - "Trick and Treat"
• The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - "Reap"
• R.E.M. - "UBerlin"
• Retribution Gospel Choir - "Hide It Away"
• Rodrigo y Gabriela - "Stairway to Heaven"
• Rose of Jericho - "Beautiful Machine"
• Rufus Wainwright - "Hallelujah"
• Sandwich - "Procrastinator"
• Savatage - "Edge of Thorns"
• Schoolyard Hero - "Cemetery Girl"
• Senses Fail - "The Priest and the Matador"
• Seventh Wonder - "Welcome to Mercy Falls"
• She Wants Revenge - "It's Just Begun"
• Shaimus - "All of This"
• Shinedown - "Breaking Inside"
• Shooter Jennings & Hierophant - "Fuck You (I'm Famous)"
• Sia - "Breathe Me"
• Sinéad O'Conner - "Troy"
• The Sleeping - "Loud & Clear"
• The Slide - "Can You Feel the Rain?"
• Soul Asylum - "Misery"
• Spock's Beard - "She Is Everything"
• Spoon - "30 Gallon Tank"
• SR-71 - "Goodbye"
• S.S.H - "Super Mario Bros. Theme"
• Steve Sharples - "Bolero"
• Stillwater - "Mindhender"
• The Stone Roses - "Breaking into Heaven"
• Streetlight Manifesto - "Such Great Heights"
• Sufjan Stevens - "Chicago"
• Sybreed - "Lucifer Effect"
• The Tallest Man on Earth - "The Wild Hunt"
• Tame Impala - "Solitude Is Bliss"
• Taylor Swift - "Love Story"
• Ted Nugent - "Great White Buffalo"
• TesseracT - "Nascent"
• Textures - "Laments of an Icarus"
• There for Tomorrow - "To Whom It May Concern"
• They Might Be Giants - "Don't Let's Start"
• Threshold - "Fighting for Breath"
• Threshold - "Sunseeker"
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "American Girl"
• Toxik - "Think This"
• Trampled by Turtles - "Wait So Long"
• Trapt - "Stand Up"
• T-Ride - "Zombies From Hell"
• Tyr - "Hold the Heathen Hammer High"
• Tyr - "The Lay of Thrym"
• The Unicorns - "Emasculate the Masculine"
• UFO - "Back into My Life"
• UnSun - "Home"
• Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start - "The Red Loop"
• Vincent - "Miss Blue"
• Witchcraft - "Samaritan Burden"
• Weird Al Yankovic - "Gump"
• The Who - "Baba O'Riley"
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - "Lacrimosa"
• The Wurzels - "Don't Look Back in Anger"
• Young Heart Attack - "Tommy Shots"
• Yowane Haku - "Daughter of White"
• Yuki Kajiura - "Key of the Twilight"

[/spoiler]
Update: The results have been posted. See them in the below post.

Here are the entries. It should be self-explanatory how they are arranged. The entry name is in the top left and artist and song title in the bottom right. Any entry with "Originally from" above the entry name denotes that the song is not the original version that appears in that game. If I made any mistakes, please let me know, so I can fix them as soon as possible.
[spoiler=The Entries]

[/spoiler]
[spoiler=The Results]
SaiyanShredder - Donkey Kong Country (David Wise - "Aquatic Ambiance")

1. Super Mario 64 (0 + 10 = 10)
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (0 + 8 = 8)
3. Final Fantasy VII (0 + 6 = 6)
4. Mega Man Battle Network 6 (0 + 5 = 5)
5. Nier (0 + 4 = 4)
6. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (0 + 3 = 3)
7. Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (0 + 2 = 2)
8. Borderlands (0 + 1 = 1)
   Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (0)
   Donkey Kong Country (0)
   BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (0)
   Final Fantasy XIII (0)
   Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (0)
   Yume Nikki (0)

evilpacman18 - Mega Man Battle Network 6 (Yoshino Aoki - "Surge of Power!")

1. Nier (4 + 10 = 14)
2. Yume Nikki (0 + 8 = 8)
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (0 + 6 = 6)
4. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (3 + 5 = 8)
5. Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (0 + 4 = 4)
6. Donkey Kong Country (0 + 3 = 3)
7. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (0 + 2 = 2)
8. Super Mario 64 (10 + 1 = 11)
   The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (8)
   Final Fantasy VII (6)
   Mega Man Battle Network 6 (5)
   Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (2)
   Borderlands (1)
   Final Fantasy XIII (0)

MrMarill - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (Olivier Sirois - "Final Boss")

1. Yume Nikki (8 + 10 = 18)
2. Nier (14 + 8 = 22)
3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (8 + 6 = 14)
4. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (2 + 5 = 7)
5. Mega Man Battle Network 6 (5 + 4 = 9)
6. Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (4 + 3 = 7)
7. Final Fantasy XIII (0 + 2 = 2)
8. Super Mario 64 (11 + 1 = 12)
   Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (8)
   Final Fantasy VII (6)
   Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (6)
   Donkey Kong Country (3)
   Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (2)
   Borderlands (1)

Volt - Yume Nikki (Volt - "Lucid Suite")

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (8 + 10 = 18)
2. Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (7 + 8 = 15)
3. Nier (22 + 6 = 28)
4. Mega Man Battle Network 6 (9 + 5 = 14)
5. Super Mario 64 (12 + 4 = 16)
6. Donkey Kong Country (3 + 3 = 6)
7. Final Fantasy XIII (2 + 2 = 4)
8. Final Fantasy VII (6 + 1 = 7)
   Yume Nikki (18)
   The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (14)
   BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (7)
   Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (6)
   Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (2)
   Borderlands (1)

ParanoidPaal - Super Mario 64 (CSGuitar89 - "Dire Dire Docks")

1. Yume Nikki (18 + 10 = 28)
2. Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (15 + 8 = 23)
3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (14 + 6 = 20)
4. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (18 + 5 = 23)
5. Final Fantasy VII (7 + 4 = 11)
6. Final Fantasy XIII (4 + 3 = 7)
7. Donkey Kong Country (6 + 2 = 8)
8. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (7 + 1 = 8)
   Nier (28)
   Super Mario 64 (16)
   Mega Man Battle Network 6 (14)
   Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (6)
   Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (2)
   Borderlands (1)

Life Against Death - Nier (Keiichi Okabe - "Song of the Ancients / Fate")

1. Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (23 + 10 = 33)
2. Final Fantasy XIII (7 + 8 = 15)
3. Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (2 + 6 = 8)
4. Yume Nikki (28 + 5 = 33)
5. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (23 + 4 = 27)
6. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (8 + 3 = 11)
7. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (20 + 2 = 22)
8. Final Fantasy VII (11 + 1 = 12)
   Nier (28)
   Super Mario 64 (16)
   Mega Man Battle Network 6 (14)
   Donkey Kong Country (8)
   Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (6)
   Borderlands (1)

cscrocker - BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Daisuke Ishiwatari - "Bullet Dance")

1. Final Fantasy XIII (15 + 10 = 25)
2. Yume Nikki (33 + 8 = 41)
3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (22 + 6 = 28)
4. Final Fantasy VII (12 + 5 = 17)
5. Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (33 + 4 = 37)
6. Borderlands (1 + 3 = 4)
7. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (6 + 2 = 8)
8. Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (8 + 1 = 9)
   Nier (28)
   Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (27)
   Super Mario 64 (16)
   Mega Man Battle Network 6 (14)
   BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (11)
   Donkey Kong Country (8)

MementoVivere - Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (Noriko Mitose - "Stigmata")

1. Nier (28 + 10 = 38)
2. Yume Nikki (41 + 8 = 49)
3. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (28 + 6 = 34)
4. Final Fantasy XIII (25 + 5 = 30)
5. Donkey Kong Country (8 + 4 = 12)
6. Super Mario 64 (16 + 3 = 19)
7. Mega Man Battle Network 6 (14 + 2 = 16)
8. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (11 + 1 = 12)
   Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (37)
   Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (27)
   Final Fantasy VII (17)
   Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (9)
   Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (8)
   Borderlands (4)

Vieira151 - Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (Rogue Wave - "Everyday")

1. Yume Nikki (49 + 10 = 59)
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (34 + 8 = 42)
3. Super Mario 64 (19 + 6 = 25)
4. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (12 + 5 = 17)
5. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (27 + 4 = 31)
6. Mega Man Battle Network 6 (16 + 3 = 19)
7. Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (37 + 2 = 39)
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (8 + 1 = 9)
   Nier (38)
   Final Fantasy XIII (30)
   Final Fantasy VII (17)
   Donkey Kong Country (12)
   Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (9)
   Borderlands (4)

Outlaw454 - Final Fantasy VII (bLiNd - "J-E-N-O-V-A")

1. Yume Nikki (59 + 10 = 69)
2. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (17 + 8 = 25)
3. Nier (38 + 6 = 44)
4. Donkey Kong Country (12 + 5 = 17)
5. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (42 + 4 = 46)
6. Mega Man Battle Network 6 (19 + 3 = 22)
7. Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (39 + 2 = 41)
8. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (31 + 1 = 32)
   Final Fantasy XIII (30)
   Super Mario 64 (25)
   Final Fantasy VII (17)
   Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (9)
   Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (9)
   Borderlands (4)

DrFreshey - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Mark Grigsby - "Deep and Hard")

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (32 + 10 = 42)
2. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (46 + 8 = 54)
3. Nier (44 + 6 = 50)
4. Super Mario 64 (25 + 5 = 30)
5. Donkey Kong Country (17 + 4 = 21)
6. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (25 + 3 = 28)
7. Borderlands (4 + 2 = 6)
8. Yume Nikki (69 + 1 = 70)
   Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (41)
   Final Fantasy XIII (30)
   Mega Man Battle Network 6 (22)
   Final Fantasy VII (17)
   Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (9)
   Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (9)

Moon3NL - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Toru Minegishi - "Midna's Desperate Hour")

1. Mega Man Battle Network 6 (22 + 10 = 32)
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (42 + 8 = 50)
3. Super Mario 64 (30 + 6 = 36)
4. Donkey Kong Country (21 + 5 = 26)
5. BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (28 + 4 = 32)
6. Yume Nikki (70 + 3 = 73)
7. Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (9 + 2 = 11)
8. Borderlands (6 + 1 = 7)
   The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (54)
   Nier (50)
   Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (41)
   Final Fantasy XIII (30)
   Final Fantasy VII (17)
   Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (9)

LightningBolt - Final Fantasy XIII (Masashi Hamauzu - "The Sunleth Waterscape")

1. Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (41 + 10 = 51)
2. Nier (50 + 8 = 58)
3. Yume Nikki (73 + 6 = 79)
4. Super Mario 64 (36 + 5 = 41)
5. Final Fantasy VII (17 + 4 = 21)
6. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (54 + 3 = 57)
7. Mega Man Battle Network 6 (32 + 2 = 34)
8. Donkey Kong Country (26 + 1 = 27)
   Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (50)
   BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (32)
   Final Fantasy XIII (30)
   Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (11)
   Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (9)
   Borderlands (7)

failureatlife - Borderlands (Jesper Kyd - "Welcome to Fyrestone")
failureatlife did not vote in time.

Borderlands (7 / 2 = 3.5)
Yume Nikki (79)
Nier (58)
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (57)
Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (51)
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (50)
Super Mario 64 (41)
Mega Man Battle Network 6 (34)
BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (32)
Final Fantasy XIII (30)
Donkey Kong Country (27)
Final Fantasy VII (21)
Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (11)
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (9)

[/spoiler]

Final Standings

1. Volt - Yume Nikki (79)
2. Life Against Death - Nier (58)
3. Moon3NL - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (57)
4. MementoVivere - Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis (51)
5. MrMarill - Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (50)
6. ParanoidPaal - Super Mario 64 (41)
7. evilpacman18 - Mega Man Battle Network 6 (34)
8. cscrocker - BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (32)
9. LightningBolt - Final Fantasy XIII (30)
10. SaiyanShredder - Donkey Kong Country (27)
11. Outlaw454 - Final Fantasy VII (21)
12. Vieira151 - Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (11)
13. DrFreshey - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (9)
14. failureatlife - Borderlands (3.5)

Congratulations to Volt on her 2nd Song Contest win!

Song Contest Wins

ParanoidPaal - 5 (VIII, IX, X, XII, XIV)
Vieira151 - 3 (IV, VI, XIII)
DarkFlashlight - 2 (III, V)
Volt - 2 (II, XVI)
Andami - 1 (VII)
cscrocker - 1 (XI)
dwestfan13 - 1 (XV)
MrMarill - 1 (I)

Gon' win.

Ok. I have a question. Can I enter a song that is a cover, which was covered specifically for a game, of an old song, which wasn't made for a game?

In fact, if that is allowed then there is a whole album I could enter(because the developers made a soundtrack of covers specifically for the game. :3 )

My song is gonna win for sure. :P

I guess since the version you're entering was made specifically for a video game, then I'll allow it, but I guess it'll depend on the song. Send it to me, and I'll decide.

>Daisuke Ishiwatari

Well, I'm fucked.

>Entries already posted

I'm fairly certain you said they'd be posted midnight, January 2nd. That hasn't even passed yet.

He's going by the date change.

Then he should have said that entries will be posted on January 2nd or midnight, January 1st, not midnight January 2nd. I was planning according to that schedule.

Eat him.

Midnight, January 2nd, 2012 happened 13.5 hours ago. >.>

No it didn't. There's still 11 hours until that (10 for you).

I'm not having this argument again. Midnight is the start of the day. January 2nd started at midnight (14 hours ago). When my computer's clock displays 12:00 AM, it says right under it 1/2/2012. This is how I've always done it (with SCXV and SCXIV too).

Midnight has always been the end of the day for me. I have never heard it otherwise until today. Since the term is apparently so ambiguous, you shouldn't have used it the way you did. I don't care whether or not you're using it correctly, it can still be interpreted differently.

Thanks for ruining my whole day.

Whatever... Nobody has had a problem with this as my deadline in the past. Sorry for the confusion.

Since I doubt anyone will vote in the next five minutes, I'll accept a late entry.

IIRC, you said you had this one planned for months. Why on earth did you wait so long to post it? You were obv online at times based on being in Mibbit and making posts.

I lol'd at this so hard.

LOL

When I played through FFXIII, the egregious soundtrack was one of the biggest things I noticed through the whole game.
I couldn't decide between Molgera battle from The Wind Waker and the song I did enter (I'm sure most of you can guess).

I'm sorry you have a shitty taste in music.

LAD is right about when the date changes but this ambiguity is exactly why 11:59PM is more commonly used as the deadline for midnight submissions.

The chord structure in Midna's lament is nice. mM7 to M7 to Dominant 7 with the occasional diminished in the bridge. It's very Erik Satie.

I guess that's a good alternative...

Nier - This song as the first song on the list is terrible. I find it hard to believe anything can possibly live up to it. DAT BEAT GO HARD. I would normally dislike the voice but the harmonies they created by laying several of her vocal tracks over each other are just so beautiful and then when the strings come in, quietly at first, just an accompaniment, and then more prominent, and then their own melody. Glorious. I will be stunned if you don't win, whoever you are.

Borderlands - And this is where the inherent problem with a video game themed song contest lies. Video game soundtracks are BACKGROUND music. This song would be fine in the context of the game, I haven't played the game but I don't doubt this is very fitting for whatever part it's played during. However, since I'm here to judge music based on how appealing, entertaining, and interesting it is to me, I'm gonna have problems with most of the songs entered because they're mood music. This music is supposed to enhance an experience that I'm not getting by listening to it on youtube, and therefore falls short of being song contest worthy, as I'd wager most of the entered songs will.

Super Mario 64 - way to pick one of my least favorite songs (and one of my least favorite levels) from any 3D Mario. Apart from that shortcoming, the arrangement is great, it's thoughtful, well-mixed, true to the original, and thoroughly appropriate. The reverb on his guitar really does make it feel like it's under water, but it isn't so overdone that it sacrifices clarity like reverb on amateur mixes tends to do so I say bravo to whoever CSGuitar89 is. This is good work. However, good arrangement of decent music equates to slightly above decent.

Final Fantasy VII - Bad arrangements of good music, on the other hand, are much less forgivable. Should've gone with the original, that's a really good theme.

CoD:MW - I've said it once, I'll say it again. DAT BEAT GO HARD. The sample at the beginning of the song is a bit cheesy but it doesn't detract from anything. I'm surprised this is the credits song for the game, it sounds like a fanmade youtube type thing but that's just cuz I'm hearing some minor mix issues. The beat and rapper's flow are reminiscent (I'm being nice and not using the word 'rip-off') of certain Wu-Tang Clan members. Inferior of course but not everybody can be GZA. For a rapper I've never heard of, talking about a video game, this guy is really good. The beat is great, I'd even have enjoyed an instrumental. It doesn't suffer from being boring like most of the other songs on this list will, so I'll probably end up giving this a good amount of points. Also it's probably the most unique pick in the whole group.

Mega Man Battle Network 6 - Out of the games I recognize, which is most of them, this is the only one on a handheld console, which means that it's competing against a bunch of songs that can be much wider in scope, range, the use of instruments, etc. Basically this is a song that has to work on the GBA and it can't really stand up to the 360, capable of playing any audio you throw at it or even older ones like the 64. And yet it manages to be appealing, high-energy, more heavily layered than any of the songs I've listened to so far, and, perhaps most importantly, it's damn cool.

Donkey Kong Country - Looking at the title "Aquatic Ambiance," I was like oh gawd, this is gonna be everything I've complained about so far. And yes, while it doesn't have the drive of a song for song's sake, it's a really sweet composition. Much better for an underwater level than Dire Docks theme could ever hope to be, it's interesting harmonically even though it's only about 2 chords (which means the melody is especially nice) and all the little bells and twinkles just make it that much better. I really enjoyed this.

Stubbs the Zombie - While it's nice to hear as many real songs in this contest as possible, I'm just not that big on this sort of Folk. Unfortunate technicality really and I'm sure this will score a few points, especially because of the exceptionally decent breakdown, but perhaps The Flaming Lips or Cake songs on this soundtrack, whatever they are, would be better?

BlazBlue - The Prog Metal influence is cool and the string and piano bits are nice and the transition around 3:20ish is cool too. It's lacking a little consistency and that actually does a great deal to affect how I feel about it negatively, I think it's just there is no structure really. There's no theme, it's a lot of great sounding stuff put together without any coherency, and even if you're not a musician I think everyone should be able to hear that it's missing something. It just doesn't say anything is its problem. Still it is good music and I will be giving it points.

Twilight Princess - Ok. Like I said earlier, this composition is really cool. I like the minimalist thing going on, it would probably be tempting to do a full orchestration for something like this, put the cellos on the bass line, have the violins and horns alternate on the second theme, the piano could still play the first theme, maybe in octaves. Something like that. Mr. Minegishi was good to avoid that. So it's good writing. Unfortunately it's REALLY easy to tell that these are MIDI samples, none of it was recorded live. And these are top-of-the-line samples, but still, when you want a melody brought out on a mixer and you just turn up the velocity of the important notes, it sounds harsh. This lacks the tone color a person playing it on a good piano could have given it and because of that the piano sounds too percussive, the strings are shallow, and it's all covered up with a haze of distasteful reverb. I would love a live recording of this.

Sonic 3 - Oh wow, first thought, the brass is used so well here. And there's a lot of it, like it's REALLY hard to use brass well. The samples here, unlike in the above, are laid out well. I went and listened to the original track and I'm happy to say that after a good arrangement of a bad song and a bad arrangement of a good song, this is a great arrangement of a great original song. It's got enough of a focus to avoid the pitfalls of the BlazBlue song and it's condensed enough to not get tiring. I really like this one.

Final Fantasy XIII - No. Terrible. One of the worst songs in the game and easily the worst song of this contest. And now I'm depressed cuz I'm so close to 100%ing this game but I don't wanna do all the remaining grinding. Sigh.

Mana Khemia - Oh hey Gil. That chick looks a lot like Presea. Not really sure what to think of this. It's like Japanese Gospel Metal. The lead vocals kill it a little for me but the chant vocals at the beginning I really liked and wished they were louder. The solos are damn fine though. I was really impressed by whoever played the piano solo. This'll get good points just cuz of those short solos. I wish they were a bigger percentage of the song.

Yume Nikki - Volt, I'm sufficiently impressed. If you've ever listened to a piano interlude on a screamo album (they're actually fairly common) some parts of this sound like it could be one. Although the quality could be better I appreciate the tone of a real, slightly out of tune in a way that sounds good with itself, piano. If you have the sheet music in a handy PDF file for this, kindly e-mail it to me.

Pac, you're becoming increasingly annoying...

Knowing things about music and incorporating them into your critique is annoying now?

Also, I'm that obvious? >.>

np :P


How about you step off your high horse and turn the douche down a few notches? You're a nice guy and all that jazz, but writing out all that just makes you seem like a bit of a jerk. I know you know more about music that I could ever hope to, but there's no need to be a show-off and music snob.

I know a lot of people have been a bit annoyed at your "music snob" posts.

Don't want to offend you or anything, just wanted to get it out there.

Eh.

I personally see no problem with it. Everyone enjoys their music in different ways.

Gonna listen to these after... studying. T_T

I really don't see a problem with it either. Most of us critique the songs in these SCs on the chat, so we never feel the need to discuss the songs on the forum. Pac is never on the chat, however, so he critiqued them like this. While I'm personally surprised that he posted critique, I don't see it as "bad". He's just giving his two cents on the songs and, comparing his critique to his previous comments, he wasn't on his high horse this time.

Guess I've never seen him on his high horse then P:

And no, of course there's nothing wrong with posting your opinions of the music. I just found it to be a bit over the top. Seems like it's just me then. Oh, well.

Just wondering. Did Pacman enter this contest or did he just feel like listening to them all? Because if he didn't, I would like to reply to him on what he said of my song choice. :3

Sent mah votes in!

This one was definitely music snob high horse posting. I don't think my reviews of the songs were though. If making a full post for my response to each song is abnormal, I didn't know. Pretty much everyone does it on MS song contests and I like it that way because what people say about your pick reflects so much more than the final tally can.
Now I'm gonna have to get on the chat to see what everyone else is saying about all the songs =/

If you wanted to do something like that Pac, we had a mixtape thingy.

I wanted to /in for that but missed the deadline :(

Was this really your first SC? : o
And yes, you should definitely go to the chat. It's just all the way great.

First SC on here at least. I haven't been on this site since summer.

Oh, I see.

Less than 57 hours 'til the deadline, and I've received six votes. Keep 'em coming, people!