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Here's a heavy-hitter in the Final Fantasy music canon; many people have referenced the Opera set piece as one of the things that sets Final Fantasy VI apart from other games in the series, and the music contained therein is no small part of that. The aria is simply a lovely piece of music, and works surprisingly well with the synthisized voice played with it to emulate an actual opera setting. It lost handily to To Zanarkand previously, but could in fact get a rematch this time should both make it to the semifinals of bracket 1!

Aria is up against another Final Fantasy VI track in the first round, the theme from the Magitek Research Facility. As the party discovers, this track is named appropriately given the horrors for which it is a backdrop. It's an ominous song with a heavy industrial beat, by which I mean the beat sounds constructed from the banging of tools and machinery. It had the misfortune of coming quickly up against Clash at the Big Bridge last time - will it have the ability to overcome its underdog status in 2017?

Listen Here!
Aria di Mezzo Carraterre: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltoc0XD5waI
Devil's Lab: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq_Qf3mVnCo

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"To create something great, you need the means to make a lot of really bad crap." - Kevin Kelly

Why aren't you shopping AmaCoN?

I had to go for Devil's Lab, it's possibly my favorite dungeon theme in all of video games. Just so much flourish!

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

Go Devil's Lab! I enjoy the Aria too, but Devil's Lab is just too catchy and way different from the rest of the game's music. It stands out in the best way possible.

Oddly, despite how high-profile the Aria is, I've never really been a huge fan of it. (I think Celes's Theme is a slightly better version of the Aria, in fact.)

That said, now that I listen to it, I'm actually liking the ending parts of it. Like, the part that's not the main Aria melody, but rather the transitional material, turns out to be my favorite part of this track.

Devil's Lab I remember with being surprised that they'd give this area a unique theme. It didn't really have a huge impact at first, but it grew on me after a while. The chord before the loopback is a little weak, but otherwise it's pretty good. The strings are used to give a more lyrical contrast late in the track to the brassy "machinery" soundtrack.

While the Aria is quite pretty, my vote goes to Devil's Lab.

Edit: The irony is that the Aria is growing on me now that I've voted for its opponent. Oh well. It is what it is. It's not like Devil's Lab is a bad track anyway.

This post has been edited by Glenn Magus Harvey on 14th November 2017 19:54

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current games (2024-02-19):
Fairy Fencer F ADF
Pokémon Perfect Crystal

finished so far this year:
Gato Roboto
drowning, drowning
New Super Mario Bros.
TMNT 3: Radical Rescue

tabled: Lost Ruins

A tough matchup, but I'm gonna' go with the Aria. The whole opera sequence has always stood out for me in the RPG scene. It just seems so audacious to throw an opera in the midst of your 16-bit powerhouse and expect your audience to be "OK" with that. Yet, we were. It worked and was a lovely interlude and yeah. My vote goes in that direction, despite some valid stuff pointed out by GMH!

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Games on the Go
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy: Four Warriors of Light
Baldur's Gate

Too much to play, so little time!

Greg