StarTopic Nintendo General Discussion |ST30 Mar. 2024| Famiboards Town-Square

[Raccoon]

Welcome to the first installment of Threads of the Week, a weekly post featuring the Famiboards threads posted or shouted out by the members of this thread alongside some of my personal favorites.

It's only been a few days since the start of the T-Square, so there weren't too many threads posted here. In fact, the only notification I received was this shout-out by @meatbag for @ngpdrew's threaditorial, "Numbers Must Be Stopped."

Hey @Raccoon, I'm gonna give a shoutout to @ngpdrew here for his awesome thread about maybe not focusing so much on the numbers:

Numbers Must Be Stopped

You remember that Sears commercial? You know, the one where the guy is so miserable in the summer heat that he proudly declares that he’ll call Sears tomorrow only for his wife to adamantly redirect him to call now? If you don’t, then I’m just going to assume you’re a child person who grew up...

famiboards.com

This is a quintessential NintendoEra thread, written in a musing and circumlocutious voice that I've come to associate strongly with this community. I've yet to share my thoughts in the thread itself, but I will say to Drew (that is your name, right?) that I personally don't consider Penny's framerate to be numbers since it's usually a pretty binary gate: either it's around 30, fine for most games; or it's 60, necessary to some (like me) for others. Good thread.

As for my own pick, I'm a big fan of "This year feels like the games industry already crashed," another threaditorial by @Mer.Saloon. The title and premise might strike some as sensationalist, but I find it to be a tremendous shorthand for the layman's experience observing the industry from the players' perspective.

I hope you're all tinkering with ideas! I'll be updating the OP in the next hour to fix a few mistakes and add at least one more thread to the directory. I hope that you're all enjoying yourselves in the thread.

 

[Raccoon]

This is nearly a week overdue. I apologize for the delay in communicating my change in perspective.

Put succinctly, I have found it unexpectedly difficult to engage with the systems I put into place for this thread, and I see them as broadly useless. I will not be doing any further thread compilation updates and the original post has been updated accordingly. This change does not come from a place of discontent, despite how it may seem. I've felt this way from early in the thread's life, and as some may recall had misgivings about making it at all. I've gotten older and my habits have changed.

Instead, I encourage you all to use this thread and engage with each other and the site as deeply or casually as you see fit. Continue to find one another. I appreciate your understanding.

 

[Raccoon]

T-Square T-10

Before this thread concludes I'd like to present one final T-Square post.

Despite what I'm calling them, these aren't my top ten favorite T-Square pieces or anything. Instead I'm highlighting a few that I think I've not previously shown off and show new sides to the sounds of the group's various eras.


Midnight Dreamer

This record was a collaboration with several New York City jazz musicians to perform previously recorded material. This arrangement of Night Dreamer is fantastic, imbuing one of my favorite pieces with a new swagger.

Final Drop Goal

This is a great performance that I'm sharing in the interest of trivia: Michael Brecker sits in on tenor!

Papillon Cajan Style

A lot of my favorite T-Square performances leverage doubling of the guitar and saxophone or EWI to great effect, and I think this is the best example of it.

Giant Side Steps

This is a great upbeat piece led by a wind synth that I feel is overlooked in favor of more intense peers.

Hard-Boiled

I really like this piece, which I feel leans into a straighter jazz sound than much of T-Square's work. It reminds me fleetingly of mid-80s Steps Ahead.

Arcadia

Here is sort of the opposite: a very rock-oriented piece that is also led by a wind synth. I really love this one.

Faces

Here's a similar piece that I similarly love.

Traffic Jam

This recording sounds very contemporary to me, especially that clean intro. I'm curious to see if anyone else agrees.

Fly! Fly! Fly!

I love this track, which offers a pretty different sound with a very upbeat mood.

Climax

Finally, here's the latest prototypical T-Square anthem, which I think serves as an excellent addition to the collection alongside pieces like Truth and (maybe?) Senkou.

BONUS: VG BGM SOUNDALIKES
Per @chocolate_supra's request (I think?), here's a collection of T-Square pieces that sound like video game music. I'm sure it isn't comprehensive.

Super Mario Bros. theme, Super Mario
Sister Marian


Mute City, F-Zero
Your Christmas


Guile's theme, Street Fighter
Travelers


Press Garden Zone Act 1, Sonic the Hedgehog
Sabana Hotel


AND FINALLY, THE MOST INCREDIBLE OF ALL:

Moon Over the Castle, Gran Turismo
Knight's Song

Spoiler

Before a riot breaks out, Masahiro Andoh of T-Square was the composer of Gran Turismo 2. This isn't a soundalike, it's reusing one's own work.

BONUS CHALLENGE (SLASH SANITY CHECK)
Drop Goal

There is one tiny section of this recording that reminds me of a Nintendo recording. I may have posted about it, but in the interest of the challenge I'm hoping I haven't: please listen carefully and try to identify what I'm talking about! If no one hears it, I'll be forced to hang up my music comparison hat forever. Good luck.