The NSM Guess-That-Melody Quiz!

[mikey]

I almost didn't get 6

and I'm guessing I'm the one you're not sure about #5 for (stop using Kirby)- I didn't use any hints except for on #4 (stop using Kirby), but knowing it wasn't in Mario (stop using Kirby) just made me give up (stop using Kirby)

[mastersuperfan]

#4

Corkboard - Kirby Super Star:

Timestamp: 0:00

Hint:
Oops. This naturally got confused with the Invincibility Theme from Super Mario, but it's not even from that franchise. Good thing 4 people managed to get it anyway.

Scores affected by the hint: 2

[close]

what in the world

how in the heck were Yug and I the only ones to recognize it without the hint (and this is a KIRBY melody that even YUG knows, I mean c'mon)

y'know if i wasn't being harassed criticised about my hints i might've been more considerate with this one but oh well

Y'know maybe it's just me but I'd still call that a rather big hint

#16

Western Land - Mario Party 2:

Timestamp: 0:51

HOOTENANNY

I love this song so much. I haven't even played this game yet but the music is on-point. I kinda hinted (sort of eh not really idk) to a Mario Party 2 melody appearing by randomly posting Mario Party 2 stuff, but I probably didn't do it enough. In fact, the only one who got it was a surprise guesser.

[close]

Damn, I've listened to this one but never more than for 20 or 30 seconds because I don't even like it, HQ rip is better

Dekka will be posting her quiz later today.

EDIT: OH also if you're not a regular host at the moment please consider being one because our pool is dropping very quickly and we're down to only 5 (wow) regular hosts now

[ThatHiddenCharacter]

Dekka will be posting her quiz later today.

Wait, if Mael isn't going, when am I supposed to go?

[Dekkadeci]

I'm filling in for Maelstrom this round, so here's my seventh Guess-The-Song Quiz:
[PDF] | [MIDI] | [MUS] | [MSCZ]

The MUS is readable in Finale, including Finale Notepad. The MSCZ is readable in Musescore. All other files are based on the original MSCZ, not the MUS--this explains why the PDF doesn't look like the MUS.
The MUS may display and/or play back bugged. The MSCZ, MIDI, and PDF shouldn't.

As I've mentioned earlier, nearly half this quiz is made of melodies from songs used in previous quizzes! More hints regarding them are below.

There are two bonus questions at the end of this quiz, #K wutthe? and #F this! They are from unofficial remixes of VGM themes that aren't in any actual video games or their OSTs (to my knowledge). I have many hints regarding them below. As they're quite possibly the hardest melodies in this quiz even with the hints, they aren't in their own section.

Again, don't feel too bad if you only get one or two! PM away! I want more than 4 people participating in this quiz this time how do some hosts get 11 participants?!?

You can PM answers to me until Monday, August 28 at 5:00 PM MDT (a.k.a. Tuesday, August 29 12:00 AM forum default time). I will not count any submissions made after that time, as I'll be too busy tallying results.
Results will be posted shortly afterwards.

Some guidelines for answering, how the melodies are transcribed, and what counts as a correct answer--oh yeah, and some hints right off the bat:

• You may submit YouTube links/videos instead of game name-song name/best known use pairs.
• All tempos are approximate.
• Like last time, I will mark unambiguous songs with the right melody in the right key as correct. If your guess has the right melody in the wrong key, I will mark it as incorrect but PM back that you were close. You can freely guess again until the deadline.
• I may not have gotten octave voicings correct in this quiz. If you think you've got the right song but it's off by an octave or two in parts, just guess that song anyway.
• I may not have gotten articulations correct in this quiz.
• As before, I PM hints! If you can't figure out the song at all, but you guess the series the melody is from and/or give a YouTube link to a similar-sounding piece, I'll PM back about whether you're on the right track.
• The more obscure the song, the more generous the hints get.
• #2, #11, and #K wutthe? are less likely to be completely melodically and/or rhythmically accurate than the rest of the melodies.
• None of the melodies have been recycled from previously chosen melodies.
• The only series with at least one melody from a completely new song are Mario, Kirby, Touhou, Shovel Knight, and (surprise!) Live A Live. All other series have only recycled songs.
• The Mario series is the only series with melodies from a combination of new and recycled songs. All other series have melodies from only new or only recycled songs.
• The only series with multiple songs in this quiz are Mario, Kirby, and Touhou. None of the other songs share a series.
• The following series are not in this quiz (at least the regular section): Pokemon, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Pikmin
• At least one melody is from a song in one of my previous quizzes.
• At least one melody is from a song in a previous quiz I did not make.

Some hints for the bonus melodies, #K wutthe? and #F this!:

• I only need song names (or YouTube videos) for answers for #K wutthe? and #F this! I don't need anything else.
• #K wutthe? is from a remix of a Kirby song.
• #F this! is from a remix of a Final Fantasy song.
• Again, neither #K wutthe? not #F this! are from actual video games or actual OSTs.
• To my knowledge, both #K wutthe? and #F this! come from remixes that rearrange exactly one VGM song each.
• Neither #K wutthe?'s melody nor #F this!'s melody are in the original keys of their corresponding original melodies.
• However, much of the remix #F this! is from is in the same key(s) as its original song, while #K wutthe?'s remix is never in the same key as its original song.
• The original songs of both #K wutthe? and #F this! are both completely new.
• #F this!'s melody is a corruption of a melody found in the original song. If you know what VGM except it sounds like, I suspect it'll be much easier to find the remix based on which song it remixes.
• #K wutthe?'s melody is a much stronger corruption, to the point where you're better off finding Kirby songs with similar chord progressions in similar enough rhythmic patterns instead.
• The timestamps of both #K wutthe?'s and #F this!'s melodies are between 0:00-0:30 s inclusive, so you don't need to listen to remixes for very long if you want to hunt these melodies down.
• Both #K wutthe? and #F this! are from remixes that can be found on YouTube.
• Neither #K wutthe?'s remix nor #F this!'s remix were arranged by the following arrangers, so don't bother looking in their channels: SiIvaGunner, GaMetal, insaneintherain, FamilyJules, hapinano, itoki hana
• #K wutthe?'s remix was accepted by OCRemix.
• The arranger(s) of #F this! also released an entire album of Chrono Trigger series remixes.
• The arranger(s) of #F this! is/are Japanese, while the arranger(s) of #K wutthe? isn't/aren't.
• The only characters in the names of both #F this!'s remix and arranger are English characters, so relax.

[Latios212]

I feel like every time you host it gets even more long-winded somehow lol

[mastersuperfan]

If you think this is complicated just wait for what I've got cooked up for the quiz after Round D

[LeviR.star]

There we go.

[Dekkadeci]

I've added some more hints to my round for the sake of completeness, and I've even had to correct one of the hints just now.

[mastersuperfan]

"Hello?"

"Hi, can I speak to Champ?"

"Who?"

"Champ? Is Champ there?"

"Who is Champ?"

"THAT QUESTION WILL BE ANSWERED THIS WEEK WHEN DUDEMAN DEFENDS THE BELT AT THE NSM TRIWEEKLY GUESS-THAT-MELODY QUIZ"

MSF ROUND D

THC can't post his quiz today, so I'll be taking over. LET'S GOOOOOO

IMPORTANT NOTICE #1: This quiz is different from the last three quizzes in that there are only 3 melodies from each of the four main franchises--one in Easy, one in Medium, and one in Hard. This means that we'll have a whopping 13 Miscellaneous melodies this time around--4 in Easy, 4 in Medium, and 5 in Hard. While previous quizzes often rewarded specific, in-depth knowledge on certain games, this quiz is much more focused on knowing a wide range of video game music to succeed.

You also might notice that some of the melody numbers have an asterisk (*) next to them. This signifies that there are melody pick-up notes at the end of the last measure that I've omitted.

Difficulty looks something like this:

• Easy: The LuxraySpiral level. Melodies are easily recognizable and iconic, though if you aren't familiar with a broad range of soundtracks you may struggle a bit. Predicted average score: ~4
• Medium: The Yug_Guy level. The difficulty has been toned down severely, and I'm hoping that it shows in the results. There are no tricks or traps here--only good ol' fashioned VGM. Predicted average score: ~2.5
• Hard: The Static level. You're fucked. Predicted average score: ~0.25

I'll reiterate that Luigi, Yoshi, and Captain Toad games all count as Mario, while Wario and Donkey Kong games do not, because at least one of these cases does indeed show up on this quiz.

This is, of course, the last round to use your hints! You're not obligated to use them, but they do help! And you can use multiple hints on the same quiz, so go nuts if you want.

Hints Remaining

Dekkadeci: 1
Dudeman: 3
InsigTurtle: 1
Latios212: 3
LeviR.star: 2
Maelstrom: 3
NocturneOfShadow: 3
Static: 2
ThatHiddenCharacter: 1
Trasdegi: 3
WaluigiTime64: 2
Yug_Guy: 3

[close]

The Hint System

Here is where things might get a little convoluted. Each of you are all going to have three hints over my next four quizzes. You can message me with a request for a hint on a specific melody if you know you've heard but you don't know where from.

The catch? I post the hint publicly in the thread for everyone to see. Be assured, however, that the person who requested the hint will remain anonymous until the end of the round.

Hints will be larger for the Hard melodies and smaller for the Easy melodies since, well, the Hard melodies are obviously harder. I would advise you to list any information about the song that you think you already know so I can avoid giving you information that overlaps that isn't useful to you.

You can use multiple hints on a single quiz if you wish. You can also choose not to use all of your hints, or any at all. You cannot, however, use multiple hints on the same melody or request a hint for a melody that someone else requested a hint for.

[close]

Finally, as with the last two times, there are no games on this quiz that were on Round C. This means that this quiz does not include any of the following games:

Games NOT on This Quiz

Mario:

• [NDS] New Super Mario Bros.
• [NDS] Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
• [GCN] Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
• [Wii] Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Kirby:

• [NES] Kirby's Adventure
• [N64] Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
• [SNES] Kirby's Dream Land 3
• [NDS] Kirby Mass Attack

Pokémon:

• [GBC] Pokémon Gold & Silver Versions (Crystal and HeartGold/SoulSilver may still be represented)
• [MUL] Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red & Blue Rescue Team
• [NDS] Pokémon Platinum Version (Diamond/Pearl may still be represented)
• [NDS] Learn With Pokémon: Typing Adventure

Zelda:

• [Wii] The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
• [N64] The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
• [Wii] The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• [3DS] The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Miscellaneous:

• [ARCADE] Pac-Man
• [SW] ARMS
• [MUL] Shovel Knight
• [3DS] Bravely Default
• [PC] Hearthstone
• [GBA] Golden Sun: The Lost Age
• [SNES] F-Zero
• [PC] Touhou Hisouten ~ Scarlet Weather Rhapsody
• [PSVITA] Persona 4 Golden

[close]

IMPORTANT NOTICE #2: One final thing. When you submit your guesses, I request that you also tell me your choice of either RED or BLUE. Don't ask what this is for, because I won't give you a straight answer. If you don't include this in your submission, I will nag you until you do.

Now. Get out there and WRECK this quiz. (Or, if you're not Dudeman, get wrecked by the quiz, I guess.)

Scoreboard (Update #1)

Black = 0 people
Red = 1-2 people
Green = 3-4 people
Blue = 5-6 people
Purple = 7+ people

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  |  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  |  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25

[close]

[Dekkadeci]

How the heck do I know as many Hard songs as Easy ones on this latest quiz...?

[mikey]

Because you know 0 easy songs is a possible answer

[Dekkadeci]

Because you know 0 easy songs is a possible answer

Update--turns out I actually don't know one of the hard songs (it just nigh-shares a very strong motif in the beginning), so now I know one more easy song than hard one.

...OK, fine, I know one of the hard songs now.

[mastersuperfan]

UPDATE:

Five people have their guesses in. Guesses are all over the place. The results that have come in are, well... quite frankly, nowhere near what I was expecting. The scoreboard is below:

Scoreboard (Update #1)

Black = 0 people
Red = 1-2 people
Green = 3-4 people
Blue = 5-6 people
Purple = 7+ people

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  |  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  |  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25

[close]

One of these five participants did get a 3/3 in one series, for the record.

Secondly, a hint was requested for #23. You can find it below:

Requested Hints (1) - #23

• #23: From one of the four main series. The game was released before the year 2000. I'm not giving any more information in fear of giving it away, because this melody is hella hard to come up with a hint for and I was really hoping nobody was going to request a hint for this one BUT JUST AS MY LUCK WOULD HAVE IT IT'S THE FIRST ONE. Oh well.

[close]

[mastersuperfan]

that hint is the most useless hint i have ever heard right next to "it's a melody"

FINE, YOU WANT MORE? TAKE MORE. Although I doubt it matters because the chances of anyone at all getting this one are rather slim, let alone the person who requested the hint

Requested Hints (1) - #23 (UPDATED)

• #23: From one of the four main series. The game was released before the year 2000. This game has been used once and only once before in a melody quiz, and nobody got it. (I was not the one who used it.) Also, if you still don't think this is enough, then take the time to think about why I might be having trouble giving hints about this melody/game.
  

[close]

Oh uh also eight people have submitted guesses now so I guess I should do another update:

Scoreboard (Update #2)

Black = 0 people
Red = 1-2 people
Green = 3-4 people
Blue = 5-6 people
Purple = 7+ people

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  |  9  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  |  17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25

[close]

EDIT: oops #9 is supposed to be green not red

[Dekkadeci]

Here are the answers to my latest quiz:

#1

"Staff Roll"/"Milky Way Wishes Credits"/"Milky Way Wishes Ending", from Kirby Super Star
Timestamp: 0:22

The Kirby Super Star Ultra version was sadly rejected due to being in G flat major instead.

The KSSU version also plays in the "Meta Knightmare Ultra" credits, FWIW.

I've always thought this melody sounds like the children's folk song "Little Bunny Foo Foo". Perhaps some of the secret to the quality of Kirby series music is that it is reminiscent of folk songs at times...

I'm really surprised nobody got this correct--I thought 4 bars were distinctive enough.

0 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

[close]

[close]

#2

"Fighting to the End", from Bravely Default, used as the regular boss theme
Timestamp: 1:35

This song is back from one of my previous quizzes!

I've always thought this melody sounds like baroque music. I'm not used to hearing sudden baroque sections in video game music, but eh.

where is Maelstrom dagnabbit I'm sure he'd get this correct

0 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

[close]

[close]

#3

"Rainbow Road", from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, used as a racetrack theme
Timestamp: 0:13

Yup, this song's back from a previous quiz!

We hadn't used this melody yet, and I think it's one of the most distinctive ones in the MKDD Rainbow Road theme that isn't borrowed from Mario Kart 64.

6 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, mastersuperfan, NocturneOfShadow, ThatHiddenCharacter, WaluigiTime64, Yug_Guy

[close]

[close]

#4

"Fighting with All of Our Might (Guest Director Boss Battle)", from Shovel Knight, used as a mini-boss/side boss theme
Timestamp: 1:02

This is one of the more popular Shovel Knight songs, and not only has it spawned a lot of unofficial remixes, it's been slathered all over the OST of the latest Shovel Knight expansion, Specter of Torment.

Fun fact: Jake "virt" Kaufman originally composed (some version of) this in a "Kwakfest" session, where he had to compose a complete MIDI song in 60 minutes or less. Apparently, it was supposed to sound like a Saturday morning cartoon theme. Not originally being composed for the Shovel Knight series, this is almost always applied to characters who weren't originally created for the Shovel Knight series (such as Reize Seatlan).

Maybe I should have given out that "HYPER CAMELOT" hint for it...I'm surprised how few of you got this correct.

1 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman

[close]

[close]

#5

"Unfounded Revenge", from Mother 3
Timestamp: 0:05

Yup, this song came back from a previous quiz!

This song is part of a remix in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

I purposefully picked this melody because it hadn't been used in previous quizzes and it also infamously sounds like the 3rd movement of Dmitri Shostakovich's Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 54. Yup, VGM themes that sound like classical or baroque music but aren't are a sub-theme of this quiz!

Shostakovich's music hasn't hit the public domain yet (to my chagrin, too), so I don't know how HAL Laboratory got away with this.

5 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, mastersuperfan, ThatHiddenCharacter, WaluigiTime64, Yug_Guy

[close]

[close]

#6

"Maiden's Capriccio ~ Dream Battle", from Touhou Eiyashou ~ Imperishable Night, used as Reimu's boss theme
Timestamp: 0:36

Sadly, the version of this melody in the Touhou Gensoukyou ~ Lotus Land Story version of this song, "Maiden's Capriccio", is always in the wrong key, so I had to mark it as incorrect.

Oh well, this is the most well-known of Reimu's boss themes...isn't it?

I was surprised we hadn't used this theme yet, so I put it in this quiz.

1 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

WaluigiTime64

[close]

[close]

#7

"Waluigi Stadium & Wario Colosseum", from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, used as a racetrack theme
Timestamp: 0:05

This song's back from a previous quiz!

Bizarrely, Mario Kart Arcade GP 2 also has a course called "Waluigi Stadium", and this is its theme...which doesn't contain this melody.

This is one of my favourite MKDD songs, and maybe it's one of WaluigiTime64's favourites, too. After all, he did use it in one of his previous quizzes....

6 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, mastersuperfan, NocturneOfShadow, ThatHiddenCharacter, WaluigiTime64, Yug_Guy

[close]

[close]

#8

"Pure Odio", from Live A Live, used as the theme for the last stage of the final boss
Timestamp: 1:00

This melody sounds a lot like the beginning of a typical fugue, which is why I picked it. It might be a bit out of place in this final boss theme, but then the theme of that boss's first stage uses a slight variant of this melody in another key...

0 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

[close]

[close]

#9

"Cackletta's Theme", from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Timestamp: 0:00

If you think the beginning of this melody sounds like the fugue in Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 847 from The Well-Tempered Clavier, you're correct!

This song proceeds in a rather fugal manner afterwards, too.

Never underestimate the influence that baroque music has on modern music.

2 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, ThatHiddenCharacter

[close]

[close]

#10

"Credits"/"Credits Theme"/"Ending Staff Roll", from Metroid Prime
Timestamp: 2:46

I accepted this song as an answer in a previous quiz of mine, so it counts as a recycled song.

Yeah, I know, picking the very ending of this credits theme--the one portion that didn't appear in a Super Smash Bros. game--is evil, but if you guys could get away with the ending of that Dark Pit theme in a quiz, I figured I could get away with this, too.

Occasionally, I try riffing on that Am-Bb-Am-Eb chord progression.

0 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

[close]

[close]

#11

"Battle with Gruntilda"/"Final Battle", from Banjo-Kazooie, used as Gruntilda's final boss theme
Timestamp: 1:49

Yes, I used this song in a previous quiz.

Seriously, this final boss theme lasts nearly 3 minutes before it loops?!? And it's nowhere near as neatly sectional as Bravely Default music...

I thought this melody has one of the most striking chord progressions in the entire song (Em-Em-Em-Bb), so I picked it. I dunno why Grant Kirkhope likes chord progressions like this one, but it's a nice change from regular chord progressions.

2 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

mastersuperfan, WaluigiTime64

[close]

[close]

#12

"The Legendary Air Ride Machine"/"Legendary Air Ride Machine", from Kirby Air Ride
Timestamp: 0:28

I've always thought that the 6th and 7th bars of this melody (counting the pickup measure as the 1st bar) sound an awful lot like John Philip Sousa's famous march, "The Stars and Stripes Forever". Occasionally, I swap between "The Legendary Air Ride Machine" and "The Stars and Stripes Forever" whenever I hit that bar as I hum.

3 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, mastersuperfan, Yug_Guy

[close]

[close]

#13

"Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial", from Touhou Koumakyou ~ the Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, used as Sakuya Izayoi's boss theme
Timestamp: 0:39

If you've ever listened to COOL&CREATE's "Night of Nights", you might be familiar with this melody, as a remix of it plays in the very beginning of that piece. Sadly, "Night of Nights" is pretty much always promoted as a remix of only "Flowering Night", so you may have missed that reference.

1 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

WaluigiTime64

[close]

[close]

#14

"C-R-O-W-N-E-D", from Kirby's Return to Dream Land, used as the theme for the second stage of the final boss
Timestamp: 0:15

Versions of this song have ended up in several Kirby games lately, to the point where I think it's a bit overused...but it's a good one, nonetheless.

People say this melody is a remix of Nightmare's theme, but the closest this is to that theme is an inversion of it. ...And even then, it isn't a precise inversion.

2 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

Dudeman, mastersuperfan

[close]

[close]

#K wutthe?

"The Savior of Dream Land", by Juan "Sixto Sounds" Medrano
Timestamp: 0:00

This song is a remix of "Gladiator Kirby"/"Coliseum Battle" (the Arena theme) from Kirby Super Star. I actually found this song first and figured that the Arena theme must be good if this song is that stellar.

I think Sixto Sounds also noticed that the Arena theme sounds like bullfighting music--the OCRemix page for this song acknowledges a flamenco influence.

0 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

[close]

[close]

#F this!

"Pride of the White Knight", by 5/4TAKEPOD
Timestamp: 0:16

This song is a remix of "Battle on the Bridge" from Final Fantasy Tactics. IMO, it's better than that actual VGM theme. Yeah, I also found this remix first.

"Battle on the Bridge"'s version of this melody is sorta hard to make out, anyway, and it's definitely more dissonant.

After mastersuperfan put SiIvaGunner in a quiz, I thought I could try putting unofficial video game remixes into quizzes...maybe I need to pick remixes that are a lot more well-known.

0 out of 6 people got this correct.

People who got this correct

[close]

[close]

Results

Dudeman wins with 7 melodies!

# of Melodies Participants Got Correct:

• Dudeman: 7
• WaluigiTime64: 6
• mastersuperfan: 6
• ThatHiddenCharacter: 4
• Yug_Guy: 4
• NocturneOfShadow: 2

[close]