Smash Bros. 3D/U OST Contest! Round 27 - Midgar (Grading)

[PLATINUM7]

I think mine are F-Zero X, DD and 8.

Waitaminute


My list had F-Zero X...

You don't mean...

Spoiler

Mine had F-zero X as well

Spoiler

 

[Jumpman84]

I did not have F-Zero X version on mine...

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

While we wait for the rest of the grades to come in, what's everyone's favorite version of Rainbow Road?
Mine would have to be Mario Kart 7 and F-Zero X.

The one that you go when you die.

 

[FalKoopa]

Mine would be MK64 version. It has a lot of nostalgia for me, being the first Mario game I played.

 

[TechPowah]

Wait, did you guys mean the tracks, cause I meant their songs. If the actual tracks, Wii is by far my favorite (Though being 3DS/Wii U-less is keeping me from playing 7 or 8).

 

[D-idara]

While we wait for the rest of the grades to come in, what's everyone's favorite version of Rainbow Road?
Mine would have to be Mario Kart 7 and F-Zero X.

Mario Kart 8, it's made of cyberpunk princess dreams.

 

[Pazzo.]

Favorite Rainbow road? Rainbow Road 64, if only for the sweet nostalgia.

 

[Deleted member]

Although I have nostalgia for Mario Kart 64 (my favorite and first Mario Kart), it doesn't contain my favorite Rainbow Road nor my favorite version of that song. In all honesty, my favorite Rainbow Road track and song has to be from Mario Kart Wii. I love how the track is laid out and designed and how it looks. Also, the music is incredible.

 

[Groose]

Although I have nostalgia for Mario Kart 64 (my favorite and first Mario Kart), it doesn't contain my favorite Rainbow Road nor my favorite version of that song.

N64 Rainbow Road is best Rainbow Road.

...until you realize that you've only just finished the first lap. It's just way too long. One lap is enough, thanks!

 

[Superyoshiom]

I liked the Wii Rainbow Road. It may be the only Mario Kart track that actually horrifies me to drive on.

 

[Deleted member]

N64 Rainbow Road is best Rainbow Road.

...until you realize that you've only just finished the first lap. It's just way too long. One lap is enough, thanks!

That's my problem with N64 Rainbow Road; it's too long and too uninteresting for my tastes. Then, they make it interesting in 8, but only made it one lap.
I'll take it over SNES Rainbow Road, though. It's short, but it's hard... especially when Super Mario Kart hasn't exactly aged very well.

 

[Ascended]

Wait, did you guys mean the tracks, cause I meant their songs. If the actual tracks, Wii is by far my favorite (Though being 3DS/Wii U-less is keeping me from playing 7 or 8).

I meant the songs, but I probably should have been more clear on that.

 

[Groose]

That's my problem with N64 Rainbow Road; it's too long and too uninteresting for my tastes. Then, they make it interesting in 8, but only made it one lap.
I'll take it over SNES Rainbow Road, though. It's short, but it's hard... especially when Super Mario Kart hasn't exactly aged very well.

In all seriousness, though, playing on the N64's version of Rainbow Road for the first time is still one of my biggest jaw-dropping experience with a video game to date. The colors, the patterns in the sky, the music... It made me feel really accomplished for making it to that track. I felt like I was actually among the stars.

Playing through it again is actually pretty awful. It's pretty long, uninteresting, and lacks challenge. Still, it holds a special place in my heart.

Maybe I'll make a Top Ten video about my favorite Mario Kart tracks this summer. Sounds like fun.

 

[Groose]

GRADING PERIOD OVER

RETURN OF GROOSE

You Will Know His Name Soon
​

 

[Jumpman84]

GRADING PERIOD OVER

RETURN OF GROOSE

Results will be in within ten minutes
​

You forgot the laugh.

 

[Xavier :D]

Favorite Rainbow road? Rainbow Road 64, if only for the sweet nostalgia.

This. Is the best description.

 

[Groose]

The results are in! The winner of this round is...

...

...

...

...

BRAWLER610!

@Brawler610 earned one of the three perfect scores that I awarded this round; in addition, he had the highest score given by Ascended and tied for the highest score given by Falkoopa. Even so, his lead was pretty slim; @ TJ-Works was just three points off the lead, and @ D-idara finished just a point behind TJ-Works. In the below spoiler tags are more detailed results. I have nothing more to add; we haven't even started debating what stage to do next, so no hints from me!​

[collapse=Results]
Brawler610: 147
TJ-Works: 144
D-Idara: 143
Pixel Pasta: 139
Firstblade: 139
Jumpman84: 139
MaskO'Gears: 138
Tailisu10: 137
Platinum7: 134
Violenceman: 131
TechPowah: 128
General-Guy: 125
Captain Hotcakes: 123
Mega Bidoof: 116
BillyTheKidd: 114
[/collapse]



[collapse=Ascended's Grades]
Brawler610:
Importance: 9/10
Variety: 8/10
Popularity: 9/10
Fit: 10/10
Total: 36/40
Comments: You've got MK7's Rainbow Road, the two main Mario Kart themes (Mario Circuit and Luigi Raceway) and a lot of other good tracks to round out the list. I'd be satisfied with this.

MaskO'Gears:
Importance: 8/10
Variety: 9/10
Popularity: 8/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 34/40
Comments: A solid list. I like that you've got Mario Circuit, and I think the medley is an interesting idea, but not really popular or memorable. I like that you picked a song from Diddy Kong Racing though.

PixelPasta:
Importance: 7/10
Variety: 9/10
Popularity: 8/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 32/40
Comments: I don't think there needs to be two versions of Rainbow Road on here. I like the Mario Kart 7 title and the return of 3D Hot Rally. Sky Garden is cool, but I'm not feeling Rosalina's Ice World. I would have liked to have seen more iconic Mario Kart songs.

BillyTheKidd:
Importance: 5/10
Variety: 6/10
Popularity: 6/10
Fit: 7/10
Total: 24/40
Comments: I like the use of Nebula (Loved Excite Truck) but FIVE RAINBOW ROAD THEMES?! I really only think the SNES and 3DS versions should be on here. The GBA one didn't do it for me, and the MK8 version of the 64 theme didn't fit the stage in my opinion. Purple Coins is a good pick, as is Star Maze (Love me some Super Mario Land 1 & 2.) More variety, and the major Mario Kart themes would have helped.

D-idara:
Importance: 9/10
Variety: 8/10
Popularity: 8/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 33/40
Comments: Great medley idea! I also like the use of Peach's Secret Slide. I think the Mario Strikers song fits rather well, and I like the Galaxy Colosseum stage too. A nice overall list.

General-Guy:
Importance: 7/10
Variety: 8/10
Popularity: 7/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 30/40
Comments: I really don't think there needs to be more than two Rainbow Roads per entry, so I took some points off for that. I think the non-Mario Kart songs were pretty good choices, and Galaxy songs are always welcome in my book. Having said that, I would have liked to have seen more iconic Mario Kart songs, although I do applaud your variety and out of the box thinking.

Tailisu10:
Importance: 7/10
Variety: 7/10
Popularity: 8/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 30/40
Comments: Again, there doesn't need to be more than two Rainbow Road themes. I like the use of the Mario Kart 7 theme, and I thought your Mario Spin-Off medley was a great idea. I don't like the GBA songs, they just don't sound memorable or good to me. Music Park is always a plus, so props for that.
TechPowah:
Importance: 7/10
Variety: 8/10
Popularity: 8/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 31/40
Comments: I like the F-Zero X Rainbow Road, but again, there doesn't need to be more than two Rainbow Road songs on these lists. I think the NSMB2 song was a great choice, and the rest of your songs were average. Nothing else to say about this list.

Captain Hotcakes:
Importance: 6/10
Variety: 7/10
Popularity: 7/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 28/40
Comments: Spectator Race is a cool pick, and I already mentioned that I like Nebula (Big Excite Truck fan.) I like that you showed Stunt Race FX some love! That was one of my favorite games as a kid. However, I've already mentioned that Rosalina's Ice World does nothing for me, and four Rainbow Road themes is going to cost you dearly. Should have stuck to two plus more iconic Mario Kart songs.

TJ-Works:
Importance: 8/10
Variety: 8/10
Popularity: 9/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 33/40
Comments: That invincibility medley sounds great! I like that you put in a battle mode song, and I think the other picks are pretty good. A nice, solid list.

Jumpman84:
Importance: 8/10
Variety: 8/10
Popularity: 8/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 32/40
Comments: Now a Rainbow Road medley is a great idea that doesn't crowd the submission with all the Rainbow Road selections. Your other choices were good, I like 3D Hot Rally coming back, don't really care for Baby Park or Rosalina's Ice World, but that Mario Hoops song was a pretty good choice.

Violenceman:
Importance: 7/10
Variety: 8/10
Popularity: 8/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 32/40
Comments: I like it when people go outside the box for their choices. The Mario Sports Mix and Mario Tennis Open songs were great picks, and I thought Staff Credits and Rainbow Coaster fit pretty well.

FirstBlade:
Importance: 8/10
Variety: 8/10
Popularity: 8/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 32/40
Comments: I like that you have SNES Mario Circuit, and a Mario Party song. Mario Tennis/Mario Golf is also good. Other than that, nothing really stands out to me.

Platinum7:
Importance: 7/10
Variety: 7/10
Popularity: 8/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 30/40
Comments: Another list with the F-Zero Rainbow Road! Overall, I thought this was interesting as a lot of popular stages are represented. I would have liked to seen the full eight songs and some of the more iconic Mario Kart songs. Hopefully you come back for future rounds!

Mega Bidoof:
Importance: 6/10
Variety: 6/10
Popularity: 7/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 27/40
Comments: A Rainbow Road Medley + three different versions of the song is overkill in my opinion. I do like that you've got a song from F-Zero X and Kirby Air Ride (both of those sound cool). The Rainbow Road oversaturation really hurt this list.

That's it for me! I think Brawler610 had the strongest list, as he didn't oversaturate it with Rainbow Road.
[/collapse]
[collapse=Falkoopa's Grades]
Brawler610
Importance: 8
Popularity: 9
Variety: 10
Fit: 8
Total: 35/40

A good mix of tracks here. I like that you represented each game till MK7, and the ones you chose are popular to boot. That said, since the stage is Rainbow Road, there should have been atleast one other Rainbow Road track besides the MK7 one.

MaskO'Gears
Importance: 7
Popularity: 8
Variety: 10
Fit: 7
Total: 32/40

...You branched outa little too much for your own good. Considering the stage is a Mario Kart stage, I believe at least 6 songs should have been from the Mario Kart games only. A Diddy Kong Racing track was a good idea, but the SMG2 one was unnecessary.

PixelPasta
Importance: 8
Popularity: 8
Variety: 8
Fit: 9
Total: 33/40

A good list, has a couple of Rainbow Road tracks as well as the iconic Mario Circuit. I like the non-Mario Kart picks, especially 3D Hot Rally as it had Mario and Luigi as the drivers of a car.

BillyTheKidd
Importance: 8
Popularity: 9
Variety: 7
Fit: 10
Total: 34/40

I see your list has a lot of Rainbow Road tracks. Not bad, but it does hurt your variety since Mario Kart also has good music to offer which aren't from Rainbow Road. Purle Coins was an odd pick, while Nebula was good idea. Star Maze kinda works.

D-Idara
Importance: 8
Popularity: 8
Variety: 10
Fit: 9
Total: 35/40

The Circuit Medley was a good idea. The other choices also fit the stage quite well except for the Princess's Secret Slide. It's a bit too whimsical and doesn't quite match the tone of Rainbow Road themes, imo.

General-Guy
Importance: 7
Popularity: 7
Variety: 8
Fit: 9
Total: 31/40

A rather strange list... It has 3 Rainbow Road tracks (good), another MK7 track (good), but there should have been a few tracks from older Mario Kart games too, like Waluigi Pinball or Mario Circuit. All the picks fit the stage's atmosphere well though.

Tailisu10
Importance: 8
Popularity: 8
Variety: 9
Fit: 10
Total: 35/40

I like your idea for the list. I think that you could (and likely should) have snuck in one console track (like the iconic Mario Circuit or Rainbow Road 64). The medley is nice too.

TechPowah
Importance: 8
Popularity: 8
Variety: 8
Fit: 8
Total: 32/40

First off, holy ****. I never knew an F-Zero remix of Rainbow Road 64 existed. You have my thanks for introducing me to that amazing song. The song selection was good, except for the last two. The Waluigi Pinball from Sports Mix doesn't really fit the stage imo. Paper Mario love is good, I'd save it for a more normal Mario stage, not a Mario Kart stage.

Captain Hotcakes
Importance: 8
Popularity: 9
Variety: 8
Fit: 9
Total: 34/40

A lot of MK7 love here. That said, the list could use a bit more of songs from other MK titles. The Nebula is good pick, and I'm not exactly sure on Up n Down. Still, the list is good. I personally think that two Rainbow Road 64 tracks are unnecessary (I hold the same view about Skyloft), but I'm not going to penalize you for it.

TJ-Works
Importance: 8
Popularity: 8
Variety: 9
Fit: 9
Total: 34/40

A nice variety of songs here. The Starman medley was a good idea. I like all of your choices (WAA Pinball and Toad's Turnpike in particular.) Not much else to say.

Jumpman84
Importance: 8
Popularity: 8
Variety: 9
Fit: 8
Total: 33/40

You came quite close to the medley confirmed, haha. You also have the obvious RR of MK7, so can pat yourself on the back for a correct prediction. That said, I'm not so sure on Baby Park or CoinHunter, but 3D Hot Rally was a good pick.

Violenceman
Importance: 7
Popularity: 8
Variety: 9
Fit: 9
Total: 33/40

All of your songs fit the atmosphere very well, except for Star Open. It doesn't have that atmospheric feel to it and is rather intense. Still it's a good list.

FirstBlade
Importance: 8
Popularity: 8
Variety: 8
Fit: 8
Total: 32/40

I think you could have added one more Rainvow Road song to your list. Anyways, the tracks are fitting (really, I didn't think Airship Fortress would fit the stage.) and spread over the 3 handheld Mario Karts, and the Mario Party song was nice too.

Platinum7
Importance: 9
Popularity: 9
Variety: 8
Fit: 8
Total: 34/40

Actually, the limit of songs is 8, not 6. But don't worry, it's not mandatory to include 8. It's nice little list. Yoshi Valley is a nostalgic tone for me... but it doesn't fit the stage. The rest of the songs work well though.

Mega Bidoof
Importance: 8
Popularity: 8
Variety: 5
Fit: 10
Total: 31/40
5 rainbow road tracks is overkill, sorry. Even moreso because of the medley. Your variety rating is down because of it, but it did earn you a full 10 in Fit. City Trial is a good oddball pick, I'd say.
[/collapse]
[collapse=Groose's Grades]
I'm switching up how I give my notes! Instead of a big glob at the end, I'll be commenting on each section individually. Let's see how it goes, eh?

Also, as a note--I don't know what it is, but something about the Mario Kart franchise is making me approach this course's list a bit differently. Normally, I like to see a good chunk of tracks from the game being represented with a few songs spread out over other entries, but I didn't really look at this. I guess it's because tracks and songs get reused all the time.

Brawler610
Overall: 40
Importance: 10
You did a good job of representing Mario Kart as a whole with songs from a wide variety of locales in the franchise. You hit pretty much every important type of stage--or at least those that had fitting songs, anyway.

Popularity: 10
Walugi Pinball and Coconut Mall really help you out here. You really excelled in this category.

Variety: 10
I don't really see much reason to complain here; you've got music from all different types of circuits and even from outside of Mario Kart itself. Waluigi Pinball again is a major help here, as is Mario Tennis.

Fit: 10
All of your songs fit to Rainbow Road really well; Sky Garden in particular works really well.

MaskO'Gears
Overall: 38
Importance: 9
I think you should have used one more track from the Mario Kart franchise; you did drop your focus just a tad. Still, you did manage to have a wide variety of Mario Kart's tracks represented.

Popularity: 10
Diddy Kong Racing? Great choice for this category! Cloudtop Cruise is also one of the more popular tracks from Mario Kart, as is Waluigi Pinball. Great work!

Variety: 10
You had a lot of different sounding tracks, and you pulled from a lot of franchises. No brainer score here.

Fit: 9
Cloudtop Cruise fits perfectly because of its Galaxy influence. Both the Challenge Medley and the Superstar Baseball song sort-of fit, but I'm not entirely sold on them.

PixelPasta
Overall: 38
Importance: 10
Mario Kart 7's theme is a major boost to this category, as is the second Rainbow Road track.

Popularity: 9
I feel like you could have used one more "ultra-popular" song in the vein of something I've praised the others for. You had mostly popular tracks, but I couldn't quite give a perfect score here.

Variety: 9
I'm really not a huge fan of having two Rainbow Road themes. I do understand the reasoning, but I just don't agree with it. 3D Hot Rally does redeem you pretty well, though.

Fit: 10
Between Rosalina's Ice World, both Rainbow Roads, 3D Hot Rally, and Skygarden, you've got points to spare.

BillyTheKidd
Overall: 23
Importance: 7
You really represented Rainbow Road well and captured the tracks that go with that track. Still, I judge as if there are really two points to this category--the second of which is how well you represent the series as a whole. With a tracklist focused so intensely on the stage itself, you didn't really fulfill this sec on part.

Popularity: 4
There are a lot of popular songs in Mario Kart, but you didn't capture very many of them. For this category, I'd like to see some more tracks like Cloudtop Cruise--it has the feel of the Galaxy and Rainbows to it, but it's really popular and stands out from what you have.

Variety: 2
I just criticized someone for having two Rainbow Road tracks. I felt that two was justified, but unwise. However, five? They're far too similar for me to give you very many variety points. Star Maze's 8-Bit bliss helps differentiate things a bit, but overall you should focus a bit more on this category next time.

Fit: 10
...on the other hand, you deserve more than a perfect score here! Every single song fits extremely well. Still, I would have given you good fit anyway without such an extreme focus on Rainbow Road songs.

D-Idara
Overall: 39
Importance: 10
That excellent medley pretty much single-handedly guarantees a 10 in this category; the other tracks from Mario Kart are mere icing on the cake.

Popularity: 10
Music Park is great for this category, as are Slide and Waluigi Pinball. No complaints here!

Variety: 9
Invariably, in every contest I dock people a single point in this category for having two songs a bit similar for my tastes; this time, it's the two Rainbow Road medleys. Outside of that, though, you nailed it, and you've definitely earned a 9.

Fit: 10
I think that Galaxy Coliseum really, really fits. Wasteland meshes well, too. Combine those with the Rainbow Road tracks, and you've nailed it here.

General-Guy
Overall: 30
Importance: 7
You did a great job representing Rainbow Road, but your representation of the franchise as a whole wasn't that great. Where were the Mario Circuit themes?

Popularity: 7
I feel that you were a bit lacking in popular songs this time around. I personally like the Paper Mario themes, but neither is the most popular among the Mario Kart fanbase. Star Maze was actually your biggest boon here. You could have chosen songs from some of th more popular tracks; that would be my advice.

Variety: 6
I'm not a big fan of having multiple Rainbow Road songs in general, but I'm definitely not a fan of having the first two tracks on your list together; they use the same chorus! Other than the three Rainbow Road songs, however, you did a really good job spreading things out, so you're not getting a truly failing grade here.

Fit: 10
...by sacrificing your variety score and focusing so heavily on Rainbow Road and spacey themes, you perfected your fit score. No complaints here; you exceeded my expectations for a perfect score in this category--you could sacrifice some fit and still get a 10.

Tailisu10
Overall: 37
Importance: 9
You covered Rainbow Road very thoroughly, and you also did a good (but not great!) job of covering the franchise as a whole through Waluigi Pinball, Cheese Land, and the Kart 7 Theme. Way to go!

Popularity: 10
Cheese Land, Music Park, and Waluigi Pinball. 'nuff said. Instant 10.

Variety: 8
You over saturated Rainbow Road with three tracks (one was fine and two was pushing it, but three is hands down too much), but that medley, Cheese Land, and Waluigi Pinball rely saved your bacon by sounding incredibly diverse. You dodged a fatal wound here, but you still got scraped.

Fit: 10
You had three Rainbow Road tracks and everything else meshed with the stage pretty well, too. No complaints here.

TechPower
Overall: 30
Importance: 7
As I've said to others, you've nailed the representing Rainbow Road aspect, but you've fallen a bit short in the representing Mario Kart aspect.

Popularity: 7
I saw Waluigi Pinball and was preparing to give you a really high score. However, that's not the Waluigi Pinball every Mario Kart enthusiast knows and loves! Your tracks actually did lack some popularity as a whole.

Variety: 6
Tick Tock Clock adds some of this, but having three variations of the Rainbow Road theme is just too much.

Fit: 10
All of the Rainbow Road tracks fit like a charm, as do the X-Naut track and the Galaxy Arena. You're exceeding expectations here; you could tone it down and still earn the ten from me.

Captain Hotcakes
Overall: 26
Importance: 7
As I've said to many already: you nailed all the important tracks in Rainbow Road, but not all of the important ones in Mario Kart as a whole. No Mario Circuit or comparable tracks is a pretty big minus.

Popularity: 5
I think this area is pretty lacking, actually. Rainbow Road music is popular, but it can't really carry the day on its own; where are your hits like Waluigi Pinball, Cloudtop Cruise, or Coconut Mall?

Variety: 4
Ouch! Four tracks from Rainbow Road, and two of them sharing the same chorus? The only thing that bails you out here is the inclusion of Up N' Down and the Spectator song; they stand out enough to salvage some points.

Fit: 10
Having half of your track list comprised of Rainbow Road songs is more than enough to get the perfect 10 in Fit; the fact that all of the other songs fit very well (Nebula and Rosalina's Ice World in particular) is icing on the cake.

TJ-Works
Overall: 39
Importance: 10
You nailed it here in my book. You represented Rainbow Road well, and you represented Mario Kart as a whole well with Mario Circuit, a battle mode song, and some other tracks thrown in for good measure.

Popularity: 10
Walugi Pinball? Check. Starman? Check. Luigi Circuit? Check. Toad's Turnpike? Ch-ch-check.

Variety: 9
The Battle Course 4 song is pretty darn groovy and adds variety to the other tracks. The same can be said for Waluigi Pinball. You could've ditched one Rainbow Road track, though, and I would've been happier for it.

Fit: 10
Nothing stands out to me as being terribly unfitting. Toad's Turnpike stands out to me as being something that should actually play on Rainbow Road, though. Nice job with that pick.

Jumpman84
Overall: 40
Importance: 10
You did something that I deem very wise--that medley overloaded your importance! Combined with tracks from all over the franchise, you locked yourself into a 10 here.

Popularity: 10
Baby Park and Waluigi Pinball lock you into a great score here, and the other songs bring you up to the 10.

Variety: 10
That Mario Hoops song really adds some serious variety! Waluigi Pinball and Baby Park do as well. Normally I would dock because Rainbow Road overload, but you did cram a lot of different versions of it and only used two of your slots, so I ain't even mad.

Fit: 10
It all fits. Heck, even Mario Hoops fits. Rosalina's Ice World is especially grand here, and your medley is great for the category.

Violenceman
Overall: 32
Importance: 9
You hit importance pretty hard here. Rainbow Road tracks were good, and you did represent a lot more of Mario Kart with some other track music, credits songs, and arcade themes. Still, I think you wandered a tad from the Mario Kart focus.

Popularity: 7
Star Open is actually a pretty popular song--it's one of the few that you hear out of Sports Mix nowadays. Sky Garden is also one of the more popular songs, but that's about it--I feel that this category is a bit lacking.

Variety: 6
I think you fell into the trap, pal. By holding to the spacey feel, your song list as a whole just comes up as a bit too mellow and things run together. You could really have utilized some of Mario Kart's more upbeat tracks; maybe your fit would have suffered a tad, but not as much as your variety is going to suffer with what you settled on for submission.

Fit: 10
Everything fits extremely well. As I mentioned above, you did a great job holding to the spacey feel; you exceeded expectations in this category. You had some room to spare.


FirstBlade
Overall: 40
Importance: 10
You got a Mario Circuit theme, a Rainbow Road theme, and a bunch of other stuff to well represent the franchise. No problems.

Popularity: 10
Waluigi Pinball, Airship Fortess, and Sky Garden carry you all the way to a 10 here; the other tracks are just the icing.

Variety: 10
The Mario Party jam adds some variety, but even without it you have enough different tempos and medleys mixed in to earn a great score. No two songs have the same feel. Way to nail the difficult topic this time.

Fit: 10
Nothing pops out at me as being terribly unfitting; better yet, Sky Garden and Eternal Star pop out to me as fitting very well. No complaints, only accolades!

Platinum7
Note: You said that this is your first time entering. I do have some advice for you right off the bat--you can use up to 8 songs, and I recommend you use all 8 of them. It gives you more depth and is actually a bit of an advantage. Your list was amazing for only having six songs, but it's a bit short of the best ones because it's restricted to six songs. Just some advice for next time!
Overall: 38
Importance: 9
I feel you could've used a Circuit theme or a main theme to anchor the list here, but you got all of the other tracks important to Rainbow Road and to the franchise as a whole. This is where the two songs you left out come into play--adding Mario or Luigi Circuit would have changed this into a 10.

Popularity: 10
For only having six songs, you made every one count; Cloudtop Cruise, Waluigi Pinball, and Music Park are all stelar picks. You didn't even need anything else here.

Variety: 9
I'm extremely nitpicky; even though I realize that the two Rainbow Road tracks have different instruments and come from different games, I'm still vexed that they share the same chorus. Can't grant the ten because of that.

Fit: 10
Yoshi Valley doesn't fit. At all. In fact, it stands out so badly that it actually fits right in. I know that doesn't make any sense, but thats the best way I can express it. The other tracks all fit great in the regular way.

Mega Bidoof
Overall: 26
Importance: 7
You got the tracks important to Rainbow Road, yes. But what about those important to the Mario Kart franchise? Eh? No circuit music, no title themes, and only two other tracks altogether just doesn't cut it.
Popularity: 6
Cloudtop Cruise really nailed it, as do the Rainbow Road songs. Still, that's essentially it! You didn't really have much space to get popular songs in because you included too many remixes and remakes!
Variety: 4
Rainbow. Road. Overload. Oi. One track from Rainbow Road would have been fine; I didn't need four and a medley! Thankfully, the three non-Rainbow Road songs have completely different feels to them, so you escaped there.

Fit: 9
I think the Air Ride song should really go on a Kirby stage. Other than that, everything fits (obviously).
[/collapse]
[collapse=Frostwraith's Grades]
Brawler610
Importance: 9/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 36/40

First of all, I like how you considered the Mario Tennis / Mario Golf medley from Brawl. That adds to the variety and importance, since like Mario Kart, it's from a spin-off.
Your choices overall are recognizable and iconic tracks like Luigi Raceway, Mario Circuit and Waluigi Pinball. Even the more oddball choice of Sky Garden fits the stage nicely.
The two special tracks you chose are Rainbow Road from 7, which is a no-brainer considering this stage is Mario Kart 7's Rainbow Road and the original Mario Circuit theme which is the most iconic song of the entire series.

MaskO'Gears
Importance: 8/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 34/40

Good choices overall from Mario Kart games, Mario spin-offs and Super Mario Galaxy.
Toad's Turnpike and Cloudtop Cruise fit the stage pretty well, same for the intense sounding Super Mario Galaxy 2 Challenge Medley, even though the latter one would suit better on the Mario Galaxy stage of the Wii U version.
Mario Circuit and Waluigi Pinball are solid choices for the stage given how iconic the songs are and, of course, the Rainbow Road song from MK7 which is a definitive choice for this stage.
Diddy Kong Racing is what lowers your score a bit. First of all, it's part of the DK series, which is considered separate from the Mario series according to Smash Bros. and it sounds like it would fit better on a DK jungle themed stage. Otherwise, you picked good choices for the stage.

PixelPasta
Importance: 9/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 36/40

Like this one a lot. Both Rainbow Road songs are solid choices. The Main Theme and Mario Circuit aren't bad either. Rosalina's Ice World fits this stage pretty well too. Sky Garden is a nice choice as well.
The two Brawl mixes are songs not from Mario Kart, but fit this stage well as much as they fit Mario Circuit in Brawl so they're good choices as well.

BillyTheKidd
Importance: 9/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 6/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 33/40

It wasn't a very wise choice to have so many Rainbow Road themes. Sure, they're perfect fits as is Purple Coins from Super Mario Galaxy, but it makes the list a little stale and lacking in variety.
Star Maze and Nebula also fit the stage well and provide a bit more variety than Mario Kart songs.

D-idara
Importance: 9/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 36/40

Rainbow Road themes, a Mario Circuit medley, Waluigi Pinball and Rainbow Ride all give you a lot of score.
As for the other tracks, they're good choices too. Music Park sounds good and it's a popular choice. Galaxy Colosseum fits the stage well, same for The Wastelands.

General-Guy
Importance: 7/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 34/40

Good choices overall, but I feel you should have focused more on Mario Kart songs. Still, Paper Mario is a popular series and all your songs actually fit the stage.

Tailisu10
Importance: 8/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 35/40

Not much to say. Three Rainbow Road themes, Waluigi Pinball, Music Park are all pretty good choices for the stage.
The medley from other spin-offs is a good idea as well.

TechPowah
Importance: 8/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 35/40

You have several Rainbow Road themes, but not too many. That's good.
World Star Map, Waluigi Pinball, Galaxy Arena and X-Naut Fortress are all good choices for this stage.

Captain Hotcakes
Importance: 8/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 8/10
Fit: 10/10
Total: 35/40

Half of the track list being Rainbow Road tracks seems like overkill, honestly. The choices from other games besides Mario Kart aren't bad at all.

TJ-Works
Importance: 9/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 10/10
Fit: 10/10
Total: 38/40

Here's what I think it's the best list for this round. You have iconic tracks from all Mario Kart games, the obligatory Rainbow Road themes and that Starman theme remix absolutely nails this list.

Jumpman84
Importance: 8/10
Popularity: 8/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 34/40

Not bad picks, but I feel it could have a few more iconic songs. Both Rainbow Road from 7 and the medley work well. Waluigi Pinball is a popular track and Rosalina's Ice World is a good choice as well.
Galaxy Arena is another good pick, even though it's not really memorable. Baby Park isn't bad, but there are better picks.
The Mario Hoops song is an upbeat song that fits the stage, but not overall important. Lastly, you have the 3D Hot Rally, which would fit well as much as it did Mario Circuit back in Brawl.

Violenceman
Importance: 8/10
Popularity: 8/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 9/10
Total: 34/40

Good and fitting songs, but I feel most of them are quite obscure choices, hurting both popularity and importance.

FirstBlade
Importance: 9/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 35/40

Good and varied choices, but two Bowser related tracks are a bit unfitting. Anyway, you have lots of popular songs like Rainbow Road, Neo Bowser City, Waluigi Pinball and Mario Circuit.

PLATINUM7
Importance: 8/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 9/10
Fit: 8/10
Total: 34/40

You could have picked a few more well-known songs considering you had a maximum of 8 choices. You have good choices that fit the stage and are overall memorable. You also have a varied pool of songs, pulling from different games and maintaining musical variety, but the list still feels somehow lacking.

Mega Bidoof
Importance: 7/10
Popularity: 9/10
Variety: 6/10
Fit: 10/10
Total: 32/40

Five Rainbow Road songs out of eight tracks is a bit overkill, then you have the City Trial theme that is a little irrelevant to the Mario Kart series and a choice better suited for a Kirby stage. On the other Mario Kart songs that aren't Rainbow Road, those aren't bad picks and provide a little variety on a list that relies too much on the same thematic.
[/collapse]

 

[General-Guy]

Congrats Brawler610! I thought my grades were very fitting, I never really expected to win. I really was focusing to hard on finding fitting songs for the theme instead of finding popular or important songs.

 

[Deleted member]

YES! HAHAHA! THE LUIGI DEATH STARE TRICK WORK-
I mean...
I WON?! Thank you! Thank you so much, judges! *shakes the hands of each one*
I'm simply honored to win this! Thank you! And good job to @ D-idara and @ TJ-Works ! You both did an impressive job as well!

 

[TechPowah]

Wow, you guys gave me pretty good scores considering it's my first time playing. Thanks!

@ FalKoopa You're welcome! It's understandable that you didn't know about the F-Zero X version of Rainbow Road; While the Rainbow Road 64 track itself was in all versions of F-Zero X, the music was just a normal track along the lines of the rest of the game. It wasn't until the Expansion Pack for FZX came out for that Japan-only 64DD add on that, along with all the other stuff they added to the game, they replaced that music with the Rainbow Road 64 remix.

 

[D-idara]

God, I always come so close! I'm happy with my overall scores, glad my Mario Circuit medley was well-liked! :D Put a lot of thought into it! We need to do Palutena's Temple next! God please, I've been too long without picking out amazing KIU music!

 

[Toxicroaker]

Guys, we NEED to do the boxing ring. I have had a list ready for that thing forever.

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

God, I always come so close! I'm happy with my overall scores, glad my Mario Circuit medley was well-liked! :D Put a lot of thought into it! We need to do Palutena's Temple next! God please, I've been too long without picking out amazing KIU music!

At least we've had a round for a Kid Icarus stage. I say bring on the Boxing Ring!

Golden Plains for lolz

Congrats to the winner, by the way.

 

[Jumpman84]

I lost... but I got a perfect 40 from the Groosenator, so I'll say HECK YEAH!!

On the downside, now that Pac-Man's confirmed, my Pac-Man pics are now obsolete and that makes me sad.

Ah well. Onto next round...

 

[PLATINUM7]

Yay, I came not dead last!
I'm very happy with my results and if I enter next time I'll try and go for the full 8 tracks.
Also I'm glad @ Groose felt that Yoshi Valley was such an oddball choice that it worked. It was what I was going for with that gamble of a song.

And congrats to @Brawler610 on winning. Good job!

 

[TJ-Works]

OMG... It's happened again... I've been deemed second place again in a row...

No disrespect to the winner, Brawler610 (congrats, btw), but I'm starting to feel this competition is slapping me in the face. D:

 

[PLATINUM7]

OMG... It's happened again... I've been deemed second place again in a row...

No disrespect to the winner, Brawler610 (congrats, btw), but I'm starting to feel this competition is slapping me in the face. D:

Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get 3rd place next time

 

[TJ-Works]

Looking at other people's suggestions for the next stage, I think it's high time we should do one of the 3rd party stages (Sonic's Windy Hill, Mega Man's Wily Castle, Pac-Man's Pac-Land/Pac-Maze).

It's been over a year now since SSB4's reveal, and we've never batted an eye for one of the 3rd party's this contest.

If we DON'T do it next, than it should be in time for contest's 1 year anniversary in September.

 

[D-idara]

Looking at other people's suggestions for the next stage, I think it's high time we should do one of the 3rd party stages (Sonic's Windy Hill, Mega Man's Wily Castle, Pac-Man's Pac-Land/Pac-Maze).

It's been over a year now since SSB4's reveal, and we've never batted an eye for one of the 3rd party's this contest.

If we DON'T do it next, than it should be in time for contest's 1 year anniversary in September.

We should do Wily's Castle, it was one of the first-revealed stages.
Actually, screw this contest, let's just replace all songs with the Shovel Knight soundtrack and we're good to go!

 

[Jumpman84]

We should do Wily's Castle, it was one of the first-revealed stages.
Actually, screw this contest, let's just replace all songs with the Shovel Knight soundtrack and we're good to go!

Nintendo doesn't own the rights to Shovel Knight's soundtrack, so that won't happen.

I say that the Boxing Ring is next...

 

[FalKoopa]

I probably won't be judging whatever the next stage is. I just don't know anything about Punch Out and Pac, and only a little about Mega Man.

IOn the downside, now that Pac-Man's confirmed, my Pac-Man pics are now obsolete and that makes me sad.

I'm waiting for Smash 4 Pac-utena made from in-game screenshots.

 

[LF2K]

Congrats on another victory!

Truth be known, I really didn't try this round. This was the hardest setlist to put together. Next round will hopefully be easier on variety.

 

[Sarki Soliloquy]

Congrats to Brawler610! Listening to your track list right now.

Part of me was anticipating much of the reasons for the judges' criticisms. Too much Rainbow Road and too little iconicity from the Mario Kart series overall. It ultimately got me the shorter end of the number scale. But I decided to bear and grind it for the sake of confidence. If we had a list that combined Brawler's hits with my out-of-series extras and we would have had an instawin on our hands!

Now for a little note to the orchestrators of the first posts, mainly @Swampasaur. We've had like, what, 2-3 rounds after the Bonus for Skyloft? I still don't see the winning tracklists for the most recent matches archived within the Wall of Honor nor any necessary extensions of it. Yet alone the YouTube channel. Whenever you get the chance, it would be appreciated if you could update those fields with the winning tracklists and continue to update them thereafter.

 

[Ascended]

Looking at other people's suggestions for the next stage, I think it's high time we should do one of the 3rd party stages (Sonic's Windy Hill, Mega Man's Wily Castle, Pac-Man's Pac-Land/Pac-Maze).

It's been over a year now since SSB4's reveal, and we've never batted an eye for one of the 3rd party's this contest.

If we DON'T do it next, than it should be in time for contest's 1 year anniversary in September.

This man knows what's up. The next round MUST be either a third-party round or the Boxing Ring.

 

[Fastblade5035]

inb4skyloftagain

 

[BridgesWithTurtles]

I'm waiting for Smash 4 Pac-utena made from in-game screenshots.

Pacutena as the new Kirbamus? I can dig it.

 

[LF2K]

If I'm not mistaken, the next round should be a Wii U stage... Right?

 

[TechPowah]

If I could make a suggestion, we could also do some cross-promotional pollenation with the make-a-stage game thread and do songlists off of winning stages.

 

[FalKoopa]

If I could make a suggestion, we could also do some cross-promotional pollenation with the make-a-stage game thread and do songlists off of winning stages.

That would have been feasible if there wasn't a big backlog of stages to do. We still have these left:

Final Destination
Boxing Ring

Wily's Castle
Windy Hill
Palutena's Temple
Halberd
Pac-Land
Mushroom Kingdom U
Coliseum
Kalos Pokémon League

Gerudo Valley
Find Mii
Tortimer Island
Tomodachi Life
Jungle Japes
Pac-Man Maze
Balloon Fight
Golden Plains

Even if you don't count Halberd and Jungle Japes, that's still 16 stages, and the Japanese release date is only 9 weeks away.

 

[TJ-Works]

That would have been feasible if there wasn't a big backlog of stages to do. We still have these left:

Final Destination
Boxing Ring

Wily's Castle
Windy Hill
Palutena's Temple
Halberd
Pac-Land

Gerudo Valley
Find Mii
Tortimer Island
Tomodachi Life
Jungle Japes
Pac-Man Maze

Even if you don't count Halberd and Jungle Japes, that's still 11 stages, and the Japanese release date is only 9 weeks away.

You've forgotten Mushroom Kingdom U, Coliseum, Kalos Pokemon League, Balloon Fight, and Golden Plains.