Games Soundtrack Appreciation / Discussion Thread

Here's one for Minarchist: NieR jazz arrange album

shoptroll wrote:

Here's one for Minarchist: NieR jazz arrange album

That's a very cool project. I just listened to the sample bit, though, and don't think I'm a fan. It sounds a bit too synthetic like it was all put together in Pro Tools/Logic Pro with synthetic instruments and samples. Anyways, that's just a knee jerk reaction. I'll listen to it some more.

It also may be that I just don't like that particular jazz style.

To be fair, I haven't listened to it either as I haven't played NieR and wouldn't appreciate what the arranger was trying to do. Mostly throwing it here because it was linked from another site and that game recently came up in discussion again recently.

Yeah, "Memories" was kind of fun but the rest...I'm with tuffalo. I mean, the guy can't even be bothered to spellcheck his track titles? That's not how you spell nightingale.

Thanks for bringing it to my attention, though.

I don't know whether anyone's mentioned this yet (a quick search of the forums didn't reveal anything), but for all you Final Fantasy VI fans out there (and lovers of game music arrangements in general!), OCRemix released a fantastic FFVI arrangement album, "Balance and Ruin":

http://ff6.ocremix.org/

It's five discs worth of content, and completely free to download. A few that I really enjoy on there are:

The Impresario (Overture, Aria de Mezzo Carattere, The Wedding, Grand Finale?) - Jake "virt" Kaufman, Tommy Pedrini
- The epicness of this track cannot be overstated! Queen fans especially may enjoy this

Blackjack's Breakup Bossa (Blackjack) - Calum Bowen feat. Xarnax42
- A very different take on the original (with vocals)

Go-Go Gadget Gonkulator (Gogo) - XPRTNovice
- A fun, bouncy take on the original that fits Gogo well! That, and I'm a sucker for some well played clarinet.

I also love many other tracks on the album, but didn't want to list too many .

EDIT: My search-fu needs some work! Blind_Evil previously mentioned the album over in the JRPG Catch-All thread.

Listening to this while I work...

So relaxing... So great...

Jack Wall really did a great job on the Lost Planet 3 soundtrack. I don't have the game but since I follow Jack Wall on Spotify, it showed up on the front page.

If you like the Terran Starcraft, Bastion, and Firefly music you are going to love it. It's a far cry from Mass Effect but really great on its own.

http://open.spotify.com/track/1pzeNa...

If you haven't checked out the Humble Weekly Bundle this week, I suggest you do if you're a game soundtrack fan. It comes with soundtracks for all eight games in the bunch. I can't speak for all of them yet, but Andreas Waldetoft composed the CKII and EUIII soundtracks and they are worth the price of admission alone (currently <$6).

Mega Man II soundtrack in slow paced piano form. Sounds so good and makes me sleepy. If you are in a sad mood DO NOT listen.

No other song has ever encapsulated the idea of adventure as much as this one right here. It's one of those songs that keeps you in the area just to listen to it.

Eleima wrote:

I'm listening to the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack again, and it's just excellent (may have been mentioned previously, but can't search the thread because of logistics). This soundtrack is so evocative, so powerful, my stomach's in ropes just hearing it and thinking about the game again. Fighting the itch to go back in play it! (because well, you know, the pile )

I think the first post was about that certain game too.

I'm listening to the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack again, and it's just excellent (may have has been mentioned previously, but can't search the thread because of logistics). This soundtrack is so evocative, so powerful, my stomach's in ropes just hearing it and thinking about the game again. Fighting the itch to go back in play it! (because well, you know, the pile )

I'm a filthy, filthy skimmer. But I regret nothing! That soundtrack deserves another nod!

Eleima wrote:

I'm listening to the Mass Effect 3 soundtrack again, and it's just excellent (may have has been mentioned previously, but can't search the thread because of logistics). This soundtrack is so evocative, so powerful, my stomach's in ropes just hearing it and thinking about the game again. Fighting the itch to go back in play it! (because well, you know, the pile )

I'll back you up; they are my favorite games of this generation, and the music is a huge part of it. Takes me back to pulpy sci-fi I used to watch as a kid...

I acquired an iTunes card and was saddened when I couldn't find my top picks available on iTunes at all (Black Mages I-III; Ace Attorney Orchestrated; Katamari Damacy / We Love Katamari; Persona / SMT anything). Honestly kind of annoyed because I'm betting other regions have those available. Hoping to pick up some ideas on what to acquire by browsing through this thread later.

So admitting above that I have not read through the whole thread, I'll toss in these soundtracks which I never expect to be re-released. I've never had the chance to play the games. I would love to give it a shot some time, but it would be nice if it were available on a portable system or from something like Playstation Network. I missed so many great games on the PS2. I have no idea if anyone even owns these games anymore though.

Shadow Hearts:

Shadow Hearts II:

Shadow Hearts III:

By the way, if you haven't already you should check out some of the awesome video game music lists people have made on youtube. These are two of my favorites

http://www.youtube.com/user/SupraDarky
http://www.youtube.com/user/Klagmar

Songbird wrote:

I've never had the chance to play the games. I would love to give it a shot some time, but it would be nice if it were available on a portable system or from something like Playstation Network. I missed so many great games on the PS2. I have no idea if anyone even owns these games anymore though.

Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts II
Shadow Hearts III

I bought Shadow Hearts II: Covenant right after seeing this in 2004:
IMAGE(http://art.penny-arcade.com/photos/215509088_i9tZJ-L-2.jpg)

and never regretted it. It's also the only Shadow Hearts game I ever finished. Retroactively, I picked up Shadow Hearts 1 and Koudelka (the PS1 game that spawned Shadow Hearts), but haven't put much time into them.

Covenant is absolutely worth playing. Just don't stop for something new and shiny, 70% of the way through, and try to resume 3 years later...that was rough.

EDIT: Thanks for reminding me of that second track from Covenant - that one really is something special!

I already have a small pile of games on systems I will actually hook up, but the music for the Shadow Hearts series makes it really tempting to purchase more PS2 games.

I'm still working my way through the thread and trying to organize things on a spreadsheet. Lots of great songs makes for slow going. Sadly, some of the youtube videos have been brought down. When the title of the song is listed I try to track down a new one, but sometimes the comment leading up to the link is too vague for that to be possible. Or, in the case of Kingdom Hearts, the company is really aggressive about take downs.

Sorry I tried just pasting the spreadsheet in, but the formatting was a mess. Each page tends to have around 50 songs and I am currently on page 4. If anyone knows what any of the blanks might be, please do let me know and I will fill them in.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...

I find it funny that there has been only one Legend of Zelda song listed in this entire thread. I am going to do nothing to rectify that at the moment.

Though not really in line with the rest of the Final Fantasy series, I think the MMO has the music to match its legacy. There are great songs to be found in any of the albums. I am going to poke through this decade of music, limiting myself to two songs from each album. After each song I will try to put a little bit of flavor text so people who are not familiar with the game can understand just in what situation this plays.

In something of an honorable mention: Earlier in this thread MomGamer linked to the Tour de Japan orchestra version of Ronfaure (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzjQ5...). I don’t want to duplicate songs in this list, but it is a great song and an orchestra does real justice to it. Distant Worlds II also features this song as well if you wanted something with better sound quality.

I had planned on doing this in one thread, but the list is just too long to deal with at once. So I will be breaking things up into pieces. A lot, but not all, of these were made by Naoshi Mizuta

Original Final Fantasy XI OST

Voyager:

This is the song that plays on the several minute boat ride that connects the lands of Bastok and Sandy to Windy. When players board this ship, it may very well be their first chance to meet those who chose a different starting nation.

Castle Zvahl:

Featured in the final landscape of the original game, Castle Zvahl is the home of your first final boss. It might be a bit repetitive for straight listening, but I think it really works as an atmospheric mood setter. Castle Zvahl is hewn from twisting black rock and requires players to traverse a labyrinth, drop down pits, and sneak their way through transporters.

Rise of the Zilart

If you played FFXI outside of Japan, your game automatically included this expansion

Sanctuary of Zi'tah:

My personal pick for the best song of FFXI. Zi'tah features a misty redwood forest that is spotted with oddly glowing crystals and deep pools of still water.

Tough Battle #2:

Are you ready, you who is one yet many? Summoners have, for many games, been an important part of the series. In FFXI this is the song that plays as you battle the avatars.

Chains of Promathia

Moblin Menagerie - Movalpolos:

A quirky tune that plays in the rickety underground home of the Moblins. I tend to favor more moody songs, so I wanted to take the chance to call out this underutilized piece.

The Celestial Capital: Al'Taieu:

Al'Taieu, or Sea. The promised land where the ocean lies both above and below you, as do the foes.

My favorite from FFXI is by far Ronfaure:

Ahrezmendi: You should check out the vocal version of the theme. It is quite pretty http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xj9RA...

Star Onions: Music from the Other Side of Vana'diel

This is an official remix album put out by SE composers. The songs on here can vary quite heavily from their original pieces and the album as a whole does not really have one feel.

The Forgotten City - Tavnazian Safehold

In the opening sequence of FFXI you watch the region of Tavnazia fall to the beastmen attacks. The expansion CoP delves into some of the story of why that happened, and what remains of the city. I feel that this version of the song best fits the tone of the area.

Vana’diel March

I dislike the original of this song and pretty much all the variations. But the Star Onions version managed to change it into something really charming.

Treasures of Aht Urhgan Original Soundtrack

Bustle of the Capital

A walled city that leads to the shore, the Aht Urhgan’s Whitegate serves as the main hub for players in this expansion. Tall pillars, tapestries, and scrollwork serve to decorate serpentine landmark.

Forbidden Seal

This is used in several dungeon situations within ToAU. Honestly it isn’t one of my favorites, but I do know that others do consider it to be one of the better XI songs.

Final Fantasy XI: Unreleased Tracks

Songs that may have played in previous expansions, but were not included in the album release

Distant Worlds

I feel that this is one of the stars of all the FFXI music. And based on the number of times it has been officially covered (Distant Worlds Concert http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9SQz... ; Black mages http://youtu.be/Bwi-QOXtQGY?t=30s ; Guitar version http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asz9k... ; Piano http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5QKP... ) I don’t think I’m alone in that. The embedded file is the version that plays during one of the ending cutscenes for the CoP expansion.

A Realm of Emptiness

Playing during the final boss fight of the expansion, as one might expect, just you and your friends are all that stand to protect the world from falling into emptiness, etc. The battleground for this fight is the most beautiful to exist in the game.

A new game music bundle has launched! Themed to horror genre games, just in time for Halloween.
$1-$9.99 nets 5 albums: Amnesia ADD & AMFP, Deadspace, Limbo, and Bloodrayne: Betrayal.
For $10+ a total of 14 albums that includes Plants vs Zombies among others.
Game Music Bundle of the Damned

Wow that's pretty fun. Shame I don't think I want any of those playing on my headphones as I go about my day. That's just inviting the orchestra stings into your home.

I'm just going to leave these here:

Big Blue [F-Zero]

Silence [F-Zero]

Bloody Tears [Castlevania: Pretty much all of them]

This one even shows the song change over time.

Both series have great music.

Of course in Castlevania the two big staples are Bloody Tears and this one:

One I wish would get used more often is Battle of the Holy. A great track, but largely forgotten, having appeared in a couple of Konami's Castlevanis music collections, but never quite making it back into a game.

Looks like we forgot a good one

And now some remixes!

I love this guy's videos.

I listen to this on at work when I'm having a bad day.

I've been jamming (or mellowing, I guess) to the LOTRO soundtrack recently. This game is filled front to back with lots of great music. I'd even go so far as to say a lot of Change Thomas' work captures the feel of Middle Earth more than Howard Shore's.

Cool thread.

Just got a bunch of FarCry Blood Dragon tracks off iTunes. Amazing.

Any particular LotRO songs, Nicholas?

Final Fantasy XI Piano Collections

Jeweled Boughs

This song plays in the wooded thickets outside the city of Whitegate. For personal preference, I like the piano rendition of this song over the original ost

Rabao

An oasis city located in between the Altepa deserts, Rabao is not really important visually or culturally within the game. However, I do think its theme song stands out, being cheerfully reminiscent of the traveling songs.

Wings of the Goddess
This a hard choice. I would say that if any of these songs catch your interest, that it might be worth your while to listen to the rest of the soundtrack.

Echos of a Zephyr

Lying outside the industrial Bastok, this version of Gustaberg still sports sprigs of life in its landscape and a brilliantly blue sky above.

The Cosmic Wheel

Much like the previous song, this one is a reimagining of a starter zone tune. This time it is the Windurst zone of Sarutabaruta, featuring green, rolling hills and rocky outcrops.

Autumn Footfalls

I am cheating here, but all three of the starter zones are great and all of the nations earned their
representation here. Ronfaure is a softly lit forest criss-crossed by rivulets and small streams. It surrounds the Elvaan castle of San d’Oria.

Star Onions: Sanctuary
Much like the previous Star Onions CD, these are official remakes of existing songs. Between the two, I feel that this one is stronger overall.

Xarcabard:

Xarcabard is a snowy land inhabited by demons and undead. It is a harsh and lonely landscape that has betrayed many trespassers in the past. I love this theme in general, but here the deep tones of the cello really help it to shine.

Faded Memories

From the scratchy introduction, this song builds a sense of unease that perfectly fits the Promyvion. These zones act as ghostly remnants of the land you entered from: inhabited by unearthly beasts and flickering will o’wisps.