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Other Game Music

One of the first things I featured here was The Messenger, noteworthy for its double-soundtrack of exemplary chiptune in two different styles. It has remained one of my favorite soundtracks since, yet for some reason I've never brought it up since (except to reference it in relation to other things). I had something else lined up, but I've decided to adjust it, and thought it would be an ideal time to remember The Messenger here again. However, instead of doing a refeature, I'm going to present some of the scarce-but-impressive arrangements that I've come across. For some reason, there are very few remixed from this soundtrack compared to other games with its reputation, but the upside is those that do exist are often more memorable. These are some of my favorites.



 
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Twas my intention to feature Stray today. While the game did not initially catch my interest, I chanced upon the knowledge that the soundtrack was composed by Yann Van Der Cruyssen, arranger for the Cave Story+ soundtrack. I was curious what his original music would sound like, especially in such a different project, and so sought it out.

In general, the entirety of this soundtrack is mellow ambience, but not to such an extreme degree that it is devoid of progression. Each individual track has a range of moods transitioning in and out of each other (occasionally, the difference is so contrasting that I wonder why it isn't its own track). While this captures the atmosphere of the settings, it also manages to emerge from the background a bit with occasional melodies. Even that aside, the instrumentation is noteworthy for its uniqueness and cohesiveness.



 
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Since the Red Alert 2 feature, my perspective on the soundtrack has gradually evolved from fond nostalgia to genuine appreciation, and I am now considering it as potentially one of my favorites. Despite the heavy tones, there is a greater presence of melody than many of today's soundtracks, and even a limited range of mood amongst the different tracks.

In the initial feature, I stuck to tracks from the base game. Now, I will add a few from the Yuri's Revenge expansion, in essence a DLC that improved on its foundations in every way. The composer for both (and for other entries in the Command & Conquer series) was Frank Klepacki, who has a reputation for this genre of music.




This Coming Month . . .
 
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As I was refreshing my memories of Red Alert 2, I discovered a mod project comparable to Beyond Skyrim in ambition; a complete overhaul of the original game's faction system, gameplay, campaign, and even (to a certain degree) aesthetic. Most relevantly for this thread, however, was the inclusion of a freshly complied soundtrack. After a bit of consideration, I have decided to dedicate a month-long feature to it.


The soundtrack for Mental Omega is divided into four parts, each specific to a faction. For the Allied faction, the developers compiled a variety of Frank Klepacki's music from various albums of his. There is a focus on specific tone and mood in the selection, leaning away from Klepacki's heavier tracks in favour of his relatively more balanced styles. Granted that it's still Klepacki, but the difference will become apparent when compared directly with his heavier works (more on that later).

I suspect each faction's soundtrack is intended to somewhat characterize (or, more accurately, match the characterization of) the faction it accompanies. As the Allies are one of the two original factions, Klepacki's familiar sound relates well, while the distinct trend in selection helps mold the perception of the listener according to the developers' designs. I might be reading too heavily into it, but future features should act as reinforcement to my postulations.



 
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The Soviet faction soundtrack is also constructed of Klepacki pieces, many of which are from the same albums that contributed to the Allied soundtrack. The major difference is the tone of the selected tracks, which is much harsher in comparison.




Because both parts are made up of pieces from the same composer (who is composing in his customary style throughout), there is a similar sound between them. Yet there is still an intentional differentiation, and each choice was made to highlight it.

The Allies consider themselves more noble, citing the fight for freedom as their cause; they are "good guys" in whatever conflict they participate in. Their fighting style emphasizes strategy in assault. Meanwhile, the Soviets prefer a visage of strength and might, focusing on their will to dominate the world. They don't acknowledge or seem to care about their ethical position, maintaining a manner of superiority over everyone else. Their fighting style emphasizes brute force. Yet behind their internal considerations, the two sides aren't that different from each other; for both, the primary focus is always beating out the other, and everything else (including ethical considerations) comes secondary.

. . . At least, that's the impression I'm getting.

On an unrelated note, the soundtrack also includes a few fan remixes, most notable a medley that serves as Mental Omega's own version of Hell March.
 
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Unlike its predecessors, the Epsilon soundtrack is composed by Black Ice 9, who uses a hybrid style similar to Klepacki but with a strong Middle Eastern folk influence. Pieces from this part of the soundtrack are also utilized for the mod's main theme and other important placements.





Overall, these pieces are more foreboding, having limited movement as they slide through their melodies. The Middle Eastern instrumentation and progression is parred with strong electronic elements, complimenting and contrasted as the need allows. I perceive the Epsilon faction as an underhanded group, eschewing straightforward strategies in favor of subversive ones, seeking victory by means of deceit and espionage. Their fighting style emphasizes stealth and sabotage. By incorporating music so distinct from Klepacki, the faction is clearly distinguished from the previous two. However, the genre is just close enough to avoid being out of place.
 
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Finally, we come to the Foehn soundtrack, the main reason why I wanted to feature all this in the first place. Whereas Black Ice 9's style may somewhat resemble Klepacki's, World Beyond's music moves fully into a different genre. The fourth faction's soundtrack consists of orchestral score with rock backing, occasionally leaning toward symphonic metal.





What truly sets this apart from the previous three parts is its tone; instead of technical, forceful or foreboding, it invokes a mood of determination. The Foehn Revolt is intended to be noble, chivalrous, and more authentically heroic in comparison to the other factions. Lacking aspirations of conquest or pretended unity prevalent elsewhere, they present themselves as the idealistic option, a beacon of hope for the future. Their fighting style emphasizes long-term planning and the circumvention of enemy tactics and expectation. Ultimately, they are still measured by the same standard as the other factions, but it is evident that there is some distinction between it and them.

It's worth noting, here at the end, that I have confined myself to using music from the official OST tracklists. Within the game's campaign, there are additional music tracks utilized from a variety of sources. As always, if anything has sparked interest, it may be worth looking further.
 
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Previous engagements kept me from returning here at my intended time; rest assured I have a post for this week.

After my initial plans temporarily fell through (stay tuned for next week), I thought it would be nice to return to a couple soundtracks that have received expansion since their initial showcases. Last year I featured Cityfire's 30XX, which turned out to be one of my favorite soundtracks of that year. As an early access, release, it was understood that more music would be added as the project progressed. Since then, a stage editor function has been added with accompanying editor themes: calmer arrangements of the associated stage themes. Additional stages have also been added, and there are even some bonus remixes included in the album.



Shortly after Fall Guys fell out of the mainstream (apparently only temporarily), I attempted to showcase some of its music. I considered the feature somewhat hampered at the time by the lack of sufficient material; the soundtrack was good, but it was also very short. Today, that is no longer the case, as composers Jukio Kallio and Daniel Hagstrom have continued to arrange new tracks for the game with each season. Each new batch is in a unique style characteristic to the accompanying event, though always remaining true to the sound of the originals.

 
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Earlier this year, we finally got the release of The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe. I'd been looking forward to this game for some time, having enjoyed the original for its subversive humor; however, I had expected it to be merely an amusing experience, without being too surprising. The final product turned out to be an awing experience, far exceeding my expectations and establishing itself among the most memorable games I've ever played. So of course, I planned to eventually feature it here.

Time may have gotten away from me a bit, but I'm finally making good on that intention. For the most part, the music is intentionally minimal in its intrusiveness, but nonetheless manages to leave an impression. Occasionally the music is pushed to the forefront, retaining the overall style but adjusting the mood. In all situations, styles and intentions, it always seems to be "fitting."



 
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When I recall Boneworks, I remember a sizable collection of exemplary synthwave covering a variety of moods; when I covered it earlier this year, I was flabbergasted that my attention hadn't been brought to it before, and I continue to consider it an underappreciated soundtrack. Last month, I heard about the associated release Bonelab. When it comes to sequels and followups, my expectations for the music are, by default, something at least equal in quality to the predecessors'. More rare, but also more desirable, is a musical successor that expands and builds upon the standard of the original.

Bonelab continues to contribute synthwave compositions spanning a range of moods, more so than it's predecessor. But more noteworthy is the attempt to integrate other genres into that soundtrack, not merely presented on their own, but hybridized with synthwave to unify them into the collection. The whole OST seems rather experimental; even the more straightforward synthwave pieces come with an unusual twist more often than not. Overall, I consider Bonelab's soundtrack to be a worthy successor to that of Boneworks, and potentially a superior one.



 
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GNOG.


What is GNOG? This is one of those games where no one is entirely sure what the theme is, but will nonetheless likely enjoy the experience. By my analysis, GNOG is a music-assembly game; by interacting with a robot, you eventually compile its song, and then it sings to you. I don't know what the intended takeaway is, but I appreciated the way the layers of each track are added on gradually, allowing the listener to distinguish them and better comprehend the track's cohesiveness.


Less applicable for this last one; I think it's more of a bonus.
 
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I was considering a feature for Hiveswap: Act 2, quite sure I'd featured the prequel at some point in the past. However, it isn't present in my records, and I can't seem to find it in the thread manually, so it may be I haven't actually showcased Hiveswap: Act 1 yet. If I have, then this will be redundant; but in case I haven't, this will ensure it's been taken care of.

There's quite a bit of backstory to this game's existence, but I'll leave it to those interested to look into that. My investment, as usually, deals exclusively with the music. This soundtrack was jointly composed by James Roach and Toby Fox, and while it is rather small, it manages to establish a musical identity through its instrumentation and style. Many tracks are characterized by sounds I would describe as "cartoonally alien," but the arrangements themselves seem more focused on setting the mood, which I appreciate. Some pieces are unusually short, but the album release includes some bonus arrangements that expand upon them; I suspect the composers cared quite a bit about the project.



 
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I'd been looking forward to Mago's release for some time, due to the composer being NoteBlock, who is among my favorite artists in VGM. I put off doing a feature for it in expectation of a proper soundtrack release, but I also wanted to get it in before year's end, so I've decided I can put it off no longer.

The game itself is a retro platformer, and as such has a [relatively] retro chiptune soundtrack. Other instruments are occasionally utilized, but the majority of music is pure chiptune, arranged in a variety of genres suiting the context. The composer's style is normally extremely energetic and jumpy, but this project is rather well balanced, from active but stable "overworld" themes to the more intense battle themes, plus event-oriented cutscene tracks and occasional mini-game tracks for an extra dash of variety. Overall, this was well worth the wait for me, and I will continue to await an album release.





 
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I've seen the Game Awards nominations for "Best Score and Music," and I guess I've got a lot of ground to cover because I haven't heard any of these soundtracks.

In the meantime, another unofficial remix album was arranged for Crypt of the Necrodancer. I still love these projects for the stylistic twist each one presents, and I doubt that will ever change.
 
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In an unusual case of personal inconvenience, the GotY soundtracks are all very large, and with the bustle of the upcoming holiday I haven't had much time to acquaint myself with them. Time grows short, but I will do what I can. Meanwhile, it's about time I got in my yearly Okami feature, as I proceed through another disc in the soundtrack for the third time. It's been over a year since the last one; the music isn't that much different, but as such it's still just as amazing! This time around there was one track that stood out to me as deviated a bit from the primarily "eastern" style that otherwise characterizes the collection, favoring a more "western" progression. Of course, it may be skewed perception on my part, so I won't point out which one it is; mayhap no one else will notice.




 
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I missed my deadline early this week; my intention had been to feature Elden Ring, but I'm having difficulty enjoying the soundtrack, so I decided to switch over to another game that I had similar feelings about but I knew had much better music. It may be obvious why I'm uncomfortable with Cult of the Lamb, but if it isn't I'll only say that I don't appreciate the "pun." Regardless . . .

I was fully expecting this to be a GotY nomination even before giving it a proper listen, and it still surprises me that it didn't get that recognition (more on that in a later feature). Much of the soundtrack is dominated by disconcerting ambient backing, headed by unusual but cohesive instrumentation presenting strong melodies and progression. There seems an artificial folk present, by which I mean it has a folky sound without being familiar enough to me to pinpoint what specific kind of folk it is. Some of the more low-energy tracks remind me of puzzle games.

Overall, it's a difficult soundtrack for me to properly analyze. At the very least, it is creatively unique, and memorable in its own right (i.e. apart from its context).



 
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I am sick, and it is most inconvenient. I was supposed to be here yesterday, and instead I'm here this evening, still struggling to think straight but unwilling to put this off any longer, because this month of all months I'm on a rather strict schedule. So, here is a feature for Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.

My previous experience with Pokemon music is limited, and the only two soundtracks I've listened through properly are Red & Blue and Sword & Shield. From my experience with the latter, I was aware that there were likely multiple composers for the project, and who did what isn't always readily available information. I say this because there's a lot of contrasting styles in this soundtrack, and it's difficult to characterize them beyond a few specific points. First of all, elements of Spanish folk are intended to be present, as pure the theme of the game. This is most obvious in area themes, where a variety of Spanish-associated instrumentation in utilized. That being said, the compositions themselves do not seem to me to be that heavily influenced stylistically. Secondly, many leitmotifs are present, and it is highly probably that different songs constructed around the same leitmotifs were composed by different people. Most of the time this is in direct relation to the aforementioned area themes, as each area has multiple variations. Thirdly, all the "Team Star" associated tracks stand out as being especially memorable. In contrast to the Spanish folk theme, these are arranged in rock and rave styles, with exemplary progress structures. While these were the highlight of the soundtrack for me, I believe I've made fair coverage in my selection, despite the absence of some otherwise entirely deserving tracks.





 
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I'm better now, though still recovering, and with no less urgency in keeping up with things. I determined to feature Sonic Frontiers before the year ended, despite its late soundtrack release, and can now present my findings.

This is an unexpectedly massive soundtrack; not content with area and activity themes, the composers arranged unique tracks for every "Cyber Space" challenge, and up to seven different "movements" for each island theme. Each main boss has a unique vocal track to accompany its fight, each miniboss type has a special theme, and then there's the cutscenes and special events! Styles range from reflective orchestral, intensive metal, and a variety of electronic genres, with an occasional one-off jazz piece thrown in.

While I certainly enjoyed the wide selection, at some point I began to wonder if they hadn't overdone it a bit. The main area theme variations didn't tend to vary as much as I'd expect, usually peaking at about movement three. Cyber Space tracks were fun, but very few of them stand out as more than concept pieces. Overall, while I appreciate the effort gone to, I think they may have stretched themselves thinner than necessary, sacrificing memorability for quantity. That being said, quality was maintained, and the tracks that do manage to stand out do so powerfully.







As usual, I struggled to appreciate the vocal tracks; while I'm Here is undoubtedly the focus track, I was surprised to find the more story-centric Dear Father at the end of the album; I'll include it here as a mark of my differing focus in regards to the comparison.
 
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When Game of the Year soundtrack nominations were announced, I was somewhat disappointed; I could think of several soundtracks that seemed deserving of the recognition that weren't included, and the only represented option that I'd heard something about before (in the context of its music) was Xenoblade Chronicles 3. However, I hadn't actually heard music from any of them, so I determined to make an effort toward familiarizing myself with some of them, as to be able to make a more informed assessment.

To start with, I had to prioritize, because time was limited (I wanted to be done by year's end). I hadn't heard anything about Metal: Hellsinger or A Plague's Tale: Requiem (I hadn't even known they existed), but I did remember hearing about Innocence back when it released. In what may be irony, it was my extremely limited knowledge of that game that discouraged me from prioritizing the sequel's soundtrack; I'd considered the original's story to be rather pretentious, and I hadn't heard anything about its music, so I decided to forgo it entirely.

Hellsinger, on the other hand, seemed a reasonably sized soundtrack to start with, compared to the much larger soundtracks of the other entries. Unfortunately, it turned out to be almost entirely screamo/death metal, which is basically the only music I don't listen to at all. It wasn't bad quality (I believe it to have been well composed), but I wouldn't have been able to do a proper feature for it.

That left me with the three games I'd actually heard of. I planned to listen through them one at a time and do a feature for each, but for some reason I ended up listening to all three simultaneously with differing levels of engagement according to my initial perceptions. I had high hopes for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, both because I'd heard good things about it from other sources, and because of the association with Yasunori Mitsuda. However, I discovered it to be heavily reliant on leitmotifs, to the point that lack of familiarity with the accompanying story and preceding entries made it impossible to appreciate properly. Unfortunately for me, I lack that familiarity. I'd like to maybe return to this series some day, but it would require quite the time investment.

Elden Ring was an unfortunate circumstance of faulty expectations. The first few tracks in the OST (I would presume the title theme, menu theme and possibly a prologue cutscene theme) are standard VGM, with limited progression but a discernible melody; this set my expectations for the rest of the soundtrack. Unfortunately, the rest of the album's first half was entirely area themes. I respect that, for a game about a dying world, the music for said world should be depressing in nature; however, I was still expecting something recognizable. The area themes lack melody entirely, and have extremely limited progression, occasionally straying into the realm of true ambience. While the second half of the soundtrack seemed more promising, the first half had exhausted my patience for the dark style of the music, and with time growing shorter I chose to give up on it. I have wanted to look into the Dark Souls soundtracks for a while, so hopefully I'll get to that next year.

With all that, we come to the final nomination. I've mentioned before my high regard for the story of God of War (2018), and I was exciting for the release of Ragnarök. I did not, however, expect anything too noteworthy for its soundtrack. Similar with the previous two titles, I had limited familiarity with the foundational entries, in this case the original God of War trilogy, so while I respected and appreciated the soundtrack of (2018), I didn't find it especially memorable. My experience with Ragnarök, on the other hand, has impressed me greatly. While heavily reliant upon ambience (as one would expect), the game employs strong melody and progression in its music. More importantly, its utilization of its leitmotifs is masterful, limited enough to be kept track of, but strong enough to bring cohesiveness to the soundtrack. Of all five nominations, this was the soundtrack that I enjoyed listening to the most; it still wouldn't have been among my first choices, but I'm glad it was brought to my attention.





 
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