I played through all of the Armored Core games from the PS1 era nearly a year ago, except Master of Arena, which I've beaten about 5 months ago, and I got to say, I absolutely love the soundtracks for these games. The OSTs for these games is mostly 90s Detroit Techno/ Breakbeat (I guess that's what you would classify the OSTs as).
The first of April saw the surprise release of The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, a short mystery game in the style of Ace Attorney. Despite being an April Fools joke, the game is competently and charmingly designed, full of nods and references that avoid being heavy handed accompanied by a solid central mini-game mechanic. Most importantly for my purposes, the game comes with a decently sized soundtrack. While its nothing extraordinary, it holds the same charm as the rest of the game.
I was also surprised to discover the existence of unused tracks; whatever their intended purpose, they serve as a nice bonus to the collection.
Circumstance has delayed opportunity to feature the surprise masterpiece of Hi-Fi Rush, which released with barely more than an announcement and proceeded to become one of the best received games of the year thus far. The music replicates the style of rock popular in the 90's and early 2000's, adapted for a modern rhythm game; the result is one of best soundtracks I've heard in a while, and easily a contender for top five of the year (knock on wood).
In addition to the standard soundtrack, the game contains a selection of licensed music for boss fights and other select moments; however, for the convenience of those who wished to stream or otherwise publicly play the game, alternate tracks were composed in similar arrangements as a replacement option. While the circumstances would imply a "we have x at home" situation, these alternative songs actually hold their own, with the added distinction of fitting a bit more cohesively into the soundtrack imo.
Today Yesterday I learned that that calm bit that plays in orchestral versions of Proof of a Hero originates as its own track from the first Monster Hunter, and the original is gorgeous...
There have been a lot of above average releases thus far this year; there's an urge to rush coverage of it all while it's still relevant, but that's not technically a realistic perspective considering the standards of this topic over its lifespan, nor is it thankfully in any way necessary. Nonetheless, a few especially good soundtracks do not bear putting off, if for no other reason than they are stuck in my head and I shall not know peace until they are shared. This week, I belatedly but enthusiastically come to the phenomenon of Pizza Tower.
While this game has apparently been in public production for some time, I'd heard nothing of it until its recent release. Accompanying its deceitfully rough aesthetic and versatile gameplay is soundtrack that is equal parts genius and insanity; it is one of those rare instances of a soundtrack being an irrevocable part of the full experience, while simultaneously achieving something extraordinary in its own right. There is no specific style adhered to, but an inherent consistency that gives it character. Hopefully my selection manages to convey the range and quality throughout.
Normally I like to wait for a soundtrack's official release to feature it, since this makes it easier to differentiate between tracks and helps ensure fuller representation. Occasionally this backfires on me, because some soundtracks unexpectedly don't receive a release until long after their respective games; Cyber Shadow took over a year, Mago still hasn't seen a proper publication, and Champions of the Continent is only now seeing its second soundtrack release with tracks from two years ago. For this reason, I may feel inclined to push forward with a feature I'm looking forward to, lest I be anxiously awaiting an event that has no guarantee of coming to fruition at all.
Deceive Inc. is a unique cross between a deception game and a tactical shooter, colored in the aesthetic of a James Bond film. For such a game, a variety of music genres would be suitable; what was delivered was hybrid jazz, constructed so as to have multiple layers per track to accompany the progression of each game session. Technically, "Phase 2 Out of Cover" is the final form of each track, but that doesn't mean the other iterations don't often have their own charm worth highlighting. The highlight of the music, however, has to be the two-part Extraction Phase, a unique piece for the climax of every level.
That's an unusually large feature for such a small soundtrack, but I think it's warranted.
Each year, I've listened through and featured an individual disc from the OST for Okami; the soundtrack is extensive enough that it was inconvenient the first year to listen to the whole thing at once, and it made for a consistent plan going forward. While there are five discs in the official release, the fifth is actually a collection of promotional and unused music; the soundtrack itself finishes with the fourth disc. As such, this will finally conclude my four-part feature of Okami.
Of the four parts, this disc is notably shorter, feature only about thirty tracks to the previous three's fifty each. The style is about the same: There are cutscene tracks, area tracks, and combat tracks, each arranged according to their usage. The genre is almost exclusively Oriental folk reinforced with orchestra. Melody is lighter compared to similarly styled collections, but is still present, differentiating the more memorable pieces.
The signature sounds of the Eastern Hemisphere are what defines this soundtrack, and are what captured my interest when it was introduced to me on this thread shortly after I started posting to it. It remains the most unique soundtrack ever shared with me by someone else, and it represents to me the core purpose and potential of this topic.
Fun Fact: The digital releases of the soundtrack do not include either version of Reset. I've read that they are not used in Western releases of the game, and while I don't know if that's true, in my mind the exclusion isn't justified either way.
This is something of a followup to last week; as Okami has been an important entry to this thread, there are other soundtracks that have had similar impact. More so than any other, perhaps, is the Monster Hunter series.
Between busker and I, there have been several MH features spanning across the series, with a slightly heavier focus toward the more recent entries. My own contribution was extremely minimal; my initial feature was done without real familiarity, and I basically chose three tracks out of a random selection without any real appreciation for their context. Despite this, the quality of the music was enough to capture my attention; specifically, one of those tracks from the initial feature stuck with me. Subsequent explanations from long-term-fan buskerdog have helped facilitate deeper interest, leading us to today.
For some time, I've wanted to do a proper feature of the title that technically served as my entry point. What has made this difficult (and indeed what made the initial feature attempt difficult) is the confusing localization standards of the series. As previously discussed on this thread, some Monster Hunter games will release with different titles between the two hemispheres; subsequently, expansions to the games (which are common) have also been known to release with different names. Even worse for my purposes, music track titles may also be localized, further frustrating attempts to identify a track's origin. But by far the most difficult aspect of the situation is the titular monsters themselves; not only do they carry their respective music themes with them from game to game, but even their names are occasionally localized, making sourcing their first appearance a sometimes nigh impossible task.
All that being said, the situation is somewhat improved by starting with an official soundtrack release rather than the loose music from the game, thus skipping the hunting process (heh). I thus desired to procure the OST from which my favorite track had originated. This track was The Awe-Inspiring Brave Figure, localized as Draped in Valor, and was the arena theme for Monster Hunter X.
Pronounced "Monster Hunter Cross" (or so I gather), the game was localized as Monster Hunter Generations, with the subsequent expansion renaming the game to Monster Hunter XX ("double-cross?"), or Generations Ultimate. As with other entries, the game featured monster and music from previous releases, while also adding a selection of new monsters. There are also cutscene and idle area themes, some of which are remixed versions of returning tracks. The style of this music is less Oriental than Okami, but still has a distinctly Eastern tone to it that varies in intensity. I'd also say I detect some Irish folk influences, but I'm beginning to suspect confirmation bias with how often that happens (more on that in a future feature, perhaps).
Despite the series' being most well known for its combat tracks (i.e. the monster themes), there's some amazing music in the other parts of the game as well.
That being said, there's a reason for the reputation.
I especially appreciate this one; the lead-in to its climax is brilliant.
To close off, I wasn't that impressed with the pieces added by the expansion (assuming I've heard them all, since the music release wasn't technically a proper OST), but the one track that stood out was a full cover of the series' main theme. Even that wasn't quite to my expectations (I prefer other versions), but the motif itself is fantastic, and I'd be remiss not to include it.
1 hour ago, Ken Hisuag said:
This is something of a followup to last week; as Okami has been an important entry to this thread, there are other soundtracks that have had similar impact. More so than any other, perhaps, is the Monster Hunter series.
Between busker and I, there have been several MH features spanning across the series, with a slightly heavier focus toward the more recent entries. My own contribution was extremely minimal; my initial feature was done without real familiarity, and I basically chose three tracks out of a random selection without any real appreciation for their context. Despite this, the quality of the music was enough to capture my attention; specifically, one of those tracks from the initial feature stuck with me. Subsequent explanations from long-term-fan buskerdog have helped facilitate deeper interest, leading us to today.
For some time, I've wanted to do a proper feature of the title that technically served as my entry point. What has made this difficult (and indeed what made the initial feature attempt difficult) is the confusing localization standards of the series. As previously discussed on this thread, some Monster Hunter games will release with different titles between the two hemispheres; subsequently, expansions to the games (which are common) have also been known to release with different names. Even worse for my purposes, music track titles may also be localized, further frustrating attempts to identify a track's origin. But by far the most difficult aspect of the situation is the titular monsters themselves; not only do they carry their respective music themes with them from game to game, but even their names are occasionally localized, making sourcing their first appearance a sometimes nigh impossible task.
All that being said, the situation is somewhat improved by starting with an official soundtrack release rather than the loose music from the game, thus skipping the hunting process (heh). I thus desired to procure the OST from which my favorite track had originated. This track was The Awe-Inspiring Brave Figure, localized as Draped in Valor, and was the arena theme for Monster Hunter X.
Reveal hidden contents
And as always, if you ever need help tracking down the origin for something, feel free to ask me, as my knowledge is generally broad enough to pinpoint where stuff debuted.
To reuse your own phrasing, time for soundtracks sometimes means less time for games; I still haven't gotten around to it. I also don't tend to use my Switch, so it's not usually in a "ready-to-play" state. I'll be sure to mention my thoughts on the experience when it happens.
As to the soundtrack at hand: Don't get me wrong, the music is still great. I just didn't think it was quite as good as some of the base-game's tracks. In this case, it's ultimately a matter of preference. Also, in a twist of irony, with that post you have completed the re-feature of all the tracks previously shared from the game three years ago.
Thanks again for all the past help in tracking down obscure metadata for this series. As always, I look forward to whatever you decide to present.
While Skryim remains one of my favorite soundtracks, I'd yet to hear what the previous titles in the Elder Scrolls series had to offer. The third and fourth games both shared the fifth's composer Jeremy Soule, and I'd often wondered whether any tracks from those entries had been carried over without me being aware. So this week, I decided to check out the soundtrack for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.
As it turns out, I recognize quite a few of these tracks from their later usage; whether they were carried over directly or adapted to some extent, I'm uncertain. I also suspect some are more specifically from the Dragonborn DLC, making their inclusion more of a reference to this title. Regardless, the style and tone that characterizes Soule's work is fully present; subtle melodies are woven through distant soundscapes in a perfect balance between ambience and personality.
I'm considering skipping next week, partly in preparation for next month, but primarily in the interests of going through the thread and updating links.
Thread is officially updated; broken links in my own posts have been replaced. I also updated a few features to reflect contributions from deleted features; broken links in still existent posts were not replicated, as they can conceivably still be updated by the original submitters (the record preserves their intentions, and is itself properly contextualized). As a commemorative gesture, here's a little remix feature.
I was reminded of this arrangement while updating the Sword & Shield feature.
As the above reflects the past, so this reflects the future.
This will be another series feature month, this time covering titles from the Mega Man franchise. As with the previous feature month, I'm not entirely sure of all the titles I'll be covering; two are obvious, and thereafter I lack the familiarity to confidently choose. Hopefully I won't miss something vital.
While the original trilogy is often cited as the foundation of the series, I found Mega Man II to be especially relevant to its musical development. The first Mega Man's music lacked progression in its motifs, favoring short loops over multi-motif pieces. Not so for the second game; most tracks have unique intros and at least two motif sections with variations. The melodies are notably stronger, and the hardware is fairly utilized for complexity in arrangement. Tracks are still short compared to modern compositions, but their dynamic quality keeps them from becoming repetitive. It's no wonder that some of these pieces have become iconic staples of the industry.
Cutting it close, it’s unusual circumstances. I may leave a simplified feature without commentary and edit it later (by which I mean that’s exactly what I’m doing). So enjoy these tracks from Mega Man X!
Later:
I'll need to see about the lack of "spoiler tab" option for editing posts.
As stated previously, I'm not usually appreciative of the SNES soundfont, especially in context of its technical limitations. Despite this being an oft references highlight of the era musically, I still get hung up on the sounds, and come away considering it as unrealized potential. However, I can appreciate many of the motifs presented, and occasionally even enjoy listening to a piece in spite of my reservations. Overall, I'm glad to have finally listened to this iconic soundtrack.
For this feature, I had to do some research into what the more popular Mega Man soundtracks are; my limited knowledge of the series hinders my ability to choose appropriate representative OSTs. Unfortunately, what I found was not as helpful as I had hoped. As I already expected, 2 and X are consistently accepted as among the best VGM of all time, much less the franchise. After that, preferences vary wildly, with few titles consistently favored, and those few referenced with vague partiality.
Among the few titles that did stand out was Mega Man 9, which I gather was a soft reboot of sorts that sought to replicate the style of the earliest titles. I was somewhat against featuring this, for the same reason I resisted featuring Majora's Mask for the LoZ month: being intentionally resemblant of a previous entry, it seemed ill-advised to consider it properly representative of the series's range. However, few other options presented themselves, and so I acquiesced to listen through the soundtrack in question. Having done so, I cannot deny its high quality, and may even argue it revitalized the old style into something sufficiently unique. I'd still have preferred to find something more indicative of the series's progression, but I'm glad to have heard this.
Bonus: I found this remix of We're the Robots that seemed understandably fitting to include.
To conclude this month's Mega Man feature series, I wanted to briefly touch upon the spin-off series Battle Network, as I'd been given the impression it had a significant musical reputation. The specific entry I settled on was Mega Man Network Transmission, which seemed especially acclaimed. Regardless of how correct or mislead my presumptions were on this matter, I was thoroughly impressed with this soundtrack. It's quite different from the other entries I've heard thus far, doubtless due both to its relatively more recent release and its sub-series differentiation. There's a lot more layers to these compositions, resulting in a fuller sound to compliment the strong melodies. This may or may not be indicative of the franchise's progression toward modernity; if it is, then I look forward to hearing more of what the series has to offer in future.
There are three soundtracks I will reference as being my all-time favorite, the first being Touhou, which I consider to be a classification of its own due to its unique and expansive style. The other two are more properly contending for #1, both being exemplary productions of melody, style and creativity, while contrasting each other in tone; these are A Hat in Time and Octopath Traveler. This year, the latter series received its third entry, being the second proper installment; my anticipation for this release was immense, and it did not disappoint.
The expectations of a sequel are for the qualities of the original to be expanded and improved upon, whatever those qualities may be. This does not always mean "better" or "more," but often must be one of those things to some degree to be considered successful; the alternatives are usually "different," in the better case, or "worse" in the lesser case. Octopath Traveler was a masterpiece of clear motifs with strong structure, full of memorable pieces that, sufficiently composed to stand on their own, collectively created an unforgettable experience. If it was to live up to its predecessor, Octopath Traveler II needed to either refine these qualities and add depth to them, or introduce a new element of some sort, ideally compatible with the original's style. Nishiki did both.
The gimmick of Octopath Traveler II is its day-night cycle; while there is a gameplay component to this, our focus is more concerned with the musical aspect to this addition. Major areas and towns have unique music for their night cycles, with the melodies of their standard themes often being completely rearranged. To highlight this contrast, Nishiki employed a vocal element that is unique to these night themes.
Aside from this, the soundtrack's motifs are more dynamically integrated into the arrangements compared to the previous entry, especially the character themes; I'll expound upon this a bit more later.
There is also some limited reuse of old motifs, occasionally in full rearrangement (such as Unshakeable Resolve), but more often as brief reference to an indirect correlation (as with some of the battle themes). In my opinion, these are done very well, and help to link the productions together.
All this barely scratches the surface of what this soundtrack contains. Needless to say, I am thoroughly pleased, and I look forward to returning to this series in the future.
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Octopath's soundtrack was its character specific battle intros, allowing the same boss battle themes to be unique for each character's story; these battle intros were characterized by the instrumentation and tone related to each character. This was the extent of dynamic composition in the game.
For Octopath II, a similar process was employed; each character has a boss battle intro theme unique to them. However, this time these tracks, called Pursuit themes, are arrangements of their respective character themes, with mood adjusted accordingly. This adds somewhat to the dynamic quality of the motifs by expanding on their utilization.
The dynamic utilization does not end there, however. The end-game boss has two phases; the first, as shown above, utilizes the Pursuit structure, similar to the first game's handling of the same scenario. The second phase does not; instead, the character theme is integrated directly into the boss theme. This admittedly simple technique has a marvelous effect, creating a semi-unique piece for every character . . .
. . . with one exception.
Part of me considers this a spoiler. I've probably done enough to sell the soundtrack by now, so for those who would prefer to experience it the way it was intended, I would recommend against finishing this feature. It's not currently very practical to secure the soundtrack, but I believe it's well worth it.
While seven of the eight characters follow this format, the process is adjusted for one of the final boss's second phase to be a direct arrangement of the associated character's theme into a completely unique battle theme. For me, this was the highlight of the soundtrack; having traveled through the album in order, arriving at this piece felt akin to a victorious culmination.
That will have to do; I could happily post Octopath music for the rest of the month, but this should be sufficient to showcase why I consider the sequel to be a worthy successor and a masterpiece in its own right.
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