"Like the humans say- up yours! Die!"
Day 8. Best Soundtrack
THIS ISN'T FAIR
HOW IS ANYONE SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE JUST ONE FKLFJSDKJFSDKLFJL
Well.
Actually, when I sit down and give this a little thought, I'm able to narrow it down to a manageable list. I could name game soundtracks I love for about three hours straight and still miss a few, but the following have a special place in my heart not just for being fantastic (and nostalgic, as these are also pretty much my three favourite games of all time ahahaha) but for being notable and distinct in one way or another.
SO LET'S BEGIN:
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS
If you held a gun up to my head and forced me to choose one absolute favourite, I'd probably say FFT. Hitoshi Sakimoto is a pretty good composer, but I find all his music aside from the first Tactics game to be kind of same-ey. I can't tell the difference between music from FFXII, subsequent FFT's or A.S.H. or whatever. What FFT had going for it was a strong interlocking motif. There were several repeated themes throughout the soundtrack, the most common being the Beoulve theme:
The first time you hear this theme is during a flashback to the Beoulve children at their father's death bed. It's recanted many times throughout the game's sountrack and the motif is used in many other songs. My vote for most effective use of this refrain is during the battle in which Ramza sees his two older brothers die (ignore the unit organization music at the beginning here).
Things like this give the game a very satisfying sense of cyclical narrative completeness (if that even makes sense?). Another really good example of this is in the game's use of character themes. So Delita's got his theme and Ovelia has hers and later, the two get a sort of "love theme" that is a subtle intertwining of both of these (with some overarching Beoulve theme in there so that we never forget that Ramza and Delita's lives are still connected):
I can't think of any other game soundtrack that does something like this with its music, which is a shame (FFIX comes pretty close and is incredible by its own rights, but it doesn't quite have the sweeping, narrative grandeur of FFT's music). I think a lot of RPGs would benefit from structuring their OSTs more like a musical than a video game and regret that this game's music was not a trend-setter. Additionally, FFT was a silly looking game with simplistic graphics, no FMVs and no towns or even a real world map to be heard of. The soundtrack actually managed to elevate the game's atmosphere and suck you in despite the very thin budget. This is a very impressive feat since often an epic soundtrack married to sloppy graphics can have a negative effect in the sense that the music outstrips the game and ruins immersion. This happens a lot in the first Suikoden game (although I hate to say that because I love Suikoden omg) and was such a problem in Tales of Legendia that the juxtaposition of such gorgeous music with the ugly and poorly put together world of the game often left Dawn and I snickering at the unintentional hilarity when we attempted to play it.
Aside from the fact that's it's brilliantly composed, the music in Final Fantasy Tactics is also outright just damned pretty.
XENOGEARS
See, I told you I was pretty much just listing my favourite games ever ahahaha.
So Xenogears.
Yasunori Mitsuda's soundtracks for the Chrono games are probably his most lauded and I do admit, for pure listenability, the Chrono Cross OST has gotta be one of the best JRPG soundtracks ever composed, but I'm going to argue that Xenogears is his best work just because I can't think of anything else that sounds like it.
When it first came out, there had never really been a game like Xenogears before (I mean, I guess arguably with the exception of Shin Megami Tensei I+II, which both sort of grappled with similar themes, although I think they did so in a far less emotionally evocative way so my point still stands). There are instruments used in this soundtrack that I had never heard before or since in a video game. The distinctive, metallic percussion. The creepy, primal choirs. The harsh, grating echoes. Nggggh, it's just so incredible:
There's something really creepy and base about the music in this game, like it's trying to tug out the most isolated, lonely parts of you and appeal to them. Even the game's very beautiful love theme and the core theme music of the rowdy pirate character are very lonely tracks with a good measure of longing and sorrow in them. That isn't to say that the game isn't without its upbeat or funny tracks (I. AM A MAN. OF THE SEA!), because it isn't. And all of those are freaking awesome too. I'm just saying that it is at it's best when it's doing unnerving and emotional. This is a game that revels in psychological cracks and religious terror and the soundtrack tackles both of these themes beautifully. Also, it has two of my favoruite video game tracks of all time.
Ship of Regret and Sleep
And Merkava (you get Mitsuda's amazing celtic-themed re-composition from Xenogears: Cried because kdgfkdjgdfkl)
Also, dat ending theme:
METAL GEAR SOLID
I like the Harry Gregson-Williams soundtracks, I do. His work on MGS3 was a throwback masterpiece, he did things on the MGS4 soundtrack that made me teary eyed and I get all heart-swell nostalgicy when I hear his version of the Metal Gear theme (the one used in the opening for Sons of Liberty).
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT.
As much as I am a diehard and love all Metal Gear I just
don't think
subsequent games in the series managed to evoke as powerful an atmosphere as the Playstation Metal Gear Solid. I still mark MGS1 as one of the hands down most beautiful games I've ever played, even compared to all these shiny new graphics and cell-shading and particle density and how amazing every single moment of Mass Effect 2 looked. This is because every single aspect of MGS was used effectively and in concert to create a unique feeling of espionage paranoia merged with oddly spiritual underpinnings. The camera angles, the colour scheme, the bizarre and jarring flashes of white and the unusual sound effects. But oh, the music contributed greatly to the overall effect. Listen to this goddamn oppressive industrial sneaking track. Listen to how it's got one foot still in the SNES era of music composition and listen to how it manages to be epic without being over-bearing.
MGS isn't an RPG soundtrack like the last two listed, so there's less variation in it. The whole thing is full of very similar tracks, but this isn't a bad thing. What I love so much about the music is that it's surprisingly somber and under-stated, even the boss music:
All of this lends itself well to being stranded in a frozen, arctic base that's on the brink of disaster while you inexplicably experience something life-changing in that weird, quiet place. You know what- I don't even think I'm explaining this properly. There is just something about the music in MGS1 that is part of what made it what it was. A good measure of how true this is is the fact that Twin Snakes was released with a Harry Gregson-Williams Hollywood soundtrack and despite being a pretty faithful remake, the goddamn thing just was not the same.
THEY CUT OUT FREAKING ENCLOSURE. HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO SOB OVER SNIPER WOLF WITHOUT ENCLOSURE PLAYING TO THE TUNE OF HER WORDS. FANRAGGEGHJSEGSJ
And oh yeah, Mantis' Hymn. Creepiest song in an action game ever, y/y?
FINALLY, LET US NOT FORGET THAT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ENDING THEME TO EVER BE FEATURED IN A VIDEO GAME COMES FROM THIS SOUNDTRACK.
I played Metal Gear Solid for the first time twelve years ago.
This song still gets to me.
Every.
Damn.
Time.
Day 1 - Very first video game. - Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutles (the horrible one)
Day 2 - Your favorite character. - Solid Snake
Day 3 - A game that is underrated. - Final Fantasy X/Heart of Darkness
Day 4 - Your guilty pleasure game. - Bust a Groove/2
Day 5 - Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were). - Annoying Little Girl Characters
Day 6 - Most annoying character. - The Entire Cast of FFVIII
Day 7 - Favorite game couple. - Mia and Nash (Lunar: The Silver Star Story/Complete)
Day 8 - Best soundtrack. - Final Fantasy Tactics/Xenogears/Metal Gear Solid
Day 9 - Saddest game scene.
Day 10 - Best gameplay.
Day 11 - Gaming system of choice.
Day 12 - A game everyone should play.
Day 13 - A game you’ve played more than five times.
Day 14 - Current (or most recent) gaming wallpaper.
Day 15 - Post a screenshot from the game you’re playing right now.
Day 16 - Game with the best cut scenes.
Day 17 - Favorite antagonist.
Day 18 - Favorite protagonist.
Day 19 - Picture of a game setting you wish you lived in.
Day 20 - Favorite genre.
Day 21 - Game with the best story.
Day 22 - A game sequel which disappointed you.
Day 23 - Game you think had the best graphics or art style.
Day 24 - Favorite classic game.
Day 25 - A game you plan on playing.
Day 26 - Best voice acting.
Day 27 - Most epic scene ever.
Day 28 - Favorite game developer.
Day 29 - A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.
Day 30 - Your favorite game of all time.
Day 8. Pairing with the most baggage.
I'm sure the uninitiated can extrapolate something kind of romantic out of this image, but really, the reptile (marsupial actually) guy there is halfway through using an illegal drug to viciously and forcefully paw through the tubby dude's memories. This is Londo Mollari and G'kar and by the end of Babylon 5 they are super gay BFF. Until then we get four seasons of death threats, death attempts, attempted genocides and assassinations and lots of swooshing around in capes being drama queens. Their baggage goes a little like this:
MOLLARI, ISN'T IT GREAT HOW YOUR PEOPLE SPENT A CENTURY SUBJUGATING MY PEOPLE AND THEN YOU WENT AND POINTEDLY BEGAN A WAR BETWEEN US THAT ONCE AGAIN ENDED UP WITH MY WORLD DEVASTATED AND DYING?
Ah, yes, my dear G'kar. These things we have done, but you must admit that you were most certainly contributing to the escalation of that particular conflict. Also, there was that one time you tried to kill us both in that elevator.
I still maintain that you deserved that.
Ahhh, G'kar! Have I ever told you about that recurring dream I have where we kill each other?
The dream is true. They do kill each other, but it's not what you think.
Day 01 - What is your current favorite ship? - FShepard/Garrus (Mass Effect)
Day 02 - What was your very first ship? - Sonic/Sally (Sonic SATAM/Archie Comics)<
Day 03 - A pairing that needs to happen now? - Thrall/Jaina (Warcraft)
Day 04 - The pairing with the most chemistry? - Kurogane/Fye (TSUBABA Reservoir Chronicle)
Day 05 - The pairing with the least chemistry? - Brock/Doc Venture (Venture Brothers)
Day 06 - The best kiss? - Toby/Keller (Oz)
Day 07 - The most heartbreaking scene? - Vash/Wolfwood (Trigun: MAXIMUM)
Day 08 - The pairing with the most baggage? - Londo/G'kar (Babylon 5)
Day 09 - The most believable relationship?
Day 10 - Why aren't these two married in real life?
Day 11 - What is your dream pairing?
Day 12 - Who had the best wedding?
Day 13 - What is your favorite television pairing?
Day 14 - What is your favorite book pairing?
Day 15 - What is your favorite real life pairing?
Day 16 - What is the absolute worst pairing?
Day 17 - A pairing you thought would never work out, but did?
Day 18 - What is the cutest pairing?
Day 19 - A pairing you've rooted for since the beginning?
Day 20 - The "can't stand the sexual tension anymore" pairing?
Day 21 - A pairing you like and no one else understands why?
Day 22 - A pairing you hate and no one else understands why?
Day 23 - A crazy love triangle/quadrilateral that worked out great?
Day 24 - A crazy love triangle/quadrilateral that worked out badly?
Day 25 - A pairing that was/would-be adorable, but could never work out?
Day 26 - A pairing that you hated and ended up loving?
Day 27 - A pairing that you loved and ended up hating?
Day 28 - A pairing that you will never understand?
Day 29 - What ship had the best proposal?
Day 30 - Your favorite ship forever and ever and ev
THIS ISN'T FAIR
HOW IS ANYONE SUPPOSED TO CHOOSE JUST ONE FKLFJSDKJFSDKLFJL
Well.
Actually, when I sit down and give this a little thought, I'm able to narrow it down to a manageable list. I could name game soundtracks I love for about three hours straight and still miss a few, but the following have a special place in my heart not just for being fantastic (and nostalgic, as these are also pretty much my three favourite games of all time ahahaha) but for being notable and distinct in one way or another.
SO LET'S BEGIN:
FINAL FANTASY TACTICS
Click to viewIf you held a gun up to my head and forced me to choose one absolute favourite, I'd probably say FFT. Hitoshi Sakimoto is a pretty good composer, but I find all his music aside from the first Tactics game to be kind of same-ey. I can't tell the difference between music from FFXII, subsequent FFT's or A.S.H. or whatever. What FFT had going for it was a strong interlocking motif. There were several repeated themes throughout the soundtrack, the most common being the Beoulve theme:
The first time you hear this theme is during a flashback to the Beoulve children at their father's death bed. It's recanted many times throughout the game's sountrack and the motif is used in many other songs. My vote for most effective use of this refrain is during the battle in which Ramza sees his two older brothers die (ignore the unit organization music at the beginning here).
Things like this give the game a very satisfying sense of cyclical narrative completeness (if that even makes sense?). Another really good example of this is in the game's use of character themes. So Delita's got his theme and Ovelia has hers and later, the two get a sort of "love theme" that is a subtle intertwining of both of these (with some overarching Beoulve theme in there so that we never forget that Ramza and Delita's lives are still connected):
I can't think of any other game soundtrack that does something like this with its music, which is a shame (FFIX comes pretty close and is incredible by its own rights, but it doesn't quite have the sweeping, narrative grandeur of FFT's music). I think a lot of RPGs would benefit from structuring their OSTs more like a musical than a video game and regret that this game's music was not a trend-setter. Additionally, FFT was a silly looking game with simplistic graphics, no FMVs and no towns or even a real world map to be heard of. The soundtrack actually managed to elevate the game's atmosphere and suck you in despite the very thin budget. This is a very impressive feat since often an epic soundtrack married to sloppy graphics can have a negative effect in the sense that the music outstrips the game and ruins immersion. This happens a lot in the first Suikoden game (although I hate to say that because I love Suikoden omg) and was such a problem in Tales of Legendia that the juxtaposition of such gorgeous music with the ugly and poorly put together world of the game often left Dawn and I snickering at the unintentional hilarity when we attempted to play it.
Aside from the fact that's it's brilliantly composed, the music in Final Fantasy Tactics is also outright just damned pretty.
XENOGEARS
See, I told you I was pretty much just listing my favourite games ever ahahaha.
So Xenogears.
Yasunori Mitsuda's soundtracks for the Chrono games are probably his most lauded and I do admit, for pure listenability, the Chrono Cross OST has gotta be one of the best JRPG soundtracks ever composed, but I'm going to argue that Xenogears is his best work just because I can't think of anything else that sounds like it.
When it first came out, there had never really been a game like Xenogears before (I mean, I guess arguably with the exception of Shin Megami Tensei I+II, which both sort of grappled with similar themes, although I think they did so in a far less emotionally evocative way so my point still stands). There are instruments used in this soundtrack that I had never heard before or since in a video game. The distinctive, metallic percussion. The creepy, primal choirs. The harsh, grating echoes. Nggggh, it's just so incredible:
There's something really creepy and base about the music in this game, like it's trying to tug out the most isolated, lonely parts of you and appeal to them. Even the game's very beautiful love theme and the core theme music of the rowdy pirate character are very lonely tracks with a good measure of longing and sorrow in them. That isn't to say that the game isn't without its upbeat or funny tracks (I. AM A MAN. OF THE SEA!), because it isn't. And all of those are freaking awesome too. I'm just saying that it is at it's best when it's doing unnerving and emotional. This is a game that revels in psychological cracks and religious terror and the soundtrack tackles both of these themes beautifully. Also, it has two of my favoruite video game tracks of all time.
Ship of Regret and Sleep
And Merkava (you get Mitsuda's amazing celtic-themed re-composition from Xenogears: Cried because kdgfkdjgdfkl)
Also, dat ending theme:
METAL GEAR SOLID
I like the Harry Gregson-Williams soundtracks, I do. His work on MGS3 was a throwback masterpiece, he did things on the MGS4 soundtrack that made me teary eyed and I get all heart-swell nostalgicy when I hear his version of the Metal Gear theme (the one used in the opening for Sons of Liberty).
BUT YOU KNOW WHAT.
As much as I am a diehard and love all Metal Gear I just
don't think
subsequent games in the series managed to evoke as powerful an atmosphere as the Playstation Metal Gear Solid. I still mark MGS1 as one of the hands down most beautiful games I've ever played, even compared to all these shiny new graphics and cell-shading and particle density and how amazing every single moment of Mass Effect 2 looked. This is because every single aspect of MGS was used effectively and in concert to create a unique feeling of espionage paranoia merged with oddly spiritual underpinnings. The camera angles, the colour scheme, the bizarre and jarring flashes of white and the unusual sound effects. But oh, the music contributed greatly to the overall effect. Listen to this goddamn oppressive industrial sneaking track. Listen to how it's got one foot still in the SNES era of music composition and listen to how it manages to be epic without being over-bearing.
MGS isn't an RPG soundtrack like the last two listed, so there's less variation in it. The whole thing is full of very similar tracks, but this isn't a bad thing. What I love so much about the music is that it's surprisingly somber and under-stated, even the boss music:
All of this lends itself well to being stranded in a frozen, arctic base that's on the brink of disaster while you inexplicably experience something life-changing in that weird, quiet place. You know what- I don't even think I'm explaining this properly. There is just something about the music in MGS1 that is part of what made it what it was. A good measure of how true this is is the fact that Twin Snakes was released with a Harry Gregson-Williams Hollywood soundtrack and despite being a pretty faithful remake, the goddamn thing just was not the same.
THEY CUT OUT FREAKING ENCLOSURE. HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO SOB OVER SNIPER WOLF WITHOUT ENCLOSURE PLAYING TO THE TUNE OF HER WORDS. FANRAGGEGHJSEGSJ
And oh yeah, Mantis' Hymn. Creepiest song in an action game ever, y/y?
FINALLY, LET US NOT FORGET THAT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ENDING THEME TO EVER BE FEATURED IN A VIDEO GAME COMES FROM THIS SOUNDTRACK.
I played Metal Gear Solid for the first time twelve years ago.
This song still gets to me.
Every.
Damn.
Time.
Day 1 - Very first video game. - Teenage Mutant Ninja Tutles (the horrible one)
Day 2 - Your favorite character. - Solid Snake
Day 3 - A game that is underrated. - Final Fantasy X/Heart of Darkness
Day 4 - Your guilty pleasure game. - Bust a Groove/2
Day 5 - Game character you feel you are most like (or wish you were). - Annoying Little Girl Characters
Day 6 - Most annoying character. - The Entire Cast of FFVIII
Day 7 - Favorite game couple. - Mia and Nash (Lunar: The Silver Star Story/Complete)
Day 8 - Best soundtrack. - Final Fantasy Tactics/Xenogears/Metal Gear Solid
Day 9 - Saddest game scene.
Day 10 - Best gameplay.
Day 11 - Gaming system of choice.
Day 12 - A game everyone should play.
Day 13 - A game you’ve played more than five times.
Day 14 - Current (or most recent) gaming wallpaper.
Day 15 - Post a screenshot from the game you’re playing right now.
Day 16 - Game with the best cut scenes.
Day 17 - Favorite antagonist.
Day 18 - Favorite protagonist.
Day 19 - Picture of a game setting you wish you lived in.
Day 20 - Favorite genre.
Day 21 - Game with the best story.
Day 22 - A game sequel which disappointed you.
Day 23 - Game you think had the best graphics or art style.
Day 24 - Favorite classic game.
Day 25 - A game you plan on playing.
Day 26 - Best voice acting.
Day 27 - Most epic scene ever.
Day 28 - Favorite game developer.
Day 29 - A game you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.
Day 30 - Your favorite game of all time.
Day 8. Pairing with the most baggage.
I'm sure the uninitiated can extrapolate something kind of romantic out of this image, but really, the reptile (marsupial actually) guy there is halfway through using an illegal drug to viciously and forcefully paw through the tubby dude's memories. This is Londo Mollari and G'kar and by the end of Babylon 5 they are super gay BFF. Until then we get four seasons of death threats, death attempts, attempted genocides and assassinations and lots of swooshing around in capes being drama queens. Their baggage goes a little like this:
MOLLARI, ISN'T IT GREAT HOW YOUR PEOPLE SPENT A CENTURY SUBJUGATING MY PEOPLE AND THEN YOU WENT AND POINTEDLY BEGAN A WAR BETWEEN US THAT ONCE AGAIN ENDED UP WITH MY WORLD DEVASTATED AND DYING?
Ah, yes, my dear G'kar. These things we have done, but you must admit that you were most certainly contributing to the escalation of that particular conflict. Also, there was that one time you tried to kill us both in that elevator.
I still maintain that you deserved that.
Ahhh, G'kar! Have I ever told you about that recurring dream I have where we kill each other?
The dream is true. They do kill each other, but it's not what you think.
Day 01 - What is your current favorite ship? - FShepard/Garrus (Mass Effect)
Day 02 - What was your very first ship? - Sonic/Sally (Sonic SATAM/Archie Comics)<
Day 03 - A pairing that needs to happen now? - Thrall/Jaina (Warcraft)
Day 04 - The pairing with the most chemistry? - Kurogane/Fye (TSUBABA Reservoir Chronicle)
Day 05 - The pairing with the least chemistry? - Brock/Doc Venture (Venture Brothers)
Day 06 - The best kiss? - Toby/Keller (Oz)
Day 07 - The most heartbreaking scene? - Vash/Wolfwood (Trigun: MAXIMUM)
Day 08 - The pairing with the most baggage? - Londo/G'kar (Babylon 5)
Day 09 - The most believable relationship?
Day 10 - Why aren't these two married in real life?
Day 11 - What is your dream pairing?
Day 12 - Who had the best wedding?
Day 13 - What is your favorite television pairing?
Day 14 - What is your favorite book pairing?
Day 15 - What is your favorite real life pairing?
Day 16 - What is the absolute worst pairing?
Day 17 - A pairing you thought would never work out, but did?
Day 18 - What is the cutest pairing?
Day 19 - A pairing you've rooted for since the beginning?
Day 20 - The "can't stand the sexual tension anymore" pairing?
Day 21 - A pairing you like and no one else understands why?
Day 22 - A pairing you hate and no one else understands why?
Day 23 - A crazy love triangle/quadrilateral that worked out great?
Day 24 - A crazy love triangle/quadrilateral that worked out badly?
Day 25 - A pairing that was/would-be adorable, but could never work out?
Day 26 - A pairing that you hated and ended up loving?
Day 27 - A pairing that you loved and ended up hating?
Day 28 - A pairing that you will never understand?
Day 29 - What ship had the best proposal?
Day 30 - Your favorite ship forever and ever and ev