Disasterpeace – Fez

April 20, 2012 • II

I guess it's fitting that I chose Fez to round out the week; like Thomas Was Alone and Journey, Fez's soundtrack is one that instills a sense of wonder and purpose into its game to an incredible degree. Even though I highly recommend the game, if the soundtrack is the best you can do for now it's definitely worth listening to.

The soundtrack's style is mostly based around very simple chiptunes, but the quality of the various melodies and production values take it to a completely different level. Like how the film-score stylings of Journey's soundtrack created such vivid soundscapes, a similar thing applies here; Fez is a bit like a film score with electronic music instead of classical (you could almost think '70s soundtracks, but in a good way). Each piece effectively sounds like the location in the game it's associated with, and at the same time the whole soundtrack is still very cohesive and flows well.

But to try to pin it down in so many words would be doing the music a disservice. There is so much to be explored and discovered here (it is pretty long, after all) and there is so much thrown at the listener throughout. Sometimes it's the sunniest, most cheerfully bouncing music ever; other times it's dark and mysterious, droning away low guttural sawtooths. But in most cases, the music has this wonderful ability to just hang around and be incredibly comforting. It's tough to explain exactly why or how, but whenever I listen to it I just want to sit and be in that experience.

Special mention goes to the suite of "Snyc" and "Glitch" for wrapping up Fez in the best possible way; one of the most feel-good pieces of music I've ever heard (with a fantastic, catchy beat to boot). I don't like to rank music much anymore, but if I had to, Fez would be no lower than the second-greatest video game soundtrack I've ever heard. A masterpiece in every way.

Hotline Miami

August 21, 2012 • Devolver Digital

Imagine it's the year 1989, and you're sitting outside on the south Florida beach, a half-gone pile of cocaine spread out in front of you. That's what Hotline Miami is like, some kind of blitzed-out psychedelic insanity that evokes that hot and hazy atmosphere while also being dissonant and alienating. It's a weird experience, but a good one.

"Synthwave" is the new buzzword for this kind of music—retro-inspired synth pop and house music—though I find the name a bit misleading, at least when it comes to this soundtrack. As a various-artists collection there's actually quite a number of different things going on, going from thick psych-rock to deep thumping house and techno. It's a good sampling of how wildly different genres can still provide a similar mood and aesthetic to a soundtrack (then again, maybe it's just that I already associate all these songs with the game). And it's just plain weird, too; flipping around the songs might seem kind of normal at first, but there's always something just a little off that makes them feel a bit uneasy.

Hotline Miami itself isn't really a game I'd recommend for everyone, and I don't think I actually like it all that much myself. But I do know that it did bring us a pretty good collection of tracks to go along with it. There are a few forgettable tracks here and overall it doesn't inflict me with the same sense of awe as a lot of other recent soundtracks have, but it's still worth a listen just for the weirdness.

Austin Wintory – Journey

July 19, 2013 • Sony Music / Sumthing Else Music Works

I don't own a PS3 so I never played Journey, so you'll have to take this opinion from someone who just watched a video of it; but even in that experience it's still a great game. No small part of its success should be attributed to its score, easily another one of my top favorite pieces of game music ever.

One thing you'll notice right away about Journey's soundtrack is that it's not very typical for a game; it feels a lot more like that of a dramatic, artsy film (and I mean that in a good way). Many modern classical film score tropes are in full swing here: a large-scale orchestra with occasional tight string and wind ensembles; soft, meandering melodies; tense, amelodic, droning buildups.

But it's not a generic score by any means; it definitely takes on the role of "soundscape" more than "soundtrack" as it works so well to establish mood and context without even really needing a visual to go along with it. Journey is, at least in part, a game about exploration (big surprise) and discovery; this score evokes those emotions exceedingly well. It has that sense of childlike wonder to it, as the music paints these mysterious and foreign yet beautiful scenes.

It does suffer a bit from your typical score's inherent problem with getting a bit too long and as Journey is especially heady and dense, it can be a bit of a difficult attentive listen. Still, I think it's absolutely worth it; it's simply one of the most gorgeous experiences I've had with gaming in general in a long time and deserves all the attention it can get. At the very least, give these pieces a try.

David Housden – Thomas Was Alone

April 24, 2013 • self-released

If I had to give an award to the single most emotional and affecting video game soundtrack, Thomas Was Alone would win it by far. There's something about it that hits me with just the right mood every time, and it's a fantastic experience.

The songs' arrangements vary a bit in their complexity, but they mostly boil down to a beautiful mix of piano, strings, and some guitar with soft chiptune and glitch music. Even with the electronic elements, the music still feels organic and earthy. The digital sounds fit well with the acoustic instruments; they stick out somewhat if you're listening for them, but they still manage to fit the aesthetic very well. Perhaps it's that they aren't as harsh and sawtooth-y as most chiptune, and the way they are mixed in with the same delay and reverb helps.

But it's the way the music feels that sets it apart, naturally. Compared to most soundtracks, it's a bit of a downer. (Of course that means I'll love it.) While it's so sad it also has a very hopeful mood to it (see "Escape" and "Clear Skies"), sort of like the Sigur Rós equivalent of a game soundtrack. It's not without its darker moments as well, like "Divided We Fall", giving the album a surprising amount of depth.

Put simply, this is a masterpiece of gaming soundtracks (probably in my top ten, anyway). Every element is done exactly right, it isn't missing a thing, and there is nothing in it that shouldn't be there. This is one of the rare game soundtracks that stands well on its own without the context of the game itself, although of course I recommend the game to absolutely anyone.

Rom Di Prisco & Peter Chapman – Guacamelee!

I'm back in full force, and today I'm ramping up the second Video Game Soundtrack Week! About freakin' time!

September 4, 2013 • Drinkbox Studios

I almost always love it when game soundtracks manage to go well above and beyond a simple electronic style, and I enjoy it even more when games like Guacamelee! take that to a new level. With the game's luchador theme it's obvious that its soundtrack would include a heavy helping of Mexican music, but I never expected it to be so well-done and fit so well into the game. Not only did it add immensely to my enjoyment of the game, but it provides a great listening experience on its own.

The soundtrack presents two distinct styles, similar in style but different in functionality. One is Peter Chapman's more traditional scoring: it's based around a large ensembles with a big cinematic sound. It's used mostly for cutscenes and menus, and there it does an excellent job of establishing the mood and feel of the game. Rom Di Prisco's tracks are a bit more diverse. They're based around a smaller mariachi arrangement and have varying amounts of electronic fusion going on. Most of these tracks also have a "dark world" equivalent, which adds a thick layer of dark, despairing reverb to the otherwise jaunty tunes.

It's difficult to describe exactly what makes this soundtrack so attractive, but it does do two things very well for me. Firstly, it draws you into the game's world so incredibly well. Maybe it helps that I never really listen to Mexican music (though I should), but those folky elements—guitars, brass, upright bass (which sounds amazing, by the way)—can be really captivating and evoke the game's world so effectively. Secondly, the whole thing just jams so hard. I could listen to that boss theme or the Temple or Rain theme all day. Even the softer tracks groove along nicely when they want to.

It's a soundtrack that has (or ought to have) universal appeal, even though it seems like it combines a couple of semi-niche genres it manages to transcend each. Oh, and the game is pretty great too, I suppose.

dB Soundworks – The Binding of Isaac

September 28, 2011 • self-released

Since I picked up the game a few months ago I've sunk almost a hundred hours into The Binding of Isaac, a rogulike-action-RPG-twin-stick-shooter sort of game. Its short playstyle and huge depth makes it incredibly addictive and fun. Not to mention, of course, that it has a pretty slick soundtrack as well; admittedly lately I've been playing with the music off and listening to something else since, well, a hundred hours of the same music can get repetitive. But that's not to say it's bad!

On the contrary—its music is very well-crafted, mostly a sort of classical-electronic fusion (similar to db Soundworks' other) with sweeping, doom-laden string ensembles and choirs, backing some ambient yet melodic synthwork. As far as soundtracks go, it's pretty standard fare; these sorts of arrangements wouldn't be out of place in your average sci-fi or drama film, except for the nice IDM-like beats integrated into the mix. See "Divine Combat" for a perfect example—the dark strings combined with the frantic glitchy beats and infectious melody clicks amazingly well. Or "Dreadful"'s incredibly tense, Jaws-like strings and ambient house beats. There are also more dreamy pieces like the ambient "Peace Be With You", offering a nice contrast to the tension of other tracks.

One thing I'm not a huge fan of, though, is that there's a bit less variety in this seventy-two minute album than I would like. Many of the songs are remixes or variations on melodies in earlier tracks—take the tune "$4cR1f1c14|_", a chiptune remix of "Sacrificial", or "Greed", an easy-listening version of the same. In the game, these tracks' inclusions are justified—they are played in the arcade and shop respectively—but on the album they should have been no more than trivial bonus tracks, not central tracks (and certainly not five minutes, in "$4cR1f1c14|_"'s case).

It's hard to fault the soundtrack for that, though, since the tracks are so well-composed that it's impossible to dislike it. The way the electronic synths and beats are combined with the classical music is simply perfect—not to mention that the classical bits, on their own, are still pretty amazing and sound absolutely fantastic. Also worth mentioning is the awesome tech house remix of many of the main themes by Big Giant Circles, one of my favorite tracks on the album. So yeah; it's definitely one of the better game soundtracks I've heard lately. I could be biased from hearing it so much but I'd say it's definitely worth a listen.

7

Darren Korb – Bastion

August 05, 2011 • Supergiant Games

Bastion is a game that generated some massive hype and most people into modern indie gaming have heard of it, I'm sure; I thought it was decent, albeit short and repetitive and it seemed like more thought was put into its aesthetics than its gameplay. That's fine by me, since its soundtrack is pretty well-done and one of my favorite parts of the game.

Most of the music is a fusion of chilled-out electronic beats fused with influences from folk music, most of it eastern Asian and western American. It's a strange-sounding combo, but it actually works pretty well (and I've actually heard the eastern/western folk fusion done to effect in other soundtracks like for the film Hero). Acoustic and clean electric guitars are balanced with instruments like sitar, (what I think is) shamisen, and exotic percussion, all over a heavy, glitchy, and sometimes menacing downtempo beat. It's a style that worked well in-game but also well outside of it (to a lesser extent, though). Some songs work better on their own than others, mostly ones that have heavier beats and more country/folk fusion like "Terminal March" or "Spike in a Rail", while the more mellow or slow ones are more difficult to enjoy on their own. And, as usual, some tracks suffer from being cut off at the end where normally they'd be looped. It's not a bad thing but it's more jarring than it should be.

It's difficult to describe the music much more without going into fantastic detail—on one level, it's the electronic/folk fusion I've talked about; deeper down there are a ton of influences from other genres and a ton of different instruments used that push the music all over the map (like the admittedly-awesome industrial rock style of "Brusher Patrol"). It's a testament to composer Darren Korb's diverse talent, to be sure, especially since the album still mostly feels like one coherent work.

But as with any soundtrack, its staying power is definitely lessened outside the game; the tracks can get repetitive (aside from the obvious non-background-music ones, like the vocal tracks) making the album seem way longer than it is—par for the course for most soundtracks, though, so I can't fault it much for it. Needless to say, it's best experienced in-game, though I don't know if I'll ever actually play the game a second time (not that it was bad, just probably not worth it). The music, though, is definitely worth a couple listens.

7

竹間淳 – Bomberman Hero

June 1, 1998 • NTT Publishing

While Tetrisphere may have been one of the two first console games I owned, its companion Bomberman Hero was much more memorable to me. Its platforming-adventure style not only helped cement my later taste for N64 games, but its music was also enthralling to me at the time. And it's still quite a good listen, too; it may be more kid-friendly than your run-of-the-mill gritty, hardcore drum and bass, but there's a lot of good electronic music here which not only accompanied the game well but stands on its own as a great album.

While admittedly most of the music has a slightly campy, cheesy feel to it, I don't see that as a bad thing—the catchy little melodies are great ("Redial" for a good early example, not to mention "Zip"'s lovely marimba) and the soundtrack has a very fun feeling to it throughout, even on the darker tracks ("darker" isn't saying a whole lot). The cheesiness is also often undermined by some complex drum lines, gritty atmosphere, noisy background sounds, and synthy glitches, which contrast the upbeatness pretty well—while it may be music for a kids' game, it's definitely not amateurly-composed.

Like many game soundtracks, this one has a lot of styles thrown in it; most tracks are drum and bass oriented but there's a fair bit of minimal / atmospheric house and techno as well—even a touch of jazz. The album still holds together well and has a fairly unified sound, even though—as with a lot of game music, many of the tracks here are slightly themed. There are obvious water-level tracks, factory-level tracks, etc., and while the theming is done effectively in-game, on the album everything still meshes together well enough. It's fairly impressive. And, of course, sticking around until the final track "Loom" is a good idea: it's a more ambient / Japanese folk fusion track, which never appeared in the game and feels a bit out of place but is still pretty neat (and quite beautiful).

So while my appreciation for Bomberman Hero's great music can probably be attributed to fond memories of countless hours spent blowing up polygons back in the day, the soundtrack still holds up in my eyes as a great showcase of different electronic styles and a testament to composer Jun Chikuma's talent. While the game may not appeal to many people (and it's lost a bit of its charm for me too) the music is definitely worth a listen.

7

Neil Voss – Tetrisphere

Welcome to the first Video Game Soundtrack Week! For the next five days I'll be taking a look at various pieces of game-related music and soundtracks.

August 11, 1997 • Nintendo

I never thought of Tetrisphere as a particularly good game, but it still holds a special place for two reasons: one, it is one of the two video games my family first owned, and two, it has an amazing soundtrack. Neil Voss's commanding use of highly danceable and catchy electronic jams still lives on in my music library today.

Perhaps it's the nostalgia talking, as I grew up playing a lot of games where this sort of soundtrack was popular and were mostly the typical amalgamation of house, techno, IDM, and drum and bass (and I'm not much into techno). But there's still a quality to Tetrisphere's that holds up critically. There are few, if any, points where the music could be considered cheesy or generic. While juggling these different styles Voss manages to throw a lot of creativity into the mix in the forms on clever sampling, great atmosphere, complex drum beats, and a huge array of synth voices.

As no official version of the soundtrack was ever released (that I know of), the soundtrack can only be heard in-game or via a digital bootleg floating around the Internet. Surprisingly, in the album format, it still works really well—most soundtrack albums I've heard don't do well in this format (not that I'd expect them to). But whoever compiled this one did an excellent job, despite the sonic diversity—the fadeouts are well-placed, no track goes on too long, and the album feels only a little bit lengthy. And for some reason, they back-loaded the album: all the best tracks are at the end ("Learn", "Zyp Zyp", and the godly "Extol") form a great closer, although it's a bit sad that my attention has waned a bit by the time they show up.

While Tetrisphere's soundtrack will sadly pass over a lot of people who never owned the game, as a primer to electronic music I can think of none better. Its catchy yet atmospheric sound is among few I've heard from video games, and it's probably one of the major reasons I'm even into electronic music in the first place (although a few other games helped too).

7