Ken Hisuag

Perhaps something unexpected? I have never had the inclination to look into the soundtrack for FNaF World before this week; I assumed it was mostly stock music. Surprisingly, this bizarre game has quite a competent OST to accompany its sharp mood changes. Underneath the initially cheery tracks, the music becomes darker and more sinister the further you go, yet retains its characteristically strong melodies.

I almost posted this one closer to New Years, but figured I'd save it for later. This isn't that much later . . . Best to be careful this close to a tournament.

First feature of the year ought to be something special. My opinions concerning Iconoclasts are complicated; I consider some of its design decisions to be poorly determined, yet it remains one of the most personally influential games I've played. It starts out simple and seemingly straightforward, and distracts from some of its initial darker implications with a cheery aesthetic and cheesy dialogue. As the story progresses, it becomes more convoluted, presenting its themes far more seriously. The ending disappointed me; I understand but disagree with some of the developer's intentions, and am completely baffled by others. If I ever did a in-depth review of a game, it would be this one. That's not what this place is for, but you may see something of my journey in the pieces I've selected if you're familiar with the game. The music itself is expertly and intentionally crafted to accompany the game; area themes sometimes change to reflect story progression, character themes may no longer play if they are no longer indicative of the character's progression, and boss themes remain focused on the action until late game when they become more emotional. It's not technically "dynamic," but the concept is there.

Happy New Year to all! I seek to start the year off strong, so this is one of those especially good arrangements I've been keeping saved for a while. I hope anyone seeing this is doing alright. It's felt rather quiet here of late. God be with us all in these times.

This is the OGM record for 2021. Let it be noted there was a Binding of Isaac feature from the late account of Garison DeCrick that I failed to record before it disappeared.

In what may be my final posts this year, I hereby commence the OGM 2021 round-up! I'll split it into two posts this year, simply because I dread potential formatting problems with the record. For this post, I'm focusing on my personal top five video game soundtracks of the year, though there's a few "honorable mentions" I'd like to address first. Friday Night Funkin' has managed to endure, and I'd be remiss not to commend it for the many uniquely styled pieces it has inspired. I didn't rank it mainly because most of my favorite songs are from outside the official game, and ultimately it doesn't quite measure up to some of my other options. I'd recommend Overwrite from the "X Event Mod," Manifest from the "Vs. Sky Mod," and Triple Trouble from the "Vs. Sonic.EXE Mod." Monster Hunter Rise was difficult not to rank, but I didn't feel I was capable of doing so properly. Ideally, a new entry in a well-established series should be estimated against its predecessors for innovation (dangerous word . . . oh well). Despite being far more familiar with Monster Hunter now than I was a year ago, I am certainly still lacking the experience necessary to do this justice. That being said, my limited dips into this soundtrack turned up Domain of Dust and Desolation, Where Wyverns Go to Die, and Stage of the Strong (also see buskerdog's four part feature from July). Finally, I'm sure everyone's aware that Deltarune Chapter 2 came out this year. The quality of Toby Fox's compositions need not be argued for, but I am conflicted over whether to consider this a 2021 release. As Deltarune is officially considered to be a single entity, each chapter may technically be viewed as some form of DLC or, perhaps more accurately, updates to an "early access" title. In any other situation, I would prefer to consider the earliest release date as the official year, thus disqualifying any music added in later years. However, Deltarune currently advertises itself as a demo, which might be considered a different category entirely. For now, it's more trouble than it's worth; nonetheless, A CYBER'S WORLD?, Pandora Palace, and BIG SHOT are all amazing pieces (as are Smart Race, Attack of the Killer Queen, Lost Girl, Cyber Battle . . .) That being said, my number five is an early access release. Also, I coincidentally haven't played any of these games, same as last year. Should I put all of them in one box, or separate them out? Now I feel obligated to put some text in between boxes to preserve the aesthetic. I always default to the main theme for these, even if I've used it in a previous feature. But what about games without main themes? . . . There y'all have it! If anyone else is interested in doing their own rankings, I'd love to see them!

It is the week of Christmas, and thus the final feature of the year (not counting the round up next week). The year started with Rivals of Aether, and with the recent finalization of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it seems fitting to end the year with that. There's a lot of music in SSBU; in addition to original pieces and remixes, many tracks are imported from other games. This includes tracks from previous titles in the Super Smash Bros. series, along with remixes from them. However, for the purposes of this feature, I am only considering tracks composed or remixed specifically for Ultimate. Time is short this week (for obvious reasons), so I can't go into the considerations behind these picks as I'd like to. There's quite a few of them, though; I've tried to pick out the best examples, both of the pervading style, and of the scope of representation accomplished.

I was hoping some circle or other would do a Christmas style Perpetual Snow remix, but it hasn't happened, so Imma settle for this. This one labels itself as Christmas themed, and it does seem to carry elements thereof despite being primarily a straightforward metal piece. This last one is a reshare, because I can't find anything else as suitable for the occasion.

I found out God of War (2018) is coming out on Steam, and I am hyped! I figured I would make a feature about it, and was surprised by how short the soundtrack is. The game is very cinematic in nature, and I infer that the music was saved for the more emotionally impactful moments, thus requiring less than I would normally expect from a project of this size. In consequence of this being more like a film soundtrack than standard VGM, the motifs are somewhat few and leitmotifs even fewer. There are, however, two major leitmotifs worth noting, both of which feature in this first track. The first and most pervasive motif I consider "the theme of the journey." It often plays over important moments relating to the motivation behind the characters' travels, especially when characters are discussing said motivations. The second motif is less prevalent here, but easily recognizable as the main theme of the series. This presumably relates to the inner conflict of the main character, which tends to run parallel to the journey without being its particular motivation. Emotionally impactful moments also include times of tension, and the themes for these parts are closer to standard VGM. The progression relies less on external influence, allowing for development of a unique motif. I can't find a way to talk about this last track without spoilers, but I simply cannot leave it out. It is arguably the most compelling piece in the soundtrack, reinforcing the scenes that accompany it as part of the storytelling.

It's late. I'm late. Luckily, I had some pieces prepared.

The composer for Eastward advertised his soundtrack as "a mashup of genres, palettes and moods," which description I found to be entirely apt and accurate. I first encountered this soundtrack through the game's trailer, and was immediately sure the full album was something I'd want to check out. My initial impressions were strongly reminiscent of FEZ, which overtime adjusted to comparisons with Celeste. The music isn't specifically like anything, but blends around several styles that seemed vaguely familiar at all times. Being that this game emphasized itself as nostalgic in its advertising, I presume this effect to be intended, and thus accomplished magnificently. Expect this to be one of my top soundtrack of the year.

Entering into Advent, an audio offering of underrated origin.

Back from an unplanned week off, having dived directly into the Christmas season. None of these arrangements are associated with the upcoming holiday, but I'm sure something will pop up before the year is up.

I won't be back before Thanksgiving, so I'm expressing my well-wishes to whosoever may pass by between then an now with a couple songs I like to listen to around this time. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

For no particular reason, I chose to check out Owlboy's soundtrack for this week. I've heard very little about either the game or its music beyond basic recommendation, so I didn't have much by way of expectation going into it. Unexpectedly, I found it comparable to the music of Will of the Wisps and Hollow Knight, being deep with worldbuilding and story development. Notable that I struggled to understand this for those two soundtracks without further contextualizing them to their games, while with this soundtrack I find it immediately evident. I'm not sure if that's indicative of true clarity, or if I've simply become more familiar with its marks. Overall, I'm extremely impressed with this OST. I can't think of another time when the music alone has imparted to me a desire to experience the game it was made for.

Understandable. I just wanted clarification concerning formalities. I figure we won't want to start one in the middle of the holiday season, so if no one else brings it up I'll wait till next year. I've been exploring some new genres lately. Nothing too extreme, but enjoyable nonetheless. I'd like to have something relating to Thanksgiving, but I am no closer to determining a thematic genre than I was last year (beyond basic folk). But I'll post these anyway.

We are in the midst of "the holiday season," and times are busy. Somehow, I am still here! No Straight Roads as a game is themed around the contrast between the golden age of rock and the more modern forms of electronic music, and its soundtrack bears testimony to a thorough understanding of both. Multiple tracks have been remixed into both styles as a demonstration of the comparison, while other tracks function as a rectification between the two. There's also a lot of nuances to the arrangements, but I haven't had the time to really dive into them, so I won't mention them at this time. Worth looking into if anyone's interested, though!

Feelin' chill today, so posting a chill remix. Unrelated side notes:

Temmie sings!

Last month, Pascal Michael Stiefel released a new soundtrack, and I was excited! Circuit Superstars is composed of a variety of synthwave styles themed toward different periods of the genre's development. I don't know how well they suit the game they were created for (the video I looked at must have had the BGM turned off), but they stand perfectly well on their own. I can definitely detect familiar tones in the arrangements, and I'm glad Stiefel is still composing.

Please forgive my retreading of recently covered categories; fresh finds are most fun to share fresh. There are a lot of "Touhou-style" remixes of themes from other games, but I find a lot of them don't quite accomplish sufficiently relatable levels of zunish. This arrangement manages it multiple times in a single remix, and has the added bonus of impressive illustrations. Miki Hiroyuki put her hand to the recent compositions of Touhou 17.5, and delivered something quite impressive. I'm glad she's doing more remixes of late. And finally, to somewhat justify this feature with something more akin to the threads standard offerings, a Shinra-Bansho arrangement I found a while back. No animation this time, but it may be up there with my favorites from them. As expected, high production quality and clever twists upon the source motifs.

Two months ago, I determined to feature Deltarune immediately after its third anniversary, as a nod to it having come out three years after Undertale. As chapter two was not out at that time, its release changed my approach to this endeavor significantly. With a better understanding of what to expect in the future, I feel it would be prudent to put off any features thereof until full release, so as to have a better understanding of what leitmotifs were actually important. But that would mean sitting on it for potentially six more years (and who knows where we'll all be then?), so instead I'll do something now and see how things go. The first chapter was heavily reliant upon the "don't forget" motif, named for the end-credits vocal track. It pervades so strongly, that I initially took it to be the primary thematic motif of the game. However, it's almost completely missing from the second chapter. The "queen" motif is present in quite a few tracks, but always for story related reasons. Meanwhile, a select couple of leitmotifs from the previous game make a return, though with questionable relevance. Overall, I'm not really sure where this is going. Part of me wonders how much changes behind the scenes over time. For now, it's impossible to know.

17.5 is finally out, and most of the recent music content is related to the two (kind of) new tracks. Both are reminiscent of my favorite 17 piece, and Memory of Fossil Energy is especially good. Considering the new gameplay style, I might actually try this game (might be a while, though). I also randomly came across this thing, and I get the impression it's one of those "classic remixes," like Night of Nights or the IOSYS collection. Can't say it's up my alley, but not everything needs to be. To balance things out, I'll add this "darksynth" Bad Apple!! remix in. I think it sounds surprisingly fresh, though that may just be the absence of the melody for its majority.

Last year I implied I might feature Doom Eternal. Then I forgot about it. Now I've remembered it. I can't pretend this is "my kind" of soundtrack. A majority of the tracks lack any kind of satisfying progression; I strongly suspect this factor to be the secret instigator behind hasty critiques against this genre of music (e.g., "this isn't music"). That being said, there remains a recognizable complexity to these arrangements. The composer had a predetermined goal, and it was met to the best of his ability. I can understand that, and appreciate it in that context. I even find I can enjoy it at times.

Cuttin' close tonight. I articulated an unmade decision, and was indirectly directed to these two "bossa nova" remixes. Enjoy.