Ken Hisuag

As promised, Marine Benefit. Whether merely perceived or actual, I detect a minimalist style to this soundtrack, at least in comparison to typical Touhou compositions. There are often less layers and countermelodies to these tracks, though the motifs themselves are sufficiently dynamic. Many of the videos I looked at for this feature had comments that implied a heavy inspiration to canon themes in the motif composition, and I have to admit I can somewhat hear what they mean. Nonetheless, they manage to be enjoyable pieces in their own right with the bonus effect of the thematic tone. I also chanced across this remix during my searching, and felt inclined to include it in the feature.

Also, since I'm still haunting the shrine for the tournament and the opportunity has presented itself, there is now sufficient context for this remix. I've references it before, and it's still one of my favorites.

. . .

Team Ladybug's Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth saw the return of Pepo Soft as composer. Being unfamiliar with Record of Lodoss War, I cannot say whether these themes are remixes or original; but either way, they carry the same style as employed in Luna Nights, though perhaps with a heavier blend of orchestral sprinkled throughout the techno-rock. There are, of course, stand out themes that break away from the regular billing for specific purposes, such as cutscenes and minigames. Unlike it's predecessor, the game is somewhat lacking in battle themes, either in a literal sense or with insufficient variance between them (and I'm fairly confident it's the latter, but the soundtrack layout is a bit confusing). Altogether, I'm not as impressed as I was with Luna Nights, but I suspect that has more to do with my lack of background with the material, and this is still much better than what I'd call "average."

Back when Ten Desires was announced, there was apparently an unusually active form of speculation concerning the nature of its plot mechanics. Being that I wasn't aware of the fandom back then, I'm unable to tell if there was some explanation for this activity. Part of the result was an entire fangame based off of some earlier theories, complete with its own original music. I'm putting off that feature for next week, though, because the other project of significance was a fan "completion" of the game after its demo released, from the team behind The Last Comer (in fact, both projects were concurrent and released at about the same time). Four original themes were composed by none other than Wanwan for the bosses, three of which are still available on Youtube (I've had no luck finding the extra stage boss theme). Being that I'm a huge fan of Wanwan, here's the final boss theme he composed for the project: A Light Towards the Dark Skies ~ Heaven Desires.

I decided to feature Shantae: Half-Genie Hero when the SSBU costume was announced. Being that it is the third Mii costume to come with a music track, I figured I ought to bite the bullet and finally look into the source material. Long story short, I'm not that impressed by it. I found myself making (rather ironic) comparisons to Rabi-Ribi; in both cases, the music is less about characterization, story-telling, world-building, or thematic stylizing, and more about just being music. While this isn't a bad thing in the slightest, it does mean there will be less heart in these themes, making them seem more simple and ultimately less memorable. I could be missing something; this game and its music is well-loved by many. But at this time, I'm not sure I get it. Nonetheless, the music is still good, and there are some stand-out tracks. I'll probably have to look into the other Shantae soundtracks eventually, but I'm in no rush on those.

With the approach of the next remix tournament (still accepting submissions at this time), it's safest for me to focus more on non-remixes here. I've selected a few from names I'm more familiar with.

Given the references in the previous two-ish features, I had to take advantage of the association and return to my all-time favorite soundtrack, this time with a bit more in-depth explanation. Octopath Traveler's music can be sorted into specific categories according to the function they perform in-game. This is surprisingly useful in identifying the styles that characterize the soundtrack as a whole. That should do it for now. With how much I love this soundtrack, it's extremely likely I'll come back to it yet again. At least I took the time to do a proper feature for this post.

I came across this album randomly, and appreciated the Castlevania-esque style of this track. It has a techno baseline, but is carried by violin solo bridged by interchanging sections of strings, synths and at one point even an organ! It all blends together really well.

I feel inclined toward rock and metal today, or something along those lines anyway . . .

Half as a followup to last week, half as its own feature, today we're momentarily returning to Bravely Default to address what is arguably its most significant contribution to VGM. I mentioned last week in passing that I inadvertently compare this soundtrack to that of Octopath Traveler. While technically both games feature the same styles of music, the way they each incorporate them is very different; Octopath's soundtrack is crafted to its world building, while Default's music tends to be more experimental than serious (given time, I might make a better argument for this position, but for now this is sufficient to define my perceptions surrounding the two). I clarify this to contextualize one of the more noteworthy parallels between the two, that being their shared gimmick of instrument-specific character themes. In Octopath, these themes served a primarily story-focused purpose, often playing at important moments in each character's journey to denote moments of change or progression. For Default, the character themes represent a foundational game mechanic concerning combat. There are four character themes in Bravely Default. I don't think I need to clarify the "focus" instruments; if it isn't apparent immediately, it will be later. All of these are great compositions in their own right, especially considering the constraints under which they were arranged; each had to be exactly the same length, and they manage to complete a standard motif cycle within a relatively short time. However, they are ultimately not the focus of this feature. This is the theme of the game's final boss. The soundtrack arrangement has strung together independently looping phases into a cohesive musical journey. This accomplishes one of the most compelling culminations I've yet come across in VGM, pulling together the musical identity of the entire game into a single piece that simultaneously distinguishes itself as unique. This is accomplished by building the piece around its own motif, and including only the most undeniably important leitmotifs for its climax (rather than going for the effective but often unremarkable general medley or main theme remix approaches). The result is one of my favorite standalone pieces in video game music, and deserving of a slightly more spectacular presentation. There's probably (definitely) more to say about this piece, such as the significance of in-game buildup, but I think what I've presented should be sufficient (this feature is already a week too long, anyway). Till next week!

Upon this late night, I figure it's about time I mentioned the Fantasy Kaleidoscope soundtracks. While primarily known for Yuuhei Satellite's vocal pieces, the fanime's bgm does feature a few other remixes worth some attention.

I was fairly certain when I covered Breath of the Wild that it would be my largest feature, since anything larger than that would likely be split across multiple entries. This week, I determined to feature Bravely Default. I like this soundtrack, and it features one of my favorite themes in all of VGM. However, there are difficulties involved. It is a very uniquely styled soundtrack, which always makes for a more difficult feature. Additionally problematic is my perpetual tendency to compare Bravely Default's music to that of Octopath Traveler, which shares just enough musical similarity and stronger personal appeal to permanently put the former at an unfair disadvantage towards me. But more than any other factor, the most troubling hindrance to the conciseness of this post's selections is the aforementioned favored theme; while certainly enjoyable on its own, context is required for full appreciation of the piece. So to give proper representation to both the game and the specific track, I am going to treat them as separate entities. This post will be about the game's soundtrack as a whole, and a later post will address the theme in question. I had planned to say quite a bit more on this soundtrack, but a combination of my own indecision, checking for Monster Hunter track names, and the general business of life, I am pushing my time as it is. Perhaps I'll amend this post later for relevancy's sake.

Much hype! . . . Noted. I've got the thread record updated, but I have not been able to locate the original version of the "Arena Theme" from Monster Hunter Generations (Ultimate?). For the sake of others in my position of not being familiar with the music theme process of this series, I'd like to clarify that themes carry over from game to game, and may be posted to Youtube under entries in which they appeared but were not featured in the official soundtrack thereof. Case in point, the White Fatalis theme (Ancestral Dragon) from Monster Hunter Freedom is actually from Monster Hunter 2.

How's this one?

I rewatched The Big Country this week (the definitive old-American-west film), and was struck by its use of silence in multiple scenes. The film makers had a masterful sense of what they wanted the audience to focus on and when; there was never a point in the film that I found boring for lack of audio or visual activity, since it was always clear why there was silence when it occurred. But that aside, the film also had a really good main theme; the primary motif served to represent the wide-open land and the personalities that characterized it rather than the characters and their conflicts, thus keeping the audience grounded to the real underlying theme of the story. It pops up quite a bit throughout the film, and I felt like sharing it.

I decided to go with a Summer pop theme this week, and discovered that I'm hesitant to post Shinra-Bansho remixes. There's quite a few of them in my "pop" folder; I have this perception that everyone will have already seen them, which doesn't really make sense since it's no more likely then anything else I could use. I'll have to use them eventually, but for now they'll wait.

I couldn't decide on a feature this week, so I decided to go with something different. There is surprisingly little opportunity on this thread to reference the community surrounding VGM and the casually elaborate appreciation that characterizes it. This remix project of the Mii Channel theme provides an opportunity to glance into that world, if only skimming the tip of the iceberg.

Tomorrow being July 4th, it should be no surprise to anyone that I've got a couple Clownpiece remixes to share today. The first one is comprised both of electro swing and glitch hop, without the two technically mixing; the result is quite unique, though I worry it may be off-putting to a listener who enjoys one style but not the other. To balance it out, we've got CarrotWine's cinematic arrangement.

Last week was the 30th anniversary of the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Part of me wishes someone else had covered it here, because despite my great appreciation for the Mania, CD, and selections of other soundtracks across the series, I don't consider myself to be well informed on the majority of the franchise. This primarily stems from my aversion to philosophically flippant lyrics in English vocal songs, which comprise a major part of the franchise's music. Sonic Adventure 2, specifically, is often recommended to me as being among the best of the series, and I have never been able to get through the first track (excepting Escape from the City). That being said, I was determined that the occasion should be noted in some capacity or other on this thread, and so determined to listen through the Sonic Colors soundtrack. I've heard this is on of the better games of recent times (recent being a relative term), and it is thankfully comprised of mostly instrumental tracks. I found it to be a very good soundtrack, and found it somewhat difficult to choose which tracks to feature. Every stage theme is remixed to three act variations with the same motif and basic structure (not counting the final level), which are usually of equal quality to each other. However, I believe my selection is an adequate representation of what the full soundtrack has to offer. I still intend to return to Sonic Mania in the future, and I also want to cover the double soundtrack of CD eventually. For now, though, this should serve as a introduction to what the 3D Sonic games have to offer musically. Addendum: While I'm not about to go through the entire Sonic Colors: Ultimate soundtrack for comparison, I did happen to get the new Aquarium Park Act 1 remix in my recommended. So I suppose I'll add that too (because Aquarium Park is my favorite theme of the soundtrack).

To contrast the last two weeks, I checked through my piano remixes and pulled out a couple. While I was looking, I found this Dancing Water Spray remix that I was looking for back when DF requested SWF arrangements. I figure I put it in this folder by mistake, hence I couldn't find it when I wanted it.

A larger soundtrack may not require more tracks to properly represent depending on the variety of styles it consists of; a game relatively consistent in its music can be featured with just a few select examples. A shorter game with extremely varied style is equally simple, since its diversity can be easily expressed with limited illustration. But when a large game features multiple styles, or when featured styles are equally represented throughout the soundtrack, then it becomes more difficult to concisely feature the soundtrack. I say this because this week's feature is of a very large soundtrack which incorporates and balances at least three distinct styles with minimal blending between them--The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

I once considered making a record of submissions for this thread like I have for Other Game Music, but decided against it for fear it would hinder the casual half-hazard approach I have for posting. Still, I tend to remember most of what gets posted, and hopefully anything I forget will be recalled by someone when the need arises. That being said, it won't hurt me to name the song and artist at the time I post, so I might as well make a habit of doing so (I started heading my tournament reviews that way when I noticed the newly missing entries of past tournaments, so as to have a method of replacing them in future). This week's feature is apparently a genre known as "glitch hop." It seems to me to ride the line between nu-disco and electro-swing, but I like both those genres so I'm not complaining.

Title: Tiara is gone Circle: Crazy Beats Album: TOHO EURO SPLASH 1 Right down to the same art feature, I believe! :)