Ken Hisuag

I was trying to determine what my personal top five soundtracks of the year would be, and could only think of four that had really stuck in my mind impactfully (discounting DLC soundtracks for games released in years previous, such as Cadence of Hyrule). So I sat down to quickly look through a bunch of OSTs that I'd been putting off to see if anything stood out. To address the obvious: I can appreciate Darren Korb's work on a technical level, but it does not immediately appeal to me for casual listening. I've come to enjoy Transistor, but it is an enjoyment that was developed over time. I believe a large part of this is the strong bond his compositions have with their situational context, i.e. the game. I was not able to appreciate the music from Ori and the Blind Forest until I'd experienced it as part of the whole product, and I suspect it will be the same with Will of the Wisps. Having never experienced any of Supergiant's products, there is (or may be) a vital component missing to my understanding its merits beyond the technical. Doom Eternal, on the other hand, was something I fully expected to dislike for its emphasis on adrenaline-fueled metal. I was mistaken, however; the tracks carried a progression that I could fully enjoy getting swept up in, and I even experienced a nice nostalgic effect from the style's similarities to a certain old RTS I used to play. With all that being said, it was actually a quietly released metroidvania that I had intentionally ignored that now caught my attention. Batbarian: Testimony of the Primoridals has a surprisingly good soundtrack which bounces between disco and rock in a way that reminds me of Castlevania and Crypt of the Necrodancer. I doubt my currently high admiration for this soundtrack will last through my eventual reconciliation with Will of the Wisps, but for now it will fill my number five spot.

Nope, that's new stuff to me. It's a bit difficult to tell if it's a remix or a mashup (or perhaps, in the vein of the recently referenced DJ the S, both?). I haven't had much luck in the past finding enjoyable mashups, so I tend to be skeptical of them. If this is a mashup, it's very cleverly edited together and actually rather pleasant to listen to. Chiptune feature: pedipanol. One of the only musicians I've come across who composes non-Touhou remixes in the PC-98 style, and does well at it, I might add! Since my recent searches for requested styles of music, my recommended has included an increased representation of these genres. I won't say y'all should expect more of those genres long term, but you can enjoy them while I've got 'em. Will this be my last post on this thread for the year? I'm not sure yet; we've still got just under a week to go. One way or another, I hope y'all had a good Christmas.

For future reference: Touhou-related music (theme remixes, style remixes, and original themes) should be posted in one of the threads dedicated to it to avoid confusion. For the record, I have posted Touhou-related music in this thread.

I shouldn't be here today. I wanted to post these yesterday, and preparations took more time than I had anticipated. These are some remixes I had considered worth holding onto for a future tournament. In the past, I've chosen submissions based on my desire to hear others' evaluations. I'd held back on these pieces because they are from fairly well-known artists. Merry Christmas, y'all, and I'm sorry for not getting these out sooner.

I'm late! I really wanted to [finally] feature Okami properly, which isn't easy to set up because the OST is massive and full of seven second jingles. Plus Christmas preparations have taken up my time, so I've only managed to listen through the first disc of the soundtrack. I'm still considering it a win, and now I have a good excuse to revisit it later. What makes Okami unique is its incorporation of traditional Japanese folk instruments and music. One might be inclined to assume this limits the stylistic range of the soundtrack, but this is far from the case. As such, I consider it one of the best examples of the genre. Also the only reason I'm not using Spirit Extermination is because it's already on the thread (and is in fact how I became aware of this soundtrack in the first place). It is hands down the best track on the first disc.

Also, on the heels of having just taken some requests, I'd like to make a request of my own. I have not had much luck finding remixes of the original themes from Urban Legend in Limbo or Immaterial and Missing Power. Specifically I've been looking for arrangements of NKZ's Wanderings and U2 Akiyama's Bell of the Antipodes, respectively. No particular style, just something imaginative.

Okay, I swear I'm not doing this intentionally, but I just found out that ShinkoNet is releasing a new eurobeat album at the end of the month, and this is beginning to get weird. Also, guess what other genre he remixes in! Additionally, here are some specially selected arrangements to balance out the post. I'd like to draw attention to Aka Kyuketsuki's piano arrangement abilities, since she's more well known for Touhou style. I fully intend to be back here before Christmas, but just in case I'll wish y'all a merry Christmas now. Merry Christmas!

I was thinking of rock and metal as synonymous, but comparing the Bad Apple remix against the other two does evince a distinction. Perhaps pop rock? some searching later I'll have to keep an eye out, but in the mean time I believe I've found the perfect remix to cover your requests. Rock, DnB, and . . . Yeah, I'll keep looking. I've always thought both of Sanae's themes had unnecessarily long titles. But hey, at least neither of them are The Darkness Brought in by Swallowstone Naturalis Historia (Dark Side of Japan).

I did not know Falkkone did chiptune, and it's a pity he doesn't do more because these are really good! I'm glad someone else posted Yume Nikki. I dislike the game myself, but I can understand the endearment it has with others. This Friday marks the two-year anniversary of this thread. In commemoration (actually I'm just using this as an excuse), I'm returning to the first game posted on the thread: A Hat in Time. I don't know what piece specifically was originally posted, and I intentionally avoided the most popular tracks in my initial post (with the exception of Rush Hour), so I've got plenty of material to work with. This is still one of the most diverse soundtracks I have ever come across, and still one of my all-time favorites.

Found something! It's not full choir, but it is four part harmony! The circle is 幻想郷グリークラブ, or the Gensokyo Glee Club (but the English name is less likely to bring up search results).

I was wondering what the arrows were replacing. Oh well, advance and adapt. Still no chin-stroking/thoughtful reaction. Digging through the folder for these videos had made me more anxious to empty it further, so here's some bonus stuff unrelated to the topic at hand.

I've had this sitting in my folder for several months now. It's the first half of a double remix, but I didn't appreciate the second half as much and went looking for a shortened video. I've actually been holding a few for potential tournament submissions, though at this point my Tournament Worthy folder is getting rather full. Maybe I'll drop a few for Christmas. Also there's this!

Hang on, I'm not done yet! I realized I had a couple of pieces saved in my backlog folder that I'd forgotten about, so I might as well get them out now. I'm not sure what the choir genre is. I can think of remixes with elements of choir, but nothing that's exclusively choir (pity that Psamathes didn't do any Touhou in her Sacred Groves album). My inspectional searching only turned up arrangements like this: The harpsichord in this piece is amazing, but I doubt this is what you meant. Perhaps acapella will suffice for now?

This was meant as a joke, and I didn't expect y'all to take it seriously. But I'm kinda glad you did. ? I haven't had much experience with eurobeat. I like it well enough, but I haven't come across much that stands out to me. My disinclination toward English vocals that aren't Irish folk or CCM also tends to stunt my appreciation. Still, I do have a Touhou eurobeat album on Bandcamp. I actually prefer the Voyage 1969 remix on this album, but that isn't available on Youtube and I don't feel like formatting a video right now. The only other Touhou eurobeat I'm familiar with is ShinkoNet's work. He tends toward English vocals, so I don't listen to those much. Ironically, this instrumental track is one of the vocal pieces I do enjoy, but (again) the vocal version hasn't been posted to Youtube. We had a few rock posts after the last tournament, didn't we? But sure, why not? Now that I'm thinking about it, Touhou rock often gets blended into other genres, making it difficult to find in its distinguished form. I didn't know what drum'n'bass was before last tournament, and I haven't gotten around to looking beyond maritumix. If you know of a good place to start, I'd love to hear it!

For Christmas, appropriately timed on the 12th:

Almost forgot to post today. It took me almost a year, but I finally found another waltz remix. So. When I decided to start featuring some of the chiptune artists I'd been following, I discovered that the unofficial hiatus of MegaZun had been broken just that month. At the time, I thought it was quite fortunate. Then I featured Kommisar, and alluded to his months of absence. Later that month, he unexpectedly dropped his long-awaited second Touhou album. I thought it rather ironic to have just missed this. Finally, I posted some of Pegmode's work last week, only to discover this week that he has been working on his own album. Please comment what music I should summon next. 40Nix should be safe, since he just released his second album. This is a return to the more retro style of chiptune. Just made it!

Huh. I'd never considered Human Fall Flat for its music before, but this is quite the piece. It instills a balance of the thoughtful ambience the gameplay demands with a sense of climatic accomplishment. I'll have to look into this. Ironically, I had already chosen to feature Fall Guys this week. I'm hoping enough time has passed that it won't seem trendy, because I truly believe the music deserves to be considered in its own right. There aren't that many tracks, but they all feature an unusual choice of instruments in a deceitfully cutesy style that disguises some very well composed melodies. I was not impressed by the game's concept, but I'm hoping there will be more in the way of music from it.

This week's chiptune feature is Pegmode. His style is characterized by extended attacks and retreats, giving his music a slide-y feel. I picked these two because I like it when an artist adds a spontaneous interlude to better fit the piece into the chosen style. I alluded to Garison that I would find more piano remixes, and I can finally make good on that. As/Hi Soundworks' video titles are all in Japanese, which makes it difficult for me to peruse his work. But everything I've looked at is amazing; the videos are high quality in both audio and visual, the arrangements tend to be slowed down from the originals without loosing the effect, and he even showcases the sheet music. He's also been posting very frequently, so I expect I'll be listening to him more in the future.

I came across the GotY nominations earlier, and it got me thinking about what my personal favorite OSTs of this year were. Would anyone like to share their own top VGM of 2020? Mine would be The Pedestrian. I already posted my favorite tracks when it came out, but this one is good, too.

There is so much to unpack about the Genshin Impact soundtrack. I detect elements of James Horner and Harry Gregson-Williams, while also being strongly reminded of Little Town Hero and Hollow Knight, and just a little of John Williams and Gareth Croker. But none of those comparisons fit quite right; some aspect of this remains unique to itself. It's still standard RPG music, but with a storybook feel blended with the epic fantasy. Or is it more classical in nature? I honestly can't decide. Also, good to see ya, Maden! I read the title of the video before your description, and I was not expecting disco jazz from a game called Ragnarok. It's really good, though!

This is a piano remix which combines the first movement of Moonlight Sonata with Faith is for the Transient People. It works surprisingly well. My recommended has begun turning out Diao ye zong pieces. While I believe DF has an on-and-off feeling for the circle, I think the jazz-rock fusion of this piece should be appealing. Also, this will be another entry in my Emotional Skyscraper submissions. Finally, the next artist in my chiptune features is JX. He covers all sorts of chiptune styles, including the Touhou-associated PC-98.

I've come across very little music directly associated with Thanksgiving; I assume this correlates with the limited commercialization of the holiday. Nevertheless, there are a few pieces I've appreciated (for varying reasons), and wouldn't mind sharing here. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

I had intended to do Genshin Impact this week, but I ran out of time to properly listen through the OST. So instead I'll use Undertale Yellow. Despite being a WIP fangame, the compositions are very impressive.

I'm a bit late, but UndertaleLIVE is streaming on Twitch right now if anyone's interested. https://www.twitch.tv/undertalelive The album is also available on Bandcamp. https://undertalelive.bandcamp.com/album/undertale-live

Thanksgiving week is here! I'll be back before the day itself arrives, but it's still close enough for me to reference it. Here's some remixes (somewhat) suited to the occasion! I'm not quite satisfied with the first one, but I wanted at least one folk and at least one Tomorrow Will Be Special. I think I got lucky with the other two; most of the other Fall of Fall remixes I came across were metal, and CarrotWine is always a great find. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!