Ken Hisuag

On vacation right now, so I wasn’t sure I’d be able to post this week, but the page is loading, so we’re good to go. With limited info on what’s considered the best of the Metroid franchise (as usual with these series features), my odd-one-out this time is Metroid Fusion. Minako Hamono returns, joined by Akira Fujiwara for a GBA soundtrack, which platform I am less familiar with as to its music capabilities. Compared to the previous two entries I’ve covered, there’s a stronger sense of ambience throughout, and not just in the various “Environmental Sounds” tracks. Melody and progression are in short supply, and I wasn’t initially too impressed as a result; however, as I acclimated to the overarching tone, I came to appreciate its effectiveness. This is less action-adventure music, and more a sci-fi-horror soundtrack. Knowing this going in may improve perspective, resulting in a better listening experience. Spoiler and quote functions still don’t seem to be available for mobile, so y’all get it direct this week (at least until I can edit it later). EDIT: Spoiler function still isn't available for editing posts, so I'm stuck with the quote function instead.

Kori - Illusionary Sputnik Night It's been quite some time since I featured this artist, so I'm giving myself some leeway due to this piece being unexpectedly difficult to find for. The style reminds me of another game's soundtrack that I'm hesitant to name. Marione - The Banquet Begins at Dawn! I'd have adjusted the translation but for the exclamation point at the end making it difficult to reinterpret. There were a lot of great arrangements for this piece, far more than I expected; I feel the range of genres incorporated into this one specifically works well as a representation of what's out there. Colorful Harmony - Spring Harbor End of Spring was always going to be a hard one to choose for; I feel I don't give this piece the respect it deserves, even as I've come to appreciate it as much as I have. A slow waltz may not seem enough, but it's a full arrangement nonetheless, and balanced well with the rest of the feature. Shionne submitted some great remixes for the tournaments, so check for those if this doesn't settle right. Bonus: Togakisan - "Sputnik Night" for Piano Trio ~ Roslavets Style I had to look up Roslavets to understand what was going on here, and I think it's better to have heard something of his compositions before listening to this remix. For context, Roslavets was a "modernist" composer, which means he sought to subvert the standard "rules" of music to express "new" styles (I use the quotations because this is more philosophy than music theory). I personally feel the remix artists fail to understand the fundamentals of Roslavets's style, resulting in something that doesn't quite accomplish what they think it does (again, a fuller explanation would get really philosophical, so I'm holding off for now).

The obvious followup to the original Metroid is the genre-defining entry that established the series's as a staple of the industry. Super Metroid was jointly composed by Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano, both reportedly making significant contributions in addition to their adaptation of earlier motifs. Whereas I felt the NES arrangements fell short of the intended atmosphere, the capabilities of the SNES seems ideally suited to it. This is a departure from my usual perspective on SNES soundtracks, which seemly seek to achieve beyond their means. Some of the tracks from this game adapt their sound channels to ambience, which indicates to me a willingness to work within their constrictions to achieve a more unique and effective tone. I feel a bit guilty at using six tracks for a soundtrack this size, given the reason is indecision on my part. I could probably drop "Rocky Underwater Area" or "Hot Lava Area" (back before tracks got proper names), but I'm not sure which should take priority, and I feel the overall progression of the feature would suffer from the absence of both. They aren't particularly long pieces, though.

Looking forward to it! Excellent feature, btw; I have reasons to leave the game alone, but you've done a great job communicating your appreciation for it and its music in a relatable manner. Your highlights method has significant merit as well, and I want to commend that. Thank you for continuing to share!

Someone45356 - Teja antigua y curiosa de shanghai I've been waiting to feature this artist, and when this showed up in my searchings, I figured it was about time. The Spanish folk is in a casual tone, giving it an even, homely feel. This isn't to say it lacks activity, though; there's still plenty going on, keeping the remix sounding full without being overbearing. What could be better for this piece? Clonesoldier's Factory - AN ORDEAL FROM ON HIGH I know the title's wrong; I do this because the flippancy is disturbing, and I don't want to emulate it. I wasn't looking forward to this one, but I managed to find a compelling arrangement relatively quickly. Salad Savior - Magician's Melancholy Not at all what I thought I'd end up with, but after the previous two choices I figured I ought to commit to something equally contrasting to its source material, while also balancing out the energy of the post. I can't say I appreciate the harsher parts of this remix, but it sounds alright when it's using its melodies.

The pain of trying to trace back the source of a remix that's been improperly cited! The one link leads to the source page, but I have no way of translating it. Arrangement link is to Twitter, which I can't view because I don't have an account (and won't be getting one). Trying to search the first website's url title turns up some artwork featured on it, as well as more Twitter bios, neither of which help me. I suspect this exists somewhere else with more views, but the information is too limited for me to confirm. Thanks for sharing, though; it's definitely one of the best arrangements of the theme I've yet heard! EDIT: Came back to this for another attempt, and managed to penetrate the Twitter barrier a bit by putting the tag through the search engine and finding a direct link to a post from the account (which for some reason the Twitter log-in script didn't kick me out of). From this I confirmed that "5minutejamms" does music composition, so it's plausible that the arrangement in question was from there. Still not conclusive, but something more to go off of then we had previously.

This month I turn my attention to the Metroid franchise. I know very little concerning its musical achievements outside of their inclusion in the Smash Bros series, and have only really taken note of the iconic fanfare and the "Brinstar" remix from Melee. Interestingly, both seem to find their origin in the original 1986 release, albeit in more simplified form. Compositions are neither as simple nor as atmospheric as I anticipated, considering the time and the series' reputation (the soundtrack is very short, however). The composer, Hirokazu Tanaka, apparently sought a darker tone for the soundtrack; I personally don't feel it, but it may be a combination of hardware limitations and my perceptions thereof. There is a withholding of resolution in some melodies, which may be what was meant by "darker." Overall, I appreciate it as a product of its time, even if I'm less impressed by the presentation (granted, I'm rather spoiled by the quality of modern releases).

Almost forgot: I came across this in my searches, and while the balancing/editing precluded it from consideration for the feature proper, I was impressed by the effort displayed and wanted to share it. Tatsuo Hasegawa - solitude girl day break

Kairo - eyes The tone of this arrangement is intriguing to me; it manages an abrasively morose mood, something I'm not sure should be possible, and the vocal performance somehow fits it perfectly. All in all a find worth holding out for. Echoes Construction - Dawn ~ Denouncement Similarly intriguing, but by degree rather than content. There's a dissonance to this piece that doesn't seem to serve a specific purpose, yet also isn't distracting enough to ruin the experience. I'm not sure what to make of it. lol project - The Refrain of the Lovely Great War [EP Mix] I think TREN is the musician within the circle, but the citations are unclear. It's fascinating how early this piece is technically appearing compared to its associated game. I might have held out for something more unusual, but I appreciate the resoluteness of this remix.

I sometimes refer to unexpectedly finding an unfamiliar soundtrack as "stumbling upon," especially in such cases where contributing factors are not readily apparent. In the case of #BLUD, I presume all the horror-adjacent OST searching I did during June indicated to Youtube Recommended a false preference on my part, resulting in this getting pushed out to me. I'd consider it "stumbled upon," because there's very little for me to relate to; the project seems to be favoring nostalgia, but the aesthetic is of early 2000s cartoons (which I didn't watch), and the music is '80s and '90s synthwave (which I can appreciate, but wasn't alive for). The compositions aren't particularly noteworthy, but there is a hint of creativity in the arrangement which prevents the soundtrack from being "generic." As I continued listening to it, I found an inexplicable charm elevating the experience beyond what I could directly justify, leading me to commit a feature to it here. I still wouldn't put it on a level with the other soundtrack's I've heard of late, but I do believe it's worth some attention. As a side note, the soundtrack hasn't been marketed very well, and was lacking proper presence on Youtube for my purposes. I chose to upload the pieces I needed as they are in the OST, even though I think they ought to be properly looped with a fade-out (especially given how short some of the tracks are without). Not sure who's usually responsible for this in the production process; I figure either the composer Bob Fox or the production company behind the game.

jesterdist - Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom, Nuclear Fusion V2 Not only have I featured jesterdist before, but it was a previous remix of this same piece. I was impressed then, and I'm freshly impressed now; there's an energy to this arrangement that isn't quite the same as a typical rock remix, and it compliments the piece excellently. Kurodama - The Last Remote Similarly, I posted a Nuclear Fusion performance from this guy some years ago. The skill in diversifying a solo-instrument performance such as this is inspiring. With NicoVideo still down, I'm at the mercy of the reposter as to proper accreditation; hopefully it's sufficient to relocate when needed. as key_ (_bazaar records?) - Eat up my HEART??? I deliberating on this one a bit, due to having other options I technically preferred while having held on to this particular remix for some time now. I hold Hartmann's is overrated, but the motifs have been utilized admirably by many talented musicians. I'd prefer if they didn't always "give in" to the refrain, rather committing to the eerie tone the piece starts out with, but I understand the temptation.

Backlog is beginning to build up a bit, but some of the soundtracks I was looking forward to featuring aren't getting full releases, which hampers my ability to cover them; I've learned my lesson from Cyber Shadow and Mago, but I'd still prefer to have a proper OST to work with. I want to cover Bo and Gestalt before the end of the year, but we'll see what happens. For now, I settled on Nine Sols, a Taiwanese game which takes inspiration from their folklore mixed with pseudo-cyberpunk. The music, much to my satisfaction, follows through with this standard, mixing in techno elements while favoring folk style and progression. Even anticipating this, I did not expect the soundtrack to be as extensive and varied as it turned out to be. The majority of the composition was done by FFXX and Troy Lin, with additional contributions from and collaborations with other artists. I initially tried to organize my selection in its usual varied manner, but it didn't seem to flow right, so this time around there's a more clear separation; take that as you will.

Viktor Sharii - Lullaby of Deserted Hell I actually found this one a while back. There were plenty of other options, but this stuck with me as being especially appropriate for the source material. The motifs work in a wide variety of situations, but nothing beats the serenity of a good solo for it imo. Avenue Room - Dazzling Hellfire To balance out the energy, this is a far jumpier arrangement. I've said before how much I appreciate folk rock hybrids, and this is an excellent example made all the more intriguing by the varying motifs it has to work with. T-Jerion - Hellfire Mantle I wavered on this one for a while; I wanted something semi-climactic, but not too climactic, lest I short-change the follow-up (a silly consideration, but still . . .). I couldn't say what finally decided it, but I'm fairly settled now.

Last year I covered Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, the funky style of which impressed me enough to cast out for further examples. An obvious follow-up was Lethal League Blaze; while the game itself is technically in a completely different genre, it has the same aesthetic and style, being from the same production team. The soundtrack is also similarly compiled from a variety of external sources. A couple names are worth noting: Klaus Veen seems to have a plurality of contributions, and I believe at least one of his arrangements was specifically for this game; Hideki Naganuma also composed a seemingly unique track, and his subsequent work on BRC was a highlight for me there. Otherwise, most tracks seem to be lifted from unattached projects, thought there is nonetheless a consistency in range for the music.

Fracture Feature! What random selection will be showcased this time?

TAMAONSEN - Onis Drinking Sake In Autumn Maybe not what I anticipated, but more along the lines of a Broken Moon arrangement, which is somewhat fitting. For some reason it was a struggle to find a suitable remix for this, even though I know more exist. Not being able to use NicoVideo may have contributed to this. ACCORD ON CODES - Fancy, Fancy, Fancy Similarly defying my expectations, but this time I had more options. I worry sometimes about gravitating toward the same genres and styles, and will occasionally force something outside of my norm in an attempt to offset those tendencies. fractrick - Mishery I should probably have held out for a proper orchestral, but I was settled on this one once I heard the organ sample and anticipated the percussion style. This arrangement respects the tone of the original through interludes, while still thoroughly committing to its own style. I think it fits the motifs perfectly.

Updates are in the works for Mental Omega, and while I never technically stopped listening to the associated music, the recent devlog did increase my attention toward it again. It's been a while since my features here, so I think I'm justified in briefly refreshing one of my favorite soundtracks. For balance, I've stuck with one track per primary composer, i.e. Black Ice 9, Frank Klepacki, and Vladimir Kuznetsov a.k.a. World Beyond Soundtracks. I also included a PrototypeRaptor track that was included in the project, as an example of the various additional tracks present therein. I have a bit more freedom here than before, as I'm not restricted to the official skirmish tracklists; for all that I spent an entire month on this soundtrack before, I'd argue it only scratched the surface of what's available, and there's presumably yet more to come.

UNVALANCE - Hate Island I know that Dark Blowhole technically represents the descent into the underground, but I've always associated Bridge No Longer Crossed more closely with the concept. As such, a remix like this fits better with my perception of the piece; the atmosphere is on-point, but isn't left to carry the piece alone. HEKATONCHEIR BEATS - Waxy Jealousy Green-Eyed Jealousy, along with a lot of pieces from this soundtrack, lends itself to low-energy arrangements with its progression and motif structure, and I've heard a number of really great remixes in this vein. However, for this feature I wanted something a bit more intense, in keeping with its actual intention as a boss theme, while still retaining the piece's strengths. While it took longer than I anticipated, I'm exceptionally pleased with this find. Mentaiko Lab - Moon-Swallowing White Night Some form of folk was my resolution for this, only further established by the volume of rock arrangements I initially came across. What distinguished this one was its genre; while I'm sure I've encountered folk-centered jazz before, it isn't usually so strongly committed to. The effect here is perfect for these motifs.

Bears in Space is one of those titles which immediately catches attention, but these days doesn't invoke so much interest as mere curiosity. I expected a minimally creative run-and-gun with a small soundtrack of mostly metal, and when I discovered the music wasn't initially readily available, I put it on hold without too much hope for it. I recently came across the OST on Bandcamp, and finally got the chance to hear its merit. To be sure, Dan Goodwin favors metal influences throughout, and his compositions don't "progress" so much as they "build-up" on themselves, usually ending with the same energy, tone, and motif with which they began, just with "more." It is by no means "simple," however; each piece is fully layered with strong presentation, and there's enough tonal variety throughout to warrant a full feature.

Nanshen - Awakening of the Earth Sprits My appreciation for the original has a lot to do with atmosphere, so I wasn't intending to be too picky for its remix feature. Despite that, I'm rather pleased with this discovery; it has an eerie fantasy sound to it, which fits perfectly. Hekoyama / Aoshan (depending on language) / Bokoyamarch (covering my bases) - The Dark Blowhole Indecisive name translation aside, I settled on this piece for its energy and competent adaptation of the original motifs. I expected to pick something more atmospheric, but the previous find filled that slot for me. Karkan - The Sealed-Away Youkai A bit more jazzy than might be anticipated for this piece, but too fun to pass on. The string bridge satisfies my desire for a "spider sound" in the piece, while the flute part probably represents the caves.

I bought this demo (can't really call it a game for now) very early on, fresh off of experiencing Luna Nights, enamored by its excellent artstyle, creative gameplay, and the promise of a metroidvania that was guaranteed to have those two things going for it at the very least. I enjoyed it, and part of me does resent the likelihood that it will never get finished. But I can't say I regret buying it, because the artstyle and gameplay gimmick are still available there. It's not worth $13, which is what it's currently priced at, but I'm still glad it exists.

Indigo Park's first chapter/demo was not something I expected to interest me musically, but has turned out to be one of the better soundtracks released so far this year. RecD commits strongly to the main theme leitmotif throughout, but with sufficient variance to keep it fresh. Each composition suits its situation perfectly while also contributing to the overall tone of the game, striking an excellent balance between musical variety and thematic consistency. I have high hopes for the future of this project. As for the horror theme, of everything featured this month this is probably the least aesthetically dark, at least thus far in its production. Despite being self-identified mascot horror, neither the music nor visuals are particularly disturbing imo. I'm inclined to think that most genres, whatever media, have flexible boundaries; while this arguably makes for more difficult categorization, it also facilitates creative range, so it's probably for the best.

1. When did you get into Touhou? E. Modern Era (15.5, 16, 16.5, 17) ~ 2017–2020 2. What made you first interested in Touhou? A. Primary works (Official games, music, manga, and art) 3. What made you stay with Touhou? The music. 4. What level of fanbase do you like to interact with? B. Medium (Smaller end communities such as this site (MS), MOTK and a couple others) 5. How familiar are you with Touhou lore and story? A. Quite a lot (Mainline games/Hiffu club, etc.) 6. Do you think Touhou is the hardest bullet-hell game? Wouldn't know, I don't really play Touhou or any other curtain-fires. 7. Do you think Touhou Gacha harmed the franchise? I dislike gacha in general, and do not appreciate its inclusion in anything. That being said, I didn't notice any major impact on the parts of the franchise I interact with. 8. Is piracy within Touhou good or bad? 3. Other The ethics of piracy in general is a complex subject; I disagree with the presupposition that you are justified to pirate what you couldn't hope to afford legally, but the piracy of unavailable (i.e. gatekept) media seems less problematic to me, since in theory the creator does not experience loss. I buy what I can, but I don't mind finding other avenues for what I can't (e.g., ZUN refuses to sell me the actual OSTs, so he's not losing anything if I get them by other means). 9. How flanderized do you think Touhou characters are? C. 5–6 seared, but not charred 10. Overall, which era(s) did you like/dislike the most? Eras seem vaguely defined, aside from the clear distinction between 1-5 and 6 onward, so I'm not sure I can properly answer this question.

RoundLoudness - Bhavaagra As Seen Through a Child's Mind Might seem a bit high-energy for an opener, but perfect when taken in in context of what it's following up. I've said before that Tenshi's themes don't quite hit the elevated tone I think they're supposed to, so this seems a fitting adaptation. Liuhaoran Huang - Darkening Dusk Low-energy was my target for this one, and this is a decent accomplishment of that while retaining the whimsical tone of the original. I kinda wish the artist had leaned harder in that direction, as the pacing seems almost too consistent, but the instrumentation keeps it afloat otherwise. Jersey & the Merry Bunch - Cinnabar Soul ~ Cinnabar-Colored Soul Most remixes will understandably focus on raising the intensity of the piece into something spectacular, and I've heard quite a few memorable takes. But I appreciate this being a middle ground of sorts, keeping the energy while lowering the impact with lighter instrumentation. It feels like a happy fantasy ending, and that's what it's supposed to be.

I don't normally associate Castlevania with horror, but there is an undeniable connection given its subject matter; mainly, vampires are a horror concept, therefore vampire hunting is a horror related concept, if otherwise lacking horror themes. Hitherto I'd never listened to the soundtrack for Symphony of the Night, simply because the most lauded tracks of the franchise come from other games (e.g. "Bloody Tears," "Vampire Killer," "Divine Bloodlines," etc.). I am aware that this game is one half the foundation of the metroidvania genre, and that being a favorite of mine, you'd think I'd have taken time to look into it sooner. Regardless, I've taken the time now, and have been suitably impressed; far from the outdated soundfont style I expected, the arrangements sound almost modern, with full orchestral and electronic elements. There is a slight resonance issue that gives away its age, but I find this highlights the atmosphere as an unexpected boon. I was previously familiar with Michiru Yamane from Bloodlines, which for some time has been my favorite soundtrack in the series, but as that game was for very different hardware I didn't base my expectations off of it. She was also involved with Bloodstained, but I hadn't previously paid as much attention to which tracks she worked on; I'll be sure to check back on that now.