|
Post by justjustin on Dec 18, 2008 10:51:49 GMT -5
So repetitive. Let's list some RPGs that don't use "the one song" for every battle you fight. It's a thing of a past. No one cares about new advanced battle systems, or cel-shaded ultimate 3d immersion grafx, or wildly paced gameflow or funky-fresh story... If an RPG wants to be ahead of the curve, if it wants to take a step in the right direction-- please include a minimum of 4 different "battle songs," during "normal" enemy encounters that either alternate at random or are used contextually. This should be RPG law.
The benefits: * Psychologically, it keeps your mind grinding just a little bit more; keeps your attention just a tad more. * Those who abhorrently hate hearing a certain song over and over are spared. * Those who like hearing a certain song over and over will have something to look forward to after a dry spell of "bad songs," making the battles that much more rewarding. * Songs could serve as an audio cue making the player think "oh shit, not these enemies," or "crap, I hate this song I want to get through this as fast as possible." * More variety = less dull.
The costs: * Destroying years of tradition in favor of a more interesting experience.
So, let's list stuff. Earthbound, Mother 3, SMT: Nocturne... That's literally all I can think of. What're some other ones?
|
|
|
Post by wyrdwad on Dec 18, 2008 11:52:14 GMT -5
Every PopoloCrois game, though it got less creatively implemented after the first. In the original 1996 PS1 game, though, each new area you went to had its own unique battle theme that used some of the same instruments and melodic riffs as the BGM for that area, and each one was even accompanied by its own version of the victory jingle! And though not related to battle, each area also had its own variation on the goodnight jingle. It was really neat! Subsequent PopoloCrois games, however, have all just had multiple battle themes (anywhere from 3 to like, 8), and used a set one of them for each game area, seemingly chosen at random. PopoloCrois: Hajimari no Bouken sort of varied things up a bit, by having one regular battle theme, one battle theme specifically for the main story dungeons, and one battle theme specifically for "creepy things" (i.e. wandering the overworld at night, or exploring an old crypt)... but it was nowhere near as cool as what Popolo1 did, since there were only three total instead of the dozen or so themed tracks in Popolo1. Anyway, moving on... Okage: Shadow King had two main battle themes: one for the overworld, and one for dungeons. The battle themes - boss themes included - also all changed to other songs entirely when you were close to death, which was a nice touch. PAL: Shinken Densetsu (Legend of the Holy Dog), an obscure Japanese PS1 game in which you play as a dog transformed into an anthropomorphic dog-man by Zeus and sent on a mission to rescue your master from the evil Nostradamus (no, I'm not kidding!), has perhaps the largest number of regular battle themes I've ever heard in one single RPG. Literally, there were at LEAST a dozen, and probably more like TWO dozen battle themes in that game, and it would just randomly pick one every single time you got into a fight, so you could sometimes go for 10 or more battles without ever hearing the same battle track. Don't know if this counts, but Brave Story: New Traveler changes its battle theme during the final stretch of the game, to reflect the change in mood presented by the story. It's changed back for the final dungeon, but you do go through a good two or three dungeons with the new battle theme before that happens. Far East of Eden: The Apocalypse IV uses a different battle theme in its prologue than in the main game, but again, I'm not sure if that actually counts. I'm sure I can think of more, but that should do for now. (: EDIT: Ooh, one more I just thought of: Tsugunai, on the PS2. That's one where the battle theme changed depending on the difficulty of the enemy you were fighting, which I always thought was pretty cool. If you got into a random battle, and you heard the "hard enemy" song start, you knew you were so totally screwed. EDIT2: Damn, I knew I was forgetting something! One other game that has multiple battle themes is OPOONA!! There's one battle theme that's very definitely the MAIN battle theme... but there's also one entire biodome area, Intelligent Sea, that gets its own unique battle theme for all random battles fought there, and the final dungeon also has its own unique random battle theme. -Tom
|
|
|
Post by King Frost on Dec 18, 2008 16:56:33 GMT -5
The Disgaea series is the only one coming to mind, perhaps Eternal Poison but I'm not really sure. I hope you accept SRPG in your list.
|
|
|
Post by wyrdwad on Dec 18, 2008 18:21:34 GMT -5
Another one I thought of earlier today: Crisis Core! Surprised no one else beat me to the punch on that one.
As a game, Crisis Core is mediocre, but its soundtrack is just absolutely amazing... and there are a crapton of battle themes.
-Tom
|
|
|
Post by justjustin on Dec 18, 2008 21:12:44 GMT -5
Awesome contributions. I forgot about 'em, but SRPGs are fine, King Frost... although don't 99 percent of them have multiple battle themes? For some reason, it sounds like a rare case to have an SRPG with ONE battle song just as it is a rare case to have a "regular" RPG with MORE than one. But, I could be wrong.
Also, wyrdwad, Tsugunai sounds like a game I must play. Yasunori Mitsuda soundtrack AND multiple songs reflecting the enemy situation!
|
|
|
Post by wyrdwad on Dec 18, 2008 21:17:48 GMT -5
Tsugunai is pretty cool, but it can be VERY, VERY, *VERY* unforgiving and frustrating at times. There are spots in the game where a single screw-up could set you back several hours due to the general lack of savepoints and the twitchy nature of the battle system. I actually never beat it, as I got too annoyed with the game for screwing me over one too many times. (: A friend of mine beat it, but only BARELY... the final boss is particular grueling, and requires almost as much luck as skill to actually defeat.
That having been said, though, it really is a pretty neat game overall, and stands perhaps as one of the most unique and original RPGs on the PS2. Which is saying a lot, considering it was practically a launch title!
-Tom
|
|
|
Post by kimimi on Dec 18, 2008 21:39:16 GMT -5
Let's see... The Sora no Kiseki games have a regular battle theme that switches to a "Oh crap you're about to lose" theme if somebody dies, as well as several battle themes used for particular events. Xenosaga 2 & 3 have multiple battle themes, and battle themes reserved for particular boss characters. Phantasy Star 4 has three regular battle themes - "Meet Them Head-On!", "Defeat at a Blow!" and "Cybernetic Carnival". PSO has that really nifty trick of blending that areas battle theme into the regular track when enemies are nearby. I'll think of some more
|
|
|
Post by Sinople on Dec 18, 2008 21:50:07 GMT -5
Romancing SaGa Minstrel's Song has a ton of battle themes. If I'm not mistaken, both Breath of Fire I & II have their main battle theme changing midway through.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2008 14:59:22 GMT -5
According to the soundtrack album, Unlimited Saga has at least four different battle themes. Really good ones, I might add. Too bad the game itself isn't so good.
|
|
|
Post by Discoalucard on Dec 21, 2008 11:27:20 GMT -5
The Tales games sometimes have battle themes that change midway through the game. Tales of Destiny had two main variations that seemed to switch randomly between the two.
|
|
|
Post by shelverton on Dec 21, 2008 11:37:21 GMT -5
The battle theme in Phantasy Star 3 sounds different if you surprise the enemy, if they surprise you or if it's just a neutral battle. None of it is especially good though. The overworld theme changes too depending on how many characters are in your party. With each character you recruit an instrument is added. It has absolutely nothing to do with this thread though, lol.
|
|
|
Post by wyrdwad on Dec 21, 2008 13:08:11 GMT -5
Maybe not, but it sounds cool. (: I've always appreciated musical creativity in games. Like the aforementioned instrumentation differences in the victory and sleep themes in PopoloCrois 1 based on your location - or to use another of my favorite examples, Coloball 2002's overworld (yes, the game has an overworld!), which is split into 9 sections, each of which plays the same bassline, but with a different accompanying instrument or instruments.
-Tom
|
|
|
Post by tremere98 on Dec 21, 2008 23:03:17 GMT -5
The first Breath of Fire had multiple random battle musics as you progressed thru the game. If I recall, every time you reached a point that the overworld music changes during the story, the battle theme would change, too.
|
|
|
Post by Allie on Dec 22, 2008 3:10:12 GMT -5
not counting boss themes?
SaGa Frontier had a 3 or 4 regular themes (though only one of them was the MAIN battle theme), a 5th one for when Red fought Black X, and then every character's last boss had its own battle theme...
Someone mentioned Nocturne, but it happens in a lot of other SMT games/spin-offs too, usually "event" battles have their own theme, seperate from boss themes.
The World Ends With You has multiple battle themes, as well.
Though personally, if a game has a sickeningly awesome battle theme that I really like (Devil Summoner, SaGa Frontier, FF Mystic Quest), I'd almost prefer it doesn't change (I'm not particularly fond of Digital Devil Saga 2's event battle theme).
|
|
|
Post by akumajobelmont on Dec 22, 2008 3:23:37 GMT -5
Grandia 2, if I remember correctly. Awesome, awesome battle themes in that game
|
|