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Post by Discoalucard on Oct 9, 2011 10:47:44 GMT -5
I just noticed that a few songs moved up into the list from the outliers at the bottom. I suppose it was because there were a few duplicates? Were the songs that you moved up just arbitrary? Yup, duplicates. Someone on NeoGaf pointed out that the Windmill Hut song was duplicated under another name. There were a few others pointed out in this thread, too. The songs moved up were arbitrary. |
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Post by cj iwakura on Oct 9, 2011 10:57:01 GMT -5
I did three, for now: Digital Devil Saga - MuladharaDigital Devil Saga takes place in a desolate world of endless rain, where the only survivors are scattered tribes locked in an constant struggle for supremacy over the others. The ambient sadness of this tune and the entirety of the soundtrack have a melancholic vibe that immediately brings the Junkyard to mind the moment Meguro's guitar chords begin. Final Fantasy VII - Crisis Core: The BurdenedNot having Nobuo Uematsu involved in a Final Fantasy soundtrack tends to draw concern, especially when it's the prequel game to one of the all-time classics in the series. Takeharu Ishimoto's work on the Crisis Core should put those worries to rest. The music here both pays homage to Uematsu's original work and builds on it, with a beautiful church theme that conveys the desolation of Midgar and Aerith's sadness just as well as the classic theme. 999 - Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors: Morphogenetic SorrowShinji Hosoe is known mostly for his work on Konami's Beatmania series. For him to put his electronic music talents to work on a title that requires an array of haunting, terrifying, and even beautiful music and succeed on all fronts is no small feat. Morphogenetic Sorrow builds on all the themes throughout the game, and puts the main song into use at a crucial moment that makes every moment of tension and horror hit home when the story reaches its desperate climax. Any particular limit? I'd like to hit the ones that didn't get as many votes, so I guess I'd be doing a lot.  |
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Post by docmarionum1 on Oct 9, 2011 11:08:12 GMT -5
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Post by edbellis on Oct 10, 2011 19:58:18 GMT -5
I'm weird - a lot of my favorite pieces of video game music are from games I've never played. I actually wish more people would listen to things beyond what they know from gameplay experience, but that's because I think good video game music can stand just fine on its own without any other context. It's almost an ideological difference - do you listen to video game music because it reminds you of the game, or do you listen to it because you enjoy it out of context? Most people seem like they're into the former, so it doesn't surprise me that a list like this is filled with the more popular/commonly played stuff.
But yeah, I certainly try not to look down on people for it, but eh, it'd be nice to see some expanded horizons.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2011 20:02:53 GMT -5
Game music is a lot different from what you hear on the radio. Not just in content, but context. Would "Truth" from Vagrant Story mean as much to me if that scene hadn't broken my heart and made me weep like a little girl? Somehow I doubt it.
I don't blame anyone at all for not listening to stuff from games they haven't played. It would be completely out of context.
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Post by Wildcat on Oct 10, 2011 20:06:07 GMT -5
There's a song or two on my list that is without any gaming context (the Breath of Fire selection for one - can't remember the other), but for the most part I don't get into game music without some memory to make it personal. I also like to discover how the song is used, as Jason said - for example, Skies of Arcadia's Lower Valua wouldn't mean a whole lot to me without knowing how destitute and poor the area it represents is in the game. I think it's going to depend on the person, but I know that it's damn hard for me to get attached to a song when I've got nothing in my mind about it.
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Post by neozeedeater on Oct 10, 2011 23:24:18 GMT -5
It depends on the type of track. Context is more important for ambient and cinematic tunes than catchy stuff. In general, I think good game music can stand on its own. A lot of video game songs I love are from games I don't like. This was especially prevalent with 8-bit computer gaming where a handful of respected composers freelanced for a ton of different developers.
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Post by edbellis on Oct 11, 2011 12:05:34 GMT -5
Game music is a lot different from what you hear on the radio. Not just in content, but context. Would "Truth" from Vagrant Story mean as much to me if that scene hadn't broken my heart and made me weep like a little girl? Somehow I doubt it. I don't blame anyone at all for not listening to stuff from games they haven't played. It would be completely out of context. That's why I said it's an ideological difference - I think game music (well, GOOD game music) works just fine apart from the context, but it seems like the majority of people go off the context primarily. The difference seems to be on the emphasis - do you emphasize the 'game' (context matters), or do you emphasize the 'music' (context doesn't matter)? A bit of it also seems to be pejorative towards video game music. Most people wouldn't look at a mainstream rock song or a piece of classical music or a critically-acclaimed rap album and go "this is really only good if you know the context," which I guess could mean what the artist was thinking, the time period the music stems from, the associations of the music in your life, etc. This is because most people don't have a problem with these kinds of music standing on their own because that's what they're designed to do. Something like a video game soundtrack or a film score or an anime OP, though – that's something made to support something else, so context is necessary for a lot of people. My argument is basically that good music is good music, and it can come from anywhere, regardless of whether or not context is needed. I wouldn't look down on a piece of video game music just because it comes from a video game; as a result, context becomes irrelevant because I'm holding it to the same standards that I hold other types of music. That's where I'm coming from – like I said, I've heard so many good pieces of game music I'd never have heard if I just limited myself to games I'd played, and that's because I don't care about context. Music is music. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2011 12:35:11 GMT -5
We all have preferences and biases, though. Consider a track like "The Wind, the Stars and the Sea" from Chrono Cross. It's a great song from an iconic moment in the game. However, it doesn't really stand on its own. If you don't have the context, it just sounds like a corny synth track. How many people would want to listen to that kind of song on the radio?
Xenogears is another good example (not to pick on Mitsuda). "Star of Tears" is cheesy as hell, but it really fits the mood of the game. You'd be hardpressed to find anyone who would honestly want to listen to that song without knowing the context.
I definitely understand what you're trying to say here. Kashmir is able to stand on its own outside of the rest of Physical Graffiti, but that song wasn't made to be heard or felt in context. It's just a kick ass song. Even concept albums like The Wall are capable of being enjoyed without hearing every track in sequence because, again, there's an entirely different methodology behind that medium.
It would be great if I could just pop in the OST for The Twisted Adventures of Spike McFang and enjoy it without having played it, but I really don't think that's a fair expectation to have.
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Post by discountviscount on Oct 11, 2011 23:54:50 GMT -5
I definitely understand what you're trying to say here. Kashmir is able to stand on its own outside of the rest of Physical Graffiti, but that song wasn't made to be heard or felt in context. It's just a kick ass song. Even concept albums like The Wall are capable of being enjoyed without hearing every track in sequence because, again, there's an entirely different methodology behind that medium. Speaking of songs being part of a larger work, I'd argue in this case that video games are closer to musical theater, in a sense, especially with the visual element to them. In both cases music is de-emphasized in importance, at least in comparison with an album or a symphony where the music constitutes the entirety of the work. And here, I think, it's interesting to consider the work of Stephen Sondheim and it's reception versus that of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Webber has had a number of songs from his musicals achieve commercial success outside of their respective shows, whereas Sondheim's score for Sweeney Todd has been said to lack any hummable songs, but is rich with complexity, and is especially effective in context of the whole. Okay, so maybe I shouldn't implicitly compare the Moon music from DuckTales to "Johanna" (especially since I'm glossing over a lot of finer points that could be made and are probably brought up in that first thing I linked) but the point I'm too inarticulate to make is that context seems a perfectly valid consideration in judging a piece of music, or at least picking one's favorites. That's why I said it's an ideological difference - I think game music (well, GOOD game music) works just fine apart from the context, but it seems like the majority of people go off the context primarily. The difference seems to be on the emphasis - do you emphasize the 'game' (context matters), or do you emphasize the 'music' (context doesn't matter)? ... My argument is basically that good music is good music, and it can come from anywhere, regardless of whether or not context is needed. I wouldn't look down on a piece of video game music just because it comes from a video game; as a result, context becomes irrelevant because I'm holding it to the same standards that I hold other types of music. That's where I'm coming from – like I said, I've heard so many good pieces of game music I'd never have heard if I just limited myself to games I'd played, and that's because I don't care about context. Music is music. I think more than a matter of context, the way that most gamers probably find out about music from games is by (surprise!) playing games, and playing a game really breeds familiarity with those songs. On the other hand, it's a lot harder to discover good music from games you've not played without a solid list of recommendations (but that's what this forum is for!) I occasionally click on links to songs from games I've never played if they come with a strong recommendation, but I discover fewer songs this way than by playing games. And it's not as if I'm completely disinterested- I'd like to explore the Commodore 64 soundscape despite not really wanting to play a ton of the library because what I've heard has been interesting, and it's a pretty untapped mine for me. And then there's Drakengard, which from what I've read should never be played, but has an incredibly interesting soundtrack. I'm starting to ramble. I guess one thing I'm trying to say is you really can't blame people for voting for the songs they're most familiar with in a poll where all the options are completely open like this. Furthermore, often you can't blame them for not wanting to listen to music from a game they haven't played, especially if they intend on playing it at some point (I'll probably never play Chrono Cross and should probably just listen to the songs linked here already.) Going back to Sweeney Todd, for instance, aside from a song or two I wouldn't recommend someone listen to the soundtrack without seeing the play (or movie) first. I do think the mentioned idea about doing a poll for music in Western games would be rather interesting, though, and lead to a lot of discovery. |
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Post by ommadawnyawn on Oct 22, 2011 10:16:01 GMT -5
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Post by Discoalucard on Oct 22, 2011 12:24:08 GMT -5
Yup - I fixed them in the spreadsheet but haven't edited the first post to revise it.
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Post by Discoalucard on Oct 23, 2011 12:10:45 GMT -5
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Post by docmarionum1 on Oct 23, 2011 12:41:32 GMT -5
Which songs are you still looking for write-ups for?
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Post by Discoalucard on Oct 23, 2011 12:51:52 GMT -5
Which songs are you still looking for write-ups for? These are the ones I have, so any in the top 100 that aren't listed below: Castlevania - Wicked Child Super Mario 64 - Dire Dire Docks Scott Pilgrim vs the World - Another Winter Final Fantasy X - To Zanarkand Chrono Cross - Dreamwatch of Time Chrono Cross - Dreams of the Shore Bordering Another World Capcom Vs Snk 2 - True Love Makin' (London Stage) Streets of Rage II - Go Straight Batman (NES) - Stage 1 Final Fantasy V - Clash on the Big Bridge F-Zero - Big Blue Duke Nukem 3D - Grabbag Devil Crash - Main Table Theme Deus Ex - Title Theme Castlevania II: Simon's Quest - Bloody Tears Castlevania: Bloodlines - The Sinking Old Sanctuary |
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