Soundtrack Club - July Submissions

Another I forgot - Resident Evil 2 original! I only ever play the remake with it applied. Edit: If you're listening via Spotify etc I'd just go straight to 'Prologue' (fifth track), the track ordering is a bit odd. I'll also throw in Tekken 4 (specifically).

Richard G Flowers

Yeah, the music in Cyberpunk is really great, and I particularly dig the "fake band" contributions. Aside from the game being somewhat dismissed due to its issues, I do think that the scope of the music is actually a little bit of a detriment in terms of discussion. There's just so much of it that it's hard to know where to start, and I believe that quite a lot of it isn't included in the official soundtrack. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

Two Disasterpeace suggestions in a row! Used to listen to Fez constantly. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

safety reply for the link

Kuranghi

Grim Fandango doesn't look to be on the list so I'll vote that one this month, the whole thing is immaculate "big band, bebop and bones" as the youtube video cover says. Thats only 45 mins, I think the full unofficial one is 1hr55 if you want more but the one I posted is more than enough to get a great, full impression of the soundtrack: watch?v=5-K8R1hDG9E All the tracks ooze with style and increase the atmosphere of a room ten fold, Swanky Maximino is great and Cafe Calavera too. Hi-Tone Fandango is super memorable, as is High Roller. Blue Casket Bop is just the right amount of crazy that its not annoying and fits the setting perfectly, I remember when I first heard Acoustic Ladyland in the mid 2000s it really brought me back to my love of GF's music so much, here is the main single from their 2nd album: watch?v=H8oQ4DZu4MQ

Kuranghi

I second this, fantastic soundtrack. The music was a really big part of why I loved it. Please say thank you to Vic from this fan! Its sweet and melancholic, it gives me the feeling of island/village life, or describing a smaller existence, versus modern city life". Which is exactly what I was looking for at the time (I'm sure we all were, came out near end of 2020), an escape from reality as opposed to just having fun. The game is about dying as well so that fitted, I'm sad to say.

Kuranghi

Totally agree. That opening theme rocks on so many levels.

lc

Love this. The main battle theme is fantastic too!

lc

Neat pick! Haven't played Danganronpa yet, but I've been really getting into the soundtracks recently. So far, "Goodbye Despair High School" is probably my favorite track out of the bunch.

lc

It was briefly mentioned by Zkarts in April (and thus is on the spreadsheet already) but needs more love: the jazz-funk vaporwave chill of Paradise Killer is top-tier soundtrack stuff. Original theme song with fantastic vocalist? Check! Groovy ambience perfect for game time or general listening at home? Check! Perfectly compliments the unique world, characters, and story of the game? Check! The game itself is (literally) killer, but even if you're not into surreal detective adventures, the soundtrack is worth a listen. This is one of those albums that people have gotten into so much it's driven them to discover and play the game it came from - don't sleep on it.

Stackhouse

With the news about Super Robot Wars 30 being officially released outside of Asia, I'd like to highlight that the original character themes throughout the series are, in my opinion, pretty high quality stuff. Other original tracks are hit or miss though. If you want a specific game in the series for the google doc, you could go with Super Robot Wars Original Generations: Moon Dwellers which is the latest in the Original Generations subseries, but that would cut out quite a few boss tracks from the older games.

Tommy Lee

Not sure if this was discussed: Chris Huelsbeck and Turrican / Lucas Arts LOOM which even features classical music by Tchaikovsky and where music/sound is an important game play element.

wouldyoukindly

We just discussed Chrono a couple months ago. Here's the link https://www.patreon.com/posts/soundtrack-club-51398394

Easy Allies

Chrono Trigger - Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu collaboration for one of the best OSTs ever. The story between the composers is a drama itself.

wouldyoukindly

Hi Blood, what about Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword HD remaster which is releasing this month? We know Damiani is a Zelda fan through and through. You could talk about how the music has been updated through the various versions. L&R

JessieBlu

Ikenfell I just finished it recently and the music really helped make it super memorable for me.

Ken Lutz

This month I'll recommend Donut County. This soundtrack has a chill vibe that really makes you feel like that relaxed raccoon.

Garrett Hulfish

I’m surprised that this is 4th episode, and no one mentioned Cyberpunk 2077 yet. You may like or not like the game, but it’s undeniable that the music in Cyberpunk 2077 is on a level that most games don’t even try to reach. Firstly, there’s your typical soundtrack that you hear during missions and specific cutscenes. Depending on what storylines you’ve done, and which characters you’ve liked more, you’ll probably have your own favorites, but I want to highlight some of mine. “Bells Of Laguna Bend” plays during Pyramid Song (final quest of Judy’s storyline) and it’s perfectly captures conflicting feelings of intimacy and a distance that you still try to keep. “Been Good To Know Ya” plays near the finale, so I will not go into details to avoid spoilers, but again it perfectly captures emotions that both you and your character have at this moment. And special shoutout to “Never Fade Away (SAMURAI Cover)” which plays during the credits. Not only it’s a good song on its own, but it also manages to summarize the journey you’ve went through and maybe even give a hint on the legacy of your adventures. Secondly, music plays important role in Cyberpunk world (there’s even Rockerboy class in tabletop game), and you meet several different bands throughout the game. All of them have multiple songs and sometimes even multiple versions of the same song (like modern and 2022 version of “Chippin’ In”). You even get a chance to rock on the stage yourself in A Like Supreme quest. But Cyberpunk’s music is not just rock. There’s Us Cracks – a Japanese pop/idol group, there are Nomads with their campfire songs, and all these tracks were written and performed specifically for this game. Thirdly, there’s a music that you hear on the radio when you drive your vehicle or when you just walk pass an establishment, which owner likes to raise volume on his receiver. On its own this is fairly typical for modern open-world games, but once again Cyberpunk 2077’s radio features a lot of tracks from made up bands that were created specifically for this game. And here comes the part that I’m sure Damiani will enjoy – community still can’t figure out names of several tracks. Significant work was done to solve this mystery, yet, as far as I know, we still in the dark, because apparently there’s no clue in game’s data files and real-life composers can only confirm that it’s one of their tracks, but they don’t know which track is which. Ok, time for me to shut up, this is a very long post already. But again, even if you despise Cyberpunk 2077 as a game, listen to its music – it’s very, very good.

Alexander Zyryanov

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. I cannot understate how majestic and beautiful this soundtrack is and how masterful Joe Hisaishi's composition is. The soundtrack really brings a meticulous level of heart and a delicate sweetness with it akin to Oliver and the more dramatic music brings battles and dangerous environments to life. Blithe is perhaps my personal favourite track in the game as it has a majestic and blissful sound sweeping through it. In Loving Memory of Allie is melancholic and brings the moments Oliver and Allie meet in cutscenes a touching and endearing note that shows just how special and beautiful their mother/son relationship is.

James Davie

Hmm summer soundtracks....how about Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Its on spotify :)

Alex_AI

I feel like World of Final Fantasy in general gets forgotten and it makes me sad. Such a great OST - with some good remixes of classic songs thrown in too. Nine Wood Hills specifically gets stuck in my ears and I love it.

Yeah this is one I return to often. Just the right amount of bitcrush going on here.

PanaMuse

My friend Vic Mars did the soundtrack to I Am Dead, and it's a wonderfully English bucolic mix of mellotron, folky string arrangements, and pleasantly plucky plucking. His soundtrack really matches the reflective nature of the game, and is a perfect gateway into his albums on the Clay Pipe Music record label. Highly recommended for fans of wistfully folky hauntology!

PanaMuse

Prince of Persia (2008) has an absolutely beautiful soundtrack.

Boone

I would love for you two to talk about the soundtrack to Yooka Laylee and the Impossible Lair. It has a very strong Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze vibe since the stages and their respective tracks change with modifications, and of course because David Wise contributed to the soundtrack. I particularly enjoy this track https://youtu.be/3mD9SZOUT6s

Joseph Caruso

This month I'll take a leaf from Damiani's book and nominate a Final Fantasy spinoff soundtrack: World of Final Fantasy. From the sugary color palette and chibi art-style, you'd think this game's music would be totally light and breezy; and to be fair, there are a lot of fresh takes on Final Fantasy's greatest hits that run in that direction. But this soundtrack's original compositions are by FFXIII composer Masashi Hamauzu - so for every bright and spirited track on the album ("World of Nine Wood HIlls", "World of Battle", "Joyride Melody"), there's something equally moody and mysterious ("World of Dunes", "World of Cathedral", "Castle Melody"). Also, "Hauyn's Theme" has become one of my favorite character themes in all of Final Fantasy - it's just so pristine and sentimental! I think this one's on Apple Music and Spotify for anyone interested.

lc

Banjo-Kazooie by Grant Kirkhope is probably my favourite soundtrack in gaming, and I see no one’s suggested that yet. I lean towards songs that are catchy and that I could easily whistle to myself and Banjo has those kinds of songs in spades. I love all the different versions of Gruntilda’s Lair that seamlessly transition as you move to different zones of the hub world, the 4 seasons of Click Clock Wood each with their own rendition of the same song that match the season perfectly, how Grant incorporated animal sounds in the songs for Bubblegloop Swamp and Mad Monster Mansion and not have it be weird at all, and so on. Basically, there’s no bad song in the bunch and I still listen to many of them constantly. I wish Smash used more from the game

Logan Tawse

After recently finishing the newest installment from one of my favorite series, I'm going to nominate the entry I love the most, and it's one most don't discuss: Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction The reason I'm going ToD over the likes of A Crack in Time or the just released Rift Apart, is it has a surprising variety in music. It does have the futuristic synths, strings, and heavy use of lower register wind instruments one would expect from a game set in space, but this was the game that introduced the Groovitron, which has a few dance tunes with heavy funk and disco influence. Also, it has a mini-game centered around dancing to a beat while in disguise as a pirate robot. Ambient music on the planets is also stellar, be it on the slow paced synths of the Imperial Fight Festival, the naval overtones mixed in with the aforementioned heavy wind instruments on the pirates' home base of Ardolis, and a natural sounding bongo-like percussion on the swampy Sargasso. Ratchet & Clank as a franchise has made its name off of wacky weapons, beautiful worlds and fun characters, but the music is always excellent and in my opinion, deserves to also be talked about with as much reverence.

Brandon K Gann

Reposting Smash Bros Opening themes! With Damiani on, it would be fun to get y'alls take on which one's you enjoy the most! The Youtube compilation video's comments really snubbed the N64 intro as the unanimous worst, but I totally disagree! Damiani and Blood, vindicate meee!!!

St0mpz

Changing my sugestion from Machinarium to FEZ (by Disasterpeace) which is an other indie game soundtrack I come back to every once in a while. I really like the Machinarium soundtrack as well, but quickly going over it again after recommeding it, it might be a little too much almost silent ambient tracks for some of the tracks. I don't know how enjoyable it would be if you haven't played the game. The FEZ soundtrack is basically the oposite of that with a lot of great chiptune tunes (although it has some more ambienty tracks as well). And that comes from somebody who generally doesn't listen a lot to chiptune.

MrMette

Hyper Light Drifter by Disasterpeace. Nough said

Leo S. Luna

Personas 3-5 get a lot of hype, as they should, but I would like to call attention to Persona Q 2. It does an excellent job of capturing the spirit of all the games that it crosses over while still having its own unique flare.

Michelle Jackson