A is for apathy.
Since I’m lazy, I decided to do a series a posts themed around the alphabet. Each post will have songs from games that begin with a certain letter, and will continue until I’ve completed all 26 letters. We’ll start with A, as any good alphabetical list does.
Tetsukazu Nakanishi - EXCALIBUR Ace Combat Zero The Belkan War Original Soundtrack Though the soundtrack may not be the first thought to enter your mind when you think of the Ace Combat series, it is not a thought that should be lost. The soundtrack has a Metal sound to it, which is exemplified in the names of the songs. What is more Metal than a mythical sword? The song itself is great. It’s very powerful, and joystick or no, makes you ready for battle.
Junya Nakano - Dream Cat Another Mind Original Soundtrack While the game itself may have never found its way past the Japanese shores, the soundtrack has. The music is different than a lot of soundtracks, which can be a good or bad thing, based on your own personal tastes. One track, “Dream Cat”, exemplifies the odd nature of the soundtrack. The underlying melody is there, though obscured by the almost random compositions for some of the instruments in the track. I do enjoy the song, but can see very well how it may not work for others.
Tetsuya Shibata - Feasible… Auto Modellista Original Soundtrack What can I call this other than “driving music?” The music doesn’t try to be inventive, it just tries to stir the feeling of speed and excitement out of you as you fly around turns and past other cars in this racing game. In the same way Initial D relies on the quick beats of Euro-Dance, Auto Modellista turns to the fast nature of Guitar Metal.
You have found the Master Sword!
Since Twilight Princess is to blame for my recent absence, it only seems fitting to dedicate this post to my favorite series of all time, The Legend of Zelda. In fact, I will go one step further, and do what can be arguably the most important song in each game; the title theme.
Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, Koji Kondo - Title The Legend of Zelda ~Takt of Wind~ Original Sound Tracks Titled Windwaker in America, this opening track to the game quickly let you know that this installment in the epic series would be different. Being very celtic in nature, it’s a cheerful little number that you can’t help but smile at when it comes on. It helps to set the mood for the rest of the game quite well.
Koji Kondo, Ryuichi Katsumata - Title Legend of Zelda - Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony Though the song has been updated in presentation, the beauty loses nothing. As opposed to the Windwaker’s opening theme, Ocarina of Time’s title track is a more mellow song. With a touch of meloncholy to it, the darker, more serious nature of the game becomes quickly apparent. After having played the game, even, you can even hear the sadness that comes with the story in the title.
Koji Kondo - Title BGM Famicom 20th Anniversary Original Sound Tracks Vol. 1 That’s right. The title to the game that started it all. Though the production is sorely outdated by today’s standards, the epic feeling that it stirred inside each person who powered on their NES that first time to find themselves in the amazing world of Hyrule is still the same. The nostalgia value in this is so high it’s almost unbearable. It makes you want to power that relic up once more and follow link through the original quest once more.
What about the Yankees?
Though many of the songs posted on this blog have been from Japanese games, that doesn’t mean that only the Japanese can produce a great soundtrack. Here are a few tracks from American titles that I have loved since I first heard them.
Martin O’Donnell & Michael Salvatori - Opening Suite Halo Original Soundtrack You’d be hard-pressed to find an American gamer who hasn’t at least heard of Halo. Though opinions over the game vary greatly, I can say that I loved the soundtrack. A more atmospheric arrangement than many Japanese titles, this song not only is a beautiful piece, but can evoke a lot of emotion in those who have played the game.
Stan Lepard, Northwest Sinfonia - Vendetta Suite Crimson Skies: High Road To Revenge Original Soundtrack This piece has epic written all over it. The minute it starts, you are thrown back to the classic air-battles of hollywood, with bi-planes and dogfights. You can almost feel the cold sting on your face as you picture yourself in the open cockpit of a fighter plane, maneuvering around an enemy, trying desperately to get a good shot at him.
Jack Wall - Dawn Star Theme Jade Empire Original Soundtrack While the game was very hit or miss for most gamers out there, the soundtrack did a wonderful job of capturing the atmosphere by using classic Chinese instruments and arrangements. This song in particular is one of the more upbeat pieces and is quite enjoyable to listen to. Though the game’s soundtrack didn’t quite have the masterful sound that movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon were able to produce (Thanks to the amazing talents of Yoyo Ma), Jack Wall still was able to produce one that was not only bearable, but actually worth listening to. It’s more than can be said for other American composers who venture into the realm of Chinese classical.
Welcome back. Here’s your sword.
Sorry for the long delay. I know I said I would have a post up last Wednesday, but things happened that kept me from it. However, I’m back and ready to continue where I left off.
Previously I said I was going to post 6 songs to make up for the delay. However, this won’t happen. Instead, I’m going to post 100 tracks. That’s right. “How?” you may ask. It’s simple. In honor of the newest Final Fantasy and the game that has stolen my soul, I’m going to post the entire FFXII soundtrack. So I hope you all enjoy.
Hitoshi Sakimoto - Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack (475MB) This is the first numbered Final Fantasy Soundtrack that Nobuo Uematsu has nothing to do with (X-2 excluded as it’s not a real game). However, it’s an amazing accomplishment and stands as one of the best soundtracks in the series, in my opinion. Sakimoto had a lot to live up to when he took the reigns of this beast, but he pulled it off, and in the process produced some tracks that quickly have joined the ranks of my favorite songs of all time.
The man has brought me down
Unfortunately, until next Wednesday or so, there won’t be any updates. School and work are double-teaming me and so I’m completely exhausted and just not in the mood to write a real post. However, to make up for it, my next post back will include 6 tracks. How’s that for trying to sooth the wounds with candy.