Recommendations Part 3: Music

 

    Aha! I fooled you all. You thought I was gonna do my overall favorites list, but I have here another list but based around music. I may not have mentioned it much in my blog or on any videos or streams, but music is actually a big part of my life. I know how to play Trombone, Guitar and Bass and kinda know piano. I don't play as much as I would like. I feel my setup here isn't the best and I get anxious when random people hear me practice. In a condo environment, that's almost inevitable. 

    Regardless, I've always been fascinated by video game music. Their whole point is to portray an emotion to help amplify what an environment or event wants to make the player feel. Weather it's a boss fight, a silly moment or an ambient room. Many songs stick to me and keep coming up during certain moments in my life. Like Animal Crossing's Forest Life when I'm calm and Sonic Adventure 2's Green Forest song when I'm running late for something. 
    
    For this list, I don't want to pick out specific songs, that would be way too difficult. Instead I'm looking at overall soundtracks. If a game only has a couple songs that I think need to be experienced, then it probably won't go on the list. Like in Dark Souls, the music is good, but the only song I really care about is Gwyn Lord of Cinder's fight music. I wouldn't put Dark Souls on this list (first list without Dark Souls. Wild, I know). Also if a game uses real world music like the Fallout series, I won't put it in here, only wanting to stick to games with music designed specifically for that game. Again, these aren't in any particular order.

List 2: Games I Recommend for Gameplay.

1. Legend of Zelda (Entire Series): I'll be quick with this one. The main songwriter for the series is Koji Kondo. He's been working on the series since its inception. He also provided music for other Nintendo games such as Mario and Punch-Out, but I think his Zelda work is some of the best. Each game has a unique soundtrack designed to fit the theme of the game. Twilight Princess being darker and more ominous as opposed to Wind Waker's more lighthearted feeling of freedom. Considering so many Zelda games have theming around music, creating a good soundtrack is imperative. If the music was bland or blended into the background, I don't think the series would have the longevity it has. It knows when to make it epic and when to draw it back, making important moments and boss fights all the more memorable. Even the lesser remembered battles had themes that are amazing to listen to. Just look at Spirit Tracks Overworld Theme. I don't remember much from that game, but I frequently think of that song. 

Spirit Tracks Overworld: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5W_bFLwB0WY 

2. Undertale: The creator of Undertale, Toby Fox, did almost all the work in the game. That includes the music. A considerable amount of music keeps with the more 16-bit kind of soundtrack that matches the art of the game. The game itself is inspired by the Earth Bound (Mother) series, and thus also tries to mimic the soundtrack. Often times, that more midi music often sounds sharp and can be irritating if done half-assed. Toby has an obvious passion for this title. Anyone who has played this game can pick up what each boss song is just by hearing the first few notes. 

Asgore Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKLxc2NsNcg

3. Banjo Kazooie: Grant Kirkhope is iconic for the golden era of Rareware. Known for his quirky combination of instruments and creating multiple versions of the same song that seamlessly blend into each other depending on the location of the player character. Most notable being Grunty's lair (overworld music) from Banjo Kazooie. Changing from strings and xylophone to horns and accordion when near the pirate level opening or to bells when near the snow levels. Grant's compositions work perfectly with the cartoony nature of the game.

Grunty's Lair (with variations): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SttIHyWNjQw

4. Hollow Knight: As AAA titles get bigger budgets and more orchestrated pieces, they often start to blend. Mostly just having background songs to set mood. You can play through any Assassins Creed, Call of Duty, or Far Cry game and you can't pick out any specific piece. The big companies know their games will sell, regardless. But because of this, Indie titles have taken it up to craft beautiful, memorable songs. Christopher Larkin made an incredible soundtrack here. Each song capturing the feeling of the area. Weather it be a fungi forest, the dark depths of the abyss, a constantly raining city, or a battle against a cultist carny; these songs elicit an emotional response and keep the player focused on what's going on. From the moment you enter Hallownest, you understand how this land is falling apart. 

Enter Hallownest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=243Uguc-6mQ

5. Persona (specifically 5): All the Persona games have great soundtracks, however I am partial to 5. The songs in each of the games capture the themes well. In the case of P5, the theme is rebelling against society's corrupted norms that treat those who don't fall in line as criminals. The main characters take on personas of what they view as a rebel, imbuing them with the confidence to take on any challenge. The music does a great job of imbuing the player with the same feel. Even when the battle gets tough, the music makes you feel like you'll still succeed. Another thing this soundtrack succeeds at is making songs with lyrics not feel repetitive or annoying. The normal battle song that you hear hundreds of times in the game never gets exhausting and instead pumps you up. The game itself is a JRPG mixed with a friendship simulator. Even if you don't want to spend 80 hours on the game, at least look up the soundtrack.

Last Surprise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-pYuiWoE-Q

6. Sonic Adventure 2: Battle: Sonic is a controversial topic because so many of the modern games suck (there, I said it). But all that aside, one cannot deny how iconic the soundtrack in this game is. Especially if you played the game as a kid. Even now, I think of the Green Forest song whenever I'm in a rush. Go to a con or some dorky event and start singing "Rolling around at the speed of sound" and someone will absolutely respond "got places to go, gotta FOLLOW MY RAINBOW."

City Escape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WcyVvWZJU4

7. Bastion: Many of you in recent memory can think of the popularity of the game Hades by Supergiant Games. This company's first big release was Bastion. Also in both these games, the music was produced by Darren Korb. The general songs in the game are pretty great as is. But what really takes the cake is the lyric songs. These are implied (if not blatantly said) to be sung by the various characters in the game. They exemplify the world around them: (mostly) hopeless, destroyed and caused by people's ego. 

Setting Sail, Coming Home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g60bPpXEq9Q

8. Ori and the Blind Forest: Continuing with the indie theme, brings Ori and the Blind Forest. The game and music portray a sad, beautiful and mystical forest that's slowly dying, with one last ray of hope doing what they can to restore it. Gareth Coker composed the soundtrack and his use of various instruments and voices to bring this beautiful game to life. 

Main theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwT2Ceiyt0Q
 
9. Mario: When you think of video game music, most people's first thought is the Mario theme. The level 1-1 music from Super Mario Bros. But aside from that, the music in this series is phenominal. From Mario 64's Bob-omb Battlefield to the more modern Mario Oddessey's Jump Up, Superstar, to the multiple versions of the Athletic Theme there's so many gems. Even spinoff titles have great music. I'll sometimes find myself humming Luigi's Mansion's theme and I'm sure everyone remembers at least one Mario Party song. 

Bowser's World (Super Mario 3D World): 
This Way That (Mario Party 2) (The song is that, but the video I just think is funny): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCdn0zg6NDM

10. Minecraft: I actually struggled with this last entry. I started pouring through games until I landed on Minecraft. From the Alpha of the game, the music was calming and almost added to the addictive quality of the title itself. Back then there were only a few songs. Now there's a bunch for different things. There are songs that play while in caves, songs that play when the sun rises and songs that exist on collectable disks. All of them help to immerse the player in this world where you can create what you want. It's actually really beautiful. Not to mention the immense number of memes that use these songs.

Minecraft theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmsdlkI8LPw


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