48 more recommended video game songs, 2015-16 edition.
Here are my opinions on 48 more recommended video game songs!
Well, technically, most of these songs are older. But I didn't want to destroy my old list for great songs from games that I've either played recently or left off the list last time. Also, some of these songs, while good, aren't good enough to be recognized on my "master list," but I thought it'd be proper to give them some love anyway.
Check out the original 100 song list (1-50), the original 100 song list (51-100), and the expanded list for more recommended songs!
Beyond the Beyond (PSX, 1995) composed by: Motoi Sakuraba
➸Ah, Beyond the Beyond. Though it's usually pretty well known as one of the first RPGs for the PlayStation (if not the first), it's also usually considered pretty uninteresting and that the only notable thing about it is the music by a relatively prolific composer. Truth is, this was my first RPG, so I have fond (and not so fond) memories of this game. I enjoyed it, even though it took me several years to actually beat it. The music is standard RPG fare, but that isn't to say that it's bad. Of note is Sakuraba's use of crazy keyboard from time to time.
1. Beyond the Beyond - "Dragon Cave"
➸This pretty piece plays in a certain cave that becomes an important place for the main character, so it makes sense that the melody that is basically the game's main theme is represented here in woodwind and string and percussion. I like the buildups and sudden releases that happen throughout the song. It gives the song a sense of emotion.
2. Beyond the Beyond - "Moments of Flight"
➸Another pretty string-filled song that plays when the party flies around the map. I feel that the strings encapsulate a majestic and graceful feeling of flight that builds up and bursts into a heroic theme after about :37 into the song. It's definitely more relaxing than urging, but I like the heroic intermission to remind you that, yes, you're still on the way to save the world and now that the party can fly, the world will definitely be saved.
Breath of Fire (SNES, 1993) composed by: Yasuaki Fujita, Yoko Shimomura, Minae Fujii, Mari Yamaguchi
➸I have a strong affinity for older RPGs, and since Breath of Fire III is one of my favorite RPGs, I couldn't help but check out the earlier two games in the series. As was to be expected from Capcom's first RPG, the music is kind of standard RPG stuff, but with some of the big names from the NES Mega Man sound teams, the music had to be good, right? Well, I'll let you be the judge of that -- though I will mention that the instrumentation used sounds slightly... mechanical. But it's an SNES game, so it's to be expected.
3. Breath of Fire - "Distant View"
➸Also known as "Lands Beyond the Ocean," this is the second overworld theme that starts to play once the party can traverse the open seas. It's full of energy, like a march. There even sounds like brass trumpets blaring at certain points against the main melody. Overworld themes tend to be my favorites, and this is a good example as to why: they're either really somber and pretty, or fun and energetic and worthy of being the background music for a journey. Composed by Yasuaki Fujita.
4. Breath of Fire - "Expedition"
➸Alternatively titled "End of the Journey," this is the third and final overworld theme in Breath of Fire. It's less of a march than "Distant View," but it feels much grander. The song itself is constantly changing, as it feels like a fusion of many different elements coming together; lots of tiny details thrown together to make a song than one consistent melody. And there are plenty of tiny details and concurrent instruments playing at once that it may take a few listens in order to fully grasp all that's going on in the song. It's kind of fun in that regard. Not sure if it really screams, "this is the end of the game," but it's still quite impressive, and I like it. Obviously. Ha. Also composed by Yasuaki Fujita.
Breath of Fire II (SNES, 1994) composed by: Yuko Takehara
➸As to be expected, Breath of Fire II is improved over its earlier counterpart. Musically, that means, well... Honestly, the instrumentation still sounds mechanical. At least some of the songs were memorable enough for mentions.
5. Breath of Fire II - "Wanderer"
➸A sort of mystical-sounding tune that plays in the mountain areas. The lead flute does a good job making the song sound mystical and slightly Asian. Maybe it's just me, but I imagine misty mountain paths and a slight sense of uncertainty and wonder. I remember hearing this song in one of the first areas of the game and thinking, "huh, this is nice." Maybe I just like mystic-sounding mountain themes?
6. Breath of Fire II - "White Wings"
➸An urgent, emotionally-packed song that plays when flying. This song definitely screams "endgame" to me, more than BoFI's "Expedition" did. Unfortunately, it's not as varied; it's a pretty simple melody, but I like the piano(?) lead. It fits the situation well -- slightly delicate, but definitely heroic and urgent. It's an iconic song from the game for me, both for plot reasons and because of hearing it a lot from flying around at the end of the game.
Chou Mahou Tairiku WOZZ (SNES, 1995) composed by: Tomoyuki Hamada, Takeshi Saitou, Seiichi Tokunaga
➸This game, also translated as "The Magical World of WOZZ," is some random fan-translated Super Famicom RPG that I downloaded one day. Admittedly, I have only played about two hours into the game, following my long-standing tradition of really getting into a game the first time I play it and then forgetting all about it... whoops. I actually was inspired by doing this to get back into the game and finish it, and I did! It's a typical JRPG with a cute trio of heroes, an interesting ending, and some decent music:
7. Chou Mahou Tairiku WOZZ - "Field"
➸Any song that opens with a sweet melody panning left and right is one that instantly catches my attention, as this one certainly did. As is also typical of me, this is the overworld theme, and it's quite pretty. It has great buildup from the panning to a soft melody with building percussion that finally escalates into full force a little over a minute into the song, and it resolves itself nicely with a bridge before looping back to the initial buildup. It works very well, even with the slightly-mechanical-sounding Super Famicom instrumentation. The lead woodwinds sound great, and so does the ever-building percussion. I also like the horn-like sounds that play counter to the main melody at certain parts of the song! Reminds me of the sound made from blowing through a goat horn -- a sound to beckon the characters onward. Excellent execution of a great idea, one that impressed me a good bit initially and probably does even more now that I have to sit down and think about it enough to write about it. Haha.
8. Chou Mahou Tairiku WOZZ - "Pure World"
➸The Pure World is an interesting little hub in the game, sort of like the game's heaven, and is sadly only visited for a short amount of time. And as the title suggests, this is a pretty and calm piece, with a lovely lead bell opening that gradually builds up with more instruments until it suddenly bursts around 1:18 with a heroic bridge and then begins again. I really love the bells and woodwinds in this piece. Quite fitting for the game's heaven area, I think.
Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (Saturn/PSX, 1998; 3DS, 2012) composed by: Toshiko Tasaki, Shoji Meguro, Tsukasa Masuko
➸Okay, I'm the first to admit it: I'm a total nerd for Megami Tensei games, and Soul Hackers is one of them. I played the 3DS remake during the summer of 2013, and I will say that I was excited to play the MegaTen game that came out right before my personal favorites, the Persona 2 dualogy. I was looking forward to great characters, a great story, and, of course, great music. With composers such as Tasaki and Meguro, and the great Tsukasa Masuko of the Super Famicom games (SMTI is my other favorite game), what could go wrong? Well, I have to say that I was rather disappointed with this soundtrack. I think part of it had to do with the fact that a lot of the songs seemed more atmospheric or minimalistic than melodious and memorable. Maybe it was because the game was of a different series, or because the composers just decided to try something different... or, perhaps, because I had set my expectations too high by hoping Soul Hackers would have the same amazing quality soundtrack that the Persona 2 games have. I also wonder if they had to use different instrumentation due to the parent system being the Sega Saturn. Nonetheless, there are some good songs in Soul Hackers -- so many, in fact, that I regret setting my limit to three songs per game because I really want to list four. Also, a neat thing that the music in Soul Hackers does is change to a secondary melody after a while in most areas. It's definitely interesting and helps kill the monotony, and I prefer some secondary tracks to their main counterparts -- only shame is that they didn't add a secondary track to the largest and most annoying dungeon in the game. Oh well. But you didn't come here to hear me rant about music, you came to listen, so here:
9. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers - "2D Field"
➸Yes, I know, another overworld theme. I can't help it. This is one of the catchiest and... warmest(?) songs in the game. It has a strong piano lead that doesn't sound at all delicate as pianos tend to do, and it's basically a wall of sound. I think that piano is what makes me want to describe this song as "warm." It's not heroic or urgent like other overworld themes I've already discussed, but it's definitely fitting for the cityscape in which Soul Hackers takes place. Yeah, that's it: it's fit for a city. It's rather short, but between the piano lead and the guitar bridge, there's plenty going on in the song that it'll warrant at least one more listen. Composed by Toshiko Tasaki.
10. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers - "Nikamimon Underground"
Note: This song is listed as "Futagamikado Basement" on vgmdb.net, and while I usually try to use the official OST name for each song, this wasn't translated correctly according to the 3DS translation -- "Futagamikado" (二上門) is rendered as "Nikamimon" in the game. And I took the liberty of changing "basement" to "underground" because the dungeon... isn't a basement.
➸This is the final dungeon theme, and it fittingly has a mystic, mysterious, and slightly tense sound to it. The Asian-esque strings along with the repeated percussion theme really makes it memorable among the other dungeon themes. It's somewhat catchy, too. I think I just like all the different sounds going on in the song. Composed by Toshiko Tasaki.
11. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers - "Treasure Chest Battle"
➸Ah, here's some MegaTen music. This song only plays during battles initiated when you open treasure chests that contain strong enemies inside, so it's probably the least-heard battle theme in the game. Kind of a shame, since I think it's the neatest one. It opens with a riff that means business, and the frenzy and energy continue throughout the song, even if the lead instrument doesn't end up being a guitar. I think this song uses the chosen instrumentation for this soundtrack very well in order to create a frantic and fun battle theme. Also Toshiko Tasaki's work.
Devil Survivor (DS, 2009) composed by: Takami Asano
➸This game, technically titled "Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor," is linked to the Megami Tensei games but is also differentiated as a side-story ("ibunroku" [異聞録] is like... "alternate record"? as an aside, the only other Megami Ibunroku game I know of was Persona 1, and we all know where that went). And different it is -- it's a strategy game that uses the demon designs from other MegaTen games and somewhat similar apocalyptic themes, but that's about all that it has in common with the series. Another thing that I always felt was odd concerning Devil Survivor and Devil Survivor 2 was that none of the usual Atlus composers made the music. I really wonder if the entire game was outsourced to another developer, but that's for another time. The music itself isn't that great, in my opinion. I am not familiar with Takami Asano in any other context, but it's obvious that he tried to go for a "cool" sound with lots of wailing guitar. It works for the game, but nothing is particularly memorable to me. However, I thought I would highlight at least one song:
12. Devil Survivor - "Action"
Note: This version of the song is from the OST, and it has a few added elements (like the guitar) that are not heard in-game. I prefer this version, but I thought I'd be a perfectionist and mention this.
➸The map theme, and probably the most-heard song in the game. Maybe that's why I'm partial to it? It doesn't have the wailing guitar, but it's actually rather laid-back in comparison. It's not exactly chill, since the beat is continually going, but it's a solid piece. It's also one of those songs that continually have new instruments added to it as the song goes on, so that's always interesting -- and good, since you will listen to this song a lot through normal gameplay.
Devil Survivor 2 (DS, 2011) composed by: Kenji Ito
➸The second Devil Survivor game (no longer a "Megami Ibunroku" title, hmm) was, I felt, was an all-around improvement to the original. The game fell further away from the typical MegaTen storyline, but it was still a fun ride. And the music was tons better, to the point where I had a hard time choosing only three songs to show off on here. I was surprised to see Kenji Ito of Square-Enix fame -- SaGa and Mana games! -- as the composer of this installment, but he did a fantastic job at nailing the atmosphere and creating memorable songs at the same time. The Devil Survivor games are a bit different from regular MegaTen, but this was certainly a breath of fresh air.
13. Devil Survivor 2 - "Challenge to the Fate"
➸"Challenge to the Fate" is particularly strong battle theme with an equally strong lead piano melody that turns into a synthy keyboard line halfway through the song. I can hear Ito's earlier RPG roots in this song with his instrument choices, but at the same time, it doesn't feel "classical" in the slightest -- the synthy second half definitely helps with this. It's a catchy, powerful mix of old and new, and I feel it's pretty representative of the entire soundtrack.
14. Devil Survivor 2 - "Exploration"
➸The map theme, and probably my favorite song in the game. The lead piano melody sounds so relaxing and smooth, but the song itself isn't particularly relaxing -- the quick background percussion keeps the speed and intensity going. I love how the song changes up a bit after the main melody is established and repeated a couple of times: I love love love the piano bit at around the minute mark. I completely recommend this song: it's jazzy and snazzy and catchy and I could listen to it for ages.
15. Devil Survivor 2 - "Septentrion"
➸A special battle theme for what are essentially the game's boss battles, and once again, Ito has combined classical sensibilities with more modern leanings to create another fast-paced piano/guitar/keyboard piece to go with some of the most intense battles of the game. That is definitely one of my favorite aspects of this soundtrack, as well: sure, there are some typical MegaTen purely rock-based tunes, such as the in-battle theme; but the majority of songs have this classical/new fusion kind of style and it's good and memorable. It's a strong track with a lot of elements that fits the boss battles well.
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II (NES, 1990) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko
➸Yes, this was inevitable, especially now that there's a fan-translation out. I finally got to experience this game for myself after wanting to play it for years. Listening to the excellent music in the meantime only made me want to play it more -- and excellent it definitely is. Masuko was a genius with the Famicom's eight-bit capabilities, probably even more so than he was with the Super Famicom's, and that's saying a lot, since I really enjoy those works as well. But these works are truly awesome. Also, this game is notable for using a special sound chip to enhance its sound, which made the game cart twice the regular size.
16. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II - "Explorer"
➸This is the first dungeon theme in the game (excluding the intro computer game area), and it's pretty hardcore. It has a fantastic buildup with instruments adding themselves to the melody until the entire thing explodes into fast-paced sound at :21. The loop itself is only about forty seconds long, but it's still catchy as all heck. This is a dungeon theme I wouldn't mind listening to over and over again while playing any game.
17. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II - "Hallucination"
➸The second overworld theme, and to be honest, I didn't really fully appreciate it until I actually played the game and heard it in-game for myself. It's beautiful and has a mystical-sounding lead that melds into a fantastic stronger cascading section at :32 that I absolutely love and always hum along to. There is an arranged version of this song on the MTI/II OST called "Hallucination ~ 魔界幻想" that uses real instruments and uses a violin for the stronger melody and it's so gorgeous. The entire arrangement disc is fantastic, and all three songs I'm including here have arrangements, so I'm also highly recommending it if you like these songs.
18. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II - "Labyrinth"
➸One of the final dungeon themes, and I feel it's the opposite of "Explorer": it's more laid-back whereas "Explorer" was full of energy. "Labyrinth" makes me think more of cruising around the dungeon than going gung-ho through it. It begins innocently enough with a low-key percussion line and a repeating three notes, but the percussion is kicked up a notch at :15 and leads into a stronger melody that begins around :34. It's this second half of the song that I really enjoy -- more pretty cascading and other fun with the lead melody. And this song is actually nearly a minute-and-a-half long before it loops, so the pretty lead melody section lasts for nearly a minute by itself. It's quite nice.
Final Fantasy IV (SNES, 1991) composed by: Nobuo Uematsu
➸FFIV is considered to be a classic, and I consider it to be pretty good, but I'm partial to FFV for some reason. It's either the class system or the fact that I played V first. Even so, a lot of the themes in this game are iconic, and they have their own mechanical-ish sound in comparison to the later SNES Final Fantasies, most likely due to the limited hardware at the time.
19. Final Fantasy IV - "Main Theme"
➸The gorgeous overworld theme to FFIV. I fell in love with it the instant I heard it. Uematsu definitely made some gorgeous overworld themes. The cascading beginning buildup leads into a lovely, slightly melancholy lead flute that I'm sure would sound gorgeous on actual instruments. The song has always felt lonely to me, as Uematsu's overworld themes tend to, which encapsulate that feeling of there being a big, wide world out there and now the characters have to leave their comfortable homes and traverse through the unknown. I'm sure it would be daunting, to say the least. At least they have this epic song to guide them, hm? There is another song with this melody, "Land of Dwarves," which I also highly recommend, especially as a jazzy counterpart to this song.
20. Final Fantasy IV - "Within the Giant"
➸An iconic tune for a final dungeon. Heroic brass horns play alongside more mechanical background effects, which I think perfectly fit the chosen sort-of-mechanical soundfonts for this game. On top of that, the final dungeon itself follows a mechanical motif, so it all comes together quite well. The lead brass notes are elongated and slow, reminding the player that there is one more slog to go before the world can be saved, but the background has so much going on at the same time that the song remains relatively lively.
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS, 2007) composed by: Hitoshi Sakimoto
➸Ah, this is a game I've sunk a lot of time into. I'm ready for a third Final Fantasy Advance game, haha. FFTA2 borrows a lot of songs from the original Tactics Advance, as well as from Final Fantasy XII, and, well. Both of my picks are borrowed songs, one from each game.
21. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - "Beyond the Wasteland"
➸This song was originally from Tactics Advance, where it remains my favorite song in that game as well. In Tactics Advance, I believe this battle theme played during some of the final storyline-related quests, so its heroic sound makes sense. And this song certainly has its heroic brass in spades, but what I really like is the juxtaposition of the booming heroic brass after the building intro and the ~five second lulling interlude immediately following that seems to throw a little anxiety into the song. The main melody that follows is certainly catchy and memorable. Definitely a favorite battle theme out of many. Originally composed by Kaori Ohkoshi.
22. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - "In the Fantasy"
➸This cavern battle theme is an arrangement of "The Salikawood" from Final Fantasy XII. I have not played XII nor listened to its music, so I cannot attest for the song's accuracy with the original; but as a stand-alone piece, I really like it. It's very pretty and mysterious. The combination of piano, flute, strings, and xylophone(?) throughout the song is very delicate, but still substantive -- there is a lot going on in this song. It all comes together beautifully, however.
Gensou Suikoden Tierkreis (DS, 2009) composed by: Norikazu Miura, Yoshino Aoki, Kaori Komuro, Masaharu Iwata, Hitoshi Fujima, Junpei Fujita, Tomoaki Hirono, Daisuke Kikuta, Masato Nakayama
➸Wow, such a large bunch of composers for a side-story game. I believe each composer worked on music for different sections of the game, though; so at least all the songs for, say, the cat tribe sound coherent with each other. Otherwise, the soundtrack itself is okay. There are some good songs in the mix, but a lot of them ended up being unmemorable to me. Maybe if the good songs played more often instead of that headquarters theme... but I digress.
23. Gensou Suikoden Tierkreis - "The Plain and the Sky ~Citro Plain BGM~"
➸Out of all the overworld themes -- and most are pretty good, so this was kind of a hard decision -- I think I like "The Plain and the Sky" the most. Sadly, it's also the most short-lived overworld theme, but you do get to hear it very early on in the game. Great acoustic guitar and woodwind work in this song, and it really does reflect the vast grasslands of Citro Plain. It's a fun, adventurous, and warm piece that really sticks out among the others in the game. And, on top of that, it's decently long with a lot of different things going on, so it's constantly evolving and remaining interesting. Composed by Norikazu Miura.
24. Gensou Suikoden Tierkreis - "Sally Beacon ~Unit Formation BGM~"
➸This has to be my favorite song from the game. It's fantastic, and when this song plays in-game, you know it's time for business. The song sort of has two parts: the explosive opening with the amazing cello(?), and the quieter string/brass buildup back into the opening when the song loops. The orchestral instrumentation is great and I really love that cello or whatever it is during the first part of the song. The way I interpret the song in relation to its in-game appearance is that it opens with gusto, getting the player excited about the big fight that's about to happen (as this plays on the battle unit formation screen), and then it calms down a bit so the player can contemplate who to put in which party and so forth. I do highly recommend this song, composed by Kaori Komuro.
25. Gensou Suikoden Tierkreis - "Village in the Mountains ~Tehah Village BGM~"
➸Another song that won me over with beautiful instrumentation -- in this case, a lovely violin and... mandolin? In any case, the lead instruments sound very sweet, and the entire song has a... humble(?) feel to it. It's fitting for a town in the snowy mountains, I think. I just really love the combination of the violin's wail and then the mandolin's earthiness. As I said, it sounds very humble to me, if humility can be expressed through song. This is one of the two tracks composed by Masato Nakayama, and this one is infinitely more preferable (in my opinion) to the other one... Then again, I'm always going to prefer the town theme to the annoying dungeon theme, haha.
Hourai Gakuen no Bouken! ~ Tenkousei Scramble (SNES, 1996) composed by: Hitoshi Sakimoto
➸Sakimoto's back for a random high school-themed RPG released near the end of the Super Famicom's lifespan, Hourai Gakuen no Bouken (The Adventures of Hourai High School). I recently played through it via fan-translation and found it to be quite enjoyable, music included. I find it ironic that Sakimoto composed the music to this game -- his style hadn't really changed between Hourai and FFTA2, and I found myself picking out similarities between songs that were over a decade apart. Turns out that he'd even used one of the songs from Hourai and arranged it for the original Final Fantasy Tactics. Ironic, huh? Speaking of which...:
26. Hourai Gakuen no Bouken - "Airplane"
➸According to a post on vgmdb.net, this song was also lifted from a previous game... But that's of little importance, because it's good enough to be used multiple times. This fun yet calm tune plays during the few scenes in which you're in an airplane, but it really does fit the wonder and excitement of flying, I think. I really enjoy this song, from the catchy lead riff to the bleeps in the background.
27. Hourai Gakuen no Bouken - "Kouzan Nostra"
➸This song. It's the reason I downloaded the .spc set for this game in the first place. I listened to it on repeat for days on end. This song plays in the mountains in-game, but it doesn't really sound very mountain-y or tribal. Instead, it's catchy piano that sounds great with the chosen soundfont, and once the percussion kicks in, you're swallowed in a sea of sound. I guess it sounds sort of mystical? Adventurous? There's just something about it that makes me really love it. In doubt, blame the piano. I'm a sucker for piano.
28. Hourai Gakuen no Bouken - "Muteki 22-gou"
➸Translated in-game as the "Invincible 22," this song plays inside a giant robot. Yes, Hourai is wacky. But this song is quite laid-back and full of little details. I think my favorite aspect of the song is the xylophone, which is very reminiscent of "At the Bar" from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance/A2. It's definitely Sakimoto's work. I also really like the overall pace and feel of the piece. It's so much better than the regular dungeon theme.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64, 2000) composed by: Koji Kondo, Toru Minegishi
➸The latter of the well-renowned N64 Legend of Zelda games. I played them on the GameCube, myself. As this is the second of two linked games, Majora's Mask seems to use a lot of songs originally in Ocarina of Time, but there is one song in particular that I really, really like from Majora's Mask:
29. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - "Milk Bar"
➸Yes, ha, the Milk Bar song. I think it's really catchy and that it really uses the selected sound font well -- I love the string opening and the xylophone(?) added later. This song exudes the charm and sound that the N64 Zelda games are known for -- pretty sure those strings are used in some of the other town songs -- but it's very memorable to me. Even though it's playing in a bar that's only open at night and only accessible while wearing a cow mask, it's still fun and catchy.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998) composed by: Koji Kondo
➸Another classic game with honestly classic songs. As mentioned as I was rambling about the previous song from Majora's Mask, Kondo certainly had created a signature sound for these games that is still well-loved. "Classic" games should be remembered for having great music, and the N64 Zelda games delivered on that statement.
30. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - "Gerudo Valley"
➸This song is such a classic, and it's easy to hear why. It's sort of flamenco-ish in style, with a strong acoustic guitar lead and brass horns and even sort-of hand claps in the background. It's a very flavorful piece, and quite clever/creative -- how many other flamenco-style video game songs do you know of? It's fun and memorable. And it sounds so good with the N64's sound capabilities, too.
31. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - "Zora's Domain"
➸This song is also in Majora's Mask as "Zora Hall." It's a lovely and calming theme. It opens with a nice cascade of steel drum beats, and the steel drum continues to feature prominently alongside an acoustic guitar -- basically a stereotypical Caribbean sound. But it works so well here, as the Zora's domain is the water-themed area of the game. I love how calm the theme is -- I could fall asleep to this.
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PSX, 1999) composed by: Noriyuki Iwadare
➸This game has a long past -- it's been released on multiple systems, originally for the Sega CD in the early nineties -- as well as a long past with myself. I had heard the game's vocal song, "Wind's Nocturne," on a website years before I knew anything about the game, and then when I actually got around to playing the GBA port at least ten years later, it hit me: so this was Lunar. And even more recently, my mom randomly found the PSX version, Silver Star Story Complete, in a thrift store and bought it for me. I started replaying it, but, uhm, I got distracted and stopped. Whoops. I tend to do that. Anyway, honestly, the only truly memorable song to me is "Wind's Nocturne," since it means much more to me than just as a song from a game, but upon replaying it last year, one song stood out enough to me to earn itself a mention here:
32. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete - "Toward the Horizon"
➸This is the second overworld theme. It opens with an excited, energetic riff that turns into a more solemn ocarina section at about :14. The ocarina gains some backing instruments, and it makes for an interesting spin on the heroic overworld theme stereotype. I like the juxtaposition between the opening and the ocarina lead-in; it goes from excited to kind of anxious and builds back up into determination through the introduction of the backing instruments. I also love how the ocarina is the lead instrument here -- the main character plays the ocarina, so it's a great tie-in. This song may not be groundbreaking, but I still recommend it.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (3DS, 2014) composed by: Atsushi Kitajoh, Toshiki Konishi, Yuzo Koshiro (with arrangements of songs originally composed by Shoji Meguro)
➸Yeah, I admit to being lured into buying this silly cross-over game, but honestly, the premise of the Persona 3 and Persona 4 kids ganging up in order to explore large first-person dungeons that remind me of main-line MegaTen games really appeals to me. I am still playing through it at the time of writing this, but so far, it's been really interesting. The music, on the other hand, uses the exact same instrumentation and styles as Persona 3 and 4's OSTs, and some songs are lifted straight from those titles (with a little arrangement, but just a tad). It really comes to no surprise, as Meguro is busy composing new stuff for Persona 5, but it still feels a little lazy? Not to say that Kitajoh and Konishi did a bad job with what they were given, however. It's just kind of hard to appreciate the new music from this game when it doesn't honestly sound "new" to my ears. There is one song that I want to point out, however:
33. Persona Q - "Looming Danger"
➸This song actually plays in the area that I am in in-game right now, the later levels of the fourth dungeon, and the music associated with this dungeon was the first to make me perk up my ears and say, "finally, decent music!" The other dungeon songs fit their themes, but weren't as interesting as this song, I don't think. The fourth dungeon is based on a traditional Japanese summer festival, so the percussion and woodwinds are Asian-tinged, but what I really love is the driving beat and distorted guitar playing alongside them. The guitar solo in the middle of the song is also impressive, and I like the more traditional Asian string and woodwind section that comes in after the solo to calm the song down a bit and set it up for the loop. It's a neat mix of traditional Asian sounds and electric guitar that doesn't really fit into the "oh, this sounds like it could've been in Persona 3/4!" category like most of the songs in Persona Q do to me. Composed by Toshiki Konishi.
Pokémon Black 2/White 2 (DS, 2012) composed by: Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki, Hitomi Sato, Satoshi Nohara, Shota Kageyama, Minako Adachi, Teruo Taniguchi
➸At the time of posting my last list of recommended game songs, I had not yet played Black 2. I had even initially thought that most of the songs probably would have been the same between Black and Black 2, so I probably wouldn't even need to write about it separately. Ha, I was wrong. Black 2 introduced several new areas and events, and along with them, plenty of new music.
34. Pokémon Black 2/White 2 - "Reversal Mountain (White)"
➸I don't even have White 2, but I am smitten with this song. Funny, isn't it? White's version of the Reversal Mountain begins with what sounds like bells? And then, suddenly, trumpets. And the trumpets are strong and they are amazing. They also kind of remind me of Diamond and Pearl's style a bit. All the while, the bells from the opening are still playing in the background, which makes for an interesting backing melody. The Black version of this song takes a more traditional Asian route, combining an Asian woodwind with the backing bells to produce a more... thematically coherent song, but the trumpets in the White version are awesome regardless. Composed by Hitomi Sato, which might explain the D/P leanings.
35. Pokémon Black 2/White 2 - "PWT Final Round!"
➸Ah, the final battle theme for the Pokémon World Tournament. As to be expected, it's a piece full of energy and excitement -- it even begins with a heartbeat thumping. There are so many things going on in this song, thanks to its constant changes. My favorite section is the one from :44-:56 -- I really love that melody. There are several sections that definitely sound like a Pokémon game, both instrumentation-wise and composition-wise, but it makes sense considering Go Ichinose composed this track. He's worked on most of the games, I believe. This is just a fun, catchy song and fitting for such an important battle.
Pokémon Emerald (GBA, 2004) composed by: Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki
➸It's true that Emerald shares like 95% of its songs with Ruby and Sapphire. However, the Emerald-exclusive Battle Frontier offers up some interesting new compositions, and I'm actually quite partial to the direction the sound team took with the Battle Frontier songs. The one I'm recommending is probably my favorite of the bunch, but I enjoy them quite a bit as a whole. So now I will not-so-subtly recommend the rest of the Hoenn Battle Frontier songs if you're interested.
36. Pokémon Emerald - "Battle Factory"
➸This song is pretty wild and all over the place, but I think that's what I really like about it. It's so experimental and fun. It's full of energy and craziness, and I love how the lead dips up and down alongside all of the blips and bleeps. The Battle Frontier itself is a pretty crazy place, so it makes sense that the music is sort of tense and crazy at the same time. It's definitely unique. Composed by Go Ichinose.
Radia Senki - Reimei Hen (NES, 1991) composed by: Keiji Yamagishi, Hiroshi Miyazaki
➸Known as "Chronicles of the Radia War" in English, it's just a random fan-translated Famicom RPG that I played through some time ago. I barely remember anything about it... Even so, there was one song that really stood out to me:
37. Radia Senki - Reimei Hen - "Field 1"
➸This little tune plays in the grassy areas outside of the first town, and for some reason, I've always really liked it. I like the sound of that opening bit, even if it seems to sound slightly off-key for a second? Or maybe that's just me? The song itself is quite short, as it loops at just under thirty seconds, so there isn't much to it... I've always liked it as a short and happy field theme, looking forward to adventure.
Radiant Historia (DS, 2010) composed by: Yoko Shimomura
➸Ah, Radiant Historia. It's truly a well-written and fun RPG, and the music by legend Yoko Shimomura is beautiful, as one can only expect from her. (See Legend of Mana in the previous list.) Her lovely orchestral compositions add another layer of refinement to an already great game. And it sounds so good on the DS, too.
38. Radiant Historia - "Blue Radiance"
➸This is the normal battle theme, though it doesn't truly sound like what one would expect from a battle theme, does it? Instead of wailing guitars and crazy drum beats, there are lovely woodwind and string harmonies. They're still able to evoke a level of intensity, but in more of a movie cinematic kind of style. At one point, the percussion is leading the song along quickly, but once it goes away, the song slows down a bit and is just as nice. Sort of atypical for the usual fast-paced battle themes. "Blue Radiance" has enough movement and variation in it to make it a standout battle theme, and song in general. And it grows on me now that I don't have to actually battle as I listen to it, ha. Battle song syndrome? You dislike it since you hear it so much while you're playing the game, but afterwards you can like it for the song it is, plus all the, uhm, nostalgia? Ha.
39. Radiant Historia - "Mechanical Kingdom"
➸The theme for the main character's home city/kingdom that doesn't really sound "mechanical" at all. It actually opens softly with a lute(?) and clarinet(?) and piano before the percussion kicks in a little past the :30 mark. I love how the beginning is lovely and unassuming, and then there's a sudden burst of intensity with the added percussion. It all sounds slightly sad as well (I blame the clarinet and violin?), which makes it even prettier to me. A gorgeous choice of instruments.
40. Radiant Historia - "Shadows Dance in the Darkness"
➸The cave theme. And my oh my, I do love that opening piano. It is almost as if the notes are... dancing. Aha. As the song moves forward from the sparse opening, different elements are added to it for over a minute until the percussion and violins come in strongly, and it's no longer the minimalist piece the opening piano may have suggested at first. I love the buildup to the climax, and then listening to it happen all over again. It also has a mystical charm to it that fits the feeling of exploring caves. Again, Shimomura has done a fantastic job with instrumentation and making all the pieces come together in order to compose something lovely.
Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS, 2013) composed by: Ryota Koduka, Toshiki Konishi (Tsukasa Masuko, Kenichi Tsuchiya, Shoji Meguro, Hidehito Aoki all composed older songs that were arranged for this game, but only Koduka and Konishi composed original songs)
➸So, SMTIV. I loved every moment of it. And, quite honestly, I really enjoyed the soundtrack as well. I wasn't familiar with Koduka before this, so he took me by surprise. I'm actually kind of really glad that Meguro stepped down from this game, because I think I prefer his Persona style more than I did his SMTIII style, and Koduka did such a fantastic job with providing the musical landscape to the gritty world of SMTIV. The district themes sounded (mostly) desolate, the battle themes were absolutely rockin', and all the MegaTen charm was there. I would list like twenty favorites here if I could -- I seriously have at least that many from this soundtrack -- but I can only pick three, sigh. All my choices are composed by Ryota Koduka, by the way.
41. Shin Megami Tensei IV - "Ikebukuro Underground District"
➸Okay, so the Ikebukuro song doesn't sound desolate. In-game, Ikebukuro is actually abandoned, but it has awesome crazy music instead. I honestly went there just to listen to the music, since there really wasn't much else to do in the area. Once the keyboard line kicks in with the percussion, I'm hooked. Then more crazy sounds are added throughout the song, and there's an awesome drum breakdown around 1:08 or so. I love it; it's so energetic and crazy and fun. It always leaves me tapping my foot to the beat or nodding along.
42. Shin Megami Tensei IV - "Infernal Tokyo"
➸Not to spoil too much of the game, but Infernal Tokyo is related to the Chaos route, and I have joked to myself that the only way I'd ever play a Chaos route (I am 100% Lawbie at heart, though I do shoot for Neutral endings) is just to listen to this song. This song does not reflect Chaos at all, however -- it's actually a really darn pretty overworld theme. It's slow and sounds a bit distorted and grungy, but there's so much depth to it. The piano section from :57 to 1:19 is my absolute favorite part of the song -- it sounds distorted and yummy and not fragile like how pianos tend to sound. The entire song is full of atmosphere and loveliness.
43. Shin Megami Tensei IV - "Tokyo"
➸And now for the regular Tokyo overworld theme, which quickly became a favorite while playing the game. After a bit of buildup, the piano lead takes over at :25 and is so lovely. No distortion here; just clarity and brightness. It further explodes with sound at :49 with what I think is synthesized guitar, and the piano comes back to lead the song back into the loop... ahh. It has sort of a mystical feel to it, and a feel of wonder, and maybe even a little hope. It definitely fits the game's imagery of traversing an unknown lit-up city lost under eternal night.
Spyro the Dragon (PSX, 1998) composed by: Stewart Copeland
➸Oh, memories. Such a fun game. Played it to death as a kid. Unfortunately, only a few tracks ever stuck out to me as memorable, since there were so many stages and a lot of the songs had the same kind of motif. Though I will admit that I will eternally have the second homeworld's march-like theme stuck in my head... Alongside the enemies' "wah" cries... But I digress. There's one song that I've always loved from Spyro 1, and I'm glad to have an opportunity to share it. Also, wasn't Stewart Copeland like the drummer for The Police or something...?
44. Spyro the Dragon - "Toasty"
➸Toasty is the name of the first world's boss, and the stage itself means serious business. Even to this day, whenever I play that stage, I pretend that Spyro's on some covert mission to exterminate everything, and it's mostly because of this song. It opens with minimal chiming, percussion, dramatic strings, and cascading harp(?), setting up that feeling of serious business. The song continues to gradually build up, introducing keyboard around :54, and then absolutely exploding at 1:21 into an awesome arrangement of the main Spyro theme. It sounds so epic and amazing for a first boss theme. And I'm not even sure if there are any other songs in the game that synthesize the main theme into it like "Toasty" does. I have loved this song ever since I was little, and it's easy to see why: that buildup is amazing, the climax is amazing, and the way it dies back down for the loop is also amazing. It's probably the most epic-sounding song in the game. Ugh, it's so awesome.
Spyro: Year of the Dragon (PSX, 2000) composed by: Stewart Copeland
➸The final game in the PSX Spyro trilogy is my favorite of the three. It's so varied and fun (well, for the most part, grumble), and it still retains the atmospheric yet fun style of music from the first two games. Of course, Copeland expanded his instrumentation a bit between Spyro 1 and Spyro 3, allowing us the opportunity to listen to...:
45. Spyro: Year of the Dragon - "Midnight Mountain Home"
➸Midnight Mountain is the final world hub of Spyro 3, and as is expected, it's nighttime in the world. So the minimalist string-dropping opening fits, as nighttime equals chill and quiet, but it's the loud and funky keyboard/electric organ section that begins around :36 that I love about this song. It's so out of the blue and catchy and fun. Midnight Mountain is one of my favorite areas in Spyro 3 out of sheer atmosphere, and this song makes it even more memorable to me.
Thousand Arms (PSX, 1998) composed by: "Atlus Sound Team"?
➸Ah, this game and I go way back. I actually have had a promotional poster for this game since I was ten or so, but I only got around to playing it a few months ago. It's... interesting? A pretty typical JRPG with some dating sim kind of things added in that I found to be absolutely hilarious for the most part. Looking at the official OST information, "Atlus Sound Team" was credited for the music composition in this game, but the game was, as far as I know, developed by RED and only licensed by Atlus? However, "Atlus Sound Team" at the time was probably comprised of people such as Shoji Meguro, Toshiko Tasaki, and Kenichi Tsuchiya -- composers of some of my favorite MegaTen PSX tunes, so that's good, right? Well... I noticed while playing through the game that a lot of the songs have an unpolished MIDI sound to them, and that just seemed really odd to me. They're not up to the quality of other Atlus-produced songs at the time, such as the Persona 2 soundtracks, which remain solid favorites to me. The discussion on the OST's page on vgmdb.net points to the possibility of members of TOSE working on the music and/or that it was contracted out to someone else. Unfortunately, after watching through Chrontendo, the name "TOSE" strikes a chord of distaste with me, but honestly, the Thousand Arms soundtrack isn't bad at all. It may not be an exactly stand-out OST, but it's not awful, either. Listen for yourself:
46. Thousand Arms - "Bandiger's Theme ~ Love Mania"
➸This is probably my favorite song in the game. Bandiger's an overly egotistic recurring gag boss, and his theme song reflects his over-the-top goofy personality. The main keyboard line in this song is catchy as all heck to me and always has me tapping my foot to it. It's cheesy, sure, but like Bandiger, it's cheesy yet serious. The only bad thing about the song is that it's pretty short.
The World Ends with You (DS, 2007) composed by: Takeharu Ishimoto
➸This is really a unique game in many ways, and its soundtrack is one of the more obvious ones. I'd say about 85% of the soundtrack is comprised of Jpop (though mostly sung in English), and they make up the game's battle themes. So there's great variety in the battle themes, although the songs that play in-game are usually only half of the fully-recorded songs found on the OST. It's actually pretty interesting. As music is a big motif in the game, it makes sense that the music is also a big part of the game. However, when I played through the game, I was unable to listen to any of it... So my experience with the soundtrack is purely through the OST. But it's grown on me, so I've selected a few songs to recommend anyway. I will note that the in-game versions of these songs are purely the first verse and chorus repeated, while the OST versions are full songs with separate verses and bridge sections and so forth.
47. The World Ends with You - "Calling"
➸To be honest, I believe this is one of the best-produced vocal tracks in the game. The guitar and percussion give this song energy, while vocalist Leah's voice is clear and understandable. This is pretty much the model song from this soundtrack, in my opinion. The lyrics aren't offensive or complete gibberish, either. And... I think it'd make a good ringtone: "calling/ someone is calling." Ehehe.
48. The World Ends with You - "Long Dream"
➸If "Calling" showcased the soundtrack's more rock side, "Long Dream" is more on the dance side of the spectrum. It also showcases more of the Engrish expected from Japanese ladies singing in English. Don't get me wrong; some of the most charming songs I know are wracked with Engrish, so it's definitely not a bad point in this song. The song itself opens with a strong dance-y synth line and bouncing percussion that introduces the feel of the song well. The vocals (and lyrics) are by Makiko Noda, and she has a sweet voice, though she can be hard to understand at times. Maybe I'm just partial to Engrish-y dance music, but this is a fun song that always has me singing along. "is it angel/ is it devil/ whispering in my ear?/ is it emotion/ is it illusion/ I need to be with youuuu~"
I hope to continue to update this list as I play new games and experience new music worth sharing. Until then, thanks for listening!
Well, technically, most of these songs are older. But I didn't want to destroy my old list for great songs from games that I've either played recently or left off the list last time. Also, some of these songs, while good, aren't good enough to be recognized on my "master list," but I thought it'd be proper to give them some love anyway.
Check out the original 100 song list (1-50), the original 100 song list (51-100), and the expanded list for more recommended songs!
Beyond the Beyond (PSX, 1995) composed by: Motoi Sakuraba
➸Ah, Beyond the Beyond. Though it's usually pretty well known as one of the first RPGs for the PlayStation (if not the first), it's also usually considered pretty uninteresting and that the only notable thing about it is the music by a relatively prolific composer. Truth is, this was my first RPG, so I have fond (and not so fond) memories of this game. I enjoyed it, even though it took me several years to actually beat it. The music is standard RPG fare, but that isn't to say that it's bad. Of note is Sakuraba's use of crazy keyboard from time to time.
1. Beyond the Beyond - "Dragon Cave"
Click to view➸This pretty piece plays in a certain cave that becomes an important place for the main character, so it makes sense that the melody that is basically the game's main theme is represented here in woodwind and string and percussion. I like the buildups and sudden releases that happen throughout the song. It gives the song a sense of emotion.
2. Beyond the Beyond - "Moments of Flight"
➸Another pretty string-filled song that plays when the party flies around the map. I feel that the strings encapsulate a majestic and graceful feeling of flight that builds up and bursts into a heroic theme after about :37 into the song. It's definitely more relaxing than urging, but I like the heroic intermission to remind you that, yes, you're still on the way to save the world and now that the party can fly, the world will definitely be saved.
Breath of Fire (SNES, 1993) composed by: Yasuaki Fujita, Yoko Shimomura, Minae Fujii, Mari Yamaguchi
➸I have a strong affinity for older RPGs, and since Breath of Fire III is one of my favorite RPGs, I couldn't help but check out the earlier two games in the series. As was to be expected from Capcom's first RPG, the music is kind of standard RPG stuff, but with some of the big names from the NES Mega Man sound teams, the music had to be good, right? Well, I'll let you be the judge of that -- though I will mention that the instrumentation used sounds slightly... mechanical. But it's an SNES game, so it's to be expected.
3. Breath of Fire - "Distant View"
➸Also known as "Lands Beyond the Ocean," this is the second overworld theme that starts to play once the party can traverse the open seas. It's full of energy, like a march. There even sounds like brass trumpets blaring at certain points against the main melody. Overworld themes tend to be my favorites, and this is a good example as to why: they're either really somber and pretty, or fun and energetic and worthy of being the background music for a journey. Composed by Yasuaki Fujita.
4. Breath of Fire - "Expedition"
➸Alternatively titled "End of the Journey," this is the third and final overworld theme in Breath of Fire. It's less of a march than "Distant View," but it feels much grander. The song itself is constantly changing, as it feels like a fusion of many different elements coming together; lots of tiny details thrown together to make a song than one consistent melody. And there are plenty of tiny details and concurrent instruments playing at once that it may take a few listens in order to fully grasp all that's going on in the song. It's kind of fun in that regard. Not sure if it really screams, "this is the end of the game," but it's still quite impressive, and I like it. Obviously. Ha. Also composed by Yasuaki Fujita.
Breath of Fire II (SNES, 1994) composed by: Yuko Takehara
➸As to be expected, Breath of Fire II is improved over its earlier counterpart. Musically, that means, well... Honestly, the instrumentation still sounds mechanical. At least some of the songs were memorable enough for mentions.
5. Breath of Fire II - "Wanderer"
➸A sort of mystical-sounding tune that plays in the mountain areas. The lead flute does a good job making the song sound mystical and slightly Asian. Maybe it's just me, but I imagine misty mountain paths and a slight sense of uncertainty and wonder. I remember hearing this song in one of the first areas of the game and thinking, "huh, this is nice." Maybe I just like mystic-sounding mountain themes?
6. Breath of Fire II - "White Wings"
➸An urgent, emotionally-packed song that plays when flying. This song definitely screams "endgame" to me, more than BoFI's "Expedition" did. Unfortunately, it's not as varied; it's a pretty simple melody, but I like the piano(?) lead. It fits the situation well -- slightly delicate, but definitely heroic and urgent. It's an iconic song from the game for me, both for plot reasons and because of hearing it a lot from flying around at the end of the game.
Chou Mahou Tairiku WOZZ (SNES, 1995) composed by: Tomoyuki Hamada, Takeshi Saitou, Seiichi Tokunaga
➸This game, also translated as "The Magical World of WOZZ," is some random fan-translated Super Famicom RPG that I downloaded one day. Admittedly, I have only played about two hours into the game, following my long-standing tradition of really getting into a game the first time I play it and then forgetting all about it... whoops. I actually was inspired by doing this to get back into the game and finish it, and I did! It's a typical JRPG with a cute trio of heroes, an interesting ending, and some decent music:
7. Chou Mahou Tairiku WOZZ - "Field"
➸Any song that opens with a sweet melody panning left and right is one that instantly catches my attention, as this one certainly did. As is also typical of me, this is the overworld theme, and it's quite pretty. It has great buildup from the panning to a soft melody with building percussion that finally escalates into full force a little over a minute into the song, and it resolves itself nicely with a bridge before looping back to the initial buildup. It works very well, even with the slightly-mechanical-sounding Super Famicom instrumentation. The lead woodwinds sound great, and so does the ever-building percussion. I also like the horn-like sounds that play counter to the main melody at certain parts of the song! Reminds me of the sound made from blowing through a goat horn -- a sound to beckon the characters onward. Excellent execution of a great idea, one that impressed me a good bit initially and probably does even more now that I have to sit down and think about it enough to write about it. Haha.
8. Chou Mahou Tairiku WOZZ - "Pure World"
➸The Pure World is an interesting little hub in the game, sort of like the game's heaven, and is sadly only visited for a short amount of time. And as the title suggests, this is a pretty and calm piece, with a lovely lead bell opening that gradually builds up with more instruments until it suddenly bursts around 1:18 with a heroic bridge and then begins again. I really love the bells and woodwinds in this piece. Quite fitting for the game's heaven area, I think.
Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (Saturn/PSX, 1998; 3DS, 2012) composed by: Toshiko Tasaki, Shoji Meguro, Tsukasa Masuko
➸Okay, I'm the first to admit it: I'm a total nerd for Megami Tensei games, and Soul Hackers is one of them. I played the 3DS remake during the summer of 2013, and I will say that I was excited to play the MegaTen game that came out right before my personal favorites, the Persona 2 dualogy. I was looking forward to great characters, a great story, and, of course, great music. With composers such as Tasaki and Meguro, and the great Tsukasa Masuko of the Super Famicom games (SMTI is my other favorite game), what could go wrong? Well, I have to say that I was rather disappointed with this soundtrack. I think part of it had to do with the fact that a lot of the songs seemed more atmospheric or minimalistic than melodious and memorable. Maybe it was because the game was of a different series, or because the composers just decided to try something different... or, perhaps, because I had set my expectations too high by hoping Soul Hackers would have the same amazing quality soundtrack that the Persona 2 games have. I also wonder if they had to use different instrumentation due to the parent system being the Sega Saturn. Nonetheless, there are some good songs in Soul Hackers -- so many, in fact, that I regret setting my limit to three songs per game because I really want to list four. Also, a neat thing that the music in Soul Hackers does is change to a secondary melody after a while in most areas. It's definitely interesting and helps kill the monotony, and I prefer some secondary tracks to their main counterparts -- only shame is that they didn't add a secondary track to the largest and most annoying dungeon in the game. Oh well. But you didn't come here to hear me rant about music, you came to listen, so here:
9. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers - "2D Field"
➸Yes, I know, another overworld theme. I can't help it. This is one of the catchiest and... warmest(?) songs in the game. It has a strong piano lead that doesn't sound at all delicate as pianos tend to do, and it's basically a wall of sound. I think that piano is what makes me want to describe this song as "warm." It's not heroic or urgent like other overworld themes I've already discussed, but it's definitely fitting for the cityscape in which Soul Hackers takes place. Yeah, that's it: it's fit for a city. It's rather short, but between the piano lead and the guitar bridge, there's plenty going on in the song that it'll warrant at least one more listen. Composed by Toshiko Tasaki.
10. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers - "Nikamimon Underground"
Note: This song is listed as "Futagamikado Basement" on vgmdb.net, and while I usually try to use the official OST name for each song, this wasn't translated correctly according to the 3DS translation -- "Futagamikado" (二上門) is rendered as "Nikamimon" in the game. And I took the liberty of changing "basement" to "underground" because the dungeon... isn't a basement.
➸This is the final dungeon theme, and it fittingly has a mystic, mysterious, and slightly tense sound to it. The Asian-esque strings along with the repeated percussion theme really makes it memorable among the other dungeon themes. It's somewhat catchy, too. I think I just like all the different sounds going on in the song. Composed by Toshiko Tasaki.
11. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers - "Treasure Chest Battle"
➸Ah, here's some MegaTen music. This song only plays during battles initiated when you open treasure chests that contain strong enemies inside, so it's probably the least-heard battle theme in the game. Kind of a shame, since I think it's the neatest one. It opens with a riff that means business, and the frenzy and energy continue throughout the song, even if the lead instrument doesn't end up being a guitar. I think this song uses the chosen instrumentation for this soundtrack very well in order to create a frantic and fun battle theme. Also Toshiko Tasaki's work.
Devil Survivor (DS, 2009) composed by: Takami Asano
➸This game, technically titled "Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor," is linked to the Megami Tensei games but is also differentiated as a side-story ("ibunroku" [異聞録] is like... "alternate record"? as an aside, the only other Megami Ibunroku game I know of was Persona 1, and we all know where that went). And different it is -- it's a strategy game that uses the demon designs from other MegaTen games and somewhat similar apocalyptic themes, but that's about all that it has in common with the series. Another thing that I always felt was odd concerning Devil Survivor and Devil Survivor 2 was that none of the usual Atlus composers made the music. I really wonder if the entire game was outsourced to another developer, but that's for another time. The music itself isn't that great, in my opinion. I am not familiar with Takami Asano in any other context, but it's obvious that he tried to go for a "cool" sound with lots of wailing guitar. It works for the game, but nothing is particularly memorable to me. However, I thought I would highlight at least one song:
12. Devil Survivor - "Action"
Note: This version of the song is from the OST, and it has a few added elements (like the guitar) that are not heard in-game. I prefer this version, but I thought I'd be a perfectionist and mention this.
➸The map theme, and probably the most-heard song in the game. Maybe that's why I'm partial to it? It doesn't have the wailing guitar, but it's actually rather laid-back in comparison. It's not exactly chill, since the beat is continually going, but it's a solid piece. It's also one of those songs that continually have new instruments added to it as the song goes on, so that's always interesting -- and good, since you will listen to this song a lot through normal gameplay.
Devil Survivor 2 (DS, 2011) composed by: Kenji Ito
➸The second Devil Survivor game (no longer a "Megami Ibunroku" title, hmm) was, I felt, was an all-around improvement to the original. The game fell further away from the typical MegaTen storyline, but it was still a fun ride. And the music was tons better, to the point where I had a hard time choosing only three songs to show off on here. I was surprised to see Kenji Ito of Square-Enix fame -- SaGa and Mana games! -- as the composer of this installment, but he did a fantastic job at nailing the atmosphere and creating memorable songs at the same time. The Devil Survivor games are a bit different from regular MegaTen, but this was certainly a breath of fresh air.
13. Devil Survivor 2 - "Challenge to the Fate"
➸"Challenge to the Fate" is particularly strong battle theme with an equally strong lead piano melody that turns into a synthy keyboard line halfway through the song. I can hear Ito's earlier RPG roots in this song with his instrument choices, but at the same time, it doesn't feel "classical" in the slightest -- the synthy second half definitely helps with this. It's a catchy, powerful mix of old and new, and I feel it's pretty representative of the entire soundtrack.
14. Devil Survivor 2 - "Exploration"
➸The map theme, and probably my favorite song in the game. The lead piano melody sounds so relaxing and smooth, but the song itself isn't particularly relaxing -- the quick background percussion keeps the speed and intensity going. I love how the song changes up a bit after the main melody is established and repeated a couple of times: I love love love the piano bit at around the minute mark. I completely recommend this song: it's jazzy and snazzy and catchy and I could listen to it for ages.
15. Devil Survivor 2 - "Septentrion"
➸A special battle theme for what are essentially the game's boss battles, and once again, Ito has combined classical sensibilities with more modern leanings to create another fast-paced piano/guitar/keyboard piece to go with some of the most intense battles of the game. That is definitely one of my favorite aspects of this soundtrack, as well: sure, there are some typical MegaTen purely rock-based tunes, such as the in-battle theme; but the majority of songs have this classical/new fusion kind of style and it's good and memorable. It's a strong track with a lot of elements that fits the boss battles well.
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II (NES, 1990) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko
➸Yes, this was inevitable, especially now that there's a fan-translation out. I finally got to experience this game for myself after wanting to play it for years. Listening to the excellent music in the meantime only made me want to play it more -- and excellent it definitely is. Masuko was a genius with the Famicom's eight-bit capabilities, probably even more so than he was with the Super Famicom's, and that's saying a lot, since I really enjoy those works as well. But these works are truly awesome. Also, this game is notable for using a special sound chip to enhance its sound, which made the game cart twice the regular size.
16. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II - "Explorer"
➸This is the first dungeon theme in the game (excluding the intro computer game area), and it's pretty hardcore. It has a fantastic buildup with instruments adding themselves to the melody until the entire thing explodes into fast-paced sound at :21. The loop itself is only about forty seconds long, but it's still catchy as all heck. This is a dungeon theme I wouldn't mind listening to over and over again while playing any game.
17. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II - "Hallucination"
➸The second overworld theme, and to be honest, I didn't really fully appreciate it until I actually played the game and heard it in-game for myself. It's beautiful and has a mystical-sounding lead that melds into a fantastic stronger cascading section at :32 that I absolutely love and always hum along to. There is an arranged version of this song on the MTI/II OST called "Hallucination ~ 魔界幻想" that uses real instruments and uses a violin for the stronger melody and it's so gorgeous. The entire arrangement disc is fantastic, and all three songs I'm including here have arrangements, so I'm also highly recommending it if you like these songs.
18. Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II - "Labyrinth"
➸One of the final dungeon themes, and I feel it's the opposite of "Explorer": it's more laid-back whereas "Explorer" was full of energy. "Labyrinth" makes me think more of cruising around the dungeon than going gung-ho through it. It begins innocently enough with a low-key percussion line and a repeating three notes, but the percussion is kicked up a notch at :15 and leads into a stronger melody that begins around :34. It's this second half of the song that I really enjoy -- more pretty cascading and other fun with the lead melody. And this song is actually nearly a minute-and-a-half long before it loops, so the pretty lead melody section lasts for nearly a minute by itself. It's quite nice.
Final Fantasy IV (SNES, 1991) composed by: Nobuo Uematsu
➸FFIV is considered to be a classic, and I consider it to be pretty good, but I'm partial to FFV for some reason. It's either the class system or the fact that I played V first. Even so, a lot of the themes in this game are iconic, and they have their own mechanical-ish sound in comparison to the later SNES Final Fantasies, most likely due to the limited hardware at the time.
19. Final Fantasy IV - "Main Theme"
➸The gorgeous overworld theme to FFIV. I fell in love with it the instant I heard it. Uematsu definitely made some gorgeous overworld themes. The cascading beginning buildup leads into a lovely, slightly melancholy lead flute that I'm sure would sound gorgeous on actual instruments. The song has always felt lonely to me, as Uematsu's overworld themes tend to, which encapsulate that feeling of there being a big, wide world out there and now the characters have to leave their comfortable homes and traverse through the unknown. I'm sure it would be daunting, to say the least. At least they have this epic song to guide them, hm? There is another song with this melody, "Land of Dwarves," which I also highly recommend, especially as a jazzy counterpart to this song.
20. Final Fantasy IV - "Within the Giant"
➸An iconic tune for a final dungeon. Heroic brass horns play alongside more mechanical background effects, which I think perfectly fit the chosen sort-of-mechanical soundfonts for this game. On top of that, the final dungeon itself follows a mechanical motif, so it all comes together quite well. The lead brass notes are elongated and slow, reminding the player that there is one more slog to go before the world can be saved, but the background has so much going on at the same time that the song remains relatively lively.
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS, 2007) composed by: Hitoshi Sakimoto
➸Ah, this is a game I've sunk a lot of time into. I'm ready for a third Final Fantasy Advance game, haha. FFTA2 borrows a lot of songs from the original Tactics Advance, as well as from Final Fantasy XII, and, well. Both of my picks are borrowed songs, one from each game.
21. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - "Beyond the Wasteland"
➸This song was originally from Tactics Advance, where it remains my favorite song in that game as well. In Tactics Advance, I believe this battle theme played during some of the final storyline-related quests, so its heroic sound makes sense. And this song certainly has its heroic brass in spades, but what I really like is the juxtaposition of the booming heroic brass after the building intro and the ~five second lulling interlude immediately following that seems to throw a little anxiety into the song. The main melody that follows is certainly catchy and memorable. Definitely a favorite battle theme out of many. Originally composed by Kaori Ohkoshi.
22. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - "In the Fantasy"
➸This cavern battle theme is an arrangement of "The Salikawood" from Final Fantasy XII. I have not played XII nor listened to its music, so I cannot attest for the song's accuracy with the original; but as a stand-alone piece, I really like it. It's very pretty and mysterious. The combination of piano, flute, strings, and xylophone(?) throughout the song is very delicate, but still substantive -- there is a lot going on in this song. It all comes together beautifully, however.
Gensou Suikoden Tierkreis (DS, 2009) composed by: Norikazu Miura, Yoshino Aoki, Kaori Komuro, Masaharu Iwata, Hitoshi Fujima, Junpei Fujita, Tomoaki Hirono, Daisuke Kikuta, Masato Nakayama
➸Wow, such a large bunch of composers for a side-story game. I believe each composer worked on music for different sections of the game, though; so at least all the songs for, say, the cat tribe sound coherent with each other. Otherwise, the soundtrack itself is okay. There are some good songs in the mix, but a lot of them ended up being unmemorable to me. Maybe if the good songs played more often instead of that headquarters theme... but I digress.
23. Gensou Suikoden Tierkreis - "The Plain and the Sky ~Citro Plain BGM~"
➸Out of all the overworld themes -- and most are pretty good, so this was kind of a hard decision -- I think I like "The Plain and the Sky" the most. Sadly, it's also the most short-lived overworld theme, but you do get to hear it very early on in the game. Great acoustic guitar and woodwind work in this song, and it really does reflect the vast grasslands of Citro Plain. It's a fun, adventurous, and warm piece that really sticks out among the others in the game. And, on top of that, it's decently long with a lot of different things going on, so it's constantly evolving and remaining interesting. Composed by Norikazu Miura.
24. Gensou Suikoden Tierkreis - "Sally Beacon ~Unit Formation BGM~"
➸This has to be my favorite song from the game. It's fantastic, and when this song plays in-game, you know it's time for business. The song sort of has two parts: the explosive opening with the amazing cello(?), and the quieter string/brass buildup back into the opening when the song loops. The orchestral instrumentation is great and I really love that cello or whatever it is during the first part of the song. The way I interpret the song in relation to its in-game appearance is that it opens with gusto, getting the player excited about the big fight that's about to happen (as this plays on the battle unit formation screen), and then it calms down a bit so the player can contemplate who to put in which party and so forth. I do highly recommend this song, composed by Kaori Komuro.
25. Gensou Suikoden Tierkreis - "Village in the Mountains ~Tehah Village BGM~"
➸Another song that won me over with beautiful instrumentation -- in this case, a lovely violin and... mandolin? In any case, the lead instruments sound very sweet, and the entire song has a... humble(?) feel to it. It's fitting for a town in the snowy mountains, I think. I just really love the combination of the violin's wail and then the mandolin's earthiness. As I said, it sounds very humble to me, if humility can be expressed through song. This is one of the two tracks composed by Masato Nakayama, and this one is infinitely more preferable (in my opinion) to the other one... Then again, I'm always going to prefer the town theme to the annoying dungeon theme, haha.
Hourai Gakuen no Bouken! ~ Tenkousei Scramble (SNES, 1996) composed by: Hitoshi Sakimoto
➸Sakimoto's back for a random high school-themed RPG released near the end of the Super Famicom's lifespan, Hourai Gakuen no Bouken (The Adventures of Hourai High School). I recently played through it via fan-translation and found it to be quite enjoyable, music included. I find it ironic that Sakimoto composed the music to this game -- his style hadn't really changed between Hourai and FFTA2, and I found myself picking out similarities between songs that were over a decade apart. Turns out that he'd even used one of the songs from Hourai and arranged it for the original Final Fantasy Tactics. Ironic, huh? Speaking of which...:
26. Hourai Gakuen no Bouken - "Airplane"
➸According to a post on vgmdb.net, this song was also lifted from a previous game... But that's of little importance, because it's good enough to be used multiple times. This fun yet calm tune plays during the few scenes in which you're in an airplane, but it really does fit the wonder and excitement of flying, I think. I really enjoy this song, from the catchy lead riff to the bleeps in the background.
27. Hourai Gakuen no Bouken - "Kouzan Nostra"
➸This song. It's the reason I downloaded the .spc set for this game in the first place. I listened to it on repeat for days on end. This song plays in the mountains in-game, but it doesn't really sound very mountain-y or tribal. Instead, it's catchy piano that sounds great with the chosen soundfont, and once the percussion kicks in, you're swallowed in a sea of sound. I guess it sounds sort of mystical? Adventurous? There's just something about it that makes me really love it. In doubt, blame the piano. I'm a sucker for piano.
28. Hourai Gakuen no Bouken - "Muteki 22-gou"
➸Translated in-game as the "Invincible 22," this song plays inside a giant robot. Yes, Hourai is wacky. But this song is quite laid-back and full of little details. I think my favorite aspect of the song is the xylophone, which is very reminiscent of "At the Bar" from Final Fantasy Tactics Advance/A2. It's definitely Sakimoto's work. I also really like the overall pace and feel of the piece. It's so much better than the regular dungeon theme.
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64, 2000) composed by: Koji Kondo, Toru Minegishi
➸The latter of the well-renowned N64 Legend of Zelda games. I played them on the GameCube, myself. As this is the second of two linked games, Majora's Mask seems to use a lot of songs originally in Ocarina of Time, but there is one song in particular that I really, really like from Majora's Mask:
29. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask - "Milk Bar"
➸Yes, ha, the Milk Bar song. I think it's really catchy and that it really uses the selected sound font well -- I love the string opening and the xylophone(?) added later. This song exudes the charm and sound that the N64 Zelda games are known for -- pretty sure those strings are used in some of the other town songs -- but it's very memorable to me. Even though it's playing in a bar that's only open at night and only accessible while wearing a cow mask, it's still fun and catchy.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64, 1998) composed by: Koji Kondo
➸Another classic game with honestly classic songs. As mentioned as I was rambling about the previous song from Majora's Mask, Kondo certainly had created a signature sound for these games that is still well-loved. "Classic" games should be remembered for having great music, and the N64 Zelda games delivered on that statement.
30. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - "Gerudo Valley"
➸This song is such a classic, and it's easy to hear why. It's sort of flamenco-ish in style, with a strong acoustic guitar lead and brass horns and even sort-of hand claps in the background. It's a very flavorful piece, and quite clever/creative -- how many other flamenco-style video game songs do you know of? It's fun and memorable. And it sounds so good with the N64's sound capabilities, too.
31. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - "Zora's Domain"
➸This song is also in Majora's Mask as "Zora Hall." It's a lovely and calming theme. It opens with a nice cascade of steel drum beats, and the steel drum continues to feature prominently alongside an acoustic guitar -- basically a stereotypical Caribbean sound. But it works so well here, as the Zora's domain is the water-themed area of the game. I love how calm the theme is -- I could fall asleep to this.
Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete (PSX, 1999) composed by: Noriyuki Iwadare
➸This game has a long past -- it's been released on multiple systems, originally for the Sega CD in the early nineties -- as well as a long past with myself. I had heard the game's vocal song, "Wind's Nocturne," on a website years before I knew anything about the game, and then when I actually got around to playing the GBA port at least ten years later, it hit me: so this was Lunar. And even more recently, my mom randomly found the PSX version, Silver Star Story Complete, in a thrift store and bought it for me. I started replaying it, but, uhm, I got distracted and stopped. Whoops. I tend to do that. Anyway, honestly, the only truly memorable song to me is "Wind's Nocturne," since it means much more to me than just as a song from a game, but upon replaying it last year, one song stood out enough to me to earn itself a mention here:
32. Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete - "Toward the Horizon"
➸This is the second overworld theme. It opens with an excited, energetic riff that turns into a more solemn ocarina section at about :14. The ocarina gains some backing instruments, and it makes for an interesting spin on the heroic overworld theme stereotype. I like the juxtaposition between the opening and the ocarina lead-in; it goes from excited to kind of anxious and builds back up into determination through the introduction of the backing instruments. I also love how the ocarina is the lead instrument here -- the main character plays the ocarina, so it's a great tie-in. This song may not be groundbreaking, but I still recommend it.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth (3DS, 2014) composed by: Atsushi Kitajoh, Toshiki Konishi, Yuzo Koshiro (with arrangements of songs originally composed by Shoji Meguro)
➸Yeah, I admit to being lured into buying this silly cross-over game, but honestly, the premise of the Persona 3 and Persona 4 kids ganging up in order to explore large first-person dungeons that remind me of main-line MegaTen games really appeals to me. I am still playing through it at the time of writing this, but so far, it's been really interesting. The music, on the other hand, uses the exact same instrumentation and styles as Persona 3 and 4's OSTs, and some songs are lifted straight from those titles (with a little arrangement, but just a tad). It really comes to no surprise, as Meguro is busy composing new stuff for Persona 5, but it still feels a little lazy? Not to say that Kitajoh and Konishi did a bad job with what they were given, however. It's just kind of hard to appreciate the new music from this game when it doesn't honestly sound "new" to my ears. There is one song that I want to point out, however:
33. Persona Q - "Looming Danger"
➸This song actually plays in the area that I am in in-game right now, the later levels of the fourth dungeon, and the music associated with this dungeon was the first to make me perk up my ears and say, "finally, decent music!" The other dungeon songs fit their themes, but weren't as interesting as this song, I don't think. The fourth dungeon is based on a traditional Japanese summer festival, so the percussion and woodwinds are Asian-tinged, but what I really love is the driving beat and distorted guitar playing alongside them. The guitar solo in the middle of the song is also impressive, and I like the more traditional Asian string and woodwind section that comes in after the solo to calm the song down a bit and set it up for the loop. It's a neat mix of traditional Asian sounds and electric guitar that doesn't really fit into the "oh, this sounds like it could've been in Persona 3/4!" category like most of the songs in Persona Q do to me. Composed by Toshiki Konishi.
Pokémon Black 2/White 2 (DS, 2012) composed by: Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki, Hitomi Sato, Satoshi Nohara, Shota Kageyama, Minako Adachi, Teruo Taniguchi
➸At the time of posting my last list of recommended game songs, I had not yet played Black 2. I had even initially thought that most of the songs probably would have been the same between Black and Black 2, so I probably wouldn't even need to write about it separately. Ha, I was wrong. Black 2 introduced several new areas and events, and along with them, plenty of new music.
34. Pokémon Black 2/White 2 - "Reversal Mountain (White)"
➸I don't even have White 2, but I am smitten with this song. Funny, isn't it? White's version of the Reversal Mountain begins with what sounds like bells? And then, suddenly, trumpets. And the trumpets are strong and they are amazing. They also kind of remind me of Diamond and Pearl's style a bit. All the while, the bells from the opening are still playing in the background, which makes for an interesting backing melody. The Black version of this song takes a more traditional Asian route, combining an Asian woodwind with the backing bells to produce a more... thematically coherent song, but the trumpets in the White version are awesome regardless. Composed by Hitomi Sato, which might explain the D/P leanings.
35. Pokémon Black 2/White 2 - "PWT Final Round!"
➸Ah, the final battle theme for the Pokémon World Tournament. As to be expected, it's a piece full of energy and excitement -- it even begins with a heartbeat thumping. There are so many things going on in this song, thanks to its constant changes. My favorite section is the one from :44-:56 -- I really love that melody. There are several sections that definitely sound like a Pokémon game, both instrumentation-wise and composition-wise, but it makes sense considering Go Ichinose composed this track. He's worked on most of the games, I believe. This is just a fun, catchy song and fitting for such an important battle.
Pokémon Emerald (GBA, 2004) composed by: Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki
➸It's true that Emerald shares like 95% of its songs with Ruby and Sapphire. However, the Emerald-exclusive Battle Frontier offers up some interesting new compositions, and I'm actually quite partial to the direction the sound team took with the Battle Frontier songs. The one I'm recommending is probably my favorite of the bunch, but I enjoy them quite a bit as a whole. So now I will not-so-subtly recommend the rest of the Hoenn Battle Frontier songs if you're interested.
36. Pokémon Emerald - "Battle Factory"
➸This song is pretty wild and all over the place, but I think that's what I really like about it. It's so experimental and fun. It's full of energy and craziness, and I love how the lead dips up and down alongside all of the blips and bleeps. The Battle Frontier itself is a pretty crazy place, so it makes sense that the music is sort of tense and crazy at the same time. It's definitely unique. Composed by Go Ichinose.
Radia Senki - Reimei Hen (NES, 1991) composed by: Keiji Yamagishi, Hiroshi Miyazaki
➸Known as "Chronicles of the Radia War" in English, it's just a random fan-translated Famicom RPG that I played through some time ago. I barely remember anything about it... Even so, there was one song that really stood out to me:
37. Radia Senki - Reimei Hen - "Field 1"
➸This little tune plays in the grassy areas outside of the first town, and for some reason, I've always really liked it. I like the sound of that opening bit, even if it seems to sound slightly off-key for a second? Or maybe that's just me? The song itself is quite short, as it loops at just under thirty seconds, so there isn't much to it... I've always liked it as a short and happy field theme, looking forward to adventure.
Radiant Historia (DS, 2010) composed by: Yoko Shimomura
➸Ah, Radiant Historia. It's truly a well-written and fun RPG, and the music by legend Yoko Shimomura is beautiful, as one can only expect from her. (See Legend of Mana in the previous list.) Her lovely orchestral compositions add another layer of refinement to an already great game. And it sounds so good on the DS, too.
38. Radiant Historia - "Blue Radiance"
➸This is the normal battle theme, though it doesn't truly sound like what one would expect from a battle theme, does it? Instead of wailing guitars and crazy drum beats, there are lovely woodwind and string harmonies. They're still able to evoke a level of intensity, but in more of a movie cinematic kind of style. At one point, the percussion is leading the song along quickly, but once it goes away, the song slows down a bit and is just as nice. Sort of atypical for the usual fast-paced battle themes. "Blue Radiance" has enough movement and variation in it to make it a standout battle theme, and song in general. And it grows on me now that I don't have to actually battle as I listen to it, ha. Battle song syndrome? You dislike it since you hear it so much while you're playing the game, but afterwards you can like it for the song it is, plus all the, uhm, nostalgia? Ha.
39. Radiant Historia - "Mechanical Kingdom"
➸The theme for the main character's home city/kingdom that doesn't really sound "mechanical" at all. It actually opens softly with a lute(?) and clarinet(?) and piano before the percussion kicks in a little past the :30 mark. I love how the beginning is lovely and unassuming, and then there's a sudden burst of intensity with the added percussion. It all sounds slightly sad as well (I blame the clarinet and violin?), which makes it even prettier to me. A gorgeous choice of instruments.
40. Radiant Historia - "Shadows Dance in the Darkness"
➸The cave theme. And my oh my, I do love that opening piano. It is almost as if the notes are... dancing. Aha. As the song moves forward from the sparse opening, different elements are added to it for over a minute until the percussion and violins come in strongly, and it's no longer the minimalist piece the opening piano may have suggested at first. I love the buildup to the climax, and then listening to it happen all over again. It also has a mystical charm to it that fits the feeling of exploring caves. Again, Shimomura has done a fantastic job with instrumentation and making all the pieces come together in order to compose something lovely.
Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS, 2013) composed by: Ryota Koduka, Toshiki Konishi (Tsukasa Masuko, Kenichi Tsuchiya, Shoji Meguro, Hidehito Aoki all composed older songs that were arranged for this game, but only Koduka and Konishi composed original songs)
➸So, SMTIV. I loved every moment of it. And, quite honestly, I really enjoyed the soundtrack as well. I wasn't familiar with Koduka before this, so he took me by surprise. I'm actually kind of really glad that Meguro stepped down from this game, because I think I prefer his Persona style more than I did his SMTIII style, and Koduka did such a fantastic job with providing the musical landscape to the gritty world of SMTIV. The district themes sounded (mostly) desolate, the battle themes were absolutely rockin', and all the MegaTen charm was there. I would list like twenty favorites here if I could -- I seriously have at least that many from this soundtrack -- but I can only pick three, sigh. All my choices are composed by Ryota Koduka, by the way.
41. Shin Megami Tensei IV - "Ikebukuro Underground District"
➸Okay, so the Ikebukuro song doesn't sound desolate. In-game, Ikebukuro is actually abandoned, but it has awesome crazy music instead. I honestly went there just to listen to the music, since there really wasn't much else to do in the area. Once the keyboard line kicks in with the percussion, I'm hooked. Then more crazy sounds are added throughout the song, and there's an awesome drum breakdown around 1:08 or so. I love it; it's so energetic and crazy and fun. It always leaves me tapping my foot to the beat or nodding along.
42. Shin Megami Tensei IV - "Infernal Tokyo"
➸Not to spoil too much of the game, but Infernal Tokyo is related to the Chaos route, and I have joked to myself that the only way I'd ever play a Chaos route (I am 100% Lawbie at heart, though I do shoot for Neutral endings) is just to listen to this song. This song does not reflect Chaos at all, however -- it's actually a really darn pretty overworld theme. It's slow and sounds a bit distorted and grungy, but there's so much depth to it. The piano section from :57 to 1:19 is my absolute favorite part of the song -- it sounds distorted and yummy and not fragile like how pianos tend to sound. The entire song is full of atmosphere and loveliness.
43. Shin Megami Tensei IV - "Tokyo"
➸And now for the regular Tokyo overworld theme, which quickly became a favorite while playing the game. After a bit of buildup, the piano lead takes over at :25 and is so lovely. No distortion here; just clarity and brightness. It further explodes with sound at :49 with what I think is synthesized guitar, and the piano comes back to lead the song back into the loop... ahh. It has sort of a mystical feel to it, and a feel of wonder, and maybe even a little hope. It definitely fits the game's imagery of traversing an unknown lit-up city lost under eternal night.
Spyro the Dragon (PSX, 1998) composed by: Stewart Copeland
➸Oh, memories. Such a fun game. Played it to death as a kid. Unfortunately, only a few tracks ever stuck out to me as memorable, since there were so many stages and a lot of the songs had the same kind of motif. Though I will admit that I will eternally have the second homeworld's march-like theme stuck in my head... Alongside the enemies' "wah" cries... But I digress. There's one song that I've always loved from Spyro 1, and I'm glad to have an opportunity to share it. Also, wasn't Stewart Copeland like the drummer for The Police or something...?
44. Spyro the Dragon - "Toasty"
➸Toasty is the name of the first world's boss, and the stage itself means serious business. Even to this day, whenever I play that stage, I pretend that Spyro's on some covert mission to exterminate everything, and it's mostly because of this song. It opens with minimal chiming, percussion, dramatic strings, and cascading harp(?), setting up that feeling of serious business. The song continues to gradually build up, introducing keyboard around :54, and then absolutely exploding at 1:21 into an awesome arrangement of the main Spyro theme. It sounds so epic and amazing for a first boss theme. And I'm not even sure if there are any other songs in the game that synthesize the main theme into it like "Toasty" does. I have loved this song ever since I was little, and it's easy to see why: that buildup is amazing, the climax is amazing, and the way it dies back down for the loop is also amazing. It's probably the most epic-sounding song in the game. Ugh, it's so awesome.
Spyro: Year of the Dragon (PSX, 2000) composed by: Stewart Copeland
➸The final game in the PSX Spyro trilogy is my favorite of the three. It's so varied and fun (well, for the most part, grumble), and it still retains the atmospheric yet fun style of music from the first two games. Of course, Copeland expanded his instrumentation a bit between Spyro 1 and Spyro 3, allowing us the opportunity to listen to...:
45. Spyro: Year of the Dragon - "Midnight Mountain Home"
➸Midnight Mountain is the final world hub of Spyro 3, and as is expected, it's nighttime in the world. So the minimalist string-dropping opening fits, as nighttime equals chill and quiet, but it's the loud and funky keyboard/electric organ section that begins around :36 that I love about this song. It's so out of the blue and catchy and fun. Midnight Mountain is one of my favorite areas in Spyro 3 out of sheer atmosphere, and this song makes it even more memorable to me.
Thousand Arms (PSX, 1998) composed by: "Atlus Sound Team"?
➸Ah, this game and I go way back. I actually have had a promotional poster for this game since I was ten or so, but I only got around to playing it a few months ago. It's... interesting? A pretty typical JRPG with some dating sim kind of things added in that I found to be absolutely hilarious for the most part. Looking at the official OST information, "Atlus Sound Team" was credited for the music composition in this game, but the game was, as far as I know, developed by RED and only licensed by Atlus? However, "Atlus Sound Team" at the time was probably comprised of people such as Shoji Meguro, Toshiko Tasaki, and Kenichi Tsuchiya -- composers of some of my favorite MegaTen PSX tunes, so that's good, right? Well... I noticed while playing through the game that a lot of the songs have an unpolished MIDI sound to them, and that just seemed really odd to me. They're not up to the quality of other Atlus-produced songs at the time, such as the Persona 2 soundtracks, which remain solid favorites to me. The discussion on the OST's page on vgmdb.net points to the possibility of members of TOSE working on the music and/or that it was contracted out to someone else. Unfortunately, after watching through Chrontendo, the name "TOSE" strikes a chord of distaste with me, but honestly, the Thousand Arms soundtrack isn't bad at all. It may not be an exactly stand-out OST, but it's not awful, either. Listen for yourself:
46. Thousand Arms - "Bandiger's Theme ~ Love Mania"
➸This is probably my favorite song in the game. Bandiger's an overly egotistic recurring gag boss, and his theme song reflects his over-the-top goofy personality. The main keyboard line in this song is catchy as all heck to me and always has me tapping my foot to it. It's cheesy, sure, but like Bandiger, it's cheesy yet serious. The only bad thing about the song is that it's pretty short.
The World Ends with You (DS, 2007) composed by: Takeharu Ishimoto
➸This is really a unique game in many ways, and its soundtrack is one of the more obvious ones. I'd say about 85% of the soundtrack is comprised of Jpop (though mostly sung in English), and they make up the game's battle themes. So there's great variety in the battle themes, although the songs that play in-game are usually only half of the fully-recorded songs found on the OST. It's actually pretty interesting. As music is a big motif in the game, it makes sense that the music is also a big part of the game. However, when I played through the game, I was unable to listen to any of it... So my experience with the soundtrack is purely through the OST. But it's grown on me, so I've selected a few songs to recommend anyway. I will note that the in-game versions of these songs are purely the first verse and chorus repeated, while the OST versions are full songs with separate verses and bridge sections and so forth.
47. The World Ends with You - "Calling"
➸To be honest, I believe this is one of the best-produced vocal tracks in the game. The guitar and percussion give this song energy, while vocalist Leah's voice is clear and understandable. This is pretty much the model song from this soundtrack, in my opinion. The lyrics aren't offensive or complete gibberish, either. And... I think it'd make a good ringtone: "calling/ someone is calling." Ehehe.
48. The World Ends with You - "Long Dream"
➸If "Calling" showcased the soundtrack's more rock side, "Long Dream" is more on the dance side of the spectrum. It also showcases more of the Engrish expected from Japanese ladies singing in English. Don't get me wrong; some of the most charming songs I know are wracked with Engrish, so it's definitely not a bad point in this song. The song itself opens with a strong dance-y synth line and bouncing percussion that introduces the feel of the song well. The vocals (and lyrics) are by Makiko Noda, and she has a sweet voice, though she can be hard to understand at times. Maybe I'm just partial to Engrish-y dance music, but this is a fun song that always has me singing along. "is it angel/ is it devil/ whispering in my ear?/ is it emotion/ is it illusion/ I need to be with youuuu~"
I hope to continue to update this list as I play new games and experience new music worth sharing. Until then, thanks for listening!