even more (47) game songs, 2016-19 edition.
Because I ran out of room in the last post.
Last updated: 3/10/19
7th Dragon (DS, 2009) composed by: Yuzo Koshiro
➸I've been curious about this game for a while now, so after I finished SMTIV:A, I picked this one up immediately. It's basically just a lot of boss battles (666+ of them!) and exploration in a fantasy setting. Unfortunately I'm a bit too burnt out to attempt the true final boss -- that true final dungeon is torture for a level 70 team, sob -- and after 73 hours of playing, I'm ready to get into 7th Dragon 2020. Before I do that, though, I want to highlight a few songs here from seasoned composer Yuzo Koshiro, whom I had heard of many times but hadn't actually listened to until now.
1. 7th Dragon - "Battlefield - Swords Bursting"
➸The first battle theme begins in a slightly unassuming matter, with strings accompanied by a pulsing bass beat and quiet percussion. However, a strong and peppy synth bursts in around 0:22, and the percussion amps up with it. The strings come back to accent the synth as the song progresses back to the loop, but the synth really does carry the song after it is introduced. I have a certain fondness for this kind of squeaky electronic synth that isn't meant to mimic any kind of instrument, and it's used well here. I will note that this is may be the only instance of synth like this in the soundtrack, as Koshiro opted to use mostly traditional classical instrumentation for this game. At least we were treated to one catchy synth piece -- the only downside is that you'll probably get sick of hearing it in-game, ha.
Oh, and as a treat, Koshiro did an entire eight-bit version of the soundtrack as well! This song's rendition is still pretty catchy with particularly strong percussion.
2. 7th Dragon - "Land of Dragons and Flowers"
➸The second overworld theme, which plays on the eastern continent. It's also one of the first songs you hear when the game properly begins after a long cutscene showing the world becoming overgrown with poisonous flowers, and it's particularly effective there. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought this, but this song channels Koichi Sugiyama's Dragon Quest style pretty closely. It opens with sweeping strings and woodwinds, and the calming lull that begins around 1:06 builds up to a quite heroic-sounding theme with brass out of nowhere that plays until the loop. It's actually a pretty long song with a lot in it that you will never hear in full in-game unless you just idle on the world map. It's kind of a shame that the western continent's overworld theme is more of a military march, because this is a pretty song. This song's eight-bit version isn't as delicate, nor honestly is it as pretty as, say, Sugiyama's "Unknown World" for Dragon Quest 1. I don't think the chiptunes used are soft enough -- they're too driving.
7th Dragon 2020 (PSP, 2011) composed by: Yuzo Koshiro; DIVA Mode songs arranged by a ton of people
➸The prequel to 7th Dragon takes the setting from a fantasy world to post-dragon-apocalyptic Tokyo and effectively cuts its play-length in half in the process, whew. Of course, given the large leap in atmosphere between these settings, the music style has changed a good deal as well. Gone are the more traditional instruments like all those violins in the original, having been replaced with a lot more synth and percussion, and even some wailing electric guitar in some songs. It's a drastic change in tone, but I like it pretty well, even if the songs may be a tad less complex. One thing that I really like about 2020's soundtrack is that several songs from the original 7th Dragon made their way into 2020, with some being completely repurposed -- one that particularly amuses me is that one of the city themes from the original is now the "questioning atmosphere" song.
Another thing of note about this soundtrack is that there are two versions of each song -- much like how 7th Dragon had an item that allowed players to listen to eight-bit renditions of the soundtrack, 2020 has a "DIVA Mode" unlocked by saving Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku from a dragon. DIVA Mode songs are all arrangements highlighting Miku's robotic harmonizations (and sometimes complete lyrics), and they really are hit-and-miss for me personally. Some songs truly are preferable in DIVA Mode, however, and I do want to highlight that a bit here.
3. 7th Dragon 2020 - "Battlefield - Rival Arrival (DIVA Mode)"
➸I feel kind of chagrined to include this particular battle song on my list, since it's one of the most well-known songs from the game in general, but I really like "8# Prince"'s DIVA Mode arrangement of it, possibly even moreso than Koshiro's original. Miku's "la-la-la"s replace the original's strong leading synth line, which doesn't really make too much of a difference through the beginning buildup. It's at :37 when the "la-la-la"s take center stage, and I really like how they're incorporated into the song at this point. I can't really explain why I prefer Miku to the synth -- is it the pitch? Is it easier to sing along to? Is it... cuter? Is her voice less harsh than the synth? I don't know. The original is pretty good, toe-tapping synth, but the DIVA Mode arrangement also sounds like it'd fit in a dance party. Even so, both songs are definitely worth checking out.
4. 7th Dragon 2020 - "Daiba - Frozen Town"
➸This is probably my favorite song in the game, and it hit me as a favorite hard and quickly. It's for an ice-themed dungeon, so it's no surprise that the song begins with a sparse typically-icy-sounding high-pitched and echoing chime-like synth... until :18, when the percussion and what sounds like a twangy guitar join in alongside the synth. I love that combination of "country" guitar and icy chime. However, that's just the buildup! At :40, the song explodes, adding a strong synth bassline and several more layers to the percussion to accompany the chime. The ride continues until about 1:35, when the song is stripped back to only the chime, and then the percussion and guitar from the beginning are gradually re-introduced until the song explodes boldly once again around 2:10 into its climax, this time with electric guitar leading the way beside the chime, all on top of that bassline and percussion. The song merely dies down into electronic static to start the song over -- all the way at 3:07! There's a lot of meat to this song, so it definitely takes more than one listen for it to sink in completely. It's soooo good.
The DIVA Mode version of "Daiba," (through 57:32) arranged by "whoo," opens with nice guitar but replaces the delicate chimes with Miku's "la-la-la"s, which in my opinion takes away that juxtaposition between the delicate and icy lead and the strong and upbeat bass/percussion and just makes all the instrumentation (including her voice) too similarly pitched. The guitar really is nice, though.
5. 7th Dragon 2020 - "Kokubunji - Hot Sand Factory"
➸The fire dungeon has a pretty awesome song, and I actually like the original and DIVA Mode versions pretty equally. It begins on a pretty foreboding note, with tense synth and guitar leading to the synth breakdown at :37. I really like the synth in this section paired with the bass and percussion. It's really catchy. The song pares down a bit at 1:26, but the guitar comes back out to mingle with the synth through to the loop. My favorite part is definitely between :37 and 1:26, with that darn awesome synth and percussion.
The Diva Mode arrangement (through 1:01:19) by "yuxuki waga" replaces the synth with Miku's voice, but the guitar is so much more evident in this version, as it never disappears like it does in the original between :37 and 1:26. I don't mind her voice taking over the synth in this version for some reason. Maybe because the synth line was already catchy enough as it was? During the breakdown, Miku does some interesting humming that doesn't sound like anything else she does on the rest of the OST. But the guitar is really awesome all the way through the song.
7th Dragon 2020-II (PSP, 2013) composed by: Yuzo Koshiro; DIVA Mode songs arranged by the same ton of people as 2020
➸Unfortunately, I haven't played this game yet, but I went ahead and listened to its OST out of curiosity. The fan translation for this game is finally out! Pretty much everything in the description of 7th Dragon 2020 applies to this game as well, since this is basically just a side-story to that game. The one biggest difference I've noticed, at least concerning the OST, is that the DIVA Mode arrangements with vocals by Hatsune Miku are no longer mostly Miku "la-la-la"ing along with the melody, but each song has individual lyrics. In 2020, only the songs by sasakure.UK seemed to have actual lyrics, so this is a pretty big and nice change.
6. 7th Dragon 2020-II - "Dawn on the Diet Building"
➸This seems to be the second headquarters theme of the game, and the first thing I noticed about it was that it's over eight minutes long. And honestly, that's pretty good considering where it plays -- I know in the first game that I ran around headquarters a looot while talking to everyone, so variation in the headquarters theme is a welcome improvement. It starts off innocently enough with jazzy pep, then dies down for a while. I prefer the DIVA Mode version a bit during this low point in the song, because it goes all eight-bit there, and I love me some eight-bit throwbacks. I can't find the DIVA Mode version on YouTube, though.
7. 7th Dragon 2020-II - "Decisive Battle - Tokyo Sky Tower (DIVA Mode)"
➸The DIVA Mode arrangement for the final dungeon, arranged by SHIKI, is pumping and full of energy for that final slog. I enjoy the lead piano against the fast percussion. Miku's lyrics echo back and forth until the piano solo around 1:11 that builds up to a climax with Miku rejoining the tune at a high register around 1:39 or so. It really fits the urgent excitement of finally getting to climb that darn tower and finish things. The original tune is a lot less urgent, but has more buildup. The climax is quite a bit more explosive, too. But I just prefer that fast pace of the DIVA Mode arrangement -- maybe it better fit my personal feelings of finally gearing up and rushing out to go beat up the big bad once and for all?
8. 7th Dragon 2020-II - "Shutoko - Spiral Maze"
➸Another long song, which clocks in at nearly nine minutes on the OST disc after two loops. This seems to be the theme for the penultimate dungeon in the game, and from what I understand, the Shutoko is basically like Tokyo's interstate system -- so I assume the dungeon is a concrete jungle of ramps and exits and such... At least, that's what I picture in my head. I'll have to find out how far off my mental image is someday. But anyway, I feel like this is Koshiro's opus for the 2020 games -- four-and-a-half minutes that start off with beautiful piano, then continues to build up more and more until wailing guitars take the lead around 3:35. Once that dies down, the pianos begin softly again, and the build-up starts anew. It's an impressive song, and I'm looking forward to experiencing it in context.
7th Dragon III: Code VFD (3DS, 2015) composed by: Yuzo Koshiro, with vocal themes and their instrumental counterparts by sasakure.UK
➸I had to finish out the series, and now that it's over, I'm kind of sad. I hate endings, but this one in particular was pretty bittersweet. Oh well. Koshiro's at the top of his game in this installment, however -- instead of being relegated to more classical instrumentation as in 7th Dragon, or more synth-pop as in 2020, he uses a firm blend of both styles for III, and it's a treat. Koshiro has no limits, and I love how he's okay with using synth right alongside classical instrumentation -- something only seen in one song from the original 7th Dragon, and naturally it made my list (it's the first song on this page, actually). One thing about 7th Dragon III is that it reused some locales (and dungeons) from both 7th Dragon and 7th Dragon 2020, but as far as I can tell, with the exception of one location, all the songs for those locations are completely new -- no remixes here. Speaking of which, III doesn't have any bonus tracks like the original's eight-bit renditions and 2020's DIVA Mode. In all, the game seemed kind of rushed, but I'm glad that they were able to get one last game out in the series -- and give it an overseas release, at that. =]
9. 7th Dragon III: Code VFD - "Battlefield - Atlantis"
➸By far my favorite of the regular battle themes, it starts off innocently enough, with piano and building percussion, until the synth explodes in all its synth-y goodness at :21. It's really the star of the song -- I really love how it sounds, especially paired with the fast-paced percussion beginning at 1:25. There's so much energy in this song, and the synth line is just too catchy. My only complaint is that there isn't enough of it!
10. 7th Dragon III: Code VFD - "Battlefield - Hunters"
➸A late-game boss battle theme that is also my favorite boss theme from the game (and maybe the entire series, though the post-game final boss's theme from 2020 is pretty good too). Same as the above song, really -- lots of buildup, though more dramatic this time, that leads into some blazing synth. The synth is included with the buildup this time, and has a heavier beat and lower pitch, but when it lets go around 1:29, it's pretty strong in its own right. I really enjoy the bridge to the loop that begins around 2:11, with its sharp, punctuated notes. Yeah, "dramatic" and "determined" are good ways to describe this song.
11. 7th Dragon III: Code VFD - "Kazan - The Future, Buried in Flowers"
➸Ah, Kazan. The city in which 7th Dragon begins. I was expecting to hear some kind of aural throwback to the original peppy and cheerful Kazan theme, but instead I was greeted with a gorgeous combination of strings and mid-tempo percussion. A little after two minutes in, the song dies down and the strings are introduced with a cymbal crash for a solo, backed slightly by some lovely moaning Asian-ish woodwinds. There isn't really much to say about this piece, but it is a treat to listen to. It's both melancholy and hopeful at the same time; mellow but still moving.
Dance Dance Revolution ____ (various, ~1999-2000s) composed by: too many people to list here
➸I know almost nothing about DDR. When I was in high school, I remember that a friend had a copy of a DDR game that had "Angelus" by Shimatani Hitomi on it, which I knew was from the anime Inuyasha. That's all I know. I never played it; I was (and still am) much too clumsy for that stuff. In any case, I randomly listened to some songs from some of the games recently and came across some that I actually quite liked, so I will share them here.
12. Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 - "Sana Mollete Ne Ente (B.L.T. Style)"
➸The lyrics mention dance styles and a boyfriend with a finger technique. There's some mad saxophone and chorus chanting. It's catchy and too short. This one's by Togo Project featuring Sana.
13. Dance Dance Revolution Festival - "Something Wonderful"
➸Wonderful indeed. There are two distinct parts to this song: the fast-paced dance beat, and the slower guitar interlude. The guitar nicely splits the dance beat and gives this song some personality. Not much else to say about a two-minute long dance song besides it's darn catchy. Composed by L.E.D.
Emerald Dragon (PC Engine, 1994) composed by: Yasuhiko Fukuda
➸I had forgotten about this game until a recent Hardcore Gaming 101 article, oops. I played through the Super Famicom fan-translation, but the PC Engine version has pretty versions of the songs. Not that the Super Famicom version's songs are bad. These just have extra instruments.
14. Emerald Dragon - "Distant Horizon"
➸The overworld theme, made all pretty for the PC Engine. I didn't realize how long it was until near the end of the game, thanks to all of the random encounters. The woodwind and guitar are nice, and I especially like the jazz piano at the end.
The Goonies II (NES, 1987) composed by: someone at Konami
➸I've had this game since I was a kid. I've never been good at it, and honestly, it scared me a lot once I got to the rooms with bloody walls. And it has nothing to do with the movie. I watched it after playing the game (I was a nineties kid) and was wondering where the mermaid was. Oh well. I've been meaning to add this, so here.
15. The Goonies II - "Good Enough - Main Theme"
(through 1:47)
➸This song is The Goonies to me, both the game and the movie. It's basically an eight-bit rendition of the movie's theme song, "Goonies R Good Enough," sung by Cyndi Lauper. The regular song is okay, but to me, almost everything is better in chiptune. It's just fun, and it's a shame that it only plays in the first in-game screen. As far as I know, anyway.
Lagrange Point (Famicom, 1991) composed by: Konami Kukeiha Club
➸Finally got around to playing the fan-translation of this unique Famicom sci-fi RPG by Konami. The game itself was okay -- pretty linear with tons of battles and some grinding required, and to be honest, I thought the story was a little over-the-top, but eh sci-fi -- but the aspect of Lagrange Point that's most well-known is the music. Or, more importantly, the unique music chip used for this game that was never used in any other. The VRC7 chip was made by Yamaha, who provided the FM chips for Sega consoles, so I've seen a lot of comments on how Lagrange Point's music sounds FM-like, and I agree (even with the very little exposure I've had to FM-based video game music). The percussion in particular stands out. I will admit that some of the songs can be kind of bland, like the dungeon themes, there are seven dungeon themes, so at least each dungeon doesn't have the same theme like many early games tend to do. I particularly liked the peppy town themes, and it was kind of hard to narrow down my representative choices for the game, so I recommend listening through the entire soundtrack, if only to hear the distinct VRC7 sound and be amazed at how that came from a Famicom game.
16. Lagrange Point - "Broken Replikaizer"
➸The theme to the penultimate boss battle, which I think is a more interesting song than the actual final boss battle theme. While the final boss theme is more tense and mysterious, "Broken Replikaizer" is much more scattered and energetic. I like the variety and madness found in the song's many parts. I also really like how the FM-like sound font is utilized, especially when the futuristic "synth" takes the lead. It's a short tune, only looping after about a minute, but there's still a lot of scrambled, crazy substance within that minute.
17. Lagrange Point - "Satellite Base"
➸An upbeat town theme, and my favorite of the five town themes (though "Orange Party" comes in at a close second favorite). I really like the bouncing lead that opens up the song, and its general relaxed-yet-perky atmosphere. Again, this song loops after only a minute, and there's less to "Satellite Base" than "Broken Replikaizer," but I can say that I enjoyed idling to this song while I did other things on the computer or even around the house, which is something I can't say about many game songs as I'm playing through them. Granted, not having a play time counter affected that choice greatly, haha.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GameCube, 2006) composed by: Toru Minegishi, Asuka Ohta, Koji Kondo
➸I took a week recently to play through this game. Just straight-up played it all week. Finished on my last day of spring break. I liked Twilight Princess for its evident but not harsh curve in difficulty, and for its interesting and different storyline. I enjoyed the fact that I could get stumped on a puzzle or something at three in the morning, go to bed, and come back to it the next morning and figure the puzzle out quickly. That's kind of how I played this game, haha. But anyway, you're here for the music, so I wanted to highlight the prettiest song in the game (in my opinion):
18. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - "Midna's Lament"
➸Ah, yes. This was probably expected from me, but I cannot ignore gorgeous, sad piano. I love the higher-pitched notes alongside the lower-pitched accompaniment. Chills run down my spine when the strings enter the song at the minute mark, too. This song is so striking in-game, with the storyline events and rainy atmosphere coming together with this song to elicit a feeling of helplessness and slight tension. I know that I took the time to ride around the game world while this was playing just so I could keep listening to it (and keep seeing it rain in-game, ahh). So pretty. Composed by Toru Minegishi.
Lufia and the Fortress of Doom (SNES, 1993) composed by: Yasunori Shiono
➸I just finished this game! It's tedious with lots of dungeons. Pretty typical stuff, but the music wasn't too bad. I really like Shiono's work in Lufia 3 and am looking forward to playing Lufia 2.
19. Lufia and the Fortress of Doom - "Battle # 1"
➸Ah, yes. The regular battle theme that you'll hear a billion times while playing this game. That opening "duuuuuun" is quite a sigh-inducing note, haha. But! Shiono is really, really good at composing battle themes. This one's high-energy from the get-go and all the way to the end. It's just really short -- a thirty-second loop -- so it's definitely more appreciated when listening to it outside of its in-game context. Take it from me...
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES, 1996) composed by: Yasunori Shiono
➸This game is pretty much running around to dungeons and towers and towns like Lufia I (and most RPGs, honestly), but with a better, more involving plot featuring characters with personalities, something that Lufia I was kind of lacking. One of the best things is that there are multiple dungeon themes this time! Haha.
20. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals - "Battle # 2"
➸The boss battle theme starts off with an opening build-up with a "duuuuun" similar to the Lufia song above, but it bursts into heroic trumpet afterward that recalls the fan-favorite "Final Battle" (more like final dungeon) tune from this game. The bridge section that starts at :49 is in a contrasting minor key (I think?), so it brings a twinge of despair and even a feeling of perseverance. I like how Shiono utilizes a riffing guitar as the back beat for this song (and others; I think it's part of his style).
Magical Starsign (DS, 2006) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko
➸After giving up on finishing Magical Vacation, I jumped into its sort-of sequel next. I think I preferred this game to Vacation, though this game felt very Mother 3-ish to me? Not to mention how one of the groups of antagonists are reminiscent of the Pigmasks. Anyway, Masuko's music is okay in this game. Nothing in particular really stood out to me. The songs are mostly short loops, and a good third-to-a-half of the songs are for cutscene drama anyway. And interestingly enough, I feel like the soundfont that Masuko used for this game is similar to the one for Devil Summoner... A few songs sounded familiar to me upon first listening to them for that reason. Or maybe it's just Masuko's style that I'm familiar with?
21. Magical Starsign - "Nova, Planet of Light"
➸An overworld theme that starts off slowly, but I like the instrument that takes over around :15 or so. It's a pretty chill song for a relatively short area. It's my favorite of the overworld themes, though it is short and just cycles between the plain build-up and the echoing keyboard or whatever.
22. Magical Starsign - "Spaceport"
➸This is the first song that you hear upon landing at the Wind Planet, and it's so cool and dramatic with a plodding build-up that you hope that the rest of the Wind Planet is just as cool... but then the city theme is too perky and kills it The castanet-ish percussion is interesting and what makes the song, I think, but it's ironically like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2's "Airport", at least for the first twenty seconds or so. This song is definitely less annoying, though.
Magical Vacation (GBA, 2001) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko
➸I picked up this game solely because I heard that Tsukasa Masuko had composed the music for it. And then, thirty-one in-game hours later, I got to the final dungeon and lost my save. Sigh. RIP, Lime. (I'm still bitter.) Anyway, it's an interesting game with a strange plot and a lot of characters. But it is a pretty game, and Masuko did a good job with the GBA hardware.
The audio in the following videos are all ripped from this full OST video, and the song titles are based on the English translation patch.
23. Magical Vacation - "Abyssal Realm"
➸In Japanese, the Abyssal Realm is the Plane of Death. It's the final overworld area in the game, presented as a harsh desert area with large skeletons and bones strewn about. Masuko's tune captures both that desolate creepiness and that drive to move forward through this crazy land in order to bring the story to a conclusion. The song begins with a lone, ominous back-and-forth set of notes that alternate between loud and soft throughout the rest of the tune. But around eight seconds in, the main melody kicks in with intensity and solid percussion. I like the variation, and to be honest, the section that starts around :43 sounds a little MegaTen-ish.
24. Magical Vacation - "VS Battle"
➸I've never had the opportunity to access this song in-game, obviously, but dang. Masuko is good with battle themes in general, but this is the best battle theme in the game, by far. The first ten seconds are very similar to the opening of the regular battle theme, with two loops of a little melody, but one of the first differences is the little bit of percussion buildup that starts at :05 after the first loop of the melody. After that loop finishes, the song goes all out. The percussion and Masuko's typical busy bassline give the dire melody a frantic boost. It's really a treat. I wish this would have been the regular battle theme.
Pokémon Card GB 2: GR Dan Sanjou! (GBC, 2001) composed by: Ichiro Shimakura
➸A fan translation of this game finally came out some time ago and I've been playing this off and on for a few months now. I enjoyed the music from the first game, but this sequel has some spectacular tracks as well. I need to look into Ichiro Shimakura and see what else he's done music for, because he has a great handle on eight-bit music-making. Oh, and I will admit that I haven't completed this game yet, so I may add a song after I hear everything this game has to offer!
25. Pokémon Card GB 2 - "GR Leader Battle"
➸The card duel songs in these games are excellent, and this song is no different. It's so unbelievably catchy, and I like how it's still fun even though it's basically the bad guy boss battle theme. There's no "evil" to this song at all, just a strong lead and great percussion. I have caught myself listening to this song for a week straight before. It's addicting!
26. Pokémon Card GB 2 - "GR Island Overworld"
➸This song seems almost out of place in a simple video game about trading cards -- it would fit more in an RPG with its heroic march. Shame that it can only be heard in the quickly-traversed GR overworld, as it's really catchy and well-done. I love how it builds up to a beautiful bridge at :37 that reminds me of something I'd hear in Lufia: The Legend Returns. Again, Shimakura could have picked a more sinister tune to use for the villains' home island, but this valorous tune works just as well, if not even better.
Pokémon Colosseum (GameCube, 2003) composed by: Tsukasa Tawada
➸I recently listened through soundtracks of games that I've played but never found the soundtracks to, and this one hit me like a ton of bricks. I listened to its sequel's soundtrack too, but none of the songs got me like this one's did. Probably because I spent much more time playing this game, to the point where I managed to 100% complete it.
27. Pokémon Colosseum - "Colosseum Semi-Final Battle"
➸I love how this song doesn't really sound like a typical Pokémon battle theme. If I recall correctly, it played during the Mt. Battle battles, which is where I heard it to the point that it's ingrained in my memory. I love that blaring synth that morphs into a guitar solo and then back to synth again.
Pokémon Crystal (GBC, 2001) composed by: Morikazu Aoki (Crystal-exclusive songs), Go Ichinose, Junichi Masuda (Gold/Silver songs)
➸I've been reading a Let's Play for Pokémon Crystal, and it reminded me that there are some Crystal-exclusive songs that I really like and thought I should highlight here. There are only about ten songs that are new to Crystal, and a few of them are Japan-only due to being associated with the Pokémon Communication Center that we never got, but I like the new character themes! It also seems that these Crystal-exclusive songs are Morikazu Aoki's first compositions for the Pokémon franchise, and he will continue to compose into Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.
28. Pokémon Crystal - "Eusine"
➸There were two human character themes added to Crystal, and while I like Clair's theme a good bit, I like Eusine's a bit better. I also may be a bit more biased towards him, though, for undisclosed reasons. Oops. It's a short loop that clocks in at less than thirty seconds, but it's simple saccharine energy the whole time. I can easily find myself listening to this melody on loop for several minutes at a time. That's it; there's nothing to explain about this song.
Pokémon Sun/Moon (3DS, 2016) composed by: Minako Adachi, Hitomi Sato, Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Tomoaki Oga, Hideaki Kuroda
➸I enjoyed Moon as a breath of fresh air to the Pokémon franchise. The music team shifted a bit since X/Y, with Kageyama taking his leave. In any case, it's all fitting for the game's environment.
29. Pokémon Sun/Moon - "Aether House"
➸It's a relatively short loop where techno-y sounds meet strings, with one string section playing a common leitmotif associated with the Aether Foundation. I like how it's relatively calm, but the blips are a little off-putting. Composed by Minako Adachi.
30. Pokémon Sun/Moon - "Ten Carat Hill"
➸A chill cave song that reminds me of "Yetit Petit" from Ragnarok Online a bit, especially in the intro. The synth and piano are relaxing, but then the song explodes at :43 with a bit of a random breakdown. Maybe it's there to prevent you from falling asleep? Ha. Composed by Hitomi Sato.
31. Pokémon Sun/Moon - "Vast Poni Canyon"
➸The airy pan pipes, percussion, and electric organ synth make this song pretty great. It's all frantic energy and instrumentation, but it never goes overboard. Composed by Hitomi Sato.
Pokémon X/Y (3DS, 2013) composed by: Minako Adachi, Shota Kageyama, Hitomi Sato; with rearrangements of classics by Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki, Satoshi Nohara
➸I don't know how I feel about Generation VI. Y was so... mediocre to me? It took me a long time to complete it, and part of that is because I lost interest near the end. I finally pushed myself to finish it this summer so I could start on Moon. Anyway, I need to talk about the music... Listening to the OST over the past few days, it's a very well-made soundtrack. Lots of real-life quality instruments and classical leanings; a definite evolution (ha) from the classic eight-bit sounds. Unfortunately, I don't really remember much about the game besides the last stretch that I played through this summer... So I don't really remember the context of many of the songs. So my choices may reflect that a bit, I feel. In any case, this newer generation of Game Freak composers really shines on this OST, and I'm having a hard time choosing songs to showcase...
32. Pokémon X/Y - "Kalos Power Plant"
➸I'm kind of hesitant to add this song, since it seems to be one of the fan-favorites for these games, and I didn't remember it at all until my recent listen through the OST... but I can understand why it's such a favorite. This song takes such a turn from most of the other songs on the soundtrack, and is more of a low-key techno-trance dance-ish tune with a solid beat. I enjoy the instrumentation and the futuristic feel it's given. Fitting for a power plant, I suppose. It's short, but it's pretty chill, even though there is some build-up that gives it some extra energy between the main melody loops. Composed by Shota Kageyama.
33. Pokémon X/Y - "Route 8"
➸X and Y are interesting Pokémon games in that many of the routes share themes, reducing the overall amount of route themes by a lot -- there are only six in the entire game this time. As someone who loves route themes, this seems like a bad thing, but X and Y's route themes are fantastic. They're well-worth hearing on multiple routes. I had a hard time choosing between "Route 8" and "Route 15," but I figured I should showcase Minako Adachi's talent a bit with this energetic and adventurous route theme. There are bells and strings right out of the gate, and then the brass kicks in, all while a snare drum is playing a march in the background... Ahhhhh. The strings and brass play off of each other very well as lead instruments. Unfortunately, the loop is a little less than a minute in its entirety, but it has energy and spirit for days. I don't remember what the in-game routes were like, but this is a mountainous song to me.
34. Pokémon X/Y - "Snowbelle City"
➸This was where I spent most of my time in-game once I picked it back up this summer. It's a beautiful wintery theme, with the prerequisite chimes and delicate piano, but once the strings kick in, they give the song a little layer of sadness. All of that is gorgeous, of course, but what gets me every time is when the brass kicks in around :22, melting that sadness into warm determination. Then the brass dies down into a contemplative piano solo before regrouping for the loop. I love the interchange of emotions caused by the use of the different instruments. Beautiful. Composed by Shota Kageyama.
Shin Megami Tensei (Sega CD, 1994) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko, arranged by folks from Sims
➸Okay. SMTI is one of my favorite games of all time, and its mechanical and somewhat minimalist soundtrack has something to do with that. I think it mostly has to do with the bat-crazy plot and characters that I can't stop headcanoning about, thouuuugh... Anyway, I looked into the Sega CD iteration's soundtrack to see how it was improved, and it's a mixed bag. There are several improved/rearranged tracks, but there are also several that are basically lifted straight from Masuko's Super Famicom originals. I'm kind of "eh" about the fact that the battle themes are basically the same, as so much could have been done with those. Regardless, I was very impressed with some songs, and my favorites are the ones that turned from short loops into much more fleshed-out tracks, as you will see.
35. Shin Megami Tensei - "Kichijouji"
➸First step: remind yourself of how the original "Kichijouji" sounds. Though this link is to the PSX version (because the SFC version is blocked in my country? huh??), it's still a what? 10-second loop over and over? It's sort of military in its brusqueness and seriousness, which works well enough as the first overworld theme. Then, listen to the Sega CD arrangement. Hooooly. It retains the basic few notes of the original, but adds so much more. The first ten seconds are most like the original, but each loop adds more to the song -- new elements added to the background, random mechanical sounds, and so on -- so that it builds up until a brand new melody line erupts a little after the minute mark and flutters around wildly on top of the droning original tune. I love it. It completely changes the dynamic of the song. It goes from being a militaristic march to truly encompassing the chaos going on in the world during the beginning of the game. Fantastic.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner (Sega Saturn, 1996) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko, Toshiko Tasaki
➸I still haven't played this game. And I did something that I usually don't do -- I listened to the music to a game that I do want to play eventually. So now that this game's soundtrack has been spoiled for me, that should give me more incentive to pick up a guide and play it for myself sometime, huh? Though I am a bit hesitant to do that, since I wasn't a big fan of the party demon system in Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers. Eh. In any case, this is an alright soundtrack by two of my favorite Atlus composers. Masuko's style is as evident as ever, with his battle themes evoking his previous SMT battle themes quite closely, and Tasaki went a bit more ambient with this soundtrack like she did with Soul Hackers. It's okay stuff -- maybe I'd appreciate it more in its proper context -- but Masuko's style kind of stagnates in this release. Instead of doing something really different, he's using the same tricks and sounds as he has been since Megami Tensei. Though I think this was the last Atlus game he directly composed for, so maybe he realized that too. =\ Awh. Anyway...
36. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - "Chinatown"
➸Well, this song doesn't sound particularly Chinese instrumentally, but it has some impressive percussion right from the beginning through to the end. The lead that begins a little after thirty seconds in is frantic and all over the place. It's a pretty short song -- most tracks to this game are -- but that percussion is notably different and helps this song to stand out. Composed by Tsukasa Masuko.
37. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - "Kitayama University"
➸Another stand out among the other themes composed by Masuko that mostly remind me of some other SMT song, though this one retains the "busy bassline" that is quite his style. I like the "instruments" he picked for this song -- I can't quite tell if the main instrument mirroring the ooh-ing voice is supposed to be some kind of guitar or what, but I like it. The song's climax is nice as well with some strong piano, but as the song loops in less than a minute, it's too shoooort.
Shin Megami Tensei if... (SNES, 1994) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko
➸Finally got around to finishing this SMT side-story, thanks to the recent release of the fan translation. It reuses a lot of assets from SMTI/II, including the music. I think only the title screen, epilogue, and staff roll songs are truly original? But thankfully, a handful of reused songs have been reworked a bit with added elements and such. I think the new/altered compositions for if... show off Masuko's slight evolution from simple tunes to ones with a bit more elaboration as can be heard in the Devil Summoner soundtrack.
38. Shin Megami Tensei if... - "Domain of Envy"
➸This song is a reworked version of SMTII's "3D: Center." The original has a pretty chill synth line over Masuko's typical busy bassline/percussion, and is fine as it is, though it's rather short. The if... version is twice as long, as it adds a "piano" on top of the synth line and bass/percussion, and then goes off with it as a solo at :48 that lasts for like thirty seconds. I really love that "piano" solo, and it kind of reminds me of "Kitayama University" from Devil Summoner that is highlighted above. I could listen to this song for hours.
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse (3DS, 2016) composed by: Ryota Koduka
➸SMTIV:A is an alternate universe take on SMTIV that doesn't focus so much on Law and Chaos as it does the humans affected by the demons taking over Tokyo. Personally, I've always been more interested in the human side of the MegaTen storylines, so I really enjoyed Apocalypse. It also kind of felt like SMT meets Persona with its focus on friendships and stuff, but it was a breath of fresh air. As for the music, a good portion of the soundtrack was lifted straight from SMTIV, but there were several new songs as well. Alas, I can only pick a few to highlight:
39. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse - "Battle - f8"
➸The final battle theme, which I have to admit automatically trumps most MegaTen final boss themes in my opinion -- I'm especially looking at you, SMTII. It's definitely better than SMTIV's final boss themes, too -- likely because Koduka did not have to focus on making it sound Law-like or Chaos-like, but could go all out. The song has a strong tension from the opening blasts of sound, and it builds up through added instruments and speed changes for at least two-and-a-half minutes. That's a lot of time for variety and intricacies in the song, and I appreciate that. The song blasts into high gear around 1:20, when the plodding percussion switches gears completely, speeding up immensely and becoming very driving. Elements continue to build up in the song until it climaxes around 2:12 with, get this, the bridge of SMTIV's Tokyo battle theme, "Battle - a2." In-game, it makes perfect sense as to why that motif plays within this song, and that little detail impresses me so much. After that explosion, the song slows back down again to begin the loop. This song epitomizes what good final boss songs should sound like -- tense, high-energy, and interesting.
40. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse - "Large Map"
➸Yes, yes, how typical of me; an overworld theme. However, I really appreciate this song in contrast with SMTIV's own overworld theme; and apparently according to the comments on the linked YouTube video, I'm not the only person who heard and understood this contrast. SMTIV's "Tokyo" is gorgeous -- I think it's the better of the two overworld themes -- and it has a wide-eyed and mystic feel to it because to the characters of IV, Tokyo is a new and mysterious world for them to traverse. Apocalypse's "Large Map" opens with a similar two-second "aah" sound, but it changes direction instantly afterward. "Tokyo" is mysterious and epic, while "Large Map" is more... warm and comfortable. Which is fitting, as the heroes of Apocalypse are already familiar with Tokyo and call it home. "Tokyo"'s gorgeous keyboard and clear piano have been replaced with a warm xylophone(?) and kind of what sounds like an old, sort of distorted piano. An interesting change of instruments, for sure. The songs follow a similar structure, both building up to heavily piano sections before breaking into an epic climax before the song loops again. The "epic climax" in "Large Map" culminates with a good ten seconds of sweeping strings, which is such a nice choice against the more electric keyboard in "Tokyo." Also, interestingly, the xylophone-heavy section that starts around :30 sounds like a slowed-down version of the beat in SMTIV's Hunter Association song, which only sort of appears in Apocalypse as... a slowed-down version of itself. Hmm. In any case, I really admire how Koduka played "Large Map" off of "Tokyo" but made it so it reflected Tokyo in the eyes of the characters in Apocalypse. Though the game's plot felt utterly hopeless at times, this song exudes the life and warmth of the survivors in Tokyo, and I really appreciate Apocalypse for showing us the world through their eyes.
Tales of Legendia (PS2, 2005) composed by: Go Shiina
➸An alright Tales game with an impressive (mostly) orchestral soundtrack. I played through it this past summer after owning it for a few years, so I honestly didn't invest too much into it. However, upon listening to the soundtrack again a few months later, I'm impressed to learn that I still remember a good portion of the soundtrack and the locations in which they appeared -- something that I can't say about many of the other games I've played. Including Tales of the Abyss, which I need to replay sometime because I've woefully forgotten a lot about it, including the entire soundtrack...
41. Tales of Legendia - "Chasing Shirley"
➸An energetic piece that plays during some mission-like sections and/or dungeons in the game. It begins with a funky keyboard line, but then a strong, wild violin begins playing at :09 and takes center stage. The awesome thing is that the funk never really goes away, something I never thought I'd say about a song with a frantic violin as the lead instrument. The energy lulls around :45, where the violin is played in a more regular manner until the brass section comes blaring in with the reintroduction of the crazy violin at the minute mark. I really enjoy the juxtaposition of a classic instrument with funky undertones, and how both the frantic violin playing and the expected classical playing are both featured in the song.
42. Tales of Legendia - "Sunlight Filtering Through the Trees"
➸Ahhhh, delicate, crystalline piano -- my favorite. So beautiful. The song seemingly follows a pattern of soft buildup, a loud climax, and then over again. The climaxes are usually punctuated with brass, and it doesn't seem too out of place paired with the piano and clarinet. The piano itself plays a stronger melody at times, as well, and the song eventually also adds a violin for even more intricate buildup and release. It's a lovely interplay of instruments.
Waterworld (SNES, 1995) composed by: Dean Evans
➸I know nothing about this game, nor have I even seen the movie Waterworld. I hear it's a pretty crap game, but its music is fantastic. I first learned of this soundtrack through the list that inspired this one, the HG101 best VGM list, and I thought I'd share some of it here.
43. Waterworld - "Diving"
➸This song is almost six minutes of chill trance. It builds up in waves until it's a wall of sound that bursts at around the minute mark the first time and more intensely around the three minute mark. And there's a good bit of variation in it as well, so it's not a boring six minutes.
Wild Arms (PSX, 1996) composed by: Michiko Naruke
➸I really love early PSX games, and this one was a treat to play through. Some aspects of Wild Arms may look outdated today, like the early 3D battle models, but the music is timeless. The looping songs heard in normal gameplay are good (though short), but the streamed songs played during scenes are the highlight of the OST. The streamed songs use realistic instruments and lovely orchestration, but including them technically kind of breaks one of my rules of listing songs that can't be heard on-loop during regular gameplay... But they're so good, so I have to list at least one as a sampler.
44. Wild Arms - "Castle of Flames"
➸This streamed song plays during the first part of the prologue sequence that will play automatically during the second title screen loop (the first being the animation to "To the End of the Wilderness," a lovely tune that made spot number ten on the original HG101 best VGM list). I didn't know it existed until I was almost finished with the game. It's pretty much all xylophone(?) percussion and I think a woodwind along with some strings (I gave up on trying to guess exact instruments because my ear is so untrained) with some sudden buildup around the minute mark that dissipates just as quickly. It's kind of tense and yet quite pretty. The last twenty or so seconds of the song are a crescendo that just ends without any real resolution. There is a second song that begins with a piano solo immediately afterward, but they're separate songs on the OST so I'm not going to mention it here.
45. Wild Arms - "Migrating Birds of the Wilderness"
➸I would be remiss if I didn't mention the overworld theme. Wild Arms tries to have a Western feel to it, and it's evident in this song. People on the YouTube video mention that it sounds like an Emilio Morricone song; I wouldn't know anything about that, but I guess he's who you'd want to emulate to get that authentic Western sound. The heroic trumpets juxtaposed with those high-pitched xylophone or triangle or whatever they are notes are really nice.
Wild Arms 2 (PSX, 1999) composed by: Michiko Naruke
➸The second Wild Arms game is a step up in most respects to the first game, but the music still has a high level of quality. This game even has vocal themes, and one of them was what introduced me to this series in the first place over ten years ago (though I didn't get around to playing them until this past year, and I can't play any of the PS2 games so I might be stuck with just playing these two for now. boo.), but I can't talk about them here, sooo. The same qualm exists for WA2 as its predecessor: lots of short in-game loops, but there are really nice one-off songs that play during scenes. Oh well.
46. Wild Arms 2 - "Dungeon: Nature Type 1"
➸I had a hard time picking a dungeon theme to talk about. I like most of them pretty well, which is a plus for a game that has a lot of dungeons. Some dungeon themes sound laid-back, but this one is energetic and prime for adventuring. It even opens with an acoustic guitar flourish, haha. There's hints of the game's Western influence when a harmonica joins the song shortly before the loop. It's just that this song isn't even a minute long after two loops...
47. Wild Arms 2 - "Field: Wandering"
➸This is the definitive Wild Arms 2 song to me, besides the vocal song that I mentioned in the intro, "Resistance Line." While Wild Arms 1 had a Western-style trumpet in its overworld theme, this song has... whistling! And it works for that Western feel. It's a calm overworld theme, but I really like it. I didn't enjoy walking around and scanning for towns and other locations, but this song made it okay. Until I got into another battle.
Original 100 song list (1-50)
Original 100 song list (51-100)
Expanded list
2015 extra list
2019 expanded list
Last updated: 3/10/19
7th Dragon (DS, 2009) composed by: Yuzo Koshiro
➸I've been curious about this game for a while now, so after I finished SMTIV:A, I picked this one up immediately. It's basically just a lot of boss battles (666+ of them!) and exploration in a fantasy setting. Unfortunately I'm a bit too burnt out to attempt the true final boss -- that true final dungeon is torture for a level 70 team, sob -- and after 73 hours of playing, I'm ready to get into 7th Dragon 2020. Before I do that, though, I want to highlight a few songs here from seasoned composer Yuzo Koshiro, whom I had heard of many times but hadn't actually listened to until now.
1. 7th Dragon - "Battlefield - Swords Bursting"
Click to view➸The first battle theme begins in a slightly unassuming matter, with strings accompanied by a pulsing bass beat and quiet percussion. However, a strong and peppy synth bursts in around 0:22, and the percussion amps up with it. The strings come back to accent the synth as the song progresses back to the loop, but the synth really does carry the song after it is introduced. I have a certain fondness for this kind of squeaky electronic synth that isn't meant to mimic any kind of instrument, and it's used well here. I will note that this is may be the only instance of synth like this in the soundtrack, as Koshiro opted to use mostly traditional classical instrumentation for this game. At least we were treated to one catchy synth piece -- the only downside is that you'll probably get sick of hearing it in-game, ha.
Oh, and as a treat, Koshiro did an entire eight-bit version of the soundtrack as well! This song's rendition is still pretty catchy with particularly strong percussion.
2. 7th Dragon - "Land of Dragons and Flowers"
➸The second overworld theme, which plays on the eastern continent. It's also one of the first songs you hear when the game properly begins after a long cutscene showing the world becoming overgrown with poisonous flowers, and it's particularly effective there. I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought this, but this song channels Koichi Sugiyama's Dragon Quest style pretty closely. It opens with sweeping strings and woodwinds, and the calming lull that begins around 1:06 builds up to a quite heroic-sounding theme with brass out of nowhere that plays until the loop. It's actually a pretty long song with a lot in it that you will never hear in full in-game unless you just idle on the world map. It's kind of a shame that the western continent's overworld theme is more of a military march, because this is a pretty song. This song's eight-bit version isn't as delicate, nor honestly is it as pretty as, say, Sugiyama's "Unknown World" for Dragon Quest 1. I don't think the chiptunes used are soft enough -- they're too driving.
7th Dragon 2020 (PSP, 2011) composed by: Yuzo Koshiro; DIVA Mode songs arranged by a ton of people
➸The prequel to 7th Dragon takes the setting from a fantasy world to post-dragon-apocalyptic Tokyo and effectively cuts its play-length in half in the process, whew. Of course, given the large leap in atmosphere between these settings, the music style has changed a good deal as well. Gone are the more traditional instruments like all those violins in the original, having been replaced with a lot more synth and percussion, and even some wailing electric guitar in some songs. It's a drastic change in tone, but I like it pretty well, even if the songs may be a tad less complex. One thing that I really like about 2020's soundtrack is that several songs from the original 7th Dragon made their way into 2020, with some being completely repurposed -- one that particularly amuses me is that one of the city themes from the original is now the "questioning atmosphere" song.
Another thing of note about this soundtrack is that there are two versions of each song -- much like how 7th Dragon had an item that allowed players to listen to eight-bit renditions of the soundtrack, 2020 has a "DIVA Mode" unlocked by saving Vocaloid idol Hatsune Miku from a dragon. DIVA Mode songs are all arrangements highlighting Miku's robotic harmonizations (and sometimes complete lyrics), and they really are hit-and-miss for me personally. Some songs truly are preferable in DIVA Mode, however, and I do want to highlight that a bit here.
3. 7th Dragon 2020 - "Battlefield - Rival Arrival (DIVA Mode)"
➸I feel kind of chagrined to include this particular battle song on my list, since it's one of the most well-known songs from the game in general, but I really like "8# Prince"'s DIVA Mode arrangement of it, possibly even moreso than Koshiro's original. Miku's "la-la-la"s replace the original's strong leading synth line, which doesn't really make too much of a difference through the beginning buildup. It's at :37 when the "la-la-la"s take center stage, and I really like how they're incorporated into the song at this point. I can't really explain why I prefer Miku to the synth -- is it the pitch? Is it easier to sing along to? Is it... cuter? Is her voice less harsh than the synth? I don't know. The original is pretty good, toe-tapping synth, but the DIVA Mode arrangement also sounds like it'd fit in a dance party. Even so, both songs are definitely worth checking out.
4. 7th Dragon 2020 - "Daiba - Frozen Town"
➸This is probably my favorite song in the game, and it hit me as a favorite hard and quickly. It's for an ice-themed dungeon, so it's no surprise that the song begins with a sparse typically-icy-sounding high-pitched and echoing chime-like synth... until :18, when the percussion and what sounds like a twangy guitar join in alongside the synth. I love that combination of "country" guitar and icy chime. However, that's just the buildup! At :40, the song explodes, adding a strong synth bassline and several more layers to the percussion to accompany the chime. The ride continues until about 1:35, when the song is stripped back to only the chime, and then the percussion and guitar from the beginning are gradually re-introduced until the song explodes boldly once again around 2:10 into its climax, this time with electric guitar leading the way beside the chime, all on top of that bassline and percussion. The song merely dies down into electronic static to start the song over -- all the way at 3:07! There's a lot of meat to this song, so it definitely takes more than one listen for it to sink in completely. It's soooo good.
The DIVA Mode version of "Daiba," (through 57:32) arranged by "whoo," opens with nice guitar but replaces the delicate chimes with Miku's "la-la-la"s, which in my opinion takes away that juxtaposition between the delicate and icy lead and the strong and upbeat bass/percussion and just makes all the instrumentation (including her voice) too similarly pitched. The guitar really is nice, though.
5. 7th Dragon 2020 - "Kokubunji - Hot Sand Factory"
➸The fire dungeon has a pretty awesome song, and I actually like the original and DIVA Mode versions pretty equally. It begins on a pretty foreboding note, with tense synth and guitar leading to the synth breakdown at :37. I really like the synth in this section paired with the bass and percussion. It's really catchy. The song pares down a bit at 1:26, but the guitar comes back out to mingle with the synth through to the loop. My favorite part is definitely between :37 and 1:26, with that darn awesome synth and percussion.
The Diva Mode arrangement (through 1:01:19) by "yuxuki waga" replaces the synth with Miku's voice, but the guitar is so much more evident in this version, as it never disappears like it does in the original between :37 and 1:26. I don't mind her voice taking over the synth in this version for some reason. Maybe because the synth line was already catchy enough as it was? During the breakdown, Miku does some interesting humming that doesn't sound like anything else she does on the rest of the OST. But the guitar is really awesome all the way through the song.
7th Dragon 2020-II (PSP, 2013) composed by: Yuzo Koshiro; DIVA Mode songs arranged by the same ton of people as 2020
➸Unfortunately, I haven't played this game yet, but I went ahead and listened to its OST out of curiosity. The fan translation for this game is finally out! Pretty much everything in the description of 7th Dragon 2020 applies to this game as well, since this is basically just a side-story to that game. The one biggest difference I've noticed, at least concerning the OST, is that the DIVA Mode arrangements with vocals by Hatsune Miku are no longer mostly Miku "la-la-la"ing along with the melody, but each song has individual lyrics. In 2020, only the songs by sasakure.UK seemed to have actual lyrics, so this is a pretty big and nice change.
6. 7th Dragon 2020-II - "Dawn on the Diet Building"
➸This seems to be the second headquarters theme of the game, and the first thing I noticed about it was that it's over eight minutes long. And honestly, that's pretty good considering where it plays -- I know in the first game that I ran around headquarters a looot while talking to everyone, so variation in the headquarters theme is a welcome improvement. It starts off innocently enough with jazzy pep, then dies down for a while. I prefer the DIVA Mode version a bit during this low point in the song, because it goes all eight-bit there, and I love me some eight-bit throwbacks. I can't find the DIVA Mode version on YouTube, though.
7. 7th Dragon 2020-II - "Decisive Battle - Tokyo Sky Tower (DIVA Mode)"
➸The DIVA Mode arrangement for the final dungeon, arranged by SHIKI, is pumping and full of energy for that final slog. I enjoy the lead piano against the fast percussion. Miku's lyrics echo back and forth until the piano solo around 1:11 that builds up to a climax with Miku rejoining the tune at a high register around 1:39 or so. It really fits the urgent excitement of finally getting to climb that darn tower and finish things. The original tune is a lot less urgent, but has more buildup. The climax is quite a bit more explosive, too. But I just prefer that fast pace of the DIVA Mode arrangement -- maybe it better fit my personal feelings of finally gearing up and rushing out to go beat up the big bad once and for all?
8. 7th Dragon 2020-II - "Shutoko - Spiral Maze"
➸Another long song, which clocks in at nearly nine minutes on the OST disc after two loops. This seems to be the theme for the penultimate dungeon in the game, and from what I understand, the Shutoko is basically like Tokyo's interstate system -- so I assume the dungeon is a concrete jungle of ramps and exits and such... At least, that's what I picture in my head. I'll have to find out how far off my mental image is someday. But anyway, I feel like this is Koshiro's opus for the 2020 games -- four-and-a-half minutes that start off with beautiful piano, then continues to build up more and more until wailing guitars take the lead around 3:35. Once that dies down, the pianos begin softly again, and the build-up starts anew. It's an impressive song, and I'm looking forward to experiencing it in context.
7th Dragon III: Code VFD (3DS, 2015) composed by: Yuzo Koshiro, with vocal themes and their instrumental counterparts by sasakure.UK
➸I had to finish out the series, and now that it's over, I'm kind of sad. I hate endings, but this one in particular was pretty bittersweet. Oh well. Koshiro's at the top of his game in this installment, however -- instead of being relegated to more classical instrumentation as in 7th Dragon, or more synth-pop as in 2020, he uses a firm blend of both styles for III, and it's a treat. Koshiro has no limits, and I love how he's okay with using synth right alongside classical instrumentation -- something only seen in one song from the original 7th Dragon, and naturally it made my list (it's the first song on this page, actually). One thing about 7th Dragon III is that it reused some locales (and dungeons) from both 7th Dragon and 7th Dragon 2020, but as far as I can tell, with the exception of one location, all the songs for those locations are completely new -- no remixes here. Speaking of which, III doesn't have any bonus tracks like the original's eight-bit renditions and 2020's DIVA Mode. In all, the game seemed kind of rushed, but I'm glad that they were able to get one last game out in the series -- and give it an overseas release, at that. =]
9. 7th Dragon III: Code VFD - "Battlefield - Atlantis"
➸By far my favorite of the regular battle themes, it starts off innocently enough, with piano and building percussion, until the synth explodes in all its synth-y goodness at :21. It's really the star of the song -- I really love how it sounds, especially paired with the fast-paced percussion beginning at 1:25. There's so much energy in this song, and the synth line is just too catchy. My only complaint is that there isn't enough of it!
10. 7th Dragon III: Code VFD - "Battlefield - Hunters"
➸A late-game boss battle theme that is also my favorite boss theme from the game (and maybe the entire series, though the post-game final boss's theme from 2020 is pretty good too). Same as the above song, really -- lots of buildup, though more dramatic this time, that leads into some blazing synth. The synth is included with the buildup this time, and has a heavier beat and lower pitch, but when it lets go around 1:29, it's pretty strong in its own right. I really enjoy the bridge to the loop that begins around 2:11, with its sharp, punctuated notes. Yeah, "dramatic" and "determined" are good ways to describe this song.
11. 7th Dragon III: Code VFD - "Kazan - The Future, Buried in Flowers"
➸Ah, Kazan. The city in which 7th Dragon begins. I was expecting to hear some kind of aural throwback to the original peppy and cheerful Kazan theme, but instead I was greeted with a gorgeous combination of strings and mid-tempo percussion. A little after two minutes in, the song dies down and the strings are introduced with a cymbal crash for a solo, backed slightly by some lovely moaning Asian-ish woodwinds. There isn't really much to say about this piece, but it is a treat to listen to. It's both melancholy and hopeful at the same time; mellow but still moving.
Dance Dance Revolution ____ (various, ~1999-2000s) composed by: too many people to list here
➸I know almost nothing about DDR. When I was in high school, I remember that a friend had a copy of a DDR game that had "Angelus" by Shimatani Hitomi on it, which I knew was from the anime Inuyasha. That's all I know. I never played it; I was (and still am) much too clumsy for that stuff. In any case, I randomly listened to some songs from some of the games recently and came across some that I actually quite liked, so I will share them here.
12. Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 - "Sana Mollete Ne Ente (B.L.T. Style)"
➸The lyrics mention dance styles and a boyfriend with a finger technique. There's some mad saxophone and chorus chanting. It's catchy and too short. This one's by Togo Project featuring Sana.
13. Dance Dance Revolution Festival - "Something Wonderful"
➸Wonderful indeed. There are two distinct parts to this song: the fast-paced dance beat, and the slower guitar interlude. The guitar nicely splits the dance beat and gives this song some personality. Not much else to say about a two-minute long dance song besides it's darn catchy. Composed by L.E.D.
Emerald Dragon (PC Engine, 1994) composed by: Yasuhiko Fukuda
➸I had forgotten about this game until a recent Hardcore Gaming 101 article, oops. I played through the Super Famicom fan-translation, but the PC Engine version has pretty versions of the songs. Not that the Super Famicom version's songs are bad. These just have extra instruments.
14. Emerald Dragon - "Distant Horizon"
➸The overworld theme, made all pretty for the PC Engine. I didn't realize how long it was until near the end of the game, thanks to all of the random encounters. The woodwind and guitar are nice, and I especially like the jazz piano at the end.
The Goonies II (NES, 1987) composed by: someone at Konami
➸I've had this game since I was a kid. I've never been good at it, and honestly, it scared me a lot once I got to the rooms with bloody walls. And it has nothing to do with the movie. I watched it after playing the game (I was a nineties kid) and was wondering where the mermaid was. Oh well. I've been meaning to add this, so here.
15. The Goonies II - "Good Enough - Main Theme"
(through 1:47)
➸This song is The Goonies to me, both the game and the movie. It's basically an eight-bit rendition of the movie's theme song, "Goonies R Good Enough," sung by Cyndi Lauper. The regular song is okay, but to me, almost everything is better in chiptune. It's just fun, and it's a shame that it only plays in the first in-game screen. As far as I know, anyway.
Lagrange Point (Famicom, 1991) composed by: Konami Kukeiha Club
➸Finally got around to playing the fan-translation of this unique Famicom sci-fi RPG by Konami. The game itself was okay -- pretty linear with tons of battles and some grinding required, and to be honest, I thought the story was a little over-the-top, but eh sci-fi -- but the aspect of Lagrange Point that's most well-known is the music. Or, more importantly, the unique music chip used for this game that was never used in any other. The VRC7 chip was made by Yamaha, who provided the FM chips for Sega consoles, so I've seen a lot of comments on how Lagrange Point's music sounds FM-like, and I agree (even with the very little exposure I've had to FM-based video game music). The percussion in particular stands out. I will admit that some of the songs can be kind of bland, like the dungeon themes, there are seven dungeon themes, so at least each dungeon doesn't have the same theme like many early games tend to do. I particularly liked the peppy town themes, and it was kind of hard to narrow down my representative choices for the game, so I recommend listening through the entire soundtrack, if only to hear the distinct VRC7 sound and be amazed at how that came from a Famicom game.
16. Lagrange Point - "Broken Replikaizer"
➸The theme to the penultimate boss battle, which I think is a more interesting song than the actual final boss battle theme. While the final boss theme is more tense and mysterious, "Broken Replikaizer" is much more scattered and energetic. I like the variety and madness found in the song's many parts. I also really like how the FM-like sound font is utilized, especially when the futuristic "synth" takes the lead. It's a short tune, only looping after about a minute, but there's still a lot of scrambled, crazy substance within that minute.
17. Lagrange Point - "Satellite Base"
➸An upbeat town theme, and my favorite of the five town themes (though "Orange Party" comes in at a close second favorite). I really like the bouncing lead that opens up the song, and its general relaxed-yet-perky atmosphere. Again, this song loops after only a minute, and there's less to "Satellite Base" than "Broken Replikaizer," but I can say that I enjoyed idling to this song while I did other things on the computer or even around the house, which is something I can't say about many game songs as I'm playing through them. Granted, not having a play time counter affected that choice greatly, haha.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (GameCube, 2006) composed by: Toru Minegishi, Asuka Ohta, Koji Kondo
➸I took a week recently to play through this game. Just straight-up played it all week. Finished on my last day of spring break. I liked Twilight Princess for its evident but not harsh curve in difficulty, and for its interesting and different storyline. I enjoyed the fact that I could get stumped on a puzzle or something at three in the morning, go to bed, and come back to it the next morning and figure the puzzle out quickly. That's kind of how I played this game, haha. But anyway, you're here for the music, so I wanted to highlight the prettiest song in the game (in my opinion):
18. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess - "Midna's Lament"
➸Ah, yes. This was probably expected from me, but I cannot ignore gorgeous, sad piano. I love the higher-pitched notes alongside the lower-pitched accompaniment. Chills run down my spine when the strings enter the song at the minute mark, too. This song is so striking in-game, with the storyline events and rainy atmosphere coming together with this song to elicit a feeling of helplessness and slight tension. I know that I took the time to ride around the game world while this was playing just so I could keep listening to it (and keep seeing it rain in-game, ahh). So pretty. Composed by Toru Minegishi.
Lufia and the Fortress of Doom (SNES, 1993) composed by: Yasunori Shiono
➸I just finished this game! It's tedious with lots of dungeons. Pretty typical stuff, but the music wasn't too bad. I really like Shiono's work in Lufia 3 and am looking forward to playing Lufia 2.
19. Lufia and the Fortress of Doom - "Battle # 1"
➸Ah, yes. The regular battle theme that you'll hear a billion times while playing this game. That opening "duuuuuun" is quite a sigh-inducing note, haha. But! Shiono is really, really good at composing battle themes. This one's high-energy from the get-go and all the way to the end. It's just really short -- a thirty-second loop -- so it's definitely more appreciated when listening to it outside of its in-game context. Take it from me...
Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (SNES, 1996) composed by: Yasunori Shiono
➸This game is pretty much running around to dungeons and towers and towns like Lufia I (and most RPGs, honestly), but with a better, more involving plot featuring characters with personalities, something that Lufia I was kind of lacking. One of the best things is that there are multiple dungeon themes this time! Haha.
20. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals - "Battle # 2"
➸The boss battle theme starts off with an opening build-up with a "duuuuun" similar to the Lufia song above, but it bursts into heroic trumpet afterward that recalls the fan-favorite "Final Battle" (more like final dungeon) tune from this game. The bridge section that starts at :49 is in a contrasting minor key (I think?), so it brings a twinge of despair and even a feeling of perseverance. I like how Shiono utilizes a riffing guitar as the back beat for this song (and others; I think it's part of his style).
Magical Starsign (DS, 2006) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko
➸After giving up on finishing Magical Vacation, I jumped into its sort-of sequel next. I think I preferred this game to Vacation, though this game felt very Mother 3-ish to me? Not to mention how one of the groups of antagonists are reminiscent of the Pigmasks. Anyway, Masuko's music is okay in this game. Nothing in particular really stood out to me. The songs are mostly short loops, and a good third-to-a-half of the songs are for cutscene drama anyway. And interestingly enough, I feel like the soundfont that Masuko used for this game is similar to the one for Devil Summoner... A few songs sounded familiar to me upon first listening to them for that reason. Or maybe it's just Masuko's style that I'm familiar with?
21. Magical Starsign - "Nova, Planet of Light"
➸An overworld theme that starts off slowly, but I like the instrument that takes over around :15 or so. It's a pretty chill song for a relatively short area. It's my favorite of the overworld themes, though it is short and just cycles between the plain build-up and the echoing keyboard or whatever.
22. Magical Starsign - "Spaceport"
➸This is the first song that you hear upon landing at the Wind Planet, and it's so cool and dramatic with a plodding build-up that you hope that the rest of the Wind Planet is just as cool... but then the city theme is too perky and kills it The castanet-ish percussion is interesting and what makes the song, I think, but it's ironically like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2's "Airport", at least for the first twenty seconds or so. This song is definitely less annoying, though.
Magical Vacation (GBA, 2001) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko
➸I picked up this game solely because I heard that Tsukasa Masuko had composed the music for it. And then, thirty-one in-game hours later, I got to the final dungeon and lost my save. Sigh. RIP, Lime. (I'm still bitter.) Anyway, it's an interesting game with a strange plot and a lot of characters. But it is a pretty game, and Masuko did a good job with the GBA hardware.
The audio in the following videos are all ripped from this full OST video, and the song titles are based on the English translation patch.
23. Magical Vacation - "Abyssal Realm"
➸In Japanese, the Abyssal Realm is the Plane of Death. It's the final overworld area in the game, presented as a harsh desert area with large skeletons and bones strewn about. Masuko's tune captures both that desolate creepiness and that drive to move forward through this crazy land in order to bring the story to a conclusion. The song begins with a lone, ominous back-and-forth set of notes that alternate between loud and soft throughout the rest of the tune. But around eight seconds in, the main melody kicks in with intensity and solid percussion. I like the variation, and to be honest, the section that starts around :43 sounds a little MegaTen-ish.
24. Magical Vacation - "VS Battle"
➸I've never had the opportunity to access this song in-game, obviously, but dang. Masuko is good with battle themes in general, but this is the best battle theme in the game, by far. The first ten seconds are very similar to the opening of the regular battle theme, with two loops of a little melody, but one of the first differences is the little bit of percussion buildup that starts at :05 after the first loop of the melody. After that loop finishes, the song goes all out. The percussion and Masuko's typical busy bassline give the dire melody a frantic boost. It's really a treat. I wish this would have been the regular battle theme.
Pokémon Card GB 2: GR Dan Sanjou! (GBC, 2001) composed by: Ichiro Shimakura
➸A fan translation of this game finally came out some time ago and I've been playing this off and on for a few months now. I enjoyed the music from the first game, but this sequel has some spectacular tracks as well. I need to look into Ichiro Shimakura and see what else he's done music for, because he has a great handle on eight-bit music-making. Oh, and I will admit that I haven't completed this game yet, so I may add a song after I hear everything this game has to offer!
25. Pokémon Card GB 2 - "GR Leader Battle"
➸The card duel songs in these games are excellent, and this song is no different. It's so unbelievably catchy, and I like how it's still fun even though it's basically the bad guy boss battle theme. There's no "evil" to this song at all, just a strong lead and great percussion. I have caught myself listening to this song for a week straight before. It's addicting!
26. Pokémon Card GB 2 - "GR Island Overworld"
➸This song seems almost out of place in a simple video game about trading cards -- it would fit more in an RPG with its heroic march. Shame that it can only be heard in the quickly-traversed GR overworld, as it's really catchy and well-done. I love how it builds up to a beautiful bridge at :37 that reminds me of something I'd hear in Lufia: The Legend Returns. Again, Shimakura could have picked a more sinister tune to use for the villains' home island, but this valorous tune works just as well, if not even better.
Pokémon Colosseum (GameCube, 2003) composed by: Tsukasa Tawada
➸I recently listened through soundtracks of games that I've played but never found the soundtracks to, and this one hit me like a ton of bricks. I listened to its sequel's soundtrack too, but none of the songs got me like this one's did. Probably because I spent much more time playing this game, to the point where I managed to 100% complete it.
27. Pokémon Colosseum - "Colosseum Semi-Final Battle"
➸I love how this song doesn't really sound like a typical Pokémon battle theme. If I recall correctly, it played during the Mt. Battle battles, which is where I heard it to the point that it's ingrained in my memory. I love that blaring synth that morphs into a guitar solo and then back to synth again.
Pokémon Crystal (GBC, 2001) composed by: Morikazu Aoki (Crystal-exclusive songs), Go Ichinose, Junichi Masuda (Gold/Silver songs)
➸I've been reading a Let's Play for Pokémon Crystal, and it reminded me that there are some Crystal-exclusive songs that I really like and thought I should highlight here. There are only about ten songs that are new to Crystal, and a few of them are Japan-only due to being associated with the Pokémon Communication Center that we never got, but I like the new character themes! It also seems that these Crystal-exclusive songs are Morikazu Aoki's first compositions for the Pokémon franchise, and he will continue to compose into Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.
28. Pokémon Crystal - "Eusine"
➸There were two human character themes added to Crystal, and while I like Clair's theme a good bit, I like Eusine's a bit better. I also may be a bit more biased towards him, though, for undisclosed reasons. Oops. It's a short loop that clocks in at less than thirty seconds, but it's simple saccharine energy the whole time. I can easily find myself listening to this melody on loop for several minutes at a time. That's it; there's nothing to explain about this song.
Pokémon Sun/Moon (3DS, 2016) composed by: Minako Adachi, Hitomi Sato, Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Tomoaki Oga, Hideaki Kuroda
➸I enjoyed Moon as a breath of fresh air to the Pokémon franchise. The music team shifted a bit since X/Y, with Kageyama taking his leave. In any case, it's all fitting for the game's environment.
29. Pokémon Sun/Moon - "Aether House"
➸It's a relatively short loop where techno-y sounds meet strings, with one string section playing a common leitmotif associated with the Aether Foundation. I like how it's relatively calm, but the blips are a little off-putting. Composed by Minako Adachi.
30. Pokémon Sun/Moon - "Ten Carat Hill"
➸A chill cave song that reminds me of "Yetit Petit" from Ragnarok Online a bit, especially in the intro. The synth and piano are relaxing, but then the song explodes at :43 with a bit of a random breakdown. Maybe it's there to prevent you from falling asleep? Ha. Composed by Hitomi Sato.
31. Pokémon Sun/Moon - "Vast Poni Canyon"
➸The airy pan pipes, percussion, and electric organ synth make this song pretty great. It's all frantic energy and instrumentation, but it never goes overboard. Composed by Hitomi Sato.
Pokémon X/Y (3DS, 2013) composed by: Minako Adachi, Shota Kageyama, Hitomi Sato; with rearrangements of classics by Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki, Satoshi Nohara
➸I don't know how I feel about Generation VI. Y was so... mediocre to me? It took me a long time to complete it, and part of that is because I lost interest near the end. I finally pushed myself to finish it this summer so I could start on Moon. Anyway, I need to talk about the music... Listening to the OST over the past few days, it's a very well-made soundtrack. Lots of real-life quality instruments and classical leanings; a definite evolution (ha) from the classic eight-bit sounds. Unfortunately, I don't really remember much about the game besides the last stretch that I played through this summer... So I don't really remember the context of many of the songs. So my choices may reflect that a bit, I feel. In any case, this newer generation of Game Freak composers really shines on this OST, and I'm having a hard time choosing songs to showcase...
32. Pokémon X/Y - "Kalos Power Plant"
➸I'm kind of hesitant to add this song, since it seems to be one of the fan-favorites for these games, and I didn't remember it at all until my recent listen through the OST... but I can understand why it's such a favorite. This song takes such a turn from most of the other songs on the soundtrack, and is more of a low-key techno-trance dance-ish tune with a solid beat. I enjoy the instrumentation and the futuristic feel it's given. Fitting for a power plant, I suppose. It's short, but it's pretty chill, even though there is some build-up that gives it some extra energy between the main melody loops. Composed by Shota Kageyama.
33. Pokémon X/Y - "Route 8"
➸X and Y are interesting Pokémon games in that many of the routes share themes, reducing the overall amount of route themes by a lot -- there are only six in the entire game this time. As someone who loves route themes, this seems like a bad thing, but X and Y's route themes are fantastic. They're well-worth hearing on multiple routes. I had a hard time choosing between "Route 8" and "Route 15," but I figured I should showcase Minako Adachi's talent a bit with this energetic and adventurous route theme. There are bells and strings right out of the gate, and then the brass kicks in, all while a snare drum is playing a march in the background... Ahhhhh. The strings and brass play off of each other very well as lead instruments. Unfortunately, the loop is a little less than a minute in its entirety, but it has energy and spirit for days. I don't remember what the in-game routes were like, but this is a mountainous song to me.
34. Pokémon X/Y - "Snowbelle City"
➸This was where I spent most of my time in-game once I picked it back up this summer. It's a beautiful wintery theme, with the prerequisite chimes and delicate piano, but once the strings kick in, they give the song a little layer of sadness. All of that is gorgeous, of course, but what gets me every time is when the brass kicks in around :22, melting that sadness into warm determination. Then the brass dies down into a contemplative piano solo before regrouping for the loop. I love the interchange of emotions caused by the use of the different instruments. Beautiful. Composed by Shota Kageyama.
Shin Megami Tensei (Sega CD, 1994) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko, arranged by folks from Sims
➸Okay. SMTI is one of my favorite games of all time, and its mechanical and somewhat minimalist soundtrack has something to do with that. I think it mostly has to do with the bat-crazy plot and characters that I can't stop headcanoning about, thouuuugh... Anyway, I looked into the Sega CD iteration's soundtrack to see how it was improved, and it's a mixed bag. There are several improved/rearranged tracks, but there are also several that are basically lifted straight from Masuko's Super Famicom originals. I'm kind of "eh" about the fact that the battle themes are basically the same, as so much could have been done with those. Regardless, I was very impressed with some songs, and my favorites are the ones that turned from short loops into much more fleshed-out tracks, as you will see.
35. Shin Megami Tensei - "Kichijouji"
➸First step: remind yourself of how the original "Kichijouji" sounds. Though this link is to the PSX version (because the SFC version is blocked in my country? huh??), it's still a what? 10-second loop over and over? It's sort of military in its brusqueness and seriousness, which works well enough as the first overworld theme. Then, listen to the Sega CD arrangement. Hooooly. It retains the basic few notes of the original, but adds so much more. The first ten seconds are most like the original, but each loop adds more to the song -- new elements added to the background, random mechanical sounds, and so on -- so that it builds up until a brand new melody line erupts a little after the minute mark and flutters around wildly on top of the droning original tune. I love it. It completely changes the dynamic of the song. It goes from being a militaristic march to truly encompassing the chaos going on in the world during the beginning of the game. Fantastic.
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner (Sega Saturn, 1996) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko, Toshiko Tasaki
➸I still haven't played this game. And I did something that I usually don't do -- I listened to the music to a game that I do want to play eventually. So now that this game's soundtrack has been spoiled for me, that should give me more incentive to pick up a guide and play it for myself sometime, huh? Though I am a bit hesitant to do that, since I wasn't a big fan of the party demon system in Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers. Eh. In any case, this is an alright soundtrack by two of my favorite Atlus composers. Masuko's style is as evident as ever, with his battle themes evoking his previous SMT battle themes quite closely, and Tasaki went a bit more ambient with this soundtrack like she did with Soul Hackers. It's okay stuff -- maybe I'd appreciate it more in its proper context -- but Masuko's style kind of stagnates in this release. Instead of doing something really different, he's using the same tricks and sounds as he has been since Megami Tensei. Though I think this was the last Atlus game he directly composed for, so maybe he realized that too. =\ Awh. Anyway...
36. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - "Chinatown"
➸Well, this song doesn't sound particularly Chinese instrumentally, but it has some impressive percussion right from the beginning through to the end. The lead that begins a little after thirty seconds in is frantic and all over the place. It's a pretty short song -- most tracks to this game are -- but that percussion is notably different and helps this song to stand out. Composed by Tsukasa Masuko.
37. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - "Kitayama University"
➸Another stand out among the other themes composed by Masuko that mostly remind me of some other SMT song, though this one retains the "busy bassline" that is quite his style. I like the "instruments" he picked for this song -- I can't quite tell if the main instrument mirroring the ooh-ing voice is supposed to be some kind of guitar or what, but I like it. The song's climax is nice as well with some strong piano, but as the song loops in less than a minute, it's too shoooort.
Shin Megami Tensei if... (SNES, 1994) composed by: Tsukasa Masuko
➸Finally got around to finishing this SMT side-story, thanks to the recent release of the fan translation. It reuses a lot of assets from SMTI/II, including the music. I think only the title screen, epilogue, and staff roll songs are truly original? But thankfully, a handful of reused songs have been reworked a bit with added elements and such. I think the new/altered compositions for if... show off Masuko's slight evolution from simple tunes to ones with a bit more elaboration as can be heard in the Devil Summoner soundtrack.
38. Shin Megami Tensei if... - "Domain of Envy"
➸This song is a reworked version of SMTII's "3D: Center." The original has a pretty chill synth line over Masuko's typical busy bassline/percussion, and is fine as it is, though it's rather short. The if... version is twice as long, as it adds a "piano" on top of the synth line and bass/percussion, and then goes off with it as a solo at :48 that lasts for like thirty seconds. I really love that "piano" solo, and it kind of reminds me of "Kitayama University" from Devil Summoner that is highlighted above. I could listen to this song for hours.
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse (3DS, 2016) composed by: Ryota Koduka
➸SMTIV:A is an alternate universe take on SMTIV that doesn't focus so much on Law and Chaos as it does the humans affected by the demons taking over Tokyo. Personally, I've always been more interested in the human side of the MegaTen storylines, so I really enjoyed Apocalypse. It also kind of felt like SMT meets Persona with its focus on friendships and stuff, but it was a breath of fresh air. As for the music, a good portion of the soundtrack was lifted straight from SMTIV, but there were several new songs as well. Alas, I can only pick a few to highlight:
39. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse - "Battle - f8"
➸The final battle theme, which I have to admit automatically trumps most MegaTen final boss themes in my opinion -- I'm especially looking at you, SMTII. It's definitely better than SMTIV's final boss themes, too -- likely because Koduka did not have to focus on making it sound Law-like or Chaos-like, but could go all out. The song has a strong tension from the opening blasts of sound, and it builds up through added instruments and speed changes for at least two-and-a-half minutes. That's a lot of time for variety and intricacies in the song, and I appreciate that. The song blasts into high gear around 1:20, when the plodding percussion switches gears completely, speeding up immensely and becoming very driving. Elements continue to build up in the song until it climaxes around 2:12 with, get this, the bridge of SMTIV's Tokyo battle theme, "Battle - a2." In-game, it makes perfect sense as to why that motif plays within this song, and that little detail impresses me so much. After that explosion, the song slows back down again to begin the loop. This song epitomizes what good final boss songs should sound like -- tense, high-energy, and interesting.
40. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse - "Large Map"
➸Yes, yes, how typical of me; an overworld theme. However, I really appreciate this song in contrast with SMTIV's own overworld theme; and apparently according to the comments on the linked YouTube video, I'm not the only person who heard and understood this contrast. SMTIV's "Tokyo" is gorgeous -- I think it's the better of the two overworld themes -- and it has a wide-eyed and mystic feel to it because to the characters of IV, Tokyo is a new and mysterious world for them to traverse. Apocalypse's "Large Map" opens with a similar two-second "aah" sound, but it changes direction instantly afterward. "Tokyo" is mysterious and epic, while "Large Map" is more... warm and comfortable. Which is fitting, as the heroes of Apocalypse are already familiar with Tokyo and call it home. "Tokyo"'s gorgeous keyboard and clear piano have been replaced with a warm xylophone(?) and kind of what sounds like an old, sort of distorted piano. An interesting change of instruments, for sure. The songs follow a similar structure, both building up to heavily piano sections before breaking into an epic climax before the song loops again. The "epic climax" in "Large Map" culminates with a good ten seconds of sweeping strings, which is such a nice choice against the more electric keyboard in "Tokyo." Also, interestingly, the xylophone-heavy section that starts around :30 sounds like a slowed-down version of the beat in SMTIV's Hunter Association song, which only sort of appears in Apocalypse as... a slowed-down version of itself. Hmm. In any case, I really admire how Koduka played "Large Map" off of "Tokyo" but made it so it reflected Tokyo in the eyes of the characters in Apocalypse. Though the game's plot felt utterly hopeless at times, this song exudes the life and warmth of the survivors in Tokyo, and I really appreciate Apocalypse for showing us the world through their eyes.
Tales of Legendia (PS2, 2005) composed by: Go Shiina
➸An alright Tales game with an impressive (mostly) orchestral soundtrack. I played through it this past summer after owning it for a few years, so I honestly didn't invest too much into it. However, upon listening to the soundtrack again a few months later, I'm impressed to learn that I still remember a good portion of the soundtrack and the locations in which they appeared -- something that I can't say about many of the other games I've played. Including Tales of the Abyss, which I need to replay sometime because I've woefully forgotten a lot about it, including the entire soundtrack...
41. Tales of Legendia - "Chasing Shirley"
➸An energetic piece that plays during some mission-like sections and/or dungeons in the game. It begins with a funky keyboard line, but then a strong, wild violin begins playing at :09 and takes center stage. The awesome thing is that the funk never really goes away, something I never thought I'd say about a song with a frantic violin as the lead instrument. The energy lulls around :45, where the violin is played in a more regular manner until the brass section comes blaring in with the reintroduction of the crazy violin at the minute mark. I really enjoy the juxtaposition of a classic instrument with funky undertones, and how both the frantic violin playing and the expected classical playing are both featured in the song.
42. Tales of Legendia - "Sunlight Filtering Through the Trees"
➸Ahhhh, delicate, crystalline piano -- my favorite. So beautiful. The song seemingly follows a pattern of soft buildup, a loud climax, and then over again. The climaxes are usually punctuated with brass, and it doesn't seem too out of place paired with the piano and clarinet. The piano itself plays a stronger melody at times, as well, and the song eventually also adds a violin for even more intricate buildup and release. It's a lovely interplay of instruments.
Waterworld (SNES, 1995) composed by: Dean Evans
➸I know nothing about this game, nor have I even seen the movie Waterworld. I hear it's a pretty crap game, but its music is fantastic. I first learned of this soundtrack through the list that inspired this one, the HG101 best VGM list, and I thought I'd share some of it here.
43. Waterworld - "Diving"
➸This song is almost six minutes of chill trance. It builds up in waves until it's a wall of sound that bursts at around the minute mark the first time and more intensely around the three minute mark. And there's a good bit of variation in it as well, so it's not a boring six minutes.
Wild Arms (PSX, 1996) composed by: Michiko Naruke
➸I really love early PSX games, and this one was a treat to play through. Some aspects of Wild Arms may look outdated today, like the early 3D battle models, but the music is timeless. The looping songs heard in normal gameplay are good (though short), but the streamed songs played during scenes are the highlight of the OST. The streamed songs use realistic instruments and lovely orchestration, but including them technically kind of breaks one of my rules of listing songs that can't be heard on-loop during regular gameplay... But they're so good, so I have to list at least one as a sampler.
44. Wild Arms - "Castle of Flames"
➸This streamed song plays during the first part of the prologue sequence that will play automatically during the second title screen loop (the first being the animation to "To the End of the Wilderness," a lovely tune that made spot number ten on the original HG101 best VGM list). I didn't know it existed until I was almost finished with the game. It's pretty much all xylophone(?) percussion and I think a woodwind along with some strings (I gave up on trying to guess exact instruments because my ear is so untrained) with some sudden buildup around the minute mark that dissipates just as quickly. It's kind of tense and yet quite pretty. The last twenty or so seconds of the song are a crescendo that just ends without any real resolution. There is a second song that begins with a piano solo immediately afterward, but they're separate songs on the OST so I'm not going to mention it here.
45. Wild Arms - "Migrating Birds of the Wilderness"
➸I would be remiss if I didn't mention the overworld theme. Wild Arms tries to have a Western feel to it, and it's evident in this song. People on the YouTube video mention that it sounds like an Emilio Morricone song; I wouldn't know anything about that, but I guess he's who you'd want to emulate to get that authentic Western sound. The heroic trumpets juxtaposed with those high-pitched xylophone or triangle or whatever they are notes are really nice.
Wild Arms 2 (PSX, 1999) composed by: Michiko Naruke
➸The second Wild Arms game is a step up in most respects to the first game, but the music still has a high level of quality. This game even has vocal themes, and one of them was what introduced me to this series in the first place over ten years ago (though I didn't get around to playing them until this past year, and I can't play any of the PS2 games so I might be stuck with just playing these two for now. boo.), but I can't talk about them here, sooo. The same qualm exists for WA2 as its predecessor: lots of short in-game loops, but there are really nice one-off songs that play during scenes. Oh well.
46. Wild Arms 2 - "Dungeon: Nature Type 1"
➸I had a hard time picking a dungeon theme to talk about. I like most of them pretty well, which is a plus for a game that has a lot of dungeons. Some dungeon themes sound laid-back, but this one is energetic and prime for adventuring. It even opens with an acoustic guitar flourish, haha. There's hints of the game's Western influence when a harmonica joins the song shortly before the loop. It's just that this song isn't even a minute long after two loops...
47. Wild Arms 2 - "Field: Wandering"
➸This is the definitive Wild Arms 2 song to me, besides the vocal song that I mentioned in the intro, "Resistance Line." While Wild Arms 1 had a Western-style trumpet in its overworld theme, this song has... whistling! And it works for that Western feel. It's a calm overworld theme, but I really like it. I didn't enjoy walking around and scanning for towns and other locations, but this song made it okay. Until I got into another battle.
Original 100 song list (1-50)
Original 100 song list (51-100)
Expanded list
2015 extra list
2019 expanded list