time for more game songs. 2022-
I didn't run out of room this time, but I thought a two-year gap would be a good reason to start a new page.
Last updated: 9/01/22
Arcana (SNES, 1992) composed by: Jun Ishikawa, Hirokazu Ando
➸A short and sweet early SNES dungeon crawler RPG that I played through last summer. As this game was developed by HAL Laboratory, the composers are the same fellows who worked on HAL's Kirby series. Admittedly, I've only played one Kirby game, and it was a GBA remake of one of the NES games, so I can't really go into detail on how similar these songs sound to the Kirby ones... But I will say that the songs have the slightest bit of MIDI-ish sound to them. Love that early hardware.
1. Arcana - "Conflict"
➸But today, the battle themes get to shine! This is the regular battle theme, which actually was a treat for me to hear in-game when I had to. And I had to quite a bit because the encounter rate is a tad bit high. But I didn't mind it too much -- this song's energy is infectious. I appreciate the percussion remaining a strong point in the song.
2. Arcana - "Second Armageddon"
➸The final boss battle theme. It begins in an epic fashion, as you'd expect, but then it kind of chills out a bit. It's an interesting semi-contrast to "Conflict" above. That percussion keeps it going, though, once again.
Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island (DS, 2009) composed by: Daisuke Achiwa
➸Well, I finally made it to my first Atelier game. I'm sure this DS iteration is very much watered down compared to the others, but eh. It was alright while it lasted. Very overly exaggerated characters and a hospitality management system that I didn't understand made it a little lackluster, but it was fun enough. The music also wasn't that great, but one particular song is still stuck in my head even though I beat one run of this game months ago:
3. Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island - "Cloud Buster"
➸The battle theme. I've always heard that Atelier battle themes are pretty good, and I do like this one. Something about that main instrument's sound beginning around :09 always catches my ear. And though you probably won't hear it often if ever in regular gameplay, the song actually breaks down at 1:09 for a bridge before starting all over around 1:30. The battle themes are probably the strongest on this game's soundtrack.
Energy Breaker (SNES, 1996) composed by: Yukio Nakajima, Yuusei Yamamoto, Yasunori Shiono
➸A late SNES strategy RPG by the team that made the Lufia/Estopolis games, as hinted at by Yasunori Shiono's name in the composer list for this game. He's not really involved, though, but that doesn't change the fact that this game has some pretty dang good music anyway. The songs hit that sweet spot (for me) of catchy but still obviously sixteen-bit video game music. All of the songs highlighted below were composed by Yukio Nakajima.
4. Energy Breaker - "After the Rain"
➸The water palace theme. You only get to go here once towards the end of the game, but the game has its own built-in sound check you can access through the options menu so you can listen to these songs anytime. Thumbs-up for that, haha. Anyway, the song itself is appropriately low-key with a repeating cascading chord in the background as a bass, woodwind, and percussion go at it on top. I particularly like that bass.
5. Energy Breaker - "On the Azure Horizon"
➸This one's definitely my favorite song in the game. When I first heard it, I was rather blown away. It plays at the Hount Highlands, which is also one of the last locales you'll visit in the game. And there are some tricky battles as you ascend the mountain... Thankfully, this energy-filled song is there for enjoying through the slog, haha. I like how one of the backing instruments sounds like a banjo.
6. Energy Breaker - "The Prayer Bells Will Not Toll"
➸And, lastly, the theme for the final area in the game. It's also filled with tough and tricky battles, but this song will keep you going. This is quite a varied tune, with sort-of guitar riffs in the beginning leading to a high-energy back-and-forth section that then slows down into a bridge before the loop. It's only a minute-and-a-half long before looping, but there's a lot in this song.
Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX, 1997) composed by: Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masaharu Iwata, Yukiko Mitsui, Yuko Miura
➸I'd been putting this game off for years after a first attempt ages ago made me deem it too difficult because I don't do well with perma-death. But this time I knew about the perma-death, so I made sure to not have anyone killed (or at least resurrected in time, which is hard to do at the beginning of the game), and it worked out. I really enjoyed the 80+ hours I put into the PSP port of this classic. (Though I did think the inclusion of a few choose-your-own-adventure-style mini side-stories was kind of odd? And their translations were obviously not edited...)
7. Final Fantasy Tactics - "A Chapel"
➸One of the random battle themes, which I actually knew prior to this from its inclusion in an RPG Maker game I'd played some time ago. I like its airy nature and lighter sound compared to many of the more serious battle themes. Composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto.
8. Final Fantasy Tactics - "Random Waltz"
➸Yet another random battle theme. Guess who spent a lot of time grinding JP in random battles? Haha. This is indeed a random song, with its tempo varying wildly at points. I like that, though -- it makes the song interesting and memorable. It's another airy tune composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto.
9. Final Fantasy Tactics - "Run Past Through the Plain"
➸And my favorite serious battle theme, composed by Masaharu Iwata this time. I like the dynamic between the faster tempoed backing brass and the more methodical and serious lead brass. It's definitely appropriate for a tactical game to have that urgency but also that push to slow down and plan things out before forging ahead.
Gimmick Land / Tomato Adventure (GBC/GBA, 2001/2002) composed by: Yoko Sakai, Kiyomi Tanaka
➸This one requires some explanation. Tomato Adventure is an early GBA RPG developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo as a close-to-launch title. In it, you follow hero Demille's wanderings about the Ketchup Kingdom in his attempt to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend from King Abira. It's notable for each of its Gimmick attacks being a little mini-game in of themselves -- so there were timing games, memorization games, etc. The only thing you lost out on if you failed the game was bonus damage on the enemies. All in all, a short and charming game appropriate for youngsters. (And for thirty-somethings like me...)
Well, Tomato Adventure actually started its life as Gimmick Land, a very late GBC game developed by AlphaDream. It was near completion when Nintendo approached them and asked if they could re-work the game for their new system, and that's what happened. Only a few screenshots of it existed until the 2020 Nintendo gigaleak presented the world with a prototype GBC ROM for Gimmick Land. The soundtrack was also complete and accessible in the prototype, and it's actually pretty good. I'm going to compare them a bit below.
10. Gimmick Land - "Battle!" / Tomato Adventure - "Prepared for Battle"
➸As is obvious, this is the game's battle theme. It's a really pleasant battle theme that I didn't mind listening to multiple times in the game. Between these, however, I prefer the Gimmick Land GBC version to the Tomato Land GBA iteration. The GBC version is made up of three parts -- the high-pitched lead, the percussion layer, and the bassline. They blend together well into a nice catchy package. I especially loooove that percussion being side-by-side with the lead. Tomato Land's battle theme emphasizes the bass over the percussion, which I think upsets the energy dynamic of the GBC version. It also makes the bridge pre-loop section less effective when all the instruments but the lead fade out, because the other instruments weren't as present to begin with.
11. Gimmick Land - "Mixing it Up in Gimica Card" / Tomato Adventure - "Facing Down Abira"
➸This is the first final boss battle theme. I really like the immediate energy present in this song. I think the GBC version is able to keep the energy going a bit better than the xylophone sound that Tomato Adventure uses. The xylophone is thematically acceptable, as are the rest of the song's "goofy" sounds -- King Abira is basically a giant tomato-headed baby -- but they're not as strong as the eight-bit sound. I would rather listen to the GBC version out of context than the GBA version. It's a catchy tune and the eight-bit version, well, catches that much better.
12. Gimmick Land - "On the Chopping Block" / Tomato Adventure - "Final Abira"
➸Spoiler: the final boss has two forms. This is the battle theme for his second form. I remember being pretty impressed by this song when I heard it in-game, as it's another high-energy banger. And as much as I like the eight-bit sounds of Gimmick Land, I think Tomato Adventure wins over it slightly in this case. I like the different instruments used in Tomato Adventure, as well as the ability to have more than three instruments/channels in use at one time. This shines through in two places in particular: being able to open the song with a dramatic piano instrument, and having stronger percussion during the quieter section of the song from :30-:45. Once again, the percussion makes the song. I am definitely a sucker for good percussion.
God Medicine: Fantasy Sekai no Tanjou (GB, 1993) composed by: Yuko Kurahashi, Minako Matsuhira
➸A quick-ish (I think I logged 15 hours?) GB game that I played to test out emulating GB games on my 3DS, haha. I liked how the plot was rather meta, and the point where the group was exploring the game developer's building actually had some pretty good atmosphere. Otherwise, it wasn't bad or good. It just was, haha. Though one song in particular really stood out to me:
13. God Medicine: Fantasy Sekai no Tanjou - "Kokubu Town"
➸The second real-world town theme, and the town in which the game developer's building was located. This is a darn catchy little song! And I'm not joking when I say it's "little" -- it only lasts for about thirty seconds before looping. My favorite part is the little echo that you can hear at :17 and :24. It adds character to this little song.
Ihatovo Monogatari (SNES, 1993) composed by: Tsukasa Tawada
➸What a lovely game. I spent New Year's Day 2021 (and most of that night too) playing through this gem. At that time, I had been talking with a co-worker who didn't really see the point in video games. I'd like to show anyone who has that opinion towards this game -- it's an adventure game at heart, but it's an interactive story more than anything else. It's a set of stories based on actual short stories by a real Japanese author. And it kind of makes you love life and the people you're surrounded by, no matter how strange they may be. Interestingly enough, we've seen the composer of this game on this list before. Tsukasa Tawada was the composer for Pokémon Colosseum, of all things. But this game goes to show that even ten years before then, he was just as gifted.
14. Ihatovo Monogatari - "Ihatovo Hymn"
➸This is the title screen music, but there's a lot to it at the same time. It's powerful, enchanting, warm, and uplifting. According to the wiki for the Minna de Kimeru Game Ongaku Best list that 2ch does every year (which was the basis of the HG101 list that inspired this one), this song has ranked in nearly every yearly "best of" list because it's stuck with so many people. It might have more power in context with playing the game and remembering it fondly, though. In any case, I think there was even a recent orchestral performance of the works from this game? So the game has not been forgotten. Again, I'd recommend playing it sometime. It's quick but it's nice.
The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki (PSP, 2010) composed by: Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama, Masanori Osaki (Falcom Sound Team jdk)
➸Yay, baby's first Falcom game. Unless you count me failing at Faxanadu as a kid. I played through Zero last fall and loved it. I think I put a good 100+ hours into it. Falcom sure knows how to make an engrossing story and characters and the music isn't half bad, either. I did start its sequel, Ao no Kiseki, but I haven't touched it since April... I need to get back to it soon.
15. The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki - "Between Forgotten Visions"
➸A mystical and pretty dungeon theme. I love those cascading chime-ish sounds and the lead woodwind is a nice touch. The dungeon it plays in is a pretty location, too, so it's an all-round nice atmosphere. Composed by Saki Momiyama.
16. The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki - "Schwarz Auktion"
➸Music used for a specific chapter of the game, but it also comes back near the beginning of Ao no Kiseki, the sequel. The team is on an undercover mission at this fancy (and mostly illegal) party, so I think the song fits that feeling quite nicely. There's the tension of it being a mission given by that lead low-pitched woodwind (cello? viola?) instrument, but it's off-set by the peppy bridge at 1:03 that displays the grandeur of the event. I like how all the parts come together quite nicely. Composed by Masanori Osaki.
17. The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki - "Terminal Room"
➸Hehe, an instant favorite of mine when heard in-game. This song is linked to locations dealing with the game's internet analogue, though instead of a server room it's a terminal room. It's a peppy, dance-y, sorta cheesy tune and I like that. And even though the terminal room is pretty tiny, this song is almost a minute-and-a-half long. I love that extra effort! Composed by Masanori Osaki.
Metal Max 2 ReLoaded (DS, 2011) composed by: Satoshi Kadokura
➸Well, yeah. As soon as the English fan translation of ReLoaded dropped, I was all over that thing. I kind of blame it for me getting away from playing Ao no Kiseki... This is a DS remake of the SFC Metal Max 2. It takes Metal Max 3's engine and refines it further into a really fun game. I really, really like this game series... And Kadokura's music remains a treat each time.
18. Metal Max 2 ReLoaded - "Fox Trot"
➸A dungeon theme, and cousin to MM3's "Trap Trot." I remember being intrigued by it the first time I heard it in the game, haha. I really love Kadokura's penchant for these minimalist dungeon themes. It's all built around a constant xylophone-ish "ba-dum ba-dum ba-da-bum-bum" beat. Percussion flares up and goes wild around that beat. It builds up until it dies back down suddenly for the loop over a minute into the song. I love it.
19. Metal Max 2 ReLoaded - "Labyrinth Hunt"
➸Another dungeon theme. It starts off kind of on the minimalist side, but after about a minute in you get these rolling guitar riffs and the song builds to a climax that suddenly dies off into silence for the loop. I really like how Kadokura plays with dynamics in these dungeon themes. It helps them stay interesting, because honestly, dungeon exploring deserves more than a thirty-second loop. Haha.
20. Metal Max 2 ReLoaded - "Vengeance"
➸Yet another dungeon theme, but one that plays in specific areas overtaken by the big baddies of the game. That might explain the song's almost militaristic tone and its hint of, I don't know, duty? Seriousness? Something I like about Kadokura's compositions is his mix of synth and guitar, and this song is a good example of that.
Metal Max Xeno Reborn (PS4/Switch, 2020) composed by: Satoshi Kadokura
➸Uh, well, suffice to say I haven't played this game. Nor do I know if I'll ever get a chance to. I am familiar with these songs through the Metal Max 30th Anniversary soundtrack box set. Though I did find out recently that it also came out for the Switch, so maybe I'll get to play it one day if I ever get one? Even so, I have read that fans of the series consider this a weaker entry, so who knows... I have watched a little gameplay via Japanese videos of the game, both Xeno and Xeno Reborn, and yeah. I'll talk about that some below.
21. Metal Max Xeno Reborn - "Battle Ground"
➸This song is exclusive to Reborn, and it plays when an enemy on the map targets you and you enter combat mode. In Xeno, you could attack enemies on the map but if you didn't kill them in one hit, you'd go into a regular RPG turn-based battle to a souped-up rendition of the MM3 battle theme. But in Xeno Reborn, you just stay in a back-and-forth battle on the world map. It's... eh. I like regular turn-based battles better. But this song kind of makes up for it? The low-key intro bit will play when an enemy locks onto you on the map, so that's your cue to either run out of its battle range or get ready to fight. I like that little marriage of audio and gameplay. After those first fifteen-or-so seconds, though, the song ramps up and you're almost certainly in combat mode at that point. The song takes a little while to get past a more low-key percussion-led state, but guitars jump in a little before the minute mark. The song continues to layer up from there. There's quite a bit to it, and yikes if you're in a battle long enough to hear all of the song... Maybe if you get stuck fighting an enemy that endlessly calls for reinforcements, haha. Been there... All in all, I'm glad they gave an exclusive battle theme to Xeno Reborn instead of sticking with the MM3 battle theme.
22. Metal Max Xeno Reborn - "Beyond"
➸The first overworld theme in both Xeno and Xeno Reborn. I don't know if there are others? But I'll leave "first" in case. It's really, really different than the usual heroic on-foot or rock-ish in-tank overworld themes, that's for sure. Choral voices and acoustic guitar take the place of synth and electric guitar. It gives the impression that going out into this new world is eye-opening and awe-inspiring, and I was kind of hoping that with this fancy 3D rendition of a favorite game series of mine, but... it's just a desert, lowl. To be expected, really, but it's less "last survivor"-ish than I was hoping. Oh well. It's still a pretty theme, even if the in-game context isn't nearly as impressive as I headcanoned it to be.
23. Metal Max Xeno Reborn - "Dreaming of Wheels"
➸This is the main Iron Base theme in Xeno Reborn. The Iron Base is your main hub in the game, where all the partner characters and the main character reside. Shops and repairs and all that stuff too. From what I could tell, anyway. The Iron Base theme in Xeno is fine too, but this one is much warmer and chill. Like the group really is one family together in the Base. It's a nice and relaxing tune.
Terranigma (SNES, 1995) composed by: Miyoko Kobayashi, Masanori Hikichi
➸After having this game recommended to me almost ten years ago, I finally took the summer of 2021 to play it through. And it really is a fun action RPG, even if the ending is kind of unsatisfying. Oh well. Endings are endings, right? Eh. As a later SFC game, it certainly delivers in the music department, as well. All the following tunes were composed by Miyoko Kobayashi.
24. Terranigma - "Evergreen"
➸This chill piece is only played in the Amazon dungeon once it's completed. That's kind of a shame, because this is a nice and lengthy song that unless you idle in this random place that you can't do anything in, you'll never hear the whole song. It's a calming tune that I think serves a dual purpose to the game's plot -- you just saved the forest from poisoning, so the forest is back to being chill; but there's also a slight lilt of victory and the triumph of life in the song as well. And that's kind of what the whole game is about.
25. Terranigma - "Top of Saint Mountain"
➸The theme for the mountainous dungeons. Since you'll be running around a lot in dungeons, it's good that this song is a minute-and-a-half long. And it's quite varied, as well. It opens a little ominously, then gets somewhat plodding, but the real meat of the song lies within the last thirty seconds, from 1:00 to 1:30. That's my favorite section of the song.
26. Terranigma - "Zue"
➸A somewhat frantic, tribal-sounding tune for the frantic African dungeons. I really like the percussion on this one. And like above, the section directly before the loop (around :50) really shines. I kind of wish this song was longer, though, because you spend a lot of time in the game listening to it.
Original 100 song list (1-50)
Original 100 song list (51-100)
2015-2016 48 song list
2016-2019 47 song list
2019-2020 48 song list
The one-more-song extra list, A-M
The one-more-song extra list, N-Z
Last updated: 9/01/22
Arcana (SNES, 1992) composed by: Jun Ishikawa, Hirokazu Ando
➸A short and sweet early SNES dungeon crawler RPG that I played through last summer. As this game was developed by HAL Laboratory, the composers are the same fellows who worked on HAL's Kirby series. Admittedly, I've only played one Kirby game, and it was a GBA remake of one of the NES games, so I can't really go into detail on how similar these songs sound to the Kirby ones... But I will say that the songs have the slightest bit of MIDI-ish sound to them. Love that early hardware.
1. Arcana - "Conflict"
Click to view➸But today, the battle themes get to shine! This is the regular battle theme, which actually was a treat for me to hear in-game when I had to. And I had to quite a bit because the encounter rate is a tad bit high. But I didn't mind it too much -- this song's energy is infectious. I appreciate the percussion remaining a strong point in the song.
2. Arcana - "Second Armageddon"
➸The final boss battle theme. It begins in an epic fashion, as you'd expect, but then it kind of chills out a bit. It's an interesting semi-contrast to "Conflict" above. That percussion keeps it going, though, once again.
Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island (DS, 2009) composed by: Daisuke Achiwa
➸Well, I finally made it to my first Atelier game. I'm sure this DS iteration is very much watered down compared to the others, but eh. It was alright while it lasted. Very overly exaggerated characters and a hospitality management system that I didn't understand made it a little lackluster, but it was fun enough. The music also wasn't that great, but one particular song is still stuck in my head even though I beat one run of this game months ago:
3. Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island - "Cloud Buster"
➸The battle theme. I've always heard that Atelier battle themes are pretty good, and I do like this one. Something about that main instrument's sound beginning around :09 always catches my ear. And though you probably won't hear it often if ever in regular gameplay, the song actually breaks down at 1:09 for a bridge before starting all over around 1:30. The battle themes are probably the strongest on this game's soundtrack.
Energy Breaker (SNES, 1996) composed by: Yukio Nakajima, Yuusei Yamamoto, Yasunori Shiono
➸A late SNES strategy RPG by the team that made the Lufia/Estopolis games, as hinted at by Yasunori Shiono's name in the composer list for this game. He's not really involved, though, but that doesn't change the fact that this game has some pretty dang good music anyway. The songs hit that sweet spot (for me) of catchy but still obviously sixteen-bit video game music. All of the songs highlighted below were composed by Yukio Nakajima.
4. Energy Breaker - "After the Rain"
➸The water palace theme. You only get to go here once towards the end of the game, but the game has its own built-in sound check you can access through the options menu so you can listen to these songs anytime. Thumbs-up for that, haha. Anyway, the song itself is appropriately low-key with a repeating cascading chord in the background as a bass, woodwind, and percussion go at it on top. I particularly like that bass.
5. Energy Breaker - "On the Azure Horizon"
➸This one's definitely my favorite song in the game. When I first heard it, I was rather blown away. It plays at the Hount Highlands, which is also one of the last locales you'll visit in the game. And there are some tricky battles as you ascend the mountain... Thankfully, this energy-filled song is there for enjoying through the slog, haha. I like how one of the backing instruments sounds like a banjo.
6. Energy Breaker - "The Prayer Bells Will Not Toll"
➸And, lastly, the theme for the final area in the game. It's also filled with tough and tricky battles, but this song will keep you going. This is quite a varied tune, with sort-of guitar riffs in the beginning leading to a high-energy back-and-forth section that then slows down into a bridge before the loop. It's only a minute-and-a-half long before looping, but there's a lot in this song.
Final Fantasy Tactics (PSX, 1997) composed by: Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masaharu Iwata, Yukiko Mitsui, Yuko Miura
➸I'd been putting this game off for years after a first attempt ages ago made me deem it too difficult because I don't do well with perma-death. But this time I knew about the perma-death, so I made sure to not have anyone killed (or at least resurrected in time, which is hard to do at the beginning of the game), and it worked out. I really enjoyed the 80+ hours I put into the PSP port of this classic. (Though I did think the inclusion of a few choose-your-own-adventure-style mini side-stories was kind of odd? And their translations were obviously not edited...)
7. Final Fantasy Tactics - "A Chapel"
➸One of the random battle themes, which I actually knew prior to this from its inclusion in an RPG Maker game I'd played some time ago. I like its airy nature and lighter sound compared to many of the more serious battle themes. Composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto.
8. Final Fantasy Tactics - "Random Waltz"
➸Yet another random battle theme. Guess who spent a lot of time grinding JP in random battles? Haha. This is indeed a random song, with its tempo varying wildly at points. I like that, though -- it makes the song interesting and memorable. It's another airy tune composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto.
9. Final Fantasy Tactics - "Run Past Through the Plain"
➸And my favorite serious battle theme, composed by Masaharu Iwata this time. I like the dynamic between the faster tempoed backing brass and the more methodical and serious lead brass. It's definitely appropriate for a tactical game to have that urgency but also that push to slow down and plan things out before forging ahead.
Gimmick Land / Tomato Adventure (GBC/GBA, 2001/2002) composed by: Yoko Sakai, Kiyomi Tanaka
➸This one requires some explanation. Tomato Adventure is an early GBA RPG developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo as a close-to-launch title. In it, you follow hero Demille's wanderings about the Ketchup Kingdom in his attempt to rescue his kidnapped girlfriend from King Abira. It's notable for each of its Gimmick attacks being a little mini-game in of themselves -- so there were timing games, memorization games, etc. The only thing you lost out on if you failed the game was bonus damage on the enemies. All in all, a short and charming game appropriate for youngsters. (And for thirty-somethings like me...)
Well, Tomato Adventure actually started its life as Gimmick Land, a very late GBC game developed by AlphaDream. It was near completion when Nintendo approached them and asked if they could re-work the game for their new system, and that's what happened. Only a few screenshots of it existed until the 2020 Nintendo gigaleak presented the world with a prototype GBC ROM for Gimmick Land. The soundtrack was also complete and accessible in the prototype, and it's actually pretty good. I'm going to compare them a bit below.
10. Gimmick Land - "Battle!" / Tomato Adventure - "Prepared for Battle"
➸As is obvious, this is the game's battle theme. It's a really pleasant battle theme that I didn't mind listening to multiple times in the game. Between these, however, I prefer the Gimmick Land GBC version to the Tomato Land GBA iteration. The GBC version is made up of three parts -- the high-pitched lead, the percussion layer, and the bassline. They blend together well into a nice catchy package. I especially loooove that percussion being side-by-side with the lead. Tomato Land's battle theme emphasizes the bass over the percussion, which I think upsets the energy dynamic of the GBC version. It also makes the bridge pre-loop section less effective when all the instruments but the lead fade out, because the other instruments weren't as present to begin with.
11. Gimmick Land - "Mixing it Up in Gimica Card" / Tomato Adventure - "Facing Down Abira"
➸This is the first final boss battle theme. I really like the immediate energy present in this song. I think the GBC version is able to keep the energy going a bit better than the xylophone sound that Tomato Adventure uses. The xylophone is thematically acceptable, as are the rest of the song's "goofy" sounds -- King Abira is basically a giant tomato-headed baby -- but they're not as strong as the eight-bit sound. I would rather listen to the GBC version out of context than the GBA version. It's a catchy tune and the eight-bit version, well, catches that much better.
12. Gimmick Land - "On the Chopping Block" / Tomato Adventure - "Final Abira"
➸Spoiler: the final boss has two forms. This is the battle theme for his second form. I remember being pretty impressed by this song when I heard it in-game, as it's another high-energy banger. And as much as I like the eight-bit sounds of Gimmick Land, I think Tomato Adventure wins over it slightly in this case. I like the different instruments used in Tomato Adventure, as well as the ability to have more than three instruments/channels in use at one time. This shines through in two places in particular: being able to open the song with a dramatic piano instrument, and having stronger percussion during the quieter section of the song from :30-:45. Once again, the percussion makes the song. I am definitely a sucker for good percussion.
God Medicine: Fantasy Sekai no Tanjou (GB, 1993) composed by: Yuko Kurahashi, Minako Matsuhira
➸A quick-ish (I think I logged 15 hours?) GB game that I played to test out emulating GB games on my 3DS, haha. I liked how the plot was rather meta, and the point where the group was exploring the game developer's building actually had some pretty good atmosphere. Otherwise, it wasn't bad or good. It just was, haha. Though one song in particular really stood out to me:
13. God Medicine: Fantasy Sekai no Tanjou - "Kokubu Town"
➸The second real-world town theme, and the town in which the game developer's building was located. This is a darn catchy little song! And I'm not joking when I say it's "little" -- it only lasts for about thirty seconds before looping. My favorite part is the little echo that you can hear at :17 and :24. It adds character to this little song.
Ihatovo Monogatari (SNES, 1993) composed by: Tsukasa Tawada
➸What a lovely game. I spent New Year's Day 2021 (and most of that night too) playing through this gem. At that time, I had been talking with a co-worker who didn't really see the point in video games. I'd like to show anyone who has that opinion towards this game -- it's an adventure game at heart, but it's an interactive story more than anything else. It's a set of stories based on actual short stories by a real Japanese author. And it kind of makes you love life and the people you're surrounded by, no matter how strange they may be. Interestingly enough, we've seen the composer of this game on this list before. Tsukasa Tawada was the composer for Pokémon Colosseum, of all things. But this game goes to show that even ten years before then, he was just as gifted.
14. Ihatovo Monogatari - "Ihatovo Hymn"
➸This is the title screen music, but there's a lot to it at the same time. It's powerful, enchanting, warm, and uplifting. According to the wiki for the Minna de Kimeru Game Ongaku Best list that 2ch does every year (which was the basis of the HG101 list that inspired this one), this song has ranked in nearly every yearly "best of" list because it's stuck with so many people. It might have more power in context with playing the game and remembering it fondly, though. In any case, I think there was even a recent orchestral performance of the works from this game? So the game has not been forgotten. Again, I'd recommend playing it sometime. It's quick but it's nice.
The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki (PSP, 2010) composed by: Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama, Masanori Osaki (Falcom Sound Team jdk)
➸Yay, baby's first Falcom game. Unless you count me failing at Faxanadu as a kid. I played through Zero last fall and loved it. I think I put a good 100+ hours into it. Falcom sure knows how to make an engrossing story and characters and the music isn't half bad, either. I did start its sequel, Ao no Kiseki, but I haven't touched it since April... I need to get back to it soon.
15. The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki - "Between Forgotten Visions"
➸A mystical and pretty dungeon theme. I love those cascading chime-ish sounds and the lead woodwind is a nice touch. The dungeon it plays in is a pretty location, too, so it's an all-round nice atmosphere. Composed by Saki Momiyama.
16. The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki - "Schwarz Auktion"
➸Music used for a specific chapter of the game, but it also comes back near the beginning of Ao no Kiseki, the sequel. The team is on an undercover mission at this fancy (and mostly illegal) party, so I think the song fits that feeling quite nicely. There's the tension of it being a mission given by that lead low-pitched woodwind (cello? viola?) instrument, but it's off-set by the peppy bridge at 1:03 that displays the grandeur of the event. I like how all the parts come together quite nicely. Composed by Masanori Osaki.
17. The Legend of Heroes: Zero no Kiseki - "Terminal Room"
➸Hehe, an instant favorite of mine when heard in-game. This song is linked to locations dealing with the game's internet analogue, though instead of a server room it's a terminal room. It's a peppy, dance-y, sorta cheesy tune and I like that. And even though the terminal room is pretty tiny, this song is almost a minute-and-a-half long. I love that extra effort! Composed by Masanori Osaki.
Metal Max 2 ReLoaded (DS, 2011) composed by: Satoshi Kadokura
➸Well, yeah. As soon as the English fan translation of ReLoaded dropped, I was all over that thing. I kind of blame it for me getting away from playing Ao no Kiseki... This is a DS remake of the SFC Metal Max 2. It takes Metal Max 3's engine and refines it further into a really fun game. I really, really like this game series... And Kadokura's music remains a treat each time.
18. Metal Max 2 ReLoaded - "Fox Trot"
➸A dungeon theme, and cousin to MM3's "Trap Trot." I remember being intrigued by it the first time I heard it in the game, haha. I really love Kadokura's penchant for these minimalist dungeon themes. It's all built around a constant xylophone-ish "ba-dum ba-dum ba-da-bum-bum" beat. Percussion flares up and goes wild around that beat. It builds up until it dies back down suddenly for the loop over a minute into the song. I love it.
19. Metal Max 2 ReLoaded - "Labyrinth Hunt"
➸Another dungeon theme. It starts off kind of on the minimalist side, but after about a minute in you get these rolling guitar riffs and the song builds to a climax that suddenly dies off into silence for the loop. I really like how Kadokura plays with dynamics in these dungeon themes. It helps them stay interesting, because honestly, dungeon exploring deserves more than a thirty-second loop. Haha.
20. Metal Max 2 ReLoaded - "Vengeance"
➸Yet another dungeon theme, but one that plays in specific areas overtaken by the big baddies of the game. That might explain the song's almost militaristic tone and its hint of, I don't know, duty? Seriousness? Something I like about Kadokura's compositions is his mix of synth and guitar, and this song is a good example of that.
Metal Max Xeno Reborn (PS4/Switch, 2020) composed by: Satoshi Kadokura
➸Uh, well, suffice to say I haven't played this game. Nor do I know if I'll ever get a chance to. I am familiar with these songs through the Metal Max 30th Anniversary soundtrack box set. Though I did find out recently that it also came out for the Switch, so maybe I'll get to play it one day if I ever get one? Even so, I have read that fans of the series consider this a weaker entry, so who knows... I have watched a little gameplay via Japanese videos of the game, both Xeno and Xeno Reborn, and yeah. I'll talk about that some below.
21. Metal Max Xeno Reborn - "Battle Ground"
➸This song is exclusive to Reborn, and it plays when an enemy on the map targets you and you enter combat mode. In Xeno, you could attack enemies on the map but if you didn't kill them in one hit, you'd go into a regular RPG turn-based battle to a souped-up rendition of the MM3 battle theme. But in Xeno Reborn, you just stay in a back-and-forth battle on the world map. It's... eh. I like regular turn-based battles better. But this song kind of makes up for it? The low-key intro bit will play when an enemy locks onto you on the map, so that's your cue to either run out of its battle range or get ready to fight. I like that little marriage of audio and gameplay. After those first fifteen-or-so seconds, though, the song ramps up and you're almost certainly in combat mode at that point. The song takes a little while to get past a more low-key percussion-led state, but guitars jump in a little before the minute mark. The song continues to layer up from there. There's quite a bit to it, and yikes if you're in a battle long enough to hear all of the song... Maybe if you get stuck fighting an enemy that endlessly calls for reinforcements, haha. Been there... All in all, I'm glad they gave an exclusive battle theme to Xeno Reborn instead of sticking with the MM3 battle theme.
22. Metal Max Xeno Reborn - "Beyond"
➸The first overworld theme in both Xeno and Xeno Reborn. I don't know if there are others? But I'll leave "first" in case. It's really, really different than the usual heroic on-foot or rock-ish in-tank overworld themes, that's for sure. Choral voices and acoustic guitar take the place of synth and electric guitar. It gives the impression that going out into this new world is eye-opening and awe-inspiring, and I was kind of hoping that with this fancy 3D rendition of a favorite game series of mine, but... it's just a desert, lowl. To be expected, really, but it's less "last survivor"-ish than I was hoping. Oh well. It's still a pretty theme, even if the in-game context isn't nearly as impressive as I headcanoned it to be.
23. Metal Max Xeno Reborn - "Dreaming of Wheels"
➸This is the main Iron Base theme in Xeno Reborn. The Iron Base is your main hub in the game, where all the partner characters and the main character reside. Shops and repairs and all that stuff too. From what I could tell, anyway. The Iron Base theme in Xeno is fine too, but this one is much warmer and chill. Like the group really is one family together in the Base. It's a nice and relaxing tune.
Terranigma (SNES, 1995) composed by: Miyoko Kobayashi, Masanori Hikichi
➸After having this game recommended to me almost ten years ago, I finally took the summer of 2021 to play it through. And it really is a fun action RPG, even if the ending is kind of unsatisfying. Oh well. Endings are endings, right? Eh. As a later SFC game, it certainly delivers in the music department, as well. All the following tunes were composed by Miyoko Kobayashi.
24. Terranigma - "Evergreen"
➸This chill piece is only played in the Amazon dungeon once it's completed. That's kind of a shame, because this is a nice and lengthy song that unless you idle in this random place that you can't do anything in, you'll never hear the whole song. It's a calming tune that I think serves a dual purpose to the game's plot -- you just saved the forest from poisoning, so the forest is back to being chill; but there's also a slight lilt of victory and the triumph of life in the song as well. And that's kind of what the whole game is about.
25. Terranigma - "Top of Saint Mountain"
➸The theme for the mountainous dungeons. Since you'll be running around a lot in dungeons, it's good that this song is a minute-and-a-half long. And it's quite varied, as well. It opens a little ominously, then gets somewhat plodding, but the real meat of the song lies within the last thirty seconds, from 1:00 to 1:30. That's my favorite section of the song.
26. Terranigma - "Zue"
➸A somewhat frantic, tribal-sounding tune for the frantic African dungeons. I really like the percussion on this one. And like above, the section directly before the loop (around :50) really shines. I kind of wish this song was longer, though, because you spend a lot of time in the game listening to it.
Original 100 song list (1-50)
Original 100 song list (51-100)
2015-2016 48 song list
2016-2019 47 song list
2019-2020 48 song list
The one-more-song extra list, A-M
The one-more-song extra list, N-Z