Well, i want to dedicate this thread to those who would like to talk about their favourite in-game music. Believe it or not, a games soundtrack does play into my final purchase decision to some degree. Over the years, i have grown rather fond of various developers just because of how they handled a games audio track.
My fav developer in that regard would be "Gust". They've got some really talented people working in their sound department. 2D sprite RPGs may not be everyones cup of tea, but for every game they produce, you can be sure they'll create some really catchy tunes that will never grow boring or will grate on your nerves. Amazingly enough, they incorporate lots of different genres in a single title, ranging from classical works to purely modern, instrumental stuff as well as vocal variations (jpop and jrock).
My current fav would be the Mana Khema 2 soundtrack.
Mana Khemia 1 also had a nice one (that title is already available in the US)
Another recent title that blew me away with fantastic audio performance was tri-Crescendos "Trusty Bell" or "Eternal Sonata". The game features many of Frédéric Chopins' classical compositions, since he's a central figure to the game, as well some of Motoi Sakurabas' finest works (he's mostly known for his compositions for the "Tales of.." series, Star Ocean series and his works on Valkyrie Profile).
It's hard to pick an example for this masterpiece, since every single track is so beautiful. Here's a warning however: Should you look up a few examples on youtube DON'T READ THE COMMENTS unless you really want to get spoiled, in case you haven't played the game yet...which i urge you to do.
Anyway, here's the main battle theme, since you'll probably end up hearing that one quite a lot
Another noteworthy series would be Xenosaga (especially for Yuki Kajiuras work on part 2 and 3, i'm a huge fan of her works). It's a shame they had the series end prematurely after part 3, since it's one of the finest i've ever had the privilege to play. It's a bit hard to really categorize Kajiuras style..it's basically a "love it" or "hate it" thing i would think, with nothing much inbetween. My fav track would be from the KOSMOS vs. T-elos fight on part 3, "Hepatica". It's a more quiet, sorrowful song in contrast to the faster paced, "epic" stuff in the series.
Okay, that's probably good enough for a start, i can't possibly list every single game/title right now. Still, i hope that some of you might want to share your thoughts about good gaming soundtracks.
Cheers!^^
My fav developer in that regard would be "Gust". They've got some really talented people working in their sound department. 2D sprite RPGs may not be everyones cup of tea, but for every game they produce, you can be sure they'll create some really catchy tunes that will never grow boring or will grate on your nerves. Amazingly enough, they incorporate lots of different genres in a single title, ranging from classical works to purely modern, instrumental stuff as well as vocal variations (jpop and jrock).
My current fav would be the Mana Khema 2 soundtrack.
Mana Khemia 1 also had a nice one (that title is already available in the US)
Another recent title that blew me away with fantastic audio performance was tri-Crescendos "Trusty Bell" or "Eternal Sonata". The game features many of Frédéric Chopins' classical compositions, since he's a central figure to the game, as well some of Motoi Sakurabas' finest works (he's mostly known for his compositions for the "Tales of.." series, Star Ocean series and his works on Valkyrie Profile).
It's hard to pick an example for this masterpiece, since every single track is so beautiful. Here's a warning however: Should you look up a few examples on youtube DON'T READ THE COMMENTS unless you really want to get spoiled, in case you haven't played the game yet...which i urge you to do.
Anyway, here's the main battle theme, since you'll probably end up hearing that one quite a lot
Another noteworthy series would be Xenosaga (especially for Yuki Kajiuras work on part 2 and 3, i'm a huge fan of her works). It's a shame they had the series end prematurely after part 3, since it's one of the finest i've ever had the privilege to play. It's a bit hard to really categorize Kajiuras style..it's basically a "love it" or "hate it" thing i would think, with nothing much inbetween. My fav track would be from the KOSMOS vs. T-elos fight on part 3, "Hepatica". It's a more quiet, sorrowful song in contrast to the faster paced, "epic" stuff in the series.
Okay, that's probably good enough for a start, i can't possibly list every single game/title right now. Still, i hope that some of you might want to share your thoughts about good gaming soundtracks.
Cheers!^^