The thing about Metal Gear’s music is that it is typically slower and more labourious, as it is incredibly reflective of the games’ slower pacing. The music for a Metal Gear game is always going to be ever-linked to what is going on onscreen, thus the tones are incredibly subtle, the tension is something you could cut with a knife, every scene of the game seem s to have its own cue, and essentially—because of how the games are designed and laid out—the scores seem to be rather reminiscent of a military film score.

In this sense, it feels as though Metal Gear’s typical framework is permanent. It has a set style and a set point to which it furiously holds onto. There are certainly some outliers here and there (ex: Love Deterrence, the single CD which I have the pleasure of owning), but usually the series sticks to a certain sound, a certain quality, and a certain type of pacing.

What I love about Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is that it throws all of that away and does something incredibly new and different. Everything about the game feels different from the standard Metal Gear Solid game: from its name, to its developer, to the de-emphasis of stealth, the emphasis of Raiden as a main and sole character, Raiden taking enemies’ weapons and using them for his purpose, and a large amount of other differences. This large difference ended up carrying over into the soundtrack. One young fellow by the name of Jamie Christopherson composed it and took charge of the game’s music direction, realizing that the game needed high-octane music to make the player understand the pace of an action game fixated on combat, faster pacing, and a focus on cinematic-style combat. Add in Maniac Agenda taking some tracks and giving them their own spin, Akira Takizawa doing the Platinum Mixes, and Logan Mader, Pete Crossman, James Chapple, David Kelly, and Graeme Cornies taking part in the vocal tracks, and you have one hell of a collaborative effort.

While the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Original Soundtrack doesn’t get a lot of pull around here, I do feel like I should give it some thought. I liked Metal Gear Rising’s take on Ganbare Goemon. All three of them, from the Original, to the low-key version, to the Blade Mode version. It isn’t very often that we hear some of Konami’s other IPs’ music in other games lately, and I am happy to see that someone took the initiative and put two and two together.

I also genuinely like the Virtual Reality themes. Virtual Reality’s best portion is its backing, not necessarily its distortion or its feedback. It crosses that line into dubstep just a little, but much like other themes on the soundtracks that employ it, it doesn’t go too far into that territory to make it completely dominate the track. On the flipside, Virtual Reality (Low Key Version) takes away most of the backing in favour of distortion and minor synth sound/feedback. I adore it when themes use that lack of rhythmic sound to create something so ambient and meaningful, to the player in particular. Chasing the Wind and Endurance also share that high-octane theme that the vocal themes on the soundtrack employ.

I do enjoy the vocal themes and the vocal themes’ progression more, particularly because the game’s claim to fame is its boss battles. That is absolutely not an understatement. I certainly do feel like the game’s vocal themes are happily reminiscent of a lot of the music I had listened to when I was younger: from industrial rock to punk rock to alternative to various other rock subgenres. As someone who used to play the guitar incredibly often when I was younger, I am so absolutely thrilled to have a soundtrack like this in my possession, or rather more to the point, as a part of the VGM “subgenre”. If I were younger and less busy, I would more than likely learn to tab some of these themes out, while being heckled by my guitar instructor to coordinate something with my vocal coach to play while singing. I just can’t help but to think I’d be sitting in my high school classes with a few of my buddies listening to a few sides of several earbuds put through a splitter just so we could listen to this soundtrack together while shooting the shit.

Remember when I wrote about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in 2011 and emphasized soundtrack dynamics as the main selling point behind that soundtrack? You could listen to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance’s soundtrack over and over, love the themes, but not completely understand what exactly makes the soundtrack so good. When you finally see the music in action alongside what you are doing in-battle, it is only then that you will appreciate the sheer beauty and best technical aspects of this soundtrack.

The Vocal Track soundtrack starts off with RULES OF NATURE, sung by James Miller (whom you may recognize from gODHEAD). Rules of Nature does so many things for the soundtrack’s progression. Not only does it start off slowly and takes time for the vocals to kick in (thus setting the tone for how the rest of the vocal themes in the game-proper tend to fluctuate between instrumental and lyrical portions), it also sets the tone that the majority of the game’s vocal music has: a mid/late-90s to early 2000s industrial sound. The thought hadn’t occurred to me while playing it and listening to it in the car, but now actively analyzing it, it is so reminiscent of the music I listened to in the late 90s/early 2000s. That’s what made this soundtrack so listenable and so special for me. Without realizing it, it was a sheer blast from the past with a lovely blend of the best parts of present-day music for me. Even just having James Miller there in both Rules of Nature and Red Sun (which leans a little more into industrial metal than industrial rock), I instantly think of a ton of industrial bands because those vocalists have that certain quality. It’s so easy to confuse industrial rock and industrial metal, but with that said, this soundtrack overall has both genres in spades.

The first time I’d ever heard a kidneythieves song was on the Queen of the Damned soundtrack; a song called Before I’m Dead. Granted, it was by then I was transitioning into listening into more alternative rock/90s rock/punk rock as opposed industrial metal and industrial rock, so I certainly didn’t hop onto the kidneythieves train at the time. Even then, it wasn’t often I listened to female rock vocalists at the time—especially in that genre—but I noted, and rightfully so, according to my vocal coach, that the lead vocalist had good diction. So fast-forward almost 11 years later when I am playing through Metal Gear Rising, get to a boss fight, and somewhat recognize a voice but not completely pick up on it. Then I import the soundtrack, read the liner notes, and realize that Free Dominguez’s name is on the soundtrack credits. Boy, that name sure sounded familiar. While Stranger I Remain is not as hard as kidneythieves’ current work, it certainly sounds more traditionally industrial. So that’s why I talk about Stranger I Remain so often if you’ve managed to talk to me off of GAF with respect to my soundtrack choices. It’s very important to me, not only as a lyrical piece and a dynamic piece, but also because it does give me a bit of a blast from the past. Deus Ex: Invisible War also features a few kidneythieves songs from their Trickster album. I also believe Free Dominguez’s voice was featured in Dissidia Duodecim’s God in Fire.

I have elected to link to a “full mix” version that a YouTube user has uploaded even if it is not the highest quality (Original Version; Platinum Mix; Instrumental/Platinum Mix) because it demonstrates what I would like to talk about. The biggest thing about Metal Gear Rising’s soundtrack is how dynamic it is. Additionally, the lyrics serve as backstories for each boss character you fight, whether it’s discussing how a storm can only allow hatred to remain despite washing away reasons for fighting or peace, a French character feeling like she’s a constant stranger who only considers the battlefield her home, slaves to countries giving up their free will forever, or two people fighting acknowledging that they’re the same.

I feel like A Stranger I Remain is one of my favourite tracks on the soundtrack, if not my favourite. I genuinely like the piano backing, and it’s my favourite part of the theme to be honest. I always love it when someone blends piano with other string instruments. I even love the shredding (I always used to love calling that ‘dirty guitar playing&#8217. Everything about the song from its instrumentation to its lyrics to its vocalist is just superb. The riffs are excellent to listen to. Logan Mader and Len Rizzo did such an excellent job with each guitar portion of the track, and the bass is always so wonderful to listen to. I’m also deeply in love with Ralph Mader’s drumming. Logan Mader, who mixed the track, knew exactly what he was doing and did it right. The theme opens with a bang, carefully works its way through the instrumental as you’re at a slight disadvantage, and then as the combat’s climax hits, the lyrics come rushing out with the strongest part of the theme, and then as the boss battle ends, the finality of the conclusion of the song’s lyrical and compositional structure is mixed and carried out so well in-game that it feels like an utter joy to Zandatsu the boss.

The next track I would like to shed some light on is The Stains of Time. Both Stains of Time and A Soul That Can’t Be Cut were sung by Kit Walters of Scapegoat. Stains of Time also features Johnny Death (Before the Mourning) and Nita Strauss (Consume the Fire—she did the Dragonforce bits) on guitar. Logan Mader (Machine Head – yes, that Machine Head) was on guitar and bass (not just for this track, but for the majority of the soundtrack). Stains of Time also has several versions (Maniac Agenda Mix, instrumental (original)). The original version lacks a distinct case of wubwub, but in any case, Stains of Time typically veers into DragonForce and dubstep/electronic direction, but it just has a minor touch of it, and doesn’t completely immerse itself into the genre. I do think it works for the best since it makes the theme far more balanced, and because the culmination of the theme in terms of the dubstep/mixing/electronic truly works incredibly well for a wonderful finish. It’s wonderful having the vocals kick in at just the right moment when the second half of the fight begins right with the chorus.

Canadian Graeme Cormies worked on Dark Skies and I’m My Own Master Now. Both themes tend to veer into the dub and electronic sound that The Stains of Time ran into. They’re a little atypical of what I listen to, but they certainly fit the bosses in terms of architecture and progression. Cormies does an excellent job on vocals.

Collective Consciousness starts with the presidential suite, and then firmly and quickly casts it out to demonstrate why the player shouldn’t fuck with the senator with Jimmy Gnecco on vocals. The lyrics in this song are so awesomely cheesy, but the song sounds so reminiscent of 1980s rock, it isn’t even funny. It’s a careful blend of excellently-mixed vocals, 80s rock, dubstep, and electronic influence. The harmonies are incredibly on-the-mark, and they make the song so enjoyable to listen to. The bridge and conclusion sound so destructive and heaped in distortion that it’s a fitting end.

Finally, the strongest theme on this soundtrack truly has to be It Has To Be This Way (original version, instrumental (Platinum Mix)). It is used during the strongest fight in the game, the strongest boss in the game, and when the player should be at their strongest. This was also sung by Ours lead vocalist Jimmy Gnecco. I think what I like the most about this theme is how it’s applied in-game. If you’re doing terribly even though the vocals kicked in, the vocals get drowned out if you’re suddenly attacked and in the boss’s clutches. If you’re at an advantage, the vocals kick in again. Again, the vocalist does an excellent job, and the harmonies are an absolute joy to listen to. It sounds more rock-infused, despite having the Platinum Mix accompanying the theme. Best part of this theme, instrumentally, to me is the drum-playing by Ralph Alexander. It gives the theme its heavier nature.

The quality of both the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance Original Soundtrack and Vocal Tracks truly cannot be understated. Metal Gear Rising’s Vocal Tracks, in particular, successfully deconstructs, autoclaves, rebuilds, and remasters Metal Gear’s sound direction completely. It took the regular and limited Metal Gear sound and threw it out the window in favour of music that reaches new heights and becomes completely and utterly unpredictable, especially in a dynamic sense. It is certainly, and rightfully so, one of the most confident and impeccable soundtracks of 2013. It is an excellent rock opera. If there is a sequel to Metal Gear Rising, I definitely can’t wait for the sequel to the Metal Gear Rising Vocal Tracks. So, congratulations to Jamie Christopherson. I’m very eager to see what he will do next.​

I ignored Bravely Default’s soundtrack last year because I knew I would be playing the game somehow in 2013, and that actually happened. While the game was great and let me down in its second half due to its horrendous pacing, the music was consistently a treat to listen to.

Revo is known in Japan for his fantasy bands: Sound Horizon and Linked Horizon . You will probably know him from the Attack on Titan theme songs, to be honest. Looking up Revo’s repertoire and what instruments he could play is something else. He isn’t any stranger to releasing music on the internet, nor is he any stranger to releasing doujin music, having participated in Comiket. Sound Horizon went from composing themes songs for games like Chaos Wars and Belle Isle to including a bunch of big-name acts like Megadeth’s Marty Friedman and Hatsune Miku. Now with their new project Linked Horizon, they’ve started to compose for video games and themes for anime including Attack on Titan’s Guren no Yumiya.

With respect to Bravely Default’s soundtrack, the entire product sounds wonderfully-mastered, with the quality of the instruments being preserved and properly-mixed. I don’t get to hear this on soundtracks that often, so it’s quite a pleasure to hear on the final product that I usually put in a CD player or in my car. The soundtrack’s sound itself doesn’t veer into a completely retro domain, opting not to use chiptune sets or older sounds like FM or anything like that, but it ends up sounding fairly nostalgic because of the pacing of the tracks, and also because of certain sounds that are employed. A few days ago, I spoke to another GAF member and sent them some sound samples and they did note that despite not using retro soundfonts, it sounded so much like a SNES-era soundtrack and I’m very happy to see that other people picked that up as well.

I don’t particularly think as much of Prelude Moving Toward Hope, the game’s title theme (which essentially introduces the game’s prime motif), but with that said, it’s very reminiscent of a sound that Sakimoto would have used a while ago. While it begins with slower pacing, it shifts into a bombastic orchestrated affair. What’s nice is that it blends piano passages reminiscent of Sakuraba’s work (and coincidentally, Motoi Sakuraba plays the piano and organ on this soundtrack) with the orchestrated portions, and it’s mixed so well and seamlessly. The main theme of Bravely Default is used throughout the entire soundtrack, like the music box theme Toward That Prayer (supplemented with great sinister riffs, and an amazing violin melody). The game’s menu theme Eternity’s Moment is a very cute music box theme, fit with chimes to signify a loop and great backing percussion. It’s rather unintrusive and it fits its purpose. The main motif is also repurposed in this silly bombastic version of it in Foolish Event, which sounds like it fit right into a Disney film. Shrine Maiden’s Prayer essentially builds upon Toward That Prayer’s music box introduction.

Land of Beginnings is the first town’s theme that has a wonderful sense of duality to it. It may be fairly majestic to begin with, with a lot of brass, but it’s also fairly humble, which is where the strings and woodwind come in right after its introduction. Land of Sand and a Large Clock is the theme for the game’s second town, which is, as you can hear based on sitar/woodwind/percussion use, a desert town. I’m fairly fond of its tendency to actually progress into a downbeat segment with the woodwind harmonies leading the charge. The Fascinating Flower Country, Florem’s theme, is awfully Mediterranean and European in what instruments it employs. The reliance on strings ends up making the theme sound awfully elegant for obvious reasons. Truly, many of the town themes fit their in-game counterparts.

Sinking Land sounds fairly reminiscent of, and it’s more than likely it’s because I’m so used to the themes in that game being like this given that it revolved around water, some of Mitsuda’s guitar work in some themes in Chrono Cross. With that said, the ensemble part is, again, reminiscent of Sakuraba’s earlier works. I think Land of Civil War is one of the best town themes on the soundtrack. While it introduces the town’s industrial capacity for armour manufacturing in the beginning, it moves into an awesome section with a piano breakdown with frenetic/off-beat percussion, and builds up in a more harmonious, rhythmic, and exciting phase focusing on a heroism touch as opposed to the dour industrial phase. Finally, my favourite town theme is Land of Immortality, particularly because it has backing percussion. Typically snow themes sound so distant and lacking with little rhythm. This has bass and guitar in spades combined with piano, with a wonderful woodwind portion that still provides meaning to the track. Sunlight Filtering Through the Trees isn’t really a “town” theme, but it still is an area theme which is incredibly reminiscent of older happier town themes demonstrated by its bass, guitar, percussion progression, and piano progression.

Beneath the Hollow Moon is definitely one of my favourite tracks on the soundtrack. It sounds so Celtic infused, and it doesn’t seem overarranged or overcomposed. The woodwind and string harmony is so beautiful and the acoustic backing reminds me so much of Chrono Cross (which is my favourite soundtrack ever) that I can’t help but to adore it. World of Scattering Flowers is most definitely reminiscent of older Suikoden sad themes given its tendency to build upon layers and have various movements. Strained Time is the sort of theme I would expect to hear in fantasy horror game like Shadow Hearts, but I truly do love how it builds to a frantic head with creepy strings trying to blend into the theme.

It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to hear an airship theme, but Ship Soaring Through the Heavens is truly one of the best airship themes out there. If I can say so, it’s my favourite airship theme ever. It combines the main motif so seamlessly and heroically, while opening with a wonderful electric guitar intro playing nicely into a piano melody. It’s a wonderful and better arrangement of the world map theme’s, Horizon of Light and Shadow, use of the main motif. With that said, I truly feel like Horizon of Light and Shadow is a little reminiscent of some Suikoden work and I can’t put my finger on exactly why. I suppose it’s the ‘humility’ I feel from it. Ship Racing Across the Ocean is very reminiscent of Koichi Sugiyama’s work in Dragon Quest. It essentially seems to use the same sort of instrumentation and pacing that a Dragon Quest ship theme would use in the context of the Symphonic collections that Sugiyama typically works on. The strings blend in incredibly well with the brass.

The dungeon themes on the soundtrack are also top-notch. I haven’t heard dungeon themes like these in years. Silence of the Forest, while coincidentally sharing the name with one of his own pieces, sounds very much like a theme Mitsuda would have worked on if he still worked in that vein of sound. It sounds incredibly ethereal and uses the synthesizers in the right way, while letting the piano carry the piece. Cave of Darkness, used for multiple dungeons, uses strings so elegantly and harmoniously with the piano to create a dour atmosphere that I haven’t heard in a Square(soft) RPG in a while. Infiltrating Hostile Territory’s magical instruments are its bass and guitar, and it isn’t so often that we get to hear those two instruments in a dungeon setting to hear something fairly often unless they are outright trying to crib from a spy film. My favourite bit of that track is honestly the violin bit in combination with the melodic bass. Truly, the best part of playing Bravely Default was with headphones on to hear how all of these instruments worked in-tandem.

The character themes on this album are incredibly solid. This is truly the first time that I’ve ever been satisfied with every single character theme on a soundtrack before. All of the character themes are played when you use the characters’ super attacks/use a Friend Summon. You Are My Hope is a Celtic character theme for Tiz Arrior, reminiscent of the humble and rustic charm of the first town’s theme, yet also being incredibly heroic leading up to the woodwind and bagpipe breakdown. Wind’s Direction is a romantic (as in the era) theme for Wind Vestal Agnes Oblige, with a focus on romantic strings, gentle plucking, and wonderful violin work. Baby Bird is a theme I hear a lot because a lot of my Friend Summons seem to love using Edea Lee. It’s a happy pop-rock theme with some jazzy stylings, especially with the soprano saxophone being played by Makoto Hirahara. Finally, Love’s Vagrant is the hottest character theme on the soundtrack (especially when you watch the concert video of Revo rocking out while playing his accordion). Tetsuya Kuwayama plays the accordion on the soundtrack version of the theme, accompanied by flamenco guitar, electric guitar, castanets, bass and piano. It’s the best character theme I’ve heard in years.

On to the battle themes. I would put these battle and boss themes up there with the best of Falcom’s. It has been a terribly long time since I have been able to say that I like every single battle theme on a soundtrack in a genuine fashion. Conflict’s Chime does a lot of neat things, but superficially, it combines the new-age rock guitar with the old/retro brass. It’s essentially progressive rock in combination with brass. What it’s very reminiscent of is Grandia/Lunar work… which in turn means that it reminds me quite a bit of Idaware’s work. The breakdown before the loop makes the entire theme worth it to me. Signs of the Enemy Invasion is also fairly reminiscent of Kenji Ito’s work in Romancing SaGa with updated instrumentation. That Person’s Name Is, the Asterisk boss theme[/url] is one of the best RPG battle themes I’ve heard all year, particularly because it sounds a lot like a Falcom theme, bearing the guitar and violin trademark blend and proper mixing/alternating. The second phase of the theme is so delightful to hear with beat drops, frenetic pacing, and a great way to end the loop. Fighting to the End, the Crystal Boss battle theme, features Marty Friedman on guitar and Motoi Sakuraba on the electronic organ… which should truly come as no surprise given that it absolutely positively sounds like an arranged Sakuraba prog rock. I especially love the small bridge bit where most of the rhythm drops out and then builds back up again, because it features the best shredding in the theme overall. It even has a neat organ solo.

Finally, the last few themes on the soundtrack are undecidedly Revo-like. While I’ve been drawing comparisons to other composers’ work, Revo takes it home with his own take on things. Wicked Thing is a fairly special boss theme clearly featuring Atsushi Hasegawa on bass, Marty Friedman on guitar, and Motoi Sakuraba on the keyboard. It’s truly one of the best themes on the soundtrack with guitar, bass, and keyboard mini-solos. This theme’s motif carries on into the final battle themes of the game. Wicked Battle incorporates Wicked Thing’s motif into the theme but focuses heavily on guitar and synth melodies, and continuously builds upon its base with more instrumentation and keeps progressing throughout the theme’s duration. Truly give this one a listen. Wicked Flight opens with a great lead synth melody with rock influence, but predominately focuses on orchestrated melodies. The second portion is truly awesome, launching into a more heroic passage using the game’s main motif with great harmonies.

The best track is the final boss theme Serpent Devouring the Horizon which obviously pulls everything out, including a live choir, heavier guitar riffing, harder percussion, and brass. As with the previous two tracks, this track doesn’t loop. It keeps going. A piano version of the main motif and building it into the main theme’s instrumentation is seamlessly introduced, and then transitions back into the sinister atmosphere that the theme originally had, with more organ, synth, and a carnivalesque electric guitar before finally blending all of the character themes. It’s so wonderful to hear this in action live as the theme is going in-game. It truly ties all of the game’s music together and truly does make the characters themselves feel like a true-blue team. It’s certainly one of the best final battle themes I’ve heard in the last five years, if not the best.

Ballad Moving Toward Hope is a theme that has been featured on Revo’s Linked Horizon project before. Joelle’s voice (and we’ve encountered Joelle before on the Final Fantasy XIII-2 original soundtrack) blends so incredibly well with Revo’s, creating a melancholy and beautiful harmony. It isn’t often that we hear vocal themes for video games like this, so I will certainly take it.

I suppose what I appreciate the most about the Bravely Default soundtracks is that while it uses some complicated design and instruments, the whole product ends up sounding incredibly simple. Nothing seems overarranged or glaringly outstanding (in a bad way). Furthermore, every single theme on this soundtrack finds a way to progress and have more than one section as opposed to staying in one position and then looping that one segment. You can easily feel like the theme progresses. Instead of sounding like a showpiece for an anime come to life with some retro RPG touches like a certain other game’s soundtrack did, Revo gives Bravely Default his own touch from Sound Horizon’s general sound while still staying true to the game’s theoretical design era. It feels like a complete journey through all of the music that Japanese-developed RPGs exhibited, but with Revo’s take on it. This is the way it should be done, folks. I’d love to see Revo compose for more video games.​

This was an obvious pick as well. It was actually difficult to rank this one because there are just so many good soundtracks this year. But yes, this is this year’s Falcom album. Sen no Kiseki streamlines a few things, but this is our first ever glimpse into Erebonia through Class VII. With that said, this is one of those times where I feel like the Kiseki games’ soundtracks sound really good by virtue of having live instruments in some places and better sound samples instead of the iffy sound samples they typically employ (especially in the first two Sora games), so I hoped that would impact the soundtrack fairly well.

Skipping over the fairly triumphant and introductory Prelude –Age of Upheaval-, the OP theme Pulse Towards Tomorrow’s motifs carry on throughout the soundtrack a little. The theme is really catchy, with Kanako Kotera’s vocals being nicely harmonized, and Masaru Teramae’s skillful guitar-playing.

Atrocious Raid is actually one of the themes that opens the game, so it ends up giving players a great first impression of the newer quality samples that are in-use. It’s also a theme with great progression and how it’s used in-game is just great. It truly gives the player a great jolt of energy because it sounds very Falcom in terms of how it’s arranged and how it’s produced, but also because the synth sounds incredibly triumphant, and has a great section steeped in piano and synth before proceeding into a more triumphant and heroic section. It sounds super-cool before it loops back into its intro. By a similar token Risking Everything, Here We Stand called right back to it with a more triumphant intro.

The game has several schoolish themes, such as Refreshing Morning, Back to the Dorm, Evening Moments, Leisure Day, Brain-wracking Test, and Afterschool Hours. I’m terribly fond of Afterschool Hours because it’s simply surprisingly funky with some neat electronic piano. I just feel like each of these themes do their job, but when you’re thinking of a Falcom soundtrack, you aren’t exactly thinking of themes like these. Given the game’s new setting of a schooltime adventure, you’re probably going to notice a few themes that sound like that they dropped right out of a later-series Persona game. Game of Blades is this awesome jazzy track whose samples and instrumentation are things that I wouldn’t necessarily expect to find in a Falcom game. It has fantastic percussion, and a wonderful piano backing. Everything about the theme is catchy and fairly easy to listen to. Sound of Rainfall at the Academy is fairly decent and peaceful piano theme with nice piano backing. The classic Falcom violin makes the entire thing sound better.

Oddly enough, I find Paper-Thin Offense and Defense one of the better and catchier themes on the soundtrack, regardless of what I have to say about the synth. It’s incredibly catchy with a dance backing, and loops very nicely with a great bassline. To Become the Foundation of an Era works along the same lines with a violin harmony lead. The end result is a truly powerful track, excellent in its usage.

Skies of a Strange Land is one of Falcom’s best field themes, with an outstanding violin lead and violin harmony in its second portion with a great guitar backing. It’s an absolute joy to listen to in-game, and it loops fairly nicely. Through the Canyon Road feels so quintessentially Eiyuu Densetsu with how ethereal it sounds with a major focus on its piano melody and intermittent synth, then extending into its violin melody. Land of Blue Skies is legitimately my favourite field theme in the entire game. It reeks of older PS1 RPGs like Chrono Cross (hell, I think it uses the same samples in some places) and Suikoden to boot. More often than not, though, it truly is reminiscent of Chrono Cross’s music, and has a brilliant synth flute lead.

I think we’re all here for the battle themes anyway. They’re among the best in the Kiseki series (even if I still like 3rd’s the most). The Glint of Cold Steel leaves an excellent first impression on the player with respect to the game’s battle themes. Tie a Link of ARCUS! may not be filled with the best synth ever at the beginning (in fact, I genuinely dislike the synth used here as it reminds of the horrendous synth Falcom used in the early to mid-2000s), but as soon as the violin and guitar take the reins, the theme sounds fantastic with great violin and guitar harmonies. It’s one of the better battle themes in the game when it takes off. Don’t Be Defeated By a Friend! is guitar-driven battle theme, though with that said, I’m not as huge a fan of it because I don’t necessarily like the synth employed in it. Even if Driven to a Wall is this very neat chaotic guitar-driven battle theme that reaches its dissonance phase when the violin and synth jump in. It gets points for originality.

Eliminate Crisis! is fairly demonstrative of Falcom using better samples than they usually do. It has some hints of the game’s OP theme, and (and I had to spoil myself on this because I had never played it before Sen), I feel like it links fairly well with Ao’s A Miracle is Shown. It’s arranged very well, and the instrumentation used fits so well with what’s going on. This is definitely one of my favourite battle themes on the soundtrack. Machinery Attack is steeped in electric piano and heavy synth which makes it one of the more interesting battle themes on the entire soundtrack, especially when it jumps into its second portion with more harmonious synth with a piano interlude. Belief is a very awesome guitar-driven Falcom theme with some piano interlude and synth organ. It’s frenetic and as expected of Falcom.

Exceed is a super-cool boss theme, with excellent riffs and wonderful guitar play by Masaru Teramae. The track progresses incredibly well with an amazing pre-loop, so it’s just something that you truly must listen to.

With that said, I feel as though the dungeon themes in the game are fairly good. The game’s old school ruins theme Investigation has an excellent mid-portion with the synth flute and great piano backing overall. Into the Abyss is one of my favourite Kiseki dungeon themes in general, since it sounds like it stepped off of one of the Super Arrange albums. The violin melody is gorgeous, and the piano backing makes the theme sound more earnest. The second portion with synth is absolutely gorgeous. Castle of the Saints is one of the better dungeon themes on the soundtrack with a piano backing but it’s carried through with great synth flute and violin melodies and harmonies. Awakening Legend reminds me an awful lot of Banquet of Frenzy in its percussion, but even with that in the back of my head, I still enjoy the theme a lot.

The final boss theme The Decisive Collision has a beautiful piano intro, which leads into a synth main melody. With that said, I don’t necessarily think it’s the best battle theme on the soundtrack, or even the best final boss theme in the series. To be honest, I think A Mighty Power is a little better despite being a little more one-note as I feel like it ties into the game’s main theme a little better. It’s absolutely fitting in context because of things you’re doing in the final battle in-game, but I certainly feel as though Dreamy and Boisterous Holy Land and Azure Arbitor are better final battle themes in the series. With that said, since this is the first chapter in Sen’s branch of the series, I think it is a little unfair to compare it directly to the final chapter final boss themes in any case. The ending scene theme The Only Hope is especially fitting and that’s the only thing I’ll say, haha. Let’s just say that there’s absolute reason to invest in a sequel.

The rock ending theme I Miss You is certainly dissonant from what you’d expect to hear during the credits given what you’d just witnessed. It’s certainly one of the more upbeat ending themes in the series because I expected to hear something more soothing in a sea of greyscale/black/white. In any case, the theme’s incredibly catchy and ends up coming out as one of the better credits themes in the series simply for the sake of being a little different.

I am unsure as to what to say other than this album is one of the best Kiseki albums produced. I think it’s absolutely more consistent than Zero no Kiseki’s was, but it’s not as consistent as Sora no Kiseki 3rd’s. With that said, I find a lot of the in-between themes stronger than the usual final boss/final dungeon themes that Falcom is fairly well-known for. It’s one of the better first chapter albums in the Kiseki series, or maybe even the Eiyuu Densetsu series in general.​

The Gyakuten Saiban games have had a long legacy of excellent music, with a whole slew of arrangement albums to boot. With that said, I feel as though Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies has the best soundtrack out of all of the games due in part to better-quality samples, theme arrangements, and overall composition. Dual Destinies’s soundtrack is filled with prevailing motifs, from character motifs to thematic motifs to returning themes that fans of the series know well and love.

Prologue opens the soundtrack with a slew of various themes and thematic portions of the soundtrack in combination. It doesn’t necessarily seamlessly blend them well, but it works in context. In any case, Courtroom Lobby ~ Prelude to the Future seems to extend from Gyakuten Saiban 4’s reliance on bass, but add some of Phoenix’s own flair to the conversation with piano, guitar, and some synth. Trial plays off of the older trial themes but gives the original melody better backing with better-quality samples, and enhances it, making the theme far more dramatic and fitting of a courtroom trial.

The new cross-examination themes Questioning~Moderato 2013 and Questioning~Allegro 2013 are kind of weird to me because they have this weird time-signature. I don’t see that time signature every day, so it makes the themes more interesting. With that said, I think both themes are among the better cross-examination themes in the entire series. The new Announce the Truth theme for 2013 is an amazing take on the original composed 12 years before. It takes on a more tragic note, adding organs and better sound samples than ever before. Suspense 2013 sounds far more sinister than its original counterpart. Similarly, the improvements also go for Investigation ~ Core 2013, Great Revival 2013, Magical Girl 2013, and With Pearly 2013.

The new Pursuit theme is very good, one of the best in the series. It uses the prevailing instrumentation throughout the entire soundtrack with brass, a constant bassline, and a catchy melody to make its intent clear to the player. The new Detention Center theme is also very good with better string and synth samples.

Both Phoenix Wright and Apollo Justice have their themes arranged to sound more elegant. Objection! 2013 has more bass drive accompanying the now-familiar violin-played melody. Apollo gets two themes to his name, both arrangements of his original one. The more sombre I’m Fine! with this absolutely wonderful bass backing and emerging violins with a piano melody, and The Start of a New Chapter! 2013 sounding far more triumphant and more confident with a peppy piano and synth melody leading the way with a guitar bridge.

With that said, the best themes on the soundtrack are the original ones. Nocturnowl pointed out Athena’s themes, and rightfully so. Those are the best themes on the soundtrack for me, never mind that Athena was well-written. Her upbeat theme Let’s Do This! is a peppy synth-filled melody, but where Athena seems to shine is in the courtroom. Bringer of Revolution! is one of the best character themes of the year, with an excellent melodic bass backing, awesome percussion with tons of cymbals and tambourines, and great synth and brass. The progression of the theme is excellent, with the build-up to the bridge of the loop and the brass supporting the way. It’s definitely one of the catchier character themes of the year. The distorted music box version of her theme in Sad Memories is one of the best-arranged versions of that theme on the soundtrack. The most interesting version is The Depths of the Depths of the Heart which is a distorted music box version of her theme. I’m very much a fan of those sort of arrangements.

I also find the additions of Mood Matrix, Wandering Heart, and Arafune Aquarium very pleasant to listen to. Two of them sound incredibly twisted (and essentially one is a cross-examination theme), and the other is a tender, sentimental theme. Departure from Regret is certainly the better out of the sentimental client/suspect pity themes.

The Dark Days of the Law and Phantom~Unknown are two themes I like putting together, not just because they’re right after each other on the soundtrack disc, but because they’re so reflective of what the game is trying to convey. Ace Attorney 5 is a little darker than the other games, I feel. The Dark Days of the Law is certainly a good piece that continues to be sombre throughout, with the bass adding to that, not just the overlaying ensemble. Getting to the brass section of the theme is the direst part of the theme. Phantom~Unknown is one of my favourite final villain themes in the series, because it uses a whole slew of instruments and movements to get its point across, as though it’s difficult to figure out, but it’s one singular entity. There are these strange breaks in the rhythm that’s completely unbecoming of a normal piece, but I enjoy it for that.

Gyakuten Saiban 5’s soundtrack is one of the best soundtracks in the entire series, and certainly one of the most consistent soundtracks in the series. I don’t think there are a lot of themes I dislike. Even the NPC themes, which I tend to tire of in the other Gyakuten Saiban soundtracks, are very good, and well-composed. The soundtrack certainly benefits from its arrangements, and especially its better sound samples. It is definitely one of the best put-together soundtracks of 2013.​

Aside from the fact that some of my favourite games of 2013 were developed by Simogo and scored by Daniel Olsén, I truly felt that the best aspect of Device 6 was its sound design. It’s also very interesting reading how the game’s music was actually made. Essentially the soundtrack—and the game, it feels like—is rooted in 1960s sound. So you have a lot of brass and strings being prevalent throughout the entire soundtrack.

Device 6 might open up with something that sounds like a computer opening, but it quickly switches into a spy flair, complete with swing, string, woodwind, and brass. I do love how it progresses with irregularities appearing throughout, and its conclusion has so much conviction and outright states its finality with a loss of backing and a strong finish. Our Past Products is a great music box rendition of the theme’s motif.

This is certainly one of the better spy-sounding soundtracks, using lower pitch and touchy percussion to its advantage, especially in Porte Pluto. Code Erotica sounds incredibly relaxed with some great brass, some swing, and a fairly jumpy and peppy melody. Mark Magnum blends that spy sound right with some distortion and brass to make it sound more menacing. Ritual Tape is smack right out of that era right down to the structure and instrumentation, which makes incredibly pleasing in terms of being a blast from the past. Alpha, Beta, Cocktail sounds exactly what you think it’ll sound like, with the strings and synth overshadowing its more peaceful soundscape. Lounge Meringue, by contrast, might be a little more palatable for people to listen to, as it lacks that distortion. It’s certainly one of the more ‘fun’ tracks on the soundtrack.

Oculus Opium fits into the game’s sound design so well, and it’s evocative of this through the use of distortion. Garden Festivities is loaded with distortion accompanying the woodwind, completely turning the theme from zen to something else. Radio Calculation does exactly the same thing, with the distortion being completely prevalent in the game’s sound design, making it incredibly unsettling to hear.

Revelation Haze is one of the more interesting themes on the soundtrack since it progresses a little more and its pitch is low. It’s fairly difficult for me to describe, so have at it. It’s one of my favourites on the soundtrack.

Jonathan Eng’s Anna is an awesome acoustic/brass theme, with great lyric mastering and great vocals. It’s incredibly catchy and is one of the better vocal themes of the year.

In any case, Device 6’s soundtrack probably sounds incredibly foreign and odd to people who probably haven’t played the game, but I can certainly say with complete and utter assurance that everything about it works contextually in the game. Device 6 features some of the best sound design in a video game this year, and the music truly favours that assertion. The way everything works in that game is utterly fantastic, right down to the game’s music direction. Given Olsén’s work on Year Walk, it will be interesting to see what he does next.​