• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

NeoGAF's Official Game Soundtracks of the Year 2012 (Voting Ended)

H

Herla

Member
1. Guild Wars 2
2. Binary Domain
3. Persona 4 Arena

Honorable Mention: Sleeping Dogs (while great it's mostly licensed stuff)
 
V

vladdamad

Member
1. Journey
2. Gravity Rush
3. Darksiders II

Journey was a revelation for me, the way the music was woven into the gameplay, and how it dynamically changed depending on what was on the screen was nothing short of magical. One of the best games of this generation, and one of the best videogame soundtracks ever.
 
S

Sophia

Member
1. Kid Icarus: Uprising
2. Persona 4 Arena
3. Guild Wars 2

Honorable mention to Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams too. Dat Machiane Supremacy.
 
S

Shaneus

Member
Thoraxes said:
That's the thing I like about this thread is that not everyone judges it based on this. Everyone has a different reason why something is their favorite. I tend to look at the music as something isolated from its medium regardless of what that medium is, then analyze it and figure out why I like it from a different perspective. The integration into the game is something I look at as secondary to the music itself because good music can be in bad games, and I think it's unfair to the music to be lumped in the same category as the game it appears in, especially if it's really good music.
Click to expand...
That's a really interesting way of looking at it! I come from a slightly different perspective and while I don't disagree with anything you said, I think there's something to be said for games that can not necessarily integrate the music (whether it be gameplay driven or just static, pre-recorded) but allow it to become a part of the experience.

Whilst great music should be rewarded regardless of how it relates to the game and the theme, if it can be great on it's own AND match the game it was written/collected for then it becomes truly special.

For a timely, appropriate example, I *adore* electronic music. The music in Hotline Miami is exceptional without a doubt and I can appreciate it without the game. But the game took the music to another level. The music itself became music from the era and the world in which the game was set. And in turn, the music adds another layer to the game to draw you into it's world.

If I had to write an essay on what I thought a good game soundtrack should be, I could write it on Hotline Miami. I don't know if I could do that with many (if any) other games... with the possible exceptions of Tetsuya Mizuguchi's works in the Rez and the Lumines series of games.



Fuck, apologies for breaking up the thread with that, guys. Didn't mean to vomit all those words!
 
Clear

Clear

CliffyB's Cock Holster
1. Journey
- Austin Wintory's score was the perfect aural accompaniment to the most sublime experience if the year.

2. FFXIII-2
- Another huge, and hugely diverse, soundtrack from SE. Sure there are questionable choices (Crazy Chocobo) but the ghostly sirens in the self-dismantling end dungeon with Naoshi Mizuta's ethereal Chaotic Labyrinth playing was for me as perfect a FF moment as Hamauzu's Wandering Flame sequences in FFX.

3. Dragon's Dogma
- If nothing else, the single most memorable game title-tune of the year. And the rest of the score is pretty good too!
 
A

A Huge Battleship

Member
After sitting down to think about it, I realised I've only played about five 2012 releases. So yeah.

1. Rosenkreuzstilette Freudenstachel
GENESIS BLADE
Illusion Field
Frozen Air

Mishmash of doujin/free artists worked on this. Wingless Seraph and UNLIMITED HELLEST were the standouts in my opinion.

2. Takkoman
When the World Comes
Something the Power Told
Channel Seaside

Whole OST was by Illucalab (as far as I'm aware), who effectively did everything on Takkoman. Could well have been my no.1, but I think I quasi-subconsciously marked it down for drawing (intentionally) on a number of Touhou themes.

3. Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk2
Kirihirake! Gracie☆Star
GO→Love & Peace
Solid Park

Mainly for the OP/ED (both by 5pb artists), though the battle theme's no slouch either.
 
D

Denzar

Member
1. Max Payne 3
2. Lollipop Chainsaw
3. Hotline Miami


Honorable mentions for Assassins Creed III, Journey, The Walking Dead and Mass Effect 3.
 
L

LuuKyK

Member
1. Final Fantasy XIII-2 ~ One of the most diverse OSTs I've ever heard. Maybe because it had three amazing composers working together. It goes from classic, to eletronic, to bossa, to chillin music. Amazing OST. A clear favorite for me.

2. Journey ~ It is able to give you that feeling of wonder and emptiness at the same time. Hits you when it is needed. Very effective.

3. Persona 4 The Golden ~ The P4 OST is one of my personal favorites so there is no way it wouldn't make my top 3. The uniqueness defines it. It has those songs that, the moment you hear them, it makes you remember of the game/part of it you played, even if a long time has passed since that happened.
 
A

AleeN634

Member
1. Kid Icarus Uprising - Capturing a nice mix of high action and adventure, I found the Kid Icarus soundtrack was great orchestral music that really captured the spirit of the stages they were played in.
2. Gravity Rush - A beautiful soundtrack that's an excellent mix of action pieces and slower city exploration ones.
3. Journey - Journey's soundtrack perfectly captures the emotions they want you to feel in the scenes where they are played.

Honorable Mentions:
Persona 4 The Golden - the new additions are a nice complement to the original soundtrack.
Nintendo Land - The loading music was nice and catchy and hearing the remixed Nintendo tracks was a treat.
Double Dragon Neon - I didn't love every track in the game, but it matches the 80s aesthetic very well. Also the ending song was one of the best all year.
Little Big Planet Karting - Featuring remixed LBP1 tracks and a whole set of new tracks, LBP Karting has high energy music to match the chaotic nature of the courses.
 
L

laika09

Member
1. Final Fantasy XIII-2 - I'm a huge fan of the direction they've taken with this, and I hope LR:FF goes the same way. Bringing in Mizuta and Suzuki to complement was a master stroke, as were the clear acoustic cues to the first game. They've created a very clear, fun, distinctive identity. And holy shit they wrote a *lot* of music.

2. Hotline Miami - Yeah, it's a compilation, but no soundtrack (compiled or original) sets the tone for a game more than this one did - perhaps ever. Specific tracks now trigger a response in my brain to go fuck up some Russians.

3. Journey - Left without comment.

Absolutely incredible year for soundtracks.
 
N

Nert

Member
ShinobiFist said:
Why is Hotline Miami consider? Most of that music was already released a few years ago. If It was remixed for the game, I understand, but none of the tracks weren't. Is a compilation, not an original score or soundtrack. Hotline Miami should not be consider at all.
Click to expand...

Shaneus said:
A soundtrack can be a compilation of music. I'm pretty sure I own the Hackers and Reservoir Dogs movie soundtracks, neither of which contain specifically composed music.

I think the essence of the poll is more for how well the music suits the game, regardless of if it was written especially for it or not. A game would probably get more kudos if it was a soundtrack that WAS specifically made for it, but the fact that Hotline Miami is getting nominated so much is a testament to how well it integrates into it's theme.
Click to expand...

I appreciated the discussion this (and to echo other posters, you don't have to apologize for talking about things like this, Shaneus. Encouraging people to actually talk to each other more in this thread was one of our major goals this year).

Generally speaking, I used to be a lot more wary of licensed soundtracks being allowed in these threads, but I've come to trust GAF enough for it to not really be an issue. To pick a now out of date example, the worst case scenario would be Guitar Hero #12 winning soundtrack of the year because everybody really likes that one Linkin Park song that they decided to release as DLC. The way that Hotline Miami uses its licensed music is a lot more thoughtful and interesting, and it clearly has made a stronger impression on people here.

We're always open to constructive criticism, though, so if anyone else has thoughts on this issue, please let us know.
 
S

Snowden's Secret

Banned
1. Nintendoland
2. Kid Icarus Uprising
3. Rayman Jungle Run

Honorable Mentions:
Xenoblade Chronicles (dammit)
Rhythm Heaven Fever
Assassin's Creed III
Crashmo
 
D

duckroll

Member
1) Crimson Shroud - It's fantastic to see (or hear? lol) Sakimoto and his Basiscape gang work on a new original Matsuno game after so long. There are some great tracks here, and despite being a short eShop title, the soundtrack is really substantial and huge: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/crimsonshroud-original-soundtrack/id533768803

2) Asura's Wrath - Even though CyberConnect2 seems to have forgotten to make a real game here, they certainly didn't forget to make an excellent score. CC2's internal sound unit is usually pretty reliable and this is no different. There are really strong sweeping action themes and also some nice melodic stuff as well.

3) Final Fantasy XIII-2 - There's a nice variety in tunes here, which sets it apart from the FFXIII soundtrack. It feels less Hollywood movie this time, and more like a more experimental mixture of genres. I'm personally a big fan of the more haunting vocal tunes used as background music for several of the field areas.
 
L

Lusankya

Member
Dantis said:
Turrican Man? Machinae Supremacy definitely had some large contribution to it, at least. They post about it on their Facebook a lot.
Click to expand...

Chris Hülsbeck. He is responsible for the music of e.g. Turrican, Great Giana Sisters, R-Type and now also Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams.
 
C

Coxy

Member
#1 Phantasy Star Online 2
Truly a standout soundtrack, not only is the quality of the tracks amazing but it has technology behind it too, remixing the tunes on the fly to better suit the situation at hand, from calm tunes as you explore to storming themes as you engage hordes in multiparty areas to the everpresent danger of the taiko beat telling you everything's gone to hell.

some of my favourite tracks:
Big Vader Theme
It's hard to imagine anything as epic as a guy with a sword taking on a battleship sized mech with hundreds of cannons, turrets, lasers and missile launchers, but this track evokes that feeling so well.

Dark Force Arm's Theme
This one embodies the game as a whole I feel, mixing the memorability of the old with new style. It has some familiar tunes in there for fans of the original PSO while putting it more in pace with the large scale multiparty combat taking place.

Dark Ragne Phase 1-5
This track shows the evolution of the music pretty well, the boss has 4 legs and as you destroy each one it gets angrier and tougher and the music moves it up a notch too.

#2 Sonic & Sega Allstars Racing Transformed
I couldnt forgive myself if I failed to mention a game that has some of the best sega tracks ever, all remixed by Richard Jacques, I mean come on, a sega fans dream right there.
Skies of Arcadia
After Burner
Golden Axe

#3 Atelier Meruru
Gust games pretty much universally have fantastic OSTs, of the Arland Trilogy I definitely felt this was the best one thanks to a bit more input from Achiwa and Nakagawa.

Astarte
I really enjoy this track, they just totally let rip with guitar and piano for a track that screams it's time to go crazy and use everything you've got.

Astral Blader
Another brilliant battle theme, not quite as mental as Astarte, this one turns it back a notch and goes for something grander because you're going to be in for a longer fight for this one.

Honorable Mentions
Double Dragon Neon gets a mention just for that ending theme
Armored Core V
Rainbow Moon good thing the battle music is decent, you'll be hearing a lot of it
Gundam Extreme Vs it was actually released about this time last year but I dont think it got much mention, or ever will, since most tracks are from the anime, the awesome original tracks for the game are a bit overlooked, but they are great.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

NeoGAF GOTY 2023 |OT| Voting thread
2 3 4
198
15K
Palliasso replied
Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu finds recent game music “boring” – here’s why
Opinion
37
2K
Guilty_AI replied
Neogaf GOTY 2023 |OT| Results thread
2 3
127
9K
lucbr replied
After 200,000 Votes, Game Informer Readers Name Zelda: Ocarina of Time as the Greatest Game of All Time
Social Community 2 3 4
160
5K
SHA replied
90s game music was legit cool.
2
65
2K
ReBurn replied
Top Bottom