[Nert]

The results from NeoGAF's Game Soundtracks of the Year 2012 vote are below. Additionally, you can explore a discography of the winning composers and an extensive archive of 2012's soundtrack releases. If you would like to give us some feedback on the topic itself, please take the brief survey attached at the end. Enjoy!

Results

1. Journey - 304 points, 10 honorable mentions

Composer: Austin Wintory

Apotheosis
I was Born for This
Threshold

So many games are accompanied by an orchestral, sweeping score these days, but I find most remain generic and devoid of anything resembling a memorable melody. Journey is practically defined by Wintory's stirring arrangements, alternating between the grandiose and the intimate, yet never feeling intrusive or self-important, and really manages to wring out every last drop of heartfelt emotion by the journey's end.

Journey's soundtrack just went places I haven't seen games go yet. Every piece is absolutely stunning and completely married to the events of the game. It's not only a really good soundtrack, it's also innovative in terms of where we can go with game music connecting with gameplay and how far we can push it. I'm glad it was nominated for a Grammy, because it really deserves it. It's been linked a thousand times, but seriously, Apotheosis is one of the best tracks in a game, ever.

Ambient, moody soundtracks aren't always my thing, but this one is an exception. The Journey experience would be greatly diminished without this score. It perfectly traces the ups and downs of your trip to the mountain, and it meshes perfectly with the chirps and chimes of your fleeting companions. The music drifts along in the background most of the time, but makes itself heard at the right moments.

2. Hotline Miami - 231 points, 12 honorable mentions

Composers: Jasper Byrne, Scattle, Perturbator, M.O.O.N., Sun Araw, El Huervo, CoConuts, Eirik Suhrke, Elliott Berlin

Crystals
Hydrogen
Miami

Every song on this album makes my heart rate increase, my eyes narrow and the palms of my hands get clammy. It's a testament to the quality of the soundtrack that the blinding rage that the game had me in during our time together never diminished the effect that the music had on me.

Pounding, unnerving, driven tracks drive the action sequences while sludgy, ethereal Guitar Trance whittles away conscious thought between missions. A masterful work.

The constant trance-like sound is both hypnotic and gut-wrenching. Very unusual OST... Loved it.

3. Kid Icarus: Uprising - 177 points, 10 honorable mentions

Composers: Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Mitsuda, Yuzo Koshiro, Masafumi Takada, Noriyuki Iwadare, Takahiro Nishi, Hirokazu Tanaka

Boss Battle 1
Dog's Theme
The Return of Palutena

Nintendo pulled out all the stops to make Pit's comeback something to remember. Of note is the fact that all the songs are synced expertly to the action, so even if you're playing sans the game's excellent dubbing, you'll find yourself in an incredibly crafted audio/visual gaming experience. Utterly bombastic, Kid Icarus Uprising - like the game itself - reminds me of an actor gleefully playing to an audience.

The composer lineup for Uprising immediately gives its soundtrack presence. With both old themes from the NES game given the orchestrated treatment and many more new tracks making their mark with a variety of styles, Pit’s journey feels both bold and new while also slightly nostalgic. While it leans towards more standard orchestration for the majority of the soundtrack there’s quite a bit of variety in here from spanish guitar heavy themes invoking an old Western feel to something I can only describe as the splicing of sci-fi and big band music.

Awesome new soundtrack filled with heavy-hitting composers. The music feels so energetic and inspired, with a vast collection of strong melodic compositions that I could recall months after playing. What it may lack in subtlety, it makes up for in sheer enjoyment.

4. Max Payne 3 - 115 points, 10 honorable mentions

Composer: HEALTH

Dead
Painkiller
Tears

Just greatness. Electronic, synthy, somber, energetic, melodic, moody, raw, and works even out of context. Great job by HEALTH and another superb soundtrack from Rockstar. It's exactly the kind of style I'd want from a shooter soundtrack and drips with that "heightened reality grimy urban crime story" tone.

Beautiful album, one that I've listened to a bunch outside of playing the game. Very dark, abrasive guitars mixed with distorted synths. Just fits the mood of the game perfectly.

I knew from the Tears reveal that Health would absolutely knock this out of the park, and lo and behold, they did.

5. Final Fantasy XIII-2 - 100 points, 6 honorable mentions

Composers: Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, Mitsuto Suzuki, Nobuo Uematsu, Yoshitaka Suzuki

Historia Crux
Run
Wish

A huge departure in style from XIII (and every other FF game for that matter), XIII-2's soundtrack managed to floor me with the sheer amount of variety it holds. From metal to electronica to progressive rock to music that sounds as if it came right out of the 80s and beyond. I'm incredibly impressed with the range that Suzuki/Mizuta/Hamauzu managed to put on display here. Mizuta in particular really surprised me. After XI and 4 Heroes of Light, I was not looking forward to his contributions here, but he sure as hell made me a believer after all was said and done with.

First off, the direction in this music is just amazing. Not only do we hear the aesthetic of XIII being preserved by two newcomers in addition to Hamauzu, each new composer brings flair that is distinctly theirs to the OST. The sheer volume of music in this game is nothing short of outstanding really, and you can tell this one was a labor of love, as well as a labor of fun. From the wide variety of many different vocal timbres and music aesthetic and style, this diverse soundtrack filled with very diverse genres for everyone, even you crazy chocobo riders.

Final Fantasy XIII-2’s soundtrack is a mishmash of a bunch of things yet it ends up being kind of cohesive in the long run. There’s pop, rock, hard rock, rap, hip-hop… you name it, this soundtrack probably has it. And I think it helps that there are three talented composers working on this soundtrack in the forms of Hamauzu, Suzuki, and Mizuta, with all three getting their time to finally shine and show their stuff. All of them get to experiment with different genres to varying results, and in the end, I love that they took the time to do so. The album thus ends up giving the Final Fantasy series a shot in the arm of variance and genre diversity that the series desperately needed.

6. Mass Effect 3 - 77 points, 6 honorable mentions

Composers: Sam Hulick, Clint Mansell, Christopher Lennertz, Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan

Leaving Earth
Mars
Rannoch

Not even Clint Mansell could save the Mass Effect franchise from self-destruction, but at least Bioware gave us a soundtrack that deserves much more.

7. Gravity Rush - 69 points, 9 honorable mentions

Composer: Kouhei Tanaka

Douse Shinundakara
Old Town
Resistance and Extermination

Kohei Tanaka’s soundtrack is eclectic, ultra-catchy and just generally full of child-like wonderment. From the sweeping strings and easy-going jazz of city exploration to the pulse-racing rock of the combat segments, his collection of tracks never ceased to leave an impression on me no matter where I was in the game, or what I was doing. Unforgetable stuff.

An absolutely delightful soundtrack covering many different styles. A perfect fit for the game.

8. Fez - 67 points, 6 honorable mentions

Composer: Rich Vreeland ("Disasterpeace")

Adventure
Puzzle
Sync

Without a doubt the best of 2012 for me. A enchanting soundtrack which matches perfectly Fez's adventurous atmosphere. The tunes exacerbate the feeling of wonder you feel as you explore each new level of the game. Sometimes it's majestic, sometimes it's nostalgic, sometimes it's appeasing, and sometimes you even play with the notes to complete your objective. A near perfect game/music symbiosis.

9. Sound Shapes - 47 points, 6 honorable mentions

Composers: Beck, Jim Guthrie, Jonathan Mak, Shaw-Han Liem, Deadmau5

Cities
Purgatory
Touch The People

Frankly, including this here feels like cheating considering the entire game is centered around the music. But even so, it has quite a few lovely tracks, and the concept itself is novel enough to be worth at least a few bonus points. The format of the game encourages experimentation on the part of the artists, resulting in some truly bizarre and fascinating music. And let's not forget that players themselves have an influence on this when they make their own levels, which itself serves as a way to create new music.

10. FTL: Faster Than Light - 41 points, 9 honorable mentions

Composer: Ben Prunty

Last Stand
Space Cruise (Title)
Zoltan (Explore)

I love that the soundtrack not only covers the happier, wondrous aspect of exploring a galaxy but that it also has a set of darker tracks for when you're battling for your life (literally, since the game is hard as shit and seemingly any one battle can wipe out your ship).

Minimalistic, yet evocative. A good companion on your trek through the vast emptiness of space.

11. Nintendo Land - 40 points, 7 honorable mentions

Composer: Ryo Nagamatsu

Balloon Trip Breeze - Evening
Main Plaza 8-bit
Metroid Blast - Ridley Battle

The soundtrack mostly seems to be composed out of arrangements and remixes, but I don't think I've heard a single bad piece of music in it.

Don't sleep on this one. Some of the best remixes Nintendo has ever done. It's a shame that the quality and depth of these compositions didn't translate over to NSMBU.

12. Halo 4 - 39 points, 4 honorable mentions

Composer: Neil Davidge

Awakening
Haven
Legacy

Epic, beautiful, haunting, memorable, fun, nostalgic of the original but has its own groove.

Actually holds up well to the old games

13. Dustforce - 36 points, 4 honorable mentions

Composer: Terence Lee ("Lifeformed")

Cider Time
Light Pollution
Swimming While It Rains

Dustforce’s soundtrack is a nice blend of electronic music and relaxation. It creates a lovely contrast between the frantic quick pace of the gameplay and the mellow, smooth sounds and sights of the game. If making the player attempt to feel more relaxed while trying to create synergy with the peaceful backgrounds, then I think Lee was successful in creating that sort of atmosphere with Fastfall. Excellent composition and sample usage all around.

14. Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward - 34 points, 4 honorable mentions

Composer: Shinji Hosoe

Confession
Placidity
Recreation

An admittedly more ambient soundtrack with nothing quite like 999's more threatening tracks, but with an excellent main theme remake of Morphogenetic Sorrow, incredibly tense pulse-pounding puzzle room musics, and the tear-jerker that is Blue Bird Lamentation, Virtue's Last Reward takes the crown for me this year.

15. Persona 4 Golden - 33 points, 5 honorable mentions

Composer: Shoji Meguro

Kioku
Never More ~okaeri~
SNOWFLAKES -powder snow mix-

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 couple of new tunes (which are great), and the original OST is still fantastic.

Full Voting Spreadsheet

Past Threads

2012 Voting Thread
2011 Results and Archive
2011 Voting Thread
2010 Results and Archive
2010 Voting Thread

[Nert]

Discography

Now that GAF has picked its winners, it's time to explore these composers' bodies of work! As you may have noticed, several of the winning soundtracks this year featured more than one composer. We decided to stick to highlighting one composer per winning soundtrack for the sake of brevity (this thread is already enormous), so please know that we're not attempting to snub anyone that wasn’t included.

Austin Wintory


Flow (Return)
Horn (The Final Trial)
Monaco (What’s yours is mine)

Jasper Byrne


Lone Survivor (Where Is It Going?)
Soul Brother (Welcome To Soularis)

Motoi Sakuraba


Beyond The Labyrinth (Hallucination)
Dark Souls (Nameless Song)
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (Epic Poem to Sacred Death)

HEALTH


Get Color (In Violet)
Health (//M\\)

Masashi Mamazu


Final Fantasy XIII (Dust to Dust)
Sigma Harmonics (Rippling Dream)
Saga Frontier II (Prelude)

Sam Hulick


Mass Effect (Uncharted Worlds)
Mass Effect 2 (Jacob)
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes Of Stalingrad (The Great Soviet Showpiece)

Kouhei Tanaka


Alundra (Ending)
Resonance Of Fate (Battle to Pay the Debt)
Sakura Wars 3: Is Paris Burning? (Under the Imperial Flag)

Rich Vreeland (Disasterpeace)


Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter (Drawn to the Sun)
Puzzle Agent (Patient Puzzler)
Shoot Many Robots (Boil 'n Toil in Oil)

Beck Hansen


Midnite Vultures (Beautiful Way)
Odelay (Feather in Your Cap)
Sea Change (Paper Tiger)

Ben Prunty


Chromatic T-Rex (My Mind is Glowing)

Ryo Nagamatsu*


Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Solo Game Menu)
Mario Kart Wii (Moo Moo Meadows)
Wii Sports Resort (Main Theme)

Neil Davidge


Push (Take An Umbrella)
Mezzanine (Producer) (Teardrop)
Trouble the Water (Before the Storm)

Terence Lee (Lifeformed)


Storm (Exploration)
Miscellaneous

Shinji Hosoe


Ibara (Sky High)
Driving Emotion Type-S (Complication)
Folklore (Solitude)

Shoji Meguro


Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (The Battle For Everyone's Souls)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raido Kuzunoha Versus King Abaddon (The Fated Showdown)
Trauma Center: Under The Knife (System: Opening)

*Ryo Nagamatsu does not like to be photographed at high resolutions*

Note: If you're thinking "there sure are a lot of dudes here," check out this supplemental post to learn more about some of 2012's most prominent female composers.

[Nert]

2012 Game Soundtrack Archive

Note: If there are any soundtracks missing from the archive that you would like to see here, let GhaleonQ or myself know and we'll get them in here. Additionally, if any of the links are broken, or if the sound quality for one of them is poor and you can find a higher quality link, send one of us a private message and we'll make sure to fix it.

Adventure Time: Hey Ice King; Why'd You Steal Our Garbage http://www.d3p.us/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=171
Jake Kaufman http://vgmdb.net/artist/1015
Party In The Clouds
It’s So Cold
Boss – Marceline – Who’s In Charge Here

Akai Katana/Red Katana http://vgmdb.net/album/21346 http://vgmdb.net/album/24499
Ryu Umemoto http://vgmdb.net/artist/50
Blooming Flower
Scabbard Stud
Instant

Alan Wake's American Nightmare http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2258253/soundtrack (partially licensed music)
Petri Alanko, Poets of the Fall http://vgmdb.net/artist/9067
Balance Slays The Demon
Club Foot
The Happy Song

Petri Alanko did (again) a fine work on original, instrumental tunes, but I didn't manage to find any of the tracks on teh internets. Fortunately the two great Poets of the Fall original songs composed for the game are on YouTube. I did vote for the Alan Wake soundtrack in Nert and GhaleonQ's first SOTY thread and I still think Remedy is damn good to select and produce really cool, entertaining tracks. American Nightmare didn't have the scale of Alan Wake but it was no exception.

Armored Core V http://vgmdb.net/album/30179
Kota Hoshino, Yoshikazu Takayama, Tsukasa Saitoh, Hideyuki Eto http://vgmdb.net/artist/3031
Choral
Lament Over the Howling Age
Vulture

[The soundtrack] fit the game's oppressively loud and dark atmosphere while also giving it some nuance by making it a little soft and gentle. Some of those themes build hype well and were always welcomed in those tense mech duels or giant boss fights. Shame so few people likely played this game or heard this music, because I think it is good work.

Assassin's Creed III http://vgmdb.net/album/35891
Lorne Balfe http://vgmdb.net/artist/11850
Connor's Life
Fight Club
Temple Secrets

Assassin's Creed III: Liberation http://vgmdb.net/album/35889
Winifred Phillips http://vgmdb.net/artist/1388
Mayan Labyrinth
Secrets of the Bayou
Society Suite in 4 Movements

Asura’s Wrath http://vgmdb.net/album/30768
Chikayo Fukuda http://vgmdb.net/artist/3651
A Place To Which To Return
Furueru Kokoro
Show Justice

I never see enough love for this game's OST anywhere. The music is one of the major reasons I love the game, with all of Yasha's themes and the game's main them being flat out wonderful.

Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland/Meruru no Atelier: Arland no Renkinjutsushi 3 http://vgmdb.net/album/25409
Kazuki Yanagawa, Daisuke Achiwa, Ken Nakagawa, Miyoko Kobayashi http://vgmdb.net/artist/7719
Astral Blader
Swimmer in the Book of Darkness
The Wind's Blooming Mountain

Awesomenauts http://vgmdb.net/album/33570
Yorick Goldewijk, Stefan Leertouwer, Robin Schaefer, Tuur Hendrikx http://vgmdb.net/artist/12662
Theme Of Yuri
Bagpipin’ Blastfest
Killing Spree: Yuri

Love it, every Awesomenaut has his and her own theme song and it has that nostalgic Saturday morning cartoon vibe.

Beyond the Labyrinth/Labyrinth no Kanata http://vgmdb.net/album/28932
Motoi Sakuraba http://vgmdb.net/artist/166
Lilac Mist
Cleave
Hallucination

Binary Domain http://www.sega.com/binarydomain
Mitsuharu Fukuyama http://vgmdb.net/artist/826
Gorilla
Credits
Spider

I wasn't expecting the music in this to stand out to me, but it did, and it was great. It's definitely part of the reason the game is one of my favorite shooters. I really, really enjoyed the music.

Botanicula http://vgmdb.net/album/32585
Jan Kratochvil, Bara Kratochvilova http://www.2dva.cz
juchu
level 3
melodika

Here are some of my favorite things, if you didn’t know: graphic adventure games, Arvo Part, Bjork, Lithuanian folk music, Russian hip-hop, and Icelandic electronica. They are all in this game. That’s weird. My video game 2012 has been about lamenting what’s been lost and how little there’s been to replace it, so let me honor Dva, Amanita Design, and Botanicula with my soundtrack of the year award as thanks for them doing their part to dam the tide.

Borderlands 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/34836
Jesper Kyd, Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan, Raison Varner http://vgmdb.net/artist/1811
Dam Top
Ice
Bandit Slaughter

Bravely Default: Flying Fairy http://vgmdb.net/album/33726
Yasuo Kamanaka http://vgmdb.net/artist/3622
Quietness Of The Forest
Horizon Of Light And Shadow
Below The Duchy’s Banner

Crimson Shroud http://vgmdb.net/album/32688
Hitoshi Sakimoto, Mitsuhiro Kaneda, Azusa Chiba, Masaharu Iwata, Kimihiro Abe http://vgmdb.net/artist/112
I Think It's Angry
Main Theme
Sinner's Requiem

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/cr...ck/id533768803

Sakimoto's my homeboy

Darksiders II http://vgmdb.net/album/31949
Jesper Kyd http://vgmdb.net/artist/1811
The Abyssal Plains
The Crowfather
The Makers Overworld

Jesper Kyd has managed to craft a rather ominous soundtrack, filled with ambience and orchestration. The first disc is more uplifting than the second, yet the journey to discover what all of the music he has composed has to offer shows that Kyd has composed a complex, emotional, and darker soundtrack that struggles to climb out of the dark atmosphere that he has ended up crafting. Compositionally, it’s quite a delight to listen to.

Dear Esther http://vgmdb.net/album/31626
Jessica Curry http://www.jessicacurry.co.uk/
Ascension
Moon in My Palm
Standing Stones

Just as powerful as the imagery of the game, it often reminded me of Braid's best tracks.

Deponia http://vgmdb.net/album/31146
Finn Seliger, Thomas Hohl http://www.periscope-studio.de/en
A Life Of Order And Happiness
Oh, Oh, Organon
Not So Fast, My Friend

Dishonored http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dishonored
Daniel Licht, Jon Licht http://www.danlicht.com/
Honor for All
The Drunken Whaler
Wrenhaven River

Dokuro/Skull http://www.gunghoonline.com/games/dokuro http://dokuro.gungho.jp
Yasuhiro Kawasaki http://vgmdb.net/artist/3065
Hell’s Kitchen
Title Theme
Boss Battle – Chef

Double Dragon Neon/Double Dragon 5: Neon http://vgmdb.net/album/35189
Jake Kaufman http://vgmdb.net/artist/1015
City Streets 1
End Credits – Dared To Dream
Boss – Giga Skullmageddon

Radical 80's inspired and brotacular music. If you're a child of the 80's there's no way you won't appreciate Jake Kaufman's work.

Dragon's Dogma http://vgmdb.net/album/32181
Tadayoshi Makino, Inon Zur, Rei Kondoh, Masayoshi Ishi http://vgmdb.net/artist/7165
A Thing Clad in White Scales
Forewarning of Destruction
Impure Mountain

Dust: An Elysian Tail http://vgmdb.net/album/35497
HyperDuck SoundWorks, Alex Brandon http://vgmdb.net/artist/11936
Aurora
Cirromon Caverns
Gone Home (Journey's End)

Dustforce isn't the only dusty thing that should be lining this thread's metaphorical...shelves? YEAH.

Dustforce http://lifeformed.bandcamp.com/album/fastfall
Terence Lee (Lifeformed) http://lifeformed.com/
Cider Time
Light Pollution
Swimming While It Rains

Etrian Odyssey IV http://vgmdb.net/album/33201
Yuzo Koshiro http://vgmdb.net/artist/148
Faith is My Pillar
Library of Puppets
Misty Ravine

I could seriously gush about this OST for years. Koshiro was finally given a large budget for live instrumental recording and does it ever pay off. He makes use of the traditional instrumental families, exotic ones (through the use of particular regional instruments), and even rock n' roll. The overall composition here is ridiculously clean, varied, and of the highest caliber.

E.X. Troopers http://vgmdb.net/album/35486
Yasumasa Kitagawa http://vgmdb.net/artist/1548
Dogfight
Evening Out
Here and There

For a game overflowing with crazy bright colors and manga/anime influence, it should come as no surprise that its soundtrack is just as bubbly and cheerful. E.X. Troopers also makes really great use of its vocal tracks during certain big battles. Just a delightfully different kind of soundtrack for a game like this.

[Nert]

Far Cry 3 http://vgmdb.net/album/36471
Brian Tyler http://vgmdb.net/artist/11992
Monsoon
Lost Child
Falling Into A Dream

Fez http://vgmdb.net/album/32431
Rich Vreeland (Disasterpeace) http://vgmdb.net/artist/3755
Puzzle
Formations
Death

Final Fantasy XIII-2 http://vgmdb.net/album/29080
Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, Mitsuto Suzuki, Nobuo Uematsu, Yoshitaka Suzuki http://vgmdb.net/artist/145
Historia Crux
Run
Wish

Forza Horizon http://www.ign.com/wikis/forza-horizon/Soundtrack (licensed music)
Various artists, Kyle Hopkins, Maya Halfon(music supervisors) http://www.musexpo.net/musexpoEU10/E...10/hopkins.swf
Everyday (Netsky VIP Remix)
Icarus
The Hope

Frog Fractions http://vgmdb.net/album/35997
Jim Crawford, Chris Hampton, Charles Roy, Louis Gorenfeld, Danny Aley http://twinbeardstudios.com/
Aqua Petzold
Get Your Ass To Mars
Eyes Open

FTL: Faster Than Light http://vgmdb.net/album/35302
Ben Prunty http://www.benprunty.com
Civil (Explore)
Colonial (Battle)
Zoltan (Explore)

Frontier Gate http://vgmdb.net/album/28933
Yasunori Nishiki, Naoyuki Sato, Junpei Fujita, Masato Nakayama http://vgmdb.net/artist/11560
Hunt – Eastern Area
Pioneer Town
The Narrator Of Time

Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams http://vgmdb.net/album/36242
Chris Hulsbeck, Fabian DelPriore, Jan Zottmann http://vgmdb.net/artist/1164
In-Game 1 (Dream Version)
In-Game 4 (Nightmare Version)
Boss 2

Globulous http://vgmdb.net/album/33564
Andrew Aversa (zircon), Jeff Ball http://vgmdb.net/artist/1035
Obsidian Axiom
Stone Clockwise
Thicket Prism

I think Globulous is a very lovely mix of styles and instrumentation, mixed in a way that makes the entire package seem relaxing and cohesive. It’s a mix of retro and techno, of old and new, and of live and synth. Yet the mixing on this soundtrack is very well-done, and I can’t help but to feel like the duo who worked on this album have really excellent synergy with each other. I can’t wait to hear more from them.

Whoa!

Gravity Rush/Gravity Daze http://vgmdb.net/album/31308
Kouhei Tanaka http://vgmdb.net/artist/322
Douse Shinundakara
Old Town
Resistance and Extermination

Halo 4 http://vgmdb.net/album/35968
Neil Davidge, Kazuma Jinnouchi http://www.neildavidge.com/
Awakening
Haven
Legacy

Hotline Miami https://soundcloud.com/devolverdigit...miami-official (partially licensed music)
Jasper Byrne, Sun Araw, Perturbator, M.O.O.N., Scattle, El Huervo, CoConuts, Eirik Suhrke, Elliott Berlin
Crystals
Hydrogen
Miami

Hyperdimension Neptunia MK2/Hyperdimensional Game Neptune Mark 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/27644
Kenji Kaneko http://vgmdb.net/artist/1173
Go – Love And Peace
Solid Park
Scamper

Inazuma 11 5/Lightning 11 5: Chrono Stone http://www.inazuma.jp/go2
Natsumi Kameoka, T-Pistonz And K.M.C. http://vgmdb.net/artist/4357
Befuddled
Strike Wave
Showdown; 2 Lightning Japan

Journey http://vgmdb.net/album/32221
Austin Wintory http://vgmdb.net/artist/12474
Apotheosis
I was Born for This
Threshold

Kale in Dinoland http://vgmdb.net/album/32665
Luming Hao http://therottingcartridge.bandcamp....and-soundtrack
Arctic
Jungle
Mansion

Katawa Shoujo http://vgmdb.net/album/31245
NicolArmarfi, Blue123, CplCrud, OverCoat, Juno, delta http://www.last.fm/music/NicolArmarfi
Shadow of the Truth
The Student Council
Wiosna

KS is pretty piano heavy which is a plus in my book, full of uplifting, soothing and also melancholy themes to compliment the various tales the game tells. Each of the central characters has their own distinct theme to match up with their personalities from upbeat jazzy numbers to elegant piano pieces, the rest of the soundtrack wraps itself around events, locations and even the time of day with each theme doing a great job of helping set these scenes. What puts Katawa Shoujo over for me is the feel good vibe it gives me, it’s relaxing and refreshing and, if I may be completely sappy for a moment, when it heads down the somber route it manages to tug on the heart strings.

Kid Kicarus: Uprising/Shin Hikari Shinwa Palutena no Kagami http://vgmdb.net/album/33508
Motoi Sakuraba, Yasunori Mitsuda, Yuzo Koshiro, Masafumi Takada, Noriyuki Iwadare, Takahiro Nishi, Hirokazu Tanaka http://vgmdb.net/artist/166
Boss Battle 1
Dog's Theme
The Return of Palutena

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance http://vgmdb.net/album/31306
Yoko Shimomura, Tsuyoshi Sekito, Takeharu Ishimoto http://vgmdb.net/artist/139
The Fun Fair
The Eminence Of Darkness 1
Dearly Beloved

Dream Drop Distance's OST is, without a doubt, the best KH OST so far, in my opinion. While I have really liked all the past OSTs, there has been some filler or songs that work well within the game but I'm not too interested in listening to outside of the game (some of the happy Disney world music). 3D's has almost none of that. It's high quality & a highly diverse set of music from start to finish.

Krater http://vgmdb.net/album/34002
Christian Gabel http://christiangabel.com/
Krater Prolog
Lupus Mekanika
Massiv hotbild

Legasista/Labyrinth Tower Path Legasista http://www.nisamerica.com/games/legasista
Yo Oyama, Kaori Tsutsui, Shintaro Jinbo, Yosuke Kurokawa, Toshimichi Isoe http://vgmdb.net/artist/63
Shaman Dance
Abyss Of Ancient Ruins
Encounter

Lollipop Chainsaw http://vgmdb.net/album/33506
Akira Yamaoka http://vgmdb.net/artist/749
Viking Zombies Sail On Lightning Seas
Love For My Insane Lover
Scattering Guts

Lone Survivor http://vgmdb.net/album/32322
Jasper Byrne http://vgmdb.net/artist/12424
Her
Medicine
Reflections

Jasper Byrne hit so many great notes with this soundtrack. Trip Hop meets Akira Yamaoka meets David Lynch meets weird jazz. Highly recommended.

Lumines: Electronic Symphony http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumines...ronic_Symphony (partially licensed music)
Various artists, James Mielke (producer) https://twitter.com/jamesmielke
Future Of The Future
Gouryella
Wooden Toy

all of the music is licensed, but they did a perfect job with the licensing (I think it was James Mielke who handled this). The list of artists reads like a "who's who" of the last 20 years of electronic dance music. In fact, some of my favorite songs of all time are on the soundtrack... perhaps the best licensed soundtrack for me since Wip3out.

[Nert]

Magical Drop 5 http://vgmdb.net/album/36422
Gamadelic, Samy Cheboub http://vgmdb.net/artist/1572
Exuding Courage
Fool’s Dream
It’s All Magic

Mark of the Ninja http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_of_the_Ninja
YAMANTAKA//SONIC TITAN http://www.ytstlabs.com/blog/
Danger
Mark & Blade
Ninja Intensity

The moment when Mark & Blade plays in game is really striking. Don't watch this if you're worried about spoilers!

Mass Effect 3 http://vgmdb.net/album/32563
Sam Hulick, Clint Mansell, Christopher Lennertz, Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan http://vgmdb.net/artist/4285
Leaving Earth
Mars
Rannoch

Max Payne 3 http://vgmdb.net/album/33289
HEALTH http://vgmdb.net/artist/12579
Dead
Painkiller
Tears

Mutant Mudds http://vgmdb.net/album/31366
Troupe Gammage http://www.troupegammage.com
World 2-2
World 1-2
World 4-1

Nayuta no Kiseki http://vgmdb.net/album/35164
Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama http://vgmdb.net/artist/2151
Desolated Lands
Golden World Terra
Impatient Emotions

I've often felt that as of late, Falcom's being doing some odd stuff here and there with some of the music they've been composing (usually limited to stuff like the early Kiseki games and stuff like Gurumin or Zwei), but I feel like they're just getting back into their element. 3rd proved that to me, and Nayuta has cemented that. I think Falcom’s Sound Team did an excellent job with balancing the whimsical qualities of Nayuta and the hard-hitting battle themes that’s we’re used to knowing and loving from Falcom.

Nintendo Land (No official soundtrack release)
Ryo Nagamatsu http://vgmdb.net/artist/7962
Balloon Trip Breeze - Evening
Main Plaza 8-bit
Metroid Blast - Ridley Battle

Paper Mario: Sticker Star/Paper Mario: Super Seal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_Mario:_Sticker_Star
Composer(s) unknown
Buzzy Beetle Bros
Gooper Blooper
Surfshine Harbor

I hope you like jazz, because there's a TON of it here! I hope the trend of Nintendo putting more focus into their soundtrack quality for handheld titles continues, as nothing but good can come out of it.

Persona 4: Golden/Persona 4: The Golden http://vgmdb.net/album/32667
Shoji Meguro, Atsushi Kitajoh http://vgmdb.net/artist/983
Kioku
Never More ~okaeri~
SNOWFLAKES -powder snow mix-

Phantasy Star Online 2 (no official soundtrack release)
Hideaki Kobayashi http://vgmdb.net/artist/255
Big Varder Theme
Dark Force Arm'ss Battle Theme
Dark Ragne Phase 1-5

This one gets bonus points for having one of the most unique music systems ever released in a video game. The whole thing is just synth heaven for me. Few games can claim to have a soundtrack that actually complements the on-screen action the way PSO2's does.

Photokano/Photograph Girlfriend http://vgmdb.net/album/30847
Noriyuki Iwadare, Don McCow http://vgmdb.net/artist/104
Aki Muroto’s Theme
Nonoka Masaki’s Theme
Title

Pokémon Black Version 2 and White Version 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/33367
Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Morikazu Aoki, Hitomi Sato, Satoshi Nohara, Shota Kageyama, Minako Adachi, Teruo Taniguchi http://vgmdb.net/artist/691
Asperita City
Rival Battle
Virbank City

BW2 pushes the limits of what the DS can do, sound-wise, and I am all the more grateful for it. From the smooth jazzy stylings of Virbank City (DAT BASS) to the no doubt Megaman-inspired Rival battle theme, BW2 blows every other game in the series out of the water with its soundtrack.

Primordia http://vgmdb.net/album/36869
Nathaniel Chambers http://www.bubblepipemedia.com/
Conduit
Cycles
Primordia

Another sci-fi game, but I can't help it. I just love this sort of sound. It's desolate and bleak to match the post-apocalyptic setting, but it has some beautiful synth work across a lot of tracks as well. A bit reminiscent of early 80's Vangelis in some spots. While playing the game, it's the soundtrack has a played a big part in bringing Primordia's world to life.

Professor Layton And The Miracle Mask/Professor Layton And The Mask Of Miracle http://professorlayton.nintendo.com/miraclemask
Tomohito Nishiura, Yumi Matsutoya http://vgmdb.net/artist/779
Miracle Gentlemen’s Theme
Puzzles 7
The Professor's Trunk - My Rabbit

Ragnarok Odyssey http://vgmdb.net/album/34728
Kumi Tanioka http://vgmdb.net/artist/352
The Eagle-Eye Throne
Gaze Upon The World Tree
The Depths Of A Dark Love

Resonance http://vgmdb.net/album/33483
Nikolas Sideris http://www.nikolas-sideris.com
Pumped-Up Tortoise Security
Antevorta Muzak
Anna’s Scared

Return To The Neverhood http://www.danielamos.com/store
Terry Scott Taylor http://vgmdb.net/artist/13193
Let’s Get This Ball Rolling
Part 1: Ode To A Hunch
Fishin’ With The Sculptor

Rhythm Heaven Fever/Minna no Rhythm Tengoku Zenkyokushuu http://vgmdb.net/album/26916
Mistuo Terada (Tsunku), Masami Yone, Shinji Ushiroda, Asuka Ito http://vgmdb.net/artist/7586
Flock Step
Reading
Samurai Slice

Rhythm Thief & The Emperor’s Treasure/Rhythm Thief R: Emperor Napoleon's Treasure http://vgmdb.net/album/31137
Tomoya Otani, Takahito Eguchi, Naofumi Hataya http://vgmdb.net/artist/655
Time Limit
Napoleon’s Theme
That Which Inherits Intention

Rosenkreuzstilette Freudenstachel http://rks.wikia.com/wiki/Rosenkreuz...Freudenstachel
Various artists http://rks.wikia.com/wiki/Music_of_Rosenkreuzstilette
GENESIS BLADE
Illusion Field
Frozen Air

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Arena/Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 - The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena http://vgmdb.net/album/33901
Shoji Meguro, Atsushi Kitajoh http://vgmdb.net/artist/983
Heartful Cry -in Mayonaka Arena-
Shadows Of The Labyrinth
Spirited Girl

Shining Blade http://vgmdb.net/album/31715
Masato Nakayama, Hitoshi Fujima, Daisuke Kikuta, Noriyasu Agematsu, Junpei Fujita http://vgmdb.net/artist/1977
Paean To The Earth Mother
Poem For The Spirits Of A Green Forest
Song Of Reddened Passion

Silent Hill Downpour http://vgmdb.net/album/31508
Daniel Licht http://www.danlicht.com
Introduction Perpetrator Walk
Monastic Tendencies
In The Ravine

Licht had big shoes to fill after Yamaoka's departure, and while he didn't compose a score able to match the best of his predecessor, he still managed to deliver a soundtrack to Silent Hill that differentiated itself from Yamaoka's works while faithfully capturing the sullen, isolated and terrifying nature of the series. Bonus points for the recurring use of Andy Williams' 'Born Free'.

Sine Mora http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sine_Mora
Akira Yamaoka http://vgmdb.net/artist/749
Imperial Airborg Factory (Type A)
Moneta Point (Type C)
Tira (Type A)

[Nert]

SkullGirls http://vgmdb.net/album/32610
Michiru Yamane, Vincent Diamante, Blaine McGurty, Brenton Kossak http://vgmdb.net/artist/334
Mind’s Eye
The Lives We Left Behind
Grand Cathedral: Dirge Of The Divine Trinity

The Skullgirls soundtrack could be considered a slightly unexpected take on a soundtrack within the fighting game genre, a moody mix of jazz and grim Castlevania like themes leads me to coin the exciting and clearly inspired term of “Jazzvania." This is not too surprising considering Machiru Yamane’s work on the soundtrack; she may have stepped out from Dracula’s domain but her signature style remains and more importantly it does very well to fit the mood Skullgirls is going for.

Sleeping Dogs http://vgmdb.net/album/36237 (licensed music)
Pierre Arrachart, Rudy Khan, Anton Nevski, Barnaby Allan Taylor, additional artists
Dragon Dreams
East (Billy Paul Cover)
Utopia

This is a mixed licensed soundtrack which nailed the atmosphere of Hong Kong perfectly. The Softly radio station in particular introduced me to so much awesome obscure Chinese music, the kind you'd expect to find on chill-out CDs being sold in petrol stations. The radio editing in general is also the most realistic I've come across in any game.

Sol Trigger http://vgmdb.net/album/33657
Akiyoshi Manabe, NEK, Kazuya Kondo, Hidenori Maezawa, Michi Kondo, Yoshiki Kondo, Keiichi Sugiyama, Jiro Yoshida, Tomoko Morita, Naoki Sugiyama http://vgmdb.net/artist/10785
Sol Trigger
Blind Marionette
Star Sword

Soul Calibur V http://vgmdb.net/album/30475
Junichi Nakatsuru, Hiroki Kikuta, Tomoki Miyoshi, Andrew Aversa ("zircon"), Cris Velasco, Inon Zur, Jillian Aversa, Jesper Kyd http://vgmdb.net/artist/895
Sleepless: An Untamed Beast
The Breeze At Dawn
Venice Rooftops (SCV mix)

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed http://www.sonicthehedgehog.com/racing
Richard Jacques http://vgmdb.net/artist/1199
Chilly Castle – Giant Egg – Billy Hatcher’s Great Adventure
Dragon Canyon – Panzer Dragoon
Outrun Bay - Outrun

I couldn't 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, this is a Sega fans' dream right here.

Sound Shapes (No official soundtrack release)
Beck, Jim Guthrie, Jonathan Mak, Shaw-Han Liem, Deadmau5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_Shapes
Cities
Purgatory
Spiral Staircase

Spec Ops: The Line http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spec_Op...ine#Soundtrack (partially licensed music)
Elia Cmíral, various artists http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elia_Cm%C3%ADral
Bad Vibrations
Deep Purple
Final

The soundtrack fit the mood of this game perfectly. Every track went a long way towards creating the ambiance and atmosphere of the game and it is well implimented.

Spelunky http://vgmdb.net/album/34456
Eirik Suhrke, Sanjjib http://vgmdb.net/artist/2169
Mines B
Shop Radio 4
Turkish coffee

This one grew on me over time. I didn't know how much I loved it until I caught myself humming several familiar tunes over and over again at work... and they were all from Spelunky. Also shout out to the randomly inserted chiptune versions, holding true to the spirit of the game and its randomly generated awesomeness.

Splice http://music.cipherprime.com/album/f...els-splice-ost
Dain Saint http://dainsaint.com/
Ariel
Cassiel
Fanuel

Street Fighter X Tekken/Street Fighter Versus Iron Fist http://vgmdb.net/album/30588
Hideyuki Fukasawa http://vgmdb.net/artist/893
Urban War Zone
Mad Gear Hideout – Sodom Dancing
Customize Screen

Suikoden: The Woven Web Of A Century/Fantasy Water Margin A Spun Web Of 100 Years http://vgmdb.net/album/31907 http://vgmdb.net/album/30163
Seiichi Takamoto, Miki Higashino, Chiaki Ishikawa http://vgmdb.net/artist/12285
The White Snowscape That Is Stilled – 2nd Chapter, 200 Years Ago
Night Song – Headquarters Night Music
The Future Bonds Have Been Woven – End Roll Music

SunFlowers http://gameatelier.bandcamp.com/albu...nal-soundtrack
Kappa, Bouhic, Pierre Schmidt http://gameatelier.bandcamp.com/albu...nal-soundtrack
Pirate’s Cave
Autumn
Rain

Super Danganronpa 2/Winning An Argument With A Bullet 2: Farewell, School Of Hopelessness http://vgmdb.net/album/34314
Masafumi Takada, Satoshi Iwase http://vgmdb.net/artist/1530
Class Trial – Future Part – Introduction
Re: Climax Return
Re: Beautiful Morning

They can’t all be minimalist gems. When MURDER IS AFOOT, you need someone to channel every 1990s electronic star out of the U.K., shake you by the collar, and focus you on solving the riddle at hand. “Concussive”: it can be a compliment!

Super Hexagon http://vgmdb.net/album/35094
Niamh Houston (Chipzel) http://chipzelmusic.bandcamp.com/
Courtesy
Focus
Otis

yeah, just 3 tunes, but the fact that I can't get tired hearing them means they are too fucking good

Swift Switch http://aeronic.bandcamp.com/album/swift-stitch
Aeronic https://soundcloud.com/aeronic
Reach for the Stars
Stichin'
Swiftly Switching

Takkoman http://takkoman.illucalab.com/
Illucalab http://illucalab.com/
Channel Seaside
Something The Power Told
When The World Comes

Tales of Xillia 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/35036
Motoi Sakuraba http://vgmdb.net/artist/166
Break the Time Factor
Peaceful Evidence
The Agent that Plots

I think the Tales of Xillia 2 Original Soundtrack is more cohesive than the previous game's soundtrack. Sakuraba's the only composer for this soundtrack yet again, thank goodness, so that's likely why we got a more cohesive soundtrack with less dud tracks. It perhaps also helps that he composed the last soundtrack by himself too because that soundtrack also gets a lot of mileage in this game and it sounds like it fits in.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/29178
Akitaka Tohyama, sanodg, Keiichi Okabe, Rio Hamamoto, Taku Inoue, Yoshie Arakawa, Satoru Kousaki, Go Shiina http://vgmdb.net/artist/1978
Night Falls
Tekstep Fountain
What you will see

The pinnacle of fighting game music. The OST for 6 was kind of bland but the crew came back full force on this one. This isn't even just my favourite game album, it's probably my album of the year too

In short, don't pass this up if you have any interest in at all electronic music. It has some of the most creative arrangements that I've heard from a video game soundtrack in quite a while.

The Denpa Men 1: They Came By Wave/Radio Men R.P.G. 1 http://vgmdb.net/album/31539
Azusa Chiba, Mitsuhiro Kaneda, Kimihiro Abe, Masaharu Iwata, Yoshimi Kudo, Hitoshi Sakimoto http://vgmdb.net/artist/1827
P.C.
Great Demon King
Radio Men House

The Last Story http://vgmdb.net/album/22773
Nobuo Uematsu http://vgmdb.net/artist/77
Heart Beats Loudly
Fallen Aristocrat
Regal Essence

The Secret World http://vgmdb.net/album/33480
Marc Canham, Simon Poole http://vgmdb.net/artist/5790
In Golden Light
Into the Mysteries
March On, Templars

The Unfinished Swan http://vgmdb.net/album/35973
Joel Corelitz https://twitter.com/waveplant
Lights Out
The Monument Falls
The Unfinished Swan

The Walking Dead (no official soundtrack release)
Jared Emerson-Johnson http://vgmdb.net/artist/3296
Alive Inside
It's Over
Take Us Back

Had some of the most eerily emotive tracks this year. I don't think I've heard a soundtrack ride between hope and despair so beautifully, "Alive Inside" as an example. And, of course, "Take Us Back"

Thomas Was Alone http://vgmdb.net/album/33915
David Housden https://soundcloud.com/david-housden
A Time For Change
Hope
Where Are You?

Time Travelers http://vgmdb.net/album/33693
Hideki Sakamoto http://vgmdb.net/artist/4064
An Honest Heart (Kamiya's Theme)
Another Timeline
Ready for Combat

Overall, the soundtrack is rather brilliant, with a mesh of orchestrated stuff and pop tunes to placate different listeners' tastes. Because the game's story is divided among five characters, the variety of sounds on the album makes sense. Perhaps some of the vocal themes might drag it down depending on your taste, but it's an incredibly masterful score composed by Hideki Sakamoto.

[Nert]

Tokyo Jungle http://www.jp.playstation.com/scej/title/tokyojungle
Taku Sakakibara http://vgmdb.net/artist/2862
Stage 17
A2
Stage 01

I'm apparently the first to mention this in the thread, but freaking Tokyo Jungle you guys. I can't possibly tell you how much I adore the choice the developers made to go with oppressive techno music, feels so thematically true and the people who think the music didn't fit are STUPID haha.

Unchained Blades/UnchainBlades ReXX http://vgmdb.net/album/26349
Tsutomu Narita, Nobuo Uematsu http://vgmdb.net/artist/6443
Titan of Daris
Tones of Towns
UNCHAINED

Uncharted: Golden Abyss http://vgmdb.net/album/31784
Clint Bajakian, Greg Edmonson http://vgmdb.net/artist/1406
Chase's Theme
Protect Chase
The Sword of Steven

Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown http://vgmdb.net/album/34107
Fumio Ito, AM R&D 2 Sound Staff, Kazuki Takagi, Yasuyuki Nagata, Megumi Takano, Sachio Ogawa, Seiichi Hamada, Nobuhiko Kashiwara, Junpei Mishima http://vgmdb.net/artist/1494
Ruins (5FS Version)– Ai-Lin
Terrace (5R Version) – Brad Burns
Palace (5 Version) – Lion Rafale

Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 4/Bayshore Midnight Maximum Tune 4 http://vgmdb.net/album/30034
Yuzo Koshiro http://vgmdb.net/artist/148
Never Throw Away
Taillight
Nostalgia

No, seriously, when Yuzo Koshiro retires, how will we ever construct a highlight reel? We’re now at 28 years of excellence, 10 or so genres mastered, a hard drive’s worth of “career highs,” and handfuls of games defined by his work. Then, he adds 1 more to the shortlist.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria http://vgmdb.net/album/34256
Russell Brower, Neal Acree, Sam Cardon, Edo Guidotti, Jeremy Soule http://vgmdb.net/artist/4930
Temple Of The Five Dawns
Way Of The Monk
Why Do We Fight?

XCOM: Enemy Unknown http://vgmdb.net/album/35745
Michael McCann, Tim Wynn, Roland Rizzo http://vgmdb.net/artist/11587
Enemy Unknown
Otherworldly Dissonance
Ready For Battle

The soundtrack is so subtle yet purposeful. I feel like a straight badass commander when the music is all military, and on edge, when the music is eerie. Definitely a soundtrack that stood out for me this year.

Yakuza: Dead Souls/Like A Dragon: Of The End http://vgmdb.net/album/26641 http://vgmdb.net/album/26642
Mitsuharu Fukuyama, Yuri Fukuda, Takeshi Isozaki, Daniel Lindholm, Hiroshi Furukawa, Chihiro Aoki, Yuichi Kanatani, Susumu Tsukagoshi, Takahiro Kai, Leo Abotto http://vgmdb.net/artist/826
Surrounded On All Sides
Screamer
Long Battle

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward http://vgmdb.net/album/31874
Shinji Hosoe http://vgmdb.net/artist/247
Confession
Placidity
Recreation

Ziggurat http://actionbutton.bandcamp.com/alb...nal-soundtrack
Andrew Toups, Tim Rogers, Zak McCune https://twitter.com/mistertoups
Theme
Stelegy
Overture

----------------------------------------------------------------

Responses From Composers

Now that the results are posted, we've reached out to several of the winning composers to congratulate them and ask if they had any thoughts that they would like to share with everybody. I'll add their responses below as they trickle in:

My first ever post on NeoGAF .... this feels like something I should really thoughtfully put together, but I'm pretty sure it's going to come out very stream-of-conscious ... All I can say is thank you ALL ... this is overwhelming. I've been reading this site for years but never actually made an account but this seemed to be the perfect catalyst. I really can't overstate how much the kind words from you guys means to me. JOURNEY was a once-in-a-lifetime game made by some extraordinarily brilliant collaborators, and this response to it has been overwhelming to a degree I never thought possible. So please accept my endless thanks. I am excited to get to you know guys and post more often here now that I've finally made the plunge ;) -Austin

Thanks for the kind words. I don't really know the ways of neogaf except to know that it's important in determining a lot of things' success... so I'm really happy to have been noticed over there! And especially for music really, because it's been most of my life (I was a professional drum'n'bass producer / dj for over ten years, so it makes me really proud. So thanks again for letting me know how people feel! I've got lots of new music in store for this year, I'm doing some stuff for OneMrBean and more for Dennaton, as well as a new album of analogue synth stuff I'm assembling for my new game, New Game+. Lots to look forward to in 2013! Cheers, Jasper

Awesome! I've been completely overwhelmed by all the attention my soundtrack has received. Please tell everyone thanks, and to send me a message on Twitter (@benprunty) if they have any questions. Also, I wrote an article on all the equipment I used here: http://benprunty.com/2013/01/03/here...tl-soundtrack/ Thanks again! I'm honored. :) -Ben

Thanks for writing to me. I'm really happy to hear that you guys enjoyed Fastfall - it's a great feeling for me to know that a community as huge as NeoGAF recognizes my music :) It was my first musical project and I've learned a lot about music and myself through making it. I hope to impress you guys with my next game/album - our new game is very different from Dustforce, and its music will be quite unique as well. Thanks for getting in touch! - Terence

Hello! I would just like to say that I am happy that American people remember Illusion Of Gaia and thank you for playing Dokuro. I am so happy to be making video game music again.

[Nert]

Survey

Your answers to this (optional) short survey will help us improve the topic for next year.

1) Voting: Do you like the current voting system? If not, what would you like to change?

2) Archive: As more people participate in these votes, the archive is becoming massive. Do you like this comprehensive approach, or should we be more selective and trim it down?

3) Eligibility: This year, we placed very few restrictions on which soundtracks could be eligible for voting. Would you like to see more rules put into place, and if so, what kind of rules? This topic could encompass licensed soundtracks, re-releases with a few new tracks added to them, or simply the latest port of a game.

4) Comment Requirement: This year, the game of the year thread has placed a 1 comment requirement on every vote. This raises the barrier to entry somewhat, but it also pushes people to put more thought into their votes. Would you like to see a similar “post at least one comment or link to at least one song” rule implemented here?

5) Anything else: If you’d like to comment on anything else regarding this topic, go for it.

------------

That's all folks!

[papercamm]

Everybody who participated has fantastic taste. I would have loved to see Dustforce higher up though.

[Jintor]

Woo I got quoted

I assume Xenoblade won the 2011 OST of 2012? :P

[Dark Schala]

Maybe people should've paid attention to the first line of the OP that was highlighted in red next time. :|
It isn't that hard.

I'll read the OP in a sec and answer the survey in a sec, Nert! Other than the breaks in the OP, the thread looks good!

Edit: one of the quotes for the FF13-2 OST needs to be fixed.

As for the Shin Hikari Shinwa: Palutena no Kagami Music Selection, yeah, it's probably best to go with Sakuraba. I think he composed/co-composed most of the tracks, right?

[AoM]

I would have loved to see Dustforce higher up though.

This. Definitely top 7 at least.

[GhaleonQ]

Hey, all. Sorry that I was largely absent from the voting topic. It's just been a whirlwind year at work.

I've thanked Nert privately tens of times, but he does so much of the logistics that I'll thank him again publicly here. I'll continue to listen to too many soundtracks to keep my contribution up.

Composers: keep doing what you're doing. Most Valuable Composer: Yuzo Koshiro. He had 2 games that will likely get English releases, so I didn't vote for them, but those, his tracks on Kid Icarus/Light Myth, and Bayshore Midnight: Maximum Tune 4 means that he had the best year.

Thanks for the people who put education, effort, and good taste into their posts, and for making this a successful topic of conversation. See you next year!

To make up for my low post count, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite lists, either for their writing or choices. It's not comprehensive! I love all of you! There was much good non-list-related conversation, so go read the actual topic, too.

Zeer0id: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...3#post45462243
Thoraxes: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...3#post45465983
duckroll: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...4#post45479064
Coxy: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...0#post45479480
djtiesto: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...0#post45731750
Diamond: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...3#post45889613
Nocturnowl: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...1#post46008851
Nert: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...6#post46027606
Famassu: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...8#post46071288
Yuterald: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...7#post46097527
Dark Schala: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...6#post46131036 http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...4#post46131084
.......GhaleonQ (best list, duh): http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...9#post46079299

[Y2Kev]

Thank you, Nert, for the awesome thread and job and everything, as always!

edit: Is Battle to Pay the Debt Tanaka or is that Sakuraba? I thought Sakuraba did all the live grungebandy music.

[Dog Problems]

This is the last post that I need, everybody can go at it now (smh at the people who didn't read the warning :P) Survey Your answers to this (optional) short survey will help us improve the topic for next year. 1) Voting: Do you like the current voting system? If not, what would you like to change? I think it's just fine. 2) Archive: As more people participate in these votes, the archive is becoming massive. Do you like this comprehensive approach, or should we be more selective and trim it down? I like having everything represented and I think the more that's there, the better. But I realize it's a lot of work for you so I'd understand if you became more selective. 3) Eligibility: This year, we placed very few restrictions on which soundtracks could be eligible for voting. Would you like to see more rules put into place, and if so, what kind of rules? This topic could encompass licensed soundtracks, re-releases with a few new tracks added to them, or simply the latest port of a game. If a song is in a game from the current year that the voting is taking place, it should be allowed. For both the game of the year topic and soundtracks of the year, I personally don't count remakes of older games, ports of games that came out in a previous year, "enhanced" re-releases such as the high definition ones that have been coming out, but I think others should be allowed to count them. Same with games that include licensed music. 4) Comment Requirement: This year, the game of the year thread has placed a 1 comment requirement on every vote. This raises the barrier to entry somewhat, but it also pushes people to put more thought into their votes. Would you like to see a similar “post at least one comment or link to at least one song” rule implemented here? No, because I can't articulate well enough as to why I like the songs that I do, outside of generic descriptions like, "it fits the game well." But I still want to vote because I think I bring to attention some soundtracks that a lot of people on here may not have heard or heard of, which can then lead to interest in the actual game. 5) Anything else: If you’d like to comment on anything else regarding this topic, go for it. Thanks for taking the time out to do all of this! That's all folks!

.

[Zeer0id]

brilliant, thanks for the amazing work dudes

I can't wait to listen to the soundtracks from the top games I'd missed.

edit: I'll fill out the survey a bit later :)

[Dark Schala]

edit: Is Battle to Pay the Debt Tanaka or is that Sakuraba? I thought Sakuraba did all the live grungebandy music.

That is Sakuraba.

Dark Schala: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...6#post46131036 http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...4#post46131084

:D

I liked your list too, if only for mentioning the best Yuzo Koshiro soundtrack of the year in Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 4.

[Dark Schala]

double-post. Whoops.

[Nocturnowl]

The point gaps between the top ranking soundtracks seem pretty large, I expected a closer race to the top.

Survey time!

1) Voting: Do you like the current voting system? If not, what would you like to change?

If the volume of quality soundtracks keeps up I wouldn't mind a top 5 at this point but really i'm fine with what we've got here.

2) Archive: As more people participate in these votes, the archive is becoming massive. Do you like this comprehensive approach, or should we be more selective and trim it down?

While it's a pretty intimidating list in size it's also great to have a sampling for the many soundtracks each year, it's a tough one to figure out how to handle.
Maybe just two entries per soundtrack to cut down a bit on the load? hopefully the voters bring in their personal picks as well to spread the variety throughout the thread.

3) Eligibility: This year, we placed very few restrictions on which soundtracks could be eligible for voting. Would you like to see more rules put into place, and if so, what kind of rules? This topic could encompass licensed soundtracks, re-releases with a few new tracks added to them, or simply the latest port of a game.

Licensed soundtracks can toe the line often offering some new tracks unique to the game and playing a big role in the games atmosphere, such things I feel should be given appreciation, other licensed soundtracks like your standard music game on the other hand I wouldn't consider at all, i'd say licensed soundtracks work on a case by case basis with their position in the voting falling on how the music is handled.
Games that have the majority of their soundtrack filled with songs from previous games (see SSB series, Sonic Generations) I leave aside for an HM spot only since the soundtrack is effectively retreading old ground even if they are really good remixes.

4) Comment Requirement: This year, the game of the year thread has placed a 1 comment requirement on every vote. This raises the barrier to entry somewhat, but it also pushes people to put more thought into their votes. Would you like to see a similar “post at least one comment or link to at least one song” rule implemented here?

It's a tougher sell here to have the comment requirement because for my own experience I can say it's not always easy to describe how the music resonates with you but even so i'd sooner see more explanations, if you care enough about a soundtrack to vote for it then surely there's at least one sentence you can put in for it.

5) Anything else: If you’d like to comment on anything else regarding this topic, go for it.

To keep up the good work!

Also even though it's early days if anyone's got their eyes on any soundtracks in this coming year? i'm anticipating Tengami just for the return of David Wise tackling some vintage Japanese styles.

[Nert]

A a few random tidbits that don't really fit in the original post:

1) The five soundtracks that would round out a top 20 are Guild Wars 2, Darksiders II, Double Dragon Neon, Persona 4 Arena, and Crimson Shroud. If this doesn't cover what you voted for, you could always jump into the full voting spreadsheet linked at the top I was holding out for more support for Botanicula, but I knew that Globulous would be a non-starter that late into the process :P

2) Once I'm done placing quotes into the archive, there are some half-baked features left on the cutting room floor that I might dust off and post here.

3) Related recommendations. Very few people made these, so they didn't make it into the original post. I still think that mentioning soundtracks similar to those that won could make for an interesting conversation and it could be useful to people who want to hear "more of that," but the discography will at least cover the works from the same person angle.

[Dark Schala]

This is the last post that I need, everybody can go at it now (smh at the people who didn't read the warning :P) Survey Your answers to this (optional) short survey will help us improve the topic for next year. 1) Voting: Do you like the current voting system? If not, what would you like to change?

You know how I feel about it; if I could vote for more soundtracks, I would. I think it's fine.

But I made up my own categories anyway, made an LTTP post (I think allowing people to make an LTTP honourable mention (while not making it count for a vote) is fine), and highlighted a few original albums and doujin albums so I'm happy I was able to do that.

2) Archive: As more people participate in these votes, the archive is becoming massive. Do you like this comprehensive approach, or should we be more selective and trim it down?

Again, you know how I feel about this. I love the archive, and I love listening to new OSTs even if I haven't played the game because it shows the diversity of the music released this year. I make use of it if I need to listen to something new. With that said, I feel like slowly building up the archive in the the results thread kind of worked for the best this year as opposed to making the archive available from the start. I guess some people got kind of put off by the large list at the beginning of the thread last year and just wanted to vote for what they were familiar with or maybe they wanted to listen to what some of their peers had to offer in terms of what they wanted to vote for.

I also think the soundtrack highlights that a few of us did throughout the thread kind of helped in terms of opening people up to new soundtracks that they wouldn't have listened to otherwise. So if some people take up the job of advertising certain soundtracks throughout the thread, that might lead to people actually giving things a chance.

3) Eligibility: This year, we placed very few restrictions on which soundtracks could be eligible for voting. Would you like to see more rules put into place, and if so, what kind of rules? This topic could encompass licensed soundtracks, re-releases with a few new tracks added to them, or simply the latest port of a game.

This one's tricky. Like, I don't think a soundtrack for a port should be eligible, despite it being new content. The bulk of the ported game's soundtrack isn't those 4-17 tracks, for example, and I get the feeling that people aren't necessarily voting for the new content on the soundtracks, but are instead voting for cohesive whole. And this kind of presents a problem. That's why I took Persona 4: Golden's 15-track soundtrack off of my list almost immediately. I didn't think those 15-tracks were as great as some of the tracks on other soundtracks. So if people were to vote for ported soundtracks, they must justify why they're voting for the newer tracks as opposed to the cohesive whole.

As for the licensed soundtracks, that's really tricky too. Stuff like DJMAX would be stuff I wouldn't vote for because it's partially licensed. Hotline Miami was a little tricky because it's partially licensed but because some people didn't really know that, or they thought of how the music was being used in that game specifically and that's why it was good, then I can certainly see them voting for it. But licensed soundtracks for stuff like... I dunno, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, for example, is something I'd outright say doesn't count.

So to conclude, if it justifiably lends some atmosphere to the game like Hotline Miami did, then I would certainly include it. If the licensed soundtrack is there for the sake of being there, then no... never. And if you're voting for a ported game's soundtrack or a soundtrack with a few new tunes, justify it and note that you are not voting for the game's soundtrack as a cohesive whole. You are voting for just those new tracks only.

4) Comment Requirement: This year, the game of the year thread has placed a 1 comment requirement on every vote. This raises the barrier to entry somewhat, but it also pushes people to put more thought into their votes. Would you like to see a similar “post at least one comment or link to at least one song” rule implemented here?

Yes! Yesyesyesyesyes. I loved the conversations we had this year in the voting thread as a result of some people commenting on what they'd voted for, so by all means.

Like I said last year, I don't care if you have to say something like, "I think this album rocks because I got a kick out of the rockin tune that started playing when I started fighting the Giant Enemy Shower Curtain." That's fine! That's perfectly okay!

Or post your favourite tune from the soundtrack so if I'm unfamiliar with the soundtrack, I'll click on it and see why you liked the soundtrack so much. Even just doing that justifies your choice to me and gets me to know you as a poster, and your general taste in music, a little bit better.

5) Anything else: If you’d like to comment on anything else regarding this topic, go for it. That's all folks!

Arranged album conversation? I pointed out this in the previous thread before it died:

It's too bad we couldn't vote for arrange soundtracks or something. I started listening to some Ys Zanmai stuff last night and I think it's pretty good. I dunno how good it's going to be compared to Falcom Boss Zanmai. Ex: Ys Zanmai - The Depth Napishtim Ys Zanmai - Crimson Wings Falcom Boss Zanmai - The Strongest Foe (and I think this is pretty good considering my favourite version comes from the Perfect Collection / Ys III PCE) Falcom Boss Zanmai - Blue Dragon Falcom Boss Zanmai - Inevitable Struggle (how could I leave out one of my favourite battle themes of the forever omg and they're using FM synth *dies* so goooooooooood <3)

So there were a number of arranged albums I would've loved to at least kind of talk about, though not pitch a vote to. I know there were a bunch that came out this year that threads were made for. I don't think these should be voted on, but it'd be nice if people brought them up in the thread.

In that case, I sort of want to see people play around with their votes a little bit if they really wanted to. If you love VGM, great! Take advantage of that and post whatever the heck you want to after your ballot like I did. Just make sure you make your Top 3 evident.

Mmm... that's about it, I think. For now, unless I think of something else.

I was holding out for more support for Botanicula, but I knew that Globulous would be a non-starter that late into the process :P

I'm sorry!

[GhaleonQ]

Also even though it's early days if anyone's got their eyes on any soundtracks in this coming year? i'm anticipating Tengami just for the return of David Wise tackling some vintage Japanese styles.

I think we'll have to wait a few months to get detailed information like composers (and there's foreign stuff from 2012 with soundtracks already out), but the change-up on The God And Fate Revolution Paradox (no Tenpei Sato?) is the biggest surprise to me for a game that may be my favorite of the year (in fact, geez, there are a ton of Nippon Ichi games this year), Company Of Heroes 2 should bring some different ethnicities' music (and a big-name composer) to a genre that usually has unchallenging or unmemorable music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t-fNnvgtrA , and the Final Fantasy XIV relaunch should add a ton of tracks (I hope) to an already stellar soundtrack. Vampire/Darkstalkers 4 should be out, right, and while Spirit Watch's direction has ended up disappointing me, but I'd love for them to emulate 1960s/1970s Japanese childrens television with the soundtrack rather than Generic R.P.G. Soundtrack From Japan #1,083. There are also a ton of graphic adventure games that seem to be ambitious or original, and that includes Iwadare and Ace Attorney/Turnabout Prosecutor 5.

3) Related recommendations. Very few people made these, so they didn't make it into the original post. I still think that mentioning soundtracks similar to those that won could make for an interesting conversation and it could be useful to people who want to hear "more of that," but the discography will at least cover the works from the same person angle.

I definitely like the idea, as I told you, and will do it myself in a separate post next year. I think a problem is that people may not recall a composer or track name and won't take the time to search "that song where you shoot the general in the game," so it may just end up being people linking to Final Fantasy and Halo because that's what they remember. BUT perhaps not.

[Nocturnowl]

"I think this album rocks because I got a kick out of the rockin tune that started playing when I started fighting the Giant Enemy Shower Curtain."

Maybe it's just my tiredness talking but this is the perfect finish to my day.

I think we'll have to wait a few months to get detailed information like composers (and there's foreign stuff from 2012 with soundtracks already out), but the change-up on The God And Fate Revolution Paradox (no Tenpei Sato?) is the biggest surprise to me for a game that may be my favorite of the year (in fact, geez, there are a ton of Nippon Ichi games this year), Company Of Heroes 2 should bring some different ethnicities' music (and a big-name composer) to a genre that usually has unchallenging or unmemorable music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t-fNnvgtrA , and the Final Fantasy XIV relaunch should add a ton of tracks (I hope) to an already stellar soundtrack. Vampire/Darkstalkers 4 should be out, right, and while Spirit Watch's direction has ended up disappointing me, but I'd love for them to emulate 1960s/1970s Japanese childrens television with the soundtrack rather than Generic R.P.G. Soundtrack From Japan #1,083. There are also a ton of graphic adventure games that seem to be ambitious or original, and that includes Iwadare and Ace Attorney/Turnabout Prosecutor 5.

I forgot about Iwadare working on AA5, i'm still taunted by the snippets of the AAI2 soundtrack you've occasionally dropped into threads.
The leap in sound quality due to the 3DS should be interesting to hear.

[Dark Schala]

Also even though it's early days if anyone's got their eyes on any soundtracks in this coming year? i'm anticipating Tengami just for the return of David Wise tackling some vintage Japanese styles.

Sen no Kiseki should be good. Soul Sacrifice has Mitsuda credited on it, and the last stuff I liked from Mitsuda was on the Arc Rise Fantasia soundtrack, so we'll see if he's out of his rut. There're a bunch of mini soundtracks that I could be interested in, but we'll see. I also suspect that Lightning Returns will be out in Japan this year (considering this thing came out in late December), but who knows. Too early to tell right now.

I hope that I can make Conception's OST an LTTP mention when I finally get it. And as a side-note, I didn't bother to vote for Bravely Default last year in the hopes that comes over to the west. I didn't bother voting for Ni no Kuni's soundtrack either. See, it's kind of weird and it's something I run into in GotY too, but you do have to make a decision on what you vote for in terms of imports and stuff. If you vote for the Japanese release that year, then you can't vote for it when it comes out in the west, etc. That's why if I vote for GotY this year, I'm not voting for ToGf, for example, because it was my runner-up in 2010 on a personal list.

I am interested in the stuff I could hear at SAGE this year, though. I know "doujin albums" and stuff, but I was really impressed with the stuff I heard last year.

Maybe it's just my tiredness talking but this is the perfect finish to my day.

You're really tired, haha.

EDIT: Nert if you wanted to use these:

rhythm thief Give the Orchestra an Encore This is and was the biggest draw to the game for me. With a soundtrack that gives special thanks to Jun Senoue, you know it’s gotta be good, right? Well, it actually is, imo. I liked the album a lot. The main Rhythm Thief motif is nicely composed and a wonderful way to greet the player when selecting the cart on the 3DS menu or opening up the title screen. It being consistently there in fanfares and the ending was nice. Some of the minigame themes like "Intruding the Louvre" and "Moon Princess" provide a lovely backdrop to the main minigame sound effects and cues. Intruding the Louvre, for example has a ridiculously nice bassline which complements the secretive nature of Phantom R's entire operation. Moon Princess is covered in the majesty Hijiri Kuwano, whom some people may recognize from such soundtracks as Final Fantasy XIII and Sigma Harmonics. As usual, Kuwano dazzles us with some good violin playing. The game's opening minigame theme "Showtime" is loaded with some disco and catchy vocals, which reminds me a little bit of Sonic Adventure's soundtrack. This is a good thing. Town themes such as Day in Paris and Night in Paris sort of remind me a lot of Sonic Unleashed's soundtrack, and this is purely because the portion of Unleashed's soundtrack dedicated to Europe employed such things as piano and accordions. Here, catchy percussion and lovely piano hooks create a celebratory atmosphere in Day in Paris that you can't help but to dance to if listening to on its own. You sort of hear some of an Unleashed night theme in Night in Paris in addition of the Rhythm Thief main theme to distinguish it from the day theme. Overall, the town bits are very fun to listen to. You've also got some remixes from Space Channel 5 and Samba de Amigo in here, so it's a bit of a nostalgia trip. The ending theme in the western version (Je te dis au revoir by Karie Kahimi) is a different song from the Japanese version (Story by Ai), but that’s alright. Overall, I have to say that I'm very pleased with the soundtrack. Giving Paris a jazzy atmosphere was a nice decision on Ohtani and Hataya's parts. Also, the fact that all of this was performed with live instruments tickles my fancy.

Suikoden: Woven Web The music isn’t as good as Tierkreis’s massive soundscape, which spanned several CDs, but it’s good enough. A lot of the people on this soundtrack aren’t people I’ve heard very much of (they had a few Tierkreis composers working on Frontier Gate’s soundtrack, which is pretty good). The theme song, The Giving Tree, is very good. I think it’s better than Tierkreis’s, and feels kind of consistent in tone and vocalist tone colour with some of the old games’ theme songs, but it has more of a ‘pop’-ish feel. With that said, it’s a very decent song with a good tempo, especially for the chorus, which I think is quite well-composed. I’m not sure if the soundtrack is on YouTube, otherwise I’d post samples. The Beginning Theme, which is in every single Genso Suikoden game, is, uh, it makes me feel pretty happy to hear because they managed to slip a tribute to “Into a World of Illusions” in there and selected some decent samples to make the instrumentation good, and lets the composition shine. It’s very good. The World Map theme “To the Yet Unseen World” is good as well. Again, good samples, good composition, and when it goes into the “main” bit, it’s very reminiscent of a regular old Suikoden game, with that woodwind, piano, and keyboard voice. The battle theme, “An Opponent Blocking Your Way”, is one that I’m not super-hot about. It starts off a little slow, and goes into a melody that I really like, and then it moves into a portion that I’m not enthusiastic about. It isn’t messy, but it isn’t really my thing either. The loop takes long to come back to (1:30), so since you’re likely going to finish battles quickly, you might not get to the nice bit. The Victory theme makes me smile because it’s exactly what you think it is with this game’s variation of it. There are several versions of the HQ theme, which each corresponding to the time of day. It’s pretty decent. Lotsa woodwind in the noon one, and it sounds pretty. As for the town themes, if you’re used to instrumental variation from the older games, you’ll like this one. I didn’t find one that hit me as hard as Porpos from Tierkreis, but they’re all good. Maybe Multillion might come close to it, because I think the theme is very sweet and the instrument samples are very good. No, the strategy theme doesn’t call back to the strategy theme from either II or V. But it’s a decent composition on its own.

[Shining Sunshine]

I hope Austin Wintory wins the Grammy.

[zkylon]

Nice, I got quoted a couple times :D

The list seems to be very nice, I have tons of catching up to do, like Journey, Fez and Dustforce, etc...

Survey Your answers to this (optional) short survey will help us improve the topic for next year. 1) Voting: Do you like the current voting system? If not, what would you like to change? 2) Archive: As more people participate in these votes, the archive is becoming massive. Do you like this comprehensive approach, or should we be more selective and trim it down? 3) Eligibility: This year, we placed very few restrictions on which soundtracks could be eligible for voting. Would you like to see more rules put into place, and if so, what kind of rules? This topic could encompass licensed soundtracks, re-releases with a few new tracks added to them, or simply the latest port of a game. 4) Comment Requirement: This year, the game of the year thread has placed a 1 comment requirement on every vote. This raises the barrier to entry somewhat, but it also pushes people to put more thought into their votes. Would you like to see a similar “post at least one comment or link to at least one song” rule implemented here? 5) Anything else: If you’d like to comment on anything else regarding this topic, go for it. ------------ That's all folks!

1) Voting: seems simple enough, I wouldn't mind extending it to 5 games
2) Archive: maybe you can do playlists and link to that besides a couple picks, like I did in my own post: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost...&postcount=101. I think that's the best mix of comprehensive and unobtrusive.
3) Eligibility: current state it's great, licensed music should be encouraged just as much as original tracks
4) Comment Requirement: sure, don't think it'd change much, since most people already did anyways.
5) Anything Else: not for the moment...

[Nert]

Quotes have now been added to the archive. I'm going to take a much-needed break and check back in with everybody later. Thanks again to everyone that has participated!

[xvszero]

Persona 4 is the best soundtrack on that list, easy.

[Jintor]

Persona 4 is the best soundtrack on that list, easy.

Sure, but it came out in '08 :D

Golden songs are pretty great (SNOWFLAKES) but they don't stand up alone

[SatelliteOfLove]

1, 20, 14. Yup, it's one of my spreads.

Woo I got quoted I assume Xenoblade won the 2011 OST of 2012? :P

Me too, misspelling and all! (conscious).

Survey Your answers to this (optional) short survey will help us improve the topic for next year. 1) Voting: Do you like the current voting system? If not, what would you like to change? 2) Archive: As more people participate in these votes, the archive is becoming massive. Do you like this comprehensive approach, or should we be more selective and trim it down? 3) Eligibility: This year, we placed very few restrictions on which soundtracks could be eligible for voting. Would you like to see more rules put into place, and if so, what kind of rules? This topic could encompass licensed soundtracks, re-releases with a few new tracks added to them, or simply the latest port of a game. 4) Comment Requirement: This year, the game of the year thread has placed a 1 comment requirement on every vote. This raises the barrier to entry somewhat, but it also pushes people to put more thought into their votes. Would you like to see a similar “post at least one comment or link to at least one song” rule implemented here? 5) Anything else: If you’d like to comment on anything else regarding this topic, go for it. ------------ That's all folks!

1. No change

2. Maybe a little. No pictures maybe?

3. I specifically don't include remixes of tracks composed for releases in the past in my lists (see last year), but I feel that's a personal view for now.

4. Yes. If Dark Schala can put up Dostoevsky-levels of reasoning, a line won't kill anyone. :P

5. Great job!

[Grisby]

Great job on the stuff OP.

Journey winning is ok in my book and one of my other picks, Gravity Rush, landed at 7th. Good year for music although I was slightly disappointed by Halo 4's tracks,

[Empty]

amazing effort put into this. thank you. i'm really enjoying listening through the youtube links.

[Nert]

While working with GhaleonQ on the discography (and he put together the vast majority of it, by the way), I really fell hard for Lone Survivor's "Where Is It Going?" This has been quite the year for Jasper Byrne.

Also even though it's early days if anyone's got their eyes on any soundtracks in this coming year? i'm anticipating Tengami just for the return of David Wise tackling some vintage Japanese styles.

Haha, oh man. My head is still stuck in 2012, for the most part. I always struggle with predictions of this sort because a lot of the games (and game soundtracks) that I've enjoyed recently are ones that I didn't even know about until after they were released. I'm really curious to see what direction Chris Tilton takes SimCity in, because SimCity 4 had excellent music.

[megalowho]

That's a nice, well rounded list.

I wish more people played Fez.

[Phire Phox]

Not surprised Journey one. Game has a great soundtrack.

[ULTROS!]

I'm glad all the OSTs I voted were on the top 15 (FFXIII, GR, and Persona 4). :D

[antitrop]

Phenomenal list. What a great year for game music, I really loved Journey.

[zkylon]

While working with GhaleonQ on the discography (and he put together the vast majority of it, by the way), I really fell hard for Lone Survivor's "Where Is It Going?" This has been quite the year for Jasper Byrne.

Yeah, he's changed from total unknown to the Jesper Kyd of indies for me this year.

[Wynnebeck]

Journey definitely was amazing but I'm quite shocked to see Sound Shapes not in the Top 3. Beck's album in the game was awesome just by itself but everyone elses' contributions were phenomenal as well.

[Dark Schala]

I'm glad all the OSTs I voted were on the top 15 (FFXIII, GR, and Persona 4). :D

I like how I was probably one of two people who voted for my #1. :lol :lol :lol

Ah, I knew it wasn't gonna happen.

[Busaiku]

Paper Mario Sticker Star was robbed.
I liked Kid Icarus Uprising a lot more, of course, but to see it so low.

[Kurtofan]

How does the spreadsheet work?Nothing shows up on it.

[Fjordson]

Awesome round up. I have so much to listen to now!

Thanks to everyone who voted and helped put this together.

[Jay-B]

Really cool OP, thanks Nert! I'm going to use this to familiarize myself with a little bit more with modern composers.

[Dantis]

Definitely a weak year for soundtracks for me, but still some great results. Journey really deserved number 1.

Glad to see VLR at 14 also.

Very cool topic, great work.

[ShinobiFist]

Amazing, and great work OP. Good discussions in the voting thread as well.

[dreamfall]

Totally incredible thread- so many tracks! This is very appreciated- amazing work!

[Noi]

yay I got quoted for Asura's Wrath. Not enough love for that.

I like how I was probably one of two people who voted for my #1. :lol :lol :lol Ah, I knew it wasn't gonna happen.

Never a reason to note vote anyway!

I'm glad to see Gravity Rush chart though. <3 Wish Asura's Wrath also did so that my three picks would have made it, but I can understand people's aversions to not experiencing that.

_

Survey!

1) I wouldn't mind being able to vote for more than just three entries. I felt strongly about more than just 3 of the OSTs this year, so having them also get even a bit more recognition would have been nice.

2) I like comprehensive. :X Maybe you could trim down a song or two if needed, but this isn't bad.

3) I'd only really place a limitation for latest port. While I wouldn't vote for them, I'm not opposed to releases with new tracks or licensed ones, as people who feel strongly enough for them should be allowed to vote for it.

4) Borrowing GOTY's one comment would be nice! It actively brings up a topic of discussion for people in the thread and gets more participation going than someone drive by posting their favorite songs.

[Nocturnowl]

I listen to a few tracks in the Asura's Wrath soundtrack quite a lot so really I should've given it an HM at least.

[Coxy]

so much good stuff in that archive, gonna have a nice day checking some of those out, didnt even know there was a new wangan

1) Voting: Do you like the current voting system? If not, what would you like to change?
Voting's fine

2) Archive: As more people participate in these votes, the archive is becoming massive. Do you like this comprehensive approach, or should we be more selective and trim it down?
I like the comprehensive approach, the very top titles tend towards popular games everyone has heard of

3) Eligibility: This year, we placed very few restrictions on which soundtracks could be eligible for voting. Would you like to see more rules put into place, and if so, what kind of rules? This topic could encompass licensed soundtracks, re-releases with a few new tracks added to them, or simply the latest port of a game.
I dont think licensed soundtracks or ports should count unless there's new tracks too

4) Comment Requirement: This year, the game of the year thread has placed a 1 comment requirement on every vote. This raises the barrier to entry somewhat, but it also pushes people to put more thought into their votes. Would you like to see a similar “post at least one comment or link to at least one song” rule implemented here?
Comments make for a more interesting thread to read and limits the amount of drive by votes for popular games but it would depend on if you feel participation is high enough that you're ok with raising the barrier.

5) Anything else: If you’d like to comment on anything else regarding this topic, go for it.
Just wanna say thanks to everyone who entered, there's some great commentary and nominations, some people really put some time into their entries and Nert too for putting the hours in to compile all that