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The results from NeoGAF's Game Soundtracks of the Year 2014 vote are below. Additionally, we are still in the process of getting in touch with some of the composers to congratulate them on their work, and filling out the archive with all of the soundtracks that were discussed during the voting phase. Enjoy!

Results

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze – 311 points, 9 honorable mentions

Composer: David Wise

Scorch ‘N’ Torch
Seashore War
Amiss Abyss

The entirety of this post by TheXtortionist

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze's soundtrack is a beautiful, timeless work of art that is equally imbued in memories of the past, the atmosphere of present and the outlook of the future. It's an instant classic that will easily be treasured for years to come.

Dave Wise is a genius, and I'm not sure I can say much about this OST that hasn't been said a hundred times in this thread. The tracks swing from catchy and fun to moody and atmospheric to just really intense whenever the level design dictates a shift of mood. I appreciate what Yamamoto was doing with Returns, but this is the soundtrack I was expecting.

A game soundtrack should never be just a bunch of cool songs to listen to while playing. The soundtrack, together with the art style, is the most important factor in defining the mood and the atmosphere of a game. Tropical Freeze is a perfect example of this: there's a huge variety of songs, each better than the next, thus giving every level its own unique feel.

The Tropical Freeze soundtrack has had nearly a year to continue growing on me, upon first finishing the game I felt that it was a great OST but not about to unseat DKC2, slowly but surely as I listened to more of its tracks it began to prove itself more than strong enough to stand up alongside my all-time favourite. It more than makes up for the underwhelming safe soundtrack of its predecessor and then some. To get almost sappy over game music of all things it really pleases me that this soundtrack exists, like I would've thought it almost a pipe dream of mine to get another David Wise DKC soundtrack let alone one as strong as this and yet here it is, all of my thanks to those involved which would also include Kenji Yamamoto. I hope it won’t be too long before I can hear more from both Wise and Yamamoto.

2. Shovel Knight – 108 points, 15 honorable mentions

Composer: Jake Kaufman, Manami Matsumae

Steel Thy Shovel
La Danse Macabre
The Requiem of Shield Knight

Shovel Knight was a big surprise for me. I bought it towards the end of 2014 knowing little more than everyone was saying it's good, and that it was inspired by the classic Mega Man games. I enjoyed every second of it, but the thing I loved the most was finding music sheets to give to the bard so I could listen to the music anytime I wanted. Not once did I enter that first village and leave without asking the bard to play a tune. I knew nothing of Jake Kaufman before playing Shovel Knight, but I'll be paying attention to anything else he works on now.

Speaking of the gap between memories and reality, Shovel Knight is a one-two punch of nostalgia and fantastic composition. Every song fits its level, motivates you forward, and gets you excited just to be playing the game. It is a Capcom-like soundtrack that Capcom no longer makes.

That this game was such an incredible experience that appealed to (yet without overly pandering to) my inner nostalgic childhood was really a surprise to me, and far and away my go-to game as proof that Kickstarter is ultimately a service for good, if done right. But what I also wasn't expecting was to fall entirely in love with the soundtrack as much as I do. It really speaks to Jake Kaufman's talent that he can share music credits with the legendary Manami Matsumae and yet produce music which I think surpasses hers in this particular situation. From the epic and heroic to the jaunty and whimsical, this covers everything.

This one is going to depend a lot on whether you are into chiptune music. This game has no interest playing faux-retro and goes all in to blend in with its past-contemporaries. Shovel Knight captures the sound of that era not only very well, but also stomped its own footprint down while it was at it. Of all the games I listed, this is the one where I would miss its music the most. Having played a little bit without music on my 3DS last month showed me what a crucial part its music was to its overall package. I'm not saying this to diminish the rest of the game, but to highlight the importance of its soundtrack.

3. Mario Kart 8 – 102 points, 13 honorable mentions

Composers: Shiho Fujii, Atsuko Asahi, Ryo Nagamatsu, Yasuaki Iwata

Electrodrome
Mount Wario
Cloudtop Cruise

Music in Mario games has always been among my favorite in gaming since it always evokes the fun and whimsical nature of the games themselves. Mario Kart 8's soundtrack is no exception as each track has its own personality brought out through the music whether it be relaxed, magical, or aggressive. I would be lying if I didn't say that some of my favorite tracks had a strong influence on which courses I played on.

With past Mario Kart entries being renowned for their supposedly underwhelming, at times 'discordant' soundtracks - statements I can only partially disagree with -, the soundtrack to Mario Kart 8 took everyone by surprise this year. As it turns out it was a good idea to not quite send the big band home after recording of the 3D World soundtrack had been completed. Mario Kart 8 comes damn near close to realising the full potential of an arcade/kart racer soundtrack and it's a shame that the frantic sound mix gets in the way of being able to fully enjoy the brassy goodness blasting out of the TV on almost every track.

Mario Kart 8 comes in one flavor: bold. Its percussive horns, rock guitar interludes, humming synth, and crazy saxophone licks are not for those looking for a contemplative listening experience. But for those with even the smallest soft spot for big band, this soundtrack cannot be missed. It features one of gaming’s best new trends, the dynamic soundtrack, bringing in delectable saxophone or guitar solos as you tear out of the water in ”Dolphin Shoals” or soar into thunderclouds in ”Cloudtop Cruise.” There are a lot of songs that are just plain fun to listen to, like ”N64 Rainbow Road,” and the new DLC instant-favorites ”Mute City” and ”Hyrule Circuit,” the latter of which is, by the way, heaven for a Zelda music nerd. It may rarely turn down for what, but Mario Kart 8 brings with it the joy of live music and musicians with immense instrumental talent. Now sing to me, Dolphin Shoals sax man.

4. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS & Wii U – 92 points, 25 honorable mentions

Composers: Check this link out!

Xenoblade Chronicles Medley
Mega Man 2 Medley
Gerudo Valley

The sheer number of remixes, medleys, and original tracks is astounding. Luckily, the quality of the music is just as amazing as the quanity with everything from blood-pumping tracks like Mute City to simplistic piano pieces like Midna's Lament. Hours will be spent in the My Music section scrolling through song after song after song from all eras of Nintendo's history.

Smash Bros. not only brings together many of the best composers in the industry, but also many of the best franchises. Yes, most of the tracks in this game are remixes, but they’re just so good. Not only that, but even the original songs are the best in the series for me.

5. Transistor – 79 points, 6 honorable mentions

Composers: Darren Korb

The Spine
Gateless
Sandbox

I bought Transistor during the last Steam sale without knowing a damn thing about it. The second that cold open popped up and Old Friends started playing I was IN. It wears Trip-Hop on its sleeve and the added interactivity of humming during any song and the low pass filter effect when you're planning something out makes it even better.

Darren Korb and Ashley Lynn Barrett manage to top themselves with this great electronic, post-rock style sound that at times brings to mind Ed Harrison's incredible NeoTokyo OST, and at others dips into electronica/downtempo. Fits the game's aesthetic like a glove.

Transistor was an amazing game I picked up by accident. No small part of that glory is owed to the game's outstanding sound track. Described to me by others as a sort of folk/electronic/rock mash up, the OST just really, really set the mood for the game.

6. Bravely Default: Flying Fairy – 52 points, 6 honorable mentions

Composer: Revo

Wicked Flight
Serpent Eating the Ground
Love's Vagrant

Boasting insanely high production values and an upbeat tempo that would leave other RPG soundtracks gasping for breath, the BD soundtrack manages to still maintain that classic retro feel that most of the game strives for. It's different, to be sure, but it still has that proud, triumphant, and slightly maniacal sound Final Fantasy was known for back in day. Beating the game is almost worth it just for the final two boss themes alone, they're that good!

Rather than blasting the listener with every tool at his disposal, Revo uses the balanced interplay of each instrument in his orchestra, along with a plethora of aurally interesting musical ideas and, more importantly, precise timing, to compile a soundtrack clearly born out of passion, but with technical composition that rarely babbles. Here is game music from a composer who understands what he likes, what sounds good, and why. I am sad to see him missing from the helm of Bravely Second, and I hope that we see more work from him in gaming’s future.

7. Bayonetta 2 – 47 points, 16 honorable mentions

Composers: Masami Ueda, Naofumi Harada, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Norihiko Hibino, Takahiro Izutani, Satoshi Igarashi, Hitomi Kurokawa, Takayasu Sodeoka, Rei Kondoh, Naoto Tanaka

Tomorrow is Mine
Glamor: In Charm and Allure
Moon River

I adore everything about this soundtrack, from the cheesy upbeat poppy covers of classic songs to the epic orchestral pieces. Its hard not to have a big smile on your face when Moon River pops up during the intro. It doesn't reach the highs of the original game in terms of its orchestral side (Its poppier tracks are better though) but its still a damn good soundtrack in its own right.

Absolute fantastic soundtrack and by far my favourite of the year. It's a complete mixture of jazzy tunes, pop vocal tracks and bombastic epic orchestral sounds. It's a perfect successor to the first game. Much as Bayonetta herself is stylish, fast and powerful, this soundtrack not only complements the crazy action in the game but also her nature.

8. Child of Light – 28 points, 4 honorable mentions

Composers: Béatrice Martin (Cœur de Pirate)

Woods Darker Than Night
Pilgrims on A Long Journey
Metal Gleamed in The Twilight

Ubisoft was nailing it on the music front this year. Child of Light may not have been perfect in it's game design, but you couldn't fault the music. Some really great pieces here with Aurora's Theme being a huge standout. It's my soundtrack of the year because so many of the tracks hit home for me, and it was really surprising for this small downloadable game.

This wasn't quite my favorite soundtrack of the year, but it's my #1 selection for reasons that'll become evident in [my post]… I love how piano- and strings-heavy the OST is. Child of Light is a game that'll stick with me for a long time, and the music is like 80% of the reason why.

9. Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – 27 points, 4 honorable mentions

Composers: Tomohito Nishiura, Yasumasa Kitagawa, Masakazu Sugimori

The Final Witness
Omen ~Footfalls of Turnabout
The Stake’s Witnesses

I'm a sucker for orchestrated music, love the Ace Attorney series (and its music), and I'm fond of medieval settings so I guess I'm biased on this one. Anyway, I really liked the calm, relaxing and elegant Layton themes and how it shifted while building the tension to the Ace Attorney side. As I have never played a Layton game before (shame on me, I suppose) I don't know if it's something specific to this game, but I loved the peculiar feeling and how the music brings out perfectly that medieval and kind of fantastic yet realistic setting. Then there's the Ace Attorney themes in all their awesomeness (told you I'm biased).

Overall Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright is my favorite game OST of the year. I always had to have headphones to play this game, otherwise I wouldn’t let myself play it because I believed it would compromise my experience. It’s a perfect melding of two different series that not only brings back outstanding tracks from both game’s lineages, but combines them perfectly in the medieval setting of Labyrinthia. Even though the composers for each series only worked on their respective games, the quality of the music doesn’t suffer. The soundtrack is cohesive and is never more of one game over the other. It’s really well done and a testament to the composers and arrangers that worked on this product that the music came out this nicely. It hits all the right nostalgic spots for fans of both series and manages to successfully create it’s own identity that is really unlike anything else. Go give it a listen.

10. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII – 27 points, 1 honorable mention

Composers: Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, Mitsuto Suzuki

Crimson Blitz
Almighty Bhunivelze
The Dead Dunes~Scorching Desert

I find it amazing that the 3 composers involved have each produced so many amazing tracks. Hamauzu is easily my favourite composer in the industry, but Mizuta and Suzuki somehow found a way to rival his work on this (and XIII-2). The OST's production values are through the roof, a lot of really talented musicians are involved. The mix is solid. This is, IMO, up there in the best soundtracks Square-Enix has ever put out. Special mention to the many musical easter eggs hidden throughout the game... it was a nice touch.

Say what you want about the quality of the game play, but the soundtrack is something special. The soundtracks of the first two games were impressive as well, however, this time around they tried a different style again and it did not disappoint. From the booming lively hood of Yusnaan, to the more peaceful sunset of Wildlands, there's tracks to suit all tastes.

11. D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die – 24 points, 7 honorable mentions

Composers: MANYO, Rio Okano, TECHNOuchi, Atsushi Yamaji

Theme of D4
Urban Closet
Drank Dead DOM Die

A great fit for the more traditional point and click style in an otherwise zany game, the soundtrack needs a solid hook to really get you into the scenes. Luckily, D4 has just that--what's here really helps elevate the mood in scenes, and in many cases can sound downright ethereal. As I alluded to in my goty post, the moment it broke out into a perfect TV style opening is the moment I knew I was in for a great ride.

This is a soundtrack that matches SWERY's vision to a tee amplifies the comedy, the drama, the confusion and the strange otherworldliness that only he can craft. Hopefully there's more to come.

D4 was my everything of the year. If I had to be honest, I think a big reason as to why I enjoyed the game so much was due to its soundtrack. There's just so much variety, so much instrumentation and a lot of the music simply makes me feel nostalgic about my youth and the games I played/enjoyed when I was younger.

12. Dragon Age Inquisition – 23 points, 2 honorable mentions

Composers: Trevor Morris

Val Royeaux
The Lost Temple
The Dawn Will Come

Every zone has an amazing track, forest, desert, snow, mountain...but there are a few every player will always remember.

While it didn't have as big of an impact on me as the ones above, Inquisition's soundtrack is still incredibly solid.

13. Drakengard 3 – 21 points, 4 honorable mentions

Composers: MONACA (Keiichi Okabe, Keigo Hoashi, Kakeru Ishihama, Kuniyuki Takahashi), Akitaka Tohyama, Denji Sano, Chihiro Onitsuka

The Rising Fool / Phanuel
The Final Song ~ Black Song, White Scales
Exhausted 3

Taro wanted a sense of contrast to be perceived through the music, of both gentleness and intensity, and it comes through very well in the majority of the game's tracks. While I wished they went with the same experimental direction the first game's soundtrack took, Drakengard 3 is nonetheless a solid piece of work, probably better than the game its from... unless that too was a design choice by Taro.

14. Destiny – 19 points, 2 honorable mentions

Composers: Michael Salvatori, C Paul Johnson, Martin O'Donnell, Paul McCartney, Skye Lewin, Stan LePard

Dust Giants
End of the Line
Hope for the Future

Say what you will about the "campaign", but I loved everything about the look, feel, and sound of Destiny. I often find myself wandering around the Tower, looking off into the distance, getting lost in the soundtrack.

One of the few shining lights in the darkness that is Destiny. From warm, optimistic melodies to blood-pumping, percussion-heavy tracks, Destiny's quality in compositions makes it one of the the year's finest.

15. Persona Q – 18 points, 11 honorable mentions

Composer: Atsushi Kitajoh, Toshiki Konishi, Shoji Meguro, Yuzo Koshiro

Maze of Life –Title Screen Ver.–
Memories of Time
Footsteps of Time

Zany, fun, and all around hype, Persona Q knows when to slow it down, when to jazz it up, when to get threatening and heavy and when to go completely Anime OP and get you in the mood to fight with hardcore nonsensical rap and soaring vocals. Not to mention the amazing remixes of familiar tunes.

Past Threads

2014 Voting Thread
2013 Results and Archive
2013 Voting Thread
2012 Results and Archive
2012 Voting Thread
2011 Results and Archive
2011 Voting Thread
2010 Results and Archive
2010 Voting Thread

 

[Dark Schala]

LTTP Vote Results

Xenoblade Chronicles - 10 pts
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance - 5pts
Ace Attorney Investigations 2 - 4pts
Bayonetta - 2 pts
Bravely Default: Flying Fairy - 2pts
Fire Emblem: Awakening - 2pts
Killer Instinct: Season 1 - 2 pts
La Mulana - 2 pts
Persona 3 - 2pts
Persona 4: Golden - 2 pts
The Wonderful 101 - 2pts
Genso Suikoden II - 1pt
NieR - 1pt
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies - 1pt
Final Fantasy VI - 1pt
Hotline Miami - 1pt
Thomas Was Alone - 1pt
Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack - 1pt
Kid Icarus: Uprising - 1pt
Code of Princess - 1pt
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - 1pt
One Finger Death Punch - 1pt
No More Heroes 2 – 1pt
Sins of a Solar Empire – 1pt
Payday 2 – 1pt
Super Amazing Wagon Adventure – 1pt
Final Fantasy VII – 1pt
Edna and Harvey: The Breakout – 1pt
The Last Story – 1pt
Earthbound – 1pt
MechWarrior 2: Armour Veil – 1pt
Mario and Luigi: Dream Team – 1pt
Romancing Saga 1-2-3 Remastered – 1pt
The Granstream Saga – 1pt
Shin Megami Tensei IV – 0pts (second lttp mention from someone; not assigned a numerical value)


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Discography

If you feel particularly strongly about any of these composers' prior works, post about them in this thread and I'll do what I can to include them here!

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.

David Wise

Aquatic Ambience (Donkey Kong Country)
Five Stories to Heaven (Tengami)
Stickerbush Symphony (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest)​

Jake Kaufman

Zone 6 – Climactic Escape (Ultionus: A Soundtrack of Petty Revenge)
Last Stand (Boot Hill Heroes)
Whoa I’m In Space Cuba (Mighty Switch Force!)​

Ryo Nagamatsu

Fateful Decision Battle (Super Mario Galaxy 2)
Title (Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree)
Title Theme (New Super Mario Bros. Wii)​

Junichi Nakatsuru

Chaos and Cosmos (Soul Calibur V)
Shattered Dreams (Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection)
Blind Spot (Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War)​

Darren Korb

Build That Wall (Bastion)​

Revo

schwarzweiß ~Worlds Connected Beyond the Mist~ (Game Ver.) (Atelier Iris 3: Grand Fantasm)
MOON PRIDE (Sailor Moon Crystal)
Guren no Yumiya (Attack on Titan)​

Masami Ueda

Break Time! (Viewtiful Joe)
LOCK & LOAD (Blade Appears ~ Regular Battle 2) (Devil May Cry)
The Third Malformation Of "G" (Resident Evil 2)​

Béatrice Martin (Cœur de Pirate)

Coeur de Pirate
Trauma
Blonde​

Tomohito Nishiura

Theme of the Last Time Travel (Professor Layton and the Unwound Future)
The Ice Queen (Dark Cloud)
The Holy Valley (Rogue Galaxy)​

Masashi Hamauzu

Paulette’s Chair Original Soundtrack and Piano Samples (Paulette’s Chair)
Theme of Florence (“α” CLOCK)
Giant (IMERUAT)​

MANYO (Tomomi Teratani)

Ar-ciel Ar-manaf (Ar nosurge Genometric Concert side.AKA TENTOKI)
Lost Truth (AMNESIA (visual novel))
Steel Your Heart (Glass Heart Princess)​

Trevor Morris

Crew Race 3: Sounding Streets (Need For Speed: Carbon)
Black Dawn (Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars)
Lock n’ Load (Army of Two)​

Keiichi Okabe

Song of the Ancients / Fate (NieR)
Sadistic Xmas (Tekken Tag Tournament 2)
Boyfriend A Go Go(Beautiful Katamari)​

Michael Salvatori

One Final Effort (Halo 3)
The Final Battle (Myth: The Fallen Lords)
Oni Fever (Oni)​

Atsushi Kitajoh

The Bloody Rose (Trauma Team)
Stigma (Trauma Center: New Blood)​

 

[Dark Schala]

Archive (In progress)

1954 Alcatraz
Pedro Macedo Camacho
Groovin' Grim
Dangerous Moves
L'Amour en Méditerranée

Armored Hunter Gunhound EXhttp://vgmdb.net/album/34975
Kinuyo Yamashita, Hyakutaro Tsukumo, Yasuhiro Tamaki
Fate of Soldier
Big Pain
The Atonement

Anyway, it just fucking rocks. Pretty much exactly the kind of soundtrack you'd hope for a traditional 2D game where mess shit up with a mech, like fighting off a giant robot while sliding down a mountain or charging straight into the enemy's base for some wrathful vengeance.

It may not be the complete package that some of the other top selections are, but there's one thing that this soundtrack excels at comparitively, and that's rocking your face in. If Shovel Knight is a tribute to the 8-bit Mega Man style NES chiptune sound, then Gunhound EX is like modern day callback to Thunder Force/Mega Man X-esque, 90' headbanging, over the top, synth metaling, courtesy of former Technosoft composer Hyakutaro Tsukumo (of Thunder Force V/Hyper Duel/Blast Wind fame). That type of music is straight up my alley, so I've listened to this more than anything else this year.

Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star
Ken Nakagawa, Akira Tsuchiya, Daisuke Achiwa, Kazuki Yanagawa, Haruka Shimotsuki
Class::EXPAJA
Class::XIO_PROCEED;
em-pyei-n vari-fen jang;

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Freedom Cry
Olivier Deriviere
False Paradise
Attack At Sea
The Fight For All

Assassin's Creed: Rogue
Elitsa Alexandrova, Forest Swords
Main Theme
David and Goliath
A Boy Becomes A Man

Assassin's Creed: Unity
Chris Tilton, Sarah Schachner, Ryan Amon
Unity
Dark Slayer
A Seditious Act

Astebreed
samlie, Shoichiro Sakamoto
The Void
Headwinds
Armageddon

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky
Yu Shimoda, Hayato Asano, Hideyuki Kinoshita, Daisuke Achiwa, Kazuki Yanagawa, Hiroki Kikuta, Shade, Ryudai Abe, Yuu
Perch
Beyond the Light
Dreaded Space

Atelier Shallie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea
Kazuki Yanagawa, Hayato Asano, Daisuke Achiwa, Sen
Until the Day I Serve My Purpose
By Sending a Calm Afternoon
City of Abundant Water

Azure Striker Gunvolt (Azure Phosphorescence / Morpho vocal soundtrack)
III (Ippo Yamada, Ryo Kawakami, Mina Hatazoe, Katsunori Yoshino)
Opening Stage
Media Tower
Beyond the Blue

The Banner Saga (Bandcamp)
Austin Wintory
Thunder Before Lightning
Strewn Across a Bridge
Into Dust

Bayonetta 2
Masami Ueda, Naofumi Harada, Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Norihiko Hibino, Takahiro Izutani, Satoshi Igarashi, Hitomi Kurokawa, Takayasu Sodeoka, Rei Kondoh, Naoto Tanaka
Tomorrow is Mine
The Legend of Aesir
Noatun: The Church

Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (Bandcamp)
Ridiculon
Ventricide
Duress
Genesis 22:10

Blackguards (iTunes)
Dominik Morgenroth, Daniel Pharos
Dark Corners
Mengbilla
The Living Forest

Blazblue: Chrono Phantasma
Daisuke Ishiwatari, Shunryuu
Under Heaven Destruction II
Lust SIN II
Black and White

Border Break Scramble (iTunes)
SEGA Sound Team
Organs
Extreme Pirates
Deep Plexus

I'm picking this soundtrack because it essentially reminds me of what a Megaman X game would sound like today.

Bravely Default (NA only vote)
Revo
Ship Soaring Through The Heavens
That Person's Name Is
Infiltrating Enemy Territory

There's something so familiar and nostalgic about this soundtrack. REVO perfectly captured the essence of old JRPGs while still giving that sound a fresh coat of paint. The catchy melodies, the sense of adventure, of awe, of sadness, everything falls right into place. Too bad he isn't coming back for Bravely Second =(.

Broken Age (Bandcamp)
Peter McConnell
March in the Clouds
Was that East or West?
Welcome to Meriloft

Caladrius Blaze
Manabu Namiki, Yoshimi Kudo, Azusa Chiba
Silver Flames
Wings of Fate
Cantata Wildderan

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Harry Gregson-Williams, Audiomachine
Draconian Dream
Firing Range
Battle Cry

Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Mahito Yokota
Touchstone Trouble
Spinwheel Library
Bizarre Doors of Boo Mansion

Castlevania -Lords of Shadow- 2http://vgmdb.net/album/44392 (Sumthing.com)
Oscar Araujo
The Titan
Descent To The Castle Dungeons
Hunter And Prey

CLARC (Bandcamp)
Jonathan Howe
Drunk Robots
The Aftermath
Fighting Mother

Child of Light (Bandcamp)
Béatrice Martin
Woods Darker Than Night
Pilgrims On A Long Journey
Metal Gleamed In The Twilight

Chronology (Bandcamp)
Niels Höjgaard Sörensen, Thomas Egeskov Petersen
A Click Ticking Backwards
The Metropolis
The Lab

Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION
potechi
Tears of Wings
Through the Wasteland
Rail Chase!

A doujin-turned-arcade/steam-release STG that has been making waves recently. I found it to be a very solid game despite being a STG scrub of sorts. When you are playing the same stages over and over again in a 1-cc attempt, the music needs to be hold up better than most and I'd say it does. Maybe there's some methodology for considering how good a STG's soundtrack is, but that's far beyond my means and can only attest that the combination of visuals and audio had me lost in this game.

Crypt of the Necrodancer
Danny Baranowsky
Zone 1 Level 1
Death Metal
King Conga

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Masafumi Takada, Satoshi Iwase
Box 15
Distrust
Weekly Despair Magazine

Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
Masafumi Takada, Satoshi Iwase
Miss Monomi's Practice Lesson
Ikoroshia
Beautiful Ruin

Because every single piece of music in this game is perfect for the context in which it appears I always needed to use my nicest pair of headphones when playing to get the maximum amount of enjoyment. It never failed to put me into the mood of the game’s utterly bizarre and eccentric premise. The music is a character in Danganronpa. It brings an eccentric flair to the whole game and ultimately colors the player’s entire view of the game. For me it totally changed how I felt in every situation. I felt the humor more, or the funny ways they tried to tie upbeat music to an execution of a person. It fully maximizes the amount of dementedness and dark humor the game goes for, and knocks it out of the park. I really loved the new arrangements of returning tunes in here too, as they were all well done.

D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die (Bandcamp : David Young Disc; Bandcamp : Little Peggy Disc)
MANYO, TECHNOuchi, Rio Okano, Atsushi Yamaji
Theme of D4
Drank Dead DOM Die
Urban Closet

D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die has a fantastic soundtrack and grabbing the soundtrack makes me want to play the game myself one day instead of watching someone else go through it. The music seems to tell the game’s story very well and frames it in such a way that it feels like it’s a blast from the past. I don’t necessarily think the music is for everyone, but it hit the right notes for me. There’s a lot of authenticity in the composition and arrangement, and the VGO mixes on the soundtracks demonstrate that. I hope people give it a good listen. It’s some good stuff and one of the best soundtracks out of 2014.

Dark Souls II
Motoi Sakuraba, Yuka Kitamura
Old Dragonslayer
Majula
Sir Alonne

Destiny (iTunes)
Michael Salvatori, C Paul Johnson, Martin O'Donnell, Paul McCartney, Skye Lewin, Stan LePard
Dust Giants
End of the Line
Hope

Divinity: Original Sin
Kirill Pokrovsky
Original Sin
Mysterious Guest
Power of Innocence

This game surprised me in many ways, and part of that was due the to varied and interesting soundtrack. Lots of light guitar and fun passive themes, but also a battle track that sounds like it belongs in a later fight of a japanese rpg. The music is generally fun, whimsical, matching the tone of the game itself.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
David Wise
Homecoming Hijinx
Scorch 'N' Torch
Aquatic Ambience

Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze has one of my favorite soundtracks of all time. I have little to no attachment to old school DK titles or their soundtracks, so this thing hit me totally off guard. This music is melodic and atmospheric, fresh and varied, and perfect for each map.

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Retro teamed up with David Wise to produce the greatest 2D platformer of all time which also happens to have the greatest soundtrack of all time in a video game. This game is very special to me, I could listen to the soundtrack for the rest of my life and still marvel at its sheer beauty.

Dragon Age:Inquisition (iTunes)
Trevor Morris
In Hushed Whispers
Thedas Love Theme

Drakengard 3
MONACA (Keiichi Okabe, Keigo Hoashi, Kakeru Ishihama, Kuniyuki Takahashi), Akitaka Tohyama, Denji Sano, Chihiro Onitsuka
Exhausted 3
The Rising Fool / Phanuel
Fallen God

Keiichi Okabe's NIER soundtrack was acclaimed, with reason. Drakengard 3's isn't quite as good, but it's pretty close. There's something fascinating about having those dark, dissonant tracks coexist with melancholic, beautiful tracks featuring great vocalists (Emi Evans...). This soundtrack definitely elevated the game to another level. I can't wait to hear whatever Okabe and his team comes up with next.

This ost built the world and atmosphere of Drakengard 3, and definitely sets the mood. Retains a bit of the brilliance of Drakengard 1's OST, but replaces most of it with the emotive power Nier's OST had. Is used very well within in the game, to no surprise considering the subject matter of the story and its characters.

Driveclub
Hybrid
All Torque
Power Curve (Hybrid Remix)
Be Here Now (Fred V & Grafix Remix)

Fantasy Life
Nobuo Uematsu
Theme of Hope
Battle with a Formidable Enemy
Great Plains

Final Fantasy X HD Remaster
Composers: Nobuo Uematsu, Masashi Hamauzu, Junya Nakano ; Arrangers: Masashi Hamauzu, Junya Nakano, Tsutomu Narita, Hirosato Noda, Ryo Yamazaki
Sprouting
A Fleeting Dream
People of the Far North

Voting this number one is sort of strange as before replaying the HD versions I was already a huge fan of the original soundtrack and still listen to it often but still think it is my favourite from this year. Evident from the “Prelude” it seems like they stuck some bells and whistles on to the tracks just to make them seem different. “Wandering” and “Final Battle” are two of my favourites from the original soundtrack but unfortunately a lot of the atmosphere they had has been lost in this this version while some other changes such as those used for “Yuna’s Decision” actually sound great. I would choose the original over this as a whole but think this in some ways just offers a different variation to an already incredible soundtrack.

 

[Dark Schala]

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (Patches: 2.2 Through the Maelstrom, 2.3 Defenders of Eorzea, 2.4 Dreams of Ice)
Masayoshi Soken
Through the Maelstrom
Seasons
Syrcus Tower

Ranging everything from to spooky scary themes to a redone Battle on the Big Bridge to the catchiest song you can spend 3 hours listening to, the FFXIV OST requires a lot of different types of music, all of which Soken eagerly goes up to bat for and knocks out of the park to create memorable themes fitting for any event and scenario. The decision to move Soken up from composing music for random sports games to headlining SE's major mainline Final Fantasy is great for every music fan. Masayoshi Soken is definitely a composer to look out for in years to come.

Freedom Planet (Bandcamp)
Woofle, Strife, BlueWarrior
Battle Glacier 1
Up The Creek (Jade Creek 1)
Trap Hideout 1

The Gardener and the Shepard (Bandcamp)
ABSRDST
You Can't Stop This Feeling
The Shepard
The Gardener

Guilty Gear Xrd –SIGN–
Daisuke Ishiwatari
Big Blast Sonic
Diva of Despair
Who Dares Enter the Mayhem? –Character Select Theme

I've called this a fresh start of the series in my GOTY write-up and nothing represents that better than a new approach to character themes, something that usually marks a major step when it happens. In many ways, GG is a music-oriented series, the love child of anime and heavy metal. For that, we have to thank creator Daisuke Ishiwatari, a character designer and musician (among other things), who's been the soul for the series from the very start. Anyway, I've always felt the series had some great music to rock to, giving it quite a unique identity, Xrd is no exception being the aesthetic tour de force it is. I especially love seeing character themes matched with their intros (e.g., Potemkin, Faust, May), I get the feeling they were created with each other in mind.

Every song is memorable and legitimately good. Solid riffs to back up the fighting, with soaring leads to make it all the more epic. All you need. Some of the songs with vocals are pretty cheesy but it all works in the context of the game, plus it's 99% of the time instrumentals during matches.

Gunslinger Stratos 2
Inferiority Complex
Eye of Lazhward

Half-Minute Hero: The Second Coming
A Lot of People
Battle of the Black Venus
Battle of Godwave
Main Theme

Halo 2: Anniversary
Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, Misha Mansoor
Kilindini Harbour
Halo Theme (Scorpion Mix)
Follow in Flight

Heroine's Quest: The Herald of Ragnarok
Matthew Chastney, Dmitrii Zavorotny
Svartalfheim
Munarvagir
Prologue

Hohokum (Ghostly International; Bandcamp)
Tycho, Matthew Dear, Osborne, Geoff White, Michna, Ben Benjamin, Shigeto
Com Truise - Declination (Instrumental)
Geoff White - Wedding Party
Tycho - A Walk

Hyrule Warriors
Masato Koike, Yuki Matsumura
Skyloft
Eclipse of the Sun
Twilight Field

Infamous: Second Son
Freedom and Security
Enemy Territory
Brothers

Insurgency (Bandcamp)
Rich Douglas
Firefight
Immediate Evac
Hymn

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle
Chikayo Fukuda
HELL 2U!
Character Select
LISA LISA

Kero Blaster
Pixel
It’s My Blaster
Freeze Draft
Train Station

Freeze Draft is one track that really stood out to me, however. It's got that late/end-game "you're getting there, but not quite there yet" sound to it. I've always thought snow levels were traditionally good mid-to-late stages as well, so the music perfectly suits the location. There was this moment in this stage that particularly stood out to me though, and it had nothing to do with the actual BGM. Towards the top of the peak, there's this brief segment where the music cuts out and the player can only hear the background sound, which was the sound of the wind. It was sort of a short-lived, mini Idle Moment for me. I stood there for a minute to reflect on the game and it got me thinking about how older games used to capture these kinds of quiet interludes. I love BGS and how composers/sound designers used to capture particular environmental ambiance, especially given the hardware limitations back in the day. It's these kind of subtle, peaceful moments that, for most people, probably falls on deaf ears, but I'm always on a look-out for this kind of shit and Pixel nailed it for me in that regard.

Killer Instinct Season Two
Mick Gordon, Robin Beanland, Graeme Norgate
Downtown Demolition - TJ Combo's Theme
City of Dawn - Maya's Theme
Forbidden Archive - Kan-Ra's Theme

Kirby Triple Deluxe
Hirokazu Ando, Jun Ishikawa
Reflected Laughter
Sullied Grace
Moonstruck Blossom

The Last of Us Volume 2 (Left Behind Soundtrack)http://vgmdb.net/album/44362 (iTunes)
Gustavo Santaolalla, Andrew Buresh, Anthony Caruso, Jonathan Mayer
Fleeting
All Gone (Reunion)
Left Behind

Gustavo Santaliella once again shows how his inclusion onto the project was a masterstroke from Naughty Dog. Wonderfully fitting music for the most apt of situations in either the main campaign or Left Behind.

Lethal League (Site)
Khalaser, Klaus Veen, bignic, grillo, zeroscar
Klaus Veen - Ordinary Days
Grillo - Urabon
Doctor Lazer - Headbangeren

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, Mitsuto Suzuki
Sunset Path
Death Game
Sunset Prism

This is a very large and diverse soundtrack. Unlike with Final Fantasy XIII-2, each composer didn’t really have control over a single aspect this game. In XIII-2 Mizuta seemed to be in charge of music for the new characters, Suzuki in charge of most of the vocal tracks, and Hamauzu in charge of the music for returning characters and pivotal story moments. With this game it gets all shaken up, and the results are quite nice. I’m out of time here so I just want to say Hamauzu is a god. Mizuta and Suzuki did a really amazing job on this one. I love that Suzuki got to do more integral music this time around and his music has come a long from since XIII-2, so shoutouts to him and his improvements!

Lovely Planet (Bandcamp)
Calum Bowen
Lovely City
Lovely Forest
Lovely Mountains

It's not the biggest soundtrack, it may wear its Katamari influences on its sleeve, but it's devastatingly catchy with no filler and highly replayable front to back. Calum Bowen is a name to look out for.

Luftrausers (Bandcamp)
Jukio "Kozilek" Kallio
Laserauser
Trickrauser
Luftrauser

Ultimately, each track eventually hits the 1:30 mark, at which they explode into a more traditional war-time chorus, almost celebratory, almost a sigh of relief. Well done! You did it! You're not cannon fodder after all, you're hanging in there. Perhaps this conflict won't be quite so pointless for you after al- oh, never mind, the drums are back and you just got shot down by an ace. Oh well.

Maybe go back to the hangar, fix your craft up, change some things around. The tune you'll hear between your ears will be different, and so might your luck. Sure, the overall structure is the same, but when it's this good, and when it so perfectly fits your tastes - agile and scratchy when falling with style, ruthless and intimidating when behind the joystick of a flying nuke - it's hard to find much fault with a lack of variety. Luftrauser's soundtrack doesn't paint its game as anything it's not; instead, it successfully bends, warps and rebuilds itself, all the while drilling the fear of your inevitable comeuppance into your subconsciousness.

Mario Kart 8
Shiho Fujii, Atsuko Asahi, Ryo Nagamatsu, Yasuaki Iwata
Mount Wario
Mute City
Electrodrome

Continuing Nintendo's newfound love for jazzy music, MK8's soundtrack completely blows away the music of its predecessors. The sheer quality of this soundtrack (and the game in general) perhaps caught many people by surprise, yet it seems as if Nintendo's composers went all out for this one. The games on the Wii U have certainly delivered incredible soundtracks.

Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes
Harry Gregson-Williams & Ludwig Forsell
Here’s to You
Escape
Metal Gear Solid

Monocle Man (Bandcamp)
Kaleb Grace, Davain Martinez, Cameron McLaughlin, Richard Ash, Glen Jackson
Walking on Air
Watch Your Step
Circuit Breaker

Might & Magic X: Legacy (iTunes)
Jason Graves, Roc Chen
Might and Magic Main Theme

Nidhogg
Daedelus
Castle
Wilds
Clouds

Persona 4: Arena Ultimax
Atsushi Kitajoh, Shoji Meguro
Break Out Of...
Blood Red Moon
Fool Or Clown?

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Atsushi Kitajoh, Toshiki Konishi, Shoji Meguro, Yuzo Koshiro
Light the Fire Up in the Night -MIDNIGHT CHANNEL-
Disturbances ~ The One Called from Beyond
Corn Dog

I did not think however, that it would have the best soundtrack out of the entire Persona series. I shouldn't be surprised, because the people who composed, performed or guest starred on this OST is a who's who of the Megaten Sound Team (Atsushi Kitajoh, Toshiki Konishi, Shoji Meguro, Yuzo Koshiro, Yumi Kawamura, Shihoko Hirata, Lotus Juice, and many more) I hope Persona 5 takes this kind of style with it.

Persona Q has an excellent soundtrack that almost feels like it belongs in an anime instead of an RPG. The basic battle theme, in particular, puts in me in mind of a modern-day anime title/credits theme. All of the music is consistently great and does a good job setting the game's zany, surreal, and slightly horrific mood. Not the easiest task, but... nailed it.

Pix The Cat
Xavier Thiry, Sylvain Hellio
Pix The Cat Theme
Microscopic Brainstorm
Faster Pixycat! Kill! Kill!

Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire
Go Ichinose, Junichi Masuda, Morikazu Aoki, Minako Adachi, Shota Kageyama, Hideaki Kuroda, Hitomi Sato, Satoshi Nohara
Route 119
Team Hideout
Abandoned Ship

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Tomohito Nishiura, Yasumasa Kitagawa, Masakazu Sugimori
LINK
Pursuit ~ Cornered (English Court Suite)
Opening Theme

Race the Sun
Forest San Filippo
1moretime
3eeeee
Apocalypse

Saturday Morning RPG (Bandcamp)
Vince DiCola, Kenny Meriedeth
Battle Scene
What Once Was Lost
Legacy

Sen no Kiseki II (iTunes)
Falcom Sound Team jdk (Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga)
Awakening
Bring Up Trust!
Blue Destination

On a personal front, since I’d finally caught up with all of the Kiseki games this year and was able to play Sen no Kiseki II when a few other people were playing it too, it was interesting to see how the music evolved as the subseries went on. From humble jazzy beginnings with the first two Sora games, to a change in Sora 3rd, to more advanced stuff in Zero/Ao, to modern Falcom sounds in the Sen games… it’s just interesting to see how it works out between the music direction and how advanced the areas you go to in the Kiseki games are. I think Sen no Kiseki II ended very well. From a soundtrack and game I wasn’t sure about to a soundtrack and game that I am definitely sure about, I’m happy to have experienced both...

Senran Kagura 2: Deep Crimson
Akihi Motoyama, Mutsumi Ishimura
Beyond Light and Darkness
The Good Proud Shinobi
The Sword and Shield are Aimed

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Garry Schyman, Nathan Grigg
Attack on the Gate
Ratbag
Torvin and the Mighty Graug

Shin Megami Tensei IV (EU Vote Only)
Ryota Koduka, Kenichi Tsuchiya, Toshiki Konishi
Infernal Tokyo Underground District
Roppongi Area
Camp Ichigaya

Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse
Jake Kaufman
File Select
Scorching Dunes (Sunburn Island)
Boss Battle (Final)

 

[Dark Schala]

Shovel Knight (Bandcamp)
Jake Kaufman, Manami Matsumae
Fighting With All of Our Might
Strike the Earth! (Plains of Passage)
The Defender (Black Knight Battle)

Shovel Knight was the perfect blend of power, driving force, melancholy, and success. I think this game's OST is by far the best of 2014. Each track is more than just a fun chiptune platformer song, there is a real depth to everything. Virt is able to create some amazingly sweeping and atmospheric chiptune tracks. Steel thy Shovel is just one example of building anticipation and getting the player prepared for the adventure. From there, each track plays on a different theme yet retains complexity and depth so rarely seen in chiptune music. It does that all without getting muddled or overly complex to the point of drowning out separate channels in the song. One theme that is found throughout Shovel Knight's OST is that marching forward. Each track has a distinct march-like percussion section that really capture Shovel Knight's journey to the castle and the desire to progress. Perhaps Virt's greatest achievement is in Shovel Knight as well. The Requiem of Shield Knight is one of the most emotional, atmospheric, and mechanically deep songs I have ever heard. It is by far the highlight of the game for me and is my favorite track of 2014.

A positively phenomenal effort by jake kaufman, with fantastic battle themes that seem to defy their very restriction, despite the fact that the entire soundtrack is done in the same technology as late famicom games.

Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth (Amazon)
Geoff Knorr, Griffin Cohen, Michael Curran, Grant Kirkhope
The Future of Mankind
Xenomalleum
Deep Memory

Soul Sacrifice Delta
Yasunori Mitsuda, Wataru Hokoyama
As Long As the People Hand Down
Risking Everything On This Strike
For Whom the “Money” Tolls

Strike Vector (Bandcamp)
the maravers
Texas Hangar
On the Loose
Surrenders

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS
Almost the Entire JP VGM Industry, Ok?
Fortress Boss Remix (Super Mario World)
The Valedictory Elegy
Donkey Kong Country Returns theme (Vocals)

Super Splatform!http://vgmdb.net/album/44408 (Bandcamp)
Sam Washburn, Rianna Harbron, Robin Harbron
Disproportionately Difficult (World 3)
Super Splatform!
A Splat Odyssey (World 4)

Super Time Force
6955
STF Theme
Dubup
Infinity Final

Sweezy Gunner (Bandcamp)
Injekted With A Poison ft Windybeard
Glowshroom Caverns
Twisted Tundra
Twilight Cove

Tales of Xillia 2
Motoi Sakuraba
The Agent That Plots
Break The Time Factor
Peaceful Evidence

The Talos Principle
Damjan Mravunac
The Worlds of my Garden Are Many
Blessed and Beloved
Temple of my Father

Tears to Tiara 2
Michio Kinugasa, Shinya Ishikawa, Junya Matsuoka, Kazuhide Nakagami, Naoya Shimokawa, Susumu Mameda, Miu
Ephemeral Love
The Will to Power
Whereabouts of the Wind

Tengami (Bandcamp)
David Wise
The Pale Moonlight
Blossoms Falling
Five Stories to Heaven

Terra Battle
Nobuo Uematsu
The Maker’s Beckoning
Braving the Battle
The World’s Awakening

Sakaguchi used this game as an opportunity to reconnect with all sorts of talent from his past, primarily artists, but also Nobuo Uematsu. Maybe that alone allows me skit by without an explanation, as I can't say this is some phoned in effort or something. I will say the game's music audio gives it a very polished feeling of atmosphere (more so than any other element) you wouldn't expect and has some really memorable tunes at that (The Maker's Beckoning is probably its most popular track)

Titanfall
Stephen Barton
Cosmology
Made Men
Demeter

Trace Vector (Bandcamp)
Flexstyle
Realm of Chaos
Bittersweet Nebula
Electromagnetic

Transistor (extended soundtrack) (Bandcamp; Extended Bandcamp)
Darren Korb
V_n_sh_ng P__nt
We All Become
The Spine

Functionally-speaking, Transistor is an excellent piece of work that fits its game and many of the characteristics of the game that it’s used in fairly well. It’s one of those wonderful types of soundtracks evocative of dynamism (due to the use of humming in-context and I am fairly pleased that the extended soundtrack was released to supplement that). I can’t wait to get back to the game when all is said and done to experience the soundtrack in the context for which it’s used, but it’s very pleasing to hear Korb and Barrett’s work. I’m definitely looking forward to their next collaboration with ears open.

The songwriting, emotional impact and musicality of the Transistor soundtrack is arguably even more impressive than the outstanding work Darren Korb and Ashley Barrett did for Bastion. Enhances the atmosphere and ties in directly with the themes and story, there's even a button dedicated to Red humming along to whatever's playing. Great stuff for both in and outside the game.

TxK
Llamasoft Moosicians
Space is Everything
Noise Pulse
Limaworld

Valiant Hearts: The Great War (Amazon)
Daniel Teper, Clinton Rusich, Manuel Faivre, Miguel Saboga, Yvo Abadi, Moritz Bintig, Francisco Becker, Daniel Martinez, Rael Jones, Michael Pric e, James Ross McNair, Daryl Griffith, Bruno Alexiu, Gregor Narholz, Ann Moore, Lorne Balfe, John Devereaux, Leo Nissim, Royo Utge, Valeriy Antonyuk, Stephen Satterthwaite, Alex Johnson, Christopher Allen, Ian Livingstone
Main Theme 2
Time To Relax
Paris

Velocity 2X (iTunes)
Joris de Man, James Marsden
General Glaive
Flight Computer
Rekenium

The Wolf Among Us
Jared Emerson-Johnson
Opening Credits
Bigby's Place
Crane's Business Office

Wolfenstein: The New Order (Vocal Music Selection)
Mick Gordon
Die Käfer - Mond, Mond, Ja, Ja
Main Theme
Ransacked

A very different tone to the other games on my list and quite an underrated soundtrack generally. Mick Gordon has recently been on a roll with his music, notably his tracks in the recent Killer Instinct. From incredibly bassy, badass music to the German "remakes" of classic songs, TNO's soundtrack reflects both the sheer absurdity of blasting Nazis with insane weaponry alongside the more uncomfortable themes of the game. The credits theme took me off guard in particular and was perhaps one of the most poignant endings of a game in recent memory. MachineGames is completely masterful in this genre and the soundtrack lifts their storytelling/world to new heights.

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
Russell Brower, Neal Acree, Clint Bajakian, Sam Cardon, Craig Stuart Garfinkle, Edo Guidotti, Eimear Noone
The Homeworld Beckons
Sacrifice
Family

The real reason to own the collector's edition. WoW soundtracks are generally a cut above the rest, but I don't think I've felt this enthralled by the music running in the background since The Burning Crusade. It takes a lot to draw a dedicated player's attention away from levelling, but it just keeps happening to me.

XBlaze Code: Embryo
Kikuo
XBLAZE
Enigmatic Smile

Ys Celceta
Falcom Sound Team jdk (Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama, Tomokatsu Hagiuda)
Burning Sword
In the Fires of Ignition
The Morning After the Storm

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

Thank you to those who voted this year!!
Ghaleon and I truly appreciate it, and if you have any recommendations at all with respect to timing for the beginning of the thread or any suggestions, please let him or I know. The archive's still getting updated with some comments and some more soundtracks, and hopefully I'll finish it off this weekend. I just wanted to get the thread up now since people were curious about the results.

 

[Quirah]

whoah man nice thread.

 

[Nibel]

Man, this thread gives me some MGS4 OT vibes, haha.

Loved every tune from DKTF, so I'm glad to see it getting some recognition.

 

[Omzz]

nicely done. i'll be checking out some of these OSTs that I missed

Oh yeah DKCTF was amazing. Not mad at that choice

 

[Aeana]

I'm glad to see Shovel Knight get the recognition it deserves.

 

[daydream]

Hell of a list, good job to everyone who voted!

Thanks to Schala & Ghaleon for diligently seeing this one through to the end, and major thanks to all the fantastic composers for their work!

I'm probably being blind right now but is there a list for all the games that received votes? I just want to confirm that I was the only one to include Fantasy Life in their top 3 (for shame!).

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Really great thread.

Wow, DK dominated.

 

[Eolz]

Excellent thread, excellent results!
Thanks for all the hard work

 

[The Xtortionist]

Stickerbrush Symphony (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest)

bush

 

[Dryk]

That's a super solid top 5. Good work GAF.

 

[Silky]

D4. ;~;

 

[Giger Pilot]

Shovel Knight was my personal favorite, but damn Tropical Freeze deserves it.

 

[KuwabaraTheMan]

Well deserved win for Tropical Freeze. A lot of games up there that I haven't played, so I'll be checking out some of those soundtracks.

Great work putting this all together.

Stickerbrush Symphony (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest)

Just have to point out, it's Stickerbush, not Stickerbrush. It's a common mistake.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Very nice list, I'm happy with the results.

 

[Wreck-It Ralph]

Damn Nintendo, chill out and give somebody else a chance, geez.

 

[Dark Schala]

I fixed the darn Stickerbush thing. Sheesh. :V

I'm probably being blind right now but is there a list for all the games that received votes? I just want to confirm that I was the only one to include Fantasy Life in their top 3 (for shame!).

You were. It legitimately only got the two points you gave it.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Damn DKCTF dominated.

Was expecting Transistor to be higher.

 

[PKrockin]

GAF correcting the wrongs of gaming publications for not even nominating Tropical Freeze. <3

 

[bobbychalkers]

Sweet, I was quoted twice. Very Nintendo-centric top 5.

 

[Riposte]

Swell job, that's a lot of great music in the archive.

EDIT: Mario Kart 8's soundtrack is just okay to me. I'm looking forward to Lightning Returns soundtrack when I play it. D4 too actually.

 

[Neiteio]

Why are Amiss Abyss and Seashore War not given as examples under Tropical Freeze?

 

[NotLiquid]

That DKCTF landslide holy crap

The top 3 is the same as my votes, funny how that works out. Great job on organizing this, Schala!

 

[ZeroGravity]

Top four absolutely perfect.

 

[rhandino]

Nintendo and Shovel Knight stealed the show this year, good choices =D

So rare for Transistor to be so low since the OST was the most outstanding thing of the game.

PD: Also thank to all the effort put in this, good job.

 

[Gartooth]

Great job DarkSchala! Always fun reading through a lot of the descriptions that people wrote about the music, especially for DK even though it was the clear winner. Choosing tracks for that game was hard since I kept adding more and more to my list while listening before having to cut down on it.

Why are Amiss Abyss and Seashore War not given as examples under Tropical Freeze?

For Tropical Freeze I think almost every piece of music would qualify as a standout track.

 

[The Xtortionist]

Why are Amiss Abyss and Seashore War not given as examples under Tropical Freeze?

Tropical Freeze's (non) issue is that there's so many amazing tracks that it's impossible to please everyone with a short list

 

[BY2K]

Couldn't be happier about that Top 3.

Fine job, GAF.

 

[Spinosaurus]

Tropical Freeze's (non) issue is that there's so many amazing tracks that it's impossible to please everyone with a short list

I can't even think of the game's Aquatic Ambiance/Stickerbush Symphony equivalent.

 

[Dark Schala]

Tropical Freeze's (non) issue is that there's so many amazing tracks that it's impossible to please everyone with a short list

...which is why I liked that gigantic post you wrote about it.

Swell job, that's a lot of great music in the archive.

EDIT: Mario Kart 8's soundtrack is just okay to me. I'm looking forward to Lightning Returns soundtrack when I play it.

Honestly, the archive was holding the entire thing back. It would've gotten posted last night when I finished all of the vote/hm/lttp votes if I didn't decide to stay up to work on the archive. I still have to do more work on the archive like taking people's quotes from the thread but since I felt like I was on a deadline I decided to fill it out after posting the results.

I really like the look of the LTTP list since it's fairly varied so I think I'll keep the vote for next year. It's cool to see what people uncover when they go back to play older stuff.

 

[Kangi]

Kirby goes largely unrecognized, as usual. =(

 

[Riposte]

Honestly, the archive was holding the entire thing back. It would've gotten posted last night when I finished all of the vote/hm/lttp votes if I didn't decide to stay up to work on the archive. I still have to do more work on the archive like taking people's quotes from the thread but since I felt like I was on a deadline I decided to fill it out after posting the results.

That's funny because my whole vote was basically trying to add even more songs to it.

Well, funny to me.

 

[BY2K]

Oh my God, is that what Shantae and the Pirate's Curse sounds like with headphones!?

God, I've been playing this game all wrong, the 3DS speakers SUCKS.

 

[The Xtortionist]

...which is why I liked that gigantic post you wrote about it.

Praise Papercuts

Me: You know how some people talk about specific tracks
Papercuts: You should do that for every single track
Me: ayy lmao

Spoiler

(fucking character limits gave me some problems but it worked out alright)

 

[Nanashrew]

This is a really great list. Can't think of a single weak track for DKCR:TF to be honest. Love the entire soundtrack and glad to see it at number 1.

 

[StreetsAhead]

Oh my God, is that what Shantae and the Pirate's Curse sounds like with headphones!?

God, I've been playing this game all wrong, the 3DS speakers SUCKS.

I use an external speaker when playing at my desk. Even ORAS sounds good when it's not on the 3DS speakers, lol.

 

[Jachaos]

How well did Danganronpa do? I figured with its 23 search results it'd at least make the list, but I guess the votes were split between the two entries.

 

[Dark Schala]

That's funny because my whole vote was basically trying to add even more songs to it.

Well, funny to me.

It gave me a lot of material to choose from, at least. People including links makes my job 50x easier. I'll add some of your writeups to the archive, too, since they were fairly well-done and I liked what you had to say.

I'll be curious to hear what you have to say about some of the soundtracks you haven't heard yet (or even the ones that you would've voted for had you not decided to go with the underdogs this time).

Kirby goes largely unrecognized, as usual. =(

It got a lot of honourable mentions; like 5th overall in honourable mentions. A few people wrote something about it, so I'll get some of their comments up later.

Oh my God, is that what Shantae and the Pirate's Curse sounds like with headphones!?

That's why I decided to get the Wii U version instead even though the 3DS version was on sale. tbf, I listened to the soundtrack before playing the game. >.>

 

[Dark Schala]

How well did Danganronpa do? I figured with its 23 search results it'd at least make the list, but I guess the votes were split between the two entries.

That's exactly what happened.
18 pts for DR1
16 pts for DR2

Had they been combined, they would have gotten into the Top 15. DR1 would have gotten into the Top 15, but Persona Q had more honourable mentions to break the tie between it and DR1.

Really unfortunate since those two soundtracks have some really unique stuff!

 

[Grim Patron]

Great list. I should get to PW vs PL soon. I wonder how Valiant Hearts did.

 

[Dark Schala]

Great list. I should get to PW vs PL soon. I wonder how Valiant Hearts did.

13 points, 7 people who voted for it
2 people gave it 3 points
2 people gave it 2 points
3 people gave it 1 point.

Errr... another reason as to why this took long was because I went crazy with the countif command and I started counting EVERYTHING.

 

[The Boat]

Great job Dark Schala! And uh... good job voters for having good taste I suppose.

 

[ZeroX03]

#1, #3, #4, #6, #7, #9 and #15 are all very well deserved.

Danganronpa 1&2 had fantastic soundtracks as well, but I consider them from 2010 and 2012 respectively. Bravely Default from 2012 too actually.

That's exactly what happened.
18 pts for DR1
16 pts for DR2

Had they been combined, they would have gotten into the Top 15. DR1 would have gotten into the Top 15, but Persona Q had more honourable mentions to break the tie between it and DR1.

Really unfortunate since those two soundtracks have some really unique stuff!

I'm surprised DR1 beat DR2. DR1 had way more original tracks, but the one area I think DR2 is superior than the original is music. The new arrangements/remixes are almost all improvements.

 

[daydream]

You were. It legitimately only got the two points you gave it.

Bummer! We were gushing over it in the OT but it went by largely unnoticed, sadly. Thanks for the info, though.

 

[Kangi]

It got a lot of honourable mentions; like 5th overall in honourable mentions. A few people wrote something about it, so I'll get some of their comments up later.

So in other words, it doesn't even make the podium for the hypothetical pity prize. =p

 

[Pappasman]

Good to see Shovel Knight get the recognition it deserves. I liked it better than DK!

 

[Choomp]

Yeah that probably would've been my top 3, Smash probably in there instead of Shovel Knight. Great List nonetheless.