Lollipop Dave
Member
I was hoping to see it higher in the list, but 2014 had a great year for OSTs!
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NeoGAFs Official Game Soundtracks of the Year 2014: Results and Archive
- Thread starter Dark Schala
- Start date
I was hoping to see it higher in the list, but 2014 had a great year for OSTs!
As far as I remember it got two #1 votes. But you can't really expect a game that has only been released in Japan to do well in such a vote .
Nocturnowl
Member
Top 2 were as I expected, not that anyone would be surprised by the number 1 going by the voting thread, Wise delivered big time so I'm a happy chappy.
I wonder how large the gulf between Tropical Freeze and Tengami is? I think it was just me and Oidsico who gave a top 3 position to Tengami in the end. I'm thinking Tengami is one of Wise's best works behind DKC2 and TF so for all the praise he's given in here for the winning soundtrack by all means take the time to give his other 2014 OST a listen, it has Owl's guarantee
Hang on, using a DK Island Swing remix as one of the three TF examples? this is Schala's stealth revengeance isn't it? but I'll forgive you for your hard work on this thread.
Speaking of Island Swing remixes, I don't think Smash really earned that fourth place but I guess having 400 plus tracks mostly comprised of both Nintendo classics and obscurities will do that. I do wonder if something like Smash should fall into some sort of compilation category but I guess there's not enough games each year doing something along those lines to warrant this sub category.
- 2014 Soundtracks I want to follow up on
Really I think my entire interest in Transistor outside of its art direction comes from my enjoyment of Korb's previous Bastion soundtrack, the examples in the voting thread built its strong case further.
Child of Light wasn't on my radar at all but the soundtrack sounds really pleasant, well it does get pretty cheap in the sales these days.
D4 was a case where I never expected the music to be as good as it was, alas I think it'll be some time before I ever get to play it.
- Thoughts on 2014
Looking back I think it was actually a stronger year than some may think on the music front if a bit weaker than the last few, perhaps there's something of a trickle effect from the somewhat more middling reception of the years games in general but in the end we've got a pretty diverse batch on display here which reminds me just how much variety there is among game music.
Of course it helps that I effectively got the sequel to my favourite game OST.
- Looking ahead to 2015
As of right now I'm not really sure what soundtracks to anticipate, I think I'm more open for surprises this time around as a result. As someone who voted for Xenoblade back in 2011 I'd like to look forward to XC X's upcoming soundtrack but man I've got to be honest, the Sawano stuff hasn't done much for me so far, it'll be interesting to see how the whole soundtrack pans out.
Ori and the Blind Forest shelled out for an orchestra if I recall and platformers tend to do well with me so I'll keep my eyes and ears on that one, it looks to be aiming for the years audiovisual crown.
I wonder how large the gulf between Tropical Freeze and Tengami is? I think it was just me and Oidsico who gave a top 3 position to Tengami in the end. I'm thinking Tengami is one of Wise's best works behind DKC2 and TF so for all the praise he's given in here for the winning soundtrack by all means take the time to give his other 2014 OST a listen, it has Owl's guarantee
Hang on, using a DK Island Swing remix as one of the three TF examples? this is Schala's stealth revengeance isn't it? but I'll forgive you for your hard work on this thread.
Speaking of Island Swing remixes, I don't think Smash really earned that fourth place but I guess having 400 plus tracks mostly comprised of both Nintendo classics and obscurities will do that. I do wonder if something like Smash should fall into some sort of compilation category but I guess there's not enough games each year doing something along those lines to warrant this sub category.
- 2014 Soundtracks I want to follow up on
Really I think my entire interest in Transistor outside of its art direction comes from my enjoyment of Korb's previous Bastion soundtrack, the examples in the voting thread built its strong case further.
Child of Light wasn't on my radar at all but the soundtrack sounds really pleasant, well it does get pretty cheap in the sales these days.
D4 was a case where I never expected the music to be as good as it was, alas I think it'll be some time before I ever get to play it.
- Thoughts on 2014
Looking back I think it was actually a stronger year than some may think on the music front if a bit weaker than the last few, perhaps there's something of a trickle effect from the somewhat more middling reception of the years games in general but in the end we've got a pretty diverse batch on display here which reminds me just how much variety there is among game music.
Of course it helps that I effectively got the sequel to my favourite game OST.
- Looking ahead to 2015
As of right now I'm not really sure what soundtracks to anticipate, I think I'm more open for surprises this time around as a result. As someone who voted for Xenoblade back in 2011 I'd like to look forward to XC X's upcoming soundtrack but man I've got to be honest, the Sawano stuff hasn't done much for me so far, it'll be interesting to see how the whole soundtrack pans out.
Ori and the Blind Forest shelled out for an orchestra if I recall and platformers tend to do well with me so I'll keep my eyes and ears on that one, it looks to be aiming for the years audiovisual crown.
Riposte
Member
Schala, it probably doesn't matter, but something I noticed while making my GOTY list is that quality of The Talos Principle ost uploads on YouTube by Damjan Mravunac (the composer lol) have this weird effect (lower quality?) that makes it sound worse, if not a little painful to my ears at high volumes (which are present in the archive). No idea how he of all people blundered it (assuming I'm not going crazy). You can compare and contrast with this playlist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKyg2JMVUY8&list=PLJ55oqaSF7yEXwWumYsBgNvpmmS1ynEYG&index=7
The Worlds Of My Garden Are Many
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jasUx4aDsu0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xrlai1OX8Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKyg2JMVUY8&list=PLJ55oqaSF7yEXwWumYsBgNvpmmS1ynEYG&index=7
The Worlds Of My Garden Are Many
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jasUx4aDsu0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xrlai1OX8Y
Lostconfused
Member
Whao Giantbomb really fucked up that Tropical Freeze vote. This OST has some really great ambient tracks.
that's what happens when you listen to 10 second snippets completely out of context, especially when one of the best aspects about the music is how it builds over time.
glad to see Tropical Freeze take this one easily. it's really the only choice.
Violence Jack
Member
Surprised to see Transistor and Lightning Returns so low. To be honest, I didn't even notice the music from MK8 or Smash while I was playing. Still, good job on the list. DKC was legit.
well for Mario Kart 8 that's because you can't change the music and effects settings. pretty annoying for me because so many of those tracks have glorious music that gets completely drowned out.
Lostconfused
Member
Nghhhh this tropical freeze OST is so good, I just might end up buying the game. Pretty high on the recommended list too.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
I should really participate in this next year. Great thread. This will keep me busy for a month at work 
Sad to see Jojo like nowhere on here. Was it not eligible? I'd put SK and MK quite a bit lower, personally, maybe like 9 and 15. Half of these I haven't played, though. Can't wait to start Persona Q.
One funny thing, I've actually listened to the entirety of Tropical Freeze's ost like 10 times even though I haven't played much of the game. It's one of the few times I've ever listened to a full ost before playing the game, it's just not something I do. I don't care much about spoilers, except with soundtracks for some reason.
It's funny, I turned it off like 4 times when I first heard some tracks, like "what is this cheesy shit?" At some point I left a playlist open and after about an hour I started realizing how much variety there really was, and the actual composition, while sometimes cloying, is brilliant. And then I found myself listening to it while working. And then I realized I'd listened to it all week. And then I realized I was humming some tracks at the store.
I'm sure that's happened with Sesame Street tunes before too, but then I don't much care what anyone else thinks so I don't feel the need to judge myself for liking something, and I've long since outgrown the adolescent pretension that childish things are beneath adult consumption.
Of the games on this list I haven't played, I'm most drawn to the Drakengard 3 and Child of Light samples. Gonna start with those I think. Thanks again Schala for making this thread, it looks like such a lot of work.
Sad to see Jojo like nowhere on here. Was it not eligible? I'd put SK and MK quite a bit lower, personally, maybe like 9 and 15. Half of these I haven't played, though. Can't wait to start Persona Q.
One funny thing, I've actually listened to the entirety of Tropical Freeze's ost like 10 times even though I haven't played much of the game. It's one of the few times I've ever listened to a full ost before playing the game, it's just not something I do. I don't care much about spoilers, except with soundtracks for some reason.
It's funny, I turned it off like 4 times when I first heard some tracks, like "what is this cheesy shit?" At some point I left a playlist open and after about an hour I started realizing how much variety there really was, and the actual composition, while sometimes cloying, is brilliant. And then I found myself listening to it while working. And then I realized I'd listened to it all week. And then I realized I was humming some tracks at the store.
I'm sure that's happened with Sesame Street tunes before too, but then I don't much care what anyone else thinks so I don't feel the need to judge myself for liking something, and I've long since outgrown the adolescent pretension that childish things are beneath adult consumption.
Of the games on this list I haven't played, I'm most drawn to the Drakengard 3 and Child of Light samples. Gonna start with those I think. Thanks again Schala for making this thread, it looks like such a lot of work.
Hot Coldman
Banned
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
He just did the OP songs.
The way I looked at it when Nert ran it is that it's partially because the vote counts tend to be much lower than GotY and most of the people voting are familiar with each other in general so there's less potential for not getting along. Since VGM discussions are generally lofty/about enjoying VGM, there's less potential for competition. There are a lot of people in these threads who vote for VGM in terms of albums they've listened to in terms of acting as music to listen to, so I guess it can be treated as their personal album of the year, too.
I tried to make the giant archive look like 2011's or 2012's so I hope it worked out. :x
(Also, thanks for the offer of help in the last thread. I'll keep it in mind for next year.)
I voted for it! I gave it first place on my ballot, and I even made an extra effort to finish 98% of the game before voting. D:
Solune also gave it 3 points.
Re: Tengami: 4 honourable mentions
3 people voted for it - 4 points
1 person gave it 2 points (Spinosaurus)
2 people gave it 1 point (Nocturnowl, Oidisco)
Re: DK Swing : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUzsVy9HdL4
Re: Smash: I was thinking of bringing that up with Ghaleon when we were discussing rule changes, but overall, that probably wouldn't be fair to the people who would vote for it. If I could, I would throw in a vote for "best remix album" but then you'd bring in the argument regarding some soundtracks for remakes/series that use arrangements of certain themes for every game, or FTG compilations that are essentially composed of remixes. That complicates things even further and I can probably guess that some folks wouldn't take too kindly to that since the works of an arranger are just as strong as the works as the original composer (and anyone who has listened to Final Fantasy XIV:ARR's soundtrack, or even any FF past FFX (or any Kirby game), could probably tell you that). It makes things pretty murky and would probably set a precedent for other soundtracks that might not be to others' liking.
I'll respond to your thoughts on 2014 and 2015 when I have a little more time to think/reflect because that is an excellent portion of your post, Nocturnowl. I like seeing that sort of thing in results threads.
Personally Ghaleon and I found 2014 to be fairly weak compared to previous years, but I'll go into it later. When Ghaleon finally has some time, I would imagine that he would too.
Oh, yeah, you're right. Kinda disappointing that there isn't a Bandcamp version of some of this stuff since that would be in 320 kbps. Sometimes soundtracks can get a little garbled on YT, but also depends on what you use/the original quality of the track prior to video creation or video uploading.
I'll replace the links with the ones from the other playlist in a few hours when I finish stuff up in lab. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
Check Noi's post for FFXIV patches 2.2-2.4 out.
Additionally, check my HM vote out for it.
Thoraxes also gave it an honourable mention.
I only added the ones that people had voted for (and some that were on my short list), and at this point, I've only gone through the entirety of the games that got points and not the whole HM list. However, no one seemed to have voted for Jojos.I should really participate in this next year. Great thread. This will keep me busy for a month at work
Sad to see Jojo like nowhere on here. Was it not eligible?
But since you brought it up, I'll add it to the archive as well. That goes for anyone else, but the game has to have either come out in 2014, or the soundtrack has to have come out in 2014.
And yes! Please participate! I kinda hope more people do next year since it should be a fun time. I concentrated on a few areas where I needed to improve (ie: start the spreadsheet earlier, start the archive before voting has even begin, etc), so I hope it goes more smoothly.
I will say that results usually go up 4-5 days after the vote is finished, so next year I might adhere to that. But then again, I might have more time next year since I don't be taking classes (hopefully), so... we'll see! Haha.
Revengeance for what?
The Xtortionist
Member
Scorch 'N' Torch, Seashore War, and Amiss Abyss would be my shortlist for Tropical Freeze. Though I'm sure it would still get some hate.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
Actually you know, I hadn't really found many of SK's tunes that memorable, but listening to the whole thing again I'm finding I'm recalling all the stages, so maybe I did like it more than I remembered
The whole game was a strong HM for me and I'm thrilled I backed it, but I'd be lying if I said it was everything I hoped for.
No comments and no downvotes
What universe do I live in
u guyse r ded 2 me
Nah, I just thought it was a fun soundtrack, would stick it somewhere in a top 10 of what I played this year. Possibly best character select music ever.
The whole game was a strong HM for me and I'm thrilled I backed it, but I'd be lying if I said it was everything I hoped for.
No comments and no downvotes
What universe do I live in
u guyse r ded 2 me
Nah, I just thought it was a fun soundtrack, would stick it somewhere in a top 10 of what I played this year. Possibly best character select music ever.
Nocturnowl
Member
The gulf is about as vast as it could possibly be, well looks like I get a new soundtrack to tout in sort of underrated VGM threads.
Perfect counter, also reminds me that every version of the Dorf has an amazing laugh, perhaps they'll splice his next bellowing laugh with a music track so I can vote for it this year (if Zelda actually comes out this year).
That's true enough.
The presence of enough new music alongside remixes or tracks sourced from elsewhere also puts it in a tricky spot.
Guess it comes down to the individual in the end, like how I though Sonic Generations had a fantastic soundtrack but didn't vote for it that year since it's built off the back of a franchise worth of great material.
Which reminds me Hotline Miami 2 is this year, not sure how I'll go about that one either, I am sure I'll enjoy it though.
I was hoping I could make this a thing so please do!
Long ago when journeying through old threads in search of information I'd once written about a blue hedgehog I stumbled across a post I shouldn't have. Yet I just couldn't leave this alone, my curiosity got the better of me and I took the details I'd found to Schala desiring answers.
On that day I incurred a wrath I wont soon forget, as for the information? well that's a secret.
Or maybe she just knows that I'm tired of having that one track remixed over all the rest, yeah that might be it.
Hyperactivity
Banned
25 honorable mentions
A bunch of people, me included, could only give it this because of how unfair the sheer quantity of tracks is
Eh, based on what I've seen, it's between Scorch N' Torch, Seashore War, and Amiss Abyss
With special mention to the amazing Stickerbush Symphony remix in the Staff credits
Hyperactivity
Banned
.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
I don't even play Smash, but I'm listening to these Mega Man remixes and this version of Mute City right now and I'm shaking and crying friends
Nocturnowl
Member
This is what I've also considered to be the popular trio since the game released, the crowd pleasers if you will.
They really pulled out all the stops for Mega Man, makes the complete lack of anything MM9 and the 2nd Cossack stage theme more forgiving.
I still can't get over how good Shovel Knight's OST was. I've been following Virt for years, but I think it's his best yet. I mean, when you have guest tracks by the original composer for Mega Man, and you're still out-shining those tracks, you know you've done something right. No disrespect to Matsumae, but Kaufman was really, really killing it. The Bounty Hunter was basically a Mastodon song in 8-bit form. Completely awesome.
In the end though, I had to go with Donkey Kong. It's just such a strong and diverse OST. I've got no real love for the original DKC trilogy, so I'm not speaking out of some misplaced nostalgia. It's a damn good soundtrack.
In the end though, I had to go with Donkey Kong. It's just such a strong and diverse OST. I've got no real love for the original DKC trilogy, so I'm not speaking out of some misplaced nostalgia. It's a damn good soundtrack.
Nocturnowl
Member
I think of my heart still belongs to Mighty Switch Force when it comes to Kaufman, Shovel Knight comes damn close though.
Talking about Matsumae's contributions for a second here, while the Plague Knight stage I do think is on the weaker end of stage themes though still decent I really dug (ho ho) the theme for Treasure Knight's stage, it was the first one that hit that instant memorability spot for me. I left the stage with it still rattling in my brain, it's also a damn good water stage (within the Mega Man style water parameters of just meaning elevated jumps at least, not so reliant on low spike ceilings).
Talking about Matsumae's contributions for a second here, while the Plague Knight stage I do think is on the weaker end of stage themes though still decent I really dug (ho ho) the theme for Treasure Knight's stage, it was the first one that hit that instant memorability spot for me. I left the stage with it still rattling in my brain, it's also a damn good water stage (within the Mega Man style water parameters of just meaning elevated jumps at least, not so reliant on low spike ceilings).
recognizing tepid mediocrity like a true connoisseur
dktf is anything but that.
Fine Ham Abounds
Member
Holy shit, this D4 OST. It's like if Moonlighting and Taxi's soundtracks met during a 90s reunion and fucked in a motel jacuzzi. I've got to throw money at these people.
Deep down I always knew you were good people
Deep down I always knew you were good people
I'm confused. Do you mean he only did the OP songs for Sailor Moon and Attack on Titan or for Bravely Default? Because it's mostly those two songs from Sailor Moon and Attack on Titan that I like and I wanted to listen to Bravely Default because of them. As far as I can tell from your listing, he is the only composer for Bravely Default, isn't he?
I thought the whole OST is supposed to be excellent? There's only space for three tracks, so I guess any track could be there, right?
Not that the DK Island swing remix is bad, but there is always one in anything DK related and there's so much new material in this soundtrack that I feel it's a shame the OST is represented by two remixes.
Like Smash bros had like eight remixes of the DK Island Swing, enough
I don't care though, the OP is really well done and I think everyone should listen to the whole soundtrack of DKCTF anyway!
edit: also from my point of view even a great ost can has tracks that are less notable than others, I think that's true of every OST out there.
Still Scorch n Torch is a great choice, I personally really like Cannon Canyon and Fruity Factory.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
only the coolest people give Rockman 4 the props it needs.
Oh, I misunderstood. I thought you were talking about listening to those anime OSTs and not BD. Yeah, he did the entirety of BD. I thought you had listened to the soundtrack before. Must've been thinking of someone else.Jucksalbe said:
I was saying to Coldman elsewhere that I was legitimately surprised that Shantae didn't get very many mentioned in the thread since it was on sale for a while (well, the 3DS version anyway) and he mentioned that it wasn't out on sale in Europe yet, so that might factor into it.
PS: Virt should actually start using his GAF account since he actually has one so we don't have to tweet at him.
Well, some of the EP samples came out at the beginning of January, so you can check them out now. http://spacerecordings.bandcamp.com/album/hotline-miami-2-ep
And yeah, it's legitimately similar to how the Sonic Generations vote went in 2011 when, for example, I decided to give Gens the HM and give Rayman Origins the numbered spot instead since I didn't think it was fair. It's also why I took Kirby Triple Deluxe out of the 3 spots this year and gave it an award similar to an honourable mention. Personally speaking, I'd rather give it to original content, so I just didn't feel comfortable voting for either of those two games. But other people do feel comfortable and I don't want to penalize them (and plus it would lower how many people decide to vote in the first place!).
bwahahahahahaha! >
definitely will tack on the discussion with respect to reflection after I get home from lecture tonight.
I'm more surprised that Coldman never bothered to mention it with the way he goes on about Jojos every week.
fiiiiiiiiiiiine, I switched the thingys to these three tracks.
y'all ain't ever happy. makin' me work some mooooooooooooore. :V
(kidding)
The Xtortionist
Member
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Hot Coldman
Banned
Just gonna throw this out there: Double Dragon Neon is the all-time best Jake Kaufman soundtrack.
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
I just wanted to add before I go off to class that many of the tracks in the OP or the archive are literally copy-pasted from a lot of people's ballots since the logic is that it's supposed to be representative of what the voters wanted. (which is why I totally appreciated a lot of the times some folks listed tracks in their ballots -- cuts down a lot of the work by a ton!)
However, if more than one person thinks that some soundtracks have tracks that don't generally represent the soundtrack, please let me know (and maybe why, since that would be super-cool to read) and I'll do what I can to replace the tracks.
The OP/thread is supposed to be representative of what you guys like so I hope that, for the most part, it is.
However, if more than one person thinks that some soundtracks have tracks that don't generally represent the soundtrack, please let me know (and maybe why, since that would be super-cool to read
) and I'll do what I can to replace the tracks.The OP/thread is supposed to be representative of what you guys like so I hope that, for the most part, it is.
Yet it only got 21 points. Haven't listened to Shovel Knight much outside of a few of the tracks linked here and in the voting thread, but I loved Double Dragon Neon's OST.
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
Not really feeling DKC:TF's soundtrack, either in-game or from the suggestions here. Freed from the limitations of the SNES, it feels like David Wise has created something better suited to be the background audio for a movie whereas I prefer the clearer, more game-like melodies of the 16-bit DKC games. With the SNES games, the music could not be ignored, whereas these songs, though competently created, easily fall into the background.
MaverickHunterAsh
Member
Seashore War is so damn good. When I first started that level, its moodiness and poignancy hit me like a sack of bricks and I just kind of sat there listening and thinking about the context of it all. In a soundtrack full of mostly fun, upbeat tunes that plays in a game about anthropomorphic monkeys taking back their island from Viking penguins and walruses, it's surprisingly dark and epic (in a good way).
Mega Man really got the royal fucking treatment in Smash, from the representation of his actual character to all the music remixes in his stage. It's been incredibly wonderful and rewarding as a Mega Man fan, especially after all the disappointing and embarrassing shit we've been put through over the last several years. The Shadow Man remix is just stupid good. My only complaint is that it would have been nice to get anything from 7-10 music-wise, but that's nitpicking and I can definitely see why they had to have a strict cutoff point. Trying to pick and choose a limited number of songs to represent "the best Mega Man music" is almost impossible and a very slippery slope.
Yep. Shovel Knight was also my GotY, but Virt's music just brought it all together for me and was easily my favorite soundtrack this year as well. He just really, really killed it. To quote someone from the OP, it's the kind of amazing, infectiously memorable and super inspiring soundtrack Capcom used to make but can't/won't anymore. And I agree about Matsumae - she's a legend and always will be to me, but hearing their work in Shovel Knight side by side, Virt straight up outshone her (not that they were competing) and he should be really fucking proud of himself. "High Above the Land" and "The Fateful Return" so deeply and thoroughly channel that pervasive, epic Mega Man 2/Mega Man 9 vibe... every time I listen to it, I just can't. It's so good.
only the coolest people give Rockman 4 the props it needs.
PS: Virt should actually start using his GAF account since he actually has one so we don't have to tweet at him.
Rockman 5 has my favorite Classic series soundtrack as I feel it just hits the most consistent highs in a series full of them, but Rockman 4 has some really standout tracks as well, and I agree that it doesn't get enough love! Skull Man, Cossack 3/4, and Wily 3/4 are three of the best songs in the whole series IMO.
Also, I didn't know Virt has a GAF account, but I sent him a quick congratulatory email yesterday and included a link to this thread, so hopefully he'll drop in and say something! I associate produced a lesser-known game he did the music for called Wonder Momo: Typhoon Booster, and he really did an amazing job with that soundtrack as well. I highly recommend checking it out if you get a chance - it's a fun little Mac App Store + nVidia Shield (yeah, I know) 2D platformer/beat 'em up and it's worth the price of admission just for his music alone!
Eolz
Member
It's more for the archive, but since I put Senran Kagura 2 in honorable mention, I added (edited near the end) two tracks in the voting thread on top of the opening song already in the archive.
Reposting since I thought it'd be nice to put them in (sorry, the quality is 240p but can't find anything else on youtube):
Reposting since I thought it'd be nice to put them in (sorry, the quality is 240p but can't find anything else on youtube):
Dark Schala
Eloquent Princess
I have now fixed The Talos Principle's, DKC:TF's, and Senran Kagura 2's listings in the OP/archive. I have also now added Jojo. I have a few more things to add and I'll do that later. Anything else, let me know!
(I have just realized I should add Wayward Souls's stuff. It's one of the more fun mobile games I played last year and the soundtrack's pretty good, so I'll do that.)
Rockman 4 is my fave classic MM game, so I can't help but to be a little biased in favour of the soundtrack... or any of the romhacks associated with it. I do agree that I wished that a lot of the Smash Bros remixes went further beyond MM6 and into the 7-10 territory (and probably including some silly stuff like improving on Battle/Chase, Rockboard, etc). If there's one thing I've noticed after giving two MM fan remix/arrangement CDs "awards" for two straight years, it's that I really like hearing 7 and 8's stuff remixed. The tunes are truly ripe for it.
2014 Soundtracks to Follow Up On
Hmm... if anything, I'd like to get better context for soundtracks' executions by playing the games they were in. As some of you may know, I got super-busy last year and didn't have time to even breathe, so even if I did play 90+ games last year, a lot of them were older/replays/new games on handhelds/mobile... and the games that seemed to get a lot of accolades were released at time when I was swamped with work. When I did have time to play stuff, I got sick on Christmas!
...which means I never got to play the copy of Bayonetta 2 that I got for Christmas (and thus I barely got to listen to the soundtrack since character action games' soundtracks are generally better-served in-context like Revengeance's and DMC3's were), finish off Assassin's Creed: Unity, start Drakengard 3, start Fairy Fencer F, etc. I got a ton of remote-play/Gamepad and portable/mobile games out of the way since I was stuck in bed, though. (I did get to play a fair bit of the copy of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- that I got for Christmas with my cousins when they came over for holiday stuff, though.)
I would very much like to get a little more familiar with Freedom Planet (which I'd bought but haven't had time to get to), The Talos Principle (I downloaded the demo), Drakengard 3 (I will finally play this game. I will!), play Hohokum, finally start Velocity 2x, and start Armoured Hunter Gunhound. I am familiar with the soundtracks, their compositions, the quality of their arrangements, but I am not entirely familiar with the games they're in!
Thoughts of Soundtracks of 2014
I thought this was a fairly weak year. I usually start listening to the (what feels like hundreds) of soundtracks/arrangement albums while studying for finals in the weeks before the voting thread is put up since that way, I kill several birds with one stone (I do something recreational + study for stuff and it works out fairly well). Throughout my listening experience, I found that much like the game selection of 2014, 2014's soundtracks had a lot of gems, but there wasn't a genuine consistent quality. Similarly, I never bothered writing an in-thread Game of the Year list partially because I did not have a game of the year, and partially because most of the games I genuinely liked were older games. I still don't have one, even though I've praised Sen no Kiseki II as a game quite a bit. Like I said: lots of gems in terms of games, but not something that would stand head-and-shoulders above the rest just yet. Maybe I'll discover something soundtrack-related/games-related down the line while I play catch-up!
Compare this with 2013 or even 2012 when I had an incredibly tough time picking three soundtracks out of the many many many that I liked on my shortlists for those years! This time, it was relatively easy. I'm a bit disappointed that there weren't a lot of dark horse soundtracks from some lesser-known/new composers or lesser-known games to me. Those usually stood out the most since I started voting on GAF and it's kind of unfortunate that I didn't get to hear a lot of stuff on par with some of the stuff from previous years. I also felt like the usual heavy-hitters in terms of publishers/developers didn't seem to hit it off with me. Sometimes it took multiple listens to go, "oh yeah, this is neat", or it just didn't jive with me at all for whatever reason. Maybe it just wasn't my year. I just felt like there was a lot of homogeneity in 2014, and there were some soundtracks that didn't seem to carve out their own special sense of identity. Some seemed to be oddly inconsistent, and I found that to be a bit unfortunate.
I dunno! 2014 was just a year where I was slightly apathetic towards a lot of things related to gaming, but started to enjoy the act of gaming again. I stopped platinuming games, I started dropping games I didn't like (I KNOW! Usually I stick with games that make me want to cry! Nocturnowl must be stunned by this development and he probably thinks I've lost my mind!), I stopped paying attention to a lot of games news, and started taking stuff as it came (mostly read Famitsu/4gamer articles, watching videos after I came home, etc). Doing a lot of the previously mentioned, taking it easy, and getting through a lot of games/soundtracks on my own last year made me feel a whoooole lot better, though. VGM is a huge part of my life and I don't see myself excising that from my life any time soon, even if I wasn't too attached to a lot of the material last year. A small part of that apathy might also relate to my lack of free time, too.
That being said, there were a lot of cool soundtracks in 2014, but I don't think the year as a whole hit the highs of previous years, nor was it as consistent. I don't think I need to link my post again, but I tried to assert why I liked the things I did. My shortlist wasn't as long as last year's shortlist, which was also fairly disappointing. I hope I have some addendums as the year goes on, and maybe I could nail down an LTTP 2014 vote next year unless I play something older that seems cool.
Looking Ahead to 2015
2015 is here already! We have some soundtracks coming out and some have already come out!
Some Hotline Miami 2 stuff
Citizens of Earth's soundtrack is distributed through Steam.
Another Distant Worlds album! And more!
Final Fantasy XIV Patch 2.5 is out already and we've got some tunes!
Amdapor Keep Hard Mode
World of Darkness (Battle theme)
Keeper of the Lake / Keeper of the Lake Midgardsormr theme
I should be getting a preorder mini-CD for Legend of Legacy next week and what I've heard of the music in streams sounds awesome (even though I heard the variety of music is fairly small), but in case some of you need a reminder...
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse's soundtrack seems neat based on Japanese footage.
A few of the arrangement albums I was thinking of getting didn't seem to have good samples (Rockman Utopia, Rockman Dystopia), so I don't think I'm getting them. And as I said before, I truly hope I get to listen to some stuff from more fan games this year. I really missed doing that in 2014, and I genuinely wonder if I missed out on a lot of stuff because I didn't have a lot of time to search around on my own. There's an Okami jazz arrangement album that's coming out soon (samples in that link). Phantasy Star Nova's soundtrack's coming out at the end of the month. This String Arrangement album should be interesting.
I played the Bravely Second demo (and uh, apparently I didn't finish it because it was still on when I went to download Boxboy! I guess I got preoccupied with studying), and while I think some of the tracks in the demo fall short of Bravely Default's consistency, I'm interested in seeing how Bravely Second's entire soundtrack ends up turning out.
I think Hitoshi Sakimoto's soundtrack for Unsung Story: Tale of the Guardians should be out in 2015, so I hope that's a consistent soundtrack. I generally prefer his shmup soundtracks, but maybe this can be cool too.
Overall, though, I generally don't get hyped for anything. I look forward to stuff, or try to get interested in it so I can try to treat it fairly. So I'm going to treat 2015's soundtrack selection like I treated 2014's games: I'm just going to take them as they come. If they're good, that's cool; maybe they'll go on the shortlist. If they're not that great, that kinda sucks but oh well, there's always next time. Plus it's a time when a new generation should start to partially hit its stride, so we'll probably see some neat sound design, too.
(PS: I hope that Ori and the Blind Forest has a fantastic soundtrack too!)
(I have just realized I should add Wayward Souls's stuff. It's one of the more fun mobile games I played last year and the soundtrack's pretty good, so I'll do that.)
I'm pretty sure that I've seen Aeana poking him with a stick a few times in the last eight or so months so he'd post more! I'd also meant to pick up Wonder Momo last year so I'd like to hear the music (since I don't see a listing for it anywhere which isn't really a surprise, I guess). Should be nifty. I play mobile games all the time since it fits my lifestyle a little more (ie: on the go a lot so I stick to a lot of handheld/mobile/whatever can run on this laptop games lately and console games take me a little longer). A whole lot have some killer soundtracks too (ex: 80 Days, Terra Battle, Two Dots Game, Wayward Souls, etc), so I usually like hearing more of 'em.
Rockman 4 is my fave classic MM game, so I can't help but to be a little biased in favour of the soundtrack... or any of the romhacks associated with it. I do agree that I wished that a lot of the Smash Bros remixes went further beyond MM6 and into the 7-10 territory (and probably including some silly stuff like improving on Battle/Chase, Rockboard, etc). If there's one thing I've noticed after giving two MM fan remix/arrangement CDs "awards" for two straight years, it's that I really like hearing 7 and 8's stuff remixed. The tunes are truly ripe for it.
I want to do this! It seems fun!
2014 Soundtracks to Follow Up On
Hmm... if anything, I'd like to get better context for soundtracks' executions by playing the games they were in. As some of you may know, I got super-busy last year and didn't have time to even breathe, so even if I did play 90+ games last year, a lot of them were older/replays/new games on handhelds/mobile... and the games that seemed to get a lot of accolades were released at time when I was swamped with work. When I did have time to play stuff, I got sick on Christmas!
...which means I never got to play the copy of Bayonetta 2 that I got for Christmas (and thus I barely got to listen to the soundtrack since character action games' soundtracks are generally better-served in-context like Revengeance's and DMC3's were), finish off Assassin's Creed: Unity, start Drakengard 3, start Fairy Fencer F, etc. I got a ton of remote-play/Gamepad and portable/mobile games out of the way since I was stuck in bed, though. (I did get to play a fair bit of the copy of Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- that I got for Christmas with my cousins when they came over for holiday stuff, though.)
I would very much like to get a little more familiar with Freedom Planet (which I'd bought but haven't had time to get to), The Talos Principle (I downloaded the demo), Drakengard 3 (I will finally play this game. I will!), play Hohokum, finally start Velocity 2x, and start Armoured Hunter Gunhound. I am familiar with the soundtracks, their compositions, the quality of their arrangements, but I am not entirely familiar with the games they're in!
Thoughts of Soundtracks of 2014
I thought this was a fairly weak year. I usually start listening to the (what feels like hundreds) of soundtracks/arrangement albums while studying for finals in the weeks before the voting thread is put up since that way, I kill several birds with one stone (I do something recreational + study for stuff and it works out fairly well). Throughout my listening experience, I found that much like the game selection of 2014, 2014's soundtracks had a lot of gems, but there wasn't a genuine consistent quality. Similarly, I never bothered writing an in-thread Game of the Year list partially because I did not have a game of the year, and partially because most of the games I genuinely liked were older games. I still don't have one, even though I've praised Sen no Kiseki II as a game quite a bit. Like I said: lots of gems in terms of games, but not something that would stand head-and-shoulders above the rest just yet. Maybe I'll discover something soundtrack-related/games-related down the line while I play catch-up!
Compare this with 2013 or even 2012 when I had an incredibly tough time picking three soundtracks out of the many many many that I liked on my shortlists for those years! This time, it was relatively easy. I'm a bit disappointed that there weren't a lot of dark horse soundtracks from some lesser-known/new composers or lesser-known games to me. Those usually stood out the most since I started voting on GAF and it's kind of unfortunate that I didn't get to hear a lot of stuff on par with some of the stuff from previous years. I also felt like the usual heavy-hitters in terms of publishers/developers didn't seem to hit it off with me. Sometimes it took multiple listens to go, "oh yeah, this is neat", or it just didn't jive with me at all for whatever reason. Maybe it just wasn't my year. I just felt like there was a lot of homogeneity in 2014, and there were some soundtracks that didn't seem to carve out their own special sense of identity. Some seemed to be oddly inconsistent, and I found that to be a bit unfortunate.
I dunno! 2014 was just a year where I was slightly apathetic towards a lot of things related to gaming, but started to enjoy the act of gaming again. I stopped platinuming games, I started dropping games I didn't like (I KNOW! Usually I stick with games that make me want to cry! Nocturnowl must be stunned by this development and he probably thinks I've lost my mind!), I stopped paying attention to a lot of games news, and started taking stuff as it came (mostly read Famitsu/4gamer articles, watching videos after I came home, etc). Doing a lot of the previously mentioned, taking it easy, and getting through a lot of games/soundtracks on my own last year made me feel a whoooole lot better, though. VGM is a huge part of my life and I don't see myself excising that from my life any time soon, even if I wasn't too attached to a lot of the material last year. A small part of that apathy might also relate to my lack of free time, too.
That being said, there were a lot of cool soundtracks in 2014, but I don't think the year as a whole hit the highs of previous years, nor was it as consistent. I don't think I need to link my post again, but I tried to assert why I liked the things I did. My shortlist wasn't as long as last year's shortlist, which was also fairly disappointing. I hope I have some addendums as the year goes on, and maybe I could nail down an LTTP 2014 vote next year unless I play something older that seems cool.
Looking Ahead to 2015
2015 is here already! We have some soundtracks coming out and some have already come out!
Some Hotline Miami 2 stuff
Citizens of Earth's soundtrack is distributed through Steam.
Another Distant Worlds album! And more!
Final Fantasy XIV Patch 2.5 is out already and we've got some tunes!
Amdapor Keep Hard Mode
World of Darkness (Battle theme)
Keeper of the Lake / Keeper of the Lake Midgardsormr theme
I should be getting a preorder mini-CD for Legend of Legacy next week and what I've heard of the music in streams sounds awesome (even though I heard the variety of music is fairly small), but in case some of you need a reminder...
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse's soundtrack seems neat based on Japanese footage.
A few of the arrangement albums I was thinking of getting didn't seem to have good samples (Rockman Utopia, Rockman Dystopia), so I don't think I'm getting them. And as I said before, I truly hope I get to listen to some stuff from more fan games this year. I really missed doing that in 2014, and I genuinely wonder if I missed out on a lot of stuff because I didn't have a lot of time to search around on my own. There's an Okami jazz arrangement album that's coming out soon (samples in that link). Phantasy Star Nova's soundtrack's coming out at the end of the month. This String Arrangement album should be interesting.
I played the Bravely Second demo (and uh, apparently I didn't finish it because it was still on when I went to download Boxboy! I guess I got preoccupied with studying), and while I think some of the tracks in the demo fall short of Bravely Default's consistency, I'm interested in seeing how Bravely Second's entire soundtrack ends up turning out.
I think Hitoshi Sakimoto's soundtrack for Unsung Story: Tale of the Guardians should be out in 2015, so I hope that's a consistent soundtrack. I generally prefer his shmup soundtracks, but maybe this can be cool too.
Overall, though, I generally don't get hyped for anything. I look forward to stuff, or try to get interested in it so I can try to treat it fairly. So I'm going to treat 2015's soundtrack selection like I treated 2014's games: I'm just going to take them as they come. If they're good, that's cool; maybe they'll go on the shortlist. If they're not that great, that kinda sucks but oh well, there's always next time. Plus it's a time when a new generation should start to partially hit its stride, so we'll probably see some neat sound design, too.
(PS: I hope that Ori and the Blind Forest has a fantastic soundtrack too!)