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NeoGAF’s Official Game Soundtracks of the Year 2011 (Voting Ends January 13th)

N

NotTheGuyYouKill

Member
1. inFamous 2
2. Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
3. Portal 2

Honourable Mentions:

Assassin's Creed: Revelations
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Dead Space 2
LA Noire (soundtrack was one of the few worthwhile parts of the game)
 
K

King of the Potato People

Member
1: Xenoblade Chronicles

I hope one day Yoko Shimomura is revered in the same way as Uematsu.

2: Sonic Generations

I feel a bit guilty choosing this since it's mostly just remixes, but masterful nonetheless.

3: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

It's a predictable soundtrack, if you know what I mean. It didn't surprise me in the same way that the Wind Waker used irish-style tunes, still it was great even the Goddess theme didn't bore me despite how often it was played in the trailers.

Honourable Mentions:

Uncharted 3

The Uncharted games can be tense, the soundtrack thunders it up with pounding taiko drums and an Arabian sound.

LittleBigPlanet 2

This game has a cow-firing gun, a level made out of cakes, a laboratory with what looks like a constipated dog that must be rode.

How do you score a game with as much zany energy as this series? License it of course, with a combo of Jazz, Disco, Rock and more. I don't know why it works so well but this one is a treat.
 
N

Nert

Member
I have to say that I'm enjoying what I'm hearing from Mighty Switch Force. I might have to reconsider my list of highlights...

Also, after seeing several mentions of Sonic Generations, I would like to point out that I love that soundtrack as well, but decided not to vote for it because it would largely entail rewarding songs that I've already liked in the past. The Collection Room music is really special, though.
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Nert said:
I have to say that I'm enjoying what I'm hearing from Mighty Switch Force. I might have to reconsider my list of highlights...

Also, after seeing several mentions of Sonic Generations, I would like to point out that I love that soundtrack as well, but decided not to vote for it because it would largely entail rewarding songs that I've already liked in the past. The Collection Room music is really special, though.
Click to expand...
I concur. The music is fantastic (bought the soundtrack earlier) and I'm going to dive into the game tonight as a result.

And while I was writing up my description for the Sonic Generations' soundtrack, I'm thinking of reconsidering my vote for Sonic Generations (partially as a result for Mighty Switch Force (and maybe even Rayman Origins as well since I'm finishing it up at the moment). I love Generations' music and arrangements so much, but the unfortunate thing is that they're all themes I've heard in the past 20 years. I'm struggling with the fairness of voting for the soundtrack. I really love it, and I like humming the tunes and singing along to them while playing, but I might have to put it under the honourable mentions category with a descriptor paragraph instead just to be completely fair to the voting process.
 
J

Jackano

Member
So there is a voting..:

1) Skyward Sword
Even if the soundtrack doesn't have many surprises, the overall quality is still good and the few new themes are great (Faye/Fi, Ghirahim, the Main Theme, and End Credits medley).
Plus, the 25th anniversary concerts, even if it's not the game soundtrack itself.

2) Mario Kart 7
I promote MK7 over SM3DL because generally, Mario Kart soundtracks are underrated. Certainly the fault of the many ingame SFX, engine sounds particularly. But the music is always a good thing in Mario Kart, just listen to the new Rainbow Road!

3) Super Mario 3D Land
Even if the themes are well known, the overall work on the sound of the game is impressive. SM3DL is one of the rare game I like playing with sound volume to maximum. The new main theme, the end levels jingles and olds themes remix are all well packed together and it's really nice to play such a good game with this nice soundtrack.
 
Acquiescence

Acquiescence

Member
1. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron - For a game as bipolar and eclectic in nearly every facet, the sheer breadth of influences and genres on display in El Shaddai is fitting but hugely impressive all the same. For my money, Scarlet Liturgy is the single best musical composition to feature in a video game this year.

2. L.A. Noire - A jazz-centric score that perfectly sets the tone for the game's era and enhances the noirish overtones. I'd often leave the title screen running in the background just to hear the glorious 9 minute main theme that plays over it. Also, all the licensed music you could listen to while driving highlighted rather distressingly that radio stations played far superior music back in the '40s than they do now.

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - I was unfortunate enough to tolerate this travesty on the PS3, but one aspect unaffected by a broken port is the aural component, and that's where Skyrim shines. The ambient pieces that quietly hummed away in the background while simply wandering the world were stunning in their beauty and ability to immerse.
 
N

Nert

Member
I'm starting to update the archive with quotes and the like. It should be much more complete by the end of the day.
 
R

randomkid

Member
thread on page 4 and hours between posts already heh. kinda cracks me up that you guys spent a full year worrying and preparing for low participation but still made the same mistakes. on a forum like gaf, you don't wait until Dec 29 to make a blank of the year topic and you don't start with a giant thoughtful OP that scares away the riffraff. you maximize participation by casting as wide a net as possible. edit later if you must but start with a short OP to get all the thoughtless impulse votes/posts in and increase visibility, then the thoughtful folks will chime in too and inspire on the fence people to put in effort. those of us who actually appreciate and click through on all the links in the OP are a tiny minority. hopefully next year you don't threepeat this timing/method. also hope i'm wrong and there's a sudden burst in posts in the next couple weeks.

in any case, the mighty switch force soundtrack is really good!
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Nert said:
I'm starting to update the archive with quotes and the like. It should be much more complete by the end of the day.
Click to expand...
Nert, for next year--and I know both you and Ghaleon may not have time to do this--I'd advise:

-Putting the thread up a little earlier. It's holiday and finals/thesis defense season, and I know some soundtracks are still being released in Japan, but putting together an op sans a completed archive might be a good idea. Most people seemed to have talked about their favourite soundtracks in the other threads created this year, and it seems like the postcount in comparison to those other threads is a bit low. Unless people are taking their time to think about their picks. *shrug*

-Finding an incentive for people to explain their picks, or at least encouraging more people to do it. It's kind of a boring thread if people don't explain their picks. I'm going to post my explanations later, even for my honourable mentions later on, but it's better if people explain their picks to create some sort of discussion about the soundtracks in general.

-Make people post sample tracks, even if that's what the archive is for. People may not be familiar with the soundtracks at all, and it helps a lot if people post some samples from their favourite soundtracks. Letting people explore the soundtracks they don't know will be enhanced if there is community involvement.

-Increasing the number of soundtracks to vote for from three to five. :lol (I'm dying here.)

randomkid said:
in any case, the mighty switch force soundtrack is really good!
Click to expand...
Yep! I finished the game earlier today, and I think I know what's going to fill in my Number 3 placeholder and replace Sonic Generations now~
 
N

Nert

Member
randomkid said:
thread on page 4 and hours between posts already heh. kinda cracks me up that you guys spent a full year worrying and preparing for low participation but still made the same mistakes. on a forum like gaf, you don't wait until Dec 29 to make a blank of the year topic and you don't start with a giant thoughtful OP that scares away the riffraff. you maximize participation by casting as wide a net as possible. edit later if you must but start with a short OP to get all the thoughtless impulse votes/posts in and increase visibility, then the thoughtful folks will chime in too and inspire on the fence people to put in effort. those of us who actually appreciate and click through on all the links in the OP are a tiny minority. hopefully next year you don't threepeat this timing/method. also hope i'm wrong and there's a sudden burst in posts in the next couple weeks.

in any case, the mighty switch force soundtrack is really good!
Click to expand...

I get where you're coming from and I'm not saying you're wrong, although I'm a little bummed out by how hard this apparently seems to be for people. Even if there are a few paragraphs outlining voting rules and whatever, this thread basically boils down to "pick three soundtracks" and "there's an archive with stuff if you're interested." We could remove the bits of text justifying the topic's existence next time, because (hopefully) people will just expect there to be a formal one.

Of course, if the real issue is that people don't want any discussion or an archive to look back on, we could just post a paragraph of voting rules (or not even hold a vote). It's not our place (or goal) to tell people what they should want, after all. /shrug

Dark Schala said:
Nert, for next year--and I know both you and Ghaleon may not have time to do this--I'd advise:

-Putting the thread up a little earlier. It's holiday and finals/thesis defense season, and I know some soundtracks are still being released in Japan, but putting together an op sans a completed archive might be a good idea. Most people seemed to have talked about their favourite soundtracks in the other threads created this year, and it seems like the postcount in comparison to those other threads is a bit low. Unless people are taking their time to think about their picks. *shrug*

-Finding an incentive for people to explain their picks, or at least encouraging more people to do it. It's kind of a boring thread if people don't explain their picks. I'm going to post my explanations later, even for my honourable mentions later on, but it's better if people explain their picks to create some sort of discussion about the soundtracks in general.

-Make people post sample tracks, even if that's what the archive is for. People may not be familiar with the soundtracks at all, and it helps a lot if people post some samples from their favourite soundtracks. Letting people explore the soundtracks they don't know will be enhanced if there is community involvement.

-Increasing the number of soundtracks to vote for from three to five. :lol (I'm dying here.)
Click to expand...

We definitely intended to get the topic up sooner, although some life things happened and pushed us back a little bit. Our hope was to get mod support to be able to hold on to the topic, and that mostly worked (although they decided to let the last topic run until this was done). Some people sent me messages implying that we were being "selfish" for holding on to the topic for as long as we did, which I found bizarre (this is a labor of love, not a vanity project).

Personally speaking, I'm confused as to why discussing soundtracks in the second week of December is so much more compelling than waiting until everything has actually come out, but you're absolutely right in noting that the earlier threads tend to have better participation. The A.V Club, for example, has more or less admitted that they hammer out their "best of" stuff in late November in order to "be a part of the conversation," which naturally leads to all sorts of weirdness (their best of music list leaving out albums released in December that they adore). Mighty Switch Force, which has a soundtrack that a lot of people in this thread love, was released on December 22.

We are attempting to encourage discussion by including quotes from people in the archive, and we put in a paragraph encouraging discussion and debate, but that could understandably be lost in what many see as a sea of text. I guess we could just not do an archive at all until afterthe results are posted.

We're trying to make a topic that is useful and interesting to everyone, that's all. If anyone else has feedback like this, we would definitely appreciate it!
 
I

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Yeah...........not surprised to see this thread not lively either. I participated in the first one only to be told to come back later, and as I did that I was told to come back later again.. I get it, certain topics are called in the community thread but I seriously think 99% of the users here have no idea that there are specific people assigned to specific threads. I don't blame anyone for looking around the forums in the past weeks, seeing there's no soundtrack of the year post yet, and posting it themselves. I don't really see the need to copy and paste a bunch of youtube urls in the OP either. The other threads were simply "here's my picks, what's your's?" and they got plenty of responses. And obviously as you get closer to the holidays people have less time to hunt around for links to their favorite songs and make a giant post. Perhaps it'll get lively in the next week, but I'm honestly not gonna bother heh.
 
GhaleonQ

GhaleonQ

Member
I mean, the point is to broaden the discussion, no? Not to make this a topic about the topic, but the difference between a game of the year thread and a soundtrack of the year thread is that YOU, RIGHT NOW, can go listen to the awesome game music out there. Most soundtracks last between 30 minutes and 1 hour 30 minutes. I can't push anyone to do so, of course.

If all the topic is is people narrowing the subset of the few games they played (re: the game of the year topic) with "soundtracks that interested them while playing," then that's not very interesting. Nintendo title, Western R.P.G., Japanese R.P.G., indie game with a chiptune or modern electronic soundtrack, ambient string-heavy war game. Boom. There's your topic each year. I'll make 2012's right now.

I'm open to feedback, natch, but I guess a content-rich topic is more interesting to me than 20 people posting DUH SKYRIM. I suppose I anticipate a hardcore game music fanbase at NeoGAF posting just because, just like others have in that mysterious "best role-playing game" topic that has run 3 times in 3 years. If the gap can't be bridged, I suppose that's how it has to be. I disagree that splitting the difference is the answer, however. Rather, save the deep discussion for *can't post site names* and Square Enix Music Online and have the annual re-ranking here.

But, yeah, even the Game Of The Year topic was super-boring this year because people just ranked. *shrugs* Maybe the more verbose posters are away?
 
E

Earthpainting

Member
I enjoy these threads greatly. Last year's introduced me to NieR's music and actually pushed me to pick the game up. That said, I must admit though that I could never in good conscienceness vote for a soundtrack of a title that I haven't played. Without knowing how the tracks are used and in what context, I feel like I'm not getting the whole picture.

The only thing I find a little disappointing thus far is that not many people posted an example of their picks, or explain why something did or even didn't make their list.

GhaleonQ said:
But, yeah, even the Game Of The Year topic was super-boring this year because people just ranked. *shrugs* Maybe the more verbose posters are away?
Click to expand...
I feel like this is sadly enough the nature of the subject. While it is easy for the average person to evaluate whether or not you like a piece, it can be quite difficult to put into words why it works.
 
N

Nocturnowl

Member
Earthpainting said:
I enjoy these threads greatly. Last year's introduced me to NieR's music and actually pushed me to pick the game up. That said, I must admit though that I could never in good conscienceness vote for a soundtrack of a title that I haven't played. Without knowing how the tracks are used and in what context, I feel like I'm not getting the whole picture.
Click to expand...

I share these sentiments, I find that playing the game itself also gives the opportunity for one to truly remember the soundtrack itself, usually by it burrowing its way into your head over the games duration.
But what I do get from these topics regarding soundtracks I haven't heard is new games to give a shot because they have good soundtracks, there are games that i'm far more likely to purchase having heard that they have great music from people in this topic. I too was convinced to give Nier a shake due to its praised soundtrack.
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Nert said:
Personally speaking, I'm confused as to why discussing soundtracks in the second week of December is so much more compelling than waiting until everything has actually come out, but you're absolutely right in noting that the earlier threads tend to have better participation... Mighty Switch Force, which has a soundtrack that a lot of people in this thread love, was released on December 22.
Click to expand...
To be fair, we can use Mighty Switch Force as an example in terms of the Game of the Year thread, which was posted prior to the game coming out. The best thing is that people can edit their posts prior to the results being finalized (and having the voting until January 13th is probably the best thing here, since it gives people plenty of listening time). What can help is also that people can post samples from newly released soundtracks towards the end of December for those interested in a post later on, but I guess that'd be against the point of the archive.

I think people really wanted to vote for their soundtracks while they were in a Game of the Year voting mood. Now that the year's kinda done, and given the duplicate threads a few weeks ago, I guess people are put off by it? Or they're still making their decisions? I don't know. Still, I've been looking forward to this thread all year, darnit, and I'm gonna post something.

And, uh, I meant to post my explanations for my chosen soundtracks yesterday, but that couldn't really happen. :/

Nocturnowl said:
I share these sentiments, I find that playing the game itself also gives the opportunity for one to truly remember the soundtrack itself, usually by it burrowing its way into your head over the games duration.
But what I do get from these topics regarding soundtracks I haven't heard is new games to give a shot because they have good soundtracks, there are games that i'm far more likely to purchase having heard that they have great music from people in this topic. I too was convinced to give Nier a shake due to its praised soundtrack.
Click to expand...
It gives better context to the music, and tbh, it's easier to write a paragraph explaining why you liked it based on the context the music was used in. I do listen to a lot of game soundtracks out of context, but that's because I like the "genre" in general. I'm not sure if other GAF members do that, though.

And good soundtracks for games I haven't played definitely work into me buying the game. Happened with Mighty Switch Force this year. I wasn't on GAF last year, but I was certainly encouraged to purchase VVVVVV based on the soundtrack being in the top 14. Plus I was pretty happy that Sonic Colours ended up there too.

GhaleonQ said:
But, yeah, even the Game Of The Year topic was super-boring this year because people just ranked. *shrugs* Maybe the more verbose posters are away?
Click to expand...
Really? I was thinking of holding off on posting my Top 10 GOTYs because a) I was writing up my explanations anyway, and b) I'm still going through a few games.

That sounds boring. I like reading other people's reasons as to why they liked the things they listed. :/
 
S

shintoki

sparkle this bitch
1. Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Only one I can recall memorable notes from, so wins by default. The best kind of winning.
 
D

Dog Problems

Banned
Earthpainting said:
I feel like this is sadly enough the nature of the subject. While it is easy for the average person to evaluate whether or not you like a piece, it can be quite difficult to put into words why it works.
Click to expand...

When it comes to music this is how I am. I know what I like but I don't know why I like it, haha. Also, it's hard for me to really get into video game music if I haven't played the game. Something may catch my ear and make me want to play a game but it's not until I've finished the game that the music really grows on me.
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Hrm. I've come to a bit of a crossroads. There are two soundtracks that I want to fit into my third slot, but I've started to think...

...do I want to rank them based on how they work in the context of the game (which is perhaps a good thing to do), or do I want to rank them based on their value as a soundtrack on its own?

In a way, it kind of feels right to reward a composition team based on how well the fit and construct the music in a way that enhances gameplay (the Zelda sound team does this a lot with the soundtrack dynamism for environments and what the player chooses to do while exploring/attacking, and I've noticed that the Rayman Origins composers did this with boss fights and level exploration). The game does its share of enhancing the soundtrack, just as much as the soundtrack enhances the game.

But in another way, a soundtrack can sound really damn great both in and out of game, but it might not have too much of a link to the gameplay... only being used as part of the background to make the player enjoy playing the game. But it isn't really enhanced by the game in return.

I'm stuck. :(

Also, I finished my El Shaddai writeup. I hope it isn't too lengthy. :D
 
E

Earthpainting

Member
Dark Schala said:
Hrm. I've come to a bit of a crossroads. There are two soundtracks that I want to fit into my third slot, but I've started to think...

...do I want to rank them based on how they work in the context of the game (which is perhaps a good thing to do), or do I want to rank them based on their value as a soundtrack on its own?

In a way, it kind of feels right to reward a composition team based on how well the fit and construct the music in a way that enhances gameplay (the Zelda sound team does this a lot with the soundtrack dynamism for environments and what the player chooses to do while exploring/attacking, and I've noticed that the Rayman Origins composers did this with boss fights and level exploration). The game does its share of enhancing the soundtrack, just as much as the soundtrack enhances the game.

But in another way, a soundtrack can sound really damn great both in and out of game, but it might not have too much of a link to the gameplay... only being used as part of the background to make the player enjoy playing the game. But it isn't really enhanced by the game in return.

I'm stuck. :(
Click to expand...
That was pretty much my dilemma as well. I value the context of a piece greatly, but I feel like it could also colour my perception in rather unfair ways. A great song used well in an otherwise poorly made game, should not be punished for not being in a popular title with better writing, gameplay, direction or simply more hype surrounding it. I don't think anyone will disagree with the notion that ultimately the context is less important than the quality of the tracks themselves, but finding the right balance between the two isn't easy.
 
R

randomkid

Member
Nice El Shaddai writeup Schala. I think I said it somewhere else but sometimes it's just nice to listen to something that sounds expensive haha. Biggest surprise of the year for me, Azazel theme troika was probably my favorite.
 
R

reptilescorpio

Member
Shadows of the Damned
Deus Ex Human Revolution
The Witcher 2

Honorable meantion to Bastion and Portal 2. Also Catherine.
Listened to Xenoblade last year

Will post in proper detail once I'm not on mobile internet.
 
E

Electivirus

Member
Earthpainting said:
I feel like this is sadly enough the nature of the subject. While it is easy for the average person to evaluate whether or not you like a piece, it can be quite difficult to put into words why it works.
Click to expand...

Pretty much this for me. I love, love, loooove video game music, but I'm not a music major by any means. I tend to struggle with describing exactly why I love a piece of music beyond bland "It sounds cool." descriptors. One of my biggest embarrassments, honestly. >.<

It's also why I haven't yet edited my initial post, because I can't friggin' think of any apt descriptions to put for most of my picks. XD
 
T

Thoraxes

Member
If I wrote exactly what I wanted to write about these games and their music, I would probably have 3 essays longer than my masters thesis (lol) so i'm going to keep it short and sweet.

1. Final Fantasy XIII-2

First off, the direction in this music is just amazing. Not only do we hear the aesthetic of XIII being preserved by two newcomers in addition to Hamauzu, each new composer brings flair that is distinctly theirs to the OST. From the wide variety of many different vocal timbres and music aesthetic and style, this diverse soundtrack filled with very diverse genres for everyone, even you crazy chocobo riders. While some may not like the vocals, i'm of the musical school of thought (though most of my colleagues disagree, which is fine) that people should never write music in their native tongue because you get new and different uses of a language set to music, and the way English is used by these composers in this game is just wonderful and colorful. As far as my synesthetic perception of this game goes, Hamauzu pieces were distinctly purple and light-blue, Mizuta was varying shades of red and yellow, and Suzuki was green and dark blue, and overall, the spectrum of variety was just so great and tickled (literally) my senses in all the right ways.

2. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

The composition and orchestration team really went all out for this one. Many tracks in the game are seemlessly multilayered for easy faceting of them into the game, the compositions are easily some of the best from the series and some of the best new favorites of the series, they fit the mood and attitude of the game properly, and overall, it's just a fantastic soundtrack. The orchestrations are perfect balances of all the things that make compositions so good (and very John Adams-esque at times), and the integration of cinematic queues is done perfectly. Not only did the composers and orchestrators maintain an aesthetic throughout, but they brought back many compositional styles not heard of in many years (such as Ghirahim's Theme being a Neoclassical Waltz). You have your prime-form versions of pieces, the retrograde of pieces, and though the techniques used to compose all the pieces in the soundtrack are easily identifiable and transparent to me, the not-classically-trained listener will easily find joy in this soundtrack, regardless of whether or not they know what's happening at a theoretical level.

3. Xenoblade Chronicles

Yet another example of variety bringing wonderful things to a soundtrack. While there was a team of more than two people working on this soundtrack, the cohesiveness of all the elements of each contributor were all brought together so well in this package, that at times it's hard to even find flaw in the music. It's well-rounded, diverse, and definitely worth your time.

Notables: Catherine, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Mighty Switch Force, Bastion, Pokemon Black/White, Ghost Trick, and Sequence.
 
A

A Huge Battleship

Member
1. Deathsmiles

Burning Halloween Town
Hades Castle
An Invitation from the Other World
A Banquet of Blood and Madness Stained with Lovely Voices
PERIOD

Gothic Cave brilliance. PAL release was 2011 so I'm counting it as per the Game of the Year thread.

2. Ar Tonelico Qoga

EXEC_FLIP_ARPHAGE-.
EXEC_REBIRTHIA=PROTOCOL-.
EXEC_COSMOFLIPS-.

Not a patch on the previous two games' OSTs, but the hymns are still aural sex.

3. Sonic Generations

Sky Sanctuary Modern
Rooftop Run Modern
Death Egg Robot

An abundance of excellent Sonic themes remixed superbly.

Edit: Flipsphered 1 and 2.
 
K

Kurtofan

Member
Kurtofan said:
1.Rayman Origins.

2.Ghost Trick.

3.Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3



I may change my picks in the future.
Click to expand...

Reposting this and adding some of my favorite tracks:

1.Rayman Origins.

Gourmand Land-Frozen Paradise:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAS_Xbtx7q8&feature=related

Sea of Serendipity-Lums of the Water:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV0MJ4NfW1E&feature=related

Land of the Livid Dead-Chasing a Dream:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwZphYfrGcU&feature=related

2.Ghost Trick.

Lynne-A Targeted Redhead:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6xMvGbwT7I&feature=related

Welcome to the Salon:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGn9958vneI&feature=related

Cabanela-A White Lovely Lanky Man:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeVXa4cU21g&feature=related

3.Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3

Theme of Firebrand:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h93PbCtyPbQ

Theme of Phoenix Wright:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=237XthW35RI&feature=related

Theme of Hawkeye:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpBwlM2QgXM&feature=related
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
I edited my first post with my Zelda writeup. :D

randomkid said:
Nice El Shaddai writeup Schala. I think I said it somewhere else but sometimes it's just nice to listen to something that sounds expensive haha. Biggest surprise of the year for me, Azazel theme troika was probably my favorite.
Click to expand...
Thanks! It certainly surprised me while playing the game, enough to buy the soundtrack. All I knew is that one person on Devil May Cry and another guy on Monster Hunter was working on this, so I figured they'd sound a lot like that. While comparisons can be drawn to at least Devil May Cry, I think both composers did an excellent job in making the soundscape rather unique and fitting to the game. The electronic and string music is something I'd like to hear from both composers once again.

Definitely one of my favourite soundtracks of the year, no question.

Earthpainting said:
That was pretty much my dilemma as well. I value the context of a piece greatly, but I feel like it could also colour my perception in rather unfair ways. A great song used well in an otherwise poorly made game, should not be punished for not being in a popular title with better writing, gameplay, direction or simply more hype surrounding it. I don't think anyone will disagree with the notion that ultimately the context is less important than the quality of the tracks themselves, but finding the right balance between the two isn't easy.
Click to expand...
And this is the problem I keep having while trying to juggle these two soundtracks around in my head.

I'm not entirely sure what I should give my third option to yet. It's a soundtrack for something, though, and part of me feels like the implementation of the soundtrack is important in justifying why it's good too. But the soundtrack on its own whether in or out of the game shouldn't be punished because it doesn't interact with the game much. :/
 
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