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NeoGAF Game Soundtracks of the Year 2010: Results and Archive

N

Nert

Member
The results for NeoGAF’s first official game soundtrack of the year poll are in! In addition to the final vote tallies and rankings, an archive of 2010’s soundtrack releases is included for future reference and enjoyment. Enjoy!

Results

1. Nier – 185 points
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Composers: Keiichi Okabe, Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi, Takafumi Nishimura

City Of Commerce
Kaine – Salvation
Shadowlord's Castle – Memory

Haunted said:
Indisputable proof that more game soundtracks need songs with vocals. I purchased this game based on the slew of nominations it received in an unofficial SOTY thread earlier and did not come away disappointed. I mean, goddamn.
Click to expand...

hosannainexcelsis said:
This soundtrack took me my surprise when I heard an excerpt on the late Sound Track podcast. In one word: Ethereal. Emi Evans' voice and her invented language are a big part of that.
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2. Final Fantasy XIII – 66 points
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Composer: Masashi Hamauzu

Blinded by Light
Dust to Dust
March of the Dreadnoughts

Phenomic said:
Final Fantasy 13 ; Hamauzu once again managed to make an amazing score but sadly for me unlike FF10 this game was flawed. I wish I enjoyed this game half as much I enjoyed 10 the first time playing through because the music would have had that much more impact on me.
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3. Super Mario Galaxy 2 – 47 points
ichgO0xqaHj3e.jpg

Composers: Mahito Yokota, Ryo Nagamatsu, Koji Kondo

Cloud Garden
Melty Monster Galaxy
Puzzle Plank Galaxy

Haunted said:
A shoe-in for SOTY since it reuses and remixes tracks from one of the best soundtracks ever, SMG1's. Some new tracks of similarly high quality keep the sound interesting and fresh while some of the celebrated tracks of SMG1 and earlier make a triumphant return. To be fair though, a fully orchestrated Bowser's Road/A Fight to the Death at Koopa's Fort/Bowser's Lava Lair is probably enough reason to put this on the list of one of the best soundtracks ever, anyway. :D It's probably the best soundtrack this year, but I can't give it first place because of the recycling of some tracks.
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4. Red Dead Redemption – 44 points
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Composers: Bill Elm, Woody Jackson, José González, Jamie Lidell, Ashtar Command, William Elliot Whitmore

Born Unto Trouble
El Club De Los Cuerpos
Far Away

SleazyC said:
The music in Red Dead Redemption was good but seemed to lack the little bit more to put it into the great category. Where it really hit homeruns was tying a powerful song to a given event in the game. Having Far Away play during the journey into Mexico was such an immense moment for me while playing the game that, like Haunted said, it will stick with me as a defining moment in this generation. The same can be said for Compass and Bury Me Not on the Lone Praire, Rockstar had amazing foresight in placing these tracks into such integral parts of their game.
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5. VVVVVV – 42 points
ir8N403Ys6UAp.png

Composer: Magnus Pålsson

Passion for Exploring
Potential for Anything
Pressure Cooker

Delightful Oonsk said:
Not a whole lot to be said here. It's addicting as all hell and makes me want to play the game every time I think of the music.
Click to expand...

EatChildren said:
You might as scratch off everything that isn't VVVVVV, as it is far and away the best OST of the year.

I'll make sure to pick my votes tomorrow, but 2 and 3 really are irrelevant in the shadow of VVVVVV.
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6. Bayonetta – 40 points
iJdIN9MOy46jD.png

Composers: Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Masami Ueda, Rei Kondo, Norihiko Hibino, Hiro, Erina Niwa, Takayasu Sodeoka, Takahiro Izutani, Yoshitaka Suzuki, Naoto Tanaka, Mitsuharu Fukuyama

Fly Me to the Moon (Climax)
Temperantia - In Foregoing Pleasures
You May Call Me Father

EatChildren said:
You can always spot the people who have never played Bayonetta when they bitch that there's too much cheesy J-POP in the game. I love the Christian/Catholic theology sound to the orchestrated pieces, with heavy use of organs and choirs, and I love the jazzy beats in between.
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7. Mass Effect 2 – 37 points
ivraM3nvr8zOp.png

Composers: Jack Wall, Sam Hulick, David Kates, Jimmy Hinson, Brian DiDomenico, Sacha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco, Chris Lennert

Suicide Mission
Tali
The Illusive Man

Lionheart1827 said:
Epic as fuck, especially Suicide Mission.
Click to expand...

8. Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow – 28 points
ibvDTfhrLKdMJO.png

Composers: Oscar Araujo, Claudio Ianni, Alejandro Roman

Final Confrontation
Laura's Mercy
The Ice Titan

SleazyC said:
Wow. This game really came out of nowhere for me musically. Having not previously been exposed to Oscar Aruejo's work it was breathtaking to hear his orchestrations during the game and even more so once I had finished it and had time to spend listening to the soundtrack proper. The music here is majest on many levels and really invokes the imagery of an epic journey perfectly. Final Confrontation still sends chills down my spine everytime I listen to it.
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9. Halo: Reach – 27 points
iwGMCVgfMpOMM.jpg

Composers: Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, C Paul Johnson, Stan LePard, Ivan Ives

Ashes
The Pillar of Autumn
Winter Contingency

SleazyC said:
Over the past decade Salvatori and O'Donnel have pretty much defined excellence in music across all the Halo games. Reach is another evolution upon their previous excellent soundtracks.
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10. Super Meat Boy – 23 points
iAL9qJoN11q9S.png

Composer: Danny Baranowsky

Can O' Salt Retro
Forest Funk
Devil 'N' Bass

11. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – 22 points
ibrUZjAhhLfGTe.jpg

Composer: Jesper Kyd

Borgia - The Rulers of Rome
City of Rome
Rome Countryside

Phenomic said:
I love hearing Jasper's tracks while running around Rome just as I loved his work in 2.
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12. Heavy Rain – 21 points
iLWNDGf4O825e.png

Composer: Normand Corbeil

Before the Storm
Ethan Mars
Lauren Winters

BlazingDarkness said:
It's got some really good pieces in there that are very memorable, Mars in particular.
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13. Scott Pilgrim Versus The World: The Game – 21 points
iVi9KE8AOkSeb.png

Composer: Anamanaguchi

Another Winter
Leave The Past Behind
Shrine Bros.

Haunted said:
fantastic chiptunes soundtrack, its standout being Helix Nebula whose complex, upbeat melody and fast pace encapsulates Scott Pilgrim's appeal so damn well.
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14. Sonic Colors – 16 points
ibcJ33p4YEBFrt.png

Composers: Tomoya Ohtani, Fumie Kumatani, Kenichi Tokoi, Naofumi Hataya, Hideaki Kobayashi, Mariko Nanba, Yukifumi Makino

Aquatic Park Act 1
Planet Wisp Act 1
Terminal Velocity Act 1

The Technomancer said:
Sonic Colors has a damn awesome soundtrack, with some of the catchiest tunes that I absolutely have not been able to get out of my head.
Click to expand...

15. Alan Wake – 14 points
ibmL7P6wK05VO7.png

Composer: Petri Alanko

The Poet And The Muse
Tom The Diver
Welcome To Bright Falls

Phenomic said:
Unique style of instrumental work that fit well with the environment at hand. Also the parts in the game that used tracks from Poets of the Fall made you feel badass. IE
The stage scene and when "War" played in the warehouse on the radio.
Click to expand...

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

Other Soundtrack of the Year Topics

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

If there is a game soundtrack that you’d like to see added to 2010’s archive, send GhaleonQ or myself a private message, or simply post in this thread; songs marked with an asterisk are additional songs that were recommended by another poster. The format for each listing is as follows:

U.S. title/title from country of origin (databases like VGMDb and online retailers often catalogue by native titles); composers; VGMDb or otherwise helpful link; song titles/links to YouTube, DailyMotion, Nico Nico Doga, or other appropriate websites

3D Dot Game Heroes/3-D Dot Game Heroes; Shinji Hosoe, Ayako Saso, Yosuke Yasui, Shoichiro Sakamoto, Teruo Taniguchi, Takahiro Eguchi, Norihiro Hurukawa; http://vgmdb.net/album/15340
Rejakku Village
Go to the Wilderness
Theme of the Legendary Hero

3D Picross/3-D Picross; Yasumasa Yamada; http://vgmdb.net/artist/3174
Menu
Twinkly
8-Bit

999: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors/The Absolute Limits Of Escape: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors; Shinji Hosoe; http://vgmdb.net/album/16078
Digital Root
Extreme Extrication
Quinary Game

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth/Turnabout Prosecutor 1; Noriyuki Iwadare, Yasuko Yamada; http://vgmdb.net/album/13686
Inquiry – Cornered
Announce The Truth
Enemy Who Transgresses The Law - Carnage Onred - Quercus Alba

After Burner Climax/After Burner Climax; Keisuke Tsukahara, Masanori Takeuchi, Fumio Ito, Hiro; http://vgmdb.net/album/4992
After Burner Climax
Volcanic Islands
Return to Base

Akai Katana/Red Katana; Ryu Umemoto; http://vgmdb.net/album/21346
Scabbard Throat
Nirvana Gate
1 Flower Petal

Alan Wake/Alan Wake; Petri Alanko; http://vgmdb.net/album/20130 http://vgmdb.net/album/18149
The Poet And The Muse
Tom The Diver
Welcome To Bright Falls

Alchemia/Alchemia; Julian Winter; http://www.julianwinter.de/alchemia
Godsend
The Den
Computer Mountain Troll

Alpha Squad/Alpha Squad; Stemage; http://vgmdb.net/album/23577
Winter

Amnesia: The Dark Descent/Amnesia: The Dark Descent; Mikko Tarmia; http://mikkotarmia.com
Ambience
Daniel's Ending
Guardian Attack

Arc Rise Fantasia/Arc Rise Fantasia; Yasunori Mitsuda, Shunsuke Tsuchiya, Yuki Harada, Tsuneyoshi Saito; http://vgmdb.net/album/17313
Before The Strong One
Holy Chorus
*Lascarde Skywalk
Rambling Through The Wilderness

Art Style: Light Trax/Art Style: Light Trax; Suzuki Kazuomi; http://www.nintendo.co.jp/artstyle
Bowy
Computer
Whiteplan

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood/Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood; Jesper Kyd; http://vgmdb.net/album/21960 http://vgmdb.net/album/21691
Borgia - The Rulers of Rome
City of Rome
Roman Countryside

Bayonetta/Bayonetta; Hiroshi Yamaguchi, Masami Ueda, Rei Kondo, Norihiko Hibino, Hiro, Erina Niwa, Takayasu Sodeoka, Takahiro Izutani, Yoshitaka Suzuki, Naoto Tanaka, Mitsuharu Fukuyama; http://vgmdb.net/album/15299
Fly Me to the Moon (Climax)
Temperantia - In Foregoing Pleasures
You May Call Me Father

BioShock 2/BioShock 2; Garry Schyman; http://vgmdb.net/album/16399 http://vgmdb.net/album/17879 http://vgmdb.net/album/17878
How She Sees The World
Send Him Howling Back To Hell
Waking Up In 1959

Bit.Trip Fate/Bit.Trip Fate; Petrified Productions, minusbaby; http://vgmdb.net/album/21177
Anger 4
Left Sucka MCs
Patience 2

Bit.Trip Runner/Bit.Trip Runner; Petrified Productions, Anamanaguchi; http://vgmdb.net/album/20554
Conviction
Impetus Type B
Triumph Type B

Blazblue: Continuum Shift/Blazblue: Continuum Shift ; Daisuke Ishiwatari, Yoshihiro Kusano, Norichika Sato, Yugo Sasakura, Ayumi Miyazaki; http://vgmdb.net/album/10946 http://vgmdb.net/album/13173 http://vgmdb.net/album/16134 http://vgmdb.net/album/21314 http://vgmdb.net/album/13668
Tsubaki Yayoi

Blaze Union/Blaze Union: Story To Reach The Future; Shigeki Hayashi; http://vgmdb.net/album/18704
Opening Piece
Iita's Theme
It Has Come, The Hour Of Decision

Blue Roses/Blue Roses: The Fairy And The Blue-Eyed Warriors; Takashi Okamoto; http://vgmdb.net/album/20910
Roots

Call Of Duty: Black Ops/Call Of Duty: Black Ops; Sean Murray; http://vgmdb.net/album/21864
Blackbird
Dwarka
 Virus

Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow/Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow; Oscar Araujo, Claudio Ianni, Alejandro Roman; http://vgmdb.net/album/20762
Final Confrontation
Laura's Mercy
The Ice Titan

Cave Story/Cave Story; Yann Van Der Cruyssen; http://www.nurykabe.com/Intro
Geothermal
Moonsong
Pulse

Cladun: This Is An R.P.G./Classic Dungeon: Assistance Of The Magic Binding Circle; Kaori Tsutsui, Syntaro Jimbo, Yo Oyama; http://vgmdb.net/album/17649
A Knight Of A Foreign Country, A Knight Of A Foreign Country (8-bit)
Till Dawn, Till Dawn 8-Bit
Crimson-Moonlit Night, Crimson-Moonlit Night 8-Bit

Civilization V/Civilization V; Michael Curran, Geoff Knorr, Ian Smith; http://vgmdb.net/album/20168
Catherine (War)
Darius (Peace)
Ramkhamhaeng (Peace)

Crossfire/Crossfire; Luke Schneider; http://radiangames.com/?page_id=168
Megawave

Dangan Ronpa/Bullet Disputation: The Campus’ Wish And A Hopeless High School Senior ; Masafumi Takada; http://vgmdb.net/album/21515
Beautiful Dead
Box 15
Hopelessness Syndrome

Darius Burst: Another Chronicle/Darius Burst: Another Chronicle; Shohei Tsuchiya, Hisayoshi Ogura, Shohei Tsuchiya, Hirokazu Koshio, Katsuhisa Ishikawa, Yasuhisa Watanabe; http://vgmdb.net/album/21670
http://vgmdb.net/album/16136
Departure
Hello 31337
Suite - From Photoconductivity

Deadly Premonition/Red Seeds Profile; Riyo Kinugasa, Takuya Kobayashi, Hiromi Mizutani; http://vgmdb.net/artist/9145 http://vgmdb.net/artist/5937
ILUVMOV
Life is Beautiful

Disgaea Infinite/Disgaea Infinite; Tenpei Sato; http://vgmdb.net/album/6827
Baby Pig
Demon Drops
Sir Laharl's Hymn

Disney Epic Mickey/Epic Mickey; James Dooley; http://vgmdb.net/album/22541
Credits
Junk Mountain Throne Room
Vs. Captain Hook

Do-Don-Pachi Dai-Fukkatsu Black Label; Manabu Namiki, Yoshimi Kudo, Noriyuki Kamikura, Azusa Chiba ; http://vgmdb.net/album/17787
Desperado (Final Boss)
Vertigo (Stage5)
Xanadu (Stage2-B)

Donkey Kong Country Returns/Donkey Kong Returns; Kenji Yamamoto, Minako Hamano, Masaru Tajima, Shinji Ushiroda, Daisuke Matsuoka; http://vgmdb.net/artist/693 http://vgmdb.net/artist/635 http://vgmdb.net/artist/1720 http://vgmdb.net/artist/6628
Aquatic Ambiance Returns
Fear Factory Returns
Mine Menace

Dragon Quest IX/Dragon Quest IX: Sentinel Of The Starry Sky; Koichi Sugiyama; http://vgmdb.net/album/13537
The Observatory

Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned City/Labyrinth Of The World Tree 3: A Visitor From The Star Ocean; Yuzo Koshiro; http://vgmdb.net/album/17639
Unrest - Their Own Brand of Justice
Seascape - Grand Voyage
Waterfall Timberland

Final Fantasy XIII/Final Fantasy XIII; Masashi Hamauzu; http://vgmdb.net/album/15980 http://vgmdb.net/album/18604 http://vgmdb.net/album/15676 http://vgmdb.net/album/17766
Blinded by Light
Dust to Dust
March of the Dreadnoughts

Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes Of Light/The 4 Heroes Of Light; Naoshi Mizuta; http://vgmdb.net/album/15177
A Strong Enemy
Another Space
The Adventure Doesn't End

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins Of The Moon/Fragile: Farewell, Ruins Of The Moon; Riei Saito; http://vgmdb.net/album/12819
Light
That Is, To Have Trusted
What Would

God Of War III/God Of War III; Gerard Marino, Ron Fish, Mike Reagan, Jeff Rona, Cris Velasco; http://vgmdb.net/album/18272
Anthem of the Dead
Poseidon's Wrath
Revenge Falling

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn/Golden Sun: The Black Dawn; Motoi Sakuraba; http://vgmdb.net/artist/166
Belinsk Opera House
Journey's Beginning Battle

Gran Turismo 5/Grand Tourer 5; Keiji Inai, Masahiro Ando ; http://vgmdb.net/album/21975 http://vgmdb.net/album/21995 http://vgmdb.net/album/22443

Gray Matter/Grey Matter; Robert Holmes; http://vgmdb.net/album/21820
David's Theme
Never Going Back (Instrumental Version)
The Vision Laura

Halo: Reach/Halo: Reach; Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori, C. Paul Johnson, Stan LePard, Ivan Ives; http://vgmdb.net/album/20879
Ashes
The Pillar of Autumn
Winter Contingency

Heavy Rain/Heavy Rain; Normand Corbeil; http://vgmdb.net/album/18123
Before the Storm
Ethan Mars
Lauren Winters

Inazuma 11 3/Lightning 11 3: Challenge The World; Yasunori Mitsuda; http://vgmdb.net/artist/146
Miscellaneous 1 (not necessarily the best)
Miscellaneous 2
Miscellaneous 3

Infinite Space/Infinite Space; Masafumi Takada; http://vgmdb.net/album/13619
Blockade
Setting Off
The Universe in Despair

Ivy The Kiwi/Ivy The Kiwi; Takase, Yam; http://b.bngi-channel.jp/kiwi http://www.ivythekiwi.com
Sky Of The Phoenix
Rat Woods
Lively Town

Ketsui Kizuna Jigoku Tachi Extra; Manabu Namiki; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketsui:_Kizuna_Jigoku_Tachi
Defensive Line - Lurk in the Darkness (Stage 4)
EVAC Industry - Judgment Day (Stage 5)
Interception - Noisy Town (Stage 1)

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep/Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep; Yoko Shimomura, Tsuyoshi Sekito, Takeharu Ishimoto; http://vgmdb.net/album/22167
You're A Codfish
Working Together
Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo

Kirby's Epic Yarn/Yarn Kirby Of The Star; Tomoya Tomita, Jun Ishikawa; http://vgmdb.net/artist/6058 http://vgmdb.net/artist/328 http://vgmdb.net/artist/475
Green Greens
Blub-Blub Ocean
Lava Landing

Last Ranker/Last Ranker; Yoko Shimomura; http://vgmdb.net/album/19567
The Flower Blooms On That Bank
Stand On The Earth
The Black Waltz

Last Window: The Secret Of Cape West/Last Window: Midnight Memory; Satoshi Okubo; http://vgmdb.net/artist/3560
Sharp Edge
Waking Dream
Promise

Mario Versus Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem/Mario Versus Donkey Kong 4: Mini-Land Assault; Lawrence Schwedler; http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/v2gj http://mariovsdk.nintendo.com/#/home
Results
Something Sweet
Super Skywheel

Mass Effect 2/Mass Effect 2; Jack Wall, Sam Hulick, David Kates, Jimmy Hinson, Brian DiDomenico, Sacha Dikiciyan, Cris Velasco, Chris Lennertz; http://vgmdb.net/album/17601 http://vgmdb.net/album/21024 http://vgmdb.net/album/21418 http://vgmdb.net/album/21925 http://vgmdb.net/album/22257 http://vgmdb.net/album/22258
Suicide Mission
Tali
The Normandy Reborn

Medal Of Honor/Medal Of Honor 2010; Ramin Djawadi; http://vgmdb.net/album/21240
High Ground

Mega Man 10/Rockman 10; III, Manami Matsumae, Yasuaki Fujita, Minae Fujii, Mari Yamaguchi, Yuko Takehara, Makoto Tomozawa, Shusaku Uchiyama, Akari Kaida, Takashi Tateishi; http://vgmdb.net/album/17834
Cybersheep's Dream
Desert Commando
Dr. Wily Machine

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker/Metal Gear: Peace Walker; Akihiro Honda, Nobuko Toda, Kazuma Jinnouchi, Jeremy Soule, Norihiko Hibino, Yoshitaka Suzuki, Todd Haberman, Takahiro Izutani; http://vgmdb.net/album/17314 http://vgmdb.net/album/20426 http://vgmdb.net/album/17335
Little Brother

Metroid: Other M/Metroid: Other M; Kuniaki Haishima; http://vgmdb.net/artist/1655
Title Theme
Vs. Vorash

Minecraft/Minecraft; C418
Calm 2
cat.ogg
 
Napoleon: Total War/Napoleon: Total War; Richard Beddow; http://lostvgm.com/vgmrush/artist.php?name=Richard Beddow
Campaign Map (Choir)
Naval Battle
Title Screen

Nier/Nier; Keiichi Okabe, Kakeru Ishihama, Keigo Hoashi, Takafumi Nishimura; http://vgmdb.net/album/18248
City Of Commerce
*Grandma
Kaine – Salvation
Shadowlord's Castle – Memory
*Temple of Drifting Sands

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle/No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle; Masatomo "VARI" Komakine, Jun Fukuda, FIBER JELLY, Kazuhiro Goto, Taku Yoshioka, Ryo Watanabe, Masafumi Takada, MACHINE HEAD, MARU, Yusuke Komori, Masahiko Hagio, Tomohiro Shirai, KIYO-SICK; http://vgmdb.net/album/21376
Dr. Touchdown
Feet on the Air
Sling Shot

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX/Pac-Man Championship Edition DX; Taku Inoue, Toshio Kai, Akitaka Toyama, Hiroshi Okubo, Hiroyuki Kawada, Junko Ozawa; http://vgmdb.net/album/21961
Pac Avenue
Pac Dimensions
Pac Rainbow

Patchwork Heroes/1,000,000 Tons Of Debris; Hideki Sakamoto; http://vgmdb.net/album/17710
Holding 1,000,000 Tons Of Bravery (Piano), Holding 1,000,000 Tons Of Bravery
Carefree Satisfaction
Strange Battleship

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver/Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver; Go Ichinose, Junichi Masuda, Morikazu Aoki, Shota Kageyama, Hitomi Sato, Satoshi Nohara; http://vgmdb.net/album/15237
Game Corner
Vs. Frontier Brain
Vs. Kanto Gym Leader

Professor Layton And The Unwound Future/Professor Layton And The Last Time Journey; Tomohito Nishiura, Ann Sally; http://vgmdb.net/album/10925
The Research Facility
Professor's Trunk (Minicar)
Theme Of The Last Time Journey

Red Dead Redemption/Red Dead Redemption; Bill Elm, Woody Jackson, Jose Gonzalez, Jamie Lidell, Ashtar Command, William Elliot Whitmore, Kreeps, Misterio; http://vgmdb.net/album/22081 http://vgmdb.net/album/21962
Born Unto Trouble
El Club De Los Cuerpos
Far Away

Resonance Of Fate/End Of Eternity; Kohei Tanaka, Motoi Sakuraba; http://vgmdb.net/album/17775
Battle to Pay the Debt
Cardinal's Manor
Fire After Fire

Rune Factory 3/Rune Factory 3; Tomoko Morita; http://vgmdb.net/artist/579

Sam And Max: The Devil's Playhouse/Sam And Max In The Devil's Playhouse; Jared Emerson-Johnson; http://www.basound.com
Stinky's Diner
Driving Montage
Max's Interior

Sands Of Destruction/World Destruction: Guided Purposes; Yoshihiro Ike; http://vgmdb.net/album/11097
Defeated
Special Battle
World Map

Scott Pilgrim Versus The World: The Video Game/Scott Pilgrim Versus The World; Anamanaguchi; http://vgmdb.net/album/20713
Another Winter
Leave The Past Behind
Shrine Brothers

Shank/Shank; Vince De Vera, Jason Garner; http://vgmdb.net/album/20799
Other Side Of The Tracks
Red Lights
Resurrection

Shantae: Risky's Revenge/Shantae: Risky's Revenge; Jake Kaufman; http://vgmdb.net/album/21289
Hall Of Magic
The Labyrinth
Through The Trees

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey/Goddess Reincarnation: Strange Journey; Shoji Meguro; http://vgmdb.net/album/15405
An Honor Befitting That Name
The Fear of God

Sin And Punishment: Sky Successor/Sin And Punishment: Successor To The Universe; Norio Hanzawa; http://vgmdb.net/artist/1587
Discipline
Grainy View
Reconciled

Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces/The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces; Nakamura Kazuhiro; http://vgmdb.net/artist/1675
Critical Briefing
First Sky Duel
Rally

Solatorobo/Solatorobo; Chikayo Fukuda; http://vgmdb.net/album/20418
Tomorrow Will Come
And Then, To Coda
The Mission's Absolute Value

Sonic Colors/Sonic Colors; Kenichi Tokoi, Tomoya Otani, Fumie Kumatani; http://vgmdb.net/album/21444
Aquatic Park Act 1
Planet Wisp Act 1
Terminal Velocity Act 1

Sonic Free Riders/Sonic Free Riders; Tomonori Sawada, Koji Sakurai, Jun Senoe; http://vgmdb.net/album/21988
Final Factory
Frozen Forest
Magma Rift

Starcraft 2/Starcraft 2; Glenn Stafford, Derek Duke, Russell Brower, Neal Acree, Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan; http://vgmdb.net/album/18675
Protoss 1
Terran 4
Zerg 2

Super Mario Galaxy 2/Super Mario Galaxy 2; Mahito Yokota, Ryo Nagamatsu, Koji Kondo; http://vgmdb.net/album/19454
Cloud Garden
Magma Monster
Starship Mario 3

Super Meat Boy/Super Meat Boy; Danny Baranowsky; http://vgmdb.net/album/21665
Can O' Salt Retro
Forest Funk
Devil 'N' Bass

Super Street Fighter 4/Street Fighter 4 2; Hideyuki Fukasawa; http://vgmdb.net/album/11474 http://vgmdb.net/album/12113 http://vgmdb.net/album/17782
Cammy Theme
Festival At The Old Temple
Hakan Theme

The King Of Fighters XIII/The King Of Fighters 13; Tetsuhiro Ogawa, Iku Mizutani, Toshihiko Hiraguchi, Tomonao Niiya, Makoto Suehiro, Tasuku Mizutani; http://vgmdb.net/album/19571
Each Promise - Elisabeth Blanctorche - Duo Long - Shen Wu
Tame A Bad Boy - Kap-Hwan Kim - Hwa Jai – Raiden
Diabolosis - Ash Crimson Crazed By Bloodlust

The Magic Obelisk/Shadow Walker: The Boy's Shadow And The Sprite Of Light; Takahiro Nishi, Keigo Ozaki; http://vgmdb.net/album/17712
The World Of Shadows – Ending
Title Screen
Beyond The Snowfield

The Misadventures Of P.B. Winterbottom/The Misadventures Of P.B. Winterbottom; David Stanton; http://benjaminstanton.com
Circular Conclusions
Just Desserts
Savory Salutations

The Oil Blue/The Oil Blue; Jonathan Geer; http://vgmdb.net/album/20220
Observatory
Reclaiming The Island
The Final Hour

The Polynomial: Space Of The Music/The Polynomial: Space Of The Music; Dmytry Lavrov; http://dmytry.com/index.html
Ton of Reverb

The Whispered World/The Whispered World; Periscope Studio Hamburg; http://vgmdb.net/album/22561
Asgilia
Kalida's Deep Sleep
Main Theme

Trauma Team/Hospital: 6 Doctors; Atsushi Kitajo, Ryota Koduka, Shoji Meguro; http://vgmdb.net/album/19932
A Brighter Day
Diagnostics ~ Mind and Machine
First Response ~ Critical Moments

Umineko No Naku Koro Ni - Chiru; http://vgmdb.net/album/20162
Final Answer
Justice
Life

Valkyria Chronicles II/Valkyria Chronicles 2: Gallian Royal Military Academy; Hitoshi Sakimoto; http://vgmdb.net/album/16703 http://vgmdb.net/album/18270
Farewell, My Academy
Liberation Battle
Autumn In Lanseal

Vanquish/Vanquish; Erina Niwa, Masafumi Takada, Masakazu Sugimori; http://vgmdb.net/album/20640
Monorail Battle
Red and Blue
Tutorial

VVVVVV/VVVVVV; Magnus Palsson; http://vgmdb.net/album/17623
Passion for Exploring
Potential for Anything
Pressure Cooker

WarioWare: Do-It-Yourself /To Be; Made In Wario; Naoko Mitome, Masanobu Matsunaga, Yasuhisa Baba ; http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/uorj/index.html http://www.wariowarediy.com
Jimmy's Aerobics

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm; Russell Brower, Derek Duke, Glenn Stafford, David Arkenstone, Neal Acree, Jason Hayes; http://vgmdb.net/album/20763
Guardians of Nordrassil
Nightsong

Xenoblade/Xenoblade; Yoko Shimomura, ACE+, Manami Kiyota, Yasunori Mitsuda ; http://vgmdb.net/album/18946
Confrontation with the Enemy
Eruyt Sea
Flight!

Yakuza 3/Like A Dragon 3; Hidenori Shoji, Kentaro Koyama, Takahiro Kai, Hiroyoshi Kato, Love Sound System, Yoshio Tsuru, Hideki Sakamoto; http://vgmdb.net/album/11409
Clay Doll on the Cradle
Entrance to the Chaos
Pure Malice

Ys 7/Ys 7; Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama, Masanori Osaki; http://vgmdb.net/album/15682
Desert of Despair

Ys: The Oath in Felghana/Ys: The Oath in Felghana; Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama, Masanori Osaki; http://vgmdb.net/album/17211
Seal of Time

Zac To Ombra: Maboroshi No Yuenchi/Zac And Ombra: The Amusement Park Of Illusion; Mitsuhiro Kaneda, Kimihiro Abe, Noriyuki Kamikura, Yoshimi Kudo, Azusa Chiba; http://vgmdb.net/artist/620 http://vgmdb.net/artist/621 http://vgmdb.net/artist/1826 http://vgmdb.net/artist/1824 http://vgmdb.net/artist/1827

Z.H.P.: Unlosing Ranger Versus Darkdeath Evilman/Absolute Hero Remodeling Project; Masaharu Iwata, Manabu Namiki, Kimihiro Abe, Mitsuhiro Kaneda, Noriyuki Kamikura, Azusa Chiba, Yoshimi Kudo; http://vgmdb.net/album/17282
The World's Demise
Theme Song (Squadron Hero Version)
Last Battle (Chiptune Version)
 
Jeez, Nier absolutely killed. I don't really get it, but if people loved it then awesome. Only like 1 track stuck out to me.

Too bad I was the only one to vote Arc Rise Fantasia. Sucks that a genius like Mitsuda had to be attached to such a subpar game.
 
Hm, should have voted to see that Scott Pilgrim soundtrack get more love! That's my #1 for the year, glad it made the list in any case.

SMG2 and ME2 would have been my other two choices I think. Lots of music I hadn't heard here to wade through, which is exciting. Thanks for compiling all the selections!
 
I would like to point out that everyone couldn't have cared less about Nert's choices and mine. Ha! I like some of the choices, and some people definitely sampled some of the archive. Thanks.

We've discussed changes already and like them quite a bit. It turned out fairly well for a 1st shot that was somewhat usurped by 2 or 3 similar topics (which we will defuse next year).

Thanks, all!

cosmicblizzard said:
Jeez, Nier absolutely killed. I don't really get it, but if people loved it then awesome. Only like 1 track stuck out to me.

Too bad I was the only one to vote Arc Rise Fantasia. Sucks that a genius like Mitsuda had to be attached to such a subpar game.
Click to expand...

INAZUMA ELEBUN SUREE. But, yeah, I've always hated that. RIZ-ZOAWD/The Wizard Of Oz: Beyond The Yellow Brick Road (which was fine) had an excellent Sakimoto soundtrack
 
More votes doesn't mean best soundtracks. Ys Seven should really have been there. But again I didn't vote. :lol
 
I'm happy to see Reach in the top 10. I think Winter Contingency is the best gaming theme song I've heard in a long while (and gives Reach one of the best openings in a game). Also, thanks to the voting thread I got to hear some truly wonderful stuff from Nier.

Great work guys :D
 
JeFfRey said:
More votes doesn't mean best soundtracks. Ys Seven should really have been there. But again I didn't vote. :lol
Click to expand...

if you had voted it wouldn't have mattered since more votes doesn't mean best soundtracks
 
Nice work guys! Lots of great stuff to listen to here.

It would be really awesome if you guys could make a youtube playlist or something so I could listen to these all in a row as I work :D
 
I was actually surprised at the number of East-West mixes. I still found it peculiar (3/4 were all 1 or the other), but there were definitely way more than the Game Of The Year topic.
 
GhaleonQ said:
I would like to point out that everyone couldn't have cared less about Nert's choices and mine. Ha! I like some of the choices, and some people definitely sampled some of the archive. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I dug Nert's choices! Although I disagree that Super Meat Boy had a better soundtrack than Scott Pilgrim. I might (a) find Super Meat Boy too frustrating to enjoy the music properly and (b) be boosting Scott Pilgrim's soundtrack by Anamanaguchi's other (totally awesome) works.

And you had SMG2 at #6. Plus lots of other good, lesser known stuff, to dig through. Good tone setters to start the voting with, the both of you.
 
timetokill said:
Nice work guys! Lots of great stuff to listen to here.

It would be really awesome if you guys could make a youtube playlist or something so I could listen to these all in a row as I work :D
Click to expand...

Thanks! I doubt Nert has the time this year, but we're doing rolling video making/ranking/data keeping for next year. So, we'll have all videos in that file so they can be easily put on a playlist. That's 1 of the changes.
 
Nert said:
Now that I oftentimes find myself listening to video game soundtracks more than actually playing games, it's pretty fun to find bad games that have great composers attached to them. One of the better songs that I came across recently was an unused piece for a Flintstones game.
Click to expand...

I've spent more time on 1st person shooter soundtracks than playing them, too!

LaneDS said:
I dug Nert's choices! Although I disagree that Super Meat Boy had a better soundtrack than Scott Pilgrim. I might (a) find Super Meat Boy too frustrating to enjoy the music properly and (b) be boosting Scott Pilgrim's soundtrack by Anamanaguchi's other (totally awesome) works.

And you had SMG2 at #6. Plus lots of other good, lesser known stuff, to dig through. Good tone setters to start the voting with, the both of you.
Click to expand...

You're too generous. I do think that between "imaginary median NeoGAF poster," Nert, and I, that we cover a lot of territory.
 
GhaleonQ said:
Thanks! I doubt Nert has the time this year, but we're doing rolling video making/ranking/data keeping for next year. So, we'll have all videos in that file so they can be easily put on a playlist. That's 1 of the changes.
Click to expand...

Excellent, I'm looking forward to that!
 
Blanket "thank yous" to everyone from now on.

1 interesting thing will be to see whether choices are more composer-driven, style-driven, or game-driven. It's unfair to highlight them in the original posts, but I'm definitely going to highlight the 2011 work of the 2010 podium composers before voting really gets going.

Since composers are almost entirely freelance now, that can replace "developers" in the Game Of The Year topics.
 
Oh wow, that's right, I completely forgot to list Ys: The Oath In Felghana and Ys VII in the archive (both games received votes as well). I'll make sure to fix that. Would any fans of those soundtracks like to nominate some sample songs?
 
My the elder ones bless you, faithful VVVVVV soldiers.
 
I'm not exactly satisfied with Castlevania's placement but thank you GAF for getting it over Halo. You guys have made me proud.

Being below Mass Effect 2 is relatively sinful however. I take it back.
 
brandonh83 said:
I'm not exactly satisfied with Castlevania's placement but thank you GAF for getting it over Halo. You guys have made me proud.

Being below Mass Effect 2 is relatively sinful however. I take it back.
Click to expand...

While Castlevania is an amazing soundtrack, my overall disappointment with that game (and the soundtrack for not really reminding me of why I loved Castlevania music in the past) kept it from becoming a favorite of mine. Also, it was so unrelentingly "epic" (for lack of a better word) throughout that it sort of blended together after twenty or so hours with the game.

I am apparently unable to judge soundtracks on their own merits... my enjoyment of the game (or likely movie or show) it's connected to influences how highly I think of the music. I admit this.
 
LaneDS said:
I am apparently unable to judge soundtracks on their own merits... my enjoyment of the game (or likely movie or show) it's connected to influences how highly I think of the music. I admit this.
Click to expand...

For everything "epic" there is something very subtle and atmospheric. Also, most game soundtracks do try to be epic. Castlevania's epic music is actually pretty fitting for the style and scope of the game but there are countless very hauntingly beautiful pieces that accompany most of the game.
 
brandonh83 said:
For everything "epic" there is something very subtle and atmospheric. Also, most game soundtracks do try to be epic. Castlevania's epic music is actually pretty fitting for the style and scope of the game but there are countless very hauntingly beautiful pieces that accompany most of the game.
Click to expand...
why such a dichotomous philosophy on game soundtracks? it's a real problem that the only two options are "epic" and "empty"
 
John said:
why such a dichotomous philosophy on game soundtracks? it's a real problem that the only two options are "epic" and "empty"
Click to expand...

I don't follow. I don't consider subtle/atmospheric to be empty. Unless I'm not reading you right, which is highly probable.
 
Not enough people listened to Umineko. :(

Still, not a bad list, even if there is a little too much atmospheric cinematic music for my taste. Soundtracks like Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect 2 work well in game, but don't hold up that well removed from their context, at least for me. Many worthy choices though. Fascinating how Nier is head and shoulders above everything else.
 
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