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Nert · Jan 17, 2012

Introduction: The results are below. If you’re interested, you can then check out a discography of the winning composers, as well as a broader archive (including all soundtracks mentioned in the voting thread and more). Finally, if you’d like to contribute some feedback to help improve this topic for next year, there is a short survey posted at the bottom. Enjoy!

Results

1. Xenoblade Chronicles – 105 points

Composers: Manami Kiyota, Yoko Shimomura, Tomori Kudo, Hiroyo Yamanaka, Kenji Hiramatsu, Yasunori Mitsuda

Gaur Plains
Mechonis Field
Thoughts to a Friend

Thoraxes said:
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.

Earthpainting said:
The soundtrack that stood out this year. Does a great job at both being catchy, varied and atmospheric. When I hear the Gaur Plains theme, my mind drifts off to giant open fields bustling with life. Most appreciated was the fact that every location had two arrangements that complimented the game's day and night cycle.

2. Deus Ex: Human Revolution – 81 points

Composer: Michael McCann

Icarus
Lower Hengsha Ambient Part 1
The Hive

Diamond_4444 said:
more of an ambient soundtrack, but damn if it ain't cool when you explore the world. Icarus is a masterpiece.

3. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword - 75 points

Composers: Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota, Takeshi Hama, Koji Kondo

Fi’s Theme 6
Koloktos Battle
Romance Theme 1

Electivirus said:
Finally getting an orchestrated soundtrack was just the shot in the arm the series' music needed, IMO. Expertly composed and orchestrated throughout, Wakai and Yokota did a phenomenal job turning this into the greatest Zelda soundtrack in the series, and the use of multiple variations for songs was a great idea.

Dark Schala said:
The decision to make the music orchestrated is probably one of the best things that happened to the series. The music is melodic, memorable (I think these are among my favourite dungeon and boss themes in the series now), and utterly breathtaking. There weren’t a lot of pieces on this “soundtrack” that I disliked, and I found the soundtrack as a whole very beautiful, meaningful and melodic. The fact that it had a lot of Celtic and Asian influences to mix the Zelda soundtrack up a bit, made this soundtrack one of the most memorable soundtracks of 2011, if not the most memorable soundtrack of 2011 for me, personally.

4. Bastion – 74 points

Composer: Darren Korb

Build That Wall
Spike in a Rail
Terminal March

Moobabe said:
The thing I like about OSTs, and the thing that makes the very best ones, is how coherent they are with the rest of the game. Bastion is a fantastic example of just that; the narrator's southern drawl coupled with the soundtrack make the audio experience of Bastion maybe it's most memorable feature. The vocal tracks in particular stand out.

Diamond_4444 said:
I like the strong musical identity of Bastion, which completes the strong world design. It has an Old West vibe with the guitar, yet the percussions bring a more modern and dynamic side, and on top of that, some more exotic instruments add a little more fantasy to the mix.

5. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – 68 points

Composers: Jeremy Soule, Mark Lampert

Dragonborn
Kyne’s Peace
The Streets of Whiterun

Acquiescence said:
The ambient pieces that quietly hummed away in the background while simply wandering the world were stunning in their beauty and ability to immerse.

kswiston said:
I am including skyrim due to the number of times I have delayed starting my game to listen to that awesome title track.

6. Portal 2 – 45 points

Composers: Mike Morasky, Jonathan Coulton, The National

The Part Where He Kills You
There She Is
Want You Gone

The_Technomancer said:
Valve has produced some amazing sound design for this game, with tracks that range from soothing to haunting. This one is my personal favorite and is one of the best songs I've ever heard in gaming.

7. Rayman Origins – 28 points

Composers: Christophe Heral, Billy Martin

Lum King
Music World - Classic
Sea of Serendipity

Snuggler said:
energetic, eclectic, silly, and instantly memorable - just like the game

Dark Schala said:
Overall, I had a ton of fun listening to this soundtrack. I have no trouble or hesitation with thinking that this is one of my favourite soundtracks of the year. Monsieurs Héral et Martin should be extremely proud of their work and the effort they put into trying to coordinate with the background art, what’s going on in the background for proper theme transitions, and just the overall fun they obviously had with composing the soundtrack with the vocal content, the fun compositional flourishes and the varying genres throughout the soundtrack. I leave this soundtrack with a smile, and I urge listeners to give it a chance.

7. Shadows of the Damned – 28 points

Composer: Akira Yamaoka

Fathomer
Smile for a Broken Dawn
Sushi Lamp

Diamond_4444 said:
another Yamaoka masterpiece. The complete soundtrack is a 130 or something tracks-beast with rock songs, ambient wonders and silly things like "Sushi" down there.

7. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception – 28 points

Composer: Greg Edmonson

Pursuit
Something Better
The Rub' al Khali

brandonh83 said:
Greg Edmonson continues to provide scores for the series that come the closest to the full, rich and traditional sound heard in high-quality film scores. It would be simple enough to mention how excellent the themes are here, as well as how majestic and stirring some moments are (see: wide shot of Drake walking through the desert). However, the score is not simply fantastic because of those things, but also because it works on a pure gaming level as well. It would be "easy" enough for a composer such as Edmonson to write some well-rounded orchestral pieces, but his action and in-the-moment cues are equally impressive, showcasing not only his scoring talents but his understanding of how much the right music can amplify any given gameplay situation. Far and away the best videogame score I have heard this year and it absolutely deserves a shitload more attention than it has been receiving.

10. Dark Souls – 21 points

Composer: Motoi Sakuraba

Bell Gargoyle
Daughters of Chaos
Nameless Song

Leos said:
It's an epic-sounding soundtrack. I like the chorus on some tracks.

10. Ghost Trick – 21 points

Composer: Masakazu Sugimori

Awakening
Chained Past
Welcome to the Salon

Earthpainting said:
If there was one soundtrack this year that got me pumped and on the edge of my proverbial seat, it would be Ghost Trick's. It's got a very distinct, in your face sound that complements the game perfectly.

10. Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP – 21 points

Composer: Jim Guthrie

Dark Flute
The Prettiest Weed
Unknowable Geometry

Yoshiya said:
Love the album as much as the game, and like Nier last year it's the only game soundtrack I listen to frequently outside the context of the game. Excellent work from Jim Guthrie.

13. Sonic Generations – 20 points

Composers: Masato Nakamura, Fumie Kumatani, Tomoya Ohtani, Kenichi Tokoi, Hideki Naganuma, Richard Jacques, Mariko Nanba, Hideaki Kobayashi, Yasufumi Fukuda, Spencer Nilsen, Naofumi Hataya, Jun Senoue, Heigo Tani, Yutaka Minobe

Collection Room
Crisis City (Modern)
Speed Highway (Classic)

Dark Schala said:
SEGA’s sound team managed to compose an absolute juggernaut of an album, a testament to 20 years’ worth of absolute gorgeous Sonic music, a staple of the series in general, and the Ending Medley is absolute proof of this. No matter how bad things got in the series, you knew that you could count on the music being fantastic. While we knew this was going to be an album of remixes, I don’t think a lot of us knew how good they’d be, or how much care would go into remixing themes we all know and love. The Classic themes are heavy on synth and fun, while the Modern themes are heavy on guitar/violin and elegance. The two styles complement each other very well and I’m happy that the Sonic Sound Team composed another wonderful album as a tribute to Sonic themes—both classic and modern.

A Huge Battleship said:
An abundance of excellent Sonic themes remixed superbly.

14. L.A. Noire – 18 points

Composers: Andrew Hale, Simon Hale, Fly

Minor 9th
(I Always Kill) The Things I Love
Torched Song

Acquiescence said:
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.

15. Catherine – 17 points

Composers: Shoji Meguro, Kenichi Tsuchiya, Atsushi Kitajo

Catherine
Stage
Thus Spoke Brooks

Snuggler said:
as much as I enjoyed the nightmarish remakes of classic compositions, the laid back, melancholy tunes of the Stray Sheep are what place Catherine on my list

Full Voting Spreadsheet

Other Soundtrack of the Year Topics

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

Nert · Jan 17, 2012

Discography

Since everyone (well, collectively) loves the above soundtracks, we decided to create a miniature, non-comprehensive discography for the winning lead composers. Hopefully this will lead some to check out some of their previous work (some non-video game work is also included).

Manami Kiyota (Xenoblade Chronicles)

Final Fantasy Song Book [mahoroba]
Hoshi no Kashu

Michael McCann (Deus Ex: Human Revolution)

Splinter Cell: Double Agent

Hajime Wakai* (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Star Fox 64
Pikmin
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Darren Korb (Bastion)

The Adventures of Food Boy

Jeremy Soule (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim)

Baulder's Gate: Dark Alliance
Guild Wars
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

Mike Morasky (Portal 2)

The Orange Box

Christophe Heral (Rayman Origins)

Beyond Good and Evil
The Adventures of Tintin: The Game

Akira Yamaoka (Shadows of the Damned)

Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Greg Edmonson (Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception)

Firefly
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Motoi Sakuraba (Dark Souls)

Shining Force III
Tales of Xillia
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria

Masakazu Sugimori (Ghost Trick)

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Viewtiful Joe & Viewtiful Joe 2

Jim Guthrie (Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP)

Children Of The Clone
Now, More Than Ever

Jun Senoue (Sonic Generations)

Sonic Adventure
NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams
Sonic Unleashed

Simon Hale (L.A. Noire)

A lot. Also, Andrew Hale is a member of Sade.

Shoji Meguro (Catherine)

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

*Had trouble finding a larger picture

Nert · Jan 17, 2012

Archive

In line with the general goals set out earlier, this thread will feature an extensive archive of game soundtracks released this year. The majority of the soundtracks included will come directly from those voted for and discussed in this thread. For each soundtrack featured, there will be links to several songs for people that would like to try them out.

If you feel that a noteworthy soundtrack was left out of the archive, let us know in the results thread and we’ll address it. If you happen to run into something that you end up loving long after the thread has been posted, don’t worry; we’ll continue to update the archive throughout 2012.

Format

• U.S. title/title from country of origin, album information (databases like VGMDb and online retailers)
• Composer(s), composer information
• Song Titles (with hyperlinks to YouTube, DailyMotion, Nico Nico Doga, or other websites)

...

7th Dragon 2020/7th Dragon 2020 http://vgmdb.net/album/29529
Yuzo Koshiro http://vgmdb.net/artist/148
Daiba - Freezing Town
A Stranger's Beginning
The Unknown One

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth 2/Turnabout Prosecutor 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/22491
Noriyuki Iwadare http://www.squareenixmusic.com/composers/iwadare/index.shtml
Pursuit
Hakari Mikagami ~ Goddess of Law
Reminiscence - IS-7 Incident

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon/Ace Combat: Assault Horizon http://vgmdb.net/album/27567
Keiki Kobayashi, Hiroshi Okubo, Rio Hamamoto, Norihiko Hibino, Jesahm, Takahiro Izutani, Yoshitaka Suzuki http://vgmdb.net/artist/898
Beyond the Canal
Hangar Bay #2
Naval Warfare

Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy/Ace Combat 3D: Cross Rumble http://vgmdb.net/album/30245
Go Shiina, Tetsukazu Nakanishi, Ryo Watanabe, Rio Hamamoto, Tetsuya Uchida, KAZ Nakamura, LindaAI-CUE, Kanako Kakino, Kohta Takahashi, Wataru Hokoyama, Hironori Oosone, Natsumi Kameoka http://vgmdb.net/artist/977
Credits - Gravity
Mission 5 - Opera House
Mission 22 - Fighter's Honor

SpacePirate Ridley said:
The best soundtrack on 3DS right now. In my opinion one of the most epic feeling soundtracks I ever heard on a handheld. The orchestrated music and the chorus are just incredible. Go Shinna did a magnificent job. The ending credits are just beautiful sang by Noel, and the lyrics are epic. My first Ace Combat and its been a blast.

Alice: Madness Returns/Alice: Madness Returns http://vgmdb.net/album/26020
Marshall Crutcher, Jason Tai, Chris Vrenna http://www.marshallcrutcher.com/
Card Castles in the Sky
Into Londerland
Main Theme

Akai Katana Shin/Akai Katana Shin http://vgmdb.net/album/24499
Ryu Umemoto http://vgmdb.net/artist/50

Akiba’s Trip/Akiba’s Trip http://vgmdb.net/album/27592
Toshiko Tasaki http://vgmdb.net/artist/984
Gutter Star
Master
Park

Anno 2070/In The Year 2070 http://vgmdb.net/album/28647
Tilman Sillescu, Alexander Roder, Markus Schmidt, Jochen Flach http://vgmdb.net/artist/5049
Closer to God
Her Headache is Gone
World Beneath the Surface

Arcana Heart 3/Arcana Heart 3 http://vgmdb.net/album/16135
Motoharu Yoshihira http://vgmdb.net/artist/4397
Brave Feeling
Clock Tower
Ragnarok

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations/Assassin’s Creed: Revelations http://vgmdb.net/album/29874
Lorne Balfe, Jesper Kyd http://vgmdb.net/artist/11850
Welcome To Kostantiniyye
The Crossroads of the World

Bangai-O H.D Missile Fury/Bangaio Missile Fury http://www.d3p.us/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=139
Norio Hanzawa http://vgmdb.net/artist/1587
Stage Theme 4
Stage Theme 6
Stage Theme 11

Bastion/Bastion http://vgmdb.net/album/27893
Darren Korb http://vgmdb.net/artist/11600
Build That Wall
Spike in a Rail
Terminal March

Moobabe said:
The thing I like about OSTs, and the thing that makes the very best ones, is how coherent they are with the rest of the game. Bastion is a fantastic example of just that; the narrator's southern drawl coupled with the soundtrack make the audio experience of Bastion maybe it's most memorable feature. The vocal tracks in particular stand out.

Diamond_4444 said:
I like the strong musical identity of Bastion, which completes the strong world design. It has an Old West vibe with the guitar, yet the percussions bring a more modern and dynamic side, and on top of that, some more exotic instruments add a little more fantasy to the mix.

Batman: Arkham City http://vgmdb.net/album/29369
Nick Arundel http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1211924/
Arkham City Main Theme
I Think You Should Do As He Says
You Should Have Listened To My Warning

Battlefield 3/Battlefield 3 http://vgmdb.net/album/29180
Johan Skugge, Jukka Rintamäki http://www.jukkarintamaki.com/?page_id=2
Choked
Frostbite
Soloman's Theme

Black Rock Shooter/BLACK★ROCK SHOOTER http://vgmdb.net/album/28095
Manabu Namiki http://vgmdb.net/artist/249
Battle Field "Cisco Town"
WRS the Game
after human race

Blocks That Matter/Blocks That Matter http://vgmdb.net/album/29138
Yann VanDerCruyssen http://vgmdb.net/artist/11711
Sand
Ruby
Diamond

Nert said:
Yo dog, this shit is illin'

Bloodrayne: Betrayal/Bloodrayne: Betrayal http://vgmdb.net/album/28820
Jake Kaufman http://vgmdb.net/artist/1015
Dusk Falls
Poisoned Halls
Sanguine Nightmare (8-bit)

Correctomundo said:
Listening to the Bloodrayne Betrayal score right now, and I can't believe it's being forgotten so handily. It's just brilliant, and then the NES style versions are too cool. I'm actually getting nostalgic with them, and they didn't even exist back then!

Bulletstorm/Bulletstorm http://vgmdb.net/album/25438
Michał Cielecki, Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz http://www.michalcielecki.com/
Main Theme
Too Many To Kill Them All

scitek said:
Underappreciated game, underappreciated OST. Some of the best musical accompaniment from start to finish I've heard in a game. It always highlights the action on-screen incredibly well. It's one of those games I go into the options before playing and make sure the Music slider is slightly higher than Voice and Sound FX in because the music, quite literally, sets the tone for me.

Burnout Crash/Burnout Crash http://vgmdb.net/album/29179
Vanesa Lorena Tate http://vanesalorenatate.com
Crash City
Detonate
Traffic Attack

Catherine/Catherine http://vgmdb.net/album/22774 http://vgmdb.net/album/21743
Shoji Meguro, Kenichi Tsuchiya, Atsushi Kitajo http://vgmdb.net/artist/983
Catherine
Stage
Thus Spoke Brooks

Snuggler said:
as much as I enjoyed the nightmarish remakes of classic compositions, the laid back, melancholy tunes of the Stray Sheep are what place Catherine on my list

Child of Eden/Child Of Eden http://child-of-eden.us.ubi.com
Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Kenji Tamai http://www.genkirockets.com/en
Evolution
Beauty
Matrix

Cladun x2/Classic Dungeon: X2 http://nisamerica.com/games/cladun2
Syntaro Jimbo, Yo Oyama http://vgmdb.net/artist/63
7 Dances
Arcanus Cella II
Blue Moon

Crysis 2/Crysis 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/24007
Borislav Slavov, Tilman Sillescu, Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe http://vgmdb.net/artist/10393

Dark Souls/Dark Souls http://vgmdb.net/album/26577
Motoi Sakuraba http://vgmdb.net/artist/166
Bell Gargoyle
Daughters of Chaos
Nameless Song

De Blob 2/De Blob 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/24344
John Guscott http://www.myspace.com/johnguscott
Prisman Holiday
Stencil Jive (Irrepressible)
Boogaloo in Blue

Nocturnowl said:
de Blob 2 contains the most funky music you'll hear in a game from 2011. Music plays a pivotal role in de Blob as painting the environments increases and builds upon the music with the more areas covered and each paint colour corresponds to an instrument, which extends to me painting the town literally red for the saxophone.

Dead Space 2/Dead Space 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/23279
Jason Graves http://www.jasongraves.com/
Lacrimosa
The Cassini Towers
Welcome To The Sprawl

Deathsmiles II: Makai No Merry Christmas/Deathsmiles 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/18180 http://vgmdb.net/album/20436
Manabu Namiki, Noriyuki Kamikura, Yoshimi Kudo, Natsuko Naito, Tomoko Sasaki http://vgmdb.net/artist/249
Field D
Field E
Select

Deus Ex: Human Revolution/Deus Ex: Human Revolution http://vgmdb.net/album/29469
Michael McCann http://vgmdb.net/artist/11587
Icarus
Lower Hengsha Ambient Part 1
The Hive

Diamond_4444 said:
more of an ambient soundtrack, but damn if it ain't cool when you explore the world. Icarus is a masterpiece.

Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten/Netherworld War Story Disgaea: A Promise Unforgotten http://vgmdb.net/album/21168 http://vgmdb.net/album/27294
Tenpei Sato http://vgmdb.net/artist/608
Arcadian Vampire
Candlelight

Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy/Dissidia Duodecim http://vgmdb.net/album/22763
Takeharu Ishimoto http://vgmdb.net/artist/776

Dungeon Siege III/Dungeon Siege III http://www.dungeonsiege.com
Jason Graves, Timothy Michael Wynn http://www.jasongravesmusic.com
Glitterdelve Mines
The Assault on Raven's Rill
The Rukkenvahl Chapterhouse

El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron/El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron http://vgmdb.net/album/25010
Masato Koda, Kento Hasegawa http://vgmdb.net/artist/618
Scarlet Liturgy
A Floral Creation
Revelations

Acquiescence said:
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.

Dark Schala said:
Overall, El Shaddai’s soundscape and visual landscape work together so well to construct a beautiful sensory experience for the player to experience. The soundscape is especially important to help set the tone for the visual aspects that the game presented to the player. If the soundscape were sub-par, or if they didn’t hit the right notes to support the visuals that each level presented to the player, then the soundtrack as a whole would be utterly ineffective. There is a ton of variation in terms of musical style and instrumentation employed on this soundtrack, and I urge people to give it a listen sometime, even if they aren’t going to play the game it’s for.

Eschatos/Eschatos http://vgmdb.net/album/25123
Yosuke Yasui, M-KAI, Yuki Yonezawa http://vgmdb.net/artist/1563
Point of No Return
Rush Into
Silver Lining

Nert · Jan 17, 2012

Final Fantasy XIII-2/Final Fantasy XIII-2 http://vgmdb.net/album/29649
Masashi Hamauzu, Naoshi Mizuta, Mitsuto Suzuki, Nobuo Uematsu http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masashi_Hamauzu
Chaotic Labyrinth
Groovy Chocobo
Plains of Eternity

Thoraxes said:
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.

Final Fantasy Type 0/Final Fantasy Reishiki http://vgmdb.net/album/27417
Takeharu Ishimoto http://www.squareenixmusic.com/composers/ishimoto/index.shtml
Peaceful Fighting (Long Version)
Three Hours of Fate
When the Suzaku Flag Stands

Macstorm said:
Ever since his work on Crisis Core, I've been a fan of Takeharu Ishimoto. Final Fantasy Type-0's soundtrack topples his work on Crisis Core. I love the variations on a theme, and he offers a lot of different takes on a few different themes here.

Final Promise Story/The Final Promise Story http://vgmdb.net/album/25091
Akiyoshi Manabe, NEK, 164 http://vgmdb.net/artist/10785
Soul Strike
The Imminent One
War of Attrition 1

Fortune Street/Top Street Wii http://fortunestreet.nintendo.com
Hidenori Miyanaga http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/by_title/developerId,138717
Casino Slot
Mario Circuit
Mount Magmageddon

From Dust/From Dust http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_Dust
Tom Salta http://www.tomsalta.com/behindFromDust.html
Breath of Earth
Breath of Plants
Breath of Water

Frozen Synapse/Frozen Synapse http://vgmdb.net/album/26867
Paul Taylor http://www.nervoustestpilot.co.uk
Deeper
Complexity
Focus

Moobabe said:
I'm not sure how to phrase my love for this soundtrack; mode7games managed to not only create one of the finest indie games I've ever played but also produced a soundtrack that matched, if not bettered full retail releases. It's extremely evocative and, perhaps even more than the other two OSTs I listed, compliments the game in such an amazing way.

Gears of War 3/Gears of War 3 http://vgmdb.net/album/28678
Steve Jablonsky http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jablonsky

Gemini Rue/Gemini Rue http://vgmdb.net/album/24289
Nathan Allen Pinard http://www.nathanallenpinard.com
Sayuri
The Winchester Building
Blu Chamber

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective/Ghost Trick http://vgmdb.net/album/18731
Masakazu Sugimori http://vgmdb.net/artist/1523
Awakening
Chained Past
Welcome to the Salon

Earthpainting said:
If there was one soundtrack this year that got me pumped and on the edge of my proverbial seat, it would be Ghost Trick's. It's got a very distinct, in your face sound that complements the game perfectly.

Gloria Union/Gloria Union: Twin Fates In A Blue Ocean http://vgmdb.net/album/25610
Shigeki Hayashi http://vgmdb.net/artist/1107
Boy of the Blue Seas
Devoted Saint

Gods Eater Burst/God Eater Burst http://vgmdb.net/album/21599 http://vgmdb.net/album/17574
Go Shiina, Kazuhito Kikuchi http://vgmdb.net/artist/977

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

Half-Minute Hero 2/Hero 30 Second http://www.maql.co.jp/special/game/30s
Kenji Ito, Yoko Shimomura, Yasunori Mitsuda, Masashi Hamauzu, Kumi Tanioka, Manabu Namiki, Masaharu Iwata, Yoshitaka Hirota, Michiko Naruke, Noriyuki Iwadare, Haruka Shimotsuki, Motoi Sakuraba, Hiroyuki Iwatsuki, Toshikazu Tanaka, Yoshino Aoki, Tetsuya Shibata, Hideki Asanaka, Maiko Iuchi, Takaaki Nakahashi, Takushi Hiyamuta, Yasuo Yamate, Yasumasa Yamada, Yui Isshiki, The Engines, Blackart http://vgmdb.net/artist/139
God Battle
Last Battle
Rival

Hard Corps: Uprising/Contra: Uprising http://www.konami.com/games/hardcorps
Daisuke Ishiwatari http://vgmdb.net/artist/1566
Stage 8
Stage 2
Loading

Hyperdimensional Game Neptunia http://vgmdb.net/album/19503
Kenji Kaneko http://vgmdb.net/artist/1173

Ilomilo/Ilomilo http://vgmdb.net/album/27000
Daniel Olsen http://ilomilo.com
March of the ilomilos
Sunny Days
Tea on the Side

Inazuma Eleven/Lightning 11 1: Restoring The Bond http://vgmdb.net/album/10017
Yasunori Mitsuda, Toru Yamazaki, Hiroshi Yamazaki http://vgmdb.net/artist/146

Inazuma Eleven 4/Lightning 11 4: Go http://www.inazuma.jp/go
Natsumi Kameoka http://vgmdb.net/artist/4357

InFamous 2/Infamous 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/26484 http://vgmdb.net/album/24077
Jim Dooley, Jonathan Dodge Mayer, Galactic, Bryan Mantia, The Black Heart Procession http://www.jimdooley.com
Plight
Shoot the Messenger
And I Thought I Was a Pyro

Instant Brain/Instant Brain http://vgmdb.net/album/30486
Keishi Yonao, Hideki Higuchi, Ryu Umemoto, 守屋忠慶, Yuji Takenochi, Tetsuro Sato http://vgmdb.net/artist/131
Bar Hugo
Narrow Reality
Tragic Past

Kingdom Hearts RE:Coded/Kingdom Hearts: Coded http://na.square-enix.com/khrecoded
Yoko Shimomura http://vgmdb.net/artist/139

Kirby: Mass Attack/Gather Kirby Of The Star http://kirby.nintendo.com/massattack
Shogo Sakai http://vgmdb.net/artist/989
Forest Stage 1
Forest Stage 3 (Night)
Desert 2 (Sky Sands)

Kirby’s Return To Dream Land/Kirby Of The Star Returns To Dream Land
Jun Ishikawa, Hirokazu Ando http://vgmdb.net/artist/328

Knights Contract/Knights Contract http://www.namcobandaigames.com/knightscontract/index1.html
Kosuke Yamashita http://vgmdb.net/artist/335
BGM 007
BGM 025
BGM 029

L.A. Noire/L.A. Noire http://vgmdb.net/album/27214
Andrew Hale, Simon Hale, Fly http://www.simonhale.co.uk
Minor 9th
Torched Song
(I Always Kill) The Things I Love

Acquiescence said:
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.

Lord Of Arcana/Lord Of Arcana http://vgmdb.net/album/21668
Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui, Satoshi Henmi http://vgmdb.net/artist/77

Lost In Shadow/Shadow Tower http://vgmdb.net/album/19286
Takasi Watanabe http://vgmdb.net/artist/10530
Background Music 01
Background Music 25
Background Music 32

Mario And Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games/ Mario And Sonic At The London 2012 Olympic Games http://www2.sega.com/gamesite/marioandsonic/flagspage.html
Kenichi Tokoi http://vgmdb.net/artist/257

Mario Sports Mix/Mario Sports Mix http://mariosportsmix.nintendo.com
Masayoshi Soken, Kumi Tanioka http://vgmdb.net/artist/670
Bob-omb Dodge
Koopa Troopa Beach
Peach's Castle

Mighty Milky Way http://vgmdb.net/album/26011
Jake Kaufman http://vgmdb.net/artist/1015

Mighty Switch Force http://vgmdb.net/album/30801
Jake Kaufman http://vgmdb.net/artist/1015
Break Up Take Down
Caught Red Handed
Whoa I'm in Space Cuba!

Dark Schala said:
If you like the soundtrack, don’t hesitate to pick it up and support virt. It’s absolutely wonderful, and filled with catchy melodies, Whoa I’m in Space Cuba, and delightful instrumentation. There’s a lot of talent here, and I’m looking forward to what virt will wow us with next. Oh, and there’s a wonderful 8-bit mix of Whoa I’m in Space Cuba on the actual album. It’s fantastic and wonderfully-mixed. This soundtrack blew me away. Kaufman should be proud of his accomplishments so far because the stuff he’s worked on is astoundingly rich in catchy rhythms and great instrumentation. Great work.

Nert · Jan 17, 2012

PilotWings Resort/Pilotwings Resort http://vgmdb.net/album/29636
Askua Ito http://vgmdb.net/artist/10200
Hang Glider
Pedal Glider
Turbo Jet

Pokemon White/Pokemon Black/Pocket Monsters White/Pocket Monsters Black http://vgmdb.net/album/20831
Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Shota Kageyama, Hitomi Sato, Morikazu Aoki, Minako Adachi, Satoshi Nohara http://vgmdb.net/artist/274
Gate
Route 10
S.S Royal Isshu

Electivirus said:
Gamefreak's music team (Shota Kageyama in particular) outdid themselves this year. 4 discs full of fantastic area and battle themes. They'd be hard-pressed to top themselves with the next title, but I'd loooove to eat some crow in this case.

Portal 2/Portal 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/26352 http://vgmdb.net/album/27024 http://vgmdb.net/album/29202 http://vgmdb.net/album/25840
Mike Morasky, Jonathan Coulton, The National http://vgmdb.net/artist/6176
The Part Where He Kills You
There She Is
Want You Gone

Portrait Of Girls/Kagura Battle: Portrait Of Girls http://vgmdb.net/album/26610
Mutsumi Ishimura, Akihi Motoyama, Tatsushi Hayashi http://vgmdb.net/artist/9582

Prinny 2: Dawn Of Operation Panies, Dood/Prinny: Dawn Of The Great Panties War http://nisamerica.com/games/prinny2
Tenpei Sato http://vgmdb.net/artist/608
Asagi Goe
Midnight Battle
Scorching Sunrise

Professor Layton And The Last Specter/Professor Layton And The Specter's Flute http://vgmdb.net/album/15351
Tomohito Nishiura http://vgmdb.net/artist/779
Descole's Theme
Mansion of Shadows
Puzzle 5

Pushmo/Pushpull
Yuka Tsujiyoko http://vgmdb.net/artist/394
Challenge
Lesson
Menu

Radiant Historia/Radiant Historia http://vgmdb.net/album/21312
Yoko Shimomura http://vgmdb.net/artist/139
An Earnest Desire of Grey
The Edge of Green
The Garden Where the Celestite Lies

Earthpainting said:
While this soundtrack heavily channels Kingdom Hearts, I still can't help but appreciate what it brought to the table. Especially the battle themes stuck out to me. Shimomura knows how to make a confrontation feel exciting and important.

Rayman Origins/Rayman 5: Origins http://vgmdb.net/album/29075
Christophe Heral, Billy Martin http://vgmdb.net/artist/4390
Sea of Serendipity
Lum King
Music World - Classic

Snuggler said:
energetic, eclectic, silly, and instantly memorable - just like the game

Red Orchestra 2: Heroes Of Stalingrad/Red Orchestra 2: Heroes Of Stalingrad http://vgmdb.net/album/29087
Sam Hulick http://vgmdb.net/artist/4285
Storm Clouds over Stalingrad
Victory at the Barrikady

Ridge Racer 3D/Ridge Racer 3-D http://vgmdb.net/album/25124
Hiroshi Okubo, Taku Inoe, Shinji Hosoe, Rio Hamamoto, Ryo Watanabe, Ayako Saso, Keiichi Okabe, Akihiko Ishikawa http://vgmdb.net/artist/246

Rune Factory: Tides Of Destiny/Rune Factory Oceans http://vgmdb.net/album/25578
Tomoko Morita, CHI-KA, Kiyoshi Ikegami, Masahiro Arakawa http://vgmdb.net/artist/579
Fenith Island
Goblin Pirate Gang
Happiness

Seiso Koki Strania/The Years Of Steel Machines, Strania http://vgmdb.net/album/25125
Keishi Yonao http://vgmdb.net/artist/131
Boss 3
Stage 5
Stage 6

Senritsu No Stratus/Terror Of The Stratus http://vgmdb.net/album/29984
Nobuko Toda, Shuichi Kobori, Ludvig Forssell http://vgmdb.net/artist/1792
Counteract
Puppet
The Order Of The Universe

Shadows of the Damned/Shadows of the Damned http://vgmdb.net/album/28533
Akira Yamaoka http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Yamaoka
Fathomer
Smile for a Broken Dawn
Sushi Lamp

Diamond_4444 said:
another Yamaoka masterpiece. The complete soundtrack is a 130 or something tracks-beast with rock songs, ambient wonders and silly things like "Sushi" down there.

Solatorobo: Red The Hunter/Solatorobo: And Then To Coda http://vgmdb.net/album/20418
Chikayo Fukuda http://vgmdb.net/artist/3651
And Then, To Coda
Tomorrow Will Come
The Mission's Absolute Value

Sonic Generations/ Sonic Generations http://vgmdb.net/album/29979
Collection Room
Crisis City (Modern)
Speed Highway (Classic)

A Huge Battleship said:
An abundance of excellent Sonic themes remixed superbly.

SpaceChem/SpaceChem http://vgmdb.net/album/29405
Evan LE NY http://www.jamendo.com/en/artist/evan
Some Elements
A New World
Working

The_Technomancer said:
SpaceChem was the sleeper hit this year in many ways. In addition to being my GOTY it also had a killer soundtrack that captured tones from industrious to upbeat to eerie, oftentimes alternating between the three in a single track.

Super Mario 3D Land/Sūpā Mario Surī Dī Rando
Asuka Hayazaki, Mahito Yokota, Shigetoshi Gohara, Takeshi Hama, Yuya Takezawa http://wn.com/Asuka_Hayazaki

Superbrothers: Sword And Sworcery EP/Superbrothers: Sword And Sworcery E.P. http://www.swordandsworcery.com
Jim Guthrie http://www.swordandsworcery.com/music
The Prettiest Weed
Dark Flute
Unknowable Geometry

Yoshiya said:
Love the album as much as the game, and like Nier last year it's the only game soundtrack I listen to frequently outside the context of the game. Excellent work from Jim Guthrie.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together/Tactics Ogre: Unmei no Wa http://vgmdb.net/album/20913
Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masaharu Iwata, Hayato Matsuo http://sakimoto.jp/
Air Land
Impregnable Defence
Light Everlasting

Leos said:
The PSP enhanced port's soundtrack sounds improved over the original game's soundtrack. The orchestral music on every track is wonderful.

Tales Of The World: Radiant Mythology 3 http://rm3.namco-ch.net
Motoi Sakuraba http://vgmdb.net/artist/166
Break Through With The Sword
Untiring Spiria
Vital Garden

Tales Of Xillia http://vgmdb.net/album/27543
Motoi Sakuraba http://vgmdb.net/artist/166
Believe in Me
A Mountain Village in the Dawn
Clenching the Fists

Dark Schala said:
Motoi Sakuraba was the only composer credited on this album. While we know Sakuraba sticks to a rather rigid formula for Tales soundtracks (or game soundtracks in general if we want to get picky), he does take a bit of a departure here and there. In-game, the soundtrack works very well, with many of the melodies fitting a lot of the landscapes and the battle music standing out the most. As a result of some of these departures taken, I think Sakuraba has composed a rather mature Tales soundtrack, one of the best in the entire series, with varying musical genres and entertaining compositional work.

Tama Tamashi/Bullet Soul http://vgmdb.net/album/29530
Kenji Ito, Kota Takahashi, Keisuke Kurose http://vgmdb.net/artist/138
Impregnable Fortress
Rampant Militarism
Relentless Force

Nert · Jan 17, 2012

The 3rd Birthday/Parasite Eve: The 3rd Birthday http://vgmdb.net/album/21822
Mitsuto Suzuki, Yoko Shimomura, Tsuyoshi Sekito http://vgmdb.net/artist/777

The Binding of Isaac/ The Binding of Isaac http://vgmdb.net/album/27230
Danny Baranowsky http://dbsoundworks.com/#
Enmity of the Dark Lord
Divine Combat
...Be Done

The Book Of Unwritten Tales/The Book Of Unwritten Tales http://vgmdb.net/album/28702
Benny Oschmann http://vgmdb.net/artist/8241

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim/The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim http://vgmdb.net/album/29727
Jeremy Soule, Mark Lampert http://vgmdb.net/artist/431
The Streets of Whiterun
Dragonborn
Kyne’s Peace

Acquiescence said:
The ambient pieces that quietly hummed away in the background while simply wandering the world were stunning in their beauty and ability to immerse.

kswiston said:
I am including skyrim due to the number of times I have delayed starting my game to listen to that awesome title track.

The King Of Fighters XIII/The King Of Fighters 13 http://vgmdb.net/album/19571
Tetsuhiro Ogawa, Iku Mizutani, Toshihiko Hiraguchi, Tomonao Niiya, Makoto Suehiro, Tasuku Mizutani
Diabolosis
Each Promise
Tame a Bad Boy

The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Blue/The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Of Blue http://vgmdb.net/album/29735
Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama http://vgmdb.net/artist/2151

The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky/The Legend Of Heroes: Trails In The Sky http://vgmdb.net/album/1674
Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama http://vgmdb.net/artist/2151

The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword/The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword http://www.zelda.com/skywardsword
Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota, Takeshi Hama, Koji Kondo
http://vgmdb.net/artist/692
Fi’s Theme 6
Romance Theme 1

Electivirus said:
Finally getting an orchestrated soundtrack was just the shot in the arm the series' music needed, IMO. Expertly composed and orchestrated throughout, Wakai and Yokota did a phenomenal job turning this into the greatest Zelda soundtrack in the series, and the use of multiple variations for songs was a great idea.

Dark Schala said:
While some may not like Skyward Sword’s soundtrack, and that is perfectly reasonable, the effort that Nintendo’s sound team put into this title’s music cannot be understated. The soundtrack tries to enhance the game via adding and subtracting layers for when the player performs a certain action, but you can also say that the game tries to enhance the soundtrack itself by reciprocating the player’s actions making an impact on the music. The decision to make the music orchestrated is probably one of the best things that happened to the series. The music is melodic, memorable (I think these are among my favourite dungeon and boss themes in the series now), and utterly breathtaking. There weren’t a lot of pieces on this “soundtrack” that I disliked, and I found the soundtrack as a whole very beautiful, meaningful and melodic. The fact that it had a lot of Celtic and Asian influences to mix the Zelda soundtrack up a bit, made this soundtrack one of the most memorable soundtracks of 2011, if not the most memorable soundtrack of 2011 for me, personally.

The Tiny Bang Story/The Tiny Bang Story http://vgmdb.net/album/27227
Michael Chertichev, Andrew Burmistrov, Ruslan Shafikov http://www.strategic-music.com/docs/portfolio.html?wid=170
Beautiful Delusion Part 1

The Witcher 2/The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings http://vgmdb.net/album/28641
Adam Skorupa, Krzysztof Wierzynkiewicz, Riverside http://vgmdb.net/artist/2965
Vergen By Night
A Nearly Peaceful Place
Assassins of Kings

To the Moon/To the Moon http://vgmdb.net/album/29957
Kan R. Gao, Laura Shigihara http://kangao.org/
Once Upon a Memory
Take Me Anywhere
Everything's Alright

Moobabe said:
This is maybe a disingenuous choice - while the soundtrack is fantastic it's a shame, much like with Bastion, to listen to the soundtrack solus. Much of the joy and, indeed, heartbreak that comes from 'To The Moon' is generated through the way in which the music and story compliment one another - even so - play this game AND listen to soundtrack.

Total War: Shogun 2/Shogun 2: Total War http://vgmdb.net/album/25383
Jeff VanDyck http://vgmdb.net/artist/4045
Beautiful Blade
Bitter Cold
Taiko Shuffle

Treasure Report/Treasure Report: The Mechanized Legacy http://tr.channel.or.jp
Maki Kirioka http://vgmdb.net/artist/3957
Dial Cylinder Skullduggery
Treasured
Who Could That Be

Trine 2/Trine 2 http://vgmdb.net/album/30515
Ari Pulkkinen http://www.aripulkkinen.com/
Icewarden Keep
Searock Castle
Waltz of the Temple Forest Elves

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Hideyuki Fukasawa http://vgmdb.net/artist/893
Theme of Phoenix
Theme of Doctor Doom
Theme of Doctor Strange

UnchainBlades Rexx/UnchainBlades Rexx http://vgmdb.net/album/26349
Tsutomu Narita, Nobuo Uematsu http://vgmdb.net/artist/6443

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception/Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception http://vgmdb.net/album/29686
Greg Edmonson http://vgmdb.net/artist/8262
The Rub' al Khali
Something Better
Pursuit

brandonh83 said:
Greg Edmonson continues to provide scores for the series that come the closest to the full, rich and traditional sound heard in high-quality film scores. It would be simple enough to mention how excellent the themes are here, as well as how majestic and stirring some moments are (see: wide shot of Drake walking through the desert). However, the score is not simply fantastic because of those things, but also because it works on a pure gaming level as well. It would be "easy" enough for a composer such as Edmonson to write some well-rounded orchestral pieces, but his action and in-the-moment cues are equally impressive, showcasing not only his scoring talents but his understanding of how much the right music can amplify any given gameplay situation. Far and away the best videogame score I have heard this year and it absolutely deserves a shitload more attention than it has been receiving.

Valkyria Chronicles III/Valkryia Of The Battlefield 3: Unrecorded Chronicles http://vgmdb.net/album/22542 http://vgmdb.net/album/23624
Hitoshi Sakimoto http://sakimoto.jp/

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine/Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine http://vgmdb.net/album/28680
Cris Velasco, Sascha Dikiciyan http://vgmdb.net/artist/1268

White Knight Chronicles II/White Knight Chronicles: Awakening Of Light And Darkness http://vgmdb.net/album/21566 http://vgmdb.net/album/20432
Takeshi Inoue, Yumiko Hashizume, Noriyasu Agematsu http://vgmdb.net/artist/5408
Fly! My Bluebird
The Silver Goddess

Xenoblade Chronicles/Xenoblade http://vgmdb.net/album/18946
Manami Kiyota, Yoko Shimomura, Tomori Kudo, Hiroyo Yamanaka, Kenji Hiramatsu, Yasunori Mitsuda http://vgmdb.net/artist/4822
Gaur Plains
Mechonis Field
Thoughts to a Friend

Thoraxes said:
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.

Yakuza 4/Like A Dragon 4 http://vgmdb.net/album/18550 http://vgmdb.net/album/18551
Hidenori Shoji, Kenichi Tokoi, Yuri Fukuda, Yoshio Tsuru, Mitsuharu Fukuyama, Yasuhiro Takagi, Yuichi Kanatani, Chihiro Aoki, Takashi Izeki, Takahiro Kai, Minako Seki, Ryohei Okino, Flarewave Sound System, Eiji Kawai, Love Sound System, Shigemitsu Goto, Hideki Sakamoto http://vgmdb.net/artist/795
For Faith (Instrumental)
New Serena
Standard Massage

Zen Puzzle Garden/Zen Puzzle Garden http://vgmdb.net/album/23947
Module http://vgmdb.net/artist/10338
Mizuumi no Tera
Kaizen
Sora no Sekai

Nert · Jan 17, 2012

Survey

There are four questions listed below. If you’d like to give any additional feedback, you can of course post that too.

1) The thread for next year will be posted on December 15th, a Saturday. Is this early enough? Is it too early?

2) Do you want next year’s topic to include voting? If so, are you fine with the current voting system, or would you like to see some tweaks?

3) Do you make use of the archive? Should it continue to include a broad list of game soundtracks, or only those directly mentioned by users?

4) What steps, if any, should be taken to encourage more discussion of choices? Should people be required to share at least one song from the games that they vote for?

Thanks!

Anth0ny · Jan 17, 2012

Nice list. This just makes me want to play Xenoblade even more.

Octorockin' · Jan 17, 2012

Great job putting all of this together. 2011 had many memorable video game soundtracks, and it's cool to have such a dense, passionate thread to show that.

*Listens to Xenoblade music*

1) December 15th sounds like a great time to start. That gives plenty of time to vote and discuss the music without the thread feeling too early either.

2) I can't think of a way to change the voting system for the better.

3) The archive is awesome, and it helps me find and enjoy music I might have easily overlooked. The quality, comprehensive listing is appreciated.

4) I admittedly didn't write anything to go with my votes, but maybe a set of optional, simple questions in the OP directed at voters might encourage more discussion. Stuff like "Was this soundtrack a surprise hit for you?", or simply "what was your favorite track from the game?". That's all I can think of.

Jive Turkey · Jan 17, 2012

Just proves not enough people played SpaceChem this year. Super respect to Technomancer for that quote and Toma for selling me on the game.

Gregorn · Jan 17, 2012

I finished Xenoblade a couple of days ago and I'm going to say it isn't as great as the internet made it out to be. The amount of hype and attention the US release will have may alter expectations and result in many people being disappointed.

The music however, is just as great as the internet makes it out to be.

Exterminieren · Jan 17, 2012

Well, the top 3 matches my top 3, so you can't say fairer than that.

Great list, although it is a bit disappointing that Pokemon Black and White didn't get more recognition for the best score in the franchise's history. It really has been a superb year for game soundtracks. That Xenoblade won despite not being released in NA is testament to the work that those composers put together.

Diamond · Jan 17, 2012

Thanks for the hard work guys ! The discography post is a nice touch.

Didn't vote for it but Xenoblade is a worthy winner. Behind this OST it seems results were pretty close. A lot of good music this year.

Survey

1) Seems fine. Was fine with this year too, but sooner is without any doubt better for participation.
2) I'm fine with the voting, it's fun to see what is the general consensus on NeoGAF, if such a thing exists. Don't think we need something as "complex" as the GOTY thread for example, a top 3 is a good system.
3) Really like the archive. Don't know if a lot of people browse it but I really appreciate the effort.
4) If we can really improve it's here. It's always better to have a link or a few lines explaining choices. To clearly encourage this kind of message in the OP could be a solution. Maybe require a song sample per game ? It usually doesn't take a lot of time to search for it on youtube.

Nert · Jan 17, 2012

There are a couple of random notes that I wanted to make that would have cluttered up the already lengthy original post.

For the discography section, we did our best to highlight the lead composer. This was difficult in a couple of cases (Sonic Generations is an obvious example), so if you believe that we got any of them wrong, let us know. If there are any other soundtracks (video game or otherwise) that you'd like to credit to those composers, post them here and we can include them, keeping in mind that we're not going to list everything they've ever done.

As always, there are still a few missing pieces of the archive, but those should be filled out over the next day or so. If enough time has passed and it still seems like there is something missing, contact GhaleonQ or myself.

Finally, if you have any interest in working with us on this project, get in touch! Keep in mind that it would be a significant time investment, though

(Gets away from the computer to breath fresh air for a while)

Nocturnowl · Jan 17, 2012

Ah excellent, Xenoblade on top, such a great soundtrack. A pretty impressive year of music on the whole but I think 2010 was a bit better.

1) That date seems fine for me, assuming it stays up until early January.

2) I'd allow up to 5 choices myself, if only because I struggle with choice.

3) I listened to a few but I can't say I made much use of it, I like the idea but it's quite an intimidating list, maybe leaving it with just those mentioned by users would be for the best.

4) I'm all for seeing more discussion but for some people they just don't have the time or have no idea what to really say (myself included here) so having to share at least one song may cause less votes.

Dark Schala · Jan 17, 2012

Great work, guys! It's been a pleasure being able to vote this year! Ever since I saw the thread from last year when I wasn't a GAF member yet, I always wanted to vote in at least one GAF soundtrack of the year thread, because they were so nicely put together

Really like the composer/discography post too.

Edit: I am a tad disappointed that Mighty Switch Force! didn't get into the top voting results.

Spiffy_1st said:
I finished Xenoblade a couple of days ago and I'm going to say it isn't as great as the internet made it out to be. The amount of hype and attention the US release will have may alter expectations and result in many people being disappointed.

The music however, is just as great as the internet makes it out to be.

I completely agree. After playing through the EU version, my opinion of the game is that it's great with fantastic art direction, but it isn't as perfect as people would lead you to believe. It has a few issues, but it's a great game nonetheless. I just hope people aren't in hype overload for it because they may end up leaving disappointed.

It should be noted that I listened to the Xenoblade soundtrack in 2010, hence I didn't vote for it this year, lol. If I had been on GAF in 2010, it would certainly be in my honourable mentions at least. I loooove the Kiyota and ACE+ stuff on that soundtrack.

Nert said:
Survey

There are four questions listed below. If you’d like to give any additional feedback, you can of course post that too.

1) The thread for next year will be posted on December 15th, a Saturday. Is this early enough? Is it too early?

2) Do you want next year’s topic to include voting? If so, are you fine with the current voting system, or would like to see some tweaks?

3) Do you make use of the archive? Should it continue to include a broad list of game soundtracks, or only those directly mentioned by users?

4) What steps, if any, should be taken to encourage more discussion of choices? Should people be required to share at least one song from the games that they vote for?

Thanks!

I'll answer these too.

1) Edit: After much pondering, I think the date is fine. The voting thread this year got posted too close to New Year's, after two other threads for SotY got posted (and I guess people simply became frustrated or fatigued as a result of being told to come back later).

You did make a point about some soundtracks in Japan being released all the way up to the end of the year, but let's be realistic here for a second: not a lot of people are going to take the time to vote for those soundtracks given that they are usually for games they haven't played yet. If they did play the game via a US release prior to an official soundtrack release, they'll still list the soundtrack anyway because the in-game soundtrack, I've noticed, are generally the "soundtracks" people voted on, as opposed to the actual soundtrack release.

One of my honourable mentions was Frontier Gate's OST, which did not get released until close to the year end, but because the voting timeframe is rather lengthy, I can actually tack that on because I'm allowed to edit my post prior to votes being counted. Same with late game releases like Mighty Switch Force.

So yes... putting it up on the 15th would be beneficial.

2) Perfectly fine with the current system. I do wish the soundtracks to vote for would be extended to 5 soundtracks as opposed to 3, but that might be too much. I struggled with my choices a lot this year. >.>

3) I like using the archive and finding stuff I wouldn't hear otherwise. It's informative and nicely put together. But I'm a fan of the genre saying this. I'm not sure if people who casually listen to VGM would find it ... not daunting, I guess? I personally love it, though.

4) This was the largest problem I had. I want people to say why they liked the soundtracks they chose. I don't mind if people don't know anything about music theory, musical genres, or anything. Just tell me why you liked it... even if the reason why you liked it are essentially three pieces of music you picked. It doesn't take a lot to go through YouTube and find music you liked because the resources are there. And you can always edit your post with summaries or explanations little by little like I did.

It's disappointing that there wasn't a lot of discussion about the soundtracks in this thread as opposed to the other two SotY 2011 threads that were created prior to the actual SotY2011 thread.

You don't even have to make up mini-summaries or mini-reviews of soundtracks like I did in the voting thread. I like writing this kind of stuff, so that's why I do it.

Possibly creating an initiative for people to discuss these things might be a good thing. We're on a discussion board, after all. I like reading stuff people write because they do put the effort into the post, or they single out tracks that they liked that I wouldn't have thought of before. It's a bit of a window into other posters' tastes.

Snuggler said:
This may prove to be ineffective, but I'd recommend that instead of starting the thread with your impressive but daunting archive, that you and Ghaleon post your personal lists complete with descriptions, well-reasoned explanations, links, cover arts and all that stuff. The best thing you can do with the OP is set an example for the rest of the thread. Maybe post the yearly archive around the same time, but in a separate thread.

This might be a good idea too. Particularly the "setting an example" bit.

Perhaps make it similar to the GotY thread, where there's just a list of games that are eligible to be voted on that year. Rather than an archive, post the eligible soundtrack list with the VGMdb links / YouTube playlist links (since for some games there aren't official soundtrack releases) in the voting thread, and then post the archive in the results thread.

Snuggles · Jan 17, 2012

Good work, guys. I'll be catching up with the tracks I missed in the voting thread.

Nert said:
Survey

1) The thread for next year will be posted on December 15th, a Saturday. Is this early enough? Is it too early?

At the very least, posting it earlier (like your suggested date) will result in more posts in the thread. The "other" OST of the year threads probably detract away from yours even if they're shut down after a few pages. That being said, it would still be very front-loaded. It seems that most posters just want to do a quick list and call it good, they wouldn't use the extra time to mull it over or anything. I'd say post it earlier, but I'm not sure if it would do much to improve the overall quality of the thread.

[don't have much input on 2&3 at the moment]

4) What steps, if any, should be taken to encourage more discussion of choices? Should people be required to share at least one song from the games that they vote for?
Thanks!

There is no doubt these threads would be much better with actual elaboration and discussion of choices, rather than non-descript lists, but it's a hard thing to enforce. Some peoples like putting effort in their posts, no positive or negative reinforcement required, while others would rather just dump a few titles into the message box and hit 'submit' without giving it a second thought. And to be fair, unlike a videogame, it can be pretty tough to explain why you like a piece of music. It's not as mechanical or easy to break down as a videogame. I couldn't come up with much more than one to two sentence blurbs on my choices.

This may prove to be ineffective, but I'd recommend that instead of starting the thread with your impressive but daunting archive, that you and Ghaleon post your personal lists complete with descriptions, well-reasoned explanations, links, cover arts and all that stuff. The best thing you can do with the OP is set an example for the rest of the thread. Maybe post the yearly archive around the same time, but in a separate thread.

Souldriver · Jan 17, 2012

Xenoblade does have some great music. But so does Skyrim and Skyward Sword.

Good list overall.

BlazingDarkness · Jan 17, 2012

The best soundtrack won.
Good job GAF

Moaradin · Jan 17, 2012

I'm surprised SWTOR's soundtrack didn't get much love. You would think with hours of fully orchestrated music.

cj_iwakura · Jan 17, 2012

YAY for Meguro.

Honestly did not think Catherine would make it. So deserved.

(Dark Souls and Ghost Trick, too.)

BlazingDarkness · Jan 17, 2012

Moaradin said:
I'm surprised SWTOR's soundtrack didn't get much love. You would think with hours of fully orchestrated music.

Personally I find that kind of OST bloated and boring, it's not something I could stick on my mp3 player and listen to

Octorockin' · Jan 17, 2012

I'll definitely be one to write more for this year's thread. Reading other people's insights into their favorite soundtracks was fun and I feel bad for not participating in that.

Dark Schala said:
Edit: I am a tad disappointed that Mighty Switch Force! didn't get into the top voting results.

Yeah, me too. v_v Anyway, it was cool to see that the soundtrack received a decent amount of votes considering the game came out in the middle of December.

Ysiadmihi · Jan 17, 2012

Good for Xenoblade, well deserved. Hopefully it wins this year for the American release too

Dark Schala · Jan 17, 2012

Nert said:
For the discography section, we did our best to highlight the lead composer. This was difficult in a couple of cases (Sonic Generations is an obvious example), so if you believe that we got any of them wrong, let us know.

For Sonic Generations (and you know I'm kicking myself while saying this based on my statements in Sonic threads, of course, lol), I'd credit Jun Senoue rather than Nakamura since the bulk of the soundtrack is composed or arranged by Senoue and a lot of other people. He is basically the face of Sonic music now anyway...

Octorockin' said:
Yeah, me too. v_v Anyway, it was cool to see that the soundtrack received a decent amount of votes considering the game came out in the middle of December.

Whoa I'm in Space Cuba is one of the best BGMs of the year. The 8-bit remix on the actual album is pretty awesome too. Virt's really come a long way since VGMix.

ghibli99 · Jan 17, 2012

Wow, nice work!

Unfortunately, I have only played a few games on that list...

ashbash159 · Jan 17, 2012

What is the easiest way for me to acquire the Xenoblade soundtrack?

Grakl · Jan 17, 2012

Ghost Trick. F'yeah.

Thoraxes · Jan 17, 2012

Dark Schala said:
For Sonic Generations (and you know I'm kicking myself while saying this based on my statements in Sonic threads, of course, lol), I'd credit Jun Senoue rather than Nakamura since the bulk of the soundtrack is composed or arranged by Senoue and a lot of other people. He is basically the face of Sonic music now anyway...

I sincerely hope that Tomoya Ohtani becomes the new face of Sonic music.

Dark Schala · Jan 17, 2012

ashbash159 said:
What is the easiest way for me to acquire the Xenoblade soundtrack?

Play-Asia.com
CD Japan.co.jp

Thoraxes said:
I sincerely hope that Tomoya Ohtani becomes the new face of Sonic music.

Well, Senoue's good at shredding on a guitar at least. He's just really... I dislike his synth work a lot, let's just put it that way.

Ohtani, meanwhile, is amazing and a damn good bassist to boot. :3

Correctomundo · Jan 17, 2012

Yo Xenoblade, your soundtrack was good, and Imma let you finish, but Bloodrayne Betrayal.....

SatelliteOfLove · Jan 18, 2012

Nert said:
Survey

There are four questions listed below. If youd like to give any additional feedback, you can of course post that too.

1) The thread for next year will be posted on December 15th, a Saturday. Is this early enough? Is it too early?

2) Do you want next years topic to include voting? If so, are you fine with the current voting system, or would like to see some tweaks?

3) Do you make use of the archive? Should it continue to include a broad list of game soundtracks, or only those directly mentioned by users?

4) What steps, if any, should be taken to encourage more discussion of choices? Should people be required to share at least one song from the games that they vote for?

Thanks!

1. Just fine.

2. The big tweak I'd want to see is the inclusion of lower vote-recieving OSTs in a list with how many nods they got.

3. Yes.

4. Absolutely. I had to STOP myself from rattling off a dozen per. haha

Classic_Gs · Jan 18, 2012

Fantastic thread. I am looking forward to playing Xenoblade once is released in the States, and enjoying its soundtrack fully then. Glad Deus Ex made it in @ #2 as it is my favorite of the year.

Electivirus · Jan 18, 2012

Sonic Generations not in the top 3? Nooooooo ;-;

Can't say that I'm a fan of Deus Ex's soundtrack, though.

Crash Station · Jan 18, 2012

Good list. Would have liked Ghost Trick to be a bit higher, but oh well. Good nonetheless.

brandonh83 · Jan 18, 2012

Glad Uncharted 3 at least made the top ten, I was pretty skeptical that it would.

Dog Problems · Jan 18, 2012

Nert said:
Survey

There are four questions listed below. If youd like to give any additional feedback, you can of course post that too.

1) The thread for next year will be posted on December 15th, a Saturday. Is this early enough? Is it too early?

2) Do you want next years topic to include voting? If so, are you fine with the current voting system, or would you like to see some tweaks?

3) Do you make use of the archive? Should it continue to include a broad list of game soundtracks, or only those directly mentioned by users?

4) What steps, if any, should be taken to encourage more discussion of choices? Should people be required to share at least one song from the games that they vote for?

Thanks!

1. I think it should start and end at, or around, the same times as the Game of the Year thread. More time given will probably get more people to participate.

2. Yes, include voting. And I'm fine with the current system.

3. Yes, I check out the archive and use it to give music in games I've played another listen and also to check out games I may not have played.

4. I think any one that votes should be required to post YouTube links to their favorite songs, or their votes won't be counted. It can just be one but at least share.

UnlovedJew · Jan 18, 2012

Never played Xenoblade and still agree with it's #1 spot. Sonic Generations should be higher as well as Uncharted 3 IMO.

Diamond · Jan 18, 2012

SatelliteOfLove said:
The big tweak I'd want to see is the inclusion of lower vote-recieving OSTs in a list with how many nods they got.

I'm curious about that too. Nert, do you have a complete list to post here ? I'd like to see where things like To the Moon or Child of Eden have ranked overall.

Augemitbutter · Jan 18, 2012

i'm sure it was a bitch to make.

nothing i've voted for made it, heh.

Nert · Jan 18, 2012

Diamond_4444 said:
I'm curious about that too. Nert, do you have a complete list to post here ? I'd like to see where things like To the Moon or Child of Eden have ranked overall.

Later tonight, I think that I'll just upload the entire vote spreadsheet. Here is a crude list of the rest of the games that received more than 3 points.

(Game Name) (Points) (Number of Votes)

Child of Eden 14 8
Radiant Historia 14 8
Assassin's Creed: Revelations 13 6
Final Fantasy Type-0 11 4
Batman: Arkham City 10 5
Mighty Switch Force! 10 4
The Witcher 2 10 7
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron 9 4
To the Moon 9 5
The Binding of Isaac 8 4
Infamous 2 7 3
Final Fantasy XIII-2 6 2
Hard Corps: Uprising 6 3
Minecraft 6 3
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy 5 2
Frozen Synapse 5 3
Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together 5 2
The King of Fighters XIII 5 4
Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 5 3
Valkyria Chronicles III 5 2
Crysis 2 4 3

I would have loved to see Mighty Switch Force! and Child of Eden in the top 15, but I'm not at all unhappy with the games that did make it.

spirity · Jan 18, 2012

So much to digest here, nice work OP.

The Streets of Whiterun is my favourite piece of the year, but overall the Xenoblade soundtrack is pure quality and a deserving winner. Nice!

cajunator · Jan 18, 2012

I am in complete agreement with the list rankings and their contents. good job, GAF.

GhaleonQ · Jan 18, 2012

*just got back from work*

I don't know about Nert, but I have gotten REALLY good at using my lunch breaks/downtime to do this stuff in December and January. Hooray for borderline irresponsibility!

Again, for the public, Nert did more than 50 percent of this, so YOU ARE PHENOMENAL.

And, to NeoGAF, for not supporting my choices for 2 years now, YOU MAKE ME CRY.

The Hermit · Jan 18, 2012

I voted on Xenoblade, but I´ve finished bastion 2 days ago and I can't take the Soundtrack out of my head... so gald it was ranked!

Nert · Jan 18, 2012

spirity said:
So much to digest here, nice work OP.

The Streets of Whiterun is my favourite piece of the year, but overall the Xenoblade soundtrack is pure quality and a deserving winner. Nice!

Those are my exact sentiments. The Streets of Whiterun is simply sublime.

GhaleonQ said:
*just got back from work*

I don't know about Nert, but I have gotten REALLY good at using my lunch breaks/downtime to do this stuff in December and January. Hooray for borderline irresponsibility!

Yeah, I do a lot of this sort of thing when I'm not supposed to as well. When we created last year's thread, I basically sidelined my honors thesis for three weeks

Edit: GhaleonQ definitely did a ton of work on this topic as well, so don't let him give me too much credit.

Dark Schala said:
For Sonic Generations (and you know I'm kicking myself while saying this based on my statements in Sonic threads, of course, lol), I'd credit Jun Senoue rather than Nakamura since the bulk of the soundtrack is composed or arranged by Senoue and a lot of other people. He is basically the face of Sonic music now anyway...

Whoa I'm in Space Cuba is one of the best BGMs of the year. The 8-bit remix on the actual album is pretty awesome too. Virt's really come a long way since VGMix.

Thanks for pointing that out. I'll make sure to update that later tonight.

And for anyone that hasn't given it a listen yet, you should try out the soundtrack for Mighty Switch Force. Even though it didn't get enough votes to get into the top 15, it generated a lot of discussion in the voting thread.

Electivirus said:
Sonic Generations not in the top 3? Nooooooo ;-;

Can't say that I'm a fan of Deus Ex's soundtrack, though.

I can only speak for myself, but I didn't vote for Sonic Generations because it is almost entirely comprised of remixes. I probably would have given it the third slot in my vote otherwise. Oh well; I ended up being one of the two people that voted for Blocks That Matter instead.

cj_iwakura · Jan 18, 2012

Hard Corps Uprising really does deserve top points. Amazing shredding.

~Kinggi~ · Jan 18, 2012

Glad to see Deus Ex on there. Icarus is probably the best track all year.

Xenoblade at #1 though i completely disagree. Overrated to the moons. Its rarity helped it oodles.

randomkid · Jan 18, 2012

Nert said:
And for anyone that hasn't given it a listen yet, you should try out the soundtrack for Mighty Switch Force. Even though it didn't get enough votes to get into the top 15, it generated a lot of discussion in the voting thread.

Haha seems like each year this happens for one sleeper soundtrack. I wanna say last year it was for that visual novel.

sixteen-bit · Jan 18, 2012

Good shit Portal 2.

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