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[GSR]

Time Travelers discussion

Wow, I was going to put together a post on TT's soundtrack, but you've outdone me before I could even get started.

"Another Timeline" is seriously one of the best pieces of score I've heard in years, and it works even better in the game itself. (This actually goes for pretty much the whole soundtrack, as you'd expect - I got chills when "Farewell, Self" kicked in in-game.) I would love to see it included in one of those 'live game music' concerts, maybe as the opening piece, but there's no chance in hell because of the game's obscurity. The "Time Travelers"/"The Final Time Traveler" melody is superb in all of the tracks it shows up in.

And the character vocal tracks are so wonderfully cheesy I can't help but enjoy them (all right, so Ressentiment's theme is kind of 'eh' - I'm not a fan of the really brassy interlude about 2/3rds through - but the others at least), and like you said, Sarah Alainn is incredible on her pieces.

Some of the normal background tracks are a little forgettable, but there's also plenty of good stuff there.

Such a shame the game's stuck in Japan, I really enjoyed it, and now of course the soundtrack gets overlooked as well.

 

[Nert]

This note has been added to the original post:

Note: Because we did not clearly specify at the launch of this thread, licensed soundtracks and partially licensed soundtracks are eligible for votes this year. Depending on participant feedback, this could change for next year's topic.

Of the soundtracks I've seen posted here so far, this covers Hotline Miami, Lollipop Chainsaw, Sleeping Dogs and Lumines: Electronic Symphony (most of which have a decent chunk of original work as well).

At this point, even if we had wanted to change this, we would either have to ask a large amount of people to recast their votes or we'd have to toss a lot of their selections out. This rule may change for next year, and if it does, we'll make it clear before the voting thread is even posted. We're sorry for all of the confusion!

 

[FatCat]

1) Kid Icarus Uprising
2) Nano Assault Neo
3) Virtue's Last Reward

Such a good year for handheld music

 

[GhaleonQ]

At this point, even if we had wanted to change this, we would either have to ask a large amount of people to recast their votes or we'd have to toss a lot of their selections out. This rule may change for next year, and if it does, we'll make it clear before the voting thread is even posted. We're sorry for all of the confusion!

However, we will table said discussion for a later time, so as not to derail the topic.

Thanks for your existing input, as we've already had quite a talk about it.

 

[Dark Schala]

My, my. Perhaps the Soundtrack of the Year might be controversial this year. Can't wait for the results, then. I don't think this situation was anticipated, was it?

But the conversation surrounding the soundtrack might make me put it into the honourable mentions like I did with Sonic Generations (in the case that I pick it, of course

).

Blast! You picked my picks! He claims that its his masterpiece, but I'm partial to Patchwork Heroes/1,000,000 Tons Of Debris.

By the way, find these if you can: http://vgmdb.net/album/31898 http://vgmdb.net/album/34417 He sings Doctor Schrodinger, Tell Me Please!

Nice post.

I found this (noisycroak live) and I'm... well, I'm sure it'll sound better with studio mixing, huh?

I kind of like Time Travelers a little better than Patchwork Heroes, but that's mostly because the genres included on the TT soundtrack mesh better with me than the PH soundtrack---but that isn't to say that the Patchwork Heroes soundtrack isn't good. On the contrary--it's one of the most underrated soundtracks out there, but I like the style of TT more, even if the album isn't as cohesive as 100万トンのバラバラ.

Wow, I was NOT expecting to see Time Travelers pop up here. A fantastic game with a fantastic soundtrack. It's unfortunate that both of those things will likely be forgotten as time passes considering how poorly the game did at retail.

The vocal tracks on the OST are extremely weird (laugh out loud strange at times), but on the whole it's a really fantastic work.

You have no clue how happy you've made me by making this post!

Is Time Travelers really good, in terms of a "I should really import it for Vita whenever I get the chance" sort of way? I'm very interested in the game now that I've listened to the soundtrack.

"Another Timeline" is seriously one of the best pieces of score I've heard in years, and it works even better in the game itself. (This actually goes for pretty much the whole soundtrack, as you'd expect - I got chills when "Farewell, Self" kicked in in-game.) I would love to see it included in one of those 'live game music' concerts, maybe as the opening piece, but there's no chance in hell because of the game's obscurity. The "Time Travelers"/"The Final Time Traveler" melody is superb in all of the tracks it shows up in.

This is the single piece that made me more enthusiastic to get through the entire soundtrack. I was incredibly impressed with its movements. It's really too bad that a lot of people might not even get a chance to listen to the soundtrack just because of how poorly the game did over there (and it's not likely to be localized). A real shame.

 

[Nert]

Can't wait to read Nert's post about Dustforce if he intends to write one up.

I'm definitely going to give Dustforce some love in this thread.

That was a great write-up! I haven't had time to listen to all of the links yet, but Another Timeline is really impressive.

(My favorite Hideki Sakamoto soundtrack is probably Echochrome's)

 

[Y2Kev]

I forgot to mention Gravity Rush! I want to nominate that too. Love the credits theme.

 

[Shaneus]

However, we will table said discussion for a later time, so as not to derail the topic.

Thanks for your existing input, as we've already had quite a talk about it.

Yup, I'm all good with this. It's provided some interesting discussion for the most part, that seemed to deteriorate over the last 24 hours or so into more of a debate. It's starting to shit up the thread, along with Nert's outstanding work.

On with the voting!

 

[Axelstream]

Great post on a soundtrack I was curious about to but forgot to look into. Definitely going to return to this.

 

[Nocturnowl]

I can't just let the rest of you steal the glory on mentioning these less known soundtracks, consider my hat thrown into this crazy game and i'll do so with...

Dust: An Elysian Tale

You know I don't think i've seen a mention so far in this thread for this games soundtrack at all, now while it's only in honourable mention territory for myself i'm thinking it's flown quite a bit under the radar.
Not helped by the fact I can't find any of the music on the old tube so i'm heading straight to the source and so should you all otherwise you wont know what i'm babbling about.

I get the impression that this is a soundtrack that focuses far more on creating an atmosphere than instantly memorable melodies, sure there are the odd bits and pieces that can jump around your head but for the most part these themes seem to work best in tandem with the environment they represent, as such my personal favourite tracks usually came from the main field areas.

The first track that truly jumped out at me when I played the game and also my favourite of the lot is the theme for Cirromon Caverns, a rather moody theme that switches between being rather minimalist and surprisingly bombastic, it's not often I enjoy cave environments in most games and aside from the fact that visually the area managed to be pretty colourful for an often drab location i'm sure the music played a big part in my enjoyment of the caverns.

The Glade takes a while to get going with a slow build up to begin with but well patience is a virtue I guess, one thing i've noticed with most tracks is that they're pretty long compared to most looping tracks, it helps alleviate any repetition when traversing the environments.

Two more area themes i'll mention, The Sorrowing Meadows immediately stands out with an ominous organ kicking things off with haunting vocal effects, sorrowing is right, it's manages to stay within the realm of being a haunting theme instead of oppressive, that honour is saved for the following track No rest for the wicked, actually listen to this as well.
And lastly The Blackmoor Mountains is one of those more bleaker takes on a snow theme whilst also having a sort of mystical vibe to it as well, possibly my second favourite track.

Upon hitting the world map you're greeted with The Land of Remembrance which is one of those shorter pieces that may very well keep you from jumping straight to your next location as you mellow out to the music.

There's other tracks I could mention (Deities, The Cirelian Trials and Beneath Hollow Grounds spring to mind) but writing up thoughts on music is hard, well for me at least. Just give it a listen if you like atmospheric fantasy styled themes, while it did take a while to grow on me it would be a shame for this soundtrack to get lost in the shuffle, Dustforce isn't the only dusty thing that should be lining this threads metaphorical...shelves? YEAH.

 

[GSR]

Is Time Travelers really good, in terms of a "I should really import it for Vita whenever I get the chance" sort of way? I'm very interested in the game now that I've listened to the soundtrack.

I played through it last month. It's a pretty tricky read depending on your Japanese level, but I enjoyed it a lot. Vita's probably the version to get, though, 3DS is a little rough around the edges.

 

[jiggle]

1. Journey

 

[Dark Schala]

No, I'm not talking about Nocturne. I'm talking Dust! Dust dust dustdustdust!

Dust was actually on tonight's OST playlist to listen to as I type a few things up.

BTW, Nocturnowl, great post.

I'm actually rather partial to Aurora and Falana, composed by Alexander Brandon (Deus Ex, edit: adding in Jazz Jackrabbit 2 before Sciz probably comes in here and dropkicks me). The former because of the ethnic strings and woodwinds, and the latter because it's one of those opening themes in a video game, where it's probably the BGM that'll stick with you, much akin to Dearly Beloved in Kingdom Hearts or Memory of Light and Waves in FFX-2. At least, that's what it sounds a lot like to me. Since it's the first theme on the soundtrack, I'll assume it's for the title. If so, it's very fitting.

Deities is also very good. I'm assuming that HyperDuck did this one. I love the piano in this. The piano mixed with some of that good percussion are the best things about this track. Is it a boss theme? Because it sounds like a very good one. Heavy Bones is another good boss-like track, relying a lot on its percussion. I like a lot of the synth here.

I totally agree with you on Cirromon Caverns, but I also like Abadis Forest a lot. The synth strings make it more than the piano playing, imo. The percussion in Everdawn Basin is really good too.

So... yeah, overall, Dust deserves a mention as well.

I played through it last month. It's a pretty tricky read depending on your Japanese level, but I enjoyed it a lot. Vita's probably the version to get, though, 3DS is a little rough around the edges.

Thanks! I'll add it to the "I would like to import these" list. I'm very intrigued now. Well, I was interested when I saw the trailer earlier this year, but for some reason I forgot about it until I listened to the soundtrack, lol.

 

[100MS]

1. Journey
2. Dragon Dogma
3. Max Payne 3

 

[RyougaSaotome]

Is Time Travelers really good, in terms of a "I should really import it for Vita whenever I get the chance" sort of way? I'm very interested in the game now that I've listened to the soundtrack.

Definitely. It's a brisk 10 hours and a great tale. Your Japanese is def good enough for it too, considering the imports you play.

 

[I NEED SCISSORS]

In my defense of choosing Sleeping Dogs as soundtrack of the year despite it being 99% licensed - being mostly obscure Chinese music, you would never have discovered it if not for this game. That's meaningful to me.

 

[FrogFucius]

1.) Mass Effect 3
2.) Botanicula
3.) Mists of Pandaria

 

[RkOwnage]

1) Journey
2) Halo 4
3) Mass Effect 3

 

[Nocturnowl]

Dust was actually on tonight's OST playlist to listen to as I type a few things up.

BTW, Nocturnowl, great post.

I'm actually rather partial to Aurora and Falana, composed by Alexander Brandon (Deus Ex, edit: adding in Jazz Jackrabbit 2 before Sciz probably comes in here and dropkicks me). The former because of the ethnic strings and woodwinds, and the latter because it's one of those opening themes in a video game, where it's probably the BGM that'll stick with you, much akin to Dearly Beloved in Kingdom Hearts or Memory of Light and Waves in FFX-2. At least, that's what it sounds a lot like to me. Since it's the first theme on the soundtrack, I'll assume it's for the title. If so, it's very fitting.

Deities is also very good. I'm assuming that HyperDuck did this one. I love the piano in this. The piano mixed with some of that good percussion are the best things about this track. Is it a boss theme? Because it sounds like a very good one. Heavy Bones is another good boss-like track, relying a lot on its percussion. I like a lot of the synth here.

I totally agree with you on Cirromon Caverns, but I also like Abadis Forest a lot. The synth strings make it more than the piano playing, imo. The percussion in Everdawn Basin is really good too.

So... yeah, overall, Dust deserves a mention as well.

Falana was the title theme, deities and heavy bones were indeed boss themes, Hyperduck Studios handled all the tracks not credited to Brandon if i'm not mistaken.
The only problem I had with Abadis Forest was that it seemed a bit too forceful for a forest location, never has a walk through the woods seemed so intense.
Percussion across the board tends to be pretty stellar, one of my favourite things about the soundtrack.

 

[Melchiah]

1. Journey
2. Mass Effect 3

Not this year's game, but I include it here as I played it recently.
3. Dead Island

Loved DI's sombre, yet brooding atmosphere, excluding the awful hip hop track, which should have never been put there.

Menu music:
http://youtu.be/PgUWNIq33sA

 

[tolkir]

1. Kid Icarus: Uprising
2. Gravity Rush (Gravity Daze)
3. Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance

 

[Nert]

I'm working through my soundtrack backlog at the moment (which now also includes Dust: An Elysian Tail, thanks to Nocturnowl) while taking care of some other projects, so I'll have more to talk about later. At the moment, I'm really enjoying The Unfinished Swan's soundtrack. Its general sense of whimsy seems like it would make for a great match with the game's storybook conceit.

 

[LumpOfCole]

I think Endless Space might not be the best of the year, but it deserves an honorable mention:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOZ1AWAe40Y

 

[Lunar15]

I realized I never really posted anything to show off Guild Wars 2's great soundtrack. Time to remedy that with some Call of the Raven

This is one of the main themes that plays inside the Norn city, Hoelbrak. It does a good job of showcasing the harsh winter conditions the Norn live in, their contemplative isolationism, as well as the sad history involving the loss of their homeland and their spirits. But near the end it comes together as something more wondrous and hopeful. It's a good song that sums up the entire race, without being "generic viking song 31", which they totally could have fallen back on.

 

[Nert]

Just added several soundtracks to the archive. Super Hexagon's Otis is a wonderful song to rapidly type to

 

[GhaleonQ]

Was I not paying attention when I played it? Because Like A Dragon: Of The End/Yakuza: Dead Souls' soundtrack just landed high on my list, and I don't remember much about the music from the time except, "This is another good Like A Dragon soundtrack."

It's certainly the series' best. Rather than break out the purple prose, I'll focus on the game's strength: its diversity. The series has always covered many genres, but some takes could only be joined ironically.

Screamer (1 of 3 highlights) is an odd sort-of-industrial, sort-of-metal, sort-of-electro blend that works brilliantly in-game: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31wvYLE4Kmk

Tension brings the drum and bass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx8a6AsQdpc

Octopus shows that dissonance needn't be ugly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRbPsBDUJxY

This qualifies as "atmospheric" not proper "ambient, but Underground stays interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMBdKO93kdM

Even Akiyama - Trapped's butt-rock is intriguing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1DzW1KqGJI

Surrounded On All Sides (1 of 3 highlights) doesn't let the beats per minute distract from the main threads of the song, and it's what modern Sega arcade racers would sound like (yes, I know what the 1 they're currently making sounds like): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYDPYw5aTlg

Jewel makes a comeback as Jewel - Of The End; dance, dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcBleCUNldo

Organs are about power and solemnity, not evil, Japan; take a hint from Beginning From Death: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqpuP19w05Y

Kiryu - Battle Theme is just smart songwriting, and incredibly effective (Metal Gear music fans, click): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZCoC4XYtXA

Murderous Intent sounds like...: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k7JEMQwL5k

Long Battle (1 of 3 highlights) knows that, occasionally, you have to reach for a power chord in the toolbox, and, sometimes, all that's in your toolbox is heroic rock: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30OBSmVSySI

There are even more inside: march, lounge, trip-hop, blues rock, j-pop, and so on. Try it out.

 

[GhaleonQ]

Question: Landslide victor Ace (well, Ace+; check VGMDb) put out Code Of Princess this year as their only work. It's been voted for once.

Did people not adore it, not play it, or were they not aware and thus skipped listening to it?

 

[Fjordson]

I think Endless Space might not be the best of the year, but it deserves an honorable mention:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOZ1AWAe40Y

Nice mention. Haven't played this (though it looks cool) but I really like what I'm hearing.

 

[Nert]

There is still a little over two weeks left to vote, so anyone that is still unsure of what to vote for (or could only think of one or two noteworthy soundtracks) still has plenty of time to listen to some of the music people have shared here. Now that it's almost the weekend, I'll be able more actively update the archive and album cover compilation.

 

[duckroll]

Question: Landslide victor Ace (well, Ace+; check VGMDb) put out Code Of Princess this year as their only work. It's been voted for once.

Did people not adore it, not play it, or were they not aware and thus skipped listening to it?

It's not really that notable imo. I finished the game. I can't really say I remember much of the music outside of a few character themes.

 

[GhaleonQ]

It's not really that notable imo. I finished the game. I can't really say I remember much of the music outside of a few character themes.

*agrees* However, I *censored opinion* of Xenoblade's, so I wondered if I missed something again.

I think the issue here was that the character themes were similar in tone to Xenoblade, but that "role-playing battle tracks" and "beat-'em-up battle tracks" apparently have different demands. I didn't even think that they sounded that similar outside of instrumentation.

 

[Nert]

I just finished playing through Mark of the Ninja and I decided to throw it up on the archive. There aren't many songs in the game, and most of them aren't that memorable or interesting, but I *really* like Mark & Blade. I was awestruck when it started playing, especially because I wasn't expecting to hear anything like it in that game.

The moment when it plays in game is visually striking as well. Spoilers, obviously: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0_58kbrZz8#t=2m04s

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

This year's OST line-up isn't in the same league as 2011's (few are, really), but I found a good trio that can stand up to the scrutiny of a top 3 designation, though.

1. Hotline Miami

Pounding, unnerving, driven tracks drive the action sequences while sludgy, etherial Guitar Trance wiles away concious thought between missions. A masterful work.

Hydrogen

Deep Cover

Horse Steppin'

2. Crimson Shroud

Sakimoto's mastery of theming and leitmotifs has rubbed off on his employees too! Such a varied listening compared to how short the actual OST is. Excellent arrangement, too.

Show Your Mettle

I Think It's Angry

Her Reputation Precedes Her

3. Virtue's Last Reward

More memorable for me than 999's for some odd reason. I think it's cuz it is less melodic and sneaks up on us. Nice use of industrial, downtempo, and ambience.

Biotope

Ambidexterity

Honorable Mentions

Pokemon Black and White 2

This woulda gotten 3rd but much of it was from BW. The new tracks are snazzy, though, although I still don't remember much of the battle music save one.

Aspertia City

Journey

Strangely more structured than I anticipated, Journey's soundtrack less follows you on your mute adventure than accompanies you like the other players who pop in and out.

Kid Icarus Uprising

Such a murderer's row! Fantastical.

Aurum Island

 

[duckroll]

*agrees* However, I *censored opinion* of Xenoblade's, so I wondered if I missed something again.

I think the issue here was that the character themes were similar in tone to Xenoblade, but that "role-playing battle tracks" and "beat-'em-up battle tracks" apparently have different demands. I didn't even think that they sounded that similar outside of instrumentation.

I don't really have much experience with ACE+ aside from Xenoblade and Code of Princess (and I would guess most people don't either since they seem rather new), but my guess based on both these soundtracks would be that they're musicians capable of making very pleasant sounding music, but perhaps they are lacking in experience when it comes to actual direction when it comes to scoring soundtracks. With Xenoblade, they were working with Shimomura and Takahashi who are both very experienced in guiding such a project and giving advice and specific requirements for a game's musical needs. Code of Princess might be a case where the developers were more hands off on the music direction and left to their own devices ACE+ ended up creating a nice sounding but not particularly noteworthy soundtrack.

 

[Grisby]

1)Journey- For such a short game there was a lot of decent tunes in it. It all blended together with the presentation perfectly.

2)Dragons Dogma- Some good adventure tunes. I never got tired of the song that plays when you've dealt heavy damage to a boss monster and you and your party are jumping in (on) for the kill.

3)Gravity Rush- Just some good lighthearted music that made flying around the different cities a joy. Especially love the jazzy ending.

Honorable mentions:
Halo 4- New composer for the new series. It had more misses than hits for me which is why it ended up here. Still, there was some moving stuff such as 117. Not incorporating the iconic theme anywhere was a huge mistake though.

Far Cry 3- Took me by surprise. The main and ending themes specifically. Some nice chill music in there for a shooter. Good stuff.

 

[GhaleonQ]

I don't really have much experience with ACE+ aside from Xenoblade and Code of Princess (and I would guess most people don't either since they seem rather new), but my guess based on both these soundtracks would be that they're musicians capable of making very pleasant sounding music, but perhaps they are lacking in experience when it comes to actual direction when it comes to scoring soundtracks. With Xenoblade, they were working with Shimomura and Takahashi who are both very experienced in guiding such a project and giving advice and specific requirements for a game's musical needs. Code of Princess might be a case where the developers were more hands off on the music direction and left to their own devices ACE+ ended up creating a nice sounding but not particularly noteworthy soundtrack.

Hm, that's very thoughtful. I'm convinced. Plus, I'd imagine that a developer like Monolith Soft demanded specific tracks and outlined situations for a fair portion of them. Beat-'em-ups: "This one takes place in a village."

But then I haven't investigated how either were composed.

 

[duckroll]

Hm, that's very thoughtful. I'm convinced. Plus, I'd imagine that a developer like Monolith Soft demanded specific tracks and outlined situations for a fair portion of them. Beat-'em-ups: "This one takes place in a village."

But then I haven't investigated how either were composed.

There's a really good Iwata Asks interview with the sound team of Xenoblade. You might be interested: http://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/wii/xenoblade/0/0

 

[Phinor]

Just a quick dirty list:

1. Mass Effect 3
2. Hotline Miami
3. Max Payne 3

 

[keit4]

1. Fez
2. Max Payne 3
3. Journey

 

[Mendoza]

1: Kid Icarus Uprising - Quality original music all the way through. Some of the best tracks were featured in the multiplayer mode, which I played for over 50 hours and never got sick of hearing them.

2: Nintendoland - Don't sleep on this one. Some of the best remixes Nintendo has ever done. It's a shame that the quality and depth of these compositions didn't make translate over to NSMBU. Please release this soundtrack on Club Nintendo. Please.

3: Street Fighter x Tekken - Ive never heard a soundtrack so good on a game that was so disappointing. Best Capcom fighting game soundtrack since 3rd Strike, IMO.

 

[BrainZEROX]

1) Hotline Miami
2) Super Hexagon
3) Velocity: https://soundcloud.com/futurlab/sets/velocity-game-soundtrack, a very good one with an Amiga/demoscene vibe I like a lot.

 

[luca1980]

1 Crimson shroud
2 journey
3 nayuta no kiseki

 

[dragonlife]

1. Alan Wake: absolutely incredible music in this game. It's both beautiful and haunting; it fits the tone of the game perfectly. Being hunted by darkness-possessed enemies has never sounded so good.

The music in the game and how it appears in the soundtrack is different. In the soundtrack, multiple tracks you hear in the game are joined into one long track (or is it that the soundtrack is split up into different tracks in the game? Who knows!), so some tracks feel like a roller coaster ride. I highly recommend you guys give these links a listen:

- On The Run
- Water Pressure (This and "On the Run" tie as my favorite tracks of this nature. AKA being hunted by enemies)
- The Clicker (Beautiful)
- Departure
- Hunters

(It came out this year on PC and it was my first experience with it, so I'm putting it here)

2. Dragon's Dogma: I haven't bought the game yet, but listening to the music sold me on it. Really great use of an orchestra. It hits all the right notes for me.

- Decisive Battle ~Dragon Battle~ (Probably my favorite track in the whole soundtrack. It's amazing)
- Blade at the Throat
- Tension Battle
- A Curse Echoing in the Mausoleum (The way it starts is probably my favorite part. Makes me tingly)
- Forest of the Cursed Master (I enjoy how tranquil and slightly foreboding this track is)

3. Binary Domain: I wasn't expecting the music in this to stand out to me, but it did, and it was great. It's definitely part of the reason the game is one of my favorite shooters. I really, really enjoyed the music.

- Robot Spider Escape
- Grand Lancer
- Inspection Belt
- Medusa (One of my favorites)
- U.S Military Robots
- Final Boss - Curiase Assault Robot (It's very grandiose-sounding, and I love it)
- First Development Area (One of the slower tracks, but still 100% great)

Honorable mentions: Final Fantasy XIII-2. Hamauzu was completely overshadowed in this one. I became a Naoshi Mizuta fan after this. I still need to hunt down what else he's worked on.

 

[zkylon]

Gonna have to add Alan Wake to my honorable mentions list. I mean, David Bowie.

 

[dragonlife]

Gonna have to add Alan Wake to my honorable mentions list. I mean, David Bowie.

Alan Wake's American Nightmare had The Happy Song, though. When it kicked in in-game, my face almost exploded because my grin was so wide.

I fucking love wacky tracks like this in my games.

 

[Violet_0]

1. Darksiders 2
The Corruption
2. Guild Wars 2
Norn Theme

 

[Waldo Lydecker]

1. Journey
Beautiful and fitting music for a once in a lifetime software piece of art

2. Gravity Rush
Although the game fell somehow short of my expectations, the music was gorgeous

3. Zero Escape : Virtue's Last Reward

 

[djtiesto]

1. Lumines: Electronic Symphony - all of the music is licensed, but they did a perfect job with the licensing (I think it was James Mielke who handled this). The list of artists reads like a "who's who" of the last 20 years of electronic dance music. In fact, some of my favorite songs of all time are on the soundtrack... perhaps the best licensed soundtrack for me since Wip3out.

Gouryella - Gouryella
Deep Dish - The Future of the Future
Aphex Twin - Windowlicker
Aeroplane - Superstar

2. Hotline Miami - an awesome cross between 80's synthpop, minimal, italodisco, and some quirky, offbeat stuff. Really fits the sleazy undertones of the game, and "Miami Disco" may be one of my favorite game songs of the year. I wasn't a huge fan of the gameplay but I kept on playing just because the music was sooooo good.

Pertrubator - Miami Disco
Scattle - Knock Knock
MOON - Hydrogen

3. Final Fantasy XIII-2 - a very eclectic mix of music for an RPG, a genre usually filled with either massive epic symphonies or buttrock... so hearing J-pop, drum & bass (complete with dodgy MCing) and nu-metal on a soundtrack was pretty mindblowing.

Worlds Collide
The Archlyte Steppe
Eternal Fight

Runner up: Forza Horizon - I never even heard of it until my brother brought home for vacation, but the soundtrack has a pretty good roster of licensed electro house and dubstep, even if it's lacking in content.

Madeon - Icarus
Scuba - The Hope
Digitalism - Encore
Rusko - Everyday (Netsky mix)

 

[Nert]

Holy shit, Frog Fractions has music like *this* in it? This game must be even crazier than I've heard...

 

[sublimit]

1.Armored Core V

No surprises here.The AC series always had incredible music and this one was no exception.I listen to the soundtrack almost daily in my mp3 and i never get tired of it.
Here's one of my favourite tracks
Unfortunately i haven't played the game much yet even though i bought it day one.

2.Journey

Beautiful music,very subtle and never too "pompous".It was a perfect match for the gameplay of this incredible game.

Edit:3.The Last Story

I completely forgot this game came out this year,definitely a very good ost on its own merit but perhaps a bit mediocre for Uematsu's standards.