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In video game sequels do you prefer entirely brand new music to be used or reuse old music in different ways?

levyjl1988

Banned
Old games have a certain place in my heart but when I play the sequels to the game and it plays an old familiar tune, I get nostalgia over it. It makes that tune feel timeless and memorable.

Do you prefer sequels to use entirely new and different music, or do you prefer sequel to rehash old tunes in creative ways, like remaster them or change them up a bit.

What is your preference when a video game delivers music.

I enjoy the serendipitous part in GTAV where you are driving in a lone toad only for the sunrise to come up and the perfect tune comes on the radio, well timed and puts you in that mood that harkens back to the good ol’ times.

I hate when battle music take precedence over emotional tune like when Link is carrying an injured Midna in Twilight Princess and battle music interferes with the melody.

I enjoy the music from Banjo Kazooie, often that Halloween music, it feels campy and right at home.

or that Super Mario 64 water level music so relaxing.
 

TrueLegend

Member
This is a hard divisive notion, RE2 Remake and Demon Souls really make you think "is this better?" and yet I find that old music is always maximal while the new one lets you take a breath. In movies I do however have more clear taste i really like how the dark knight rises builds up on predecessors
 
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brian0057

Banned
In this case, the Star Wars movies are a great example of musical variety within a series.

OT: Classic, superb score taking inspirations from classical music.
PT: A twist on an already great score with some of the best original music in the series. More importatly, it sounds like a Star Wars movie but it's unique on its own.
ST: Just trying to emulate the feel of the original trilogy. Instead of taking ispiration from unique sources, it's just Star Wars ripping off itself.

TL;DR.
I prefer new music on sequels.
 
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Husky

THE Prey 2 fanatic
It probably depends how tightly connected the entries are. The Assassin's Creed Ezio trilogy would benefit from sharing certain musical themes, but with Assassin's Creed III and its drastically changed setting, it's time for some new tunes.


I dunno, it could also be real disappointing to enter a battle scenario and discover, wait, I have to hear the exact same battle music as the last game? When we get Dragon's Dogma II, I want new music. I want fresh.
Maybe the only music that should carry over should be those that build emotional attachments. A character's theme, the music of a certain location, etc.

In this case, the Star Wars movies are a great example musical variety.

OT: Classic, superb score taking inspirations from classical music.
PT: A twist on an already great score with some of the best original music in the series. More importatly, it sounds like a Star Wars movie but it's unique on its own.
ST: Just trying to emulate the feel of the original trilogy. Instead of taking ispiration from unique sources, it's just Star Wars ripping off itself.

TL;DR.
I prefer new music on sequels.
Just how many times did the latter two films of the sequel trilogy repeat the Force Theme? Such a shame. For all its faults, The Force Awakens introduced some cool new music. The Last Jedi really let me down with its music, like it was just there to do the bare minimum, set the tone or something.
 

Fbh

Member
For sequels I generally like when it's a mix of old and new. Give me new music but bring back familiar songs and melodies from time to time that tie it all together.
One of my favorite examples of this is Chrono Cross, which is an amazing mix of new music with themes from Chrono Trigger (and Radical Dreamers).

For example you have Chrono's Theme


Which returns in a distinct Chrono Cross style in Time's Grasslands, making it both nostalgic and new
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
I like a mix heavily leaning into new music. Final Fantasy usually does this right, keeping the Crystal Theme, Main Theme, Victory Fanfare and Chocobo Theme but largely having original material otherwise.

I was pretty disappointed in the lack of completely new music in Kingdom Hearts 3.
 

RoboFu

One of the green rats
Depends, like nothing in castlevania series have come close to the first one’s soundtrack so those remixes are always incredible.
 

BabyYoda

Banned
I'm liking what I'm hearing on the Halo Infinite album, it has a nice mix of remixes of old and all new stuff, here, have a listen! Halo 4&5 kinda completely moved away from Bungie's soundscape for whatever reason and it really hurt the proceedings imho (I think most agree), glad they woke up to reason. It's one of the reasons BotW didn't really connect with me, really wanted to be reminded of better Zelda games like Ocarine :p


 

junguler

Banned
maybe i'm a weirdo (probably) but i never seem to notice music when playing games or watching tv-shows or movies, the only time i pay attention to music is when i specifically listen to it, usually when going on my daily walk or when searching the internet.
 

Reizo Ryuu

Gold Member
Both, all good OSTs also have a motif, this needs to keep coming back throughout the series.
Obviously make new tracks, but the power of a good motif cannot be understated.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
For classic games like Zelda, Halo and Uncharted, a twist.

Definitely one of the all time best intro scores:



Wait is this even a twist on a Zelda theme or an original?
 
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skit_data

Member
Do it like Metroid Prime did it.

QP1c5JX.gif
 

Varteras

Gold Member
To me it just depends on how good the music was. If it was so good it became iconic, then I want it to continue in some way. I do want new tracks as the series goes on but still weaving the old music in is a great touch and keeps me connected. But if the music was just bland or not memorable, then I don't care. But at some point I would like them to try and land a good theme to carry forward. This applies to remakes. If the original music was awesome in the original, carry it into the remake in some way unless you know you can come up with something better.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Never thought of it until this thread.

But off the top of my head Castlevania recycles some tunes in many games and are awesome.
 
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