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[Frosteey]

I'll start with honorable mention since it's the only unique part of my vote.

X. League of Legends

So the way most 'League of Legends music' works is that they compose a song for new champions or esports events and then put them on the game's login screen for a few weeks to a couple of months. So most people hear about fifteen seconds every time they start the game up, and that's it. The songs can be hit or miss, but some of them are pretty nice.

Allstar 2014
Summoner's Rift Visual Update release
2014 World Championship Warriors by Imagine Dragons, a commission/collaboration with Riot Games
Start of Season 5 (technically didn't start being used until 2015, though, I think)

They did add in some serviceable background music for the main map though, which changes as things happen in the game.

Summoner's Rift bgm



1. Super Smash Brothers for Wii U (/3ds)

I'd like Smash Brothers soundtracks if they were just a greatest hits collection, but I often like the remixes as much or more than the originals, which is enough for me to rationalize including it on a list and even giving it first place.

Gerudo Valley
Full Steam Ahead
Yoshi's Wooly World (remix)
King Dedede ver 2
Route 10
Meeting Theme Medley (Fire Emblem 4!!!)
Style Savvy Trendsetters!! Good game. This inclusion is what cements first place.

Taken separately, the Smash 4 remixes are maybe slightly behind Brawl's, but through the magic of recycling, Smash 4 has a really good collection of music.

2. Persona Q

Well, it is no Persona 4. Also sadly it is not Persona 5 : ( Please release Persona 5 : (

But the soundtrack is overall very strong. A fair number of forgettable tracks, but I felt there were enough standouts to easily overcome that. It is very Persona, and also has really good remixes of some old P3/P4 songs.

I'm Here...
Memories of the School - in the Labyrinth
Memories of Time This one was certainly a moment.
Proof
Light the Fire Up in the Night (Midnight Channel) - My preferred battle theme, and never grew tired of it. Only complaint is that fights usually didn't last long enough for the shining stars to *unintelligible* keep on thinking of me. You never turn away free macaroni in the night sky. Light the fire up in the night...

Actually listening to a bunch of the soundtrack again, this is a lot closer to first place than I was thinking it would be.

3. Bravely Default

I am not generally a fan of, um, thrashing? Shredding? The guitars. Despite that it was a pretty good soundtrack.

Land of Light and Shadow Love a good overworld theme
Conflict's Chime Love a regular battle theme that starts off strong
Depressed Land
The Day the Wind Blew
A Song of Nostalgic Reminiscence

Not a huge fan of a lot of the dungeon music, or a lot of the music that involves tension/drama/the evil empire, but the other stuff tends to be really solid.

 

[Frosteey]

I added more Fire Emblem: Awakening tracks to its highlights section in my post earlier today.

Also, people really need to vote more, Christ.

At first my list of tracks for Smash Brothers was just like four different unremixed Fire Emblem songs, and I thought perhaps I should take it in a different direction.

 

[Verger]

Some really great songs and OST's in 2014 that is for sure. My faves are as follows.


1. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 by Oscar Arujo

Dying for a drop of Blood
The Siege Titan
The Paladin of God
Descent to the Castle Dungeons
Return to the Castle
Next Stop, Castlevania
Raisa Volkova Grand Battle
Carmilla's Final Battle
The Toy Maker's Heart
The Toy Maker's Grand Battle
Enough Talk, Have at you!
Death Grand Battle
The Leviathan
Satan Final Battle


2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze by David Wise

Grassland Groove
Scorch and Torch
Funky Waters
Seashore War
Aqueduct Assault
Big Top Bop
Wing Ding
Panicky Paddels
Homecoming Hijinx
Frozen Frenzy
Punch Bowl
DK Island Swing


3. Bravely Default by Revo

You are my Hope
Love's Vagrant
Baby Bird
Wind's Course
That Person's Name Is
Fighting to the End
Wicked Flight
Serpent Eating the Ground

 

[rokero]

Donkey Kong Tropical freeze

Shovel Knight

Smash Bros

Hyrule Warriors

 

[Dark Schala]

You have 24 hours remaining to vote!

PS: Nocturnowl: Good lookin' out, man! I appreciate it.

*sigh* just realized I'm the only one in the whole thread that voted for Soul Sacrifice. Kinda sad.

I usually feel this way every year since I'm one of maybe like ... 3-6 people who vote for import soundtracks, haha.

It's okay, though. I like seeing what everyone brings to the table in terms of variance. Your list was interesting partly because of that.

Disclaimer: Cross-posting particular pieces from my GOTY post because some of it is relevant to this thread. Said information shall be in quotes.

YOU MADE IT! Yaaaaaaaay!!

I was close to PMing you last night, but I figured you were working on your post anyway. Awesome read. Now I have to finish mine! >_<

 

[yamo]

Top three

1. Velocity 2X ; I haven't played the game but I managed to find this lovely soundtrack anyway. I've probably listened to this more than any other music the last 6 months. Hard to list just a few tracks as they are all so good, so I'll just leave a link to the whole soundtrack.

Velocity 2X OST

2. Driveclub ; Spending way too much time in the menus listening to the music. Probably more so than actually playing the game!

Be Here Now
All Torque
Tunnel Vision

3. The Wolf Among Us ; Very moody soundtrack and fitting to the games dark tone.

Main Menu
Opening Credits
Bigby's Place

Honourable Mentions

South Park: Stick of Truth ; Hilarious game with a very fitting and well crafted soundtrack.

Sparrow Prince Boss Battle
Princess Kenny Theme
Blame Canada 8-Bit World Theme
Cartman - Minority
Taco Taco Burito

I can't stop linking some of these stupid songs ><

LTTP

Xenoblade Chronicles ; Only about 5 hours into this game so far but I love the music. My favourite track so far is:

Colony 9 / Night

 

[Riposte]

Hmm, I barred myself from listening to Lighting Returns music until I played it. I'm really tempted. People seem to be ignoring it though.

 

[woopWOOP]

Oh sweet, I didn't know GAF had a soundtrack vote thread too! Better get on this quick:

My top 3:
1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
I bought a WiiU because of Tropical Freeze's soundtrack. No kidding, the music really reminded me of the catchy tunes you'd hear in old platform games. So many amazing tracks. The moment I heard Irate Eight - Underwater version I got goosebumps all over the place and a flood of nostalgia came over me. Day 1.
Tracks:
Irate Eight (Underwater)
Irate Eight
Scorch 'N' Torch
Funky Waters (Amiss Abyss)

2. Mariokart 8
I always found MK64 to have the best music of all the console Mariokarts (I've never played any of the handhelds), but this latest entry finally changed that. Jazzy 'n happy, also I love the way they updated the 'retro' music tracks.
Tracks:
Dolphin Shoals
Toad Harbor
Sunshine Airport
Moo Moo Meadow

3. Valiant Hearts: The Great War
Loveable cheerful music one minute, tear jerking sad music the next. And it's all really good.
Tracks:
Get Aboard
For Carin
Nurture

Honorable Mentions
x. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/WiiU
There's a LOT of tracks in this game. Many good! But also a bunch I can't really get into, which changes the average a bit. Over half of it is taken from previous titles aswell so I don't feel I should give it any points over the other three above.
Tracks:
Airman Stage
Magicant / Eight Melodies (Mother)

x. Shovel Knight
I'm a sucker for chiptune. Tho I didn't really feel the soundtrack at first, it has grown on me.
Tracks:
Strike the Earth! (Plains of Passage)
An Underlying Problem (The Lost City)

x. Kirby Triple Deluxe
Kirby music is happy music. Plenty of remixes of old tunes, but some good new ones too.
Tracks:
Reflected Laughter
Toy Rhythm

LTTP
x. Edna & Harvey - The Breakout
Finally got around to playing this old adventure game last year and the soundtrack really stuck with me. 'Childhood' just makes me sad whenever I hear it
Tracks:
Childhood
Spiritual Walz
The Hallway

 

[Instro]

Shouldn't Yamamoto be listed for Tropical Freeze as well?

 

[The Xtortionist]

Shouldn't Yamamoto be listed for Tropical Freeze as well?

Per the credits:

Music:
David Wise

Music Supervisor:
Kenji Yamamoto

Music/Voice Recordings:
Daisuke Matsuoka
Minako Hamano
Shinji Ushrioda
Riyu Tamura

This suggests to me that Wise was solely responsible for composition, though he had support for direction and instrumentation.

edit - rewatched the credits

 

[Instro]

Yamamoto and his sound team are credited as music supervisors. In the game's credits, David Wise is only person credited for "Music".

Ah and there's no official soundtrack release anyway to compare against. Makes sense, I was just curious.

 

[Kangi]

1. Kirby Triple Deluxe ; The Kirby series is underrated in general, but especially so when it comes to its music. Triple Deluxe in particular has so many outstanding tracks; every level has a chance to really amaze you with some particularly good music.

Golden Legend

Mountains in an Angry Sky

Cold Odyssey

2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

3. Mario Kart 8

LTTP: EarthBound ; Yeah... really late to the party on this one, huh? Granted, I knew this game had good music long before I actually played it myself last year, but I was still surprised by the sheer amount of good music. Every area and battle theme found itself inside my head at one point or another. EB's biggest triumph is how every bit of the game ties together thematically - from the battles to the very UI - and the same can be said for the music; grounded in familiar sounds, but hinting at something other-worldly (which gets more intense the closer you are at any point to Giygas). One of the best OSTs of all time.

Deeper Into Ness' Subconscious

Battle Against a Machine

Cave Theme

 

[Yuterald]

YOU MADE IT! Yaaaaaaaay!!

I was close to PMing you last night, but I figured you were working on your post anyway. Awesome read. Now I have to finish mine! >_<

Thanks! Yeah, I spent a good portion of my Saturday writing that up, ha! I spent so much time on my stupid GOTY post, I honestly didn't think I was going to have the energy for this one! I was actually afraid I wasn't going to find the words for particular games either, but I just forced myself to listen to particular songs over and over again until I felt ready enough to write something. I was almost going to make it a two-part post, as I didn't get to talk about a few other honorable mentions, games I wish I made time for, and a LTTP, but I'm so fucking burned out on writing, ha!

Hmm, I barred myself from listening to Lighting Returns music until I played it. I'm really tempted. People seem to be ignoring it though.

I typically don't listen to music from a game until I play it too, but I actually test drove a few tracks from Lightning Returns due to this thread and shit sounds soooooo good. I have yet to finish XIII-2, but I'm so eager to just fucking fly through that game (still in the middle of a playthrough) just so I can get to listening to that soundtrack!

 

[jimi_dini]

1. Drakengard 3

Descent of God
Return Attack
Arrival of the Guards
Altered Steps
Leaves of Chaos
Black Song
Upcoming Battle / Armaros
Silence is Mine

2. Mario Kart 8

Sunshine airport
Electrodrome
Cloudtop cruise
Rainbow Road

3. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze

Zip Line Shrine
Windmill Hills
Mountain Mania
(not enough time to list them all)

Honorable mentions:
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

I wasn't able to play much of it

LTTP:
Last Story
amazing game, amazing soundtrack, bought it at release but only managed to play it last year

 

[PKrockin]

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Not even a contest. Not only is this by far the best music I've heard out of any 2014 game but it instantly became my favorite soundtrack of all time. I adore almost every track, from the peaceful underwater mixes with hints of DKC1 and 2, to jaunty alpine mountain tunes perfect for bouncing on owls. I love that there are so many dynamic variations on a level's song depending on where you are in it. Music changing to best fit gameplay is something I think even more games should be doing, and TF has it in spades. Wing Ding, which is one of my top VG tracks of all time, has five variations. When I jumped on a zipline and heard that mix for the first time I got chills. Playing this game and hearing its Rocket Barrel themes first makes DKC Returns' Rocket Barrel themes I found in Smash 4 sound like a child's first attempt at a MIDI remix. In conclusion, FUCKING DAVID WISE
Tracks:
Wing Ding
Scorch 'n' Torch
Harvest Hazards
Busted Bayou

2. Mario Kart 8
I've never considered Mario Kart to be a particularly strong frachise music-wise. But MK8 finally caught my ear, had me humming along, and impressed with the quality of the orchestrated tunes. I'm glad Nintendo figured out how good a combination Mario and jazz are.
Tracks:
Sunshine Airport
Dolphin Shoals
Mario Kart Stadium
Rainbow Road

3. DanganRonpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Not much to say. A lot of the OST was perfectly bizarre and slightly disturbing. It helped me a lot in getting into the inexplicable circumstances of the characters, which is sort of the point of the game.
Tracks:
Monokuma's Theme
Uhh crap I don't know any of the English track names lol

Honourable Mentions:
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
This game is straight up cheating with its 400-odd songs from dozens of franchises. Sakurai pls

LTTP vote: Xenoblade
I honestly would not have gotten close to finishing this game had it not been for the soundtrack carrying every aspect of my enjoyment of it, making me feel adventurous in the field, pumped or tense in battle, and so on. This is the only game I've played in the past few years that could have given Tropical Freeze some actual competition had it been released in 2014.
Tracks:
Mechonis Field
Engage the Enemy
You Will Know Our Names

I'm away from home and my internet is garbage, hopefully it's okay that I leave the tracks without Youtube links.

Honestly I feel bad for Xenoblade, it gets nothing while MK8 and DR make out like bandits with 2/3rds and 1/3rd of DKCTF's points despite being such a distant 2nd and 3rd. lol

 

[Mr. RHC]

Hmm, I barred myself from listening to Lighting Returns music until I played it. I'm really tempted. People seem to be ignoring it though.

LR credits medley is amazing!

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Punch Bowl
Scorch 'n' Torch
Busted Bayou

2. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/Nintendo 3DS

Dark World/Dark World Dungeon
The Mysterious Murasame Castle Medley
Wrecking Crew Medley

3. Mario Kart 8

Mario Kart Stadium
Mount Wario
Mute City

Honorable mention: Transistor

Paper Boats
Impossible
In Circles

 

[kosmologi]

1. Halo 2 Anniversary
Halo 2's soundtrack is my all-time favourite game soundtrack, and now it has been remastered with respect to the original.

This Glittering Band
Kilindini Harbor
Jeopardy
Halo Theme Scorpion Mix
Charity's Irony
Moon Over Mombasa Pt.2

2. Destiny
This could be that this was Martin O'Donnell's and Michael Salvatori's last collaboration, and that makes me very sad. Destiny's soundtrack has some great themes, even if the main theme falls short of the iconic gregorian chant of the Halo games.

The Warmind
Excerpt from Hope
The Last Array

3. Civilization: Beyond Earth
While not as good as Civ IV or V soundtracks nor very scifi; the Beyond Earth soundtrack is still great.

The Seeding
Xenomalleum
Destroyer
Promethean

Honourable Mentions:

Star Citizen (Arena Commander)
If this track is anything to go by, the Star Citizen soundtrack will be epic.

Hero March

Ace Combat Infinity
This soundtrack contains mostly old tracks, but the new ones are good, too.

Vitoze Aerial Defence
Tutorial Result
Blue Skies (Infinity Remix)

LTTP Entry:

MechWarrior 2: Armor Veil (1995)

 

[Grisby]

1. Child Of Light- Ubisoft was nailing it on the music front this year. Child of Light may not have been perfect in it's game design, but you couldn't fault the music. Some really great pieces here with Aurora's Theme being a huge standout. It's my soundtrack of the year because so many of the tracks hit home for me, and it was really surprising for this small downloadable game.

I love a good credits song, and COL brought it with Off to Sleep. Great song by Couer de Pirate.

2. Valiant Hearts- An incredibly moving soundtrack. Dreams withing Dreams grabbed my attention from the E3 2014 trailer of the game but man, that was only the beginning. Sure, the game had some weird tonal shifts here and there, but the music was spot on. There were some great music segments ala Rayman that really drove it home.

I wish I had a dog to hug.

3. Transistor- So many people have already posted some good examples of this game. I just finished it a few days ago but I can tell that I;ll be listening to the tracks for years to come. Much like he did with Bastion, the composer knocks it out the park, and I enjoyed pretty much every track that was in there. Old Friends is a personal favorite, and I'm nodding my head to it right now.

Honorable Mentions:
Castlevania Lords of Shadow 2- The original game was my OST for that year. Oscar kind of slipped a little with the sequel, much like MercurySteam did with the game, but at leas the composer fared better. Some exciting stuff, such as Dying for a Drop of Blood.

Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze- Just a great soundtrack. I felt like I was playing an older snes game while listening to some of the tracks. The underwater one was a highlight.

 

[EhoaVash]

Donkey Kong country tropical freeze hands down has the best original ost this year

2nd would be Mario kart 8

3rd I would give it to smash bros Wii u but ..slightly needs more new mix

 

[SxP]

1. Velocity 2X : Even better and more awesome than the Velocity Ultra soundtrack. A fantastic electronic soundtrack.
2. Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair : The first one is great as well and they are very similar, but the soundtrack for the sequel is just a little bit better.
3. Luftrausers : The track itself is great, but what they do with the track in gameplay is even better. Makes hearing the same track over and over again for a long period of time actually enjoyable.

 

[K.Sabot]

Hmm, I barred myself from listening to Lighting Returns music until I played it. I'm really tempted. People seem to be ignoring it though.

Less than 24 hours left to listen to 5 hours of great music and judge it.

 

[SaintMadeOfPlaster]

1. Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze
2. Bayonetta 2
3. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U

 

[PotionBleue]

1. Mario Kart 8
Cloudtop Cruise - Thundercloud This variation makes the song even better.
N64 Rainbow Road Has had a plethora of remixes already, but they still managed to make one that's rememberable.
Shy Guy Falls The Shy Guys singing along are adorable.

2. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Grassland Groove YAYAYAYA stuck in my head ever since.
Irate Eight - Underwater My favourite relaxing song of the year.

I couldn't play many games last year and I feel that, among them, no other one deserves a spot.

Archive (In progress)
Mario Kart 8
Electrodome

Pretty sure that track is called Electrodrome, the uploader made a typo.

 

[Yuterald]

Man, seeing a lot of Bravely Default throughout the thread makes me feel like a bone-head for not attempting to get around to it. I know I'd love its soundtrack (as I've given a few tracks a whirl), but I was so incredibly turned off by the game when I checked it out that I shelved it and haven't had the motivation to give it another shot. =/

 

[Shadow Hog]

Honestly I feel bad for Xenoblade, it gets nothing while MK8 and DR make out like bandits with 2/3rds and 1/3rd of DKCTF's points despite being such a distant 2nd and 3rd. lol

To be fair, a 2010-2012 game isn't really eligible for ranking in the 2014 SotY anyway. Although I expect it'll be placing fairly high in the LttP rankings, especially since Smash Bros. has since driven up awareness that it even existed.

 

[Lunar15]

Man, seeing a lot of Bravely Default throughout the thread makes me feel like a bone-head for not attempting to get around to it. I know I'd love its soundtrack (as I've given a few tracks a whirl), but I was so incredibly turned off by the game when I checked it out that I shelved it and haven't had the motivation to give it another shot. =/

It's not that great and only gets worse! Soundtrack is good though, I put it in my top 3.

 

[bobbychalkers]

1. Transistor
I bought Transistor during the last Steam sale without knowing a damn thing about it. The second that cold open popped up and Old Friends started playing I was IN. It wears Trip-Hop on its sleeve and the added interactivity of humming during any song and the low pass filter effect when you're planning something out makes it even better.

2. Bayonetta 2
I adore everything about this soundtrack, from the cheesy upbeat poppy covers of classic songs to the epic orchestral pieces. Its hard not to have a big smile on your face when Moon River pops up during the intro. It doesn't reach the highs of the original game in terms of its orchestral side (Its poppier tracks are better though) but its still a damn good soundtrack in its own right.


3. Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze
Fucking David Wise....
Mangrove Cove thats all I'm gonna say.

Honorable Mentions:
Bravely Default
Shovel Knight
Mario Kart 8
Hyrule Warriors
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Super Smash Bros 3DS/Wii U
As for others, I was focusing on games I've actually played so I spent extensive time listening to them. However, I fully recognize that had I 'played them, Drakengard 3, Persona Q, Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII, D4 could have made my main list in some capacity

LTTP Vote: Metal Gear Rising Revengance

 

[Jucksalbe]

To be fair, a 2010-2012 game isn't really eligible for ranking in the 2014 SotY anyway. Although I expect it'll be placing fairly high in the LttP rankings, especially since Smash Bros. has since driven up awareness that it even existed.

Not to mention Xenoblade already won in 2011. It's not like its soundtrack is underappreciated.

 

[Nocturnowl]

You have 24 hours remaining to vote!

http://i.imgur.com/SouibrP.jpg[img]

PS: Nocturnowl: Good lookin' out, man! I appreciate it. [/QUOTE]
There seems to have been an increase in votes, did you do the recruitment rounds? (why I feel like I haven't seen Noi in some time!)
I wont be taking credit for my bare minimum shilling, though even now I'm feeling like I've got more I could add seeing as I played just a few more since my list, Freedom Planet could've got an HM at least.

[SPOILER]Plus I forgot Donkey Kong Land in my LttP post! but I think this thread has enough Kong as it is.[/SPOILER]

[quote="Kangi, post: 147988268"]LTTP: [B]EarthBound[/B] ; Yeah... really late to the party on this one, huh? Granted, I knew this game had good music long before I actually played it myself last year, but I was still surprised by the sheer [I]amount[/I] of good music. Every area and battle theme found itself inside my head at one point or another. EB's biggest triumph is how every bit of the game ties together thematically - from the battles to the very UI - and the same can be said for the music; grounded in familiar sounds, but hinting at something other-worldly (which gets more intense the closer you are at any point to Giygas). One of the best OSTs of all time.[/QUOTE]
Huh, maybe I could've pushed my LttP vote for Earthbound, why that would make two now which admittedly is still far behind what I assume is a two horse race between Rising and Investigations 2, maybe Xenoblade as well actually.
I like how you threw the cave track in as an example, it epitomises that otherworldy sound you speak of and is memorable in a way that's almost wholly reliant on its atmosphere.

[quote="Yuterald, post: 147992237"]I typically don't listen to music from a game until I play it too, but I actually test drove a few tracks from Lightning Returns due to this thread and shit sounds soooooo good. I have yet to finish XIII-2, but I'm so eager to just fucking fly through that game (still in the middle of a playthrough) just so I can get to listening to that soundtrack![/QUOTE]
Going through some of the various Final Fantasy mentions in this thread had me revisiting Theatrhythm Curtain Call and helped me narrow down some tracks to tap away to among its almost overwhelming selection, Lightning Returns being among them.

Sort of funny story from this, earlier in this thread I listened to Spira Unplugged from FFX that was in Mr RHC's writeup courtesy of its HD re-release and then noticed it was in Theatrhythm last night, so I took it for a first play and ended up with my first all critical perfect run in the game (admittedly it's pretty lenient with criticals but hey I'll take it), see this thread can even help you when it comes to playing games in a very specific circumstance at least.

[quote="PKrockin, post: 147993656"]1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Music changing to best fit gameplay is something I think even more games should be doing, and TF has it in spades. Wing Ding, which is one of my top VG tracks of all time, has [i]five[/i] variations. When I jumped on a zipline and heard that mix for the first time I got chills.[/QUOTE]
For a while I thought there was only two variations, didn't notice one of the other variations on the exterior rocky areas until I lost a life at a point that had me start up at a checkpoint on said rocks and noticed the changes to the themes opening, some of those shifts were really subtle.
I think there's a ticking clock variation in the interior halls.

[quote="PKrockin, post: 147993656"]Honestly I feel bad for Xenoblade, it gets nothing while MK8 and DR make out like bandits with 2/3rds and 1/3rd of DKCTF's points despite being such a distant 2nd and 3rd. lol[/QUOTE]
Well you can find solace in its 2011 win at least.

 

[Dark Schala]

Thanks to Seda for the thread title change.

You have 12 hours left to vote!

I'm halfway finished my vote at ~6600 words. It should be dope!

Pretty sure that track is called Electrodrome, the uploader made a typo.

Thank you! I fixed it.

Thanks! Yeah, I spent a good portion of my Saturday writing that up, ha! I spent so much time on my stupid GOTY post, I honestly didn't think I was going to have the energy for this one! I was actually afraid I wasn't going to find the words for particular games either, but I just forced myself to listen to particular songs over and over again until I felt ready enough to write something. I was almost going to make it a two-part post, as I didn't get to talk about a few other honorable mentions, games I wish I made time for, and a LTTP, but I'm so fucking burned out on writing, ha!

I'm kinda glad I didn't have a GotY this year (and thus that's why I didn't bother to write a list this year), otherwise I would've been dying under how much I'd write (though I did decide to write a small GotY post talking about what games, new and old, I did like on tumblr and I'll do that next week).

When I end up writing for this, I start listening the soundtracks. Problem is that I get so lost in the music at times that I just stop writing, haha. It's okay about not talking about HMs or LTTP. I might just post my ballot without doing writeups for some of them (and do the writeups after voting closes/on request as usual).

To be fair, a 2010-2012 game isn't really eligible for ranking in the 2014 SotY anyway.

Well, I guess he meant that Xenoblade might not have run away with the competition when it was eligible, but a quick check at the 2011 SotY spreadsheet (which I have for some reason that I can't explain, haha) suggests it got over 170 points, so it kinda ran away with it. Xenoblade was eligible between 2010 and 2012, so it got a boatload of votes in that timeframe (and won in 2011), so I wouldn't really feel bad for it.

There seems to have been an increase in votes, did you do the recruitment rounds? (why I feel like I haven't seen Noi in some time!)
I wont be taking credit for my bare minimum shilling, though even now I'm feeling like I've got more I could add seeing as I played just a few more since my list, Freedom Planet could've got an HM at least.

Let's just say that Noi got tired of my whining.

I've been tweeting it out for a few days since most of my followers are GAF folks (and a few people retweeted it and I'm very thankful to them for doing so), so I sorta hope that helps. Maybe the thread change might help today too.

 

[Urban Scholar]

Votes:

3. Dangan Ronpa
2. Pix The Cat
1. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

 

[Riposte]

Dark Schala are you going to post an entry?

 

[Dark Schala]

I am. I'm halfway finished mine. It's at 13 pages in word right now. >.>

 

[The Yo Tornado]

1. Shovel Knight

Jake Kaufman is simply That Dude. For 8-bit inspired tracks the Shovel Knight OST has a lot of depth to it and the end result is fantastic.

Highlights:

La Dense Macabre
Plains of Passage
High Above The Land

2. Shin Megami Tensei IV

You'd think having composers besides long-time head Shoji Meguro would lead to an underwhelming soundtrack, but SMT IV's best songs hit all the bullet points of what I'd want in an SMT theme and can stand right alongside the best of Meguro's work. Moody, Ambient, and tense when need be, exactly the type of vibe I want to feel if I ever visit post-apocalyptic demon-filled Tokyo.

Highlights:

Ikebukuro Underground District
Battle B2(the boss theme)
The Hunter Association

3. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

Donkey Kong Country's OSTs have always had a very particular "feel" to them, thanks to the very unique style of David Wise, which combines pop-music quality melodies with instrumentation and sound effects that feel as if you're in the African Savanna itself. Luckily after missing DKC Returns Wise returns to the franchise and picks up right where he left off, with a fantastic soundtrack that makes you feel like you're swinging right alongside the Kongs.

Highlights:

Windmill Hills
Grassland Groove
Sawmill Thrill

 

[Riposte]

I am. I'm halfway finished mine. It's at 13 pages in word right now. >.>

13 pages and you're halfway done? Someone fishing for a deadline extension?

 

[Dark Schala]

I'll be finished before then. I usually make it.

Unless GhaleonQ gets in touch with me out of nowhere and requests an extra hour, haha.

 

[Yuterald]

I'm kinda glad I didn't have a GotY this year (and thus that's why I didn't bother to write a list this year), otherwise I would've been dying under how much I'd write (though I did decide to write a small GotY post talking about what games, new and old, I did like on tumblr and I'll do that next week).

When I end up writing for this, I start listening the soundtracks. Problem is that I get so lost in the music at times that I just stop writing, haha. It's okay about not talking about HMs or LTTP. I might just post my ballot without doing writeups for some of them (and do the writeups after voting closes/on request as usual).

Yeah, I sort of wish I reversed my attention this year and wrote my piece for the SOTY thread first. Although, I purposely wrote a a piece or two in the GOTY thread geared towards music as a way to create a starting point for this thread, so I guess it worked out in the end. This year I'm going to make an attempt to write down my thoughts on a game (and its music) as I finish it so it's not just some big fucking rat race to get my thoughts down, haha!

Going through some of the various Final Fantasy mentions in this thread had me revisiting Theatrhythm Curtain Call and helped me narrow down some tracks to tap away to among its almost overwhelming selection, Lightning Returns being among them.

Sort of funny story from this, earlier in this thread I listened to Spira Unplugged from FFX that was in Mr RHC's writeup courtesy of its HD re-release and then noticed it was in Theatrhythm last night, so I took it for a first play and ended up with my first all critical perfect run in the game (admittedly it's pretty lenient with criticals but hey I'll take it), see this thread can even help you when it comes to playing games in a very specific circumstance at least.

My Curtain Call is still sealed and I've played maybe an hour of FFX HD, ha!...Too much shit to play with not enough time. =/

 

[TheSpaceBetween]

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
2. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
3. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2

Honorable Mention goes to Bayonetta 2. If only they used Moon River more . Also a shout out to Shovel Knight and 1001 Spikes.

 

[sp3000]

The archive needs Titanfall and Driveclub. Really good music for both.

I think Driveclub was already posted above. Here are a couple songs from Titanfall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl-YWUu7Z3w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0fe-DNmfCw

 

[Dark Schala]

The archive needs Titanfall and Driveclub. Really good music for both.

I think Driveclub was already posted above. Here are a couple songs from Titanfall.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bl-YWUu7Z3w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0fe-DNmfCw

I'm not entirely sure if I should count this as a vote, so... let me know or edit your post to demonstrate that you are voting/not voting. Otherwise, I'm counting Titanfall as your #1 and Driveclub as your #2.

Yeah, I sort of wish I reversed my attention this year and wrote my piece for the SOTY thread first. Although, I purposely wrote a a piece or two in the GOTY thread geared towards music as a way to create a starting point for this thread, so I guess it worked out in the end. This year I'm going to make an attempt to write down my thoughts on a game (and its music) as I finish it so it's not just some big fucking rat race to get my thoughts down, haha!

I usually keep track of what I finish/play in a spreadsheet with small comments for each. In the end this year, I felt like I had no game of the year and just a bunch of games I liked but didn't blow me away. By the time I did get to a game that I felt that would take my game of the year vote, it was too late for voting.

I should really start doing that with soundtracks. Trying to extract everything I've listened to from my head -- which is hundreds of soundtracks in one single year -- is hard sometimes!

 

[Nocturnowl]

Yeah, I sort of wish I reversed my attention this year and wrote my piece for the SOTY thread first. Although, I purposely wrote a a piece or two in the GOTY thread geared towards music as a way to create a starting point for this thread, so I guess it worked out in the end. This year I'm going to make an attempt to write down my thoughts on a game (and its music) as I finish it so it's not just some big fucking rat race to get my thoughts down, haha!

Stumbling across an un-posted write up for Tropical Freeze is how I finally got the ball rolling for that one as far as the GotY thread goes, handy to have my more immediate thoughts penned down from months ago because I was at a loss of how to tackle it in the last week so this is something I may consider more in the future as well. Though I usually throw some thoughts down somewhere when I finish a game, guess when it comes to "of the year" threads I prefer to sidestep the whole mass analysis angle and focus on the good for the most part so I tend to end up writing something different anyway.
This TF write up also came with a ton of soundtrack musings I could've used earlier in this thread but oh well. As for why those thoughts were never posted, well there was way too much of it!

 

[Anth0ny]

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze

David Wise hasn't lost a step. His return to the Donkey Kong Country franchise resulted in my favorite video game soundtrack since Super Mario Galaxy. One of the few game soundtracks that has made its way onto my phone for regular rotation. It's that good.

Mangrove Cove (Underwater) (the feels when you go underwater in the first stage and THIS plays... I had to stop moving for a few minutes and just enjoy the music. One of the best underwater themes in gaming history returns and it's better than ever)
Scorch N' Torch
Busted Bayou
Alpine Incline
Twilight Terror
Trunk Twister (Sounds like it's straight out of Diddy Kong Racing. SO GOOD.)

2. Shovel Knight

I'm a huge fan of 8 bit NES music, and Shovel Knight hits it out of the part. This soundtracks feels at home alongside the greats from the NES era. The Megaman and Castlevania influence is clear, amongst many other NES classics. That main theme gets you pumped right from the start, and it doesn't let up for the rest of the game.

Main theme
Strike the Earth! (Plains of Passage)
Courage Under Fire
The Fateful Approach

3. Mario Kart 8

Easily the best music in a Mario Kart game since 64. Speaking of 64, it has some awesome remixes of those classic tracks!

N64 Toad's Turnpike
N64 Royal Raceway
N64 Yoshi Valley
N64 Rainbow Road
Mario Kart Stadium

Honorable Mentions:

Captain Toad: Treasure Trackers

Captain Toad is a simple game with a big budget, and EAD Tokyo certainly didn't hold back in the music department. Toad had some of the catchiest jingles I've heard in a long time, some of which are still stuck in my head.

March on, Brave Little Toad!
Coins Galore!
Battle Tower Blitz Theme

Bayonetta 2

Mooooooooooooooon River

Super Smash Bros for Wii U

I always kinda consider Smash Bros as cheating for best soundtrack of the year. The number of songs and games it's able to pull from is unlike any other game out there. So I choose to rate the game's soundtrack based on its original, new remixes. That means music ripped directly from other games (including past Smash Bros games) aren't counted. What you're left with is a soundtrack that is solid, but doesn't quite crack my top 3. I personally consider this soundtrack the weakest of all the Smash Bros games.

Xenoblade Chronicles Medley
Smash 4 Theme/Character Select Screen
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Vocals) (HEY HO HO HO HA HA HO HO HEY HO)

 

[GhaleonQ]

I'll be finished before then. I usually make it.

Unless GhaleonQ gets in touch with me out of nowhere and requests an extra hour, haha.

That's not the case this year. *smiles, cries* Uh, I think I can only in good conscience pick 10, not 20? (A couple of good ones are getting localized next year.) I HAVE NO DEEP CUTS. Video games, geez, get it together.

 

[mcmmaster]

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
David Wise, enough said. Seriously though the soundtrack was amazing, one of... scratch that, this is the best soundtrack to ever grace the 2D platform genre. Bold words but I stick by it because David Wise is a genius. I've been blown away by many 2D platform soundtracks, but never been so entranced by one before.

Crazy atmospheric, intense and catchy rhythms, beautifully and delicately arranged... this soundtrack simply brims with passion!

Nintendo release this soundtrack through retail or Club Nintendo already.

Stickerbrush Symphony
Irate Eight
Triple Trouble
Sawmill Thrill
Staff Credits (Stickerbrush Symphony Uncut)

2. Mario Kart 8
Never been the biggest fan of Mario Kart soundtracks, there are a few tracks from the SNES version that stand out to me but the rest of the series is just a blank. Well that all changed with Mario Kart 8, all i'm ever doing every race is humming and constantly bobbing my head in joy to these upbeat hella snazzy tracks.

The sax is wondrous and full of soul in Dolphin Shoals, the trumpets and violin always inspire me to go for broke in Mount Wario, and the erhu in Dragon Driftway is a thing of beauty.

Simply put it this soundtrack grabs me by the balls and pulls me right in, now Nintendo release this soundtrack officially already.

Title Screen
Dolphin Shoals
Dragon Driftway
Mount Wario
Cloudtop Cruise

3. Bayonetta 2
One of the finest action game soundtracks composed, I can't say anymore than that.

I will say that Moon River (Climax Mix) alone justified my purchase of its soundtrack. I love this song too damn much, them vocals by Keeley Bum and arrangement by Naofumi Harada are just too damn sexy, always get super pumped up every time I listen to it.

Moon River (Climax Mix)
The Lumen Sage & Temperantia
Alraune Whisperer Of Dementia
The Giants
Sweet Memories

It was a spectacular year for Nintendo, not only were their games tightly designed and brimming with polish, their soundtracks were absolutely nuts! Can't wait to see what their composers have planned for 2015, I have high hopes for Splatoon and Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Honorable Mentions:
The Wolf Among Us
Guilty Gear Xrd
Azure Striker Gunvolt
D4 Dark Dreams Don't Die
Phantasy Star Online 2 (Episode 3)
Shovel Knight

 

[Kodaman]

1. Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Alpine Incline - Mountain
Cannon Canyon
Chilly Coast

2. Child of Light
Metal Gleamed in the Twilight
The Bitter Depths

3. Transistor
Old Friends

 

[Refyref]

Here's my list. I couldn't get myself to write detailed explanations and such, but I did manage to put it together, at least.

1. Shovel Knight

High Above the Land
A Thousand Leagues Below
Of Devious Machinations

Shovel Knight really got me for its masterful and creative use of the Famicom (+VRC6) sound chip(s). It's not my favorite way of making NES-based tracks (I kind of prefer something more minimalistic and efficient), but it's a great job, and in general my favorite soundtrack of the year.

2. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS/Wii U

Credits
N's Castle Medley
StreetSmash

While it's true that most of Smash's soundtrack is remixes, those are of a very high quality. However, the original compositions this time around are excellent. For the first time in the series, they stand out to me as much as the classic and timeless tunes of other games that are heard during most of the game. (Helps that this time they didn't just take it from another series and made something that works great as a motif, though.)

3. Azure Striker Gunvolt

1st Sumeragi
Media Tower
Boss Battle

I actually don't have much to say about this one. It's another exciting soundtrack from Ippo Yamada and co., of which I am a fan.

Honorable Mention:

H. Bravely Default

Prelude Moving Toward Hope
Conflict's Chime
You Are My Hope

I actually didn't get around to playing Bravely Default, sadly. I played the demo of Bravely Default, and loved the music, so I went and listened to most of the soundtrack, and loved it. However, as I have a personal rule of not including OSTs of games I haven't played yet, Bravely Default got relegated to HM status.

Late to the Party:

LttP. Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Dream Adventure!
Try, Try Again
Never Let Up!

I finally got around to playing this game, and, as usual for the series, the soundtrack is ace. I find the Mario & Luigi series' music to be my favorite of Yoko Shimomura's work.

 

[Riposte]

I wasn't going to do this, but now I must, for great justice. I'm mainly voting for underdogs and/or the currently unrepresented, which I think I did at least once in one of these threads with a sole vote for Armored Core V. I'm not going to be fancy, I think I'm a little sick of writing about videogames for this week lol.


Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN-
I'm astonished that this has only one vote, I figured there would be more of a crossover (maybe not enough space on the ballots). I've called this a fresh start of the series in my GOTY write-up and nothing represents that better than a new approach to character themes, something that usually marks a major step when it happens. In many ways, GG is a music-oriented series, the love child of anime and heavy metal. For that, we have to thank creator Daisuke Ishiwatari, a character designer and musician (among other things), who's been the soul for the series from the very start. Anyway, I've always felt the series had some great music to rock to, giving it quite a unique identity, Xrd is no exception being the aesthetic tour de force it is. I especially love seeing character themes matched with their intros (e.g., Potemkin, Faust, May), I get the feeling they were created with each other in mind. Here's a random batch of songs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLvqzKU-AQs (Gets me 100% hype for the game, great theme for opening/demo)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vNxytOAbw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DosMrewV0Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tcmhtosceo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGYyS4Vxzvw (so dandy~)


Terra Battle
We've seen Japanese developers moving increasingly towards mobile games, at the very least putting more effort into them, and that includes those famous for giving us strong aesthetics in games. While I'm quite apathetic to mobile games in general, it's not like the music is hurt by this transition, so it's something to consider when building a music canon or w/e. Sakaguchi used this game as an opportunity to reconnect with all sorts of talent from his past, primarily artists, but also Nobuo Uematsu. Maybe that alone allows me skit by without an explanation, as I can't say this is some phoned in effort or something. I will say the game's music audio gives it a very polished feeling of atmosphere (more so than any other element) you wouldn't expect and has some really memorable tunes at that (The Maker's Beckoning is probably its most popular track).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8rgyC838ao
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSiLirUz-GI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLsg5bjd0FY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n5WHoI7Z90
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfgCRiSRgMc (final boss theme spoiler warning)


Crimzon Clover WORLD IGNITION
A doujin-turned-arcade/steam-release STG that has been making waves recently. I found it to be a very solid game despite being a STG scrub of sorts. When you are playing the same stages over and over again in a 1-cc attempt, the music needs to be hold up better than most and I'd say it does. Maybe there's some methodology for considering how good a STG's soundtrack is, but that's far beyond my means and can only attest that the combination of visuals and audio had me lost in this game. IIRC this whole game was done by one dude, so I assume "Yotsubane" is also the composer. Some of these songs actually might be older than this year given how the game was released (maybe less true for the Unlimited version of tracks?), discount this if that's a problem. I'm getting kind of lazy now, so I'll let the music speak for itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NPpsgV9WcI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOustYtbnDc (my favorite track of the game)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcc2vA3J4DA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4fge6nPmCg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcLm_jGMqmc (Unlimited version of the above song if comments are correct, like hell I'd know from personal experience lol)




Honorable Mention: Armored Hunter Gunhound EX
This was my vote until I saw Guilty Gear getting only one vote, which seems more incorrect than this only getting one vote. Pretty sure most the music may be old since it was a PC/PSP game from ages ago that has only now been localized via a Steam release. Anyway, it just fucking rocks. Pretty much exactly the kind of soundtrack you'd hope for a traditional 2D game where mess shit up with a mech, like fighting off a giant robot while sliding down a mountain or charging straight into the enemy's base for some wrathful vengeance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTEjrRxNoyM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C99LoLXOb0 (my favorite track, although it one of many renditions of the main theme I think)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5p-cDu8jX8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_91g3dZnPA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SApDz6bAFWw



Okay. maybe that was a little fancier than what I was hoping when I started typing this.

 

[Dark Schala]

Thanks for voting to a lot of you. I was wondering whether or not Riposte and Refyref were going to vote at all.

It's nice to see some underdog votes in a few of them too. I think those were pretty creative writeups.

Ummm, my post is like... 3-4 posts long so I'm going to wait to post it since we're at the end of a page on 50ppp (coldman shush pls).

 

[Riposte]

Here.

Also 50ppp is a crime against nature. Sounds like coldman has the right idea.