Official Nontendo Music Thread

I found something really funny about you two talking about my exploits there.

It's just a smelly playstation exclusive, worth playing balla would only cost you about £60 to get and a PS3. Even less for the ps2 original & the console.

Dead Space

Despite only having played about half of this game I absolutely love the sound direction & music so here's a few of my favourites so far.


Welcome aboard the U.S.G Ishimura - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nVkHXTeiOg



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The necromorphs attack - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvjO-UhCyHw

I really like the Halo MJOLNIR Mix.

Also, cheers for the Dead Space tracks Jas - I'm too much of a wuss to play it.

Now...

The last two weeks didn't exist, okay? There were no gaps in me updating these music weeks.





Okay, it's Jay's Jingles - Week Three: Hotline Miami



This game awakened something in me. No, not a desire to put on a grotesque animal mask and go on a brutal killing spree with an assortment of horrific murder weapons, but rather a love of the 80s Miami aesthetic and the music that comes with that. So, without any further ado, let's take a look at a few choice tracks from Hotline Miami.



Horse Steppin' is the title theme, and it exudes a completely different feel than you'd expect from a game centered around murdering hundreds of gangsters. The odd, almost tribal singing, the constant but relaxing drumbeat, and the occasional sound of water trickling onto a shore... it all adds up to give this feeling of sitting on Miami Beach at sunset. It took me aback somewhat, as I wasn't expecting this tranquil opening screen. What's it trying to accomplish? Suggesting murder is relaxing? That psychotic breakdowns are peaceful? Probably none of this - but it is a gorgeous piece.




Each level opens with a scene in your apartment, and Daisuke plays in these scenes. They mostly serve as exposition, but once again, it's calmer than you'd expect from Hotline Miami. The sprinkling of piano, the great beat... you'd expect pumping bass and club beats, not this. It feels like a track you'd hear in a detective game, and to be fair, these apartment scenes do consist of you, the player, trying to piece together the madness of Hotline Miami. Anyway, speaking of pumping bass...



Miami Disco plays in a level set in a nightclub. And it's perfectly placed. You enter the club, spotting gangsters armed behind walls. You walk onto the dancefloor, guns blazing, people screaming, blood splattering everywhere... all whilst this plays. It certainly does the job of getting you amped up for the task ahead, as grotesque as that task is. The 80s synth is just glorious. This is the track that prompted me to build a playlist centered around tracks like this - I understand it might not be to everybody's tastes, but by god, I think it's stellar.

So there we are! I did plan to do a certain game by Fromsoft this week, but decided against it. Maybe next week...

Not what I was thinking would be the next game from you jay, but good job yet again.

Jay wrote:

Also, cheers for the Dead Space tracks Jas - I'm too much of a wuss to play it.

Haha! I love me a good horror game that can jolt you out your seat from time to time & the music/audio of dead space can get you so tense as well, nice choice on hotline Miami by the way that's still a game I can throw on if I've got an half hour to spare which is what I done the other week.

OK, that Hotline Miami disco track was ace.

Glad you enjoyed it Jimbob! The game's full of tracks like that. If you get a chance to play it, I really recommend it - it's got that Miami Vice feel to it with a dash of Tarantino for good measure.

Time for another week!

Jay's Jingles - Week Four: Dark Souls



Dark Souls came out of nowhere really for me. A few months back, noticing the rising hype for its sequel, I decided to delve in, knowing little about it beyond the fact that it was going to punt me in the balls and expect me to come back for more. And yeah, that happened. But what I didn't expect was to be ushered into one of the most immersive game worlds I've had the pleasure of exploring. It begs you to search out for any scrap of information as to what is going on in the desolate land of Lordran, and you'll find yourself happily obliging. Without any further ado, let's take a look at the superb sounds of Dark Souls.



After a gruelling welcome to Dark Souls at the Undead Aslyum, you find yourself in Firelink Shrine, a hub area of sorts in the land of Lordran. On your arrival, hauntingly desolate strings sound up, tinged with an underlying feeling of melancholy. Considering there's very little told outright to you in Dark Souls, everything from item descriptions to the soundtrack have to play a role in creating a believable world. I feel that this track more than any other accomplishes that. This track, with its sad strings and the lonely chimes coupled with the crumbling and near-deserted locale of Firelink Shrine immediately makes you understand that this is a world in ruin. There's little in the way of happiness to be found here... all that remains is a solitary crestfallen figure, and you.



Ornstein and Smough take you on around the mid-point of the game. This boss fight is somewhat synonymous with the difficulty of Dark Souls. They're a brick wall for many players, and it's undoubtedly one of the most challenging fights in the game. The boss themes in Dark Souls generally follow the same formula of bombastic tracks with plenty of choral chanting, all designed to get you pumped up and in the zone to tackle a tough foe. I chose Ornstein and Smough's theme is the fight itself is an iconic one in the game, and I love the Castlevania vibes I get from this track. Nothing in this game feels as good as landing the final blow in this fight with those pounding drums resonating in your ears.

Now, I usually try to avoid anything majorly spoilery in my music weeks, but unfortunately, context is everything for the next two tracks. If you intend to play Dark Souls/are playing Dark Souls and you haven't beaten it and you don't want spoiled, avoid the spoiler box.

Spoiler:

Phew, that was a bit heavy, apologies. Next week - a fighting game!

Good work yet again Jay, but is there any chance for me to post something next week ala Balla doing one in between Drunka, I've explained what it is else where.

I don't see my music weeks as being the only thing that can be posted in this thread. If you've got an idea, like Jas with his Dead Space tracks above, then go ahead and post them!

Didn't want to step on any toes, especially so soon maybe tomorrow then.

No worries Mas! The more updates this thread gets, the better.   

Brilliant choices there Jay!

I found the firelink shrine music oddly comforting at times especially when I was having a horrid time in blight town not knowing where to go, really low on estus flasks I battled my way up some shaky wooden platforms and to my surprise found way back to firelink & when I heard the music kick in I had never been so relieved in a game ever.   

These themes are some of my favourites though:

Great grey wolf sif: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tuWvGee4T0

Gaping Dragon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr54gJZk_nM

(side note: Quite glad I have the OST on disc)

Oh, it's definitely comforting, especially considering it's a rare safe haven in Lordran, but I found the theme to be more hauntingly desolate than anything.

Also, nearly included both them over the O+S theme, but O+S won out in the end. I love the singing in the Sif theme.

So here it goes, If you have been to the noun-gaming soundtrack thread you will see that the reason I bring this up is due to drunka & transformers. As that's a game based on a established IP that the games use the music from shows etc and most games based on a IP such as transformers always seem to use OST from them. There might be even some the other way around that the silent hill movie use the tune from the game but I don't know.

So I thought is there a IP that has a game & a movie/series but has a different soundtrack and both good.

Which I present to you Anamanaguchi's (of Bit Trip fame & other things) soundtrack for

Link to the full OST here

You might be asking a bit much for folk to listen to a whole OST, you not got any favourites from it?

Winter is very good

Ah, great soundtrack from a great little beat-em-up. I honestly forgot just how good this soundtrack is.

Some of my favourites are Another Winter, Sub-Boss Theme, Gideon Wrath (Part One) and Rock Club. I've got a hankering to replay this and maybe dedicate a week to it now.

I haven't done anything for a while so I think I'll change that.  There aren't any specific games I want to do a theme for or a top ten for right now as I'm still playing persona 4 golden (soon that platinum will be mine, very very soon...) so I've decided instead to do a really crappy review of my latest cd import instead.  I have two choices, the falcom boss zanmai or the third Black Mages soundtrack, as more people are familiar with final fantasy than they are with falcom franchises I'll cover The Black Mages III Darkness and Starlight today and maybe do the other one in the future (the falcom boss zanmai is awesome though make no mistake, that rendition of The Strongest Foe is absolutely mental.)  So without further waffling, lets get to the music shall we?  Side note, themes marked with a star are my favourites.

The album starts off with "Opening - Bombing Mission" from final fantasy vii
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wmXd_l0Dh8

Very faithful to the original, anyone whose played vii for even five minutes will know this one.  I'll admit when I saw it on the tracklist I was somewhat apprehensive due to it not being a battle theme and as I'd always kind of felt it was more orchestral than fitting for a heavy rock rendition, but I was pleasantly surprised when I heard it with how well it worked.  

Shifting back in to familiar black mages territory we have "Neo Exdeath" from Final Fantasy V
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5TMMP4uOYE

Ah, now this is what we come to love from the Black Mages, a heavy rock rendition of already incredibly strong battle themes.  Slower paced than some of the other renditions it doesn't lose any of its punch.  

Up next we have the awesome "The Extreme" from Final Fantasy VIII ***
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDlYtFpEHAA

I'll admit right now I haven't actually played any of viii so I can't comment on whether it channels the game version (although I do know this is a final boss theme, something this album does in spades and does very well), but what I can say is this is easily my favourite theme on the soundtrack.  Starting off nice and slowly for the first minute or so before kicking in to the rock overdrive, it doesn't fail to excite or get the blood pumping.  Certainly it piques my interest in checking out the game at some point.

Moving on to the fifth track we have "Assault of the Silver Dragons" from Final Fantasy IX
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VAHTUkwDjU

Alas this is another case of not experiencing the source so I can't really say much that isn't already obvious.  I should probably have another crack at ix at some point.

And back to the overarching theme of final boss music we have "KURAYAMINOKUMO" from Final Fantasy III *
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3c1T7LpURQ

Ah Cloud of Darkness, how this rendition of your theme does you and your fight such justice.  Taking the intro theme of Cloud of Darkness and using it as the intro to the battle theme was perfection, and then the rock slams in to high gear.  The improv that starts at around the 2 minute mark is especially insane and takes the song to new heights and intensity levels.  Before I'd given the full album this theme was my favourite.

Moving on we have the extremely odd choice of "Distant Worlds" from Final Fantasy XI **
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jh89VELCo4

If I was apprehensive about opening - bombing mission when reading the tracklist then I was going what the heck   when I saw this track on the list.  I mean come on, Distant Worlds is not the sort of song you'd expect to see picked to get the Black Mages treatment.  The theme so soft and gentle the orchestra concerts of recent times we named after it.  But somehow it works, yes, that's right, it works.  It works so well it replaced kurayaminokumo as my second favourite track.  Taking a completely different approach than the previous tracks out with the hard rock and in with the sweeping synth.

Back in to rock terriroty with the second theme from it we have "Premonition" from Final Fantasy VIII *
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56_HEXK0dw4

Not much to say about this besides that my thoughts on it are largely the same as The Extreme.

And back to final boss territory we have a second theme from Final Fantasy IX, "Necron" *
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VYhvEQclBA

While I haven't played IX I have listened to the original in the past with this one.  Starting off very faithfully with the very creepy and eerie minute prelude that sounds very much what you'd think hell would be like before slamming in to the rock portion, it also ends on a high.  This was a great ending of the battle portion of both the album and the series of albums as a whole.  And speaking of this I'm still ticked they left out the prelude part when they remade it for dissidia 012, Grand Cross without the death cries is just wrong!

And now we come to the last remix of the album and its namesake, Darkness and Starlight, originally from Final Fantasy VI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBTmopsDJNk

Opera - Maria and Draco, very bold theme this one.  Along with Dancing Mad and the recent Almighty Bhunivelze this is both one of the longest themes in the franchise and also very ambitious.  Personally I enjoyed it, while not something I'll listen to loads it's different and something I'll play every once in a while for a change.  

Finally we have the original piece "LIFE ～in memory of KEITEN～"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FjAY7A-I68

An original tribute piece that rounds out the album, short and to the point this piano piece does a good job bringing things to a close.  



So, closing thoughts on the album as a whole to conclude my crappy reviewing skills.  Well, it was awesome.  As The Black Mages have since disbanded this is the final album (still need to pick up the second one however), and overall I'm satisfied.  All good things come to an end and this was, in my opinion, a good one.  As for other things, the audio quality was ace for this one, with the first one there were a couple of issues due to loudness/compression in a couple of tracks but those were blissfully absent this time round.

You know, I never beat the Cloud of Darkness in FFIII. Nice covers though - didn't have time to listen to all of them, but the few I checked out were great.

I do realise it's been a wee while since I've posted here... I'll need to have a think and pick a game. The issue is that I've been playing nothing but Nintendo games lately.   

Nowt wrong with that.  Contribute to the best music thread instead!

@Jay
Do you have a specific Nintendo game you'd like to do a week about? Because there's a multiformat game series with a soundtrack I've been listening to a lot so it would be fun to swap threads some time.

Multiformat games seem to sneak into the Nintendo thread as well don't they Balla.

I would have loved to do a Pokemon X week but Balla's already covered it... hmm, maybe Fire Emblem Awakening.

Just give me a shout if you're looking to do something here - I need to think about a non-Nintendo game I've been playing other than Civ V. I think a soundtrack mostly comprised of classical music would be cheating.