Board 8 > Post Your Hot Takes About Video Game Music

(+) Yeah! (+)

instrumental prog metal > vocal prog metal in general

Frances the Mute > Deloused

Steiner posted...

please listen to some real music

No

Kotetsu534 posted...

Orchestras make everything sound blurry, vague, and weak.

Thinking about this again I just want to add that I really don't think this is a quality of orchestras in general and is mainly the effect of a particular style of composition for orchestral ambient music in soundtracks.

Another hot (maybe?) take:
Xenoblade soundtracks are great but the battle music is largely forgettable.

There's so much nonstop talking during Xenoblade battles that I can barely hear the music

Sonic adventure 2s ost is an all time great

Crush 40 has one good song (Escape from the City) and one fun guitar riff (Live and Learn). Otherwise I never understood the Sonic fanbase's clamor for them.

sonic music is notable only when it doesn't sound like "sonic music"

2D Sonic has better music than 3D Sonic

I generally have a pretty high opinion of the 3D Sonic soundtracks, but it always feels like I'm at odds with the fanbase because I don't care at all about the SA/SA2 music which feel like the "classic" soundtracks.

I like pretty much any Sonic OST, but SA2 is da peak imo. In no small part due to Rouge.

It Doesn't Matter is the best vocal song from SA1 or 2

pyresword posted...

Another hot (maybe?) take:
Xenoblade soundtracks are great but the battle music is largely forgettable.

I don't know if I'd go so far as to call the battle music largely forgettable (I'm typing this on the fly), but I will easily take most of the area themes of the soundtracks above nearly all of the battle themes, bar two or three.

andylt posted...

I like pretty much any Sonic OST, but SA2 is da peak imo. In no small part due to Rouge.

Her music is the best in that game, it is true.

the best Sonic OST is Sonic R

I would agree except that Sonic Unleashed exists.

Unleashed has gamelan and cello in the same song how do you possibly top that?

that's a very good point

Video game music is best when it doesn't sound like video game music.

I mentioned this in another topic, but One Winged Angel having absolutely no connection/leitmotif with the rest of the FFVII OST makes it hard for me to think of it as good final boss music. Good song though.

Sonic Unleashed is one of the greatest video game OSTs.

Also Tommy Tallarico is a fucking lunatic, but the man can put out a tune. That Advent Rising OST is dynamite.

Leonhart4 posted...

It Doesn't Matter is the best vocal song from SA1 or 2

This was actually my opinion when I was a kid and I thought I had discovered some extremely underrated song when I heard the whole thing in the sound test, but upon revisiting it the vocals sound kinda corny. I think Open Your Heart and City Escape are the best, but the actual best song from either game is Metal Harbor.

The corny vocals are why it's the best

pyresword posted...

Another hot (maybe?) take:
Xenoblade soundtracks are great but the battle music is largely forgettable.

Kinda hot, yeah.

You will know our names and all of its versions are great.
In XBC1, I didn't like Mechanical Rhythm until I played a lot of Tetris 99.
XBC3 is better with its first battle theme but is weaker in other areas.

However, XBC2's battle themes are all amazing

Related: Xenogears's OST > Chrono Cross's OST

Matt Engarde's theme is Investigation Middle, not Investigation Core

I'm pretty convinced that the SNES version of Street Fighter II's (World Warrior/Turbo not Super) music is the best overall out of all the versions.

Like take Guile's Theme for SNES
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B74wsIXY8pM

And I think it sounds better than

Arcade CPS-1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSsggxGdFpM

or Arcade CPS-2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlz6qgahnYQ

It's not that the arcade versions are bad, I just prefer it having less synth like it is on SNES.

I kinda agree on Chrono Cross. Honestly it's only got like, two good tracks. One of the most grating normal battle themes in any RPG.

umineko makes for great Halloween party music

Accel_R8 posted...

I kinda agree on Chrono Cross. Honestly it's only got like, two good tracks. One of the most grating normal battle themes in any RPG.

Normal battle theme is so cool you just gotta get used to counting to 9

Also Sakuraba and Shimomura are both amazing lmao who hurt you guys

Anyway my hot take is that Uematsu's style couldn't keep up with technology. He can compose good midi files but eventually his lack of formal training seems to have caught up with him. FFX and X2 in particular are full of interesting piano-y music like Luca that I couldn't imagine coming from Uematsu alone. Still love his early work, some of his songs were very important to me growing up

@Chaeix Umineko literally has multiple Halloween parties occur. How is that a hot take?

My hot take: 2D Sonic doesn't have any good songs. The instrumental music from the 3D Sonic games is much better.

pyresword posted...

Another hot (maybe?) take:
Xenoblade soundtracks are great but the battle music is largely forgettable.

Maybe in the previous games, but I dunno how you can call Moebius battle forgettable.

MacArrowny posted...

@Chaeix Umineko literally has multiple Halloween parties occur. How is that a hot take?

My hot take: 2D Sonic doesn't have any good songs. The instrumental music from the 3D Sonic games is much better.

Maybe in the previous games, but I dunno how you can call Moebius battle forgettable.

because my friends IRL would judge me for putting VGM on :(