Support NeoGAF

[Dark Schala]

The results from NeoGAF's Game Soundtracks of the Year 2015 vote are below. Additionally, we are still in the process of building out a discography for the winning composers, and filling out the archive with all of the soundtracks that were discussed during the voting phase. Enjoy!

Results

1. Undertale – 284 points, 9 honorable mentions

Composer: Toby Fox

ASGORE
Death by Glamour
It’s Raining Somewhere Else

No surprise that the main Homestuck music guy made a great soundtrack. Undertale's music mixes chiptunes and traditional instruments, typically starting off with the former before escalating with the latter, paralleling the way the visuals occasionally make a shocking break with the 8-bit aesthetic. It also features some of the most densely intertwined use of leitmotif I've ever seen, with nearly every track having a melodic relationship with at least one other.

Undertale is brilliant not only because everything was made by one guy almost on his own, but because this allows the game to be extremely cohesive, and the music illustrates that very well. You feel there was this connection between the composition and the universe, the characters, the situations of the game. Outside of the obvious (Asgore, Spider Dance, Megalovania, etc.), there are also many charmingtracks, like the delicate piano of Snowy that accompany you in the cold of the mountains, the few chords of Home that make you feel warm inside when you meet Toriel again at the beginning (it's clever that it's a variation on Hopes and Dreams), or the crystalline percussions of It's Raining Somewhere Else, calm before the storm. I'll also throw Quiet Water in here, serene track. That's the alternance of these atmospheric themes and the great, dynamic battle tracks that made Undertale's OST a standout.

I have been going back on forth on whether Undertale is actually the best OST of the year or if it's the best game music. That is to say, I am absolutely in love with Undertale's soundtrack, but I think a large amount of why I do comes from the association I make with the music. That's true of most game OSTs, actually, but Undertale probably more than ever. Is Spider Dance a great song or do I just remember how much fun and panicky that boss fight was for me? Do I legitimately love Asgore's theme or is because of the way the story unfolded in that moment? Eventually I came down on the side that what makes a great game soundtrack is how it interacts with the game, not just in terms of mechanics, but in emotions and memorability. Thinking about it like that, there's no better OST this year than Undertale.

Undertale is a game that keeps proving so much of the industry wrong. In terms of game play, in terms of narrative, in terms of development, everything it represents; and it's music as well. Much like the game itself it was all made almost entirely by one person. A person with a digital audio workstation and a whole lot of soundfonts. Someone with an incredible sense of melody, arrangement and composition. Most of the tools behind the music come in the simplest of forms and yet manages to be some of the most compelling tunes to have ever been put out. Part of this is thanks to the fantastic use of leitmotifs that echo throughout the game and add a beautiful level of cohesion to every scene associated with a certain character or event. It encompasses a wide variety of intense, fun, and emotionally captivating tracks that beautifully represent every character, every moment and every beat in the story. Much like the game itself it serves as an inspiration that even the best things come in humble packages, and it drives me to want to improve as a creator.

This is the rare soundtrack where the game’s music makes it moments. Its decisively drawn melodies create memories that bring the game along with it, with all of its jokes and characters, its confrontations and resolutions, its moments of heartwarming and sorrow. It’s a soundtrack that I won’t forget, which makes it a game that I won’t forget either.

Undertale was a pleasure to experience, both the game, and its soundscape. It’s an inspired album, internally and externally. It’s probably a stupid and silly reason, but I can’t help but to compare the soundtrack to what Nier the game was: a collection of different references to everything else and nods to other games woven into one thing. Of course, the collection of different soundfonts and different samples in every theme and from theme to theme is really… strange, but I kind of dig it? It’s a testament to the fact to a lack of cohesion doesn’t necessarily break a product because I feel as though Fox got what he wanted out of the game and out of its soundtrack’s lack of cohesion. It’s all over the place, but it fits. It’s different, and out of context, it sounds like the strangest thing, and even in context it sounds like the strangest thing. But because it’s so strange, it sounds so natural and fitting. Undertale is a strange journey. Its soundtrack being strange, yet so cohesive is absolutely fitting, and it has earned its spot as one of the best and strongest soundtracks of 2015.

2. Bloodborne – 122 points, 13 honorable mentions

Composers: Ryan Amon, Tsukasa Saitoh, Yuka Kitamura, Michael Wandmacher, Nobuyoshi Suzuki

The First Hunter
The Hunter
Micolash

Possibly my favorite "Souls" game soundtrack, though it's a really tough call between this and Dark Souls. Regardless of which one I actually prefer, this is definitely the one with the highest highs with tracks such as The First Hunter, Father Gascoigne, Micolash and some of the new DLC tracks.

The portentous yet melancholic orchestral soundtrack fits the atmosphere of the game perfectly, and makes the whole even more special. Gotta love the use of cello as well.

This really is From Software's finest soundtrack yet in their recent series of RPGs and I'd argue, the soundtrack of the year. The craft that has gone into placing every instrument and every musical phrase into the right moment to make of the most of it has paid off here immensely. The end result is a thoughtful, attractive collection of pieces. I really can't wait for Dark Souls 3 and see what they do.

This has been my most listened to album of the year, let alone being my most listened to soundtrack. The compositions and production values of the vanilla soundtrack were just incredible and then we got five more tracks for the DLC that I believe are some of the best pieces of video game music this year. I personally believe that the best video game music comes from the boss fights, so it comes as no surprise that a soundtrack comprised mostly of boss music is my favourite of the year.

The "Souls" games had some pretty great tracks—one such example being "Great Grey Wolf Sif"—but Bloodborne was fantastic from start to finish, with some amazing pieces that both move and unnerve. The recent expansion was no different.

3. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – 104 points, 10 honorable mentions

Composers: Marcin Przybyłowicz, Mikolai Stroinski, Percival Schuttenbach, Adam Skorupa, Paweł Błaszczak

Hunt or Be Hunted
Merchants of Novigrad
A Story You Won’t Believe

…it just keeps improving on the previous games' soundtracks, not only in terms of original score, but also in terms of ambient music. Absolutely fantastic on that last point, it really helps when you just want to explore the world and start to get lost in your own thoughts while admiring fantastic landscapes and environments. The score itself could make any big Fantasy movie jealous.

It really says something about an open world game when you can name more than a few tracks and those tracks don't piss you off because if their repeatable nature. I never tired of that lady singing that wey heeeyy ah heeeyyy heeeyyy song over and over while I WITCHERING ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT.

The 'moment' that I had though had to be with Priscilla's Song. Not only was the cutscene a really neat moment, but the song combines with the visuals had that type of heart where you can feel both composer and developer reaching out of the screen and saying: "Hey, this is what we are guys, this is our hard work and our passion."

If I have to be entirely honest, i can't remember a single track from this game from the top of my head. Try as I might, I can't recall what most of the music sounds like in a vacuum. And yet, I can recognize it. When I hear the first few notes of Commanding the Fury, I immediately know what's coming next and recall the many very close encounters I had in the game, fending off against surprise opponents when I least expected it. When Merchants of Novigrad starts playing, I think of bustling tows and luscious landscapes. Another Round for Everyone makes me want to crack out a card game and play with some friends. Drink up, There's More! never fails to put a dumb smile on my face.

Sometimes, those transparent connections between tracks and memories are all it takes for a soundtrack to feel unforgettable.

Atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere. This amazing mix of medieval, Slavic, and folk sounds/melodies comes together to create a unique and exotic soundtrack full of fire and serenity in equal doses, lending the world a kind of hyper-naturalism I've not felt in anything else aside from Red Dead Redemption. Some of the ambient music in Skellige, for example, is transcendent, and in combination with the world design brings to mind the atmosphere of a few backing synth tracks in something like Michael Mann's The Last of The Mohicans. The Fields of Ard Skellig might be one of the best tracks I've ever heard in a game. Incredibly ethereal. I mean, my God, all the exploration music alone, a lot of which isn't even on the official soundtrack release: Oxenfurt, Slums of Novigrad, Velen, White Orchard, etc. etc., etc. Hard pressed to name another game with the kind of sweeping melancholy of The Witcher 3's soundtrack. Hell, I haven't even touched on the combat themes which make you want to pirouette until everyone's heads are flying through the air all while moaning, wailing, and nodding furiously to the music. Top notch all around.

4. Splatoon – 102 points, 14 honorable mentions

Composers: Toru Minegishi, Shiho Fujii

Metalopod
Splattack!
Ink or Sink

One of the hallmarks of a truly great soundtrack is when it translates the mood and style of a game into music so well, that it becomes an essential part of the entire character. Splatoon is one of those few games where everything - game mechanics, art direction, writing, and much more - comes together in such an incredibly harmonious way that taking any single aspect of it out would seem impossible. The music is, of course, of of those parts. Whether you're window shopping for gear, mining salt in Ranked Battles, or tearing up DJ Octavio, the music of Splatoon is, always, in perfect sync.

Comparisons to the iconic Jet Set Radio and its razor-sharp aesthetic were rife from the first moments Miyamoto's understudies revealed the game in 2014, but Splatoon turned out to be distinct - not just in the way Nintendo is distinct from SEGA, or 2015 is distinct from 2000, but rather in the way Nintendo sought to build a fictional culture of inspired style rather than directly express and exaggerate real-life trends. No better part of Splatoon demonstrates this than the music - a diverse assortment of squidphonies from amphibious performers like Hightide Era, Chirpy Chirps, DJ Octavio and the now-legendary Squid Sisters, merging rock, J-pop, EDM, chiptune and more for maximum catchiness. It all comes together to create a looking glass into what pop music might look like in a world populated by squid kids, and it's not just the best soundtrack of 2015, it's something all developers could stand to learn from.

It makes sense for a game about fashionable and trendy anthropomorphized sea life to have an equally energetic soundtrack, also played by fashionable and trendy anthropomorphized sea life. It's doubly important for a game as stylish as Splatoon since without sick jams oozing out of every speaker from every part of the world the game would end up as a shallow poseur, but thankfully it nails that part and the world is as lively as it looks, going so far as to inject their own weird language as the vocals to several songs. The only other game that sort of does this is Nier. Even the music that plays in stores has a slight tinny quality to them, making sure nothing escapes this smothering of care andeffort.

5. Xenoblade Chronicles X – 76 points, 13 honorable mentions

Composer: Hiroyuki Sawano

CR17S19S8
Black Tar
Wir fliegen

I grew up with sitcoms from the 90s and I still enjoy watching a lot of the these shows today. One thing a lot of these shows all had in common was how soapy and melodramatic they could be. X is mainly about the days in the life of a B.L.A.D.E. The affinity missions, in my opinion, are like tiny soap opera episodes. The scenarios are overly dramatic at times and when music like By my side and The way start playing at the conclusion of an "episode", I can't help but to think how much of a sitcom the game is. Sure, the sound mix is horrible, but a part of me loves how much of a disaster the production is. The voices are too low and not only is the music so high, there are so many tracks that are completely out of place given the context of the conversation or cinematic. I love it. It's like this unbridled passion that no one can do anything about. One must only accept Sawano's judgment.

While it's a big departure from its predecessor, the Xenoblade X soundtrack is great in its own right. The move to a single composer (who wasn't involved with the first game at all) gives this one a very different style. It's difficult to call it a unified style, though, since the different areas and scenes have wildly different musical backing. It's an eclectic mix of orchestral and hip hop styles that (regardless of what else you might think) never gets boring. There's a lot to like here; the grandiose outdoor themes in particular are favorites of mine.

I’ll be honest, I was not feeling this one before launch. I wasn’t familiar with the composer, but everything people had linked me did not inspire me with a lot of confidence. His style sounded very ...eclectic. Incohesive, tons of vocal tracks (which I typically don’t like in my video games) with bad English and German, and cheesy as hell. Now that I’ve finally put dozens of hours into this game, I can confirm that all those impressions still hold true, except I kind of love it. It’s camp and silly, but it’s falls comfortably in the “guilty pleasure” territory. Xenoblade Chronicles X is the perfect game to remind me why I avoid voting for games I haven’t played.

6. Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number – 74 points, 6 honorable mentions

Composers: Various Artists

Roller Mobster
Divide
Run

Like HM1, this score is a collection of music by several artists, largely inspired by 80s synth movie scores...Except cranked up to eleven. You will get pumped up. The music perfectly complements the game's ultraviolent action, appropriately getting the blood flowing with its massive beats and intense synth leads. Just can't get tired of this one.

Good job to Söderström and Wedin for selectively arranging these pieces and of course, to the artists themselves that produced and composed them. The range shown in, what is at its base, a game about that timeless act of violence is phenomenal and for any medium, is an exemplar of what you can achieve with a licensed soundtrack.

Hotline Miami 2's soundtrack maintains the same pulse-pounding vibe as the original with tracks like Sexualizer and Quioxtic, while adding a greater range with tracks such as the contemplative Remorse, slow-burning Delay, the heroic The Way Home and unsettling Run. Intermissions are greatly upgraded over the first game with standout tracks such as Rust and Guided Meditation, the latter of which might be the musical embodiment of the word "sketchy". Roller Mobster stands out as being possibly the most balls to the wall Hotline Miami track ever once that beat drops. I was stuck on the level it plays on for a while and started to get a bit of a headache...so I turned it up even louder. Finally, I absolutely adore the menu music for its serene, "calm before the storm" feeling - a stark contrast to the in-game music for sure, but its low-key vibe makes those powerful beats even more impactful when they hit. Overall a heart-racing soundtrack that eclipses the original game's stellar track list for me.

7. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – 68 points, 10 honorable mentions

Composers: Harry Gregson-Williams, Ludvig Forssell, Justin Burnett, Daniel James

Sins of the Father
Quiet’s Theme
Parasites

Bit of a hard choice as I have mixed feelings about the integration of the soundtrack in the actual game. While hardly any of the soundtrack plays automatically during regular gameplay, and is instead collected and then listened to via user selection, the mix of quality scored and especially 80s pop tracks is solid. There is nothing quite like popping A-ha's Take On Me while calling in a chopper after wrapping up an intense mission.

A lot of the soundtrack is the usual action affair but when certain tracks hit they enhance the whole game. V has Come To and Return act as an opener and closer (kind of) and work extremely well in the moments they capture. The few vocal tracks are also really well done if a bit neglected in the final game. A couple of great licensed tracks are scattered in there making for an overall great collection of music.

8. Life is Strange – 59 points, 8 honorable mentions

Composers: Jonathan Morali, Various Artists

Obstacles
Mt. Washington
To All of You

Honestly, I can't remember the last time a game has used a licensed soundtrack to build such a convincing atmosphere as Life is Strange. From the moment that To All Of You played during the opening credits, I knew that Dontnod knew exactly what makes a good soundtrack. All the licensed songs they chose just fit together so well with the setting and really help to immerse you into the game's world. On top of that, the game also contains some great original tracks, which also manage to fit in incredibly well.

Another great thing is just how well the game uses it's soundtrack to punctuate the important story moments. The songs at the end of each episode in particular just fit so well and make some of the more emotional moments even better.

One of the very best use of licensed music in a game. Every track not only matched the scene it was used on, but greatly improved upon it. The endings of each episode, in particular, wouldn't be nearly as impactful if not for the music accompanying it.

9. Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward – 49 points, 1 honorable mention

Composer: Masayoshi Soken, Nobuo Uematsu (Dragonsong)

Ravana’s Theme
Ominous Prognosticks
Alexander Boss Theme

I haven't even gotten around to playing Heavensward's content in FFXIV yet (haven't had the time/money to buy the expansion & sub), but having listened to most of its OST I've got to say this is another supremely superb OST in a pretty much perfect line of Final Fantasy soundtracks. So much variety, so much greatness.

FFXIV has always had an excellent soundtrack, and Heavensward did not dissapoint. I'd actually really love to hear Soken do some music for some other FFs or even some other games as I really like what he's done for ARR and Heavensward.

On the whole, the range and variety of Heavensward's OST are perhaps the single most defining trait of it (and ARR)'s music as a whole. It's hard to not praise it for making so many daring and adventurous choices with its soundtrack, especially when there are times where if feels like Square's modern composers have begun to play it utterly safe. I highly suggest that fans of RPG sound tracks, if not fans of all video game jams, check Heavensward out.

From a technical perspective, Heavensward’s soundtrack is not perfect. It definitely has a few duds. Speaking from standpoint reflective of soundtrack cohesion, while Heavensward elects to use Dragonsong everywhere throughout its entire soundtrack, it isn’t successful in some areas, and it ends up being dragged down because of it. Heavensward’s highs more than make up for its inadequacies, however. This soundtrack, despite essentially being a motif arrangement soundtrack, demonstrates that Soken has grown very much as a composer since A Realm Reborn. And patch content demonstrates that he still is growing. I look forward to seeing what Soken does next, and I genuinely hope that he gets attached to a mainline single-player Final Fantasy game for everyone to experience his work.

 

[Dark Schala]

10. Ori and the Blind Forest – 23 points, 6 honorable mentions

Composer: Gareth Coker

Restoring the Light, Facing the Dark
The Sacrifice
Light of Nibel

Ori's soundtrack is absolutely beautiful and it brings life and emotion to the forest of Nibel. It does a fantastic job of setting the mood for all the intense, uplifting and somber moments throughout the game. Aeralie Brighton's vocals are amazing as well.

Here’s another soundtrack that’s big on recurring melodies, Gareth Corker and chums put together a corker here (LAUGH DAMMIT) with a soulful and moving OST that greatly enhances the beautifully animated world and in turn makes the game really feel like an animated feature come to life. Lots of woodwinds around these parts, if I recall correctly one of the angles here was to be lighter on the percussion side and fill that void with alternatives like flutes and the like. Thoroughly charming, occasionally moving and while not always the catchiest provides ever so fitting backing to the game world.

A score that matches the beautiful art style, and wouldn't feel too far out of place in a Disney film or standing toe-to-toe with Nintendo's best. Another soundtrack that conveys heartfelt emotion, serenity, and yet can handle challenge and adventure with ease.

11. Yoshi’s Woolly World – 21 points, 6 honorable mentions

Composers: Tomoya Tomita, Misaki Asada

Knitty Knotty Windmill
Yoshi and Cookies
Fluffy Snow, Here We Go!

The first Yoshi game was one of the first I ever played and up until now was the only in the series I liked. As such I had rather low expectations towards this title coming in. Unlike a lot of people whose problem with the game was how much it harkened back this was a big part of what made it for me. Listening to all those old tunes done up in such a wonderful style was just such an experience for me.

It’s been a rather rough time since Yoshi’s Story for Yoshi soundtracks, well I suppose Touch & Go was a decent set of remixes with a few new tracks and then the less said about anything else the better, “The Yoshi Clan” from New Island still haunts my nightmares.

Though in a way this is really the musical successor to Kirby’s Epic Yarn, only more upbeat and funkier to more fit this woolly world. You know because wool is funkier than yarn, a known fact.
Surprisingly there’s no remixes of past Yoshi themes that I can recall in this game, everything is new and has a consistently good quality to boot, making amends for the last decade of Yoshi games.

12. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel – 20 points, 5 honorable mentions

Composers: Falcom Sound Team jdk (Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama)

Paper-Thin Offense and Defense
Into the Abyss
Belief

The soundtrack is outstanding, and every track really nails what it sets out to accomplish. The music portrays the world of this game flawlessly. Due to the various people behind the music, the varieties of styles and aesthetics contained in the tracks is massive. Thanks to this, the individual locales and general feel of the game's world come to life in a meaningful way. The style is just so damn good that it gels with me on a higher plane of existence. To say that it's compelling music feels like an understatement to me. I love it that much.

But beyond the usually outstanding barrage of awesome battle themes, this is a very sophisticated album. The setting of the game mirrors previous dorm-setting games Final Fantasy 8 and Persona 3, topping on that front even the continental and eclectic Trails in the Sky: First Chapter with themes such as Heimdallr, Land of Blue Skies, Refreshing Morning, Skies of a Strange Land, and Afterschool Hours eruditely and cleverly accompanying jaunts both near and afar for our heroes with melodic greatness. There's even a bit of techno with (what I like to think is Angelica's leitmotif) Silent Exhaltation and Paper-Thin Offense and Defense to show us that there's more to the militaristic Erebonian Empire than the dour drums of war.

13. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter – 20 points, 0 honorable mentions

Composers: Falcom Sound Team jdk (Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Ryo Takeshita)

Fateful Confrontation
The Merciless Saviour
The Dream Continues

I played both FC and SC back to back this year, and while I enjoyed the former's music, this felt like such a step up over its predecessor. Some truly memorable tracks that really shined in the moments they played in, and just a joy to listen to. It's been fun watching my fiancee play through this and listening to it all over again.

Falcom Sound Team jdk is well known for delivering some of the best soundtracks in gaming, so it makes sense that Trails in the Sky: SC has a great soundtrack…. In particular, Second Chapter finally introduced some amazing boss fight themes that were really missing from the previous games (Fateful Confrontation, in particular, is probably one of their best boss themes since Ys: Oath in Felghana). On top of that, it continues First Chapter's legacy of having a wide variety of great town and exploration tracks.

14. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture – 16 points, 1 honorable mention

Composer: Jessica Curry

All of My Birds
The Mourning Tree
Finding the Pattern

In stark contrast to my other two choices, Rapture is very calm, soothing music that doesn't contain a single drum or brass instrument. It does, however, contain a lot of singing, but not in the Broadway sense. If you want to listen to music that can help you relax and unwind then Rapture is the score for you.

15. Persona 4: Dancing All Night – 15 points, 8 honorable mentions

Composers: Shoji Meguro, Ryota Kozuka, Atsushi Kitajoh

SNOWFLAKES (NARASAKI Remix)
Backside of the TV (Lotus Juice Remix)
Your Affection (Daisuke Asakura Remix)

We love the Persona series music and some of the remixes were really great. The original tracks fit in nicely, too.

Persona 4 came out 8 years ago and I'm still not sick of the soundtrack Meguro created for that game. Each song is just as good as I remember and the remixes are mostly well produced. It helps that I still look back at Persona 4 very fondly and still make positive associates between the original RPG and those tracks.

Take P4's already great music and crank up the beat a little, no wonder you get this kind of result.

If Dancing All Night deserves one accolade, its getting me into and re-listening to a bunch of songs from 7 years ago that I was already burnt out on as of 4 years ago. All the new remixes are great and snappy, even succeeding in getting me to like some tracks from the original game that I was completely "blah" about in the past. A weak story mode doesn't get in the way of the game's surprisingly deep song modifiers, customization options for every character and really fun tracklist.

LTTP Vote (to be further checked and recounted, but I wanted the thread up, so...)
Guilty Gear Xrd - 2
Transistor - 2
Mega Man 2 - 1
Demon's Souls - 1
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - 1
Mother - 1
D4 - 1
Fallout: New Vegas - 1
Grim Fandango - 1
Virtue's Last Reward - 1
Donkey Kong Country 2 - 1
Persona 4: Golden - 1
SNK vs Capcom: Chaos - 1
White Knight Chronicles 1/2 - 1
Shadow of the Colossus - 1
To the Moon - 1
Viva Pinata - 1
Freedom Planet - 1
Demon's Crest - 1
Bravely Default - 1
Atelier Ayesha - 1
Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim - 1
Star Trader - 1
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood - 1
Bastion - 1
Ys Origin - 1
Nier - 1
Child of Light - 1


Past Threads

2015 Voting Thread
Fifth Console Generation Results (by Nocturnowl)
Fifth Console Generation Voting Thread (by Nocturnowl)
Sixth Console Generation Results and Archive
Sixth Console Generation Voting thread
2014 Results and Archive
2014 Voting Thread
2013 Results and Archive
2013 Voting Thread
2012 Results and Archive
2012 Voting Thread
2011 Results and Archive
2011 Voting Thread
2010 Results and Archive
2010 Voting Thread

As a side-note, I really want to thank Earthpainting for doing a secondary count of the votes if I didn't have a lot of time. I appreciate the work put in for that. I also want to thank Noi for putting up with my whining and helping me to put the archive and composer list together. And EmCeeGramr/Cyan for editing thread titles when asked. And YOU! The people who voted! You guys are great! Thank you, everyone so much.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Discography

Now that GAF has picked its winners, it's time to explore these composers' bodies of work! As you may have noticed, several of the winning soundtracks this year featured more than one composer. We decided to stick to highlighting one composer per winning soundtrack for the sake of brevity (this thread is already enormous), so please know that we're not attempting to snub anyone that wasn’t included.

Toby Fox

Megalo Strike Back
Descend
Versus​

Tsukasa Saitoh

Force
Damp Tomb
Outcry​

Marcin Przybyłowicz

Disturbia
Shadows and Conspiracies
The Wrath of God​

Toru Minegishi

Boss Battle
K.K. Bossa​

Hiroyuki Sawano

Blumenkranz
Sinanju​

Jasper Byrne

Miami
Reflections
The Ballad of Sleepy Cat​

Harry Gregson-Williams

Ant Revolution (Antz)
Escape from the Dragon (Shrek)
Rescue! (Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas)​

Jonathan Morali

Mobius
Alice
She Accepts​

Masayoshi Soken

Sherbet Land
Dragonsong​

Gareth Coker

Flyover
Pyromaniac​

Tomoya Tomita

Aboard the Sweet Stuff
Big Bean Vine​

Falcom Sound Team jdk

My Blaze, My Truth
Transcend Beat
The Azure Arbitrator​

Jessica Curry

The Moon in my Palm
Ahead to Still Waters​

Shoji Meguro

The Battle for Everyone’s Souls
It’s a Golden Show
Battle For Survival​

 

[Dark Schala]

Archive

Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate
Austin Wintory
Waltzing on Rooftops and Cobblestones
London is Waiting
Underground

Atellier Shalie: Alchemists of the Dusk Sea
Kazuki Yanagawa, Hayato Asano, Daisuke Achiwa, Sen
Sea of Sand - Shallotte
Girl of the white sands
Fighting the sand dragon

Axiom Verge
Tomas Happ
The Axiom
Trace Awakens
Otherworld

Batman: Arkham Knight
David Buckley, Nick Arundel
Fear Within
Scum, Criminals and Worse
Dark Skies

Bloodborne
Ryan Amon, Tsukasa Saitoh, Yuka Kitamura, Michael Wandmacher, Nobuyoshi Suzuki
The First Hunter
The Hunter
Micolash

Codename: S.T.E.A.M.
Yoshito Sekigawa
Deadly Dance II
Mission
Main Theme

Corpse Party: Blood Drive
Mao Hamamoto, Johnny.k, Tomoyuki Hamada, Ren Yamashina
A Decaying World
Desperate Situation
Incarnation

Crypt of Necrodancer
Danny Baranowsky
Mausoleum Mash
Rhythmortis
Disco Descent

Dragonball Xenoverse
Tension
Toki Toki City
Clash of Divinity

Dropsy
Chris Schlarb
Kierkegaard's Neon Lights
Last of the Lonely Tumbleweeds
In the Court of the Junkyard King

Duck Game
Landon Podbielski
Arbuckle
Comic
Emerald 2

else Heart.Break()
El Huervo, Sasac, Philip E. Morris, Hello World
Extreme Access
Crab Nebula
Fauz Snake

Etrian Mystery Dungeon
Yuzo Koshiro
Hoist the Sword and Pride in the Heart
Calling that Detestable Name
Faith Is My Pillar

Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight
Yuzo Koshiro
Bloody Fight - Betting it All
War - Shadows of Death over there
Labyrinth V - Heavens' Rock Seat

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Jessica Curry
All of My Birds
The Mourning Tree
Finding the Pattern

Fallout 4
Inon Zur
Hope Remains
Rebuild Anew
Science and Secrecy

Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward
Masayoshi Soken, Nobuo Uematsu
Ravana’s Theme
Ominous Prognosticks
Alexander Boss Theme

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
Takeharu Ishimoto
The Beginning of the End / What Becomes of Us
Wings of Fire
The Heart Boils / Seething Heart

Guild Wars 2: Heart of Thorns
Maclaine Diemer, Lena Chappelle, Stan LePard
Main Theme
Tarir, The Forgotten City
Rata Novus

Grey Goo
Frank Klepacki
Advancing Position
Goo Theme
Beta Theme

Halo 5: Guardians
Kazuma Jinnouchi, Martin O'Donnell, Michael Salvatori
Kamchatka
The Trials
Osiris Suite, Act 1

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
Various
Roller Mobster
Divide
Run

IA/VT Colorful
Various
Circuit DISCO
Shadow Haze
Monochrome World

J-Stars Victory Vs.
Burning Sword
Edge of the Fist
Assassin Rendezvous

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
Shogo Sakai, Megumi Ohara
Great Cave Escape
Dethskullk Jam
Final Battle

The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Second Chapter
Falcom Sound Team jdk (Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Ryo Takeshita)
Fateful Confrontation
The Merciless Saviour
The Dream Continues

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel
Falcom Sound Team jdk (Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Saki Momiyama)
Paper-Thin Offense and Defense
Into the Abyss
Belief

The Legend of Legacy
Masashi Hamauzu
Twin Dimensional Battle
Torakon Battle
Goblet of the Stars

The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes
Ryo Nagamatsu
Forest Stage
Fortress Stage
Final Boss

Life is Strange
Jonathan Morali; Various Artists
Obstacles
Mt. Washington
To All of You

LISA the Joyful
Brokentooth March
666 Kill Chop Deluxe
All American Badass

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Harry Gregson-Williams, Ludvig Forssell, Justin Burnett, Daniel James
Sins of the Father
Quiet’s Theme
Parasites

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate
Marika Suzuki, Miwako Chinone, Reo Uratani, Masato Kohda
Determination
Heaven's Mount
Ancestral Steppe

Nights of Azure/Yoru no Nai Kuni
Hayato Asano, Kazuki Yanagawa, Daisuke Achiwa, Toshiharu Yamanishi
Malicious Roses
Pledge
Lady Crimson

Nuclear Throne
Jukio "Kozilek" Kallio
Legend of the Throne
Crystallized Fear
Venuz Mansion

N++
Various
Wrong Assesment - Scaphoid
Asusu - Velez
Getz & Diagram - Mutant

The Order: 1886
Jason Graves, Austin Wintory
Sir Galahad
The Knights’ Theme
Agamemnon Rising

OlliOlli2
Various
Lone - Airglow Fires
Cid Rim - Draw (Dorian Concept Remix)
Louis Fulton - Shoulda Known (GANZ Remix)

Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines
Konoske Kihara
WILL
Veterans
Spirit Festival

Ori and the Blind Forest
Gareth Coker
Restoring the Light, Facing the Dark
The Sacrifice
Light of Nibel

Persona 4: Dancing All Night
Shoji Meguro, Ryota Kozuka, Atsushi Kitajoh
SNOWFLAKES (NARASAKI Remix)
Backside of the TV (Lotus Juice Remix)
Your Affection (Daisuke Asakura Remix)

Pillars of Eternity
Justin Bell
Defiance Bay
Ondra’s Gift
Combat A

Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon
Main Theme
Second Dark Matter Battle
Fire Island Volcano

Rocket League
Mike Ault, Christian De La Torre, Abandoned Carnival, Hollywood Principle
Love Thru The Night
Flying Forever
Lacuna

Rodea the Sky Soldier
Takayuki Nakamura
Sky High
The Face Reality
Who Visited from the Darkness

Shadowrun Returns: Hong Kong
Jon Everist
SINless from Seattle
The Walled City
Take Cover

Splatoon
Toru Minegishi, Shiho Fujii
Metalopod
Splattack!
Ink or Sink

Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void
Jason Hayes, Mike Patti, Neal Acree, Glenn Stafford
Last Stand
The Dark Voice
The Firstborn

Stella Glow
Toshinori Orikura, a.p, Shinpei Nozaki, Rodriguez Nobu; Procyon Studio, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Shunsuke Tsuchiya
The Water Witch, Lisette
The Wind Witch, Popo
The Fire Witch, Sakuya

Super Mario Maker
Ghost House (Super Mario Bros 3)
Ghost House Edit Theme (Super Mario Bros)
Castle Edit Theme (New Super Mario Bros)

Tales From The Borderlands
Various
Jungle - Busy Earnin'
Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra - Kiss The Sky
James Blake - Retrograde

Tales of Zestiria
Motoi Sakuraba, Go Shiina
Fight Between the Wind and the Blinking Sky
Competing with the Honour of the Land
Rising Up!

The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth
Ridiculon
ReGenesis
Cerebrum Dispersio
Cicatrix

Tokyo Xanadu
Falcom Sound Team jdk
X.R.C.
Believe It!
Seize the Day

Transformers Devastation
Satoshi Igarashi, Tetsuya Shibata, Jun Okubo, Vince DiCola, Kenny Meredith
Shockwave
Blitzwing
Face the Devastation

Undertale (Bandcamp)
Toby Fox
Heartache
Dating Fight!
Another Medium

The Witcher 3
Marcin Przybyłowicz, Mikolai Stroinski, Percival Schuttenbach, Adam Skorupa, Paweł Błaszczak
Hunt or Be Hunted
Merchants of Novigrad
A Story You Won’t Believe

Xenoblade Chronicles X
Hiroyuki Sawano
CR17S19S8
Black Tar
Wir fliegen

Yakuza 5
Various
Be the Star!!
So Much More
Loneliness Loop

Yoshi’s Woolly World
Tomoya Tomita, Misaki Asada
Knitty Knotty Windmill
Yoshi and Cookies
Fluffy Snow, Here We Go!

 

[ponpo]

Granblue Fantasy was R O B B E D.

I don't think I've heard anything from Splatoon, so that's a surprise. Will listen.

 

[The Xtortionist]

Bloodborne Transformers was robbed

Great year, overall.

 

[Crayolan]

That Undertale landslide, goddamn.

 

[MetroidPrimeRib]

Undertale's soundtrack makes the game. Well deserved.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

Kind of surprised Yoshi snuck on there.


Kind of really surprised.

 

[Dark Schala]

Kind of surprised Yoshi snuck on there.


Kind of really surprised.

Looking at the vote distribution and honourable mentions, I'm not really surprised. Those seven two-point votes added up.

As I told Noi, since his single-point vote for The Witcher 3 was one of the deciding votes for W3's ranking, a lot of the little votes add up even if they seem inconsequential. What a thrill.

But as I say every year, I don't really care about the ranking. I just want to hear what people have to say about the music. I want the discussion. If I didn't discuss VGM with anyone this year, I probably wouldn't have listened to half of the soundtracks in the archive due to time constraints and other 2015 factors.

 

[Jintor]

Congratulations to our esteemed winners! What a year for OSTs. I'll have to go back and re-listen to the Witcher 3, and play Xenoblade Cross and Hotline Miami 2 at some point.

 

[ohlawd]

feels good that none of my votes made it

more like what the fuck you guys. this thread is almost as bad (just kidding) as the GotY 2015 thread that's ending soon (not kidding)

gonna play Undertale when I can.

 

[random25]

Surprised with Xenoblade Chronicles X not only making it, but making it as high as top 5. For all the hate it got well before the game's release, I'd never expected it to get as much votes for best soundtrack. I'm happy for the turnaround for some people.

 

[AniHawk]

Kind of surprised Yoshi snuck on there.


Kind of really surprised.

it definitely surprised me. i was sort of expecting something more like kirby's rainbow curse instead of this surprisingly great platformer with a rad little soundtrack.

 

[NEO0MJ]

Transformers was robbed, robbed I say!

 

[Dangansona]

Damn Danganronpa didn't get a shout out at all? It's all my fault for not voting.

If it's appropriate, let me throw out the games theme:

https://youtu.be/vATlONpoS1I

Oh and also for a more relaxed selection, the track "Beautiful Dead" :
https://youtu.be/IkCvFYGHY7c

 

[Earthpainting]

Undertale cleaned up this year, but it feels earned. "This year"'s votes got me to check out the music of Transformers Devastation, Atelier Shallie, Fafnir Knight, and Assassin's Creed: Syndicate. I most likely wouldn't have listened to any those on my own, so thanks!

 

[AniHawk]

great thread, by the way! thanks for putting it all together.

 

[Jintor]

Damn Danganronpa didn't get a shout out at all? It's all my fault for not voting.

If it's appropriate, let me throw out the games theme:

https://youtu.be/vATlONpoS1I

Oh and also for a more relaxed selection, the track "Beautiful Dead" :
https://youtu.be/IkCvFYGHY7c

dr and dr2 are from 2014, right? Not elligible. They didn't chart either because DR1 and DR2 split the vote

Schala you're missing the 2014 results thread in op

 

[Pellegri Testament]

dr and dr2 are from 2014, right?

The music he linked is from Another Episode though, which came out summer of last year.

 

[Jintor]

The music he linked is from Another Episode though, which came out summer of last year.

man i totally forgot about AE.

I wouldn't have voted for it anyway, a lot of remixes of tracks that were only a year old, original music not as hype

 

[McDougles]

Ori coming in at #10 is a travesty.

 

[Dark Schala]

dr and dr2 are from 2014, right?

Ultra Despair Girls. It got an honourable mention. I'll add it to the archive later, but Noi and I have been working on this since like... 5 PM EST so I kinda wanna sleep, haha.

(thanks for the heads-up for the 2014 archive; my template didn't seem to have it)

great thread, by the way! thanks for putting it all together.

Thanks. It wasn't just me alone. This time I actually sought out help, so those guys listed in the OP deserve just as much thanks.

 

[Jintor]

i look forward to this each and every year, so thanks schala and op helpers and gaf. Effortposting about music is something i don't do often, but I like doing it here.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

it definitely surprised me. i was sort of expecting something more like kirby's rainbow curse instead of this surprisingly great platformer with a rad little soundtrack.

I am like two stages in.

I should maybe play more.

 

[Gravijah]

BOOOOOO SOKEN SUCKS LET MIZUTA TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY HIS

 

[Benzychenz]

Kind of surprised Yoshi snuck on there.


Kind of really surprised.

I'm surprised it's so low. I kept expecting it to be the next game but as I scrolled my heart kept sinking 😭

 

[TWILT]

Yaaay Undertale won and by a huge landslide too. Happy that XCX got top 5 too.

 

[Malus]

X in dat top 5

ok why is CR17S19S8 representing it

wake up gaf and smell the fern

 

[Jintor]

X in dat top 5

x gonna give it to ya

 

[Nestunt]

Surprised of not seeing Axiom Verge

still, the top 3 are great. Specially Bloodborne and The Witcher

 

[Exterminieren]

Man, what a landslide.

Well deserved, though.

Great job, guys!

 

[Moonkid]

Cheers for compiling this list and setting it all up Dark Schala, I look forward to this year's as well haha. Can't say I have any qualms with the results, Undertale definitely deserves to be up there.

 

[Thoraxes]

FYI Schala, you only listed the people who did the pop songs for Stella Glow I believe. edit: Your links are good though!

Mitsuda and Tsuchiya did all the game stuff that was not the pop songs.

Full list is Procyon Studio, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Shunsuke Tsuchiya.

Also thank you for your work!

 

[Jintor]

yeah okay witcher 3 ost is legit. memories are flooding back to me.

probably should've nudged out my 3rd place vote. damn.

 

[CorvoSol]

Even in LTTP votes, Transistor cannot achieve first place

 

[NDP_Mulcair]

Splatoon should have won.

That soundtrack is so goddamn fantastic. Hell, I went out and IMPORTED the soundtrack from Japan, and I never do that...ever.

 

[PranooY]

Nice, My top 3 is same as this top 3.
Good work compiling the list.

 

[Eolz]

Great result thread as usual, and I've been quoted, woohoo!
That's my week of music at work sorted, always good to discover or listen again to some recent tracks.

I don't think Undeetale deserved to win, and even less by this much, but still congrats to it and Bloodborne (didn't expect it to be number 2 despite being likely this year's gaf goty).
Really good top apart from that, makes me realize 2015 wasn't actually that weak in terms of good OSTs.

 

[AniHawk]

I am like two stages in.

I should maybe play more.

for my money, it's good-feel's best game. they do some fun stuff with the yarn/cloth aesthetic. it actually feels like the super mario 3d world way of doing things where each level has a good idea and then it's dropped for another good idea. i'm left wanting more.

the soundtrack has a lot to do with it too. i didn't expect that out of this thing.

 

[Auctopus]

No Syndicate is crazy. Pretty poor results, IMO.

 

[Forkball]

I'm a bit bummed that Xenoblade X didn't position at

ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR

 

[Grexeno]

Undertale crushed it.

 

[Jucksalbe]

Too bad, Kirby didn't even make the list.
In the end I'm surprised Xenoblade placed so high despite being such an "acquired taste". Before Undertale I'd have thought Splatoon would win it this year, with Undertale it didn't even come close.

Thanks for all the hard work you put in, Schala and everyone who helped with this thread.

 

[AniHawk]

I'm a bit bummed that Xenoblade X didn't position at

ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR

 

[Jawbreaker]

Shocked that Undertale won by a landslide. Utterly shocked! Needless to say, you're not going to have a bad time listening to its soundtrack; the win is thoroughly deserved.

Thanks for quoting me on the Bloodborne entry, by the way. I would have written so much more about the soundtrack, but I've had limited time lately. I'm genuinely surprised that it captured the #2 spot after reading over the original thread a few days ago. It seemed like Splatoon had a lock right below Undertale, but I guess they were close enough that it wouldn't be easy to discern from a cursory glance. It was my #1 pick so I'm not upset obviously, just pleasantly surprised. Dark Souls III has a lot to live up to musically, but if what we've heard thus far is any indication, it should be another stellar soundtrack.

 

[SatoAilDarko]

Surprised Splatoon didn't place higher. Then again it was barely edged out of third place.

Xenoblade Chronicles X edged out a fifth place spot so I have no reason to complain.

No Rodea but I wonder if more than a dozen people have finished that game of GAF.

I can't hear you,
I can't see you,
Woo Hoo hoo,

Do you know what movie this is from?

 

[NotLiquid]

Thanks for the wonderful work this year as always Schala! While Undertale was #3 of the year for me its victory is totally deserved as its a complete marvel of an OST. This was a good year for video game soundtracks.

 

[mrmickfran]

*Lists Xenoblade Chronicles X*
*Doesn't list Uncontrollable*

Schala pls

 

[Dark Schala]

FYI Schala, you only listed the people who did the pop songs for Stella Glow I believe.

Yeah sorry. I stopped handling the archive halfway through and passed it on to someone else to work on the op. I know that info and I'll fix it when I get home from work. Even between Noi and I, we can miss what the other does (especially when both of us are begging each other to go to sleep).

BOOOOOO SOKEN SUCKS LET MIZUTA TAKE WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY HIS

I keep meaning to respond to your pm and I keep forgettingggggg

 

[MrS]

Good to see the Hotline Miami 2 soundtrack finish in a respectable position. The music really makes the game.