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NeoGAF's Official Game Soundtracks of the Year 2016: Voting Ends January 15th

F

Funyarinpa

Member
1. The House In Fata Morgana
Every other year, some game rolls around and knocks my socks off with its poignance and atmosphere. This year, that game for me was The House In Fata Morgana. From its story to its art to its music, Fata Morgana is quite possibly the best game I have ever played, full stop. But of course, we're here for the music. Well, Fata Morgana is special in that it has more than 60 tracks, and half of them are vocalized. The average VN soundtrack has around 20-30 tracks and usually a couple vocalized one (for the opening and ending). Fata Morgana collects works from five different composers (Gao, Mellok'n, Takaki Moriya, Aikawa Razuna, Yusuke Tsutsumi) and the end result is a majorly vocalized soundtrack (lyrics in Portuguese and French!) astounding in its variety and unwavering in its melancholic, poignant mood. It's now my favorite soundtrack of all time.
Here's some sample tracks (that are even better when heard ingame!):
The March of Time
Everybody's Crying
Bianco o Nero
Ciao Carina
​

2. Umineko When They Cry (Question Arc)
Umineko is a stellar achievement when it comes to soundtracks. It has more than 100 songs, and they're all top-notch; be it for establishing atmosphere or accompanying a tense scene, or just for conveying a feeling of peace.
Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Thanks for being born
Hope
Dead angle
​

3. Zero Time Dilemma
It pains me that besides the soundtrack list, ZTD is going nowhere near my GOTY lists. Its best aspect is the soundtrack.
Interminable Dilemma
Morphogenetic Sorrow 3rd Mix
Placidity 2nd Mix
​

LTTP Vote: Transistor
I bought Transistor on a whim during the Steam Winter Sale. Little did I know that it has one of the most wistful, moody and yet catchy soundtracks I've ever seen.
Old Friends
The Spine
Forecast
​
 
S

Stoze

Member
Soundtracks of the Year 2016
1. Hyper Light Drifter
Disasterpeace
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Cult of the Zealous, The Midnight Wood, The Sentients, Panacea

2. Furi
Carpenter Brut, Danger, The Toxic Avenger, Lorn, Scattle, Waveshaper, Kn1ght
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Danger 6:24, My Only Chance, Danger 8:02

3. ABZÛ
Austin Wintory
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No Field Was Formed, Delphinus Delphis, Their Waters Mingled Together

Honorable Mentions
4. DOOM
Mick Gordon
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Rip and Tear, BFG Division, Mastermind

5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Blood and Wine
Marcin Przybylowicz, Mikolai Stroinski, Piotr Musial
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Wine Wars, The Banks of the Sansretour, Fanfares and Flowers

LTTP Vote
Flywrench
Various
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Kuh Lida - Left Lane Right Brain, Daedelus - Speeds, Baths - Tourian Courtship, Syndakit - Helium Crew Anthem 2

LTTP Honorable Mentions/Disqualified 2016 Ports
N++
Various
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Rival Consoles - Recovery, Zwei Kreise - Entrada, Len Faki - Kraft Und Licht

SteamWorld Heist
Steam Powered Giraffe
header.jpg

The Stars, Star Scrap, The Red Queen
 
B

bak4fun

Unconfirmed Member
S

StoveOven

Banned
I might come back to write some stuff later, but I wanted to at least make sure to get a vote in before this thread closes

1. Samorost 3
Floex

2. Bound
Heinali

3. VA-11 HALL-A
Garoad
 
S

sleepydeer

Member
I didn't play enough 2016 releases to fill out a full ballot but the N++ soundtrack is so great that I have to mention it, one of the best I've ever experienced. Unfortunately this year's PC release is a late port, so under LTTP.

LTTP vote.
N++ ; PC. dabp - Twunggg! (I Guess We'll Wait), Len Faki - Kraft Und Licht, Project e.l.f. - Newton, CWA - Conducting The Method, Function - Against the Wall. They get me in the N++ zone like nothing else. The soundtrack is also huge as well as cohesive and matches the style and mood of the game brilliantly - standing out instead of receding into the background.

Official Soundcloud etc. links here.
 
B

Budi

Member
1. Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, big fan of Michael McCann
2. Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt - Blood & Wine, while it doesn't reach the same heights as the original game. It's still a stellar soundtrack.
3. Virginia, soundtrack was the saving grace for me in this game. Without it I probably would have got a refund.

Honorable mention Mafia 3. The use of licensed music is maybe the best I've heard.
 
P

Papu_Kweh

Member
1. Final Fantasy XV
Somnus
Wanderlust
Valse Di Fantastica (World Map Arrangement)
Up For The Challenge
Omnis Lacrima
Main Theme
Cystalline Chill

What is there to say, really? A soundtrack ten years in the making, Somnus is still as foreboding and beautiful as when it was first played so many years ago.
Wanderlust is a wonderful exploration track that, unfortunately, doesn't play as much as it should. Whenever Valse di Fantastica came up, I just panned the camera around and listened, in awe.
There are many epic battle themes, such as the Apocalypsis variants or Omnis Lacrima but I gotta hand it to Up For The Challenge for always making battles exciting in the Cleigne region.
Final Fantasy classic tunes such as the Crystal Theme and Main Theme gets a really relaxing remix for the menu and a beautiful rendition at the end of the game, respectively.


2. World of Final Fantasy
World Of Nine Wood Hills
Labyrinth of Lights
World Of Beauty
Prismelody: Eternal Wind
Prismelody: Mako Reactor
Prismelody: Balamb Garden

A wonderful mix of new Hamauzu tunes such as the relaxing Nine Wood Hills or the mysterious, yet hopeful Labyrinth of Lights.
World of Beauty, played in one of the initial trailers is beautiful and serves as the game's main theme.
Remixes such as Eternal Wind and Balamb Garden are a fresh and welcome take on the originals. Mako Reactor sounds very eerie in this game.

3. Zero Time Dilemma
Morphogenetic Sorrow 3rd Mix
Placidity 2nd Mix
Monitor 2nd Mix
Interminable Dilemma
Ustulate Pathos

While some aspects of this game certainly fall flat as the conclusion to the amazing Zero Escape Trilogy, Shinji Hosoe's soundtrack isn't one of these aspects.
This game's rendition of Morphogenetic Sorrow, a very memorable tune for me, is simply heartbreaking.
Remixes from VLR such as Placidity and Monitor got revamped with some added instruments.
Interminable Dilemma is a haunting credits theme for the "bad endings", very different from 999's Quietus yet still chilling and appropriate.
Ustulate Pathos, better known as Carlos' theme fits his character very well, a hopeful and determinated theme with a blend of sadness and regret in there somewhere.

Honourable Mentions:
x. The Last Guardian
Epilogue

x. Abzû
Seriola Lalandi

x. VA-11 Hall-A
Every Day Is Night

x. Pokemon Sun & Moon
Champion Title Defense
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Thanks to those who posted that they updated their votes :D

I'm making my post kinda short even though I think I'm talking about seven things.

Eolz said:
So, there's still a day before the time is up, right?
Click to expand...
Yup, you have plenty of time. I try to give people the full weekend. You still have all of Sunday to make up your mind.

Granted, because of this (ie: because it ends technically starting with the work week), the results thread won't be up until Tuesday or Wednesday.
 
S

Stoze

Member
sleepydeer said:
I didn't play enough 2016 releases to fill out a full ballot but the N++ soundtrack is so great that I have to mention it, one of the best I've ever experienced. Unfortunately this year's PC release is a late port, so under LTTP.
Click to expand...

Yeah if it weren't for the port rule (which is fine), it would be my #1. Best soundtrack of the year imo.
 
T

TheDarkKnight774

Member
1. DOOM
The game soundtrack showed up and instantly got its hooks into me from the game intro. It enhanced the whole playthrough and i've gone back to listen to it constantly once the OST was released. A great industrial, NIN style OST

2. The Last Guardian
Not as great as SOTC, and music is like ICO in its not always there, but when it arrives it makes an impact and you notice it

3. Final Fantasy XV
Still working through the game but all the tracks i've heard so far have been lovely
 
M

Makoto Yuki

Banned
1. Final Fantasy XV

Final Fantasy XV's OST's greatest strengths is how it confidently blends a sheer breadth of musical styles while still living up to the grandiose nature of the series' musical legacy. Safe Haven's calming nature only highlights the vivid passion of Valse di Fantastica. Tracks in towns like Hammerhead convey a slow laid back nature perfectly. Relax and Reflect help round out the OST by adding something playful. When combat ensues, combat themes such as Up for the Challenge perfectly encapsulates a riveting battle anthem which borders on the daring while reveling in excitement. It's all these differing styles and compositions that create an engrossing soundtrack that manages to elicit great emotions in the listener.

2. Fire Emblem Fates.

3. Abzu.
 
M

Morrigan Stark

Arrogant Smirk
1. Dark Souls III

Easy winner. All the Souls games have fantastic, consistently amazing OSTs after all. And is that main menu / title screen too epic for its own good or what?

Main Menu
Pontiff Sulyvahn
Vordt of the Boreal Valley
Lorian, Elder Prince & Lothric, Younger Prince
Dancer of the Boreal Valley

2. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir

This has to be eligible as a majorly changed port, right? 25 new tracks is a lot, plus several got re-arranged or re-worked. Below are some very nice new tracks. The FFT composers strike again <3

Battlefields of Raging Storm
Forest Kingdom of Ringford
Winterhorn Ridge

3. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

Falcom never disappoints.

The Great Shadow Approaching
Spirit Cavern
Severe Blow
Tie a Link of ARCUS!*

* Originally from CS1 but it's in CS2 as well, I think it counts!

4. Xanadu Next

Falcom never disappoints, part 2

Eaglet Mountains
Xanadu Field
Xanadu Battle

5. Dragon's Dogma (PC)

Not eligible since it's a port, so it's an honourable mention, but boy does that OST rock or what.

The End of the Struggle ~ Imminent Triumph
Danger at Dawn (Hydra)
Griffin's Bane
 
O

Oneself

Member
I'll try and update with my favorite tracks off each games.

My ballot:

1. Virginia

A game inspired by Lynch's work in every way. The game takes inspirations from Twin Peaks, its soundtrack (by Lyndon Holland) was recorded and played live by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in the same location as both the ‘Lost Highway’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’ film soundtracks were.

2. Firewatch
3. The Last Guardian

Honorable Mentions:

1. Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero (great bass tracks and good use of instruments rarely heard in games like saxophone)
2. Uncharted 4
3. Hyper Light Drifter
4. Mekazoo (That Sonic3&Knuckles influence!)
5. Abzû (my ballot's 4th pick)
6. Bound
7. Rise of the Tomb Raider 20th anniversary (to my surprise)
8. Shadow of the Beast
9. Song of the Deep
10. Furi
11. Oxenfree
 
B

BinaryPork2737

Unconfirmed Member
1. The House in Fata Morgana
This soundtrack is something special. I honestly recommend playing the game/visual novel before listening to it.
Giselle
Main Theme/The House in Fata Morgana
Cicio
Ciao Carina
Fugitive Dust

2. VA-11 HALL-A
A. Rene
Through the Storm, We Will Find a Way
Every Day is Night
Who Was I?
Drive Me Wild

3. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Divine Powers Battle Theme
Foreseeing the Horizon
Normal Battle Theme
Boss Battle Theme
Tokyo Map Theme

Honorable mention:
x. Pokemon Sun/Moon
Gladion Battle Theme
Solgaleo/Lunala Battle Theme
Team Skull Encounter Theme
Tapu Battle Theme
 
G

Grisby

Member
1. Watch Dogs 2

Nothing has gotten more play on my Phone this year than the OST to Watch Dogs 2. I've listened to most of the tracks every single day, be it riding on my way to work or taking a walk around the neighborhood.

The tracks here would be worthy of final boss battle or epic set pieces.

I should say that when I reference the WD 2 OST I'm specifically talking about the original music that was made by Hudson Mohawke.

Here's the thing about the Watch Dogs 2 OST. It feels original. It's hard to explain but I've "heard" FF15's tracks before, as well as Hyperlight and Virginia's. There sounds have all whispered and gasped close to my ears at some point or another, demanding to be listened to, but Watch Dogs 2 stopped all that and offered some clean and original beats.

There's hop in this music and fight in these words. While the game was decent, it's story of digital rebellion was anything but, however, this ost got us there, by allowing to turn the tables on what a mission songs should really sound like.

It should sound like "Robot Finale", My fights in the bar should feel like "Shanghaied".

I implore you to take a listen. The game turned out much better than it's sequel, but the true rebellion, the true message that the game is trying to tell you is through it's music. Fantastic job.

Some standout tracks:
Play N Go
Shanghaied
Robot Finale

2. Virginia

You can't separate the Virginia and it's soundtrack. It's scored in such a way that I feel like the conductor was hunched over by the game designers watching every step of the coding process.

I was on the edge of my chair during the section where the track "Flash Forward" starts, getting closer to the screen as the music rose. This track alone was probably more epic than any other AAA game track this year and it's hopeful, rising tones contrasted crazily with what was taking place on screen.

The scene was good and to me was the most memorable part of the game, however, "Flash Forward" gave that section it's life force. It pumped that blood and fire which in turn made for some crazy scene energy.

It's a good soundtrack, full of mystery and dark tunes that perfectly capture the game's mystery of a small town, the lost boy, and the folks that try to find him. With some hints of smoke and cigarette tunes of course.

You can't cut the game and score in half. You just can't.

This soundtrack is Virginia.

Top picks inculde:
Flash Forward
Sojourner's Truth
Taxi Ride

3. Hyper Light Drifter

Disasterpiece has a unique sound and they brought it to Hyper Light Drifter in full force, lending the game the group's trademark "ethereal" and haunting musical atmosphere.

I don't think the OST is as strong as Fez and I was having a tough time deciding whether or not this or FF15 would get my last spot. However, Hyper Light left a stronger impression and as I listen to the tracks below I can almost feel like I'm back in the game's world, watching a top down tale of intrigue and action unfold below me.

Top picks
Acropolis Falls
The Midnight Wood

It was a good year for soundtracks. I thought for sure Dark Souls 3 would get in my list due to Abyss Watchers alone but sadly, I feel it didn't have much else to back it up.
 
T

TheDancingWatermelon

Member
1. Final Fantasy XV

Like the game it comes from, the soundtrack had its ups and downs for me; but the highs are too strong to be denied. The game has some really fantastic battle and boss themes that will probably cement themselves on my music playlist for years to come.

Hellfire
Up for the Challenge
Veiled in Black (Arrangement)
Main Theme from FINAL FANTASY

2. The Last Guardian

A beautiful and emotional soundtrack that picks its spots masterfully to enhance what is happening on the screen. It never overwhelms you and instead effortlessly weaves itself through both quiet moments and grand set pieces. The Last Guardian was quite the experience and its music helped it soar even higher. I still tear up a little listening to Epilogue, what a fantastic, uplifting cap to the game.

Victorious
Finale | Apex
Epilogue

3. Furi

A phenomenal OST; chock full of high-energy tracks that complement the gameplay in such a fantastic way. Each track's rhythm and tempo fits with the overarching nature of each encounter, and works to capture it's style and personality.

The Toxic Avenger – Make this Right
Kn1ght – Something Memorable
Carpenter Brut – You’re Mine

Honorable Mentions:

x. DOOM

I’m honestly a little surprised my front runner for most of the year got derailed and will have to settle for an honorable mention. BFG Division is just a musical force, and I love At Doom's Gate.

x. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 2

Love the game, but a lot of retreads and I just never got attached enough to most of the new tracks. Really enjoyed every time Blue Destination fired up though.

x Pokemon Sun

I feel like this could have potentially cracked my list if I wasn’t halfway through it at the deadline. Just a very enjoyable soundtrack so far; the Guzma Battle Theme is such a hot mess and yet I love it to death.
 
K

kierwynn

Member
1. Final Fantasy XV
I find most Final Fantasy OSTs to be pretty good, but XV's in particular is just pretty spectacular. I understand some of the criticism as far as how it's used in the game (it's something I've discussed with my husband a few times), but that doesn't change just how good the OST as a whole is. It's interesting how the music enhances the game. During the big story fights, you could have zero idea what is going on (which is how I felt lol) but once the music gets going you start to feel it and it doesn't matter how clueless you are- you're totally sucked into the moment and the fight is all the better for that. My biggest complaint about the OST and how it's used in the game is how the game has some excellent tracks that are used very sparingly or hardly at all in the game. Valse di Fantastica is probably the biggest offender of this- I've been in love with this track since it appeared in early trailers and yet hardly has any presence in the actual game. Regardless, the OST deserves all the praise it's been receiving. FFXV would have been a much weaker game without it, imo.

Fave tracks:
Apocalypsis Aquarius
Valse di Fantastica
Somnus (Instrumental Version)


2. Steins;Gate 0
This game really knows how to use music to get you into the scene and hype you up during the really hardcore scenes. Re-awake in particular did this really well. Not only did it mix 0's theme (messenger) with the original's theme (Gate of Steiner), but it just really elevated the scenes it was used in and really conveyed how big of a moment it was.

Fave tracks:
Re-awake
GATE OF STEINER
Messenger -main theme-

3. Pokemon Moon
I really enjoyed how Pokemon Moon was able to sort of meld the classic Pokemon type music we're all used to with the sort of tropical theme and aesthetic that makes up the game's setting. The music is different and interesting but familiar and nostalgic at the same time.

Fave tracks:
Island Trial
Battle! Champion
Battle! Hau
Battle! Team Skull Enforcer Gladion

Honourable Mentions
x. Final Fantasy XIV patches

FFXIV keeps up with the awesome music, especially with the warring triad.

Equilibrium


LTTP vote
NieR

Been playing NieR to prepare for Automata. I could say a lot about NieR... but all I'll say is it's just soooo good.

Song of the Ancients (Devola)
Hills of Radiant Wind
The Dark Colossus Destroys All
 
A

AniHawk

Member
1. shantae: half-genie hero ; um, so i wasn't expecting anything remarkable from this, but i think you could take this soundtrack, put it into any old-school sonic game, and you would have a hard time telling it didn't come from those. just really fun, upbeat and techish sounding music that helped ease some unfortunate repetitiveness and backtracking.
dance through the danger
counterfeit mermaids
barrel-o-mermaids
tassel town

2. the last guardian ; i don't have much to say other than it's just really affecting and it grows on you.
overture lore
homeward
epilogue

3. oxenfree ; the music here was sometimes a little too 'hipster movie: the game' in a way, but the majority of it was pretty nice.
alsos
against the waves
days past

x. pokemon sun ; i was actually really surprised that i found myself enjoying the music in a pokemon game to the degree that i could remember it outside of the game.
battle! trainer
champion battle music
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Previous Posts:
2011 Soundtrack of the Year: 1, 2
2012 Soundtrack of the Year: 1, 2, LTTP Post
2013 Soundtrack of the Year: 1, 2, 3, 4
2014 Soundtrack of the Year: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Soundtrack of the 6th Generation: 1 / 2 / 3
2015 Soundtrack of the Year: 1 / 2
Soundtrack of the 4th Generation: 1
Soundtrack of the 1-3 Generation: (lol this isn't even a ballot tbh)

2016 was good and bad (for me, I mean like... you know how 2016 was overall). Kinda boring cuz I felt like I was stuck in the same place for quite a while. But whatever: I graduated after ten years of uni, passed my cert exam, and should be licensed to practice now (well, I submitted the registration documents last week). You know that feeling when you're in school and you think when you graduate you're gonna have a ton of free time? Heck no, that didn't happen!

I didn't play a lot this year (well, by my usual standards) because I had a very intense final year of school (residence/practicum at a hospital and rigorous exams) which didn't completely end until October. I ended up playing most games like most folks during the last month of the year. Because of that, my ballot is probably going to be a little different from my previous votes cast in SotY: there is no import game on this list! The Canadian dollar sucks, but even if it didn't suck I probably didn't have much time to play an import game. My choices are probably going to be a little predictable, though. One of them definitely is.

Overall, I feel like 2016 was hit or miss to me for both games and soundtracks; a lot of them merely going through the motions, and a few standing above the crowd. I can't help but to feel, as someone who has been mostly divorced from current games (and games media, to add) for the last 14 months and trying to get back into it all in one month, that it's difficult to get back into a comfort zone with recent games. It's actually a bit confusing and interesting trying to get back into the swing of things after a hiatus that was mostly ”playing FF14 with my group of friends when I got home from a shift at the hospital or between studying for medical exams or studying while three of us had an anime-watching night".

Anyway, I still managed to complete a few games by the end of this voting phase to lend credence to how I felt about some games' soundtracks. While my shortlist included soundtracks for games I didn't play, I wanted to list soundtracks from games that I did play this time around. Much thanks to the people who gifted me a few games this year since they did help in me narrowing down my shortlist (and retaining my sanity). You're great friends.

I sort of want to say that I don't really want to pay attention to soundtrack ranking because in a lot of ways, all three of these soundtracks rank as first to me in much different ways. My first soundtrack is my favourite soundtrack of the year by a technical standard. My second soundtrack is my favourite soundtrack of the year in terms of relationships and memories forged with others. My third soundtrack is my favourite of the year in terms of making me feel like I was a kid again. All three rank as numero uno to me. I just had to lend a ranking to them for the purpose of this thread.

1. Furi

AMqdAdg.jpg


Furi's soundtrack hits you hard upon just starting the game. In 2011, I wrote at length about The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword's soundtrack in that year's soundtrack of the year thread and referred a lot to how dynamic that particular game's soundtrack was. The dynamism lent a lot of the soundtrack's power at the time.

Furi goes fucking wild with it.

Carpenter Brut, Danger, The Toxic Avenger, Lorn, Scattle, Waveshaper and Kn1ght all contributed original tracks: all of these artists are notables in the EDM/synthwave genre (you may recognize Brut from Hotline Miami 2). I hecking love EDM and synthwave. It's one of my favourite, if not my favourite, genres of music, so Furi's soundtrack gets me. It's quite difficult to outright review this genre for me because I guess it's because I'm classically trained? It's genuinely hard for me to give a precise breakdown of every track. So I suppose what I can truly say is that it's pleasing to hear that every artist was told about every boss, what their abilities are, and other aspects of the gameplay that the could mould each piece of music to that particular boss's style. I couldn't help, as I was playing through Furi and listening to its soundtrack, to be reminded of El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron in this fashion; all of the boss themes in that game may not have been dynamic (phase change music was present) but they were certainly shaped for bosses and their personalities.

Every track's tempo and movement was styled to capture every boss's movement, every boss's trick, and how they wanted to deal with you. Parts of every track is composed in such a way that it loops and changes during phase changes of the fight, or when various attacks are going to happen. In that essence, the pacing of every piece of music is dictated by you, the player. You have the agency to turn the tide of every fight, and you have the agency to thus change how the melody is being played. While other soundtracks of 2016 tried to capture the essence of dynamics, a lot of it is left up to environmental influences or where you are in the town, or if it does happen in a boss fight it only happens after you whittle the boss down to x HP or the music changes outright. With Furi's soundtrack, it's amazing how even the littlest things change with your input. That's the truest piece of player agency I can ask for. Even when you pause the game, it'll tell you who did which song you're listening to in the game at the time.

While dance and electronic music tend to get criticized for being repetitive, I kind of like listening to the melodies of a lot of songs meld and fold into each other in a bid for experimentation. My older cousins listened to dance music almost all the time while we were growing up, so I suppose my affinity to the musical style is almost organic at this point. Furi actually uses this guideline of repetition (ie: boss phase changes per pellet and life bar you take down) to its advantage, especially in terms of how the movements in its music works. In this fashion, the boss's movements itself and when you take down the hit point bars work every well in synchronization with the music's ever looping style. Parry well, and the music tries to synch with you as you complete melee combos on your weakened enemy. Furi may be repetitive, but that's its asset. It's a lot like how some electronica songs like Around the World, Da da da, It Goes Around The World (La la la la la) are repetitive but builds but Furi isn't quite as repetitive as such because most of what happens in the game and fights is dependent on what you, as the player with agency, do.

It's quite difficult to capture Furi handing the player agency using its album release, however. A lot of the cool stuff that happens in every track happens later in the song on the album release, sometimes even 2-3 minutes in. If the album is a little underwhelming for folks to listen to in isolation I completely understand that. However, every track works so well in the game partially because of your own hand and agency that I can't help but to feel like every single track is worth listening to, and that this is one of the best soundtracks of the year.

I am aware that this soundtrack writeup is much different from my other ones but I just have a small inability to classify and breakdown music in these genres. So I tried! Some of my favourite tracks include:

What We Fight For &#8211; The final phase for this fight is excellent, and you can hear bits of it at about three minutes in (to be honest, a lot of folks who like 80s electronic stuff or pop would probably dig it). There is a bit in this phase where you can try hitting the guy's shield with a charged shot but the reflected damage hurts like heck!

Make This Right - As mellow as the theme is, you'd be surprised with how intense the fight is in-game. The final phase is just... bullet hell. AoE attacks, lasers, you name it. I also genuinely love the chopped up vocals, and the theme hits the right spot at 2:30.

You Are The End &#8211; Ripped right out of the 1980s with a synthesizer coming with it and a slower tempo. Hold my hand.

My Only Chance &#8211; The credits theme sounds like a reprieve with finger snaps, and a lower yet consistent tempo.

Really the entire soundtrack is worth a listen, but it truly is very well-executed in context.​


2. Final Fantasy XIV: The Gears of Change, Revenge of the Horde, and Soul Surrender

I love Final Fantasy XIV, and I love Masayoshi Soken. This patch cycle, while not perfect (I don't know if it was fatigue or if I exhausted the 3.4 content early&#8212;maybe both), has given players so many pieces of music to clamour over. As some of you know, I play Final Fantasy XIV with a few people I'd met via GAF and other folks from other forums I've met through other people... and unless it's a bad day, I talk. A lot. XIV is largely a social experience for me, so much of what I think about in reference to its music is how I probably cleared that content with others. I don't like to say that that partially fuels my love of this music, but I can't necessarily help but to hear a piece and think, ”Haha, I remember the time when..."

3.2: The Gears of Change



3.2 isn't really my favourite patch (and that's only because it gets overshadowed by the patch that came after it) but I'll probably remember it as ”the patch I started shifting to a healer role in my group" (because we needed one pretty badly). So therefore the track from this patch that stands out for me is Fiend. I'm guessing that if I did a quick search on this forum, an article discussing a band and their relation to this theme would come up. The fanfare from that situation seems to have died down and the Primal band still performs this theme at the XIV Fanfests so I guess it's okay. Fiend is the theme for Sephirot, one of the Warring Triad bosses (one that you'll recognize from Final Fantasy VI), and at the time, it hit really darn hard. If you were a healer and hadn't healed The Binding Coil of Bahamut, you were in for a bad time (partially because one mechanic is literally lifted from the final turn of that raid). I was one of those healers. I didn't heal The Final Coil of Bahamut until later on in this patch cycle, and the thing about healing your team's T9 practice runs while filling in for your main healer is that you know the phases already and you know what your team's going to do. So drop in with a bunch of randomly picked folks across servers and unpredictability and a lot of butt-clenching happens. It's made to feel even more intense because you have nu-metal screaming into your ears and percussion that won't stop. And I kinda like that? It's a weird feeling, but it sort of screamed ”git gud" at you. The main theme of this boss fight was ”you're on a jump rope", and I dunno if that rings clear here. A lot of the things the localization team and the sound team likes to do is squeeze in lyrical content drenched in lore for that particular boss. Though sometimes I guess you can't hear it over ”THE EDGE IS CALLING TONIGHT" and think it's literally the theme song of the Dark Knight questline. We also got a companion precursor piece in a Battle to the Death arrangement from Final Fantasy VI, which is a higher-quality non-chiptune version of the theme, which includes a small arrangement of FFVI's battle theme.

Patch 3.2 also brought us two new dungeons. Down the Up Staircase for the Antitower (which actually has a timely in-dungeon Bowie tribute!) is a bit of a surprise because I was so used to a lot of the Heavensward-based dungeons essentially cribbing from the Heavensward theme. It's nice to see something slightly original although not completely. The small reference is kind of subtle, really. I love hearing piano-based stuff from Soken, and adding light strings makes it feel like a nice simpler Soken tune that says a lot in terms of beauty and majesty. We also got a Scars of Battle arrangement for The Lost City of Amdapor (Hard), which is also entirely piano based (and he snuck in a cute little tiny toy piano). Both dungeon themes are good, solid and consistent themes. Also there's some arrangement of some stupid FF4 theme whatever I don't care but Corvo does.

We also got a new raid tier. Alexander Midas tried to rectify the mistakes of Alexander Gordias. I think A8 brought people a lot of trouble, though. We only got one new theme for it: Metal &#8211; Brute Justice. I got my ass dragged in there by Corvo MYSELF so I ended up getting to know small attack phase changes by melody. Unless you push real hard, attack changes tend to work in-sync with the music pretty well! Music starts as you get pushed away, the tankbuster happens as the main melody kicks in, chorus starts as the boss uses his AoE attack on everyone. The second chorus usually starts after the boss jumps in the air towards one person. And so on, and so forth. The main chorus portion of this song happens as the big robot breaks apart, and then ends as the beam is directed towards someone. I, as a healer, really love that. I even love it when I need to throw a goad at someone, when I need to save a shadewalker, or when I need to put down a mantra. I'm probably weird but I like when XIV has minor song changes for attack phases or when it syncs well because it helps me to adjust to a fight better.

3.3: Revenge of the Horde



Revenge of the Horde is my favourite patch next to Dreams of Ice. Not only was it the end of the Dragonsong War, but it also had a ton of content that I don't feel like I've exhausted yet (and we're on the eve of patch 3.5!). It also has a lot of themes introduced to the game, and a lot of them I find quite memorable. Noi and I ended up waking up at the same time to do Patch 3.3, and we were joined by Corvo who was slightly ahead... so we ended up doing everything together anyway.

The Nidhogg fight is one of my favourites, and it rings pretty close to T13 to me (hell it uses every single Dragon fight mechanic in the book including one of T13's, so...), because it does something a little similar but it doesn't quite go as far as T13 did. While T13 surprised you with Answers (and Answers went along with its phase changes), Dragonsong greets you as you land on the Steps of Faith, and you don't even get to queue for the instance off of it. You're standing there with other players (provided you were there at the patch drop), and you're waiting to queue together. One of my best memories was just standing there staring in the distance with Corbutt and Noi, Noi asking if we're ready and all of us agreeing with an unanimous yes while listening to Susan Calloway sing Dragonsong to us. Dragonsong was on the Heavensward soundtrack so I can't really comment on it here, but its use in the Nidhogg fight and throughout the 3.3 patch makes me cry. It's probably my favourite Uematsu vocal theme by far, and listening to it during Fanfest was a joy. One of the reasons why I get so choked up listening to Dragonsong is because I know my friends were teary during the post-trial scene along with me.

The Nidhogg trial was a hard fight on patch day. We were lucky because we didn't wipe at all, but I was a dumb and decided to take up healing that day. Phase 1 isn't so bad, but Phase 2 (4:35 in that video) is where it starts going awry with the boss using every Dragoon skill in the book right down to Fang and Claw in Extreme difficulty. It's actually my favourite theme in the entire trial out of the two original ones because of the percussion and Heavensward theme recanting with synth strings. I love when it starts leading off with the theme and stops midway in favour of progressing further with the theme. The final theme, Revenge of the Horde instinctively makes me want to clench my butt in anticipation of stress. You see, our group 4-manned and cleared T13 a few months before this patch dropped. This boss has the same tankbuster in its final phase that T13 did. Every single time that choir crescendos and builds up to its climax, I keep thinking about it because that's usually when the stacking Akh Morn occurs, and all three of us were like ”oh god he's doing WHAT to the ENTIRE GROUP?" Corvo instinctively uses his Paladin cooldowns and covers Noi since he's tanking, and I use every single shield I could while my cohealer uses every regen skill they could and our monk throws all the mantras at the things + the bard plays Mage's Ballad. I make it sound like the worst thing in the world as the result of Nam-like flashbacks, but at the end of that day, I love fights like that. I love that the music syncs up so well with that stupid stacking Akh Morn that haunts me in my dreams. That's what I play this game for. Overall the three pieces of music that encapsulates the biggest trial is a great way to tell a story, and it climaxes when it needs to. I love all three movements for this, and it still makes me appreciate that Dragon is a darn language in this game.

We got two dungeons for this patch again. One of them is a legacy Uematsu theme, so I won't address it. Apologies is the Sohr Khai MSQ dungeon theme, which is a remix of the Churning Mists stuff and the Aery (which in turn is a semi mix of the Heavensward theme). I like its majesty: the piano carrying its melody, and then the synth brass breaking it down until the choir is brought in to carry the regular area melody. The area is a pretty big place, and the pacing of the track truly fits with it.

Can I not talk about Mhach? I get war flashbacks. I'm half-joking but really. Back and Left. Oh god use your panic heal on the tank during Hell Wind. Teamwork. Stop spinning Calofisteri. Anyway, the big thing about Mhach before this patch launched was that everyone was like ”oh man, this is going to be the Final Fantasy 9 raid!" Indeed, the Calm Theme and its Battle theme both arrange part of Final Fantasy 9's battle theme. It's different enough that it's not as easy to catch as any of the Crystal Tower material, but it makes for nice ”AHA!" content when you do. Ozma is one of the bigger bosses of this area (yes, that Ozma), and gets his own small intermission theme between renditions of the regular Heavensward boss theme. It's only 20 seconds long and loops over and over, but I don't think much of it mostly because I'm generally concentrating on other things in this raid, heh.

Soken channels his inner Shoji Meguro to produce The Fate of the Stars which needs to be used in something that isn't a sidequest instance (it's probably in PotD but I haven't heard it and I've been to 180). That electric organ is so damn fine, and it makes the theme feel like it fell right out of a Digital Devil Saga game. While it arranges Azys Lla and Fractal, this take ends up making the piece sound wholly new. When it breaks into the main melody and adds a little piano to take the place of the main theme, everything combines super-perfectly, with the electric organ falling in the background. It's not often you hear this out of Soken, so it's nice to see something like this in the game.

3.3 brought us Palace of the Dead up to floor 50. It's used as everyone's levelling ground now so I will miss you, FATE mobs in Northern Thanalan. You were cool people. With that, we got to revisit a lot of 1.0 Legacy themes re-implemented in the game, and a few new themes. The Initial Palace of the Dead theme for the first few floors was introduced and I suppose the instrumentation screams ”creepy witch". It's okay. I think I've heard it way too many times at this point but I really enjoy how waltzy it can be. Blackbosom is the floor 50 boss theme, and it's a mix of ARR's My Soul to Keep from Tam-Tara Hard or the Haukke Manor scenes with Lady Amandine. It's a little faster paced, has added laughter samples, and strings. My favourite part of this theme, though, is the jazzy percussion bit near the loop at the end. It's cute. The Go Go Posing Rangers event theme is used in Palace of the Dead now, but it was pretty good and emulated tokusatsu stuff really well!

Ooof, I didn't realize 3.3 had so much STUFF in it, to be honest with you. I think my photo album for that entire patch is gigantic.​
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
2. Final Fantasy XIV: The Gears of Change, Revenge of the Horde, and Soul Surrender (ctd)

3.4: Soul Surrender



I probably can’t discuss Blasphemous Experiment or Fog of Phantom because they’re outright ripped from the Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together soundtrack since a boss from that game is the Palace of the Dead’s final boss. I will say that I love putting the Fog of Phantom theme on in the guild house and turning the lights down low for unsuspecting people. >:D

This patch is notable for them actually changing the dungeon final boss theme, finally! Wow!!!! It only took four patches! Noi, Corvo, and I ran Xelphatol with a person who was just doing their expert roulette, and we were caught off-guard because I think some of us expected it to be an instanced battle theme or didn’t expect them to change the boss theme at all. Revenge Twofold is a more dramatic version of the Heavensward motif, adding choir, more percussion, and a small downbeat portion with synth strings. Going by the video for the remix of this theme on the Duality soundtrack I assume it was a placeholder or was originally going to be used for the 3.3 trial. I’m glad they ended up swapping the theme out and using it in a different spot. It ended the monotony, and it makes bosses sound and feel more dramatic. While the instrumentation is lower-quality than desired, I appreciate the composition and use of more instruments to simulate drama.

The new duelling theme is an EDM/piano version of Heavensward’s Melt, its battle theme. It’s not too bad and having a slightly different tempo, and I like that it drops the backing after its introduction. Up at Dawn is the Halloween theme, and it’s ripped straight from the Addams Family. I’m pretty sure it’s Noi’s favourite theme because sometimes I think he left it on in the FC house and he makes up lyrics to it when we come across it in our PotD runs. It’s pretty catchy and fun, and I love that the instruments sound slightly higher-quality!

The two dungeon themes are great, but I prefer one over the other. Great Gubal Library (Hard Mode)’s theme is great. A complete inversion of the original theme Ink Long Dry, it sounds much darker. While Ink Long Dry was a fun jazzy tune, Gubal Hard runs in favour of a piano and soft strings as its main flavour. I don’t particularly remember much of the lore in this dungeon outside of the 1.0 reference, and I don’t remember all of it being dire. Either way, I love that this theme is so easy to listen to as though I’m sipping on coffee on a rainy day because it makes getting it during roulettes easier to bear. Grounded, the Xelphatol theme, just reminds me of Ixal dailies and I don’t really want to remember those.

3.4 brought us to the ending of the Alexander storyline. A lot of us have been down on Alexander for the entire patch cycle, for what it’s done to the raid community, for having a lacklustre story, and just… kinda being samey, I guess. I feel like this tier was good, though. I enjoyed healing it and being Ninja/Bard in it a lot more than I did the other two tiers. We got three new themes for this raid, and all of them are pretty good. One of them does a lot of cool things with layers. The final tier consists of two themes: an unnamed Phase 1 theme, and Rise. Phase 1 is rightfully dramatic, starting with sombre strings and a slower tempo. The tempo rises, and the percussion along with it. I love the piano/xylophone breakdown near the middle of it, especially when it syncs at the point when adds pop out or when Alexander casts a group-wide Holy.

Rise is a completely different type of theme and no one knows the lyrics outside of “SONIC BOOM” and “A to the L to the EX”. I know the first thing off the bat people might notice, like I did, was that “wow the mastering and production on this track isn’t the best!” I am kind of hoping we get a more produced version on the soundtrack or something, but I kind of understand why it didn’t happen in-game. This theme has dynamics! And it does it by removing layers and adding layers! One of the mechanics in this right is time stoppage. During time stoppage, you hear the BBC News theme. No. I’m being serious. It’s great. You get to take pictures of yourself in the air and look around so Alex doesn’t blindside you while you’re frozen. Every layer is returned when time returns. The theme itself is pure Soken: it’s weird, it’s catchy, and it works.

I think my group and I agreed that the Song of Patch this time around was Exponential Entropy, aka: FORWARD AND BACK. Going by Fanfest, I think a lot of people felt this way, even though I think a lot of people hate this turn? I have a love-hate relationship with it. I hate it when we wipe in DF, but god I love this fight so much. It’s stylish, you get to ride a stupid transformer, the mechanics look flashy as heck, and the music is the chillest fucking thing. It feels a lot like it fell out of a Daft Punk album, and has a similar repetitiveness as Around the World at one point. The portion after FORWARD AND BACK that mentions the song’s name is great because I like the spoken singing. I even love the screaming FORWARD AND BACK bit followed by calling back words to the shout prior to the recitation of Locus’s chorus. It’s also backed by a cute little electric piano at one point, and as soon as you put an electric piano in something my heart melts and I love it. There’s a muffled instrumental version of it in the final portion of Alexander that you hear as a DD, and I wish you could hear even more of it in-game. Definitely one of the most chill tunes in the game, and certainly deserves its title of song of patch.

I keep struggling with the Song of Patch decision because I was really drawn to Equilibrium since hearing it for the first time. I thought the sample instrumentation used throughout made the tune sound a little sexy. It opens with a slow lyrical recital of “cintamani”, which is those little balls that she wields (cintamani are wish-fulfilling jewels in Hinduism and Buddhism), leading into a poem about a mother and daughter. Another aspect that drew me towards it was the fact that it sounded like a NieR theme. The vocalist is the same person who did Oblivion (Shiva’s Theme), so it’s nice to hear her do something that’s easy to listen to (and even an easy listening version of Oblivion on the Duality soundtrack!). Then I watched the Fanfest Lore panel for this song and realized that it’s legit a song about murder-suicide done to restore the balance created by Sophia, the Goddess who is the enemy you fight during this theme. WELL THEN. THANKS, KOJI FOX. Anyway, the percussion is great. The tempo of the theme goes quite well with the slower pace of the fight, whose design falls on “brain training” and taking a little more time to think.

It’s nice to hear Soken explore other genres of music in these patches. I’m actually kind of glad he hasn’t opted completely for Titan/Leviathan-like themes throughout this patch content and ended up going with some mellow stuff more often than not. I think it still demonstrates his growth as a composer of a major title, and I still would love to see him on a single-player project one day. In the future, I hope Soken gets some better samples or a live orchestra. He deserves it. I love how genuine and easy to access he is, and it’s easy to see when he plays his material during fanfest for fans, or when he’s going through directing arrangements on the arrangement album videos. DIS MY COMPOSER HE PLAYS A TINY TOY PIANO AND KICKS A BOX LIVE ONSTREAM.​


3. VA-11 HALL-A

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I listened to VA-11 HALL-A’s soundtrack during the summer when I was studying for my exams. I thought it was a good soundtrack back then. I didn’t play the game until December. It was the first time in a very long time that upon looking at the title screen and listening to the title screen’s music that I felt this game was made for me. Everything fit so well into place that I could’ve sworn I went back in time to when I was seven and trying some of these games out for the first time. I was actually going to put this at the top of my list after hearing the soundtrack in con text for the first time, but I decided to let things settle for a bit before re-evaluating. Nonetheless, I’m very pleased to call this soundtrack one of my favourites of the year and I hope to hear this composer on an RPG album one day. Well deserved.

I am genuinely enjoying my time with this game. Its take on sexuality is great, the spritework is wonderful, the dialogue is great, and it isn’t stressful to play around with. I was legitimately sipping a glass of wine and chilling out with the game. The fact that I could make my own bar playlist every single day was a joy. Even though I could pick and choose my favourite tracks, I decided to venture into territory I probably wouldn’t. The soundtrack reminds me of the best of Misty Blue, Shin Megami Tensei, and other PC-88 and PC-98 soundtracks I’ve loved since I was a kid.

A Neon Glow Lights The Way’s piano and synth works as establishing the game’s overall sound and tone. Essentially, I feel like the soundtrack assists in making the game’s seemingly-menial bartending job sort of fun. You absolutely get drawn into the game’s dialogue and animations/art style, sure, but making a playlist full of tunes and your ears perking up while you’re fixing drinks and thinking “man, I love that song!” makes the task feel less monotonous (disclosure: I love making drinks in this game). It sort of reminds me of when we put the radio on in the hospital, perk up when a song you like comes on, and the task you’re doing passes faster. While it’s easy listening, it works so well in a high-stress environment. Welcome to VA-11 HALL-A establishes the tone in this fashion too.

Every Day is Night has this effing awesome bass throughout, and that sax is great. I can’t remember what theme it reminds me of (I almost want to say it’s right out of Sonic CD because I love that soundtrack), but man I love how it starts up, and I love how it progresses. It’s probably my favourite theme on the soundtrack overall. It’s a hecking fun melody and I can’t help but to think of 1980s Koshiro after its initial few notes. Safe Haven is the save theme (iirc?), but I love its backing beat and simplicity. It doesn’t have so many channel layers or instrumental layers. It just stays simple like a reprieve. Snowfall is yet another one of my favourites because it just outright reminds me of old Phantasy Star themes at first, and I first started playing VA-11 HALL-A during a Canadian snowstorm, haha – great backing beat and lovely electric guitar.

Your Love is a Drug outright reminds me of the Misty Blue soundtrack with better samples and instrumentation (and hey, I love Misty Blue’s soundtrack and have zero things against any of the instrumentation on that soundtrack). Piano is great, the drums are great, and the overall melody is fun enough to sound like a regular pop theme straight out of the 80s. Dawn Approaches is an excellent synthwave BGM which uses catchy percussion, and I love how it progresses towards its ending. I also slightly enjoy that a track is basically named after Noi’s mantra for me: Believe In Me Who Believes In You (and it’s excellent).

I can go on, but the majority of VA-11 HALL-A’s soundtrack feels like a step back in time in a good way. I feel like I’m playing something on a PC-88 or Sega CD all over again, or even an old Shin Megami Tensei game. Overall, I’m quite pleased with the absolute quality of the samples used on this soundtrack, every theme’s tempo, the way each piece progresses, and how each piece works so well in tandem with the game they were produced for. Nothing’s obnoxiously loud and stands head and shoulders above the rest and tips the scale in its favour, the pieces don’t run together because they don’t sound alike, and every piece was composed to suit a steampunk era filled with different subgenres of music. The soundtrack fit the game like a perfect glove. I absolutely enjoyed this soundtrack from beginning to end, and it made, and still makes my playthroughs a pleasure to bartend. I’m looking forward to hearing more from Michael Kelly in the future.​


x. Let It Die

I haven’t played Let It Die. I’ve seen Let It Die. I also know that pretty much all the vocal themes on this soundtrack are called Let It Die and I’m not sure why but that sort of hokeyness makes me grin like an idiot. I suppose that when you think of Let It Die off the top of your head, much like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, you’ll think of the vocal component first over the instrumental component. And to be honest, I don’t blame you one bit. The vocal components were the themes I heard for the first time and I had to do some digging for the rest of it. Let it Die’s soundtrack features over one-hundred bands, put together by Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill fame. The vocal portion doesn’t stick to a particular tone; it’s actually all over the place, and I think it helps to lend to its breadth and depth.

Yamaoka, in an interview, noted that the soundtrack project had three themes: games as a media platform (allowing players to listen to and discover new music), breaking the wall between games and the music industry (due to restrictions in terms of creation and use of music in games – therefore the interaction between the music industry and games should be better and closer), and creating new global content (video games are distributed around the world, so hopefully music by Japanese artists can be recognized by more people around the world). While insert songs have been used in games in the past (a widely recognized model is Square Enix’s), it’s usually one artist or one style of music, or that music can even be replaced in a localization. The reason why sometimes it’s difficult is because of licensing, fees, royalties, etc. So in this case, what Yamaoka is doing is fairly ambitious. He selected very band based on his tastes regardless of genre, and I feel that works out in terms of trying to cater to as many people as possible. There are certainly some tracks on Let It Die’s soundtrack that are a little too heavy for me, but music like Erika Ito’s Let It Die hits the right notes with me, especially since the singer’s diction is so good. Every song is called Let It Die because it’s the artist’s or band’s own interpretation of the phrase “Let It Die” – therefore every song has different themes, different lyrics, and different progressions.

In a way I feel like multiple interpretations of a phrase reflects the many interpretations that many people have about one single soundtrack or one single game, and in that way I feel like Yamaoka gets it. He gets how people will interpret soundtracks and games differently and would appreciate aspects of both forms of media in different ways. Picking one hundred bands of different genres and different styles still would allow people to find at least one theme or song they like. These decisions, acting as producer and composer, makes Yamaoka’s experiment look successful.

Examples:
Let It Die (totalfat)
Let It Die (The Jetze Johnson)
Let It Die (Erika Ito) (this one in particular is my favourite simply because the singer’s diction is amazing and I love the instrumental background)
Let It Die (Magic Feeling)
Let It Die (Tancobuchin)​

x. World of Final Fantasy

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I could not put this on the list proper despite many of its tracks being original content because, uh, my favourite tracks on the soundtrack includes one of the best mixes of Blinded By Light in my opinion, partially because I love that introduction and I love it for adding a catchy riff, a nice bassline, and making the piece feel slightly jazzy without relying wholly on its classic violin instrumental. With that said, despite having a reputation of involving a few remixes from other Final Fantasy games, the original content that Masashi Hamauzu had composed for World of Final Fantasy is fantastic. I downloaded the darn PS4 theme for this game because I loved World of Nine Wood Hills so much that I hum it every day. I love the vocals and I make up my own.

The character themes are classic Hamauzu, drenched in piano, violin, and differentiating percussion. Lann’s theme uses its instrumentation to sound more playful. Reynn’s Theme is more horn-based and more dignified by comparison. Hauyn’s theme begins with a sombre piano solo and grows into something more with the addition of strings. Many of the original environment themes stand out to me because they do the right things and use the right instruments to execute the right ambience. Labyrinth of Lights is for the game’s Eclipsed Region (where it’s always dark), and thus uses a piano to drive it and lighter percussion instruments as backing. Labyrinth of Dunes uses a cute electric piano with ambient backing to simulate looking for the light in a darker and lonely desert. I love the The Joyride theme because it has a great bassline, and the guitar riffs are fun to listen to. I expected a Crystal Tower rendition for Labyrinth of Crystal, but instead got a guitar and ethereal based theme instead which eventually comes together to create a beautiful melody. Finally World of the Cathedral is one of my favourite field themes of the year from a classical standpoint. A simple string melody, sombre, and then added ambience and an erhu!

The battle themes aren’t really anything to sneeze at. I think the default battle theme is fine for what it is. I don’t necessarily like when primary battle themes are over the top because it’s something you end up paying attention to quite a lot, and I generally like them when they go in one ear and out the other after a while because they’re so easy to listen to; the instrumentation with the electric guitar and subtle percussion/piano works pretty well to not make the entire thing stand out until its climax prior to its loop. Giga World of Battle is one of the major boss themes and I love how it builds to its climax and subsequent piano backing. I couldn’t help but to think of a Mitsuda-style when I listened to Tera World of Battle and I can’t put my finger on why (I think it’s the tempo and instrumentation use – great percussion, particularly before it loops and throughout the beginning of it). It’s probably my favourite battle theme in the game. I’ve become incredibly familiar with the Mega Mirage theme only because Noi constantly uses Bahamut whenever he does something in this game. It’s pretty good! I love the post summoning portion of it because of the piano and flute.

I suppose what I like about this particular Final Fantasy soundtrack is that It realizes it’s a games soundtrack despite using high quality instrumentation and classical music influence. Hamauzu loves to inject his personal love of the classical piano and ambience into every tune to make something impactful yet befitting of the small monster-capture parody Final Fantasy game with a lot of wit and humour. None of the tracks feel like they run together at all fighting for superiority, and nothing generally feels samey because they’re so unique in composition and instrumentation. You can say that Hamauzu is “that violin and piano guy” but he never fails to impress me post-Sigma Harmonics (oh and the Sigma Harmonics reference in this game? Lovely!).

(Also, World Parade and its corresponding sequence is the secret best credits sequence this year I don’t give a damn.)​

LTTP: Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate

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Noi and I only started AC: Syndicate in December, and while I was inclined to dislike the soundtrack at first (Unity’s didn’t stand out as much, and I appreciated Rogue and Black Flag’s sea shanties more than the original content in retrospect), I ended up liking it from the very beginning. The audio cues are on-point, and many of the synch points’ themes when idling are gorgeous. I’m a little sad I didn’t play Syndicate last year because I probably would have voted for it or put it in my honourable mention list for being historically representative. Even the battle background music and ambush themes are great and slightly evocative of the rush felt when playing through the Ezio games to me. Absolutely an underrated soundtrack by Austin Wintory.

Examples:
Bloodlines, while a dark and dreary dissonant string and piano piece with increasing tempo, fits very well as a title/menu theme and introduces the player to Victorian England. The nod to Ezio’s Family in the game’s actual menu is also appreciated.

Soothing Syrup offers the listener beautiful pizzicato strings and woodwinds playing staccato notes. The plucking works for suspense and ambience until the very end with an uptempo string section.

Give Me The Cure – This song is great and belongs in everyone’s heart because it makes me laugh.​

Other stuff I liked:
-Stardew Valley (I got to play this late so I didn’t get to evaluate it well in context... but the melodies are nice)
-Shantae: Half-Genie Hero (haven’t played, but a lot of the material is super-hot – but hey one of the artists for this game drew my avatar! She’s super cool and a huge sweetheart!)
-Deus Ex: Mankind Divided (can’t play because first-person)
-DOOM 2016 (same—can’t play because first person)
-Hyper Light Drifter
-Kirby: Planet Robobot
 
N

NotDreamcast

Member
1. Pokemon Sun & Moon
(Junichi Masuda, Go Ichinose, Minako Adachi, Hitomi Sato, Tomoaki Oga, Hideaki Kuroda)
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When I first heard Ten Carat Hill in the demo, I knew this was going to be a good one. I'm not particularly eloquent at this, so Bewear with me for a while, there's Swalot to cover and I'm feeling enthusiastic.

Day & night music returns!
The main series first played with the idea of changing the music depending on the time of day in Pokemon Gold & Silver, by slightly altering the wild Pokemon battle theme (day/night). Pokemon Diamond & Pearl fully realized the idea, by giving all the towns and routes day/night variation as well as certain locations like the Pokemon Center and Pokemon League. Though many of the variations were fairly usually minor such as a tempo change, or the removal or addition of an instrument, the concept went a long way in making the world feel more dynamic. Jubilife City (Day) was pretty tight, but Jubilife City (Night) was even more tight with a sax thrown in, for example. After Pokemon Platinum, day/night music was missing in action for several years until it meekly resurfaced in Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, heard only when soaring (day/night)

But the Staryu have aligned, and day/night music variation has at last returned to the Pokemon world, albeit in a more limited form when compared to Diamond & Pearl, as only the towns, Poke Pelago and the Festival Plaza have day/night variation, but I'm ecstatic nonetheless. The town themes in Sun & Moon are pretty varied as well, so this'll be like hitting 1 Doduo with 1 Rock Throw.

The adventure kicks of with Iki Town (Day) and hey, an ukulele is at the forefront! Along with the guitar and the occasional playful piano and percussive trills, it's easy to visualize a quaint and sunny seaside town. It's precisely this sunny aura about Iki Town that makes it stand out from the series previous starting town themes. Take Kanto's Pallet Town or Kalos' Vaniville Town, which by comparison, stir up a bit of melancholia before setting out on a journey. Though with Iki Town (Night), the first of the day/night variations, I'd say that bittersweet feel is recaptured. The percussion is gone, and the only the ukulele and guitar remain, creating an absolutely sublime tune that would make anyone Drowzee.

Hau'Oli City, I feel, is where day/night variation really begins to shine. Short but sweet, Hau'Oli City (Day) much like Iki Town, puts the ukulele in the spotlight. Whereas Iki Town (Day) was lax and easygoing, Hau'Oli City (Day) carries a quick pace, mirroring the city's presence as the Alola region's most populous location. The ukulele carries the melody, but I like the way the percussion, bass and guitar mesh together, giving it an addictive head-bobbing nature while strengthening the impression of a bustling city. When the 3DS strikes 6PM, it's time for Hau'Oli City (Night), which is the most dramatically different variation in the game, as it throws out the ukulele which has been utilized heavily in the last three town themes in favor of a straight up jazz trio. The piano chimes in with that familiar melody, as the bass and drums drive the rhythm forward in an all around refreshing and relaxing take on the daytime version. When I heard this in the game's demo I couldn't help but Jumpluff in joy realizing day/night music had returned.

The second Island of the game is notable for showcasing the dramatic genre shifts each town exhibits in succession. Starting off with Heahea City (Day)&#8212;a quick paced upbeat bossa nova piece, which lays it on a bit too heavy with the horn in my opinion, but the organ acts as a nice companion to it. When the sun sets, Heahea City (Night) takes over which subdues the horn and slows the tempo down and really captures what I love most about Hitomi Sato's compositions&#8212;Comfey listening.

Paniola Town (Day) follows Heahea City, and it has all the stylings of a scene from the wild west. Paniola Town (Night), keeps up the momentum with a heavy emphasis on the harmonica and even throws in some whistling, which is a really neat touch. Paniola Town is one of the smallest towns in the game, so removing the percussion in the night version adds an appropriate air of loneliness to it.

I actually lied earlier. Hau'Oli City doesn't have the most drastic variation. That honor goes to the final town on the second island. Konikoni City (Day) continues the roller coaster of genre switching as things have shifted from bossa nova, to the wild west and now to something with a heavy eastern flair. It's an adequate piece, the xylophone trills are cute and it fits the town's Chinese aesthetic. What's important to note about the daytime variation of Konikoni City is that it sounds orderly and normal. Now we can get to the good stuff. When the sun disappears, the best town theme in the game reveals itself: Konikoni City (Night). Similar to the bewilderment felt when witnessing a remora evolve into an octopus, Konikoni City's night variation shatters the status quo set forth by the preceding towns. It's more exciting than the daytime version and goes for a ”nightlife" feel as opposed to the ”relaxing evening" angle every other night variation attempts. It goes crazy with strange phone beeping sounds and busts vocals out of nowhere. Everything about it is wonderfully eccentric and out of left field, and It reminds me of a long lost track from a Sega game.

It saddens me to move on from Konikoni City, but that's the way the Krookodile crumbles. The third island is home to Malie City (Day), another town with an oriental theme, but this time of a Japanese flavor. Tremolo is used to great effect by the guzheng/koto(?) and I also really like the bass around 0:55-1:04. After the craziness of Konikoni City's night variation, Malie City (Night) steps back into the status quo with a mellow rendition of the daytime theme. The drums are gone, but the guzheng/koto and flute remain, as well as the mallet instruments, giving off a very calming vibe. Malie City is stated to have close ties to the Johto region, and indeed, its music would fit right alongside the likes of Pokemon Heartgold and Soulsilver's Ecruteak City.

Last but very certainly not least is Seafolk Village (Day). This jolly, folkish sounding piece awaits on the final island, and man, that pan flute! The reverberation added to it 25 seconds in is pure Blissey. Seafolk Village (Night) is the end, and it's nothing short of wonderful. Out of all the night variations, I think it's the most tranquil. Honestly both variations of Seafolk City could be slotted into an Atelier, Zelda or Final Fantasy, and no one would Zubat an eye.

Gotta motif 'em all!
Moving on from my obsession with the time of day, I want to highlight the usage of leitmotif heard in Sun & Moon. While the main series is no stranger to utilizing leitmotif, Sun & Moon takes the concept to much greater lengths than any of the prior games and uses it in some interesting ways. There are three central leitmotifs to sort through, so let's Roggenrola.

Let's start off with Lillie's Theme. It's a delightful piece, yeah? The accordion and the violin feel like something out of a dream. It's very reassuring. All right, it's time to enter the spoiler tags
Hey, glad you made it in here. Over the game's course, Lillie's theme stands parallel with another leitmotif, Lusamine's Theme.* It's notably similar to Lillie's theme, using quite a few of the same instruments and has a similar delightful sound to it. Unlike the reassuring feel of Lillie's theme however, Lusamine's theme carries a very sinister overtone easily noticed by the erratic percussion and synths not found in Lillie's theme, as well as the uncanny tones of the glockenspiel and strings and the eerie repetition of the backing piano. Thus, despite sounding nice, it just gives off the feeling of ”this isn't right", which given the first encounter with Lusamine, the theme is right on the Seedot. Now, as the game continues, Lillie's theme starts to appear in more bold, more confident instances, such as Lively Lillie*, Solgaleo/Lunala Appears*, and Steely Lillie,* reflecting the character's growth. Lusamine's theme on the other hand begins to grow more unhinged and chaotic after her true nature is revealed as demonstrated in Battle! (Lusamine),* Lusamine's Madness* and culminating with Showdown! (Lusamine)*. Hearing both leitmotifs change so drastically from their initial appearance is interesting, but even more so is how they come together. Ultimately Lillie and Lusamine's leitmotifs coalesce in Mother & Daughter*, signalling the resolution of their conflict. Lusamine's theme is devoid of any discord, and Lillie's theme chimes in with its reassuring delightfulness&#8212;both of them meeting at the same wavelength, and I think that's just really a touching and effective use of music to strengthen storytelling, especially for a Pokemon game. Lusamine's theme has run its course at this point, but Lillie's theme reaches its end point at Lonely Lillie*. It's like, sad, but also really happy? Like using Rain Dance and then following up with Sunny Day. One of my favorite tracks in the game.

I'll unofficially refer to this next one as the ”Tapu Theme." First heard in A Tapu Appears, and shortly after in The Festival in Iki Town, this leitmotif sneaks around pretty often over the game's course, often times with an ominous slant. But before that, there's another leitmotif to talk about in tandem with the Tapu Theme: The Island Challenge Theme. First heard in A Captain's Trial Begins, it's the track that accompanies the various objectives set forth by trial captains in the island challenge. Righty-o, now moving back to the Tapu Theme, it shows up once more in the Island Kahuna's Theme, with a very mystical and somewhat suspenseful feel. The Island Kahunas are chosen by the Tapu, so it makes sense to give them a slice of the Tapu Theme. What follows is Battle! (Island Kahuna), which starts off with a very imposing rendition of the Tapu Theme, but wait! An Island Kahuna is being challenged, not a Tapu, so the track segues from the intimidating Tapu Theme into the very charming and infinitely sunny Island Challenge Theme. In a way, I think this mixture of serious and happy perfectly embodies the spirit of the Pokemon series. That aside however, The Tapu are heavily revered beings, so naturally when stepping foot into their hideouts, a heavily foreboding theme is in order, and The Protector of the Island is just that. While the Tapu can't be fought until the postgame, there are a few instances where visiting their lairs is required to progress, and such a foreboding track keeps the leitmotif fresh in one's mind. Eventually, the time comes to finally face these heavily worshiped beings. Battle! (Tapu) holds nothing back as it launches into a frenzy of chants, synths and percussion. I won't hesitate to call it one of the best, if not the best legendary Pokemon battle theme the series has had.

Last up, the jubilant Alola Region Theme. The vocals are a welcome addition and pack a Mega Punch, definitely, but the melody is no Slakoth either, and is easily discernible in all the various forms it manifests in throughout the game. The Alola Region Theme doesn't pull any fancy tricks like the above leitmotifs, but it does follow the player around a lot. My Home, dials down the extravagant presence for one more fitting of a standard JRPG house. The Festival Plaza delivers a whimsical day variation and a snazzy night variation, suitable for interacting with other players. My favorite instance of the leitmotif is Route 10 on Ula'Ula Island. Reminiscent of the triumphant brassy tunes of Hoenn, it's absolutely invigorating and it plays when the game is in full swing. The Summit of Mount Lanakila is the final stop in the game, and the Alola Region Theme sneaks in one more time, as if to give the player a last minute pat on the back. When all's said and done, Welcome Back delivers a heartfelt interpretation of the leitmotif before segueing to the Staff Credits&#8212;hey, this all sounds familiar!

Other notable tracks.
Lastly, tracks that deserve a mention just for being cool. Infiltration, while only be heard once for a short time in a quickly cleared area, instills a powerful urgency with its juxtaposition of ominous strings and droning guitars. Vast Poni Canyon somehow strikes a nostalgic chord with me and reminds me of video game music from the SNES/Genesis era. it's quite catchy and that funky bass packs a punch. Apparel Shop, secretly one of the game's best tracks, is a fun, bouncy tune which makes playing dress-up more enjoyable than ever. Salon on the hand has this... sensual R&B feel to it. Someday... continues the trend of Pokemon music becoming surprisingly poignant over the last few entries. Unsettling Atmosphere feels conspicuous among all the other Pokemon music, but it fits quite well during the cutscenes it appears in. Mahalo Trail nails down the surreal, spiritual atmosphere that exudes from all the lore found in the Alola Region.

And then there's Battle! (Ultra Beast) where I have no idea what the heck is going on in this track, but it manages to sound silly and threatening at the same time. The main series finally dabbles into hip-hop with Team Skull Appears! and the absolutely abrasive Battle! (Team Skull Boss) which is THE most lit thing this side of Mega Charizard X's blue fire. Battle! (Gladion) was music to my ears when I heard snippets of it during the pre-release trailers as I knew right away my main man Go Ichinose was back in action with his super-catchy, super-hectic super-slap bass powered battle themes after he was mostly absent from XY and Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire's soundtracks. Junichi Masuda keeps up the heat too, with Battle! (Solgaleo/Lunala) giving the cover legendaries an adrenalizing, electronic battle theme. Battle! (Battle Tree Boss) calls back to a number of series staples&#8212;Johto Champion, Kanto Trainer Battle, and the Kanto Champion&#8212;in an elegant yet blood pumping minute and thirty seconds. The electronic beats in Blue's Theme are obnoxiously good, and is a very welcome lift of a classic tune. The Battle at the Summit is as good as it gets, granting the player the most grandiose battle theme in the series, and bringing Pokemon's 20th anniversary full circle.

This wall of text, and I haven't even posted my favorite track from the game&#8212; Ancient Poni Path. Wistful, yet beautifully uplifting, signalling that the adventure is drawing to a close soon. For me personally, Sun & Moon has surpassed Diamond & Pearl, Black & White/2 and Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire and taken the spot as my favorite Pokemon soundtrack.

2. VA-11 Hall-A
(Michael "Garoad" Kelly)
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Step 1: Wait for night.
Step 2: Grab a drink.
Step 3: Be taken to synth heaven.
A Neon Glow Lights The Way
Every Day Is Night
Welcome to Valhalla
A. Rene
The Assignment
Nighttime Maneuvers
An Alternate Reality
Safe Haven
Synthestich
Karmotrine Dream

3. Trails of Cold Steel II
(Falcom Sound Team jdk)
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While making my way through the localized entries in the Trails series last year, I got pretty enamored with the tunes these Falcom guys were making. I didn't care that much for Cold Steel 2's music, compared to Trails in the Sky FC/SC or Cold Steel 1, but there's still some great stuff.

All the field themes Still Countryside, Ymir Valley Road and Wintry Arrival to name a few, perfectly portray the sweeping solemnity and gloominess the game's tone emanates.

The battle themes are quite good, but I must admit I probably would have liked Heated Mind more were it not coming off the greatness of The Glint of Cold Steel. Awakening with its signature piano is a tune that instantly sets to mood to exciting whenever and wherever it plays and goes hand in hand with Transcend Beat. Bring Up Trust! strikes some emotional highs with its violins while still managing to be a rockin' battle theme. Severe Blow never lets up in its intensity and has a nice callback to Trails in the Sky's Fateful Confrontation. Blue Destination works well as an uplifting counter to The Decisive Collision. To a Glimmering Tomorrow is likely the most saccharine battle theme I've heard, and I can't get enough of it.

Also A Quiet Decision is some A+ cutscene music.
 
S

SatelliteOfLove

Member
Ahhhhhh....now THOSE are some posts!

Love the nod to Blasphemous Experiment even though it doesnt "qualify". Iwata is slept on even with that flute solo.
 
N

NEO0MJ

Member
SatelliteOfLove said:
Ahhhhhh....now THOSE are some posts!
Click to expand...

Dark Schala is the queen of detailed VGM posts, though Dreamcast did a great job as well.

Didn't play Furi or HLD like I wanted and so I should probably post something before it's too late.

1. Kirby: Planet Robobot
Kirby games rarely disappoint when it comes to soundtrack, and this is no exception.
P-R-O-G-R-A-M
One Last Shot

2. Pokemon Sun & Moon
Game Freak went with a different direction for this game's soundtrack and one that I like.
VS Guzma
Battle! Tapu

3. Dark Souls 3
A little too "more of the same" but the soundtrack got me hyped regardless to fight bosses.
Iudex Gundyr
Nameless King

Honorable Mentions:

x. Doom
While I liked it I can't recall it well and some tracks felts a little too similar.
Mastermind

X.Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice
Had to disqualify it as some of the better tracks were from the old games. Still, the theme of Mr. Reus was great.
Mr. Reus ~ The Masked Magician
 
F

fhqwhgads

Member
1. Kirby Planet Robobot
A game that's really resonated with me and I think way more people should play. As with most Kirby games, it's got a killer soundtrack and unlike Rainbow Curse, actually makes good use of the tracks rather than leaving them in the sound test only.
Befuddling Skyscraper
Tridimensional Cannon: D.D.D.
Combat Strength Measurement Program

2. VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action
GAF seems to really like this game, and with good reason in terms of just how stylish it is. I haven't even gotten through the whole game yet, so I've not heard every song it has to offer, so I'm hoping there's some surprising waiting for me in future.
Commencing Simulation
All Systems, Go!
Nighttime Maneuvers

3. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
The soundtrack isn't as good as Pirate's Curse but it's still extremely catchy with a good handful of standouts. Wayforward always does well with it's music so it was no surprise that this was going to be somewhere in my top 3.
Boss Battle
Mermaid Falls
Rottytops' Song

Honourable Mention: Mario and Luigi Paper Jam
I didn't put this in the top 3 since it technically came out in 2015 for Europe, but it did come out in 2016 for America. It's still got a soundtrack I heartily recommend.
Big Bang!
Mountaintop Secrets
Time's Running Out!
 
M

MistaBowaa

Member
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1. Final Fantasy XV

The soundtrack of Final Fantasy XV is the only one from 2016 that I feel will be cherished years from now. It is full of homerun hits and has a surprising amount of variety in both style and instrumentation. Some of these tracks are instant classics and rival some of the best that the Final Fantasy franchise and the gaming industry as a whole have to offer.

A track that only appears briefly and can easily be overlooked, Dining Car is a jazz-infused remix of one of the game's adventure themes: Valse di Fantastica. The tune itself is reused in a few areas of the game, but it's use in Dining Car is my favorite. It appears during a somber part in the narrative, and it's reprisal here is a bittersweet reminder of everything that led up to that point.

Veiled in Black (Arrangement) is one of Final Fantasy XV's best battle themes. It is a very frantic track and fits perfectly with the overwhelming strength or number of enemies currently on screen. Though not as epic as the "not Elder Scrolls" track Apocalypse Aquarius, Veiled in Black contains the perfect blend of senses of urgency and determination in the midst of battle.

No discussion of Final Fantasy XV's soundtrack is complete without the game's main theme Somnus. This melancholy and emotionally-charged performance perfectly sums up the tone of the game's story, and it is used expertly in-game. For me it easily falls within a top 10 list of the best tracks from any Final Fantasy game.

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2. No Man's Sky

Say what you will about the game itself, but No Man's Sky has an epic soundtrack. 65daysofstatic, the math rock band behind the game's music, did a stellar job at creating a soundscape that helps define No Man's Sky's tone. A special tool was developed to dynamically generate what you hear in-game in real-time, based on random combinations of musical elements. As a result, you won't be able to find the exact track you hear in-game in the official soundtrack, but you will certainly hear pieces of the soundtrack in-game.

Supermoon, a track that paints a picture of activating your ship's hyperdrive and barrelling through the vastness of space, released ahead of the game's launch and was used in some of the game's promotional material. The combination of the layered choral portions and echoing piano notes is one of the biggest building blocks that make up No Man's Sky's overall identity.

A Minecraft-inspired game would be no good without a Minecraft-inspired musical piece. Hypersleep fits that bill quite nicely. It is an atmospheric track similar to that of the softer, more contemplative arrangements found in Minecraft, but with a space-like spin on it.

My favorite composition is Escape Velocity. It starts out with light piano, illustrating the beauty and simplicity of the stars. It slowly builds throughout the track, adding distorted guitars and synth to symbolize the chaos and complexity of space. It ends on a softer note, though, as if to say that despite our inability to comprehend the sheer number of stars and planets out there, it is all still encapsulated within one thing: the universe. At least... that's my interpretation. If the title is any indication, the track is likely about escaping a planet's gravity.

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3. Pokemon Sun and Moon

There are few things in life that are certain. One thing that is certain, though, is that mainline Pokemon games contain quality music. Pokemon Sun and Moon continue this tradition.

What struck me immediately was the island influence in some of the tracks. As soon as you start up a New Game, you are greeted with the Welcome to the World of Pokemon theme. The tribal chanting at the beginning is a firm statement that these Pokemon entries are different from their predecessors, and it also fits the island motif quite well.

The music for Pokemon battles, especially against major opponents, can often be quite dramatic. Typically these are the tracks that most Pokemon fanatics will stand up as the best in the series. Battle! Hau plays whenever you battle your friend Hau, but it isn't dramatic at all. In fact, it has the tone of friendly competition, which is something I really appreciate in a series known for having serious rival battles.

Though not the best track, Encounter! Team Skull sticks out to me as the most memorable music in the game if only because it really adds personality to the Team Skull Grunts you come across. Story details aside, it is because of this track that I feel Team Skull is the best enemy organization in the Pokemon series.
 
N

Nocturnowl

Member
Every recent year Schala claims a short post.
I should remember that short is relative in this case, good thing I also have my tea prepared.
Followed by Dreamcast, yeah maybe Coffee would've been better, I'm gonna have to pull an all nighter reading this.

Morrigan Stark said:
1. Dark Souls III

Easy winner. All the Souls games have fantastic, consistently amazing OSTs after all. And is that main menu / title screen too epic for its own good or what?
Click to expand...

I actually had to stop using the PS4 DS3 theme that comes with the menu music because it was actually way too epic for when I'm just sitting on the PS4 menu.
 
R

Rutger

Banned
Alright, I'm going to make this easy on myself and only vote on games I've played through this year. Though that's not too different from how I usually vote...
Anyways, I guess 2016 was an okay year for soundtracks, there's things I've really liked, but even with me saving P5 for next year I found my top three to be very easy to pick. So I'll get started

1. Pokemon Sun & Moon​

Well, it's Pokemon, it's pretty safe to expect a good soundtrack from this series. It's also safe to expect a Pokemon game's soundtrack to sound familiar, but Sun & Moon has also brought a few surprises with it to the Hawaiian inspired Alola region. I'm very happy with what we have here, personally I think Gen III's soundtrack is decent but forgettable and the recent remakes didn't change that, so it's nice to have Sun & Moon take the tropical setting and have some fun with it in a way Hoenn never did. This game also brings back variations of themes during day and night, something I believe only gen iv had, which is nice.

Welcome to the Alola Region A fantastic start to the game, with a ton of energy and a style that sells the feel of the world we are about to explore.
Lilly's theme.
Wild Battle theme.
Trainer Battle theme.
Hau's Battle theme.
Team Skull Grunt battle.
Totem Pokemon Battle theme.
Island Kahuna Battle theme.
Rival Gladion Encounter, and Battle themes.
Malie City Day, and Night themes.

I'm going to end it here, I could probably link to nearly every theme, haha. This has quickly become one of my favorite Pokemon game soundtracks, I won't be forgetting the sounds of the Alola region anytime soon.

2. Guilty Gear Xrd Revelator​

This is a bit of a personal pick for me. I was a little conflicted on giving a vote to Revelator, not because I don't love the soundtrack, far from it, but because the number of new songs to this version is pretty low. At the end of the day though, those few songs are easily some of my favorites this year. It's very tempting for me to give the first place spot to Revelator, especially if I factored in the returning songs from older games because Revelator has brought back great songs from the first GG game as well as from Isuka. This game is packed with great songs but my vote is on the handful of new tracks brought to the series.

So this is a Guilty Gear game, which means the soundtrack is all about hard rock and heavy metal, it's composer Daisuke Ishiwatari's specialty and it thematically extends into the character designs and even sometimes the gameplay, the music is truly inseparable from the series. Revelator is a sequel to Guilty Gear Xrd Sign, and like with the many revisions of the XX games from the PS2 era, it keeps the songs from Sign while adding new ones for new characters. There's six new characters, so six new character themes along with a handful of new vocal tracks(I said the number of new songs is low).

I feel I should also mention that not only is Daisuke Ishiwatari the composer, but he is also the character designer and the writer. Guilty Gear is his series in every way, and this is important because even if the story is just fun anime nonsense, he knows the characters better than anyone and is able to make sure that every character's theme can give the player a good idea of their personalty even without lyrics. There's a lot that could be said about how much of an integral part of Guilty Gear's identity its music is, but that's a discussion for another day, I'm here to praise the new tracks today.

Let's start with the arcade opening theme, Wanna Be Crazy
The arcade mode boss theme Sky Should be High, and without vocals.
Jack-O's theme, Juno.
Dizzy's Theme, One Dawn.
Jam's Theme, Bao Babel Nose.
Raven's theme, Tsuki no Shihai.
Haehyun's theme, The Tuner.
Johnny's theme, Original Bet. Easily the star of this soundtrack.

3. Final Fantasy XV​

It's almost like there's two different soundtracks in FFXV, there's the calm, forgettable background themes of many locations in the world, and then there's the climatic songs for battles and a few other standouts. Those themes in battles are great and stand up well with much of the fantastic music this series is known for, but sadly a JRPG soundtrack can't rely on those songs alone. The game also has a very nice selection of returning songs from throughout the FF series which is really nice to have, but this vote is still being made on the songs unique to this game.

Stand Your Ground.
Hunt Battle theme.
Invidia - Imperial Boss theme.
Up for the Challenge.
Apocalypsis Noctis.
Wanderlust. This is a pretty nice exploration theme, but it's always going to get interrupted unless I decide to stop exploring, haha.
Somnus.

Honorable Mentions​

X. Fire Emblem Fates​

The sound team from Awakening returns, and it's what we would expect from them. It was a close pick between FFXV and this for third place, I think this is more consistent but didn't have as many "wow" moments. There's not much more for me to say, it's pretty good.

Dusk Falls.
Road Taken.
Alight(Storm).

X. Blazblue Central Fiction​

There's another game with Daisuke Ishiwatari composing the music in 2016! Daisuke only makes the music in BB, unlike with GG, so it's not as strong a part of it's identity. It's still pretty great, and a bit of a different style from GG which some might find more appealing.
In the Shadows - Hibiki's theme.
Jaeger - Naoto's theme.
Walpurgisnacht - Nine's theme.


There we go. I could add some more honorable mentions, but I'd like to finish this up now. I ended up cutting things closer than I would have liked yet again, maybe I should start working on my Persona 5 vote for next year, haha. Anyways, I look forward to seeing the results, and to listening to music I haven't heard, which there's a lot of because I didn't play too many games in 2016.
 
S

Sciz

Member
First year in a long time where I've played enough games with soundtracks I liked during their release year to bother making a list. Will come back and write words later, time permitting, but I wanted to at least throw my hat in.

1. Kirby: Planet Robobot
2. Pokemon Sun & Moon
3. Pac-Man Championship Edition 2

X. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
X. Stardew Valley
 
K

Korigama

Member
1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II
Falcom Sound Team jdk (Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga)
The original Cold Steel already had one of the best soundtracks I've heard in any given JRPG, and this is no different. It never failed to have a perfect choice of song for every occasion, particularly in respect to battle.
Awakening
Severe Blow
Bring Up Trust!
Blue Destination


2. Nights of Azure
Kazuki Yanagawa, Daisuke Achiwa, Hayato Asano
A 2016 release that I unfortunately was not able to pick up to play for myself, but seeing as this is a ranking of soundtracks specifically, I can say that I have listened to its wonderful music extensively.
Malicious Roses
Floral Crown
Generous Grief
Goliath Z


3. Guilty Gear Xrd -REVELATOR-
Daisuke Ishiwatari
I was tempted to rank it higher, but decided against it since most of its tracks were also featured in -SIGN-. That said, the ones added to this make for an OST that leaves a much stronger impression than its predecessor's soundtrack did in spite of having had noteworthy tracks of its own, and is overall more in line with what I've come to expect from Daisuke Ishiwatari.
Sky Should Be High (Instrumental)/(Vocal Version)
One Dawn
Freesia
All I Can Do


Honorable Mentions

x. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Ryota Koduka
Not as good as the original IV's soundtrack, but still has some decent songs.
Asahi

x. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice
Noriyuki Iwadare, Toshihiko Horiyama, Masami Onodera
Similar sentiments as above, only in comparing this one to AA5's soundtrack. When it works, though, it works.
Potdino ~ Head-Banging


LTTP

x. Dead or Alive 5: Last Round
Yosuke Kinoshita, Kazuhiko Inaba, Makoto Hosoi, Hideyuki Suzuki
Before 5, I hadn't played anything new in the series since DoA2: Hardcore launched with the PS2 in 2000, but I see that the music is indeed still good.
Bloody Nocturne
 
D

Dark Schala

Eloquent Princess
Dreamcast did well!! Looking forward to reading through it. Rutger toooo, and MistaBowaa... and ... Heck, all of you.

And thanks for writing some comments for your own posts, you guys. I appreciate it. Loving the votes so far. I have them tallied up to my post so I'll just have to add a few.

Sciz said:
3. Pac-Man Championship Edition 2
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Oooh, I haven't picked this up yet. I'm afraid of listening to the soundtrack out of context in-depth (ie: after 2-3 listens) because I'm afraid I wouldn't like it as much as CE DX.

Nocturnowl said:
Every recent year Schala claims a short post.
I should remember that short is relative in this case, good thing I also have my tea prepared
Click to expand...
It is kinda short! I just couldn't really stop writing for a few aspects of it, or had to cut things short because GAF kept telling me my posts were too long.
 
G

Grexeno

Member
1. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice

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Defendant Lobby ~ Prelude to the Revolution

Cross-Examination ~ Allegro 2016

Pursuit ~ Cornering Together

Investigation ~ Core 2016

Nahyuta Sahdmadhi ~ The Last Rites Prosecutor

Apollo Justice ~ A New Chapter of Trials! 2016

Mr. Reus ~ The Masked Magician

Investigation ~ Opening Abroad

The Avian Princess ~ Guardian of Khura'in

Athena Cykes ~ Courtroom Revolutionnaire 2016

Dhurke ~ A Dragon Never Yields

The Woman Freed


2. Pokemon Sun & Moon

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Lillie’s Theme

The Festival in Iki Town

Battle! (Gladion)

Malie City (Day)

Guzma’s Theme

Battle! (Team Skull Boss)

Battle! (Lusamine)

Seafolk Village (Night)

Vast Poni Canyon

Battle! (Battle Tree Boss)

Battle! (Elite Four)

The Battle at the Summit!


3. VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action

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Neon District

Skyline

A New Frontier

Heart of the City

Every Day Is Night

Drive Me Wild

Good For Health, Bad For Education

A. Rene

Neo Avatar

Your Love is a Drug

Synthestitch

Digital Drive


Honorable Mentions

x. Doom

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Main Menu

BFG Division

Rip & Tear


x. Dark Souls III

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Abyss Watchers

Yhorm The Giant

Soul of Cinder


x. Oxenfree

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Epiphany Fields

Argonaut

Catbird Station
 
T

Thoraxes

Member
1. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II

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Overall, the approach to this OST fits the game perfectly. Cold Steel 2 has a much more serious, determined tone to it, with the hint of a somber cloud overshadowing almost everything. The situation of this game is pretty dire for the country, and really dire for the main cast. I feel like this mood is conveyed properly through the music, and it really elevates the experience. The title screen music really helps convey the tone of the game immediately. From the lighter colors of music from the first game, there's a much darker, warmer tone present that I found to be sonorously rich. I sat on the title screen for almost a half hour when I started up the game because I loved the title screen track so much. They encapsulated the feeling of the tone of the game so much, just like the first game's title music did.

Keep in mind, I do know that a majority of the music isn't live instruments. I'll note what instruments are being sampled though, to keep my sentences more concise. Also, please forgive the kind of stream-of-consciousness writing. I really just wanted to dump my thoughts, so I know I could make a lot of the sentences written better!

I figured i'll do some really basic analysis of a bunch of tracks I really loved and talk a little bit about why I love them. Let's just jump right into it.

Let me talk about two of my favorite tracks: Awakening and Transcend Beat.

These two tracks, coupled with what are arguably some of the most exciting parts of the game, easily elevate those moments to state of heightened bliss. You know when you play a game and every single thing just works together flawlessly to make this perfect moment that you can lose yourself in? That's the stuff this music goes with.

To spoil a little about context and why I love when these tracks are used;
every time Rean calls his Divine Knight, this music plays. These are special moments with special circumstances. Awakening is generally used when calling Valimar from slumber/sleep/recovery mode, hence the title. As Rean raises his hand to the heavens, he shouts "HEED MY CALL, VALIMAR THE ASHEN KNIGHT!" Not only is the execution awesome, but for most of the game he only really calls for Valimar's help when he's in a pinch. I can tell you that my brain instantly thinks of Valimar waking from slumber and flying as fast as he can, traversing great distances to get to Rean so that he may fight with him. As Rean hops in while his allies are in a pinch, he pilots Valimar to save his comrades.

Transcend Beat
is the battle music for while you're actually performing combat while in Valimar. Since Valimar is very strong, but at the same time yet incomplete due to only being recently awoken and bonded with a pilot, the music helps underline both the badassery and gravity of the situation. If Rean has to call Valimar to do battle, it usually means the situation of the current battle/story points are rather dire. Honestly, it just feels entirely appropriate in how it's used.

I think back to the Battle at the Twin Dragons Bridge for one of my favorite uses. It's your first real organized operation after having your faction's actions legitimized by political backing. Your group is going into a battle that includes fighting people, mechs, and a hostage rescue situation, as well as the retaking of a critical strategic vantage point by an allying army. As you declare your presence and demand them to cease hostilities and release the hostage (clearly they deny), your plan begins its execution. Your comrades subsequently teleport from the deck down to the front lines, and Rean in his mech jumps down from the dock of the ship, only to land right in front of enemy mechs, ready to fight and clear a path to the inside. The music starts playing right as you declare that you're commencing the operation, and goes through to the actual fight scenario.

So take this all in for a second. That first track is used when summoning your mech, and the second is while fighting. I argue that the synthesis of the gravity of the situation, the battles themselves, the visuals, the voice acting, and the music all come together to create this moment that is honestly something I feel comfortable calling perfection.

But that's enough about context. Let's talk about the actual music itself, shall we?

Awakening

The opening fourteen seconds of Awakening are just so good. It's essentially a fanfare to what's about to occur (which I've outlined above). As a kind of call to arms, I feel like it captures the mood of activation and summoning perfectly. The opening seven notes, taken as part of the first phrase-group of the phrase, are immediately recognizable and signify exactly what's about to happen in a way that seems almost effortlessly done. When Rean raises his hand to the heavens and shouts, and you hear the music play, you know what it means. The amount of effort into designing such a musical cue in the intro the piece is really well done here. The way the percussion is absent for the first half of the intro really helps solidify the musical idea in an unimpeded manner, with oscillating harmonic notes carrying the sense of movement till the percussion takes over in the second half. The long sustained notes under the melody outline harmony reflective of the severity of the circumstances that such music should be played.

When the percussion and drum tracks enter, the whole flow of the piece is established with a percussive emphasis on beats 2 and 4. Contrast that with the entry of the heavy bass octave oscillation that changes on beats 1 and 3 (with more emphasis on the lowest note on beats 1 and 3), and you have well put together fundamental structure to build your entire piece on. Bass octave oscillation is something I love because it breaks up the uninteresting texture of just sustained or repeated bass notes, and gives life to the bass voice by adding movement that's engaging and plays to the strengths of an upbeat tempo.

After the cool-down to the intro and establishment of the harmonic structure by letting the accompaniment loop once without the melody (with harmonic changes to transition into a main section better), it removes the need to repeat the melody twice, and allows the music to move in a more free manner. When the melody starts in the piano-like electronic voice (doubled by a high synth voice at a low dynamic), the first two notes are a call back to the first two notes of the piece. While the opening was a descending P5th, the start of the melody is an ascending P5th. This interval becomes the backbone for the entire piece. Essentially most of the melody is built around the P5th (think of it like the music's skeleton support system), but obfuscated through normal NCTs to create a more interesting melody. When the strings take over, they use a different approach of a M1st for melody blended with a P5th for harmonic leaps in the melodic figure. Add in the now multi-voiced melody, and you have yourself a really good, contrasting B section. The previous melodic voice is added in for a duet, then immediately goes into the C section where there's some back and forth, followed by a doubling of both voices playing the same content to really drive home the importance and finality of the section. Eventually the unison ends when the bass voice reaches tonic, sustains it for a while, and the loop repeats.

[As a minor descrption, think of NCTs (non-chord tones) like a coloring book. The main notes are the outline of the drawing and form the fundamental structure of the picture (the important notes of a musical structure), while the color you apply fills in all the little details (non-chord tones).]

Transcend Beat

Transcend Beat is probably one of my favorite tracks in gaming because of how cool it is. The opening bass note drop is so good to signal the start of it, and sets a tonal center fast. The percussion is heavily involved right from the start, and the ascending higher voices contrasted with the descending bass note make the start of the track texturally extremely attractive. As the higher electronic voices play in counterpoint to the now stable bass voice, the way the rhythmic counter-play between the two voices alternate between on-the-beat and off-the-beat patterns are reminiscent of a lot of the work Yuzo Koshiro has done in the past. The drum track immediately reminded me of a lot of the styles of grooves he used in all of his Streets of Rage works. Just from what I can ascertain from my ears alone, I can hear about 10 or so different textures at once in this first main section, including percussion. It's all elaborately layered that I can only imagine that whoever slaved over this track probably spent weeks managing not only the composition itself, but the EQ and production for actual use. A ridiculous amount of care went into the balance of elements in the track that I constantly think about it in terms of how much awe it inspires in me.

When the melody enters, it's already an immediate contrast to Awakening. Since this is all entirely electronic sounds and sound manipulation through EQ/gain/waveform types/filters, that plus the portamento-wheel use in the melody to make it more vocal in terms of quality (lightly emulating vibrato), really make the melody easy to engage with, and extremely attractive to boot. Where Awakening was okay with moving through melodic ideas and never looking back, Transcend Beat looks to establish and build upon its melodic ideas. The first time the melody plays it's in a solo voice. the second time it's the same melody but harmonized. Repetition is used to create stability and identity in this track.

When the second melodic idea comes in as an in-between between the two main sections, the harmonic structure moves towards the darker, richer keys of the piece with the flat 6 to 5 motion in the bass voice being inherently unstable due to the tonal placement of those notes in relation to tonic, which provides an excellent opportunity to cool down between main sections and provide a compelling reason to move to the next section; as is the case with all well-written transition sections. The melody doubling in voices instead of harmonizing like the first section provides a good contrast to the material both before and after it. The melody in the second section also contrasts to the first and third sections by extending the lengths of the notes of the melody. Where the first and third parts have a lot of motion to them with flourishes, the second section's melody is much more consistent in motion, like water slowly rising and falling.

In the last main section the melody is a simple three-note idea elaborated upon with NCTs, and integrates lots of step-wise motion into the fundamental notes of the melodic figure. Since it's harmonized from the beginning, the use of a key change occurs to add a bit of flavor into the melody upon its repeat and ultimately creates a nice lead-in to the loop repeat.

Taking both the composition and context into consideration, I feel like these two tracks are exemplary standouts in terms of musical prowess and sound design. That isn't to say the rest of the OST doesn't live up to this standard (it definitely does), but in a pool full of A+ good music tracks, these stand on top for me. No joke, I've probably spent around 1000 hours or so listening to these tracks on loop in long, 8-10 hour nonstop bursts. When I fall in love with a piece of music, I indulge in a way that allows me to know every part at all times and how they interact and influence each other. I find it extremely gratifying and never boring, for a really well-made piece of music can eternally hold my interest.

With those two out of the way, i'd like to do some coverage of categories of songs to outline some favorites.

Field Music

They added a bunch of new field music to this game. The first field track you hear in game is Wintry Arrival. The tone of the piece is immediately apparent. It feels cold, with that somber tone I mentioned earlier. While it's in a minor key, what really stands out is the part writing from the accompaniment. Instead of consonant sounds, there's lots of clashing harmonies and extended-tertian part-writing that makes it lush harmonically, but also reflective of the more serious tone of the music. All the clashing and suspensions really help fill out the sound. The ostinato in that deep bells-like sound doesn't change once (not in note content, nor in rhythm), and is a constant presence that's interesting more because of the instrument choice rather than note choice. It's an interesting sound presence that, coupled with the piano and woodwinds like oboe+flute, make for interesting orchestration that's aurally just as interesting as the note content.

Crossing Over the Horrors of War is probably the most live instrument-like composed field track of the bunch. What I mean by this is that it would effortlessly transfer over to a live performance medium should that ever come to pass. A very jdk Band track if you will. The kit playing is reminiscent of the Old Schoolhouse pieces in CS1, very chill and more atmospheric than something like a rock groove. Much like the bell-like sounds in Wintry Arrival, the piano ostinato is a constant here, only dropping out in a transition section before returning in a higher register for the B section.

Trudge Along wins the award for ostinato i've most thought about over the past year. I'm pretty sure I can sing those twelve notes over and over and over and overrrrrrrrrrrrr and never get tired of it. The way it moves and the intervals chosen for it instantly captured my heart. The bass voice is electronic this time, and has a nice amount of grit to the body and punch to the articulation of the sound, which, in the transition section changes to a smoother legato sound. In the B section, the bass voice regains that punchiness, and provides a nice textural point of comparison to the transition section. I can't put my finger on it what exactly I want to say about the melody, but the melody is just a fun piece of counterpoint to the bass voice and ostinato. In the B section the melody is just a solid piece of part-writing (and fun to sing too!). When the B section hits, I absolutely love the way the bass voices moves against the melody. The rhythmic counterpoint really fleshes out the texture, all while keeping the integrity of the importance of the parts in tact.

Battle Music

Earlier I mentioned Awakening and Transcend Beat. In the same vein of those two is Blue Destination. This battle track comes up at a key point in the game, and has musical ties to the first game with CS1's final battle music The Decisive Collision. I would call it a certain character's theme, so it showing up makes perfect sense here. However, I was very surprised at just how good the material from that track had been transformed for use in CS2. I guess emotionally I would categorize its sound as a sort of happy/sad sound with determination. There's a sense of accomplishment and familiarity, but at the same time there's a sense of maturity to it. Without spoiling anything, i'll just say that it honestly fits the moment it's used in absolutely perfectly, and elevates the scene. The vocal version of this melodic material plays shortly after in the track I'll Remember You, which is also quite good. It's just a really good track that manages to convey so much, and captures the scene perfectly.

In what i'll just categorize as the
Ouroboros
fight music, Severe Blow is an awesome successor to an already great history of battle themes for this organization. Also related to this discussion is Law of the Battlefield (though it plays for more than just this enemy group's music in CS2). The first thing to point out is that since these enemies are a series-spanning organization, they have a distinct musical identity that shares musical ideas and thematic material across multiple games. As i've not played the Crossbell games, I'll mention two tracks from SC as points of reference; Fateful Confrontation and The Enforcers.

Starting with the intro to both battle tracks, they carry the same rhythmic tendencies, and both use eight main bass notes (ignoring the last NCT for SC's) for the intro. Where the guitar part in SC's song is ascending, CS2's is descending. They both have a section that is just accompaniment without any melodic voice, followed by a full melodic section. While they diverge more here, the repetition of the main phrases occur in a different order, but they both repeat that melodic content, then subsequently go into a contrasting part without harmonization of a the main voice before introducing a third section that uses a double bass-drum pedal. Then, the last section before the loop for both tracks is almost exactly the same; the way the accompaniment and melodies act certainly are. CS2 and SC. I'll spare you the harmonic analysis, and just mention that there are plenty of similarities there, too. I absolutely love how the fight music for these villains sounds so different and awesome, but on a fundamental level are so cleverly composed to maintain a unique aural identity that's persistent across many games. Totally awesome track.

The main battle theme is Heated Mind. Just an awesome track all around. I love how distinct the opening melody is, and the way it's repeated twice with different instrumentation each time. It has a really good call to arms feel and the sound identity of it is so distinct. Much like CS1 used piano in the main theme, Heated Mind does the same. While CS1's main battle theme had more of a focus on the electronic instruments for accompaniment, CS2's is primarily more of jdk Band track in terms of instrumentation. Not better or worse, but different while remaining a solid successor to CS1's great main battle theme. My favorite part of the track is definitely at what i'd call the chorus of the piece, which is the section where the intro's melodic figure comes in, but with the full might of the band this time. It's a good way to tie together the musical ideas in a way that befits a climax of a piece. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did, but I can gladly say I like it a lot.

Town Music

Not too much new here because of how the game is structured, but the new music that's introduced is great. The music for Ymir I felt was done really well, and it captured the snowy town's essence. For more on that, you can check out most of CS1's town music. All totally killer stuff.

Miscellaneous music

Reunion; Appropriately titled, it's a really lovely track that captures the emotional essence needed to properly convey these scenes.

The Witch of the Abyss; A thematic carryover from the first game, it's an awesome realization of that thematic material and makes for a great character theme.

Relief Towards Tomorrow; A nice major-key track that captures the moments of peace nicely. It moves with grace.

Altina; A really good character theme that has instrumentation that captures not only the essence of her character, but underlines her background by utilizing specific electronic samples. You can tell what kind of existence she is just from the music alone.

Forward, With Determination/Relentlessly; Title screen music that's also used at some key story points. It absolutely captures the feeling of the game in the best way possible. The contrast of the use of the bass voice between the major sections really helps the listener recognize the somber mood of the game.

Awakening Will; Awesome awesome awesome track that compliments the moment's it's used perfectly. It's the "Shit's about to get real" music for when you're in a certain location preparing for what's ahead. It sets tone for the severity of the situations you're about to face, and the bass voice goes a long way to establish a sense of movement; something all too important when considering the location where this music plays. It's also a fantastic remix of the Heimdallr town music from CS1 as well.

A Quiet Decision; The most pop music thing in this game. It feels so cheesy but I love it anyways.

To the Irreplaceable People; This song coupled with the scenes it's used in never fail to make me choke up a little, maybe even some tears. It's like the perfect emotional song to accommodate the scenes in which it appears. At about 1:40, the bass voice and melody are absolutely phenomenal. The way the bass voice subverts the standard harmonic progressions with the secondary dominant to V of the major key is absolutely crucial in the emotional impact of that section. I LOVE THIS TRACK SO MUCH and it made me cry on more than one occasion when it was used.

The Sunlight of Spring; Everything I wrote about To the Irreplaceable People (since it's an arrangement of that track), except where it's used and the scenario it underlines absolutely wrecked me. I played a lot of this part of the game wiping the tears from my eyes, or holding them back, and this music played a large part as to when those moments would happen, particularly the way the bass voice moves at 1:32. Heck, i'm even feeling emotional right now just listening to it as I write this post.

Phantasmal Blaze; The section of the game this music is for is great. It captures the grandeur of the situation and location perfectly. It's also features another great rendition of the Heimdallr theme in the most grand way possible.
 
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