Arkage
Banned
As an actual musician I have to disagree.
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OPINION: Castlevania Harmony of DIssonance has the worst soundtrack in the series
- Thread starter Alex_Mexico
- Start date
As an actual musician I have to disagree.
It's ok to have bad taste
Alex_Mexico
Member
It's bad but still better than HoD. I'm not even joking.
The original LoS legitimately has an amazing soundtrack, though. Very different but great in its own way.
Alex_Mexico
Member
It checks out since he did say in this podcast that the only way he could beat CotM was with a Gameshark. Whined how Dracula was too hard (he is hard but only when compared to Igavanias, but it's not DRACULA X SNES or NES hard).
I was seating in my car remembering how I beat CotM legitimately back in 2001 when I was 15 so... what the hell, Jeremy?
Z
ZelbZelb
Unconfirmed Member
Well, Harmony of Dissonance takes place in the time period of Baroque art and music and the they tried to emulate that. They definitely got the art down, but trying to capture the Dissonance technique from Baroque music with a messy 8-bit sound font just isn't happening:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieZqkB3v7tI
Dissonance is the purposeful lack of harmony. It's used to give the impression of instability, anguish, and a need for resolution to stability. In the song I posted, you can hear the two musical patterns exist apart from each other, and the overlapping and battle of the two creates the emotional weight of the piece. If you go back to Hod's soundtrack you can understand what they were going for much better.
'Harmony of Dissonance' is a play on this notion, as the seemingly two different castles aren't meant to be separate like in SotN, but two entities that overlap each other. I guess it also loosely references cognitive dissonance with Maxim's limited character development.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieZqkB3v7tI
Dissonance is the purposeful lack of harmony. It's used to give the impression of instability, anguish, and a need for resolution to stability. In the song I posted, you can hear the two musical patterns exist apart from each other, and the overlapping and battle of the two creates the emotional weight of the piece. If you go back to Hod's soundtrack you can understand what they were going for much better.
'Harmony of Dissonance' is a play on this notion, as the seemingly two different castles aren't meant to be separate like in SotN, but two entities that overlap each other. I guess it also loosely references cognitive dissonance with Maxim's limited character development.
I was 7 when i beat that game if a child can do it he can.
butman
Member
Hilariously, the credits music is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_33KeSXmB4
They saved the best for last, quite literally. Kinda weird, since Yamane isn't exactly a stranger to chiptune stuff, she did some nice shit on the Genesis after all
They saved the best for last, quite literally. Kinda weird, since Yamane isn't exactly a stranger to chiptune stuff, she did some nice shit on the Genesis after all
When I realized this it was kinda awesome.
But because GBA is backwards combatible with Game Boy it has the original GB sound chip. That's why there's so many GBA soundtracks with chiptune stuff. For some reason HoD was all about that.
I actually really like the game and the soundtrack has its moments too. I kinda see why most of the people don't like it but I think it's decent.
But because GBA is backwards combatible with Game Boy it has the original GB sound chip. That's why there's so many GBA soundtracks with chiptune stuff. For some reason HoD was all about that.
I actually really like the game and the soundtrack has its moments too. I kinda see why most of the people don't like it but I think it's decent.
Music was done entirely in software on the GBA, the game wasn't optimized enough so they had to resort to the GB chip for the music. Also why so many games either use 8 bit sound effects or 8 bit instruments mixed in with the music.
Graphics Horse
Member
Yeah I hadn't realised it was about half and half, first time I've heard it with headphones, quite enjoying it now.
Certainly. I remember when you tried to say Tropical Freeze was going to pale in comparison to LoS2 and also your Suicide Squad avatar.
I can't find a source on this so correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC Yamane only did a few tracks on HoD, the songs I seem to recall are that credits song + Vampire Killer 2K. edit: Actually, no, might not include Successor of Fate anyway. Hmm.
Gai Murakumo
Member
I thought it was generally agreed on that it has the worst Castlevania soundtrack.
IndieJones
Member
I played through it last month. It's great! I turned the sound down as far as it would go - farther, even - and had a blast. A quiet blast.
I feel like I wasted money buying backlight-modded GBAs to revisit lots of GBA titles. The sound hardware is atrocious, enough to make one not want to turn on the system and play.
Same, I was 16 or so. It's not a hard game at all. What the heck is wrong with him?
Never forget his UGnG review.
Buddy Mcpuddy
Member
You need to replay Circle of the moon.
Graphics Horse
Member
This track's pretty good https://youtu.be/qtAG611Z73c
Oh wow.
Love cotm and went straight back to it after HoD, lost count of how many times I've played through it.
Oh wow.
Love cotm and went straight back to it after HoD, lost count of how many times I've played through it.
dreamlongdead
Member
Never played the game, but the opinion pretty much is the consensus. The game's music was criticized even when it was released.
I went through that OST, and it isn't all dire. I think the Chapel tune is really good in particular.
It obviously isn't as consistent as other Castlevania games, but the game itself seems far from bad.
I went through that OST, and it isn't all dire. I think the Chapel tune is really good in particular.
It obviously isn't as consistent as other Castlevania games, but the game itself seems far from bad.
My biggest sin is faith.
s_mirage
Member
Maybe, but the horrific instrumentation kills it for me. With the exception of "Successor of Fate", I just can't bring myself to like most of it; it just doesn't mesh with the gameplay. That being said, I'd still take it the over Resident Evil Director's Cut OST, or the butchery that took place in the 32-bit versions of Snatcher.
sixteen-bit
Member
This was a good zinger
NaDannMaGoGo
Member
What must I hear about CotM? The game starts with this damn amazing track and just keeps on giving throughout.
One of my favorite castlevania tracks. I Would love to hear a better quality version.
I was fine with it. There are a few songs that are incredibly short but it has a few great tracks. The dissonant chords made from 8-bit waveforms, high pitched leads and frequent use of drum samples definitely gives an interesting sound and does well for its atmosphere. It's actually my favourite out of the 3 GBA Castlevania's.
Successor Of Fate is one of the best songs in the series.
Successor Of Fate is one of the best songs in the series.
MagnaderAlpha
Member
Miniature Kaiju
Member
There are some very good ideas in it, but it's not very well executed (it doesn't do much with the few themes it establishes, it sounds disjointed rather than purposely dissonant at times, even dissonant non-functional harmony needs some sort of "direction") and the instrumentation doesn't do it any good.
deriks
4-Time GIF/Meme God
That's right.
Everyone knows that sounds poor, but it's not bad. From time to time I still remember Offense and Defense, and it is a really awesome start area song.
Seven Force
Banned
Yeah, I'm pretty sure Sucessor of Fate is the only track that's generally considered great from that OST.
Re: Lords of Shadows' OST, I don't particularly care for it, but it definitely ain't a bad soundtrack at all.
Re: Lords of Shadows' OST, I don't particularly care for it, but it definitely ain't a bad soundtrack at all.
The Hermit
Member
I know this wasn't directed to me, but I replay that game quite frequently. Great difficulty and amazing music.
The only game I skip in a Metroidvania run is Harmony. Tried several times but I just can't deal with it.
But, there is a defense Force for everything here right...
Lionel Richie
Member
Big fan of Parish but that's a pretty 0/10 opinion right there, Circle of the Moon is fucking awesome and possibly my favorite GBA Castlevania.
You are in for a ride then... CotM is several times worse than Harmony of Dissonance.
Everyone that think CotM is somehow better really need to replay it to appreciate what a piece of crap it really is, nostalgia is a bitch.
This, this, this.
OP you're ranting: "It's shit because it's shit." Thank you for your opinion.
I liked HoD best of the GBA Castlevanias because of the soundtrack. It's this eerie and memorable atmosphere it's able to evoke. Actually carrying it's theme through it's music. I don't even remember a single track from Circle of the Moon or Aria of Sorrow, even though I enjoyed playing them.
Weighing musical styles against each other is kind of dumb tbh. I'm all for experimentation, variation and thought out ideas and I'm more than glad that they went with it. There are a few songs I adore that are mostly dissonant. I want more game to have more daring soundtracks like HoD did.
Purcell - Hear my Prayer, oh Lord | https://youtu.be/oKijWFSkIdE
Pärt - Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten | https://youtu.be/sp2oxWdRMuk
The Horror the horror
Banned
This reply isn't getting enough love.
veloxStrix
Banned
The OST is discordant and brash. Exactly what I would expect from a "Harmony of Dissonance". It's probably the least pleasing to the ears, but I don't know if I would call it the worst. Order of Ecclesia's soundtrack was really hit-and-miss and probably worse as far as I'm concerned - even though it sounds much better to listen to on its own. Lords of Shadow rounding out as the least memorable and Lament of Innocence being the best of the bunch.
The Spoony Hou
Member
Opinion? That's a fact to me.
It would piss me off how people would always say that "you're not hearing the composition" and that the songs are really good beside the technical limitations, but no. I like chiptunes as much as the next guy here. The soundtrack is shit. And the whole game is sub-par in all senses.
It would piss me off how people would always say that "you're not hearing the composition" and that the songs are really good beside the technical limitations, but no. I like chiptunes as much as the next guy here. The soundtrack is shit. And the whole game is sub-par in all senses.