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[Kobun Heat]

I notice that a lot of the talk of game music around here centers around new OSTs. The thing is, I've only been able to really enjoy a few OSTs. I've got quite a few of them, having pretty much been a game music addict for a long time and building up massive collections during two one-year stints in Japan.

I've got pretty much every Final Fantasy OST... but I haven't actually listened to them more than once. Some of them (FFX, FFVII) I haven't even listened to straight through. They're just too damn long, packed up with filler. There ARE some OSTs that I will listen to straight through, of course, but they're generally short one-disc versions or exceptionally good double-disc sets (Legend of Mana, Xenogears).

Otherwise, when I tell people that I enjoy "video game music" what I'm really saying is that I like arrange albums. Most of the time, I don't want to hear the music exactly as it was presented in the game; I want to hear it worked up into a listenable, palatable album format.

So: can you guys actually sit and listen to an entire three-CD OST straight through? Or do you mostly just download the MP3s, then pull out the ones you like into a playlist? And... doesn't it kind of suck that great arrange albums seem to be falling by the wayside? Where the hell is a Chrono Cross arrange version (this is a rhetorical question, Mitsuda told me it's never coming out)? Eventually I was forced to make a best-collection CD for myself of Cross tunes, because there was no way I was going to listen to all three CDs in a row ever.

 

[Gattsu25]

I actually prefer both but for different types of games

for example: SH music I prefer the OST and the orchestrated DW7 music

if the music is pop-ish I stay away

 

[Ronin]

This thread just reminded me that I still haven't found my F-Zero X Guitar Arrange Album.

 

[Azih]

Arranged albums are a nice extra for me. OSTs are the things that really matter, because the OST reminds me of the feelings I had while playing the game. And if I have good memories of playing a game then the OST brings it all back in a great rush. Opening and ending credits, character themes, boss fight music, overworld music, music for particular towns... the game experience is perfectly captured by the OST.

 

[ourumov]

I love arranged soundtracks but only when I know the original songs a lot...For instance, I love a SF arrange...but I cannot the same about Ys VI arrange since I don't know the original songs.

Anyways I am a big fan of the original stuff, specially when talking about 16 bit games...I love that kind of sound.

 

[Rei_Toei]

I never really understood the love for OST's. I enjoy the orchestral/whatever-you'd-want-to-call-it CD's. Though videogame music is something I truly appreciatie in-game, it usually loses it charm outside the game and seems simple and a bit lame compared to non-game music. When I was young I couldn't afford buying those Japanse CD's so all of our gaming friends bought one or two and then everyone copied them on tape from each other since we couldn't burn cd's back then .

I still listen to those tapes every now and then, because I'm not to sure where it all originates from (couldn't translate it all from the Japanese CD's) so I guess I should just buy the hell out of all the compilation cd's that are still around and try to download the rest, but I'm too lazy to start wit that.

 

[Kobun Heat]

You and your avatar win. congraturation

 

[Crazymoogle]

You might want to ask this on STC too, considering the topic...

Most of the time, I don't want to hear the music exactly as it was presented in the game; I want to hear it worked up into a listenable, palatable album format.

So: can you guys actually sit and listen to an entire three-CD OST straight through? Or do you mostly just download the MP3s, then pull out the ones you like into a playlist? And... doesn't it kind of suck that great arrange albums seem to be falling by the wayside? Where the hell is a Chrono Cross arrange version (this is a rhetorical question, Mitsuda told me it's never coming out)? Eventually I was forced to make a best-collection CD for myself of Cross tunes, because there was no way I was going to listen to all three CDs in a row ever.

To be honest, CC sounds like an arrange album so I never really expected Mitsuda to even try in that respect. That and PSO are my most listened to game albums.

That being said, I'm not sold on the idea of an album anymore. I've only ever heard of two albums from any kind of music that I could listen to straight through (Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex OST1 and 2, if you want to know), and basically everything else I buy tends to have the 1-3 highlights and a bunch of crap.

My rule of thumb for the past year has been to rip to VBR MP3, toss the entire album onto my Muvo, and create a playlist as I go along (deleting the subpar tracks off the player as I go).

 

[Kobun Heat]

To be honest, CC sounds like an arrange album so I never really expected Mitsuda to even try in that respect.

It's not so much the sound. Xenogears sounds pretty amazing too but Creid is a totally different, cohesive experience...

 

[Crazymoogle]

It's not so much the sound. Xenogears sounds pretty amazing too but Creid is a totally different, cohesive experience...

I think you're right - Creid is a different experience - but it still has its turds among the track selection. The arrangements strike me the same way as a Dracula Battle or Gradius Orchestra album - great arrangements that make for a different but familiar experience, but in general I still would rather cherry-pick the tracks rather than play back the entire tracklist in the order it was recorded.

 

[MetatronM]

It depends. I can listen to the FF VI 3-disc OST straight through very easily, for example. I can't listen to FFX's 4 discs straight through, though. I have to pick and choose.

Something like Katamari Damacy's OST, though, I can lisiten straight through over and over and over and over again.

Arrange soundtracks are awesome, but they don't always work and it only works for me when I'm familiar with the original piece.

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

In general, I like to listen to records straight through and game soundtracks are no exception (also, tracks that others consider 'filler tracks' are often among the ones I like best) but these days I don't listen to game music much except while playing the games, which is its proper context after all. For arrange albums, I prefer when they try to do something interesting with the arrangements rather than just add a veneer of lush orchestral textures to sort of fluff the music up.

 

[Rei_Toei]

Oh, and OST's always have me wondering when the track names are cryptical. Most of the songs on the FFVI OST I recognize, but I'm sure there are one or two songs I didn't hear in the game. And RPGamer used to have an midi of some town tune composed for FFVI that was never used, but the song can't be found on the OST - too bad.

 

[suikodan]

I prefer OSTs because I always find myself remembering the good moments in the game and associating the action of the game (the graphics, the intensity, etc...) with the music. Some friends and I can listen to OST and get shivers from those moments.

One example is the Sephiroth track. My father was asking me why I was listening to that music that reminded "demon and evil". I told him that I like it because of the actual scene in the game.

I attended the FF concert in LA in May and I cried in some of the tunes mainly in Zanarkand because it's the game that my gf and I played together and experienced together (and it was her first FF) and the Final Fantasy tune because it was the main theme in FFIV which remains my favorite FF.

So OSTs are in for me. There are some arranged tunes that I like (like the ones from Overclocked) but it's mainly to see what others can do with those musics.

But one album that I hate was the one from Chrono Trigger with the CD case with Eggs on the cover.

 

[Senretsu]

If its the OST, it SHOULD have all the music from the game on it, even if its the staying overnight at the Inn music. But not all music from a game is listen-able or makes sense outside the game, unless I'm sitting at home listening to it while surfing the web, it doesn't really have a place in a social setting most of the time. I usually like a few tracks from a game and will make a CD from those. Though not necessarily something I'd listen to in my car. Some like the Baten Kaitos OST is really nice though. I do like the arranged ones too. Speaking of arranged, I actually made an arranged Overclocked Remix jazz CD and took it to work, everyone really liked it and asked me where I got it from.

I did just listen to that Katamari Damashi OST and its found its place in my car stereo. I'm such a weirdo.

 

[dark10x]

I prefer arranged albums, whenever possible. I tend to listen to those more than anything else...

However, I can enjoy a regular game soundtrack as well (and also listen to them). The difference is that I often que up a whole bunch of game music and go random, rather than listen to an album straight through.

 

[Mareg]

I'll take anything that is orchestrated, period.

 

[Suikoguy]

I'll take anything that is orchestrated, period.

IAWTP
Especially if the source is classical in nature like the Dragon Quest series. Its amazing how that turned out Orchastrated

 

[Late Stage Marxist]

I like both, but I'm a sucker for piano collections.

 

[speedpop]

What trippingmartian said. The Final Fantasy Piano Collections have always been good for myself, not only because of my love towards piano, but also due to the fact that usually each album in the series has at least one of my favourite songs arranged into piano, i.e. FFVI - Coin Song or FFIX - Frontier Village Dali.

But also in that respect, I admire the original OSTs for their sound and yes, listen to them because of that certain scene within a game or just to listen to the music itself.

Arranged albums can be a bit erky for me.. sometimes they are great achievements and up the level of the original music, but other times they drag it down; one such case was the Seiken Densetsu 2 + arranged album where, as original it was, seemed too out of place compared to the original compositions. A great example of taking the music further was the Hattori father & son duo that arranged the Symphonic Suite. People that loved/enjoyed the FFI-III medley within Square's recent orchestration concerts need to buy this album and enjoy. Hearing 8-bit music transformed with violins, piano, harp, choir, the whole shit is a great experience.

 

[jett]

Like Dark10x, I like them both, butI tend to prefer to listen to arranged albums. Lately, though, I've been listening to fan-made remixes. There's some really good shit out there.

 

[Bizarro Sun Yat-sen]

A great example of taking the music further was the Hattori father & son duo that arranged the Symphonic Suite. People that loved/enjoyed the FFI-III medley within Square's recent orchestration concerts need to buy this album and enjoy. Hearing 8-bit music transformed with violins, piano, harp, choir, the whole shit is a great experience.

Perfect example of the sort of arrangement I don't like. The only interesting track is the one with the cheesy drum machine.

 

[Uncle Dukey]

It depends on the music... I tend to enjoy arrangements more, but there are a number of great OSTs. However, in most cases I find that the original OSTs have trouble standing on their own.

 

[Jacobi]

I'm listening to the Kirby OST and I really like it. Usually I like Orchestra/Piano versions more.

 

[djtiesto]

I like OSTs better, since they remind me of the memories I have of the game, at that point... I am waiting to hear a real good trance/electronic arrangement of a good game soundtrack, though.

 

[dark10x]

I like OSTs better, since they remind me of the memories I have of the game, at that point... I am waiting to hear a real good trance/electronic arrangement of a good game soundtrack, though.

Yeah, there aren't too many games with good electronic tunes...

One that comes to mind (only because I was playing it recently) is the final level in Psyvariar 2. I have the soundtrack for this as well, and ETA is actually a great electronic track. It is not used well in the game, however, as each stage is quite short (even though it syncs well with the action...you only get to hear it for 2-3 minutes).

 

[Baron Aloha]

For me, it really depends on the song and the quality of the arrangement. If it sounds too different from the original version (I've heard some arranged tracks that sound nothing like the originals) then I prefer the OST.

My favorite arranged tracks both come from the same album: KOF'96 AST.

Arashi no Saxaphone (Iori's theme) and Fairy (Chizuru Kagura's theme) both kick ridiculous amounts of ass.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I am waiting to hear a real good trance/electronic arrangement of a good game soundtrack, though.

Try Parasite Eve Remixes. Really good trance/techno remixes on there.

I prefer OST's overall although there are those arrange albums like Creid which I prefer to the OST. They're pretty rare though. I'd love to hear a Silent Hill arrange album though.

 

[cvxfreak]

The Super Smash Bros. Melee concert counts as remixed right? If so, remixed > OST. But the only case of remixing which sucked big was RE: Director's Cut.

 

[Prince of Space]

I can still listen to both, but I do tend to gravitate more toward arranged albums. Especially those that take the source material, and completely rework it, like the FFX Piano Collections. Some OSTs are more listenable than others, but there are OSTs that hold there own with the best of arranged albums, like Chrono Cross, Xenosaga, and UNLIMITED: SaGa. But a good arrangement album can make even terrible music sound good - like the FFX-2 PC.