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Let's Talk Game Music(TM)

Your attitude toward an Easy Listening/Light Jazz musical theme in a JRPG is...

...one of enjoyment.
2
40%
...one of toleration.
1
20%
...one of ambivalence.
2
40%
...one of the sort of hatred that destroys entire civilizations.
0
No votes
...one of "Dude, I'm hearing impaired and you're being pretty insensitive right now."
0
No votes
 
Total votes : 5

Let's Talk Game Music(TM)

Postby Phiste » Sun Oct 13, 2013 5:05 am

It seems like music in RPGs isn't discussed as much as it should be, even though, even with *cough, ahem* establishment (read: console) RPGs... even though it's become an industry unto itself, as in with all the RPG soundtrack CDs that are available, and with, especially in Japan itself, whole symphony concerts playing arrangements of game music. In other words, the musical arm of the JRPG merchandising industry found it smart to take on the trappings of the anime merchandising industry. This is only my opinion here, but a seminal moment for RPG music (even RPGs in general, even before the PlayStation Era) seemed to be the opera scene with Celes from Final Fantasy VI.

That's all I'll start off saying, as I want to encourage others here to come at this topic from any and all angles. This obviously isn't an RPG, but video game music first got on my radar ever since the release of the shooter Gyruss to the arcades in 1983.

There are two questions I wanted to ask first, however:

Have there been any JRPGs born of this indie RPG confederation that took on an Easy Listening/Light Jazz (or even Big Band) theme for nearly the whole game's soundtrack? As crazy as that sounds in a genre where Neo-Classical and Wagnerian musical themes still rule the roost, recall that Capcom did exactly this for a good number of tracks in Breath of Fire III (though no Big Band of course). Also, for those of you who are developers, or the music composer for a developer, has this ever been considered?
Phantasy Star's Dark Falz. Final Fantasy IX's Necron. Ar tonelico's Mir. Mana Khemia 2's Light Mana King. Persona 4's Izanami-no-Okami. Final Fantasy Legend's Creator. They are but a few of the pround members of the Confraternity of The Secret Final Bosses.
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Re: Let's Talk Game Music(TM)

Postby D-Squall » Sun Oct 13, 2013 3:36 pm

I don't understand exactly what you mean... what you meant is using orchestral musics in games instead of ones created in computer?
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Re: Let's Talk Game Music(TM)

Postby Beldarius » Wed Mar 26, 2014 5:56 pm

Since this topic seems to be about game music in general, would someone be able to help me out? I discovered a MIDI in Legion Saga III and it sounds really familiar... however, I can't figure out what game or anime it comes from. http://www.4shared.com/music/hx0VQZn1ce ... gosta.html ...Anyone know? I'd love to know the original title of the theme, too~

My favorite video game music actually comes from a series of mecha games (Super Robot Wars). XD SRW is really only popular in Japan... I've never played any of the games, but I've researched the series and bought the soundtracks to the "Original Generation" games (I also got Project X Zone just because Sänger Zonvolt was a playable character). imho SRW's music actually is the BEST video game bgm in the world~ Well, hey... the series has 40+ games out there and the franchise is still going strong. +::biggrin This is the opening theme of 3rd Super Robot Wars Alpha, sung by JAM Project. It's my favorite so far - really catchy and easy to sing along to. While this is one of the awesome bgm themes from Super Robot Wars OG - it's called Gunshin ga Wazawai wo Yobu (God of War Calls Calamity). All the mecha pilots also have their own personal themes - this is Dark Prison, the bgm of Shu Shirakawa and his invincible mecha Granzon (its upgrade Neo Granzon can blow up the whole solar system in one hit... and Shu himself designed that monstrosity, despite being only 22 years old.).

PS. And yes, I own the actual soundtracks - ordered them all the way from Japan.
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Re: Let's Talk Game Music(TM)

Postby Gin » Sat Jul 12, 2014 12:40 pm

I like the music from rpg vx...its inspirational and beautiful. +::kiss +::kiss +::kiss +::kiss
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Re: Let's Talk Game Music(TM)

Postby littlebro » Sat Jul 12, 2014 3:44 pm

I haven't actually voted, because I think that any answer has to begin "it all depends". And what it depends on is the style of game, the emotion that the developer wants to highlight, what resources are available (presumably at a reasonable price) that haven't already been used so often that they are completely threadbare. Jazz themes, for example, would fit games set in the modern era, particularly ones with a noir atmosphere - but must rpgs are not in that sort of setting, so jazz could easily clash with the world that the developer is trying to present.

And actually, I think that there is already more variety than simply neo-classical and Wagnerian. A lot of the music in MM2 (I'm picking that one out because I've been replaying it recently) does not fall into that category. Another one that I remember (again because I replayed it not so long back) is Undefeated - that track in the sewers , the music in The Wasteland and so on, nope, not neo-classical/Wagnerian by a long way. One of my all time favourites is the world map music for Receife in TBOL. Absolutely brilliant, imo. Again not neo-classical/Wagnerian.

I agree that there are games that do use that sort of music, and do so in a sometimes ridiculous way. You can have this truly epic battle music, with voices soaring, strings thrilling away, brass in the background - but hey, wait a minute, these are level one slimes that you're fighting!

So I'll end where I began - it all depends.
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Re: Let's Talk Game Music(TM)

Postby EgyLynx » Sun Jul 13, 2014 12:39 pm

littlebro ;)
Yeah , jazz... but, well, at battles/action at rock and hard it was it.
Jazz at peace place, clasic at natural peace...

But... intro at Jazz?
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Re: Let's Talk Game Music(TM)

Postby Beldarius » Sat May 28, 2022 4:43 pm

Beldarius wrote:My favorite video game music actually comes from a series of mecha games (Super Robot Wars). XD SRW is really only popular in Japan... I've never played any of the games, but I've researched the series and bought the soundtracks to the "Original Generation" games (I also got Project X Zone just because Sänger Zonvolt was a playable character). imho SRW's music actually is the BEST video game bgm in the world~

I've now been playing SRW games since 2016 (this was when they started getting English subs) and my opinion about the music still hasn't changed. Now I'm even more convinced the franchise has even better soundtracks than Final Fantasy does.

This is one of the newest battle themes in the series, for the protagonist of Super Robot Wars DD. While this is the second battle theme for the male protagonist of Super Robot Wars 30, the newest game.

The people working at Banpresto (the studio behind SRW) have talented remixers working for them too, as their multiple crossover games have playable characters from existing mecha series; when these characters need battle themes, the remixing team takes themes from the series in question and make instrumental remixes of them. They even adapt the vocal parts by replacing them with instruments, instead of making it a generic karaoke track. For example, this is "Vigilante" from Gundam Narrative while this is "Hello! My World" from Knight's & Magic (I always get irrationally happy whenever that bit at 1:00-1:28 starts playing in-game). There's also "Yuzurenai Negai" from Magic Knight Rayearth and "Rage of Dust" from Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.
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