Musical Monday

Musical Monday: “Trilltrall” (Dominions 3), performed by Anna Rynefors, Erik Ask-Upmark

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This week’s music is the lovely “Trilltrall”, as featured in the classic strategy game Dominions 3. Dom 3 is set in a world of myth and folklore, and its soundtrack — apparently comprising traditional Swedish folk songs, performed by the duo of Anna Rynefors and Erik Ask-Upmark — is the perfect match. Enjoy!

 

(Addendum: to my delight, I have discovered that the performers’ music, including this track, is available for purchase from Amazon and Google Play. As I type this, I am downloading my newly bought album…)

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Musical Monday: “The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Medley” (The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Orchestra)

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This week, I present you with an orchestral rendition of some of gaming’s most iconic music. While I am not the world’s #1  Zelda player — I only picked up Twilight Princess around six months ago! — Link to the Past was one of my favourite games growing up. So the Zelda music always brings up happy memories of exploring Hyrule, fighting guards, and ignoring the plot — I could never get past those boulder traps in the Eastern Palace, so instead I just played LttP as though it were proto-Skyrim. Enjoy!

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Musical Monday: “Adagio from Concierto de Aranjuez” (Hearts of Iron), composed by Joaquin Rodrigo

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Since the release of World War 2 grand strategy game Hearts of Iron II, almost a decade ago, Paradox Development Studio has always set its games to original music by Andreas Waldetoft. But the original Hearts of Iron relied on pre-existing music — for instance, Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries”, Mussorgsky’s “The Great Gate of Kiev”, and this week’s theme, Rodrigo’s “Adagio”. While lovely, “Adagio” is neither heroic, nor bold, nor martial at all. It is melancholy and regretful (according to Wikipedia, one of Rodrigo’s inspirations was grief at his wife’s miscarriage), and perhaps that makes it appropriate for accompanying a game about World War 2. Worth thinking about while you listen to the song.

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Musical Monday: “Dream of Albion” (Medieval: Total War II), composed by Jeff van Dyck

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This week’s song is the haunting, beautiful title theme of the Britannia campaign, from the Kingdoms expansion for Medieval: Total War II. As with “Uncle Samurai” from Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai, this is one case where Jeff van Dyck’s music was better than the rest of the game —  Medieval II is my least favourite entry in the series. Enjoy!

(Fun trivia: this is actually built around an old Scottish folk song, “Ailein duinn”. Personally, I prefer this to the original, or at least to the versions of the original I’ve heard on Youtube.)

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Musical Monday: “Hymn to Red October” (The Hunt for Red October), composed by Basil Poledouris

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With Wargame: AirLand Battle bringing the Cold War to virtual life, I can think of no better choice for this week than Basil Poledouris’ theme to The Hunt for Red October. It’s a powerful, Russian-language choral piece, well suited to the movie’s subject, and another feather in Poledouris’ (Conan the Barbarian) cap. Enjoy!

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Musical Monday: “Reach Out To The Truth” (Persona 4), composed by Shoji Meguro

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This week’s song is the battle theme from classic (has it really been that long?!) JRPG Persona 4. It works on several levels: (1) it’s an energetic, upbeat, and enjoyable song in its own right; (2) it fits the mood of what, murder mystery plot notwithstanding, is a pretty cheerful game; and (3) as a piece of J-rock, it’s probably exactly what the protagonists would listen to while they fight monsters. Enjoy!

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Musical Monday: “Main Theme” (Stardrive), by Jeff Dodson

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This week’s song is the main theme to Stardrive, the upcoming (26 April) 4X space strategy game, and it is exactly what one would expect from the main theme to a 4X space strategy game. This is not a bad thing. Triumphant, stirring, and dare I say, “epic”, it’s been a real pleasure to listen to. Enjoy!

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Musical Monday: “Withered Earth” (Suikogaiden II), composed by Miki Higashino

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This week’s song is probably the most obscure I’ve featured to date. It’s the opening theme to a game I’ve never played — Genso Suikogaiden Vol 2: Duel at Crystal Valley, a visual novel spun off from the cult classic Suikoden JRPGs. (You might remember I featured the opening theme to Suikoden III a while back.) It’s also a lively song with a unique sound, and like the Suikoden III theme, it goes really well with the accompanying cinematic. Enjoy!

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Musical Monday: “Twelve Dreamsongs” (The Twelve Kingdoms), composed by Kunihiko Ryo

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Happy Easter, everybody! This week’s song is the opening theme, “Twelve Dreamsongs”/”Juuni Genmu Kyoku”. of a classic anime, Asian-themed fantasy epic The Twelve Kingdoms. I’ve linked two versions — the first is simply the show’s opening credits, which pairs lovely visuals with a short version of the song. The second version is the full-length theme from the official soundtrack. Hmm. With my Twelve Kingdoms DVDs sitting on the shelf within arm’s reach, perhaps it’s time for me to re-watch the show…

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Musical Monday: “Adventure” & “Crimson Sky” (Guns of Icarus Online), composed by Zain Effendi & Gimmen Gong

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Now that Muse Games has announced Adventure Mode, the long-awaited expansion for last year’s airship shooter Guns of Icarus Online, the time seemed ripe to highlight my two favourite tracks from the base game’s soundtrack:

1. The game’s main menu theme, “Adventure”, composed by Zain Effendi — a short, sweet, mellow piece that goes beautifully with the game’s steampunk setting.

2. An more stirring in-game piece, “Crimson Sky”,  composed by Gimmen Gong.

Enjoy, and stay tuned for my upcoming email interview with Muse!

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Musical Monday: “Anvil of Crom” and “Theology/Civilization” (Conan the Barbarian), composed by Basil Poledouris

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For this week’s song, we’re going back to the ’80s – specifically, to Conan the Barbarian, a movie that tried so, so hard to be a dark, serious fantasy epic. It didn’t quite succeed, but Basil Poledouris’ majestic soundtrack brought it tantalisingly close. Below, I present the iconic main theme, “Anvil of Crom”, and a gentle travelling theme, “Theology/Civilization” – great ambient music for any fantasy RPG. Enjoy!

 

(By the way, did you know Arnie is due to return in a fourth Conan that retcons both Destroyer and the Jason Momoa reboot? One hopes it’ll be better than Destroyer…)

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The RPG Battle Themes of Motoi Sakuraba

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This week, I’d like to spotlight the music of Motoi Sakuraba — probably best known nowadays as the composer of the Dark Souls soundtrack, but I’ve been a fan of his for years, ever since I heard his work on the Valkyrie Profile games. For now, I’ve chosen just a few tracks: the regular battle themes from Valkyrie Profile (1999) and Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (2006), plus one boss battle theme from Dark Souls (2011). Note how his style has broadened over the years – the overwhelming majority of the original Valkyrie Profile‘s music is in the same upbeat rock style, whereas by Silmeria the music takes on a deeper, more epic quality that finally  blossoms into the very different sound of Dark Souls. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6uIpoBxBUI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nsps0I58yUM

Musical Monday: “Spring Buds” and “Shattered Bamboo” (Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI), composed by Yoshihiro Ike

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This week’s songs are from Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI, KOEI’s epic strategy game set in war-torn Ancient China (and the last of its series to be translated into English). The game’s music is situational, so I want to say the first theme, “Spring Buds”, plays when you’re at peace, and that the second, “Shattered Bamboo”, plays when (A) you have a large empire and (B) you’re at war (I don’t recall hearing it when I was an underdog at the start of the game), but I can’t quite be sure! I can say they are as lovely as they are atmospheric, and I hope you enjoy them.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMlKbUeX6Ek

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdCOKgMFCBI

Musical Monday: Satorl, the Shimmering Marsh – Night (Xenoblade Chronicles), composed by Manami Kiyota

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This week’s theme is a piece of ambient music from the Wii’s flagship RPG, Xenoblade Chronicles. Like the area in which it plays (depicted in the concept art below), it has an otherworldly loveliness that actually made me halt what I was doing in the game, sit back, and drink in the experience for a couple of minutes. Enjoy!

 

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE0hhzASHwY

Musical Wednesday: Big Iron (Fallout: New Vegas), by Marty Robbins

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And we’re back! This week’s song is Marty Robbins’ 1959 country ballad “Big Iron”, featured in Fallout: New Vegas. Including it in the game was an inspired choice! Not only does the song help establish the game’s pseudo-Western atmosphere, but its lyrics — about a gunslinger who rides into town with a “big iron on his hip” — could easily have been about your exploits as an RPG hero. Enjoy!

 

Musical Monday: “Kia Hora Te Marino” (Calling All Dawns), composed by Christopher Tin

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It’s Christmas Eve! For an uplifting song, I give you something that’s not actually from a soundtrack — “Kia Hora Te Marino” (“May Peace Be Widespread”), from Christopher Tin’s “Calling All Dawns” album (1). The liner notes describe it as a “traditional Maori blessing”, and its tone and lyrics are a wonderful fit for the season. Merry Christmas and happy holidays, everyone!

 

 

(1) You might remember this album as the source of the version of Baba Yetu I linked to a little while back.

Full credits for song: “Kia Hora Te Marino” was composed by Christopher Tin, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and featuring lyricist Jerome Kavanagh and backing vocalists Ben Mullon, John Mullon, Jordan Young and Tangaroatuane.

Musical Monday: “I Was Born For This” (Journey), composed by Austin Wintory

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Following my review of Journey, this week’s song is that game’s closing theme, “I Was Born For This”. (I don’t think the similarity to Ico‘s closing song is a coincidence.) Enjoy!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_wkJ377LzU

 

Full credits for song: “I Was Born For This” was composed by Austin Wintory and sung by Lisbeth Scott.

Musical Monday: “Into the Light” and “Voyage” (Final Fantasy series), composed by Nobuo Uematsu

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Long before video game music took off in the West, the Final Fantasy series had a long tradition of beautiful vocal and orchestral music —  all the way back to the NES/SNES era! Developer Squaresoft circumvented the technical limitations of the time by re-arranging its in-game music into orchestral, piano, and vocal CD albums, which remain a treat to this day. Below, I’ve linked two of my favourites, both from the 1994 “Final Fantasy: Pray” vocal album. “Into the Light” (Japanese: “Hikari no naka e”) is based on “Theme of Love” from Final Fantasy IV, while “Voyage” is based on “Boundless Ocean” from Final Fantasy III (NES). Enjoy!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hS5C8GxCBqc

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-iVx43eihw

 

Full credits for songs: Both songs were composed by Nobuo Uematsu. Both were sung by Risa Ohki.

Musical Monday: “Exceeding Love” (Suikoden III), composed by Michiru Yamane et al

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This week’s song is something I guarantee you’ll find unique: “Exceeding Love”, the opening song of PS2 RPG Suikoden III. I’ve linked two versions below. The first is the actual in-game version, presented as part of the game’s intro movie — my favourite intro movie ever. The visuals and music complement each other perfectly, and as an added bonus, every single character and event depicted in that video — dragonfly-mounted warriors firebombing a village,  knights charging into battle, a boy facing off against a dragon, torchbearers filing through the night, whole armies on the march — actually features in the game! The second version of the song is a clearer, sharper, deeper remix that I prefer, though sadly this one lacks the accompanying visuals. Enjoy!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTr7LjzYkwM

 

 

Full credits for song: The game’s soundtrack was composed by Michiru Yamane, Keiko Fukami, and Masahiko Kimura. “Exceeding Love” was performed by the band Himekami.

Musical Monday: “Baba Yetu” (Civilization IV), composed by Christopher Tin

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This week’s song is another golden oldie: “Baba Yetu”, the opening theme to 2005’s Civilization IV. Soaring, hopeful, filled with joy — this is the perfect celebration of civilisation, of our achievements in science and art and engineering. Sadly, the official music video below (with its footage taken from the game’s intro movies) also highlights the other half of Civ, our talent for finding new ways to kill each other, but that’s another story…

 

Note that the official music video uses the version of the song from the “Calling All Dawns” album. Enjoy!

 

Musical Monday: “Ryoshima Coast” (Okami), composed by Hiroshi Yamaguchi

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With Okami HD now out for PS3, this is a great time to showcase another one of my favourite songs from the game. Where the Shinshuu Fields were the hub for the game’s first half, the Ryoshima Coast is the hub for the second half; its beautiful music is the perfect match for its visuals. Enjoy!

 

Musical Monday: “Uncle Samurai” (Total War: Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai), composed by Jeff van Dyck

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While I was bitterly disappointed by Creative Assembly’s Fall of the Samurai, the stand-alone expansion to last year’s Total War: Shogun 2, its soundtrack was another matter. Series composer Jeff van Dyck turned in some of his best work to date, as seen in energetic battle theme “Uncle Samurai” (Uncle Sam + Samurai – geddit?). Enjoy!

 

Musical Monday: “Icarus” (Deus Ex: Human Revolution), composed by Michael McCann

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Sorry for the delays, guys — Musical Monday is back! Since I’ve been talking a lot about XCOM: Enemy Unknown lately, for this week’s song I’ve opted to present one of composer Michael McCann’s previous works: “Icarus”, from Deus Ex: Human Revolution. What I love about “Icarus” is the way it blends two very different musical strains. There’s the obligatory cyberpunk techno, but also haunting vocals that hint at the game’s attempt to tell a story about the human soul, the desire to surpass the flesh. (In the end, sadly I don’t think the game lives up to that ambition, but that’s a subject for another day.) Enjoy!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiN6t7K7txw

Musical Monday: “Space Beacon” (Digital: A Love Story), composed by radiantx

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One of the cleverest and most memorable games I’ve played this year was Digital: A Love Story, Christine Love’s 2010 visual novel. Its retro, pseudo-8-bit music is a key part of its conceit, that the player is a teenager discovering the Internet of 1988. Below is my favourite piece, the energetic “Space Beacon”. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Musical Wednesday: “Butterfly Garden”, “On Buddha’s Land”, “Lhasa Groove” and “Yellow Fever” (Sleeping Dogs)

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Sorry for the delay, folks. This week, I have not one, not two, but FOUR songs for you — all are from Sleeping Dogs, since I just praised its soundtrack in my review. Three sound more traditional to my novice ears: “Butterfly Garden” (Ritchie Lo, M. P. Mabel Ki, and Charles Chan), which I linked in the review, is a lovely, relaxing vocal piece, while “Lhasa Groove” and “On Buddha’s Land” (Ritchie Lo) offer something more energetic. The fourth,  pop number “Yellow Fever” (note: Vivienne Lu, the artist usually credited, is a character in the game; the actual composer is Nathan Wang) might not be the best song in the game, but good lord was it hard to get out of my head. Enjoy!

 

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Musical Monday: “Yellow River ~ Yangtze River” (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), composed by Yoko Kanno

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Yoko Kanno is justly famed for her beautiful anime music (I previously spotlighted one of her compositions, “Inner Universe” from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex). Less well known is the lovely music she previously did for KOEI’s strategy franchises, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Nobunaga’s Ambition. I’ve attached an orchestral performance of one song below. Enjoy!

 

Musical Monday: “Main Title” (Fallout 3), composed by Inon Zur

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This week’s song is another Bethesda opening title theme, this time from post-apocalyptic extravaganza Fallout 3. I’ve linked both the in-game version (ab0ve), which you can also download from the game’s official site, and the orchestral version from the Greatest Video Game Music album. Enjoy!

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pECEs1KEz94

Musical Wednesday: “Fight It Out!” (Tactics Ogre), composed by Masaharu Iwata

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This week’s song is another great battle theme from Tactics Ogre, “Fight It Out!” I love the little discordant clash at the start of the song — it makes me envision everyone pulling steel before (at 0:15) the battle is joined. Enjoy!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9P8HnjfJIVs

Musical Monday: “The Legend of Ashitaka” & “Journey to the West” (Princess Mononoke), composed by Joe Hisaishi

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This week’s tracks are cousins: both are effectively variations on the main musical refrain of Princess Mononoke, one of my favourite movies (animated or otherwise). “Legend of Ashitaka” is the conventionally heroic version, strong but a bit wistful;  “Journey to the West” is the more upbeat and adventurous of the two.  The versions I’ve attached below are from the “A Night in Fantasia 2004” orchestral concert, which I was fortunate enough to attend. Enjoy!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oybMC9iIar8

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJGqmf5vG9w