So I have a confession to make: As much of a phenomenon as it is, I have never played or really had any interest in Minecraft. This cover selection was made by others for a group competition, and upon first listening to it, I really didn't know what to do with it. Although I thought it was a nice piece, I always tend to gravitate towards more intense pieces like battle themes, and the very laidback and minimalistic tone of this one was a stark contrast to what I'm used to and also set it up as a blank slate to get very creative with. It was an interesting experiment for me, and although I'm pleased with the end result, it ended up being quite different from my usual style. Let me know what you guys think of this one!
Thatgamecompany is responsible for some of the most beautiful and serene video games I've ever played. Starting with the simplistic, petri dish-esque flOw, and finishing with the desert exploration of Journey, their games have gotten a little more complex with each title, but still maintain a masterful balance of minimalistic controls, stunning visuals, and emotional impact that, in my humble opinion, has yet to be matched. However, while Journey may be the fan favorite, and is completely deserving of every accolade heaped upon it, for me personally, it's thatgamecompany's middle title, Flower, that stands above the others.
With large vistas of lush, green fields and what may be the best use of the PS3's ill-fated Sixxaxis motion controls ever, it remains my favorite game to play when I've had a stressful day and need to relax while letting all my cares melt away, even now, eight years after its initial release. A large part of this is due to its wonderful soundtrack, which I'd like to highlight in our second episode of RF Jamz.
Video game music has evolved from the bleeps and bloops of the Atari 2600 and early arcade titles to the orchestral scores found in Final Fantasy and Skyrim. For many of us, video game music played a bigger part in our lives than the latest pop hits. Join us on a bi- monthly journey as we celebrate the sounds of our favorite past time. In this inaugural volume of RF Jamz, we will be looking at arranged music from three iconic series. Each one of these series has amazing music in their own right, but the arrangements, like a cherry on top of sundae, add something special. Let's take a look at them now.
Kenichiro Fukui is a composer that few likely know off the top of their head. He began his career as a member of the Konami Kukeiha Club in 1990 under the moniker "Funiki Fukui". The first game he worked on was Sunset Riders in 1991, but he only did the sound effects for the game. His first full composition job was Konami's light gun arcade game Lethal Enforcers. He worked on a few more arcade games at Konami, including 1992's GI Joe with Tsutomi Ogura and 1993's Violent Storm with Seiichi Fukami.
Early in tri-Crescendo's existence, the company looked to expand its portfolio beyond audio work for tri-Ace games. These plans included Sakuraba being the main composer. The company struck a deal with another young development house called Monolith Soft, and the two worked to co-develop Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean for Nintendo's Gamecube in 2003. A prequel followed, Baten Kaitos Origins, in 2006. Eternal Sonata came the following year for the Xbox 360, and also to Playstation 3 a year later. tri-Ace also developed and released an all new game, Infinite Undiscovery for Xbox 360.
Names Roehm21, Daniel if you would prefer. This is the first entry in this new blog, so why not give a little back story first. For the past few days I've been posting some awesome game music on my Facebook account. Come to find out none of my friends are really all that into game tunes. Being a tad disappointed, I figured the best place to share my interests is with my fellow gamers. Which is what brought me here.
Now I'm not going to say that I'm some sort of video game expert. But I've been playing for over 18 years on an almost daily basis...not sure if thats a good thing or not :p . Hopefully y'all will enjoy this little blog, maybe I can include some important fact about that games or something. Nothing is finalized at this point. Enough of that, lets get one with the music.
Music is a lovely thing. It really, truly is. Even after four long years of marching band, I still hold a love of music. Music is embodied human emotions, and can be quite moving.
There are some fantastic themes and songs within the Super Mario Universe, and a lot of them are pretty damn good. You're free to disagree, but if you do, pfft I say to you. Nah, I kid, I love all of you. Platonic, of course, but yes, MUSIC!
Here's something to enjoy tonight, Mario songs played by the James Madison University String Quartet. Enjoy!
My second music installment thing. Here are 6 songs that I feel were overlooked last generation for whatever reasons. Oh, and note I never had an Xbox so I'm missing a lot of great songs from that platform.
Alright... here are six tracks that I feel that completely set the mood for the areas/bosses/stages in their respective games but are overlooked. Well, here they are, and sorry if some of these aren't overlooked.
Saturos Battle Theme- Golden Sun
Heh, this entire game (series) music is ridiculously good but no one seems to talk much about it. Anyway, this song starts off strong, then gets mellow, then picks up again. Uh, I don't know how to describe it just listen to it.
Midnight Carnival- Guilty Gear X2
Every final boss needs a badass theme. This is probably the most badass final boss theme I've ever heard.
Stickerbrush Symphony- Donkey Kong Country 2
Hearing this brings back some of the fondest memories I have ever had playing games. For those who have played the game, there is no denying how perfectly the song fits the Bramble levels. And it's just so damn soothing and pleasant.
Calling- The World Ends With You
It's kind of like your typical J-pop song, nothing particularly super special or anything but it is a good song. The real reason it made the list is because of how effectively it places a sense of imminent danger, need to speed up, and frantic choices that are the main theme of the game. The lyrics 'wake up leave your hesitation, wake up time to show appreciation, wake up time to realize' could not better epitomize what Neku needs to do and how lost he really is.
The Opened Way- Shadow of the Colossus
This song is absolutely epic. It is riveting, demanding, and very powerful. Even without knowing anything about the game just by hearing the music you know there is a monstrous task to perform. And damn, is there ever.
Cornered- Phoenix Wright
There is no song more riveting in any game. You get completely pumped up and know you are on the verge of absolutely destroying the prosecutions case. No song ever in the history of games has been more pivotal to the game (excluding music games) than Cornered. If you have played the game, you know this is true.
Hope you guys enjoyed the list. They aren't really in a particular order or anything (though Cornered is definitely my favorite).
Now, I like game music, and Super Mario Galaxy had some damn good music. Of that music, I probably like the Buoy Base Galaxy theme the best. It's certainly one of the better pieces of music of this current game generation.
Now, music is great and all, but wouldn't it be greater if it could be manifested through Mario Paint? Well, thank god it can, thank god that it can.
That looks really complicated to do, doesn't it? It's okay though, I only played sax, clarinet and recorder, and I don't think you can do anything like that on any of those instruments. Pure awesome? I think so.
Recently, the hip-hop group N.E.R.D released a new music video. Why do I post it on RF Generation? Simple, the video is a tribute to retro games. The song in the video is a remixed version of thier song Everyone Nose. Artists featured on the song include (in order of appearance) Kanye West, N.E.R.D's own Pharrell Williams, Lupe Fiasco, and Pusha T.
The song itself samples Space Invaders, but there are a ton of games featured in the visuals of the video. So far, I've picked out Space Invaders, Galaga, Donkey Kong, Robotron 2084 and POSSIBLY Missile Command. Does anyone see other games I missed?
[img align=right width=250]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/repository/123506823647a7b9ad9d0f5midna.jpg[/img]Some things seem to get lost in the woodwork when it comes to games. Clever things, hidden, or things plainly out in the open that are simply glossed over. Today, I found something that I'd call a gem. It comes from the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, a game with a lot of expectations which depending on if you are a diehard Nintendo fan was either God's gift to humanity or something that while a good game, missed the Zelda bar. What is it that could possibly be glossed over yet be so engrossing? It's a song. I have a certain affinity for game music. Perhaps you do too. But, there is one song that simply blows me away found in Zelda: Twilight Princess. Certainly, the Zelda series has had its own memorable songs, but I never found any songs from Twilight Princess memorable, until now.
Midna's Desperation Hour is rather simple. Listening to it makes me wonder if it belongs in a Zelda Game. When I hear it, I want to think it is from one of the monolithic SNES RPGs, most particularly Chrono Trigger. But, it's not. It's in Zelda. And I am captivated by it. Simple strings and piano, but it's moving. If you play through Twilight Princess, you may agree that it does an excellent job describing who exactly Midna is. Such sorrow. Such despair, perfectly described in sound. It truly is a work of art. Want to listen to it? , as found in Brawl.
You may disagree with my view of the song. That's alright, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. The point here however is that at times there are gems in games that simply get glossed over. Have you ever found yourself awestruck by something that you simply missed the first time you experienced it? I know I have, and I bet that you have too.
[img align=right]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-027/ss/ex/U-027-S-00510-A_05.jpg&sizex=174[/img] As I sit hear, listening to the Future of Rock and Roll, I was pondering what my next article should be. I sit hear, enjoying the music, listening to the smooth melodies of the indie rock scene. Feel the emotion, the magic, the rhythm. Music is a powerful medium. Music can be one of the best ways to convey emotion and mood without saying a word. Truly, music is an important part of games. From the 8-bit era to today, music has been an integral part of games. Think of the classics. The Mario Theme. The Zelda Theme, and many more, they're all great. Let's take the time to reminisce on the past, and identify the history of game music as it is today.
I encourage you to check out this kick ass marching band routine put on by Cal. Band geeks doing video game tunes... what is geekier than that? It's too cool. I wish my high school marching band did a show like that. The only interesting theme we ever did was Halloween Themes. What is scarier than Thriller? I digress. Here is the video:
