Well, the end of the year is approaching, so I guess it's time for me to don the capital letters of a Real OTY Post and kick around some of my favorite things OTY.
All the usual disclaimers in place, and I'll repeat this again in my GOTY post too, but hey this year sucked for game creators. My friend put together a really great page that sort of illustrates why: https://wrapped.games/
Digested all that? Ok cool. Thankfully, many game composers, bands, etc. were able to debut a total masterclass in game composition this year. The variety is huge. There's pop songs, rock bangers, weird synth shit, incredible orchestration, retro inspiration (and not just chips at that), chamber music, production quality to die for.
This is gonna be a long post with a LOT of embeds, so read on & prepare for it to take up your whole feed, or just click the permalink and let's get rolling. There's a lot to listen to.
Let's get this started, in alphabetical order:
Alan Wake II
Petri Alanko (Score), Many Others (Songs)I've known Remedy was something special for a while. Mostly because of Control, but I've known people who have sworn by Alan Wake (2010) for ages. With AW2 hard shifting into real survival horror, I finally got the chance to experience what feels like Sam Lake & Remedy unchained. The sheer operatic breadth of the art they're able to pull off is kinda astonishing, and music is a huge part of that.
While Alanko's score itself hasn't been released yet, it is fantastic throughout and pokes its head out when it needs to with a combination of synths and orchestral score to really sell the atmosphere. But it's the songwriting that really steals the show. Countless Finnish artists all came together to make this special, and I'll highlight a few of my faves:
Yötön Yö - Ahti & The Janitors
Ahti is one of my favorite Remedy characters now, and his song that he performs at the community center & becomes a central theme of much of the game just rules. I love his voice so much. The rise to the climax is chilling. When's the full album dropping Ahti??
This Road - Poe
The full version of this song is ~9 minutes but I recommend listening to the whole thing. It appears in pieces throughout the end of Alan's chapters in the Dark Place, and it's an incredibly haunting reflection of the game. Is it repeating? Is this the same as it was last time? It's changing?? What's happening?
Wide Awake - Jaimes
There's SO MANY GOOD SONGS in the Chapter Songs album, but the one that constantly gets stuck in my head now is Wide Awake by Jaimes. It goes super hard, and was the most "oh I GET it" moment when it first plays at the end of chapter 2. THE NIGHTMARE'S FINALLY OVER, AND NOW IM WIDE AWAKE
Anger's Remorse - Old Gods of Asgard
Poets of the Fall, as Old Gods of Asgard, got to write so many good songs for this game. On top of Dark Ocean Summoning, and the absurdly silly Herald of Darkness (SHOW ME THE etc.), I think this emotional ballad about a very real part of the characters' reckoning got me the hardest. Poets of the Fall are so good. I don't think it was until this song that I really got it and ended up diving into their back catalog.
Armored Core VI
Kota Hoshino, Takashi Onodera, Shoi MiyazawaArmored Core VI was surprisingly my first AC game, for how big of a mech freak I am. I just wasn't in the ecosystem for the previous titles, so VI successfully brought me into the fold. And along with it, I got to experience Kota Hoshino's leadership in what is a really inventive and weird (positive) scoring aesthetic. AC6's score is messy, it's weird and disjointed, it's not mixed like a score should be. And yet, in the context of the game, it works perfectly. It fits into all the little exposed joints. It's part of the sound design. It breathes with the mechanical world and its storytelling. So let's look at some of my favorite tracks.
Destroy the Ice Worm - Kota Hoshino
The huge set piece at the middle of the game, and I wrote a large write-up about how this piece is dynamically implemented in the game here. The soundtrack cut doesn't capture the same exhilaration of all the parts working together, but it does reflect the awesome tension that Hoshino manages to capture in his synth writing.
Coral Guardian - Shoi Miyazawa
Easily one of my favorite rising talents in game music right now, Miyazawa brings his skills for scoring mech battles as showcased in 13 Sentinels to the weird disjointed AC franchise. For one of my favorite battles in the game, he builds ambient tension that plays off the frenetic and honestly terrifying duel against the Coral Guardian. Phase 2 especially in the tail end of the track really ramps up into something awesome.
Steel Haze (Rusted Pride) - Kota Hoshino
Rusty........ I don't need to say much about this one. I love both moments this song is used, and I urge you to play the game to find out why.
Allmind - Shoi Miyazawa
Big spoilers but uh, yeah all 3 phases of this battle are incredibly tense and go so hard with the synth arps building and building and building.
Chants of Sennaar
Thomas BrunetThis one really took me by surprise. Both the game and the score itself. While the composition can at times feel a little too derivative of Journey, especially when it gets into the uplifting catharsis of its ending, there's several tracks that really stood out to me.
Out Of The Cavern And Into The Light
I really love the textural work that Brunet captures in the initial moments of the game. What initially starts as sort of setting a vaguely middle eastern palette with the usual suspects instrumentation-wise, it eventually gives way into a lovely take on what I associate with Thomas Newman's beautiful warm string voicing & playful woodwind noodling.
A Bit Of Fun
Fun!! I love this playful exchange between flutes and fiddles. The rhythmic turns and surprises are some really joyful stuff.
The Cogs of Science
Out of all the areas in the game, the scientists' area with all the clarinet meandering stood out to me. I love this sort of mischievous waltz as an embodiment of curiosity and science. The cello, erhu & clarinet tripling(?) is such a great choice of instrumentation here.
Cobalt Core
Aaron CherofAs a huge fan of Aaron's previous work, Sunshine Heavy Industries, and of course as my Minecraft co-composer buddy, I naturally adored the score to Cobalt Core. Everything about it is something I could listen to forever. The variation and simple repetition of things that never get repetitive is a true skill, and I could list the whole soundtrack...but these are some standouts:
Epoch
Likely the first thing you hear in the game, it just sets the tone so perfectly. I could literally listen to this track forever. Strong thematic motifs, and a beat that keeps going into the depths of the universe.
DT
It just keeps going. I'm not even stressed out by the difficult ship encounters paired with this track. I especially love the breakdown where the bass just gets to groove for a while. The fills, the piano riffs, the little fuzzy synth lines coming in. Yes!!
Lawless
Of course, the 2nd area is its whole own vibe that I love too. The fuzzy piano chords, the jittery stuttered piano chords, the sleepy wavy lead...
Beneath a Birchen Moon
And then the finale just brings it all together. I love how the game ends, and the music accompanying it just perfectly wraps up all the themes you've had in your head for hours and hours to this point. So good.
The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood
fingerspitThis is another one of those soundtracks that I could just have on forever. The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood is a gorgeous game full of so much humanity and warmth despite its cosmic proportions. The breadth of styles and moods is so good, so again it's impossible to capture all my favorite moments. But here's a few:
II - The Arbiter
Each of your various guests to your space house have their own music, and while they all perfectly capture the personalities of the visitor, I really initially got attached to the beautiful electric piano arpeggio in The Arbiter. With the laid-back brushed drum kit, this track goes so wonderfully.
IV - The Daggersmith
Another of my favorites of the character themes, the way this one builds up the percussion and acoustic guitar accompanied with electric bass is so strong. Paula can really shred even in the most laid-back pieces. And then it keeps developing for 7 minutes!! You can really tell the care and detail that went into every single piece of bgm.
Sisterhood
When the soundtrack needs to go, though, it goes. This progressive 7 minute piece capturing the whole journey of its characters is just a beautiful and emotionally wrecking track.
Crymachina
Sakuzo (Music), Enoa (Hikaru Tono) (Vocals)Okay it's time to bring out the big guns. Crymachina was, sadly, not a great game. However!! The powerhouse combination of composer Sakuzyo and Enoa on vocals gave way to some of the most rowdy boss themes in games this year. The production goes so hard, so let's listen to some:
NotToNotice();
The main theme / intro to the game. You can tell how I got drawn into the game!! It's such a strong main theme. The production is really reminiscent of a pre-crypto Imogen Heap crossed with Yoko Kanno's Gabriela Robin persona. Rich, warm, super crisp and tasty.
FightSecondDeusExMachina_Ecclesia();
Literally the game just throws you into this boss battle as a tutorial, which is hilarious considering how insane the battle track goes. I could barely concentrate on learning how to play because I was like EXCUSE ME?? We're going this hard already???
FightTrueHumanity_Lilly();
Like excuse me?? I can't believe the distorted synth riff that goes on in this track. Every time it comes back I'm just like YES, FUCKIN GO!!! Dancing harder to this track than any boss battle could be.
GameOver();
Even the game over screen is gorgeously written. When you've got this degree of thematic consistency to the music, it's really unfortunate that the game's not better than it is!! But the soundtrack rules, so I'll keep it on loop.
Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty
P.T. Adamczyk, Jacek PaciorkowskiI was really surprised by Cyberpunk's DLC story Phantom Liberty. As you'll see in my GOTY post, it was one of the things that really stuck with me throughout the year. No small part of that was the incredible score headed up by P.T. Adamczyk. While he was a supporting composer on the base game, he takes the lead here to define the aesthetic with a haunting combination of vocals and distorted, detuned synths... The story is a powerhouse of cyberpunk storytelling, right up there with Ghost in the Shell, so it pleases me to no end that the music goes just as hard.
I'm a Netrunner
The moment you're approached by Songbird & this music kicks in, you know you're in for something special. The introduction of these lietmotifs & sounds lifts you out of the base game and into a whole other world. Haunting stuff.
Force Projection
The combat bgm in Phantom Liberty also goes!! The weird slightly out of tune synth riffs, the percussion... It puts you in this space of people running out of time.
Gate K9
The moment you make a critical decision (in my route) in the back third of the game, and this music kicks in, you know shit has taken a turn. I get goosebumps thinking about it again. The vocal processing here, chopped and screwed and distorted. It's everything evocative of your struggles in the tail end of the story.
Phantom Liberty - P.T. Adamczyk feat. Dawid Podsiadło
The emotional rawness of this ending theme alongside its turn for the epic, James Bond style orchestral bombast really hits so different after hours of synths and electronic production. You realize oh wow yeah, this is the first time we've heard "real" instruments in this soundtrack. The lyrics are a perfect reflection of the story's tragic conclusion. I love it.
Final Fantasy XVI
Masayoshi Soken, Takafumi Imamura, Daiki Ishikawa, Saya Yasaki, Justin Frieden, Yoshitaka Suzuki, Ryo Furukawa, TomoLow, KeikoOh boy. You know I already wrote about how mid I feel on FFXVI & it's soundtrack. Given enough time and space, I think I do still appreciate the big bombastic showpiece boss tracks that I liked back when I finished it. I think I realized why, too. For all its disappointing production, Soken and the gang know how to record and mix choirs & vocalists. Almost every track that I did like includes some killer performances. Just not by instrumentalists, sadly. Let's recap:
Away - Arr. Yoshitaka Suzuki
It's that track! I really love the refrain "Away! Away!", not just because it's the title of the piece, but it does capture the moment every time it comes up in the story. There's also something here that I do appreciate a lot. While it's become almost cliche now, especially thanks to Soulsborne scores, to include big shouty choirs in boss battles, I will give Soken credit for always storytelling with his choral lyrics. With thanks to Michael-Christopher Koji Fox. Watching these songs play out with the lyrics in plain sight (it's hard to hear in the operatic bombast, so y'know, we take what we can get) feels like stronger storytelling than anything actually in the game.
Catacecaumene - Arr. Takafumi Imamura
This is the track that made me tremendously sad that nothing else in the game came close to how sick it is. Where's these arrangements?? Where's Final Fantasy's characteristically weird variety of instrumentation?? Here, in this one track, I guess. I randomly saw someone I follow on twitter say they liked every track except this one. Maybe because it's so different. Who cares, it rules.
Ascension - Arr. Ryo Furukawa
THIS is the standout track, to me. It's everything tragic about the character....Blonde Bahamut Boy.... uh... Dion! That's his name. I called him Dijon. I don't know why. Anyway, everything tragic about his story that the game can't be bothered to go into. Except y'know, shove his boyfriend off into a closet of nonexistence because the writers didn't know what to do with them other than have them be gay at each other briefly.
The Riddle - Arr. Ryo Furukawa
The real riddle is why this boss fight is the first moment you get where the character you're fighting has any real personality before dying, because you just kill everyone you fight because the game is dark and tragic. But I really love the baritone's performance here. Neat!
Fire Emblem Engage
Yasuhisa Baba, Kazuki Komai, Hiroki Morishita, Takeru Kanazaki, Fumihiro Isobe, Takafumi WadaAnother game where the game was...fine, but the score goes BANANAS. It's Fire Emblem! You know what's up. The gameplay was pretty good, but the story is like...it makes sense that it's an anniversary celebration game. But I don't know if the game actually knows what it's celebrating plot-wise, other than there were some bad dragons at some point anyway let's travel the world to collect units and have a tragic twist at the end. Luckily, Intelligent Systems' in-house composers know what the fuck is cool about Fire Emblem: Music!
Preparations
With a pre-battle track that goes this hard, I never want to start the battle. I love this riff so much, I could listen to it all day. Fire Emblem composers know how to mix electronic drums with orchestral writing, this is how you do it.
Bloom in the Breeze (Blossom)
This was the track that convinced me to actually get the game & give it a shot. It's just the first maps!! Every time you go into combat & the Blossom arrangement kicks in, it's just the coolest thing. The arrangement on this piece & the main theme is so fun and energetic.
Last Engage (Prayer-Incantation)
We're flash forwarding a bit here to the end of the game, but the final boss track's combat layer is just incredible. I never beat the game, but from the comments it sounds like there's a lot of emotional resonance here. But Fire Emblem games have always had final battle tracks that go harder than they have any right to go (remembering Three Houses' EDM & operatic finales especially). I love the orchestral setup right into a poppy synth line, the piano breakdown, glitched-out choir, and then its ridiculous guitar solo. It goes!!
Hi-Fi Rush
The Glass Pyramids, Shuichi Kobori, Matatoshi Yanagi, Reo UrataniHi-Fi Rush sold itself on the rhythm game nature of its combat system and licensed tracks, but I think the real meat of the game was its original score that I think gets overlooked a bit! Also the 'original' tracks for Streamer Mode that replace the licensed tracks, which I personally don't think match the originals' energy and production, but are still really fun in how creatively they mimic the aesthetics.
Production Destruction - REO
It's real tough to appreciate some of the bgm without the percussion and riffs that the gameplay gives you, but one of my favorite tracks (this one) stands on its own super well. I love the energy here with the guitar riffs building up as the stage's dynamic progression takes it from battles into the on-rails segment at the climax of the level.
Through the Halls of History - REO
Also composed by Reo Uratani, I really enjoyed the jazzy change of pace for this level & leading to either an original jazzy boss track, or Fiona Apple track at the end of the stage. Either way, it's a super cool vibe to play along with in the game!
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, Tsukasa UsuiWhen I first started putting together my list, I was like well okay I really enjoyed Tears of the Kingdom, but how much of that was original music, or things reused from Breath of the Wild? Turns out, a LOT. TotK continues BotW's score aesthetic and puts together some of the most inventive orchestrations & scoring styles in games. It's not just hype! This shit rules. There's so much good music, but I picked out 5 of my fave cues.
Main Theme
We were all there (?) when the launch trailer debuted the main theme & orchestration style of Tears of the Kingdom and everyone got introduced to how sick saxophone is in an orchestral context. I've known!! No one's listened to me!! Well okay I wasn't exactly out there evangelizing it, but the point stands: I love how TotK uses saxophone as the sound of the skies, a perfect thematic instrument for the Zonai and their floating ruins. The main theme ain't too shabby either. I adore the reversed & chopped vocals, signifying the time-related shenanigans prevalent across the game's story.
Field (Sky) ~ High Altitude
I love it when bgm has silence. Not because I don't enjoy hearing instruments play, but because it shows tremendous brevity and respect to the sound design of the game. Simply ringing out out sustained chords in the saxophone choir, waiting, playing a few more... It builds the main theme in stasis. It's what BotW was doing, and what I still respect, but in a new context. Beautiful sax playing with very little else.
Shrine Battle
The sound design at play in the shrines, and especially in the combat layers, is top notch. I adore the sustained distant choir, the viscerally bouncy ball synths as it ramps up... the percussion & piano stabs... It's such a good groove.
Diving Through the Depths
The entire depths palette is something else, but what really stands out about it is how it engulfs you as you dive down into the core of the world. Its woodwind trills, the echoing piano falling away as if you are also falling down past the instrumentalists, the strings mournfully playing little riffs as you keep descending. And then the huge sawtooth & brass bend upwards & then down a whole tone signifying your entrance. It's iconic.
Colgera Battle
Likely most people's first big boss battle, the Colgera fight comes at the end of a very meaningful story--continuing on from BotW's connection with the Rito, your partnership with the kid Tulin, now an adolescent and ready to prove himself. In your teamup against Colgera, all the motifs and development comes to a head. It's an incredible boss fight spectacle, and the music scores it perfectly.
Meg's Monster
Reo UrataniFun fact: this is the same Reo Uratani that worked on Hi-Fi Rush & composed both of my favorite bgm tracks. In his freelance career, he also worked with developer Odencat on one of my favorite little RPGs of the year. The score to Meg's Monster is understated and just as concise as the game itself. It uses string quartet, piano, and various found sounds to score the underworld full of monsters & Meg's journey alongside her new guardian friends. It's beautiful and super moving.
Unfortunately there's no streaming links or individual tracks on youtube, so to respect the composer I've just embedded the preview cross-fade because all the tracks are wonderful. You can also check out the unique ost webpage here for a detailed introduction to the music, game & where to buy it.
Misericorde Volume One
Lamonaca Dimonza / XEECEEMy good friend @xeecee is tremendously talented & wrote nearly 6 hours of music for their tremendously written kinetic novel's first part. There's a wealth of breakbeat & hip-hop inspired tracks in there, but these ones stand out to me in my memories after playing through the game:
Shepherd's Crook
This feels like the iconic 'let's solve a mystery' type beat from the game. Every time this came on during the story I knew we were in for more contemplation and plot developing. I adore the bell patterns building up alongside the classic organ synths & lute strings. When the funny little organ melody comes in in the second half, I'm just grooving. Such a jam.
Sister Mine
Even the emotional refrains have a strong beat to them. The way the piano gets filtered and builds up with soft percussion to the soft bass coming in really sticks with me. All the developing layers are just pure feelings passing by the rainy streaks on a window. I know the game takes place well before, you know, cars, but that's the feeling I get listening to this.
Genesis! Basic! Elementary!
Some of the tracks also get extremely unhinged. This track stands out for me because of the absolutely deranged sax solo in its back half. When it first comes in, it's a jump scare tonal shift, and then it starts getting chopped and stuttered into a supremely sick groove.
Chess Metaphor
I love how you can tell the soundtrack was written sequentially, because everything in the back half of the ost displays xeecee's confidence growing as they develop as a musician. One of the final tracks on the ost, this one really just shows so much growth in mixing and production.
Octopath Traveler II
Yasunori NishikiIt's no surprise that Yasunori Nishiki is a genius, as his work on Octopath 1 proved. But following it up for a game that is just as beautifully written is no small feat! I was really happy to hear all the new developments that Nishiki goes into for 2's character themes especially, pushing the sound out beyond its original instrumentation and seeking new aesthetics to bring in.
Ochette, the Hunter
Ochette was the character I started with (how could I not pick the catgirl??) and so to my ears this is the main theme of the game. I really love how it uses reversed phrases to build, and then goes into a huge rhythmic section to lead into its woodwind lead. Such a beautiful melody.
Temenos, the Cleric
Lots of fun woodwind usage this year to write sly, sneaky characters. Temenos is another favorite of mine and I appreciate how Nishiki pulls from some TV & film scoring shorthand to clue people into "this is a cleric, but he's kinda like Sherlock Holmes" simply by using a combination of clarinet & zither. Really strong character theme.
Critical Clash I
There's SO many good combat themes in Octopath 2, but I just eat up the violin solo in the 1st boss theme. It's a huge driving intro, and then the soloist just leaps in there to take charge. Such aggressive & gritty bowing. Love it!!
Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo
Hidenori IwasakiThis was a really left-field hit for me. Paranormasight would have otherwise been pretty overlooked if I hadn't seen the intro and been totally taken away by the main theme evoking one of my favorite weird game scores: Shadow of Memories. They're both pretty unique, but the "strange haunted feeling" both give me immediately draw me into the experience. And I was SO surprised by how varied & incredibly produced all the tracks are. There's only 19 tracks, but each one has so much care put into its production.
Hidenori Iwasaki hasn't had much of a chance to shine on his own. He's primarily been a synthesizer programmer on incredible soundtracks like Vagrant Story & FFXI. He finally got a chance to stand out in Stranger of Paradise, and now finally his own standalone score to Paranormasight. I'm so glad he's been given a chance to flex, and hope to hear even more from him in the future.
Main Theme from PARANORMASIGHT
Have you heard the intro to Shadow of Memories/Destiny? If so you'll know why I tie these two together. The clock ticking, the music box like riffs, the spooky vocals... It's one of my favorite combinations of sounds for evoking this specific kind of feeling that both games wrap you in.
The Storyteller
What did I say about sly woodwind writing? Here, the clarinet again gets to shine in this wonderful little waltz with mandolin & accordion. It perfectly captures the character of the Storyteller & establishes the framework to begin the tale. Each little interlude where you check in with the mysterious masked man gives a perfect feeling of taking a small break to make sure you're on the same page as the narrative's twists and turns.
Somber Sky
There's something about the wistful guitar, mandolin & string ensemble that just takes me away to another place. Iwasaki mentioned in his liner notes that he wanted to evoke the music of 80's Japan & this piece especially immediately transports you there.
Crime Busting With a Smile!
And then you get the extremely fun exploration music for the older detective that hearkens back to classic detective film scores with the funky guitars & muted trumpet lead. The remnants of the 70's for an older detective just about to retire. And a surprisingly sick guitar solo, even!
Path of the Abyss
hasuSneaking in just under the radar!! I adore the sounds of FM synthesis, and hasu has proven they know exactly how to make those synths sing. I don't have a lot to say about them since I haven't explored how they're used fully in the game yet, but man... the whole soundtrack is filled with JAMS. Here's three:
Into the Abyss
I am obsessed with the repeating figure and how it keeps playing against the chords and bass as it keeps grooving along. Such a good progression & catchy melodies~
Do or Die
My one complaint about battles in Path of the Abyss is that they're so much shorter than this absolute jam of a battle track. It's a doubled edged sword if I run into a difficult encounter in the game. Pros: I get to hear more of this! Cons: oh this is a HARD fight i am dying help.
The Furthest Ends
I definitely haven't gotten this far, but this track really gives me the 'final dungeon' type of feeling. The funky bass line and dire resolution to proceed forward. I love it.
Pizza Tower
Ronan "Mr. Sauceman" de Castel, ClascyJitto, Post ElvisPizza Tower really came out of left field for me. I didn't get through it, but watching speed runs & let's plays really tuned me into some of the more fun tracks. It's a game that is super heavy handed with its references, but the absolute tapestry of weirdness is hard to deny how catchy it is. Some tracks hit more for me than others, so here's two that I really appreciate:
It's Pizza Time!
Probably the most iconic track of the game, I think it's also the strongest. It's so weird & catchy & just goes extremely hard. I will Get Funky, thank you Sauceman.
Unexpectancy (Part 2 of 3)
Of the 3 phases of the final boss, I just can't get enough of the weird chopped samples in Part 2. I think the 3rd one drifts a little too close to its inspirations, but 2 is just... absolute crystallized essence of ominous silly goofster. I can't help thinking one of the samples says "who wants a donut" so that's what I'm choosing to believe the lyrics are. Forget pizza, I want a donut...
Void Stranger
eebrozgiI wrote a lot about Void Stranger this year. I won't write much more, only that I really hope you check out the music & play the game. It's so cool. I'm not even gonna embed many tracks since a lot of them run the risk of spoilers. Here's some jams:
Void Symphony
The perfect intro to the world. It's the main theme. You'll hear it some more times in other forms. The palette of chip sounds & sampled sounds just comes together in something that isn't quite NES, not quite Gameboy, not quite SNES or Genesis... it's just this collage of sounds you know transformed into something else.
Lax Lullaby
There's so many tracks of the base levels that I love, but Lax Lullaby I think is my favorite one to just relax and groove to. There's no big threats here. Just weird mimic puzzles. Sit down for a bit and puzzle it out. Give it a think and then when you're ready, try for a solution.
Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed
Yasunori Mitsuda, ACE, Kenji Hiramatsu, Manami Kiyota, Mariam Abounnasr, Yutaka KunigoBack again for another year, 2023 is when the actual full soundtrack to Xenoblade 3 released. But also, it's the release year of one more foray into the Xeno-verse. It's a hugely emotional one for me... I've been here since the start, when Xenogears released in 1998. It's my favorite long-running franchises across multiple developers, multiple publishers... Through all its turmoil, it's ended up back with Yasunori Mitsuda & the amazingly talented composers he's surrounded himself with. Let's jump into 3 amazing tracks to close out the list:
New Battle!!! - Kenji Hiramatsu
As if knowing that this was the last Xenoblade battle theme he was gonna write, Kenji Hiramatsu just went into this one with everything he had. One of the best battle themes I've ever heard. It's all here. My god.
Black Mountains - Prison Island - Mariam Abounnasr
You have no idea how happy I am that Mariam Abounnasr is now doing mainline Xenoblade tracks. She's been an incredible talent on the arrangement side of things with Mitsuda for years, and has had a fantastic run on Another Eden. So she's finally able to flex on this final dungeon track, and it goes so exceptionally hard to channel everything Mitsuda's written for the Xeno games. Let's hear more from her!!
Future Awaits - Yasunori Mitsuda feat. Joanne Hogg
I can't not cry any time I hear this song. For those that don't know, Xenogears (1998) ended with a beautiful song written by Mitsuda & sung by Joanne Hogg called Small Two of Pieces. It was very much in the style of the time, evoking power ballads like My Heart Will Go On from Titanic. The irish low whistle solo was an iconic part of my childhood growing up, and so to hear it here again with Joanne is just.... instant daggers in my heart, in the best way. The future awaits... I am so happy that the series got to have such a poetic moment to tie it together. I hope there's still more to come, but if it ends here, I'm happy.
Happy end of 2023 all! I'll have my GOTY post ready some time by or after the new year! This was a huge write-up and perhaps even more relevant than my fave games, so enjoy the music & have a great rest of your year 🤍
