You know, I didn't think it would be this hard to weave some small talk about the seventh generation (or last gen, for short) with talk about music. This blog itself has actually been done for some time now, and I really wanted to get it posted last night. Unfortunately for me, the introduction has been a pain in the a** to write, and hasn't come together quite the way I had hoped it would. Doesn't help that my last blog, disregarding the fantasy football ones I've been writing since early September, was also a music blog, meaning I've exhausted the whole "I love music" line as a meaningful way to introduce what I want to talk about. I suppose I could just boil it down to a simple question:
What were your favorite songs from the games of the last console generation?
I pondered this for a while and thought to share the songs that caught me the most with you.
"Zanza" by Ace+, Minami Kiyota, Yoko Shimomura, and Yasunori Mitsuda from Xenoblade Chronicles
Funny that I start this unsorted list with the game that I've praised so much it might make people back out of the page. But hey, I stand by my love of Xenoblade and everything to do with it, including the game's soundtrack. There are plenty of excellent songs, but my favorite has to be "Zanza", one of the final boss battle themes. I always rock out to this when I hear it.
"Refugee Camp" by Ace+, Minami Kiyota, Yoko Shimomura, and Yasunori Mitsuda from Xenoblade Chronicles
Remember how I said there were a lot of good songs on Xenoblade's soundtrack? Well, this is another one and early on it was probably my favorite. I remember just listening to it and wanting to stay in the refugee camp. I've come across few songs that have the power to do that, and guess what? Now I want to play the damn game again. *shakes fist at the music*
"It Has To Be This Way" from Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
If you were to ask me what I thought of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, I would say that the ending got pretty over the top and that Platinum Games did better work with Vanquish. I do like the game though, and found one of it's biggest draws to be it's music, the songs used in the game's boss battles in particular. I could imagine some people dismissing some of the music as garbage, but somehow it just worked for me. "It Has To Be This Way", the song used in the final section of the last boss, is my personal favorite and to me matches the fight very well.
"Welcome to Rapture" by Garry Schyman from BioShock
Even after the beautiful introduction to Columbia, there's still nothing quite like being introduced to the city of Rapture. Speaking of that city in the sky....
"Elizabeth" by Garry Schyman from BioShock Infinite
Truth be told, when I played BioShock Infinite earlier this year, I never noticed this song. Hell, it wouldn't surprise if I somehow didn't realize it even played when you first see Elizabeth. Anyway, once I finally sat down and listened to the soundtrack I realized how good it is, and better yet how much it fits the plight of Elizabeth throughout BioShock Infinite. Beautiful song, and I love how other songs on the soundtrack evolve it.
"Main Menu" by Michael McCann from Deus Ex: Human Revolution
It was either this or "Icarus" here, and while I do love the latter, there is just something about the main menu theme in DE:HR that I just really like. It might not seem like there's much, and truthfully there isn't. But that quietness and simplicity helps to build up the song, and makes it one of those songs I can't get enough of and can't get over how much I like it. Pair that with that Godly "press start" sound effect, and you have one of the best start screens of all time.
"Land of the Livid Dead-Nowhere To Run" by Christophe Heral and Billy Martin from Rayman Origins
We go from a more serious song, to a disarming, yet great whistled tune in "Land of the Livid Dead-Nowhere To Run". I really liked the Rayman Origins soundtrack, which all around was pretty good. But despite my love of some tracks like "Sea of Serendipity" (both of them) and "A Slap-Happy Start", the track used in the beginning of the Land of the Livid Dead level almost immediately became my favorite. Again, even though Rayman Origins can be a silly game, I never expected this kind of song to be used in a secret level. I've whistled it I don't know how many times since beating the game.
"Romance Theme" (not sure what the actual name is) by Hajime Wakai, Shiho Fujii, Mahito Yokota, Takeshi Hama, and Koji Kondo from The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
I've never been one for overly sappy things. There's a point where either the use of too much love or friendship power (if you read manga, you'll get what I'm talking about) can ruin things. But the moment I heard this song while going through the Skyward Sword soundtrack (before I played the game; in-game the soundtrack actually became rather unremarkable to me once I played it) it caught me. I can't explain why, but it just did. Skyward Sword's"Romance Theme", or whatever it's actually titled, I imagine would make an excellent wedding song.
"Rosalina in the Observatory 2" by Mahito Yokota and Koji Kondo from Super Mario Galaxy
Really, I love all three versions of the Comet Observatory theme. It's a pleasant ball-esque theme that I feel captures the spirit of Super Mario Galaxy very well, even in all three of it's renditions. But I don't know, something about the second one manages to balance the first rendition's quietness with the third's more full sound, thus producing something that's just right to my ears. I'd say this is definitely one of the songs that makes me love being a gamer.
"Rainbow Falls" by Tomoyo Tomita, Yoichi Yamamoto, and Nobuo Matsumiya from Kirby's Epic Yarn
I dare you to show me a more cheery song from the seventh generation. Go ahead, this blog isn't going anywhere. But seriously, "Rainbow Falls" is only one of many good songs from a surprisingly fine soundtrack. While the aforementioned track is hands down my favorite from the game, others such as "Mushroom Run", "Cozy Cabin", and "Melody Town" are also standouts, and there's probably another couple I could add on top of those. Again, a surprisingly good and comfortable soundtrack for a surprisingly good game.
"Pod Theme" from LittleBigPlanet
Although LittleBigPlanet featured some great licensed tracks like "Atlas" from Battles and "Volver a Comenzar" by Cafe Tacuba, the theme used in the Pod has for a while now been my favorite from the game. It's chill, and if I still had the game, I'd probably just be sticking around the Pod just to listen to it over and over again. Just like LBP itself is probably one of my favorite games from this last generation, "Pod Theme" is one of my favorite songs likewise.
"Drake's Elegy" by Greg Edmonson from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Some of you are probably listening to the music, reading this, and thinking "What about Nate's Theme, 'taxman?". Trust me, I love that theme almost as much, and better yet the London Philharmonic Orchestra's version has brought me both chills and teary eyes. I remember being at the main menu though, and just hearing "Drake's Elegy", and almost immediately it became my favorite song from the first Uncharted. As you can see, I still hold it in high esteem, and listening to it while writing this makes me want to experience the series once again.
"An End, Once and For All" by Clint Mansell and Sam Hulick from Mass Effect 3
It's truly amazing that the ending to Mass Effect 3 will probably be a touchy subject for years to come. Some people hated it, and others were just fine with it. Me? Well, I was no fan of it, but I certainly didn't think it was worth the anger that came to be directed at it. However, a discussion on ME3 is not the purpose of this blog, music is. Whether you have a high or low opinion on the ending, or think that another song would better represent Mass Effect on this list of mine, there's no denying what "An End, Once and For All" accomplished: to me at least, hearing this song both during the ending and in subsequent listens, it feels like the end of Mass Effect, at least for now. Whether you hated or loved the ending, it feels like the appropriate music for Shepard to make the ultimate sacrifice to, and, in my opinion, say goodbye to the series to. Sure, it may stink that the next time we see something from Mass Effect, it'll probably be a different timeline with completely different characters. But all it will take for me is to go back to this song, and remember the great times I had playing all the Mass Effect games.
"For River-Piano (Johnny's Version)" by Kan Gao from To The Moon
Ever listened to a song that essentially sold you even more on a game you already wanted? Well, "For River-Piano (Johnny's Version)" from To The Moon did that for me. I had this song on my youtube favorites long before I even bought the game, and I only came to love it more once I actually got around to To The Moon. Though the game's soundtrack is quite strong with songs like the mysterious "Uncharted Realms" and the full-on cry session inducing "Everything's Alright" (DON'T JUDGE ME!!!), this version of "For River" still has a hold on me as my favorite.
"Mother, I'm Here (Zulf's Theme)" by Darren Korb from Bastion(skip if you don't want Bastion spoiled)
-SPOILERS- Whether this song plays if you leave Zulf behind, I do not know. But f*** me if bringing Zulf back to the Bastion to this didn't give me chills when I played it. Just walking, the Kid heavily injured carrying Zulf, with Ura archers firing from left and right has got to be one of the very best moments I've experienced in a video game over the last couple of years. Bastion's whole soundtrack is excellent, but "Mother, I'm Here" just helped to make that section of the game absolutely fantastic. -End spoilers-
"Theme of the Flamelurker" by Shunsuke Kida from Demon's Souls
Oh, how I wish I stuck with you, Demon's Souls. You kicked my behind left and right, challenged me, and just before I stopped playing you, you broke my soul. Okay, truthfully that last one has more to do with the fact that I beat some of the levels and bosses in the wrong order and the game punished me accordingly. Moving on from lamenting how much I sucked at the game, I've always liked something about the droning "Theme of the Flamelurker". It lets you know your in for a serious fight, and the song makes me wish I could've had the patience to hear the other boss themes. One day Demon's Souls...one day...
"Flow" by Rich Vreeland from Fez
Say what you want about Phil Fish, the creator of Fez, but sparse as it sometimes felt, the game's more atmospheric soundtrack worked well for it. "Flow", one of the more traditional songs you'll hear from the game, grabbed me almost as soon as I entered the sewer level in Fez. While "Home" is also a good song, I kept on wanting to go back to the sewer level simply to just chill to the song. Regardless of what people might think of Fez, there's no denying this a pretty good song.
"Catch The Dragonspy" by Nitin Sawhney from Enslaved: Odyssey To The West
I've seen opinions vary on Enslaved, with some flat out not liking it, and others adoring the game. I'm in the latter camp, and even though the game is far from perfect, it's still amongst my favorite games from this generation and I consider it one of the more underrated games from the last few years. It boasted a pretty decent soundtrack, with some epic music. "Catch The Dragonspy" though, a playful song played during some downtime in the game, has been my favorite for a few years now. Like I said, it's peaceful and playful, and an altogether nice song.
"Still Alive" by Lisa Miskovsky from Mirror's Edge
I know the majority would pick the song of the same name from Portal, and really, I like that sond a lot, too. But to me, there's just something better about "Still Alive" from Mirror's Edge that makes me prefer it.
"Far Away" by Jose Gonzalez from Red Dead Redemption
I'll be honest, as much as I love "Far Away" from Jose Gonzalez, I originally liked "Deadman's Gun" from Ashtar Command more. Recently though, I've been thinking back to how blindsiding this song is when you arrive in Mexico. One minute you're riding your horse, and the next "Far Away" just comes on and perfectly matches the mood of Red Dead Redemption at the time. Sure, "Deadman's Gun" makes the ending all the more sad, but even years after playing the game, arriving in Mexico to this song still stands out to me.
"Much like that cat picture I featured in my last music blog, I wonder how this dude's music would sound...."
Oh, there is probably so much more that I could list. Truth is though, I'm having a hard time thinking of all the music from the games I've played this past generation and really the paranoia that my blog is a little too lengthy has set in. Well, I know you guys probably disagree with a couple of these choices, so now it's your turn: what are your favorite songs from the last generation?
Take care and thanks for reading!