It’s getting near the end of 2010 and as any incredibly anal person would do, I’m thinking of lists that all end in the phrase “of the year.” Admit it, you’re doing it too. Along with the obvious list of games, I’m also working on a list of music, and the few game soundtrack entries made me ask out loud to nobody, “what is the state of game music?”
The answer to this one isn’t easy. Of course when it comes to sound quality it has gotten better, going from sound chips to CD class audio to full blown film-level soundtracks. While this increase in fidelity has made sounds more clear, it certainly hasn’t done much for its creativity.
It’s almost as if having less to work with made composers more creative. While some early songs are a little harder to translate from blips and beeps on a chip into something orchestral or using other real instruments, songs from older titles like The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy really hold up. That’s not to say that the improvements of technology hurt all the time. Final Fantasy VII is a pretty highly regarded soundtrack, and it’s essentially a demonstration of what happens when a composer who is used to working with a small amount of tools has a larger arsenal.
A lot of PlayStation era soundtracks are good examples of this. My personal favorite game soundtrack of all time comes from my favorite game of all time, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The series always had really solid music, but once it made the transition to a medium that could hold large amounts of audio files, the possibilities became greater. In the case with Castlevania, you get one of the most varied soundtracks in gaming history, with everything from orchestral, rock, baroque, and more, produced by a wide variety of instruments. In fact only one song in the entire game uses the PlayStation sound processor.
The PlayStation was almost the epicenter of great soundtracks, having a good run continuing into the PS2 and even had a nice lead in by the Super Nintendo. This leads us to something else that has been missing in the world of game soundtracks lately: atmospheric music. My second favorite soundtrack comes from, surprise, my second favorite game, Super Metroid. While it certainly is “music” it’s very atmospheric. It’s a nice balance between more complex compositions and music that is much simpler, but still enhances the environment you’re in.
So when did things get bland? Well that can be summed up with one series: Metal Gear Solid. The original MGS was scored by Konami composer Kazuki Muraoka. Like Super Metroid, the game has a nice combination of atmosphere and compositions like the epic, emotional Metal Gear Solid theme. Metal Gear Solid 2, along with the rest of the numbered series, was handed over to Harry Gregson-Williams, composer of such films as The Rock and Armageddon. This moved the series from having more of an atmospheric feels, to more of a Hollywood blockbuster, and for a game, especially a Japanese made game, that just feels wrong.
If we stand back and look at these games, and some of the other titles which are regarded as having great soundtracks, we see a trend: Japan. Along with avoiding the stereotypical Hollywood blockbuster type sound, Japanese compositions are very creative and very emotional. It’s difficult to explain but there is just a unique sound that doesn’t seem to come through on soundtracks done elsewhere. Soundtracks from Japan also span a wide variety of genres. Try to imagine a game like Persona 3 but with a John Williams soundtrack. It just doesn’t work, and sadly that is the way game soundtracks have been leaning lately.
That’s not to say you can’t have a western created soundtrack that is decent. Jack Wall’s Mass Effect soundtracks are both good examples, as is the score to Heavy Rain by Norman Corbeil. Of course the faux-back soundtracks like Mega Man 9 and 10, and Anamanaguchi’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World soundtrack are great too. Even the Castlevania: Lords of Shadow soundtrack, written by Spanish composer Oscar Araujo, is really solid, but comments he made recently about Konami wanting the soundtrack for the sequel to be more “aggressive” and less “effeminate” concern me, especially since Konami referred to the prior installments as examples of the “effeminate” music. There’s just something special and unique about those more simple soundtracks from the past that seem to have been lost in our current state where blockbuster games rule such a large portion of the industry.
