Japanese Composers Say Western Game Music is "Dry"

[Fightgarr]

You know, I can agree on a lot of points there. I love the full orchestral pieces you get in a lot of Western games, but I've never been able to get the same feeling that I get from, say, the Princess Mononoke soundtrack or the Chrono Cross soundtrack.

On the other hand, a lot of music in JRPGs is abrasive to the point where you wish you could forget it. Ugh... the S.S. Zelbess theme comes to mind here.

 

[PedroSteckecilo]

You know, I can agree on a lot of points there. I love the full orchestral pieces you get in a lot of Western games, but I've never been able to get the same feeling that I get from, say, the Princess Mononoke soundtrack or the Chrono Cross soundtrack.

On the other hand, a lot of music in JRPGs is abrasive to the point where you wish you could forget it. Ugh... the S.S. Zelbess theme comes to mind here.

Be fair, Joe Hisashi is a god among film composers and Yasonori Mitsuda is one of the best videogame composers ever (he also scored Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, Xenosaga, Shadow Hearts and many more)

 

[Gerazzi]

It's actually ironic, madworld has a great western soundtrack, and the game's made in japan.

Next thing i know they'll be running over people in their ambulances.

that's happened before.
Irony is hilarious.

I don't care what Japanese game developers think.
It's starting to become what I hate about regular media these days.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Monkey Island. I dare you to tell me that wasn't memorable at all.

So memorable I had to youtube it just to remember... bleh been too long since I've played. Sounds like inspiration for some Age of Wonders tracks.

 

[chazwasser8]

I guess I have the ability to forget unforgettable melodies because I used to have Monster Hunter and I can't remeber any of the music.

 

[lacktheknack]

I thought that the original Fallout's soundtrack was memorable, but for a different reason (ie, being a sixties TV jingle, slowly warping into post-apocalyptic horror music that continues for the WHOLE GAME, nicely tripling the the atmosphere).

 

[Lord Beautiful]

The soundtracks of Halo and Metal Gear Solid beg to differ.

However, I do see their point.

 

[lacktheknack]

...thanks to Yahtzee and his anti-japanese sentiments.

I think you need to watch his videos MUCH more closely. He hates JRPGs, but he dislike RPGs in general. On the other hand, he loves horror and REALLY creams himself over Japanese horror. He probably prefers Japanese producers to American ones.

Really, make sure your ideas are at least correct before putting them down.

 

[Internet Kraken]

I disagree.

Look, nobody is going to remember the soundtrack of a game if they don't care about it. I've played many Japanese games and there are few songs from them I distinctly remember. Yet I remember many songs from Western games like Half-Life.

Is that because Half-Life has a better soundtrack? No, it's because I enjoyed Half-Life more and thus the music stuck with me. You're usually only going to remember a videogame's music if you actually care about the game you're playing.

Well I suck at explaining this, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's really just opinion.

 

[Fightgarr]

Be fair, Joe Hisashi is a god among film composers and Yasonori Mitsuda is one of the best videogame composers ever (he also scored Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, Xenosaga, Shadow Hearts and many more)

Okay I will be fair. Take for example that I think Steve Vai is one of my most respected guitarists/composers in the western world. I thought that the Halo 2 soundtrack was good, not great though. But I guess comparing my two favorite soundtracks to the entirety of Western gaming is quite unfair so I guess I revoke my comment. Come to think of it, I guess I've had similar evocations of atmosphere from western games as well. Starcraft comes to mind here.

 

[MagicShroom]

Are the people who make the music for Rares games asians? If not, they are morons. Just listen to DKC, Conker, Banjo-Kazooie or Perfect Dark. <3

That was my point, they're British, as part of the western world (coming to cultural standards)

 

[Odude]

I haven't played Morrowind nor Oblivion in over a year, yet their soundtracks are still stuck in my head and play at least several times a day.

To me the article sounded like what I seem to see all too often from Japanese companies... bragging. It seemed like they were saying that they do better than us with less money, which I just don't think is true. Then again I do not like pop music at all, and that seems to be Japan's biggest music genre be it in games or radio.

Edit: Oh, and Fable 1. The Oakvale music haunts me constantly. Damn freaky children singing in my head...

 

[Byers]

thats the point though, they even state that in the article. The point is, they're jealous of american developers for havin massive budgets, but at the same time those massive budgets get squandered on useless drivel instead of usin some of it to actually make a memorable soundtrack.

No one is denyin that there are wonderful soundtracks in western fps games. What is bein stated is that with the amount of money that gets thrown at a lot of western games there should be more of them.

I noted that, and included that in the top of my post (read: "Creativity, afterall, cannot be bought"). That little list was just something I felt like doing, plus I included some low budget games like Braid and World of Goo.

You fail. TF2 has NO music except for the main menu.
Portal and HL2 have extremely generic techno music in my opinion (I can't remember a single tune from them apart from the ending themes).

And since when can main menu music not be included? Or credit songs or whatever? I don't see why not, and that's a TF2 song no matter what, so I included it.

It's just that including games with only one discernable audio track in a list of examples of games with exceptional soundtracks is kinda silly and leads people to believe that you really don't have a lot of good examples on hand.

 

[Byers]

American McGee's Alice
Beyond Good and Evil
Grim Fandango
Heroes of Might and Magic 4
Mass Effect
Max Payne 2
Starcraft
Warcraft 2

Are just the western games I can think of at the top of my head with great soundtracks. If I were to compile a list of Japanese games of similar standing I doubt it would amount to a higher count.

 

[Cowabungaa]

It's just that including games with only one discernable audio track in a list of examples of games with exceptional soundtracks is kinda silly and leads people to believe that you really don't have a lot of good examples on hand.

One? O no dear sir! TF2 has quite a few awesome songs, like Playing with Danger [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XBThjB8Cz4&feature=related] and Faster than a Speeding Bullet [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YciTA18gq_E&feature=related%20&fmt=18], or the scout tune for short. I adore TF2's music, even though it's not ingame.

 

[Sebenko]

Games like Oblivion, Morrowind and Fallout 3 have boring, bland and DRY scores that sit in the back ground, rarely making themselves heard. Because SO MANY people here say those games have GOOD soundtacks I'm pretty sure that a good 80% of you don't give a DAMN about the music and just want to indulge your mild cultural hatred toward Japanese Developed Games.

What theme have you been listening to?

Morrowind's music is fantastic. Go play morrowind (with the graphics extender and tamriel rebuilt), then walk over the crest of a hill on a sunny day with the theme playing. Fantastic.

Plus, if you don't like the music, you can do something as radical as have fun playing the game (Exploration in morrowind <3. My favourite gaming experience ever. Characters in HL2? Expanding from a "scout hut in the middle of nowhere to Co2 spewing urban vomit puddle" in simcity 2-4?, Atmosphere and story in bioshock? all second to morrowind's wonderful world.)

Also, no JRPG music has found it's way onto my MP3 player. Still alive (Portal) and Still alive (Mirror's edge) both made it.

Though I will admit I don't play many Japanese games, it's because of my usual argument: fans telling me to play them. And somehow my friends mostly ended up being anime nerds, which means I often have the soundtrack of any number of Japanese games/anime/etc. ringing in my ears.

Also, your argument amazes me- "If you don't like Japanese games you're racist." I have never faced such incredible, complex and intelligent arguments.

 

[ARM02]

Ocarina. Of. Time.

Is. Japanese.

Yes. That was kind of the point.