2022 vgm thoughts #5

05 Jan, 2023

LAST ONE, GO GO GO GO GO

signalis

• wow this is gorgeously dark
• the distinct flavor is the heavy use of industrial and mechanical noises throughout the soundtrack
• that mixed with the warm ambient textures give a very evocative and visceral experience that i adore

bayonetta 3

• wait why do i not like this oh no
• when i heard "sneaking mission" in the "bayonettas everywhere" trailer, i was SO hyped for the game to use this kind of sleek jazz style that fit perfectly within the bayonetta sound world and now listening to the actual OST it's like. the only one lol
• it works within the context of bombastic gameplay, but compositionally i think it could definitely be more

sonic frontiers

• this is the soundtrack of "oh ok" and "what the fuck is going on"
• i don't really feel anything from this soundtrack, but i think it serves its purpose well
• i'm glad modern sonic is embracing electronic styles fully, fits with the aesthetic and personality much more than generic orchestral stuff (which there is still plenty of in cutscenes but you know)
• why does the cover art cut off on the bottom??? is that a mistake or intentional. is it edgy uehehehehehe
• also the songs are so fucking funny i'm sorry, the vocal anguish of early pop punk 2000s music is amazing
• "heart and soul" is fucking hilarious too, it is not meant to be funny but it is fucking hilarious
• and the vocal samples in some of the stage themes is like huh???? why what i don't huh
• Flowing With Time I'm Flowing
• Flowing Into The Light
• DISAPPEAR......DISAPPEARING

pokemon scarlet and violet

• yeah it's fine
• this ost is pretty generic to me, was honestly kinda zoning out to a decent chunk of the tracks, like wallpaper vibes
• area zero can obtain my whole entire ass though
• speaking of toby, it's really really funny to see people in the comments saying "toby definitely composed this one" for every single track. like how everyone comments rip satoru iwata on every nintendo credits theme regardless if he worked on it or not
• anyway yeah some great tracks sprinkled throughout an okay soundtrack imo

littlehearts

• holy fuck holy shit fucking what like huh
• this soundtrack is so good oh my god
• people need to talk about this please
• it's so rich and energetic and triumphant, some of the best RPG-style music i've heard in a while
• i feel like if this was written for final fantasy during the ps2 era this shit would be a classic
• my only complaint would be that some of the leveling is a bit distracting sometimes, like melodies and harmonies lie in the background when they should be highlighted
• but otherwise, it's an extremely good OST, i really really like it

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okay phew that's it NOPE just kidding we've got BEMANI/Taiko no Tatsujin stuff to go through this year

now luckily remywiki (my love) has all the updated release dates for each song and game. however taiko no tatsujin doesn't have a dedicated english wiki, but rather a very well established blog, which means i have to go through many many pages to identify new tracks (UPDATE: i have discovered namco has an official youtube acct with new arcade premieres in high quality As They Release With The Game which is incredible, why can't more game companies be like this???). so i went ahead and probably listened to at least 300 more songs!!! and only saved like...15 of them!!!!!! screaming internally

now you might be wondering, ryan why are you doing this to yourself, aren't actual game OSTs enough?? well here are my thoughts on that:

1. i believe rhythm games have some of the most creative and exciting music out there, from its conception to now. leaving this extremely vibrant space out would mean that i'd be missing out on incredible artists making incredible music
2. doing this provides a direct look into an often overlooked and unappreciated part of the modern video game music community (at least, outside of Japan)
3. tbh it's actually pretty fun to dig through these since it satiates the completionist, data-entry part of my brain

so here are some highlights real quick:

beatmania IIDX 29 CastHour – PLATFORM 4 Beat Showcase

"WHA" — かめりあ involving ななひら

• my body can only laugh at the chaos, both amazed and deeply fearful
• wha

beatmania IIDX 30 RESIDENT

"Seraph" — satella feat.棗いつき

• something about the urgency of this gets me emotional??
• a lot of the melody is just simple stepwise motion, but that simplicity paired with the lush complexity of the harmonic structure makes it suuuuuper slick and effective

SOUND VOLTEX EXCEED GEAR – BEMANI PRO LEAGUE -SEASON 2-! Original Song Contest

"Ice Fortress" — 荒谷サトル

• god this fucks me up
• the amount of extremely cool ideas executed beautifully and flawlessly is unreal
• you ascend listening to this track

Taiko no Tatsujin (Nijiiro Version)

"The Future of the 太鼓ドラム" — 太鼓 de タイムトラベル2765 / かめりあ

• camellia really fuckin turned it this year (made "wha", as well as like 10 other crazy tracks so you know)
• the individual snippets in the middle are fucking amazing, i'm assuming they're pastiches and it is very good

Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival

"夢うつつカタルシス" — 大木奏弥 feat. 愛原圭織

• this track in particular inspires me so much
• the softness of its complexity, the confidence in the open and airy instrumental layering, and that delicious modern bossa nova fusion that then goes into an electric guitar solo?????
• permanent fixture in my vgm listening for sure

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OKAY PHEW NOW THAT'S ACTUALLY IT

...and just in time too! i'm literally editing this like, right before i post the big twitter thread. cohosters are Special~

thank you for reading all of this! writing these vgm thoughts has been super creatively fulfilling, and also just like...so much fun lol. hope people enjoy the big ol' yt playlist.

next up is...masaaki yuasa's stuff! started it in october and then things went to hell, so i'm very very excited to get back into it and watch some gooooood anime hehehe