#plus everything about this ost is all about atmosphere

[punkinspice]

Metroid Prime ost makes for very good writing music

#its about the vibes #plus everything about this ost is all about atmosphere #and its SO good #metroid

[seliswantstea]

Undertale - despite everything it's still you.

Soooo, I finally got the chance to play this game after a long time. I've been wanting to play this game for a very long time, but I've always postponed it. And now I regret postponing it because it's a great game, it made me wish I'd played it earlier.

I care more about the story than the graphics in the games I play.

While playing the game, I was drawn into the story of the game, and when I finished the game, I felt like saying goodbye to people (?) I've known for a long time.

Basically, humans drove the monsters to underground which has become the home to the monsters, and a human child falls into the this underground and story begins.

According to your choices, the game has multiple endings. If you have never played the game, I recommend that you play it without any spoilers for better experience.

If you haven't played the game and you care about deep and meaningful stories in the game, I definitely recommend you to play the game.

The characters are very well written, plus soundtracks are amazing...

Undertale OST: 063 - It's Raining Somewhere Else’s is my favorite so far.

NOW IT'S TIME FOR A REVIEW WITH SPOILER, if you didn't play this game before please don't read.

───── ⋆⋅♡⋅⋆ ────────── ⋆⋅♡⋅⋆ ─────

First of all, I didn't play genocide run, I spare all of the monsters... because I really liked all the characters and I didn't want to attack them. ╯︵╰

But I might have killed Toriel first because I was trying to get used to the game and to see if I could reach different endings at the very beginning of the game. But then I searched without spoilers and found out that the game did not end at the beginning of the game like other games I've played. Then I restarted the game. I was a little scared with Flowey's breaking the fourth wall.

These little chit chats with Sans really warmed my heart. Especially, the cutscene where we had dinner with Sans. The soundtrack, the ambience, the dialogues, everything was amazing. It was like taking a break from all the panic and no disco.

Since I am one of those who gets caught up in the atmosphere of the game, this scene made me feel very comfortable. (≧◡≦)

And ''... you'd be dead where you stand'' part somehow was not scary to me... I don't know why. But I did a little laugh that between awkward and scared.

Either because of the music or the character, Mettaton's fight was my favorite, this fight was the one I had the most fun with. Other than that, Asgore's, Muffet's and Undyne's fights were so hard for me...

I really liked all the characters, but my favorites are Papyrus, Mettaton, Sans and Toriel.

I'm not gonna talk about Neutral or True Pacifist endings.

I didn't do but watched the run video of the Genocide ending, it was really scary. So in this run the game doesn't become scary for us, what we become is scary. Asgore can't even recognize you as human anymore in the Genocide ending... now that was terrible. In this route who was real monsters really?

''My brother would really like to see a human. So it would really help me out... if you kept pretending to be one.''

That. That broke my heart.

In short, the game made me laugh, upset, excited and sometimes scared. Now I'm thinking about playing Deltarune too. I'm sure Deltarune is good as Undertale. I wish I had played the game without postponing and experience this feeling way sooner. But better late then never, right?

#undertale #undertale game #undertale review #undertale comment #undertale sans #undertale papyrus #undertale game experience #game review #game reviews #game recc #game recommendations #game reccomand

[whisperintoearth]

by the occasion of listening to the your name engraved herein ost obsessively once again, i just need to rave about this movie because everyone is so quiet about it. 

seriously, there’s this story about two men in the era just after taiwan lifted martial law in a society that’s rapidly changing, more free but still incredibly stifling and there’s this innocence and excitement of discovery and joy and insecurity that’s there but also an incredible rigidity. they can’t fight for them. THEY CAN’T FIGHT FOR THEM. it’s not a realistic option and they both hurt. and they both love each other. it’s evident in how they act and what they say and what they don’t say and in what they do (plus the deleted scenes, i need a director’s cut!!!). birdy loves jiahan but instead of choosing to fight for them to be together like jiahan wants he instead pushes them both to fit the standard of who they’re supposed to be. and that’s as valid of a decision as jiahan’s and THAT’S WHAT MAKES IT HURT SO BAD. 

even after trying to push away jiahan away continuously, he still evidently likes him being close and loves him. the scene on the cliff side, he lets them have this joy and he lets jiahan kiss him but right afterwards he draws the line again. this is birdy specifically loving this man but he has decided what would be best for him and knows pushing jiahan is the only way he will back off, because jiahan was ready to try. he’s cruel in the way he abruptly and completely rejected jiahan but also kind and benevolent in his intentions with it. and the phone booth scene, the last contact before endless separation, the absolute pain that emits from both of them. they both know birdy’s situation doesn’t fulfill him, and they deeply love and ache for each other, but all they can do is listen to this song, which is essentially jiahan telling birdy that he still deeply loves him and doesn’t regret it, is still waiting on him, and doesn’t even blame him for his decision, he just hurts because he WAS ready to completely give up on everything to be with birdy. and birdy wasn’t, and now he’s alone. and birdy is as well. but he chose this, because what choice did this man really have. 

and god when they meet again. i love the time skip. the whole atmosphere breathes freedom and easiness. being allowed!! they’re allowed. they see each other for the first time in a queer bar, and just that tells us how far they’ve both come, casually visiting such a place, and it tells us how far the world has come, making space for them two, finally. coming to see their former teacher’s grave half across the world. a man who tried his best to guide these children with what he was taught while also allowing them more freedom and understanding than anyone else, while also stifling this part of himself he saw in them because that’s what he thought was right. i’m glad he left the church and found someone, in the end.

when birdy tells jiahan he really loved him. there is a weight in those words of everything that happened and the decades in between them. there is also the motion of breathing out, of hearing that said on the street in the night, but not hiding, not anymore. and there is a sense of injustice in it for jiahan, of only hearing it now, of only being sure after so many years, after he’s been through so much. after a life time of being alone.

and god, what makes me cry the most is them getting to carefully know each other again, to go over their wrongs and their past, but also this hesitant sense of playfulness and happiness. of easy joy. they’re allowed now!! they can!! and birdy, after a wife and a kid, he’s here now. still somewhat hesitant but he is ready. 

and i can’t blame birdy, of a child who was afraid and dismissive because he was scared and saw it as the only option of getting jiahan to back off. and i don’t blame him for not wanting to fight such a huge fight. the whole movie carries this sense of hurt, of lost time and bitterness, of helplessness and the quiet violence, but also this slight relief, the final possibility of all that changing and having changed. they’re clumsy in the possibility that they can, now. jiahan definitely, i think. and i think birdy is ashamed somewhat, still holding himself back, but there’s just this sense of definiteness that they WILL now. 

#your name engraved herein #刻在我心底的名字 #taiwan #idk man #it sort of reminds me of itsay #but here the separation was more bc of the circumstances #and it's way longer #theyre older men when they meet again #and it makes me love it more #it also makes it hurt more #because it just seems inevitable #i read notes of a crocodile by qiu miaojin at some point before watching this movie for the first time #and if you haven't read it it's also set in taiwan right after the martial law is liften #and it's about this lesbian girl #lazi is the nickname #and it has the similar sense of newness and freedom taiwan felt but also still being incredibly bound #and it never gets a resolution that this movie gets #the moment of being released #mostly because qiu miaojin never lived to see it #but there is something about that era for queer people where i just #get so much pain and love towards the pieces created in or about that time #dramatic times create dramatic art

[iiasha-archived]

Here’s another ask game for ya! Assign your moots as seventeen comeback aesthetics (can include solos, OSTs, collabs, Japanese comebacks, etc) and say why you associate them with that aesthetic! Some can overlap too!

ooo okay.. i’m really bad at these kinds of things but i’ll try my best ❤️ i would have loved to do all my mutuals but my brain isn’t strong enough for everyone so i’m so sorry ahead of time if i didn’t get you!! 😭

edit: also i just realized this said COMEBACK aesthetics but i just did svt. well. anything lmao

@s0ftbb as clap: c just gives me such wonderfully colorful and bright vibes (esp with the use of the colored text lmao it always adds such a nice extra flair to all ur posts <3) and also all her creations and videos give me such HAPPY and LET’S HAVE A GOOD TIME vibes u know what i mean 🥺 and also just that splash of insanity that we all love <3 in particular i’m thinking of that montage scene near the end where there’s like confetti flying everywhere and it’s in slow-mo and stuff lmao

@rosevlolets as fallin flower: alexis gives me super soft and refined and of course flowery vibes! i think it also helps that all her tags for the svt members are literally flowers so it always feels like a cherry blossom breeze every time i see her on the dash or in my notifs <3 (oh gosh i hope that wasn’t TOO cheesy lmao) hehe but yeah i always think flowers when it comes to alexis which is perfect for fallin’ flower

@scoupsy as fear + fearless being the sister song: not because dreamy is intimidating or anything LMAO but i think this association immediately came to mind because of her astounding and beautiful graphics, i feel like they match the fear aesthetic super well. there’s like kind of a dark and elegant atmosphere i always associate with her gfx and in turn her but in like that really beautiful way <3 but ALSO fearless comes in bc i find dreamy’s personality super, well, fearless LMAO and just badass. i really love how she doesn’t hesitate to speak up for herself ❤️

@jonghan as (never-ending) aju nice: GO CRAZY GO STUPID GO WILD LOSE YOU’RE FUCKING SHIT AS WE GO WILD EVEN MORE!! i think yza perfectly encapsulates the never-ending aju nice stage as well as all the crazy antics that come along with it especially as of late LMAO. and again i tend to associate people’s content with their i guess. being? lmao but aju nice is equally as colorful and vibrant as her gifs PLUS she’s so prolific (e.g. never-ending but in the best way) like god damn idk how you keep up with it all afjksldjf

@soonhoonsol​ as healing: idk man chey just gives me very... lmao HEALING vibes :D seeing you on the dash and in my notifs fills me with this very feel-good “ahhh it’s chey!!!” and upbeat feeling hehe <3 and you almost always have such nice tags as well that i read them sometimes and i’m like 🥺🥺🥺 my soul = cleansed. but there’s also this sense of like... i hope this is for the long run you know? LMAO by that what i mean is the whole thing of healing is like DON’T stop this healing right basically i hope you continue to bless the dash for a long time whether it be with your creations or simply good vibes <3

@gotseventeens​ as change up: i don’t really have a reason for this other than vibes? LMAO i’m using vibes all over the place but yeah like for some reason the vibe i get from belle reminds me of the bold colors and suave/cool nature of the change up mv hehe ❤️ i think it’s because belle’s vibes also strike me with this air of confidence that is still kind of chill/lowkey about it lmaooo like YEAH you totally got this ;D

@tzhao12 as 2019 TTT (camping ver.) but specifically when they’re talking about their feelings at the end: because what speaks better about everlasting friendships than the friend i’ve been blessed with for what. is it 12 years now. she’s probably not even gonna see this for like 3 months bc unlike me she escaped tumblr. anyways tiff i’d die for you can’t wait for y’all to jumpscare me this thursday <3 i’m gonna cry i’m serious <3

@vernons as any vocal unit song: oona gives me very soft and gentle vibes which is a lot of what i get from most of vocal unit’s songs! if i had to pick exactly one maybe we gonna make it shine but that’s probably just influenced by me having listened to it recently hehe <3 also a lot of the nature aesthetics and makeup looks i see you post on your main blog feel like they fit in as the visual side of the aesthetic the vocal unit songs give me if that makes any sense??? LMAO

@heartgyus as snap shoot, + the creative process behind it: so in my heart rhys is like a leading mingyu stan here so naturally i had to pick something with mingyu’s entire heart and spirit behind it LMAO but in general rhys vibe and aesthetic gives me SUPER happy/fluffy upbeat like “whoo hoo!” vibes??? afdjklajf a little silly a lot of cute and a lot of fun :D  

@haniehae as pinwheel: for some reason when i think of anna i get this sense of a breath of fresh air??? idek why this is another one i can’t really explain hahaha but yeah pinwheel is what immediately came to mind! i think also because when i see a lot of your moodboards pinwheel kind of naturally comes as like the backtrack for a lot of them??? i think it’s something about the instrumentals of the song. anna just overall also gives me very relaxing vibes whenever i see her on the dash hehe <3

@xuseokgyu​ as when they were filming the 2019 gose intro: okay this is really specific but for some reason that’s what came to mind afjkadslj MY REASONING is that belle just gives me the vibes of being like. super enthusiastic and supportive about EVERYTHING whether it be her own work or the work others are doing!!! also lowkey i get parental vibes from her LMAO so it somehow reminds me of when they were in the house and seungkwan was like “OKAY KIDS... GATHER AROUND...” lmao but in general the whole energy of that entire thing where they were like “okay here’s this thing we’re gonna DO IT” but in a enthusiastic/happy way is why i picked this jfaksldf

@17hateblog as seventeen’s humor: kay and i don’t really talk but she consistently has the funniest fucking tags ever known to mankind. it might not specifically be the same as the humor seventeen show us in, say, gose, but the way they both make me die laughing is the same <3 it doesn’t even matter what the post is everything she puts on her blog is an adventure and i am fucking here for it. AND she’s a jun stan so what’s not to love <3

@vixenjun as light a flame: because kaya and her blog literally embody sexiness + junhui in that choreo....... >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> everything. i also really feel like her aes kind of fits that dark mysterious too-good-for-you beauty vibe that i also get from light a flame lmao (but underneath that kaya is obviously a sweetheart <3)

@happysmilebtr as hitorijanai: anna is just like. genuinely one of the most supportive and happy vibing people i’ve met on here? lmao and i feel bad bc i basically have now left you on read KJFDLAJDS but all our dms have been so much fun like i love just talking about anything <333 but yeah the way you’re so open and loving and supportive 100% gives me hitorijanai vibes and the message behind it :D

#asks #ask game #kaleidoscope-of-lillies #i know i didn't get everyone and that's why i struggle so much on these kinds of things bc i feel bad hhhhh

[mrslittletall]

Time for my Ghost of Tsushima Review: Graphics To make it short, the game looks absolutely GORGEOUS. It goes with a realistic style. I didn’t had trouble with the character models, they looked good and unique and the facial expressions were well done. What got me, though, is the scenery. Tsushima is lush with nature and there were trees, flowers, pampas grass. You clearly could see what was a japanese settlement and what was a mongol camp, though I have to argue that they resuded a lot of assets for the buildings, like if you you knew one of them, you knew all of them, but that is nitpicking.  The water looked great, the fire effects looked great, the foxes were cute, the flowers were gorgeous. It was a joy to look at and I made some scenery screenshots which I all forgot to upload, oh well...  The last area was a bit duller though, because it was full of snow, but I like snow and we got footprints in the snow, so I was fine with it ^^ Sound/Music Sadly this game suffers from western Triple A problems... the music is generic and doesn’t stand out. I think I remember one song of the entire OST and that was in Yarikawa, when you unlock the Ghost Stance.  The music is generally played with japanese instruments which was a very nice touch though. It wasn’t there all the time also, leaving you room to listen to the atmosphere, which was nicely done. It never really was quiet in Tsushima, but it made me feel at ease. I am also amazed at the voice acting. The voice acting was really really good, though both me and my husband had one gripe with it... Ok, so I put them on english, but they are still talking japanese with each other, it’s just dubbed for our listening comfort, so why... why did so many VA’s speak with a fake japanese accent?! That didn’t make any sense at all!  It got even more hilarious when I read the names of the credits and Jin, one of the few who doesn’t sport a fake japanese accent was spoken by a japanese man! That was the only gripe I had with the voice acting though.  Gameplay  The game feels like a classic Open World game. I heard a lot of people got tired by it, but they probably have played like a hundred Open World titles already. I only played Breath of the Wild and Death Stranding (and Death Stranding is not a typical Open World title), so it felt all fresh and new enough for me. I am a person who really likes to see progress in games, so it always felt great for me when I found one of the locations in Tsushima that would give me some extra and make my Jin stronger. I loved the exploration part of the game.  The quests of the games? They were a bit generic, at least the optional quests. Lots of the same to do. The story quests were more interesting, for they sometimes forced a certain playstyle on you or gave you certain weapons to use. Like, sinking the ships with the hwacha was really cool and having to sneak out of the shogun’s castle was nerve wracking. I wasn’t bored with them though, for I liked the little stories behind the quests.  The combat was really fluid and played well, though the standoffs at Act 3 got ridiculously hard. I thought it was my problem, but I wasn’t the only one failing the standoffs in Act 3, the game really just made them super hard, apparently to encourage stealth? Yeah, but I don’t want to stealth the mongol patrols...  The boss battles in the game... they kinda felt like a dance. You had to find out what your opponent does and react accordingly and if you did it right, it felt like a beautiful rythm of a sword battle. I was pretty impressed by how fluid it felt when I didn’t mess up. The stealth mechanics were good. I hate stealth in games where you normally don’t do stealth, but here the stealth was a big part of the game. You had a lot of options for stealth, you could hide in grass or behind walls, you could assassinate the foes one by one, you could hide on a roof and shoot them with your bow, you get access to poison later in the game (shooting a brute with hallucination dart was always fun) and and and. It really hammers home that your character took up the practices of a shinobi to save his home.  The early game hell was pretty bad though... you start with not much of course, and that made me almost give up on the game because I did nothing but die... only when I found out that I can run up to archers and hit them with my sword instead of having an archer battle, I had fun again. Like, the game starts you out with low health and resolve and then gets you into missions with five archers shooting at you at once? You are dead before you could even aim!  Overall, I had fun with the gameplay.  Story/Characters Ok, that will be complicated, because I like the story and I dislike the story at the same time... But let’s talk about the characters first. I loved most of them, especially Jin, Yuna, Kenji and Norio. Every main character got their own questline which you could follow and it showed a lot about them, also that none of them a honourable hero or anything, but they all had their flaws and troubles... Especially Lady Masako’s quest made me thinking... for it was extreme that her family got slaughtered like that, but after hearing that she left her sister in an abusive marriage I couldn’t hate Lady Hana for it... she must have tremendously suffered and sadly all her negative energy got channeled at innocent people... Their stories went through the whole game and were a good thing to deepen them, because in the main story they felt a bit side lined in favour of Yuna’s and Jin’s friendship as well as the storyline about Ryuzo and the relationship between Jin and Shimura.  Ok, let’s talk about the story now.  The story is set on the 13th century of the island of Tsushima with the mongol invasion. Because the mongols fight not fair, the honourable Samurai lose the battle... almost all of them. Jito Shimura gets captured and Jin gets dragged away by thief Yuna who nurses him back to health. Of course he makes the decision to save Shimura, who is his uncle, but now he hasn’t an army in his back, he’s only one man. So Yuna teaches him the tactics of stealth and dirty fighting. More and more over the span of the game, Jin takes up the practices of a shinobi, with a lot of Ghost Weapons that get unlocked and a stealth based game play.  Jin, who has been raised as honourable samurai, has trouble with this and can’t accept his new role at first. He tells himself he stops doing it once the mongols are driven out, but...  A legend is getting spun. The Legend of the Ghost. I really like how this happens, for Jin does nothing supernatural to get the mongols down, he simply changes his tactics. But the people hear about it and they rumour and soon after they call him “The Ghost” and everything gets exxegerated a LOT. That is pretty much how legends must have started, so I loved this aspect.  And I loved how we see Jin’s inner struggle and how he thinks about the land first and his honour second and that there is a friendship with Yuna which never turns into romance, which is a plus as well. Act 2 was really epic and I loved the whole Yarikawa moment, when like everything screamed “For the Ghost”, that was POWERFUL. What I dislike is the story since the end of Act 2 and in the start of Act 3.   See, there’s Ryuzo. Ryuzo is Jin’s boyfriend childhood friend and he is a ronin. Jin asked him to join his forces, but Ryuzo betrays him and joins the mongols for his men hunger and the Khan did promise him food.  And during the second act, Ryuzo and his strawhat ronin act like secondary villains... and I was very much hoping for a redemption arc for Ryuzo, but instead the story lets Ryuzo pathetically cry for his life and Jin has to kill him. Um, what was that?! You missed a GREAT opportunity for a redemption arc here and it feels like you didn’t use the potential of Ryuzo at all...  And then Act 3 happened... see in Act 2 there is a mission where Jin gets poison and it is a powerful weapon, most players will probably use it. But there is a scene where Jin uses it without player control and his uncle is like “WTF Jin?”  The issue comes when we enter act 3 and now the mongols use the poison that Jin used on them... And the story turns into a “Oh Jin used poison, how horrible that is! Now the mongols have poison! Why did you use poison, Jin? You are clearly the villain now.” Which I am like... “No? What the fuck? This guy saved thousands of people because he decided that life was more imporant than honour and the narration wants to tell us that poison is bad? What?”  In the end, I liked that Lord Shimura came to help though and the ending tale... had some very powerful lines “You have no honour.” “And you are a slave to it.” Beautifully delivered those lines. My decision in the end was to let Lord Shimura leave, but not for the reason Jin had, for he said he wouldn’t kill family. My reason was the following: “Live! See the pain and suffering of your people and help them. Live with your shame and survive, because that is what Jin does. You don’t get an easy way out, old man.” Yeah, my reason was lot more spite...  Anyway, I wish the story in the later acts would have been better... it started so strong... Overall This isn’t a perfect game of course. But I had my fun with it and I wanted to explore the map and see the end of Jin’s story. Characters were adorable and fun, gameplay is smooth once early game hell is over. I would totally rec this game if you aren’t fatigued of open world titles.

#ghost of tsushima #ghost of tsushima spoilers #ghost of tsushima review

[silver-wield]

I'm reading that tweet the other anon sent you about the Honey Bee ost and it just baffles me how some people think it wouldn't make sense for it to create a sexy atmosphere for Andrea and Cloud who are literally dancing together, but it makes sense for it to be all about Cloud and Aerith. The only difference between those two is that C met one of them about, idk, 5 hours after the other. Plus, have these guys even noticed what the Honey Bee is all about? It's got nothing to do with Aerith smh

Tw: bad language. More than usual, I mean.

This has made me really mad actually. How fucking dare they act like fucking gatekeepers all the time and erasing everything about the game they don't like! That scene is Andrea and Cloud! Aerith's in the audience! NOT PARTICIPATING!

They did the dance battle. Not Aerith. She fucking sat there and her reaction is OPTIONAL depending how you do. Andrea’s “honey I think I’m in love” ISN’T optional no matter what you do!

That description doesn’t even say two way feelings. It’s Andrea crushing on Cloud, which really not fucking surprising is true! He has a 3yr waiting list and made time for Cloud! Wtaf did these idiots think that meant!? Andrea’s allowed to like Cloud! That doesn’t mean Cloud likes him back, although he’s obviously fine with him since they chat several times in chapter 14! Shockingly for those people over twelve that's how feelings fucking work!

Just because they're a bunch of homophobic cunts doesn't mean Cloud or the rest of us are 😠😠😠😠

I'm seriously sick of them and their bullshit. If they can't even accept the possibility of other characters having feelings then just fuck off. Go back to your goddamn cave and leave the game to the people who love the whole thing.

And if people want me to play fair, even though I really don't want to, at an absolute stretch it could apply to Aerith's feelings for Cloud. Not his. He fucking checked out mentally the moment he stepped in that spotlight. Which is fucking confirmed in the ultimania that Cloud had no expression during it. Full on SOLDIER. He decided to do it to save Tifa and dissociated from himself to get through it. He didn't reconnect until Tifa pointed out he had a dress on!

If people won't play the fucking game properly they shouldn't be allowed to comment on it!

#Ship war #I'm pissed #Bunch of goddamn homophobes #Andrea is worth a million of you pricks #Tw: cursing

[muzzleroars]

hi! out of curiosity, what’s your favorite track in the game? (either royal or vanilla)

oooh that’s actually a tough one!! for vanilla, i really love rivers in the desert and our beginning, while for royal i love gentle madman, out of kindness, and our light. rivers i’m sure is an obvious one - everything about it is so good and it’s honestly one of the best boss themes i’ve ever heard (plus it’s got!! those!! religious!! overtones!!) our beginning is maybe also obvious for me, but it’s just such a powerful and impactful moment in the game, and the song really delivers on that. plus i just...really love how quietly it ends, how it goes from triumphant to gentle in such a wonderfully smooth transition. honorable mention for vanilla is freedom and security -  YES OK I KNOW but i love how they managed to make a theme sound resigned. it fits in perfectly with the gloom of the depths, that air of defeat in all the notes really plays into the atmosphere of the prisoners you meet and speak with, it’s just so fitting ok dfkjdfgdg gentle madman and out of kindness are hands DOWN my favorite palace themes - they’re so melancholy and despondent, almost haunting in a way to me. plus, they really are complementary to each other, like out of kindness really feels like an extension of gentle madman, just more desperate and in turn a bit more aggressive. UGH i can listen to them on repeat they’re so good!! and our light...i mean OF COURSE...i’m a big shuake, but outside of that again, the melancholy overtones are incredible and so moving imo, but the song also feels powerful. i think it’s super fitting for the bond akira and goro share, it...sounds like them, if that makes sense?? like it suits them in tone and in lyrics, i can’t help but get emotional when i hear it. honorable mention for royal goes to mementos - new floor (メメントス・新層 sorry i’m not sure of the official english name skdfjsf) - i really love this remix of the original mementos theme, it adds a layer of menace to it that i really enjoy and it makes it sound a lot grander overall. i WISH it had been used for something relating to yaldabaoth but i enjoy it v much nonetheless! so ok that was way more than one song, but i really love this ost

#i really love both opening themes too aaaa #i haven't found a full version of colors flying high yet tho... #i know there's a live one but.... #did they/will they release the full studio version??? #BUT ANYWAY p5 has an incredible ost god #p5 #hypn0-kk #p5r spoilers #a lil bit

[beevean]

Hey Beev, what music style do you think better represents Classic Sonic's character as a whole? (This is for the final section of that old Forces' Classic Sonic music post I was working on months ago, and I'd like to add even more of your input, haha.)

Oh wow! Interesting question, and thank you for asking me :D

The music in the Classic era was just as diverse as it is now and it’s hard to pick a singular style. Not counting the minor games, as interesting to analyze they’d be, we have:

Sonic 1: a very mellow OST, somewhat jazzy (most obvious with Spring Yard), and more “cinematographic”, at least in the intention of Masato Nakamura - most famously, Scrap Brain sounds like a fast version of the credits of the Blade movie, the timpani being the more obvious similarity. Sadlly, with the exception of Green Hill, this OST tends to be overshadowed by what will come next.

Sonic 2: it’s the same composer, but this OST is much more lively, with a better soundfont, longer tunes and absolutely wicked basslines - just compare Green Hill to Emerald Hill, or the two Special Stages themes. There are also many more genres now: salsa, jazz, country, arabic, orchestral, nightmare...

Sonic CD JP: now this is a doozy. Naofumi Hataya and Masafumi Ogata took inspiration from the club genre of the era to create a more “modern” soundtrack, one that would appeal the American public (ha) - fast-paced, full of unintelligible samples (preceding Hideki Naganura’s work by at least a decade), straight up dipping into the New Jazz Swing genre, it sounds nothing like the first 2 games or everything else from this era, but it’s so fondly remembered that Mania’s OST is clearly inspired by this one.

Sonic CD US: this is, much like the actual game, Sonic 1 on steroids. It’s a very atmospheric OST, with less catchy tunes than the original counterpart, but more “ambient”, with wailing guitars, female choirs and peculiar drums - the two Collision Chaos themes are my favorite example to show the polar opposite approaches of the two OSTs. Also, it’s the first Sonic soundtrack that used real instruments, making it a precursor to Adventure’s.

Sonic 3 & Knuckles: it’s hard to peg a single style for this OST, as it goes in all kinds of directions, and of course it’s longer than 1′s and 2′s put together. I would say that the two halves have different styles: Sonic 3 is very much the lovechild of Michael Jackson and Brad Buxter(with a little help of some guy named Jun Senoue), and it shows; Sonic & Knuckles takes inspiration from Sonic 2, but generally less jazzy and more intense - some tracks really sound like they’re begging to be played by a real guitar.

Sonic 3D Blast: we’re starting to approach the end of the ‘90s, and therefore the end of the Genesis era. Why are we even considering this game? Because this OST is basically the fondation for Sonic Adventure’s brilliant soundtrack, as the sheer amount of reused tracks prove. Jun Senoue and Tatsuyuki Maeda pushed the limits of the console to make a truly memorable OST for such a forgettable game. While there aren’t many obvious genres, overall it does sound like a nice mix of Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 & Knuckles (helped by some of the best sounds the Genesis could produce): Senoue brings back the energy of the former, Maeda the intensity of the latter.

And I’m not even considering Richard Jacques’ work, which was the living incarnation of the late ‘90s!

So... which is the style that fits Classic Sonic better? 

The big love letter to the Classic series that is Mania used CD as an inspiration, and while Mania’s OST is excellent and one of my favorites... I don’t automatically associate New Jazz Swing with Classic Sonic. Before Mania, it was only in one game, the odd one in the bunch too.

3D Blast is my favorite Genesis soundtrack, and as I said it combines the best of two worlds (plus it’s just full of bangers), but it influenced the next era more than the Classic one. The same could be said for the American OST of CD - and besides, tracks like this are nothing like Sonic anyway.

Sonic 1 is the first one and all, but that mellow style fits that particular game more than Classic as a whole, I think the closest OST to this style was Advance 1, actually - another slow-paced, simple game.

So the choice is narrowed down to the ultra-popular Sonic 2 and the refined Sonic 3 & Knuckles. And I’ll be honest, while I think S3&K has higher “highs” compared to S2... my brain immediately jumps to the latter. When I think of Classic Sonic, I think of Genesis brass (the real deal, not that fake synth they used in Forces), twang basses, a swingy rhythm (too many to choose lol), and tons of energy.

Only one Classic track in Forces came close to this description. The others sound more like either a pale imitation of Sonic 1 or modern tracks with a bad soundfont, and that’s when they’re not a complete insult (no i won’t link to it you know what i’m talking about :V).

I can’t wait to read your analysis, and I hope I’ve been of help ^^

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic music #me? writing until midnight about sonic music? it's my favorite pasttime #seriously i'm very interested in what you have to say about forces' music #latin-dr-robotnik

[starlight-phantom]

top 5 video game osts? bonus points for why you like that particular ost

1 - Persona 5 Royal

Every single song is a bop and they help set the atmosphere of each scene perfectly. I'm not gonna get into it 'cause I won't be able to shut up for hours, but it good. Plus, it is very rare for me to cry simply over a song, but Our Light and Ideal And The Real - End Version made me sob.

2 - Tales Of Xillia 2

All the Tales Of games have amazing soundtracks but this one has the edge because 1) The opening is a bop, 2) the boss theme is so good I had to pause the game and scream, and 3) The Hymn Of Proof is heartbreaking and I cry every time I hear one of the Kresniks humming it. Especially in... Those scenes...

3 - Jet Set Radio Future

I love everything about Jet Set Radio and the soundtrack fits the aesthetic so damn well. I love the mix of original and licensed music and the blend of Western rock and JPop works strangely well. Just gotta wish and wait for a third game...

4 - Sonic Adventure 2 Battle

I'm gonna be completely honest, this soundtrack is what introduced me to rock music and made me love the genre so much. Yeah, yeah, I know how cringe but I was seven and Jun Senoue's music is awesome. Also, I don't care what anyone says Escape From The City is a jam and it was the first song I learnt every word to.

5 - Kingdom Hearts

I can't pick a game in particular but yeah. Yoko Shimomura is a musical goddess and every song in this series is beautiful. Combine that with Hikaru Utada's angelic voice and you have something truly magical.

[megatentious]

My lengthy defense of the most hated Persona game

Here’s my grand defense for the most hated game in the series: Persona 1, AKA Revelations: Persona. I know it’s too late to try and rehabilitate the game’s reputation on the internet, but I’m hoping that by rambling in modestly structured form for a bit, at least some folks might be able to look at Persona with a fresh perspective. It would be cool if everyone could try to understand what the game did so well and why it resonated so strongly with me and 2 or so other people. If you are the kind of person that thinks games age and become archaic, then I probably don’t have any hope of reaching you, but still, try to put yourself in the right mindset and approach the game on its own terms, and maybe you’ll discover something quite special.

So, Persona. Persona does very interesting things with choice. As the first Megaten rpg released in America, the negotiation system was a revelation (har har), providing the choice to talk your way out of battles and into rewards is a natural D&D element that never got a foothold in countless videogame conversions of the game, and in the first Persona these elements are at their peak. With every demon having four moods, four series of animation and four sets of voiced sound effects, the expanded options really let you get into the headspace of the demons you’re conversing with, unlike traditional SMT’s more spare binary system. Getting into the thick of things with complex sets of reactions (Joy + Interest, that’s what’s up) makes for a fun simulation.

The theme of choice is also really built into the game’s fabric, it’s the reason why in old usenet postings, Persona was recommended to folks who were fans of Gold Box games, during a time when RPG labels were more porous and that sneaky “J” hadn’t yet latched itself omnipresently to the term. Choice here also extends to the fifth character in your party, a friendly way to promote replay value without new game plus, and certain choices locking you out of giant chunks of the game, an unfriendly way of getting you through the game again. In a world though where developers are desperate to ensure that gamers experience all content (so many buzzwords!), the chutzpah of Persona being willing to lock you out of huge swathes of the game is something I actually admire.

It’s easy to underestimate the impact of the modern day setting in a post Persona 3/TWEWY/Alpha Protocol world, but dungeons that were hospitals and police stations and high school students snarling “EAT THIS” with MIGs in pitched street battles felt revelatory. Exploring the comically low-rent polygonal city (is this another reference to the abstracted icons of SMT1 and 2 world maps?) was actually fun, as ridiculous as waiting for traffic to pass might seem. There are also many complaints about the first person perspective dungeons, even though the rest of the game is third person, but the setting variety is nice and many of the wall patterns are quite evocative (Deva Yuga looks like Persepolis!)

The game also does PSX-era philosophizing in a tasteful and generally thoughtful way, while contemporaries were drawing from Evangelion, Persona looked to Zhuangzi and Jung. Not very high-falutin, true, but at least middle brow enough such that my 14 year old Sophie’s World reading self was entranced. The game has something neat to say about loneliness and identity and the way we construct the world around ourselves (all hinted at in the moody intro. The story is very nice and very Kaneko, even if he’s overestimating the literary quality in this interview, I’m very fond of it and it is my franchise favorite.

Here’s where I alienate the remaining people who might have been on board with me so far: if you ignore the loss of the Snow Queen Quest, a 20 hour alternate version of the story that takes place in a series of SMT:If... like towers, Revelations: Persona is actually the superior game. “Lunarvale,” a hodgepodge of America and Japan cobbled together by localizers attempting to mask the game’s origins, is actually more weird and interesting than the Mikage-cho that appears in Persona PSP. This bizarre mashup, combined with a nonsense translation attempt, somehow manages to better fit the lurid dreamscape vibe the original developers were going for. I can’t undersell how one-of-a-kind and wonderfully unsettling the game’s atmosphere is in the PSX version, and this is helped along of course by the sound.

Here are excerpts from some things I wrote on the music in this game:

Revelations: Persona has the best soundtrack in the franchise, possibly the best soundtrack ever made. In raw quantitative terms it's ridiculous, 113 songs and 3 hours of music without being looped, and all without doing Persona 2's trick of repeated (but still awesome!) remixes. Two majorly sweet leitmotifs for the two major quests, employed creatively and thoughtfully, four fantastic composers on four discs, cohesive and thematically coherent when by all rights it should feel disjointed as fuck, this is a generous OST!

Hidehito Aoki (R.I.P.) composed the dungeon music, which is exquisite. Lengthy songs that are moody, elegant, just plain beautiful and get you PUMPED! The iconic Deva Yuga Monochrome: School Revisited Dream-like, synthy, catchy, beautiful, quintessential Persona sound. Pandora's Den (Deepmost Area): The climax at 1:12! Ice Castle/Black Snow The twists and turns in this one, so effing good. Sebek Music, Karma Palace 90's music is the best!!! Misaki Okibe's range is ridiculous, she composed some of the most memorable, interesting tracks in the whole game. Reverse Dream World: You think you have this song figured out in the first few seconds, but stick around to see where it suddenly veers off to around :30, hilarious and awesome. Theme of Nemurin's Love: The intro! The power of a simple lovely melody, a little Uematsu-esque. Augustia's Wood: The save music, so memorable, I love the grumbling. City 2 Accident: Do you remember wandering the streets in the town, disoriented, listening to this gorgeousness, thinking about how Lunarvale suddenly seemed so scary, like an unsettling dream? Bar Attacked by Harem Queen: A bit of jazzy beauty. And most important of all of course, Misaki Okibe is the composer of the Pharmacy Music, featuring vocals by one Hidehito Aoki of all people. Satomi Tadashi Drugstore Song In our heads forever, teaching us about item use since 1996. 

More alienating for readers who have gotten this far: the “whitewashing” character designs were all improvements, Kazuma Kaneko redrew everything himself and it’s easy to tell that a lot of thought was put into the redesigns. Finally, Mark is also >>>> Masao, everyone’s always yelling about the jive-talking but to me he came across as quite smart and savvy. I dunno, maybe this is just a Flavor of Love/Outsourced minorities just wanna see themselves effect operating here, leave me alone you guys! So yes, the franchise’s current fanbase might not be fond of them, but the cast is comprised of characters that are meant to be iconic and not friends you wish you had in real life, a cast that, FFVI-like, is meant to evoke broader themes and not follow the typical arcs of many RPGs these days. Check out the classiness of Yuki’s design, and allow me to quote some more stuff on how Tsuchiya, master of the character theme, nails it for each party member.

The sign of a good character theme is when you can extrapolate from instrument choice and melody to personality. Here Tsuchiya is the man, no one does it better this side of Uematsu. I hear these songs and I've got a perfect picture in my mind of each cast member. It's what I think of when I think of "videogame music" ha, here are my personal favorites, I could listen to these endlessly. Mary/Maki: Cheerful, just a hint of melancholy in the notes, love that slap bass. Yuki: Starts a bit slow, but soon we learn that Yuki's cool but determined. Alana: The song tells me she's brassy, energetic, fun. Chris/Reiji: Dangerous, exciting, a bad-ass delinquent. Ellen/Elly: Classy, elegant, confident.

Some also rag on the dungeon design, but it seems unfair to expect centerpiece labyrinths along the lines of Strange Journey or Etrian Odyssey in a game going for something completely different. Nevertheless, you’ve got tricky mazes with dead ends that test resource allocation skills and provide a sense of accomplishment. Encounters are tough and require thought, careful consideration of when to flee and negotiate is imperative for dungeon survival. This is something that gets lost a bit in the PSP remake as the encounter rate is increased but battles are a bit easier. Exploiting elemental weaknesses isn’t as elegant as in later games, but with a ludicrously high 14 damage types breadth supersedes depth. And there’s even a positioning system to consider that the developers decided to drop from later games rather than refine. In the end, surviving the dungeon and beating the boss is an RPG staple that just plain works, although yes you will probably grit your teeth at some of the loading times.

And finally, you don’t have to take my random word for it. Parish really liked it too! How’s that for an appeal to authority?

For series buffs, it’s fun to trace this game’s historical lineage, as one of the earlier spinoffs of Shin Megami Tensei, it's easy to spot the mainline series influence: the occultism of the opening ritual, the hospital as first dungeon, the first person perspective for dungeon travel, BLUE POINTER MAN, and the omnipresent danger of demons in town and dungeon alike. Revelations: Persona is drawing from a rich and storied history, but manages to recast SMT traditions in interesting new directions. Again, the atmosphere is really unbelievable and something I haven’t come across in other games. It’s more than a simple curiosity and it doesn’t deserve dumb dismissal or sneering derision for its flaws. Revelations: Persona is a real marvel, modern games ought to draw more inspiration from its lessons, and the game belongs in the RPG canon, there I said it!

#persona #revelations persona #persona 1 #unjustly maligned

[theultimateegghead-blog]

Modest Media Game Reviews 50 post special!                                    Dark Souls

Game – Dark Souls Year of Release – 2011 Developer – FromSoftware Publisher - Namco Bandai Rated - Mature Platforms - PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch For all sakes and purposes, I have played the PAL region version of the PS3 prepare to die edition. Which in turn means I played the DLC.

Dark Souls, an epic dark fantasy action rpg legendary for its harsh and punishing game play. Dark Souls is tied with Metal Gear Solid 3 and The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess as my favorite games of all time. I adore this game and have achieved every trophy/achievement there is in this game. However, as a reviewer I will do my best not to nerd out over this title. With that being said, be warned, Im likely to praise this game like how Solaire praises the sun. Are you ready to go on this adventure with me?

Gameplay – Dark Souls is a very challenging and punishing game with a steep learning curve. Even the simplest enemies can kill the chosen undead if they are not careful. The main character has stats that can be leveled up by the player, certain equipment is locked behind stat requirements, which will in turn cause players to adopt certain playstyles. Players who invest in strength, endurance and vitality can become heavy hitting tanks. Players who invest in intelligence, faith and attunement can become powerful mages. The character style, skills and weapon choice are up to the player. The game has bonfires which act as checkpoints, when the player dies they respawn at the bonfire they last rested at. While the distance between bonfires can be large, shortcuts can be opened to make subsequent run throughs easier. Upon defeating enemies and bosses, players acquire souls. Souls serve as both currency and experience, so in some situations you might choose to upgrade a weapon as opposed to leveling up. Most enemies respawn upon the players death or resting at a bonfire, so there will be no shortage in soul fodder. Players may use items discovered over the game via a hot bar. Some items include the estus flask which can restore health, firebombs and throwing knives and special mosses that can cure status effects. This game has a fair share of bosses to challenge you. Some bosses are big and slow while others are small and fast. This game pulls no punches with its bosses so don’t be afraid to look up guides or summon help. Summoning, ah yes, the player has the ability to summon npc’s or even other players to help them fight a boss. To do so, the player must be in human state, which means that they will not appeared zombified and will be granted access to multiplayer. However, some players can invade you and will attempt to kill you. Nobody likes a red phantom coming along to ruin their day. The games level design is generally fantastic, though some areas are frustrating. This is because the game was rushed towards the end of development, leading to a dip in quality at late game areas. In the end though the game quality does not disappoint. It is versatile, challenging and a rewarding experience. It may be frustrating at times but persevere and you will taste victory. Score – 18/20

Graphics – The graphics are ok, but I would not say they are perfect. While the world is beautiful and diverse, some areas have frame rate issues and clipping or low-quality textures. This sadly can impact gameplay, especially in blightown where the frame rate can chug at points. Character models are well designed, but most models lack a talking animation. This is easily ignored however given the fact that you aren’t meant to see the npc’s faces up close. Some later areas have visual stigmas about them that impact the game, such as lost Izalith’s harshly glowing lava. Because of the fact that these issues can impact gameplay I cannot give a perfect score, but I would say that it is a pretty game and overall looks very nice. Score – 8/10

Story – The game shines here with a unique way to tell the story. The majority of what is needed to know is presented in the opening cutscene and presented over the course of the game as well. At face value the story is this… You are a special undead warrior that has been chosen to succeed the lord of Sunlight Gwyn. In order to do so you must travel all over the land defeating bosses in an attempt to prove yourself worthy of entering the final area of the game. At that point you will determine the fate of the world. Simple enough, but then there comes the item lore. Every drop, every piece of armor, every boss soul has lore attached to it. This lore is hidden and must be sought out by the players through reading descriptions or talking to npcs. Various npcs have their own personal stories that you can play a part in. Each location is rich in backstory. With the DLC mounted even more is explored and some of the most massive plot points of the souls trilogy, such as the abyss, is discussed. The notion of right and wrong is subjective and a majority of the story is up to the player to piece together. While some might say it’s a shoddy way to tell a story, I disagree and think it fits the theme of the game nicely. The lore is for you, the player, to discover. Because of this the game has very few cutscenes, allowing for a more smooth immersive experience. Score – 10/10

Replay Value – Subjectively high. In order to obtain everything, all boss weapons and all trophies, the game must be beaten at least 2 and a half times. While for a huge fan such as myself this is no problem, to the casual player, one playthrough might just be enough. So, it really comes down to this, are you willing to go on another long adventure to see the second ending? Or to get a boss weapon you missed? Is it worth the effort to beat the game twice for the platinum? If you answered yes then you will have a good time, if no then you will probably be satisfied after beating the game once. While your stats and most items carry over to new game plus, there is no content locked behind NG+ other than boss weapons or potential secrets that you skipped or missed. However, it might be worth the time anyway, as this game still has a good challenge to offer. Score – 4/5

Music – Wonderful. One of my favorite osts. In this game the majority of music is of the bosses. The only area with background music is the hub, firelink shrine. The music can be haunting and atmospheric, such as Sif’s theme. It can be bombastic and intense, such as Ornstein and Smough’s theme, or it can be beautiful and somber such as Gwyn’s theme. The music tells part of the story and sets the mood for each event that accompanies the song.  When music is not playing, the levels have ambiance to fill in the void, or it can just be hauntingly silent. Sometimes a crow will caw or a monster will moan in the distance. The world plays a role in the sound design almost as much as the music. I would totally recommend a listen. Score – 5/5

Overall – A truly fantastic game that has brought me many hours of joy. From awesome boss fights to amazing lore and world building. It has great music, a great atmosphere and a well-designed game world that gives a unique open world experience. This game is not for everyone, it is challenging, and can be downright cruel to novice players. This is all part of the experience, to say this game is hard would be true. However, I would not say this game is as insanely unbeatable as many make it out to be. Do not let your guard down though, this game tends to punish those who do… Score – 9/10 - Amazing

One thing this game could improve on – Magic rebalance. Magic can be ridiculously overpowered in this game and can quickly render a melee-oriented build obsolete. If you desire the true dark souls experience, then avoid abusing magic attacks.

This review marks my 50th post. I am proud of my work so far and plan to continue doing so for those of you who enjoy it. See you next time.

#dark souls #artorias #fromsoft #Modest Media Review #rpg #dark fantasy #ps3 #xbox 360 #rated m #2011 #special #50 post

[doshmanziari]

Videogame Music Albums!

Hello, everyone. I thought it would be fun to guide you through the albums of videogame soundtracks I’ve gotten over the years. The aren’t very many, but I’ve always been selective about stuff I buy. Videogame soundtracks tend to be pretty expensive, anyway, when you factor in shipping costs.

So, going from the top, left to right, we have:

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Ico

Rygar: The Legendary Adventure

Guilty Gear XX Sound Alive

Einhander

Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest: The Best

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness

Shinobi

Symphonic Suite Dragon Quest: The Best 2

Final Fantasy Tactics

Piano Collections Final Fantasy XII

Above, you can see the back of each album’s case.

Symphony of the Night’s booklet is kind of unremarkable (I don’t know how to read Japanese, so the couple of pages of liner notes are useless to me). The majority of its pages are sheet music for “Nocturne in the Moonlight”, the theme that plays during the game’s establishing text crawl. I owned Symphony’s soundtrack before the game itself. Ocarina of Time’s features four pieces of official artwork, and you can fold the booklet to choose one for the front cover. For some reason, the booklet’s creases are perforated. It’s barely hanging together. This was the first videogame album I owned -- probably in 1999.

Not a CD I ever listened to much. At sixteen tracks, with five of those tracks being under a minute in length, it’s also fairly short for a Playstation 2 soundtrack. I ordered it after hearing “Castle in the Mist” on an internet radio station for videogame music. The CD has a grainy, brown-toned reproduction of Ico’s Japanese cover, and it looks great.

Five stickers, for the world’s sole Rygar fanatic! Besides these, there’s a thin booklet that has some colorful concept art and promotional renderings. Rygar: The Legendary Adventure came out around a time when there was a mini-revival of series that hadn’t seen any life in a while (Shinobi is one such series and game), and it made a big impact on me with its music and environments. When it wants to be about action, it’s fairly boring, and even bad. When it wants to impress you with vistas, it’s as powerful as it ever was. I’m less enthusiastic about the music now. My favorite track, improbably, is “The 3 Legendary Warriors”, a short synth-string piece intended for a cutscene.

Guilty Gear XX Sound Alive, an album of live performances of Guilty Gear music, is the odd one out here. I’m... not quite sure why I ever ordered it, and it absolutely is not something I’d listen to now. The cover depicts the band’s performers as skeletons with hair, because I guess that’s a thing you just do if you’re in a metal band. Both of the Dragon Quest compilations have pretty unremarkable graphic design -- some sort of line-up of protagonists on top of a boring stony texture -- and bare-minimum booklets. It’s all music I still enjoy, even with the knowledge that the soundtracks’ composer, Koichi Sugiyama, has disgusting politics. Shinobi’s booklet, which is black and white except for the front and back covers, has some notes in Japanese and sheet music for its first track. It’s not much to look at; bit unfortunate, when the game has some great concept art that could’ve been used, maybe with minimal coloration. Good soundtrack! It’s half of why I played the game as much as I did.

Fantastic game, soundtrack, and album design. The front cover simply reusing the Japanese release’s front cover (replaced by something bland for the US release) is a huge point in its favor by default. The case’s back and half of the booklet are dedicated to beautiful, atmospheric CG renderings of the Einhänder ship and antagonistic machines. I actually hadn’t played the game until last year, but I was compelled to order the soundtrack back in... probably 2004 after, like Ico, hearing one of its tracks on an internet radio station.

This was a joint album release that followed Castlevania: Curse of Darkness’ 2005 release on the PS2. Easily the best booklets of any videogame album I own -- attractive page borders, nicely colored font, multiple pages dedicated to Ayami Kojima’s art -- with the only downside being that all of the liner notes are, of course, in Japanese (as far as I know, they remain untranslated to English). Each album has two CDs: Lament of Innocence’s are blue, while Curse of Darkness’ are red. Every surface gives you something to look at. Lament of Innocence’s album is particularly notable for including a bunch of unused tracks on its second disc, plus several arrangements from Aria of Sorrow.

Besides Symphony of the Night, my most cherished item of the bunch. As you can see in the first picture, some of the plastic nubs that would normally keep the CDs in place have snapped off. Everything else is in a fine condition. The booklet is short and minimal, and includes a concurrent photo of Sakimoto and Iwata, which is cool. There’s also a fold-out showing the game’s classes. I really like that the actual case for the discs fits into a cardboard sleeve. The cardboard has little multicolored bits of other materials in its grain. I’ve only played maybe an hour of Final Fantasy Tactics, but I love its soundtrack.

Piano arrangement albums for Final Fantasy have been a thing for a while now, and XII’s took so long to manifest -- around six years -- that most people, myself included, assumed it was never going to happen. For comparison, Final Fantasy X’s piano album came out less than a year after the game. It seems like Square-Enix wanted to leave the whole thing behind. There isn’t much to say about the album design or booklet -- it’s a lot of dusty purple-brown -- except that the latter his some nice photos of Sakimoto and Casey Ormand, the arranger and performer; also, likely because Ormand is a native English-speaker, some brief liner notes from him are included in English.

OSTs which are not included here:

Killer Cuts: A fun arranged album that came with copies of Killer Instinct. Either I gave it to someone or I have it in a box somewhere.

Dance Dance Revolution 3rdMIX: No idea where this is, and I don’t care.

Silent Hill 2: Lent to a friend during undergrad, and never seen again!

#Videogame music #game music #game soundtrack

[jinkissmile]

Bias and Bias Wrecker Tag

Rules: list the groups you like, your bias, and your bias wrecker. tag 10 people

I was tagged by @tanithrea who I hope is doing amazing and wonderful!!

So everyone strap in cause this might be really long. But when I get on my biases it hard for me to stop

Ultimate Bias: Onew aka the Sun

So, Mr. Lee Jinki, the reason I am here today. This beautiful man stole my heart the instant I heard his voice in the OST for To The Beautiful You. His voice spoke to me and still does to this day. His smile is gorgeous and never fails to make me smile as well. I'm gonna die when he enters the military but I will be here waiting when he gets back.

Shinee Bias Wrecker: None(?) /All

Um, I can't really choose one after Onew because I love them all so much. OT5 will be forever and as weird as it may be every time I see the moon I know it's Jjong. Key is my sass twin. Taemin is my little baby even though we are the same age 😂. Minho is a literal angel and deserves all the love. Shinee are so unique and so talented and have worked so hard. There really isn't a reason to not love them 🤷🏻‍♀️

Vixx Bias: Leo aka emo Prince

This emo cutie I have no idea why I fell for him. Other then I have a thing for shy, cuties who get embarrassed easily. Also he is one of the only idols that are *cough* taller *cough* then me. Well him and most of Vixx. But anyways I love his shynees and the head fairy. But I do adore his new found confidence. His voice is unique and gorgeous. He is a piano player too so I'm weak.

Vixx Bias Wrecker: Ken and N

What can I say Ken's voice does things to me 😍 and he is such a softie and a cutie. Hakyeon idk he is so gorgeous and demands attention when dancing. He has this power about him that's just super attractive plus he is totally a mom and I'm totally a dad despite being a girl 😂. So vixx hyung line are murdering me. Ravi is working his way in too. Vixx in general man 😍

Monsta X Bias: Shownu

My papa bear once again a shy, cutie ❤️❤️. Told you I had a type. But he is big and strong and yet seems so gentle. And like as he said he doesn't like power using atmospheres so like he is just a babe in general. But seriously he is awkwad but he puts his everything into the boys and its just such an attractive trait. He even gave up his money from his commercial filming. And anytime he is doing something solo he talks about the boys and how they are 7 and I just think that's adorable how much he loves them.

Monsta X Bias Wrecker: Jooheony

So this cutie has always affected me but it was just solidified recently when I met him at their concert in Atlanta. To this fucking day that smile he had when I gave him a high five makes me weak. It was just so bright and beautiful and I have it engrained in my mind. Also his rapping is just spot on when he growls or rolls his r's ☠️. His singing deserves so much attention. Shownu and his stage was just fire and so good and Jooheon's singing voice is just amazing ❤️

Exo Bias: Kyungsoo

So, this little goth penguin. Is me in short, male form 😂 I'm sorry but he is like 6 inches shorter then me. But I still love him. His voice is to die for and when he smiles he looks like a child. But, like when he hits chanyeol its hilarious to me. Like here is chanyeol who is twice his size and here is him cowaring to Soo 😂. I love it! Seriously though he is so caring, shy, and cute. His singing is gorgeous and his acting is amazing. What can't he do ♥️♥️

Exo Bias Wrecker: Xiumin

This man's eyes fuck with me ok! Like they are pointy, and cat like and beautiful and they affect me in ways I don't like to admit. Also shorter then me 😂 but gorgeous as fuck. Can go from man to child in an instant and it's like having whiplash. Black hair is the best look don't argue with me please. Because then I have to get prove and I'm gonna die over and over again to get the proof. Singing on point dancing in point.

OK, so I think that's it. If you made it all the way through this I applaud you. As you can see I have a type and like I'm just gonna go die in a corner now cause I had to go through all my feels. There is so much more for each of them but I would have to write like a 10 page paper for each to get everything out 😂

I'm gonna tag hopefully no one that hadn't been tagged yet @that-embarrassing-kpop-mom @pinktwinkleo @honeyjaehwan @iiikpop @vexxedbyvixx @fixxofvixx @jinkirella @jinkisbelly @shownus @soobaeks

#bias #bias wrecker #kpop #bias and bias wrecker tag #shinee #onew #jinki #key #minho #taemin #vixx #leo #taekwoon #ken #jaehwan #n #hakyeon #monsta x #shownu #hyunwoo #jooheon #exo #kyungsoo #d.o #xiumin #minseok

[feralphoenix]

a look at the integration of leitmotif and narrative in undertale and hopes and dreams

Did you know that the track "Undertale" (yes, the title track, the one that plays when you first visit New Home) narratively reflects the story of Chara and Asriel's relationship?

It's true!

Toby Fox is just really really good at leitmotif, and even though dozens of people have written essays about the depth of Undertale's soundtrack and integration with the story there are STILL new things to discover.

For instance, here's underappreciated Undertale ost fact #84759836497238947: the opening of the track "Amalgam" is a distorted version of the "determined monsters" leitmotif present in "Battle Against a True Hero" and "Power of "NEO""; skipping every other note and in a different key. I didn't notice this until I listened to Yuuyu's cover of Alphys' theme from Underveil, which incorporates the lab tracks and in which this is immediately apparent.

But anyway, before I get too sidetracked: Analysis of what's going on in Undertale-the-song depends on awareness of leitmotif, because Undertale-the-song is composed of two character themes: Asriel's (Memory) and Chara's (Once Upon a Time).

This is easiest to appreciate if you listen along, so either get out your copy of the ost or pull it up on Toby's bandcamp page.

0:00, the beginning of the piece, sets off with Asriel's theme alone.

At 0:37 the A part of Chara's theme comes in, and the two melodies "meet", with Chara's theme taking the forefront and Asriel's as counterpoint. For a while these two themes are alone with each other, striking a tentative harmony.

At 1:34 the accompaniment comes in, creating a warm atmosphere around the two character leitmotifs. It's worth noting that these three sections of Undertale are the ones that play when you first enter Asgore's house and the monsters tell you about how Asriel found Chara and Chara was fostered in the Dreemurr household: This is pretty clearly depicted in the musical backdrop to the story.

2:49 switches to the B part of Once Upon a Time on flute, and Asriel's theme is silent. This is the part of the piece that starts when you go down the stairs onto the ramparts, and the monsters tell you of how Chara suddenly became sick and died. You find out later that Chara's death was a suicide, and interestingly enough, if you take a look at Once Upon a Time - the first place we hear Chara's theme - this B melody comes in at 0:29, which is the first time we ever see Chara in the game, when they happen to be...... climbing Mt. Ebott, the mountain no one comes home from, which Asriel strongly implies at the end of the game was also a suicide attempt! Toby Fox is very good at many things such as devastating me emotionally

Asriel's theme and the accompaniment return at 3:27 with the A part of Once Upon a Time once again acting as the piece's main melody. If the solemn B part at 2:49 was Chara introducing the plan to Asriel and and then killing themself with his assistance, then 3:27 is the two of them leaving the Barrier together and going outside. This is what the monsters are relating to you at this point of gameplay too.

At 4:42, though, something interesting happens: Asriel's theme takes over the piece, and (a variation of) Once Upon a Time becomes the accompaniment. This is the most prominent that the Memory theme is in the entire track except for the points at which it is the only thing playing. In the narrative of the piece, this is the part where Asriel asserts control over his and Chara's shared body, refuses to attack the humans, and retreats with a smile into the setting sun.

Once Upon a Time part A returns to the forefront in full prominence at 5:20 with a distraught key change - one can only imagine how Chara felt about Asriel choosing to be killed rather than doing any killing. And indeed, we only CAN imagine; Asriel never mentions how Chara reacted to his intervening, and Chara only tells us how they felt when they were revived (confused), not how they felt as they died. Undertale the track gives them voice.

These are the death throes of the Once Upon a Time melody. At 5:58 it and all the accompaniment fall silent, leaving Asriel's theme alone again at the end of the piece.

Viewed as a back-and-forth between Chara's theme and Asriel's, Undertale the track maps to the true story of their pregame relationship very closely. This is both yet ANOTHER case of spoilers being hidden in plain sight, and retroactive proof that Once Upon a Time is in fact Chara's leitmotif.

This has some fun (actually fun) implications for the OTHER place in the story where we have an interplay of Chara and Asriel's themes that maps to the narrative: the Asriel boss fight.

The really fun thing about Hopes and Dreams/SAVE the World is that they're primarily composed of Chara's theme, but they're bouncing off Your Best Friend (and Burn in Despair! is another riff on You Idiot/Your Best Nightmare), which are Flowey's themes. Now that he's absorbed all the other souls, Asriel is CAPABLE of feeling love and compassion again, but it's been so long that he doesn't really remember what it's like to feel them Right Now And In The Moment. His behavior in the boss fight is still pretty similar to his behavior as Flowey.

And this is the purpose of gently bapping him in the face with Chara's memories of their meeting and friendship: Getting him to remember and feel that love and compassion again, now that he's able to. It takes him off guard at first because it's been so long ("What's this feeling...? What's happening to me?") but everything comes rushing back pretty quickly after that ("... No... That's not JUST it. I... I... I'm doing this because I care about you, Chara! I care about you more than anybody else!").

The instant we choose to SAVE Asriel Dreemurr and start to see Chara's memories is the instant Asriel's theme finally returns as His Theme, with a subdued variation of Once Upon a Time's opening bars as the bass.

And, one last note of interest centering around Chara's theme... the B melody, the part that's associated with Chara's suicide in Undertale the track and Once Upon a Time, is missing from Hopes and Dreams/SAVE the World but is VERY prominent in Last Goodbye. So prominent, in fact, that it's one of the two parts Toby played live on his own piano.

So... the special thanks is not just Asriel's last hurrah, a goofy prank plus a final fun game with his friends; it's also Chara's. This is likely the point at which they bow out gracefully and stay behind in Mt. Ebott with Asriel instead of leaving the mountain with Frisk.

Who knows; it might even be the point where Asriel realized Chara was there after all, since as Flowey again he definitely knows (as he is talking to them!) if we load the game one more time after the ending.

SO UHHHH HEY DID YOU KNOW THAT TOBY FOX IS GOOD AT THINGS SUCH AS MUSIC, WRITING, MAKING GAMES, AND DEVASTATING ME EMOTIONALLY

#undertale #undertale spoilers #chara (undertale) #asriel dreemurr #essay #long post under cut - #child death ment -

[linuxgamenews]

Sophistry levels up the anime style drama genre

Sophistry is a romantic drama visual novel that has a Linux demo as well as Mac and Windows PC plus an upcoming Kickstarter. Thanks to new indie developer 2 Cubs Studio from France. Which is shaping up to be an amazing project. Sophistry takes inspiration from romance k-drama in anime style. The game is also still under development. Therefore, if you have ever watched a Korean drama. Maybe even any romantic drama for that matter. Wishing that the lead character was another protagonist of the show? Or that the main lead also went for another girl (or guy) than the one they featured? In Sophistry, you live this drama the way you want. So if you want to see it from the eyes of the lead character, you got it. What about from the eyes of the second lead or even the antagonist? What do I say; you can even play it from the point of view of the love interest. What about romances? Here again, it also depends on your choice, your story. With 6 playable characters and each with 3 potential love interests. All based on 18 full romances stories and plot lines! As a result of all these choices, there are approximately 1.2M words. Which is probably the most complex story ever written for a visual novel. Of course, you can also play the Demo on Linux, Mac and Windows PC via Itch.io.

Sophistry Trailer - Live2D Romance Visual Novel

Sophistry aims to be true to the core meaning of “Visual Novel”. While providing vibrant and animated visuals by being fully voice acted and Live2D powered. As well as a very deep and rich story line similar to classic Korean romantic drama series. Assuming a successful Kickstarter funding in March 2021.

The expected core features:

6 Unique characters (3 males and 3 females), to choose from; each with their own story line and point of view. You can enjoy the game playing only one character, but you’ll only uncover all the mysteries of the stories. Simply by playing all six of them, as everything is happening from the perspective of the character you select.

The decisions you make matter and have consequences. The character you choose to play as well as the one you choose to romance will affect your story line and the behavior of the other characters.

Each play through is approximately 10 hours long, playing once each of the characters brings the minimum game play time to at least 60 hours for a single run, trying all the core 18 routes+ will take you around 200 hours to fully explore all what Sophistry has to offer in core content (not taking in account randomized game play)!

Dynamic endings. The endings are dynamically generated based on the paths and decisions you make along your game play. Making each ending unique on its own.

Ultra HD character designs and animations. In order to meet the visual side of “Visual Novel”, the background is available in full HD. While the characters design and animation use 4K resolution. With some assets even using 8K development. While the animation development uses Live2D. Now you can truly enjoy the visual novel, regardless of your screen size. So goodbye small pixilated window!

Multiple original songs with vocals as OST in addition to all the atmospheric scores. Each character and core path has its own score and song composed, written and sung for them by professional artists.

Fully voice acted, even the main protagonists all the way to the smallest npc.

What's next?

Sophistry visual novel is due to arrive on Kickstarter in March 2021. But you can play the Demo on Linux, Mac and Windows PC via Itch.io. The expected release date for Sophistry is scheduled for the end of 2021. The initial launch will include Linux, Mac and Windows PC. Eventually making it's way onto Steam. Followed by a later release on Android and iOS. For more information, feel free to visit the Facebook page.

#sophistry #romantic drama #visual novel #demo #linux #gaming news #2 cubs studio #ubuntu #mac #windows #pc

[salvationfell-au]

In addition to all the locations that appear in Undertale, Salvationfell has three more main areas where Frisk will be able to explore — and a few other sub-areas.

                                                           [✦]

The first of these is the Old Cathedral. Located within the confines of Snowdin Forest, the old church of the angel is nothing more than gray ruins covered with snow. There are no monsters there, they hate the place, in fact, so it's a relatively peaceful area.

There are several objects lost by the time between the gray carcass of the old building.

                                                           [✦]

In second comes the Meadow, at east of Waterfall. The place is nothing more than an extensive area covered with land where a horde of red spider lilies took over everything. The ceiling of the cave there is especially high, to the point of not being able to measure it. But it's also the region that owns the most beautiful magic stones "galaxy" of all Underground, which called Dragon Breath.

You will find a few small monsters, plus a telescope and stranges white fluorescent flowers.

                                                           [✦]

And finally there is the Crimson Opera, located at the end of Hotland, but instead go straight to the MTT Resort, you turn to right.

The great Crimson Opera has seen better and happier times and, although it's in good state of conservation, its facilities are covered with dust. In the past the place had an atmosphere of nobility and elegance, with its decorations in gold and red velvet, many beautiful things were seen on its stage. But now, despite of a rising star, nobody cares about the place anymore. You can find scary monsters hiding in the shadows there.

As promised, here is the gift/spoiler for the 400 followers (which has already passed, lol). Thank you for the affection and for everything. I hope you like it!

I forgot to comment, what I posted is just a preview. When Frisk starts exploring the new areas or be close to doing so, I will post a separate post detailing (some secrets here) each area. I even chose some songs to serve as OST > _ < (yes, I am for nothing).

#salvationfell #salvationfell text #salvationfell edition #salvationfell au #undertale #undertale au #underfell #underfell au #locations #the old cathedral #meadow #crimson opera