[Editor's note: Tascar takes a look at how videogame music has evolved over the years. What do you think? Has videogame music gotten worse, better or stayed the same? -- CTZ]
New Dtoid poster lovemana23 made an interesting first post in which he talked about how music brought so much emotion into videogames, focusing on Hiroki Kikuta's incredible music to Secret of Mana. In reading the post, particularly at the end, a sentiment is expressed that I have heard and read from many blog posts, friends, and myself: the feeling that there is something off or missing from videogame music today.
I have been trying to understand and sort out why I and many have felt this way. While I cannot deny that it is possible that this is yet another function of retrogoggles gone wrong, I do feel that there are at least two big reasons that may explain why videogame music is, at the very least, now a very different animal than it used to be. Hopefully this might inspires such discussion on the topic of how video game music has changed.
1) The role of music as a means of telling a story, developing characters, or establishing the world environment has decreased over the years in favor of graphics and voice acting.
I think that this above point is self-explanatory. A good way to understand what I am getting at is to compare a game like Final Fantasy X with Final Fantasy VI. For now, let us ignore the actual text of the dialogue assigned to the characters as it is obvious that, regardless of game or time period, this is an important factor. It is not hard to see that in Final Fantasy X, characters are defined largely by their voice, their gestures and motions, as well as what they do in certain FMV sequences. Whereas in a game like Final Fantasy VI, they are defined largely by their music, especially since almost all of the techniques Final Fantasy X utilized were simply technologically infeasible at that point in time.
The villian Kefka from (Final Fantasy VI) could not expressed his madness through voice acting (unless you consider his signature laugh as "voice acting"). Nor could he have danced around in some CGI cutscene or given us a closeup look at his facial expressions. Instead, the pressure was on Nobuo Uematsu to tell us what type of character Kefka was with his music.
Just off of the top of my head, I can think of three interesting observations that can be made from the Kefka theme which I feel are fairly important to the plot of the game. First, the Kefka theme starts with the same three note progression (B flat, C, C sharp) that the music for the Empire is associated with in a variety of scenes, most notably the introduction text. Second, the Kefka theme starts off very silly in tone, develops into something with a subdued yet sinister sound, and then bursts into a joyous dance of triumph.
Anyone who has played Final Fantasy VI can see how the development of the theme mirrors the development of the character. Kefka's introduction makes him seem like a complete joke. He is in the desert, seemingly harmless, moaning and groaning about sand in his boots. Yet as the game progresses, we begin to see his sinister and scheming side, beginning with his poisoning of the water supply at the castle and culminating with his betraying of the Empire and triumphant ascension to power. Finally, there is a stuttering in the rhythm and back and forth hopping around of notes that vaguely suggest that there is something mentally wrong with this character.
I do not want to imply or suggest that voice acting and cutscenes have made video game music worse but rather that when voice acting and other elements are added to the equation, the music may have to play a more complimentary role in order to not overload the gamer. First, having large big music pounding while competing with a serious dialogue as well as state-of-the-arts sound effects might be a bit of a sensory overload. Second, I would imagine that the overall effect of the scene might work better if the music was composed in such a way that worked with the arc of the scene and the dialogue as opposed to what did happen, which is that Nobuo Uematsu essentially wrote a standalone piece about Kefka that is dragged and dropped into the soundtrack as needed. Of course, this is exactly what happened with Uematsu's latter work. The music to Final Fantasy X and Lost Odyssey are amazing but it is arguably true that much of it is more subdued, knowing that it is complimenting all sorts of sound effects and voice acting.
Yasunori Mitsuda at the scoring sessions of Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht 2) The advent of large storage media has freed and many composers from the limitations of sound chips but in turn has pigeon-holed many other composers into pursuing a particular "sound" and in turn ruining the uniqueness of videogame music. This second point is a bit complex to understand and I expect a fair amount of disagreement about it.
Back in the days before CD-ROM or DVD-ROM technology was extensively used in videogames, composers wrote their music for their sound chips and worked with the sound engineers to milk the, often limited, functionality of the console's sound chip. As a result, games tended to have a unique sound of their own, a function of what the composer and sound team could create. The composer's style developed and grew as the capabilities of the sound team and the sound technology grew.
I feel that this is why games such as
Metroid,
Secret of Mana,
Final Fantasy,
Dragon Quest, etc. are viewed so highly in the videogame music world -- they represent the best of sound teams working together with a composer to create a unique series of compositions built around a certain sound. When you listen to any of the music to these games, you not only hear a cohesive style that can be attributed to a composer, but also a sound that is a function of everyone involved with the sound team as well as the sound technology itself.
I am not personally of the option that the ability to have a composer work with an orchestra is a bad thing. I love the work that Koichi Sugiyama has done arranging and rebuilding his work on
Dragon Quest in a symphonic context. I would say the same of Uematsu and others such as Yasunori Mitsuda, whose symphonic and choral work to
Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht is without a doubt one of the greatest videogame scores of the decade. In the latter two examples, it is interesting to hear how Uematsu has increasingly brought rock into his music and how Mitsuda has increasingly ventured into the Celtic style and sound. However, I do feel that the ability to free the composer from the limitations of a sound chip has also had a detrimental effect on the creativity of videogame music, especially in Western videogames.
Harry Gregson-Williams conducting the scoring sessions of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Let me use an example to illustrate this nuanced argument I am trying to make. The original
Metal Gear Solid has a very unique and memorable sound to it that is completely of its own. I almost cannot pin down the music as any one genre but to call it the
Metal Gear Solid sound. I will admit that there is a very MIDI-ese sound chip limitation to the soundtrack, such as that weird synth moaning sound. However, I would have been interested to hear how this sound might have been developed with a different audio palette.
However, with the second game onwards, the "sound" of
Metal Gear Solid was almost completely abandoned (and in my opinion somewhat worsened) when Hideo Kojima brought in Harry Gregson-Williams as composer. Now, I will state for the record that I love and respect Gregson-Williams as a composer and many of his film scores are amongst the best scores of this decade. However, I think that it is disappointing that Gregson-Williams was not brought in to develop the music and sound of the first game (aside from arranging the main theme): he was brought in for the specific purpose of replicating the same action film sound that he and Hans Zimmer and others developed for Hollywood films and repeating it in
Metal Gear Solid. While I am glad that Kojima was able to make his games sound like the Hollywood action movies that he obviously wanted, I cannot help but feel that there is a severe lack of originaliy in this approach. That it is yet another example of a trend in videogames where developers are continuously abandoning the unique ideas and principles developed over the years in gaming in order to chase down, pursue, and ripoff what Hollywood has done.
As I am looking over what I have written, I realize that much of what I have been moaning about here has to do with the role that composers have in videogame music as an art. Uematsu, Mitsuda, and others such as Koji Kondo have started out and developed their entire career in the world of videogame music, developing and expanding the nature of videogame music as an artform. They pick and choose the projects they want and they bring their musical voice or whatever new ideas they have into these projects. In contrast, it seems that Western developers, having already been very late to the game on the whole videogame music art scene, seems largely disinterested in videogame music per se and are simply content to be a subordinate of Hollywood film music. Famous composers are brought in for the sole reason of replicating the same sound they did for a particular movie. When the money does not exist to hire a particular composer, they simply ask the composer they can hire to do nothing but imitate that particular sound. One of the more puzzling things I have tried to understand is the big deal Bethesda made about having Inon Zur onboard as the composer for
Fallout 3 when it is obvious to anyone playing the game that he didn't do very much at all and that the musical experience of the game is meant to be the 1950s licensed songs played on the radio.
Martin O'Donnell talking about the music of Halo 3 Of course, this is not to imply that Western developers are completely clueless. I am not a fan of the
Halo games, but I am an enormous fan of the work that Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori have done with Bungie. The music is unique and interesting without sounding like yet another ripoff of the Hollywood sound. Especially with the third game where the two composers, like many of the other composers I have favorably discussed, took their unique sound and style, explored it with an expanded sound and orchestral palette, and greatly furthered videogame music.
The above musings are the entangled mess of thoughts that have emerged as I tried to understand why, like so many people, I feel that older videogame music sounds better than the newer work. I feel that the first reason I gave provides a possible explanation for why the works of composers such as Uematsu and Mitsuda have been very different over the year (perhaps gotten more subtle and subdued). The second reason I gave is an observation that I have really noticed in many Western and Western-influenced games that I feel is potentially very damaging to videogame music as an artform. Videogame music is a subject that is obviously important to gamers but I feel that much of the discussion about it is backwards looking and does not look at how the music has changed over the years. I hope that this post might inspire some discussion and thoughts on this subject.
Contest:
2:00 PM on 02.11.2009 | 
On the other hand, there are exceptions such as Super Mario Galaxy, a game whose soundtrack cost me more to buy than the game itself. The soundtrack was orchestral (well, a large portion of it) but seemed truly married to the game. There are a few pieces that weren't particularly memorable, but by that virtue they do not tarnish the unforgettable high points. I think "Gusty Garden Galaxy" is the new "Duck Tales Moon Music."
I'll point to Mega Man 9's music as being my favorite of last year. I liked Bionic Commando's music. Mega Man 9 just really had it for me. It was what I wanted to hear in video game form. It fits perfectly and just works for what it is.
Oh and a game called Bonerquest had the best music ever.
Seriously though, best post I've seen in a very long time.
That Terra cosplayer = totally doable.
...at least, from what I can see.
Also, (even though it wasn't composed specifically for the game) Braid's soundtrack was amazing too.
From my understanding of things, composers think that simply because they can produce sweeping, grandiose tunes (which were nigh on impossible back in the old days), that they don't need to put any effort or personal emotion in.
Have you heard the music in Pixeljunk Eden?
Anyways, awesome read.
I think you're pretty accurate in what you're saying. I guess whats important is that the music is appropriate for the game, even if its often not exactly original. I mean, sometimes you just need a big epic score, and we have plenty of those already...
But its not all lost. You can look at indie/small games to see some of the old style. The soundtrack to Castle Crashers seems to have been developed in that way, with the extra storage space and hardware giving just giving them more freedom to do interesting things. Its a really cool soundtrack, you should try to find it if you havent got the game.
I can hardly remember any particular soundtrack from the more "realistic" final fantasy games (FF VII - FF XII), but I can definitely recall the sound tracks of FF IV-VI as well as FF tactics. I believe that because these games were less realistic visually, designers made the characters, story, and environment more unique, thus making player more immersed into the game. One of the best ways to remember something is by sounds, hence why songs often remind us of various events in our lives.
I totally see what you mean though, and agree that even though the music is of a "grander" scale and such nowadays, it doesn't necessarily translate into jiving well with the game. In games like Final Fantasy VI and such, you would have the text just stay stationary on the screen with the music of the character essentially describing them, while nowadays you have sound effects, voice acting, tons of detailed expressions and emotions, etc. going on, WITH the music. Great read good sir!
Western games are huge offenders of this. While some of it is good, a lot of it sounds like the stereotypical Hollywood sound, and it all sounds like one or two film composers in town. It sounds great, but the music all sounds the same. Japanese composers are more creative but are stuck using dated general MIDI, which then people accuse the music as not being "good."
I remember one composer I met told me he wants to have the production values of the western composers, but when asked about favorite video game music, most people he knows loves the Japanese composers.
What needs to happen is western companies need to be open to more than the "Hollywood sound," and Japanese composers need to factor in orchestras as part of their budget. Either that or give the composers some nice sample libraries.
One being The Legend Of Zelda: Wind Waker.
Another being Advent Rising.
Great post Tascar, I couldn't have said it better myself. You took it to a whole 'nother level with the Kefka's theme analysis, and for that, I applaud you.
However, the one gripe I do have is the point of stating the work on Halo 3 was superb, where I have to disagree.
What made the original Halo epic on *that* final level was that the music throughout the entire game built up to the epic finale piece, the Halo theme.
However, in trying to replicate this, the Halo 3 theme sounds so similar in comparison, it cannot capture the feel of the original, and thus I found this throughout the entire game and its "epic" moments. Although the original work on the game is indeed, superb.
Just my 2c, feel free to pick holes in my logic.
Metal Gear Solid 4 comes to mind from the extremely disheartening theme of old snake.
Persona 4 with all of it's music. I'll use the theme to the final form of the final boss as an example(and try to be as spoiler free as possible, but eh, spoiler warning anyhow). It's a fully orchestral version of the normal battle theme, Reach out to the truth(which in itself is a play on the journey of the characters). Interspersed in it are sinister melodies and beats that you would think would be used for a boss of the magnitude. The whole song is broken up with moments of silence adding an air of schizophrenia to reflect the constant and almost vein struggle of your party at the time.(listen to it here, but I would just advise to beat Persona 4 itself, it is a great game, and the song is only better when placed along side the actual battle *end persona 4 spoiler warning*).
No More Heroes and it's zany tunes.
Odin Sphere.
Bioshock had it's moments where the music reached out also.
The good music's still there. You just may have to look in different places when people start to change their styles.
I can't comment on some of the soundtracks you mention as I haven't heard them, but your point on the dilution of modern game soundtracks by graphics and voice acting is very insightful. This is undoubtedly the case. Less effort has to be made, purely because the music is less of a focus point. Which brings me to Lost Odyssey, and a thousand years of dreams...here we have a direct example of how music can speak louder than words in the realm of emoting - it takes place of voice acting, and join forces with only written words and simple images to pull our heartstrings.Hugely successfully too. That is some freakin gorgeous music! Sometimes simple is better :)
MGS4 had a sense of sadness in each song, furthering the emotions the characters presented
Persona 3 and 4 were both amazing with the light but menacing jazz reflecting the theme of death in 3, and 4's soundtrack was just completely and totally addictive
By far though, the best videogame music Ive heard in years (remixes from Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast excluded) was in The World Ends With You. It had been a long time since the music reflected the atmosphere so perfectly, while still being completely listenable on its own. I bought the soundtrack of iTunes after I finished the game. It was the first time in years I turned the sound up on my DS in years, since I first played Dawn of Sorrow (and I did it by accident). I think the symphonic arrangements in bigger games are great for promoting the atmosphere (especially the twisted music of BioShock). However the newer flow of the music from Persona or TWEWY just seems to appeal to me more, just as Sonic 2's soundtrack did all those years ago.
I would really like to see more games using music more effectively, such as muting everything but the background music in important scenes or moments in the game. Similarly, taking away the music where it's appropriate....in the wake of big moments, or when the sound effects speak for themselves.
I agree that I usually prefer Japenese composed music, but another example of a good Western soundtrack would be Fable 2's. All the area themes just really gel with the settings, and they never felt old or repetitive when I was stuck in an area for a while.
Actually, I think gaming music has evolved relatively positively. Final Fantasy XII, Xenosaga, the recent Persona games all had fantastic OSTs, and all of these games have good music *because* they're not limited to a MIDI chip.
Preview: I have a major beef with scores coming out of the US lately.
Also like Dan said, Persona 3-4 OSTs are awesome and they are regularly played on my Ipod.
Every once in a while there's a nugget of creativity, but then everyone else takes that formula and tries to capitalize on it...just like Hollywood. Games are no different.
I've often noticed in my games there are far fewer tunes I'll keep on humming, often long after the game is complete (Mario, Metroid, Zelda, and oddly enough Crysis' battle theme, to name a few), wheras back in the SNES era, even games which were rubbish could often have great soundtracks.
However, thinking back at it, I can't help but think we're all victims of Retrose tinted glasses, game music has, admittedly, become more similar, probably as a result of it becoming more mainstream (It's also happened to a lot of genres as it comes into the public view, I've noticed), a lot of it is still good, though maybe not as great. Having said that, we all accept a game as fantastic as, say, Chrono Trigger is a once-a-generation, or more, happening, so why not see truly fantastic soundtracks as the same? I mean, look at world of goo, for example. If I had to pick my favourite part of that game, it'd be the soundtrack. I freaking loved the game, but the soundtrack was brilliant.
And, of course, Nintendo aren't making real games anymore, Square are too busy selling ammo to both sides of the fanboy wars, and making DS remakes, and Sega... right. Perhaps this is just a lul, where the truly fantastic composers aren't getting titles out, but before we get new ones coming in to step it up?
Though I will agree, the Old Snake theme was great. While I do enjoy the music from MGS 1, 2, and 4, very little is rememorable from the latter two.
And yeah, Mario Galaxy, Mega Man 9, and the Halo theme, are the ones that have really stood out.
Also, most of the time modern soundtracks don't really stick with me. I know for some reason Half Life 2's sound track stuck with me. And other obvious off beat sound tracks like Castle Crashers and Braid.
I'm playing Lost Odysessy now but for some reason the only music I notice so far (im on disc 1) is the annoying elevator music when I'm running around. None of the cut scene stuff has stuck with me yet.
Ultimately though, I think that's something that is still largely carried over in the style of the composer, instead of just the limitations or specific sound made for a game.
You are right about how music has become less important for developing a character though, which is probably why the melodies now tend to be less distinctive and more ambient or complimentary to what happens in the game.
And as for Western music, I agree a lot of it now is... eh... which is sad because it has such a great history, even if a lot of it is forgotten (never played Halo 3, but played Halo 1 recently and was very impressed). Gears of War feels notable, in that it is all bombast and no substance, which if nothing else at least fits with the games (the Cole Train credits mix was teh epic though). The most recent Western game I've played with a memorable soundtrack was Jack Wall's work on Jade Empire.
Great article.
I am a composer myself and for about 5 years now I have been experiencing a fair amount of writers' block, but when confronted with a program that makes NES music, FamiTracker, I've found myself able to do things I'm much happier with.