Lyrical Music in Video Games.

[Dolentrean]

Most Video Game Music in most regards is purely instrumental, but every now and then there are very fitting lyrical pieces. Do you think that lyrical music can be more moving than instrumental music if used correctly or do you prefer instrumental?

What are some of your favorite lyrical pieces that have been in video games? Original or Licensed.

[Monkey4Soul]

UTADA's Hikari made me a fan of hers, and that's about the only one I like/can think of right now.

[Captain Maxx Power]

Suteki Da Ne, I must confess, makes me blub like a little girl. It's embarrassing. Despite not understanding a word of it the emotional inflection, coupled with my own knowledge of the scene which accompanies it within the game, give it a genuine power.

[blackmage_nuke]

Lyrical peices used sparingly and at the right times can be totally awesome like Sudeki Da Ne or Eyes on Me. However a personal favourite of mine is when Snake Eater from mgs3 just comes up randomly and the mood totally changes.

[Vivisteiner]

Lyrics can be effective in some songs. Used well they are good, but all too often they are used poorly.

[Vermachtnis]

The opening song from Fallout 2. I don't know the name of it, but some song that started playing in the middle of Phantom Brave. I think it was when Marona first met Castille.

[Wolf Kanno]

There is an odd misconception that lyrical music should only be used during important scenes or for endings. Xenogears and Xenosaga are two games that actually have several musical pieces featuring lyrics and I feel they are a nice change of pace but once again they fall into only being played selectively.

Persona 3 on the other hand, is the first time a games soundtrack mostly has lyrical tracks. For the game and its setting, it fits perfectly. Despite having lyrics or not if a song is well implemented then it can have a profound impact storywise.

[Roto13]

However a personal favourite of mine is when Snake Eater from mgs3 just comes up randomly and the mood totally changes.

I thought that was kind of weird. xP You're just climbing up an absurdly high ladder and all of a sudden you start hearing "I'D GIVE MY LIIIIVE NOT FOR HONOOUUR BUT FOR YOUUUUUUUUUUU"

Some games can have music with lyrics playing for like 20 minutes and work. I could listen to Katamari On The Funk for hours.

[blackmage_nuke]

However a personal favourite of mine is when Snake Eater from mgs3 just comes up randomly and the mood totally changes.

I thought that was kind of weird. xP You're just climbing up an absurdly high ladder and all of a sudden you start hearing "I'D GIVE MY LIIIIVE NOT FOR HONOOUUR BUT FOR YOUUUUUUUUUUU"

Weird things that dont make sense are what makes things sophisticated these days.

[Roogle]

Persona 3 on the other hand, is the first time a games soundtrack mostly has lyrical tracks. For the game and its setting, it fits perfectly. Despite having lyrics or not if a song is well implemented then it can have a profound impact storywise.

I agree. I would not have found the music fitting if the game itself did not take place in Japan. I think it is the combination of the location and the localization that melded well with the music to allow it to establish a fanbase in the West.

I think that it would be interesting to see a game by Western developers with mostly lyrical tracks. I am not sure if they would be able to pull it off without seeming overly sappy.

[Wolf Kanno]

Persona 3 on the other hand, is the first time a games soundtrack mostly has lyrical tracks. For the game and its setting, it fits perfectly. Despite having lyrics or not if a song is well implemented then it can have a profound impact storywise.

I agree. I would not have found the music fitting if the game itself did not take place in Japan. I think it is the combination of the location and the localization that melded well with the music to allow it to establish a fanbase in the West.

I think that it would be interesting to see a game by Western developers with mostly lyrical tracks. I am not sure if they would be able to pull it off without seeming overly sappy.

I think it could be done, it just depends on the games subject matter;)

[LunarWeaver]

Persona 3's soundtrack, yummy!

I like opera-ish lyrics if that counts. Especially Kajiura's bizarre made up words.

Final Fantasy X is my favorite game and I thought Sutaki Da Ne was boring as hell. Someone smack me until I like it, argh!

[Nifleheim7]

"You were there" from Ico is my favourite video game song by far.
Suteki da ne comes second.
Room of Angel from Silent Hill4 was also fantastic.

[Heath]

I'm pretty ambivalent towards the inclusion of lyrical music in computer games. Some of them can pretty great like Suteki Da Ne and Eyes on Me, but I don't miss them if they're not included. They're a nice inclusion but not something I feel a game is missing if they're left out. A nice, high-quality lyrical piece played rarely is a nice effect, but I don't think I'd like them so much if they were played all the time.

[ReloadPsi]

Meh, the thread's not been posted in for a month but it's still on the first page, thus I can deduce that hardly any of the threads have been posted in for a month.

Anyway.

Worthless As The Sun Above Clouds in Guilty Gear 2 (no I ain't played it but I got the soundtrack) is a hilarious surprise. What's even funnier is that when the lyrics actually said "Worhtless as the sun above clouds, look at you!" I misheard it as "May be constant on the crossroasd, look at you!"

By the way it was a death metal track, which is why I was able to mishear it so horribly inaccurately.

[leilei]

I find lyrics in games annoying. I only prefer my vocal cues to come from friends and enemies and not the song

[Lawr]

Star Ocean 3, Kingdom Hearts I & II.

[TyphoonThaReapa]

I loved the lyrical genius or Hip Hop in GTAIV. To tell you the truth, I would rather hear the radio stations on that game than in real life...:rolleyes2...over the years I've heard some good music in sports video games aswell even though I don't like sports games as much as the music. And Final Fantasy has good lyrical music as well. I personally think whether lyrical or not, if you place the right music in the right situation, you can make a hit every time.:cool:

[Hazzard]

I personally prefer the lyrical brilliance of San Andreas to GTAIV, it seemed more fitting for the game overall. I even liked the mixture of Countryside music, alongside the Gangsta rap radio stations and found myself occasionally changing between the various stations cause I liked them so much.

[Bashini]

Suteki Da Ne, Eyes on Me, Pain & Kokoro, I think all were well incorporated into the game and really enhanced the experience of the game play.

[crono_logical]

I quite like the vocal tracks in Gust games :p Mana-Khemia had a decent final boss vocal song, as well as a few vocal pieces throughout the game where it was suitable :p Ar Tonelico, where the story itself revolves around songs, had well-placed vocal tracks too and quite a large number for an RPG - I still need to play the sequel at some point since that has even more :p

[Karellen]

Lyrical music is fine in games when the lyrical music is good. Unfortunately Japanese developers seem to be partial towards J-pop and insufferably sentimental ballads.