Well Nintendo has a knack for getting their core games right most of the time. Despite Skyward Sword being one of my least favorite console entries, it's still a blast to play. Hell, I can't really think of a Zelda game I've played that wasn't pretty fun on some level.
So despite not really having much in the way of what I like the most about Zelda (dungeons), after being (what I assume to be) just over halfway through the game, I think I can safely say Breath of the Wild is my favorite in the series. Which is a bit weird, considering all the hype surrounding it before I played it didn’t really excite me and I expected to get a bit bored eventually, tbh.
I feel in SF2's case, the game was trying to recapture the feel of Legend of Mana, but Mana was always established as a cutesy but really messed up world, so the juxtapation of the audio/visual design only enhanced that aspect. Even then, Yoko Shimomura kind of knows when to drop the act and compose something that really fits the scene. I imagine Hamazua was just pressured to follow along with the aesthetics cause I know they can do better. SF2 has just been weird cause while it's a pretty fun game, it really had all the ingredients to be something special and it just kind of falls flat.
To be honest, it’s not that I was more excited about him than anyone else, since I’m excited about a lot in the book. It’s just that I’ve spent some time with that first perspective and it’s really cool to finally see a different face of the world take shape. I am perfectly okay with the fact that Hamauzu is not everyone’s cup of tea. I greatly appreciate him from an analytical perspective and can see he’s trying to implement more artistic, forward thinking elements to his music, which I feel is a big step in making video game music more varied and artistic in general, but I do realize this comes at the cost of some accessibility. It’s the same issue with the Breath of the Wild soundtrack - it’s phenomenal on an artistic level, but if you’re coming in expecting the energy and catchy melodies of previous Zelda’s, you’re gonna be disappointed (and many people are)
Well I'm glad you reach the character you were the most excited for.
Going through the OST, I'm finding that I'm liking more pieces than being indifferent too. I've also decided that Hamazu's real strength is in battle themes, as SaGa Frontier 2 has some pretty snazzy battle tracks. The rest of the soundtrack is sadly unremarkable and I feel the composer or possibly the director leaned too hard on inspiration from the game's visual style. Despite how grim the game is, the soundtrack is way too cheerful and upbeat for the content.
I’m also excited because I started writing the part of my story with the young emperor protagonist. I’m a bit worried I may end up having to drop the other POVs from this book and split it into separate things, though I’d love it if it were possible to keep this way since I feel it helps me paint a more comprehensive picture of the world. But he’s been delightly proud and bitchy so far.
It is very pretty
Angel's Fear/Cry of the Heavens is like one of the best SNES tracks in general if you ask me.
I remember it being pretty good. But then there were also some pieces that annoyed me. Loved the whale song at the beginning tho
