What's the least appreciated OST for you out of the JRPG canon? Is it from a favourite game that is just too often overlooked, or is it from a game that might have been weaker overall but snuck in some great lesser-known music?
For me Mother 3 is underrecognized because it has some pretty unique influences for the genre (salsa, etc), and because it manages to get as much as possible out of the limited GBA sound hardware. It also adds to the rhythm combo mechanic in the random battles - this is one of the few times I've been really engaged in typical turn-based combat, especially because keeping the beat to battle themes with so much variety is pretty fun.
Listening to the later soundtrack versions with higher-quality samples really reveals the depth of work that went into creating this soundtrack, and the live versions in particular of the DCMC songs are really fun to listen to. Shogo Sakai brought a great new approach to the series and didn't try to emulate Earthbound's iconic OST - and as a result we got one of the most underappreciated, but enjoyable soundtracks in the genre.
Was having this discussion with Karifean the other week. For me, it would have to be Wild Arms 1 by the underrated Michiko Naruke. Great soundtrack that really doesn't get as much love outside of the opening theme like it should.
This should make Fynn happy, but Musashi Hamzu's score for Unlimited Saga is often considered the only good thing about the game and while that title is on the back burner for me, I've listened to enough of it to say I agree.
Yay Hamauzu! Everything he does is severely underrated. He’s got an incredibly distinct style.
I’m gonna go a bit less hipster here and say FFV. While FF generally has music that’s well-respected, V’s OST often gets glossed over because people are too busy raving about IV’s (which is OK but nothing to really write home about imo) and VI’s (which is admittedly excellent), while in fact V’s OST is nothing short of stellar, with a ton of very well-orchestrated tracks that all have this really unique atmosphere.
I don't know. Breath of Fire games maybe? They're not particularly acclaimed for their music, but it's often pretty good. I don't really have strong feelings on this subject, because I've never heard anyone trashing the music of a JRPG with music I loved, so it really would be more a matter of a game with great music that I don't hear it mentioned enough, which is kind of a harder thing to notice. I think most games with the best music, it's usually known.
Also, the entire soundtrack to IV is just insanely good. That game really deserves a medal in all things art-related, even if you're not a fan of anything else about it
This is a very hard question to give one or even few answers to because I love so many JRPG OSTs. For now, though, there's one I want to at least mention in the thread.
See, usually when I think a JRPG OST is underrated, it's just because the game itself isn't well-known. I'll often see it being acknowledged by people who have actually played the game or at least heard the music.
Not so, however, for Fire Emblem Fates, which is a relatively well-known game, plenty of people have played it, it's part of a Nintendo franchise that has increased in popularity. I *never* see people acknowledging Fates' music. I don't know, maybe it's because the 3DS speakers are bad so they don't do the score justice.
This is a very hard question to give one or even few answers to because I love so many JRPG OSTs. For now, though, there's one I want to at least mention in the thread.
See, usually when I think a JRPG OST is underrated, it's just because the game itself isn't well-known. I'll often see it being acknowledged by people who have actually played the game or at least heard the music.
Not so, however, for Fire Emblem Fates, which is a relatively well-known game, plenty of people have played it, it's part of a Nintendo franchise that has increased in popularity. I *never* see people acknowledging Fates' music. I don't know, maybe it's because the 3DS speakers are bad so they don't do the score justice.
I've got some pretty good headphones I use with handhelds, because yeah the external speakers tend to be crappy. And yeah Fates did have a pretty solid OST.
Has anyone noticed though that a lot of JRPG OST's are getting pretty formulaic at this point? Like you always have at least one song (sometimes many) where there's that typical one long note - few more descending notes - up a bit - then two quick high notes progression (I guess this is due to Uematsu? or was this already used a lot n Japanese composition?)
Another that comes to mind for me is Xenogears' score. Okay, so Yasunori Mitsuda is an excellent composer and old school fans lavish praise onto CT's score, while PlayStation era fans laud CC's score, but very few ever mention the middle child in all of this progression that is Xenogears beautiful score.
The problem I have with Xenogears' soundtrack is that it is incredibly hit or miss. It has some of Mitsuda's absolute best tracks, but then some of the tracks are his absolute worst and make my ears bleed. It's a wild ride, to be sure.
Octopath Traveler's soundtrack is another one. It actually took me a while before I listened to it and appreciated it, too, but now it's one of my favorite soundtracks from the last few years. I look forward to what Yasunori Nishiki composes in the future, since he's practically just starting out.
Ending Theme (I really like how this one is, officially, exactly 8 minutes and that it goes through the musical theme of all 8 characters' starting lands before finally finishing with the main theme)
I had to limit myself to just 5 examples but really, give the entire OST a listen if you haven't.