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A collection of my favorite videogame music. Note that most of them are from games I played so I might miss some great ones from games I never played.
Nintendo Wii
Xenoblade Chronicles (2010)
Fallen Arm ~ Day
Manami Kiyota
that melody at the beginning đ
The menu theme for this game is by far the best ever
Dat FF9 menu theme tho
Zanarkand, The Promise and Somnus are all objectively better.
I really love the soundtrack of this and the other game, but I never played either game before in my life D:
Surprise, there's a new rocking battle theme waiting behind that elegance. It's been long enough that I've forgotten a lot of stuff and playing again would be a treat.
Mechanical Rhythm actually starts playing in Galahad Fortress, lol.
Everyone brings up ACE+ but I think Kiyota deserves as much acknowledgment. This track is lovely.
Even though I've 100%ed this 3 times, I really want to replay Xenoblade again.
Muy hermosa.
Great pick! Xenoblade probably have my favorite video game soundtrack. :)
I personally prefer the night version of Fallen Arm to the day one. I just like the deep strings and more emotional atmosphere it gives off. The game's soundtrack as a whole is one of the best of any game in the past 10 years, in my opinion.
Easily one of my favorite games ever, the main cast is just so great and likable and the soundtrack is amazing. Xenoblade does exploration right where so many RPGs fail. I actually really enjoyed the combat system, but it is one of those games where you have to be careful not to overlevel yourself or everything becomes cake. Fighting a unique monster a few levels below were always the most fun fights. Dunban, Shulk, and Seven were definitely my favorites to play as/have in the party though.
This is safely one of the most magical, immersive games of the last ten years.
It very much feels like a throwback to JRPGs from the 90's. Love this game and it's soundtrack!
A game that largely took influence from Final Fantasy XII that played much like an offline MMO is a throwback to 90's JRPGs?
+Matthew Etter Mechanic wise; yes, it borrows a play style that is typically found in MMOs. However, that isn't what I was making the comparison to. The vibrant color pallet, story, and music reminds me very much of the JRPGs found in 16-bit and 32-bit era. Games like: Chrono Trigger, Thounsand Arms, and Xenogears placed a very strong emphasis on those elements. While many modern JRPGs still have amazing soundtracks, they seem to place so much more attention on their graphics. Final Fantasy XIII is the best example I can give to the night and day contrast of games between now and then. This was a game I anticipated so much for, that when I played it, it just railroad me with so many cutscenes between moving from point A - point B. I was disconnected from the experience and felt that I was passively watching a story play out in front of me, rather than being a character going on a journey. While the Wii doesn't have the horsepower of it's other console brethren, it made up for it in every regard where it could. It had a plot that mattered to me, a sense of wonderment that I wanted to explore and find/see everything that I could. There are areas and secrets you could miss, because the game didn't guide you to every place. Final Fantasy XV even suffers in this regard, to a small bit, where locations are marked on your map for you, and driving is so passive. So much time feels wasted as the game wants you to see itself as a cinematic wonder between travels. I believe cutscenes should be used sparingly (not to say that there can't or shouldn't be a lot in a game), and allow players to become more involved as a character. Going back to Final Fantasy XV, it does a LOT more right then it does wrong, (especially when compared to XIII) and offers a lot to explore and enjoy. I just gripe a bit that RPGs, nowadays, place more importance on flair and style, rather than substance. RPGs just seem to do a lot more with less, back in the day, when compared to today's hi-tech games/consoles. But that's just my opinion.
At last eon
At first I didn't like this song but I eventually warmed up to it.
Easily one of my favorite games of all time. 2 playthroughs done, and I've already got a hankerin' for a third. The laundry list of side quests definitely got exhausting to try and complete, but there were a few in there that really stood out story-wise among all the annoying fetch n' kill onesâDesiree's in Colony 9; some of the High Entia-related subquests after a certain event takes place in Alcamoth (oh my heart). I thought it was great that the developers tried to give some of the NPCs more substance, rather than having them be nothing more than cardboard cutouts with names lolol
I think most of the named quests in this game are actually quite worthy of my (limited) time. A good thing about this game is that if you play it the way its meant to be played and ecourages you to (meaning, exploring constantly) its doesn't take that long or too much sidestepping to get those good quests done. They get done automatically.
It has been quite some time since i last played this game. I haven't delved too deep into the story. As for the music I wasn't sure what to expect since I had not listened to much music composed by ACE+. After listening to it, I was amazed with how great it was. It is now my #2 soundtrack of all time behind Earthbound. It has a great mix of somber songs as well as high tempo songs.
Wall of text incoming: I finally finished this game (130 hours) yesterday. I completed mostly everything except for some Superbosses and by the end, I was happy to finally go back to the main story. The world, the music and the story were the definite highlights. The world of Bionis has to be one of my favorites in a video game; it's absolutely beautiful, unique and varied, and then you also have Mechonis and a memorable sequence in Space. I already knew the soundtrack was amazing, but playing the game and listening to the tracks in context is even better. Most of my favorites were composed by the ACE+ composers, which by the way is a travesty that theyâre not being hired to compose more game soundtracks. The main story was unsurprisingly well told, cinematic and full of emotions, as is always the case with Takahashi. I did think Xenoblade had its list of flaws. Even if they are optional, the sidequests were forgettable and boring to complete due to their mundane MMO-type tasks (collect X or kill X). I quickly stopped reading them and just focused on their objectives. Iâd rather have 10x less sidequests that are actually interesting and that help develop secondary characters or the lore. Completing them also made me overpowered against the final bosses, which made them less memorable, but thatâs a recurrent problem in RPGs that is challenging to fix. The MMO feel doesnât stop there, my biggest problem with the game was its combat system. I must have spent 40 hours out of 130 looking at the bottom of my screen, waiting for the cooldowns on my skills while my character auto attacked. I rarely felt like I had to use strategies (even before being overpowered), and while the monsters were varied in their design, they all felt the same in combat as I would just easily kill them by using all my skills. Really, the sidequests and the combat system made me feel like I was playing an offline MMO. The waypoint system was a very welcome feature, allowing you to quickly teleport between landmarks, though I did feel like they were sometimes misplaced in a couple areas. The super quick loadings (and sometimes none at all) blew me away, Monolith are absolute masters in the technical department. The main story and its cast of characters were so good that Iâm quite worried for the sequel and its âCreate your own characterâ, as if the MMO feel I donât want is taking over even more. Still, I would safely put Xenoblade in my list of top Wii games or top RPGs I played in the past 5 years. Its soundtrack and world are now amongst my favorites ever.
X does vastly improve on the combat and side quests. Those and the world itself are the highlights of that game. The main story does take a back seat in it, but the world has so much lore and world-building that it's extremely easy to get lost in it. Story-wise, Xenoblade is better, but gameplay-wise, X is far superior. Most people say that the original had a better soundtrack, but I'm one of the few that disagrees. Even though the placement of some songs is questionable and the sound design (meaning the volume of some songs) is kind of bad in some spots, the soundtrack is definitely superior in my eyes. It has no throwaway tracks that the original has so many of (songs like Uneasiness, Presentiment, Creeping Shadows). I love how different X's soundtrack is. Both games are excellent, but I think I like X a little bit more. I'm glad that you enjoyed this game!
I'm glad you enjoyed this game Supra. This game's soundtrack is definitely one of my top favorites ever. I'm not sure if you knew this, but there was a little bit of lore that wasn't told in the game, in regards to Fiora. The only explanation for how she changed is in a lore/concept book that's in Japanese only, which I found odd. Although it did tie up that question for the last cutscene.
As many flaws as this game has (you mentioned them, altough I kind of like the combat system, I just don't think it is polished enough), the world, art, story and music are enough to make me put this game in my list of favourite games of all time. The way the story is told through the environment is masterfully done, the creatures, people and structures encountered shape the world as a real one, where people really live their lives and the music is simply... awesome, in the literal meaning of the word. As much as I have enjoyed Xenoblade X (its a great MMO), it simply does not have the heart and soul, the genuinity of the Original Xenoblade characters, as simple as they may be, and as mediocre as the writing can be, at certain points of the story. Even though its world and sceneries are among the best of this generation, it fails to create a world that feels as epic, mythologic, new, fantastic, awesome, fresh and at the same time real as the original Xenoblade does. Even though the music is quite good, it never gets out of the epic and heroic themes, that the original Xenoblade acomplishes in a better way with songs like You Will Know Our Names and Engage the Enemy; and it never gives you the moments of peace, exploration and melancholy that Xenoblade achieves with the Satorl Marsh ST, the Valak Mountain ST, Gaur Plains and others, along with the well-placed moments of silence that let you soak in everything. I don't think I have ever experienced something like the first time I got to the knee, with no music after spending so much time on the Tephra Cave and saw Mechonis, menacing and diabolical (wich makes the later plot twist so much better; its an example of how well this game tells a story whithout narrating it). Afterwards I stepped onto the huge Bionis Leg, saw the short cutscene and the music kicked in. Its something that no other medium or art form can give me, and it made me say, borrowing from the NBA, "this is why I play."
@Gmaniac01 That's what I mentioned, the sound design was questionable in a lot of places for X. I think as a standalone soundtrack, meaning if I were to listen to both soundtracks without having any context for either game, X has a superior soundtrack. But Xenoblade had much better usage for its soundtrack. The real reason for this is because the music was composed 3 years before the game was completed, and there was very little communication between Takahashi and Sawano.
@Gmaniac01 Riki doesn't have much development either. Just that one scene with Dunban.
Riki is still better than Tatsu. Sorry
This is good to read, I've seen many people say the same thing regarding the combat and quests improvements. The story taking a back seat is a shame, but at least I will be expecting it.
@Gmaniac01 Someone missed the lunchbox scene in chapter 11, as well as Tatsu's last affinity mission. I like Tatsu better. But Riki's great, too.
That part at the Knee after getting out of the Tephra Cave, seeing Mechonis and reaching the Leg was definitely a highlight to me as well.
Wait, are you being ironic, or did you not understand me? I think I exaplained myself badly. I believe Xenoblade's characters are much better than X's.
I wasn't apologizing lol. I misworded the post xD
Glad you enjoyed it. The Superboss is not difficult when you max up, the combat system doesn't need much strategy after all. As someone who never played an MMO (out of self defence), I enjoyed the combat a lot, but I can see why some would get bored of it half way in the game (especially with the rudimentary side quests). I had to play every single bit of this game though. The story, music and presentation were just too wonderful for me not too 100% it. The soundtrack never gets old. I wouldn't want to play a game with similar combat for some time though.
+SupraDarky Chronicles has a tighter story, while X has a more robust battle system. It is also more overtly sci-fi. They actually do well to complement each other. Just don't go into X thinking you'll have the same experience as Chronicles, and you'll be fine. It is very good in its own right and compares more to the older Xeno- games, like Gears and Saga in terms of tone.
When you play Xenoblade X: don't expect another Xenoblade, but instead an unique experience unlike many other out there, and you won't be disappointed. Below I will tell you a little about the story and the soundtrack in XCX vs. XC. I made it spoiler free. I wouldn't say XCX has worse story than XC, it's just very different from any other games you played out there. For example: in XCX you don't play as the main character and the story is about the planet itself, compared to XC which has a very typical fantasy jrpg storyline. Since I'm not a big fan of fantasy (and since I like unique stuff I haven't encountered as often), I have to say that I was (much) more into the story in XCX. And almost all of the sidequests in XCX has something to give to its story, making the main objectives only the main objectives of the story, not the entire story in itself. Which really fits the open world formula the game features. Maybe one could say that the story in XCX is its lore, and the lore is really good. And when it comes to the soundtrack I would probably say that XC has an overall better soundtrack (one of my favorites), but I can't deny that XCX has much more variation. And the lyrics makes the soundtrack feel very "fresh". I know that some people rejects the soundtrack because it features rap, but that's just ignorant to do. For example has XCX a bit of rap in its normal fighting theme, but I still prefer that fighting theme over the one in XC since it has a slower start (almost all fighting themes in XC gets tiresome after a while). Tbh, I would probably say the fighting themes in XCX are in general better fighting themes than those in XC. As I said, go in open minded and you will be rewarded. But if you expect another XC (with a lot of typical fantasy stuff to its story etc.) you will be very disappointed.
Oh I almost forgot, I just want to say that I didn't do any side quests in XC, and I had to be extremely technical at the end in order to beat the final boss. It was one of the most difficult things I ever done in a video game. I finished XC in 70 hours (compared to your 130 hours), lol.
the story in XCX was pretty bad IMO, but not nearly as bad as the characters. stereotype over stereotype mixed with the worst anime-nakama-cliches. but the world and battle system were good enough to make me forget about all the bad stuff every time i left the city.
Yeah the characters are pretty bad in XCX, but are the characters in XC any better? Maybe XC has good (not great) main characters, and XCX has good side quest characters (which one rarely sees in a video game).
The world is amazing, I loved to watching day/night cycle through.
SupraDarky Amazing game with a legendary soundtrack đ What do you think of the track "Mechonis fields" ? imo the best dungeon theme in the game by far ... Didn't mind being in that place for hours đ