Support NeoGAF

[The Wheel of Fortune]

A couple of the creative liberties they took with the remake were quite strange to me as well, but the music definitely wasn't one of them. My biggest gripe is the new Flamelurker design, he looks like a giant gorilla on fire now. That being said, I feel like most of the changes were for the better! So I'm quite content with how it turned out. Hopefully it doesn't detract too much from your experience, because it's still quite a fantastic gem and well worth your time.

 

[cireza]

Of course they did. We were already saying it way before the game was released. There really is nothing to see here, better play the original despite its age.

 

[VictorVectors]

Of course they did. We were already saying it way before the game was released. There really is nothing to see here, better play the original despite its age.

No. No no no. No.
No again.

I never liked remasters that lose the original game's feel.

First time I ever played Resident Evil 2 remake I had FINALLY understood why people enjoyed RE2. That's connection with a game and the fans simultaneously, which feels really great!

Mechanically it was outstanding on Xbox One X and I loved every single second of gameplay - first time I entered the precinct...



I waited over a full minute for it to play before I realized something was amiss.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Insane Metal]

The remake sounds better.

/thread

 

[cireza]

No. No no no. No.
No again.

 

[TexMex]

It’s better. I can understand maybe preferring the original but calling it “butchered” is hyperbolic nonsense.

 

[saintjules]

misleading thread title.

 

[Banjo64]

Lmao the scream right away with the Storm King

 

[dcmk7]

OP, so the sound is different and therefore the whole game had been 'butchered'?

You have some extremely high standards.

 

[22•22]

Haven't played the game (yet) but listening to your examples + context given by yourself I'd have to agree that I also prefer the originals. With that said I hate that loud, chorus, 'epic' sound in general so yeah... Less is more etc

 

[Phase]

I agree with you except for one song. The Storm King music is brilliant, despite the change in feeling.

 

[Enjay]

Thanks for saving me the purchase OP.

 

[Aenima]

I like the remade soundtrack better. I own the original soundtrack in CD and is pretty much like the worst soundtrack to listen outside of the game. Thers like 2 decent tracks there that are good to listen outside of the game. I know the original sound track added a more morbid and heavy feel to the game, but i quite like the "epicness" they added to the remade tracks.

 

[gow3isben]

You make me want to play the remake more

Maybe I’ll buy it now thanks

 

[Enjay]

So most everyone that did what they did to get a ps5 and demon's souls are offended by op's opinion. Interesting.

 

[Gloggins]

Flamelurker's original soundtrack was probably better.

Still, Bluepoint delivered a Demon's Souls remake AT LAUNCH, it can't be overstated how awesome that is to Souls fans from 2009.

The Remake is the superior product even if the soundtrack goes flaccid from time to time.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

But I think we can all see how medieval architecture was replaced with neo-gothic nonsense because epic.

The remake is a technical marvel and there’s so much to like, but the music and overall reworked architecture shows that some of the original tone was lost. I bet those were decisions made by suits.

Probably so. From my limited knowledge of Soulsborne titles (I've actually only played parts of OG Demon's Souls) it seemed like a lot of Demon's Souls make up was in sort of grounded high fantasy and Dark Souls on started appealing more to the ye olde gothik trappings culminating in Bloodborne. Granted, this is just an opinion based on cultural osmosis

Granted, that opinion may be a bit off, because when I hear Dark Souls I immediately think of like rejected Cradle of Filth song titles. Fighting the Victor Wolf of Tyr in the Valley of Defilement before encountering the Bloodstained Heiress in the Witherspirit Swamp or whatever.

 

[Xeaker]

Agree. It's disgusting. They did the same with the Onimusha Remaster. New music was horrible!

 

[Damigos]

The remake sounds better.
And since they remade the game, its fine with me they also remade the music

 

[sendit]

Thread

 

[skit_data]

I liked the Remakes soundtrack better overall but they completely messed up the best song in the original Demon’s Souls: Maiden Astraeas Theme.

Original:


Remake:


Edit: Might add that I still think the remake song is an impressive piece of music but it completely loses the tone of the original. It’s like a heavy metal gabber remix of a classic song, simply too much.

 

[WoodyStare]

First game I’ll be playing on my PS5 when it arrives tomorrow.

 

[Jack Uzi]

I turned off the music in Demon’s Souls and Bloodborne.

 

[ethomaz]

The remake seems to sound better.

 

[tommib]

I liked the Remakes soundtrack better overall but they completely messed up the best song in the original Demon’s Souls: Maiden Astraeas Theme.

Original:


Remake:

This here is the biggest fuckup in the soundtrack. How do we go from Philip Glass/Mike Oldfield minimalism to action movie orchestral soundtrack with 300 layers and endless choirs. Eye-rolling stuff. The melody is completely lost in the soup of arrangements.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

I havent played either game. (I think I got it on PS+ on PS3, but I played like 10 mins. felt too simple. Stab, roll.)

So as a totally unbiased person without a ounce of warmy nostalgia, only the original Phalanx sounds better. Only because its really unique. The rest of the new sound is better.

 

[Oddvintagechap]

But I think we can all see how medieval architecture was replaced with neo-gothic nonsense because epic. I bet those were decisions made by suits.

OR they needed more detail to show off the graphics. Cause they werent limited by the hardware.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

Terrible taste by OP

 

[nkarafo]

I haven't played any of the two games but i fully agree. This type of generic "epic" music with the same chorus and trumpets again and again is completely forgettable (most of the time).

That's because it's stock, safe music for the lowest common denominator. It's also on the same level as the intimidating roar and superhero landings in the cliche scale.

Oh and one more thing:

Why the fuck did they change the soundtrack anyway?

Isn't this supposed to be a remaster? Why change the music? Remaster it, sure, but change it? If NightDive changed any of the music in Turok or Shadowman remasters i would be furious. So i'm 100% with you on this OP. Keep fighting the good fight.

 

[Pejo]

I agree with you 100% OP. People just see that the image quality and textures are better and assume that it's a straight upgrade, but it feels like they lost a lot of the ambiance and worldbuilding through design that the original had.

 

[tommib]

OR they needed more detail to show off the graphics. Cause they werent limited by the hardware.

I don’t think technical limitations have anything to do with architectural styles. Anor Londo is neo-gothic and well represented on the same hardware Demon’s Souls was released for.

You can keep the style and detail to it without basically time-traveling through it. Think Kingdom Come. They changed the styles to fall in line with the most recent Souls games which are all gothic/neo-gothic/neo-classic. Gamers are easily impressed with baroque motifs in architecture.

 

[01011001]

I don't like either

the original sounds super low budget and weirdly mastered... also low quality (could be YouTube)

the new one sounds super generic and forgettable but way higher budget and way better mastered

I'd say I would also slightly prefer the original because it is not as generic but both aren't that great, let's be honest

 

[JaksGhost]

Yeah... I've never gamed this fucking hard to be writing rants over a soundtrack.

 

[Captain Toad]

You are fucking crazy kingkaiser . The remake is perfection. "Butchered it", my ass.

 

[PuppetMaster]

For me it was the Nexus music that took me a while to get used to in the Remake.

But I wouldn't say any of the music was worse. Just different. Higher production value in the recording for sure though. But there was something charming about the original low budget sound track.

Overall it is a hell of a game! And still the best game on PS5 for me!

I just got the Platinum yesterday after NG++.

 

[tommib]

Yeah... I've never gamed this fucking hard to be writing rants over a soundtrack.

Music is super important and can completely change the mood of a scene or sequence. My favourite games are also my favourite games because of the soundtrack. Quake wouldn’t be what it is without Nine Inch Nails.

 

[Airbus Jr]

I feel you man

Dont get me wrong everything in des remake is amazing but they messed up the original by taking too much creative liberty

Not just soundtrack but also character design

The new soundtrack is very generic and not memorable imo

 

[tommib]

For me it was the Nexus music that took me a while to get used to in the Remake.

But I wouldn't say any of the music was worse. Just different. Higher production value in the recording for sure though. But there was something charming about the original low budget sound track.

Overall it is a hell of a game! And still the best game on PS5 for me!

I just got the Platinum yesterday after NG++.

There’s nothing low budget about the original soundtrack. This annoys me. It’s like saying that a string quartet piece by Schubert is low budget. Or a piano piece by Bach. It was an artistic decision to have chamber pieces and not orchestral tracks with 200 musicians fighting for their life.

Chamber music - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[MagnesD3]

You would have to have taste to notice this, this complaint is valid among others when it comes to loss of atmosphere but most will sadly not care.

Errors like this are why many remakes are worse than the original

 

[Kagero]

i think you’re just a fan of nostalgia. Nothing wrong with that, but I don’t think the new score is worse than the old one. Listening to it now I actually fine the new music pretty awesome.

 

[nkarafo]

How do we go from Philip Glass/Mike Oldfield minimalism to action movie orchestral soundtrack with 300 layers and endless choirs. Eye-rolling stuff. The melody is completely lost in the soup of arrangements.

The average Joe with zero attention span doesn't like subtlety. He likes loudness because loud = wow, epix. And a choir because movie trailers have those and these are also epix.

Doesn't matter if it's impossible to distinguish these music pieces from one another. The only requirement is to sound loud and epix. It's a battle. It must be loud. And EPIC. I just hate that word.

There’s nothing low budget about the original soundtrack. This annoys me. It’s like saying that a string quartet piece by Schubert is low budget. Or a piano piece by Bach. It was an artistic decision to have chamber pieces and not orchestral tracks with 200 musicians fighting for their life.

No, give me more instruments. Throw more money at it, hire more musicians. The quality of the music depends on the number of instruments and members of the choir. /s

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

For me....I couldn't get 5 minutes into the original Demons Souls. Looked like straight ass

Demons Souls remake takes the great core and elevates it to a AAA level. You are totally wrong

 

[Airbus Jr]

A couple of the creative liberties they took with the remake were quite strange to me as well, but the music definitely wasn't one of them. My biggest gripe is the new Flamelurker design, he looks like a giant gorilla on fire now. That being said, I feel like most of the changes were for the better! So I'm quite content with how it turned out. Hopefully it doesn't detract too much from your experience, because it's still quite a fantastic gem and well worth your time.

The music are part of the problem to me

The remake is missing the ambience and desolate atmosphere it was suppose to give you sense of loneliness and desperation the new music is aiming to be heroic to make you feel like hercules kratos or beowulf dont get me wrong it sounds great but not quite fitting the theme of the game itself

 

[Derktron]

I'll judge for myself when I find a ps5 in 2026.

Make that in 2030

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

I like most of the new music, but I don’t like it better than the original which IMO sounded more unique, impactful and distinctive.

 

[ManaByte]

Remake runs at 60. Remake is superior for that alone.

 

[T8SC]

They butchered it by not including an easy mode.

 

[Yoboman]

I could hardly tell you a piece of music that stuck with me from the original so it didn't matter to me that they changed it

But music is so subjective. The people who say its worse and the people who say its better, neither are wrong

The people who are objectively wrong are the ones who say the art style of the original is better - particularly with regards to the completely barren looking original Boletaria and many of the shitty looking low polygon enemies

 

[Nickolaidas]

Most of the themes of the original sound sleepy and drowsy, which is not what I want to hear when I'm fighting for my life as I try to take down demonic gods or cursed champions. While the remake sounds less original and more generic, the pace and passion of the music is more fitting to the battle between you and a ten feet tall demonic ape who is on fire and runs like crazy all around you as he tries to stomp you and smash you into the ground.

TLDR: You are right and wrong, OP.

Astraea's theme is better in the original. Flamelurker's is MUCH better in the remake. Most Demon Souls themes however are so underwhelming that are completely buried under the stress of the fight you're having. Heck, only 3-4 themes are in my head as I try to remember them - Flamelurker, Tower Knight, Storm King, Maiden Astraea, Fool's Idol. The rest, I can't even remember.