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[Dr. Suchong]

 

[Dr. Suchong]

Sf6 has the weakest stage music I have ever heard.
Literally nothing memorable.
Tekken 8 did a much better job.

 

[BacklashWave534]

I disagree.
Helldivers 2, From Games, God of War, just to name a few recent ones absolutely nail the music.

I think you are missing the point. Those games may have some decent tunes but in 5 years will you remember any of them? On the flipside it's hard to forget any of his work. Even stuff from back in the 90s is still amazing and unforgetable.

 

[SolidQ]

Don't know, i'm just finished Octopath Traveler 2 and like there music

 

[Outlier]

It's true, in some cases.. Starfield has mostly bad/unfitting music, compared to Beth's older games.
Buldars Gate 3 also has mostly forgettable music. Only 3 that stand out positively for me.

 

[Beechos]

So so true. You prob can have no txt in snes final fantasys and know what's going on just by the music. I'm currently replaying ff4 and just thought this same thing to myself on how awesome the music is.

 

[TheGodfather07]

There's still some good music in today's games but yeah, in general it's a massive downgrade from the past. It's gotten worse over time. I feel like the ps3/360 era was the last time game music was really good.

 

[AmuroChan]

I can understand what he's getting at. Back in the day music played a huge role in presenting emotional resonance because voice acting wasn't really a thing in the NES/SNES era and 2d pixel art characters can't emote. They're just tiny sprites on the screen. I think back to the opera house scene in FFVI and how the music was so front and center in telling the story. Obviously I'm not saying there are no great game soundtracks these days, but IMO they're less reliant upon to be a key contributor to the storytelling. They operate more in the background to help elevate a particular scene.

 

[Magic Carpet]

The Talos Principal 2 has some really good music. It's been a while since I searched out a game tune on the youtubes.
I like how this theme plays when your building the bridge to the towers. It feels like your at the heart of the puzzle and mystery almost solved.

 

[Hollowpoint5557]

Agreed, although there is still some that are producing incredible music for game soundtracks (such as the work done by Olivier Deriviere).

 

[K' Dash]

No lies detected.

Next “incendiary” statement, pls.

 

[Arsic]

Nothing conveys atmosphere or emotion like the right track in the right spot in a game.

JRPGs used to have soundtracks you’d play long after completing a game, and be brought back to the moments that went with it.

Final fantasy xi online OST always teleports me back to that area, the things I was doing there, and a better set of days as a young kid/teen.

Sanctuary of Zi’Tah is always that track that sends me spiraling down a rabbit hole of memories and emotions.

 

[CGNoire]

The problem is since around 2006-08 Film and Gaming composers have been mostly alergic to anything Melody. Heaven forbid they take a chance and make an actual statement and create something aimed at an actual curated audience instead of makeing a meh beige (atmospheric only) soundscapes that just meanders in yhe bkrnd just so they can appeal to a larger demo.

 

[CGNoire]

Modern Composers are mostly Sound Designers who rely heavily on effects to create atmosphere and are not really Musicians.

Anyone who has owned synths and tinkered with them knows how vast the differerence in skillset between the two are.

 

[Svejk]

Glad it's not just me then. There's a reason the clouds should be yelled at... Because they're fake.

 

[Trogdor1123]

as everyone else has said, he is right!

I can listen to the music from games decades old with super limited technology behind it and still get more out of it than I do with most new stuff.

Except Skyrim and Souls stuff, those are incredible.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Glad it's not just me then. There's a reason the clouds should be yelled at... Because they're fake.

I’m trying to find a good birds are fake gif… I have failed.

 

[Fbh]

I have this friend who is really into music and composing but doesn't play a lot of games, and just the other day he was asking me to recommend some cool recent gaming OST....and I struggled to really come up with much. Of course I haven't played every major game, and it's not like the music in most games is bad or anything. But it has been a while since anything really stood out to me, aside from remakes like FFVII, Nier Automata is probably the last game where I felt the music was memorable, unique and really added to the storytelling and atmosphere and almost became a character on its own.


Like last year everyone was praising the FFXVI OST as being incredible but I thought it was really generic. It's not bad, it fits and makes the battles more epic but it also sounds like thousands of similar scores. You could probably replace half of the FFXVI OST with random tracks from Two Steps From Hell and it wouldn't make a difference

 

[Solidus_T]

Generally he is right, but what he is saying is unfair to a lot of games nowadays that keep it alive, FFXVI included!

 

[Guilty_AI]

I have this friend who is really into music and composing but doesn't play a lot of games, and just the other day he was asking me to recommend some cool recent gaming OST....and I struggled to really come up with much. Of course I haven't played every major game, and it's not like the music in most games is bad or anything. But it has been a while since anything really stood out to me, aside from remakes like FFVII, Nier Automata is probably the last game where I felt the music was memorable, unique and really added to the storytelling and atmosphere and almost became a character on its own.

Show him Ultrakill and Touhou ost

 

[Danknugz]

i've only been impressed by a handful of game themes songs over the past years but this one is pretty good:

 

[Reallink]

The most factually accurate statements humanity has ever put to words.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

I completely agree. There's an overemphasis on dramatic or atmospheric music rather than melody and harmony. Indie games tend to have significantly better soundtracks these days because they - possibly because of a lack of resources - usually focus on catchy beats first.

 

[Soodanim]

Today's best music is only the best on a relative scale to its current peers. It doesn't touch what people were putting out in PS1/PS2 era.

When music started being generic orchestra it lost me entirely. To me that's generic background noise. Copying cinema's style doesn't make me like it more, but the opposite. Memorable movie themes are Beverly Hills Cop and Ghostbusters, not Jurassic Park.

I do get that it's partially down to the complexity of games now, and a modern game has (for the most part) more going on than Streets of Rage 2 so it's apples to oranges.

But if you compare Resident Evil 2 to Resident Evil 7, which has the more memorable music? Hell, compare 2 to 2 Remake for an even closer comparison. Marshalling Yard alone has more atmosphere than the entire remake soundtrack.

I haven't played the others but what about From games?

I played every single Soulsborne game and they are all silent. The only music you hear is during boss fights. And i'm sure there are a couple of those that are memoreble but most of them sound the same to me. I can't tell which music is for what boss, all i hear is the same instruments, same bombastic style and same choir.

Think about the Castlevania games, somewhat close to what From games look like but also actually have memorable music as well. Are they even comparable?

I get that Souls being silent is a design choice. They are meant to be this way because of atmosphere, dread, etc, i get it. But that also makes them a not so great example for good games music. The fact that they are mentioned at all shows how we desperately reach to find good music in video games.

I'm glad you said this. An early post mentioned Elden Ring, and although I love DS and ER, it sure as hell isn't because of the music. If I didn't get the soundtrack with the original release of DS1 on PS3, I wouldn't have noticed the various bosses have different music. Except Gwyn, of course, because it's actually different.

 

[PixelatedBeast]

Wow, Im very interested to see how many more topics and different threads can be created for the same echo chamber of people who dislike modern gaming from western devs on neogaf....

This place is starting to sound more like that "other forum" forum with how much of what people hate seems to comes down to preferences of culture affinity. To be honest, the moment to moment music in FF16 did more to put me to sleep than it did to excite me, where as music from a game like GOW made me feel like I reached a triumph or was on an adventure. I dont think there is anything wrong with the music in todays gaming. It all comes down to preferences. I dont enjoy JRPGs as much, so Im less likely to enjoy the music from JRPG composers. Doesnt mean they're bad, just means its not my taste.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

He's right. What we get now are movie soundtracks. But not even good movie soundtracks. Just background filler. Many of the old school composers like him and Yuzo Koshiro created stuff that hasn't yet been rivaled.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

The trick is to make the music fit the game and incorporate the gameplay. Breath of the Wild did this with its dynamic soundtrack, which was really cool - but it didn't have any really memorable tunes and that's a shame.

One of the best examples of this in recent memory is Monster Hunter World, and the way it uses

Spoiler

Proof of a Hero during the Fatalis fight

.

Shadow of the Colossus does a fantastic job with this too, there is such little dialogue in that game yet it tells a compelling story from your actions, the world design, and the music.

NieR is another series that does an excellent job conveying a story along with the music that plays.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

nonsense, there are plenty of amazing modern soundtracks out there, even forspoken has a downright stunning OST with a lot of storytelling built right into it.
Try playing MHW:I and fighting fatalis without getting goosebumps from the thematic changes to the track as the fight progresses; impossible.

 

[Ulysses 31]

Like I said in the other thread, modern music tends to lack memorable melodies.

Just covering the 8/16 bit music with better instruments can get some great results that blow a lot of modern music out of the water (IMO ).

 

[gtabro]

That’s why I love the BG3 score - the composer didn’t shy away from using some weird sounds, echoes, Disney-like musical techniques and more. Surprised me more than any other OST in recent years.

 

[M1chl]

Absolutely right, "Zimmer" like music in games was the biggest failure for OSTs. I can't even remember game which had distinctive music

 

[swaffles23]

FFXIV
NieR Automata
The Last Guardian

Probably my favorite video game OSTs in recent years

 

[Soodanim]

Wow, Im very interested to see how many more topics and different threads can be created for the same echo chamber of people who dislike modern gaming from western devs on neogaf....

This place is starting to sound more like that "other forum" forum with how much of what people hate seems to comes down to preferences of culture affinity. To be honest, the moment to moment music in FF16 did more to put me to sleep than it did to excite me, where as music from a game like GOW made me feel like I reached a triumph or was on an adventure. I dont think there is anything wrong with the music in todays gaming. It all comes down to preferences. I dont enjoy JRPGs as much, so Im less likely to enjoy the music from JRPG composers. Doesnt mean they're bad, just means its not my taste.

It all comes down to preferences but GAF is like Era because people share the preference for a style of music not prevalent in modern games? Your comments seem misplaced when people have given legitimate reasons throughout this thread, it's not just angry ranting about outside influences. I don't think it's limited to Western devs either, if you ask people if they prefer the boss music from FF7 or FF16 I've got a pretty good idea what the majority answer will be and it's not because of nostalgia.

 

[DeaconOfTheDank]

My favorite performance of Scars of Time. They don't make music like this anymore.

Hell yeah brother - that's one of my favorites as well

I somewhat agree with the OPs take, but I also think that it's a natural result of oversaturation in video games. You're much more likely to come across highly generic VGM now, but you can still find good tunes:

 

[Madjaba]

People on this thread talking about Uematsu like he is too patronizing.

We're talking about a man who created in 10 minutes the Prelude for Final Fantasy in 1987, a tune that is litteraly carved into any JRPG player heart even 30 years later...

One Winged Angel, To Zanarkand, Fisherman Horizon, Theme of Love, Eyes on Me, Dragonsong, Battle on the Big Bridge, Aerith's Theme, Dancing Mad, Vamo Alla Flamenco... and you can go forever...

Not only those titles are god tier but they are also very different as this man masters all genres.

Yes he can shit on whoever he wants and they should thank him for that.

 

[Guilty_AI]

People on this thread talking about Uematsu like he is too patronizing.

We're talking about a man who created in 10 minutes the Prelude for Final Fantasy in 1987, a tune that is litteraly carved into any JRPG player heart even 30 years later...

One Winged Angel, To Zanarkand, Fisherman Horizon, Theme of Love, Eyes on Me, Dragonsong, Battle on the Big Bridge, Aerith's Theme, Dancing Mad, Vamo Alla Flamenco... and you can go forever...

Not only those titles are god tier but they are also very different as this man masters all genres.

Yes he can shit on whoever he wants and they should thank him for that.

On side note: one can be skilled on what they do and still have bad takes.

 

[Madjaba]

On side note: one can be skilled on what they do and still have bad takes.

But Uematsu obviously knows what he's talking about. So people shouldn't dismiss his advice either.

And he is not "skilled", this man is a genius that brought video games music in another dimension.

 

[cash_longfellow]

He’s not wrong

 

[Danknugz]

another rare tune that stuck out to me although i probably wouldn't listen to it on its own still a decent hill menu music that doesn't try too hard but still sounds pretty sick

 

[Guilty_AI]

But Uematsu obviously knows what he's talking about. So people shouldn't dismiss his advice either.

That's the thing: they aren't. Unwarranted advice isn't advice at all.

Does this sound like uncreative melody-less film-like score to you?






Like i said in the previous thread, i think this is a case where he simply doesn't have a large pool of examples at his disposal. He's old, he's got other priorities in life, all game music that reaches his ears now must be from his work or very large events, probably from big publishers like Sony or Square themselves.

He certainly isn't playing 100 hour gaijin rpgs like BG3 nor korean indie games at home. It's no surprise he'd form this kind of opinion honestly.

 

[Madjaba]

That's the thing: they aren't. Unwarranted advice isn't advice at all.

Does this sound like uncreative melody-less film-like score to you?






Like i said in the previous thread, i think this is a case where he simply doesn't have a large pool of examples at his disposal. He's old, he's got other priorities in life, all game music that reaches his ears now must be from his work or very large events, probably from big publishers like Sony or Square themselves.

He certainly isn't playing 100 hour gaijin rpgs like BG3 nor korean indie games at home. It's no surprise he'd form this kind of opinion honestly.

For all the love I have for BG3 it isn't groundbreaking in any way in its OST so it's not even a good point.

Again we are comparing good, serviceable and abobe average music with masterpieces.

The closer to those are the masterpieces created by Keiichi Okabe and Go Shiina if we want to talk about recent games.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Yes he can shit on whoever he wants and they should thank him for that.

 

[Guilty_AI]

For all the love I have for BG3 it isn't groundbreaking in any way in its OST so it's not even a good point.

Again we are comparing good, serviceable and abobe average music with masterpieces.

The closer to those are the masterpieces created by Keiichi Okabe and Go Shiina if we want to talk about recent games.

Whatever you think of these music, what you consider "ground-breaking" or not because this is veeeery subjective, they are definitely NOT "film-like" nor is their use uncreative. I'm using Uematsu words here.

 

[AngelMuffin]

Need to listen to the Ori soundtracks.

 

[KXVXII9X]

Modern Composer are mostly Sound Designer who rely heavily on effects to create atmosphere and are not really Musicians.

Anyone who has owned synths and tinkered with them knows how vast the differerence in skillset between the two are.

Sound designers also can be really effective and is a big part of setting the mood. Zelda BotW/TotK have excellent sound direction that does set the mood really well, but I feel sound direction and ambient music alone isn't enough. A certain melody can transport you right to a certain memory and be something you strongly associate with a game. It is kind of like the "soul" of the game or movie, imo.

 

[MagiusNecros]

Old school but Fire Emblem 7 Rekka no Ken I've always remembered for both History Unveiled and Archsage Athos and the sadness and regret of the Ancient Dragon War known as the Scouring, that and the melancholic theme of Ninian and later her iconic tragic death. Music that evokes emotion and is memorable for it.









Hmm yes and an old favorite from Xenosaga 2. Which prioritizes the emotional rivalry between Margulis and Jin Uzuki

 

[Fake]

Wow, Im very interested to see how many more topics and different threads can be created for the same echo chamber of people who dislike modern gaming from western devs on neogaf....

Enjoy:

 

[Guilty_AI]

Btw, for those, interested, MANY of the tracks you hear in 90s games were "strongly inspired" by music from other pieces of media.

That includes the opening theme for FF1 by Uematsu i've seen people here praising.

Its basically a track from Never ending story (movie that came out 3 years prior to FF1 release) sped up a bit.

 

[lordrand11]

I agree wholeheartedly. It started on a downward trend during the Gamecube era.

We had some bangers on SNES (Corridors of Time, Stickerbrush Symphony) and Genesis (Sonic, Phantasy Star 4) to the N64 (Dire Dire Docks, Blue Resort/Green Garden, DKR, Banjo-Kazooies themed single song) and PSX/Dreamcasts huge hella amount of amazing soundtracks.

 

[64bitmodels]

western AAA game music has deteriorated so much it's unreal. Japan and indies are still bringing out memorable music as usual but it's insane how many composers will get the most generic shit played in their games.

Sony, Remedy, Activision etc. They need to take notes from these guys. Film orchestra junk music really isn't what we want for games, its inoffensive and doesn't have style. Whether or not you're Gen Z or Millenial (which are the crowds many modern games appeal to) the video game music doesn't really fit your tastes