Music Monday (Guest Author) - War Themes

Music Monday (Guest Author) - War Themes

Nothing quite like having a game take place in the most basic "battlefield" there is: War. A few composers really seem to hit the niche for great tracks be it the "why, god, why?" war tunes, the "war is hell" war tunes, and last but not least, the "let's get those sons o' bitches!" war tunes. Anyways, let's look at some of my favorite composers; though you can probably guess who I think is the best of them (Hint: Just about every War-J-SRPG is scored by this guy).

#3) Yoko Shimomura

Her resume may not have too many war-based titles, but the few and far between have been great additions to an already impressive line of work. She tends to emphasize some amazing melodies, her ability to make songs flow, and her passion for tugging on your heart with beautiful piano pieces. Recently she proved herself once more with the OST for Radiant Historia:





Radiant Historia's "Edge of Green" is a track with a great beat and a great flow. This is a boss theme, and it uses a wide array of instruments to take you into every new part of the tune. We start with strings and drums, then we get violin and organ, and then we get a horn and piano. Each instrument pairing is sort of stuck against each other, and works well as a boss track. I can hear a sort of "tango" sound to it to, though that might just be me.




This is Heroes of Mana's opening theme. I linked the orchestra arranged version (it's better quality). The game may have been met with mixed reviews, but the music made up the difference thanks to Shimomura's contribution. We have another up-beat melody to start, but in a traditional Yoko way, she knows how to draw out a deeper sound to make the piece more complex and involving.



Other Shimomura recommendations:

Kingdom Hearts (the music is a series strong point), Legend of Mana. Also, a few Breath of Fire 1 and Xenoblade tracks are hers. Oh, and Little Nemo! :D



#2) Masako Oogami

You're probably thinking "who the fu-", and I don't blame you. But it's always fun to post a hidden gem who's other important work includes.... IdolM@aster.... hmm. Umm, I swear he's good!!

Oogami's major contributions are to the little known, and under-appreciated Seven and Venus & Braves series. These titles sported what is a clever mix throughout the soundtrack of jazz, waltz and, hell, even rag-time. He has an ability to get that "story book" feeling; you hear tunes that sound kinda medieval, kinda magical, kinda romantic, but still kinda strange.

But anyways, we're here for a battle theme:





The appropriately titled "battle" has your drummer boy kickin' it off but then goes to a deep sounding male choir to make things sound a bit darker and ominous (true to the fairy tale nature, your enemies were usually monsters). We got the army bells, the soft strings, and powerful horns to keep the spirit alive.

You also get a brilliant victory theme to make your triumph that much more glorious.




I hope you like this fella as much as I do, because he is certainly a different flavour, but I'll be happy if you found someone new to love today.

Some other amazing tracks from Venus & Braves I *completely* recommend are:

Waltz for Ariah (the main theme song), Cup of Story (jazz tune with Engrish title), and Theme of Seven (from the first game)


#1) Hitoshi Sakimoto

Saw it coming, right? I know this one was easy, but the man seems to have a penchant for doing war-esque titles, and quite frankly, why stop him? He does them really, really well. Not only does he know how to get your blood pumping with exciting tracks, but still finds a way to still fit in some emotional pieces too. If you don't know who he is, well, you probably do and just don't know it. Final Fantasy Tactics, FF12, Odin Sphere, Valkyria Chronicles, Vagrant Story, Ogre Battle. ...it goes on.

A few notables:





FF12's boss battle theme. The bells that come up at the main part of tune are beautiful and accompanied by a great drumline. Truly a rush, and the track gets built up really nicely.



And of course, the Tactics Ogre Overture. This track should send a tingle down your spine if you're really into that "war and glory"-like sound. We have something that sounds medieval, kinda Scottish, and damned empowering. Quite frankly, you'd fight for any side that had this tune as its anthem.



I would put Final Fantasy Tactics up here, but I'm sure you may have heard it plenty of times. Sakimoto is to "war-like" music as cheese is to pizza. And like pizza, his work is *consistently* satisfying, despite how long he's been around.

Other recommendations:

Breath of Fire V (atypical of his "genre", but still excellent), Opoona (more techno-type versions of his sound, yup, it's weird), and Riz-Zoawd (yeah, the um, JRPG version of Wizard of Oz. A more fairy-tale sound to it... but it works and is home a calmer side of the composer).

Today's Music Monday guest author Dice is clearly no stranger to JRPGs. Click here to check out Dice's artwork at her Deviant Art account.