A game’s soundtrack is vital to its ambiance. Sure, a game can be great without exceptional music; but a great soundtrack will can make that great game an excellent one. Even more so, a standout OST can make a not-so-great game worth playing. Here are my top 5 favorite original game soundtracks, and my favorite tracks from those soundtracks.
5. Final Fantasy XII
Hitoshi Sakimoto is, in my opinion, the most consistent composer in the field. His sound is instantly recognizable, and his name has been attached to some of the greatest JRPGs to be created in the last 20 years. This is such a fire OST that I actually bought the FFXII Theatrhythm track pack for iOS.
4. Phantasy Star Online
This is a criminally underrated soundtrack. Beautiful synthesizer work here. At times, Hideaki Kobayashi will move you to tears. I know the Phantasy Star series lost a lot of fans after becoming an online game, but I can safely say that the music is far from the reason for that.
3. Persona 5
I feel like this one was a no brainer. As soon as I started playing this game, I knew I was embarking on a musical odyssey. To be quite honest, I was FAR from a Shoji Meguro fan before this game as I found that his music has this catchy pop aesthetic drives me crazy. This one doesn’t ENTIRELY abandon pop, it just fuzes it with acid jazz in a way that is just magical. This is timeless music, folks.
2. Hyper Light Drifter
This was probably the most difficult choice, because I’m sure 5 years from now, this will be my number one. It has some of the most haunting and atmospheric themes I’ve ever heard in a game, and they all work incredibly well with the art and the tone of the game. Definitely keep an eye out for Disasterpeace’s next project!
1. Saga Frontier II
And last, but certainly not least: a layup. Easily the best OST I’ve heard and hands down my favorite Masashi Hamauzu work. The themes have a very germanic sound, which give them a unique sound in this arena. The toughest decision here was narrowing it down to one track to post, so I decided to go with the most impressive battle theme I’ve ever heard. I could go on for hours about why this is number one, but I’ll let the music do the talking. Don’t sleep on the rest of Hamauzu’s catalog though, his Chocobo’s Dungeon OST is a classic.
Runners up- Unlimited Saga, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
YT video credits: SFero, Gaming Soundtracks OST, ArcticK9, Jumpropeman, Gamemusichannel1
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