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@glassbottommeg
Yeah this seems like the ineivtable end-conclusion to me, too.
Like...
1. The internet has too much utility to ever go away
2. People don't like AI shit
3. People still want to find shit
Ok, so human curation it is! We were already seeing that in some areas where algorithms couldn't do a good job matching people to the content they want (IE, Steam games)
So much bountiful farmland waiting to be cleared
Next cozy direct:
Deckard Cain: "Stay awhile, and listen..."
It's funny how a kinda questionable choice to make an all-women race in a 1998 game
Led to a 2017 game making a serious effort to design and world-build the culture of an all-women warrior race
Which led to Age of Imprisonment having the biggest set of dark-skinned women in any Nintendo game.
I've said before that I think a lot of games would benefit from thinking about their music more like a music video than like a movie.
The World Ends With You series is probably the best example of that I could possibly come up with
#56: NEO: The World Ends With You
One of the all-time best game OSTs IMO. Absolutely chock full of great stuff. It's mostly different variants of alt rock/pop, hiphop, apparently a lot of Shibuya-Kei (I've never had a good grasp of that genre).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZlNbHKvHik&list=PLqyizNZTEENKBh0TXif4oYv3DhupVEl0m&index=9
#55: Beatmania IIDX 15: DJ Troopers
I'm cheating. It's a rhythm game. Think DDR. House, Trance, rock, all over the place
Check out:
- 湘南族 -cannibal coast-
- madrugada
- 少年A
- the trigger of innocence
- Digitank System
- quell -the seventh slave-
- THE LAST STRIKER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBxvOEtMN6U&list=PLbQczxSgSRikpDrnXo6PofmWNJISgeF9R&index=22
Honorary #54: Ace Combat 4
But only because it has maybe the most dramatic final-suicide-mission music of any game ever. Overall it's a worse OST than AC5 imo, but Megalith -Agnus Dei- stands above:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1sIqCQFKVo&list=PL23A635021128F21F&index=37
#54: Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
Imagine if someone crammed the drama of ten war movies' worth of last stands and suicide missions into an operatic rock OST
Well, imagine no more!:
- The Unsung War
- Reprisal
- Four Horsemen
- Supercircus
- Hanger 2
- Closure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjY6awCr2_c&list=PLB5A294C912C49005&index=55
#53: Catherine
Same composer as Personas 3-5. Similar sound to the jazz tracks from those games. If you liked them, you'll like this.
See:
- It's a Golden Show
- Also Sprach Brooks
- Battle on Stage
- Up Up Up!
(Not-quite-SFW album cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjbToe9eGJo&list=PL5BF6423A5486A30E&index=2
#52: Söldner-X: Himmelsstürmer
German-made shmup. Pounding sci-fi synth soundtrack. Kinda standard sound for this genre—It sounds like Ikaruga—but well-executed.
See
- Hyper Space Assault
- Mercenary-X
- Soldier Unleashed
- Massive Attack Syndrome
- Lurking Evil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uNm-q-nb8M&list=PLoD-h5kl7mRDbEiI_JFMyekUudvi-Nxgp&index=10
For that sax solo listen to By the Bay--ideally in full for build-up, but at least from 3:51 to 4:20 or so. Must not be missed
(and yes I've relaxed my standards for how niche my recs are because I was running low on the _really_ unknown stuff, hahah)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=fZi9Q09kxXzhdA0d&t=231&v=o6l1CsqZtnk&feature=youtu.be
#51: SimCity 4 Deluxe
Jazzy ambiance, nu jazz, jazzy 80s synth, jazz, jazz lounge. Songs are long and kinda even-keeled, meant to keep you focused. An all-time great saxophone swell
See:
-By the Bay
-Oasis
-ElectriCITY
-Re-Development
-The New Hood
-Terrain
-Arctica
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6l1CsqZtnk&list=PL3B43D339BA90E730&index=6
#50: F-Zero GX/AX
I'm stretching my rules a bit, but the last time an F-Zero OST counted as "well known" was 1990 xD
It's loud and energetic. TRUE arcade music! Each of the *40* chars had a theme. The only Nintendo OST that they could turn into a Guitar Hero set.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jIMhMjXneE&list=PLS-LG8YFyHqdxIdm9r0Vqc7OPIjnopOjm&index=60
#49: Timesplitters 2
Goldeneye's composer took his style and applied it to a bunch of different movie/music genres
Timesplitters OST is fun shit. I can't articulate it though
See:
- Mexican Mission
- Ice Station
- Wild West
- Siberia
- Siberia Chopper Attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uia5Nr_lFy4&list=PL216F30F673B0910B&index=12
#48: Secret of Evermore
An SNES RPG made at Square USA, it's a very interesting blend of RPG aesthetics. And it shows in the music, which is a bit less melodic and more atmosphere than most other SNES RPGs
See:
- Hall of Collasia
- Final Battle
- Minor Minion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukeV1P00FP4&list=PL863A2CB725623D2D&index=24
#47: 13 Sentinels
Alternating brooding vs epic electronic battle themes. This is Vanillaware's best soundtrack.
See:
LEUCINE
Brat Overflow
VALINE
Between the Lines
METHIONINE
The Tower of Knowledge
Hard Pill to Swallow
Last Line of Defense
EDGE OF THE FUTURE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYYHT2BMRQQ&list=PLlXLtmVXr6k4CtsJU5tbvMrssJbvcTVGh&index=11
#46: Batman: The Video Game (1990)
Good-ass side-scrolling action chiptunes. Same composer as Journey to Silius. It sounds like Megaman to my ears.
See:
- Gotham City
- Chemical Factory
- Ending ~ Credits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gppJ8K5CWgs&list=PL4BD1DA56FED680DB&index=3
#45: Castle Crashers
Drum'n'bass/synth/EDM, with some "epic" chorals thrown in. It was an all-star cast of Newgrounds musicians, and it shows.
See:
Four Brave Champions
A New Adventure
Barbarian Assault
Factory
Flooded Grounds
Alien Hominids
Medusa
Winterbliss
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JawxAgo81Uk&list=PLaEhyKrOpBW1VT_UlbQxGy8YMlk-tVwDX&index=1
#44: Soma Bringer
Mitsuda's trademark minimalist celtic/orchestral-jazz stuff. You'll immediately hear the Chrono lineage. Beautiful work
See:
- Zain, The Floating Continent
- The One Who Soars Over the World
- Graave Stronghold
- Exploration of the Secluded Land
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7k0NTJqotg&list=PL6y9niWh_EgNo5YQI9jN3VsvTc6L-ExoX&index=43