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  #1  
Old Feb 28, 2019, 04:17 AM
Brad Evans II Brad Evans II is offline
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Default Indie VGM Suggestions?

Sorry if a thread similar to this has been posted, but recently I've been looking into indie games and have been finding some GREAT music. Some of these games generally look like they be a blast to play as well, but I know I'd honestly never get around to playing them even if I'd buy them. Go back a few years and I know I'd eat them up gameplay wise, but I've moved on and just want to focus on the music.

Anyway, here are the projects (OSTs) I'm aware off and have the music to or am in the process of acquiring:

Cave Story
- to be fair, rather old at this point, but can't help but feel it helped pave the way for future titles. I like the 3DS version's music more than the Famitracks version because I played Cave Story 3D first, but both version have merit.

Dead Cells
- while it's not in the database at the moment, this score is on CD if you buy a copy of the PS4 signature series. I'll add an entry/scans after I get it in the mail.

Hollow Knight
-finding a copy of the indie box release was kind of a pain, but worth it. Will hop on getting a physical copy of the sequel if a soundtrack is included.

Bastion
-I bought a copy of the soundtrack for a friend years ago but only got around to hearing the music myself. My only pet peeve is the voice over in the game; I get why it's important to the overall aesthetic of the game, but I kind of found it grating. Maybe if different voice actor?

Shovel Knight
I'll be honest here, I like Shovel Knight's music but it's probably my least favorite of the ones I'm listing here. Not sure why....

Broken Age
Looked into this and I was rather surprised at the quality of the game itself. Musically, this is the stuff I usually don't like, but this one did manage to attract my attention regardless.

Axiom Verge
When you read about what Hip Tanaka wanted to achieve with the original Metoid soundtrack, I don't know if that game's music actually adheres to his vision to the letter. I love the original Metroid soundtrack, but something like Axiom Verge seems more in line with what he intended.

Undertale
I don't really love every scrap of the Undertale OST, but the tracks I love really hit me, so it obviously did something right.

Braid
Beautiful, but kind of wish there was a physical of this that wasn't just a CD-R.

Celeste
Like it, but would probably like it more if I knew the context of each piece in the game.

Can anyone else suggest any other indie or off-the-beat games to check out? Given the above (and minus Cave Story since I've known about it forever) I'm really digging the stuff I just recent ran into.
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  #2  
Old Feb 28, 2019, 06:41 AM
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Jedi QuestMaster Jedi QuestMaster is offline
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Shovel Knight
I'll be honest here, I like Shovel Knight's music but it's probably my least favorite of the ones I'm listing here. Not sure why....
Oh... I was going to suggest Shantae.

Maybe Rokko Chan is worth a listen?

Not an indie game, but H-Pizzle's music is very Konamic/TMNTesque.
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Old Feb 28, 2019, 06:53 AM
Brad Evans II Brad Evans II is offline
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Oh... I was going to suggest Shantae.
I looked into this at one point, but it wasn't a very thorough look, I'll have to go back and refresh my memory. Thanks for reminding me about it though.

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Originally Posted by Jedi QuestMaster View Post
Maybe Rokko Chan is worth a listen?
Nice. I'll have to pick this up. I have a bandcamp account so that's no problem.

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Originally Posted by Jedi QuestMaster View Post
Not an indie game, but H-Pizzle's music is very Konamic/TMNTesque.
I guess I should rephrase. The suggestions don't have to be indie games per say, I just want stuff off the beaten path that is less triple A like and more nichey? The only thing I've really gotten into that's from major puplishers lately is the Ace Attorney stuff.
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Old Mar 2, 2019, 09:19 PM
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PerfectZer0 PerfectZer0 is offline
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Rival Megagun's soundtrack is pretty awesome.

https://dominicninmark.bandcamp.com/...nal-soundtrack
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Old Mar 5, 2019, 09:24 AM
Brad Evans II Brad Evans II is offline
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Rival Megagun's soundtrack is pretty awesome.
Yipes, the amount of stuff on my list to pick up just keeps growing.

I also looked into "The Liar Princess And The Blind Prince" as well and liked that one as well. I think the songs get stretched a little thin in the game when they repeat and repeat but that won't be a problem with the soundtrack CD.
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Old Mar 5, 2019, 04:20 PM
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Super Meat Boy is still the best score Danny Baranowsky ever did imo.

As for others no one's mentioned yet, definitely check out Hotline Miami and Furi.
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Old Mar 5, 2019, 06:33 PM
TheGazelMinistry TheGazelMinistry is offline
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Of the indie game soundtracks I have, I am most partial to the soundtracks to the Guacamelee games.

I also like the soundtrack to Technobabylon

Apotheon is good, though I haven't spent a lot of time with it.

I like The Messenger soundtracks; I am more partial to Disc 1 than Disc 2.
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Old Mar 5, 2019, 07:33 PM
Brad Evans II Brad Evans II is offline
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Of the indie game soundtracks I have, I am most partial to the soundtracks to the Guacamelee games.
Yeah, I was looking into this one as well, the thing is if I wanted a physical copy it seems the most complete version (I think that's the one that comes in the "Definitive Edition") doesn't seem to be insanely common. I'll have to keep my eye out though. I think there's a sealed copy of the Definitive Edition of the game on eBay right now, but I don't think 300 bones is really sane.
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Old Mar 5, 2019, 09:42 PM
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The Sexy Brutale has a lot of fun tracks.

Child Of Light's soundtrack is quite lovely.

And you already mentioned Bastion, but Transistor and Pyre also have excellent soundtracks.
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Old Mar 7, 2019, 06:00 PM
Brad Evans II Brad Evans II is offline
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Super Meat Boy is still the best score Danny Baranowsky ever did imo.

As for others no one's mentioned yet, definitely check out Hotline Miami and Furi.
Like the Super Meat Boy, but I have to give a shout of to Furi. I am not good a twin stick shooters, so I would stink at this game, but for a game that can be completed in 2hrs if your good enough, I think this game looks like a blast. I wish there was more stuff like this and, man, loved that ending.

I liked Furi's music the longer I watched the playthough, but am I correct in assuming the boss fight themes have "phases" to them? I can't help but feel that the music changed after certain enemy energy bars were gone, and I'm kind of assuming that's what the "LP edit" on certain tracks on the soundtrack's track listing is implying.

Also, does that soundtrack contain all the music? They listed the tracks in the game's credits, but I can't help but think a few aren't on the CD. I just hope my favorites made the cut if that's the case.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 05:42 AM
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I actually haven't played the game myself yet so I have no idea. That's always a challenge with game soundtracks that evolve and change with gameplay though. Do you represent every version as a separate track on the album or weave them all into an unbroken suite? In any case, I know the digital version has more tracks than the CD, which you should get immediately after ordering.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 09:31 AM
Brad Evans II Brad Evans II is offline
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I also like the soundtrack to Technobabylon.
Okay, love the music for this one as well, but WOW, love the game as well. Some of the characters in this game are just so interesting.

Thanks to everyone in this thread for the suggestions. I was obviously looking in the wrong place, there is still a TON of great game music being made. I think I was just in a rut looking solely at AAA.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 03:45 PM
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There's still plenty of great AAA stuff out there though. Nintendo has been putting out some pretty amazing stuff lately whether it's standard Mario and Zelda fare or the wacky punk style of Splatoon. NieR:Automata was just as incredible as the original, and Atlus and Falcom are still chugging along producing good, occasionally great music.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 04:43 PM
Brad Evans II Brad Evans II is offline
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There's still plenty of great AAA stuff out there though. Nintendo has been putting out some pretty amazing stuff lately whether it's standard Mario and Zelda fare or the wacky punk style of Splatoon. NieR:Automata was just as incredible as the original, and Atlus and Falcom are still chugging along producing good, occasionally great music.
Well, I'm not trying to say nothing is coming out of the AAA sector, sorry if it came across that way, but I guess the gist of what I'm driving at is even though I ultimately have no desire to play video games anymore, I still tend to be more attracted to the music of the games I *think* I would play IF I was still playing them. Yeah, I know that doesn't make too much sense, but many of these indie projects mentioned above are more in line with what I want game play and narrative wise from a game these days if I was still playing.

It's really hard to explain this. The games mean very little to me in the grand scheme of things, but the context (and seeing the context) of the music is still very important to me at the end of the day. It's kind of a catch-22. I mean that's not always the case (you can have a horrible game with great music) but I think most people would probably admit they grow fonder of a game's score the fonder they are of the game itself - basically they help one another. Does this place too much emphasis on the original context? Indeed, but I've found that as hard as I fight it, it's a battle that's somewhat futile.
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Old Mar 10, 2019, 07:28 PM
Brad Evans II Brad Evans II is offline
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Originally Posted by Aifread View Post
There's still plenty of great AAA stuff out there though. Nintendo has been putting out some pretty amazing stuff lately whether it's standard Mario and Zelda fare or the wacky punk style of Splatoon. NieR:Automata was just as incredible as the original, and Atlus and Falcom are still chugging along producing good, occasionally great music.
When it comes to Mario, I'm honestly find the newer stuff a bit disappointing. I'm not exactly sure why this is so, but I personally think I'm a little too hung up on the old Kondo tunes. However, as good as those tunes are I don't really hold them up as some holy grail or put them on a pedestal. I mean when it comes to the Mario games I played, I kind of petered out of playing the series prior to Mario 64, so I'm not very versed in the series after the initial wave of side-scrollers. I know it's somewhat of a sin to have never "played" Mario 64 (I'm guessing it would be controversial to admit I've never played beyond what the demo at department stores had in, what 1996? I didn't grow up with the 64 and went with PlayStation instead back then) but I do have the Mario 64 soundtrack and while it has it moments it didn't blow me away, but I'm guessing that's because I don't have the greatest attachment to the game. That kind of echoes what I said above. Again, I'm willing to admit that nostalgia and context are probably still too important in the scheme of things for me.

As for Zelda, I'm mostly unfamiliar with everything beyond Link To The Past. I mean I'm familiar with the original NES score and I've played Ocarina of Time on the 3DS - and while that game didn't blow me away either given I played in 2016 it's CLEAR why that game had the impact it had like Mario 64 - the music didn't gab my ear beyond a few key staples. Are any of the handheld scores on disc?

Slaptoon is something I am completely unfamiliar with. I know what the game entails gameplay wise, but musically I have no concept of what angle they take with it. I'll have to look into it. I may be wrong, but aren't the songs on that more vocal in nature? I don't know why I'm thinking that but I may be wrong.

My friend is a big fan of NieR:Automata and has purchased the DL. I've heard some of it. Seems solid but I guess until I look into it deeper I can't make a judgment call on it...

...and Falcom. I know this thread isn't specifically focused on them, but Falcom's quadrant of music is basically a complete unknown to me. This the the team that was behind Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim, right? I've heard one or two pieces of music from that game years ago when a friend had it, but (and this will sound silly) but I get the impression that Falcom catalog is HUGE from the way people talk about it and I honestly don't have ANY concrete idea where to freaking start. It's kind of the same impression I get from comic book collecting at times. I don't say that to sound disingenuous but knowing just how much there is it just a bit intimidating. If you want to give me a suggestion as a starting point I would welcome it because I'm willing to check anything out in hopes I finding something new that I'd like.

Also, I don't know if this would help, but here's what I currently own in my collection:

https://vgmdb.net/db/collection.php?...w&userid=23473

As you can see, I have many of the "no duh" soundtrack purchases out of the way, the obvious ones everyone has and knows are good. The idea of looking into the indie stuff was to find some offbeat stuff to kind of break that up. I also have a few games I keep around for the Redbook audio, but obviously they're not in that list since they're not in the database.

Anyway, I don't share that link in an order to boast (I mean that's a small collection compared to some) but maybe if those making suggestions in this thread see what I already have maybe they can suggest something I might like off of something I already have?
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