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Best releases of 2019
And here it is, on time for Christmas. Well, at least in my timezone. I decided to keep things bit simpler compared to 2018. There is a top 5, the good (in no particular order), the rest and the unknown (things I still plan to listen). In general I had the impression that 2019 was a bit lacking in terms of soundtracks, and in particular VGM.
Here is the 2018 thread for reference. Maybe I can find some time to update that one in the coming days. Still had a lot of unlistened albums when I last posted there. The Top 5: SQEX-20063 | Xenogears 20th Anniversary Concert -The Beginning and the End- The BluRay release that almost didn't happen. I'm glad it did, just for the encore alone. SQEX-10727~9 | Chrono Orchestra Arrangement Box Has one of the the best arrangement of Schala's theme. The only downside is the length and the price. However I can't complain about quality here. SQEX-10714 | Kingdom Hearts Orchestra -World of Tres- Album Gave us a glimpse of what might come with a potential KH3 soundtrack release -- should it ever happen. SQEX-10704~5 | Piano Collections Final Fantasy XIV My surprise album, as I could never get into the music for XIV. Just too much material and no real emotional attachment. The piano collections felt like it boiled down this massive thing onto two discs, while still keeping things coherent. SQEX-20060 | Bra★Bra Final Fantasy VII: Brass de Bravo with Siena Wind Orchestra We could already hear some of the arragements in 2018 on the CD release, but seeing the orchestra playing really adds so much depth. Also Cait Sith's Theme is simply hilarious. The Good: SQEX-10721~2 | Oni no Naku Kuni Original Soundtrack Not on the same level as Another Eden, but still enjoyable. SRCL-9996 | Wild Arms: Million Memories Original Soundtrack I expected to see Naruke a bit more on this album, but not complaining. The other composers also do a good job. Overall length is OK as well. KECH-8081~2 | Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout Original Soundtrack Ryza slims things down by going back to two discs, but improves production quality by use of a lot of live instrumentation. KECH-8078~80 | Atelier Lulua ~The Scion of Arland~ Original Soundtrack Pretty standard Atelier, with a lot of arranges of tracks from other games. I can't complain since Ken Nakagawa returns, who still remains my favorite ex-Gust Sound Team composer. CNVG-0001 | Symphonic Tale: The Rune of Beginning (Music from Suikoden II) I can't help to compare this one with the JAGMO box from 2018. NCRS-0024~5 | Libra of precatus Original Soundtrack Took me a while to get into this. Not a fan of Sakamoto's tracks but Ito and Fujioka make up for it. Some of the tracks feel reminiscent of early Hamauzu. N/A | Anno 1800 Original Game Soundtrack Never left my playlist after I added it in April. Surprised myself since I never really cared for any of the Anno music before. NMP-0002 | Suite Ihatovo Story for Piano Solo Recommendation by Teioh. I guess he sometimes also gives good ones The Rest: KECH-8074~6 | Nelke and the Legendary Alchemists ~Ateliers of the New World~ Original Soundtrack Forgettable. Feels more like a best-of-album. INTIP-008~9 | Dragon Marked For Death Original Soundtrack Tiring. Didn't manage to finish... N/A | LoveR Original Soundtrack Constant deja-vu/hear effect. Iwadare-san, please score some RPG again. Or make some original work album with Reiko Tsuchiya again. SQEX-10700 | Left Alive Original Soundtrack Cannot tie in with the Front Mission series. AFAIK the game also failed to live up to expectations. N/A | A Plague Tale: Innocence Original Soundtrack Heavy. Can imagine for this to work inside the game, but not as stand-alone. N/A | Control Original Game Soundtrack Same feelings as with Quantum Break. Still makes me want to play the game. SQEX-10730 | Square Enix Acoustic Arrangements I guess it's just not my cup of tea. Feeling more at home with these jazz arrangement albums SQEX has been releasing lately. The Unknown: KBCI-0008~13B | Kirby Star Allies: The Original Soundtrack Never cared much for Kirby music, but this one looks huge. Hopefully doesn't turn out like BOTW... SRIN-1162 | Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Original Soundtrack Now here's another one that might move to the top 5 list. 030116NM | Fantasy Worlds / Benyamin Nuss Interesting tracklist. CPCA-10461~5 | Devil May Cry 5 Original Soundtrack Another 5-disc album. I think I might just skim over it, given that I haven't any connection to the series. SQEX-10706~7 | Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Original Soundtrack Vol. 2 I never found Exvius as exciting as some other people, but hey -- there must be a reason why there's a second volume now. COCX-40805~6 | Princess Connect! Reive Original Soundtrack Pretty big case of composers, however I might maybe just listen to the tracks by Yasunori Nishiki. BWL-HAC-ANVYA-JPN | Fire Emblem: Three Houses Sound Selection I keep hearing that Three Houses is apparantly the best Fire Emblem ever released. Fact? SRIN-1161 | Soulcalibur VI Original Soundtrack Another series which I never cared for, and another big (4 discs) release this year. SQEX-20069 | Shadowbringers: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack See my comment about the piano collections. CPCA-10467~9 | Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Original Soundtrack MH is like FF14, too much stuff coming out. However I've heard good things about the game. Might give this one a try. N/A | Code Vein Original Sound Track I have been pretty disappointed with GE3, the album felt rushed and unfinished. Now that Code Vein has also received the enclosure bonus treatment, I'm beginning to see a pattern... SMRC-1041 | Indivisible Original Game Soundtrack Might be just me, but hasn't it been quite a while since we have last seen a full game soundtrack by Kikuta? VICL-65275~7 | Persona Super Live P-Sound Street 2019 ~Q-ban Theater e Youkoso~ To be totally honest, I don't have any idea how that one ended up in my list. SQEX-20071 | Octopath Traveler Break, Boost and Beyond Live! I love the OST for Octopath Traveler (see the 2018 thread), but I couldn't care less for Break and Boost. IMO it doesn't add anything to the music. I hope maybe the live does. VICL-65296~8 | Another Eden Original Soundtrack 3 Complete Edition Recycling of leftover material? What do you think about 2019? Let us know your list of best VGM releases in 2019! |
#2
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Guess I'll have to go with R4 20th Anniversary since it's the only 2019 release I bought. JRPG scores from the past decade or so have sounded boring and same-y to me, save for the NieR games and SMTIV.
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#3
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No need to restrict yourself to stuff you bought. I only own two items from my top 5 at the moment. Might get the other three in the future.
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#4
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Agreed. There was plenty of good VGM this year but so many games haven't received soundtrack releases. Not a good year in my opinion.
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#5
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The thing is nothing from this year was even on my radar. My collecting generally goes through phases rather than by what came out that year. This year was a lot of Mega Drive and shmup soundtracks, last year was a lot of PS1 and Dreamcast.
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#6
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I'm enjoying the Deamon X machina soundtrack, but I haven't gotten around to buying the CD yet
From what I've heard so far it has good variety and production value in most tracks and if you like Metal music from games I'd recommend it. The only other recent release I've bought was the Zuntata Ninja Saviors/Warriors remake album and there's a good enough amount of content with the original ost included. I don't have enough this year to make a top five out of... I'm kind of falling behind with all of the recent Square Enix albums |
#7
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personally I like the music in Left Alive even if mainly cutscene music + spotted-by-enemy music + wanzer battle music
I regret there is no real ost release (I'd have bought it) no way to buy an expensive jap limited edition just for an incomplete ost (note that buying jap or euro game is the same, there is only english dub -> curious when the game story happens in "ukraine" where all words are written in russian) about the game: it is mainly hated, I admit it has flaws but it's playable if you think about ways to progress in the streets (I'm at chapter 13, chapter 14 being last one -> I've seen the ending on youtube and one could say "all that for that", I miss long endings) my main concern about the game is that there is no auto-aim so you can waste a lot of ammo before killing an enemy :/ as for lulua and ryza, music (like the games) has no interest no idea about GE3 and Code Vein (sad to read I could be disappointed :/) Last edited by Phonograph; Dec 27, 2019 at 03:02 AM. |
#8
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VGM artists favorite releases of 2019: https://www.4gamer.net/games/296/G029627/20191211031/
I excluded artists that picked their own release as their favorite (there were quite a few). Yoshino Aoki: Space Channel 5 20th Anniversary "GyunGyun Selection" Takeshi Abo: SNK ARCADE SOUND DIGITAL COLLECTION Vol.9 Mariam Abounnasr: SQUARE ENIX ACOUSTIC ARRANGEMENTS Ikeda Minorock: SNK ARCADE SOUND DIGITAL COLLECTION Vol.9 Keisuke Ito: DAOKO × Dragalia Lost Takahiro Eguchi: Noita Official Soundtrack vol.1 Tomoya Ohtani: Space Channel 5 20th Anniversary "GyunGyun Selection" Shinji Orito: Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout Original Soundtrack Hiroyuki Kawada: Prepared Wave / Motohiro Kawashima Hiroki Kikuta: SQUARE ENIX ACOUSTIC ARRANGEMENTS Yoshimi Kudo: Gris Original Game Soundtrack Hirokazu Koshio: DOLLS' FRONTLINE O.S.T Yuko Komiyama: Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu VOCAL TRACKS -Pawapuro 25th Anniversary Edition- Go Sato: PSIKYO ARCADE SOUND DIGITAL COLLECTION Vol.4 So Sato: DEEMO Piano Collection Denji Sano: R4 -THE 20TH ANNIV. SOUNDS- Tetsuya Shibata: Dragon Quest Ukulele Collection Yu Shimoda: SAMURAI SPIRITS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK Ryo Shirasawa: SNK ARCADE SOUND DIGITAL COLLECTION Vol.5 Yuki Sugiura: FINAL FANTASY VII ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK REVIVAL DISC Seiji Momoi: Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu VOCAL TRACKS -Pawapuro 25th Anniversary Edition- Masaru Setsumaru: SNK ARCADE SOUND DIGITAL COLLECTION Vol.4 Masafumi Takada: Gears 5 Original Soundtrack Fumihisa Tanaka: DEATH STRANDING: Timefall Kumi Tanioka: FINAL FANTASY XIV Orchestral Arrangement Album Vol. 2 Shunsuke Tsuchiya: Dragon Quest Ukulele Collection Shohei Tsuchiya: APE OUT Norio Nakagata: NJBP Concert Archives 1 ~ANCIENT FESTIVAL~ + ALICE GEAR AEGIS ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK Vol.2 Koichi Namiki: THE WORKS III / JUN SENOUE Tsutomu Narita: Oni no Naku Kuni Original Soundtrack Yasunori Nishiki: GRANBLUE FANTASY ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACKS Chaos hally: Lovely Planet 2: April Skies Original Soundtrack Chikayo Fukuda: ONE PIECE WORLD SEEKER ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK Hiroyuki Fujita: Touken Ranbu Ensoukai Encore Kouen ~2018 Tokyo EDITION~ + MONSTER HUNTER WORLD: ICEBORNE ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK Ryo Furukawa: SQUARE ENIX ACOUSTIC ARRANGEMENTS Soshi Hosoi: NJBP Concert Archives 1 ~ANCIENT FESTIVAL~ Shinji Hosoe: My Friend Pedro OST Daisuke Matsumoto: ALICE GEAR AEGIS ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK Vol.2 Noriko Murakami: Alchemy of Sounds ~Atelier Arranged Tracks~ Raito: NJBP Concert Archives 1 ~ANCIENT FESTIVAL~ Rikako Watanabe: Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout Original Soundtrack |
#9
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Ace Combat 7
Ibuki 192 Princess Connect Re:Dive Oni no Naku Kuni Soul Calibur 6 Children of the Sea |
#10
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The Top 5:
1. Fuukan no Grasesta SOUND COLLECTION In 2017 I named Amayui Castle Meister one of my favorites and Fuukan no Grasesta fortunately is of similar quality. An epic 2 disc RPG soundtrack with some particularly great battle and map themes. 2. TAMAYURA MIRAI ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK A pleasant surprise to see Takepon Maki back in business. This should've been released 15 years ago and feels strangely nostalgic. Reminds me of early Atelier or the Studio e.go! RPGs from the 00s. 3. AoNatsuLine Vocal Collection & Original Soundtrack "Our Songs" This was consistently calm and relaxing BGM and stands out among the stock music from other VNs this year. 4. SUITE IHATOVO STORY FOR PIANO SOLO I hoped for a concert recording, but a newly recorded release of the piano collection is good enough for making it my top arrange album of this year. 5. Libra of precatus Original Soundtrack Another quality noisycroak release, not as memorable as Bungo to Alchemist, but still an amazing effort. Glad I had my copy signed by all three composers. The Good: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Sound Selection A pretty good soundtrack that leaves me hopeful for more. I suspect there will be a complete soundtrack coming out, but if it's as large as the former soundtracks, it will be difficult to fully appreciate the music. FIRE EMBLEM PREMIUM ARRANGE I really didn't like this on my first listen, but after giving it a second chance, it's my second favorite arrange album this year. Symphonic Tale: The Rune of Beginning A solid arrange album and a commendable Kickstarter production. I would love to see more of this in 2020. Looking forward to Project "G".. The Rest: Just some of the disappointments for me without any further comment:
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#11
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My top 5, not in order are:
BLIND SPOT III BLSP-0003 Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Original Soundtrack N/A DARIUS THE OMNIBUS II -Gunzou- ZTTL-3005 OCTOPATH TRAVELER Arrangements -Break & Boost- SQEX-10703 Sekaiju no MeiQ CROSS Original Soundtrack UMA-1119~20 I have yet to listen to (or play) Daemon X Machina. But that is a priority.
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