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  #1  
Old Nov 24, 2013, 09:58 AM
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Jormungand Jormungand is offline
 
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Default Classic JRPG style original music

I am using this demo to promote my "classic RPG style" music, intended for use in indie RPGs. It's basically old-school music, with appropriate-sounding instruments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iLk...ature=youtu.be

It's the first step in my own personal contribution to the revival of the traditional Japanese-style RPG genre.

Comments welcome as always.
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  #2  
Old Nov 24, 2013, 10:21 AM
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I don't like the jrpg term, pretty stupid imo
first rpg were japanese, and it has never been called jrpg at the time

what's a traditional Japanese-style RPG?
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Old Nov 24, 2013, 10:51 AM
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Since when first rpg has been japanese?

Whole genre started on latelate seventies on computers, inspired by D&D and other pen & paper roleplaying games.

Also, to be more on topic, that demo reels feels rpg'ish, so it does what it needs to do, but for some reason the sound quality feels bit off, could be youtube shitting quality as usual. (and I'm again reminded that I need to listen that Megaman XA album of yours.)
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Last edited by razakin; Nov 24, 2013 at 10:54 AM.
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  #4  
Old Nov 24, 2013, 10:57 AM
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since dragon quest, final fantasy, I must continue?
d&d, what a joke
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Old Nov 24, 2013, 11:04 AM
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Yes, D&D a joke that FIRST Final Fantasy copied a shitton.

And first DQ took inspiration from Wizardy and Ultima games. So there.
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Old Nov 24, 2013, 11:06 AM
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wonderful
I wonder how many people give a shit about old rpgs' origins?
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  #7  
Old Nov 24, 2013, 01:47 PM
GoldfishX GoldfishX is offline
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Double post. remove plz

Last edited by GoldfishX; Nov 24, 2013 at 01:52 PM.
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Old Nov 24, 2013, 01:51 PM
GoldfishX GoldfishX is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phonograph View Post
wonderful
I wonder how many people give a shit about old rpgs' origins?
Me, kind of, since I grew up with NES JRPG's (whee, free Dragon Warrior with Nintendo Power subscription renewal. And NES Final Fantasy is still one of my favorites). I much prefer earlier (8 and 16 bit, some 32bit) JRPG's to many of the ones that came later, because of their emphasis on gameplay. The more modern emphasis on graphics, bland storytelling and cookie cutter characters and taking forever to do it has been rather offputting to say the least.

Dragon Quest was inspired by D&D, but they wanted to simplify it for people. That's where a lot of elements of JRPG's came from. I definitely prefer using the term JRPG because I have zero interest in basically any RPG that has came out of the west. Ditto for the soundtracks to said games. Give me the safe and predictable melodies of Uematsu over the bland orchestral droning of most WRPG's anyday (yes, Soule, this means you!)

Last edited by GoldfishX; Nov 24, 2013 at 01:59 PM.
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Old Nov 24, 2013, 02:04 PM
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the only (Jeremy) Soule music I know is for secret of evermore
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Old Nov 24, 2013, 02:25 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldfishX View Post
Give me the safe and predictable melodies of Uematsu over the bland orchestral droning of most WRPG's anyday (yes, Soule, this means you!)
I can't see how "safe and predictable melodies of Uematsu" are any better And there are good WRPGs out there (as well as shitty JRPGs) but all is subjective, I won't convince you to try WRPGs and you won't convince me that JRPGs are the only way to go
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Old Nov 24, 2013, 04:16 PM
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Come on, guys. This is a topic about JRPG music, not JRPGs. The OP should include examples of games so that there is no confusion. Old-school JRPGs being referenced are NES Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games.
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  #12  
Old Nov 24, 2013, 04:44 PM
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Thank you, Razakin, for your comment on my music. I can't really blame sound quality issues entirely on youtube. It's more or less what I wanted my new "old-school" music to sound like.

Everyone else, er... I appreciate your zeal, but perhaps this line of discussion could continue elsewhere?
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  #13  
Old Nov 24, 2013, 05:05 PM
Ramza Ramza is offline
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Totally agreed. Please don't derail. I believe Jormungand was looking for feedback on his work.

"Gentle Town" is something I could imagine hearing in Suikoden or Grandia. Very good 32-bit quality synths and samples, melody continues to flow nicely.

"Upbeat Town" -- did not expect the acoustic guitar to work as well as it did. With the percussion and the flute it's very nice. Somewhere between DQ and Wild Arms!

"World Map" -- *very* Wild Arms! Also reminds me of Albert Odyssey Gaiden. This is nice, and very much in the tradition of JRPGs.

"Battle Theme" -- A little weaker than the other compositions' melodies IMO. Stylistically it reminds me of Kenji Ito's Romancing SaGa trilogy of battle themes, especially with the strong drum presence.

"Mysterious Cave" -- Orchestral bells for the win! And the sleigh bells on 4 ... I think every RPG of the PS1 and PS2 era had a song with 'dem sleigh bells. Beautiful. I think I heard piano at one point in here, and I'm not quite sure it fits... the sliding/modulating bass, on the other hand, is awesome. Sounds almost exactly like that bass from "Clash and a Promise" on the Wild Arms OST.

"Castle/Palace" -- HelllOOOO, Dragon Quest! Very nice, very Classical (or "neo-Baroque"?). Less structured/formal than Sugiyama's work for castle themes. I dig it.

"Sad" -- Guitar + banjo, yes? Again I want to say I hear Wild Arms. But I also hear something more like ... Sakura Wars V or ... Steambot Chronicles? A very innocent, childlike reminiscence theme here. It works, and the key change near the end was rad.

"Opening Theme" -- first few seconds made me think of "Corridors of Time" from Chrono Trigger, but then it vastly changed. Though I think this is still a track that is Mitsuda-esque. Sleigh bells on 4 again.

"Emotional Event" -- Strong, simple melodic composition. Fully your own style, but too short to judge. At that length it's almost a jingle. Like a long jingle.
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  #14  
Old Nov 24, 2013, 11:51 PM
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Very nice! Reminds me a lot of Cthulu Saves the World. Probably from the synths used and the style.
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  #15  
Old Nov 25, 2013, 05:57 PM
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Once again, I definitely enjoy your work. You bring together your influences in a very pleasing way and succeed at making classic-styled music that I feel avoids being generic. I'd like to hear full versions of all these. Perhaps the synth is a notch or two too basic, though some things, like the very Chrono Cross-esque bass, sound just fine as they are. Unfortunately I'm not a game developer, but for what it's worth, if I were one, you're just the kind of composer I'd be looking for.
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Old Nov 28, 2013, 08:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramza View Post
"Sad" -- Guitar + banjo, yes? Again I want to say I hear Wild Arms. But I also hear something more like ... Sakura Wars V or ... Steambot Chronicles? A very innocent, childlike reminiscence theme here. It works, and the key change near the end was rad.
It's actually a mandolin, but let's face it, the distinction isn't terribly clear with this kind of synthesizer.

Thank you for the detailed comments!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghaleon64 View Post
Very nice! Reminds me a lot of Cthulu Saves the World. Probably from the synths used and the style.
Yep, I tried to go quite retro, although I haven't played that game.

Quote:
Originally Posted by _if View Post
Once again, I definitely enjoy your work. You bring together your influences in a very pleasing way and succeed at making classic-styled music that I feel avoids being generic. I'd like to hear full versions of all these. Perhaps the synth is a notch or two too basic, though some things, like the very Chrono Cross-esque bass, sound just fine as they are. Unfortunately I'm not a game developer, but for what it's worth, if I were one, you're just the kind of composer I'd be looking for.
Much appreciated! The idea was to have something "classic" sounding that fits "classic" style games. When I hear high-end instrument samples being used in indie 2D, old school games, something just doesn't quite click with me. So I tried to experiment a bit.
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