A Corner of Memories

Welcome to week 3 of my all-time favorites collection for February! 

Caesar's Soundtrack of the Week

This week's entry: 

Persona 4 Golden

"I am thou... Thou art I...

Thou hast opened thine eyes... The time... is now!"

    Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is a JRPG made in July 2008, later rereleased as Persona 4 Golden (P4G) in 2012. In this game, you take the role of a high-school student who has moved from the city to the small town of Inaba to live with your uncle for a year. During your stay, you do things a regular high-school student does, hang out with friends, take on part-time jobs, solve a murder... wait what?

    A hilariously great way to describe this game is Scooby-Doo with murder and fighting shadow monsters. Jokes aside, the plot's theme is the pursuit of the truth, seeing through the half-truths and lies to see what you believe. Another tremendous meaning gleaned from the game is "accepting yourself for who you are." I played this game during a very rough time in my life and learned quite a bit from it, which helped greatly to get me out of a bad time in my life. Due to this, Persona 4 Golden has and likely always will stand out as one of, if not, my all-time favorite games.

    Persona 4's soundtrack is one that I would call an absolute masterpiece. The score was primarily composed by Shoji Meguro, who after being given a rough outline of the story, created a score to match the emotions felt by both the player and the characters. This can be seen even in the first few tracks of the soundtrack. There are 2 songs that play as you start up the game. The first of which is the opening to the game (which changes depending on your version of the game), Pursuing My True Self or Shadow World. These songs both welcome you to the game with a bright and happy feel to each of them and even introduce you to the plot of the game. The lyrics to these songs deliver the themes of the game while keeping an upbeat theme. Following the opening music, we get to the title screen where the song Corner of Memories plays. The best way to describe these songs... is the beginning of a long and meaningful journey. These songs, Corner of Memories especially, almost make you feel nostalgia for something you've never experienced.

    Meguro's music has a distinct style to it, typically inspired mostly by Jazz and Hip-Hop while spanning a wide range of genres. From upbeat battle themes like Reach Out to the Truth, to sweet themes like SMILE, and even emotional songs such as Girl of the Empty Forest.

    This game has one of the most compelling stories of any game I've ever played. The relationships you build with the characters of the game each have many lessons to be learned. As you help these characters to grow, you may notice a bit of growth in yourself as a person. It certainly helped me grow and get through a dark time in my life. This game is my top recommendation for a video game to play so I hope you give it a try sometime!

    Persona 4 Golden is now available on Steam, Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo Switch!

Until next time!
- Caesar Salad

So Yes, It Began with a Dream...

Welcome to week 2 of my all-time favorites collection for February! 

Caesar's Soundtrack of the Week

This week's entry: 

Alan Wake

Stephen King once wrote that "Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there's little fun to be had in explanations; they're antithetical to the poetry of fear."
In a horror story, the victim keeps asking "Why?" But there can be no explanation, and there shouldn't be one. The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest, and it's what we'll remember in the end.

Alan Wake is a psychological action thriller made on May 18th of 2010. (February 16th of 2012 for PC, which was also my 12th B-day!)

In Alan Wake, you play the titular character, an author of thriller novels who is searching for his wife who has gone missing during their vacation to the fictional town of Bright Falls. Amid his search, Alan comes across scattered pages of his latest novel, which he has not written and has no recollection of writing. Much to Alan's horror, this thriller of his begins to come to life. 

The story takes great inspiration from multiple works of literature, movies, TV shows, and more. Stephen King was a large inspiration in the development of the game, even being quoted during the game's title sequence. Alan Wake also pays homage to other horror works including The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. The game is played in an episodic format, taking place over the course of 6 episodes + 2 DLC episodes. 

Alan Wake's soundtrack is composed of 2 main sections; the score composed by Finnish composer, Petri Alanko, and the 3 songs made by the Finnish rock band, Poets of the Fall. (POTF)
The score of Alan Wake does a brilliant job of matching the story's theme of dreams and nightmares. From start to finish, the score of the game can start in a grandiose fashion of calming pianos and strings, and change into creepy and haunting melodies as you wonder what strange nightmare lies in the darkness. An interesting thing to note is that of the piano in the score, as it is a much "warmer" instrument than the orchestra which it accompanies, it acts almost as a light in the dark within the game's more haunting soundtrack. 

The Poets of the Fall's 3 songs within the game are War, The Poet and the Muse, and Children of the Elder God. Of these 3 songs, War is the only one not written just for the game. War was included in the game as the lyrics of the work link strongly to the storyline. The other two songs are actually written under the name "Children of the Elder God" and are "diegetic music" (this is a term for music. Diegetic music is music that is a part of the fictional setting. AKA the characters within the setting hear this music. This is also referred to as source music.) written by characters in the world. My personal favorite among these three is The Poet and the Muse. This song among the 3 songs is much more somber and haunting almost, which greatly goes along with the game's story and has deep ties to the game's protagonist. 

This game is one that I count among my favorites due to its characters, music, art, and story. Alan Wake carries many great memories for me due to story moments I greatly connected with as I played. Alan Wake was remastered for PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo consoles just two years ago. The game, Control, also takes place in the same world as Alan Wake. I highly recommend getting your hands on this game and trying it out if you get a chance. Especially as the sequel to the game, Alan Wake II, will be coming out later this year!

Until next time!
- Caesar Salad

P.S.
There are also quite a few licensed songs played in the game from various bands including "Space Oddity" by David Bowie, Young Men Dead by The Black Angels, and How Can I Be Sure by Anomie Belle. Though among all of the licensed songs, this one plays the most and is my favorite...

So this is it... Your World...

Preface to introduce this month! This is February which is my birth month! Because of this, February will be the 4 weeks of my all-time video games and their soundtracks! So here we go!

Caesar's Soundtrack of the Week

This week's entry: 

Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch

(I'm compiling a playlist of all the soundtrack + the unreleased songs missing from the album. I'll edit the post to be that playlist after I finish it.)

Ni No Kuni is a JRPG made by Level-5 and Studio Ghibli. Yes, that Studio Ghibli. This game was released in Japan in November 2011 and in Western regions in January in 2013. The game Ni No Kuni was originally launched in Japan on the Nintendo DS, but this version added double the amount of story as well as more music and a postgame. While Studio Ghibli only joined the project after the basic story had been written and shown to them, they added elements to the game as well as greatly assisted in the art design of the game. 

The music of Ni No Kuni is without a doubt one of the greatest game soundtracks ever created. The two amazing composers of this game are Joe Hisaishi, the composer for all but one of Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli films, and Rei Kondoh, the composer for the Bayonetta series, the 3DS Fire Emblem titles, and Okami to name a few of his works. These two composers joined forces to create one of the best soundtracks I've ever had the pleasure of gracing my ears with. It's an amazing experience just listening to the soundtrack, even without the connection of the story (a standard for any soundtrack that Hisaishi has had his hands on). 

The story is a coming-of-age story as you follow Oliver, a 13-year-old boy living in Motorville in the United States in the 50s/60s. Tragic events happen, which end up with his tears bringing his doll, Mr. Drippy (who has a Welsh accent and I love), to life and telling him of a way to save one he loves by traveling to another world which he is fated to save. This game stands out among my all-time favs as easily having one of the most fun and memorable stories in a game as well as having an extremely compelling story. It's probably the most magical a world has felt to me in a video game, especially as the game sets you up for this starting you in a small 1950s town and then taking you to an entirely new world. It's pretty much at the top of my recommended games list for everyone! This game is available on Steam, PlayStation 3, 4, & 5, Xbox One and Series X/S, and the Nintendo Switch!

This is week 1/4 for the Favs of February so look forward to it! :D

Until Next Time!

- Caesar Salad

Enter the Survival Horror

Caesar's Soundtrack of the Week

This week's:

Resident Evil - Code: Veronica

Fight your fears and survive...

This Friday will be the 23rd anniversary of Resident Evil - Code: Veronica. (and I'll be just as old as it 2 weeks after) 

Code: Veronica is a side game in the resident evil series, but is held in high regard amongst the games. It was the first Resident Evil game to use a real-time 3D environment instead of the series standard up to that point, pre-rendered backgrounds. 

Code: Veronica's soundtrack carries a different feel compared to past resident evil games. The theming of this game instead of American Horror was actually more European Gothic Horror in both its design and setting. This created a different kind of soundtrack as opposed to previous games, with this game's soundtrack being operatic in its design. The main theme of this game is strong throughout the entire soundtrack. This theme is titled "Berceuse" otherwise known as "Alexia's Lullaby". This haunting lullaby is sung/played by the twin villains of the game Alexia and Alfred Ashford. These two creepy twins are the primary villains of the game, especially Alexia who acts as the primary antagonist. 

The greatest pieces within the soundtrack are that of Alexia's battle themes. These operatic pieces are amazing and terrifying songs that portray the fearsome trial you face when battling Alexia in the game. To this day, Alexia's Final Boss Theme stands out among those of the Resident Evil games as well as boss themes in gaming. 

Other songs I would highlight from the soundtrack are "The Suspended Doll", "A Moment of Relief", "The Theme of Nosferatu", and "Lachrymal". 

I actually have yet to beat this resident evil game (the only one I haven't finished) due to it being difficult to find and the only of the original set of resident evil games to not have been re-released or remade (yet). The game was present in parts for the On-Rails game, Resident Evil Darkside Chronicles, which gave us remade songs of much of the game's soundtrack. 

There is talk of this being the next big Capcom project after Resident Evil 4 Remake (Coming out March 24th, 2023 ;) If you are able to get your hands on this game, I highly recommend it! It's one of the best horror games out there!

Until Next Time!
- Caesar Salad

Stay a While and Listen...

Caesar's Soundtrack of the Week

This week's entry:

Magicka

Stay a while and listen, and I will tell you a story. A story of Dungeons and Dragons, of Orcs and Goblins, of Ghouls and Ghosts, of Kings and Quests, but most importantly -- of Wizards and Vamp- Well... A story of Wizards.

This was the intro to the satirical action-adventure game Magicka. The game is a multiplayer adventure game set within a rich fantasy world based on Norse Mythology (loosely based). The game is quite goofy and constantly is making fun of other media and also itself! 

The game was actually a student project made by 8 students at a college in Sweden! With the encouragement of their teachers and colleagues, they ended up turning it into a full game and after 2 years of development, put it on steam on January 25th, 2011. It sold over 200,000 copies in its first 17 days of sales. 

Within this game, for both being a student project and so goofy a genre, is an quite amazing orchestral soundtrack! Its music fits the theme of a fantasy game, and any battle theme screams epic fight! Their genre of music even will change depending on the scenario, as the game progresses as well as during its DLC story levels. It ranges from Fantasy/Bardic style music to modern, to Epic orchestral battle themes, to parodying Fortunate Son by Credence Clearwater Revival during the DLC: Magicka Vietnam.

This is one of my favorite multiplayer games. I've had so many laughs both between the story, playing with friends, and even accidentally using the spell Crash to Desktop (yes that's a real thing in the game). I highly recommend giving the soundtrack a listen and especially recommend trying the game out! 

Until next time!
- Caesar Salad

I am error...

"James's Soundtrack of the Week"

This week's entry:

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (Famicom Version)

Two days ago was the 36th Anniversary of this game so I thought I would bring it into the spotlight for a bit! 

Zelda II is one of the first entries in the Zelda series and honestly, game design-wise, was decades ahead of its time. The concepts used in the creation of this game are actually shockingly similar to that of the game Dark Souls! But game design later, music now! 

Zelda II's soundtrack has quite a range to it! Certain pieces almost feel like they are being played by a band of minstrels. Other songs show the darker nature of the game's tone. The version I linked is actually the Famicom version of the soundtrack which actually is different from that of the NES, with the Famicom being able to have more layers of sounds due to hardware differences.

One major difference is that of the Battle Themes which are entirely different songs altogether
(If you'd like to listen to the NES version which is a lot more upbeat: NES Version) 

Some of my personal favs from the soundtrack are Overworld, the Palace themes, and especially the Great Palace themes!

Until Next Time!
- Caesar Salad

One more thing! I want to shout out a composer named The Second Narrator on YouTube! He's currently going thru and creating orchestral arrangements of Zelda II's soundtrack! He's already finished the Title Theme, Overworld, and just last week posted the Battle Theme! I am linking the playlist of his arrangements below!

Zelda II: The Adventure of Link Orchestral Arrangement

Journeys Live, but Stories Live On!

Welcome to Caesar's Soundtrack of the Week!

This week's entry:

Moon Hunters

Moon Hunters OST

Moon Hunters is a video game taking place in the land of Issaria, based upon that of Mesopotamian Culture. The music of this game is a melancholy bardic soundtrack, as each piece is another ballad telling the tales which you create as you play. 

The soundtrack was creatively made to give the feel of hearing songs in a foreign language, and so they created pieces with the vocals played backward, while the instruments are played forward. It creates a mystical feel to each song. 

The game is a co-op adventure indie game, that I highly recommend! Try it out with friends and write your own ballad!

Until next time!
- Caesar Salad

P.S.
A small note! If you are interested in hearing what the vocal pieces in the soundtrack are like without the vocals being backward, Halina Heron, the vocalist has released the songs in an album of hers with the lyrics played regularly. I'll post it below as well!

Halina Heron's "Villages"