What composers make you fail to understand how they can receive such high praise?  For me it's always been Hitoshi Sakimoto.  People always like his scores are so incredible, but everytime I listen to one I'm bored to tears.  I can't find anything special or redeeming about his compositions, and they all feel completely generic to me.  He seriously has to be the most overrated composer in the history of vgm.

Hahaha, this thread could get pretty hot pretty quickly.

I'm going to vote for (uh, against?) Iwadare, Tanioka and Falcom ST JDK.

EDIT: Just saw Chris's post. Put Yamane way up there on my list

Iwadare. Shimomura. Sakuraba (although I think his overrated days are probably over).

Michiru Yamane, Noriyuki Iwadare, Motoaki Furukawa (post-1991), and Kazumi Totaka for me. All capable of moments of brilliance, but I find most of their work composed on autopilot.

Hitoshi Sakimoto. theres some good stuff like Final Fantasy Tactics with Iwata, then Breath of Fire V. The rest is pretty bland.

Iwadare can only be called "over-rated" when considering his full career. If you narrow in on Lunar 1+2 and Grandia 1+2, and perhaps the Langrisser work he did, he's definitely something special. Sadly, his quality of composition has gone downhill in recent years. The same can be said of many composers, ESPECIALLY Mitsuda.

But looking for someone who is just downright over-rated ... yeah, I want to say Sakuraba. But then, a lot of critics are beginning to turn on him, so that may be unfair.

As for Sakimoto? I still think he's awesome, so ... no, not over-rated.

I can't think of any composers I'd TRULY consider "over-rated." Not a one.

Personally I think Sakimoto tends to be underrated by a lot of people, but that's just me.  As far as overrated goes, I'll go with.. drum roll please.. Falcom Sound Team jdk.  Yeah that's right, I said it, who wants to fight?  Some of their stuff is alright but the way people praise them like they're gods always makes me scratch my head.  #2 would definitely go to Motoi Sakuraba.  Again, some of his stuff is decent but most of it bores the pants off me.  The only things I ever liked of his were the first Valkyrie Profile and I thought he was pretty impressive in his live concert.  Other than that, snooze fest.

YOUR MOM IS OVERRATED AND CLOUD COULD KICK SQUALL'S AZZ ANY DAY!!!!!!111

-Mike

I'll draft: Sakimoto, Yamane, Mitsuda, Yamaoka

If anyone actually cares for elaboration, please say so, otherwise I'll leave it at that. But those are four I've listened to extensively and don't really see/hear the big deal. Although it must be said I have a lot more respect for the last two than I do the first two.

Tempted to say Shimomura, Hamauzu and Nakano, as all have just grown off me completely over the years.

I'll second Iwadare as well...Much of his Grandia 1 and 2 stuff was excellent, but as far as a career goes...I have doubts with everything else of his I hear. And Sakuraba got by on the strength of a couple scores for way too long before I stopped seeing what the big deal was.

*waits for someone to say Uematsu*

Edit: Okay, since two people mentioned JDK, I need to muster some sort of defense. I think for what they set out to do, they accomplish it very well. Their music (original or arranged) always seems to embrace more of an old-school feel and isn't shy that it's out to provide more of an anthemic backdrop to the action, that is ripe for being arranged. I think there's a bit of honesty in there in trying to make deliberately fun compositions, whereas a lot of groups try to make their music sound more important than it really is. I find it pretty refreshing, especially compared to the empty orchestral pomp and atmospheric crap of so many games today. I find soundtracks like Sorcerian and Ys tend to be pretty accurate and quality examples of what people think of about VGM in the late 80's/early 90's (and yes, I mean that in a good way)...They're right up there with Rockman for me. And arranged better to boot.

The problem with saying "JDK" is you're talking about an entire sound team that has various members (including Yonemitsu, who may or may not have been a member) and different eras. Now the CURRENT JDK, I'm becoming far less fond of and I don't really think they have the charm that the older one did (which was deeply rooted in 80's synthpop/hard rock).

No kidding! Let's try to keep it civil, shall we?

Like Ramza, I have a hard time calling any composer overrated, since they're all different and usually compose in vastly different styles (and different people enjoy different styles of music).

That said, my picks are Shinji Hosoe, Kouichi Sugiyama, Kenji Ito, and Hitoshi Sakimoto (<---although he's a borderline case - some of his stuff is downright brilliant at times, but most of it just puts me to sleep quickly).

I have your back on that one, man. I'll never forget hearing about how "great" the Ys IV Perfect Collections were and then once I heard them I was like... wait. THIS is what everyone has been fapping off about? Granted, some of the stuff from Ys I and II (Duo redbook) were cool, but that's just because it  sounded like a cheap, synthy Iron Maiden ripoff. All set with that.

Speaking of my mom, she said something about you leaving a sock under the bed? Whatever that means.

I'll go ahead and say it.  Sure he came up with "Aerith's Theme" and "Phantasmagoria", but going back through and listening to his CD's, some of them really are chores to get through.  He hasn't captured the same spirit since FFVI and his latest stuff really bores me to tears.  '

Also, let me add Chris Huelsbeck.  Meh.

Extra edit:  Sorry Zane, but Masafumi Takada.  I listened to Killer7 and double meh. 

Again, this topic could just as easily been entitled "OMG!!  Whose ur fav. composer?!?11/?"  or more appropriately "(insert person's name here) SUX!!1!"

.

Fap, fap, fap...Still fapping after all these years. Only minor issue I've had with them is the recording quality tends to cover up sound layers at times, but that's fixable.

And the Duo redbook didn't have "Protectors" on it (which WAS an Iron Maiden ripoff...listen to "Flash of the Blade" on Powerslave). I think Yuzo meant that as a joke...

As for Uematsu...I don't think HE is overrated, but past FFVI, I think he ventures into overrated territory just a wee bit. Nothing unusual though (sort of like how a band maintains popularity long after their best releases *cough* Metallica), but I'm hard pressed to say anything has touched his 1994 masterpiece and general SNES-era output. I do find it ironic how little attention Blue Dragon/Lost Odyssey have gotten though, probably since they aren't FF-related.

Maaan, how could I forget Tommy Tallarico...? Put him at the top of my list!

And add Jeremy Soule while we're at it.

Oh, shit! I didn't even think about American composers. Add Soule, Jack Wall, Jesper Kyd and pretty much anyone else that has scored any type of X360 action game in the past two years.

Yes, but remember, his haters probably greatly outnumber his fans. And I think even his fans understand WHY he is hated by a lot of people. Although he's gotten a lot more mainstream exposure and won some awards, I still think among hardcore VGM fans, he's not terribly popular.

That said, I wholeheartedly endorse your selection and I think it hurts western VGM a great deal that he gets to be such a poster child for it.

(wow, I thought being a fan of ambient stuff, you'd like Soule)

Really? Hmm, I didn't even know he had many haters, I've mostly heard positive stuff about him.

Just because you like a genre of music doesn't mean you like every artist working therein. Soule's stuff just never caught me, none of it.

Copy and paste this for me. Give me the Final Fantasy Tactics soundtrack and I'm done.

Others: Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano (though somewhat less then Sakimoto)

Yes, I realize those are all (or were) SE composers...

As for Sakuraba I've only heard his SO output so I can't really say I've ODed om him.

I also think Noriyasu Agematsu from the WA series is given too much credit... I'll admit (he/she) has managed to take the reigns of the series but I still perfer to sit it out when it comes to the soundtracks. The battle tracks on Wild Arms XF were different enough to catch my ear, but Agematsu's additions were the weakest in my opinion. This isn't a "Naruke wasn't there" cry either... I didn't care for her style after the series went to the PS2 with WA3.

Sakimoto and Hamauzu for me.  Sakimoto is very good at what he does, but I don't find most of his stuff very memorable (though I will grant that his stuff might be better when accompanied by the actual games - I like the FFXII score a lot because I remember it from playing the game).  Hamauzu has a few really good tracks that I like a lot, but overall I'm not a big fan of his work.  I remember when hearing the FFX soundtrack for the first time a buddy and I were trying to figure out which tracks Uematsu did and which he didn't - "[Hamauzu's] random hammering" became our name for a lot of his entries.  :\

Also I'll say again that almost everyone on Nintendo's current sound staff is overrated... by Nintendo themselves.  Get Kondo back writing music and move Yokota onto as many projects as possible, because I'm really disappointed by so, so much of what comes out of the rest of them.

As Conn said, it comes down to personal preference. I'm not sure I would call any video game composer overrated (it's such a specialized area, and let's face it there isn't a plethora of video game composer out there). On the other hand video game series (Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy, Final Fantas...) yes, some of those are definitely overrated. I tend to find myself enjoying various albums, and I don't particularly pay special homage to any one composer.

On a side note, I didn't really know Soule had "haters". Obviously there are people who don't care for his style, but that's true for every composer that has ever lived. So, I want detail... where does this notion of "haters" come from? Give me references! Personally, I think Soule is underrated.

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (never released, damn that one needed a soundtrack!)
Dungeon Siege
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
ES IV: Oblivion
Icewind Dale
Neverwinter Nights
Secret of Evermore
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

those are all awesome works! Unfortunately many US games never see an official release. More and more are seeing official releases, which is a good thing, hope the trend continues (so support Western video game composers you bums

cheers,

-avatar!

Same here, but this is because there really isn't one composer whose entire body of work I can say I enjoy completely - I think Nobuo comes the closest for obvious reasons but that's nostalgia talking. If asked a few years ago who my favorite composer was I'd have said Naruke but I wouldn't say that now; I'd be more likely to rattle off multiple names, albums, eras or a combination of such info instead (Like Naruke PS1, Nobuo SNES)

Sakuraba: His progressive style of game music is completely underwhelming and I pretty much refuse to give any of his new stuff a spin based on his previous works
Tanioka: FFXI music is pretty bland, even though I bought the box set. I'm a sucker for box sets.
Suikoden composers: How many times can you rearrange something in an already limited Celtic instrument set.  Seriously.
Kajiura: Mostly aimed at her anime stuff, but Xenosaga II follows in the same vein.  It's all rather bleh.
Tallarico: Probably THE most overrated american composer, and he eats up press and praise 100 times more than he deserves.
(Amiga, C64, Atari, or anything pre NES-chip composers): I know better than to say how can you call this music, but honestly, composing things for those sound chips is not any sort of musical feat, it's more a technological achievement.

I think there are only two composers whose entire officially published work I enjoy completely. One is Masafumi Takada (Silver Case, Michigan, killer7, Samurai Champloo, God Hand, No More Heroes, RE Umbrella Chronicles) and the other is SSH (Both Atelier arranges, Lostchild A/B/X/Z, 69-2). I can't even say that I like all of Miyake's stuff; his track on FM Sound Maniax is way too long and obnoxious, just like the RR7 track he did.

Always depends on "overrated by who?"  Uematsu is greatly overrated by (Japanese/RPG-oriented) game fans in general.  Among the tiny group of game music snobs, he's maybe slightly underrated.

"Memorability" itself in game music is WILDLY overrated.  When critiquing music game reviewers don't seem to have any other words in their vocabulary.  There's more to a piece of music than how catchy it is.

You didn't read the part I wrote immediately after that, did you... 

Funny...I started rediscovering how much I liked game music when I started focusing on the most memorable and catchy stuff and sent everything else packing...Whatever works, I guess.

True, but is it worth having an album around just because of performance, instrumentation and composition is good if there is a lack of personal attachment on the part of the listener? There are good albums you don't buy and there are good albums you do buy because there is "staying power" present in some form - some just happen to seem more superficial than others.

A personal example would be Wild Arms 3: it's good album and I respect that yet beyond that acknolwdgement there is almost nothing beyond that to me despite the fact I played through the game. Keeping a soundtrack like that just because it's "good" in the litteral sense makes little sense on the deeper level.

I personally feel that Jeremy Soule has been putting out some of his best work these last couple years.  After Morrowind came Oblivion and Eye of the North.  All wonderful albums, Eye of the North being one of my favorites of 2007.

Despite the Suikoden arrangement albums being somewhat disappointing (the Celtic albums in particular), I think the core series has some excellent music.  Some of my favorites, actually.

I also don't think I'll ever get sick of Sugiyama.

I am with others when I say I don't really get the whole JDK thing.  I keep trying to relisten because it's all so 'legendary, etc.' but nothing really catches my ear.

For the most part as it seems like most people are kind of pointing out composers that don't live up to godly expectations, but as far as Sakimoto with me, it's kind of like with all the great composers that actually have talent and go unnoticed, how does this guy get so much credit when he's as generic as they come.  It's probably just because he worked on some Square games. 

Anyways, Iwadare is another good call, outside of Lunar EB, his work is completely forgettable.  I can't, however, understand how some one can't respect Soundteam JDK, these guys invented vgm and seldom lost a beat well over 2 decades.  Best vgm composition team in history, hands down.

Wait, there are people that actually rate her highly???

Uematsu hasn't been very good in a very long time, but there has been some brilliant moments in the FF scores, especially the 1st one, so it's hard to hate.  Especially since he's a pioneer.  Same goes with Sakuraba, I can see people finding his stuff bland since he's done so much for so long, but I still love his work for the most part and it still has a distinct personality.

Sorry, what I wrote wasn't really directed at you (maybe I shouldn't have quoted your post) you just set me off a bit.  Basing your personal preferences on personal attachment is obviously fine, what infuriates me is when game reviewers (who are supposed to give a real assessment of the game and not just a purely subjective account of how it made them feel) resort to the memorable/unmemorable cliche over and over because they can't be bothered to spend any time thinking about the music or even thinking of a different adjective to apply.

This prompted me to think: *waits for someone to say Koshiro*. Yuzo Koshiro is a guy that sure seems loved by most VGM fans, or at least not seen as very overrated. I'm certainly not gonna be to one to say it (I love the guy!), but I'm curious... Is there any one here that would call him overrated?

Also, Nemo: JDK did not invent VGM, and, yes, there are people who like Yamane quite a bit. I think her output is very uneven and that she should be removed from the Castlevania series promptly (too many screw-ups), but I'll gladly admit that some of her stuff (like CV: Bloodlines and Symphony of the Night) is great.

I've noticed a real trend with Yamane's CV scores... while quite fond of the scores that are on consoles like the PS1&2 (SotN, CoD and LoI) her scores for handheld games really leave me asking a lot more, almost like her ideas don't translate as well for some reason - I'm not referring to the sound quality/cabilities of the given system either.

I think he is by far the most unique vgm composer, and it's not even the "orchestral" sound that makes it so, it's the composition itself.
He can do a track entirely on electronics/guitar/banjo/whatever and his original compositional ideas are still in your face.

And no... I first played Vagrant Story as a completely noobie 11 year old when it came out and the awesome music stood out and had a lasting impression to me even then, despite not knowing who the hell composed it.
When Sakimoto was announced as the FFXII composer and I researched who it was, I knew it was great news.

OT: Sakuraba.... I own Star Ocean 3 and much like the game itself the music does absolutely nothing for me.
SO2 is probably better though.

I think Koshiro's Maximum Tune scores are overrated and I was never the hugest Streets of Rage fan (but it's still good!), but everything else from him is gold and worthy of mention. I personally like his philosophy as it relates to older sound systems (that they're their "own" instrument as opposed to trying to sound like live instruments). I think it's refreshing, when you have a host of composers that I feel like to hide behind live sounds. It seems to have carried over somewhat, as it seems chip music is gaining respect in some circles.

I can honestly say even Yamane's acclaimed scores, I've never seen much in. SOTN never came close to touching CV3, but it worked for what it was...I didn't start to dislike her until the nuclear disaster that was Suikoden III and the follow-up nuke that was Lament of Innocence. Curse of Darkness made sort of an impression, but more in the sense of "good...for Yamane". Which didn't mean much in the big picture, ultimately. Unfortunately, she's Iga's go-to lady, so I doubt she'll be leaving the series anytime soon.

Very similar to Sakimoto...I think I stuck with him way longer than I should have because I was finding tracks that were simply "good...for Sakimoto".

Yeah, I actually see this thread as an absolute dump, and based on what have already been posted, it's really hard to see what's the difference between this and a mindless bashing thread because many people seem to say whoever they just don't like, regardless of him/her being overrated.

I personally prefer such threads should be kept in Gamingforce forum or elsewhere.