In the "Best of 2006" topic Princess-Isabela lamented on the lack of Gears of War’s representation on members’ lists. I, personally, was not surprised that many of us who consider ourselves within the VGM subculture tended to overlook Gears of War. Why? Mostly because I think that as VGM enthusiasts we tend to place a game’s aural aspect on par if not higher than elements such as graphics and (very possibly) gameplay. In passing, I haven’t noticed any discussion in these forums or others on Gears’ music. Seeing a correlation, I then posed the following statement:

“I find it just fascinating that in a forum devoted to a sub-culture like VGM its members favor games made by the Japanese that by and large fuel the hobby. Does our taste in music therefore affect our taste in games?”

So now the question is thrown out for discussion: do we, for example, choose our games based on a favorite composer, etc? Is it the other way around?

I’d also like to take this opportunity to see how everyone defines what “video game music” is. Is it merely a complement to video games themselves or is it a genre and style all its own? If so, what is that style?

And if you really feel brave, I’d also like to see how we define ourselves within the VGM subculture. How and why did you become a VGM enthusiast? What percentage of your music is VGM?

And of course, feel free to add anything else!

Wow.  Never really thought about all of that.

In passing, I'd just say that I see VGM as it's own genre.  You can't really take the opera scene from FFVI and classify it as opera music.  It's not chip music either, so I don't see how you'd classify it any other way.

I think a lot of us prefer Japanese VGM because it seems the focus of US VGM is to emulate film music, which I think serves a very different purpose than what game music is meant to do.  Game music is supposed to be immersive and emotional, just like film music, but game music is supposed to be interesting, too, as you tend to listen to some music for long durations of time during gameplay.

Come to think of it, I tend not to like games if I didn't like the music.  I'm not sure if the reason for me not liking a giving game is based on the music, but there are very few examples I can think of where I liked the music and hated the game, or vice versa.  I guess that means that music, while very important to all of us here, does not make or break a game, especially if all the other elements are there to make the game worth playing.

I think about 50% or so of my music is VGM.

And oh, I didn't care about Gears of War because I'm a Nintendo fanboy, hate Xbox, and think Cliffy B is an arrogant douche.  <- guess that doesn't explain why I actually LIKE Tommy Tallarico, however. 

1st paragraph: No, but it doesn't hurt either way. I love the music of Wild Arms 3, but can care less about the actual game. There are some instances where the composer works well with the producers of the game and both happen to deliver in areas that work, as is the case with Guilty Gear and Dynasty Warriors. Not too much of a correlation.

2nd: Original music that accompanies the game. I think an argument can be made for chiptunes and certain styles that permeate VGM and few other places (Uematsu's pop-orchestral feel which extends to many other RPG series', synth rock), but I don't consider VGM a genre...Just a "grouping" of different styles, some of which tend to be associated with "game music" moreso than others, which causes confusion (how many times have you heard the "bleeps and bloops" comments from people?). I also don't consider licensed music "game music", even when it works (putting a song called "Hot Night Crash" into Burnout 3 was pure genius). I do however, consider "arranged" VGM to be within the scope of VGM, despite the purpose of being listened to alone...It's purpose is to enhance what was already created and a good chunk of it comes from people who were highly inspired by the originals.

3rd: 85% VGM, the rest being a combination of JPOP (mostly anime related) and mostly 80's rock (Iron Maiden, plus a host of one-hit wonders). I became an enthusiast by playing games I liked, recording the music and then buying CD's once I found out: A] albums were available and B] how much was out there.

I've played a good chunk of Gears of War and I think that the music is highly effective in it. Did it ever get a soundtrack release?

Game music and film music have the same purpose, to serve the medium. Neither of them are exclusively designed to exist outside of it. If it works out that way, it's an added bonus.

There is still a great divide between US and Japanese VGM but I think that's just because of the genres each country focuses on. I think as games continue to get more cinematic, the two will unify (much to some people's displeasure, I'm sure).

Maybe 25%. The rest is film and classical music.

- I follow VGM composers. I rarely play games anymore, and don't keep up with what's new.

- I listen to plenty of VGM, but I also listen to a tremendous variety of music. While there is plenty of great VGM to be heard, if it occupies 50% or more of your listening, chances are you could stand to expand your horizons.

- GoldfishX has pretty much summed up my view on the idea of VGM as a genre. Classification into genres can be limiting as it is - there's no good reason to limit VGM further by calling it a genre in itself.

First of all, I think Princess Isabela's lament was based on the lack of GoW in the list of best GAMES of 2006, and had nothing to do with the music. That said, it's still an interesting topic, so I'll go along with it anyway

I do not buy a game for its composer, I have considered it, but never actually done so, because I want my games to be fun first and foremost. If I discover music I REALLY like I'll only buy the game if the music can be played from the game-disc itself, or if the package contains a soundtrack.

Yeah, I guess I pretty much agree with Goldfish too, Original music made for a Video game. So licensed stuff does NOT count, be it the Offspring or Bach. It's hard to call it a genre when it encompasses so many different musical genres (pretty much every other existing genre) in itself, but it definitely deserves to get its own shelf in a music store, which it does. It's more like an "environment" of musical genres.

95% is VGM. Extremely occasionally I listen to film music, and in even rarer occasions I buy the single to a song I liked on TV or Radio. I became a VGM fan by playing the games, and game music satisfies me in ways that other music does not (does that sound kinda weird?). For one thing, I do not enjoy vocal music in general, prefering instrumental/melodic music. I don't know which one came first though. Chicken or Egg?

As for American vs. Japanese, I don't have any bias against American music, it's just that most Japanese music tends to be better, in my experience. There is fantastic American made VGM out there, but it's relatively rare compared to all the great Japanese stuff. And for me it's not even a problem of VGM starting to sound more like film music, I LOVE Michael Giacchino's work in the Medal of Honor series, but most American companies seem to think that:

A: Licensed music is much better
B: Nobody cares anyway, so we'll just put some minor sound in.

There even seems to be a big gap between American and European VGM, with the latter being generally of higher quality as well.

if the VGM is too real sounding i lose interest. i prefer to my VGM to retain at least some of its chip-tone. Not only is it more nostalgic for me (as i have about 5% of the free time to play games as i did a decade ago in my 20s), but as a person who also likes to (or at least used to avidly) figure out VGM for guitar, it makes it a lot easier to distinctly hear the melody of an individual 'instrument' when you're dealing with midi-based music. for example, my first real big disappointment was the xenogears ost.

for me the game music CAN exist outside the game on its own, but if its not audibly distinguishable as VGM then it would not be interesting to me.

GOOD CALL.  I remember the pain of trying to suffer through Tsugunai because of Mitsuda's music and that's what stopped me from EVER buying a game for its composer again.  *shudders*  Definitely one I'll be selling when I get back to the states and have to get rid of stuff for moving into my own place back there.

In a slightly dirstorted echo of Arcubalis's post, I define "video game music" as an amorphous bitch of a shapeshifter that has no real genre that it be classified as other than "video game music". More importantly, I'd like to define VGM as an extremely enjoyable hobby and passion of mine that embodies everything that tickles my fancy; video games and the nostalgia from games past, great music, obsessive collecting, reselling, the bottomless pit of knowledge and backstory between the composers and the games and the companies they all belong to, and finding friends that have the same interests and passions that I do. Hence, the whole "community" aspect of being a member of the boards.

Technically, about 80-85% of my music on CDs is VGM, but I never really listen to "regular" music anymore; 100% of my iPod and the CDs I listen to actively are VGM and VGM-related discs (Nanosweep, iFUTURELIST, etc.) The only CDs that I have listened to over the past year that aren't VGM have been the new Justin Timberlake album and older Faith no More albums (great karaoke warmups!). Other stuff that I've heard has been cool, but it doesn't grab me in the way that VGM does, at all.

I disagree, to a fair extent. If someone listened to, say, SNES Final Fantasy music for more than 50% of their listening, maybe it would be good to expand their horizons. But when VGM emcompasses a genre in and of itself, ranging from the new agey ambient music from Abandoner OST to the orchestral granduer of Wanda no Kyozou and everything in between, from trance to synth rock to chiptunes to solo piano music. I've expanded my horizons by seeking out other composers, series and genres within VGM.

Amen, brotha.

And on a side note...

I have two words for you: Chaos. Legion.

Two more words: Big. Mistake.

Video game music is certainly diverse, I'm not denying that. But the entirety of music created for games is such a small fraction of all that human creative expression has produced in at least half a millenium that there is absolutely a much bigger picture that you're missing out on. You can bet that your favorite VGM composers enjoy and are inspired by music outside of their field, and the odds are so high as for it to be essentially granted there are other things out there that will similarly inspire you.

Gears of War is a great game; I enjoyed it quite a bit.  I don't recall the music for it though.

I typically choose the games I play on actual interest in the gameplay itself, or familiarity with the director (like with Lost Planet, because he did Dead Rising), or a fan of the series (Burnout) or developer (like Nintendo or NinjaBee).  If I like the music then I like the music; it doesn't change my feelings about a game.  For instance, I like Sakimoto's work, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I ever try playing an Ogre Battle game again unless they did some serious revamping of the whole game.

You could say that for almost everyone though. Lots of people only listen to what's new, though those tend to be the most casual of listeners. A large majority, still, only goes back about 50 years, and then another section only goes back another 30.

I for one tend to be hugely eclectic, between classical and sountracks (encompassing VGM, film music, anime, etc), but I've found others rarely look at it the way I do.

-Joshua

I think the sad truth about many (mostly American) people is that they are ultimately narrow minded about video game music in general. So many people are so heavily conditioned to listen to manufactured music that sells singers and artists before the music and not much else found on FM band radio. Most of it has to be mass appealing, that it limits the broad spectrum of music out there condemning those to be ignorant to what is truly out there. If you tell someone you listen to game music, you're going to get a typical response somewhere along the lines of dismissal. Most people think it's just noise, or just "NES" bleeps unaware that even original and arrangement is such a vast space in itself who's evolved incredibly over the years.

To me, it's sad because it takes years of not listening to a lot of junk on the radio played today, going elsewhere, and developing eclectic taste is what really makes music special. This is why there's such an absence of instrumentals outside of uninspired looped beats and/or drumsbassguitars in a lot of music today. On the flipside, it's highly satisfying to listen to music a very small population listens to... it's like a secret.

This is why I have such value for instrumentals; because they're echoed by true talent also something, like solo instrument performances you hear next to none of on FM radio because it wastes time and is "boring". It a;sp takes away from the agenda radio stations and record companies beat: a mostly hollow or troubled icon selling the sex/music. Not to pigeon-hole all mainstream music as such, but it's not too distant.

Heck, just look at who wins the music awards these days? Ludicris? Glad I'm checked out.

f--- yeah, man.  *high five*

I find it just fascinating that in a forum devoted to a sub-culture like VGM its members favor games made by the Japanese that by and large fuel the hobby. Does our taste in music therefore affect our taste in games?

I'm attracted to good game soundtracks, but as far as I know, I don't have any specific musical tastes that attract me to certain games.  It used to be perhaps that I'd be attracted to some SRPGs since they used to feature epic orchestral/militaristic music, but Nippon Ichi kind of changed that.

So now the question is thrown out for discussion: do we, for example, choose our games based on a favorite composer, etc? Is it the other way around?

I don't think so, but then I wouldn't be surprised if most of my favorite games happen to have good soundtracks.  Maybe I'm more influenced by the music than I think.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to see how everyone defines what “video game music” is. Is it merely a complement to video games themselves or is it a genre and style all its own? If so, what is that style?

VGM has always had a style all its own for me.  Not in terms of being classified as a genre, since it contains elements from many genres, but in terms of the repetition and in terms of association with context, the latter of which extends to movie scores (so I won't go into it, but context is huge for me, and it's probably why I prefer music crafted for a soundtrack to music created to accompany lyrics; I also feel that there's a purity to instrumentation beyond the human voice, though choral stuff can be haunting, and I tend to prefer it to obvious vocals).  But as far as the reptitition goes, someone on another forum described it well once.  He said that too much development in a piece of music can cause a person to lose interest in the principal motive.  In your typical VGM track, this doesn't happen.  They're usually short and sweet.  This "potency" is why I enjoy VGM so much.  As my tastes have diversified, I have also learned to enjoy more complex music, like the music in Vagrant Story, but generally, even in scores like that, there's always that videogame-esque sense of being able to easily isolate one track and enjoy it.  It happens sometimes with movie scores (those being my favorites more often than not), but it happens more often in videogame scores, which is why I listen more to VGM than anything else.

And if you really feel brave, I’d also like to see how we define ourselves within the VGM subculture. How and why did you become a VGM enthusiast? What percentage of your music is VGM?

I'd have to say that the first time I really noticed VGM was when I played Secret of Mana.  That game also had the cinematic power to make its music stand out.  Fear of the Angels should be enough to convince anybody when they hear it in conjunction with the beautiful opening title screen.  If there was a score that sealed the deal, it was Final Fantasy VI.  Not an uncommon answer, but it had a big effect on me and as such when I first discovered that it was possible to own VGM albums, the Final Fantasy VI OSV was the first I acquired and the rest is history.

I listen almost exclusively to VGM, so a very large percentage of my music is VGM.  The rest is movie/tv scores, anime scores, a little classical, and a few mainstream albums.

I would also have to say that using a percentage is pretty relative.  I could rip all my CDs and end up with 50GB of music, and 25GB could be VGM because the albums tend to be multiple CDs. 

Outside of VGM, I mostly listen to music that comes out of what's left of the music part of the demoscene.  After that comes jazz, classical, and electronic music.  Some film, rock, rap, and just about everything else, too.

This is why when someone I don't know very well asks me what kind of music I listen to, I respond, "Instrumental."  If I know them better, I might tell them the more detailed truth.  However, it should be noted that most of the people I choose to hang around with are gamers, and they seem far more accepting of VGM than others.

My father scoffed when I told him that I listened to video game music.  A few months later, I exposed him to some of the softer offerings from Falcom (LOH Piano Collection, Ys V Orchestra Version, Symphony Ys), and he really enjoyed them, to the point that he asked for copies.

Two games made me a video game music enthusiast:  Mega Man 2 (which was the first time I ever played a game and thought, "Wow, this music is fantastic!") and Ys Book I & II (which completely changed the way I thought about how much music could be a part of the game).  The fact that Ys came on a redbook CD was crucial to its impact, as I could play the music outside of the game.  I would often pop the Ys CD in the TG-CD player and play the music while I played a HuCard.

As for how much of my collection is VGM, if I count all the old CDs that are still in my Mom's basement 800 miles away, it would be about 40%.  If I only count the CDs that I have in my possession, it would be about 80%.  Most of the rest is dance/trance/eurobeat, with some classical and new age.

One good thing about VGM is that the companies that produce it are much less likely to be members of the draconian RIAA.  In the past five years, I can only think of seven CDs I have bought that were even sold in the US, and they were all from a non-RIAA company.

This is an interesting thread, and I'm really glad to see my opinions aren't as weird as I've always thought.

Here, in order, are my answers to the questions posed.

I'll definitely consider a game simply because of its composer (and, on several occasions, the only reason I actually heard of a game is because it had a familiar name in its credits), but that will never be the deciding factor in a purchase decision. On the other hand, if a game's music is awful, there's no way I'll consider touching it, no matter how good its gameplay may be.

--

I fully agree with the others who have said that classifying VGM as a genre is far too limiting. There's no reason why VGM can't, or shouldn't, be rock, ballads, dance, jazz, or even (non-sucktastic) rap. VGM just is. It complements the game it was written for, but it can, in countless instances, exist independently of its original context; its value as music is entirely subjective and determined by the listener, as is true of all art.

Similar to Crash's story, my mother used to try to get me to listen to more mainstream music on a fairly regular basis... at least until one day, many years ago, when I forgot to remove Chrono Cross's OST from the then-central CD player. She turned it on and seemed to fall in love with Mitsuda's style almost immediately (I had no idea where disc 1 was for the better part of a month). Since then, she's been asking for random samples from my collection when she overhears a piece she likes, and she's been seeking more alternative radio stations.

--

I lost interest in music played on the radio (which was, at the time, my only source of music) after I really started paying attention to its lyrics early in elementary school. It was all the same stuff, and there was no real variation or depth to the notes behind the voices. This is, it seems, just as true now as it was then, unfortunately.

I think I first started truly appreciating VGM when I played Phantasy Star IV and heard "Her Last Breath". That track, in conjunction with the scene it was written for, made me realize how powerful music can be in conveying depth and emotion.
The fact that the game had a complete sound test (and that the Genesis had a volume slider) allowed me to make my first VGM tape, and it wasn't long before I was making tapes from every other game I owned.

Another such moment occurred when I heard Hiroki Kikuta's "Fear of the Angels". I started to realize that the composers (who I had previously just thought of as programmers assigned to music) were actually artists in their own right.

The game that convinced me to make my first VGM purchase was Chrono Trigger. Though the synth is, at times, grating, relative to modern standards, its melodies and composition are nothing short of beautiful, even outside of the context of the game. (Unfortunately, the copy I purchased was a bootleg, but I replaced it as soon as I learned how to import things)

With very, very few exceptions, all of the music I have purchased to date has been VGM, VGM arrangements, or VGM remixes (like OUS or KFSS stuff). I've picked up the odd J-Pop single (generally game-related), and a few anime OSTs. There are a couple of North American albums in my collection, too, but they're entirely instrumental, and usually some sort of jazz hybrid.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I think it goes the other way, at least for members of the VGM subculture.

I choose games based solely on the quality of the games themselves (or at least the perceived quality when no actual test experience can be obtained), though I will play a mediocre game for longer than I should if the music is really great, just like I will stop playing an average game if the music is really terrible.  Of course, the quality of the music is a factor in the enjoyment of the game, so this shouldn't be entirely unexpected.

I think VGM is VGM.  Sure, it's influenced by just about every musical style imaginable, but it is designed to complement an interactive experience, which is unique to VGM.

I became a VGM enthusiast because I really loved the music I heard in the games I was playing.  I got fed up with the commercialized junk I was hearing on the radio, and I kept wondering why I couldn't buy stuff as good as what I heard in my games.  One day, I learned that I COULD buy the stuff I heard in my games.  The rest, as they say, is history.

I'd say about 95% of my collection is VGM.  The other 5% is made up of j-pop, film soundtracks, classical, and a little bit of alt rock.

I listen to anything that's good regardless of its label.  And my favorite non-VGM records will always trump my favorite VGM albums.  I guess being a song writer myself, I appreciate that extra layer vocals can provide, though I prefer instrumental albums over albums with bad vocals.

First, to answer my own questions…

Without a doubt, I pay attention to and am influenced by a game’s music/composer before I buy. I bought Breath of Fire V because Sakimoto did the score. I couldn’t wait to play Dynasty Warriors 4 based on how much I enjoyed DW3’s music. I paid top dollar for a copy of Digital Devil Saga based on the couple of mp3s I listened to.

Saying that, I’ll put it another way: I don’t get ‘fun’ out of video games anymore. I’ve been playing video games for 20 years plus and I’ve played pretty much every genre that’s existed. For me, playing a game is just the means to experience its other aspects, be it story, art, or music. Part of the problem is that I play way too many (Japanese) RPGs, a genre that stopped being fun a long time ago. Thus, the only way I can surmise that I keep on playing them is because often their stories are interesting, the art design striking, or that the music is good enough to own and listen outside of the game. Of course, stories usually end up being pretty clichéd and art styles drab. So it must be the music then? Case in point: Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. An average 3D actioner with the same silly Dracula resurrection plot as usual, rendered with bland environments and repetitive enemies. Coincidentally, it has a great soundtrack and I played the game to completion anyway.

To add support from the other perspective, I remember hating Vagrant Story the first time I played it. I put it down for a couple of months and when I picked it up again I managed to slog to the first abandoned mines area – and my ears couldn’t believe the downright cool music that was playing there. Incidentally, “Abandoned Mines B1” is one of my favorite pieces of music ever and Vagrant Story one of my favorite games. In this case, both the story and presentation of Vagrant Story were top notch, but until the music clicked I had no incentive to continue the dungeon crawl.

As for the genre question, I think game music can be both accompaniment and a genre. Defining it as accompaniment is obvious but defining it as a genre is more difficult, because as many of you said, game music itself is just a breadth of other genres. “Game music” is an elastic term. Thus, I think we can give it an elastic definition based on eras. Is it possible to call “Video game music in the 80’s” super melodic chiptunes? “Video game music of the 2000’s” as ‘filmscore-like’? To compare, while definitely not the rule, we can see prevalent styles in film eras, such as the epic scores of the 80’s influenced by John Williams. Why do we no longer hear stuff like in Conan the Barbarian in film today? Lord of the Rings can bite my ass. A couple of you also mentioned the differences between Western game music and Japanese game music. Do these differences help define genres of game music?

I loved game music before I realized that I loved game music. I think the critical moment was around 1993 when I was 11 and felt the need to tape the music from Secret of Mana, Street Fighter II, and A Link to the Past. I had no idea that halfway across the world I could have bought CDs of them and saved the time, effort, and ass-tastic sound quality I got from those recordings (I still have that tape). Recently, I was flipping through middle-90’s EGMs and in the advertisements for those old game importers some of them advertised selling stuff like Dracula Battle and other VGM CDs. But I was too young for that to have an impact. It took another 5 or so years and another copy of EGM that had an ad for Gamemusic.com in it. The internet just made it so much easier to acquire game music that I couldn’t imagine the difficulties in importing it otherwise. I quickly snapped up all I could afford before I realized I was buying bootlegs. The following quote from this very website made me wise up: “Purchasing pirated CDs is essentially slapping your favorite music artists in the face, because it is taking their musical work and giving them squat in return.” Yikes! Seafood soup! Nonetheless, in the many years after that, collecting game music albums became a valued hobby and between physical albums, mp3s, and emulated game music, I have access to pretty much everything I’ve played and experienced throughout the years.

I never ever listened to popular music and when my classmates talked about stuff like Nirvana, etc. in elementary and middle school I basically just brushed it off. In 7th grade I remember having an exercise where we had to name our favorite band. I said, “Koji Kondo.” For me, listening to Secret of Mana will have the same effect as someone my age listening to Smells like Teen Spirit. Both invoke the nostalgia of youth, just in different form. For those who feel ‘rejection’ from admitting to like game music, try explaining things that way!

I’d have to say that around 90% or so of my physical albums are VGM. Digital media bumps that to 99 + lots of decimals. The non-VGM albums are mostly from the only consistent non-VGM source I listen to: symphonic metal pioneers Therion. Their music clicked with me because it is melodic and admittedly reminded me of game music. I wonder how they would feel about that? Other stuff is a bunch of Star Wars CDs along with the first CD I ever owned: The Jingle Cats. My current playlist right now is 1% Therion, 99% VGM. I also love most 80’s music, pop and rock, but I get enough fill of that watching VH1 classic and listening to the radio in the car.

OK, so now some additional questions.

As stated above, do differences between Western and Japanese game music help define genres of game music?

As with my Therion example, has game music influenced you to listen to artists outside the game music circle?

Has listening to an old chiptune made you tear up from the ‘nostalgia of youth’?

I know at least a few of you on these forums are married, so here’s one for you: how accepting of your taste is your spouse?

(EDIT ADDITION) On culture and acceptance of VGM: we, as the VGM hobbyists, reject licensed music as being VGM. Why then do we see games with licensed soundtracks being nominated for for "best video game soundtrack" on dubious game awards shows on Spike TV and G4? Speaking of, how irritated/non-irritated did you get at X-play's top 5 game soundtracks of all time?

Of course, if you haven’t chimed in yet about the previous questions, please do! There is no right or wrong answer to any of these! And don’t feel limited to just these – comment on whatever you think is relevant.

1st: No. I rarely make that distinction unless I have to, although Jeremy Soule's orchestral/ambient droning has become something of a posterchild for American VGM unfortunately. Thankfully, it's not the end-all, be-all of it, but it's definitely gets the heaviest exposure.

2nd: Sure...I basically discovered I liked metal/hard rock from game music. The more I listened to my King of Fighters 98 OST and the music in Guilty Gear 1 (before I bought the soundtrack), the more I realized I liked the style. Also, JDK Band prepared me for Iron Maiden...I don't think I would have liked them quite as much if not for Kishimoto's pitiful attempts at English. He's similiarly over-the-top as Bruce Dickinson, something that makes me enjoy those two a lot more than a ton of rock vocalists out there, but I probably wouldn't have liked Dickinson without going through the growing pains of Kishimoto. Same for JPOP - my first Japanese song was "Another Sun" from Rockman Legends...that's like being thrown into the fire headfirst as far as being exposed to Japanese singing. Took about 3 listens before I was hooked, then I checked out a couple full vocal collections (think it was...Slayers? Sailor Moon? I forget where I started) and it was a winner.

3rd: Many that I've painstakingly ripped from .NSF's to mp3's with shitty timing, no fades and all. Maybe not tear up so much, but the nostalgia was definitely there. Megaman/anything NES Capcom and Castlevania aside (everyone knows they're good)...Level 3 from Mappyland, Level 2/5 from Bad Dudes, Megagon's Theme and all of Wacky Races, Goonies 2, Tecmo Super Bowl and Wonder Boy 3 (Master System, actually)...Too good. I probably have a far greater appreciation for NES music now than I did when the games were new. Very few programmed drums are quite as satisfying and there really isn't a substitute for the actual sound that is being played.

4th: Pass.

"(EDIT ADDITION) On culture and acceptance of VGM: we, as the VGM hobbyists, reject licensed music as being VGM. Why then do we see games with licensed soundtracks being nominated for for "best video game soundtrack" on dubious game awards shows on Spike TV and G4? Speaking of, how irritated/non-irritated did you get at X-play's top 5 game soundtracks of all time?"

5th: Money. Mainstream acceptance. Money. Laziness. Money. Wanting to catch any potential momentum videogames might bring as far as advertising music. And...money.

6th: Who's X-Play? (that's both a question and my response...Guess I was non-irritated) In general, any award isn't worth the effort of clicking the link to the winners, so I spare myself the mouse click.

X-play is a video game review show on G4 and the sole holdover from G4's past life as Tech TV. G4 used to be a shitty TV channel about video games. Now it's just a shitty channel in general.

They had a musical episode recently where they counted down a top 5 of the best game soundtracks. The list, from memory, as I can't find it anywhere online:

5. Parappa the Rapper
4. Katamari Damacy?
3. Halo series
2. Grand Theft Auto series
1. Zelda series

Ah, thanks.

Actually, that's not the worst I've seen, but it is odd in the mix of licensed music with original scores...Normally, it's the other way around (all licensed w/ 1-2 original scores in for obligatory purposes) or the two are seperated (with a VERY heavy bias shown for Western scores when it comes to ranking "originals"...I remember a recent one where the only Eastern material was freaking Electroplankton). And wow, no Final Fantasy in there...That's a shocker for a mainstream countdown. So props to them for being different...And for having Parappa in there...I guess?

Indeed!  I think Conan the Barbarian has my favorite movie score.  I miss that kind of raw power and energy pushed forth by great melodies.  I love the prevailing theme of friendship in Theology-Civilation.  The tragic and heartfelt power of The Leaving-The Search.  The great mystique of Atlantean Sword.  Everything is great.

I guess I should mention that I also took notice of VGM before I fell in love with it.  I taped the music of Toejam & Earl, Bubsy, and Donkey Kong Country back in the day.

Ha, I do too.  I guess your explanations help to put my own tastes in perspective.  Supermelodic...indeed, I just like the energy and passion that many of the songs seem to be imbued with.

1. I'm not sure how to answer this, but I have come to expect more of an ambient/underscore approach from western game music.  It seems like the most melodic Jeremy Soule has ever been is in Secret of Evermore, which would explain why I like it the most out of what he's done. (Fire Eyes ftw?  You bet!)  Appropriately enough, the music was for a western kind of take on a JRPG.  I actually like it a lot when ambient and melodic stylings are fused together well, which explains my love for the scores of DKC2 and Castlevania IV as well.  I like mood-setting music...when it's also catchy and/or moving in some way.  I like it when a track develops towards a climactic finish of some sort.  That's why I cherish Sakimoto so much.  Some orchestral composers may get boring but this guy also incorporates various melodies and rhythms that keep his stuff engaging and interesting at the same time.  FFXII OST > all the haters

2. I listen to stuff outside of game music, though most of it comes from listening to it by chance while others are listening to it, like when my *best* friend plays hip hop or rock in his car.  Before getting into VGM, I listened to a lot of the stuff my parents listened to, and I still enjoy much of it.  A lot of afro-cuban music (salsa, etc; this may go a ways in explaining my love for rhythm and percussion) since we're Puerto Rican (I'm a big fan of Ruben Blades in particular [he's Panamanian in case it looks like I was insinuating that he was also from PR]) and also a boatload of 80's stuff like The Eagles and Hall & Oates.  Also Elvis since my mom loves that guy and his stuff (which I must admit I've always found myself liking as well; I might catch hell for this, but between Elvis and The Beatles, I'll take Elvis).  I've always enjoyed that music though I've never taken band music as seriously as I have VGM or even film music.  Probably because I've just never been a mainstream kind of guy in any respect.  Not that I'm not familiar with Nirvana, NIN, and a lot of other famous artists/bands, but I've never developed a particular taste for the music beyond the chance encounter with a song or artist I've liked at whatever time (which despite what it sounds like surely encompasses a considerable amount of songs over the years).  Maybe it's my loss that I haven't put forth a serious effort to track down and listen to the stuff in a more analytical manner.  Not that it's ever to late to start.  So to answer the original question, the only post-VGM connection I've made related to acquiring an interest in VGM is to film music and perhaps classical.

3. I've never teared up, but a few inspire strong feelings of nostalgia or just emotions over the songs themselves like with any song that touches me on some level.  I'm fond of Gravityman's theme partly because we took a home video long ago where my little sister is playing that stage of Megaman V.  I also have a fondness for Area 2 from Bionic Commando.  It has a sad quality to it that I enjoy.  There are a number of tracks I like in which I later find myself noticing a certain sad or longing quality.  I intend to investigate this curious aspect of my tastes further sometime.

4. Can't answer this one since I'm not married.

5. That list is strange.  Licensed music being credited as videogame music just a symptom of a greater disease though.  As Sony and Microsoft use gaming consoles to push their dreams of uniting all forms of digital entertainment into one big multimedia cash cow, so has all of gaming become a mainstream version of what it used to be.  But I'd rather not take that argument much further, as I'm sure I'll come under fire from those who disagree or might feel compelled to remind me that everything has always been about money.  So to avoid being pigeonholed, I'll say that the state of things doesn't prevent great games and soundtracks from popping up here and there as they always have.

I'm not married, but my girlfriend is very accepting of my music and listening habits. There are some things that she doesn't really care for (mostly cheesy synth rock or orchestral stuff), but she's quite fond of a lot of the things that I've played for her and have made her CDs of. She has some CD-Rs with kt2, Rez, Prince of Persia WW, a Mitsuda mix, Tekken Tag, Katamari... and she ate 'em all up.

I think one of the peaks of our relationship was when I got into her car one day and she was listening to the Yu Miyake mix CD I accidentally left in her player the day before.

Interesting topic!

I must admit I don't play much to video games anymore. In the past, I didn't buy games because it was composed by a certain person, rather because I was interested by the gameplay and/or story, yet I could still have expectations for the music (for example with the "Final Fantasy" series and "Legend of Mana"). Once I've became a real fan of VGM, there are some cases where I wanted to play to a game after having heard its soundtrack, to see how it works in context. It wasn't necessarily because of the composer, but more about the greatness of the music (still, both can go together). And there were occasions where I bought and played games to actually get the music (making a game rip, when no OST exists). I guess this is a different thing though...

"Video game music" for me is what it means literally; the music you can hear inside a video game, and I'll expand this with the inclusion of arrangements. However, when it comes to enjoying it, there are two categories: enjoying it in context while playing to the game and enjoying outside of it. It's possible to enjoy both categories at the same time, but for VGM fans, it's much more about "out of context", especially since the majority didn't play to all games they listen the music of. There is music that is not great outside of the game, but in which it can serve the right purpose though, like ambient pieces for example. So sure, there is VGM that sucks, but for a part of it, it would be wise to remember its first purpose, which is to accompany the onscreen events, and thus, it might be better in that context. Technically, licensed music used in a game would be VGM (in that context), but like others, I don't consider it to be so much and actually, it's something I don't encourage the use of since it removes a part of the creative processes implied in the creation of a game. "VGM" would then be a category, a global container for various types of music, and not a genre per se. Even so, there are genres in VGM that are more common than others and there are styles that could be considered as being unique to it, derivating from a mix of genres and distinctive sounds. For example, chiptunes would be one. While this would be closer to "real" VGM and its roots/origins, I wouldn't discard or frown upon the rest though, like what's being made these days. One might prefer retro VGM, or a certain kind of it, yet this shouldn't mean it's the only type worthy of the title.

Also, I would like to put emphasis on my belief that game music is not only about official albums that can be bought, unlike a certain trend shown by advanced collectors and certain VGM websites.

I developed affinities for VGM by playing games! All those years forged my tastes, yet it wasn't until I got a broadband Internet connection that I became more of a serious enthusiast. That's when the doors were opened, the light was made on the amplitude of this medium. I first started with acquiring music from games I knew, then from games in the same series, then by composer, company, etc. Eventually, I started to rip music from games myself, in order to be able to listen to it and make it avaible for others, since no OST existed. This helped me get more into Western VGM because for the Japanese music I was interested in, OSTs were avaible for the huge majority. More recently, I have developed a certain bias toward Western VGM, in order to give it more focus and thus discover more about it. I still like the music from Japan, but there are some styles I dislike, especially those I associate with Japanophiles who are blinded by their obsession, which I don't relate to. And the lack of interest or disgust showed by some VGM fans towards the Western side helped me fuel my interest, in order to prove they aren't completely right and that there are good elements in it, which are often different than the Japanese style, yet this doesn't mean it's worse (it falls down to a matter of tastes). There's good and bad music on both side.

While I'm using the computer, I'd say VGM makes up 75-80% of my playlist. I'm usually using this time to explore it. In my portable MP3 player and in my home audio system, it falls down to about 30%. The rest is composed of different music categories, including mainstream (mainly older rock and pop), new age and a few movie scores. However, I'm not a preacher of radio and current hit-lists. You see, if you don't listen only to VGM and anime/movie scores, the other options are not limited only to the hit parade! Still, you'll have to dig on your side to discover things you like, and not depend on the radio, MTV or magazines. I've come to realize there is a category of music fans who don't listen to it because they actually enjoy it for its musical qualities, or at least not in the first place, but rather to be associated to a certain social group or to feel secure. Rap is a good example, but this can also be applied with VGM. It seems nothing else is good for them, or not at the same level, so they listen only to this kind of music. The reasons behind what makes people enjoy music are complex, and sure, for some, VGM is the only thing they can dig and since there's a large quantity of soundtracks, they could spend their lives listening only to this category and still wouldn't have heard everything (or all of it, but it would still take a lot of time ). Yet, I believe that in many cases, there is a big part attributed to ignorance or misconceptions, and that in the end, the hardcore VGM fans could actually enjoy other kinds of music, but they just didn't try much of what's around enough to have a good idea and they closed their minds. This can also apply to fans of Japanese VGM that reject the West.

In the end, I listen to music I like and I'm lucky to be able to appreciate many different kinds.

Yes, because certain genres are more present in one geographical side than in the other, and vice versa. Is one of them more worthy of having the "VGM" tag? No! It's all game music.

If I can add more on this East vs. West point, in my opinion, I think there are many people who are largely ignorant about the West. Comments on that it's pretty much only film-score-like orchestral ambiance, while it's true it exists in a good amount, or that Jeremy Soule is the only composer, are false, because there is so much more than this. It's a cliché. But I know where it comes from: the publicity for American soundtracks and composers is focused mainly on this kind of VGM, so people who don't dig more than the surface get a false picture of the West as a whole. The fact not many OSTs exist compared to the Japanese side also don't help to make it more known. Also, there is more Japanese game music and information about it is more developed on the web. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not implying that Western VGM is better and that everybody could enjoy it (note: also, there are many different things to enjoy within it), only that how lowly it's looked upon by some VGM fans is in part caused by ignorance.

Definitely, especially for electronic music. Conversely, I've also been able to appreciate certain game soundtracks because I had affinities with similar non-game music (i.e. rock).

Nostalgia is one of the elements that can make people enjoy music. A certain part of my VGM collection is staying with me for this reason, but it's not the majority. But yes, I can feel strong nostalgia from childhood video game memories, where the music makes a connection between the present and the past. Chiptune nostalgia for me is mainly based around the NES and PC/AdLib sound. Play me a track from "Super Mario Bros. 2" or "Goblins 3" and you'll see a big smile on my face. Another type of nostalgia I've developed around VGM is based on a shorter time scale. Associations with life events, thrill of the discovery, etc. It's probably not as strong as the "youth" one, but still exists.

I'm not married as well, and am not in a relationship either. However, I guess this question can still be applied with close relatives, right? Hmm, I'm actually not very secure about sharing my enjoyment of VGM with non-gamers. I fear a categorization, that they would consider me as a nerd who is stuck on childish levels of art forms and can't see there are other things in life. On one hand, I could actually understand this point of view, but on the other, I have confidance that the VGM I really love is for good reasons and that it has worth, like other types of music. Since I listen to other things, I can discuss of those instead, but one day, when I'm in a serious relationship, I won't try to hide it, yet I won't go crazy and throw it in the girl's face like it's the most important thing in the world. I don't think it will make a problem, yet it shouldn't be expected that the person will absolutely enjoy it as well. VGM fans, in general, have started by playing games with a passion; it's rare to see someone enjoying the music out of nowhere, but it's still a possibility.

Well, these awards are hosted not by VGM shows (imagine if one existed, hehe!), but rather by game shows. So, they are not as specialized and informed as can be and also, they are extremely biased by the industry and its top products, so it's always the same story and it shouldn't be considered representative. I'm irritated yes, but I don't take it with heart and discard it with the rest of what sucks. What I'd also like to mention is how some people feel there is a controversy because most soundtracks nominated are from the West. Since they are awards hosted in the West, I guess this is normal. And in Japan, I don't think the winner would be a Western soundtrack (for various reasons though). However, a large amount of Japanese games are exported, so their soundtracks are still known to us and the judges. In my opinion, they should expand their selection, and maybe make categories like best "American", "European", "Japanese", etc. This would create a gap between them though, hmm, it was just a though. Anyway, the current forms of these awards are not good and you should take some and leave some if it's making you go crazy. And even when it will be respectable (maybe one day?), there will still be deceptions since tastes are diverse.

Just in case what I said before might've inadvertently fed into that opinion, I'd like to say that I'm aware of plenty of western VGM that isn't orchestral ambience.  Only thing is that people sometimes look at VGM through the big genre that attracts them to it: RPGs.  And when you think of western RPGs, you think of LOTR and the appropriate orchestral approach that comes with it.  So even though I tend to expect orchestral ambience from dungeon romps and sword bearing adventure tales in particular, I wouldn't say that Jeremy Soule is the only composer or anything like that.

Rareware stuff counts as western VGM, and lots of that music I do love, so I'd never underappreciate western VGM.  Graeme Norgate, Grant Kirkhope, Robin Beanland, David Wise...

1. I don't think so, it's not a matter of East vs. West, there's no real genre differences between Western and Japanese VGM I think.

2. I've tried, but never liked it, and never bothered to remember any names. I love Akira Yamaoka amongst many others, and I tried some music he said he's inspired by, and didn't care for it much.

3. Nope. I still love some NES and GB music, Mega Man mostly, but I love it because it simply kicks ass, not because it's nostalgic or anything.

4. Not married (yet), but it's impossible to have any kind of serious relationship with me without noticing at some point that I listen to VGM, and all of my girlfriends were perfectly accepting. My first girlfriend loved the soundtrack to Silent Hill 2 (what's not to love?) and my current girlfriend, although she doesn't really listen to game music anymore, used to love listening to it too, back in the NES/SNES days. I have to say though that all of my girlfriends have been (and still are) Asian, and they seem to be a lot more accepting of this kind of hobby than Western girls, especially the Japanese.

5. You pretty much answered the question yourself, WE as VGM fans reject licensed music, but dubious game awards shows, and most game sites, only nominate Tony Hawk and that kind of tripe. That said, that Top 5 was a LOT better than I expected, although it doesn't reflect my taste (except for Katamari Damacy. And Halo 2 DID have really good music).
I was very pleasantly surprised by the BAFTA nominations of 2006, with DQVIII and Shadow of the Colossus, just a shame that Tomb Raider Legend went off with the award, still, it was all original music that got nominated. And good stuff too.

Can't say I agree on the JRPG thing, but it's definitely something I've heard from more people. For me, JRPG's are what keep me playing games fanatically, even after 20 years, and I still can't get enough. I'm now totally hooked on Enchanted Arms, and loving every second of it. Generic Art (nice graphics though), Boring music, cliche story, but decent cast, and most importantly just Damn Fun. Then again, I just bought GT4 today, and could hardly put it down after an hour or 2, and I am having a blast with Mario Picross on the SNES (emulator), in between playing bouts of Mega Man Star Force and Fire Emblem (GBA) so I guess I am just a Huge Video Game Nut, and I can't be cured.

And hey, what VGM fan DIDN't start by taping his favorite game tunes? For me it was the Mega Man series, but before that I already remember even liking the internal PC speaker Bleeps and Bloops (I'm sorry, but that term DOES apply in this case) of Leisure Suit Larry.

I already wrote this before on this site, but I will be playing games and listening to VGM until the day I die, and probably after.

I think I'm just about about done with J-RPGs.  I want to do Xenosaga Ep3 sometime this year, and I'll still play any future Mario RPGs, but otherwise, I've pretty much had it, mostly due to the overly generic anime-influenced storylines that seem to permeate the genre.  They've become so stale to me and I just don't have time to put 80 hours into one game anymore.  In the SNES and even PSX days, they were more special since there were less of them, but now there are so many and none of them really are very compelling anymore.  That said, I still buy plenty of RPG soundtracks because I still love the music.

I love Castlevania and that's why I bought Curse of Darkness, but after about 10 minutes I had enough of the bullshit camera and craptastic level design that still wasn't fixed from Lament of Innocence.  But, again, the music is fantastic, and I enjoy listening to the soundtrack, but that alone won't get me to pick the game up again.

Yeah. I recently tried out Wild Arms 4 and shut it off after about an hour because the characters and plot were so generic. Same with Rogue Galaxy. Even games that have promised something other than the usual anime tripe have been big disappointments (FFXII). I've played so many of these games that when I turn one on and am greeted to an elaborate anime intro, I immediately turn it off. I know what to expect.

I suppose the main reason why I loved Suikoden V so much was because I didn't find it predictable. Sure, it had the usual Suikoden cliches (there's only so many ways you can tell this kind of story) but the characters often weren't what you'd expect and the core story had a lot of emotional power.

And just once, I like to see characters show affection towards each other. FFX is the only J-RPG I can think of where characters hug (or even say "I love you").

I'm actually quite looking forward to Wild Arms 5, as I've heard hiring an actual Japanese novelist to write it made the story something special for a change.  But yeah... I'm tiring of Japanese RPGs too, though mostly because of gameplay, not story.  Playing the first three Suikodens back-to-back is what finally did me in.  SO glad I didn't actually have to pay the price of admission for S2.

I initially wanted to disagree with you about there being no physical signs of emotions in many J-RPG, but the more I think about it, the more I see what you mean. The lack of actual physical contact in J-RPG's to get a feeling of affection across IS strong. I wonder why that is, especially given that, since FFVIII, at least, almost all J-RPG's have been somewhat high on the romance?

I guess what I wanted to say was that you don't need that to get a message of affection across. I reference FFVI's Locke (his past relationship with Rachael) as an example. Though it could be argued that maybe signs weren't given only because sprite technology and manipulation methods could only go so far back then. Another example is Fei and Elly, from Xenogears. Outside of a vaguely implied sex scene, there wasn't much, physically, in the way of depicting their feelings. It was all done with words, which is enough for me. I see where you're coming from, though.

Games like Wind Waker and Twilight Princess have shown us that you can achieve depiction of emotion (and, by extension, affection) primarily through the use of facial expressions, and minimalist forms of body language (at least in Twlight's case), and with those ends already being reached by said games, maybe it is only a matter of time before we see stronger forms of interaction between characters.

You're absolutely right, in the end, about FFX being the only notable example of J-RPG's in which physical contact has been used to prove a point. When I look back on it now, it is staggering, but maybe it is something that game developers just need to ease into.

I think S2 is brilliant... but I'm not sure I'd want to pay $150 for it.

I'm not an expert on the Japanese but I suspect it's a cultural thing. We all feel the same emotions but every culture treats them differently...

Some games have done it better than others. Obviously, there's the Final Fantasys (especially VI, IX and X). In Suikoden 2, there's the largely unspoken love between Jowy and the Hero (not a romantic love but practically as strong). I haven't played Xenogears in years (and never beat it) but you've just given me another incentive to play through it.

It's wierd that I notice the loss because I'm not a very physical person myself. It's just something that feels missing to me. During certain climatic sequences in more than a few games, I found myself screaming, "JUST HUG HIM/HER, YOU IDIOT!" at the television.