Game Music: My Favorites – Numerbo # 20: My favorite soundtracks ever!

a00bceced7419b083d8273b7e59c94f7More music article right here

It’s time. Time to make harsh decisions. Which soundtracks are currently my favorite soundtracks? I have thought long and hard about this, and I have come up with this list. The list is based on how much I played the game, how much I listen to the soundtrack and how much of the game sticks with me. Some might come as a surprise, but some won’t. But, I’m curious. What are your favorite soundtracks? Feel free to leave a come in the comment section with them or you can comment on my selection too. But keep it civil, that’s all I ask. In any case, here we go. Time to list my favorite soundtracks in this moment of time. Oh, be warned, this is a long article. So, yeah. 

Remember, the choices are my opinion. I haven’t played all games on each system and some soundtracks are picked for personal reasons. I’m not saying that my choices are the best soundtracks on the system, I’m saying here which soundtracks are my favorite on the system.

Side note about the honorable mentions:

  • I limited myself to only list 5 games as honorable mentions. To avoid this article’s length getting out of hand.
  • While I know that some games are multi-platform. When it’s listed with a certain console, that means I played that game on that console. Or if I played the game on more than one console, it means I prefer the soundtrack on that console the most.
  • I only list games that I own and/or have played for an extended amount of time (at least 5 hours or more)

Favorite PC soundtrack: Rise & Fall – Civilizations At War

_-Rise-Fall-Civilizations-at-War-PC-_YouTube playlist

First Impression

Long time readers of my blog know before I started blogging, I used to write fantasy stories. One of my favorite stories was a nature fantasy medieval world where a lot mattered upon the value and amount of land you owned.

When I bought this game, I was right in an RTS-period. My favorite games were Age Of Mythology and Age Of Empires II/III. On that moment in time, I was writing a climax in the story I described earlier. Just give the soundtrack a listen and try to imagine a story like I described. Doesn’t it write itself?

Also, it helps a lot that this game had a gimmick that I find amazing. You can control your main hero during battles. I wish that this was in more games today. Well, with controlling I mean, you control your hero in first-person! Yup, first-person. This game is such a hidden gem. I rarely hear it mentioned when people talk about old-school RTS games. I even have a virtual machine setup just to play this game. Since the annoying copy protection is a real pain in the backside when you try to run it on Windows Vista or newer. But, recently I fixed an old PC and installed Windows XP on it and now I play the game on that machine.

Just listing to the soundtrack while writing this segment makes me very nostalgic. I wonder, has anybody played this game? Let me know! Since I barely find let’s plays or reviews from other people online.

Honorable mentions: Halo: Combat Evolved, Tomb Raider Legend, Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine, The Elder Scrolls III – Morrowind and Europa Universalis IV

Favorite Gameboy/Gameboy Color soundtrack: The Legend Of Zelda – Oracle Of Ages & Oracle of Seasons aka The Oracle Games

260px-OracleofagesYouTube playlist with both games’ soundtrack

Oracle of Ages review

Oracle of Seasons review

Well, before you call me a cheater, hear me out. When you finish one game, you get a code to transfer some data over to the other game. In that game, you play through the whole game to see the real ending of these games. So, technically, this is just one giant game split up into two big standalone games. So, TLOZOOSthat’s why there is sort of, kind of, two games for this entry.

 In any case, this was one I was pretty certain about. While I have a lot of soundtracks I enjoy listing to from the Gameboy & Gameboy Color period, the price must to go to my favorite games on the system. In my eyes, these games are nearly flawless. Apart from some bad sound effects and sound mixing here and there, this game is flawless.

So, these are my favorite Zelda games. I love the story, gameplay, music, art design and the memories attached to these two titles. But, that are stories for another time.

Honorable mentions: Pokémon Gold/Silver & Crystal, Harry Potter and the Chamber Of Secrets, Super Mario Land 3: Warioland, Kirby’s Dreamland 2 and Tetris

Favorite GBA soundtrack:  Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire & Emerald

Ruby_EN_boxartYouTube playlist

My review of this game

So, I decided to give the GBA a separate entry on this list because the sound chip of the GBA is so much different than the Gameboy & Gameboy Color’s so it wouldn’t be fair to put them all in one entry.

In any case, it’s time to talk about my 2nd favorite Pokémon games ever made. And the soundtrack in this game might use a lot of trumpets and French horn, but I honestly don’t mind one bit about it. The soundtrack is enjoyable to listen to it.

The secret bases in this game is a feature I messed around with a lot. As a kid, I always imagined that it was my own gym. And wouldn’t you know it, they use exactly that blur when they advertise the remakes of that game. “Build secret bases, build it like your own gym.” The childhood nostalgia is strong for this one.

Honorable mentions: Nicktoons – Battle For Vulcano Island, The Legend Of Zelda – Minish Cap, Golden Sun, Mario & Luigi – Superstar Saga and Sims 2

Favorite DS soundtrack: Pokémon Mystery Dungeon – Explorers Of Darkness/Time & Sky

Full OST250px-MD_Sky_EN_boxart

Review of the game

So, the DS is my favorite portable system ever. The follow-up system, the 3DS is an amazing replacement. I had the hardest time choosing my favorite soundtrack for this system and even deciding on only 5 honorable mentions.

In the end, I went with a soundtrack of a game that brings back a lot of memories. From both playing the game and the memories of the events that happened in my personal life.

And that “I don’t want to say goodbye” track. Honestly, when I listen to it nowadays, I get teary eyes sometimes. The writing of that part was done so good. It’s a great piece. I love hearing remixes of it since the structure of the song is just so recognizable. Just play the game until the end and I think you will understand why this song has so many emotions for everybody that played this game.

Honorable mentions: Ace Attorney Trails & Tribulations, 999: 9 Hours, 9 Doors, 9 People, Time Hollow, Suikoden Tierkreis and Clubhouse Games

Favorite 3DS soundtrack: Stella Glow

SGCoverRGBYouTube Playlist

My review of the game

I’m glad that I choose to separate the DS and 3DS library for this article. I wouldn’t have been wise to combine those two for one entry. I would never be able to choose one soundtrack.

But, I’m getting off topic. Why is Stella Glow my favorite 3DS soundtrack? Well, because the game’s story is just so well written, I love it to bits. When I downloaded the demo for this game, I was hooked on the story. I placed a note in my budget of the upcoming month to buy this game. But then, thanks to ButtonSmashers, I got a free review copy of this game. Thanks again! Since I discovered this amazing gem of a game.

I know that the game has flaws, but in my eyes; it’s one of the best games I have played on the 3DS. If somebody asks me for recommendations to play on the 3DS, I always mention this game. Just read my review if you want to know why I think this game is so good. Oh, and I decided to replay the game from the beginning. To relive the whole experience again. But this time, I’ll pick different options! A story heavy RPG with replay value, what do you want more?

Honorable mentions: Zero Time Dilemma, Etrian Odyssey Untold 2 – Fafnir KnightProfessor Layton vs Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney, Fire Emblem Awakening and Kirby Triple Deluxe

My favorite Wii U soundtrack: Hyrule Warriors

WiiU_HyruleWarriors_BoxartSoundtrack

First Impression

To pick the best soundtrack on the Wii U was quite a tricky one. While there are so many great games released on the system, why did I choose for Hyrule Warriors?

First, because this is one of the best Zelda spin-off games I have ever played. It introduced me to a whole new genre I never really paid attention to. And now, I’m playing Destiny Warrior games when I have the time.

Second, this soundtrack is so fun to listen to. It brings back personal memories from when I was writing fantasy stories.

And my last reason, it has amazing remixes of existing Zelda songs. So, the nostalgia is strong in this one.

While I have finished the main campaign for a long time now, I haven’t finished adventure mode yet. But, writing about this game reminds me, I should review this game and give my final opinion on it… One thing is for sure, this game has an amazing soundtrack!

Honorable mentions: Captian Toad – Treasure Tracker, Lego City Undercover, Rayman Legends, Bayonetta 2 and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

My favorite PSP soundtrack: Corpse Party Blood Driven

Corpse Party (USA)

Soundtrack playlist (Includes soundtrack of sequel)

Review of this game

If you haven’t seen this one coming, shame on you. Corpse Party Blood Driven is one of the first gore horror games I ever played. I own this game one several different platforms.

The story and setting of this game are just amazing. I’m just so happy that this game is getting the recognition it deserves after famous YouTubers did a let’s play of it. The only thing I wish is that there were more new games made instead of the remakes. But hey, more Corpse Party is more Corpse Party. So, I’m not complaining that much.

Honorable mentions:  Shadow Of Memories, Legend Of Heroes – Trails in the Sky, Jeanne D’Arc, Ape Escape – On The Loose and Castlevania – The Dracula X Chronicles

My favorite PS1 soundtrack: Tomb Raider II

Tomb_Raider_II.png

Full OST

My review

As a kid, I heard a lot about the Tomb Raider franchise. My first Tomb Raider game was Tomb Raider Chronicles. I fell in love with the gameplay and it reminded me of all the adventure games I played.

Fast forward to 2014. I got my hands on an old desktop and I fixed it up, formatted the hard drive and installed Windows98 SE on it. Now, I started playing all the old Tomb Raider games. While I play all 5 Tomb Raider games on that machine in any order I feel like playing them, Tomb Raider II is a special case. Since I’m trying to beat that game too on the original PlayStation. Yup, I’m playing the PC version and the PS One version. For my playstyle, I prefer the computer edition since I am not too used to the PlayStation controller, to be honest.

The only thing that I dislike about this soundtrack is that it’s rather short. The whole soundtrack is just a half hour to forty minutes long. It’s a shame since the soundtrack for TR II is pretty great. It comes recommend when you love early adventure games’ soundtracks. But, to be honest, I don’t really mind too much about the short length of the soundtrack since the lack of music sometimes sets a great atmosphere for raiding tombs. Maybe we are too spoiled nowadays with music in every single area or event.

Honorable mentions: Rayman, Time Crisis, Final Fantasy 7, A Bug’s Life, Tarzan

My favorite SNES soundtrack: Lufia II

Lufia_II.jpg

Full soundtrack

First Impression

So, I love the SNES. It’s one of the earliest consoles I played over at my cousin’s house. But, my favorite SNES soundtrack is a game that I played in recent years.

The name of the game is Lufia II. Why is this my favorite soundtrack on the SNES. Well, because I own the boxed copy that got translated to my own mother language. Yes, Lufia II got fully translated into Dutch. The fact that I can play a classic RPG in my native language is just mind blowing to me. Dutch isn’t a widely spoken language, so it amazes me that they translated an RPG into Dutch. So, when I think about the SNES, I often think about that fact and the soundtrack comes right along with it.

Maybe the fact that when my uncle gave me his SNES, this was the first game I started playing has something to do with it, I have no clue. But hey, this game is really awesome and I should try and finish it.

Honorable mentions: Secret of Mana, StarWing, The Legend Of Zelda – A Link To The Past, Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG – The Legend Of The Seven Stars

My favorite Wii soundtrack: Okami

okami-wii-boxart

Soundtrack part 1Soundtrack part 2

First Impression

Do I think that Okami is a Zelda clone? Interesting question. Well, it’s a Zelda-style game, but the unique mechanic of the brush is enough for me to make it stand out.

The visual presentation, the setting, the music and the gameplay are all things that make me love this game. I think that Okami is one of the best games ever made on the Wii without a doubt. I honestly think that the game is better with the mention controls. At least for me, since I can’t imagine drawing with an analog stick. But hey, that’s my opinion.

I really have to finish this game, since I finished the sequel Okamiden. I also secretly hope that Okami 2 or a new entry in the series will be a reality one day. So, please be true rumors that went around at E3 2016. Please.

Honorable mentions: The Legend Of Zelda – Skyward Sword, BoomBlocks, Pandora’s Tower, Kirby Epic Yarn and Super Smash Brawl

My favorite PS2 soundtrack: Dragon Quest 8: Journey Of The Cursed King

Dragon_Quest_VIII_Journey_of_the_Cursed_King

Full soundtrack

First impression

I know that this game got a remake/port on the 3DS last year. I bought the game, but I honestly enjoy it more on the PS2. Just my nostalgia speaking, I guess.

So, I learned about the Dragon Quest series when I played Dragon Quest IX on the DS. I was so hooked on that game, I wanted to play more Dragon Quest. So, when I was in my local game store and saw this game second hand, I bought it. I played it here and there but never got really far. But, last summer, I played a lot of this game during my break and I enjoyed myself a whole lot. It brought back memories of me playing Dragon Quest IX on my DS when I was younger.

At the moment of writing, I’m in Peregrin Quay. I know that isn’t too far, but hey, this game is quite grindy. But, I want to finish this game but that’s gonna take a long time.

Honorable mentions: God Of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Rachet & Clank, Escape From Monkey Island and Grand Theft Auto Vice City

My favorite Android soundtrack: Game Dev Story

YouTube playlistGameDevStory

Review of this game

Well, I think it’s no secret that I like the soundtrack of this game after you have read my review of the game.

There are times I listen to different music when I’m playing this game, but I play this game more with the actual soundtrack playing. It’s quite good and I recommend it to everybody who enjoys catchy tunes.

Honorable mentions: Quell, Monument Valley, Lara Croft Go, The Room and Thomas Was Alone

Final thoughts

I promised a special article, so here it is! A quite lengthy article, I know. At first, I was going to limit myself to a top 5 soundtracks, but then I decided… Hey, let’s pick for each game system one soundtrack. I had to limit myself to 5 honorable mentions/system, otherwise, the honorable mentions of some systems would be longer than the talk about the game and soundtrack itself.  So, I still have a lot of tracks and stuff to talk about for another couple of gaming music articles.

I think it’s quite clear that I love game music. I often listen to soundtracks while I’m at work or while I’m writing articles. I can’t really explain why. That love for gaming music is the reason why I love writing these articles.

In any case, it’s time to wrap this article up since it has been going on for way too long! I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing this article. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article but until then, take care and have a great rest of your day!

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Top 10 Wii games I played until now – Part 2

wii_repairPart 1 (10 – 6)

So, it’s time to talk about my top 5 favorite Wii games. I was rather surprised by the warm reception of my previous article. I really thought that it would slip under the radar since the Wii is out for quite a while and it’s now kind of obsolete because of the Wii U. In any case, I don’t own my Wii U yet, but that day will come soon. I’m still deciding which game I’m going to buy first. It’s a draw between Zelda, Wind Waker – Hyrule Warriors and Bayonetta 2. I might buy one game and ask for the other one(s) for Christmas. But hey, now I’m going off-topic. It’s time to talk about MY favorite games on the Wii. I’m quite sure that I haven’t played a lot of very good titles since I focused myself on games I heard a lot about. Also, if you followed my blog for a long time, you might be able to guess some of my entries here. So, I hope that you are ready for this since I’m going to talk about a few amazing titles for the Nintendo Wii! And as usual, feel free to leave a comment with your opinion on the content of this article and/or the games. Feedback is always welcome. I use it to improve my blog. Oh, and feel free to leave your top 10 Wii games in the comments too. 

 

#5: Donkey Kong Country Returns

donkey_kong_country_returns_boxartBefore I came up with the idea for this article, I wanted to write a first impression about this game. But why is this game so high on my list? Well, that’s because when I play this game it gives me a vibe that I want to play on my SNES later. Why is this such important to me? Well, I love retro games. And when a game inspires me to play more retro games… That’s a good thing in my book.

This game is a sort of remake of the original Donkey Kong series. A series I have read some many articles and watched so many videos about. Like I told in an earlier article, I haven’t owned a console since the Nintendo Wii. I have played the Gameboy and PC when I was young. While I played a lot of games, I also wrote a lot of stories. So, honestly, I wasn’t that interested in consoles. Apart from the Nintendo64. Since one of my friends brought his one over to play with.

Retro Game Studios really lives up to it’s name. This game is even more proof, since it brings back memories of those times I played on a console in my childhood. But not that alone, this game is a rather solid platformer. I don’t play a lot of platformers since I’m not that interested in them. When I play a platformer, it must have a history or a certain gimmick. And this game combines both. This game has a history, it’s a remake of one of the best platformers ever made for the SNES. It also has a gimmick that sets it apart. Which is, when you are full health, you get Diddy, who gives you special perks.

If you haven’t played this game, what are you waiting for? Give it a jump.. Bad pun, I meant give it a play.

#4: WarioLand Shake It!

250px-WarioLandShakeIt Time for another shocker? This is the first Wii game I ever played. Yes, I was actually planning to buy a Wii for the Legend Of Zelda games, but the first game I bought was Warioland Shake It. Well, I know it under the name of Warioland: The Shake Dimension since I live in Europe.

Earlier I said that the only time I enjoy platformers is when they have a certain gimmick. And this game has that cover easily. It uses the motion controls of the Wii really well but doesn’t depend on them.

Personally, I think that the Wario games are better then the Mario games. Am I saying that Mario games are bad? Hell no, they are one of the best platformers in the genre. But the Wario games always add something to the mix. The stories are more varied and there is more variation in the enemies. I could try and explain why I think the Wario games are better then the Mario games, but hey… That’s comparing your favorite TV-series versus your favorite movie series. It are both things you watch but in reality they are two very different things.

This game has another thing going for it. When you are good at platformers, this game has additional objectives which make the game extremely hard in my opinion. You can’t take damage or you need to collect every coin. And with some brutally placed enemies, that’s very difficult.

Oh, I haven’t forgot about the shaking mechanic. That’s the most interesting of this game. Seriously, to get coins or healing items you need to shake things. Yup, this makes even defeating the smallest enemies worthwhile in some situations.

#3: Another Code R – Journey into lost memories

425px-AnothercodeR

Oh my, I played this game in 2013 and still haven’t beaten it…? Well, the reason for that is that my SD card died where my save file was stored. I was really far into the game but then when I played it for the 2nd time, I ate something by accident that you needed in order to progress in the story. I think it was possible to progress even without that item but I deleted my save file. I didn’t feel playing through the game for a 3rd time for over a year.

But earlier this week, I started to replay this game. It’s such a shame that I didn’t start my 3rd playthrough earlier. This game is a very nice and realistic mystery novel. It continues where the DS game left off. It further fleshes out the story of the Robins family. Thrilling is the word I would use it to describe it.

I know that this game can be boring for some people. It’s somewhat slow paced and it doesn’t have a lot of “action” that you would find in other games. The gameplay is mostly running around a rather nice lake and forest area to solve puzzles that could happen in real life too. But the execution, writing, music, presentation and characters are what keeps this game together.

But the biggest reason that this game is so high on my list is a rather personal one with one of the main characters. I don’t feel comfortable talking about it on my blog believe me, this game touched me on a personal level. That’s why I put this game on the 3rd place on my list. If you want a great story and feel like playing an adventure game… Pick up this game as soon as you can. If you want to know more about my thoughts about the game, I linked my first impression article for you to read.

#2: Okami

okami-wii-boxart

Raise your hand if you didn’t see this game coming. This gem of a game deserves a high spot on everybody’s favorite Wii games list in my opinion. Explaining this game is rather difficult. The best explanation is, it’s a Zelda game in Japanese mythology with a Japanese hand-drawn art-style.

I have written a first impression about this game almost a year ago. This game is totally worth it to check out. While it released first on the PS2, I think that this game deserves motion controls. Since you need to draw on the screen or draw some objects, I think that this game would be quite a pain to play with a controller. But hey, I haven’t played this game with a controller and maybe those things are changed to work well on a controller.

This series of games needs more entries Capcom. I want to see an Okami 3! Seriously, this game is really addictive. I played this game and the sequel on the DS more times then I dare to admit. It’s a game I often bring up when I want to prove that games can educate or can be works of art as well. At the other hand, the story is neatly wrapped up in the end so a 3rd game would need to introduce more characters… It could go horribly wrong.

There were a few moments I didn’t like in this game. Some weapons make the main character glitch out real bad and some bomb mini-games.. Well, if you aren’t perfect, you won’t make it.

This game is one you have to play when you enjoy the Japanese culture. Also, when you are a big Zelda fan… You owe it to yourself to play this game. For more of my thoughts, I advise you to read my first impression article I linked for you guys to enjoy.

Honorable mentions

It was rather hard making this top 10. So, I had to cut out some great titles. Since they deserve to be mentioned, here are the other games that didn’t made the list. Well, most of them.

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure, Kirby: Return To Dreamland, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, Fragile Dreams, WarioWare: Smooth Moves, Red Steel, Boomblox, Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Brothers Brawl, No More Heroes 2, Super Paper Mario, Resident Evil Dark Chronicles, Pikmin 2, Pokémon Battle Revolution and Super Mario Galaxy 1/2.

#1: The Legend Of Zelda – Skyward Sword

Zeldaskywardswordlogo

If you follow my blog, you must have seen this one coming. A Zelda game as number one. The hardest part was deciding between Twilight Princess and this one. Both bring such different styles to the table, it’s was a difficult decision to make. Both games have different and enjoyable memories for me that made it even harder to decide.

But the difference was in the controls of Skyward Sword. How Link does the exact some movements you do with the Wii Remote blew me away. It felt like I was him. That I was part of this adventure.

I think it made it extremely clear how big of an influence this series is and was on me. The music of this game helped me through rough periods and it was the series I played the most as a kid. I even compared elements of the Zelda series to other games in it’s genre and got me interested in reviewing games. The Zelda games are also the main reason why I want to buy the Nintendo consoles. In the past I bought the newest gameboy to play the latest Pokémon on, but now those games are a close second. I bought a DS for Phantom Hourglass, I bought a Wii for Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword; and I bought a 3DS for Ocarina Of Time 3D. Now, I’m planning to buy a Wii U for Hyrule Warriors.

In any case, if you want to read about my thoughts of this game… I linked my first impression of this game. I have one thing to admit, I still haven’t beaten this game. But I think that the holiday season of this year might change that. So stay tuned.

Wrapping up

This list was extremely hard to put together. The reason I haven’t written this top 10 earlier was because I honestly thought that I didn’t play so much different Wii games. Looking back after writing this article, I’m surprised how wrong I was.

The Nintendo Wii is an amazing console and has an amazing library. I’m quite sure that I will enjoy the games I want to beat even more now since I start to realize that this console has still a whole lot of amazing games and fun moments up it’s sleeve. So, maybe in the future you will see even more articles on Wii games. If you want me to take a look at a certain Wii game, tell it to me in the comments and I will try to take a look at it.

In any case, this was a rather long article. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I hope to see you in another article in the near future! But until then, have a great day and game on!

First Impression: Okami (Wii) ~ Drawn.

Okami-wiiHD remake site

So, this game has been remade into a HD remake. Honestly, it’s one of my favorite Wii games. It’s also one of my favorite games ever made. Now, it’s a big shame that I never wrote about this game. In addition to that, I haven’t been writing about Wii games as much as I like. The console is pretty close to my heart. Since it’s the first console I owned AND I got it for finishing my studies at high school. This game originally came out for the PS2. I was really amazed that the PS2 could handle this kind of games. But I learned that later, since I felt like this game was made for the Wii. The motion controls truly blow the PS2 version out of the water. But, is this game as good as I’m claiming? Or am I blinded by nostalgia here? Well, let’s take a look to this game. Feel free to leave a comment on the game and or my article. But anyways, let’s start. 

Game of legends

24077_Okami-53

The story in this game is something special. The opening scene gives you a feel that the story is going to be one you have experienced already before with other characters.

But trust me, the opening of this game doesn’t show at all what this story has in store for you.

I nearly had beaten the game, but then a friend of mine saved over my save file by accident. So, I lost all my progress. I was really bummed out since this is a rather lengthy game. I peeked at the walkthrough, and while I was nearing the end… I had put around 40 hours into this game.

At it’s core, you can compare Okami a bit with the Zelda series. While that series focuses more on saving Zelda with a twist, Okami gives you something truly different. As good as everything in the game is based on Japanese lore. I’m not kidding you. At the end of this game, you have seen a lot of Japanese myths and stories, without even knowing it.

For this reason, I won’t go every in-depth with the story. It’s too beautifully crafted to have something spoiled for you. The only thing I will tell you is that you play a wolf god who travels with a bug-sized warrior-artist.

The writing can be funny at some times and I had times where the story nearly made me emotional. This story is one that takes your attention and doesn’t give it back until you have beaten the game.

HD graphics? No need for that!

okami wii fire

I use this game as an example to defend Nintendo when people are bashing them for not having a console that can render HD graphics. Now they do with the Wii U.

But this game in general proves a point. You don’t need amazing realistic graphics to have an eye-candy game. The art style truly looks amazing. You get the feeling that every character, scenery, animation… is drawn by hand. Well, not just drawn, water painted. Which is a lot more difficult then just drawing. Because when you mess up with paint, you can’t easily erase it.

The game looks stunning. You can truly feel the love and devotion the team put into this game. And every single place is memorable in it’s own right. Because this is an adventure (action) game, there is backtracking. But in this game, that’s not a bad thing. Since almost in each area, there are parts you can only access with certain powers you obtain later in the game. So, you can discover new things and find treasures even after the main story has already happened on that place.

I can honestly talk about the visual aspect of this game for a long time, but sadly, I have to mention a negative here. There is a rare bug that I experienced several times. There is this weapon you can use to attack enemies with. It’s a yellow magenta kind of thing; While it’s one of my favorite weapons to use, the graphics can go glitch out. You know that you’re affected by this when you don’t see the heads of the characters anymore, since they are stretched out. And I have even worse news, you will have to skip cutscenes then. Since they all glitch out. The glitch can only be fixed by running to a save portal and saving the game. When you restart then, the graphics are thankfully fixed.

Playing this game

okami-wii-ps2-screenshot-wiLong time readers of my blog know the drill by now, this segment is actually the part where I close off the first impression. But I have only talked about how beautiful this game is and how strong the story is.

Now, I can’t fit the gameplay, music, difficulty, controls and such in this final segment. It wouldn’t do the game justice.

Surely, I will talk about those things more in depth in  the review, if I ever write it, so don’t worry. You will hear my opinion on it.

Honestly, I truly think that you should play this game for yourself. This game is a game that benefits more playing blindly then reading up about it before you play it. A great tip that I give you is that you have a tablet or a laptop close to look up the actual myths and lore behind the game. Since you will find amazing stories.

To close off this article, let me get one thing clear. Is this game a clone of the Zelda formula? Well, yes and no. There are a lot of similar elements to the Zelda formula but it has it’s own unique elements that make it a very different game then Zelda. But, what I can tell you for sure is that this game is a blast to play for every Zelda fan! You would be a fool to let this game go under your radar and never play it.

Anyways, I think I’ll leave it here. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I couldn’t stop myself writing about this game. Hopefully I see you another time!

Gaming Music – Number 7: Moar good tracks

EletronicSuperJoy

More music articles

Oh yes, it’s time to write a new article for this series again. In this article, I didn’t look for artwork that has to do with game music but I used the first screen from Electronic Super Joy. A game that’s good because of the music. Anyways, I’m a huge fan of game music. I admit that I listen to it nearly all the time. Even when going to work. It’s just addicting to listen to the amazing tunes they create for games. The atmosphere is just so… amazing thanks to the music. Now, I do have some rules. I can’t pick two tracks of one game in each article. Also, I avoid picking two tracks from the same series in one article. I hope I never slip up and pick one track twice. If that happens, feel free to leave a comment. Oh, and do feel free to comment on my music picks for this article. Anyways, here we go!

#1: The Legend Of Zelda – A Link Between Worlds (3DS) – Lowrule Overworld Theme

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Such a shame that I haven’t finished this game. Yet, the music is amazing. I really enjoy the melody of this tune. Yet, I have written a first impression of this game.

You truly recognize the melody of the overworld from Hyrule. This theme gives a more acapella-remix, one where the major leading instruments are taken out.

To be honest, this was my ringtone while I was playing the game. It happens frequently that a track from a game I really like becomes my ringtone.

Something I dislike about this track is how it doesn’t fit the mood of Lowrule as I image it. I honestly think it should be a lot darker. Then again, this track might be in such a light mood since our hero is bringing light and peace to this realm.

Yeah, this must be it.

#2: Professor Layton vs Ace Attorney: Phoenix Wright (3DS) – Objection Theme

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Remember my extremely long review of this game? Or my first impression. The game is amazing in my eyes. It really deserved all the hype and it totally met all my expectations. As usual, I ignored the posts with new screenshots to avoid spoilers. This way I can totally hype up myself.

I’m still enjoying the additional content for this game. Maybe one day, I might write a game quicky about it. Who knows. I’m changing the formula of game quickies anyways.

But I really enjoy this theme, it’s one of the best in the series. I’m hoping they are making a sequel for this game in the future since it deserves one. This is one of those kind of games where you’re sad it’s over. And be sure that I put the music of this game on replay. Just like this track. No question about it.

#3:  Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald (GBA) – Legendary Pokemon

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When this track played when I found the legendary Pokémon for the first time in Ruby, I was hyped. While I think that the second generation is the best Pokémon generation, the 3rd game is the actual game I really got into the series.

This track still stays with me until this day. I fondly remember decoding the braille marking on the stones on get the Reggies.

I love listing to this track when I’m riding my bike home through the rain. I get the same vibe then from fighting a legendary Pokémon.

What kind of memories do you have with this track? Please let me know in the comments. Since I’m really curious.

#4: DuckTales: Remastered (PC ~ Steam) – The Moon

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I haven’t played a lot of this game. Yet, this track got posted on my forum by one of my friends who finished the game. He says that they keep this track until the end of the game. And dayum, is this a track to close off the game.

I really liked the music in the original but the remix for the remastered version is really amazing. Thumbs up for the creator of this track, or the remixer. It’s really well done. It’s almost perfect. I feel a new ringtone coming up. Yeah, I think I might take this one as a ringtone for a while.

#5: Okami (Wii) – Giving Kushinada A Ride

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Man, I’m so bummed out that I saved over my save file. I need to restart this game. Now, this game isn’t too hard so it’s no real pain. The biggest issue is that I have to restart. And this game is pretty long.

Strangely, I haven’t written any article about this game. Well, I have mentioned it in an article of games I want to finish. But that has been an article of last year. Now, I added this game to the list to write a first impression about in the future. Maybe you will see this game appearing on my blog in August.

This game has beautiful music. That’s why I’m mentioning a track in the article of course. The music is very amazing. You really can image giving somebody a ride (to safety). Through a beautiful painted landscape, this moment is really memorable.

The rest of the soundtrack is pretty amazing, but none is so memorable to me as this one. Yeah, when you play it and get to this moment… You will understand what I mean.

And yeah, this track is my alarm in the morning. When I need to wake up and go to work. It really wakes me up. (And my mother, who is in the room next doors.)

Final words

There we go, another music article. I hope you enjoyed this one. For my next article in this series I have an amazing idea. I’m listing the remixes and game-related music tracks I love to listen to.

I have a few great tracks in mind. And it might not be the only one of it’s kind. So yeah, keep an eye on my social media for more updates on the releases.

Anyways, I think I’m going to end this article here. Thanks for reading and until the next time!