Synth music – does this remind you of sth?

Hi there! I�m Natassja from germany and though I registered here quite some time ago I’m ashamed to say that I haven’t looked around here for years (*shock*), not even just for getting DL-links.
I hope in the future I can contribute with some useful stuff but at this "new start" of mine I come up directly with a request. Maybe you can help me out…

So, I’m a huge fan of memorable synth driven action/fantasy music like in the following links (of a band, not of a game). Triumphant, bombastic stuff with a fanfare-like feel to it. Best in the form of catchy themes and not background ambience…
It would be great if you could listen shortly to these tracks and tell me if they remind you of certain videogame music and if so of which one.

The more synth/keyboard like and the less "real" orchestrated, the better (not kidding 😉 ) so I guess this kind of music will be found mostly in games from the 80s and 90s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOZ1upBaDYI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lSjy5nlOfk

Thank you very, very much in advance,
Natassja

It would be great if you could listen shortly to these tracks and tell me if they remind you of certain videogame music and if so of which one.
Can’t help with this one but…
I really like Bal-Sagoth – Battle Magic. Thanks for the link.

Can’t help with this one but…
I really like Bal-Sagoth – Battle Magic. Thanks for the link.

hehe 🙂 sweet. you’re welcome 🙂
and it doesn’t raise a thought of similar game music in you?

You might like the music from the Ogre series: look for Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, and Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber. "Battle Magic" actually sounds to me a lot like one of the composers’ style and it would have fit right in with some of the calmer themes in any of those games. The first two have the original sound from the Super Nintendo and upgraded synth versions that sound pretty much on par the synth on your examples, so you have choices. Ogre Battle 64 has the original and upgraded synth as well. Do a search and you can probably find them here, but I think I had to go to Galbadia Hotel for 64.

If you’re looking for melody-driven soundtracks composed mostly of synth, then you might want to look at games made by Falcom or games from the Dept. Heaven series. Though be warned that most of my suggestions are not as orchestra-heavy as the examples you provided.

For Falcom games, some of the soundtracks from Ys I to Ys IV should be right up your alley. The Ys series has always been known for memorable songs, though it has more of a rock feel to it. I’m sure you’ll find quite a number of Ys songs that fit that ‘triumphant’ sound you’re looking for. The original soundtracks for Legend of Xanadu and Xanadu II might sound more synth-y than you’d like, but they have quite a few memorable tracks. Popful Mail’s soundtrack is also good enough to warrant a look into. The Legend of Heroes series has more of that traditional RPG score feel to it, but the MIDI albums and some of the arranged ones might work for you. VM Japan is nice mix of Japanese instrumental and orchestrated synth with elements of dance music thrown in, but I don’t think it’s what you’re looking for.

The Dept. Heaven series should be easier to locate as all the official soundtracks are relatively new. The soundtrack for Riviera: The Promised Land is a mix of rock and orchestrated synth while the soundtrack to Yggdra Union is about the same in terms of instrumentation though with less guitar action. Knights in the Nightmare is more orchestra synth-heavy, but it keeps the same feel as Riviera and Yggdra Union.

The various soundtracks to Lunar Silver Star and Lunar Eternal Blue also have quality compositions that feature some heroic tracks; definitely a synth orchrestra experience.

Finally, I’ll suggest Dissidia: Final Fantasy Original Soundtrack, Wild Arms Music the Best – Rocking Heart, and Tales of Series Battle Arrange Tracks. All three soundtracks are essentially a collection of battle tracks from various games in their respective series.

Oh, and Valkyrie Profile Original Soundtrack..

Thanks, nothingtosay & Lackadaisical!
That’s a whole lot for me to check out. I only grabbed some songs from "Ys" and "Ogre Battle 64" from the Hotel before leaving off to work.
Listened to those tracks while on my way to work and esp. the "Ogre" stuff is really very close to what I’m looking for. The few tracks I loaded from "Ys" were a bit too soft but I will surely be checking out more stuff from taht and all the other games you both mentioned.
It’s just a matter of time 😉 Of course I keep you updated which ones fitted best.
Thanks and thanks again!
So, just keep more coming if you can think of more.

I focused more on the melodic/heroic-sounding aspects of your request as opposed to looking for soundtracks with that basically have that slower, orchestral vibe. So, what you were essentially looking for was an orchestra synth-based soundtrack with a lot of marches in ’em?

Most strategic roleplaying games have soundtracks with similar battle themes like the Ogre series, but I wouldn’t consider soundtracks like that very "catchy", or rather, it would be hard for me to distinguish them from one another as the instrumentation has very little variety. The Langrisser series and Tokyo Majin Gakuen series probably have the most memorable soundtracks for a strategic roleplaying series, but again, they don’t have the typical Ogre sound.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone refer to a Ys soundtrack as ‘too soft’ outside of some of the arranged soundtracks that were designed to be soft like the Piano or Heal soundtracks.

So, what you were essentially looking for was an orchestra synth-based soundtrack with a lot of marches in ’em?.

Hmm, yes, I guess that’s the right way to describe it 🙂

And with "catchy" I don’t really think of catchy as, say, some pop songs or so are but if you take the two linked Bal Sagoth tracks they have some repetetive parts/fanfares in them which I just can’t get out of my head.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone refer to a Ys soundtrack as ‘too soft’ outside of some of the arranged soundtracks that were designed to be soft like the Piano or Heal soundtracks.

I only downloaded eight tracks of the "Ys" soundtrack (from the Hotel) this morning and these were rather soft, with which I mean basically that they somewhat lack the "marching/fanfare" aspect. But as I saw there are at least four or five full soundtracks so there’s a whole lot more to discover 🙂

Going to add langrisser and Tokyo Majin Gakuen to the list of what I have to check out. So, thanks for these recommendations, too 🙂
Damn – I need more time *sigh* 😉

a short edit to my prev. post. There are so many "Ys" on the Hotel. With which one should I start in your opinion?

Ys & Ys II Eternal
Ys -The Oath in Felghana- Pre Arrange Version
Ys 6 – The Return
Ys Ancient Vanished Omens – Perfect Collection Arranged Soundtrack
Ys Dramatic Concert
Ys Healing
Ys Heaven’s Sanctuary Original Sound Track ~ Electric Orchestra
Ys Heaven’s Sanctuary Original Sound Track ~ J.D.K. BAND
Ys II Renewal
Ys II, Perfect Collection
Ys III J.D.K. Band Special ~ X68000 Original Ver + J.D.K. Special Arrange Version
Ys III Redbook
Ys III Wanderers from Ys Game Sound Track
Ys III Wanderers from Ys Super Arrange Version
Ys III, Perfect Collection
Ys IV – The Dawn of Ys
Ys IV The Dawn of Souls, Perfect Collection Vol. 1
Ys IV The Dawn of Souls, Perfect Collection Vol. 2
Ys IV The Dawn of Souls, Perfect Collection Vol. 3
Ys Piano Collection
Ys Piano Collection 2
Ys Renewal
Ys Series Metal Arrange – Tears For The Lovers
Ys Special Collection -All About Falcom- Memorial Sounds
Ys The Oath in Felghana Original Sound Track
Ys The Oath in Felghana Super Arrange Version
Ys V Image Album
Ys V Orchestra Version
Ys VI The Ark of Napishtim Original Sound Track
Ys VI The Songs of Zemeth ~Instrumental Only~
Ys VI The Songs of Zemeth ~Ys VI Vocal Version~
Ys VI Vocal Version, The Songs of Zemeth
Ys, Perfect Collection
Ys, Provincialism
Ys, Symphony ’95
Ys, The Songs of Zemeth ~Instrumental Only~
Ys, Very Best of

"Ark of Napishtim" and "Oath in Felghana" are the best.

sooooo, checked the first 6-7 from each Yggdra Union, Lunar Silver Star, Lunar Eternal Blue and Legend of Heroes. They all sound mostly to nice and not tiumphant enough and, sorry pleeease don’t hit me ;), they are a bit too synthy.. *shame* maybe I need much synth with a slight orchestral/marching feel… well, just like in the tracks from my opening post… and as you pointed out, too:
"orchestra synth-based soundtrack with a lot of marches"

I hope you aren’t bothered by me 🙁
anyway – there are still more to check out and I thank you a big damn lot for posting all these game titles. 🙂
next one will be: Knights in the Nightmare and Valkyrie Profile

If you’re only checking out the first couple of tracks for each soundtrack, then you’re going to miss out on most of the battle tracks for just about any video game soundtrack that belongs to an RPG game. For Yggdra Union, for example, the character battle themes don’t start until track 23. Also, you should have listened to Disc 2 of the Yggdra Union Perfect Audio Collection Plus as that is the arranged version. Although, even if you did listen to Disc 2 as well, the instrumentation is probably not "real" enough for you.

Too lazy to explain myself fully, so I’ll just post links to YouTube and let them do the talking for me. About half of these will come from soundtracks you listened to already; I’m just assuming you didn’t hear the entire soundtrack.

Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete Music Soundtrack – Go! Go! Go! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O50k_Uf4Ns8&feature=related)
Lunar -Harmony of Silver Star- Limited Sound Track – Battle of Light and Shadow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YhvA9UtCVs&feature=related)
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete Music Soundtrack – Justice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wgE1Sv3REw)
Lunar 2: Eternal Blue Complete Music Soundtrack – Star Dragon Theme [’95 Mix] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrb9DgtzXgg&feature=related)
Yggdra Union Perfect Audio Collection Plus – Roswell Sortie! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmJaPAkHE-M&feature=related)
Yggdra Union Perfect Audio Collection Plus – Nietzsche Sortie! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bf4F-kYN3rk&feature=related)
Ys -The Oath in Felghana- Original Sound Track – Steeling the Will to Fight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TOvza93uqE)
Ys -The Oath in Felghana- Original Sound Track – A Searing Struggle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOFrzAnFjxk)
Fire Emblem Sword of Seals Original Soundtrack – Winning Road ~ Roy’s Hopes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6fjfnMuAos)
Symphonic Suite Shining Force II ~Ancient Sealing~ – Finale (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhHOUwb9vEg&feature=PlayList&p=BD8BD724640702E6&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=53)
Symphonic Suite Shining Force II ~Ancient Sealing~ – Warrior of the Reviving Light (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdoFZQXTi4U)
TearRingSaga Original Soundtrack – Red Mercenary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSxnCpu0cgA&feature=PlayList&p=AA5DBBD2DF5CD51B&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=101)
Berwick Saga ~Lazberia Chronicle Chapter 174~ Soundtrack – Berwick Saga(?) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cifLfxOYiP8&feature=related)
Langrisser II Original Game Music – Der Neue Heilige Krieg (http://www.youtube.com/user/monticrystal#p/search/4/7ok4NAgOkjM)
Langrisser II Original Game Music – Unsere Seite (http://www.youtube.com/user/monticrystal#p/search/6/zmkML6F2rFA)

As for the Ogre series, the original Ogre Battle is probably more fanfare-like, Tactics Ogre is a bit darker and more complex, but has more expression. And this reminds me I need to listen to Ogre Battle 64 more, because I can’t remember it well enough to comment about it specifically. 😀

If you’re only checking out the first couple of tracks for each soundtrack, then you’re going to miss out on most of the battle tracks for just about any video game soundtrack that belongs to an RPG game. For Yggdra Union, for example, the character battle themes don’t start until track 23. Also, you should have listened to Disc 2 of the Yggdra Union Perfect Audio Collection Plus as that is the arranged version. Although, even if you did listen to Disc 2 as well, the instrumentation is probably not "real" enough for you.

Damn *bounces-head-against-the-wall* , sure� Of course you’re right but excited and unpatient as I was I just dl-ed what I saw at first glance. I think I will just have to take more time and as you point out look better out for battle-themed tracks.
Oh, yesterday I started listening to one of the various Valkyrie P. scores found on the hotel. The tracks I listened to so far weren’t that "marching" but really, really wonderful (hey, just because they don’t fit this special request of mine it doesn’t mean I don’t like them 😉 ).

And after work I will directly head over to your youtube links 🙂

Thanks for being so patient with me and helpful!

Oh, I doubt you’ll find much on Tokyo Majin Gakuen aside from the music from the animation. It was one of those Japan-only games that’s relatively unheard of anywhere else.

I’ll throw in a few more songs of my choosing, including stuff from Final Fantasy Tactics, though I’m sure you’re familiar with that soundtrack:

Final Fantasy Tactics Original Soundtrack – Trisection (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVrQv36YFgg&feature=related)
Final Fantasy Tactics Original Soundtrack -Trisection – Decisive Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waB8BDjXyV4&feature=related)
Grandia III Original Soundtrack – Attack of Flash (Orchestra Version) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH68GLVRn5k)
Grandia II ~Povo~ – Fight!! Ver. 4 ~ The Final Battle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p29MCpipZTI&feature=related)
Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII- Original Soundtrack – On the Verge of the Assault (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZt1lBWr_zM)
Dissidia -Final Fantasy- Original Soundtrack – Boss Battle (Original) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7UpBMbN2tw&feature=related)
Senjou no Valkyria -Gallian Chronicles- Original Soundtrack – Street Fighting (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0Se7Aw32gE)
Senjou no Valkyria -Gallian Chronicles- Original Soundtrack – Hard Fight (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLW3Gh5bIXI)
Senjou no Valkyria -Gallian Chronicles- Original Soundtrack – Combat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7U-gQjLKwI&feature=related)