Best Original Soundtrack and Arranged Album of 2006 Discussion

Originally Posted by Dragon God

I know the year isin't quite over, but there isin't really anything hype-worthy IMO (aside Gradius Tribute in a few days) until next year.

BOOO! Gradius Tribute, Shin Sangoku MusouBB and an Ys Origin rip (crosses fingers) all have knock-out potential. Those three aside:

Best OST.

#1 Atelier Iris Grand Fantasm

Had to think about this one...It's not vastly different from this composing team's previous offerings, but it does feel like they've really hit their niche with it and melodically, is far more impactful than either AI1 or AI2. Highlights are the well-developed boss themes on disc 2 and the 4 vocal tracks.

#2 Blue Dragon

He's BAAACK!

#3 Phantasy Star Universe OST

Lately, I've become accustomed to the PSO sound and this is very much the next step up for all composers involved. Very happy with how this turned out.

#4 Rumble Roses XX Original Soundtrack

They really played this one to the hilt...While the game is one of the more blatant attempts at fan-service I've seen, the music is a slick combination of hard rock and more groove-based pop music. I'd probably be annoyed at much of the music were I to hear it alone, but knowing what it accompanies, I can't help but have a good time with it.

#5 Ibara

Not much to add to DG's description, but this is easily some of Hosoe's best work.

#6 Legend of Heroes VI SC OST

Didn't care for this a great deal at first because of the extensive amounts of main theme arranges, then it started to grow on me (at least the first CD). Much better sound samples than the original LoH VI OST and mixes in enough trademark Falcom synth-rock with the more orchestral-style pieces.

#7 Ace Combat: Belkan War

Solid AC tunes, seemingly with more of an emphasis on the guitar work. "Mayhem" and "Zero" are probably my favorite two tracks from the series.

#8 Men at Work 1-4 Complete! Original Soundtrack

This was one Teioh got and encoded...Wasn't sure what to expect when I got it (I later found out this was a little-known RPG series from Studio E.go), but it's basically 4 CD's of well-done upbeat melodic techno-funk.

#9 Suikoden V OST

Sup, "Wind of Phantom"! Oh yeah, the rest is good, but the excessive amount of filler and non-looping amazing tracks is maddening. Small glimpses of a return to Suikoden greatness, but still very distant from the series' peak of S1 and S2.

#10 Megaman ZX (gamerip)

Fun stuff...Very classic Rockman sounding, with a lighter feel than previous entries. Even with ZX Tunes around, I do still listen to these tracks.

Arranged:

#1 ZX Tunes

Mmmm...Good stuff. The steller OST tracks arranged and their synth upgraded a great deal = easy win. A+ packaging as well...The little art cards and pencilboard are nice extras. Also, it took me forever to tell the cover was Aile listening to a CD...

#2-4 The Trio of Jesus is Dead - Jailbreak, Wild Arms Rocking Heart and Atelier Iris 2 Arranged: Red Lucifer Rising.

All amazing rock arrange albums in their own right. Rocking Heart met my sky-high expectations (it didn't shatter them...That would have been scientifically impossible, but the arrange of "Battle vs Toka and Ge" is easily my favorite track from 2006), Red Lucifer was more of the same from the AI Arranged album from last year (good news) and Jailbreak was my favorite doujin arrange this year and features some slick rock arranges of some familiar (Mother, Megaten, The Scheme) and non-familiar material (Rance)

#5 Legend of Heroes VI SC Super Arrange/Vocal

Mixed reaction...The SC Super Arrange was actually just an instrumental version of the vocal tracks (which were released seperately), but it still turned out well and it included the Super Arrange for the first LOH VI game (which was originally just released as a promo). Nice package, but it should have been much more than it was.

#6 King of Fighters XI Arranged

Kinda have to mention this, but I'm kind of sick to my stomach about SNK passing off a non-looped instrument upgrade as an arrange. Fortunately, the core melodies were nice enough on their own, but that just made the lack of slick 94-00 style SNK arranges all the more painful. So much potential...

#7 Haganebushi

I don't know the history behind the OST of this, but its' arranged tracks turned out really well.

#8 Chaos Seed

Mmm, Sega Saturn upgraded music of an already-hot SNES score.

And it can't be all peaches and green, so...

Most bad/disappointing...

1. King of Fighters Maximum Impact 2 OST

I hold the original in high regard, even putting it on the level as Guilty Gear music as far as fighting music goes. But this...I don't know what happened here, but this can't even pass for a bunch of lousy B-Sides from the original. It's just a bunch of uninspired junk...And that hurts to say, since I've been one of Toshikazu Tanaka's biggest supporters. His other works this year were solid (just not spectacular), but this just flat out sucks. Back to the drawing board with the MI series...

2. Estpolis Soundtrack (reprint)

They really mangled this one to hell and back. The Lufia 2 tracks don't loop (they do in the original print). The 2 arrangements are flat-out awful. And worst of all, the sound volume is far below any normal music I listen to. The inclusion of the GBC Lufia tracks is hardly compensation. I seriously believe the point of reprinting this was to drive the already-insane prices for the original print even higher...


3. LocoRoco OST

I see what they were going for, but this doesn't have any of the charm of certain Katamari tracks and the made-up language it's all in gets old fast. I don't really see myself playing this game with this music...

4. Dirge of Cerberus

FFXII was more or less what I expected, so I don't really feel disappointed with it...DoC and Hamauzu, I dunno though...I keep going back to this one, hoping to find something that will draw me in, but it's really not happening outside of a handful of tracks. I love Hama's FFX and U:S work, but I feel like he slipped a fair bit with Musashi and even moreso with this...I'm fairly confident he'll be back to his FFX/U:S style for FFXIII though.

5. ESPGaluda II

The first is one of my favorite techno soundtracks and has a number of amazing tunes. This one...isn't and doesn't. Solid, listenable work, but a letdown nontheless.

6. Granada Espada OST

I liked a couple of isolated tracks, but this one kind of degraded into a mess of generic trance/techno that just got too tiring to listen through. SoundTEMP's done much better (not too sure about the others who worked on this).

7. Valkyrie Profile 2 OST's

Not bad at all...In fact, I enjoy a fair number of tracks from these and it's amazing in context. But out of context, I'd say about half of this score completely fizzles. I just haven't really built an attachment to it yet, which is disappointing only because VP1 is my favorite Sakuraba score.

8. Persona 3 OST

A decent score all around, but please leave the crap-rap at home next time, Shoji.

Hon. Mentions: Hiroki Kikuta's "Lost Files" and Mintjam's "5th Gig", both of which were highly enjoyable non-gaming related releases from two of my favorite artists. Hopefully 2007 will lead to big things for both of them.

Jam it back in, in the dark.