[Album] Beyond Good and Evil (Game Rip)

Beyond Good and Evil
Composed by:Christophe Heral
Publisher: None (gamerip); variation #1 availible at http://gh.ffshrine.org/soundtracks/785
Catalog Number: None (gamerip)

Track List (Variation #1)
01 - In the Beginning
02 - Dancing With DomZ
03 - Home Sweet Home
04 - Hyllian Suite
05 - Mammago Garage
06 - Isle de Noir
07 - Mineshaft Madness
08 - Say Cheese, Fellas
09 - Akuda House Propaganda
10 - Ancient Chinese Secrets
11 - Don't Fear the Reaper
12 - Fear the Reaper
13 - Fun and Mini-Games
14 - Funky Bar 100
15 - When DomZ Attack
16 - Slaughterhouse Scramble
17 - Sneaky Jade Suite
18 - Organic Beauty
19 - Violent Jade Suite
20 - Heart of Darkness
21 - Metal Gear DomZ
22 - Something Completely Different
23 - Behind Enemy Lines
24 - Free Your Mind
25 - Thoughtful Reflections
26 - Enfants Disparus
27 - Above and Beyond
28 - Unacceptable Losses
29 - Redemption

It's really too bad when a good, innovative game doesn't find an audience, as was the case with UbiSoft's "Beyond Good and Evil." And even bigger shame is that the game's failure precluded a soundtrack release of any kind. However, the industrious gameripping community has come to the rescue, and Christope Heral's score to BG&E is now availible for all to listen to.

A note on the various releases: there are two gamerips that are more or less equally distributed. One is an arranged rip, that takes much of the best music and arranges it into suites; the tracklist for this rip is provided. The second rip is the complete rip of all music and sound effects from the game, and is over a hundred tracks long. The arranged rip is good for casual fans or those wishing to get a fell for the music; the complete rip is reccommended for completists and those who want to assemble their own arrangements.

The most interesting aspect of the score is its acapella nature; the human voice, often heavily sampled and modified, is a central instrument in many of the tracks, often as a rhythmic accompaniment. There are also some more traditional vocal tracks--genrally poppish tunes like "Propaganda" and "Mammago Garage." There is also a heavy choral factor, with several battle track featuring an impressive chorus of human and alien voices, as in "Dance with DomZ."

A number of tracks feature a very warm, earthy sound, established by marimbas and flutes, to represent the surface of the game world. These warm melodies, like "Hyllian Suite" and "Home Sweet Home" are among the most melodic tunes in the score, with the acapella voices generally mixed very low.

There are some harsher, more metallic and techno-based pieces as well, either as fast-paced battle themes like "Fear the Reaper," or ambient tracks like "Don't Fear the Reaper." The battle themes tend to have a percussive sound, with heavy layering of drum hits and acapella, while the ambient pieces are dominated by metal-on-metal hits, as well as groaning and scraping noises.

The major highlights include the finale, "Redemption," which features a child soloist before swelling to a full orchestra and chorus with minor electronic accompaniment and soaring to a breathless finale. "Dance with Domz" is another impressive choral piece, especially at the beginning of the suite version listed above, when an angelic female choir is slowly subsumed and replaced with demonic DomZ chants over a techno base. The final battle, which is not included in the above rip, also features an impressive adult chorus at its climax.The Hyllian music, especially "Hyllian Suite" and "Home Sweet Home" are also extremely impressive. They create a very idyllic, almost mournful, atmosphere, and both tracks have done well in GFF "best-of" contests.

In the end, whichever verison you get, BG&E is an immensely eclectic and impressive score. Its innovation and use of the human voice are high points, while the extended sequences of dreary ambience are tiresome, and ultimately prevent the score as a whole from attaining top marks.

4/5

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Excellent format for the first post of the first game rip thread, but I decided to change the part on the thread title from "(no catalog number)" to "(Game Rip)" in order to not mix it up with a hypothetical published album that simply had no catalog number.

Anyway, it's been a while since I've played through this game (and in that case, listened to the entire soundtrack), but the music is unique and fitting. "Home Sweet Home" and "Hyllian Suite" are recommended listening for anyone; they're excellent.

P.S. orion, you how to rate threads, right?

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by Kaleb.G

P.S. orion, you how to rate threads, right?

Yeah, but I usually refrain from doing so, espeically ones I myself create

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.