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= Club Stoic =

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= Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 14:57:40


Hello and salutations to all of you and Welcome to Club Stoic.

What is Club Stoic?
It is a place for all fans of video game related music to come together and talk. We talk about video game music, remixes, different composers, and hopefully introduce each other to different varieties of video game music. I named it Club Stoic after the actual club in the game Earthbound.

What makes video game music different from other forms?
When music is used in movies and television it is used to set a tone. Video games come off as having you be immersed in the experience. The music that plays in the background can do a lot for you in that aspect. Also in many ways, video game music is one of the last forms of Classical music that we seem to have nowadays and can open the doors to many other forms of electronic music.

Why not have this in the video game forum?
Well I spoke with different forum moderators on whether or not this belonged in that forum. They were all surprised that a club like this didn't exist already. They gave the go ahead for it to be here, so that's what I'm going with. Besides here, many different people can join. Even those who don't like to play video games, but can appreciate the music that goes into them.

RULES

= 1. Video Game Music Only =
We are not here to talk about the video games themselves. If you want to do that then you can head over to the Video Games Forum.

= 2. No Advertising =
This is not a place to advertise your own remixes. If you want to do that then you can try out the Audio Advertisements thread. If your remix is good then it will get noticed and somebody will probably share it here.

= 3. New Members =
If you're a new member then I ask that you share with us five of your favorite video game songs (with the game they came from) and three of your favorite video game composers. No remixes or cover bands to be mentioned in these two lists, but your opening post can bring that to the table if you wish. In other words tell us a little bit about yourself.

= 4. No Hating Please =
I know we're going to be talking about music in general, so differing opinions are sure to cause a stir. So I want things to be civil. We can have a reasonable conversation about this.

= 5. Read The WHOLE Thread First =
Or at the very least the last 5 to 10 pages. That way you won't be out of the loop in the conversation and bring up something that hasn't already been brought up.

= 6. All BBS Rules Apply =
Naturally of course. So if you need a refresher on those then you can read them here.

We also have a profile here on Newgrounds. It will be used as an archive for video game music related articles and anything else that this club decides to do. If you decide to become a member then please click this link so I can keep track of all the members.

So without further ado...

Hello, my name is The-Great-One. I have been playing video games since I was 4 years old. Even back then I loved the music that came from my Super Nintendo. With Super Mario World and Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island. Here are some of my favorite video game music tracks, in no particular order.

1. The Second Malformation of G
Resident Evil 2

2. Forest Temple
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

3. Katamari on the Rocks
Katamari Damacy

4. At Doom's Gate
Doom

5. Halo
Halo: Combat Evolved

Three of my favorite game composers in no particular order include Koji Kondo, Yoko Shimomura, and a tie between Yasunori Mitsuda and Nobuo Uematsu.

So who wants to join?

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 15:38:59


Neat!

Some picks out of my favourite video game tracks:

Giygas Battle Theme (Earthbound)

The Spirit Temple (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)
(Although I love about all the music in this game, if it were just for the memories)

The Final Hours (The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask)

The Ascend (Final Fantasy VI)
(This is actually a live orchestrated version)

Vivi's Theme (Final Fantasy IX)

Koji Kondo and Nobuo Uematsu are also two of my favourite video game music composers. Normally I don't really pay much attention to who composed the music in a game though.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 15:56:33


At 9/4/12 03:38 PM, Auz wrote: Koji Kondo and Nobuo Uematsu are also two of my favourite video game music composers. Normally I don't really pay much attention to who composed the music in a game though.

That will certainly change here my friend. One thing I would like to bring up is by looking through a video game composer's repertoire you can see a wide variety of works. One of RightWingGamer's favorite composers is Jeremy Soule who did the music for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

However one of his early days was with another series. He did works on an educational series of video games under the name Putt-Putt. One song is from the game Putt-Putt Travels Through Time.

Time Continuum Song
Putt-Putt Travels Through Time

Dragonborn
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Jeremy Soule is referred to by some as the John Williams of video game music and is one of the best Western Composers there are. His works are a wide variety. However it is fun to look through these composers works to see where they started, their roots so to speak.

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 16:22:19


I'm in. Anyone else LOVE Jeremy Soule?

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 16:24:40


At 9/4/12 04:22 PM, Mumbo wrote: I'm in. Anyone else LOVE Jeremy Soule?

Yes. Please give us a list of your favorite songs please.

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 18:10:20


In no particular order:

To Zanarkand - Final Fantasy X

Leaving Earth - Mass Effect 3

Elders Scrolls: Skyrim's Theme

Charr Theme - Guild Wars 2

Dragon's Dogma Main Theme

Just a few that I thought really stood out, not exactly a conclusive list, I'm also greatly fond of most of Nobuo Uematsu's work, as well as being very fond of the sound track for the Disgaea series. Among others, which I won't go into, because it'd be a freaking massive list.

But yeah... Video Game music just gets better and better I find.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 18:15:39


My favourites:

The Ballad of the Space Babies by Jim Guthrie
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

Oakvale by Russell Shaw
Fable: The Lost Chapters

Venice Rooftops by Jesper Kyd
Assassin's Creed II

Ezio's Family by Jesper Kyd
Assassin's Creed II

Beacon by Disasterpeace
FEZ

A couple I wouldn't really consider video game songs, but are in video games and I love:

Still Alive by Lisa Miskovsky
Mirror's Edge

Still Alive (I prefer this version) by Jonathan Coulton
Portal

I supposed I only have 2 favourite composers. Those would be Jim Guthrie and Jesper Kyd. Jim Guthrie hasn't done a lot of work for video games (I believe the S&S game was actually created after the devs were inspired by his music), but that soundtrack is one incredible piece. Jesper Kyd has great music in Assassin's Creed, Borderlands and Hitman.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 19:15:15


At 9/4/12 06:15 PM, Makeshift wrote: The Ballad of the Space Babies by Jim Guthrie
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP

Gotta admit, the title alone stuck out to me. It is a very serene song though. Just to sit back and close my eyes.

Oakvale by Russell Shaw
Fable: The Lost Chapters

I like the music from the Fable games. Jeremy Soule can make grand epic themes, there is no doubting that, but the rest of the music in The Elder Scrolls games come off as a bit bland, not really setting any kind of mood. Fable's music tends to set the tone nicely.

Still Alive (I prefer this version) by Jonathan Coulton
Portal

Funny thing, I like Portal, but I prefer another. Jonathan Coulton has cited the song Little Bonus Room from Skullmonkeys as an inspiration for Still Alive. Pretty neat. They are both equally as good ESPECIALLY when played back to back.

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 20:09:37


I'm in. I always loved video game music. I even made little CD's for myself to play on my radio or cd player at school.
This was before we had ipods.

Anyway, listing only 5 of my favorite video game songs is rather difficult, because I have millions of favorites.
I suppose I will go one series per song.

One of my all time favorite songs is the Ice Cap Zone from Sonic 3.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYxlqTpZ-24

Donkey Kong Country - Aquatic Ambiance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDvKwSVuUGA

Mario Party 3 - Chilly Waters (Also my favorite stage)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xPFETHr8vc

Battlefield 1942 Theme
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LNiOeRVdGI

Stone Tower Temple - Zelda Majora's Mask (Normal version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNDLoncWz30

Of course, my favorites are not limited to only those 5.
I don't have a favorite music writer, I don't go by the artist themselves. I usually go by the songs and only the songs.
If I were to play favorites, I'd say the composer for the Rare games.
Again, I'm sorry for not knowing his/her name. Again, the composer is not who I go by.

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 20:14:38


At 9/4/12 02:57 PM, The-Great-One wrote: So who wants to join?

Oh hell yes! It was really hard choosing only 5.

One Winged Angel - Final Fantasy VII
Gang Plank Galleon - Donkey Kong Country
Intro - Mega Man 3
Song of Healing - Majora's Mask
Ice Cap Zone - Sonic the Hedgehog 3

I'm also getting the Mega Man 9 soundtrack in the mail soon. So far I just have Mother 3+ and Ocarina of Time 3D.

My favorite game composer is Nobuo Uematsu.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 22:09:17


At 9/4/12 07:15 PM, The-Great-One wrote: Funny thing, I like Portal, but I prefer another. Jonathan Coulton has cited the song Little Bonus Room from Skullmonkeys as an inspiration for Still Alive. Pretty neat. They are both equally as good ESPECIALLY when played back to back.

Hadn't heard that before, but that is pretty awesome. I love humorous songs like this. Some of Jonathan Coulton's other work has comedic lyrics, and it's good music too.

At 9/4/12 09:50 PM, Travis wrote: Nate's Theme (Uncharted Trilogy)

I thought about posting that amongst my favourites. I really love that song too.

Oerba Village (Final Fantasy XIII)

I haven't even played XIII, just XIII-2. I found the second one really cheap when it was still pretty expensive so I picked it up. The main theme from FF XIII-2 is simple, but really nice.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 23:18:14


Im definitely in!
5 songs huh?
Fountain of Dreams--Super Smash Bros Melee remix
Dire Dire Docks--Super Mario 64
Monkey Target 2--Super Monkey Ball 2
Twister--The World Ends With You
City Escape--Sonic Adventure 2 Battle
I could definitely list tons more, but since the requested number was 5, i'll stop there

Im ashamed that I dont know many of the composers other than Koji Kondo. I need to start paying more attention to who composed these songs

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 23:18:38


This isn't going to be easy picking each track.

Songs:
Unatco Theme (Deus Ex)
Going to start off with my favorite game of all time, Deus Ex. The soundtrack is completely classic, and honestly I'd link the entire thing if I could. But for now I'll just link the one everyone knows.

2pm (Animal Crossing)
Another classic soundtrack is from Animal Crossing. Say what you will about the game being cutesy or whatever, but man the soundtrack was killer! I can't think of another game's soundtrack that chills me and out and makes me happy like Animal Crossing... well except

Rainbow Resort (Kirby's Adventure)
I can pretty much repeat myself on this one. Fun music.

Sedge Tree (Shenmue)
Sure it may sound like a generic, sweeping orchestral tune to some, but I'm in love with it. From the piano to the beautiful Erhu.

Cure (Snatcher)
This one is a bit more laid back and completely sublime. That lead sounds so alive too

Composers:
Alexander Brandon is probably my favorite. He's known for composing for lot's of great games such as Tyrian 2000, Deus Ex, Jazz Jackrabbit 2, and many more. He has a real unique style you don't hear much in videogames these days.

Yuzo Koshiro is another great one. Have you played Streets of Rage? or maybe Ys Book I & II

Tim Follin is an underrated one in my opinion. You don't hear much about him but my god was he good. Check out some of the soundtrack to Treasure Master or Silver Surfer

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-04 23:49:23


I think I'm gonna love this club. Amazing idea!

Alright, there's plenty of tracks I like, but how am I supposed to choose 5 favorites? Ah well, here goes:

Golden Sun - Golden Sun

City Escape - Sonic Adventure 2

Undercurrent - Braid

Lost Woods - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

JENOVA - Final Fantasy VII

As for composers, I can't get enough of Nobuo Uematsu.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-05 01:16:36


Aha, now this I can get into! I have literally hundreds of options to choose from, but if I had to live on a stranded island, I would take these (then immediately feel guilty about not bringing another one):

"The Planetkillers" from Homeworld 2

I don't know how many of you have played (or even heard about) this RTS game, but I frequently go back to playing it simply because the soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal. I wish I could explain just how perfectly this track sets the tone with the intense, mysterious, and grim storyline without spoiling anything. Although a campaign mission may last 45 minutes to an hour - not counting the time between your rage quits, the developer's selection of music keeps the adrenaline pumping from start to finish. I think the composer's choice to use arabic chants and instruments fit the tone well.

"[miscellaneous menu music]" from Descent: Freespace

Unfortunately I couldn't find the actual track, but if you would, skip to 1:00. It's another dark space game - probably the best sci-fi combat flight games out there. Honestly, the entire soundtrack used to scare the hell out of me - it is a VERY creepy game just by the lore. I'm very fond of vocals, choirs, and chants in science-fiction-themed music.

"Pain Fade Down" from Darwinia

This song is BRILLIANT - by far my favorite from the OST. It's so happy and simple, perfect for the game about computer viruses and problem solving. In fact, I listen to it while I toil away in the computer science lab on Mondays. The other songs from the game are also fantastic (but, don't seem to fit with the theme of the game itself).

"And Ever We Fight On" from Killzone 3

Another masterpiece (strangely, from a violent FPS which I tend to dislike). Now, I did play through KZ3, and I would have to say that this doesn't really fit the atmosphere in my opinion. Nevertheless, you must admit the violin especially is beautiful. The rest of the OST is, frankly, unmemorable. I remember putting the game in for the first time and thinking "FINALLY, something with music on par with the Halo franchise." Sadly, it seems this track was actually the only non-ugly duckling.

"Ezio's Family" from Assassin's Creed II

This is the single best song to any console game. I feel that trying to analyze it further is an insult to the composer.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-05 02:28:37


What a cool idea for a club. I have to say that I'd never even though of something along these lines could of been created but I hope that it all goes well and we get many a page of good game music.

When I think back there is only one song that comes to mind and that is the background music from Zora's Domain in Zelda: Ocarina of Time (link).

I used to go on Zelda just to hang around that place and listen to what I thought was a great song. You have to admit it's pretty relaxing, especially for a game that I thought was a little dark and depressing for the most part.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-05 05:04:22


At 9/4/12 03:56 PM, The-Great-One wrote:
At 9/4/12 03:38 PM, Auz wrote: Koji Kondo and Nobuo Uematsu are also two of my favourite video game music composers. Normally I don't really pay much attention to who composed the music in a game though.
That will certainly change here my friend.

Yeah, perhaps it will :p

At 9/5/12 02:28 AM, Decky wrote: When I think back there is only one song that comes to mind and that is the background music from Zora's Domain in Zelda: Ocarina of Time (link).

Ah yeah, I think that's a very relaxing song too. I find it more relaxing in the game though when you have the waterfall sound along with it, but unfortunately I can never find a version that includes the waterfall.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-05 06:12:02


I will definitely keep tabs on this club. There's a lot of video game music out there that I appreciate. I feel I need to get tons more VG music on my iPod since right now, I've only covered Nobuo Uematsu (duh), Akira Yamaoka (duh again), Kazuki Muraoka (MGS1 soundtrack), Mutato Muzika (Crash Bandicoot), Nathan McCree (Tomb Raider) and Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger). As you can see here, this is not enough! However, I will go and list good VG tracks from each of them:

- Final Fantasy VI Ending Theme

One could argue this shouldn't even count since it's a medley of other tracks from the same game but that's what makes it the best. It puts all the best of the best together and puts each character through a scenario for the ending which the music will represent. Brilliant composition with an ending like this is hard to top.

- Akira Yamaoka - Not Tomorrow (Silent Hill 1)

I love the soundtrack of SH1 overall since it's what adds to the horror factor of the whole game. Even when you sit down and listen to the soundtrack on its own, it's still going to give you a heartbeat. This game gets better with age and so does the music. While this one isn't one of the disturbing ambient music from the game, it's still a really sad piece from Akira and if you know when this is played, you will understand why this is a genius work of art.

- The Best Has Yet to Come

I shouldn't have to explain this one. This is what provides an upsetting and emotional feel to MGS1 and the use of it in MGS4 only makes the events even sadder. MGS1 is one game I've played hundreds of times and this song will never get old.

- Crash Bandicoot main theme

I'm throwing this one out here since what the Mario theme or Zelda theme defines to a lot of Nintendo players THE video game theme song, this is what I imagine when I'm talking about main themes of video games.

- Tomb Raider main theme

Another main theme I get in my mind but I will admit that this one has a completely different tones to theme songs of Mario, Zelda and Crash Bandicoot. I understand why this series isn't liked at times (especially for the later days) but they had all the best ideas with the original game and that includes the music. While it's a very limited soundtrack, the music was very eerie and this only starts showing you the calm yet strange music you'll hear to sink in with the atmosphere.

- Yasunori Mitsuda's Wind Scene

Maybe when you think Chrono Trigger you will think of Frog's Theme but this track feels ancient and that is what you expect to think when this is what you hear the first time you travel to the past. The soundtrack for Chrono Trigger was very diverse to cover different time periods and if you ever wanted a sense of relaxation, going to the past in 600 AD will help you with that.

So I listed six down here but hey, more than the requirement helps. If I was to pick up more video game music right now I should look into Mega Man. I've only played a handful of Mega Man games but they always had kickass music!

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 12:06:53


For now I will just leave this.

Stickerbrush Symphony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaMcOo-k23U

the same person who made this made the Banjo Kazooie music which I WOULD link to if I weren't so tired.

Good night.

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 15:56:01


I always wondered if the guys that get the music sorted for the Final Fantasy series have a sense of humour or are they completely unaware that they sometime use some of the most hilarious choices in bands and songs, examples below:

The Black Mages - The Skies Above and Otherworld from Final Fantasy X


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 15:57:00


I made a thread like this in the VG forum, (I'm not complaining it didn't catch on, but I did leave a few posts in there that represent what my first few posts would've been like in here http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1290782 ).

My userpage also has a list of a ton on music tracks I'd recommend, it is my current news post.

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 16:17:56


At 9/6/12 04:06 PM, tyler2513 wrote: Heroes Abroad-Medal Of Honor (2010)

This actually reminds me of the Medal of Honor: Allied Assault's theme which is totally classic in my eyes.

I'm a bit concerned this is turning into a bit of a link dump, how do you suppose we stop that The-Great-One?

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 16:25:54


Hello all. Just popping in to say that I am happy to see this club get off the grounds this fast. Unfortunately I haven't been able to listen to any of the music you have brought up or even read the thread. This thread and this thread alone seems to be slowing down my computer and even crashing my web browser.

liljim is looking into it right now. I feel that it has something to do with the YouTube feature for our posts. There is too much information on here. So in the meantime I have decided to put Bahamut in charge of this club until my return. The only way I could make this post was to hit the reply button before the page tried to load.

If you're experiencing any lag with this thread then please let me, Tom, or liljim know.

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 16:57:28


At 9/6/12 04:25 PM, The-Great-One wrote: If you're experiencing any lag with this thread then please let me, Tom, or liljim know.

Initially yes. It's become a rather heavy page to load, probably due to all the Youtube links indeed. However, if I just wait for 10 seconds I can scroll through the page just fine.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 16:58:38


At 9/6/12 04:57 PM, Auz wrote: Initially yes. It's become a rather heavy page to load, probably due to all the Youtube links indeed. However, if I just wait for 10 seconds I can scroll through the page just fine.

I tried that and it just up and crashed my browser. Since all the links are on that page then I can scroll through this second page just fine.

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 21:49:27


Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 22:32:56


At 9/6/12 04:58 PM, The-Great-One wrote: I tried that and it just up and crashed my browser. Since all the links are on that page then I can scroll through this second page just fine.

Have you tried a different browser? Also try cleaning you browser cache too.

I've been getting slow down, but once it loads it's fine

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 22:40:47


At 9/6/12 10:32 PM, SineRider wrote: Have you tried a different browser? Also try cleaning you browser cache too.

No, because Firefox is slow as it is and Internet Explorer sucks.

I've been getting slow down, but once it loads it's fine

Yeah I let it load to, but then it just slows down so much and then crashes my browser. I'm doing fine right now on this page, but I can't read the first page unless I turn flash off first.

Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 23:47:55


Honestly my top five belong to SONIC TEAM but for variety sake I'll just do one per franchise.

1, Reach For The Stars (Orchestra) SONIC COLORS

2. Passion/Sanctuary Kingdom Hearts 2

3. Rundas Theme Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

4. Straight Ahead Dynasty Warriors 4

5. Impend Halo 2

Jun Senoue without a doubt my all time favorite VG composer. He really knows how to set a mood and make each level/ boss feel special.


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Response to = Club Stoic = 2012-09-06 23:57:39


If anyone gives a damn I made a few in dept top 10's sonic themes list on Sonic adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 and Heroes Soundtrack. (Sonic Adventure...not so much)


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