Game Music

Game music

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (battle themes)

Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne (or Lucifer's Call) is the 3rd main title in the long running RPG series Shin Megami Tensei. The OST was composed by Shoji Meguro. The many themes used for battles are based on rock, mainly use an electric guitar, drums and bass, as well as demonic-like vocals. The instrument choices, in my opinion, match the environment that the game is set in, which is a post-apocalyptic version of Tokyo. The heaviness of the guitar helps to show the difficulty of the game. The vocals, when they're presented, are representing the key demons found in the game, mainly the major bosses. They also hint at the story of the game, such as the verse in the mini-boss theme "One more God rejected". An example of the fitting soundtrack is the battle theme used for towns. It starts off not as heavy as other themes, however halfway in it gets heavier to remind the player that they're in an apocalyptic world. For every type of battle, the mood of difficulty is also perfectly captured. Overall, the battle themes are created to fit the theme, story, characters and environment of the game.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Metal Gear Rising is a hack and slash spin off to the popular stealth series Metal Gear Solid. The soundtrack has a rock genre. The boss themes are the songs that really stand out in the soundtrack. Each boss has a different vocal theme. They each sound different from one another, mainly capturing the personality of the boss. The lyrics to the themes support this. An example is the final boss theme ‘It Has To Be This Way’, which talks about the fight is happening not by choice, but because they have to. And the rival theme ‘The Only Thing I Know For Real’, which talks about how the rival of the game can’t remember much of his past.

Persona 4

Persona 4 is another game that’s from the Shin Megami Tensei series, part of the popular spin off series known as Persona. Once again, the soundtrack does a good job at covering the enviroment. Each dungeon in the game has a specific theme, and BGM to match that theme, based on either the character’s personality or the theme of the dungeon. The battle theme ‘Reach Out To The Truth’ matches the story, as the lyrics are about finding the truth. Another example is one of the special boss themes known as ‘A New World Fool’. This theme captures the feeling that the boss gives off, after hearing his motive for doing what he did. A final example is the normal ending’s final boss theme ‘The Almighty’, which gives a feeling of accomplishment.