Let me start off by saying that I’m no music expert, we already have someone like that on the site, but I can appreciate a good song. Video games can have some great soundtracks, and I’m sure fellow gamers have had certain game tracks stick out or even go as far as to leave an impact. So I figured, why not do a segment where I pick one or two songs I really enjoy from games I play that month. If others like, they can post their favorite songs of the month as well in the comments section and we’ll all have a nice playlist to listen to. But I think that’s enough of an introduction, let’s starting listening.

If someone asked me why I love Pokemon Black/White, this song would be my short answer. To be more accurate, the song itself isn’t my reason for loving the game, but rather what the song represents. Whenever I listen to the theme of Castelia City, the biggest city in the game, I can’t help but remember the feeling of awe I had as I set walked into it. The city was a beauty to look at, and I immediately had the urge to explore it in its entirety, not unlike a child tinkering with a new toy. And it’s that feeling that this cheery and upbeat song gives off. As I played through the game, that sense of curiosity and wonder, as well as a desire for exploration, stuck with me the entire time.

This is another fine selection from Pokemon Black/White. Route 10, or as I like to call it: the route to becoming a man, is my favorite track in the game. At this point in the story, the 8 gym leaders had been defeated and I began my trek towards Victory Road in order to fight the Elite Four. But this time, much more was on the line than a simple title. The moment I set foot on the path, this song started to play, and I was so overwhelmed by it that I stopped in my tracks. Route 10’s theme feels like it’s the end of something, possibly signifying the player’s growth through the previous ordeals of the game and what it has accumulated to. The guitar and harmonica give off a small western vibe, which adds to the overall atmosphere of traveling to the final showdown. Everything has led the player to this point, and all that’s left is to push onward through the last stretch. This track captures that theme amazingly, and that’s why it’s my favorite.

This beautiful battle track comes from one of the stages of Gods Eater Burst. It plays during the middle of a storm as you go to battle against the Aragami, monsters your organization is tasked with eliminating. Now imagine fighting the same giant beast displayed in this video to this song. This track combines moments of serenity, which may be attributed to the ‘calm of the storm’, with an ever-present sense of duty and urgency as you march into the battlefield. If I would to describe the song in one word, it would probably be grandiose. The way the piano and violins lure you in at the start is captivating, and when the song grabs you, it doesn’t go. Come on, just listen to that piano…throughout the whole song that pianist never lets up! Actually, I was surprised to find out that the soundtrack was composed by Go Shiina, who has composed songs for games such as Tales of Legendia, Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, and Tekken 6. If you haven’t heard some of his other work before, then I’d highly recommend you give his songs a listen.

Now I’ve only just started Legends of Heroes: Trails in the Sky today, so I can’t say too much about it or this song yet, but I just had to stick it in here. I seriously don’t know if I ever felt like dancing this much before while beating down monsters, especially at 1:41. I’m not used to my RPG battle themes being so snazzy, but with songs like this I could get used to it! The jazz influence helps it stand out from other battle music, and I’m hoping more tracks in the game follow suit. Falcom isn’t one to disappoint when it comes to music, so I’m sure next month you’ll hear more from this game.

I hope you enjoyed some of these tracks. Hopefully next month I’ll have a larger number of songs selected and won’t be typing up the article on the last day of the month. But we’ll see where this segment will go. Catch you next time.