@get2sammyb: Yeh, i fully agree with you. The constituent 'sound production quality' is used, which would be rather misleading if they wanted to refer to the production quality of music.

Strong Arm

@get2sammyb: The developer behind BC:Rearmed is Swedish "Grin" studios.
The music was composed by Simon Viklund.

Mupp

@KageyBee: Agreed.

psychobaka

I think the article is not saying Western composition is better - it's more talking about the technical side of the music such as the mixing, the source material and the mastering.

Although I listen to a game like Siren Blood Curse and I just want to cry -- the sounds and special effects are so awesomely atmospherical.

Was BC:Rearmed made over here because the mixing on the tracks for that game are unreal. The mixing, programming and mastering is unreal - alongside the composition.

Being someone who is chasing a career in video game music this interests me greatly.

get2sammyb

All of my favourite music in modern games come from Japanese composers. I don't know about the technical side of how well it's recorded or whatever, I just like the compositions. Okami and Twilight Princess jump to mind as two of my favourite all time soundtracks.

dowingba

You still can't beat the quirky awesomeness and impossible basslines of NES era music from japanese devs...

KageyBee

When it comes to sound quality and mixing western developers have the upper hand but the actual compositions itself, well there are not that many western composers that are "great". Other than Harrison (who's also a movie soundtrack composer) not a single western composer has actually composed anything memorable in recent memory. Sure they have nice atmospheric music (ala Bioshock) but while I can hum a good portion of Lost Odyssey (the last soundtrack to really have a huge impact on me) I can't recall a single theme from any western developed game on a next (now) gen console (except Harrisons Old Snake theme from MGS4).

angry_gamer

That's not really a surprise because Western (and particularly the United States) production has always been ahead of the curve. All of those early 60's British Bands sounded less and less like they were recorded in a tin-can once they made the jump to the US. The US and Britain have pretty much held onto that particular technical reign since then.

Mommar

idk, but so far most Japanese and Western games have great music >.>

Shad0X

Japanese VG music would be much better if they only used the synthesizer when appropriate.

KillerCRS

I can hum the hell out of The Monkey Island theme. >.>
The majority of the video game music I like comes from Japan but Western composers have done some great stuff too. It has to do with public perception. You don't see people buying game soundtracks, figures, artbooks...etc outside of Japan. The same way anime is treated over there. If there's a Western game with a good soundtrack you sometimes find fans who have gone through the trouble of extracting it from the game. The interest is there.

Shinryoma

@Shinryoma: So can I but it's been a long time since a western developed game has had a "theme music" for lack of a better word. I mean we have the James Bond theme, X-files theme, Sam and Max etc. They are instantly recognizable. Yet game music nowadays developed in the west seem to play second fiddle, fitting the atmosphere rather than enhancing it.

angry_gamer

Most of the Music in western games just feel like any other orchestral music to me, OSTs by Japanese game makers have made me get immersed into the game more than anything else. they're not always like orchestral music to describe the mood or set the tone for the level, there is also a feel of personality in the music which.. I find hard to describe.. maybe I can say..is like MAGIC :P

For example, when I will hear a CoD or some other western games OST, even though I really loved the game, will never be able to acknowledge that it was from CoD unless I heard it many times outside of the game (its so generic it could be from any game!) but when I hear say.. SoTC's soundtrack, without a doubt I can tell that its from that game.. because its effect during gameplay was far better.

But yeah, there are some western games whose soundtracks I felt were very immersive and nice too! Also, not all Jap games have great OSTs.

As for the quality and stuff, I always find sound effects and stuffs with complete surround sound etc (as in sound engineering) better in western games.

Reetesh

@dowingba: I still listen to the Okami soundtrack, along with SotC and Katamari. Brilliant music regardless of it being attached to a videogame.

Glad to hear there will be live orchestration in RE5, Nitin Sawhney's work on Heavenly Sword's soundtrack was absolutely outstanding and a lot of that was recorded with live instruments if i remember correctly.

MistryMan

I'm not going to make any broad generalizations like some people, but if anyone wants to hear an awesome western composer, one only need turn to Jeremy Soule. He does mostly PC games soundtracks, so I wouldn't expect many here to know or care. He's pretty much unmatched in the western RPG/RTS category. Icewind Dale, Guild Wars, Oblivion, KOTOR, Dawn of War, Company of Heroes...the list goes on.

Aerundel

Well truly, my favourite composer for video games is Jeremy Soule. His music was bloody awesome when Secret of Evermore came out, and I played Oblivion and the theme for that was awesome as well.

But heaps of Japanese composers make unforgettable sounds as well, I mean ,the Mario theme especially, that's tune diddly tune I don't really find myself forgetting.

dakimstar

I would 100% disagree with this. I own alot of game soundtracks and none of them are for western games every one is for a Japanese title. I haven't seen that many western games that even had a few songs that made me take notice. It's my opinion that the XenoSaga Trilogy has one of the best soundtracks in gaming thanks in no small part to Yuki Kajiura. The only game I can think of off the top of my head that had a soundtrack I liked and was done by a western composer is MGS4 and even then it's a small % of songs that are good compared to the other soundtracks I have in which almost every song on the discs are gold.

Reibooi

My favorite gaming composer is Jeremy Soule. His pieces are the only ones aside from Nobuo's that I can stand to listen to when I'm not actually playing the game. And he's actually done the music for a pretty nice selection of games (Guild Wars, Oblivion, and Supreme Commander, to name a handful).

antialias02

@Aerundel: @dakimstar: Agreed. Soule is pretty much my favourite Western composer too. Another amazing composer is Harry Gregson-Williams. But the most epic piece of gaming music, the Metal Gear Solid main theme, was actually written by Tappi Iwase, a Japanese composer, although Gregson-Williams did a fantastic arrangement in MGS2.

Generally speaking, I think Western music has better production value and vocals, but what really counts - the melodies, the chord progressions, the nuances; the composition itself - is Japanese home court. There are no equalities to Koji Kondo or Nobuo Uematsu in the western gaming industry.

haggis

RE5 is the most attractive videogame ever made... not all Japanese studios are faltering in the HD era.

sixonedoesitall

Hm. I'm going to have to disagree with this guy 10,000%. Maybe because I grew up on primarily Japanese games/composers and producers that I'm biased, but American games don't do it for me. I find that a lot of Japanese composers still make "video game music" while many American companies are trying to make "real music" and put it in a video game... if that makes sense.
I honestly really miss the days of fun light hearted, catchy tunes as I romp through a beach or forest.
Uematsu is, potentially, the greatest composer of this generation- i think he's honestly up there with Bach (not quote Beethoven, but close). But his newer stuff (like Lost Odyssey) has become much more mainstream. Instead of a catchy, creepy tune as you crawl through a cave, now you have low level ambient noises- which i think is definitely an American inspiration.
But there are still so many great JP composers. But maybe I have to agree that Americans are being more progressive, but I, for one, don't like the change. :(

Ryan_Long

Maybe the current scene, but back in the 8bit to 16bit days, none could top the awesomeness in the audio of games like Chrono Trigger.

VishusBurn

Solution: Start making your games with 8-BIT music again.

Personally I found the redone music from Bionic Commando Rearmed more spine chilling and wonderful then any mainstream Wii, XBox, and PS3 title can offer.

NewSpecies

I've yet to hear any western game music rival that of Nobuo Uematsu, the guy who did the music for Sonic the Hedgehog and the guy who worked on the music for Megaman 2. Although like many others have said, Jeremy Soule's music is some of the best coming from the western hemisphere.

Eviscerate

One of the worse trends in music is the gothic chorus soundtrack. I am looking at Metroid Prime and Halo. It all sounds like the Battlestar Galatica theme.

FriedConsole

I like the slightly cheesy, OTT arcade-style music that Japanese games do so well. The real, high gain, cabinet- shaking stuff. They don't do "subtle" as well as the Western devs when it comes to game music, I feel.

Alphavillain

Western music is just generic movie music. Random orchestra swells timed with the drama. Japanese game music can sometimes sound like it is from another planet with overly complex layers of notes. I prefer the latter especially in JRPGs. The later Zelda music is under-rated.

Things only go bad when it is a J-pop soundtrack. An example of this is the Viewtiful Joe series or the recent Sega sonic games. J-pop is some of the worse music ever created. J-pop is like Britney Spears on a 1000 Red Bulls.

FriedConsole

Newman!

thefremen

Full orchestra? Yay!

And I agree with the gothic chorus. Holy cliche, Batman! (See what I did there?)

bysty

Hiroki Kikuta's score for Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2) is still one of the best ever and that was obviously japanese composed.

DigitalHero

I guess the grass is always greener on the other side...

fuchikoma

Metroid Prime was great, gothic chorus and all. I definitely prefer Japanese made soundtracks over western one.

synapticflow

As has been mentioned, Japanese compositions are not the issue. Its the actual production of the music afterwords. And I'd agree wholeheartedly. For some reason, the Japanese don't take things as far as Americans do. I remember playing Shenmue and thinking the music was good, but when I heard the Shenmue Orchestra release, I was FLOORED. But then I asked "why isn't the music in the game like this?"

Imagine playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess with the sound quality of say ... Kameo? Yes, Kameo sounds more lush, powerful and sweeping than Twilight Princess. THAT'S what Suzuki is saying here.

DARTH_TIGRIS

That's great that they finally got to record with an Orchestra! One of my favorite all time video game scores is the save room track in Resident Evil Zero. It's calming, beautiful, yet dark.

+ Watch video

Out of all the games I've played, the Resident Evil and Silent Hill series tend to have the best music.

dead_red_eyes

Sound quality, yes. However, I think Japan's still better at actual musical ability. Western games just go epic and call it a day. And not even melodic epic like LOTR. Just big drums and horns played semi-randomly. Ooooh, epic.

miniboss1232

@dead_red_eyes:
That is nice music, but it loops rather quickly.
And so I say

+ Watch video

CT FTW
With the tech available; it is damn impressive.

VishusBurn

I dunno, I'd have to say that as far as "catchier" tunes that stick in your head, I'd give the edge to japanese game devs.

Perhaps for the more cinematic, sound Western Dev's have it.

balls187 upside yo head

@DigitalHero: The Secret of Mana soundtrack is amazing. That one forest area as soon as you get the mana sword, with all the rabites hoping around, fucking epic!

Eviscerate

What? JRPG's have always had the best video game music.

Dalren

good at music.. maybe yes... but boring at music is also sadly a yes.

i have probably over 100 game soundtracks.. and the only western one i could think of is sonic cd... spencer nielsen is pretty awesome. i was impressed when even koji kondo and team went orchestral.. they still managed to make a colorful yet epic soundtrack.

i miss the good ole days when sega, konami, and capcom all had real musicians making their music that also played shows in japan and released cds of their game music played on live instruments in a rock band format.

check out alph lylas street fighter II soundtrack.. awesome.

shouryuuken

I'm probably going to go ahead and agree with him, but I don't recall enough game soundtracks to really compare the technical aspects.

However, the issue that seems to be raised here is what kind of soundtracks are people looking for in games? Atmospheric vs. memorable, not that they aren't mutually exclusive. Is Bioshock really the type of game that you want known for its music, or its whole overall experience, mainly driven by the story? Katamari Damacy, a game that make so many acid trips pale in comparison, can't really have anything other than an incredibly quirky and catchy soundtrack? Same applies for something like LocoRoco?

It's all too apparent that certain genres and types of games, even ones designated for certain audiences in different parts of the world, have become a tad too cliche when it comes to the types of music in their games, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Funny note: this topic of music reminded me of the scene in Family Guy when Brian is at the Woody Awards (or whatever the porn awards were that started off Season 3ish), and they're revealing the nominations for best score for a porno: generic jazz guy 1, generic jazz guy 2, generic jazz guy 3, full blown raging orchestra by John Williams.

As games evolve and mature, everything comes together or in a more unified way, which means that certain parts stand out more, leaving others in the shadows, depending on location and type.

thespyderboy

@shouryuuken: Hell yeah dude, I miss those days too but at least we still have Mini Bosses and Black Mages doing some decent VG music covers.

[www.minibosses.com]

Check out their Megaman 2 cover.

Eviscerate

I guess while the whole technical process may be more advanced in the US, I still prefer music composed in Japan. They always sound better to me.

Most American games tend to have "epic" soundtracks played by a big band (like action movies), it gets old quite quick. Or alternatively, theyll have crap likes EA's Game Trax.

Altima NEO

wow, after reading the comments section, i feel like i should know who this Jeremy Soule guy is.

joeloliol

@DigitalHero: I was hoping some fellow gamer would mention Hiroki Kikuta's amazing work! I am usually obligated to do so when the topic of game music arises. He is soooo underrated. And soooo Japanese.

And I also concur w/ the general appraisal of Jeremy Soule. His body of work (and I think talent) can stand up to the eastern compositional juggernaut.

Elexo

Halo's composer is great. Loved some tracks from Tallarico's Advent Rising score. I would say I hold the talent from the West and East as equal.

DTM_Returns