Soundtrack Sunday
Welcome to Soundtrack Sunday, where a member of the PC Gamer team takes a look at a soundtrack from one of their favourite games—or a broader look at videogame music as a whole—offering a little backstory and recommendations for tracks you should be adding to your playlist.
No videogame genre has birthed more bangers than the humble JRPG. I mean, come on, can you even imagine a world where a track like One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy 7 doesn’t exist? Or where we never got to hear a real monk chanting absolute bars over Metaphor: ReFantazio’s orchestral battle theme? A timeline where we never get to experience the delicate piano of Kingdom Hearts’ Dearly Beloved washing over us when booting up the game?
I certainly can’t, which is why I maintain that JRPG music is some of the best in the biz. It kind of has to be, really. Not only will they probably be some of the longest videogames you ever play—hello to my triple-digit Persona 5 Royal playtime—but they’ll also probably take you through every feeling you could ever experience.
With all of those hours spent and the inevitably emotional rollercoaster that comes with them, JRPG soundtracks are delightfully diverse audio experiences. Calming tunes that let you take a breather in town hubs, devastatingly sad strings to really pour salt in the wound of tragic moments, all swelling up into epic numbers as you slash your way through enemies or carefully ponder over attacks and skills in a menu.
I love how an entire JRPG’s identity can be told just through a select few tracks, too. Look at Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5—rocking a hip-hop/rock, J-Pop-inspired, and jazz soundtrack respectively—games which are absolutely oozing with personality thanks in no small part to how strong their soundtracks are.
It would be remiss of me to not touch upon Final Fantasy, too, my personal entry into JRPGs and where some of my all-time favourite songs lie. Most people will say Final Fantasy 7, but I absolutely adore Final Fantasy 10’s gorgeous music. To Zanarkand makes me well up every time I hear the first few notes of its piano, while the rip-roaring guitar of Overworld makes me believe for just a second that Blitzball isn’t as terrible as I’ve long deemed it to be.
Maybe your personal crowning king of JRPGs is a little less obvious. I’ve always maintained Falcom is one of the underrated gems of excellent videogame music—the Ys series is home to some of the most incredible scores I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to.
But what do you think? Which JRPG soundtrack does the best job of tugging at your heartstrings, getting you pumped up for battle all at once? Which one immediately brings up all the fuzzy feelings of nostalgia whenever a few notes of its main theme plays? Which one would easily beat up all the other JRPGs in a fight if it had to?
Let us know in the comments and be sure to tell us why.
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