Something that you hadn’t heard before.” They nailed it. “But we also wanted enough musical hooks that you could really start to identify the game through the music, to give it a signature sound. “We wanted a score that had an edge and an emotional context,” said Chuck Doud, the game’s music director. The music is absolutely phenomenal its dark, underground and oft-catchy design is instantly recognisable. Sure, the story was predictable, and the gameplay was super-formulaic (even by open-world standards), but its spectacular visuals, its fluid mobility and – most notably – its euphonic soundtrack still bring back fond memories for me. Many people seem to really hate this game. Thank God for that although, I still can’t get ‘Jungle Groove’ out of my head, and it’s been bloody 20 years now… Needless to say, I’m insanely excited for Wise’s sound-work in the upcoming 3D platformer Yooka-Laylee.Īh, the third instalment of Infamous, Sucker Punch‘s open-world superhero series. “I guess someone thought the music was suitable, as they offered me a full-time position at Rare,” said Wise.
Wise was still a freelancer when he started marking these compositions, thinking that Donkey Kong‘s importance would lead Nintendo to replace them with Japanese composers’ tracks. They meld atmospheric music with prominent melodies, environmental sound mixes and bongo-burstin’ percussion.
In my eyes (ears?), Wise’s compositions are some of the most recognisable and revolutionary in the industry to date. It definitely sounded better, and we have composer David Wise to thank for that (along with Eveline Fischer and Robin Beanland, who also contributed). You’d have to be a proper stiff not to enjoy the game’s renditions of popular songs such as ‘ Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor and ‘ Black Betty’ by Ram Jam.ĭonkey Kong Country squeezed every drop out of the Super Nintendo‘s processing power it arguably looked better than some of the early PlayStation 1 titles. These sections are hands-down my favourite gaming experiences of 2013, and The Last of Us came out that year. For example, on the ‘ Black Betty’ level (video above) I nabbed 30 collectables in rapid succession – only to hear a face-melting 30-note guitar solo – the feedback is extremely satisfying. Basically, whatever Rayman‘s doing on screen actively affects which instrument plays on the track. In these levels, every time you kill, collect or interact with anything in the environment, it cues a musical element in the level’s music. It doesn’t hurt that the game features strong contributions from the likes of Incubus, Slimkid3, and DJ Nu-Mark.įor me, the best moments of Rayman Legends come from its rhythm-based levels.
Tempo and timing are central to the platforming experience in Legends, leading the devs to make the soundtrack a key part of the game. The smart sound-work makes for one of the most refined, varied and satisfying soundtracks I’ve ever heard in gaming. But its sound design was even more worthy of praise. Luckily, most developers bring their A-game when it comes to sound design (despite getting little credit for it.) Well, credit where it’s due: here are five games with kick-ass soundtracks.ĢD platformer Rayman Legends got a fair bit of credit for its gorgeous hand-drawn-style visuals, and rightly so: it’s a bloody beautiful-looking game. Just try playing a 3D platformer without the music – it can make the most vibrant and colourful worlds feel dismal. If a soundtrack is too distracting, it can draw the player out of the experience if it doesn’t fit the tone of the game, it can make an otherwise intense moment seem goofy if the music is stripped back, it can make a game seem empty. It can be the difference between a good game and a great game. It’s understandable after all, sound is more embedded in the background of the experience, subtly complementing the gameplay, art and visuals. It may seem like a small piece of the gaming puzzle, but sound is integral.
Gameplay, graphics, controls and multiplayer tend to be the most common factors people bring up when talking about video games yet, soundtracks and sound design are often glossed over.