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Prompted by other editorials on the issue of sound and music, I found myself considering which pieces of music in RPGs were both memorable and evocative of the scenes they tried to portray. The more obvious classics sprung to mind pretty quickly. The world map themes of FF4 and FF7, as well as Aeris’ theme are near perfect examples of computer game music. Eyes on Me from FF8 was controversial in its use of vocals, but encapsulated the feelings between Squall and Rinoa. And of course, the mere mention of the series self-titled theme tune sends a shiver down one’s spine. In Chrono Trigger, the boss battle music that plays as you fight Magus is one of the finest examples of its kind, creating the perfect ambiance for the confrontation. Not all songs have to have such epic qualities to be memorable. The music that played whilst you were at Headquarters in Phantasy Star 2 fits the sci-fi environment perfectly, creating a jittery atmosphere of technological tension.
The brilliance of this music made me consider whether a scene could have the same emotional impact if it originated from an external source, like a band or solo artist, and was not specially created for the game - is the music’s originality a factor in it’s potency? Also, if a song had entered the public consciousness separately to the game, would this effect a player’s reaction if it was included in a game?
Ignoring a song’s lyrics (which, in my experience, very rarely have any connection to RPGs), it’s music can have a profound effect when coupled with images in a film. In my mind Bob Dylan’s “The Man In Me” will always be associated with The Big Lebowski, which is where I heard it first. Adversely, I had heard My Bloody Valentine’s “Loveless” album before Lost In Translation used songs from it to accompany the film, which meant that for me the effect was not as mesmerising as it may have been for others. This is not always the case – Rage Against The Machine’s “Wake Up” at the end of The Matrix, which fitted events on screen more than most other tunes could.
But the presence of music which was not specifically written for a film is rarely criticised if it fits the scene that it soundtracks. Like in film, RPGs convey a story, and the music serves to emphasise, magnify and occasionally contrast with events on screen. But in a RPG, if a song originated from outside of the game’s music producer, like from a recognised musical artist, would the scene be able to have the same effect? Just an example, but would Nanami’s death in Suikoden 2 still had the same potency if it was accompanied by the sombre strain’s of Joy Division’s “Decades” (focusing on the music, ignoring the lyrics)? By itself the song has great poignancy, but if one had heard it elsewhere it may detract from the effect. Many RPG fans would see this as sacrilege. A small but vocal minority listens to RPG music and nothing else. In my opinion, they don’t know what they are missing.
The use of occasional J-Pop songs signals the potential for such a cross pollination between games and popular music in the future. These have little impact in the West though. Perhaps an issue here is that songs that can create an emotional reaction in the US and European markets do not translate to the Japanese audience in the same way, which is why game developers don’t seek to include them on a regular basis. For some developers the cost of such a venture would be problematic, but for a Final Fantasy game that will undoubtedly generate good profits this should not be such a difficult hurdle to overcome. If most films can afford to do get the rights for popular music, Square-Enix should have no problem doing this. Anyway, I’m not talking about Britney Spears here! Many under-appreciated artists can create powerful emotional music with a strong sense of mood and atmosphere that would perfectly accompany a game, whilst working at a level below major mainstream success.
I can see how a poor choice of song to accompany a potent scene would upset a large percentage of the RPG fanbase, and how the presence of lyrics that don’t directly relate to events on screen may offend some. However, film and television have used the songs to represent and symbolise events on screen with great success. I can’t see the harm in simply testing this theory and using music from the pop culture sphere in RPGs. I think this would be an interesting technique to use occasionally within RPGs. Admittedly, too much of anything can lead to it becoming annoying, but in moderation this could give scenes a stronger emotional scope. Shame the odds of it happening are very low.
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