Why are western games OST underwhelming compared to Japanese's?

[rochellepaws]

I find western music very forgettable as well, as if it's designed to be background noise only. The Witcher 3 as an obvious exception.
I've played and finished DA:I but if I heard that song in isolation I'd never be able to identify which game it was from or if I had heard it before.

 

[Dark_Castle]

Put the personal thoughts in the title as well.

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I shouldn't need to. If I say the line, "Donald Trump is an abomination", is that a fact, or more likely an opinion? In comparison, if I say 'Donald Trump is 71 years old', is that a fact, or opinion?

Go figures. A lot of things are opinion in life. Facts are only facts if they're properly supported by evidence.

 

[Eumi]

So are you suggesting that everything we say from now on, we should add in I think, or IMO. How can one random individual present what he said as a fact without presenting adequate evidence to suggest that he or she said is a fact or opinion? And then I clarified that what I said is personal thoughts, AND I EVEN SAID IT'S PERSONAL IN OP.

But oh no, this guy didn't say 'I THINK' in his title, so it must be a fact!!!

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If your OP has to clarify what your title really means, then your title is bad and is just gonna lead to people not giving you the responses you want.

 

[Poobik THE Hare]

OP stating opinion as fact

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This....

 

[R.T Straker]

They're not.

I don't know why you picked such flat and boring pieces from DA:I when there's stuff like for example. TW3.





Also that YS track is trash. Sounds like some modern Sonic music.

 

[Genetrik]

Skyrim would like to have a word sir!

 

[Poobik THE Hare]

I shouldn't need to. If I say the line, "Donald Trump is an abomination", is that a fact, or more likely an opinion? In comparison, if I say 'Donald Trump is 71 years old', is that a fact, or opinion?

Go figures. A lot of things are opinion in life. Facts are only facts if they're properly supported by evidence.

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If he's 71, then it's a fact .
The abomination part would be opinion on your behalf and opinion should have been used in your OP title.

 

[Deleted member 8196]

I shouldn't need to. If I say the line, "Donald Trump is an abomination", is that a fact, or more likely an opinion? In comparison, if I say 'Donald Trump is 71 years old', is that a fact, or opinion?

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This makes no sense. lmao

Example:

"I think Dishonored 2 is better than Thief" is =/= "Dishonored 2 is better than Thief" (This is one looks like a FACT and not an opinion)

"I think Western OST are underwhelming compared to the Japanese OST" =/= "Why are Western games OST underwhelming compared to Japanese's"

That's not the same thing.

 

[KushalaDaora]

Sorry OP, I prefer DAI example than Ys in your example.

For the most part I prefer Japanese OST like Dragons Dogma, FFXV, Nier Automata, P5, Valkyria Chronicles, but games like Witcher 3, Horizon, Divinity OS, Destiny, Child Of Light, and DOOM definitely better than lots of Japanese games.

 

[mejin]

ME2 Suicide Mission is one of my favorites.

But yeah I feel you, OP. Last year, Persona 5 and Yakuza 0 were pure gold.

 

[rickyson33]

Supergiant?

 

[stan423321]

I shouldn't need to. If I say the line, "Donald Trump is an abomination", is that a fact, or more likely an opinion? In comparison, if I say 'Donald Trump is 71 years old', is that a fact, or opinion?

Go figures. A lot of things are opinion in life. Facts are only facts if they're properly supported by evidence.

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The word "opinion" has no concrete meaning. Consider sentence: "I think she hates me". This features two types of opinion, "speculative" and "taste". Speculative opinion is almost always implied to some level.

The thing about stating "taste" opinions without proper declarators is that people will often assume you mean they apply to consensus, not just to you.

 

[Deleted member 29682]

Supergiant?

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This. They've got some great range.

 

[Opium]

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This is literally un-fucking-listenable. But that is a characteristic of japanese osts, dreadful music with very few exceptions. When it comes to epic symphonic orchestrations western music is above anything else.

 

[RoarOfTheEarth]

I like the range of genres that Japanese OSTs provide. But I also like the epicness of Western OSTs. It's just a matter of taste really. They are both equally good.

 

[Memento]

Go play God of War (an western game that released less than a month ago) and lets see if you can come back to the thread with a straight face looking at the premise of your thread

 

[Dark_Castle]

This makes no sense. lmao

Example:

"I think Dishonored 2 is better than Thief" is =/= "Dishonored 2 is better than Thief" (This is one looks like a FACT and not an opinion)

"I think Western OST are underwhelming compared to the Japanese OST" =/= "Why are Western games OST underwhelming compared to Japanese's"

That's not the same thing.

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You guys need to stop treating everything that is quite obviously opinion as 'fact' just because of the absence of things like 'I think' or 'IMO'.

I already explained why certain things are quite obviously subjective, and others are without a shadow of doubt, an objective one.

 

[Mr.Deadshot]

For the same reason western games are underwhelming compared to Japanese games,Japan is superior to america.

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Eurojank is the best though.

 

[SpotAnime]

I dare you to say that to Austin Wintory's face.

The Assassin's Creed Syndicate soundtrack alone debunks your theory.

 

[legend166]

David Wise says what.

 

[Deleted member 8196]

For the same reason western games are underwhelming compared to Japanese games,Japan is superior to america.

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Because western = America ?

Oh god.

 

[Silky]

Can you imagine being the guy trying to make Ys / Falcom music look good

 

[Edgar]

For the same reason western games are underwhelming compared to Japanese games,Japan is superior to america.

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Since when is America all of western gaming industry ?

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

they run the gamut of Doom 2016, to TW3 to Celeste to more ambient stuff like Inside or Cupheads jazzy tunes. Then theres stuff like Journey, Ori etc
I dont really find any of them underwhelming and incredibly diverse

 

[Swenhir]

Great, an excuse to link great soundtracks! I humbly sumbit what I find to be the most touching Star Wars piece that for once isn't based on John Williams's melodies :



But if we are going to go there, I think SWTOR had the best take on Binary Sunset.

Hey, speaking of DA:I I'm very fond of this piece in particular. It's so solemn and grave, the foreshadowing is palpable :



Really, there's a world of awesomely talented composers out there. There's something for every sensibility :).

 

[Deleted member 2254]

Doom 2016 has a better soundtrack than most of the Japanese games, to be fair. Japanese games often have very good OSTs, but let's not generalize here, they also have their duds.

 

[Dark_Castle]

The word "opinion" has no concrete meaning. Consider sentence: "I think she hates me". This features two types of opinion, "speculative" and "taste". Speculative opinion is almost always implied to some level.

The thing about stating "taste" opinions without proper declarators is that people will often assume you mean they apply to consensus, not just to you.

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Often, 'I think' is completely redundant because the statement, by common sense, is entirely subjective and shouldn't be taken as a fact. 'I think she hates me' however is the more meaningful use of 'I think', because in this situation, we didn't know if that woman actually hates me or not, so saying she hates me demands more evidence that either support or doesn't support this sentence's validity.

 

[MonadL]

I agree with the OP in that Western AAA game soundtracks can be dull but there's been a lot of indie stuff that sounds just as good as any japanese soundtrack. Axiom Verge might have the best 'Metroid' soundtrack ever. Velocity 2X has an incredibly catchy and awesome soundtrack. Shovel Knight is great. Sound Shapes is goddamn incredible and actually incorporates music into its gameplay. Hell in the Western AAA there's stuff like God of War 1 and 2, Witcher 3 (amazing soundtrack), Darksiders 2, The Assassin's Creed games (Origins alone had one of the better soundtracks in the series), and who can forget Doom 2016? Lots of good Western OSTs out there.

 

[IIFloodyII]

Eh, there's plenty of very good composers for both.
Yuka Kitamura (does a lot of From's stuff) is probably my current favourite though.
But people like Mick Gordon, Bear McCreary, Austin Wintory and Martin O'Donnell to name a few have done incredible work, that elevated their games.

 

[Datajoy]

I disagree. I find a lot of Japanese games to have over the top and distracting music, often causing me to turn music volume to zero in audio settings.

 

[Kishido]

What? Witcher 3's soundtrack is one of my all time favourites

 

[Galactor]

because western composers dont know how to create memorable melodies. Except David Wise

 

[Deleted member 5491]

I think it has a lot to do with the overall presentation of the game.
Big games these days tend to be (at least at their crucial moments) like a movie.
During Gameplay you often have a lot that is going on. Either Soundeffects or Voice Over (e.g. Partymembers talking with each other to progress the story). It's hard to score a sound that just tries to be in the foreground, to be the star of the whole scene, when it hinders you to understand what is going on.
So these games tend to have a more atmospheric, hollywood-like soundtrack. Which wasn't possible in that quality more than 10 years ago.

Japanese games, due to differences and financial cultural, still tend do create a more melodic, more catchy soundtrack.
There is still a heavy emphasis on Anime (a lot of todays directors grew up watching Anime) in all of their games.
Every Anime has a Soundtrack release, not only the OP and ED, that are using the Anime to promote their songs, but the whole score.
So, you wanna have a Sound that can hold its own, without the context of the show/game.

I think that is the big difference here, and what you (possibly) feel/think OP.
The rest is taste.

 

[Swenhir]

This. They've got some great range.

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Hell yeah. I feel guilty for ever forgetting about Pyre and Transistor. Pyre was such a journey thanks in no small part to its soundtrack. Darren Korb, another name I'll try better to remember.

I still get goosebumps to We All Become :).

 

[Kyuuji]

Cannot agree.

 

[Silky]

My favorites as of recent. Different styles to elicit different emotions.

 

[Edgar]

because western composers dont know how to create memorable melodies. Except David Wise

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Because Melodic soundtracks is not end all be all for video game music
What is with this forum and some portion users downplaying everything that is AAA western gaming

 

[WastemanLoso]

No.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=QLU-NUsHsag

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

forgot about the hotline miami games too
but even way back when, PC games like Descent 2, Baldurs Gate, Mechwarrior, Command and Conquer Starcraft (mostly PC) all had really unique and interesting soundtracks

 

[MrTired]

This. They've got some great range.

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[Crayolan]

Lots of western soundtracks go for more atmospheric music in order to give it that "cinematic" feel. It's a side effect of video games trying to be movies. It works in the context of the game but for me it means the music tends to leave no impression and becomes forgettable. Obviously there are some exceptions, especially in the indie-space where so many games take inspiration from Japanese games.

For me the best soundtracks are the ones which have songs where I just wanna sit and let the music play, and then even when I'm not playing the game I go look up the music anyway.

 

[Spinky]

This is now Post Good Western Soundtracks: The Thread.





Almost any track from Killer Instinct is applicable.

 

[Adamska]

Not every western game has an underwhelming score.

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[Silky]

No melodies lol try again gaijins

 

[Deleted member 15428]

If there's a Japanese game with a soundtrack like this I'd be happy to play it:

 

[Acquila]

"Memorable" might be a more apt. Personally, I find that major Western games tend to not rely on strong melodies (aside from a title screen music) and usually have subtle leitmotifs. Like, right now I could hum Uncharted's theme song, but you couldn't make me hum anything else from the game. The only recent major non-Japanese title with several tracks that stuck with me was Witcher 3.

It really depends on the game on which kind of music works. I probably wouldn't enjoy The Last of Us as much without its subtle ambient sounds.

 

[HMD]

That Ys track sounds generic to me, like it's not even a good example. You could have went with something by Square Enix at least. Anyway, I personally disagree because western games like The Last of Us have great soundtracks that carry great stories to another level that has yet to be matched by Japanese games.

 

[galv]

I can't agree. It might be true that there's a lot of "ambient" music in western soundtracks, but there's always at least one or two standout pieces. Since people have covered some of the more popular music, here's a couple that are absolutely memorable for me.

 

[Guille Blisnak]

What kind of bait is this?

 

[Emperor Ham]

Simple. Western games wanna act like Hollywood movies with non stop forgettable music. Japanese games are making actual video game music and make them
catchy.

Your most likely gonna remember Super Punch Out's theme or Luigi's Mansion's music than some random hollywood music in Call of Duty, Ass Creed etc