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RPGFan Music
RPGFan Music of the Year 2023 Editors’ Favorites: Rob White
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2023 was quite an unusual year for me. Various life events took place that often caused gaming to be placed on the back-burner, and when I was playing something, it was often older stuff that had been sitting in my backlog for a while. However, this was the year I played my first MMO (FFXIV), which I became far too obsessed with but loved my time with (I still have all the expansions to play through at some point), and there certainly were some new releases that I enjoyed, some of which have made it into my top picks for Music of the Year 2023. Let’s go!
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
Initially, the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster series was not something I was particularly excited to play, despite having never played most of FFI-VI. However, as the PS4 release grew closer, I decided that I needed to experience these landmark games, especially as the series from Final Fantasy VII onwards contains some of my favourite games of all time. FFI was an interesting experience. Seeing the origins of the series was a lot of fun despite it feeling like a mishmash of many fantasy tropes and cliches, but there was one element that I utterly fell in love with—the newly arranged OST.
There are some absolutely beautiful pieces here that feel like the perfect iteration of that classic fantasy JRPG sound. Gorgeous strings, rousing drums and brass. It perfectly captures the feeling of going on an adventure, whilst also feeling nostalgic and cosy. This instantly became a standout Final Fantasy OST for me.
Highlighted Track: “Chaos Shrine”
Baten Kaitos I & II HD Remaster
Having always been a PlayStation gamer (until the Switch, at least), Baten Kaitos was a game I’d heard of but knew little about. Seeing Bandai Namco remaster it for the Switch surprised me, but I was also very excited to finally have a way to play it. Whilst I have yet to finish either game, I am in love with its aesthetic quality (the mix of some of the most beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds I’ve ever seen with moving graphics gives Baten Kaitos such a mystical, illustrative feel) and the very underrated soundtrack from Motoi Sakuraba.
Sakuraba is a composer I am very familiar with, particularly from the Star Ocean, Tales, and Dark Souls series, but I feel his work on Baten Kaitos is a breakaway from his usual sound, especially considering the time period when he composed it. Whilst some tracks lean into what I’d consider a traditional Star Ocean sound (the battle theme “The True Mirror” in particular sounds like it could fit into that series perfectly), overall the OST for Baten Kaitos isn’t afraid to experiment, with a darker, edgier mood that sets it apart from Sakuraba’s other work and gives this duology a solid musical identity of its own.
Highlighted Track: “Chaotic Dance”
Baldur’s Gate 3
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a love letter to all things traditional fantasy, taking inspiration across media and pop culture—turn-based RPG video games, Dungeons & Dragons, and even fantasy/sci-fi literature. It feels like a game incorporating the best qualities of all of these and presenting them to you in a perfect package of a deep, interesting story and characters, challenging but rewarding gameplay, and all driven by player choice and chance. Fans of The Lord of the Rings, The Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age, Game of Thrones, and other fantasy of that ilk will feel right at home with this music. Borislav Slavov has captured a sense of “journey” across the soundtrack, and it translates fittingly into the game itself, driving that feeling of adventure and wonder as you fight, fumble, and flirt your way through Baldur’s Gate 3’s three acts.
Highlighted Track: “Twisted Force (Battle Music 3)”
Final Fantasy XVI
Final Fantasy XVI was a personal highlight of 2023 both from a gameplay and music perspective. I love how it straddles the line between slow-paced, complex, somber storytelling, and full-blown, absolutely insane-in-scale boss encounters. It felt like the least traditional mainline Final Fantasy (whatever that means) so far, but with the spirit of the series very much alive and well at its heart. Also, there’s Clive—need I say more?
Final Fantasy XVI‘s OST is epic, clocking in at seven hours, thirty minutes over 181 tracks—the largest soundtrack of my 2023 picks. Masayoshi Soken brings his expertise from composing much of the music for Final Fantasy XIV to head up a small team (including Takafumi Imamura, another Square Enix and FFXIV composer) and create an OST fitting the direction of this Final Fantasy. If you like intense, dramatic, and moody video game music, this is a soundtrack for you. There’s little light to be found here, but that doesn’t stop it from being top tier.
Highlighted Track: “Our Terms”
