Christi Junior on Nostr: 2/6 Moving on from Great Cotte Falls to High Maktha Wildwood does notably take you ...
2/6
Moving on from Great Cotte Falls to High Maktha Wildwood does notably take you from a place with a typically grand, epic Xenoblade area theme to one that is much more subdued and strictly atmospheric in nature, unusually so for the series. Some specific High Maktha Wildwood locations don’t even have music playing at all, a predictable source of annoyance for me. Chapter 4 also marks the second and FINAL time Carrying The Weight of Life plays in all of Xenoblade 3, which is truly bizarre when looking at how both Engage the Enemy and Counterattack were handled. And on that note, I think I’ve found a segue as good as any to finally talk about Xenoblade 3’s soundtrack.
Plenty of JRPGs and JRPG series boast absolutely fantastic music, with Breath of Fire, Golden Sun, Ys VIII, Bravely Default, Final Fantasy, Persona and Chrono Trigger being just a few examples that come to mind. Hell, even a dogshit game like Pokemon Sword/Shield features some genuinely great songs. However, even in such a hyper-competitive field, Xenoblade stands out: Xenoblade 1’s soundtrack absolutely blew me away, and I considered it to be the single greatest video game OST of all time….until Xenoblade 2 came around, that is. And as I’ve said before, even Xenoblade X’s soundtrack (by the celebrated Attack on Titan composer Hiroyuki Sawano rather than the usual Xenoblade team) would have been considered a spectacular standout tour de force if X had been part of LITERALLY ANY OTHER GAMING SERIES IN EXISTENCE, rather than being the weakest in this particular franchise.
Outside of X, whose soundtrack is Pure Sawano (complete with incredible moments of epicness and spectacularly retarded song names), Xenoblade songs feel wholly unique, a mix of classical music, Rock (electric guitars feature heavily in some of the series’ most recognizable songs) and lately even some jazz that are just full of magic and beauty. Xenoblade songs are so filled with SOUL that they suck you into this amazing world and take you on an unforgettable adventure through the power of music alone. And then Xenoblade 2 just had to add to its repertoire multiple songs with such emotional power that, even when listened to outside of the tragic scenes where they are used, can bring me to tears on their own. To paraphrase what C. S. Lewis wrote in his review of Lord of the Rings: Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here are songs which will break your heart.
With all that in mind, be aware that when I’m from now on talking about Xenoblade 3’s soundtrack and sometimes seeming very critical of it, I’m literally comparing it to the two greatest video game OSTs of all time. The mere fact that the Xenoblade 3 OST is able to even endure such a comparison in the first place, let alone come out looking pretty good in various regards, is a testament to how insanely strong it actually is. And in case there was any doubt, this was OBVIOUSLY the best soundtrack of 2022, and the fact that the subhuman game journos didn’t acknowledge it as such is a big reason why I will always insist that The Game Awards is one of the worst things to ever happen to gaming, and that everybody involved with that accursed show eats shit and fucks kids.
Compared to past mainline Xenoblade games, there ARE however some notable issues with Xenoblade 3’s OST, the most blatant one having to do with the area themes. Usually a highlight in any Xenoblade game, and greatly contributing to your sense of excitement whenever you reach a new area, these songs in XB3 are more of a mixed bag: I’d say that roughly half of them are just the kind of area themes that you’d expect from a Xenoblade game, phenomenal songs that absolutely define the locations they’re associated with and which stay with you forever. The other half is however far more on the minimalistic and ambient side, not really memorable at all, at most conveying a particular atmosphere rather than making a big impact as songs.
To be fair, even a lot of these lesser area themes aren’t nearly as low-key as they first appear – when you first reach a brand new area, chances are that you’ll get into fights with monsters quite often while exploring due to your relatively low level (if you’re sufficiently overleveled, most Xenoblade monsters WILL have the sense to leave you alone), these battle repeatedly interrupting the area themes. Even the more ambient songs do however tend to build up to something greater, and will thus leave a far greater impression if listened to in full, without interruptions.
It should also be acknowledged that these songs DO successfully instill Aionios with an appropriate sense of melancholy, and a slightly unnerving feeling of something being fundamentally “off” about this world, even if you can’t put your finger on precisely what. It’s not an atmosphere as powerfully oppressive as what you encounter in something like Final Fantasy VII, but it doesn’t need to be – the Shinra Company openly rules Gaia with an iron fist, while the Moebius control Aionios from behind the shadows. Pervasive sadness with just a hint of underlying menace fits Aionios just fine.
Indeed, you could even argue that Xenoblade 3’s area themes are actually MORE successful at cultivating the right atmosphere than their more celebrated Xenoblade 1 and 2 counterparts. Take Xenoblade 2’s Mor Ardain theme, Roaming the Wastes – an absolute BANGER of a song, so full of energy, such a joyous instant classic of a song. But…does it actually fit *Mor Ardain*, a dying Titan defined by deserts, dust and dirt? Sure, the Ardainian Empire is intensively militaristic, and the area theme might be something you could imagine an army band playing, but it’s hardly a military march.
Even so, it’s a matter of priorities – while something like the Eagus Wilderness theme might fit its area far better than Roaming the Wastes fits Mor Ardain, the latter song is just incomparably more fun and exciting. Given the choice, I will personally always pick a great song over a great mood-setter, which means that for me, Xenoblade 3’s selection of area themes ends up stacking up somewhat poorly compared to those in prior mainline Xenoblade games.
This problem is made even worse by the fact that a lot of the best area themes tend to be reserved for smaller areas with not all that much for you to do. Take the Great Sword's Base Day theme, a song so beautiful it almost hurts, which as it builds towards a gorgeous, almost transcendent climax never fails to take my breath away, and might just be one of my favorite Xenoblade songs ever. Its area however, is positively TINY by Xenoblade standards. Or how about Elaice Highway – an absolutely stunning remix of Xenoblade 1’s Hidden Machina Village that elevates the melody to previously unthinkable heights – but not only is Elaice Highway itself pretty small, it’s barely even a story-required area at all. Of course, there are exceptions; Erythia Sea is by far the biggest area in the game, and has quite the lovely theme, if not quite on par with the previous two I just mentioned. However, most of the largest Xenoblade 3 areas go for ambient over memorable songs.
Moving on from Great Cotte Falls to High Maktha Wildwood does notably take you from a place with a typically grand, epic Xenoblade area theme to one that is much more subdued and strictly atmospheric in nature, unusually so for the series. Some specific High Maktha Wildwood locations don’t even have music playing at all, a predictable source of annoyance for me. Chapter 4 also marks the second and FINAL time Carrying The Weight of Life plays in all of Xenoblade 3, which is truly bizarre when looking at how both Engage the Enemy and Counterattack were handled. And on that note, I think I’ve found a segue as good as any to finally talk about Xenoblade 3’s soundtrack.
Plenty of JRPGs and JRPG series boast absolutely fantastic music, with Breath of Fire, Golden Sun, Ys VIII, Bravely Default, Final Fantasy, Persona and Chrono Trigger being just a few examples that come to mind. Hell, even a dogshit game like Pokemon Sword/Shield features some genuinely great songs. However, even in such a hyper-competitive field, Xenoblade stands out: Xenoblade 1’s soundtrack absolutely blew me away, and I considered it to be the single greatest video game OST of all time….until Xenoblade 2 came around, that is. And as I’ve said before, even Xenoblade X’s soundtrack (by the celebrated Attack on Titan composer Hiroyuki Sawano rather than the usual Xenoblade team) would have been considered a spectacular standout tour de force if X had been part of LITERALLY ANY OTHER GAMING SERIES IN EXISTENCE, rather than being the weakest in this particular franchise.
Outside of X, whose soundtrack is Pure Sawano (complete with incredible moments of epicness and spectacularly retarded song names), Xenoblade songs feel wholly unique, a mix of classical music, Rock (electric guitars feature heavily in some of the series’ most recognizable songs) and lately even some jazz that are just full of magic and beauty. Xenoblade songs are so filled with SOUL that they suck you into this amazing world and take you on an unforgettable adventure through the power of music alone. And then Xenoblade 2 just had to add to its repertoire multiple songs with such emotional power that, even when listened to outside of the tragic scenes where they are used, can bring me to tears on their own. To paraphrase what C. S. Lewis wrote in his review of Lord of the Rings: Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here are songs which will break your heart.
With all that in mind, be aware that when I’m from now on talking about Xenoblade 3’s soundtrack and sometimes seeming very critical of it, I’m literally comparing it to the two greatest video game OSTs of all time. The mere fact that the Xenoblade 3 OST is able to even endure such a comparison in the first place, let alone come out looking pretty good in various regards, is a testament to how insanely strong it actually is. And in case there was any doubt, this was OBVIOUSLY the best soundtrack of 2022, and the fact that the subhuman game journos didn’t acknowledge it as such is a big reason why I will always insist that The Game Awards is one of the worst things to ever happen to gaming, and that everybody involved with that accursed show eats shit and fucks kids.
Compared to past mainline Xenoblade games, there ARE however some notable issues with Xenoblade 3’s OST, the most blatant one having to do with the area themes. Usually a highlight in any Xenoblade game, and greatly contributing to your sense of excitement whenever you reach a new area, these songs in XB3 are more of a mixed bag: I’d say that roughly half of them are just the kind of area themes that you’d expect from a Xenoblade game, phenomenal songs that absolutely define the locations they’re associated with and which stay with you forever. The other half is however far more on the minimalistic and ambient side, not really memorable at all, at most conveying a particular atmosphere rather than making a big impact as songs.
To be fair, even a lot of these lesser area themes aren’t nearly as low-key as they first appear – when you first reach a brand new area, chances are that you’ll get into fights with monsters quite often while exploring due to your relatively low level (if you’re sufficiently overleveled, most Xenoblade monsters WILL have the sense to leave you alone), these battle repeatedly interrupting the area themes. Even the more ambient songs do however tend to build up to something greater, and will thus leave a far greater impression if listened to in full, without interruptions.
It should also be acknowledged that these songs DO successfully instill Aionios with an appropriate sense of melancholy, and a slightly unnerving feeling of something being fundamentally “off” about this world, even if you can’t put your finger on precisely what. It’s not an atmosphere as powerfully oppressive as what you encounter in something like Final Fantasy VII, but it doesn’t need to be – the Shinra Company openly rules Gaia with an iron fist, while the Moebius control Aionios from behind the shadows. Pervasive sadness with just a hint of underlying menace fits Aionios just fine.
Indeed, you could even argue that Xenoblade 3’s area themes are actually MORE successful at cultivating the right atmosphere than their more celebrated Xenoblade 1 and 2 counterparts. Take Xenoblade 2’s Mor Ardain theme, Roaming the Wastes – an absolute BANGER of a song, so full of energy, such a joyous instant classic of a song. But…does it actually fit *Mor Ardain*, a dying Titan defined by deserts, dust and dirt? Sure, the Ardainian Empire is intensively militaristic, and the area theme might be something you could imagine an army band playing, but it’s hardly a military march.
Even so, it’s a matter of priorities – while something like the Eagus Wilderness theme might fit its area far better than Roaming the Wastes fits Mor Ardain, the latter song is just incomparably more fun and exciting. Given the choice, I will personally always pick a great song over a great mood-setter, which means that for me, Xenoblade 3’s selection of area themes ends up stacking up somewhat poorly compared to those in prior mainline Xenoblade games.
This problem is made even worse by the fact that a lot of the best area themes tend to be reserved for smaller areas with not all that much for you to do. Take the Great Sword's Base Day theme, a song so beautiful it almost hurts, which as it builds towards a gorgeous, almost transcendent climax never fails to take my breath away, and might just be one of my favorite Xenoblade songs ever. Its area however, is positively TINY by Xenoblade standards. Or how about Elaice Highway – an absolutely stunning remix of Xenoblade 1’s Hidden Machina Village that elevates the melody to previously unthinkable heights – but not only is Elaice Highway itself pretty small, it’s barely even a story-required area at all. Of course, there are exceptions; Erythia Sea is by far the biggest area in the game, and has quite the lovely theme, if not quite on par with the previous two I just mentioned. However, most of the largest Xenoblade 3 areas go for ambient over memorable songs.