 
OGRE BATTLE
(Super NES & Sony Playstation)
Composers: Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masaharu "REZON" Iwata, & Hayato Matsuo
Ogre Battle was the first game that introduced me to the music of Hitoshi Sakimoto (I was already familiar with some of Masaharu Iwata's work from the NES version of Might & Magic, although at the time I didn't know that he composed it). Ogre Battle's soundtrack still remains as some of the best music these two gifted composers have ever put out, as well as the not-to-be-forgotten Hayato Matsuo. I'm not sure why some of these songs have different titles on the official soundtracks than they do in the in-game sound test, but I'll include both titles in case you're looking for a particular song and only know it by one name or the other.
Music Also Featured On:
Game Ending Songs Extravaganza
NES & SNES Midi Conversions
"Accretion Disk (Go-Go March)"
Time: 2:45
Size: 2.52 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: I included this piece as an example of Hayato Matsuo's work, who seems to be known as "the other Ogre Battle guy", and it's my favorite of those he did for this soundtrack. It was reused in Ogre Battle 64...unfortunately, a little too much (they should have used more overworld themes for a game of that size), but it's still good and with a name like "Accretion Disk" you know it has to be!
"Autumnal Sky (Womanheart)"
Time: 2:10
Size: 1.98 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: This is the music for the flying island overworlds. Kind of a joyful, happy waltzing melody.
"Impregnable Defense (Wall of Defense)"
Time: 2:23
Size: 2.18 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: One of my favorite overworld themes from the game, I sometimes have a hard time deciding if I like this one the best, or "Revolt/Thunder" or "Viking Spirits" the most.
"Neo-Overture"
Time: 3:10
Size: 2.90 MB
Automatic ending
Comment: The ending song. Anyone who's visited my favorite game endings article knows how much I really like this one. Essentially, a very heavily-remixed version of the title theme.
"Neo-Overture (Arranged Version)"
Time: 2:50
Size: 2.60 MB
Automatic ending
Comment: This is the arranged version of the ending music from the Playstation remakes of Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre. This track is Redbook Audio streamed and is identical on both CDs. A really great rendition, I like this even more than the original SNES version. A slight addition to the ending goes out with a bang.
"Overture"
Time: 1:02
Size: 978 KB
Automatic ending
Comment: The great title screen music that every Ogre Battle player knows and loves.
"Overture (Arranged Version)"
Time: 1:24
Size: 1.28 MB
Automatic ending
Comment: This is the arranged version of the title music from the Playstation remakes of Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre (just like with "Neo-Overture", the track is identical on both CDs.) I might actually prefer the original SNES version in this case (the arranged version is lacking the last few notes of the song, and I like the instrumentation of the SNES version more), but it's still pretty cool.
"Revolt (Thunder)"
Time: 2:15
Size: 2.06 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Possibly the most famous song from the Ogre Battle series, it's one of the most commonly-heard overworld themes in the game. This one is very close to being my favorite, but it's got some tough competition.
"Viking Spirits"
Time: 2:15
Size: 2.06 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Music for the overworlds that have a lot of water everywhere. This is one of my favorites, a great composition from Masaharu Iwata. I can easily picture Viking ships bobbing along the ocean waves to this song, even though that doesn't actually happen in the game.
"White Storm (Santa's Coming)"
Time: 2:44
Size: 2.50 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Music for the snow-covered overworlds. I have no idea what is up with that in-game sound test title. If that really happened, it would be even weirder than Viking ships sailing in.
 
OGRE BATTLE 64
(Nintendo 64)
Composers: Hitoshi Sakimoto, Masaharu "REZON" Iwata, & Hayato Matsuo
While it doesn't have quite as strong a soundtrack as the original Ogre Battle, the Nintendo 64 sequel does contain some excellent new versions of old favorites (like "Overture" and "Revolt"), as well as some good unique compositions. Overall, the score is not as good as Ogre Battle, but it's better than Tactics Ogre.
Music Also Featured On:
Game Ending Songs Extravaganza
"Accretion Disk (Go-Go March)"
Time: 2:29
Size: 3.43 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: I like this song, but my only problem with it is that it's the only battle music used for almost the entire second half of the game, which gets really repetitive.
Rating: 
"After Words"
Time: 3:30
Size: 4.80 MB
Automatic ending
Comment: This is the ending music from the "good" ending (or at least one of the good endings, I'm not sure how many there are as I only beat this game once). It didn't leave a huge impression on me when I first heard it, it's grown on me after listening to it a few times.
Rating:
"Billow of the Dark (Wave of Darkness)"
Time: 2:26
Size: 3.36 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: This was the final boss music of the original Ogre Battle. It sounds MUCH better here! The instrumentation is stronger and more powerful where it really counts.
Rating:
"Island Atlas (Big Sister)"
Time: 0:57
Size: 1.32 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: This one's originally from Tactics Ogre, as it's the world map music. It's short, but I rather like it and I think this version sounds better than both the PS1 and SFC versions.
Rating:
"Overture"
Time: 1:05
Size: 1.49 MB
Automatic ending
Comment: This marks the third version of this song I've made available on this site. It's the opening title theme again, slightly different instrumentation than the other versions.
Rating:
"Revolt (Thunder)"
Time: 2:15
Size: 2.06 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Hitoshi Sakimoto's infamous battle cry in fabulous 64 bits!
"Rrrowf!"
Time: 2:15
Size: 2.06 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Don't blame me for the song title. This is the boss music and is a song that is new to this game. Hayato Matsuo turned out a really excellent heart-pounding boss theme here.
"The Sensational World"
Time: 2:15
Size: 2.06 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Another Matsuo composition that's unique to this game. This one's kind of like a rebel march (which makes sense, since the story is like a mythological retelling of the American Revolution).
OMIKRON: THE NOMAD SOUL
(Sega Dreamcast & Windows PC)
Composer: Xavier Despas
I downloaded these songs from the official Omikron website a long time ago, but it doesn't seem to exist anymore. Unfortunately, these aren't the David Bowie songs in case that's what you might've been expecting. But since they were originally distributed freely on the official site, I figured it was okay to go ahead and make them available once again.
"Indigroove" - This is the music that accompanies the opening FMV sequence. It's a really weird, techno/jungle rhythm piece with a lot of stomping and chanting. Kinda loud towards the end.
"Omikron" - The title music. I could've lived without that really cheesey voiceover in the middle, but the rest is okay. Although Xavier Despas is (supposedly) the composer of this song, it sounds rather David Bowie-ish.
"Snow Level" - Well, I remember the snow area of the game, but I don't remember this music. It's a strange little sitar and wind number.
 
OVER HORIZON
(NES)
Composer: Masaharu "REZON" Iwata
You may not have heard of Over Horizon, but I guarantee it has one of the finest NES soundtracks you'll ever hear. It might be my overall favorite Masaharu Iwata (who also did some of the Ogre Battle music above) soundtrack. These mp3 recordings of the original music are much better than the midis I have available elsewhere, so if you've only heard the midis try these out, too.
Music Also Featured On:
Game Ending Songs Extravaganza
NES & SNES Midi Conversions
"Ending Theme"
Time: 0:54
Size: 856 KB
Automatic ending
Comment: The ending theme is a remix of the Level 1 theme. Far from being the best song in this game, it was originally posted to the site for the Game Ending Songs article.
Rating:
"Level 1 Theme"
Time: 2:34
Size: 2.35 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: The Level 1 theme is a great signature song for Over Horizon that I can easily imagine being redone with symphonic instruments. Reminds me ever-so-slightly of the Star Trek theme.
Rating:
"Level 2 Theme"
Time: 2:28
Size: 2.26 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: The Level 2 theme is, IMO, the best song in this game. An epic masterpiece, maybe my favorite Iwata composition overall.
Rating: 
"Level 3 Theme"
Time: 1:40
Size: 1.53 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Level 3 is the ice area. It also has a pretty decent tune.
Rating:
"Level 4 Theme"
Time: 0:58
Size: 916 KB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Level 4 has one of the shortest, yet most interesting songs in the game. It's a bit different in style from all the others.
Rating:
"Level 5 Theme"
Time: 1:35
Size: 1.45 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: This is my least favorite song in this game. I'm only including it because it's not so bad that I'd be embarrassed to have it up here, and I'd feel weird about skipping over a level theme. It's a little too "happy" for this game's tone, if that makes any sense.
"Level 6 Theme"
Time: 2:35
Size: 2.37 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Level 6's music returns to the darker more serious tone of the rest of the music.
"Title Theme"
Time: 1:57
Size: 1.79 MB
2 loops with fadeout
Comment: Although it might not be heard as much as the others, the title theme of this game should not be ignored.
|
|