DRUNKEN RAMBLINGS WITH YORKEDADDY II: VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACKS CAN ACTUALLY BE COOL, MAN
What's that? You're too sophisticated to listen to video game soundtracks? Shut up ****, some of the best music ever made has been in a video game, fool.
Get Enlightened:
"What's that, Almighty YorkeDeity? ****in' CHIMPS? I'm outta here."
-What a fool would say
Nah, I'm not here to berate hypothetical people that aren't willing to give VGM albums a chance, but if you do happen to be the type of person that can go into things with an open mind, you might dig some of the tracks on this soundtrack/album/...thing.
Now I'm perfectly willing to accept and admit that nostalgia and my enjoyment of this game plays a huge factor in my appreciation for the music here. I actually identify the songs with the memory of running down to my Grandpa's basement to slap the Donkey Kong Country 2 cartridge into the SNES. Those were the good ol' days, and this game is almost unequivocally my favorite video game of all-time. Still, however, while eliminating all bias is impossible in any aspect of this universe, I feel I can step back and develop a somewhat objective opinion on these songs, and I think that this soundtrack has some of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.
I just love the "bubbly" sounds in this track. There's a cool, contrasting ambiance behind it for the intro. Then you have some damn cool synths playing a really sweet melody. Even if you've never played this game, how could you not think this is a cool electronic track? The "chorus" or however you'd describe it of this song, when the high piano notes come in, is just plain gorgeous in every sense of the word. This track is just lovely to me.
I mean, just listen to how genius the percussion in this song is. It really makes you feel like you're in a mine, but it's not at the expense of the song itself, which is still a great electronic piece. There's some strong melody here, and it's even kind of catchy and makes you wanna tap your feet to it. Wonderful song.
Oh look, another simply stunning ambient track. David Wise, you outdid yourself here. It doesn't even matter that I remember the dark forest levels of DKC2 when I'm listening to this, I also just find it beautifully simplistic, and we haven't even gotten into the best song this soundtrack has to offer.
Going through this soundtrack again is reminding just how superb some of this music. The swamp noises in the background don't even sound like a gimmick, this track just feels so natural. The melody of the synths is wonderful, and there's almost a drone-like bass in the background of this track. The melodies of this song are almost
catchy, and there's not even any damn words. Frankly, I could go on for days about each of the tracks in this game, but I'll cut it short and just post the best one of them all:
This is one of the best songs I've ever heard in any context. Just because it came out of a video game doesn't mean it should be discredited, so let's just call it what it is: a masterpiece. There's so much going on in this song, the detail and precision with which it's delivered is magnificent. The melody and atmosphere are superb, and the resulting ambiance is just plain gloriously fun to listen to.
This is my favorite video game soundtrack of all-time (obviously), but that distinction alone doesn't do it enough justice. The full OST of this game has 30 tracks, and I fully believe that it is a great album on it's own. There are some tracks that don't glow with near perfection like "Bramble Blast" or "Hot Head Bop," but it's a wonderful listen overall.