Topic: Harmony of Dissonance Music

[X]

The music for Harmony could've been phenominal. But because they 'ran out of room' on the GBA cart one thing out of all that had to take a hit, as was stated in a previous CV dungeon review. But this shouldn't be a problem now that a few years have gone by. They're putting far more stored info on a DS cart that's even smaller then a GBA cart. Maybe IGA should revisit HoD and revamp several of it's weak points to make it more to what he had first conceaved of it.

-X

[Raphael Belmont]

let's hope so, it's a masterpiece game!!!!!

[Verdegrand]

Hello,
i must say that I love HoD's music very much. Do I understand correctly that the chiptune style had to be chosen because of space constraints on the cartridge? That would be interesting, because I think the music is fantastic on its own and does not need to be viewed as a compromise. Couldn't a return to an 8-bit esthetics be regarded as an artistic decision? The compositions themselves are also of a very interesting style, and i think they work best with the chiptune sound as they are presented. For me personally, they lose a lot when instruments are assigned to them. It's a pity that Soshiro Hokkai didn't compose for more castlevania games. HoD is an exceptional game in the series in the regard that it relies heavily on philosophical and psychological symbolism, and the music works in favor of that. Successor of Fate is also my absolute favorite from the entire soundtrack. It is downright shaking if you let it get close to you and creates an incredible sense of foreboding. Also, it

SPOILER

creates a sense of symmetry because the entrance area is also the final area of second castle. And when you get there, the foreboding elements unfold if you let them.

A true masterpiece in my book.
Many greetings

[Lumas]

Hello,
i must say that I love HoD's music very much. Do I understand correctly that the chiptune style had to be chosen because of space constraints on the cartridge? That would be interesting, because I think the music is fantastic on its own and does not need to be viewed as a compromise. Couldn't a return to an 8-bit esthetics be regarded as an artistic decision? The compositions themselves are also of a very interesting style, and i think they work best with the chiptune sound as they are presented. For me personally, they lose a lot when instruments are assigned to them. It's a pity that Soshiro Hokkai didn't compose for more castlevania games. HoD is an exceptional game in the series in the regard that it relies heavily on philosophical and psychological symbolism, and the music works in favor of that. Successor of Fate is also my absolute favorite from the entire soundtrack. It is downright shaking if you let it get close to you and creates an incredible sense of foreboding. Also, it

SPOILER

creates a sense of symmetry because the entrance area is also the final area of second castle. And when you get there, the foreboding elements unfold if you let them.

A true masterpiece in my book.
Many greetings

Very well put it reminded me of how much I did enjoy the music of that game

[PFG9000]

Hello,
i must say that I love HoD's music very much. Do I understand correctly that the chiptune style had to be chosen because of space constraints on the cartridge? That would be interesting, because I think the music is fantastic on its own and does not need to be viewed as a compromise. Couldn't a return to an 8-bit esthetics be regarded as an artistic decision? The compositions themselves are also of a very interesting style, and i think they work best with the chiptune sound as they are presented. For me personally, they lose a lot when instruments are assigned to them. It's a pity that Soshiro Hokkai didn't compose for more castlevania games. HoD is an exceptional game in the series in the regard that it relies heavily on philosophical and psychological symbolism, and the music works in favor of that. Successor of Fate is also my absolute favorite from the entire soundtrack. It is downright shaking if you let it get close to you and creates an incredible sense of foreboding. Also, it

SPOILER

creates a sense of symmetry because the entrance area is also the final area of second castle. And when you get there, the foreboding elements unfold if you let them.

A true masterpiece in my book.
Many greetings

Hi!

Welcome to the CVDF.  You're very well spoken (or well written?).  I see exactly what you mean, and I agree for a good part, though not 100%.  Many of the compositions are very good, but there are some that are just a bore to me.  Even with Jorge's masterful re-recordings, tunes like the Shrine of the Apostates theme and the Luminous Caverns theme seem extremely, well, bland.  I still get the feeling that they were written for real instruments, and were just lost in the horrible translation to low-quality synth sounds, but I have yet to hear a high quality rendition that makes them sound natural.  None of this was much of a problem for me until my last playthrough, which was probably around my 10th playthrough of HoD.  I just had to force myself to finish the game, and that's a first for me in this series.

In response to your post, I think the low quality of HoD's synths could very well be an intentional choice.  I've even heard the theory that the pairing of high-end visuals with low-end music is a reflection of the whole Dissonance thing that runs through the game.  And I'm usually a big fan of such abstract, highly conceptual design choices that separate artsy games from commercial games, but in this case, I'd rather have a well-balanced (in the sense of graphics vs sound) title over an extremely far-out one, if it means sacrificing sound quality to this point.  I guess I could get into an intentionally retro game like Megaman 9 if the graphics and sound and every other aspect were an intentional throwback, but if it's an odd pairing of high end graphics and low end sound (imagine something like Heavy Rain's visuals with Space Invaders music, for an extreme example), even if it has an intentional purpose in mirroring the story or something, it's too jarring to really draw me in.

Anyway, I've gotten off track.  I enjoyed reading your well composed comment.  Please stick around!

[X]

i must say that I love HoD's music very much. Do I understand correctly that the chiptune style had to be chosen because of space constraints on the cartridge? That would be interesting, because I think the music is fantastic on its own and does not need to be viewed as a compromise.

From what I've investigated, the music score of HoD had to take the backseat in order for the rest of the game to shine. It is unfortunate because I think there was a lot of potential for it. But if they intentionally used an 8-bit chiptune synth then I think it was lost in translation somewhere. The music would definitly suit an 8-bit game. But it's mixed feelings for me with a 32-bit game where everything else sounds phenomenal except the music.

-X

[VGuyver]

the sound quality surely looks like me drunk in 5 am.....but you cannot deny the composing itself, i mean, think of it as it would have been made with the same "care" as SotN...

that also goes for most of the GB, GBA, and DS games. Castlevania legends had some awesome music that deserved arrangements.