→ Some credits revealed
→ More credits revealed
Game info: Website
Listening: Bandcamp
Info
The soundtrack album that’s currently available for purchase is a “game rip”; it’s converted from the game’s files and not the original source assets, there’s minimal editing so some tracks just cut off, and there are no track-by-track credits (though the lead composer has provided most of them to a VGMdb editor). This was a rushed release to get something out there to meet fan demands; a more definitive “soundtrack” release is planned for the future. Feels worth mentioning!
The original Freedom Planet soundtrack was half solo written and half co-written by Leilani Wilson (Woofle), who has a synthwave-y style reminiscent of ’90s CD audio game soundtracks, which was a perfect fit for a throwback, wears-its-Sonic-influences-on-its-sleeve platformer. I always find her music pleasant for that reason, but, I think “forgettable” is too harsh a word but I personally find that a lot of it just ends up blending together with each other in my mind after I’ve finished listening. But when they do things that stick out to me, I tend to enjoy them a lot.
So, Freedom Planet 2! Wilson returned to be “at the forefront of the ingame soundtrack” along with her main co-composer Sabrina DiDuro (Strife), so it has a very similar vibe to the first game’s, with a little bit more of a Chinese influence in the instrumentation and melodies to match the setting. They were also joined by three new composers I’ve never heard of before, and it definitely sounds like there were more people on the music staff this time, in that there’s some noticeable compositional and sequencing differences in a number of the tracks, giving it a less consistent sound (not a value judgment) than the first game. Like the first game, there’s a lot that didn’t stick with me, but this a real beefy soundtrack (five hours!), so mathematically speaking there’s a lot to like.
Recommended tracks:
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“Shenlin Park” (Wilson) starts off with some pretty chords and a pentatonic melody before dropping into Sonic CD mode with brass and slap bass
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“Ancestral Forge” (Wilson) has a synth chord figure at 1:43 that I really like
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“Weapon’s Core” is ominous and unusually sparse for the soundtrack
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“Boss – Aaa” (Lord, arr. Wilson) is very quirky and has almost a Nintendo boss theme feel to it
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“Neera’s Theme” (Wilson & DiDuro) has a weird, modulated background noise, most noticeable in the 2:12 break, that almost sounds like a modem or something
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“Beta Track – Nalao Lake” (Wilson) is chiller and more acoustic than the final in-game version
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