Game info: Wikipedia
Listening: Bandcamp, Steam, extracted audio
Info
Following up GNOSIA with another game I enjoyed the soundtrack of when I listened to it years ago, but never actually played until just now when I bought it on Switch to use up some eShop credit while they still offered gold points. This is a ninja-themed Metroidvania set in the future after the robot apocalypse, I wasn’t super taken with it but movement can be fun once you have the titular movement ability and it definitely contains way more facial expressions than it needed to.
The game has pixelly art with a limited palette (which changes per zone and I think is dynamically done using a shader effect or something), so the music is lower-fi to also evoke old game consoles. Rather than go with PSG or FM chiptunes, it’s more of an SNES-ish sampled sound, though several tracks do also have some chippy instruments mixed in there (just like SNES music does sometimes). A number of tracks incorporate shamisen, but aside from a couple of exceptions in the melodic writing the soundtrack doesn’t otherwise venture too deeply into traditional Japanese music, as you might assume it does based on the theming.
Instead it mostly sounds more like a sci-fi soundtrack, which does match the robot part of the theming. It’s very synthy and heavy on arpeggiated figures, mostly mid-tempo and with a semi-chill vibe that’d be perfect for accompanying a drive through a neon future skyline. The chords are pretty consistently good; most tracks don’t necessarily blast you in the face with jarring chord changes every ten seconds, but if you’re paying attention, nearly every piece has at least one moment that’ll make you go “oh yeah that’s the shit.” There’s a little bit of tense prog influence in a couple of tracks too, just sprinkled on top like spices in a meal. It’s some good music!
The soundtrack release is missing three tracks: the major item collection jingle, the background audio from the opening cutscene (mostly a drone with sound effects), and a pipe organ arrangement of the main theme that plays in the church.
Recommended tracks:
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“Robotics Lab” has a nice weirdly-phrased bit at the end of the loop starting at 0:32
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“Haunted Factory” has some glitchy mechanical drums and some real twangy FM bass
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“Shuriken Shrine” has a bit of a swingin’ funk to it
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“Robopolis” is the most face-blasting chord changes track in the game with the descending runs at 0:34
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