sephfire Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I'm trying to find a name for my hatred. Starting with FFVIII, Square had a habit of including some sort of ballad in their games. In Final Fantasy VIII, we had . Then in Final Fantasy IX's end credits, we heard a cheesy rendition of . Final Fantasy X's actually wasn't bad, but still fit into the same style and genre. The absolute worst example I've heard so far is the ballad for Lost Odyssey: .Don't get me wrong: the melodies in most of these songs are beautiful. The same melodies were used many times in each game in various tracks and they really added a lot to the game. And the lyrics in these ballad versions aren't terrible either. And I have absolutely no problem with lyrical songs being used in these games. Kingdom Hearts has had some great Utada Hikaru tracks. The Disgaea games are flooded with lyrical tracks, and they're fantastic. But that style ... the cheesy, smarmy sound of these songs. I must know what the specific genre and/or origin of that sound is. Where did it come from? It sounds so classic and familiar, yet I can't think of any other place I've heard that style of song outside of Japanese video games. I must know my enemy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 I'm trying to find a name for my hatred.Starting with FFVIII, Square had a habit of including some sort of ballad in their games. In Final Fantasy VIII, we had . Then in Final Fantasy IX's end credits, we heard a cheesy rendition of . Final Fantasy X's actually wasn't bad, but still fit into the same style and genre. The absolute worst example I've heard so far is the ballad for Lost Odyssey: .Don't get me wrong: the melodies in most of these songs are beautiful. The same melodies were used many times in each game in various tracks and they really added a lot to the game. And the lyrics in these ballad versions aren't terrible either. And I have absolutely no problem with lyrical songs being used in these games. Kingdom Hearts has had some great Utada Hikaru tracks. The Disgaea games are flooded with lyrical tracks, and they're fantastic. But that style ... the cheesy, smarmy sound of these songs. I must know what the specific genre and/or origin of that sound is. Where did it come from? It sounds so classic and familiar, yet I can't think of any other place I've heard that style of song outside of Japanese video games. I must know my enemy. It's a pop-ballad. And it's not that bad. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 It's a pop-ballad.And it's not that bad. > Oh, I was wondering what it was... but it isn't that great, either. Listen to that recording on Eyes on Me - waaaaay to wet, and that singer is a bit too thin. It's hard to make out what's going on, there . I'm sure other renditions are better because they'll tend to clean up that stuff and make the actual music legible. Fortunately, they're not going through the J's panel, so they don't need to worry about their quality as much . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Yeah pop-ballad. Really not that far off from Celine Dion and a lot of stuff from the 90's, if you're looking for where you might have heard similar stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambinate Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 Don't forget "Kiss Me Good-Bye" from FFXII! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio fidelity Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 i'm a fan of all those jams especially the lost odyssey one the one that kills me the most would probably be the one from end of evangelion 'komm susser' - it's a little more retro but same idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anne amère Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 komm susser tod is awesome and perfect for end of evangelion are you kidding me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio fidelity Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 komm susser tod is awesome and perfect for end of evangelion are you kidding me WHOAH! hey now - big misunderstanding - i LOVE that tune - kills me in fantastic do it over and over again way ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sephfire Posted July 22, 2009 Author Share Posted July 22, 2009 I don't completely hate these songs. Like I said, the melodies are great and are used to great effect throughout each game. The melodies from Suteki da ne and Melody of Life in particular are among my favorites from each game. But that cheesy style just grates on me. "Pop ballad," you say? Would Utada Hikaru's Kingdom Hearts tracks fit into this same category, do you think? I love the way those turned out, but perhaps they're more "pop", less "ballad". It's something about the slightly retro vibe Eyes on Me and those other have that irritates me so much, I guess. Now that you mention it, it does sound similar to some of Celine Dion's stuff. Perhaps that's why it feels sort of familiar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audio fidelity Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 i thought you were talking about this song from Lost Odyssey - and yeah 'pop ballad' is good - but for Uematsu you might put epic in front of that heh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dhsu Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 More great VG ballad classics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thin Crust Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Speaking of which, The Spoony Experiment just finished his review on the game and he made a section on that song. http://blip.tv/file/2373077 Very funny stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otakatt Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Speaking of which, The Spoony Experiment just finished his review on the game and he made a section on that song. http://blip.tv/file/2373077 Very funny stuff. Ha! I just saw that yesterday. XD Spoony is great. <3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleck Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Christian Gangsta Rap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bahamut Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Here's another! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwordBreaker Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I think these tracks can be classified under J-pop, which is sometimes classy/cheesy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ifirit Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 If these songs were to play on the radio, they'd probably classify them as soft rock or soft pop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamoh Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 The genre is "old" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenobio Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Oh, I was wondering what it was... but it isn't that great, either. Listen to that recording on Eyes on Me - waaaaay to wet, and that singer is a bit too thin. It's hard to make out what's going on, there . I'm sure other renditions are better because they'll tend to clean up that stuff and make the actual music legible.Fortunately, they're not going through the J's panel, so they don't need to worry about their quality as much . Faye Wong is the shit. Not too many asian singers right now as celebrated as her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Hah, smarmy; that about sums them up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malaki-LEGEND.sys Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 The absolute worst example I've heard so far is the ballad for Lost Odyssey: Never... EVER... EVER mention this song anywhere. It took me a week to get that retarded song out of my head the first time I heard it. After that I had to mute the game every time. Also, the original language versions of the songs are generally better. Hell, that goes for any song. This is especially true for Melodies of Life and Kiss Me Goodbye. Not TERRIBLE in English, but not as great either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Wolf Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I do have to chime in and say I thought Suteki Da Ne was an absolutely beautiful song. My favorite was still the instrumental version from the Rikki single, but the version she did for the game itself was powerful and gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KyleJCrb Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 I'd classify them as "awful". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.