#crescentdreamwings

Time to choose!

Top 5 Fav Games of 2015 by Crescy

Some elements that make a game really special, in my opinion:

Great sense of wonder and mystery

Highly emotional narrative

Imagination!

Motivating, strong and (the most important thing) memorable soundtrack

Most of my picks seem to follow these so I realised that these are probably my biggest video game-ideals. But enough talk, here is the top 5 (not in any kind of order)

Life is Strange

The first Western adventure-game that made me care. Very wistful and atmospheric character-drama with actually relatable themes and characters. Also some of the saddest moments in video game history, symbolism and psychoanalytic horror. “Life is.. messed up.”

Undertale

A small, unique game with a big heart. A heart that has sides of quirky comedy, tragedy, tearful drama, adventure, mystery and horror. One of the catchiest soundtracks in years. Gameplay is inspired by series like Shin Megami Tensei, Touhou and Mother. I don’t want to say anything else. You should play it yourself. There is a reason why Undertale is the such a huge phenomenon.

Xenoblade Chronicles X

A massive open world RPG (”bigger than Skyrim, Fallout 4 and Witcher 3″) that does things most Western (and also Japanese) RPGs seem to lack completely. The soundtrack is extremely rich, the world is imaginative and gameplay dynamic. It’s simply breathtaking. And, as a more pure scifi-RPG (compared to more fantasy-like Xenoblade (Wii)), the best of its kind since maybe Phantasy Star IV or original Xenogears. It has a ridiculously big world and exploration for hundreds of hours but the main point is that everything seem to matter. And it proves that open world RPGs can be bright and imaginative. (XenoX also has courage to be cheesy.. and cool. Two words: Flying. Mechas.)

Steins;Gate

I’m convinced that this game wants to hurt you. It lacks maturity and social intelligence but manages to make you cry with strong developments of characters and well-written, tragic plot. From my own short review: “Unforgettable and a really sad story about time travel, hope and loss”. The game was originally released years ago but we got it finally this year (PS3- and Vita-versions).

Bloodborne

A gothic nightmare with one of the cleverest, maze-like world designs I’ve ever experienced. The combat is also highly intense and one of the best of its genre. Lacks Dark Souls’ replayability but, in terms of world and story, there are some scary details you won’t necessarily notice before it’s too late...

Other great games 2015 (games I would pick to top 10):

Velocity 2X

La-Mulana EX

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 - Record Breaker

Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls

Lost Dimension

Tales of Zestiria

Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin

Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky SC

P4 Dancing All Night

Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX

Unfortunately I didn’t have time to finish Code: Realize - Guardian of Rebirth (Vita) but that is probably my Otome-game of the Year (versus Amnesia and Norn9).

Video game-blogging, FE-hype, FR-stuff too.. sounds a bit like me =D I guess nothing is niche in tumblr... PS: suomalainen nimi! (I can't find a physical copy of SW4 to my PS3.. I've wanted to play it for a long time..!)

Well when I say niche I mean the SW stuff I like, all of which seems to be heinously unpopular...

Anyway, that aside, there are no physical copies of SW4 for the PS3! Not in English, at least. You'd have to download it to play. Though uh, as a forewarning, playing SW4 probably won't help you understand any of the stuff I ramble about :D;;

I don’t even play fighting games. And I still bought both Arenas because Persona. Welcome aboard.

I play fighters sometimes and I hated the first Arena. Playing it was one of the most miserable experiences I've ever had with a video game.

This was the third song I was quite proud of so.. here are some of my thoughts and descriptions. Song, video and pic are made by me (well.. the picture is a photo so I didn't technically "make" it but..)

Flying in a Dream - Dreamer OST (yes, there is supposed to be "a" instead of "the"..)

What is Dreamer? - it’s an indie visual novel-project, I’ve done all the musics for it. The game and the soundtrack are trying to express symbolic themes of flying, dreams and emotional struggling. Both the game and the soundtrack are unfinished and even the songs I’m posting lack polish since I’m not a professional and I don’t really have proper skills for music softwares or actually play instruments fluidly.

About the song:

I have always been very, very stressed human being. I'm tense all the time, worry a lot and just overall feel lots of pressure about everything. I used to be very motivated student and had lots of optimism in my nature. But after some seriously stressful, big and meaningful exams I noticed how much I'm burning myself, how much I care about things that just make me hurt myself because of the amount of stress. This was a song from the time I really struggled to find any kind of control or motivation or energy for my daily life. It's kinda cheesy, overly motivated, flowing song about the purest feelings of courage and power I ever felt. I think it's my highest expression of "I can do it", the feeling of absolute perseverance.

Nowadays I feel that it.. should be more subtle. It's about feelings I barely feel anymore. I am quite surprised that I could ever express feelings like that via music because I usually compose melancholic music, even when I don't feel that sad. But here is one of the most positive songs I've ever composed. In the game it would have expressed same kind of themes and feelings.

Oh, and does the song sound familiar? I already praised Susumu Hirasawa's music in my Berserk-impressions but he also composed wonderful songs for Paprika, a great anime-film directed by Satoshi Kon. Especially the ending song, "The Girl in Byakkoya - White Tiger Field" is an excellent, excellent song. And because the movie was about dreams it really made it relatable for me and my thematical ideas for Dreamer.

Hirasawa's song had a motivated yet very relaxed "gloriously dashing through the air"-kind of mood.. and that inspired me a lot. So much that you can clearly hear the similarities of our songs..! Well, he did obviously much better work but my song was about my emotions, expressed by my inspirations, feelings and skills. It truly reflected things I adored.. and things I slowly started to lose completely. But for me this song still reminds me of my inner strength: the fact that it still exists.

When you feel motivated, it's like you are flying in your dreams, right?

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My compositions: http://crescentdreamwings.tumblr.com/tagged/crescentdreamwings

So, I wanted to share three of my favourite compositions and tell more about their meanings and contents. Video, song and pic are all done by me.

Broken Wings - Dreamer OST

What is Dreamer? - it’s an indie visual novel-project, I’ve done all the musics for it. The game and the soundtrack are trying to express symbolic themes of flying, dreams and emotional struggling. Both the game and the soundtrack are unfinished and even the songs I’m posting lack polish since I’m not a professional and I don’t really have proper skills for music softwares or actually play instruments fluidly.

About the song:

There are multiple things you might notice from this song. It's a variation of my Flying in a Dream-song and kinda breaks it down from very motivational, structured, maybe even catchy tune to a burst of echoing sounds and waves of pure emotions. I was very, very depressed when I made this version and there are many contrasting things about the song I still find interesting.

Everything in this song feels so.. bright and yet I think I truly managed to express my sadness with it. I think it has lots of "hope" in it even though it's filled with melancholy. "Wings" is a big motif in Dreamer, just like emotional experiences. When I felt broken, I had this in my mind. In the game it would have served the same purpose: shattered feelings and many tears.

Another thing you may or may not notice are the influences I had in my mind even when I was composing the song. Most of Final Fantasy IX-players might recognize something very familiar in the choir-soundscape I was tributing. I had also just recently found the soundtrack of Xenogears back then, a very rich and emotional soundtrack, and I'm pretty sure that inspiration was reflected in my song too.

What do you hear inside yourself when you feel broken?

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My compositions: http://crescentdreamwings.tumblr.com/tagged/crescentdreamwings

I accidentally deleted my post for this song. But because I got video with a pic too (song, picture and video are all my properties) might as well post this since I wanted to talk about it more.

Whirl of Life - Dreamer OST

What is Dreamer? - it's an indie visual novel-project, I've done all the musics for it. The game and the soundtrack are trying to express symbolic themes of flying, dreams and emotional struggling. Both the game and the soundtrack are unfinished and even the songs I'm posting lack polish since I'm not a professional and I don't really have proper skills for music softwares or actually play instruments fluidly.

About the song:

It's heavily inspired by Ryuichi Sakamoto's Bibo no Aozara, a very melancholic ending song for the film Babel. I really liked the feel of "life is like a dark whirl of accidents but also bittersweet happiness" (quite a specific feel...) and wanted to express something like that myself since I'm very melancholic person.

Whirl of Life is a song about life, how it turns us around.. and around.. and around. I wanted the song feel like a hypnotic music box that finally opens to play a beautiful melody. A glimpse of happiness in the middle of our endless circle of hard feelings and even pain. But life goes on.. and that was the final aspect. Accepting yourself, your life. Even if it feels bitter.

Because life goes on... 

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My compositions: http://crescentdreamwings.tumblr.com/tagged/crescentdreamwings

My compositions: http://crescentdreamwings.tumblr.com/tagged/crescentdreamwings

List of the songs with my personal favourites: (songs I've worked the most): http://crescentdreamwings.tumblr.com/songlist

My compositions: http://crescentdreamwings.tumblr.com/tagged/crescentdreamwings

List of the songs with my personal favourites: (songs I’ve worked the most): http://crescentdreamwings.tumblr.com/songlist