[Metal Gear Solid] What is this sounds library ?

[niu]

Is the game any good?

It was awful, sexist, and ruined the storyline.

Parasite Eve II was sexist, too, but it at least expanded on Aya's personality in interesting ways and therefore had some merit.

For example, even though it was never outright stated, we learn that Aya dyes her hair. In Parasite Eve II, she says she's half-Japanese, and her roots are a more natural-looking brown.

Parasite Eve II, if you can ignore the shower scene, expands a lot on how messed up Aya is, how conflicted she is, and how she has all these defenses up that the men around her (notably Rupert and Kyle) seem to be able to penetrate. I liked that.

I write under a female pen name. I identify with Aya's need to change herself.

That sounds interesting. I regret not having bought the game when it came out. I have an almost complete Squaresoft collection (not S-E), but that one is missing. Now I feel the urge to buy all the missing titles

Very. Most of them used Roland back in the day. Since Miroslav is the library Roland licenses a lot of its samples from, it was an easy transition.

In my opinion, it was a downgrade.

Yeah I remember I heard some demos and I wasn't impressed at all

A lot of drums.

The man totally lied all these years ... why?!

[HaganeSteel]

Is the game any good?

It was awful, sexist, and ruined the storyline.

Parasite Eve II was sexist, too, but it at least expanded on Aya's personality in interesting ways and therefore had some merit.

For example, even though it was never outright stated, we learn that Aya dyes her hair. In Parasite Eve II, she says she's half-Japanese, and her roots are a more natural-looking brown.

Parasite Eve II, if you can ignore the shower scene, expands a lot on how messed up Aya is, how conflicted she is, and how she has all these defenses up that the men around her (notably Rupert and Kyle) seem to be able to penetrate. I liked that.

I write under a female pen name. I identify with Aya's need to change herself.

That sounds interesting. I regret not having bought the game when it came out. I have an almost complete Squaresoft collection (not S-E), but that one is missing. Now I feel the urge to buy all the missing titles

I'd ignore Parasite Eve II. I enjoyed it because it resonated with me in ways it wouldn't resonate with anyone else. Aya and Kyle were the only good things about it. The overarching story was convoluted, inconsistent, and at the end, stupid. The only valid entry in the series is the original Parasite Eve.

Parasite Eve was a victim of the same convoluted storytelling Square's been guilty of since day one, but at least there were no shower scenes.

The man totally lied all these years ... why?!

He didn't. The SC-88 was his main piece of gear, and he still made heavy use of Roland drums -- like in Seymour's Battle Theme from FFX. Those are the Asian and Power kits.

He probably composed the first drafts entirely on a Roland SC-88. That is, after all, a big argument for using GM -- it makes a great sketch pad (it's worth mentioning that some of us prefer to be sketch artists).

I don't think he felt the need to go into great detail about his equipment, as most composers don't, since laypeople wouldn't understand anyway. I don't think he expected anyone to be able to tell, by ear, what he used, and then discuss it on a forum.

I don't think he knew how important to some people he really was.

[niu]

That's what I'm saying, he didn't tell it all because he didn't feel it was important, it probably was an innocent oversight. But to tell in more than an interview that the only pieces of gear you've always used (at that time) were a SC-55 and a SC-88 is still a lie.

[HaganeSteel]

That's what I'm saying, he didn't tell it all because he didn't feel it was important, it probably was an innocent oversight. But to tell in more than an interview that the only pieces of gear you've always used (at that time) were a SC-55 and a SC-88 is still a lie.

Like I said, he probably composed them on those synths.

The process didn't involve only him. He composed the music, but they were implemented by synthesizer operators who probably had a say in what sounds were used in the final product.

[niu]

That's another step in game audio of the 90's that have never been very clear to me. Like what about EQs, filters and all the processing done to the modfiles? What about mixing and mastering? Were those even contemplated back then?

[HaganeSteel]

That's another step in game audio of the 90's that have never been very clear to me. Like what about EQs, filters and all the processing done to the modfiles? What about mixing and mastering? Were those even contemplated back then?

Yep, of course. The only thing that's changed between then and now is that now we use software.

And now everything is clunkier.

Just kidding.

[niu]

But how could you mix something that is being played in real time? How could they use plugins on the master?

Oh I almost forgot ... happy new year!

[TheNickC]

The soundchips themselves could have supported some effects, I know the SNES had a delay effect. Other than that you can preprocess samples, you can EQ or distort or add chorus or whatever in the sampling process, if you look at old tracker modules(basically the same concept as what was going on inside of video games, data triggering samples to save memory compared to full rendered audio) they do the same thing a lot.

And the first step towards effective mixing is good songwriting, if your instrumentation is spot on you don't need as much EQ and compression.

[HaganeSteel]

But how could you mix something that is being played in real time? How could they use plugins on the master?

Oh I almost forgot ... happy new year!

They sampled the synths and processed each individual sample. As TheNickC said, the chips themselves usually supported some type of reverb or delay, too.

Happy new year to you guys.

[Saukar30]

Hagane, you are a resource to be reckoned with. Thanks for sharing all of this!

Ive always been looking for information on GM stuff compared to how it is nowadays (man, I miss instruments that had bank & program change). This information on video game composing & GM/GS instruments is very enlightening.

[HaganeSteel]

Hagane, you are a resource to be reckoned with. Thanks for sharing all of this!

Ive always been looking for information on GM stuff compared to how it is nowadays (man, I miss instruments that had bank & program change). This information on video game composing & GM/GS instruments is very enlightening.

Thank you!

[Dasheesh]

Nice thread. I've been a fan of the skyrim soundtrack myself.

[Xan01]

Nice thread, I have several interesting additions. King's Field 1-3 (1994-1996, spiritual predecessors of Demon's Souls etc.) have a great atmospheric and recognizable soundtrack by Sound Kids Corp.







Any ideas on the synth(s) used here? A lot of it seems GM to me, especially the Goblin patch on the last track, which could be straight from the SC-55.

A common trope in JRPG soundtracks seem to be these bright choruses, which sound similar across game titles and composers:





Last track also prominently features the Distortion Guitar preset straight from the SC-88 for sure.

[Xan01]

And just as a heads-up, a Youtube user restored a few of the Golden Sun tracks on a SC-88 Pro:

[niu]

Nice!