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Wii

A Night at the Symphonii

The Sound of Epic Adventure

by Andrew Brown - December 23, 2012, 3:39 pm EST

A good action-packed quest needs a great soundtrack to set the stage.

Just one game on this page; I've reserved the final three soundtracks for the next page in the feature as they all share a common theme. Once again, for those who skimmed past it on the first page, these tracks are not in a particular order but rather sorted by category or franchise. After all, if I were to choose which of the music I've listed in this feature is my absolute favorite, I'd have a very difficult time! All this music deserves equal love and respect.

Borrowing from many different styles of music, the Xenoblade soundtrack has something to appeal to everyone. Beautifully orchestrated pieces have you humming along as you explore the vast, open worlds. It really adds to the breathtaking awe of the landscape and its many wonders to discover.

The soundtrack contains compositions from several amazing artists, including famed RPG score-writers Yoko Shimomura (Breath of Fire, Super Mario RPG, the Mario & Luigi trilogy, to name a few) and Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger, Xenosaga, Xenogears, and many more). So grand was the game's music that when it launched in English-speaking countries, the game disc came pre-packaged with a special soundtrack CD featuring a generous chunk of music from throughout the game. Several of the tracks on the CD are featured here to sample, but I also included a comical little theme from one of the characters' introduction scenes in which the party are assaulted by a maniacal little puffball named Riki with dreams of being a grand hero to his people. Y'know, just to add some variety.

Make sure you listen to these tracks all the way through—the Xenoblade score is known for a degree of variety amidst each individual piece of music so as to keep things fresh while you spend extended amounts of time taking in the different locations and scenes.

Xenoblade Main Theme
Gaur Plains
Engage the Enemy
Riki the Legendary Hero

Talkback

FreudianLemurDecember 20, 2012

You must have, at some point in this list, the soundtrack from FF Chrystal Chronicles (only the first one, on the GC).

Disco StuDecember 20, 2012

Oh man, the Puzzle Plank Galaxy music from SMG2 is the perfect, quintessential Mario music to me.

joshnickersonDecember 20, 2012

I'd love to hear the original Galaxy soundtrack someday, if only just to hear what could have been.

RazorkidDecember 20, 2012

I absolutely feel the same way about videogame music. It's a huge detriment to me if the music doesn't pop or add significantly to the experience. I haven't gone through your list Andrew, but I look forward to it. I'm always super curious about the tastes of other fellow videogame music lovers and whether mine overlaps at all.

Pixelated PixiesDecember 20, 2012

Some of my stand out soundtracks on Wii are Xenoblade (so good it hurts), the Galaxy games, Epic Yarn, Twilight Princess, House of the Dead: Overkill, the No More Heroes games, Metroid Prime 3, Muramasa, and of course Beat the Beat (Rhythm Heaven Fever).

On the digital front there's also the Bit.Trip games, Light Trax, the Lost Winds games, World of Goo, Cave Story, Mega Man 9 & 10, and Max & the Magic Marker (way underrated as a soundtrack).

I have to share this again. It's just too good. Too good I say!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPCDGVy9SS8&list=PLA6AC2E758E22B09B

Evan_BDecember 21, 2012

Hey, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: the Crystal Bearers has fantastic music, too. The game is the Skyward Sword before Skyward Sword and jam-packed with minigames, but the themes hit just the right balance of that laid-back adventuresome idea and more classy, jazzy material.

joshnickersonDecember 21, 2012

All these articles are doing in making me wish Nintendo would make these soundtracks available to us in the states in one form or another! Y'know, instead of making me track down some rather shady online sources... :-X

I had no problem with Fi; I actually found her quite amusing, once I noticed similarities between her and Vulcans (constantly talking about percentages and logic). I was actually rather touched with her final scene towards the end of the game.

(I did think she looked a tad goofy singing, though ;) )

FreudianLemurDecember 24, 2012

When I listened to the Xenoblade title music, suddenly all my feelings of awe and wonder for the game came rushing back, and I realised how long it is since I last played it. I've not even finished it! Why do I do this with great games? I play a decent way in, and then for some reason I won't play it for ages, to the point where I almost forget about it. *facepalm*

azekeDecember 26, 2012

Judging from the list author hasn't played Rhythm Heaven Fever.

Because it would be #1 if he did.

LittleIrvesDecember 28, 2012

Great stuff, Andrew! Love the sepia-toned logos, too....  I'd add Kirby'd Epic Yarn to the list, and my own personal take on "Ode to Joy" from Wii Music, but I understand how you might have missed that one, ha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQsxThVKdmo&feature=player_embedded

I totally forgot to add Other M's Ridley theme in the Honorables too. Oh well, next time :D

EasyCureJanuary 04, 2013

I can't get the DKCR sound track on my mp3 player :( stupid formats...

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