in other contexts gb music or nes music or whatever able to be labeled "chiptune" would be fetishized for that very nature, but when it comes out of a gba game it suddenly turns everyone into audio chauvinists
it's not like there's some true intent mastertrack version of the soundtrack floating around, as far as anyone knows, that hokkai conjured up irrespective of all other development considerations and had to slam that into gba psg when someone clued him into hardware limitations
it's just what it is because it needs to be that way and is the best it can be for the game's purposes
hokkai's stuff is unique to me because he doesn't deal in the yamane-style sentimentalities compositionally so the tone is closer to a creaky horror-comedy. the percussive elements in tracks like "
i'll sell at my place" and "
luminous caverns" are just genuinely funny to me
they're probably the most progressive in terms of development and structure this side of cv4. you can't make hummable anthems out of them and because people consume vgm at large and particularly cv music as iconic melodic thing, well what are ya gonna do
i don't think this is something the series ever particularly excelled at but "
old enemy" is probably my favourite final boss bgm. again largely thanks to the percussion
the sudden fluctuations in the volume of the beats are just really good and chaotic
i made the comparison many many years ago but they way it feels to me is like the aural equivalent of a silent horror film. what i would imagine that soundscape to be if audio existed in them
"
prologue" especially
like one of the very few game osts that latches onto that feeling that demon's souls had, of the "performance" of the material struggling and falling short of the compositions so at times it sounds pathetic and falling apart and is just perfect for the game's tone
"concerto of the midnight sun" is a great title but they really landed on something evocative with harmony of dissonance
which ppl will of course try to weaponize like "eh. eh? even the game knows the music sucks"