1999 Archives - The Greatest Game Music

Chrono Cross Soundtrack

Chrono Cross Soundtrack, Yasunori Mitsuda, 1999

Out of the many experiments Square embarked on during the second half of the 1990s, Chrono Cross might have been the most controversial one. After all, this was not just some new IP that Square tested and played around with – this was the sequel to Chrono Trigger, one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time. Or was it? Chrono Cross producer Hiromichi Tanaka pointed out that his goal had been to “create a completely new and different world from the ground up”, rather than relying on Chrono Trigger’s universe, characters and gameplay mechanics. However, fans were not entirely prepared for this approach (which bore similarities to the mainline Final Fantasy games). While Chrono Cross was initially met with a near-ecstatic response from both reviewers and gamers, such enthusiasm soon tapered off when it became apparent just how little Chrono Cross had to do with its predecessor. [Read more…]

Heroes of Might and Magic III Soundtrack

Heroes of Might and Magic III Soundtrack, Steve Baca / Rob King / Paul Romero, 1999

After Heroes of Might and Magic II‘s unprecedented operatic splendour, the composing team of Paul Romero, Rob King and Steve Baca faced a problem when they tackled the franchise‘s next soundtrack: where to go from here? Heroes of Might and Magic II found its approach by amplifying its predecessor’s ambitions and scale. As a result, it rocketed past other Western game soundtracks at the time into uncharted territory. Repeating the same strategy – going grander – for the Heroes of Might and Magic III soundtrack wasn’t an option. After all, how much bigger can you go than full-blown operatic grandeur?

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Legend of Mana Soundtrack

Legend of Mana Soundtrack, Yoko Shimomura, 1999

While the 32-bit generation saw a seismic shift in gameplay and graphics design from 2d to 3d, that didn’t mean nobody created pixel art masterpieces during those years. And given how much Square’s 16-bit games had pushed the envelope in the early 1990s, it only makes sense that the company would occasionally return to the art style that had endeared its products to countless gamers. Square’s major forays into 2d gaming on the PS1 were SaGa Frontier 2 and Legend of Mana – and it’s probably no coincidence that Square veteran Akitoshi Kawazu produced both games. That probably also explains the non-linear style of RPG gameplay both games tried to pioneer. However, while the lack of a robust central narrative was typical for the SaGa games, it set Legend of Mana apart from its franchise predecessors, reaping strongly divided feedback from gamers and reviewers alike.

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Medal of Honor Soundtrack

Medal of Honor Soundtrack, Michael Giacchino, 1999

It’s hard to find a historically more significant, more influential Western game score than Michael Giacchino‘s Medal of Honor. Sure, the Medal of Honor soundtrack wasn’t the first orchestral game score to convincingly emulate movie scoring conventions. But there were a number of powerful factors that turned Medal of Honor into a force that changed the course of game music history – and it wasn’t just the fact that Giacchino’s work was married to an immensely successful game.

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Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor Soundtrack

Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor Soundtrack, Paul Romero, 1999

By the time of Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor‘s release, Paul Romero and Rob King had firmly installed themselves as the Might and Magic franchise’s go-to composers, thanks to Heroes of Might and Magic and its exceedingly ambitious sequel. They had also written the music for Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven. That score was a curious if not entirely successful hybrid of fantasy and science fiction elements.

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Outcast Soundtrack

Outcast Soundtrack, Lennie Moore, 1999

Being a pioneer is rarely easy – and your efforts might go initially unappreciated. Such was the fate that befell Outcast, a sci-fi action-adventure game that was revolutionary in more than one way. Its concept of a three-dimensional open world that players were free to explore preceded other games of this ilk like Grand Theft Auto III by several years. Then there was Outcast’s voxel-based graphics engine, which produced a stunningly realistic extraterrestrial world – more successfully maybe than any other game before it. That visual splendour came at a cost though. Back in 1999, only the most powerful PCs were able to run the game properly. Of course, that limited any opportunities for financial success, and a Dreamcast port and planned sequel remained unreleased. However, Outcast created a legacy among gamers that was strong enough for a remake – Outcast: Second Contact – to be released in 2017.

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