The Greatest Game Music

Reviews of truly outstanding game music

Donkey Kong Land 2 Soundtrack

Donkey Kong Land 2 Soundtrack

Donkey Kong Land 2 Soundtrack, Grant Kirkhope / David Wise, 1996

When Donkey Kong Country was released on the SNES in 1994, it was hailed as a technical marvel that very few people would have expected to see on the ageing hardware. When Rare released a Game Boy port called Donkey Kong Land a year later, jaws hit the floor again. How could those Silicon Graphics workstations-rendered 3D sprites possibly translate to the monochrome Game Boy display? Turns out it was possible to bring those pre-rendered graphics to the 4-bit platform – although the result was visually overly busy and impacted gameplay.

One year later, Rare released Donkey Kong Land 2 – the Game Boy port of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest. This time, the developers had figured out how to keep the visuals less cluttered and the game more playable. True, reviewers pointed out the lack of original content – DKL2 was more or less a straight port of DKC2. However, the SNES original’s outstanding gameplay qualities made the Game Boy version one of the system’s best platformers.

While the game itself didn’t offer much that was new, it definitely marked one beginning: that of composer Grant Kirkhope’s tenure at Rare, which would yield several classic game scores. Having played trumpet and guitar in British bands for years, Kirkhope connected with Rare through his friend Robin Beanland (who was looking for a guitar player for Killer Instinct 2). Five demo tapes later, Kirkhope landed the job at Rare, just as the company was about to become huge after Nintendo bought 49% of it.

After his work on Killer Instinct 2, Kirkhope was handed what he described as “the lowest job, which was the Game Boy job”. That job – Donkey Kong Land 2 ­– turned out to be almost overwhelmingly daunting, to the point that Kirkhope considering resigning from his job. While he had help from David Wise, working in hex while porting one of the SNES most cutting-edge scores to the humble Game Boy was an enormous challenge. It all worked out fine though, with Kirkhope saying that “I actually enjoyed it in the end, and it became a sort of challenge to see how far I could push the Game Boy.”

And yes, the Donkey Kong Land 2 soundtrack does push the Game Boy. It isn’t one of those whizz-bank Game Boy scores that appeared towards the end of 1990s, which coaxed an ungodly amount of musical activity and competing melody lines out of the hardware’s four channels. But the soundtrack does manage something quite astounding: it retains a good amount of the SNES original’s atmospheric richness and variety – and of course, its melodic beauty. For a first-time composer working with a platform and programming language he hadn’t used before, it’s an amazing accomplishment – even if Kirkhope was working off Wise’s material.

While converting DKC 2’s music to the Game Boy might seem like a fool’s errand, the SNES score is arguably the most melody-focused of the first three DKC soundtracks – and thus the best candidate for a chiptunes port. Not surprisingly, Kirkhope foregoes Wise’s carefully sculpted soundscaping and – by necessity – puts the focus squarely on the soundtrack’s melodies.

Assessing his work on the Donkey Kong Land 2 soundtrack, Kirkhope modestly stated that what he did was “a straight conversion of the music that Dave Wise had written note for note.” That’s not entirely true – just listen to Kirkhope’s version of “In a Snow-Bound Land”. On the SNES, this was the soundtrack’s wispiest, most fragile track. Kirkhope manages to retain the lead melody’s dreamy, lilting quality, despite the Game Boy’s fairly coarse timbres. He also isolates an arpeggio figure that was subtly present on the SNES track and gives it a much more prominent role, moving it into the foreground where it helps create the composition’s almost hypnotic quality. This sort of careful rearrangement and working with the Game Boy’s few duty cycles to give melodies the desired character is certainly more than a simple note by note conversion.

Other wonders of subtlety like “Stickerbush Symphony” and “Bayou Boogie” yield equally enchanting results on the Donkey Kong Land 2 soundtrack. “Stickerbush Symphony” might lack its original tinge of mystery, but its air of blissful serenity still comes across, just like the melodies’ contemplative beauty. On “Bayou Boogie”, Kirkhope replaces Wise’s layers of sound effects and textures with sustained deep chords to maintain the original’s oppressive atmosphere. The resulting brooding mood only serves to highlight the lead melody’s wistful nature all the more effectively. Other tracks like the jazzy “Snakey Chantey” are more obvious candidates for a successful translation to the Game Boy, thanks to its reliance on swinging rhythms and melodies, rather than gorgeous atmospherics.

Due to the Game Boy’s gritty noise channel and snare drum-like percussion, the Donkey Kong Island 2 soundtrack inevitably puts greater emphasis on heavy rhythms – a challenge when the original SNES score was such an understated work. Once more, Kirkhope does an outstanding job at working successfully within the Game Boy’s limitations, generally ensuring that the noise channel percussion and stronger arpeggio presence doesn’t interfere with the melodies. “Hot-Head Bop” is more of a bop now than it was before, but the greater rhythmic focus only serves to put the spotlight on the original’s impeccable groove. And the mid-90s techno of “Disco Train” makes for a mid-tempo stomper that retains the SNES composition’s variety of beats and melody bits – and its eerie undertones.

The fact that these compositions and their hardware-induced heaviness are more in-your-face than Wise’s SNES tracks even works in the favour of some cues. The undercurrent of tension that ran through the original versions of “Lockjaw Saga” and “Flight of the Zinger” explodes on the Game Boy, turning these compositions into much more outwardly dramatic compositions. Particularly “Lockjaw’s Saga” grabs listeners’ attention from the first second with its hammering percussion salvos. Again, Kirkhope does much more than simply converting Wise’s composition note by note. He strips away the layers of the SNES track and keeps exactly the right elements to turn the cue into a rousing chiptunes epic with cinematic intent and lush arpeggios. Like the game itself, the Donkey Kong Land 2 soundtrack stands on the shoulders of its big brother – but that doesn’t stop it from being one of the best in class, judged on its own merits.

  1. 01 - Welcome to Crocodile Isle (Map) Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 1:07
  2. 02 - Lockjaw's Saga (Ship Hold) Grant Kirkhope / David WiseGrant Kirkhope 1:49
  3. 03 - Snakey Chantey (Ship Deck (Swamp)) Grant Kirkhope / David WiseGrant Kirkhope 1:40
  4. 04 - Bayou Boogie (Swamp) Grant Kirkhope / David WiseGrant Kirkhope 1:54
  5. 05 - School House Harmony Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 1:45
  6. 06 - Flight of the Zinger (Zinger Hive) Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 2:33
  7. 07 - Hot-Head Bop (Lava Caves) Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 3:28
  8. 08 - Stickerbush Symphony (Bramble Maze) Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 3:51
  9. 09 - Disco Train (Amusement Park Roller Coaster) Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 3:33
  10. 10 - Boss Bossanova (Boss Battle) Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 1:13
  11. 11 - Krook's March (Castle) Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 3:37
  12. 12 - In a Snow-Bound Land (Ice Caves) Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 2:39
  13. 13 - Crocodile Cacophony (Final Battle) Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 1:53
  14. 14 - Donkey Kong Rescued (Ending & Staff Roll) Grant Kirkhope / David Wise 1:56

GoldenEye 007 Soundtrack (Nintendo 64)

GoldenEye 007 Soundtrack

GoldenEye 007 Soundtrack (Nintendo 64), Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate, 1997

It’s no exaggeration to say that GoldenEye 007 was a game changer. By the mid-1990s, games based on movies had (justly) developed a disastrous reputation, and the fact that GoldenEye 007 was released a full 18 months after the movie didn’t help matters. And of course, this was a first-person shooter designed for a console, rather than for a PC – back then the natural home for FPS titles. But in the end, none of this mattered. GoldenEye 007 went on to sell more than eight million copies, becoming one of the most successful games of its console generation. Its reception among reviewers was just as enthusiastic and there’s no doubt GoldenEye 007 has left a lasting legacy – who could forget its legendary multiplayer mode? Not bad for a title developed by an inexperienced team that spent a full three years completing the game.

Like the game as a whole, creating the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack was no easy feat – after all, this was one of Rare’s first Nintendo 64 titles. Initially, Graeme Norgate was tasked with writing the score, having previously worked on Rare’s Killer Instinct and Donkey Kong Land. However, Norgate was also working on Blast Corps at the same time and it became obvious that additional resources were needed. Thus Grant Kirkhope – while still working on Donkey Kong Land 2 – was drafted to join Norgate on GoldenEye 007 (he left before completion of that project to work on Dream). The challenge for both composers was to write music for a console that for the first one and a half years of the game’s development didn’t exist yet.

What’s more, information on the new console’s sound capabilities were conflicting. Silicon Graphics promised up to 100 channels of sound, but ultimately, 12-16 channels (and a mere 700k for music data and instrument samples) turned out to be more realistic. But these challenges were arguably offset by the fact that Norgate and Kirkhope had the license to use one of movie history’s most famous tunes – the immortal Bond theme.

GoldenEye 007 Soundtrack

And of course, both young composers made the most of the opportunity to play with the legendary theme. Crucially, the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack avoids a mistake other Bond games make – overusing the theme and stating it in full over and over again, until the melody becomes merely obnoxious. Norgate and Kirkhope, on the other hand, do an outstanding job at reprising the theme in a myriad of different disguises, constantly changing the structure, tempo and orchestration of the melody (partially inspired by Eric Serra’s idiosyncratic GoldenEye 007 movie score). Some of their standout takes on the theme include a guitar-driven hard rock version on “James Bond Theme”; subtly referenced as brass counterpoint on “Dam”; a more classical, full-bodied rendition on solo brass on “Runway”; two versions of the theme played in counterpoint in time for the game’s finale on “Cradle” – one couldn’t hope for more creativity and thematic cohesion.

While its reliance on the Bond theme clearly marks the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack as part of the Bond canon, it is anything but a classic Bond score – at least when comparing it to pre-1995 Bond movie soundtracks. Like Eric Serra’s movie score, Norgate and Kirkhope’s work breaks with tradition, but arguably more successfully so. On GoldenEye 007, there’s little of the elegant, sometimes jazzy allure that traditional Bond scores have brought to the character. Instead, much of this soundtrack plays like a modern update of the Bond sound within the parameters of a stealth shooter. That’s not necessarily surprising, considering how much GoldenEye 007’s gameplay favours the careful elimination of enemies over all-out shooting sprees. On much of GoldenEye 007, being a secret agent is a less than showy job, undertaken in the shadows, constantly on edge and filled with a quiet, unrelenting intensity.

This translates to a string of surprisingly quiet compositions – at least in the first half of the score – that one might not typically expect to hear on a first-person shooter album. Rhythms are usually persistent and driving but given to softer instruments like xylophone and light electronics. On top of this foundation, Norgate and Kirkhope skillfully mix orchestral, rock and electronic elements (of a strong mid-90s vintage), creating spellbinding, subtly emotional music. Melodies are used sparingly, but with masterful judgement as to where they make the biggest impact. While the music might sometimes feel like it’s drawing characters and locations in subdued shades of grey, the score’s carefully sculpted, brooding atmospherics, flawless pacing and memorable melodies develop an almost hypnotic pull.

GoldenEye 007 Soundtrack

Take “Surface”, one of the soundtrack’s longest and sparsest compositions. Its enticingly cinematic opening – deep male choir vocals over circular drum patterns – expertly builds tension, before pounding timpani drive forward a lonely, heavy-hearted melody that’s perfect for the level’s barren surroundings. Norgate and Kirkhope are clearly patient enough to let each musical building block make its full impact before they add more – but equally, their music doesn’t turn monotonous either. And within its potentially limiting, hushed template of simple melodies, synth drones and constant tension, Norgate and Kirkhope achieve an impressive amount of tonal variety. Their palette ranges from the quiet menace of “Facility” and the raised stakes of the string-heavy “Bunker 2” to a reminder of Bond’s suave character on “Runway”, via more expansive string and brass overlays that bring a quantum of elegance to the soundtrack’s grittiness.

As the GoldenEye 007 soundtrack moves into its second half, it doesn’t drop its deliberate pacing and mix of traditional and modern musical elements, but still becomes more outwardly dramatic. And once more, the composers prove themselves more than capable of coming up with fresh ideas and approaches for each level. “Silo”’s harder-hitting rock rhythms carry a stuttering, nervous synth pulse which is repeated almost obsessively and successfully plays with the unnerving effects of its repetition. “Statue” and “Depot” are the soundtrack’s most traditionally orchestral efforts, displaying the composers’ abilities in this register with their classically-minded bombast and full-bodied brass declarations. “Train” is the soundtrack’s definitive statement of its hard rock tendencies, which Norgate and Kirkhope mix with a breathless percussion jam organised in complex stereo layers, mimicking the moving train in creative ways.

During its extended running time, the soundtrack gets ever more eclectic while still maintaining its focus on bringing the Bond franchise into the modern age (well, into the 1990s). Its most original concoction is “Control”, which uses suitably understated trip hop rhythms to support the album’s most unexpected, twisted renditions of the Bond theme. The best score ever to grace a Bond video game, GoldenEye 007 manages something near miraculous – it successfully reimagines an iconic franchise’s music decades into its existence.

  1. 01 - James Bond Theme Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 2:56
  2. 02 - Dam Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:39
  3. 03 - Facility Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:11
  4. 04 - Runway Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:16
  5. 05 - Surface 1 Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 7:02
  6. 06 - Bunker 1 Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 5:15
  7. 07 - Silo Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:26
  8. 08 - Surface 2 Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 5:18
  9. 09 - Bunker 2 Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:27
  10. 10 - Statue Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 3:31
  11. 11 - Statue X Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 1:55
  12. 12 - Depot Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:33
  13. 13 - Depot X Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 1:52
  14. 14 - Train Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 5:09
  15. 15 - Control Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:35
  16. 16 - Caverns Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 8:31
  17. 17 - Cradle Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 4:13
  18. 18 - The Basement Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 5:06
  19. 19 - Ending Theme Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate 2:10

Perfect Dark Soundtrack (Nintendo 64)

Perfect Dark Soundtrack

Perfect Dark Soundtrack (Nintendo 64), David Clynick / Grant Kirkhope / Graeme Norgate, 2000

If you want to kick off a debate amongst seasoned console gamers, try “Is Perfect Dark better than GoldenEye 007?” According to reviewers, the answer is usually ‘yes’. After all, this is the game that gave Rare the opportunity to finetune their approach to developing a first-person shooter, after they had created a genre classic with GoldenEye 007. Arguably pushing the Nintendo 64 to its limits, Perfect Dark provided such a wealth of content and degree of polish that it was hard to see how a console shooter in 2000 could be any better. Then again, GoldenEye 007 had arguably been the more groundbreaking title, popularising console FPS games. As a result, Perfect Dark didn’t have quite the same impact, as it was ultimately an immense refinement rather than another quantum leap.

Naturally, for the Perfect Dark soundtrack, Rare would call upon the same talents that had created the music for GoldenEye 007 – easily the best score for any Bond game. Complications were afoot though. Initially, the task of writing the Perfect Dark score fell to Graeme Norgate, who was working on Jet Force Gemini at the same time. Norgate began to lay the groundwork for the music, choosing a palette of instruments and completing a number of compositions. However, mid-way through the three-year development process, Norgate and half of the development team left Rare to form Free Radical Design (best known for their TimeSplitters trilogy).

As a result, fellow GoldenEye 007 composer Grant Kirkhope was called in to complete the Perfect Dark soundtrack – while also working on Donkey Kong 64 and Banjo-Tooie – with support from David Clynick. Given the game’s sci-fi scenario, it was no surprise that Kirkhope “wanted to create a mostly electronic soundtrack”, with The X-Files and Blade Runner serving as inspirations, according to interviews with the composer. Kirkhope’s other stylistic choice was “to make it [the Perfect Dark score] moody and dark but still with some strong thematic elements.” In that regard, Kirkhope arguably followed in the footsteps of his work on GoldenEye 007, which had balanced languid mood-building with carefully deployed melodic elements. Interestingly, Kirkhope kept Norgate’s samples, even though they weren’t always the ones he would have chosen – according to Kirkhope, “they sounded so great and made me think outside of my usual comfort zone”.

Perfect Dark Soundtrack

Of course, like the game itself, it’s hard to look at the Perfect Dark soundtrack without comparing it to its spiritual predecessor. By and large, Perfect Dark fits the same mould as Golden Eye 007 – this is mostly subdued, brooding music for a stealth game, rather than a pulse-pounding score for an all-guns-blazing shooting spree. And as on GoldenEye 007, Kirkhope and his co-composers accomplish the impressive task of holding listeners’ attention during their extended cues with what’s ultimately fairly understated, yet no less involving music.

What is different here is how the Perfect Dark soundtrack achieves this effect, audible from the start of Norgate’s “dataDyne Central: Defection”. GoldenEye007’s compositions often achieved a nearly hypnotic effect through their juxtaposition of sparse textures and repetitive, memorable melodies on a single solo instrument. Kirkhope’s flawless judgement of pacing and how to write effective melodies remains intact on Perfect Dark, but his orchestrations are lusher and more intricate, intriguing listeners through their careful layering and sculpting. It no doubt helps that Perfect Dark – unlike GoldenEye007 – is not an N64 first-generation title. As a result, the more realistic samples Kirkhope works with allow him to often let the intricately combined rhythms carry a track, rather than relying on the melody to do this job (as was often the case on GoldenEye 007).

Another substantial difference that comes with Perfect Dark’s futuristic backdrop is a distinct lack of GoldenEye007’s grittiness. Instead, from the very first track, Perfect Dark’s neo-noir elegance fittingly underscores the architecture of the game’s locations – all shiny metal surfaces gleaming in the night and massive structures cast in imposing angles. The fact that Perfect Dark’s locations are more spectacular than those in GoldenEye007 also highlights what’s ultimately the biggest difference between the two games: Perfect Dark’s far larger scale. Not that GoldenEye007 was thinking small – after all, few Bond adventures do. But Perfect Dark arguably goes a few steps further, involving two warring alien races, a conspiracy to replace the US president and the impending destruction of planet Earth itself.

Perfect Dark Soundtrack

How do Kirkhope and his team bring this awe-inspiring scenario across, without breaking the soundtrack’s mould, which – like GoldenEye 007 – largely eschews theatrics? As before, they manage with the help of a few inspired artistic choices that have a surprisingly large impact. Kirkhope makes ample use of synth choir (“one of the samples that Graeme left behind — I think it’s called Tron Choir”). Predictably, he sometimes deploys the choir to give the music more gravitas – take “dataDyne Central: Extraction”, which juxtaposes the choir with immense, resonant percussion strikes. As effective as these episodes are, Kirkhope mostly uses the choir to a different end: creating an eerie, at times quietly unsettling atmosphere. Listen to “G5 Building: Reconnaissance” and its dissonant choral chord progressions, or the majestic-yet-spooky “Deep Sea: Nullify Threat” for proof of Kirkhope’s assured handling of vocal elements.

Thus, Kirkhope chooses to underscore Perfect Dark’s otherworldly protagonists and awe-inspiring events by highlighting their unearthly nature – a smart choice that allows him to preserve and subtly alter the music’s relatively low-key nature. Kirkhope amplifies the effect through his use of a theremin-like whistling melody lead on several tracks. Again, these high-pitched, elusive sounds ingeniously accentuate the music’s alien qualities – obviously a perfect match for the game’s narrative. However, these melody leads can also evoke much more earthbound emotions. Kirkhope lists “Chicago: Stealth” as one of this favourite tracks from Perfect Dark and for good reason. The cue is arguably his most striking melange of haunting atmospherics and outright melodicism, with the whistled lead melody suddenly sounding far more lonely than unsettling.

Like GoldenEye 007, the Perfect Dark soundtrack – despite the static nature of many of its compositions – knows how to ramp things up to underscore the game’s increasingly escalating stakes. “Airbase 51: Infiltration” and “Airbase: Espionage” begin to smoothly mix orchestral bombast and rock energy into the score’s electronic foundation. “Crash Site: Confrontation”’s steely determination under fire yields the soundtrack’s most soaring melody, while “Pelagic 2: Exploration” builds upon this momentum with dramatic secret agent-style swagger. The flawlessly executed climax of this build up is the suitably epic final boss track “Skedar Leader”. The composition showcases Kirkhope’s ability to also write extended action tracks, thanks to an abundance of perfectly developed material.

Does all this mean that Perfect Dark is a better soundtrack than GoldenEye007? Not necessarily – but what Perfect Dark does is demonstrate how to write a brilliant sequel score that smartly tweaks its predecessors’ musical approach, creating something both familiar and excitingly fresh.

Conversion notes

The music for Perfect Dark’s Game Boy Colour port is a curious case – a soundtrack that’s enticing and frustrating in equal measure. Composers Kirkhope and Eveline Novakovic achieve the hugely impressive feat of convincingly replicating some of the N64 compositions on a far more limited platform – an even greater achievement maybe than Kirkhope’s Donkey Kong Island 2. Unfortunately, only three pieces from the original score find space on the GBC cartridge, equaling just about 10 minutes of music. A shame – with more converted material, this could have been a classic handheld score.

  1. 01 - Institute Menu Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 2:07
  2. 02 - dataDyne Central: Defection Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 7:38
  3. 03 - dataDyne Central: Investigation Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:30
  4. 04 - dataDyne Central: Extraction Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 4:29
  5. 05 - Carrington Villa: Hostage One Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:31
  6. 06 - Chicago: Stealth Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:26
  7. 07 - G5 Building: Reconnaissance Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:42
  8. 08 - Area 51: Infiltration Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 4:38
  9. 09 - Airbase: Espionage Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:54
  10. 10 - Air Force One: Anti Terrorism Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:55
  11. 11 - Crash Site: Confrontation Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 4:49
  12. 12 - Pelagic 2: Extraction Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:52
  13. 13 - Deep Sea: Nullify Threat Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:43
  14. 14 - Carrington Institute Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:37
  15. 15 - Attack Ship: Covert Assault Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:20
  16. 16 - Skedar Ruins: Battle Shrine Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:58
  17. 17 - Skedar Leader Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:51
  18. 18 - Credits Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 4:06
  19. 19 - Dark Combat Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 4:55
  20. 20 - CI Operative Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 5:38
  21. 21 - dataDyne Action Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:17
  22. 22 - Maian Tears Clynick, David / Kirkhope, Grant / Norgate, Graeme 6:47

Viva Piñata Soundtrack

Viva Piñata Soundtrack

Viva Piñata Soundtrack, Grant Kirkhope, 2006

There was a time when Viva Piñata was touted as one of the fledgling XBox 360’s most important franchises, even accompanied by a tie-in television show. Ultimately, Viva Piñata didn’t go down in game history as anything close to a gamechanger or a classic like some of developer Rare’s previous titles. Still, the game’s colourful graphics and fairly novel gameplay – essentially it’s a first-person life and gardening simulation – left a positive enough impression with reviewers and gamers. In fact, the feedback was strong enough for Rare to release a sequel titled Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise, giving the developers the opportunity to implement features they had to leave out of the first game due to time pressures.

The story of who ended up writing the music for Viva Piñata is somewhat typical for Rare games, in that composers ended up working on several projects at once, swapping scoring responsibilities in the process. Initially, Steve Burke was tasked with creating the Viva Piñata soundtrack, with veteran Grant Kirkhope doing sound design. Once Burke got busier with Kameo: Elements of Power though, Kirkhope was asked to take over the music for Viva Piñata as well. In the process, Kirkhope used material he had previously composed for the aborted Dream project on the Nintendo 64 (which later morphed into Banjo-Kazooie).

For Kirkhope, the assignment was a dream come true, so much so that he named the Viva Piñata soundtracks as his favourite works. Firstly, Kirkhope was given the opportunity to have his score performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the world’s foremost film and game music orchestras. The experience left a deep impression on Kirkhope, who was moved to tears when he heard the orchestra play his music for the first time. What’s more, the project was the perfect match for Kirkhope’s musical sensibilities: “It was one of those rare occasions where the music I most like to write suited the game perfectly.” That music were “that kind of Elgar/Vaughan Williams sound that I really love – that sort of English 20th century composer thing.” Above all, Viva Piñata was a chance for Kirkhope to fully indulge in his fondness for melody-driven compositions.

Viva Piñata Soundtrack

And indeed, what’s immediately striking about Viva Piñata and its sequel score is just how beautiful Kirkhope’s melodies are (by the way, given that Trouble in Paradise was more of an extension than a sequel, both soundtracks will be treated as one work for the purpose of this review). In fact, there are few game soundtracks that have such a single-minded focus on melodies – and sport such a wealth of exquisite tunes. True, the lack of any pronounced thematic connections between tracks means there’s little cohesion to the music outside of its all-pervasive pastoral mood. At the same time, this also guarantees that each piece delivers new enchanting melodies. Kirkhope clearly has a precise idea of the mood he wants his music to convey – the entire Viva Piñata soundtrack feels like an exercise in writing the most idyllic, serene orchestral music one could imagine.

A great deal of Viva Piñata’s charm stems from its beguiling orchestrations. Kirkhope gives most of his melodies to solo woodwinds, showing himself an expert at writing for this too often-neglected family of instruments. All soloists acquit themselves marvellously, with flawless, sensitive playing that gracefully brings out the quiet, yet deeply felt emotions within each piece. Significant credit needs to go to orchestrator Nic Raine – just listen more closely to “All in a Day’s Work”, which essentially reworks the same melody line over and over. However, by passing it around the woodwind section, the composition’s tune never gets old and entices through its array of carefully chosen timbres.

Interestingly, despite the opportunity to work with a full orchestra, Kirkhope keeps the orchestral backdrop fairly simple, usually providing a warm background that suitably accompanies the melodies’ loveliness. There isn’t much counterpoint heard on the Viva Piñata soundtrack – only on a few tracks do the solo instruments intertwine, creating an intimate, chamber music-like effect. In terms of its material then, this is somewhat sparse music, presented in lush, swooning instrumental colours. As such, Kirkhope’s music refers its classical inspirations more through its general mood than its structure. This is also evidenced by the fact that his pieces don’t necessary develop towards anything in particular – it’s blissful stasis, as the compositions meander from one melodic highlight to the next. It’s the slightly longer pieces like “Warm Heart, Cold Nose” and “Tomorrow’s Wonders” that turn into standouts, as they have more space to create some emotional complexity through their more varied development.

Viva Piñata Soundtrack

If you think there’s little conflict and tension to be found on the Viva Piñata soundtrack, you would be correct – while the game has its baddies, they don’t seem to receive any musical underscoring (the brief appearance of minor key harmonies on “Night 1” almost counts as a major change of mood). In the hands of a lesser composer, this lack of variety could have easily resulted in 90 minutes of monotonous material, but Kirkhope’s melodic gifts always keep the music afloat. It also helps that many of the melodies, despite their calm nature, have a gentle forward drive. Sometimes they almost bounce along with a spring in their step when the music underscores the piñata creatures’ mischievous charm. Gently accented string figures occasionally give the music a hint of folk dance-like movement.

And while the general mood on the Viva Piñata soundtrack never really changes, Kirkhope and Raine do introduce a few changes to the instrumentations to help vary the music’s expression a bit. As it turns out, the desert tracks don’t sound particularly different from the rest of the album, apart from a few chromatic scales. It’s the cues written for icy locations and night time scenarios that feel like they bring something (reasonably) new to the table. As expected, the music turns wispy and ethereal on these compositions, moving away from the warm earthiness of most other pieces. Orchestrations turn thinner and focus even more on solo instruments, adding new colours through the addition of cello and female choir.

The resulting music is a bit more elusive than what’s usually heard on the score, with a tinge of mystery and otherworldliness that contrasts nicely with the emotional directness of most other compositions. Most importantly, these lingering pieces voice a sense of yearning and hushed awe at nature’s beauty that turns them into the Viva Piñata soundtrack’s most moving cues. Kirkhope nominated “Bedtime Story” as his favourite composition written during his time at Rare and it’s easy to see why. Very, very few soundtracks sport a melody as drop-dead gorgeous, dreamy and peaceful as “Bedtime Story”, while still hinting at the wonders of the nightly world outside your window. If there is a game soundtrack that both young children and aficionados of classical music will take into their hearts, it’s Viva Piñata.

  1. 01 - Island Welcome Kirkhope, Grant 0:28
  2. 02 - All in a Day's Work Kirkhope, Grant 2:58
  3. 03 - Oven-Fresh Day Kirkhope, Grant 2:29
  4. 04 - Tranquil Hours Kirkhope, Grant 2:35
  5. 05 - Frosty Morning Kirkhope, Grant 2:34
  6. 06 - Sunrise Whisper Kirkhope, Grant 2:28
  7. 07 - Snowy Blankets Kirkhope, Grant 2:58
  8. 08 - Time Flies Kirkhope, Grant 2:29
  9. 09 - Winter Shines Kirkhope, Grant 2:21
  10. 10 - Slow Baked Kirkhope, Grant 2:14
  11. 11 - Daily Dance Kirkhope, Grant 2:18
  12. 12 - Icicle Chorus Kirkhope, Grant 2:17
  13. 13 - Bedtime Story Kirkhope, Grant 2:37
  14. 14 - Flower Greetings Kirkhope, Grant 2:26
  15. 15 - Growing Under Moonlight Kirkhope, Grant 3:04
  16. 16 - Sowing Seeds Kirkhope, Grant 2:06
  17. 17 - Midnights Feasts Kirkhope, Grant 2:10
  18. 18 - Desert Breezes Kirkhope, Grant 2:21
  19. 19 - Warm Hearts, Cold Nose Kirkhope, Grant 2:35
  20. 20 - Chilly Promise Kirkhope, Grant 2:22
  21. 21 - Ripen and Bloom Kirkhope, Grant 2:18
  22. 22 - Secrets in the Sand Kirkhope, Grant 2:22
  23. 23 - Stardust Falls Kirkhope, Grant 2:01
  24. 24 - Soil Song Kirkhope, Grant 2:11
  25. 25 - Tomorrow's Wonders Kirkhope, Grant 2:39
  26. 26 - Desert 1 Kirkhope, Grant 2:39
  27. 27 - Day 1 Kirkhope, Grant 2:19
  28. 28 - Night 1 Kirkhope, Grant 2:35
  29. 29 - Day 2 Kirkhope, Grant 2:13
  30. 30 - Night 2 Kirkhope, Grant 2:33
  31. 31 - Day 3 Kirkhope, Grant 2:18
  32. 32 - Night 3 Kirkhope, Grant 2:20
  33. 33 - Day 4 Kirkhope, Grant 2:20
  34. 34 - Night 4 Kirkhope, Grant 2:20
  35. 35 - Day 5 Kirkhope, Grant 2:07
  36. 36 - Day 6 Kirkhope, Grant 2:15
  37. 37 - Day 7 Kirkhope, Grant 2:15