/v/ - Video Games

That has a nice title theme OP. I like the Panzer Dragoon series' soundtrack. The closest that any of them get to anything that falls within genre standards is the episode 1 theme and main theme of the first Panzer Dragoon, the rest of it is more of a mix of elaborate synth and occasional rock. The sequel Zwei drops that sonic identity entirely for what might be closest compared to a John Carpenter score with a bit more focus on musicality and less on pure wallpaper/ambiance. Very down tempo and unique sound.

The last Saturn game went even more in that direction but with much more structure to it. Mariko Nanba and Saori Kobayashi hit it out of the park by combining polyrhythms of the more ethereal Zwei and tying it all together with at times hauntingly airy instrumentals, bombastic percussion that sounds as if it's bursting out of a giant creatures chest and being played with its bones, or being so bizarre it's hard to identify what the origin for the samples were. It's all the more fascinating because Zwei and Saga, unlike the original do not use Red Book audio and are entirely synthesized by the Sega Saturn's sound hardware. The cherry on top is Sona Mi Areru Ec Sancitu which has lyrics written in an entirely made up language made up of elements of Ancient Greek, French, Roman and Japanese by Eri Ito who is considered one of the greatest living Classical Japanese singers with a vocal range you'd normally find in a kabuki theater along a backing male and female chorus.