Play with unexpected composers

summary

• Composers play an important role in video games by enhancing powerful moments.

• These composers have diverse portfolios working on unexpected games.

• Each composer mentioned has a unique style and works outside of their popular titles.

Although it may not be the first thing that many people think of when they think of video games, composers are the blood that runs through the veins of a video game. Without music, there's nothing to highlight some of a game's most powerful moments.

Music does a lot of the heavy lifting in a game, and everything works hand in hand to complete a scene. These composers have done incredible work on some of their most popular games, but they've also shown their wide range with their other works. So here are some games that you would never believe were made by the same people.

10

Michael Wandmacher

Bloodborne and Madagascar

Bloodborne was not the work of a single composer, but the work of many. Each left their mark at different moments, from Yuka Kitamura's Lady Maria theme to Ludwig Nobuyoshi Suzuki's theme. Michael Wandmacher was also behind many of the themes, such as the Mikolas theme, although his other works are just as creepy.

Even though he didn't work on the original film at all, Wandemacher found his way into the Madagascar soundtrack. His trail is also a long way from where he ended up, although both are around beasts, close enough.

9

Ramin Javadi

System Shock 2 And The Diofield Chronicle

Ramin Javadi isn't as well known for his video games as he is for his film and television endeavors, though he's by no means lacking. Some of his early work in gaming was composing System Shock 2 alongside Josh Randall and Eric Brosius.

Since then, he's scored many video games in between his work on movies and shows, though one of his most enduring credits has to be Square Enix's Dewfield Chronicles. A mid-budget, low-grossing, and almost completely forgotten game, it's one of Javadi's last non-blockbuster works.

8

Yoko Shimomura

Kingdom Hearts And Street Fighter 2

Yoko Shimomura is one of the most iconic game composers, most of which goes back to her work on the Kingdom Hearts series. From Dearly Beloved to Nachtflügel, his repertoire is varied, though always with a piano at the forefront.

Of course, he didn't get his start with Kingdom Hearts or even Square Enix. Instead, Shimomura's early days in music began with Capcom, and Street Fighter 2 was one of the first titles for which he was the main composer.

7

Sakuraba Moto

Dark Souls and Mario Golf

For many games, composers tend to be closely associated with the series they're working on. Shimomura to Kingdom Hearts, Woody Jackson to Red Dead Redemption, etc. They will have bits and pieces throughout, though they tend to be associated with their most popular works.

Not so for Sakuraba Moto. He has worked on countless games, always as a freelancer. As such, everything he does is incredibly different from the last. Case in point, he's the composer for the original Dark Souls trilogy as well as the entire Mario Golf series. And this is the smallest taste of his discography.

6

Jasper Kidd

Assassin's Creed And Hitman

Ubisoft has a wide variety of games in its portfolio and therefore has a diverse range of music for each of them. However, the games that have received the most praise for their music are the Assassin's Creed series. Before Assassin's Creed 3, this was primarily the work of Jesper Kidd, best known for his “Ezio Family” theme.

Of course, before that, Kidd was one of the main composers of the Hitman series. A very different style of music, in every way. Being Danish itself, IO Interactive seems like a good fit for someone looking to make a name for themselves in video game music.

5

Akira Yamaoka

Silent Hill and Lollipop chainsaw

For those new to the series, Silent Hill is dark and psychological, a terrifying hellscape of literal nightmares. For fans of the series, much of this is true as well, but you know it's all backed by Akira Yamaoka's alt-rock rhythms, in a way that many in the know would find inappropriate.

With a musical style that already seemed awful for a horror game, it makes sense for him to switch gears, and becoming Lollipop Chainsaw's sound director is a pretty impressive change.

4

Daniel Licht

Dishonored And Silent Hill: Downpour

The Dishonored series is a triumph of art, with style, gameplay, and music all rolled into one beautiful blend. Its sounds are equally unsettling and strange, pushing you into the depths of the void while increasing your dread?

And where could such a style be completely appropriate? Why panic, of course! Replacing Akira Yamaoka for the first time since the series began, Daniel Licht became the main composer for Silent Hill: Downpour, bringing many of Dishonored's discordant tones to a much smaller setting.

3

Keichi Okabe

Nier And Tekken

In many ways, Keichi Okabe and Yoko Taro seem inseparable. Every game that Yoko Taro makes, Okabe is behind her in composing. This is true of Nier, Drakengard and even many of his mobile games like SinoAlice.

Believe it or not, Okabe has a fairly prolific career beyond the Yoko Taro games. He was one of the main composers of the Tekken series, starting with a few additional songs in Tekken 2 and becoming the main composer of the series until Tekken 8.

2

Borislav Slavov

Baldur's Gate 3 and Ryse: Son Of Rome

Sometimes, video game composers slip through the cracks in the grand scheme of things. We focus on the voice actors, the visuals, the gameplay mechanics, all of which are equally worthy of praise, although we rarely remember the names behind the music unless they're already famous. Therefore, in this context, Borislav Slavov should also be praised.

While his work on Baldur's Gate 3 will be iconic to many after the game's phenomenal success, you may have already heard some of his music. Previously closely associated with Crytek, he was the composer for Crysis 2, Crysis 3, and another Crytek game that died, Ryse: Son of Rome.

1

Gary Sheiman

Bioshock and Forspoken

When it comes to games as adaptations of other works, with rare exceptions, they are less common than the works they inspired. However, as an adaptation of Atlas Shrugged, Bioshock goes far beyond its source material, with Gary Shaiman providing the score to capture the isolated and oppressive atmosphere of Rapture.

Gary Shaiman is a prolific composer, and while Bioshock may be his most notable work in games, it won't be his last. It features Forspoken, a game featuring some of the biggest names in media, including Schyman as composer Bear McCreary.