In today’s episode of The Punished Podcast, we get into the magic of video game music. Listen as we discuss our favorite video game tunes, what makes them and their composers so iconic, when to choose silence, and much more. Plus, we reveal our very own podcast theme song!
MP3 Download | Spotify | Apple Podcasts
David Silbert | Amanda Tien | Gary Wilson | Kei Isobe
Timestamps
0:00 – Intros, Including Our New Theme Song by Jason Hulse!3:49 – How the Best Video Game Soundtracks Shape Our Experiences 20:26 – Memorable Video Game Music Moments29:47 – Discussing the People Behind the Music: The Best Composers 45:30 – Controversy Around Grammy Nominations for Video Game Music and the Game Awards54:00 – Sparse Soundtracks vs. Sound Design and Silence1:01:55 – Diegetic Music in Video Games1:02:55 – Standout Individual Tracks 1:12:46 – Outro: What’s on the Backlog? The Best Video Game Soundtracks (As Discussed)
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (2024), Composer: Masashi HamauzuSayonara Wild Hearts (2019), Composers: Daniel Olsén and Jonathan Eng Furi (2016), Composers: Carpenter Brut, Danger, The Toxic Avenger, Lorn, Scattle, Waveshaper, and Kn1ghtThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015), Composers: Marcin Przybyłowicz and Mikołaj Stroiński with the folk band PercivalFinal Fantasy VII (1997), Composer: Nobuo Uematsu Chrono Trigger (1995), Composer: Yasunori MitsudaMass Effect 2 (2010), Composer: Jack Wall Final Fantasy V (1992), Composer: Nobuo UematsuFlorence (2018), Composer: Kevin PenkinKingdom Hearts (2002), Composer: Yoko ShimomuraNieR:Automata (2017), Composer: Keiichi Okabe Persona 5 (2016), Composer: Shoji MeguroDarren Korb for Supergiant’s Games: Hades (2020), Transistor (2014), and Bastion (2011)Assassin’s Creed Odyssey (2018), Composers: The Flight (Joe Henson and Alexis Smith)Journey (2012), Composer: Austin WintoryCeleste (2018), Composer: Lena RaineAce Attorney Original Trilogy (2001 – 2004), Composer: Masakazu Sugimori, and The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, Composer: Yasumasa Kitagawa Murder by Numbers (2020), Composer: Masakazu SugimoriClair Obscur: Expedition 33 (2025), Composer: Lorien Testard Pacific Drive (2024), Composer: Wilbert Roget II Breath of the Wild (2017), Composers: Manaka Kataoka, Yasuaki Iwata, Soshi Abe, Hajime WakaiThe World Ends With You (2007), Composer: Takeharu IshimotoDispatch (2025), particularly the licensed feature of “Radio” by Bershy who talks here about how the game changed her careerZoo Tycoon (2001), Composer: Steven Serafino Halo 4 (2012), Composer: Neil DavidgeAnd many, many more discussed in the episode itself!Excerpts
David: “Just as we all have our favorite video games, we also admire the songs and soundtracks that accompany gaming’s greatest journeys. From setting off to save a foreign land to chaining an epic combo in a roguelike, there’s no shortage of great listening for those who take time to savor it…. Gaming composers can’t afford to make bad music. If the sound is monotonous or grating, it devalues the gameplay. If the sound is forgettable, the game is likely missing out on an important differentiator.”Amanda: “The music of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt does such a really great job of setting that fantasy, medieval, epic setting. You know the pub song, the one that you’re playing the card game Gwent while you’re having a beer? It just makes me excited. Like I’m here, I’m on this adventure, I’m going to go hunt werewolves with my sword.”
Gary: “That speaks to what we’re all focusing on with these soundtracks and these compositions. This music helps capture the player’s attention attention without getting in the way of what else is there. Yes, Furi is a game that is built around movement and energy so the music needs to match that. Sayonara Wild Hearts is a rhythm game, so you need to focus on the music, of course but it’s also about the visuals and splendor of what’s going on. With The Witcher 3, you want music that can both fade into the background and be really present in the smaller moments. Bringing up Gwent is a great example — when you’re just wandering around the fields in The Witcher 3, you don’t want loud blaring horns. But if you’re sitting down and playing cards, you need something else to occupy that space.” Kei: “One of the things with video game soundtracks that’s interesting… Let’s say you’re producing somewhere between 30-60 tracks. It’s not that hard [relatively] to make one banger in 30 songs. For most games, sure, there’s one song that I can remember the melody or I can recall hearing it in a moment that was meaningful in the game. It’s much harder to make every track a banger. I think some of the games we’ve mentioned, like Sayonara Wild Hearts, has a perfect soundtrack, but that’s 20 tracks — it’s easier to make that tight. Whereas a JRPG where you’re making over 100 tracks [like Final Fantasy VII Rebirth], it’s much harder.” Amanda: “I already talked about Yoko Shimomura’s great work on the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack, but also the track ‘Simple and Clean’ with the Japanese pop-star Hikaru Utada who collaborated with the composition team. I was obsessed with that song.”
Kei: “Great song. I listen to it all the time. Something to note — the English version, weirdly, doesn’t apply to anyone in Kingdom Hearts. That version is about a couple who is having a fight and how the boyfriend doesn’t want to meet her father. But that doesn’t apply to anyone in the game. It’s a banger. But it doesn’t make any sense.”
Amanda: “Yes! There’s so much romantic tension, but it’s not relevant to their setting. Like the opening animation is Riku standing dramatically in the ocean holding out his hand to Sora.”
Kei: “Exactly. The Japanese lyrics are a much better fit for the game.” David: “Looking at what got nominated for the 2026 Grammys, which looks at the 2025 year of games… Of the five games nominated, only one of those actually came out in 2025, and two nominations were DLC… A lot of the hubbub in the gaming community was that two pieces of DLCs got nominated over something like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. What do you make of the disconnect between this [relatively new prize, the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive] Grammys and the public and critical zeitgeist around games?” Our Favorite Video Game Composers and Musicians
We discussed the following talented people in today’s episode! They’re listed below in alphabetical order:
Amos Roddy, Austin Wintory, Borislav Slavov, Christopher Larkin, Chuck Ragan, ConcernedApe, Daniel Olsén and Jonathan Eng, Darren Korb, David Wise, Disasterpeace, Gareth Coker, Grant Kirkhope, Hideki Naganuma, Jack Wall, Jeremy Soule, Jesper Kyd, Keiichi Okabe, Kevin Penkin, Koji Kondo, Lena Raine Lorien Testard, Manaka Kataoka, Marcin Przybyłowicz and Mikołaj Stroiński, Masakazu Sugimori, Masashi Hamauzu, Masayoshi Soken, Mick Gordon, Neil Davidge, Nobuo Uematsu, Noriyuki Iwadare, Sarah Schachner, Shoji Meguro, Steven Serafino, Takahiro Ishimioto, The Flight, Wilbert Roget II, Winifred Phillips, Yasumasa Kitagawa, Yasunori Mitsuda, Yoko Shimomura
Further Reading (and Listening):
Want a Crystal Ball for the 2025 Game Awards? Hint: It’s the Orchestra.
Friday Fortissimo: ‘City of Tears’ (Hollow Knight)
Friday Fortissimo: ‘Gongaga Region’ (Final Fantasy VII Rebirth)
Lena Raine’s Earthblade Soundtrack Teases What Could Have Been
(Some of) the Best Romance Songs in Gaming
Read even more in our Friday Fortissimo series. Thanks for reading and/or listening!
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