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Best Original Music Score of 2015

Best Original Music Score of 2015 - Article

by Brandon J. Wysocki , posted on 07 January 2016 / 6,373 Views

George Lucas was quoted, in a Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace making of documentary called 'The Beginning', as he reviewed some of the CGI for the pod racing sequence, saying “Remember in the end, John (Knoll), you’re not looking at a background, you’re not watching the pods, you’re listening to the music." The point was that scores can tell incredible tales in and of themselves, and while John Williams’ score for The Phantom Menace didn’t make up for any of its flaws, it certainly complimented and strengthened the experience overall.

Musical scores do the same for the similar, arguably more immersive entertainment medium of video games. Gamers, knowingly or otherwise, have memorized and hummed hundreds of video game themes and songs over the years. This music works hand in hand with the other elements of the game in crafting memorable moments - adding emotion and depth to the overall experience - and is therefore an incredibly important part of the gaming world.


The Nominees:


Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

MGS: V


Bloodborne

Bloodborne


Halo 5: Guardians

Halo 5: Guardians


Undertale

Undertale


Fallout 4

Fallout 4





And the Winner is…



Halo 5: Guardians

Community's Choice - Bloodborne (17% of the votes)

Kazuma Jinnouchi composed a fantastic, memorable score to accompany the latest Halo release. His contributions to Halo 4’s before it also stood out. Now, with the reigns fully in his hands, he has built on the established themes of past Halo music and provided an excellent score that both adds to and helps shape the experience of Halo 5: Guardians, just as any good score should. It's our pick for Best Original Music Score of 2015.

Being the overopinionated and verbose jerk that I am, and not at all to take anything at all away from the winner, I feel compelled to give an honorable mention to the phenomenal score for Ori and the Blind Forest, which was composed by Gareth Coker. I was genuinely stunned that it didn’t make the final five for the staff or the community voting. I myself saw the winner here as a toss-up between his sensational work on Ori and that of Jinnouchi on Halo 5. I can’t wait to hear more of their work in the coming years.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Brandon J. Wysocki is a writer for VGChartz.  You're invited to contact Brandon (username SpaceLegends) in the comments below or through private messages on VGChartz, or even at his barely ever used and effectively dormant Twitter account @BrandonJWysocki. 


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25 Comments
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Hynad (on 07 January 2016)

Ori should have been nominated... -____-

  • +6
Azzanation (on 07 January 2016)

Halo never disappoints when it comes to the music

  • +5
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busbfran (on 08 January 2016)

Well deserved Halo!

  • +3
b00moscone (on 07 January 2016)

Surprised to not see Xenoblade X on there.

  • +2
ktay95 (on 08 January 2016)

Community knows where its at

  • +1
Mystro-Sama (on 07 January 2016)

Really? Phantom Pain and Bloodborne's soundtrack is leaps better.

  • +1
Cloudman (on 09 January 2016)

Undertale was the only right answer... ; )

  • 0
Nuvendil (on 08 January 2016)

My biggest problem with Fallout 4 is that it's not an original soundtrack for the most part, its licensed. There are original scores but they are intentionally unremarkable. The emphasis is on the radio.

Same issue with The Phantom Pain but to a lesser extent.

But not surprised Halo won.

  • 0
NobleTeam360 (on 07 January 2016)

I think Ori had a better soundtrack than any of the games nominated here.

  • 0
Azuren (on 07 January 2016)

Halo 5?

Huh.

  • 0
Natsu Azuren (on 08 January 2016)

The soundtrack is actually really good

  • 0
Azuren Azuren (on 08 January 2016)

Be that as it may, it's not as good as Bloodborne's. Not even close.

  • -1
kooltrex (on 07 January 2016)

NO ONES GONNA TAAAKE MEEEEE ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE

  • 0
Slarvax kooltrex (on 07 January 2016)

TIME HAS COME TO MAKE THIIIINGS RIIIIIIIIGHHHT

  • +1
ktay95 kooltrex (on 08 January 2016)

lol i was like "are we singing Muse??" Turns out we are :D

  • +2
kooltrex kooltrex (on 08 January 2016)

Lol they are really good I think they also did music for Arkham Knight.

  • 0
Slarvax kooltrex (on 08 January 2016)

They're probably my favourite band :D Madness is my favourite song from them.

  • 0
Shikamo (on 07 January 2016)

I prefer Metal Gear Solid V: The Phanton Pain Soundtrack, music likes Quiet theme and others make the cutscenes in the game much better. but congratz halo 5 is good too

  • 0
Slarvax (on 07 January 2016)

Dissapointed in not seeing Splatoon. The soundtrack is amazing. Has a very unique and creative touch; nothing like it you can find in any other game. Specially love 2 things about it:

  1. All the music is cannon in the game! Theyre sang by famous musicians/bands in the game, which exist and are visible through the game (Squid sisters being the obvious ones)
  2. It's amazing how Nintendo made not only a language in Splatoon, but also lyrics from that language for most, if not all battle themes in the game. Specially the Final boss theme (Squid sisters version), I've tried singing along to it a once or twice XD
  • 0
WoodenPints (on 07 January 2016)

I'm surprised Bloodborne got the community vote... As much as I love Bloodborne no way would I of said its music score is award winning.

  • -1
Azuren WoodenPints (on 08 January 2016)

Obviously a large portion of the community disagrees, but that's the wonder of opinions: they can differ.

  • -1
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