Description
For this soundtrack, I came up with the game Nagisa: Princess of the Sea. I designed the OST around the concept that this game was a 2D, hand-animated JRPG, something in the style of "Sea of Stars" or "Super Mario RPG". I was heavily inspired by the works of Studio Ghibli as well while designing both the OST and the concept of the game itself. since I really wanted to capture the feeling of childlike wonder and terror that Miyazaki does so well.

The story of the game is that you play as Nagisa, the princess of the Sealight Kingdom who was taken in by the king when she plummeted into the ocean. The goal of the game is to save the sea from a spreading corruption that is infesting the various locations you travel through, while also trying to find the whereabouts of your missing mother. The game's OST is a blend of classical, ambient and electronic sounds, making what I believe is an eclectic group of sounds. I used FL Studio to produce the OST, which consists of seven songs. I like to believe that these songs make up the "demo" of the game, which reminds me of the hazy memories of playing demos on my PS3 but never actually buying them, causing their names to be forgotten.

Track one is the Title Theme, The Deep Awakens, which was meant to really hit the ocean theme on the head. I was inspired by the music of Breath of the Wild for this one, leading to the calming ambient theme that I ended up making. After that is Susanoo Town Square, which is named after the area that I consider the hub of the game. I mixed some classical instrumentation with a bit of a more modern sound, and I tried to max out the chill vibes with a simple bossa nova beat added in. If you head into the Royal Neptune Hall, Nagisa's home, you are greeted with Waltz of the Waves. This was definitely the most Ghibli-inspired song, with some classical Japanese instruments included as well. My inclusion to add more eastern inspired instrumentation was due to the outfit the girl was wearing on the picture theme.

Heading into the first unsafe area in the game, you hear the titular Forbidden Caves. My idea was for it to sound a little foreboding, but still very whimsical, my main inspiration being Waterfall from Undertale. Matching with that theme but upping up the foreboding elements is Battle in the Depths, the battle theme for the area. I leaned much more into the electronic, as this was essentially me trying my hand at the artcore genre in a way. Reaching the end of the Forbidden Caves you will find the Siren Maiden, a mermaid that has been corrupted that you need to save. She serves as the boss of the area, accompanied by the song The Siren's Call. Instantly when I began work on this theme, I landed on a kind of salsa-waltz combination, taking elements from both. This led to something both captivating and dangerous, perfect for a siren. Finally, after the grueling battle you reach a Save Point, which plays the song Place of Zen. I imagine the place you go to save your progress is some kind of Zen garden with huge lotus flowers. Both this song and The Deep Awakens are in a pentatonic scale, and both have arpeggios that go along the whole scale. After that, the demo is completed, wrapping up the whole OST.

Message from the artist
This my first time doing anything of this nature, in both making an OST/album/EP and doing a game jam. It was definitely challenging but also super rewarding to pull this together. I'm really happy I got to be apart of this and here's hoping to joining back next time!

Also, credit goes to https://www.instagram.com/kawaakar._/ for the wonderful picture theme and cover art!

Theme

Picture theme

How does it fit the theme?
The OST for Nagisa is meant to invoke a feeling of being whisked off into another world, somewhere strange, whimsical and even somewhat unnerving underneath the sea. The instrumentation does its best to capture the aquatic ambience and the nostalgic feeling of childhood memory.

Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YoMUsWW98k&list=PLLvxHtl3V_W7QB8myWWE_XpPxJtoShdd1&index=1

Number of tracks
7

Genre

Soundtrack use permission

Yes (CC BY)

Any project