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There's a lot to love about the Seikilos Jazz collection and how it reflects characters' emotions. In the first iteration, there's a persistent raw loneliness but just a pinch of hope and comfort, which fits well with Asterion's first interactions with the Master. I love how as the Hotel begins to fill up and Asterion's strength and support system grow, so does the ensemble.
My personal favorite iteration, though, is probably the second one. If the first iteration reflects Asterion's initial state of mind, the second reflects the Master's. The piano has a lot of space there, and it usually plays when there's a lot of thinking and processing to do. The repeating, slowly shifting chords on the latter half really drive this home and empower these moments.
Don't wanna pick favourites because there isn't a single bad song in the soundtrack, but Personal Elegy with the Hinterlands as a backdrop works so well. There's something about its mix of electric guitars and steel pedals that makes a road trip through the south feel right.
I know this topic is old, but I gotta say Up There has grown on me massively. When I first heard it I thought it was weird and atonal, but it's been stuck in my head the past week. I really like the non-instrumental version too (it's on Spotify). The vocals and lyrics are great, and it's not far of a stretch to imagine them working in the context of the story.
It is up to us to help just anyone / There is no help coming from up there
old topic but i wanted to share my thoughts, I listen to crossing the astral bridge on repeat a TON. There is an uneasy, careful tone to the song that doesnt fit into my typical music taste, at least when it comes to when im just jamming or working, but while the tone does make me uncomfortable a little bit, I find the song to be very comforting.
I was thinking about why the hell I feel this way, Till I realized the narrative connotations of the song within Minotaur Hotel. I have only done the route where u are super nice, because Asterion deserves the best haha, and crossing the astral bridge plays during a few key moments that really stick out in my head. I still vividly remember the scene where you first discover Asterion, and are learning about the hotel, even tho it's been forever since I first read it, and this song plays a lot during that segment. I may have this wrong, but im pretty sure it also plays sometimes when you go out to the desert to meet Argos, or at least before you start speaking to him and his theme starts. It also gets played a bunch when your exploring the mysteries of the Hotel.
With all this in mind, I see now that crossing the astral bridge comforts me so much to hear because I associate that uneasiness with the more challenging aspects of Minotaur Hotel's story, and in the face of those challenges, I always chose to be as kind and good as I could. To me this song sounds like standing my ground, and acting with love and care in the face of a harsh and mysterious world. so that's why its my fav!
i've replayed the game with the ost on and i think sekilos jazz - straight, gymnopedie no. 1, jato (the lion) and 2 virgule 4 all fuck, with ariadne's thread and asterion being my favorite
the first time around however i played with my own music on (send me straight to jail if you want but i don't often find ost's to be a strong suit for vn's), specifically lianne la havas's self-titled album, and now the songs and the game are inseparable in my mind. also that album is great and paper thin off of it kinda fits the vn??
If we're talking songs that aren't in the game but still fuck...
I highly recommend his stuff, especially the Introducing Hedzoleh Soundz album.
It's really hard to actually pick a favorite, I think all of the songs add so much to the story and the characters. You know they're doing a good job when you can hear a song and immediately picture a character in your head! Regardless, Kora Duet is definitely one of my top picks. It just has that feeling of everything going well at the hotel. A nice intermediary song.
It's hard to pick a single favorite. The basic Seikilos Epitaph (in all its forms) is probably my overall favorite, while my favorite "upbeat" song is probably 2Virgule4. If I am looking at it as "best song/scene" combination, however, it's definitely Foolish Child. I struggle to put it into words, but I think that (for me) it just encompasses every sense of emotion that relates to romance; it is ethereal and mesmerizing, yet at the same time melancholy and bittersweet - which may seem contradictory, but as the story points out, the sort of love we consider romantic is only so powerful because we know it is finite and must eventually come to an end.
I always find it hard to pick a favorite, but in this game's case that becomes a lot harder. All the music suit the moments they are used in so perfectly that what ends up sticking with me is how powerful the scene is or how much I like a moment of the VN. In that sense, Foolish Child is hard to beat, but I have some other close contenders.
A close second to me would "Greek Folk Song" by David Gilden. It has such a wistful and nostalgic feel to it that goes exceptionally well with so many scenes. I feel like I could listen to it forever without getting tired of it. With the Khenbish update I also got pretty happy to see they got some more use out of Signs (Part 1) cus iirc it had only been used on the ruthless routes up till this point.
Also on a song related note, I also find it strangely appropriate and a bit humorous that some songs related to The Valley and Argos come from the album "Shed Your Skin"
