Best Original Music Score of 2023

by
Taneli Palola
, posted 12 hours ago / 972 Views

The last 12 months were once again filled with some exceptional original video game scores. There were numerous standouts to be found on both the indie and mainstream side of the industry, and at various point throughout the year I thought the best scores were already clear, only for another contender to appear soon after. Yet, the five top contenders this year are likely not too much of a surprise to most people.

The Shortlist:

Final Fantasy XVI

(Composers: Masayoshi Soken, Takafumi Imamura, Daiki Ishikawa, Saya Yasaki, and Justin Frieden)

Baldur’s Gate III

(Composer: Borislav Slavov)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

(Composers: Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, and Tsukasa Usui)

Starfield

(Composer: Inon Zur)

Octopath Traveler II

(Composer: Yasunori Nishiki)

The Runner-Up:
Octopath Traveler II

Composed by Yasunori Nishiki, a relatively new rising name in the world of video game music, Octopath Traveler II is arguably his best work to date, alongside his score for the first game in the series. The score essentially has eight separate main motifs, each surrounding one of the eight main playable characters, all of which have their distinct styles and tones to give each character their own clear identity. In addition, every major location comes with its own primary theme tune, with different versions for day and night, and this is still just scratching the surface of the score’s depth. The sheer number of pieces on the over 7 hour soundtrack is already notable, but the fact that nearly all of them are also excellent songs makes it even more impressive.

The Winner:

Final Fantasy XVI

In the end, there can be only one at the top, and the winner of Best Original Music Score of 2023 is Final Fantasy XVI. While the series itself has gone through its ups and downs over the years, one element of the Final Fantasy games that has remained almost universally praised from one entry to the next is the music.

The score for Final Fantasy XVI, very much like the game in general, is far darker in tone than that found in past entries. The live orchestral arrangements are a perfect match for the game’s bleak world, and the way Masayoshi Soken and his team matched the various themes to the characters and locations they’re associated with is masterful. For anyone curious, have a listen to the different Eikon battle themes, many of which were specifically composed to match those characters’ narratives on an emotional level. The soundtrack is a joy to listen to, and more than deserves the award for Best Original Music Score of the year.

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