A good soundtrack greatly contributes to the atmosphere of an MMORPG. Some songs stand out and tell their own story. We present some of these to you.
World of Warcraft and the Final Fantasy series are known for their excellent musical accompaniment. However, there are more games with special songs that we want to introduce you to. One soundtrack per game applies.
Guild Wars 2 – Fear Not This Night
This is about: Fear Not This Night is a song of hope. It is sung by the Pale Tree, the mother of all Sylvari. Fear Not This Night is about the desire to defeat the Elder Dragons, whose mere existence poses a threat to the world.
Zhaitan, the main antagonist in the personal story, caused the Pale Tree to be attacked. Thanks to the heroic intervention of the player, the death of the Mother Tree was prevented. Shortly thereafter, a second Elder Dragon, Mordremoth, attempted to control the Sylvari.
This is where it plays: During the campaign, the song plays multiple times in its instrumental version. The full version can be experienced in the final mission “Triumph or Death”.
Who composed it? Jeremy Soule is responsible for the music in Guild Wars and also for the soundtrack of The Elder Scrolls series. The singer is Asja Kadric.
Lord of the Rings Online – Lothlorien, The Golden Wood
This is about: Lothlórien is located at the edge of the dark mines of Moria. The Elven forest radiates bright and luminous. Thanks to Galadriel’s ring, Lothlórien remained protected. The surrounding forests were not so lucky, suffering significant damage.
This is where it plays: After the player has traversed the dangerous areas of Moria, they find themselves in the Golden Wood. Here, the soundtrack also awaits them.
Who composed it? Chance Thomas is the composer behind Lord of the Rings Online. For the 1998 release Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire, he created one of the first live orchestral scores for a video game.
Final Fantasy XIV – Dragonsong
This is about: Dragonsong revolves around the relationship of two characters. It is disputed within the community exactly who they are. One theory suggests the Elezen Shiva from Ishgard and the dragon Hraesvalgr, who fell in love with each other.
To be eternally connected, Shiva asked the dragon to be consumed by him. In doing so, their souls would be forever together. For this reason, Hraesvalgr did not participate in the later Dragon Wars against Ishgard.
This is where it plays: Throughout the campaign, the player convinces the dragon to help Ishgard. Hraesvalgr then turns against his brother Nidhogg, the driving force behind the Dragon Wars. After Nidhogg defeats Hraesvalgr in “Eye to Eye with Nidhogg”, the song plays.
Who composed it? Nobuo Uematsu is responsible for the Final Fantasy series, who has also performed in Germany with his own band. He personally requested Susan Calloway as the singer for Dragonsong.
World of Warcraft – Nightsong
This is about: Nightsong is sung in Darnassian, the mother tongue of the night elves. This makes the translation and understanding of the song more difficult and speculative. Nightsong seems to honor the glory of Azshara and that Elune is always with them.
Queen Azshara ruled over the elves thousands of years ago, until she was corrupted and became the queen of the Naga. Elune is the goddess of the moon, from the perspective of the night elves, she protects all living beings and uses her calming influence to avoid conflicts between them.
This is where it plays: Nightsong plays at various locations, particularly in places affecting the night elves, such as the Ashenvale. The song is already several years old, but also appears in World of Warcraft: Legion. In Val’sharah, it plays during a later encounter at the Temple of Elune.
Who composed it? Responsible is Neal Acree, who has composed soundtracks for all Blizzard games. The same goes for the singer Laurie Ann Haus, who sang not only for World of Warcraft but also for Starcraft 2.
Listen here to the wonderful soundtrack from WoW: Battle for Azeroth
