Rhythm Encounter 127 - Music of the Year 2023

It’s finally time to celebrate the music of the (last) year! As you know by now, a great deal of incredible games released in 2023, and with them, many notable soundtracks. Our panel today brought some of their favorite songs of 2023, featuring music from some Square Enix heavy hitters to some lovely indie titles and others in between.

As usual for Music of the Year, this episode is longer than usual, as each of us picked one more song than usual, giving us a total of 12, plus two special bonus tracks from Rhythm Encounter’s co-founders. It still isn’t enough to cover it all, but we packed in as much musical greatness as possible! What are some of your favorite songs and soundtracks from 2023?

Featuring: Mike Salbato, Hilary Andreff, Michael Sollosi, Patrick Gann; Edited by Jono Logan

Tracklist

Pat’s Picks

0:05:05 – Toto’haha (Yasunori Nishiki) – Octopath Traveler II
0:08:38 – The Apotheosis (Brandon Boone) – Slay the Princess
0:11:21 – Celestial (Toby Fox Remix) (comp Ed Sheeran, arr Toby Fox) – Pokémon Scarlet & Violet – The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC

Mike Salbato’s Picks

0:38:00 – Dedicated to Moonlight (Masayoshi Soken) – Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
0:43:44 – World Map (Reo Uratani) – Meg’s Monster
0:45:53 – Colgera Battle (Manaka Kataoka, Maasa Miyoshi, Masato Ohashi, Tsukasa Usui) – The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Bonus Track 1: Stephen Meyerink

1:11:33 – Normal Battle I (Yasunori Nishiki) – Octopath Traveler II

Michael Sollosi’s Picks

1:17:30 – Preserved Realm (D’Anthoni Wooten) – Dave the Diver
1:20:56 – Ascension (Masayoshi Soken) – Final Fantasy XVI
1:25:04 – Mr. Top Player (Shigeyuki Kameda) – Street Fighter 6

Hilary’s Picks

1:48:14 – The Way I See (Andrew Jeremy) – Coffee Talk Episode 2 – Hibiscus and Butterfly
1:54:46 – Down by the River (Borislav Slavov) – Baldur’s Gate III
1:57:05 – Lux Tizer (Norihiko Yamanuki) – The 7th Saga Soundtrack Composer’s Edition

Bonus Track 2: Derek Heemsbergen

2:33:17 – Main Theme (Tsutomu Narita?) – Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

Album Links

The 7th Saga Soundtrack Composer’s Edition

Baldur’s Gate III Original Soundtrack

Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus and Butterfly OST

Dave the Diver Original Soundtrack

Endwalker: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack

Final Fantasy XVI Original Soundtrack

Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising

YouTube Playlist (Unofficial)

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

YouTube Playlist (Unofficial)

Meg’s Monster (Original Soundtrack)

Octopath Traveler II Original Soundtrack

Nintendo Switch Pokémon Scarlet・Violet + The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Super Music Collection

Slay the Princess Original Soundtrack

Our Review
VGMdb
Bandcamp
iTunes Store / Apple Music – Part One, Part Two
Spotify
YouTube Playlist (Official) – Part One, Part Two

Street Fighter 6 Original Soundtrack

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Rhythm Encounter 127 – Music of the Year 2023