This Week Is Epic Soundtracks Week

Remember the week that was maps week? The week in September devoted to swell maps from games and elsewhere? It was a good week! Yeah. Well, Endless Mode is about to have itself another good week, and it starts today.  Our latest theme week is all about epic soundtracks and the role music plays in games, anime, theme parks, and whatever the hell else we write about here. Music doesn’t just add to a game or movie or ride; it’s a vital, integral component, as important as any other part of the package, and inseparable from its artistic goals and merit. And we’re going to write about that, all week long, on this, our official Epic Soundtracks Week.

(Yes, we’re sticking with the Swell Maps references. Epic Soundtracks, aka Kevin Godfrey, formed that band with his brother Nikki Sudden in 1972, and played drums and piano on the two albums they released at the end of that decade. He went on to make a string of gorgeous, heartbreaking albums in the ‘90s, before dying far too young in 1997. Thank you, Kevin, for picking a fake name that could so easily be appropriated by a games [and anime (and theme parks)] website.)

Here’s what you can expect this week: musician and Metroid expert Maddy Myers explores that game’s legendary soundscapes and how they reinforce its themes. Willa Rowe examines how the first Life Is Strange, whose final installment was released exactly 10 years ago today, tapped into the “indie” trend from film and TV soundtracks and made it a core part of the game’s identity. Marc Normandin argues that the music to the Ace Attorney series intentionally draws from action and fighting game motifs to underscore the smash mouth drama of the courtroom. Elijah Gonzalez looks at anime theme songs, I talk to the design lead on Disney’s Country Bear Musical Jamboree about the 2024 show’s soundtrack, and yeah, there’ll be some pinball stuff, too. And there might be some more unexpected surprises throughout the week—even for me, the guy who edits all this stuff. 

I used to be more qualified to write about music than games. Music was the main thing I professionally wrote about, for almost a complete decade, before somehow transitioning to games above everything else. Even now, music is dearer to my heart and a more constant presence in my life than games—which, yeah, sure, that second one might only be true at this point because games can’t be an ever-present background thing, something you enjoy when you’re also driving or reading or drinking at a bar the way music can be. But the two absolutely go hand-in-hand, and understanding music can only deepen your understanding and appreciation of video games, and so much other art that also depends on music. And with Epic Soundtracks Week Endless Mode will hopefully help you better understand and appreciate the power music holds in all the various arts and mediums we write about. (And there are enough of us writing for this site who play music that we could have an official Endless Mode band—if every single one of us didn’t live in a different town, that is.)