Video Games Live: Level 2

As some of you may know, videogame music has long been an interest of mine. I have always found it fascinating that, in spite of the meager and primitive resources available to these composers in the early days of games, many sound designers managed to create complex and memorable songs via the available computerized blips. In fact, while the retrospective appeal of their works may be largely attributable to nostalgia, there is something to be said for the forced melodic qualities induced by the technological constraints of the time. That is, it resulted in a wholly unique style of music which eventually grew into the robust—yet often overlooked—art that it is today.

Video Games Live: Level 2 is a celebration of twenty-five years of game music, featuring live orchestral renditions of timeless mainstays ranging from the very most basic (arcade, Atari, and NES classics) to the most modern and complex. There is a healthy balance of new and old, showcasing both sides of the stylistic coin: the melodic, rhythmic method of the early days, and the more homogenized (but no less captivating in many cases) cinematic approach of recent years. Regardless of your focus and preference, there is something here to please you.

Popularizing a niche

Spearheaded by videogame composers Tommy Tallarico and Jack Wall, Video Games Live has become the face of live orchestral game music in America (and it’s gone international now, too). It’s much like the videogame concerts which have taken place over the past two decades in Japan already, except leveraging a much more popularized and “rock concert” feel. Although the focus is the music, there is enough supplemental eye candy (by way of synchronized lights and lasers and footage from the affiliated games) and showmanship to appeal to a wide audience. The hope is that, as a result, more people—children and adults—will come to appreciate the intricacy and appeal of videogame music and the (predominantly) classical and jazz bedrock of the art.

That isn’t to say that those two genres exclusively apply here, however; Tommy wields a guitar during at least a few of the songs, and the rock/symphony fusion of these selections almost resembles something you might find on Metallica’s S&M album. Another of the songs (Sweet Emotion) is actually borrowed from Aerosmith, whose lead singer is kin to Tommy. Even the classical tunes range from slow and cinematic to upbeat and rhythmic, so there’s nary a dull moment to be had throughout the performance.

Here’s the full set list of what’s included (along with individual songs where I recognized them):

• Classic Arcade Medley (Featuring Pong, Dragon’s Lair, Tetris, and more)

• Halo (Halo Theme: Mjolnir Mix, Ghosts of Reach, Finish the Fight)

• Civilization IV (Baba Yetu)

• Starcraft II (Wings of Liberty Theme)

• Sonic the Hedgehog (Green Hill Zone, Labyrinth Zone, Marble Zone, Star Light Zone, Scrap Brain Zone, Boss Theme, Spring Yard Zone, Title Theme)

• Advent Rising

• Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Sweet Emotion)

• Warcraft Montage (The Awakening, The Warning, Eternity’s End, Legends of Azeroth, Seasons of War, A Call to Arms)

• Chrono Cross (Time’s Scar)

• Mass Effect

• Megaman (Mega Man 2 Title Theme, Mega Man 3 Title Theme, Mega Man 2 Wily Castle 1)

• Myst

• The Legend of Zelda (Koichi Sugiyama’s Orchestral Game Concert arrangement)

• Super Mario Bros. (adaptation of Koichi Sugiyama’s Orchestral Game Concert arrangement)

• God of War (Revenge and Redemption)

• World of Warcraft (Lament of the Highborne)

• Castlevania (Beginning, Wicked Child, Vampire Killer, Symphony of the Night)

In addition to all of that, you also get Martin Leung, the now-famous “video game pianist”, playing his renditions of the NES Tetris theme, Super Mario Bros. (blindfolded), and my personal favorite, the Super Mario World “Athletic” theme. During the Guitar Hero segment, a kid plays along with the music (on Expert) live in an attempt to reach 200,000 points in front of the audience. And finally, there’s even a segment featuring the father of the videogame system, Ralph Baer, playing a young boy from the audience in a match of his ping-pong game.

While nearly all songs feature the full orchestra, many others also leverage the choir or soloists as the centerpieces of the performance, and Tommy’s guitar part receives frequent emphasis also. As the orchestra plays, we’re treated to dynamic sweeping shots of the musicians playing their parts, some wide-angle, and some close-up and personal. Meanwhile, direct-feed versions of the video footage from the massive screen in the background are also woven throughout, loosely coordinated with the music.

All in all, it’s a riveting and highly entertaining event, with a welcomed variety of styles and moods decorating the set list. The song selection is generally very good—though it is a bit disappointing that the full Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross medley and perhaps some new arrangements of The Legend of Zelda and Super Mario Bros. didn’t make the cut (you will recognize the included renditions from Koichi Sugiyama’s Orchestral Game Concert venture years back).

Accompaniment versus melody

Speaking from a purely musical perspective, some of the more recent compositions exhibit a sense of refinement in comparison to their ancient brethren, but separated from their intended games, both provide a different sort of standalone appeal. The melodic qualities of the older tunes truly stand apart from the moodier, more ambient approach of some of modern game music. Much of the “new” material (such as Halo and Advent Rising), in other words, could be likened to the typical modern action film soundtrack, with heavy emphasis on choir and brass, and a stronger predisposition toward the background of the action as opposed to the foreground or subject (a goal of providing a suitable accompaniment rather than a standalone piece). This isn’t to take anything away from their brilliance, but apart from their respective packages, they’re slightly less memorable.

Certainly this is a result of the vastly more versatile range of options available to modern game composers, as technology has provided them with tools to produce gripping accompaniments without needing to resort to clever manipulation of sine waves or intricately-woven layers of catchy rhythms and motives. Instead, they are able to rely on the sheer beauty of a chord played by a particular instrument or the effect of a rich orchestral presence or choir, exempting them from the need for a strong melody. This represents a shift in the fundamental role of a game’s soundtrack toward that of a film—and it stands in sharp contrast to what defined early game music as a genre. In concert, the roles are reversed: music is the subject and the game itself is relegated to the role of accompaniment—a shift that makes for a difficult adaptation of some of these pieces.

To that end, although it’s easy to criticize them for having by now worn out their welcome, the Orchestral Game Concert arrangements possess a different sort of style from the vast majority of the concert. The other “old” melodies compare, but Sugiyama’s song selection and arrangement of these pieces is unique and memorable. It would have been nice to hear more of that sort of sheer melodic beauty –more Sugiyama and Kondo and Mitsuda—throughout the course of the show.

Nevertheless, what’s here is quite strong, and fairly lengthy: the concert in full, including the brief interludes and supplemental segments, lasts for 1 hour and 39 minutes. Even if you find some of the pieces less engaging than others, there is a good chance that you will appreciate much of what Tommy and Jack have arranged.

Bonus Features

There’s a wealth of bonus features included on the DVD and Blu-ray (both discs have identical content apart from HD video and DTS-HD audio on the Blu-ray version). Here’s what you get:

• Interviews:

  • Tommy Tallarico (15:25)

  • Ralph Baer (5:30)

  • Jamie Lee Curtis (7:23)

  • Russell Brower (8:19)

  • Gerard Marino (8:14)

  • Christopher Tin (3:46)

  • Martin Leung (2:13)

  • Jason Hayes (6:18)

• Behind the Scenes

  • Tommy’s Guitar

  • Joystick Podium

  • Behind the Scenes Tour (of the set) (9:42)

  • Composers Party for Tommy in Japan (13:14)

• Trailers and Game Making

  • Video Games Live 2010 Trailer

  • Tetris 25^th Anniversary (3:42) – A short segment featuring an interview with Alexey Pajitnov (Tetris inventor) about the history of Tetris, as well as some pretty terrible dialogue with random passers-by

  • The Making of Dragon’s Lair (5:14) – A conversation with Don Bluth, Rick Dyer, and Gary Goldman

  • Dragon’s Lair attract screen (the original Starcom game intro!)

  • Five game trailers

  • A rather amusing (disturbing?) music video

• Commentary track with Tommy Tallarico – I loved this commentary track, and I’m rarely one to sit through an entire commentary. Tommy provides great insight with humor and passion imbuing his conversation.

In total, as championed by the back of the Blu-ray case, that’s over 3 hours of bonus material (counting the commentary track, of course). Most of it’s worth a viewing—especially the interviews, the Dragon’s Lair segment… and my favorite of them all, the Composers Party for Tommy in Japan. The latter is a rough walkthrough of a party, hosted by Tommy, where we’re introduced to over a dozen of the most prolific Japanese game composers alive. If you’re into game music at all, you will eat this up.