Thread 49945052

Post tracks you think are underappreciated or that you just like.
It doesn't get brought up as such much but I think UFO Romance in the Night Sky is the perfect Extra Stage theme. Light, fun, and the build up is just done so expertly. The Shining Law of the Strong Eating the Weak is also incredibly underrated as far as Extra themes go, one of the best ZUN has ever written and nobody talks about it.

I personally like Legend of the Great Gods

>>49945052 (OP)
I feel that SoEW OST in general is greatly underrated.
No other game in the series has managed to invoke the same feeling I get while playing stage 4.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dTBY4kFeMU
>>49945096
It's fine, but much like most of TD's soundtrack it's kinda forgettable.

>>49945128
>It's fine, but much like most of TD's soundtrack it's kinda forgettable.
There are a few TD songs I really like, the stage 1 theme is one of the stronger ones in the series and Old Yuanxian is one of my favorite stage 4 boss themes. Of course Futatsuiwa of Sado is also a fantastic extra boss theme.
You also have to respect the commitment to making sure almost every song in the game worked with the trance gimmick.

>>49945158
>the stage 1 theme is one of the stronger ones in the series
It is one of the better 1 stage themes that's for sure, though I personally prefer others, like Hakurei eastern wind or Dark blowhole.
>Futatsuiwa of Sado is also a fantastic extra boss theme
It's not bad, but I feel that it just stays in one spot musically, I doesn't move as much as the other EX themes.
>You also have to respect the commitment to making sure almost every song in the game worked with the trance gimmick
You can say a lot of things about the TD soundtrack, but one thing you can't say is that it's not unique, and it fits the game atmosphere perfectly.
In general, TD is very aesthetically unique game.

I like Lost River a lot.

I've seen a bunch of anons recently say that UDoALG's soundtrack was wholly bad, but I liked ZUN's experiments with new kinds of instruments he hasn't used before on Tiny Shangri-La and Kingdom of Nothingness.

>>49945571
And those are the only two songs worth mentioning...

>>49945052 (OP)
i love ellen & her theme Tabula rasa ～ 空白少女! Rigid Paradise is a favorite for me too.
out of th20, Fantastic Drift is probably my favorite track, i like the melody but the mixing really has been a bit bad lately
>>49945571
i'm still pretty upset that instead of getting something cool like flower mixes (animal mix?) for At The End of Spring and Who Done It, we just got straight downgrades

>>49945601
PoDD has, in general underrated OST, my favorite is either maniacal princess(kotohime) or 夢幻遊戯~dream war(rikako).
By the way, recently I've realized that some PC98 songs(like tabula rasa) use the motif from iris.

>>49945052 (OP)
Impeccable taste.

Something I've always wished people talked more about is the Spirit Trances in Touhou TD. I especially like the Spirit Trance version of Ghost Lead, it’s got some really cool drumming in it.

>>49945052 (OP)
I don't think anything is underrated in 6-8 so let me jump straight to PoFV and continue from there.

PoFV: The Mound Where the Flowers Reflect (Pre-Battle Conversation theme)
Genuinely doesn't even sound like ZUN-composed music at times. This is a song that doesn't really need remixes as it's amazing enough as it is, though granted it is a relatively simple melody taken the title theme, but the composition is magic and unlike anything ZUN has implemented into gameplay sections of touhou.

MoF: Sealed Gods (Title screen theme)
Oddly nostalgic, song perfectly encapsulates MoF atmosphere and the bit with the rain and rain droplet sounds elevates it further.

SWR: Flawless as Clothing of the Celestials (Tenshi pre-battle theme)
Perhaps the most majestic song in the touhou franchise.

SA: The Earth Spirits' Homecoming (Ending theme)
Genuinely one of the best songs on the soundtrack, a wonderful symphony of melodies and instruments that create the perfect ending theme for the game.

UFO: Sky Ruin (Stage 3 Theme)
Despite all the great stage themes in this game, this is the one stage theme that has probably increased my love for it over the years. It's a perfect song for exploring a giant flying treasure ship, and I think it genuinely is another case of Chinese Tea where the stage theme is better than the boss theme.

UNL: The Eternal Steam Engine (Staff roll theme)
So happy, uplifting, cute and energetic. Love the irish folk sounds!

DS: Bell of Avīci ~ Infinite Nightmare (Photo Theme 4)
It's wonderfully melancholic and bittersweet, very understated too for a song called Infinite Nightmare.

GFW: Great Fairy Wars ~ Fairy Wars (Three Fairies of Light's theme)
I don't know if this is underrated and overlooked, but I found the composition of this song to be so interesting and complex. It has a bit of everything thrown in and it oddly works so well!

TD: The Hall of Dreams' Great Mausoleum (Stage 5 theme)
Used to dislike this theme because of how mellow it was, but nowadays it's so incredibly elegant and atmospheric to me. I feel like more and more these type of stage themes starts to appear post-TD and some might not like it, but I certainly do.

HM: Futatsuiwa from Gensokyo (Mamizou's theme)
I think this arrangement of Mamizou's theme hits harder than the version from TD.

DDC: Illusionary Joururi (Benben & Yatsuhashi theme)
Now THIS is how you do a proper music poltergeist theme RIGHT cough cough Phantom Ensemble cough cough.

ISC: Raise the Signal Fire of Cheating (Title/Menu Theme)
It's a good menu theme sure, but I especially love that one bubbly electronic bit that comes on later in the song. I just like it when ZUN experiments a little with different instruments, this is one of those moments!

LoLK: Unforgettable, the Nostalgic Greenery (Stage 1 theme)
I don't think ZUN has ever gone this hard on a stage 1 theme. Goddamn is it intense, and I love the pounding sounds especially.

HSiFS: The Magic Straw-Hat Jizo (Narumi's theme)
There are several underrated songs from HSiFS. Just candy to my ears, I love the melodies and I love how kind of rough and powerful it is, especially for a character like Narumi. Unpopular opinion, but I love the electric guitars here, especially their contrast to the ZUNpets.

WBaWC: Tortoise Dragon ~ Fortune and Misfortune (Yachie's theme)
This entire soundtrack is underappreciated and overlooked, and I could've chosen several tracks. But Yachie's theme is seriously slept on for being as good as it is, and I'd go as far as to say it's better than Idolatrize World. I love how creepy, elegant and majestic it is, and I love how electronic it is as someone who looooves electronic music. The choir is just the cherry on top. Genuinely one of the best songs in the entire franchise.

UM: Ore from the Age of the Gods (Misumaru's theme)
Another banger modern touhou stage 4 boss theme that gets overlooked because... whatever reason. The song has genuine final boss theme vibes and arguably she is the most difficult boss in the game even in stage 4, so it kind of fits.

UDoALG: The Path to Yomi Where None Turn Back (Hisami's theme)
Hated this from first listen, ended up being my favorite from the whole soundtrack. When you really listen and take apart all the instruments and melodies, it is such a fascinating, complex song. ZUN's description for the song says " A song where the strange tempo stubbornly pushes you from behind " and I 100% understand that!

RUUZU REIN

>>49945686
I think in PoDD's music room, ZUN mentions Tabula Rasa was based on an existing track of his made before Touhou and I'm fairly certain one of the HRtP stage themes was based on that same theme too. But yeah, PoDD's music is great and weirdly melancholic fot such a silly game. Maple Dream might be my favorite theme in the series.

I'm gonna control myself and just post one CD track and one game track:

Something clicked in ZUN's head that made him want to go experimental with his music after 100th Black Market, especially with the percussion, and I'm here for it. The drums here sound like someone banging on an oil and I can't get enough of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ06ZzUPHgo

LoLK has a nice stage 2 theme. Feels arcadey yet serious and heroic, like we're already getting in the thick of things this early in the game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tld58fbcxoQ

>>49949669
Didn't love Taboo Japan Disentanglement as a whole but the song you posted definitely the best one from the album. The music CDs though in general have some of ZUN's best music he has produced.

>>49949669
>Something clicked in ZUN's head that made him want to go experimental with his music after 100th Black Market
I don't think anything clicked in zun's head. I'm pretty sure he was just drunk out of his mind, trying to mash the keyboard for some noises.

The ZUNpets are dead because Windows 11 isn't compatible with the audio drives. The support ended back in Windows 7 in 2015 but it was still fully compatible with Windows 10.

>>49949779
Are the trumpets really that OS reliant? I've never really learned too much about ZUN's creative process and the limitations they might have. Outside of the dork supposedly losing the source code to things more than once, but that's beyond the point of music.

>>49949779
What are you talking about anon? Edirol SD-90 is compatible with Windows 11.

>>49949853
ZUN talked about it during the popularity poll stream

>>49949853
The last drivers released were for windows 8.

>>49949860
Sure hope he's not on the problematic drive corrupting update for 11.

>>49945052 (OP)
the Prismriver Sisters them has been my favorite ever since i played PCB. I know that PCB is one of the more popular game of the series but i think that people usually forget about the Prismriver Sisters(and Letty too, but even i forgot how her theme sounds like lol).

I also really like this video too, this ojisan is great:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CU7o9XZb58

>>49949589
>SWR: Flawless as Clothing of the Celestials (Tenshi pre-battle theme)
>Perhaps the most majestic song in the touhou franchise.
Funny enough this isn't a ZUN track, it's U2.
This one and variants of IaMP's main theme (Memory of Foregathering Dream, Broken Moon...etc.) are incredibly good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP5_Q6qJg6s

>>49945052 (OP)
I know figthans OST tend to get glossed over because ZUN only contributes themes for the new characters but IaMP's ost is genuinely great and it makes me really sad people don't talk more about it, guess it's because it's one of those games people always skip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RXBTFN3QNM
>>49945571
I like grape's theme it sounds really pretty