God, I would have never expected this:


Not so hidden, but hey, Mario Party has good music:

edit: oh and duh, how'd I forget:

Jeremy Soule:

He started on the SNES with Secret of Evermore, which has an astoundingly minimal soundtrack in the sense that everything is kind of atmospheric and melancholy and the melodies themselves, while strong and descriptive, do nothing to intrude; rather, they slowly invite you in with its tone and atmosphere. This trait is shared with his Elder Scrolls soundtracks, although those teeter rather close to film-score tropes.

This is the exact opposite of Castlevania: Lords of Shadows soundtrack, which has melody existing purely as an excuse for texture.









Koichi Sugiyama:
Seconding Dr.Slouch's post here. Sugiyama is a little over 80 years old, and embodied within not only his world-view but also his music is a sense of simple yearning, of a nostalgic view of yesteryear; a charming sense of homey-ness and feeling. His work is a perfect fit for Dragon Quest.

His work on the NES and SNES is just as strong as his orchestrated work.

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Motoi Sakuraba:

His work is usually phoned in and not particularly spectacular, most notably in the tales series, but every now and then he hits a stride or a certain kind of feeling and produces something that is just wonderful.

Non-Natsume Stuff: