Shadow Of The Colossus Listening Analysis

Analysis Essay by Michael Justice For my analysis I will be talking about a piece called A Violent Encounter composed by Kow Otani. This piece of music is actually apart of the official soundtrack for a game called Shadow of the Colossus. This is an orchestral piece with some vocal accompaniment in the form of a choir. I chose this piece not only because I like it so much, but also because I believe it is such a great example of how such amazing music can be apart of a great interactive experience. As well not only being apart of but truly helping to shape and transform it into something much greater. The first thing I would like to talk about is the overall sense of urgency and danger you get from this piece as a whole. The tempo throughout the entire piece is rather fast paced but especially at the start it seems to open very quickly. The piece is also relatively loud throughout which adds to this feeling of urgency. In a few spots the choir seems to get a bit of the spotlight. These are some of my favorite parts. More specifically towards the end the choir becomes more prominent and in a sort of call and response the horns answer. The choir overall was a very nice touch I think because it seems to add the feeling of a grandiose battle being waged. The tone color of the piece is great. There are so many different instruments being played as well as the choir coming in at different parts. Even though there are so …show more content…
I also believe the musical score for the game is one of the biggest contributing factors for its huge success. The music helps to really reinforce what is happening in this world and helps to immerse the player. This game and the soundtrack in it is very inspiring and a great example of how video games can be more than a mindless hobby. In my opinion this is one of the best if not the best gaming soundtrack that has ever been