MKs 1 - 4 Soundtracks by Dan Forden now available on all major digital platforms

[Art Lean]

Just a quick heads-up if anyone's interested, that the first four game soundtracks composed by Dan Forden have gone up recently on all major streaming and digital services like Amazon and iTunes. Not sure when they went up, they're just generically listed as "(c) 2021 Warner Bros" but it's obviously rather recently, anyway it's nice that they're being officially preserved and made widely available.

 

[GrandMasterson]

God I wish modern MK games had good music. I didn't like MKX's ost but credit where credit is due, at least it was distinct enough that I remember quite a few of the tracks years after playing it. MK11's music is so forgettable that I can't hear a single track in my head besides the menu music. It's just this bland ambient orchestral white noise that adds nothing to the tension of the fight; in fact I would argue that it takes away from it because it's so boring. Please come back to composing, Forden.

 

[Art Lean]

Seriously, I HATE MK11's menu music at this stage and I can't stand how it plays over EVERYTHING.

Main menu? That music.
Settings menu? That music.
Character select screen? That music.
Towers of Time? That music.
Kombat League? That goddamn motherfucking same FUCKING music.

It would be fine as a piece of background music to hear on occasion but it plays over every single screen in an endless loop and I've grown to utterly detest it... and yet I still can't even remember it. I now honestly play MK11 with the sound off, which is a tragedy because I adore my Kronika announcer. But after 2 years I can't take that menu music anymore.

And as for the arena themes? Can't remember any of them. Not one. And yet I could listen to this forever and never get bored (and yes I'm going to be a heretic and state the neutered SNES version was the ultimate rendition of this track, sounded mean as shit but equally as mystical):

What happened to Forden, is there a reason he isn't involved properly anymore?

The limitations of the 16bit and arcade era made for really really wonderful memorable themes, because they had to make something magical you'll remember forever that lasted one minute on loop with minimal instrumentation that was unique and interesting. I can remember every track from MKs 1-3, as well as MK4's wonderful character select theme, without even thinking about it. MK9 proved just how wonderful those themes were when updated for the modern era (and holy hell Shang Tsung's Gardens was an awesome new addition, best new MK arena theme since the first 4 games). They're now so orchestrated and over-developed they lack that magical simplicity the original themes had.

I'd far rather have even Jonathan Sloate and his cheap guitar techno and keyboard trumpets (he scored The Journey Begins, Defenders of the Realm and Conquest, as well as co-wrote Juno Reactor's 'The Journey Kontinues' from the MK: More Kombat compilation) as he at least could make things that were memorable with a nice ear for (tinny) mystical melodies, than whoever the hell the guy is who's making the current music.

Don't know if you're a grime fan, but just to prove how memorable Dan Forden's themes were, here's Flowdan's 'Level' which is entirely built upon MK3's Church theme (no one's going to be writing any songs based upon 'Sea of Blood' or 'Black Market Alley' anytime soon):

 

[Kiss the Missile]

God I wish modern MK games had good music. I didn't like MKX's ost but credit where credit is due, at least it was distinct enough that I remember quite a few of the tracks years after playing it. MK11's music is so forgettable that I can't hear a single track in my head besides the menu music. It's just this bland ambient orchestral white noise that adds nothing to the tension of the fight; in fact I would argue that it takes away from it because it's so boring. Please come back to composing, Forden.

Thats how I felt about MKX's music. That shit was dreadful. MK9 had some good ones, but some of those remixes were god awful. MK11's main menu music is a fucking sin. Character select screens are some of the best tracks in any fighting games. They're iconic. But MK11 can be lined up to where the character select screen is completely silent because its "building tension" or some shit. Its horrible.

The stage music I feel is leagues better than most other MK games. Shang Tsung's Ruins is a top 5 track in all of MK imo

Thats a great song. Its nice to hear an Eastern themed song in a game about an ancient Martial Arts fighting tournament.

 

[kantboy-2]

To me Cyber Lin Kuei Assembly is the best track in MK11.

Much better music than MKX, to me, at least.