Collecting Soundtracks for Games You Don't Own

[ScatterTrains]

This is a question that has been bouncing around in my head for a while. How many other people out there who collect game soundtracks have one, or even more than one soundtrack for games you don't own?

Personally, I have three different examples of this:

Final Fantasy III - I own the soundtrack for the Famicom version, but I don't own any versions of this game at the moment. I did have the DS remake for a few years but never even got through the "intro dungeon" area. I recently gave it away to somebody I know from an online game because it was cart only. I won't get rid of the soundtrack because I do love the Final Fantasy series overall and like having the complete set of I-IX soundtracks on my shelf. Otherwise I'm not too impressed.

Einhander - I meant to pick this up 3 years ago, but never got around to it. I really loved the soundtrack though, and for some reason bought it before I ever got the game. I do want to buy Einhander at some point in the future, but it always gets sidelined. The music just makes me want to play the game more.

Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (PSP remake/port) - I'm a long time fan of the Ogre Battle series, but don't own a PSP. I'd almost buy a PSP just to play an "improved" version, but not quite. I own the game on the Super Famicom and the US PlayStation port but have never managed to get very far into it. I don't own any other Ogre Battle soundtracks and bought this one on a whim. I'll probably buy the game sometime soon since it's down to $20 after little more than six months on the market, just in case I ever get a cheap PSP to play it on. It's good, and the bonus CD with a selection of Super Famicom tracks is a nice addition!

So, anyone else with similar examples in your own collections?

[Aussie2B]

If you hang around big-time soundtrack collectors, you'll find that many have more soundtracks for games that they don't own than games they do, since some are more into game music than playing games at this point. They just follow composers that they like and sample new music however they can.

In general, I like to hear music in-game before I make the decision on if I want to buy the soundtrack. But sometimes, given the composer and my love for him/her, I'll be preemptive and snap up the soundtrack before the game, assuming I'll like the music. I also own plenty of soundtracks where I do own the game but haven't play it yet or listened to the music. And then there are freebies, of course, and other soundtracks I randomly end up with.

[xelement5x]

I'm a bit of a game soundtrack nerd, but normally I sample everything before I purchase a disc since there's such variety even among a single composer. For instance I couldn't stand Hitoshi Sakimoto when he did FF12, but I loved the work he did on Valkyria Chronicles. Others like Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger, Shadow Hearts, Xenogears), seem to keep a really consistent style which is normally really good, but sometimes can be a bit repetitive. Plus, fan remixes are always cool to listen to. OC Remix has enough content to keep me busy for years probably.

Regardless, I can't think of any examples where I have the soundtrack but not the game, but that's normally because I've picked it up after listening to a soundtrack I really like. For example I loved the music from Ar Tonelico, and because of that I decided to pick up the games. GUST has some really good composers, they're probably my favorite group at present.

[calistarwind]

I buy a lot of soundtracks, but really it all started with getting the free soundtracks during preorders (they don't do much of that anymore). I have picked up a game soundtrack or two that were from the same series of games but I only owned the first game.

My overall biggest complaint with game soundtracks that they are giving away currently is the ones that are only available for download. I'm such a collector that I hate not having a physical copy.

[Aussie2B]

My overall biggest complaint with game soundtracks that they are giving away currently is the ones that are only available for download. I'm such a collector that I hate not having a physical copy.

The irony, though, is that most soundtrack collectors just rip the music when they get a soundtrack and then barely ever listen to the music off of the CD, heh. But, yeah, even if you never take it off the shelf, everybody wants that physical copy. I do try to make a habit of using the actual CD now and then myself, though.

[Emperor Megas]

I have a few DDR soundstracks, but I don't own any DDR games. Those are the only ones that I can think of. I would definitely purchase or acquire a soundtrack to a game that I don't own or never played though based on whether I like the music from other games in the series or genre, or I was a fan of the composer. I don't pay much for soundtracks, so it's not a huge deal.

[The 1 2 P]

I've always had soundrtracks to games I don't own simply because you can usually find them really cheap in the wild. Retailers know that games sell for alot but they have no idea what some game soundtracks sell for. A few weeks ago I found a sealed copy of the official Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess soundtrack for $3 at Goodwill. According to ebay completed listings it was selling for $50-60. So thats why I pick up pretty much any video game soundtrack I find. You never know what they are going to be worth and you may even like the music as well.

[Aussie2B]

I wish I could find more game soundtracks in the wild. All I've found so far at thrifts is Parasite Eve II and Blade Dancer. Incidentally, I've yet to play Parasite Eve II and I don't even own Blade Dancer, so I've yet to listen to either soundtrack. Well, I have seen some PC game soundtracks too, but they didn't interest me in the slightest (and when I looked them up, I saw that they were basically worthless).

Granted, I'm more into full-fledged retail soundtracks that tend to only come out in Japan, rather than the "best of" style promos available in the US. Very slim chance I'll ever find a Japanese OST in the wild.