Plants vs. Zombies Game Soundtrack Review (Part 1)
So the first soundtrack I'm going to talk about, is from one of my all time favourite games - Plants vs. Zombies!
If you've ever played a Tower Defense game (you build defensive structures and try to stop the approaching enemies from reaching the 'other side' or 'end of the map', etc), in PVZ, the gist of the game is you're pretty much defending your house against a horde of Zombies who want to eat your brains :P And what better way to defend your house than with some unique and awesome Plants!
You can find more info out about the game by watching this video ^_^
Anyways, on to the awesome music of Plants vs. Zombies! (Will be writing this review in stages, so stay tuned for the next bits!)
Laura Shigihara is the composer to this addictive game, and she's made the soundtrack both in AND out of this game enjoyable to listen to - which most game soundtracks find hard to pull off.
The Official Plants vs. Zombies Game Soundtrack, which was released in November 2010, is probably one of the best, and most complete soundtracks I've ever listened to (not an exaggeration).
You know how when you buy a great TV / movie / game soundtrack, and its missing the track you actually loved when you watched or played that movie or game, and you feel extremely disappointed? Well, this soundtrack has everything AND more!
Not only does it have the in-game music for when you're either tending to your Zen Garden, in the Main Menu, or battling the Zombies on your Roof, it also has the ORIGINAL 'remastered' version of the songs, since the music that you hear in-game had to be compressed and most of the instruments left out, which is definitely a shame.
The soundtrack itself has 29 tracks, each giving their own melody and catch-i-ness (not sure if that's a word hehe :P)
So without further ado (always wanted to say that), here are all 29 tracks (10 tracks will be covered in Part 1), with my opinion on each :)
(And just a heads up, Tracks 2-14 are the ORIGINAL uncompressed versions of the music, with Tracks 18-29 the in-game versions. Also the music in both versions slightly differ from one another too, but are still basically the same)
Track 1: Crazy Dave's Greeting - Basically the 'Intro' to the whole soundtrack, this track has Crazy Dave (your crazy neighbour in PVZ), saying Hi, and saying how awesome the tracks that follow will be - least that's what I reckon he's saying! :P
The music you hear in the background is from whenever the Dancing / Disco Zombie in-game shows up, complete with backup dancers!
Track 2: Crazy Dave (Intro Theme) - This is the music you hear whenever you get to the Main Menu. Don't be alarmed when you first start to listen to this track, that's not your headphones starting to expire hehe. Laura has stated that she intended to put the old-sounding record 'pops' into the track itself. A very boppy and relaxing track to listen to overall as well!
Track 3: Choose Your Seeds - Before you fight the Zombie horde, you are asked, or before you're automatically put into the game proper (depending on how many Plants you have collected throughout the game), to choose which Plants you'd like to have to defeat the Zombies. This music is short, but definitely conveys that this is the calm before the storm.
Track 4: Grasswalk - You can hear this track in the 'Day' stages of the game. The music starts off with an almost Plant-like melody, before giving way to the Undead horde starting to creep into the scene. The music then takes off as the Plants begin a valiant attempt to defeat the Zombies.
Track 5: Loonboon - This track relates very well to one of the PVZ mini-games, in which the Zombies have mysteriously shrunk down (the PVZ lore suggests Dr. Zomboss - the boss of all the Zombies, had a hand in this - more on him later), and are therefore quicker to reach your house, though take way more damage from Plants than if they were full-sized. The quickness to this track is meant to get you hyped up and prepared in the rapid defense of your house, as you struggle to place Plants down on your lawn before getting overrun!
Track 6: Moongrains - Yes, 'Day' can turn to 'Night' in this game, and 'Moongrains' is the track that accompanies it when the sun goes down, you no longer have access to free Sun, and must rely on your mushrooms (which incidentally fall asleep during the day :P) Like 'Grasswalk', the Plant-themed music can still be heard, but the Zombies have centre stage in this track, not to mention the track overall has a dreamy feeling to it, as nighttime is when most people sleep.
The track also picks up with some thudding drums as more Zombies join the fray around midway through this song too.
Track 7: Zen Garden - Need a break from all that Zombie-destroying? After you get far enough into the 'Adventure' mode of the game (aka the PVZ Campaign of sorts), you get access to your very own Zen Garden, where you can tend to your pot Plants you've picked up in-game. You can also water and fertilize them, play music to them, and more :D 'Zen Garden' gives you a relaxing melody to listen to, away from the other unique tracks such as 'Grasswalk' or 'Loonboon'.
Track 8: Watery Graves (slow) - Well, I guess they don't call it a backyard for nothing hey? ^_^ And what's more, your house has its very own 'Pool', in which not only can the Zombies wade through it (Zombies with seaweed on their head is hilarious! XD), they can also still walk on the lawn on both sides of the pool!
As stated, this is the Slow version of the 'Pool' levels you encounter in Plants vs. Zombies. You can almost feel the sun on your face as you relax in the Pool while listening to this track, before the Zombies cause a ruckus and ruin your sun tan, or sunburn in my case :P
Track 9: Water Graves (fast) - Pretty much exactly like the slow version, but has been ramped up in speed, with a lot of new instruments joining the fray to echo this :)
Track 10: Ultimate Battle - Must say, this has to be one of my favourite tracks in the game. At the end of each stage ('Day, 'Night', 'Pool', etc), the Zombies rally together and mount a final, desperate attack against your house to steal your brains. Unlike the earlier levels before the end of each stage, you are not allowed to pick any Plants in defense of your house, and are instead given random Plants on a conveyor belt to use against the Zombies - use each one wisely! It could mean the difference between defeating the Zombie horde or getting your Brains eaten!
'Ultimate Battle' is just that, taking out all the stops in both Plant and Zombie melodies, releasing each teams' full destructive potential. The high point to this track speaks of both sides giving it all they've got in order to defeat one another.
Well, this concludes Part 1 of the Plants vs. Zombies Game Soundtrack review! Hope you enjoyed reading this, and stay tuned for Part 2! ^_^
If you are interested in all the other music that Laura has composed - and I would definitely check it out! - here are some links to her various Internet sites:-
You can also buy the Plants vs. Zombies Soundtrack from Laura's Bandcamp Store as well, and I'd highly recommend it for its creative vibe and personality! :)
Also, its SUPER cheap - all 29 tracks for 4 bucks! :D
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