Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings
Iconic Middle Ages
This is the music review of
The Conquerors (2000).
The Vikings, for example, were able to spread fear and terror with their dragon boats and berserkers, while the Carthaginian cataphract cavalry injured surrounding enemies with their trampling damage as they rode past. The Saracen Mamelukes threw their sabres and the Persians led the lumbering and thick-skinned war elephant onto the field. And there was the suicide bomber known from Command & Conquer , called Petard, who, equipped with two powder kegs, had to figure out why he didn't have to pay into the feudal pension fund.
Of all the AoEs, up until the release of Age of Empires IV I had probably spent the most time with this game and its expansion, The Conquerors. Since the game is still actively played today, it can be considered a milestone in video game history - and, in my opinion, rightly so. Even though it has 'Age' in its name (always a difficult thing), Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is timeless. The same applies to its soundtrack.
Let's start with the main theme, which is hidden behind the stupid title Quest for Butter and should ring a bell with pretty much every experienced gamer. The 'Da Daaa, DaDa Da Daaa ... Da Daaa, DaDa Da Daaaaaa' is super-simple and super-catchy. Although it was already played in the intro and other cutscenes in the first AoE , it was subsequently included again in the score of the sequels. As with the first Age of Empires , the siblings David and Stephen Rippy are once again at work, but here they are joined by Kevin McMullan, who would later work on the successful Destiny-series.
For me, the 16-track OST is a cozy, warm nostalgia bath in which I can sink into and let my soul dangle. Unlike contemporary strategy titles, or Age of Empires 1, which actually sounds much more 'aggressive' in parts due to its MIDI compression, the music in part 2 has a relaxed, almost calming soundscape. As it was not customary at the time to use cues to switch between battle and ambient tracks to accompany the battles, there are no sharp breaks between trivial background noise and heroic battle music.
Instead, tracks such as Shamburger, Drizzle [Firelight Smoove Mix] or T Station take us into an almost trance-like state. In these tracks, beats and (medieval) instruments such as glockenspiel, harpsichord and flute complement each other and create a rocking rhythm that almost runs counter to the sometimes hectic mass battles. I Will Beat on Your Behind, which sounds a little like Medieval 2: Total War on Valium, also fits in with this.
This relaxation therapy is contrasted by tracks such as Bass Bag or Rich Corinthian Leather , whose high tempo delights in a rather different way. Stereotypes such as tribal and oriental influences in Machina del Diablo, Ride Lawrence Ride! and Smells Like Crickets, Tastes Like Chicken add a pleasant touch to the medieval mood without falling out of the composition. Only the final track … Where Credit Is Due, which seems to have been borrowed from a Simon & Garfunkel sessions album featuring Jerry Martin (The Sims), actually does this. However, this does not detract from the overall impression. The soundtrack to Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings is iconic.
Nostalgia warning
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Ratings |
---|---|---|---|
01 | Quest for Butter | Stephen Rippy | |
02 | Shamburger | Stephen Rippy | |
03 | I Will Beat on Your Behind | Stephen Rippy | |
04 | Drizzle [Firelight Smoove Mix] | David Rippy; Stephen Rippy | |
05 | Machina del Diablo | Stephen Rippy | |
06 | T Station | Stephen Rippy | |
07 | Bass Bag | Stephen Rippy | |
08 | Ride Lawrence Ride! | Stephen Rippy | |
09 | Smells Like Crickets, Tastes Like Chicken | Stephen Rippy | |
10 | Operation Monkey | Stephen Rippy | |
11 | Tazer | Stephen Rippy | |
12 | Uluzah | Stephen Rippy | |
13 | Carne y Helado | Stephen Rippy | |
14 | Rich Corinthian Leather | Stephen Rippy | |
15 | ... Where Credit Is Due | Stephen Rippy; Chris Rippy; Kevin McMullan; Matt Stanberry | |
16 | Joey JoJo | Stephen Rippy |
Year: 2000
Type: Original Soundtrack (OST)
Composer(s): Kevin McMullan, Stephen Rippy
Number of tracks: 15
The Conquerors
Just one year later, The Conquerors , the first add-on to the main game The Age of Kings , was released, bringing four new campaigns and game modes as well as a few quality-of-life improvements and five new civilizations. As the name and cover reveal, some of these were located in Mesoamerica (Aztecs and Mayans) and had their own campaign, while the other three (Spanish, Huns and Koreans) came from the other side of the world ... or the same, depending on how far you go.
However, the soundtrack - this time without David Rippy - promises more of the same, picking up where the main game left off: Namely with the main theme. However, The Conquerors is a variation, as can be seen from the name Quest for Jam instead of Quest for Butter. Here, the heroic main motif is replaced after its triumphant opening and interrupted by a flute intermezzo reminiscent of vast steppes and native American scenery. A perfect transition from the Eurocentric soundscape of the main movement to early colonial America.
The guitar is used to reinforce this effect. For, as we all know, the guitar represents Spain, Spain represents colonies including conquistadors ... Bam! Montezuma ... or something. This addition once again results in almost meditative tracks that remind us to relax with a mixture of Mediterranean and medieval. Starting with the almost angelic introduction of the vocals in Pork Parts, the shallow guitar riffs in The Monkey Book or the drawn-out flute notes in Voodoodoodoo and finally culminating in Seamus & Chamois, which oscillates somewhere between calming and awakening.
By contrast, tracks such as Tide Me Over, Warm ‚em Ups and Shookies in the Bank are similar in style to games such as Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom or SimCity, even if the latter track is more reminiscent of Age of Empires 1 due to its fracturing. Things get oriental withThe Bovinian Derivative, while Case in Point: Paste and Basura! Basura! drift into the Asian.
Neu ist, dass mit Neep Ninny-Bod [Mix 2] ein klassischer Fighting-Song den Ring betritt. Hier verbinden sich Dudelsack, Percussions und Flöten zu einer Kakophonie, die durch ihr Tempo Unruhe, fast schon Hektik ins gemächliche Treiben bringen – vielleicht geht’s aber auch nur mir so. Lowlight ist derweil das Credit-Theme Droppin‘ tha Trou, das mit seinem Jazz/Funk-Style vollkommen aus der Reihe swingt. No Me Gusta.
Nostalgia warning
No. | Title | Artist(s) | Ratings |
---|---|---|---|
01 | Quest for Jam | Stephen Rippy | |
02 | Pork Parts | Stephen Rippy | |
03 | The Monkey Book | Stephen Rippy | |
04 | Tide Me Over, Warm 'em Ups | Kevin McMullan | |
05 | Voodoodoodoo | Stephen Rippy | |
06 | The Bovinian Derivative | Kevin McMullan | |
07 | Case in Point: Paste | Stephen Rippy | |
08 | Seamus & Chamois | Kevin McMullan | |
09 | Shookies in the Bank | Kevin McMullan | |
10 | Basura! Basura! | Stephen Rippy | |
11 | Neep Ninny-Bod [Mix 2] | Stephen Rippy | |
12 | Uluzah | Stephen Rippy | |
13 | Carne y Helado | Stephen Rippy | |
14 | Rich Corinthian Leather | Stephen Rippy | |
15 | Droppin' tha Trou | Kevin McMullan; Stephen Rippy |