Game Soundtracks We Love: Kamiko

Hello to everyone! Thank you for joining us, on our cuppa filled gaming journey.

Last week we went retro with Pokemon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow. If you missed it and want to check it out: Game Soundtracks We Love: Pokemon Red/Green/Blue/Yellow

This time we’re going with a more recent title; it has a bit of a retro feel to it without actually being retro – which I love!

Game of Choice

So this week’s choice is an indie title that came out on the Nintendo Switch’s eshop last year: Kamiko.

The game is inspired by the Japanese Shinto beliefs. It has the player control shrine maidens, that have been chosen by the Gods to fight demons/monsters, unseal Torii gateways, solve puzzles and avoid hazardous environments along the way – all to save mankind from destruction!

Kamiko is a pretty short game, but you have three different characters to choose from (giving you three very different ways to play) and the game tells you how long you took to do each level (adding some replay for speed runners).

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a video of (only) the opening to the game.  To give you an idea of what the game is like; I went with the game’s trailer.

The trailer(above) uses the track from the first level of Kamiko and ends with it’s theme song. Both are rather different from one another; the level’s track is an adventurous and energetic sound with a beat, while the theme song (which also plays on the main menu and during the opening minutes of the game) is much more gentler and has a rather mystical tone to it. It’s nice to have calm and gentle music on the main menu; it’s a good contrast to what plays during the levels and gives the player a little breather after dying in the game.

For ‘The Scorching Labyrinth’ level, we have a fast paced track that makes you feel like you should focus and not hang around for too long – as the title suggests it’s a hot location. The location being hot actually has no effect on the character, but you certainly get the feeling it wouldn’t be nice for them to be there in that heat! The track works well alongside the level’s design to really create that “scorching” atmosphere.

‘The Ruins of Yamataikoku’ soundtrack is one of my favourites; suits the level brilliantly, creates atmosphere, while also being a little slower paced than some of the other tracks – love it! 😀

Final Thoughts

Kamiko’s soundtrack I think is great! Works brilliantly with it’s pixel graphics (keeping the retro feel going), while also adding energy and atmosphere to the levels. The creators could of chosen to go in a different direction for the soundtrack – I am so glad they didn’t. For me; being reminded of old games I enjoyed playing on the NES,etc brings another layer of enjoyment to the game 😀

A few questions for you:

• Did you enjoy the soundtrack?
• Are there any game soundtracks that remind you of other games?
• What do you think about games (and their soundtracks) being made in the style of “retro” games?

Would love to read your thoughts 😀 – Thanks for reading!