Today marks a special milestone in Between Life and Games’ history… The 100th Video Game Music of the Week! Since I do not have all that much time to play games (and, subsequently, review them) due to working full-time, Video Game Music of the Week articles now make up more than half of all the articles ever published on this site… But it’s not a bad thing, as most of these songs have been truly awesome!

It all started out with Acute Neurosis Treatment Facility – Under Attack almost 2 years ago… And no other Xenosaga song was posted since then. Until today. As one of the series closest to my heart, I couldn’t help picking a song from it for number 100, too. This time, it’s from Xenosaga Episode II, and it’s not a Yuki Kajiura song, either! Shinji Hosoe was criticised by many for his work on Xenosaga II’s in-game soundtrack, his songs were supposedly “too cheery” for the rather dark game, and they certainly were very different from Yuki Kajiura’s that played during cutscenes… But I have to say that his work was better, overall! While there are several Kajiura songs I really like from this soundtrack, she truly shines in Episode III. And, as far as Hosoe’s work in II goes, I really enjoy the majority of it!

It was incredibly hard to pick just one of all the great Hosoe songs in Xenosaga II, and, at the end, I went with a more atmospheric theme in Subconscious Domain (Summer)… A truly beautiful song capturing the deep, mysterious spirit of the game quite nicely. Enjoy!

Composer: Shinji Hosoe
Game: Xenosaga Episode II: Jenseits von Gut und Böse
Song: Subconscious Domain (Summer)